The Kingdom of Horn.
It was an agricultural country toward the east of the continent. It had
temperate weather and fertile farmland, causing it to develop a unique farming
culture. They rarely interacted with other nations.
Their fertile land was one of the main reasons for Yulong targeting them for
invasion.
Around a hundred years ago, Horn had additional territory to the north.
Unfortunately, it was all seized by Yulong's greedy hands.
Horn reacted quickly to the attack, closing off all diplomatic relations with the
Yulongese, and establishing a defensive pact with Felsen. For the following
hundred years, they continued to tend to their land in isolation.
It was nice to say that Horn was unique and pleasant, but isolation also meant
cultural stagnation. They didn't even incorporate any of Felsen's culture into
their own.
The previous king of Horn, Tonam Da Horn, understood the potential dangers
of this mindset. As did his son, Kamra Da Horn.
Horn would remain the same unless something changed. Prince Kamra raised
these concerns with his father. He asked that they become a more multicultural
society, that they incorporate more from the outside world.
Even though the king understood his son's plight, he did not approve of such
radical reformation. A wedge was driven between the two men, one that would
lead them to frequently argue. They were both stubborn men with steadfast
personalities, and thus neither side yielded.
But then, tragedy suddenly struck the royal bloodline.
The prince died in a tragic accident. One rainy day, he was stolen away at the
mere age of twenty-one... tumbling off a cliff with his horse-drawn carriage.
A massive funeral procession was held, and the entire country went into
mourning. But salt was to be added to the open wound... As the king himself
died only a week after the passing of his son.
Some said that the stress of his job coupled with the loss of his son did him in.
Others claimed it was the result of his declining physical health.
Another large funeral was held, and the country mourned yet again. They had
been battered and bruised on a national level, twice in such a short span of
time.
But the tragedies of the Horn Kingdom did not end here.
The prince was set to inherit the throne once the king died... But that son was
already dead. The standard procedure would then say that the prince's oneyear-old son, Kuoh Da Horn, would inherit the throne in his father's stead.
Of course, a baby couldn't reign as a world leader. That was why the people
expected Schwein Adante, the prime minister, to act as regent until the boy
came of age. After all, Schwein was the boy's maternal grandfather.
But Ganossa Da Horn, younger brother to the late king, raised an objection.
He stated that his brother had always intended to take the inheritance away
from the prince, and thus he was the rightful ruler of Horn. His statement came
with the accusation that Schwein was attempting to steal away power from the
royal family.
But the prime minister stated the king wished to mend the strained
relationship with his son, and refuted the idea that he would have appointed
the brother instead.
"So neither side backed down, creating a tense conflict between the two
opposing sides? The nation is on the brink of civil war, you say?"
"Indeed."
The king of Felsen nodded at the pope.
We were in Railmin, Horn's capital city. We'd traveled by carriage from
Felsen, and were traveling along toward Horn Castle. We could have traveled by
Ether Vehicle, but that would make us stand out too much in a place like Horn.
The carriage was at least comfortable. Her Holiness the Pope sat across from
me, next to the king of Felsen.
Yae and Sakura were sitting by my side. They'd agreed to come as my guards.
"Felsen wants to act as a mediator between the two groups. We're hoping
that we can use your power to determine who might be lying."
"Which means Felsen will work with the honest side?"
"Mhm. Our backing should stop a civil war breaking out."
That seems pretty fair to me... I don't exactly know why I'm here, though. I
don't have a role to play.
"Touya, I want you to keep an eye on any magic meddling. I doubt it'll
happen, but there could be those seeking to hurt the prime minister or the
king's brother. Your job is to notice what we might not see."
That definitely made sense. If Yulong's old intelligence unit was involved,
there could be a serious issue. They even tried suicide bombing me once, so
there was no guarantee of safety in any case.
I let out a small sigh as the carriage came to a halt. We'd arrived at the gate.
The castle was smaller than the ones in Belfast and Regulus, it was also pretty
plain in its decoration.
If I had to compare it to something, I'd compare it to Shuri Castle without any
red coloration and a little less splendor to it.
We continued through to the main compound in our carriage. The gates
weren't nearly as fanciful as the Shureimon, though.
The carriage ahead of us opened up, revealing the Felsen guardsmen within.
Similarly, the carriage behind us opened up for the Ramissh Templars. Both
groups walked toward our carriage.
One of the guard captains opened up our carriage door. The king of Felsen left
first, then the pope, and then me and my fiancees.
"I extend you a warm welcome to the Kingdom of Horn. It is a pleasure to
meet with all of you."
A man stood by the castle's main entrance. He was around thirty years old
and had brushed-back black hair. A pair of glasses rested against his nose. He
seemed like a regular civil servant, but he had hawk-like eyes. He wore
asymmetrical clothing native to Horn, as well as a sash over his shoulder.
"And you are?"
"Ah, I'm Tauren Hanoi. I'm the east sea marquis, one of the Four Grand
Marquis here in Horn. It's a pleasure."
"What are the Four Grand Marquis?" I'd never heard that term before, so I
voiced my curiosity.
"In Horn, there are four marquis with large amounts of territory. I govern over
the land bordering the east sea, hence my title."
Apparently, Horn had four large territories governed by the Four Grand
Marquis. There was the east sea marquis, the west forest marquis, the north
mountain marquis, and the south spring marquis.
It seemed that north and west supported the late king's younger brother,
while east and south supported the prime minister. It was a perfect split.
That meant the man in front of me was part of the prime minister's group.
Marquis Tauren... Or rather, the east sea marquis, guided us into the castle.
"I must admit I did not expect the grand duke of Brunhild and the eminent
pope of Ramissh to be joining us."
"I've always wanted to see the famous plains of Horn with my own eyes, as
has the Grand Duke. We're thankful to the king of Felsen for granting our
audacious request."
"Ah, I see. That makes sense, given that our nation hasn't interacted with any
foreigners other than Felsen... Personally, I'm of the opinion we should be
branching out more. I'm quite glad we have more witnesses present for the
meeting, in all honesty."
The east sea marquis smiled wryly. Hmm... So he's in favor of reformation.
Wonder if he has any preconceived ideas about what kind of people we are,
given that we come from foreign lands...
The marquis walked us along until we reached the conference room.
It was a luxurious room with lines of gold on the support pillars and walls. The
ceiling had an enormous dragon carved into it. The castle outside looked
extremely simple, so this was comparatively ornate. We sat at the north of the
square table, and our guards took their positions behind us.
The east sea marquis left the room to fetch the two representatives we'd be
meeting with. I felt a faint trace of magic power in the area, so I glanced around
and found the source.
"Hm..."
"Touya-dono, have you found a problem?"
Yae noticed what I was staring at.
"That dragon engraving up there. More specifically, the eye and the gemstone
it's clutching in its hand. They're both enchanted magical artifacts."
"Oh?"
"I don't think it's anything dangerous, though. Seems like one of the effects is
similar to [Silence], which prevents sound from leaving this room... There are
two other effects, I think. One's a magical barrier that blocks teleportation, and
the other's a simple protective shield spell."
The effects in this room would prevent anyone from teleporting in or out,
prevent sound from leaking out, and if anyone were attacked they'd be
instantly guarded by a shield. I didn't really know the power of the
enchantments, but they seemed like standard safety measures.
After a short while the doors opened up, and the two representatives entered
in unison.
None of them were above us in terms of social status, so we remained seated.
Yae and Sakura stood up to nod in acknowledgment, though.
We exchanged greetings after they sat down.
On our left was Prime Minister Schwein Adante with the east sea marquis.
Joining them was Nabyteo Schellmin, the south spring marquis.
Prime Minister Schwein was nearing his seventies, but he had a clear
determination in his eyes. The patches of white beard on his face, along with his
aging wrinkles and pointed nose gave him the look of a strong and determined
man. He seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't really laugh if you made a
joke.
The south spring marquis looked to be in his thirties. A chubby man with
sweat dripping down his brow. He kept nervously glancing around and wiping at
his forehead with his handkerchief... Whatever was up with him, the guy
seemed like a pushover.
To our right we had Ganossa Da Horn, the king's younger brother. He was
accompanied by North Mountain Marquis Hawkes Manius and West Forest
Marquis Seylia Swill.
If I recalled correctly, Ganossa was just about to turn forty. He was a very
well-built man with a lot of muscle, and his black mustache took a few years off
his actual age. All of that combined with his fierce glare made him seem more
like a warrior than a diplomat.
The north mountain marquis was an older man. He had to be in his sixties. He
didn't seem like the kind of man who said much, which added to the mysterious
air about him. He sort of reminded me of Naito. In short, he seemed like an
inattentive kind of guy.
Then there was Seylia, the west forest marquis. She was the only woman in
the group and had a luxurious head of brown hair.
She seemed like she was in her early twenties, which made her the youngest
of the lot. But the vibe she gave off was an authoritarian one that would make
anyone listen to her. I couldn't exactly tell at a glance, but she gave off the
impression of being an obstinate and uncompromising person. She was
beautiful, but likely the type who would intimidate men who might otherwise
be interested.
Each group had a small unit of guards with them as well.
Thus, we had our gathering of people...
Prime Minister Schwein.
East Sea Marquis Tauren.
South Spring Marquis Nabyteo.
The King's brother, Ganossa.
North Mountain Marquis Hawkes.
West Forest Marquis Seylia.
We were all gathered at the meeting that may have very well determined
Horn's future as a nation.
◇ ◇ ◇
"My brother disagreed with Prince Kamra. He was afraid that such radical
reform would shatter the foundations of our nation! That was why he promised
that I would be king instead of his son."
"You cannot possibly prove that he promised you such a thing. Perhaps you'd
have had a point if Prince Kamra were still alive to be stripped of his succession
rights, but as it stands we must follow procedure. That procedure states that
Kamra's son is the rightful heir."
"You mean to call me a liar, Prime Minister?"
"I did not say that. But it is true the king had a troubled relationship with his
son, and I will believe there was a possibility of him saying something reckless
when he was burdened with emotional baggage."
Ganossa and Schwein were constantly fighting each other on different points,
neither one willing to back down.
It was possible that the king might have said something like that when he was
drunk, or emotionally heated after arguing with his son, even if he didn't really
mean it.
The only issue here would be that if that was the case, then the younger
brother truly believed it to be the late king's will.
"I want to ask you something, Prime Minister. Is it true that on the day of my
brother's death, you argued with him?"
"...That is true, yes. What of it?"
"According to the castle workers, my brother had everyone clear out so you
two could discuss something important. Would you mind sharing the topic of
your discussion?"
Ganossa narrowed his eyes toward the prime minister, prompting the other
man to open his mouth in response.
"...We talked of his dead son's legacy. At the time of his death, Kamra still
believed that Horn needed to open itself up to the world. The king, however,
was still opposed to the idea... He was emotional, and we got into an argument
on the matter."
"Oh? Are you sure that was all? Are you sure he didn't talk to you about his
plan to give me the throne? You know, there were many strange things about
my brother's death, Prime Minister. Would you be able to shed some light on
any of that?"
"...I'm not entirely sure what you're implying."
Is he trying to suggest the prime minister killed the king? Why would he do
that? I can't even think of a good enough reason, but... Oh... Right. If the king
died, then the prime minister could have all the power as acting regent for his
grandson.
The two of them remained silent, eyes narrowed. Personally, I thought they
were both fishy. That was why I had brought the pope with me, though.
Not many people at all knew that she held the power to detect lies. Plus, Horn
was already isolated as it was, I had no doubts that it was a complete secret to
everyone in the room.
I quietly spoke to the pope by my side.
"Well? Who's lying?"
"Well..."
She frowned slightly.
"Neither of them are lying..."
"Huh? How does that work?"
"My mystic eye didn't react at all. Either they're both telling the truth, or they
legitimately believe themselves to be truthful... Though there's the possibility of
there being magical interference with my power."
When you considered that mystic eyes were basically a Null spell embedded
into the body, it stood to reason that they'd be able to be nullified. I
remembered that the prince of Gardio was wearing an item that inhibited his
own mystic eye.
I couldn't sense anything like that, though.
"You're the grandfather of Prince Kuoh, Prime Minister. If you became regent
in the boy's stead, you could exercise power to your heart's content. But of
course, with Lord Ganossa in your way, it poses a bit of an issue for you, doesn't
it?"
"What are you trying to say, North Mountain Marquis?" The east sea marquis
glared over at the man who'd spoken his thoughts.
"Oh, not much. But I must say that... on our way to the castle, Lord Ganossa's
carriage had a malfunction and lost a wheel. He almost suffered injuries, even.
Had it gone any worse, he may have died."
"Excuse me?"
The prime minister's faction voiced their concern.
"I thought perhaps it was a simple mishap due to the age of the carriage, but I
have to wonder... Prince Kamra died in a carriage accident, did he not? I wonder
if you'd know anything about that, Prime Minister."
"I know nothing of the sort. I'm baffled you'd even raise this subject with me."
"Whatever you say..."
The north mountain marquis grinned slightly as he trained his eyes on the
prime minister. I wondered if it really was an accident or not...
I turned to the pope once more, but she just gave me a small shrug of her
shoulders. There was no real reason I could think of for the prime minister to
kill prince Kamra. After all, that was his son-in-law.
"...Let's take a small recess for now."
The king of Felsen spoke up, and the other parties filed out of the room in
response. I leaned back and let out an irritated sigh. The mood was way too
tense for my liking... It was just glare after glare during the discussions.
The Horn maids, or who I assumed were maids despite their odd attire,
poured us all some tea. It was pretty nice and refreshing. Similar to Eashenese
tea, but slightly different. I looked over and saw Sakura munching on a cookie.
"It's good... Try some, Grand Duke."
"Oh? Sure... Mm... You're right."
"Mhm. We should bring some back..."
Sakura smiled softly. The tense air that had previously flooded the room
suddenly dissipated. I was glad to have something soothing after all of that
nonsense.
The king of Felsen grumbled quietly to himself as he sat with his arms folded.
"Grand Duke, what are your thoughts on what just happened?"
"I can't say. Both sides seem to believe what they're saying, but there's also
weird stuff that feels a bit off."
"Mmh... I feel as if we're just walking in circles."
"I'm sorry about this. It seems like I'm not much use here..."
"Now, now, your Holiness... This isn't your fault."
The king of Felsen reassured the pope. I was about to console her as well,
when...
"EEEEEEEEEKKK!"
We heard the sudden sound of a woman screaming from outside. There was a
soundproofing magical barrier around the room, but sound could still come in
from outside.
We charged out the door, then headed to the location the sound came from.
There was a large gathering of people down the hallway. They were crowded
around a pale-looking woman who was kneeling on the ground. She was
probably the one that had shrieked.
I flung open the door next to her and was met with the sight of a man facedown on the ground. A puddle of blood oozed on the carpet next to him, and I
got a little closer. It was none other than the south spring marquis, Nabyteo
Schellmin. He was dead.
◇ ◇ ◇
The meeting was put on pause, and we asked Prime Minister Schwein to
prevent anyone from leaving the premises.
The room showed no signs of a struggle. Given that there was a teacup on the
ground near the corpse, one could assume he was poisoned. This was also
driven in by the fact that the victim had blood around his mouth and chin. He'd
vomited up the blood that I'd seen on entry.
"[Search]: Toxic Substances."
My spell got a positive reaction from the liquid in front of me. I had suspected
as much.
The nearby table had a basic serving tray, along with a teapot and a porcelain
pourer.
"Who made this tea?"
"The prime minister asked that tea be delivered to everyone before the
meeting. The rooms don't have locks, so anyone could've entered while we
were busy."
The king of Felsen gave me a prompt answer. In other words, this could've
been done by anyone. Obviously, the people who had been in the meeting were
absolved directly for the time being, but they could've easily ordered a
subordinate to do the deed. That even included the prime minister.
What I found strange was the fact that guards had been posted outside his
door, so how could it be that they hadn't heard him collapse?
I pondered that before looking up and noticing a familiar dragon engraving on
the ceiling. That explained it. The room was soundproofed.
I decided to call Flora from the alchemy lab to run an analysis on the tea.
Finding out what kind of poison it was could give us a crucial clue.
"But why would someone wanna kill the south spring marquis? I don't wanna
sound rude, but he's not exactly the most important fella here."
The king of Felsen grumbled as he pondered. He raised a fair point. Perhaps it
was to intimidate someone, or to send a message.
"U-Uhm, actually..."
As we thought about the issues, a female servant timidly raised her hand.
"Th-This room was actually meant to be the prime minister's..."
"Huh?"
"The prime minister arranged a room with a window facing the south for the
south spring marquis, but the marquis insisted he take this room instead... He
said he preferred smaller spaces."
The servant pointed at another door down the hall as she spoke. Once she
pointed it out, I noticed that this room was north-facing, while the other guest
rooms faced the south.
"That means that the prime minister could have died, he could."
Everyone froze in shock after Yae spoke up. It was possible that the prime
minister was the intended target, but the sudden room switch meant the south
spring marquis died instead... I thought that was a sound explanation for the
time being. Though it was still possible the marquis had people after his life.
The faction that supported the king's brother would obviously look at the
prime minister and his allies as potential enemies, so it wouldn't be out of the
question for them to try and kill the south spring marquis... But if they could
pull that off, then they'd have been better off killing the prime minister himself.
The room was reasonably sized. It had a table, a couch, a closet, and a northfacing window. There was also a string by the door that rang a bell to summon
servants.
I checked the closet, but it was empty. I wasn't too surprised, since this was
more like a relaxation room than an actual place people would stay overnight.
I realized that I could probably bring the marquis back to life if I cast the
[Resurrection] spell on him...
It was high-tier magic that could only be used on fresh bodies. If you waited
more than an hour, it'd be impossible to bring the person back. It also
voraciously ate at one's magic and even risked the life of the caster.
Typically, the spell was only used by people who were really close to the
deceased, because the spell could potentially kill the person casting it.
It wasn't uncommon for the one casting it to die, and for the whole thing to
just fail entirely. There were barely any records of successful revival cases
throughout history. From what I understood, the success rate was lower than
twenty percent.
I figured I'd be able to handle it without any risks, but after asking Karen
about it, she told me that there was a risk of me overloading the target with too
much life energy. I could end up warping the person beyond recognition.
She had said, "If you refreeze a melted ice sculpture, it'll be ice again, but not
the sculpture... You know?"
"I pray mercy for his soul, for his spirit to find peace in the lands above. God
Almighty, please watch over him and grant him repose."
The pope spoke a small prayer for the deceased. The souls of the dead didn't
go toward the divine realm where gods lived. They ended up settling in the
heavenly realm just a little bit below.
Souls were purified in the heavenly realm before being incarnated into new
bodies, though souls with sufficient pollution could only reincarnate as
animals... Hopefully, this guy wasn't poor of heart.
I rifled through the dead man's pockets and belongings in a search for
possible clues.
There was nothing that really stood out to me. There was a pen, a pocket
watch, some tobacco leaves, and a little case with a tobacco compactor inside,
along with some matches and a pipe. That was everything.
I figured I'd ask Flora to investigate the body as well, just in case.
"Grand Duke, here..."
Sakura motioned for me to follow. I wondered what it was she wanted. I left
the room and went after her, Yae was there as well.
"Something up?"
"Sort of... Uhm... Sometimes I can hear better than usual."
"Huh?"
What does she mean by that?
"I can hear people talking from really far away sometimes... Karen said it was
because of your influence..."
"Huh, seriously?!"
"Sakura-dono... You have awakened a Touya skill thanks to his divinity, you
have. I am quite jealous, I am."
Yae seemed surprised by the sudden news.
Wait, huh? A Touya skill?! Don't go making up names!
"Do you not know, Touya-dono? Yumina-dono also awakened such a skill, she
did. With her visions."
"Yumina did? Oh... You mean that power she got after receiving my divine
protection?"
Those blessed by the grace of the gods ended up awakening to unique
powers. Yumina manifested a form of future sight in her eyes, though it only let
her see a few seconds ahead.
Seemed like Sakura's ears had been blessed. Given that she often sang to
Sousuke's musical accompaniment, and Suika would dance to their music as she
drank. It was possible that she'd received some of their grace too.
Yae often trained with Moroha, but so did Hilde... It was possible that their
progress was slowing due to sharing a secondary source.
"Um, well... I heard something falling in the room where the man died... It
was like... fwump... so I started focusing my hearing on the room..."
"Huh? But isn't the room soundproofed...? Oh, wait..."
Since their manifested powers were rooted in divinity, it made sense that
regular magic wouldn't be able to interfere with them. The fwump sound was
probably the guy falling over.
"And then... I only heard a little bit after that... But I heard latching sounds,
and then a window being opened..."
"Hold on... That's a little odd, isn't it?"
"Mhm... That's why I mentioned it..."
What does that mean, though? Assuming he died after falling, then there
shouldn't have been any other noises. Does that mean there was another person
in the room with him?
Or maybe the poison was slow-acting, and he moved around after feeling the
effects and falling down... But that doesn't sound right. If I wanted to kill
someone, I'd use a fast-acting poison.
"Are you sure you didn't mistake the rooms?"
"Yes... I can use [Teleport]... I know spatial locations..."
Oh, right. I guess I understand, since I can use [Teleport] too.
But there were still some confusing aspects to all of this. If the culprit was
using poison, then why would he bother being in the actual room? Unless of
course he just wanted to watch his victim die.
But if he wanted to do that, then he should've just stabbed him or something.
The south spring marquis wasn't exactly a physically able man, so it would've
been a lot more straightforward.
But if the culprit was in the room, then that completely threw out the idea
that the prime minister was the intended target. It would mean that the south
spring marquis was the guy who was supposed to die.
"Ugh..."
I scratched at my head and grumbled slightly, much like a certain famous
hakama-wearing detective. I don't understand this at all!
I walked back into the crime scene, and opened up the window. The window
opened to a contained courtyard full of trees. There was nobody out there.
"The window wasn't locked, so this is the only place a person could've
escaped to."
I hopped through the window. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any footprints. I
considered the culprit could've leaped toward the trees, but there's no way that
could've been the case. There were five meters between the window and the
nearest tree... I could've made the jump, but I couldn't imagine many others
being capable of that.
Elze, Yae, Hilde, Homura, and the other intelligence corps members probably
could, too...
"The ground here's soft, though. So why aren't there any footprints?"
So how did the culprit escape? Unless they had some kind of teleportation
magic... No, the room has an enchantment preventing that. It's possible they
could've flown away like me, though.
...Wait, all of this is lining up so the perfect culprit is me! I never thought about
that.
Pff... Obviously, that won't hold water. I have an alibi. I should stop messing
around and look for clues. I looked down and noticed something below the
window outside.
"...Wood shavings?"
There were a few two-centimeter long wood shavings. They'd probably come
from the window frame.
Just as I was pondering, Yae came running in.
"Touya-dono! There is a problem with the east sea marquis and the west
forest marquis, there is!"
I hurried after Yae to the meeting room and found the two people staring
each other down.
Prime Minister Schwein wasn't around, neither was Ganossa. But the north
mountain marquis was there, standing off to the side with crossed arms.
"I won't tolerate these accusations! Why would we want him dead?!"
"The culprit targeted the prime minister, not the south spring marquis. He
ended up dying in our prime minister's stead due to the last-minute room
change. Now tell me, who was it that considered the prime minister to be a
thorn in their sides, hm? Who?!"
"Why would we kill him?! That's utterly barbaric!"
"Well, perhaps you wouldn't have opted to, but what about the others on
your side?"
The north mountain marquis unfolded his arms in response to those words,
glaring over at the east sea marquis.
"...Well now. Are you perhaps referring to myself?"
"I know your type, old friend. You're the kind who'll take any method at hand
if it benefits him."
"Well, you're not entirely wrong. My northern mountains bordered Yulong, so
I've always had to act as harshly as possible, lest I risk my own life. Anyone
would be hardened by living so close to foreign danger, though I must thank the
grand duke of Brunhild for dismantling Yulong for me."
The north mountain marquis grinned in my direction. It seemed like he
misunderstood my intentions in dealing with Yulong.
"I didn't dismantle Yulong or anything, alright? They had a few chances to
rebuild, but they were too rotten from within. It's not like I had an active hand, I
just left them to their own devices and they died on their own."
"...Did you not destroy their capital city, Grand Duke?" The east sea marquis
probed at me with another misunderstanding.
"The Phrase did that, not me. The people of Yulong have been making
outlandish claims like I destroyed them, or that I brought the crystal invasion to
them... but that's all nonsense. If I hadn't intervened, then every last man,
woman, and child in Yulong would be dead right now. There wouldn't have
even been a country left to collapse."
"...I see. So really the people of Yulong owe you a debt of gratitude. Is that
what you're saying? I can't say I'm surprised by this knowledge, Grand Duke.
You're truly a commendable man."
The east sea marquis smiled and brought his hands together.
Hrm... That felt a little backhanded... He didn't seem this rude when he was
showing us into the area earlier on. Did he maybe have family in Yulong or
something?
"Well, Grand Duke. Have you perhaps figured out the culprit already?"
"No, I haven't... Right now, we can't even rule out that it was a suicide."
C'mon, man... Don't raise your expectations that high. We still don't have
enough to go off.
The east sea marquis cleaned off his glasses before turning to glare at the
west forest marquis once more.
"This may seem disrespectful to his memory, but it is better that the south
spring marquis died than the prime minister. Even with Prince Kuoh on our side,
if the prime minister was dead, we'd have lost our cause in an instant..."
"So you'll continue to assume we're to blame?"
"I'm not explicitly implicating you, of course. There may be others on your
side that did this without telling you."
The two were about to start another glaring match when Prime Minister
Schwein came back into the room, along with Ganossa.
"We've just got done explaining the situation to the south spring marquis'
men. Apologies, but we'll have everyone stay in the castle until this is dealt
with. Your rooms have been arranged."
"Lord Ganossa, is this okay?"
After the prime minister finished talking, the north mountain marquis turned
to his leader for reassurance. The royal castle was considered home turf for the
prime minister's group, so it was natural for them to be concerned.
"It's quite fine, we have nothing to hide. I'm certain this'll be dealt with
promptly."
Ganossa answered casually. He was either completely innocent or completely
confident there was no evidence to his crime.
We honestly didn't have anything to go off. It was possible that nobody here
was involved at all, and it was some kind of separate plot done without
permission.
"Well then, we'll show you to your quarters. I apologize for this mess, King
Felsen. We'll have guards take you to your room posthaste."
"Ah, before that... I'd like to have your attention for a moment."
Her Holiness the Ramissh Pope raised her hand. I wondered what she was
doing.
"With god as your witness, you must swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. Were you responsible for the death of the south
spring marquis, either directly or indirectly? Can you in good conscience say
that you had no involvement in the man's death?" Everyone answered the
same, that they were in no way related to his death.
The prime minister left the room, followed by the king's brother and the
marquis. After a short time, some soldiers came along to take us over to the
royal guest room.
I looked up at the ceiling and saw the dragon engraving again, which meant it
had the same enchantments. I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
"[Silence]."
I cast a secondary layer of soundproofing magic over the room, just in case.
That would mean there was no chance of anyone outside learning about this. If
someone was hiding in the room they'd still be able to hear it, but I couldn't
sense anyone else.
I turned to the pope.
"So, what are your findings? Did your mystic eye detect a liar?"
"It did, yes. One person told a lie in response to the question."
The question's terms had been so specific that anyone lying was involved with
the murder of the south spring marquis.
"Who was the liar, who was it?"
Yae asked the pope, and the older woman turned to answer.
"The liar was none other than East Sea Marquis Tauren Hanoi."
◇ ◇ ◇
"This is a poison called yuloneifred, you see. It is synthesized from the
yuloneisha plant... A rather potent one, you see. It resonates with a person's
internal mana source after making contact with the mouth and utterly
annihilates the internal organs, you see."
Flora had come by from the research laboratory and gave us her analysis of
the poison.
"And that plant you mentioned..."
"It mostly grows in the mountains of north Yulong... You can rarely find it in
Xenoahs, though..."
Sakura answered instead of Flora. She was certainly more knowledgeable
than I'd have expected.
"The poison has been used in Xenoahs before... It's a really nasty way to kill
people, so it's usually used to send a message..."
That made sense. Sakura was the overlord's daughter, so she'd have probably
been informed of those kinds of risks. Still, given that the plant was mostly
found in Yulong, I had definite reason to believe that those bastards were at it
again.
"Could the east sea marquis be an agent of Yulong, could he?"
"It's more likely he hired Yulongese assassins, I think."
Even if he was a scumbag, he was still one of the Four Grand Marquis of Horn.
It wasn't likely he'd be working on behalf of Yulong... If anything, he'd be the
one using them.
"Master. From the report I ran on the body, there's something else. There
were heavy traces of sleeping medication in his bloodstream, you see. It seems
like he was put to sleep first before being made to ingest the poison, you see."
"What?"
Why would they go to the trouble of doing that? As far as I get it, the
sequence of events was like... The meeting ended, the south spring marquis
asked to be put in the new room, he then fell asleep, he was poisoned after
falling asleep... And then he died. But that means someone would've been in his
room to administer the poison after putting him to sleep.
Was the culprit hiding in the closet and waiting for him to come back from the
meeting? But that wouldn't make much sense...
Oh, maybe... Maybe he was waiting in the closet for the prime minister, but
found the south spring marquis instead. So he put him to sleep, but killed him
afterward because his face had been seen... Or something?
"...I'm lost here."
This makes no sense. It'd be less convoluted just to use a knife. Why poison? Is
it a calling card, maybe?
"The culprit is already determined as the east sea marquis, it is. We should
simply have him confess, we should."
"That sounds like something out of a bad police mystery drama."
"I do not know what you mean, I do not."
I sighed quietly at Yae's puzzled expression. Obviously she wouldn't know, but
more importantly, I didn't know anything about this case. The fastest way
probably would be just to interrogate the guy...
But that method had its own slew of issues, too. We didn't have much
diplomatic clout with Horn, so suddenly accusing one of their top seats of
government would be brash of us.
If we had permission from the leader of the country it'd be one thing, but this
country didn't technically have a leader right now.
Not to mention the fact that the pope's mystic eye wasn't conclusive
evidence either. I certainly knew she wouldn't make anything up, but that didn't
make it admissible proof.
Ultimately, we needed to find hard proof. I left the room and saw the king of
Felsen walking down the hall.
"Ah, Grand Duke. There you are. I just got done speaking with Ganossa and
the prime minister. We'll be talking more about succession rights tomorrow, so
we're staying here tonight. What about you?"
He was basically asking if I was going to use my magic to warp home. It was
tempting, but I didn't want to run the risk of something happening while I was
away. Even though we had alibis and no real motives, the girls and I were
technically suspects as well... So we'd need to stick around.
"Where are the other marquis at?"
"They all have private homes in the capital, but obviously we won't let them
go back. They'll all be staying here tonight as well... And we'll be keeping a close
watch on that east sea marquis."
The king of Felsen murmured that last part. Bah, I still don't really know
anything. Why would the east sea marquis have the south spring marquis killed?
Maybe it's something completely unrelated to this issue and is just a personal
matter or something.
But still... the south spring marquis seemed like a harmless guy. He sure didn't
look like the kind of guy that would upset anyone, but I guess being a noble can
put you on certain shitlists just by virtue of being one.
Honestly, Yae's plan is starting to sound a little tempting. We could sneak into
the east sea marquis' room tonight, then have him confess to everything... Then
I could just wipe his memories. No... No, I need to save that as a last resort.
Ultimately, things were uncertain but still stable. So long as we didn't let the
guy get away, everything would be just fine.
◇ ◇ ◇
"...You gotta be kidding me."
"We let him get away, we did."
Yae and I sighed slightly, our mouths agape at the sudden sight. The east sea
marquis got away from us... He'd gone and escaped to the next life.
At our feet, evening sunset washing over him, was the corpse of the east sea
marquis. Obviously we weren't the perpetrators.
We'd been discussing our plans when the king of Felsen suddenly burst in to
give us the bad news.
Apparently the east sea marquis had closed himself off in his room about two
hours prior, saying he wanted to have some rest. A maid had entered the room
to see what he wanted for dinner, and it was then that the body was
discovered.
This was definitely not a suicide, either. He lay face-down by the side of his
bed, a scarf bound tightly around his neck.
"At least the method was simple this time, strangulation."
"Was he betrayed by the assassin he hired, was he?"
"That's definitely possible."
Hmm... That scarf doesn't look cheap... It's silky and smooth, definitely a
luxurious item. It also seems to have a coat of arms sewn into it.
Everyone gradually turned around and focused their gaze on a woman in the
room.
"West Forest Marquis... Why does this scarf bear your coat of arms?"
Prime Minister Schwein glared at the west forest marquis. Apparently the
coat of arms on the scarf was the Swill family crest.
The west forest marquis went pale, shaking her head from side to side.
"I-I... That scarf is indeed mine, but... I thought I had misplaced it yesterday, I
assure you! I have no reason to lie!"
"You were involved in an argument with the east sea marquis earlier, weren't
you?"
"Y-Yes, but I wouldn't kill him! And how could I have even made it past his
guards?!"
That was a fair point. Also, using a scarf with your family crest on it as the
murder weapon would be both incredibly brazen and incredibly stupid. Even if
she had done it, she'd have taken it back with her to hide the evidence.
Flora leaned in and used a few magical devices to scan the corpse. She had a
portable device that had been enchanted with the [Analyze] spell. It vaguely
resembled a certain item used by medical staff in a particular sci-fi TV drama
that was popular in the west.
Flora frowned slightly as she looked at the device's readings.
"What is it?"
"This is quite strange, you see." I asked Flora to elaborate.
Once she explained it to me, I agreed. That made no sense at all.
"Is the analyzer busted, maybe?"
Once I asked her this, Flora made a few manual confirmations on the body
itself, turning over limbs and checking key points of the body.
"The closer inspection matches the analyzer's results, you see... There's no
mistaking it."
"Then that means he was..."
Did they use magic, perhaps? Or maybe an artifact... If Flora's right, this
changes everything. But if the perpetrator is capable of magic like that, we can't
let him escape. Given that nobody's left the castle yet, he should still be here.
Welp... Guess we're gonna have to do what Yae suggested. The old-fashioned
bad police mystery drama method...
Well, I'm hardly what people would call a great detective, anyways. In the
end, this isn't a mystery drama. It's a story where bad guys get punched until
the plot moves along. In the end, there's no reason for me to hold back when it
comes to merciless assassins, anyway. Let's get this over with.
I channeled divinity through my eyes and triggered my divine sight, then I
glanced at everyone in the room. Prime Minister Schwein, Ganossa, West Forest
Marquis, North Mountain Marquis... It's not them. And obviously, it's not the
king of Felsen or the pope, either.
"G-Grand Duke? What is it?"
The pope, who was likely growing uneasy at the sudden silence, called out to
question my behavior.
"Sorry about that. Just checking something."
I smiled at the pope before heading outside and glancing over the nearby
staff. I gazed at the maids and the guardsmen who were either standing or
walking around. Then I saw who I was looking for, and made a beeline for him.
The man in front of me was the kind of generic guard you'd see in a video
game. He had short brown hair and didn't stand out in any way at all. He had a
soft, non-threatening face, and was clad in the armor of Horn. He had a
standard-issue sword about his waist, and a standard-issue spear in his right
hand. At a glance, he was just another castle guard.
"C-Can I help you?"
The guardsman forced an awkward smile as he glanced around. I smiled back
as I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Too bad, man."
"H-Huh?"
"[Gravity]."
"Gaugh!"
The man crumpled to the ground under the force of the additional weight I'd
pulsed into him. He couldn't move a muscle, but he stared up at me, eyes filled
with a mixture of malice and confusion.
"G-Grand Duke, what is the meaning of this?!"
The prime minister came running over in a panic. Obviously he'd be
concerned, given that one of Horn's castle guards had just been assaulted by
the leader of another nation.
"Don't worry, I'm just peeling back the skin on the snake in our midst. Give
me a moment."
I used [Storage] to bring out some metal wiring, which I used to firmly bind
his limbs. What I was about to do would remove the effects of [Gravity], so I
didn't want him getting away.
"Alrighty then... [Absorb]."
"Wh-What?!"
My spell sucked up any and all magic surrounding the soldier, immediately
undoing the [Gravity] spell I'd cast on him. But more importantly than that, it
decloaked the disguise that I'd already seen through with my divine sight.
His appearance shifted almost instantly. His brown hair lengthened and
turned a dark black. His plain face morphed into one with narrow, foxlike eyes.
His rounded features vanished, replaced by a stubbled, sharp chin. He no longer
resembled a young man, but an older well-built man. His muscles were
distinctly more visible as well.
"Wh-What in the world?"
Ganossa stared in absolute shock. The one on the ground was no longer
taking on the form of a harmless and surprised young man. He was now a
suspicious-looking fellow with furious eyes.
"Magic that lets you change how you look, huh. Not bad. Was it an artifact, or
perhaps a Null spell? Either way, it was perfect for undercover operations. You
almost had me fooled."
"...Bastard. How did you know?"
"The time of death didn't match up, you see."
Flora came over to give her response. She was right. It was all thanks to that
one piece of information that I managed to make it all come together.
"Magic in the body depletes after death, you see. The amount left in the body
we found suggested that he had died five or six hours ago, you see."
"Which means that the east sea marquis died around the same time as the
south spring marquis. Which got me to wondering... Just who was the east sea
marquis I spoke to? Who was the one that shut himself in his room? Obviously
that meant there was an imposter. One with a powerful magic disguise at his
disposal, too. Since nobody had yet left the castle, I assumed you were still
here, just disguised as someone else since they'd found the east sea marquis'
body... And then I found you."
"Grrgh!
Given that he was still sticking around, I could only assume it was to kill more
people. Otherwise, he would've just run away.
The man gritted his teeth and glared up at us. I could sense hatred in those
eyes of his, but it was a much deeper hate than just having been found out.
Clearly, he had a personal problem with me.
"I knew it. You're with Qulau, aren't you."
"What?!"
His frenzied glare turned to shock for a brief moment. I leaned down and
fished around inside the man's clothing before producing a black mask that
resembled the kind you'd find in Beijing opera. Just as I'd suspected, he was one
of them.
"Tell me, now. What are Yulong's former black ops squad doing in Horn? Are
you trying to kick off a civil war?"
"Heheheh... Qulau will always exist, no matter how you oppress us. I have no
words for you, murderer. Feel free to end my life right now, but this country is
already finished. We've made sure of that. Soon enough, Yulong's wrath will
come for you, and it w—"
"Yawn. Boring. Who gives a shit? Let's get your confession already.
[Hypnosis]."
"Gwuh?!"
I cast a spell that immediately rendered the assassin unconscious. He
definitely should've had some anti-magic charms or something. What a
dumbass.
Alright, mister spy. Time for you to let me prod around your brains.
◇ ◇ ◇
The assassin, who wasn't protected at all by any anti-magic countermeasures,
immediately became susceptible after I cast [Hypnosis]. I did realize a bit later
that had he worn anti-magic equipment, his disguise wouldn't have worked... so
that was just a risk he had opted to take.
Either way, we got the following information out of him:
The south spring marquis had been rendered unconscious and put in the
closet before the meeting.
The south spring marquis who had showed up at the beginning of the
conference was therefore the imposter in disguise.
When we took the break later on, he immediately asked the prime
minister to swap rooms, so that it would look like a failed attempt to kill the
prime minister.
After securing the room, he dragged the sleeping south spring marquis
out from the closet and used the poison to kill him, which made him puke
up blood. This also caused the sound that Sakura ended up hearing.
He escaped to the roof through the window afterward, using a rope and
hook to clamber upward. That was also what caused the wood shavings I
noticed.
From the rooftop, he made his way to the east sea marquis' room and
strangled the man to death with the scarf he'd stolen from the west forest
marquis. He then changed his appearance to that of the east sea marquis.
The magic he used was called [Mimicry]. It was a Null spell exclusive to him
that allowed him to copy the features of others.
This spell was completely different to my illusions, as it actually reformed his
body. Others wouldn't even be able to tell through physical contact that it
wasn't the real person there, and the vocal cords were also identically
mimicked.
There were a few drawbacks, though. You couldn't use the spell on anyone
smaller than you, which meant short people and children couldn't be mimicked.
The caster also had to make physical contact with the target, and the target
needed to be alive at the time of mimicry.
Also, the maximum duration for the spell was just six hours. Once the spell
wore off, the caster needed to touch the target again in order to assume their
form.
Regardless of its limitations, it was still an incredible spell.
He used this spell to disguise himself as the east sea marquis, deliberately
raising tensions between the prime minister's faction and the king's brother's
faction. After he retired to his room, he put the corpse of the east sea marquis
in a visible area and made his escape.
After that, he transformed into a regular guard, but I caught him. And that
was that. The real guard that he'd mimicked was found unconscious in a
cleaning closet elsewhere in the castle.
But the most disturbing thing I found on him... was a storage card.
The storage cards were items I had believed to be unique to the Reverse
World. They didn't freeze time for things kept inside them, but were useful for
transporting money, objects, and Gollems.
He'd been using that to store the corpse of the east sea marquis while he
mimicked the man. Apparently the south spring marquis was left unconscious in
the closet because the poison used to kill him was fast-acting, and the assassin
didn't want anyone suspecting he'd died too soon.
After all, unlike my [Storage], time would have still passed for the corpses in
the storage card.
When I asked where he found the card, it became clear that Qulau discovered
a lost refugee from the Reverse World, tortured him to death, and stole all of
his magical tools.
Either way, we'd solved who was behind the murders. Now we could all live
happily ever after... Well, maybe not quite. The interrogation revealed
something even worse.
"The spy infiltrated Horn well over a year ago. He's been seeking to cause
discord here the whole time. He's the one responsible for your conflict."
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
Prime Minister Schwein, along with Ganossa, looked taken aback. It was
already nearing dawn, and the two of them were clearly exhausted, but they
were still awake and attentive.
The Qulau agent confirmed that he had mimicked the late king, and used that
form to promise Ganossa succession rights. The goal was to then kill the king,
and have the king's brother conflict with the king's son. The ultimate goal was a
civil war. But the prince ended up dying in a completely random accident, which
nearly screwed up Qulau's plans. He considered abandoning that plan entirely,
but then Prime Minister Schwein began making preparations to have the late
king's grandson ascend to the throne. That was when the spy decided to carry
on with the plan and kill the king while making it look as though sickness
claimed him.
So instead of the original plan, which was the prince's faction being pitted
against the king's brother's faction, it instead became the prince's son's faction
being pitted against the king's brother's faction.
"S-So you're saying we've been played like a damn fiddle..."
Ganossa trembled gently as he sat down in a chair, shocked. Prime Minister
Schwein offered him a sympathetic nod before opening his mouth.
"What is their aim, here?"
"Hear me out here, but... if civil war broke out... Is there something the two of
you would end up using in combat?"
The two of them looked at me in shock. They hadn't expected me to know
about it, but I did. Slowly, they glanced at each other before I opened my mouth
again.
"You have a Steel Battalion here, don't you."
The two men flinched at the mention. The Steel Battalion was the name given
to a platoon of Steel Soldiers invented by Bowman, a scientist from Roadmare.
It was more plagiarism than an invention, though, since the man just ripped off
the Frame Gears to the best of his abilities. He'd had backing from the secret
golden order, Gordian.
They were different from the dwarven-made Dverg in that the Steel Soldiers
were constructed entirely as weapons of war.
"You've been importing Steel Soldiers into your country, haven't you? Both
sides, right? You both received an offer from a mysterious third party to supply
you with Steel Soldiers that you could use to fight the enemy."
Both men remained silent. This all came back to the storage card I'd seen
earlier. The original owner, a drifter from the Reverse World, was killed by
Qulau... and his belongings were all conveniently stored within this card.
Including something that Qulau found extremely interesting... Gollems.
Based on the information I got out of the spy, the drifter from the Reverse
World was probably a high-clearance worker in a Gollem factory.
His storage card contained over three-thousand military Soldat Gollems, the
kind you'd find employed in places like Isengard.
A single person holding that many Gollems meant he had to be an important
guy in the sales or manufacturing sector. No single person could stand against
an army of that many, even if they were mass-produced models. The man was
probably delivering them to a customer when he was spirited away to Yulong's
territory.
But it got even worse. Remnants from Gordian had joined ranks with the
remnants of Qulau. Two groups that hated Brunhild the worst had joined forces
under one banner.
Qulau now had Steel Soldiers at its disposal, as well as thousands of Gollems.
Their plan was to sell hundreds of these things to both the prime minister and
the king's brother, marketing them as the thing that could win the civil conflict
if it came down to it.
Of course, their motivation wasn't financial at all.
Their plan was to wear down Horn using the civil war, and having Steel
Battalions fighting on both sides would devastate the national infrastructure.
The largest battles would be around the capital city, leaving the borders
relatively unmanned and unguarded. That included the territory to the north,
which was the territory governed by Ganossa and the north mountain
marquis... The territory bordering Yulong.
These new Steel Soldiers weren't quite the same as the old ones... They had
Gollem technology incorporated into them.
As the civil war in Horn kicked into full swing, a full Steel Battalion would start
invading the country from the north.
While that happened, the Steel Soldiers that were ostensibly serving the side
of the prime minister or the king's brother would begin to operate
autonomously as their Qulau programming set in. They would attack soldiers
belonging to Horn and conquer the land for Qulau, which would then allow
them to establish a new Yulong dynasty.
"That's how I think it would've gone, at least. Well, there are parts I can't say
for sure... But something to that effect."
It may have been rude to say out loud, but Horn was relatively less advanced
when it came to other nations. They were stagnant in their understanding of
magic and tech. They only used things that they knew worked for older
generations, and Qulau took full advantage of that gap in their knowledge.
To be honest, before they got their hands on Gollem tech, they were probably
planning on invading Horn anyway. They just would've done it more subtly, by
weakening the country through subterfuge and replacing people with their
own. Gradually, they would've had people from Qulau invade high positions of
power in Horn, in order to turn it into a Yulongese-controlled government over
time.
That was probably the initial plan before Gordian got involved. A gradual plan
based on slow encroachment. Before they knew it, the people of Horn would be
replaced... That was mostly conjecture on my part, but I could totally imagine
them doing that.
"Grand Duke... My elder brother, he... Was he really killed by their hand?"
Ganossa glared down at his feet. I could see his clenched fists shaking, the
whites of his knuckles plain as day.
The king of Felsen and the pope gave a curious glance my way. I figured it was
probably best to make things clear.
"...I have no doubt that's the case, yes. Producing real evidence would be
hard given how long ago it happened, but..."
I began projecting a video into the air in front of Ganossa and the prime
minister. I'd forcibly extracted memories from the spy using a combination of
[Hypnosis] and [Recall], and then projected them into the air with [Mirage].
The scene showed a servant in the castle of Horn mixing a tiny amount of
poison into the tea leaves that the king would have brewed daily. Obviously, the
servant was the spy himself.
The other servants, the ones that brewed the tea and then brought the tea to
the king, were innocent. The spy had simply disguised himself and
contaminated the leaves pre-brewing. The tea leaves were long gone, given
that it was over a year ago... so there was no way we had conclusive evidence.
"There's nothing else than this memory taken from the man's mind. I'll
understand if you think this is some parlor trick, but I assure you it isn't."
[Recall] wasn't exactly a well-known spell, so I could understand why they
might be suspicious of me showing them something like that.
Suddenly, Ganossa stood up and began marching toward a nearby room, the
room holding the captured spy. He had a glint of fury in his eyes.
Oh crap! I chased after Ganossa and saw the spy laying bound on the carpet.
I'd also cast [Paralyze] on him to prevent him from biting off his tongue.
There were multiple guards posted inside the room, along with Yae and
Sakura. Ganossa ignored the shocked guards as he stomped into the room. He
reached to his waist, unsheathed his blade, and brought it swooshing down
toward the bound man.
"Grgh!"
Just before it could make contact with the man, the sword deflected off the
[Prison] I had cast around him.
"Why stop me from exacting vengeance?!"
"I don't really think he deserves to live, but I think you should consider how
he needs to die."
Ganossa might have been the king's brother, but he wasn't the king himself.
That meant he didn't really have the right to kill, even in retaliation for regicide.
At the very least something like that would require the consent of the prime
minister. He was also guilty of other crimes, not just the killing of the king. I
deactivated the [Prison] around the man.
"...You raise a valid point. We must have him executed in public, his crimes
exposed for all to see."
"Grh..."
Ganossa furrowed his brow as the prime minister spoke.
Even from a foreign standpoint, it was obvious that the people of Horn would
be wary of the government due to all the recent tension.
Revealing that it was all due to the machinations of an evil group would allow
the country to direct their hostility on a united front. Man, I just hope the
people don't take it as a half-assed excuse or something... Huh?
Even though the man was under the effects of my [Paralyze] spell, he was still
glaring harshly in my direction. Even though I could see hatred burning in his
gaze, I sensed a glimpse of self-satisfaction behind his face.
"[Recovery]."
I undid his paralysis. If he bit his tongue off while I was in the room, I'd just
use my magic to make him grow another back.
"Something on your mind, assassin?"
"Hehheheheh... Horn is done for, you fool. There's a contingency in place. If I
didn't report back in time, Qulau would begin its next move. A Steel Battalion of
three-thousand Steel Soldiers, along with three-thousand armor-fitted Wooden
Golems will be marching on this country from the north as we speak. The New
Yulong Dynasty will rise, with this ravaged nation as its first claim!"
"No way, I can't believe this!"
"Seriously?!"
Ganossa and Schwein cried out in a panic. That was definitely an intimidating
number... If the Steel Soldiers had been modified with Gollem-based tech, then
they wouldn't need as many pilots anymore. The Wooden Golems didn't even
need pilots to begin with, either.
If the total was six-thousand, then the number of controllers would be around
a fifth of half that amount... so roughly six-hundred. Just about a tenth.
I had no idea that the Wooden Golems would be making a comeback... They
probably created them based on information from Gordian... I had no doubt
that Yulong's territory had no shortage of submission collars.
"We can't just stand here! I'll head to the north immediately!"
Ganossa began storming out of the room, but he bumped into a soldier who
was himself running into the room.
"You whelp, what is your name?!"
"F-Forgive me sir, but I have an urgent warning! Several enormous metal
giants are destroying the capital city! We need an immediate response!"
"What?!"
Prime Minister Schwein stared in horror at the bowing soldier's words.
"Hehehehh... Ahahahaa! Too late, now! You should probably make a run for
it, fools. After all, you don't want to risk the life of your dearly departed prince's
son, do you?"
"Bastard!"
Ganossa charged toward the spy, gripping him by the collar and hoisting him
into the air. Even in the throes of the large man's grip, the Yulongese man's grin
remained steadfast.
"Horn was always meant to belong to Yulong. Felsen just happened to
interfere and prolong the inevitable. You imbecilic little dolts, too ignorant and
genetically inferior. You should have taken our heavenly emperor's generous
offer and agreed to submit. It's disgusting that lesser creatures like you get to
live in peace while we've lost our home..."
"So you did this because you were jealous? That's pathetic."
I grinned slightly, prompting the man to glare at me.
"Silence, impure filth! You're the one who destroyed our glorious homeland
to begin with! Have you never stopped to consider what you put those
innocents through?!"
"I already told you. The Phrase are what destroyed Yulong, not me. Cry me a
river."
"Silence! Did I not say to be silent! If you had obediently handed over your
mechanical weapons to our glorious Heavenly Emperor, then Yulong would
have survived! You scum, you insipid, arrogant filth! You alone condemned the
people of Yulong to the eternal flames!"
This guy... He's completely deranged. That's the issue when it comes to
dealing with drunk people or ignorant people, they're just incomprehensible at
times. Obviously not everyone in Yulong is like this, but it sure seems like a lot of
them are.
"You're only saying stuff that supports your narrative. What exactly is so
glorious about what you're doing now, huh? I wonder if there's a person from
Yulong out there right now, trying in earnest to bring his country back. What
would he think of your despicable methods, huh? All you do is take, take, take.
You can't talk about glorious dynasties or the good things you deserve, because
it's all nonsense. You act like petty thieves. You're nothing but a goddamn
parasite."
"You scum!"
"Guess Qulau was nothing more than a group of petty, jealous little losers.
You're disgusting. Let me tell you now, I'm not the one sullying the image of
Yulong. You are."
Yulong still existed as a region because neighboring countries didn't want to
become involved in Yulongese politics, and the people of Yulong were still
clinging on to ways to rebuild their country. If nobody was trying to reform the
country, the territory would've probably been split between Hannock, Xenoahs,
Roadmare, Felsen, and so on.
"I don't care about the pride of petty thieves, at the end of the day. Qulau is
going to be destroyed, and I'm the man for the job. Don't think I've just
forgotten that you guys tried to kill me and people that I care about. Run
search. Steel Soldiers in the Horn capital."
The map projected into the air and displayed several pins.
"Search complete. Thirty-one matches."
"That's not so bad. Yae. You good to go?"
"I can handle that, I can."
I turned to Yae, and she responded with an earnest smile. I was glad. If I
ended up calling in Reginleif, it might've caused collateral damage to the city.
Yae flung open the window and jumped out toward the courtyard. She raised
her left hand to the sky, almost capturing the rising sun in her grasp.
"Come to me, you will! Schwertleite!"
Yae's engagement ring began to shine, calling forth an enormous purple
samurai machine from the pocket dimension within. With a rumbling landing,
Yae's Frame Gear descended upon Horn's capital city.