Messenger of the Moon #Gosho 3: 'Wooly and the Black Beasts'

WHOOSH!

The castle is deathly quiet. Only the sound of the heavy rain rings out, cutting through the silence. The three of them stand there.

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'What do you mean Lord Lebon is missing!'

I approach the guard, my voice harsh. My face must have looked stern, as if I were half-hoping it was a lie.

Guard A
'Sir! The other day, while we were monitoring Lord Lebon, a certain group came to visit him.'

'Hmm, and then?'

Guard A
'They seemed to be guests, and he invited them into his room once, but... Lord Lebon immediately grabbed the child and bolted from the room.'

'What!'

Guard A
'And the group that had visited him followed right after him. We sensed something was wrong and immediately gave chase. However...'

I am anxious to hear the rest and respond, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

'However... however, what happened!'

Guard B
'However, although we did well to chase after them to track their movements, we lost sight of them because they escaped into the deep forest.'

'What have you been doing!!'

Even though I knew that raising my voice here wouldn't change anything, I couldn't keep my cool and lashed out at the guards in front of me. I must calm down for a moment. As someone who is about to act as an intelligence agent, emotional control is an absolute requirement. I realized that continuing the conversation here would never improve the situation.

“Alright! I understand that the Queen's whereabouts are unknown!
I will prepare myself immediately and join the search!!”

As I told the two guards this, I patted them on the shoulder and whispered in their ears, “You can rest now.”

I immediately formed a search party for Queen Rubon, accompanied by a few of my trusted subordinates. Perhaps as a sign of success, the rain stopped, and the sun could be faintly seen through a rift in the mountains. I felt as if God had issued a decree to “find the Queen as soon as possible.”

It is calculated to take one day to ride by fast horse from the Kingdom of Riken to the Kingdom of Shonan without stopping. I just kept whipping the horse and riding on, hoping that Queen Rubon was safe.

What happened while the Queen's whereabouts remained unknown?
Let me tell you the aftermath.

As a result, before reaching the Kingdom of Shonan, we were able to find Queen Rubon in a nearby farming village, where she was being protected by the farmers. However, she was already completely emaciated, and her appearance was terribly filthy. Even when I spoke to her, she only had a troubled look on her face and kept repeating, “My Wooly…” Feeling that we wouldn't get anywhere like this, I immediately took Queen Rubon back to the Kingdom of Riken and handed her over to her mother, the Princess.

For a while, Queen Rubon couldn't even swallow food, but as time passed, her physical condition began to recover. However, the cheerful demeanor she once had was overshadowed, and she began to speak with a look that seemed to reflect the darker side of the Kingdom of Riken.

Departure to the Kingdom of Akun

Several years later...

Queen Rubon ascended the throne as the sole princess of the Riken Kingdom. The downfall of her biological mother was one factor. I, too, was ordered to serve as an aide to Queen Rubon... no, Princess Rubon. While already traveling through various countries for intelligence activities, I continued to leak information to enrich the Riken Kingdom. Fortunately, thanks to the bestseller product "Wave-DO Water," which was born at the same time as Princess Rubon, the Riken Kingdom's economy was on an upward trend, and it had gained more power than its neighboring countries.

At that time, I was working as a merchant in the Shonan Kingdom, conducting intelligence activities. However, suddenly, a letter arrived from Princess Rubon: "Infiltrate the Akun Kingdom for intelligence activities."

The Akun Kingdom is the antithesis of the Riken Kingdom. If the Akun Kingdom stands in the light, the Riken Kingdom is the shadow itself. I speculated that the reason for choosing the Akun Kingdom for this intelligence mission was a request to see the extent of the Akun Kingdom's development due to that relationship. It likely also included the intention to find a scandal that would lead to economic chaos in the Akun Kingdom.

I immediately finished my preparations and set off for the Riken Kingdom to meet Princess Rubon. After arriving at the Riken Kingdom, I headed to the Princess's chamber without a moment's rest.

In the center of the Princess's chamber, Princess Rubon sat enthroned.
I approached until I was within reach of the Princess's voice and knelt.

Gosho
"Princess Rubon, I have returned!"

Princess Rubon
"Gosho, thank you for your intelligence work in the Shonan Kingdom.
The valuable information you provided
contributed greatly to the development of the Riken Kingdom.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Gosho
"It is my honor."

Princess Rubon
"Now then..., I apologize for asking this right after you returned from the Shonan Kingdom, but
I want Gosho to infiltrate the neighboring Akun Kingdom."

Gosho
"Yes!"

Princess Rubon
"I think you understand without me having to say it all..., but
if you can grasp even a little information that leads to economic chaos in the Akun Kingdom,
I will consider your future advancement, Gosho."

Gosho
"Yes! It is my honor!
I will depart for the Akun Kingdom immediately."

The moment I finished a deep bow to the Princess's chamber and tried to leave,
an unexpected word from Princess Rubon struck me.

Princess Rubon
"...!! Gosho!
If possible, I also want you to investigate a certain man."

I stopped immediately and turned back toward Princess Rubon.

"Yes!
A certain man?"

Princess Rubon
"I don't have detailed information, but...
His name is Wooly.
He is a man who laughs often, listens well to others, and is good at making retorts."

Gosho
“I see... If you don't mind, could you tell me about his physical appearance?”

Princess Lebon
“I'm sorry... I cannot describe his appearance. However, the name Wooly is rare, so if things go well, you might be able to find him in the Acoon Kingdom soon. As soon as you have information about that man, send word to me immediately.”

Gosho
“As you command, Princess! I will contact you as soon as I have information about Wooly.”

Princess Lebon
“I'm counting on you!”

Gosho
“Yes, ma'am!”

“What kind of person is this man named Wooly?”
As I let my imagination run wild, I realized there was no need to think that deeply about it. This is because I vividly remember that the very words Princess Lebon uttered when she was rescued years ago were “Wooly.” Princess Lebon likely said it unconsciously, so she probably doesn't remember it clearly. And, I suspect that “Wooly” is highly likely to be Princess Lebon's own son. That is why she was so distraught, and why she later wielded such iron-fisted power as a princess, successfully rebuilding the Rikeen Kingdom as a result. It is easy to assume that her energetic dedication to kingdom affairs was born from a desperate attempt to forget her precious child, “Wooly.” As Princess Lebon's aide, I resolved to head to the Acoon Kingdom without asking any further questions.

In an unexpected situation, I was able to meet Wooly face-to-face. The man Princess Lebon desires, Wooly, is a middle-aged man with a hairy but kind-eyed appearance. During conversation, he looks directly into the other person's eyes. Although his unique Tarikii language was sometimes difficult to understand, he was a person of character who communicated in a pleasant way.

A few days after I compiled the information about the Tarikii Kingdom and Wooly and wrote a 'confidential document' letter to Princess Lebon...

I continued by setting out to make contact with King Akun, the ruler of the Tariki Kingdom. Even though I knew I could already achieve sufficient results, perhaps my own sense of inquiry wouldn't stop, as I found myself wanting to investigate King Akun. No, let me be honest here.

Actually, I had received information through rumors that King Akun and Princess Rubon were connected. Is this rumor truly worth believing? I feel it is close to the core. This is because it was information I obtained in the Shounan Kingdom, the country before I infiltrated the Tariki Kingdom. Yes, the Shounan Kingdom is the country where Princess Rubon had been living in exile for some time. And, the sight of King Akun and Princess Rubon being intimate had been witnessed by many Shounan citizens.

The truth is known only within Princess Rubon's heart. Perhaps it is out of consideration so as not to worry the people more than necessary. However, driven by the thought that I 'must ascertain the truth,' I became curious to know King Akun.

What kind of person is King Akun?
What kind of person could charm Princess Rubon to such an extent...

To satisfy my curiosity, I must make contact with King Akun.

To be continued...

Click here for the movements of the hero Wooly☟

Tane-san's Wooly story, the final installment!

The second protagonist, or rather,
Click here for the story of Kaiser-san, who is a fine protagonist in his own right☟

The City of Water, Mira, or rather,
Click here for Laramie-tan's Wooly story☟

Everything began
with Arkun-san...☟