Chapter 28

“Ah, that brings me back… More, please, more!”

“Neila, you promised only one…”

“This is why we don’t offer her drinks, Four.”

“Sorry.”

Even Four’s flat expression looked regretful. That was just how much of a nuisance drunk Neila is.

And yes, she escaped. She didn’t just escape. She also took some loot with her. Jewelry, small weapons, and even an entire set of armor on display for whatever reason. Usually, people escaping captivity would try leaving as little a trace as possible, but she knew he would notice quickly, and decided that leaving a message might be a better thing to do.

How taking an entire armor would leave a message? That’s anyone’s guess.

“They’re ridiculous! Ridiculous! They can’t even hold me in the castle! They think their little puny mansion security is enough to hold me back! Not close! Not close! Hahaha!”

Neila almost slammed the empty glass into the floor. Syorin moved fast and managed to catch her hand in time. The glass still dropped, but at least it didn’t break apart from the throw.

“Calm down!”

It took the combined efforts of four people to keep Neila from wrecking the room. If they released a drunk Neila into the lord’s mansion, this nation would have its independence by tomorrow, assuming she didn’t destroy the entire country by accident.

Something that Kakashi, Astil, Syorin, and now Four genuinely believed in, after seeing just how wild Neila could be after so little.

“How are we supposed to discuss our plans like this?” Astill groaned. They thought about leaving the city, but they didn’t have any idea where to head next. They didn’t know how Baronnt traced them to that tavern. They had no idea how far Baronnt’s intel ring went. There could be agents in other towns, ready to report them. That’s assuming they could pass the gates in the first place. The entire thing might be a trap, for all they knew.

There were simply too many unknowns.

“... We can just call his actions treason.”

Everyone looked at Neila, completely forgetting the fact that she's a princess. Neila stood up, slightly wobbling, and everyone stood up with her, ready to stop her if she started breaking things again.

Neila looked through her bag and pulled out a stamp. Being drunk, she threw that stamp straight at the window. Astill jumped and caught it in time.

“What's that?” Kakashi asked.

“It's the imperial stamp- how the hell did you get this!?”

“Hahaha! The castle’s security is nothing for me!”

“Is she really the princess?”

She seemed more like a thief than an actual princess.

“We can forge documents and deliver them to the local garrison! That'll start a war between the soldiers and his private army! Hahaha! Everything burns!”

“I am terribly sorry.” Four, having never seen Neila drunk before, was the one most regretful. Kakashi recalled when he first accidentally allowed her to grab a drink. It didn't end well.

“Even back then, we completely missed her grabbing the mug…”

“Kakashi! Now isn’t the time to reminisce!”

“She’s trying to escape again! Grab her! Grab her now!”

“Hehehe… Forging documents is fun!” Neila said with a huge smile on her face, not a face a princess talking about forging documents should have. Well, not something a princess should have said in the first place.

They struggled to pin Neila down. For the member with the weakest physical abilities in the party, not counting Kakashi, she’s an absolute beast when she’s drunk.

“Neila, calm down!” Syorin shouted.

“Besides, there’s no way we can forge any convincing document when you’re this drunk!”

“Should the emperor not be aware of their missing stamp by now?”

“They’re idiots! Idiots! All of them! We’ll be fine! Scribble scribble scribble and done!”

“You’ve drawn a monkey! We can’t use that!”

They struggled until all five of them were exhausted. Neila ended up falling asleep, so did Four and Astill. The events today have been exhausting. Kakashi felt his legs weak, tired from the brawl that had just happened. He couldn’t believe this brawl happened right after the tense moment of Neila’s capture. He somewhat regretted worrying about her in the first place.

“The many times I promised myself to never give Neila a beer.” Syorin heaved a sigh. She was the only girl left who hadn’t fallen asleep.

Kakashi nodded. “I… we should have been more careful.”

Syorin snickered. “She escaped a lord’s mansion on her own. Really think we can handle her when she’s drunk?”

“I’m surprised you don’t mention the castle.”

“I don’t know… I feel like she would be more careful during her castle escape.”

When she escaped the castle, she was alone, with no one to accept her when she came back. Now, she had four people waiting for her return.

Syorin glanced at Neila, who was sleeping on the bed, limbs sprawled all over the place. Her left leg was hanging off the bed, right next to Astill’s head. Astill would probably complain about it when she woke up the next morning.

“But… I think she’s happy,” Syorin murmured, keeping her voice low to not wake up the other three.

“Neila?”

“Neila, Astill… They’re very… different. Compared to when I first met them. Unsurprising when you consider what happened to them… but yeah. They may not admit it, but they look much happier now.”

Syorin turned to Kakashi. “How about you? Are you happier now?”

Kakashi didn’t need to think before he answered. “Yes, far happier. It’s thanks to you all.”

“Aww, you’re making me blush,” Syorin joked. Even if she did blush, Kakashi couldn’t see it through the darkness of the room.

“... Say, Kakashi.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to know, but this trip has been more enjoyable with you on board, and I'm grateful for all of you being here. It was a lot of fun.”

Kakashi wasn’t sure why she would say that, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless.

“Thank you for accepting me.”

“Neila would have taken you in regardless of what I said.”

“Haha, yeah…”

Kakashi nodded and closed his eyes.