Originally, the easiest way to cross the bridge built on the Rhine border was to find a smuggling broker.

They would hand a decent bribe to the border guards, allowing them to come and go across the bridge blocking the river without any inspections.

If you handed over a pouch of silver coins to those brokers and asked for smuggling, you could safely pass the border by hiding in their cargo hold.

Of course, this was only a story for clients who were plain ol’ smugglers, so it wasn’t even a choice I could consider.

Why, you ask?

Because I’ve been a high-profile wanted criminal, with a bounty on my head exceeding ten gold coins for a while now.

It would be dozens of times more profitable for them to sell me to the border guards than to send me across for money. Why would those brokers choose the former?

Thus, I had no alternative. It was either find a way to cross the border with Friede or bust.

Therefore, the plan I devised to disguise ourselves as shipwrecked sailors was… at least, up until now, going quite smoothly.

Of course, the key moment of the plan is right now, so any problems here would render all smooth sailing up to this point meaningless.

So, let’s see…

I quietly hid my body under the surface and peered upwards, sharpening my senses to eavesdrop on the voices above the bridge.

◆◆

“Let’s see, there’s a boat, but… no people in sight. Did someone drown while night fishing? How many times is this…”

“You searched well. Seriously, those guys on boats think they have five lives or something. Even when you tell them it’s dangerous, they don’t listen.”

The guards on the bridge grumbled while shining their torches over the water’s surface.

It seemed they had encountered abandoned boats drifting this way more than once, making them thoroughly sick of the ordeal.

Their lackadaisical attitude was quite satisfactory.
If they were the type to rigorously follow military manuals, things would’ve gotten much trickier, but with this kind of laxity, I could rest easy.

“Well… we have to check it out. Hey, rookie! Go down and take a look. If there’s no problem, unchain it and let it drift.”

Three guards spotted our boat.

Two senior guards leaned casually against the railing, handing the torch they were holding to the last soldier standing at attention while pointing at the boat below.

Unless the boat had sunk completely or was breaking apart, they wanted to check quickly to prevent damage to the chain holding it.
Thus, the order was to scan it briefly, and if nothing looked wrong, just unchain it and let it pass.
In principle, they probably should report the situation in detail to their superior before receiving permission to unchain it and let the boat drift downstream, but…

‘That would be too much trouble. If they report to their superiors, they might get orders to search the area thoroughly.’
If they played by the rules, they wouldn’t be military.
Unless it was a serious situation, which it clearly wasn’t. Who would want a late-night search because of such a ‘trivial’ problem?
Ignoring small issues has always been the long-standing tradition of the military and the virtue of seasoned soldiers.

As I expected, upon discovering our boat, the guards were already thinking about letting it slip by, forgetting it altogether without causing any fuss.

“… Uh, am I really the only one going?”
The rookie soldier, perhaps still a bit green, hesitated, wondering if at least two people should go down according to the manual.

That was a valid point… but would it fly?

“Then damn it, do you think I should go down there at this hour? You clueless brat.”
“Word on the street is you’ve been making waves. If you fall into the river, you’ll be treated as a suicide or accident, you know? Better watch yourself if you don’t want to check the river’s temperature.”

As expected, two furious senior guards sealed the rookie’s lips with thick curses and threats at his bold rebuttal.

“…… Yes, I’m sorry. I will correct it.”
Having received the warning for speaking the truth, the rookie soldier bowed his head deep in apology.
He was probably cursing his seniors in his head. Why should he be in trouble for saying the right thing? I could tell without even looking.

◆◆

A moment later.
– Thud, thud.
The rookie soldier, frightened by the seniors’ threats, began to descend using the ladder installed at the back of the bridge.
The other two soldiers, losing all interest below, resumed chatting and lighting magic herbs among themselves.
… Well, whether in this world or the other, soldiers act the same. I’m just grateful for it.
So, now, the remaining issue was just the rookie soldier… let’s see how this will turn out.
Will he be rigidly detailed and thoroughly check the boat’s underside as per the manual, or will he half-heartedly glance over it like a slacker?
– Thud.
I hoped it would be the latter.
If by any chance, the rookie chose to diligently check the water beneath, I would have no choice but to disguise an accident and eliminate him.
Drown him or smash his head against the bridge’s edge and let it look like he slipped and died.
Not exactly a pleasant task. It could get messy later on.
“Haah… Those bastards. Pretending to be seniors…”
Here he comes.
I, along with Friede, hid in the shadow of the small boat, tensing up as the soldier with a torch approached.
Just in case I had to leap out like lightning if discovered.
“Let’s see….”
The light from the flickering torch seeped into the water, gently illuminating and spreading out.
I carefully distanced myself to avoid the light. Friede completely circled around to approach behind the soldier.
“Should I just escape on this boat…?”
The soldier quietly murmured, raising the torch to peek inside the boat.
… Escape? That would be a bit problematic for us.
Very problematic. If he confidently escaped, it would obviously lead to a pursuit team. Then we’d get caught.
“Haah…”
Fortunately, it seemed that the talk of escaping was merely a lament about his situation, as the rookie hung the torch on the bridge’s wall and lumbered towards the chains.
Phew, I guess I’m not discovered.
I let out a sigh of relief and signaled Friede to return to my side. As soon as those chains were released, we could quietly slip away.
Nodding, Friede swam back to the small boat, lightly wrapping her arms around my waist.
No, why is she hugging my side instead of holding onto the boat’s edge… Haah, whatever. Let’s just roll with it. This isn’t the time to nitpick.
A little while later.
– Clank, clank. Rattle…!
With a heavy metallic sound, one side of the chain blocking the boat was completely released and dangled down.
The small boat moved forward gradually with creaking friction. Friede and I kept close to the water, letting the current pull us along.
We gazed up at the soldier struggling to reconnect the heavy-looking chain.
He looked strained and somewhat in danger. No wonder the seniors didn’t want to come down. He looked slightly pitiable in his solitary struggle.
Well, it’s much better to go through a little hardship than to die.
In any case, we successfully snuck into the territory of the Kingdom of Rhine without a single sound.
It was half a gamble, yet it went so smoothly. Should I thank those laid-back soldiers?
“This can’t be happening…? Hilde’s plan working out this well…”
Even Friede was understandably puzzled, murmuring to herself in disbelief.
Yeah, it’s quite the surprise. Even I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly.
As you know, my luck hadn’t been that great lately, right?
It’s been a trend that anything I attempted would fall apart, and now it seems to go effortlessly without a hitch.
It felt as though some kind of divine fortune was favoring me.

◆◆

Divine fortune… Now that I think about it, it does sound a bit ridiculous.
When I chose to be an adventurer to avoid following the same path as Brunhilde in stories or games, everything I touched turned chaotic as if cursed.
Yet, now that I’ve decided to grow stronger like the original hero’s party, unexpected success seems to be falling into my lap.
It felt like everything in the world was urging me to live as Friede’s ally.
‘… Nah, probably just overthinking.’
I chuckled softly and shook my head. I was likely attributing too much significance to mere coincidences.