In accordance with my teasing of her, I carry Ariane like a princess again and jump through the forest. She struggled in my arms initially, but tightened her arms around my neck as soon as I did the first jump.
"You don't have to be afraid when you're in my arms, you know~." I spoke softly into her long ear.
I noticed her face get redder from the tickle of my breath against her ear but her eyes opened slightly and she relaxed her grip around me somewhat.
"Y-yeah…" She muttered. I jump up into the air again and cross hundreds of meters of the forest in a single bound.
"Kyu…! Kyuuu!"
Inari popped her head up and reacted to something she sensed. In the next moment, I saw an ornate carriage traveling along the road that edges the forest.
Curious about the identity of the carriage, I land and jump again, this time towards the road.
"Are we going to that carriage?" Ariane asked.
"Yeah, Inari reacted to it, so I'm gonna see what's making her so curious."
When I was a few hundred meters away, I saw the carriage being suddenly attacked with lightning magic by something hidden in the forest.
"What?!" Ariane exclaimed. When I landed again I put her down on her feet and unsheathed my sword.
"I'll go on ahead, you go around and keep the element of surprise… Inari, you stay with her."
Ariane nodded and Inari barked in agreement.
I dash ahead with blinding speed and see a few guards fighting a losing battle against some cloaked men.
Two women were crouched on the ground in the middle, the one with short black hair protectively embracing the smaller girl with blonde hair.
Just as a cloaked figure appeared in front of them with their sword raised, I intercepted their slash with my sword.
I cut clean through the sword and shocked the man with my sudden appearance.
"What?! Who the hell—"
I met his question with the edge of my blade, severing his head from his body with a spinning slash.
"Who is that?!"
"Doesn't matter! She's getting in the way, so we kill her!"
There are quite a lot of them, and those knights that are on the girl's side would get in the way… I'll try another one of my Noble Phantasms that would be perfect for this situation.
I removed the horn from my hip and it magically transformed into a huge hunting horn that wrapped around my body.
"What…?! An instrument…?"
I inhale a huge breath and blow the horn. It lets out an explosive tone, reverberating through the forest, causing the critters and animals to run away immediately and the knights and cloaked men to fall on their rears.
"Ariane! Take out the men in cloaks!"
She jumps out from the bushes with her hood up and releases her flame magic, shooting bolts of fire at the assailants.
Because of my hunting horn Noble Phantasm, La Black Luna, a few of the cloaked men ran away back into the forest, and one or two of the weakest ones closer to me died by turning to dust.
"I think that takes care of that!" I smiled.
"Asto— Er, Why did you get involved?!" Ariane asked indignantly. Seems she doesn't want to deal with the aftermath.
I mean, I understand that getting involved could be a pain in the ass, but I couldn't do nothing when a girl is about to be killed.
"You know me! I can't help but help when people are in trouble!"
"Also, what is that horn?!" Ariane complained, "It scared the hell out of me!"
It scared her, but it didn't affect her in the same way as the people I designated as enemies, huh? Even the knights who were a part of the carriage's defense weren't affected that much. That's good to know.
"It's one of my magic items. It has the ability to scare people to the point of escape. And the weaker the enemy, they have a chance to just die and turn to dust on the spot!" I chuckled.
"Um…"
I turn my head to the small blonde girl who tried to speak up. "Heyo~! Are you guys okay?"
"St-stay back from the Princess…!"
A few of the knights stumbled to their feet and put a hand to their swords.
"W-wait! It's fine, stand down…!" The blonde girl commanded.
Oops… I saved a Princess. This is gonna be troublesome, huh? Better get through with this inevitable talk and leave before the Princess here asks some favors from me.
She bowed her head at me while lifting the hem of her dress slightly, "Thank you… Miss Knight. I am Yuriarna Merol Melissa Rhoden Olav, Princess of The Kingdom of Rhoden."
That's a long ass name.
"Er…" I was tempted to hide my name like how Ariane avoided calling me by it, but this girl already saw my face clearly, so…
"My name is Astolfo. A wandering Knight working as a Mercenary…"
The Princess looked up at me with a glint in her eyes, as if she was holding me up on some sort of pedestal. "A Knight working as a Mercenary…! Please, I implore you to guide our caravan to the Great Duchy of Limbult! I will pay a high price for your services!"
I gave her a strained smile, expecting her to ask for protection. But with this clear attempt of assassination by uniformed cloaked men, it's clearly another political issue I'd rather not get involved with.
"Apologies, Princess, but I've already been hired by this woman here. A knight cannot just go back on… her… word."
The Princess looks at Ariane briefly with annoyance, but it soon turned to regret and acceptance.
"I see… that is most unfortunate. Still, I must reward you for saving us, at the very least, but…"
"You don't have to. I saved you without thinking about any reward. I simply helped because I couldn't just stand by and leave people to die." I shake my head and take a step back.
"Just be careful from now on, Princess. I don't think whoever sent those cloaked men will stop at this." I advised.
The Princess bowed again and smiled. "I agree. Thank you once again Dame Astolfo."
'Dame'… Yeesh.
"Stay safe! Come on, Ari." I quickly pick Ariane up and Inari hips on my head just before I jump up high and far into the air, back to our trek to Olav.
This time, we didn't stop for anything else and continued, arriving in the capital of the Rhoden Kingdom, Olav, by midday.
"Woooow~! This city is huuuge!" I was awed as I looked at the various shops along the streets around the gates.
"Seems like a lively place, indeed."
Suddenly, I felt a bump on my back and turned to see a man sitting on his rear right next to me. Huh? Did he just get bumped into me?
"Watch your mouth, you little brat!! Acting like you're some tough guy, huh?! Screw you!!" The man shouted.
"We've only been here a few minutes and it looks like there's already a squabble. I guess that's just how it is in big cities." I observed.
I guess even in another world, big cities have similar problems.
"Tch. These guys don't have any manners." Ariane complained as we paid our attention to the one who accidentally threw that man at me. It was a small person, maybe a female, but she seemed strong.
The man's friends all surrounded the small figure, throwing insults and getting mad when the girl did the same. They attempted to attack her at the same time, but the girl skillfully avoided their strikes and hit them with expertise.
"She finished them off instantly! Haha~ I kinda like her!" I laughed at the funny view of bodies flying all over the place while Ariane snapped her attention to me.
"L-Like?!" She exclaimed.
The girl who had just finished her fight immediately turned her head to us and walked over. Wait, why is she coming here? Did I offend her for some reason?!
"Hello, there. It's been a while." The small girl said.
""Huh?"" Both Ariane and I were confused.
"…Been a while since Diento, that is. It looks like your mission was successful back in that city."
That voice… it sounded like…!
"Ninja…!" I excitedly exclaimed. It was the catgirl ninja who gave me the receipt documents from the Marquis!
"…So I was hearing right, you were calling me a ninja…" She muttered.
"Impressive work freeing the elves… I'd like to discuss something with you. Would that be alright?"
Ariane looked at me in confusion. She's the only one who doesn't know who this girl is. "Astolfo, who is this…?"
For some reason, there was an underlying venom to her tone, but it was mostly careful curiosity.
"Sorry, I didn't have time to explain back in Diento, but this is the girl who helped me get the documents about the sale of elven slaves. Her name…?"
The girl took this chance to introduce herself once I got to the subject and raised her hand to give us a hand sign. "Apologies for the late introduction. My name is Chiyome. I'm one of the Six Elite Shinobi of the Jinshin Clan… how about a change of venue, so we can discuss this further?"
Since this seemed like a sensitive conversation, I agreed to her suggestion and we followed her to an Inn, where we rented a room.
Inari jumped on the bed as soon as we entered the room and I set down a few chairs for all of us.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am a traveling Knight working as a Mercenary, Astolfo. And this little one is Inari."
Ariane let down her hood and introduced herself as well. "I'm Ariane Glenys Maple. A warrior from The Great Canada Forest."
"Astolfo, Inari, Ariane. Got it… Astolfo, I need to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Why did you call me a 'ninja'?" Chiyome asked.
Well… because you dressed exactly like one?! What are you if not a ninja? Maybe they're not called that in this world?
"…Er— Well, back in my… home country… That is what we call people who dress like you did back in the Marquis' castle. All black, a mask and a headband, this hand signs… all traits of a ninja…" I explained.
This 'home country' being Earth… ninja or samurai being possibly the most well-known thing that came from Japan.
"The word 'Ninja' is a secret title known only within my clan. Which means you must be from the same country as our great founder."
She… she just dropped a huge bomb…! I controlled the emotion showing on my face and swallowed hard.
This means… I wasn't the only one thrown into this world, huh? I mean I kinda suspected it with the forest of elves being called 'Canada', but now it's confirmed with 'ninja'.
"Is this founder of yours around?" I asked.
"He lived around 600 years ago, so… unfortunately no."
A shame. I definitely wanted to visit a fellow otherworlder from Earth…
"Let's not get distracted, Chiyome. What's the thing you wanted to talk about with Astolfo?"
Well, that was obvious. Chiyome was at Diento, specifically the Marquis' castle where slavery was being committed. It was clear what she was doing there.
"Right… Will you help me rescue my fellow Mountain People? I know you must be busy with those names on the sale contracts… As payment, I'll provide you with all the information I have on them."
Ariane looked at me with a smile, as she already knew what my decision on this matter was. Even though she technically hired me, Ariane knows that I'd do anything in my power to help people in dire need without looking for a reward.
Not that she's doing this because of me. Ariane knows exactly how Chiyome feels when it comes to wanting to save your people from the chains of slavery.
"Chiyome." Ariane called.
The ninja girl seemed to be tense awaiting our answer and nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Y-Yes?!"
""We'll help you!!"" Both Ariane and I claimed enthusiastically.
"That being said… I'm assuming you've done the necessary scouting already?" I asked.
It's obvious from the fact that she asked us for help that what she had found during her information gathering was something that she needed outside help with.
What better help than people with the same goal as her?
"That's right. We'll be heading into one of the largest slave traders in the capital; Etzat Market. They have a strong connection to the Royal Family, so the Royal Guard may get involved. Our plan is to attack four separate locations to thin out possible reinforcements to the Market."
My eyebrows furrow at her plan. It was a dangerous one, and it would likely result in…
"The plan sounds like it would cost some lives."
And I'm not comfortable with that.
"Yes… We can't save everyone, so if it costs us ten to save a hundred, then we'd treat it as a win."
I stood up from my seat and placed a fist to my chest. "No one's gonna die under my watch! You don't have to worry about attacking another place, just focus your forces on guiding your people to safety when I break them out!"
Chiyome looked surprised at my declaration and doubtfully shook her head. "How're you going to do that…?"
I proudly held my hand up high in pride. "Hmph! I may look like a delicate young woman, but not only am I strong, but I have powerful artifacts to help with this plan as well!"
"R-Really…?"
Chiyome still sounded doubtful, but Ariane nodded slowly after remembering what happened just this morning with my hunting horn.
"Yes… Astolfo should be fine by himself… with that artifact that stuns people in fear, it would be easy." Ariane said.
"An artifact that stuns a person with fear?" Chiyome asked.
"Not 'a' person, but anyone that I deem an enemy who hears my horn will be paralyzed by fear, or if I put more willpower into the horn, it could even destroy people."
Chiyome's expression becomes grim at my claim that my horn could destroy life with just a sound.
"Don't worry, though. I'm wary of that power myself, so I try to weaken the horn's effects to a minimum. Still, having a large group of soldiers become impeded by fear is useful." I added.
Chiyome gulped and nodded. "I'd like to believe you… I also do not want to sacrifice my people if I'm able to… If you really can handle hundreds of guards with such ease, it could make a significant change to our plans. Okay! I'm going to tell the others about this!"
The ninja catgirl jumped out of her seat and darted to the door, but stopped for a moment to tell us, "Oh, I almost forgot. The raid is happening tonight. Please try to finish your preparations before I get back!"
Before I could ask her to repeat what she just said, she left the room in a rush.
"Did she just say 'tonight'?" Ariane asked.
"I heard that, too…"