Chapter 729: I'm Going Hunting
Well… Now I learned that there's Off-Worlders potentially screwing this World with their stupidity…
"Do we need to go and find them and stop whatever they are doing?" I groaned.
Justinia raised an eyebrow at me, "Do you need to stop them though?"
I frowned at the King, "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I need to stop them?"
"You're not responsible for their actions are you, Aster? Neither are you the representative of the Off-Worlders either."
"But this might lead to a global conflict between people of this World and all Off-Worlders! I don't want something like that to happen!"
Justinia turned to give Mother a look who was just smiling at her.
She turned back to me, "While I am happy that you are concerned about us… I don't understand why you would be concerned even if something like that came to pass?"
"Eh? Didn't I already tell Sister Justinia? I intend to travel around the World and explore every corner of it after I graduate from school."
"Ah… You were actually serious about that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Mmm… I thought you might have changed your mind after being together with Tiara…"
Oh…
I grimaced, "I'm sorry but… This is something I wish to do and I won't be changing that any time soon… I also intend to enrol in the main Aerialla Academy as well."
Justinia nodded, "I see… In that case, I suppose we'll have to deal with these Off-Worlders before they do something drastic…"
I glanced at the Off-Worlder who was still tied up in the chair in the corner before turning back to the King.
"How can I help?"
Justinia gave me a look again, "Like I asked, Aster… Why do you feel responsible for their actions? There's no need for you to do anything, right? We can handle it."
I shook my head, "Of course I have to! I'm one of the Off-Worlders too, right? And they're ruining my time here! I'm not going to just sit back and hope things end well! I have to do something!"
Mother giggled, "Ufufufu~ My little one wants to add more people to her harem of course~"
I pouted at her, "Motheeeeer!! That's not it!!"
"Ara, ara~ My little one called me 'Mother', now she's upset~"
I puffed my cheeks at her which only made Mother giggle more.
Justinia thought for a moment before nodding at me, "I suppose I don't have a reason to refuse any help I can get anyway… But I'll first let you know that I would prefer if you stay out of meddling with the Off-Worlders in the other countries since this might lead to a diplomatic incident."
I tilted my head, "But I will not be operating as someone from the Kingdom though? Heck, I wouldn't even be doing this under the identity of someone from the Nilm Family?"
Justinia shook her head, "That does not matter. There are some people who would even twist the truth to benefit themselves and they aren't above making up lies either."
I understood what she was trying to hint on.
"Doesn't that mean there's still a possibility of conflict starting between Off-Worlders and the people of this World anyway?"
Justinia sighed, "That is the unfortunate fact… But I believe you're worrying about this needlessly, Aster. I'm sure there are also other Off-Worlders and maybe even other locals who also know about this and are actively trying to stop them."
"I don't think so though…"
Justinia nodded in Mother's direction, "Aster… I know so."
Oh… Ohhhh… Ok. I get it now.
The King then sat up on her chair, "If that's alright with you… I can give you details of the three Off-Worlders that this idiot here has given us so that you can deal with them."
"I'll do it."
Mother clapped her hands together and Mary appeared suddenly and approached me with a bow.
"Young Mistress," She greeted, handing over a stack of papers to me.
I took the papers from her and realised that these were basically transcripts of what the Off-Worlder must have told Mother and the King while they were extracting the information from him.
I don't really want to know what method they used to extract the information from him seeing the state he was in right now.
Flipping through the pages briefly, it seems like this guy has met three other Off-Worlders who have scattered themselves throughout the Kingdom to disrupt key locations within the Kingdom itself.
This guy's role was to try and start a civil unrest of sorts by making use of the Count with his ability.
King Justinia showing up here was actually something they did not plan for and this guy thought he could take advantage of it by initiating a duel with the King. I still find it stupid that he didn't even know what Justinia looked like before meeting her.
As for the other three…
One of them had gone towards the border between this Kingdom and the Nekinumi Kingdom to try and sow discourse at the border.
The second one was sent towards Sands Border Town to do the same between Shendhala Oligarchy and our Kingdom as well.
The last one was, ironically, sent towards Crown Capital City's Aerialla Academy to infiltrate into the school and act as one of the students for some reason.
I realised something quite instantly.
"This… Are they actually planning to start a worldwide conflict? I thought this guy was just thinking about changing the form of governance in this country because he didn't like it being a monarchy?" I asked.
Mother giggled, "Ufufufu~ This is why Mama said he was just a stupid little idiot, my little one~ He doesn't even realise he was just being used~ The group's ideals are completely different from what he believes in and he fell for it~"
I raised up my hands, "Wait, wait… You're telling me that this group actually wants to start a worldwide conflict from the start? Doesn't this make it worse? They're basically terrorists!"
"Ufufufu~ You aren't wrong, my little one~ And some of these people don't even know that they are being used it seems~"
Oh god… These people really came to another World and decided that they would be terrorists…
I looked at the King, "Who should I go after first then?"
Justinia pursed her lips, "I will leave that for you to decide, Aster. At this point, we managed to catch them while they were still in the starting phase of their plans and they shouldn't be able to accomplish much with such a short time. Although I will admit that I would like them to be dealt with before the end of the year."
Hmm… I could always just go back to school and deal with the one who infiltrated the academy first… But I don't even know who the person is…
I suspect that they should be amongst the first year students but I doubt the optimal way to do this was to use [Screened] and check each and every one of the students to see who was an Off-Worlder.
Besides, there could be other innocent Off-Worlders mixed in there so I might need to wait for him to make a move first before I know who it is.
As for the other two…
I guess it comes down to the question of whether I want to go to a place with lots of sand first or go to a place with lots of trees first… And cat girls… And dog girls… And was Katsuki and Emilia's old home…
"I'll talk to the other girls I guess… But I'll have to take an extended leave from school."
Justinia raised an eyebrow at me, "Aren't you a Special Class student, Aster?"
"I am… Why?"
"Then there's no need for you to take leave from the school if you told them you are going to engage in a self study trip?"
"Yes but… Delmare and Lisa wouldn't be able to go with me…"
Mother giggled, "Ufufufu~ I suppose my little one should go and decide with your harem on what to do then?"
Ughhh… Mother is really having fun with this, isn't she?
But yeah… I guess I could do that… Or I could just go alone and deal with them all myself. It's not like I would be alone anyway since Eins and my other Shadow Guards would be with me anyway.
"What about you, Mommy?" I asked.
"Ar, ara? Is my little one worried about me? Ufufufu~ Mama will stay with little Justi over here, my dear."
Justinia nodded, "We have not finished our inspection of the lands after all. And after encountering this Off-Worlder, I would say that this is very much needed since we never know if there are other groups of Off-Worlders who might be attempting the same thing."
"I understand… In that case, please leave this to me, sister Justi, I will take care of these Off-Worlders myself."
"Umu, I will leave it in your hands, Aster."
Alright, I guess I'll be going out to hunt some Off-Worlders soon.
Funny how this came to be huh? My first interaction with an Off-Worlder in this World was one where he hunted other Off-Worlders and tried to kill me.
Now it was my turn to hunt down some Off-Worlders.