The kidnapped Princess was actually Queen Ayla of the Fang King Federation, and the giant woman they thought was a terrorist accomplice was actually the country's greatest warrior, Irina, commander of the Beast Knights.
Alicia and I were confused by this very incomprehensible encounter between these two important people, who should have been away from the royal capital due to the customs of the founding festival, and we asked for an explanation, but,
"There are many things I'd like to talk about, but I don't want to make the people in town worry unnecessarily. First I need to get back to town."
Following Queen Ayla's orders, we quickly returned to the capital, Lacent, still in disarray.
After being questioned about the situation by the National Knights, who were in a state of chaos in a different way to when Her Highness the Princess was kidnapped, we suddenly found ourselves ushered into the audience chamber as the party of key players in solving the kidnapping.
(Incidentally, the "that person" the terrorists were referring to had already been beaten to a pulp by Irina, the leader of the Beast Knights, and thrown into a cell like a rag.)
Not understanding what was going on, Alicia, Sister Claire, and the guards Silvia and Sophia all stood there in the audience chamber, while Queen Ayla, seated on her throne, boldly spoke.
"Well then, once again, Lord Erio. I am the current queen of this country, Ayla Raycent Elifanora, 20 years old. I am grateful to you for saving me at the last moment just now."
A beautiful girl who looks younger than us, with healthy tanned skin.
Queen Ayla continued, flapping her large elephant-beast-like ears.
"And this is the strongest Holy Knight in our country, level 330, Irina Elefantia, the leader of the Beast Knights, 31 years old and single. I am also regretting my decision to kill you all due to a misunderstanding, so I ask for your forgiveness."
"....Pleased to introduce myself as Irina, the Commander of the Beast Knights. I am humbled that you have helped my lord. I intend to explain in detail why this has happened. However, before that--"
Then, Irina, the commander of the beast knights, moved right behind Queen Ayla. Immediately afterwards,
"What on earth are you thinking?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"
The giant fist of Irina, the leader of the beast knights, hits Queen Ayla directly on the top of her head!
Queen Ayla screamed as she was hit by the fist of the elephant beastman, Irina, the commander of the beast knights, who was easily over 2 Meddle tall. While we were all stunned, Irina, the commander of the beast knights, raised her voice even more.
"I knew you would do it someday, so I secretly installed a magical tool in the royal palace that would always tell me where you were! But if I hadn't noticed you and Her Highness swapping places during the National Foundation Festival... No, if Lord Elio and the others hadn't rushed to your side before me! I wouldn't have known what those vile terrorists had done to you!"That certain
"B-but there's no other way! The national treasure that lets me transform into my sister, and the treasure that lets me summon a party to myself regardless of distance or barriers, can only be used by members of the royal family! It was the only way I could infiltrate the hearts of the as a fake hostage, summon the kingdom's most powerful you, and take down the terrorist bosses in one fell swoop! I didn't want to force a dangerous role on my sister or the other royal family members after devising the plan!"
"But still, I ask you to never do this kind of thing again! You are the king, after all!"
「I know that! That's why I've already prepared the handover documents in case something happens to me! My sisters are all excellent, so there are plenty of replacements!」
"You have no idea!"
"I wonder... that person called Irina, the Beast Knight Commander, doesn't seem like a stranger to me."
"Oh, what's the matter, Sylvia? You look like you've had a hole in your stomach from all the stress. That's when alcohol comes in. Getting drunk is the key to success."
Watching Queen Ayla and her companions fighting, the guard, Silvia, looked off into the distance, while Sister Claire let out a carefree voice.
Well, leaving those two aside...
"Well, to sum it up--"
I finally decided to step in and interrupt the seemingly endless argument between Queen Ayla and Captain Irina of the Beast Knights.
"So Queen Ayla disguised herself as her younger sister and purposely became a hostage in order to crush the terrorist organization, the Strong King Faction?"
"Yes, that's true. However, I never expected a terrorist attack on such a large scale to occur, and I never thought I'd be attacked by a woman so suddenly. That was quite close..."
Queen Ayla nodded at my words.
I see, I understand the general situation now.
But,
(Just as Irina, the leader of the Beast Knights, said, even if national treasure-class items are only available to royalty, what they're doing is far too absurd. There's no proof that the hostages made it to the terrorists' base, and the chances of the operation succeeding were pretty low. The risks are not insignificant. And yet...)
"Why would you do something so reckless...?"
"That's how much of a threat the Strong King Faction is undermining our country, and how dire the situation is. To the point where they resort to foolish, gambling measures using their own bodies."
Queen Ayla let out a big sigh in response to my question.
Then he assumes a serious air and begins speaking again.
About the threat posed by the terrorist group, the Kingists, that is corroding this country.