Reincarnated Maid is About To Be Captured by All Players

At the border of the Obey Duchy, in Acklin.

As evening approached, we finally reached one of the five exits opened after the 【Barrier】 was activated: Acklin. Well-equipped soldiers were everywhere, and a large number of adventurers were active in the area.

“That’s… Gruman from the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps…”

I activated my 【X-Ray Vision】 skill to survey the outside from within the jade lion and through the wooden board. Fortunately, the jade lion and board weren’t too thick and were within the effective range of the skill. Incidentally, this skill cannot see through clothing, and its description is somewhat cheeky.

The developers must have thought: “Ha! This skill can’t see through worn clothes! All your efforts to learn this skill are in vain” — the kind of description that makes you want to find the writer and give them a piece of your mind.

But I never intended to use X-Ray Vision for peeping anyway. After all, I’ve seen men’s bodies, and if I wanted to see a woman’s body, I could just look at my own.

“There are more people outside than I expected…”

“Is it dangerous outside?”

“Yes, but as long as we stay hidden, we’ll be fine.”

X-Ray Vision can’t be used continuously, so I waited for the cooldown to finish before using it again.

The 【Barrier】 is nominally invisible but can be color-coded for differentiation. Now, the border of Acklin is marked by a colorful aurora wall, with only a very small area without the aurora. Although near an open exit of the 【Barrier】, I still couldn’t use my spatial transfer skill.

“Lily, when we need to pass through the barrier, I’ll turn off the Zone of Silence.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s easily detectable, like… a big fish eating a small fish.”

I made a clumsy analogy. The Zone of Silence is a type of small barrier, but compared to a real barrier, its effect is significantly weaker. If a small barrier tries to penetrate a large-scale 【Barrier】, it will be consumed by the larger one. Although it won’t directly harm the people inside, I can’t risk being detected by forcibly using Zone of Silence.

We just need to hold our breath and stay quiet.

Outside the jade lion, Gruman from the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps approached Enrique’s merchant convoy to exchange pleasantries.

“Isn’t that Enrique? It’s rare to see you accompany a convoy.”

“Who doesn’t like sitting at home counting money? But this gift is special, for the Third Princess’s wedding.”

“Ha? But the princess’s convoy left Obey this afternoon.”

“That’s why I had my servants ask the guards… to allow us to pass first.”

“Since you’re here in person, they’ll probably make an exception.”

Gruman began inspecting Enrique’s convoy.

“What’s all this?”

“Wine, silk, and plenty of gold and silver jewelry.”

“Quite generous… Need us to escort you? Catching up to the princess’s convoy means traveling overnight, which is not safe.”

“I’ve hired enough people, we have sufficient manpower.”

Gruman stopped in front of the carriage where Lily and I were hiding.

“What’s this? It’s quite large.”

“A sculpture for the Third Princess.”

“May I have a look?”

“Please do.”

Hey… what are you doing… Isn’t this the time to refuse…

I held Lily tightly, trying not to make any noise. Although we were under the protection of the Zone of Silence, any significant movement causing the jade lion to shift could expose us.

Enrique’s attendants opened the wooden boards, and Gruman exclaimed in awe, stepping closer to inspect the sculpture.

I kept my X-Ray Vision active, vigilant of Gruman’s movements. He circled the jade lion with his hands behind his back, making me feel like I was the one being examined.

The ventilation holes were well-hidden, and Gruman didn’t notice anything unusual.

But Gruman kept admiring the sculpture… Haven’t you seen a jade lion before? What’s so interesting about it…

“—You’re an officer of the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps, right?”

Hearing the voice from behind, Gruman finally diverted his attention.

It was Lady Chris.

Knowing we were hiding inside the jade lion, she was worried about us being exposed and came to distract Gruman.

“Indeed, and you are…?”

“I’m Christiana, daughter of Count Montferrat of Obey. Actually, some members of your mercenary corps caused some trouble in Ende.”

“Really?”

Gruman looked surprised and jumped down from the carriage.

I couldn’t hear what Lady Chris and Gruman were talking about from so far away.

It seemed like a lot of adventurers from the Black Hawk Mercenary Corps were at the Acklin border, along with many other adventurers. Maybe they thought we might attempt to smuggle across, waiting at the border to catch us?

While Lady Chris was distracting Gruman

, several fully armed guards approached Enrique’s convoy.

Their equipment was on a completely different level compared to the guards in Rothschild, like Uncle Francois’s. Ordinary village guards usually wear light or cloth armor, but the guards at the border are regular troops mobilized by Duke Bogia. They are more like knights than mere guards or soldiers.

They all wore white full-body armor resembling Gothic-style armor, covering their entire body, including their heads.

I couldn’t see the knights inside the armor. They had slits for vision and magical protection on their helmets to guard against archers’ arrows.

The weather wasn’t hot in the evening, but they must have been wearing full armor all day. Because of magic, their armor was enchanted with weight reduction and thermal regulation, only achievable by at least master-level armorsmiths and magic inscription engravers.

If a conflict broke out, the knights’ actions wouldn’t be slow or cumbersome, allowing them to respond immediately.