Reincarnated as an Instructor in an Adult Game

Sharle came back right after that. When she confirmed I had not killed the Cardinal she let out a relieved breath. She had probably judged, like the collapsed woman, that he had information.

The miniaturized Marionette the Cardinal had. From the bad atmosphere and feel I knew immediately it was a Marionette, but originally they were a little bigger and I did not think other people would notice right away. Miniaturized Marionettes had not been used even during the war. So it was natural to think it had been modified in another country, but the existence of a Marionette this small was far too dangerous.

It was my first time seeing one too. A Marionette small enough to attach to a necklace…

I muttered that in my heart and watched the Cardinal being carried off by the soldiers Sharle had called, my face difficult. Looking down from the window into the back alley, an ordinary carriage with nothing special about it was stopped, guarded by soldiers in commoner guise. Sharle was beside me. A man who was probably a captain-class who had entered the room came over. She whispered something by his ear, then glanced at me and furrowed her brow. I smiled in a troubled way at the captain-class man’s gaze, looked away, and turned my eyes back outside. Being suspected was natural. Knowing information that would not flow to the royal castle was not normal.

I thought a little, then let out a big tired sigh, turned my whole body toward Sharle and the captain-class, and said,

“Sorry, but I want you to restrain me too.”

“What are you saying!?”

“…If that is what you want.”

“You must not! Raide-sama, do you understand what you are saying!?”

Hey, hey. Your existence is not supposed to be noticed and you raise your voice? See, the captain is surprised too…

I smiled wryly and explained the reason to Sharle, who was stopping me in shock, and to the captain, who looked a little surprised. Even if only captain-class knew about this incident, if we did not present evidence of how I knew, a mystery would remain. And the one who would feel the most uneasy would be the Pope. As a country it could wound the friendly relationship. I also could not accurately say why I knew, and I had no intention of saying it… there was also the fact that I could not say it. And the troublesome part was that the royalty probably already knew I was the one whose words were moving people.

It would not be strange to be suspected as the Cardinal’s ally. In that case, restraining myself would also reassure the country. Simply put, I was under suspicion of staging the whole thing to trap the Pope. From the captain here, putting that suspicion on me was normal. Far from blaming him, I was impressed he was well trained and thinking excellently.

…Just spare me the torture. I’m bad with pain.

Sharle listened, her face twisting in pain, and went silent. I smiled wryly and said “Sorry…” Then I walked up to the captain, held both hands out in front to be restrained, and got a troubled look.

“Putting rope on you would help us, but…”

“But if you don’t put rope on the one being restrained, the country and you soldiers will be suspected, right? The person himself says it’s fine. Put the rope on.”

“…Haha. You’re kind, worrying about us too.”

“Acting kind might be part of staging it, you know?”

“My eyes aren’t that rotten. But sorry. Endure it for a while.”

“I’ll look forward to you treating me to a drink when the suspicion clears.”

When I said that the captain went blank, laughed “I’m the one treating?” and gently put rope on both my hands. I gave him a look that said isn’t this too loose? He shook his head as if to say don’t mention it. Walking behind the captain I turned to Sharle and asked her to tell my lovers I would not be able to come home for a while. She hesitated, then nodded. This was the third time I had been tied up since reincarnating… I only had bad memories of it.

I got into the carriage bed with the Cardinal and sat. The carriage slowly started moving.

[Chancellor]

In his office the chancellor leaned back in his chair, held his head with both hands, and asked the unseen stealth unit to repeat it.

“Could you say that again?”

“We have taken the Cardinal and Raide-sama into custody.”

“…Why did you restrain Raide as well?”

“We were told it was by his own will.”

He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs if he could. He held that impulse down and let out a big sigh. It was true Raide being suspected this time could not be helped. Even the chancellor wanted to grill him on why he had known. So he was glad Raide had gone to the castle himself for the country’s sake, but there was no need to be restrained. They added in the report that he had been thinking of the soldiers, but that was something the chancellor himself could have handled.

On top of that they had been running around nonstop since yesterday because of Raide, and now he had caused a huge problem. He understood it was more that Raide had solved it than caused it, but the cleanup was far too much. And they were keeping it confidential, but how was he supposed to report to King Adom that they had restrained someone of the same status as royalty?

As if to finish off the chancellor’s agonized face, the stealth unit continued the report.

“We heard it was not us but Sharle’s unit that reported to the princesses and King Adom.”

“…Did you hear why they reported?”

“Probably from anger. Well… we treat it as work, but we are angry about Raide-sama being restrained as well.”

What was with these fairies… Did Raide want a hole in his stomach? That was probably why the stealth unit fairies’ attitude felt a little cold. He let out a big breath. Raide did not seem aware of it, but he had enormous trust from the fairies, not just Sharle and the others. If they heard someone like that had been restrained, of course their mood would sour.

Problems stacked one after another and it had reached the point where he could only laugh. And the fact that this man named Raide was involved in all of it really left him with nothing but laughter. Liquor would not be enough for this anymore. You will entertain me and thank me, you fool…

He muttered that in his heart, let out a big sigh, and left the office with the stealth unit to speak with King Adom.

[Raide]

The royal castle’s cells, the prison, were underground. The first basement held people who had committed ordinary crimes like banditry or theft. The second basement held people caught for important crimes or secret matters. The underground area was quite large. The game profile said that if you added all the cells together it could hold thousands. But public order in the royal capital was not bad, and even in free play I had never seen every cell in use.

I walked the dim second-basement corridor while the captain pulled the rope. “Pulled” was the word, but he kept looking back now and then to check on me. That kindness almost made me laugh. The cells we passed were empty. The Cardinal had been put in a cell right after we came down to the second basement. They were probably housing us far apart so we could not talk through the bars.

After walking a while we stopped in front of one cell and the captain opened the door. I offered no resistance, thanked the captain, and went in. The door closed quietly. Inside there was one bed and one bucket for waste. Hearing only that made it sound unsanitary, but the stone walls and floor were cleaned thoroughly. You could see the soldiers’ effort in measures to keep disease from spreading from the prison.

I turned toward the captain through the bars to thank him again, but he stopped me with one hand and said with a troubled laugh,

“If you thank me any more, it will hurt.”

“Hm… hearing that makes me want to thank you even more.”

“Hahaha, don’t bully me. There’s no one else around so it should be quiet. Rest for a while.”

“Is ’please rest’ something you say to someone you just locked up?”

We laughed together pleasantly and the captain left with the soldiers. I threw myself onto the simple bed that had been given clean sheets, lay on my back, and let out a breath. The tonic’s effect had worn off, and with the tension gone I was unbearably sleepy. I lifted my gently bound hands to check them and could not help a big yawn. I was too sleepy to think. This was impossible. I closed my eyelids and my consciousness immediately started fading. I had actually wanted to think about all kinds of things, but I could not beat the need for sleep…

Well, I had told Sharle what I needed to before we came underground, and I had handed over the herb book too. Now I just had to wait… I thought that far and let go of my consciousness. After that, while I slept I dreamed several times of someone stroking my head and felt at peace.

[?????]

They gently stroked the head of Raide, who was locked in the cell breathing peacefully in his sleep, smiled in a troubled way, and let out a small breath. Raide had asked them not to use her power, so they were not using it, and they could only hold a physical form for a short time. They had used that short time to come check on Raide, and here he was sleeping peacefully.

“You really are a handful.”

We were the ones who worried, and he really is a troublesome person. They decided to tell her this situation and share it, and at the same time to have her ask Raide for one more bracelet. Originally they had been enjoying watching Raide from inside her, but like her they could no longer leave him alone. As she became able to use her power, their own consciousness had grown clearer too… and like her they were troubled by Raide’s state. Before he worried about other people, they wanted him to worry more about himself.

When they finished stroking Raide’s head they stood and headed into the royal castle to meet one more person before returning to her body. Not one more, maybe four? they muttered in their heart, laughed happily, passed through the wall, and headed for a certain room in the castle.