The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 119

“Is it to protect her from the queen?”

“Right. She’s always been a jealous woman, but lately, she’s gotten a bit excessive, so I had to take this step.”

Am I the only one who thinks they should just talk to the queen properly?

“That’s not something I plan to comment on. I have my thoughts, but Clovis-sama, the crown prince, is doing his best, and the rest is a matter of His Majesty’s family.”

You’re definitely saying a lot there.

“I suppose so…”

The king gave a wry smile.

“So? What’s going on here?”

“Anna, please explain.”

The king looked at Anna, who was standing by.

“Actually, earlier, the princess was enjoying her post-meal tea, but suddenly she disappeared right before our eyes. In her place, there was this paper…”

“What do you mean? What were you all doing?”

“Just as I said. We weren’t looking away, nor were we neglecting our duty. She really disappeared right in front of us.”

Could it be a supernatural abduction?

“And then what?”

“Since we had heard from His Majesty about the situation, we thought there might have been something we didn’t know, so we quietly reported it to him.”

“Of course, I knew nothing.”

The king chimed in.

“Then what happened?”

“His Majesty came to the room, asked about the situation, and finally realized that the princess had been abducted. Right now, the royal guards are searching the castle and the city.”

“I see…”

It’s human nature.

Normally, there would be a huge commotion, but because of the lies, they didn’t realize the truth.

That’s why the response was delayed.

“Leanne, what do you think?”

“If Uncle and the others don’t know, it’s likely a different matter. They probably took advantage of the fake notice this time. Who knows about the notice?”

“Other than you, there’s myself, Colette’s guards, and some members of the family.”

Well, that makes sense.

“Your Majesty, um…”

Leanne seemed hesitant to speak.

“The members of the family are innocent. We’ve thoroughly searched the castle, including the queen’s chambers. That said, we can’t rule out the possibility of external involvement, so it’s hard to say for sure.”

If you think about it logically, the suspicious one is the queen.

After all, she has a motive.

She noticed the staged notice and took advantage of the situation to kill Colette.

This is the most plausible theory.

“I-I see…”

“Yuuma, what do you think?”

The king turned his gaze toward me and Leanne and Anna also looked at me.

“If it’s okay to give my personal opinion.”

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t think it’s the queen. The disadvantages if she were caught far outweigh any potential benefits. It would also affect the crown prince. Mothers are sensitive to such things.”

The queen is likely from a good family, making it even less probable.

The other concubine would have even fewer advantages and far more disadvantages than the queen.

“Then, who is the culprit?”

“I don’t know. As Leanne said, it’s someone who knows about the notice. Also, they seem to be searching the castle and the town, but they won’t find her.”

“What do you mean?”

The king, seemingly confused, asked for clarification.

“In these situations, it’s important to put yourself in the mind of the person who wrote the message. The odd part of the letter Your Majesty wrote is that the demons bypass your Majesty the King and instead target the princess. This shows Your Majesty’s desire to protect the princess from threats like the queen. Next, the strange part of the current notice is the line, ‘Tomorrow morning, I will display her in the city.’ If the goal were to kill her, there would be no need to abduct her. If they had the ability to make her disappear, they would have killed her on the spot. Additionally, specifying a time and place to display her tomorrow morning is unusual. There’s no reason for it.”

“Isn’t it for public display, to make an example?”

“Even if it were for display, there’s no need to specify a time and place. They could kill her and display her at any random time and place.”

They could display her in the castle or just throw her body somewhere.

It doesn’t have to be tomorrow morning; it could be the day after or even right now.

“Then, what’s the reason?”

“It’s obvious. They don’t want the search parties to leave the royal capital. At least until tomorrow morning. The princess is probably no longer in the capital.”

I don’t think killing her is the goal in the first place.

She doesn’t seem to have made any enemies, and there’s no value in killing her.

“Leanne, issue an emergency request to the adventurers! Anna, increase the number of search teams and search outside the capital!”

The king, understanding the situation, stood up and gave orders.

“Y-Your Majesty, wait!”

“Uncle, please calm down.”

Anna and Leanne tried to restrain him.

“What are you saying!? If we waste time, she might be taken out of the country!”

“Please wait. We must not blow this out of proportion. It will tarnish Colette’s name.”

That princess will likely be married off somewhere eventually, but if an incident like this comes to light, it would ruin the value of any political marriage.

“That’s… Then, what should we do!? We don’t even know where she’s gone!”

“T-that’s… well…”

While holding back the king, Leanne glanced at me nervously.

I could almost hear her inner voice asking for help.

“Your Majesty, shall I call AI-chan to help? Let’s search for the princess.”

Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to help.

“Is that even possible!?”

“Maybe?”

I couldn’t say for sure.

What I said earlier was just a guess, and there’s still a good chance that she’s already dead.

“Go ahead. Do it.”

The king nodded.

((“AI-chan, are you ready?”))

((“Ready! What is Annie doing here? I don’t approve.”))¹

Yeah, I feel the same way.

((“Just forget it.”))

((“Okay!~”))

I dismissed the shikigami that was far away and took out a talisman.

Then, after pouring spiritual energy into it and throwing it on the floor, AI-chan appeared.

“AI-chan, is here~! Master, what should I do?”

AI-chan, who appeared on the scene, asked.

“Track the princess’s scent.”

“Uh… I’m not a dog, you know.”

Fox, dog, same thing.

TL Note: