Ch#175
"Association President! Hellooo~!"
Tie jumped up from the mat and bowed at the waist politely.
Ardiana's eyes widened round.
Tie counted to three silently inside before straightening up proudly.
'Tie knows the Association President's true identity!'
Fairy tales said you had to be super, super, super polite to princesses.
"I've been well, Necromancer King."
Ardiana replied in a gentle voice before glancing at Tie's arm.
"More importantly, Tese tan from Trebaga... no, now Agavert's Vice Leader. Has the arm you injured during the duel healed?"
"Yes!"
"That's a relief."
Ardiana smiled faintly.
She rose slowly and looked around.
The new recruits crowding the garden had quietly slipped away sometime before.
Ardiana gazed at Tie with a calm smile.
"I came today because there's something urgent I need to tell you. We only have two days until the mission starts."
Tie nodded.
She recalled what Basto had told her a few days ago about the Clock Tower Mission.
The mission delayed by the duel was suddenly right around the corner again.
"A new member has joined the Union Force."
Tie's eyes went wide.
Until now, the Clock Tower Mission participants were mainly two teams.
The Luminen Family Holy Knights and Tie's mercenary group Agavert.
But now someone else was joining them.
"Who is it?"
Ardiana glanced back at her secretary standing behind her before continuing.
"It's me."
"Eh... eeeh?!"
Tie jumped in shock.
The child looked back and forth between Ardiana and the secretary in disbelief.
"But!"
"......"
"There's a super huge, scary ivy mana stone at the Clock Tower......?"
This siege's mana stone was another unprecedented one.
Bigger than a large mana stone, with an unusual plant-like form.
The members had said about it:
'It won't be an easy siege. Putting the Association with Luminen Family and us means the difficulty's high.'
'Still, we'll do our best. The Trebaga guys joined too, even if they're a bit cocky. If they have any conscience, they'll help somehow.'
'Tie, keep the barrier up just in case. If your focus slips, withdraw the summons. Got it?'
'Yees~!'
She'd answered spiritedly, but honestly, Tie was a bit tense too.
'Like back in Pearl City with the sea mana stone.'
When people hyped it as unprecedented or never-before-seen, it made Tie nervous too.
Tie fidgeted anxiously while staring at Ardiana.
'But the princess is going there......?'
Why?
Tie racked her brain thinking of all the princesses she knew.
Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, the princess from Tani Pang—tons of princesses flashed through her mind.
Finishing her thoughts, Tie's face fell.
'The Association President princess must be bullied by her family......'
According to Tie's data, happy princesses usually stayed in sparkly palaces.
With lots of cool friends, closets full of pretty clothes.
And yummy snacks every day.
But if such princesses suddenly left the palace for dangerous work, it was always,
'When the stepmom bullies them!'
Tie eyed Ardiana's complexion seriously.
She wanted to ask why the princess had to go to such a dangerous place.
But per Grandma 107's teachings, you shouldn't pry into others' business.
After agonizing, Tie finally spoke.
"Then how many subordinates are you bringing......?"
A princess going to a dangerous place would surely have dozens of guards!
But Ardiana answered calmly.
"I'll bring five."
"Eeeh?!"
Another huge shock hit Tie's face.
"Why so few? There'll be tons of magical beasts at a mana stone siege! Even sparrow-sized ones can hurt people this much!"
Ardiana gave a wry smile.
"Well."
Ardiana fell into thought without realizing.
Actually, she could have brought more escorts.
The initial escorts proposed by the Empress and Pides had numbered over twenty.
'I was the one who insisted on reducing to five.'
Ardiana had anticipated it.
Once the siege started and things got chaotic, the escorts from the Empress and Pides would target her away from prying eyes.
Those two always wanted Ardiana eliminated.
'Hiring other trustworthy escorts is......'
Pathetically, she had no one in the palace she could truly call her own.
Ardiana forced a smile.
"I'm fine. Five is enough......"
"Tie will find some for you!"
But then Tie shouted innocently.
A firm resolve somehow filled Tie's face.
"Tie knows a grandma who has lots of super strong knights!"
And not just that.
Tie had a hidden card up her sleeve.
Selina's parents too.
Tie neatly folded the mat she'd been lying on.
Then tucked the body-sized mat under her arm and declared proudly.
"Association President! This way!"
A few minutes later.
A bright voice came from Tie's pink Communication Orb.
[Oh, really? Strong soldiers who can take down seventeen alone...... I might know some.]
[Tie! Don't worry! I'm near some island in the Northern Continent right now, and the soldiers here have heads twice as big as Talochioum's—bodies twice as big too, of course!]
[Shh, Selina. Mom's on the call.]
[......]
Tie swallowed and asked Katrin back.
"Thank you, Selina's mom! So when will those super strong soldiers come?"
[Two days from now at the Northern Old Palace Ruins, right? I'll send them straight there. I'll try to time it, but might be a bit late?]
"A little late is fine!"
They wouldn't start the siege right upon arriving at the ruins anyway.
As a large Union Force, they'd need prior investigations and role assignments.
Tie bowed again.
"Mom, thank you so much!"
Ending the call, Tie immediately pressed another button.
After a short signal, a familiar voice flowed out.
[Astie?]
"Governor!"
Governor Marianne burst into laughter from the Communication Orb.
[My goodness, what's up? Did the person my mother sent last time arrive safely? Healthy, no illnesses? Raoul and Enzo doing well in the mercenary group?]
Tie answered Marianne's barrage of questions spiritedly without annoyance.
"Yees! Tie has a favor to ask the Governor! The person Wavebrill grandma sent came fine, Tie's not sick, and Raoul and Enzo bro are full of energy!"
[Aah...... That's great!]
Tie smiled along with Marianne before getting to the point.
"But Governor, Tie needs super strong knights. Ones who can beat 17-to-1!"
Marianne hummed before replying.
[You mean formally knighted ones? Not Holy Knights, but my family has some elite soldiers. Mother's here just in time, so I'll ask right away.]
The orb went quiet, and soon.
Marianne's voice returned.
[Where to, and when should they deploy?]
Tie beamed and turned back.
In the parlor, Ardiana sat with a dazed face before the side table.
Secretary Cardia standing beside her gently took the princess's hand.
Ardiana slowly turned her head.
Her eyes, at a loss for words, held faint surprise and emotion.
