I Finished Saving the World, But Then I Picked Up a Girl With Amnesia - Chapter 12

Aria Linage Aiaras was a knight who belonged to the Hero’s party.

She was the third princess of the royal family of the neighboring kingdom, Aiaras, and now served as the lord governing this land.

“…Please carry Hero-kun to the same room as that girl. Handle him with care.”

Her tone changed completely. From a bright, warm, and friendly demeanor, it shifted to the cold, commanding voice of a leader.

“As you wish.”

Two attendants appeared from seemingly nowhere, carefully picked up the Hero, and disappeared with him.

At the same time, Aria reached for the buttons of her blouse and slipped it off. What emerged was plain, practical undergarments and a physique honed to perfection, far from what one might associate with a princess. Her body was covered in countless scars, exposed to the air. Yet the third attendant, receiving the discarded blouse, showed no reaction, not even the slightest movement of a brow. As if it was routine, the attendant bowed and stepped back.

Aria descended a staircase leading to the mansion’s basement and opened the door to the underground room.

“Your Highness.”

“Your Highness!”

“Remain as you are. Prioritize the most critical updates and report.”

The central space in the surprisingly expansive basement was dominated by a scrying crystal. Several knights, magic users, and magi were already stationed around it. The setup resembled the command center of a fortress or base. And that was only natural.

During the peak of the Demon King’s reign, it was the powerful lords of various regions who coordinated defensive strategies and helped maintain the human side’s battle lines.

“Your Highness… things are looking suspicious.”

“The central teleportation magic circle in the town, which Hero-sama used, has just been cut off. Currently, external teleportation spells seem to be disabled.”

“Since nightfall, the patrol squads from the knights have reported sightings of unfamiliar monsters.”

Aria, steady and composed as though she hadn’t been drinking just moments ago, approached the scrying crystal. As she sat in her chair, a female knight stepped forward from behind her and began tying up Aria’s long golden hair.

Aria turned to a seasoned magus who had served her household for many years.

“Do you think they’ll come?”

“Yes. There’s a ninety percent chance this location is their target. The town itself might face an attack as well, but…”

“We will handle it.”

“That would be the most prudent course of action.”

Unable to move her head due to her hair being styled, Aria nodded with her eyes alone and gave a signal to a few knights standing at attention nearby.

“Contact the knight order and the local vigilante groups in my name. Have them initiate maximum security protocols immediately.”

“Understood.”

“Your attire, Your Highness.”

“Thank you.”

She donned her combat attire—a magically reinforced inner layer, followed by leather chest armor, gloves, boots, and other gear. She swiftly completed her preparations.

“…Your Highness! We’ve received a communication from the capital!”

“Finally? That idiot Sage…”

Aria’s tone softened slightly as she looked up.

Magically powered voice communication devices are incredibly expensive, but a facility such as this one was equipped with the appropriate infrastructure. Aria picked up the receiver.

“Shana! I’ve been trying to contact you nonstop—why haven’t you responded sooner!?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you. The connection between us wasn’t working.”

The voice on the other end belonged, of course, to the Sage.

Despite its usual cheekiness, her tone was faster than usual.

“I’ve hurriedly dispatched a few of ‘me’ to neighboring towns to help reestablish the magical leyline connections, but even now, this call is barely holding on. Your entire territory is under large-scale magical interference. It’s likely meant to block external communication and teleportation.”

“The teleportation magic circle you set up here—it’s been easily blocked. Faulty design?”

“You complain too much. That’s quite ungrateful of you, Your Highness. If they’re targeting it so precisely with magic disruption, even a genius like me can’t make my magic circles work perfectly.”

“They’re after that girl, aren’t they?”

“Do you think there’s any other reason?”

Fair enough.

“However, any teleportation magic circle they haven’t identified should still work for escape from the inside. Doesn’t your mansion have one?”

“…Yes, it does.”

The girl known as the Sage remained as sharp as ever. Aria’s eyes shifted to a small teleportation magic circle tucked away in a corner of the room. It was designed for emergency use, allowing the lord or their close relatives to escape if necessary. Unlike Shana’s teleportation circles, which required specific destinations, this one was random but sufficient for evacuating a small number of people.

“Use that to get Hero-san and the girl away from the enemy. That’s something only you, in your position, can do.”

“You know the destination will be random, right?”

“That’s still far better than letting the enemy know where they are. Besides, just in case, when Hero-san touched my head, I embedded a magical tracker into his palm. With that, I can roughly track his location no matter where he ends up.”

“Um, creepy much…?”

What are you, a stalker?

Aria was taken aback.

“Shut up. Anyway, hurry up and convince Hero-san. Knowing him, he’ll insist on staying behind to fight once he hears what’s going on.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I already drugged his food and drink, so he’s fast asleep.”

“Um, creepy much…?”

What are you, a psychopath?

Shana was equally taken aback.

Honestly, they were two sides of the same coin.