Chapter 36: When I Look at Those Big Sisters, Somehow…

The two Dragoon transport craft carrying us reached the skies over the royal capital before noon. With stealth mode engaged to avoid drawing attention, they dropped each group of passengers at the same mid-cliff underground waterway exit we had used when escaping the capital.

Since the majority of us were demi-human races classified as monsters, entering through the capital’s main gate would have meant being stopped by the guards. As a result, we had no choice but to enter via the underground waterways.

Our group consisted of me, Ririka, Natsumi, four Erikas, Shogo, Dias, Queen Tilda, Count Godart, and the captain of the guard. For some reason, Fina and Neil from Tarya Village were with us as well. There was also a robot, an elf, a cat-eared person, and an orc look-alike—fifteen people who were technically categorized as human.

There were twenty-two succubi, led by Scarlet and Sapphire.

Ten orcs and goblins, including Gomuro and Zaza.

By a strange coincidence, there were exactly forty-seven of us—the same number as the Forty-Seven Ronin.

Shogo, cloaked in black, walked at the front alongside Queen Tilda, keeping watch for any monster encounters. Behind them stretched a line of nearly fifty people, all hidden beneath black cloaks—succubi, goblins, and orcs alike—shuffling forward in a long procession.

We reached the exit leading into the city without incident.

"Everyone, are you ready? We will take back this royal capital from Yuta Mama’s grasp and free Larentia from oppression! This is a battle—one without weapons or magic! The future of this country rests on your shoulders!"

"Of course, nya! Operation Super Cute, commence, nya!"

The loli queen was being needlessly overdramatic. Honestly, considering the state the kingdom was in, much of the blame lay with her to begin with. Ririka, meanwhile, was fired up for no clear reason, and the ridiculous operation name she had come up with redundantly included both “operation” and “plan.”

Even as my anxiety grew over the plan—which had seemed workable when I first conceived it—I half gave up and shouted, "Yeah!" along with everyone else.

Shogo kicked up his leg and smashed through the reinforced gate of the underground waterway with a brutal heel-drop-like strike. We surged into the city, tearing off the black cloaks we had worn while moving.

"We are—! We want to wear cute clothes, nyaaa!"

"We want to wear cuuute clothes!!"

"We are—! We want the freedom to go adventuring, nyaaa!"

"We want the freedom to seduce men!!"

"We are—! We strongly protest the government’s tyranny, nyaaa!"

"We want to openly do pervy things!!"

At the very front, Queen Tilda led the way, dressed in a golden, outrageously indecent maid outfit. Just behind her, Ririka raised her voice in a pink, glittery maid outfit that somehow managed to be even more indecent than usual. The succubi followed in maid outfits of every imaginable color, shouting whatever demands came to mind as they marched.

"Down with expression censorship! What’s wrong with a cute boy wearing cute clothes, damn it!"

"That’s right! Men should be allowed to show off however they like!"

Natsumi—an elf, male both physically and mentally, dressed in a light-blue indecent maid outfit—and Dias, barely clothed in nothing but jet-black boomerang briefs that left his dark skin fully exposed, shouted along in a half-desperate chorus.

The women wore maid outfits in various colors that Ririka had stored in her item box, while the men had been reduced to nothing but Dias’s boomerang briefs. The result was an utterly deranged spectacle.

Behind Dias, Shogo—leaner than the fighting game character he was based on, but with tightly honed muscles—walked hunched over, clearly trying to hide himself.

That had to be rough.

Despite everything, I was genuinely glad to be in a female body right now.

I myself was wearing a bright yellow indecent maid outfit, with Erika in a white one clinging closely behind me, expressionlessly recording everything. Even so, this was still far better than being forced to wear nothing but boomerang briefs.

"We’re alive too, oink! We’re the same as humans, oink!"

"Goblins should be allowed to marry humans too, gob!"

"I want a succubus bride who’s even lewder than a human, oink!"

"Once you know what orcs are like, you can’t be satisfied with human men anymore!"

"I’d rather have a succubus who smiles and goes along with any perverted thing than a human woman who runs away after nagging me!"

The orcs and goblins—dressed the same way as the human men, in a frankly painful-to-look-at state—also raised their voices to assert their rights. Some of the humans were shouting questionable things as well, but I chose to pretend I hadn’t heard them.

As the insane, filthy Forty-Seven screamed their way through the streets, the capital’s residents began to gather at a distance, peeking out to see what was happening.

To be honest, if I were on the side of the authorities, I would want to crack down on a group like this immediately. But once the gears had started turning, there was no stopping them.

"Hear me, people of the royal capital! I am Tilda, queen of this nation! Those who drove me out and now rule from the heart of this country while oppressing you are the adventurer known as Yuta Mama and a handful of entrenched elites! Now is the time to rise up and free this royal capital, Larenzania—and all of Larentia!"

When the small girl at the front called out, the citizens looked at one another in confusion and suspicion. Being told that a child wearing an oversized maid outfit, with her golden underwear plainly visible and her chest wide open, was their queen was a lot to take in.

"Hmm…? Surely the people of the capital know what I look like… don’t they, Shogo?"

"Ah, well… I mean, given the outfit…"

"I like this outfit, you know? It suits me, does it not? Do not avert your eyes."

"Hey! You little brat! Don’t go flashing something so scrawny at Shogo-san!"

Shogo turned red and looked away as the loli queen pressed close, peering up at him, while Scarlet countered by hugging him from behind.

With the queen’s loose, indecent maid outfit, even a slight bend was enough to expose her flat chest from Shogo’s angle. At the same time, Scarlet’s red maid outfit was stretched to its limits, pressed tightly against Shogo’s muscular, exposed back and visibly deforming. Though he appeared to be mustering every ounce of willpower he had, Shogo—wearing nothing but red boomerang briefs—could only clench his teeth and stare up at the sky.

"Oh my, Scarlet, you really seem to have taken a liking to that big brother. But you shouldn’t be picky—you need to drain all kinds of vitality for your health, you know?"

"I can’t live without Shogo-san’s Hadoken anymore—I’ve been turned into that kind of body!"

Sapphire, a blue-haired succubus wearing a blue indecent maid outfit that looked on the verge of falling apart, teased Scarlet. Scarlet, however, remained firmly attached to Shogo.

With a sigh, Sapphire turned to me.

"Still, the people in town seem hesitant. Looks like we need one more push. Is it about time to start?"

"...Yeah. Seems like it."

When I listened closely, I could hear voices from the crowd that had been watching us from afar, slowly beginning to speak up.

"No, that really is Queen Tilda…!"

"Why is she dressed like that…? No, I believe her!"

"I—I can’t stand living like this anymore!"

"I lost my job at the temple because of the regulations!"

Seeing this, the loli queen smiled in satisfaction and raised her voice once more.

"Those who stand with us, follow! We march together to the palace!"

And once again, we paraded through the royal capital, this time heading straight for the palace.

"We’re players too! There’s no way we’re going to be bound by some ridiculous Adventurer Prohibition Law!"

"The moment adventurers stop adventuring, our business goes straight to hell!"

"So adventurers were forced to behave, and all that happened was the knights started abusing their authority instead!"

"What’s a guy like me—who doesn’t get any attention—supposed to live for if all the women in town are forced to dress like sacks!"

"Uh… the orc’s underwear… what even is that… wow…"

"Mommy… when I look at those big sisters, I feel kinda… kinda weird…"

As we drew closer to the palace, the number of residents following us swelled until it became an enormous procession, far too large to count. By the time we reached the plaza before the palace, the crowd had fully converged there.

I had expected that stirring up the pent-up frustration of the capital’s men—using the succubi’s charm abilities—would be enough. Instead, it seemed the people of the royal capital had already been on the verge of exploding even without relying on those powers.

"Hey! What do you think you’re doing!? Beyond this point lies the sacred royal palace! Don’t you dare approach dressed like that!"

Guards and knights stepped forward to block our path as we entered the plaza. However, when faced with the overwhelming numbers of a crowd that now included a large portion of the capital’s population, they clearly faltered.

"If this is a sacred royal palace, then I am its rightful master! Stand aside!"

At the loli queen’s sharp command, the soldiers retreated another step. Then, one knight stepped forward from among them and drew his sword.

It was the same man who had attacked us in the underground waterways.

"Th-there’s no way Her Majesty would appear in such vulgar attire! You impostors who dare masquerade as the queen—I’ll strike you down!"

The way he doubled down—like a stock villain from an old period drama—almost made me laugh. Still, letting him cause a scene here would be a serious problem.

I stepped forward toward the knight.

"W-who are you!? You’re one of those adventurers from before!"

Just as the knight raised his sword, I dramatically threw myself to the ground.

"Eek! This knight just tried to assault me! I was only trying to talk things out peacefully! And he tried to cut down a defenseless girl like me with his sword! We didn’t use violence—we were only protesting peacefully! Waaah! Waaah!"

"Wh—hey, I haven’t done anything yet!?"

The knight panicked and looked around. The gathered citizens immediately bristled with hostility, and even the fellow soldiers behind him stepped away, glaring at him with open contempt.

"You fool! Do you have any idea what would happen if a fight broke out in this crowd!? Sheathe your weapon and withdraw at once!"

Pressed by the queen’s authority, the knight’s arm went limp, his sword still in hand, and he froze in place. The other guards stood rooted as well, unable to move.

"...For someone who complained so much, you’re really enjoying yourself, nya."

"...Hey, it worked, didn’t it? I’ve always wanted to try that at least once…"

I turned my face away from Ririka’s exasperated stare and started walking again.

Led by us, the massive crowd passed straight through the immobilized guards, crossed the plaza before the palace, passed the large central fountain, and finally reached the main entrance of the palace itself.

The gates at the top of the stairs were tightly shut. Guards stood before them with spears, just as shaken as the ones behind us. At this point, however, all that remained was to drag Yuta Mama out.

Stopping at the foot of the stairs, the queen looked up at the palace and raised her voice.

"Can you see me now, Yuta Mama!? Can you see this enraged crowd!? You can no longer bind the people of Larenzania with your ideology! Your schemes end here! Accept it and come out at once!"

"That’s right! Bring out the person in charge!"

"Abolish the clothing restrictions and the Adventurer Prohibition Law!"

"Show yourself, coward!"

We joined the queen in shouting, and the gathered crowd followed suit, hurling their voices toward the palace gates.

Before long, the palace doors opened, and a single woman stepped out.

She wore a man’s shirt and vest with navy trousers, carried a round shield and a single-edged sword, and had blonde hair tied back behind her head.

"...Is that Yuta Mama?"

"No. That is someone else. I do not know her."

The girl descended the stairs and stopped in front of us, thrusting her sword forward as she shouted.

"N-no one is allowed past this point! Not even the queen! Everyone disperse immediately and leave this place! O-otherwise… I’ll remove you by force!"

Despite the severity of her warning, her face was twisted with anguish, on the verge of tears, and her voice trembled.

"Even if you say ‘by force,’ what can you possibly do alone? Stop this foolishness and bring Yuta Mama out at once."

Queen Tilda spoke calmly, but the girl shook her head with grim determination.

"I can’t! I-I challenge the strongest person here to a duel! If I win… then please disband!"

"Do not be ridiculous. What benefit would there be in dueling you? The outcome has already been decided."

"I-it’s not decided yet! I… I have to do this!"

"Sounds like she’s got her reasons."

Before anyone realized it, Shogo had stepped forward. As he walked, he tied his belt, now wearing his familiar white martial arts gi and red headband.

"If you’re prepared to stake everything on a duel, then as a martial artist, I can’t refuse!"