Chapter 28: Date
Shuu, who had become the underworld organization Black Cat's executive member known as "Death God" under the name of Dark Lord Arclight, was currently enjoying sightseeing in the capital city of Alta with Iris.
"Shuu-san! That over there is the famous Parliament Hall!"
"It seems like the entire exterior is made of marble. Truly impressive."
"Let's go to the grand garden quickly!"
"Got it, got it."
Having obtained a large sum of money, Shuu now had some spare resources. As a result, he decided to take a break from being a "Death God" and go on a date with Iris. Along the way, they purchased some food, planning to eat it in the grand garden of the Parliament Hall.
This grand garden, operated by the Elise Republic, was incredibly vast and beautiful. Seasonal flowers bloomed abundantly, and there were well-maintained springs and fountains. Having a picnic here was a common pleasure for the common people in the capital city of Alta.
"There's quite a long line."
"It's a popular spot, after all."
"Great expectations."
Standing in the long queue, the two waited for their turn to enter. Even seeing the neatly lined-up people like this indicated the high civility of the Elise Republic. It was evidence of the country's overall prosperity. While there were instances of corruption by parliament members, it was fundamentally a good country.
In the Elise Republic, there were no nobles, and the citizens valued equality. In return, they had to govern the country themselves.
If governance were entrusted to nobles, ordinary people would only have to think about their own lives. However, in a republic, each and every person must be aware that they are managing the nation and take an interest in politics and the economy. But that is an idealistic notion. Naturally, many citizens of the Elise Republic lack interest in politics and the economy, and as a result, they may not notice the corruption among parliament members.
This is a particularly difficult aspect.
(I guess there are many assassination requests and investigation requests. The Black Cat must be very active.)
Corrupt parliament members skillfully manipulate things so as not to run afoul of the law. As a result, assassination became the primary means of forced retirement.
While it was undoubtedly a country with good public safety, it was unparalleled in the surrounding countries when it came to the assassination of important figures.
The previous "Death God" must have been quite active.
Unfortunately, they have already passed away.
"Shuu-san, it's almost our turn."
"Hmm, I see."
Lost in thought as he surveyed the surroundings, time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. It was soon their turn.
And when it was their turn, a woman at the entrance of the grand garden spoke up.
"Welcome. The entrance fee is 200 magi."
By the way, "Magi" is the unit of the common currency used in the Holy Kingdom of Grinia and its vassal states. Shu handed two bills of one hundred Magi each and passed through the area. It seemed that this was the amount for two people, equivalent to one hundred Magi per person.
By the way, with one hundred Magi, you can have a day's worth of meals.
The entrance fee can be considered a reasonable amount.
Of course, this entrance fee is used to maintain the large garden.
"Hurry up, Shu-san! The centerpiece is the fountain square in the middle of the garden!"
"Don't pull me..."
Led by the excited Iris, Shu went to the central part of the large garden. As expected of the main attraction, many people were heading towards that place.
Upon arrival, there were over a hundred people gathered there.
However, the central square felt spacious enough, despite the crowd.
"Wow... It's beautiful!"
"The fountain shoots up quite high. I wonder how they maintain that pressure... Ah, it must be a magical device."
"The flowers are also beautiful. They have a lovely fragrance!"
"There seem to be many birds and insects too. I see, they maintain an ecosystem-like state to reduce maintenance costs. They've thought it through more than I expected."
"...What are you contemplating, Shu-san? You should be more purely moved!"
"Oh, sorry. I got carried away."
Originally, monsters are beings that live on instinct. Their emotions are faint, and they tend to engage in contemplation before being moved.
More accurately, internal emotions such as love and friendship are weak, while external emotions such as anger and jealousy are strong.
Such are their characteristics.
That's why they couldn't be easily moved by simple emotions.
"There's an open spot over there."
"Is that true? Let's go quickly!"
The two hurriedly headed for the available spot. It was a place where grass grew lushly, with a perfect view of the fountain right in front. Many people were passing by, so they had to secure the spot quickly, or someone else would take it.
Fortunately, they managed to secure the spot. Iris spread the sheet she had bought along the way and placed the basket she was carrying on it. The food she had bought on the way was placed inside the basket.
Sitting down on the sheet without delay, Iris exclaimed in admiration.
"It's beautiful!"
Her eyes sparkled in a way that didn't match her twenty years of age.
Not that Shu particularly minded.
"I'm hungry, let's eat."
"Yes, indeed. Oh, how about feeding each other? I can provide a special service now!"
"Not necessary."
"So cold..."
While having such exchanges, the two—mainly Iris—enjoyed their date.
◆◆◆
A certain city located in the Elise Republic.
It was the closest city to the capital, Alta, when heading south, and it was known for its thriving commerce. Consequently, it was recognized as a city with economic affluence and many wealthy individuals.
However, where money gathers, criminals gather as well.
In this city, there existed a headquarters of a certain underground organization.
The dilapidated building near the slums served as the hideout for the underground organization, concealing itself by creating underground spaces. It had branches established in various locations and was known as a force with substantial financial resources and clientele.
However, at present, the underground organization was on the brink of collapse.
"Damn it! Why would a Holy Knight be in a place like this?"
The boss cursed as he ran through the emergency escape route. The Elise Republic was known as a place where underground organizations could operate easily, and the oversight by the Holy Knights was lax. Therefore, they had become complacent, which was a fact.
However, they had never let their guard down, and they had taken precautions to prevent their headquarters from being discovered.
They could never have expected to be attacked so easily.
"Boss! We're almost at the exit! Let's escape first!"
"I know. Remember this, you Holy Knights!"
The boss, accompanied by his six subordinates, emerged from the underground passage's escape route and reached the surface. It was a slum area where hardly anyone approached, and they had planned to escape the city with the help of their connections from here.
"Have you already contacted them?"
"For now, yes. But the attack was sudden, so the smugglers might be late. I'm sorry, boss, but I think we'll have to spend the night here."
"Damn it... It hurts not being able to anticipate the attack."
Normally, when the possibility of an attack arose, it was customary to contact the smugglers in advance. In case of emergency, they would rely on the smugglers' assistance to escape from the city's surveillance network.
However, this time it was sudden, and they were unprepared for the smugglers.
That was frustrating.
"The morning sun should arrive by tomorrow morning."
"In other words, the sun is our condition for victory. Are they mocking the underground organization, those bastards..."
Expressing his frustration, there was no point in shouting here.
The boss held himself back. His subordinates were also cautious of their surroundings, keeping a close eye on the boss's tense atmosphere.
However, it seems that it became the cause of their distraction.
The six subordinates failed to notice the approach of a certain individual.
"Just as the information indicated. So this was indeed the exit of the escape route."
"Wha...!?"
The surviving members of the dark organization, including the boss, trembled in fear.
Then, they all turned their gaze towards the source of the voice and saw a young man emerging from the darkness, making a clattering sound as he stepped on the ground.
He was dressed in a disdainful white attire and seemed to be wearing a smirk.
"Why is the Holy Knight here?"
"I have an excellent vice-captain who excels at gathering information. It's thanks to him."
In response to the Holy Knight's answer, one of the aides let out an inaudible voice.
That was only natural. This place was located beyond an underground escape route known only to a part of the organization. There was no need to worry about leaks from lower-ranking members. It was unimaginable how they had obtained information about this place.
They suspected that the Holy Knight had used his magical powers to do something, but once they started doubting, there would be no end to it.
"It doesn't matter! He's alone! Defeat him!"
The boss gave such an order. Rather than pondering over incomprehensible matters, it was more important to overcome the current crisis. Fortunately, their opponent was just one Holy Knight. On their side, there were six aides who possessed magical powers, and the boss himself could also use magic.
They believed they could win with these numbers.
"Die!"
"There's only one enemy. Protect the boss."
"Yes... Of course."
First, three of them attacked the Holy Knight. A man wielding a conventional sword-shaped magical weapon struck from the front, and the Holy Knight intercepted it with his deployed rapier. Normally, a rapier did not have the strength to parry a weapon. However, if magical power was infused into the magical weapon, it became possible.
The aide men were not surprised by this.
In fact, they had thought that a Holy Knight would be capable of such a feat.
"Too naive."
The attack from the front was a diversion.
The main attack was a thrust of a spear, delivered by slipping through from the side. By having the sword wielder become a shadow, they prevented the Holy Knight from realizing the moment the spear would be thrust. It was a good coordination.
Of course, this spear was also a magical weapon.
Furthermore, it was a spear that released poison from its tip. If it inflicted a wound, victory was assured.
They were confident that they had won with this.
However, they would soon realize how naive they were.
"Is that all?"
"You... fool..."
The thrust spear was stopped by the Holy Knight's left hand. It could be inferred that it was blocked by a magical barrier due to the pale blue magical light emanating from his left hand.
However, it was an unbelievable sight that the attacks from their magical weapons could be stopped by a simple magical barrier.
After all, in magical power, the denser one would prevail.
Therefore, a magical weapon, which was a condensed form of magical power, could not be blocked by a typical magical barrier. It was only possible if the magical weapon user was weak or if the magical barrier had high performance.
Naturally, the aides were excellent magical weapon users, so the only conceivable explanation was that the Holy Knight's magical power control and amount of magical power were monstrously exceptional.
"It's not bad. But..."
"You bastard, die!"
"...as I thought, too naive."
As a precaution, the third person who had been prepared attacked from behind. He was a user of substitution-type magical armor, and his hands transformed into weapons with freely extendable claws. With them, he intended to slash the Holy Knight's carotid artery.
However, his attack was once again repelled by a magical barrier.
"I'll have to seal away those dangerous weapons."
The Holy Knight said so, deflecting the thrusting spear and then swinging the rapier forcefully.
"Guah!"
"Ugh..."
The two men wielding the enchanted sword and spear were simultaneously blown away, and in the meantime, the Holy Knight thrust his rapier into the man who was behind them. The two blown-away men witnessed the sight of their fallen comrade.
"You beast!"
He attempted to prepare his enchanted sword again.
However, he noticed something odd. Without realizing when it happened, his magical armor had disappeared. Even though he didn't intend to deactivate it, the magical armor had vanished.
The spear-wielding user of magical armor seemed to be in the same situation, showing a bewildered expression.
"Why...?"
"We can't use our magical armor? Why?!"
They tried to reactivate it again, but not even the convergence of magical power occurred.
It had become completely incomprehensible.
While observing the panicked two, the Holy Knight withdrew his rapier and informed them.
"I had your magical armor sealed away. I'm not someone with that kind of ability."
"A magical armor killer...? Is such a power possible?"
The subordinates widened their eyes in astonishment at the Holy Knight.
However, the boss of the organization had a slight inkling. If the Holy Knight possessed the power to seal away enemy magical armor, a Holy Knight known as a magical armor killer, it wouldn't be possible for him to go unnoticed by the intelligence network.
"No... It can't be..."
The boss took a step back.
If his prediction was correct, they had no chance of winning against him.
There was truly an insurmountable gap between them.
"You... Holy Knight Celestar Altrein, the Sealer of Armor?!"
He was an awakened magical armor user, a true S-rank and one of the world's strongest.
The boss hoped that his prediction would turn out to be wrong.
But reality was never so forgiving.
"Oh? It seems even in this distant land, my name has become famous, hasn't it?"
"Th-That's the real one!"
"We stand no chance! It's futile!"
The subordinates who learned the truth distorted their faces in fear as well.
An awakened magical armor user was beyond standards. There was no possibility of achieving victory through miracles, coincidences, or good fortune. They were an existence that even the possibility of "if" was eradicated. As individuals who lived in the darkness, they knew that.
"That's how it is. Just surrender quietly."
Celestar, with the smile of a noble, readied his rapier once again.
It took hardly any time for the boss of the secret organization, Tsukihana-kusa, to be captured.