"Man," Garfiel muttered, "This is way easier than free climbing!"
Felt had quickly recognized that this was far too long a climb for her to make so she wound up clinging tightly to Garfiel 's back as he climbed the rope. Luckily, most of the plateau's sides were almost flat and Garfiel could essentially use the rope to walk up the side.
The slaves and mercenaries could be seen in the distance by the torches they carried, making their way back to the Shelf before the Iotuns would appear.
"Glad that you're feeling good, fleabag," Felt fought to keep her voice from shaking. Since she was hanging onto Garfiel's back, she needed to wrap her arms and legs tightly around his torso. She always felt as if she was only moments away from falling off.
"Yeah, without this rope, there's no way I could climb up this place. Not with my mana sealed like this," Garfiel confessed. "I'm glad that Koh managed to find us a strong rope."
"Garf, not to quibble, but any chance of picking up the pace?" Felt said. "I'd really like to be back inside the city before the bomb goes off and we're almost out of time."
"We're nearly there, shrimp," Garfiel said. "A few more minutes and we'll be-"
A sullen boom rang out across the desert, less of a thunderclap than an enormous cough.
The pair looked out across the dark desert as the dam burst and a wave of water fourteen feet high poured out.
The few slaves and mercenaries still within the dry lake bed scattered and ran for high ground.
The great wall of water surged forward as if deliberately aiming for the tunnels that the slaves had been digging.
The wave crashed against the wave but didn 't bounce off. Instead, millions of gallons of water surged deep into the tunnels, flooding them.
The water began to spread out, filling and overflowing the formerly dry lake bed.
Garfiel chuckled. "Mission accomplished, shrimp," He said.
"Yeah. Now let's hurry up and get someplace safe, fleabag! We need to establish our alibis!" Felt hissed.
"Working on it," Garfiel grunted. "We should be back in the city in twenty minutes or so."
Felt sighed. "This is not what I was hoping for," She said.
"Relax, shrimp," Garfiel scoffed as they slowly climbed their way up to the city. "This went perfectly. We're home free."
"Garf," Felt moaned. "Did any of those books that you read mention the concept of 'jinxed?'"
"Uh. No, I don't think so," He muttered as he finally reached the top level and started to pull them up. "What does it mean?"
Felt sighed. "It means 'tempting fate', fleabag. We-"
Felt stopped talking as they reached the city. Garfiel and Felt found themselves surrounded by dozens of mercenaries and guards. Colonel Brasca was there and beside her was a man with a smooth, bald head and several ugly scars across his face.
"Spies," Brasca said coldly.
"Not just spies, Colonel," Brendig said, his gaze pinning Felt to the ground. "Traitors and conspirators against the Dragon Kingdom. This is Subaru Natsuki's cut-purse, 'Felt' and his demi-human thug."
Brasca looked up at Brendig in shock. "General! What are they doing here? "
"I don't know," Brendig admitted. "But I know that if they're here then Subaru Natsuki isn't far away. And that means that we can bait a trap."
Anri could barely bring herself to focus as Montefort 's speech to signify the start of the conclave dragged on and on.
Did I really accomplish nothing here except to waste my own time? Anri wondered as the conclave began.
For one thing, I wasn 't expecting nearly so small a conference as this. This is beyond bare-bones. Each nation only sent a single representative!
With war threatening to erupt between three nations, you 'd think that there would be more delegates!
This means that I 'll have next to no opportunities to network and make inroads with dignitaries that might otherwise be convinced to normalize relations with Siros. With only one real delegate from each nation, that means that each of these representatives has larger concerns on their minds than relations with a small, northern province.
Lagunica sent Montefort alone to represent them, not even sending any assistants or advisers.
Under other circumstances, I might have taken that as a sign that the chaos the kingdom is dealing with right now is straining the assembly 's resources but I know better. I'm certain that Montefort's singleness is deliberate, an attempt by Montefort to ensure that all inroads to engage the kingdom in any form of diplomacy must go through him personally.
I 'm under no illusions that I can reach an accommodation with Montefort or appeal to his better nature. Montefort can be charming and even sympathetic when he chooses but I've gotten reports that he can shake your hand and then order you whipped half to death without changing expression.
Grandfather and his Shadows have warned me that Montefort is on edge right now. A whole lot of things went wrong for him all at once during Subaru 's trial and now his grip on the assembly and the kingdom is shaken. The Shadows warned me that he might resort to desperate action to shore up his support. They theorized that he was originally planning a campaign in Gusteko to drum up nationalistic fervor after Griest conquered Ganaks but Griest's failure to even reach Ganaks, followed by his capture, put a kink in that plan.
With no 'cowardly attack' from the north to avenge, none of the nobility has any appetite to mount an extended campaign in the freezing Gusteko mountains.
According to our Shadows, one of Montefort 's closest allies dismissed the idea of a war with Siros out of hand when Montefort brought it up. He apparently claimed that they could pour the wealth and youth of Lagunica into conquering Gusteko and gain nothing thereby. Lagunica just doesn't think that we have anything that they want. That means that we're probably off the target list. At least for right now.
That leaves Vollachia and Kararagi. Anri studied the Vollachian representative, General Canae. Although the only official Vollachian delegate, the general had come accompanied by ten red-robed 'wise men' to provide insight and advice on any of his decisions. The general was a grizzled old man with iron-gray hair and a hard, uncompromising face.
Vollachia probably wouldn 't be Montefort's first choice as a target. It has the strongest army on the continent and a small skirmish between the kingdoms has good odds of cascading into a general war whether either side wants it to or not.
That leaves only one target for Montefort 's plan…
Anri turned her attention to the Kararagi representative. Where the other kingdoms had sent subordinates of various ranks to represent them, Kararagi had sent their leader: Chaco 'el Guapo' Menendez, the Counsel-General of Kararagi.
Chaco must be here because Kararagi realizes that it 's in danger. They're probably attempting to head things off before they get out of hand and they're relying on Chaco's legendary charm to try and avoid trouble.
Anri had never met Chaco before but she had heard rumors of the demi-human 's unfathomable appeal and now that she had seen him with her own eyes, she was prepared to admit there was something to these rumors.
Chaco was a puppy demi-human. Only about a foot tall, his ashen blond hair was elaborately permed and he wore an immaculate green tailored suit.
Chaco had enormous blue eyes that took up much of his face and his expression was painfully earnest. The only overt sign of his demi-human heritage was his height and the fluffy tail that poofed out behind him.
Oh my God, Anri thought with an almost painful yearning. He looks like a living stuffed animal. I want to hug him!
"Princess," Montefort called.
Anri quickly snapped her attention back to the other delegates. "Yes, Grand Duke?" She replied politely.
"Are we expecting any more delegates from Gusteko or shall we get started?"
Anri barely swallowed a snort. "I'm afraid that the Holy Church does not confide in me about such matters," Anri said. "I have no idea if anyone else might be coming but I suspect that the answer is no. Our kingdom is, perhaps regrettably, more fixated on its internal troubles right now than on what's happening with our neighbors."
"I see," Montefort replied. "How unfortunate. Regardless, let us get down to business."
"Subaru, are you sure about this?" Emilia whispered for at least the third time as Subaru carefully tied himself into the remains of the balloon.
"It's OK, Mili," Subaru said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "This will work. We cut off the basket and ripped open the balloon so it's a big flat shape. That way it should catch the air as we fall and make us drop slowly and safely."
"But what about the holes in it!" Emilia reminded him.
Subaru frowned. He 'd been trying to avoid thinking of that. "Air pressure will hold the top vent closed. The holes that Virgil made aren't that big and they're way off to the sides. Maybe that will even give us a smoother ride down!"
Emilia looked at him skeptically.
Subaru finished tying himself to the 'parachute' and noticed Emilia's face. "I'm serious," He said calmly. "If the balloon was still intact and we tried this-"
"We'd be extremely silly since we would have a much safer way to get down," Emilia murmured, her face white.
Subaru paused and nodded. "My point is that when we fall, the air normally only has one way to get out of the… err, 'bag' of air that we're making. It has to get pushed to the edges and that slows our descent."
"Isn't that what we want?" Emilia asked.
"Sure! But giving the air a few easier ways to escape the chute rather than going all out to the edge should give us a smoother fall with only a slight change in drag," He said calmly.
Oh, God. Please tell me I 'm right about this! I just don't want Emilia to panic and we have absolutely no way to fix the rips in the balloon! So I have no choice but to try to put a positive spin on this. If we're going to sit up here and wait for a rescue, my instincts tell me we'd be waiting for a very long time and we don 't have a long time to waste. We've already been up here much longer than I intended.
I used Reason and Judgment to check everything I know about physics and I think those holes will be OK.
"You ready, Mili?" Subaru asked.
Emilia sighed. "No, not really," But she stepped closer to Subaru and put her arms around him.
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "You want to jump like this?"
"I'd rather be looking at you than the ground," Emilia said bluntly.
Subaru nodded and then tied Emilia to him as tight as he could. He noticed that Emilia 's expression looked suspiciously like she felt she was being strapped to an anchor.
Then they tried to walk together to the very edge of the island. This proved difficult so Subaru just picked up Emilia and walked the distance.
Emilia swallowed hard. "So… now we just jump?"
"One second," Subaru said, looking over the edge to the ground thousands of feet below. Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment and scanned the area.
"Subaru, what are you doing?" Emilia asked nervously after he'd left the frozen moment.
"I was just taking a quick look at the area," He said. "I want to have a good idea where to look for the Book."
Emilia nodded vigorously. "Right. The Book. Because we're going to survive and get the Book," She said as if frantically trying to convince herself that it was true.
Subaru glanced behind him and looked at their impromptu rigging. "Mili, double-check for me. Do the lines all look straight and the balloon is all spread out?"
Emilia glanced at it quickly and nodded before pressing her forehead into Subaru 's shoulder and closing her eyes.
Subaru stepped to the very edge of the island.
Does this go down in history as the dumbest thing that I 've ever done?
Or does trying to fight Regulus still take that prize?
Subaru thought for a moment. "I love you, Emilia," He said simply.
Emilia took a deep breath. "I love you too, Subaru," She said in a small voice. "…Are we saying goodbye?" She whispered.
Subaru forced a chuckle. "Nah. I just like telling you that." He paused. "Three, two, one, Geronimo!" He shouted as he leaped off the island holding Emilia tight in his arms.
Subaru and Emilia screamed in harmony as the wind raced past them and they plummeted like stones to the earth below.
This was insane! What was I thinking?! Subaru thought in terror. There 's no way that this is going to work! Emilia and I are about to become pancakes and-
The parachute lurched in a jolt that made Subaru feel like his stomach had kept going without him.
As if by a miracle, the ropes held together and Subaru and Emilia found themselves drifting slowly through the air.
This did not stop their screaming.
Finally, the pair were simply out of breath and they clung to each other tightly as they floated through the calm air.
"Subaru!" Emilia squeaked, her eyes shining. "It worked! This crazy invention worked!"
Subaru nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I don't know how much luck we used up today but lets not do any more gambling the next few decades."
Emilia gave a tiny laugh. She looked down, flinched, and then looked at him again. "Subaru, how long do you think it will take us to reach the ground?" She asked in a small voice.
"Uh," Subaru muttered. He briefly triggered Reason and Judgment. "About… seven minutes," He estimated.
"Oh," Emilia murmured. "I was kind of hoping we wouldn't be up here so long."
Subaru laughed. "Mili, it can take as long as it wants! The slower we fall, the safer I'll feel!"
"True," She admitted. "Subaru, I see a small lake over there. Should we aim to land in that?"
Subaru snickered. "Mili, you give me way too much credit. I don 't think that I could steer this thing if my life depended on it."
"Oh," Emilia said surveying the land. "The world is actually beautiful from up here! Even this desert wasteland looks kind of nice."
Subaru saw a small flash of green light zip by.
"Subaru," She said sharply. "The nebulae are back!"
Subaru looked around and saw at least a dozen of the floating blue-green lights hovering around them. They darted around the pair, seemingly both intrigued and offended by their presence.
"Subaru, they don't like us being here!" She warned.
Subaru didn 't need the hint. The air around them was growing colder and the wind was picking up, jostling the parachute as the spirits' irritation built inexorably into a spiteful rage.
A storm blew up out of nowhere. The parachute shook violently and Subaru and Emilia clung together. In desperation, Subaru screamed out: " Pridebreaker! "
The storm blew itself out almost as fast as it emerged. A ring of glowing balls formed around the parachute, pacing it as it fell. Subaru felt a host of new voices in his mind, all proclaiming their undying devotion.
Emilia gave the spirits an uncertain look and then shook her head. "I'll never get used to that," She said. "The way the spirits abruptly change their feelings toward you…"
"Yeah, I'm not too used to it either," Subaru admitted.
The parachute suddenly jerked.
Subaru and Emilia both looked up in shock. One of the small holes in the parachute was expanding.
The Nebulae must have ripped something when they kicked up that storm! Subaru thought in horror.
They started to fall faster and faster.
"Subaru! Do something!" Emilia screamed in desperation.
Subaru 's mind went blank. "Like what?!" He screamed back.
Emilia hesitated for a split second. "Use the nebulae ! " She shouted.
"What?! Remember last time?"
"Just do it!" Emilia screeched.
Subaru shut his eyes. Blow a powerful wind into the chute! He ordered. As strong as you can!
Subaru wasn 't certain if the spirits even understood but a moment later Subaru and Emilia were buffeted by powerful winds blowing every which way.
Right! Winds don 't usually blow straight up! Subaru thought in despair.
The spirits reached out to Subaru in concern. They sensed his distress but they couldn 't understand its cause and wondered if they could help.
Blow a powerful wind down and slow our fall! Subaru shouted into his mind.
Subaru sensed that the concept of 'fall' was a difficult one for the spirits to grasp but they obliged. A moment later, the shrieking sound of their fall vanished and the sensation of the air rushing by their faces disappeared.
Emilia opened her eyes with a wide smile that vanished as soon as she looked at Subaru 's white face. She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were still falling like a rock.
That wind blowing down all around us means the air near the chute is falling at the same speed as us! Subaru realized. It makes the fall silent but it isn 't slowing us down at all!
"Subaru!" Emilia screamed, her voice piercingly loud in the unnatural stillness.
Think! Think as fast as you 've ever thought in your life! Subaru looked around desperately for something new to try.
The spirits silently asked Subaru if he was satisfied with their work and wordlessly suggested that a bit of praise would not be unwelcome.
Subaru looked up at the steadily widening holes in the parachute.
In desperation, he shouted: "Stop the air from going through those holes!"
The parachute jerked as if it had just reopened and suddenly Subaru and Emilia were drifting slowly again.
Emilia was panting for breath. "I really want to get down now, please," She whispered plaintively.
"You and me both," Subaru gasped, his voice hoarse from all the screaming.
Subaru looked up at the parachute above them. The now sizable holes in the material rippled but thanks to whatever the spirits had done, there was no sign that any air at all was able to escape through the holes.
Subaru sensed the spirits ' confusion. Whatever this game was, they didn't think that they understood it. Still, if it was for the one that they adored above all others, they were willing to accommodate him.
"Mili, look," He whispered.
Emilia shook her head against his shoulder. "I really don 't want to, Subaru."
"No, Mili. Look!" He urged.
Emilia sighed and turned her head.
Her eyes widened as the land drifted slowly toward them.
"We're almost down!" Subaru whispered.
Emilia nodded slowly. "How long-"
"A minute or two," Subaru answered. "I just hope these spirits don't get bored of playing this game…"
Emilia gave a weak chuckle. "Subaru. Right now, these nebulae would stay with your forever if you let them. How long does Pridebreaker last? "
Subaru shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had any reason to test how long I can sustain it. I'm planning to cut them loose once we're on the ground anyway."
Emilia made a face. "Maybe… send them away first. These Nebulae are awfully temperamental. I don't want them to decide to attack us."
Subaru frowned. "What's stopping them from just coming after us once I free them no matter where they are?"
Emilia shook her head. "Lesser spirits have short memories and weak personalities. Out of sight is out of mind to them."
Subaru nodded slowly. "Good way to put it," He mused.
Emilia looked down and stiffened. "The ground is coming up awfully fast!"
Subaru shook his head. "Not that fast. We'll be fine, I think." He thought for a minute. "Mili, can you wrap your legs around me?"
"Why?"
"Because we want to bend our knees when we land," Subaru explained, "And the way we're tied together, our legs bend in opposite directions."
Emilia stared at him. "Then why did we do it this way?!" She demanded.
Subaru looked affronted. "Excuse me! It's not like I'm an expert on this! I've never done it before! And frankly, for someone who's just winging it, I think that I'm doing a hell of a job!"
Emilia sighed. "OK, OK!" She shouted as she pulled her legs up, wrapping them around Subaru.
Subaru chuckled. "You know in other circumstances, this could feel pretty nice!"
Emilia glowered at him. "Subaru, I love you with all my heart. But when we're safely back on the ground, please remind me to slap you."
Subaru laughed. "Yeah, I think I won't do that." The ground rushed up at them. Subaru swallowed hard. "Hang on!"
Subaru landed feet first on the dry dusty ground and he deliberately relaxed his legs so that he collapsed and landed on his side.
Subaru and Emilia lay there for a long moment, breathing heavily.
"Oh Gods," Emilia whispered. "I feel like I could kiss this dirt."
"You could," Subaru admitted. "But you could also kiss me and, trust me, I'll appreciate it a lot more than the ground would."
Emilia chuckled and their lips met.
Brendig sat at Sonas 's dining table, nursing a goblet of wine while Sonas nibbled on a muffin. He ate the muffin top and then set the stump aside before taking another muffin.
Colonel Brasca and Captain Smite each stood at attention by the door, both doing their best not to look at one another.
Sonas was lost in thought.
This situation is dire, Sonas mused. The endless night has literally become eternal now. I can assume from this that Subaru Natsuki failed in his mission.
I originally assumed that he had died in the attempt but Bran informs me that a person was just seen slowly falling from the island. I know precisely who that must be.
So he survived but he still failed.
This leaves me in the extremely dubious position of needing to host Brendig for the foreseeable future. Without Brendig 's army, I have no hope of resisting a determined attack by the Iotuns.
Not that it really matters. With the endless night around Girali, no one will dare come here to trade. That means that we 'll run out of food in just a few weeks! Nothing can grow around Girali.
All that we 'll be able to find to eat are mabeasts. And mabeast meat is enough to turn a rodent sick.
Unless we can find a way to drive back the eternal night or deal with the Iotuns, we 'll need to evacuate…
Sonas shuddered. Ugh! What a horrible thought! The thought of how much wealth I 'd lose per day if the slaves stop gathering pyroxene is enough to make me nauseous!
No. I won 't abandon Girali. But what can I do? My only plan was to destroy the beam. Since that didn't solve the problem then my only other option is that talisman that Bran read about in the keep archives.
"Subaru Natsuki is here, Sonas," Brendig grated, startling Sonas out of his reverie. "And there's only one possible reason why he would be here."
"And what is that, General?" Sonas asked calmly.
"To prevent me from completing my mission," Brendig scowled. "And now it looks like he's succeeded."
Sonas shrugged. "That's a tough break, General," He said. "But at least the deal for amnesty is settled so you and all your men can leave the city safely. We'll need to plan our evacuation if we can't lift the eternal night. We'll run out of food in short order."
"I'm not going back in disgrace!" Brendig snapped. "No… I am not doing that," He rumbled. "We'll start over from scratch if necessary."
Sonas 's face grew shadowed. "General, that is weeks of work, " He reminded him. "And you've already taken the world leaders right up to the edge of their patience with this stunt. I'm doing everything that I can to ensure a bloodless transition but if we miss the agreed-upon date for your forces to evacuate Girali, things are likely to get violent. Even if you can negotiate an extension, where will your food come from? What merchant would be willing to ship food through Iotun-infested territory? "
Brendig waved his hand. "We'll simply change the trade agreements," Brendig said carelessly. "Instead of gold, we'll trade the pyroxene crystals for food."
"Excuse me?" Sonas hissed.
Brendig ignored him. "Trading food for pyroxene is a chance for once-in-a-lifetime profit for any merchant. That will ensure that desperate merchants will come this way, determined to make their fortune. We'll be inundated with food and we'll have plenty of time to reopen the catacombs."
"Then you intend for my fortune to feed your men," Sonas whispered, his eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea how much money I stand to lose on each transaction that you just described?"
Brendig turned and stared at Sonas. His face was expressionless but a chill ran down Sonas 's spine.
"Understand me, Tolian Sonas," Brendig whispered. "My mission here is a matter of dire urgency for the entire world. I would personally slaughter every man, woman, and child in Girali to ensure that I succeed."
Sonas swallowed hard.
"But before I do anything else," Brendig continued. "I must find Subaru Natsuki. If I don't deal with him promptly, he'll simply keep sabotaging our efforts. Luckily, now that we have two of us flunkies, perhaps we can bait a trap. I must complete my mission at all costs."
"What is your mission?" Sonas asked, narrowing his eyes. "What is down in those tunnels that's so important?"
"That is not for you to know," Brendig grumbled.
"I might be of more help if I only knew what you were doing," Sonas suggested.
"You can help me, sir, by staying out of my way," Brendig said at once.
Sonas glowered at him. "I might be able to help another way," Sonas said, changing tacts. "Bran dug up an interesting legend in the archives. Apparently, there is a talisman that could end the eternal night."
"Bah," Brendig grunted. "That is not my concern."
"Sure it is!" Sonas said brightly. "Let me help you remember: food, supplies, replacement slaves, things like that? Not to mention that unless we can end the eternal night, you won't get any digging done because an army of Iotuns will be camped out right on your doorstep!"
Brendig glared at him. "Very well. Where is this talisman?" He asked begrudgingly.
"According to what Bran read, there is an ancient temple high up in the mountains that contains a powerful talisman that can end the eternal night. However, it's supposed to be well guarded."
Brendig snorted. "I'll think about it. "
Sonas frowned. When Brendig says that, it just means 'no.' The man won't consider any idea that he didn't personally come up with. He thinks that it makes him look weak. As opposed to just looking like a fool.
If I want the talisman, I 'll need to figure out a way to get it myself.
"Sonas," Brendig grunted. "Are you still planning to put on that ludicrous show in the coliseum?"
Sonas made a face. "Yes. It was supposed to happen weeks ago but… circumstances interfered," He growled at Brendig. "I decided to time it for the same day that the next observers from Kararagi arrive to confirm that the hostages are still being well treated but I doubt that any of the hostages have much appetite for show and spectacle after being held prisoner for weeks."
"Sonas, I want you to gather up the hundred slaves that you consider to be the most potentially rebellious for this show," Brendig continued. "They can be the ones to die in the coliseum. We'll cull the herd to stretch out our supplies."
"A hundred?" Sonas objected. "You plan to kill a hundred slaves for the show? I was thinking fifty was extravagant!"
Brendig ignored him. "Also, I want you to put Subaru Natsuki's minions at the heart of the performance."
"For what purpose?" Sonas asked skeptically. "So that he'll come charging in to rescue them?"
"Precisely," Brendig purred.
"Are you certain that you could manage him if he did appear?" Sonas asked skeptically.
"We have six hundred men," Brendig reminded him. "Plus a hundred and fifty of your guards. We'll trap him, surround him, and execute him."
Sonas made a face. I feel like the General 's 'brilliant' strategy might be optimistic to the point of foolishness.
"What about using him instead?" Sonas offered.
"What are you talking about?"
"We have his friends," Sonas shrugged. "Why not just offer Subaru Natsuki a deal: he gets his friends in exchange for finding us the talisman to end the eternal night. Then once he brings it back, you can capture or kill him. Nice and easy."
Brendig glared at him. "That is disgusting ! "
Sonas blinked in surprise.
"Would you really agree to trade with a Witch or his cultists simply because they could help you achieve your goals?!" Brendig sneered.
Sonas stared at him for a moment. "Look, General, I don't have much of an ideology. I live in a real world with real problems. For example, the endless night. That is a real problem. My problem. And yours too by the way since it 's likely to end up with both of us either starving or getting stomped on by a gigantic foot! And do you know what I'd do if the Witch of Envy herself walked into this room right now?"
Brendig glared at him. "What?" He snapped in the voice of someone sure that they'll hate the answer.
"I'd ask her if she knew a way that we could end the endless night. And if she said yes, I'd jolly well pour her a glass of brandy and talk it out!"
Brendig scowled. "You disgust me," He said flatly.
Sonas raised a glass of wine in salute. "So you've said. Many times before, " He reminded him.
"Subaru, are you sure you know where the Book would have landed?" Emilia asked.
"To a reasonable degree," He admitted.
The pair had cut the ruined balloon off their bodies and gone wandering to the place Subaru calculated as the likely destination of the Book.
"We had better hurry," Emilia worried. "Someone else might have found the Book and taken it! We'd never be able to find them!"
Subaru snorted. "Mili, if anything, we'd find the Book next to a corpse. Nobody is going to grab a book that they find in the dirt without at least glancing through it first and Korë warned me that that would fry the reader's brain."
Emilia nodded fervently. "An even better reason for us to get there quickly!"
Emilia sped up and Subaru hurried after her.
"Yuck!" Mimi groaned, pinching her nose. "This place smells terrible!"
"It's a sewer, Mimi," Puck pointed out.
The trio walked through a small passage, a giant aqueduct that seemed to be taking foul-smelling wastewater away from the tower.
The tunnel went straight ahead without bends or forks and there was a relatively dry walkway along the sides that allowed the trio to avoid walking through sewage.
Mimi 's was whimpering because of the smell. "Pee-yew. So far, Betty has led Mimi out of her cage and into the sewer," Mimi gripped, trying to shield her sensitive nose. "Where will Betty lead Mimi next?"
"Betty could always lead Mimi back to her cage, I suppose," Beatrice said pointedly.
There was a moment of silence.
"Now that Mimi thinks about it, this sewer isn't really all that bad," Mimi said philosophically.
Puck chuckled. "Good choice, Mimi. At least we should be out of here soon. I can't imagine that this tunnel is very long."
Mimi 's face brightened. "Mimi sees a light!" She cried out, breaking into a sprint.
Puck started to chase after her then hesitated. He noticed that Beatrice was moving very slowly as if she 'd just run a marathon.
Puck lingered beside his sister as she made her way toward the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mimi was already there, holding onto an enormous rusty grate at the end of the pipe and trying to shake it.
Daylight was pouring through the grate and a forest stream could be seen just in front of the pipe although all of the plant life for a hundred yards in every direction was either brown and wilting or already dead.
"Mimi can't shift it!" She cried out as the pair finally arrived at the grate.
"Please tell me we don't need to submerge ourselves in the sewer water," Puck moaned, staring at the disgusting river of sludge.
"That would be unwise," Beatrice said wearily. "The chemicals mixed in with this water are almost certainly caustic, I suppose."
Beatrice took a deep breath and inspected the rusty screws holding the grate in place. "And we left Mother's Multikey behind…" Beatrice whimpered.
"Honestly, Betty," Puck interjected, "I agree with Mimi! It wasn't worth fighting the snake for it!"
Beatrice gave Puck a foul look but then her face relaxed. Beatrice was simply too tired to maintain her irritation.
"How are we going to remove the grate?" Mimi asked. "And please don't ask to use Mimi's claws! Mimi has tried that before. It's painful!"
Puck nodded. "I can vouch for that."
Beatrice sighed. "Betty has a plan," She said, raising her arms. The spirit muttered something under her breath and then grabbed Mimi's hand.
Mimi 's right hand suddenly turned dark purple as if it had been dipped in paint. Her hand seemed to harden and Mimi's fingers felt stiff and unbending as if they had been turned to stone.
"Betty!" Mimi protested, shaking her hand. "What did you-"
Mimi 's eyes widened as Beatrice's eyes rolled up in her head and pitched forward. Only a desperate grab by Mimi prevented Beatrice from face-planting in a river of raw sewage.
Puck jumped up and bit the back of Beatrice 's dress, pulling backward as hard as he could.
The pair quickly helped Beatrice sit down. The little spirit was out cold.
"Bubby!" Mimi hissed, "What happened?!"
Puck felt Beatrice 's forehead. "Betty is completely worn out," He said. "She may have removed her magic sealing bracelet but her mana reserves are still cripplingly low. We're too far from Subaru to draw any mana! These two spells must have been too much. Her body is simply drained."
"What spell?! Why turn Mimi's hand into a purple rock?!" Mimi demanded.
Puck quickly inspected the virtually petrified hand. His eyes brightened. "Mimi! Use your claws to unscrew the grate!"
"No!" Mimi protested, "That doesn't work! And it hurts a lot!" She added.
"Trust me!"
Mimi whimpered but she gamely took one of her stiff fingers and even stiffer claws and placed it in the screw.
Mimi winced as she started to turn it.
Mimi blinked in surprise. Her fingers and claws didn 't hurt at all. It felt almost as if someone had changed her fingers into a screwdriver.
"Bubby?" Mimi asked in confusion.
"It's a minor petrification spell," Puck explained, cuddled up against Beatrice's sleeping body. "It should let your fingers and claws handle this job a lot better."
Mimi had a broad grin and worked quickly, removing the screws one by one. Unfortunately, she was enjoying this so much that she forgot the grate was now unsecured and it fell to the ground with a loud clang.
Mimi froze, her eyes wide. She listened intently to the fading echo but there was no outcry from the woods.
Mimi shook her petrified hand. "Uh, Bubby, this isn't… permanent , is it? "
"It'll wear off in a couple of minutes," Puck promised. "Can you help me with Betty?"
Mimi nodded and scurried over to the spirits. "Bubby, climb up on Mimi's shoulder," She directed.
Puck did as instructed. "Huh. This is how I used to ride on Subaru," He said pensively.
Mimi effortlessly threw Beatrice over the other shoulder and carried her out of the tunnel.
Mimi paused outside of the tunnel and rather than walk down the grassy path or in the disgusting river, Mimi began hopping along a series of large stones that lay in the riverbed.
"What are you doing?" Puck asked.
"Riccardo taught Mimi and her brothers not to leave tracks while escaping!" Mimi said cheerfully as they made their escape.
"It's not even dirty," Emilia said in disbelief.
"Witchcraft is wonderful, isn't it?" Subaru said with a sardonic laugh.
The Book had landed in the middle of a wide field of brown dirt that made locating it completely trivial.
Now they were walking back toward the road and where the remains of the once balloon had landed.
"So, now back to Girali?" Emilia asked.
"Makes sense," Subaru shrugged. "Garfiel and Felt have got to be worried about us."
"Of course, now we need to answer another question," Emilia reminded him.
Subaru looked at her in confusion.
Emilia gave him a patient look. "Now what?! We have the Book but it doesn't do us any good if we don't know how to use it! It actually just puts us in more danger. This is a real artifact of a Witch of the Old World. Virgil proved that there are already powers looking for it and who might decide to come looking for us . Besides, just having it would probably be enough to convict us during a witchcraft trial. "
Subaru sighed. "You always look on the sunny side of things, don't you?"
"I think that you've just rubbed off on me," Emilia said pertly.
Subaru laughed. "Yeah, well it is a good point anyway." Subaru paused for a moment, shielded his eyes against the sun's glare and looked around.
Emilia raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking for?"
Subaru made a face. "Korë," He admitted. "She said that she'd show up after we had the Book."
Emilia squinted at him. "I'm not sure that even a witch can just appear out of thin air like that. "
Subaru shrugged. "I wouldn't be too surprised," He disagreed. "But more to the point, until Korë shows up and tells us where to use the Book, I don't know what to do next." He thought for a moment. "I guess we'll head back to Lagunica," He decided. "It's time to get everyone back together. If we can't reverse the curse yet then at least we're going to find the spirits and rescue them."
Emilia nodded. "That will be a tremendous weight off my mind," She admitted. "I'm terrified of what might be happening to Daddy right now. But if I'm being honest, I'm not really looking forward to seeing him again as long as he can't remember me."
"It'll be different this time," Subaru assured her.
Emilia cocked her head. "What exactly are you basing that on?"
Subaru gave a mirthless chuckle. "Puck is a greedy, jealous, spoiled brat but he's not stupid. We've been alone together for weeks now. If you were going to hurt me or… I don't know what Puck's cooked up in his little brain, 'use me to unleash ye powers of hell,' you would have done it by now. Puck will understand that things have changed."
Emilia looked skeptical. "I hope you're right," She said simply.
Anri struggled to suppress a yawn.
Is this even going anywhere?
So far, Montefort has controlled the entire docket and he 's devoted the entire conference to a handful of commercial agreements and minor territorial disputes that could have been resolved with a few letters!
What is even the point of all this? Is Montefort just testing how far he can push the other delegates?
"Moving along," Montefort said smoothly. "I believe that we need to discuss the surge of trouble from the Witch Cult and the Demi-human Alliance that is now ravaging the continent. And, of course, all of these crimes can be laid at a singular source: the Witch Subaru Natsuki."
Anri instinctively opened her mouth to protest but then she slowly closed it again and bowed her head.
I can 't say anything. If I defend them, I'm just wasting their sacrifice. They accepted the blame to protect me …
Montefort was continuing, "This threat to the entire continent, clearly demands a multinational response. To this end, we-"
Canae cut him off, "Ah, yes. Subaru Natsuki, the fabled Witch of Envy," Canae said in a mocking voice.
Montefort was thrown off step by this interruption and he just stared at Canae for a long moment. "Excuse me, General?" Montefort said politely.
Canae helped himself to a long drink of water before responding. "I'll never understand you northerners. We're sensible in Vollachia. When someone is a threat to the regime, we just kill them. Nice and simple. We don't waste time putting them on trial for blasphemy first and inventing evidence that any child could see through!" Canae sneered.
Anri bit her lip to keep from smirking.
Montefort had turned pale and his eyes glittered behind his friendly smile. "General Canae, I thought that you of all people would be more concerned about a witch stalking the world. Especially with rumors of an army of mabeasts and the dead rising from their graves in southern Vollachia."
Canae scowled. "You need to stop listening to rumors spread by drunks in taverns, Montefort," He grumbled. "I'll say it again, Vollachia has no interest in tracking down this whelp for you! Deal with your own problems!"
Montefort glared at him. "General, I-"
"Hm. I'm surprised to hear myself saying this," Chaco mused in a soft, cheerful voice. "But I find myself agreeing with General Canae! If you called this meeting just to try and get our help in chasing down your personal political enemies, I'm sorry to say that I think we all have better things to do."
Montefort stared at Chaco, eyes glittering. "I'm surprised to hear you say that, Master Chaco," Montefort said smoothly. "Especially-"
"Enough, Montefort!" Canae cut him off. "We're not here to discuss your political enemies! We're here to discuss the hostage crisis in Girali!"
Canae turned his attention toward Chaco. "Any word?"
"Nothing new," Chaco admitted. "We've been allowed to send in observers to make sure that the hostages are all being treated well but they've made it clear that any hostile action will result in the execution of all the hostages."
"Do you realize the importance of these hostages, Chaco," Canae growled. "These are the children of some of the most high-ranking families in Vollachia."
"I am entirely aware of that, General," Chaco said quietly. "And I would remind you that they have also captured several prominent Kararagi merchants and their families."
"And what exactly are you doing about it?" Canae pressed.
"There isn't very much that we can do about it right now," Chaco said in a tight voice. "Not without the hostages getting killed."
"What about a commando raid?" Canae demanded. "Or send that assassin that you're so fond of!"
"It's not that simple, General," Chaco growled, struggling to maintain his composure. "They're prepared for us to take those kinds of actions. Our observers scouted the lay of the land. The hostages are being held in the gubernatorial palace in four different towers. Each one commands a wide view. We can rescue one tower but the guards are all keeping a close eye on one another in the other towers. As soon as we liberate one tower, the other three will be massacred. Would you like to select which groups of hostages we save?"
"Which tower has the Vollachians?" Canae asked without a bit of shame.
"All of them!" Chaco said brightly. "These mercenaries aren't stupid, General. They made sure to mix up the hostages thoroughly to ensure that we don't get any ideas like that."
Canae glared at him.
"While we're on the topic of Girali," Chaco said, turning his gaze toward Montefort. "There are a few things that I'm just itching to discuss with you."
"With me?" Montefort asked in surprise.
"What the hell is General Brendig doing out there?" Chaco demanded.
"I have no idea," Montefort shrugged helplessly. "He was reprimanded for failing to capture Subaru Natsuki as well as for his attempted murder of Julius Juukulius and as a result he was stripped of his governorship. Before his hearing could take place to discuss criminal sanctions, he simply went AWOL along with most of his general staff. He appears to have hired these mercenaries and then taken Girali for reasons that we have been unable to ascertain."
Chaco stared at him. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that General Brendig and his entire staff went AWOL? Much less that they were able to hire all of these mercenaries with their own money? We've calculated how much hiring all those elite mercenary companies would have cost, Montefort! It's a sizable amount!"
Montefort shrugged. "The General's staff are men and women of considerable means. Perhaps they pooled their resources."
"Their resources would have eclipsed that of some provinces if that were the case," Chaco said in a chill tone. "But tell us more about this 'negotiator' that you sent out there. Has he made any headway? Does he even know what Brendig wants?"
"Yes, I have good news. I have been assured by our emissary Willard Pickett that the occupation will be resolved and all hostages released in exchange for amnesty for the perpetrators," Montefort said.
"Amnesty?!" Chaco and Canae both exclaimed. Anri nearly joined them.
Montefort shrugged. "It seems like a fair deal to me," He said. "The hostages go free and the mercenaries leave Girali safe and untouched. Lagunica approves. What's the problem?"
"They seized one of our cities!" Chaco fumed. "They've kept an entire city as hostages including foreign dignitaries-"
"And now you want to let them just walk away?!" Canae finished.
Montefort studied them carefully. "Does anyone have a better idea? " He asked simply. "They certainly seem to be well prepared. As the good General recently pointed out, we all possess resources that can kill the mercenaries easily but only at the cost of the hostages' lives."
"What about putting them under siege?! Starving them out?!" Canae demanded.
"They threatened to kill a hostage for every day that passage to or from Girali was obstructed," Montefort shrugged. "And imagine putting an army out in those wastes to deal with the Iotuns."
Chaco seethed. "And when will this 'agreement' take effect?" He grated.
"We're not sure yet," Montefort admitted. "Those negotiations are going slowly since the mercenaries refuse to depart until their business there is complete. In addition, there appears to be a curse on the region which is complicating things. In fact, the sun no longer shines in Girali."
Canae blinked. " What ?! "
"There appears to be some kind of magic that is reducing the amount of daylight received by Girali and the surrounding region," Montefort said smoothly. "The last that I heard, daytime only lasts about six hours now. And it seems to be shrinking steadily. This is a serious problem given the prevalence of nocturnal monsters like the Iotuns in that area. It's possible that the townsfolk themselves are pressuring the mercenaries to stay there in order to protect them."
"Yes. That is 'possible,'" Chaco snorted in contempt.
"Vollachia demands that this mess be resolved immediately!" Canae thundered at Chaco. "If amnesty is the price of saving those people then the Emperor, whom I represent, can live with it."
"Why do I suspect that you'd be feeling differently about this if one of your own cities had been seized," Chaco muttered.
"One of our cities could not be seized by a few hundred men," Canae snorted. "And if the situation is not resolved forthwith, then perhaps several more Kararagi cities will be seized!"
Anri 's jaw dropped and a chill ran down her spine.
Canae can 't be serious, can he?
Is he really threatening to attack Kararagi? Why? He can 't be so stupid that he doesn't see through Montefort's transparent lies. Is he an honest-to-god idiot or is he ignoring the obvious for some reason?
Could Vollachia want a war with Kararagi? Why? What possible benefit would that give them?
Regardless, this situation is extremely dangerous for all concerned. If Vollachia attacks Kararagi, Lagunica and Gusteko won 't be able to stay out of it for very long.
I knew that Montefort wanted to start a small war to shore up his position but this is just insane! This won 't be a small war, this would be a conflict that engulfs the entire continent!
I thought that he might engage in some limited foreign adventurism to shore up his base of support but this is just ridiculous. This is rolling an enormous pair of dice for no clear reward that I can see.
Is Montefort hoping to get sucked into the war rather than starting it personally, hoping that the dragon regards this as a defensive war and appears to defend the kingdom?
It 's an incredibly risky gambit but if it works and the dragon does still appear, Montefort might succeed in calming the country and deferring calls to restart the selection. If the pact with the dragon remains intact then he might argue there's no need for a new King to reestablish the pact.
But why Girali? Why a town so deep into Kararagi territory? Neither Vollachia nor Lagunica have any sort of easy access to the city. It would take a major campaign by either country to strike so deep into the desert.
Either Montefort has gone completely insane or there is something serious going on here that I 'm unaware of!
So what other conclusion is there? Montefort said that the soldiers would leave 'when they finished their business there.' That means that this situation is temporary even if it is potentially explosive.
What conclusion can I draw from all of this?
…Montefort wants something in Girali. He wants something very badly! Whatever it is, he's apparently willing to risk a general war on the continent so long as he gets it.
But what in the world could it be? Girali is nothing more than a glorified mining town in the Kararagi desert. If Montefort wants pyroxene crystals he could get them from a dozen other places and of far higher quality. What in the world could be in Girali that 's so valuable as to be worth risking this kind of international incident?
Anri realized that Canae and Chaco were still talking and she hastened to listen.
"-Vollachia can do whatsoever it wishes in this matter," Canae barked. "And Kararagi has no real choice but to acquiesce. Do you see how that works?"
Chaco stared at Canae for a long moment. He also included Montefort in his more venomous glares. "I think that I would have to suggest that you review the political realities of the situation yourself, Canae," He said quietly.
"Hm?" Canae frowned.
"Kararagi may lack behind other nations in defense spending but our merchants control the economy of the entire world," Chaco said flatly. "An attack on Kararagi will be met with retaliations that would shatter your economy. The Kararagi merchant princes could sever supply chains and plunge entire industries into crisis by simply calling a few loans and tearing up a few trade agreements!"
Canae snorted. "And you believe that these trade princes would follow you in making a foe of the Empire instead of simply resigning themselves to continuing to build their fortunes under Imperial rule?"
Chaco actually smiled. "Merchant princes don't like disruptions in the current order of things," Chaco said sweetly. "It makes for problematic long-term planning. Believe me, if anyone is dumb enough to invade Kararagi, they will return home to a nation in ruins and it will be your own revolting peasants who do it!"
"Gentlemen!" Montefort called in a friendly voice. "I don't think there is any reason for us to become hostile! The negotiations continue to go well even if not as fast as we would prefer. The mercenaries will leave Girali soon."
"When?" Chaco demanded.
"As soon as the negotiations are complete and they have been assured of their safe passage."
"When?!" Chaco pressed. "A day? A week? A month? …A decade?!"
Montefort gave Chaco a chill smile. " Soon , " He whispered.
Chaco glared at him.
Montefort smiled politely. "In any event, I would like to continue our discussion involving the resurgence of witchcraft on this continent, and my hope that you will all assist Lagunica in bringing these knaves to justice, especially in light of what they most recently did to poor Princess Kairei," Montefort finished in mock sympathy.
Anri was careful not to let her expression flicker.
Canae grunted. "Do you have any reason to believe that these people are in one of our nations instead of your own? " He asked in a bored tone.
"Subaru Natsuki had attempted to evade us by fleeing into Gusteko," Montefort shrugged. "When that escape turned sour, he vanished again. There would be no point in fleeing back into Lagunica, he'd simply be hunted down and destroyed like the monster that he is. Logically, one would expect him to next head west into Kararagi."
"But you have no evidence to sustain that conclusion," Chaco grumbled. "Still, he does seem to be stalking through the world like an earthquake as of late, so I suppose that it would behoove us to find him and get him to explain what his intentions are."
"Does a witch need a reason to make mischief?" Montefort shrugged.
This time Anri couldn 't repress a sigh and rolling her eyes but Montefort didn't seem to notice as the same response came from nearly every corner of the room.
Montefort 's face was cold as he glared at the other delegates.
Montefort suddenly regained his friendly smile. "Patriarch Gustov," Montefort said in a friendly voice.
Gustov was started at being addressed.
"I was meaning to tell you what an honor it is to host the man personally responsible for preserving our world's august history. I've always desired to view the Grand Archives-"
"I will personally take you on a tour of the Archives whenever you wish to visit," Gustov cut him off.
Montefort clearly didn 't care for being interrupted but he gave him a thin smile. "I believe that you are viewed as a world-renowned expert on the Old Kingdom and the ancient world. Is that correct?"
Gustov shrugged. "I have no idea how I am 'viewed.' But I have studied the Old Kingdom for most of my life."
"Yes," Montefort nodded. "Since you are the man most knowledgeable about the Old Kingdom on the continent, I actually have a question for you if you wouldn't mind."
Gustov 's eyes narrowed. Anri looked back and forth between Montefort and her Grandfather, unable to guess what the Grand Duke was up to.
Finally, Gustov inclined his head. "What would that be?"
"I wondered," Montefort continued. "If you had ever heard of an entity called 'the King of Pride.'"
Anri started. The King of Pride. That 's what the Gospel said to Subaru the last time he held it. But what does that mean?
Anri glanced at her grandfather and was stunned. Anri 's Grandfather was a shrewd and powerful man, a man who had buried one of his sons and had personally raised his grandchildren. He had been engaged in the cutthroat world of church politics for decades and the only slightly less violent realm of secular politics for almost as long.
Anri trusted her Grandfather as she trusted few men in this world. He was tall as a tree and seemed just as strong and unbending no matter what kind of disaster the world threw at him.
But now, Anri watched in shock as Gustov 's eyes widened and his face turned white. His hand clawed at the table convulsively in a death grip.
"What… What did you say?" Gustov whispered.
"Ah," Montefort said cheerfully. "I see that you know something of this."
Gustov swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "The Archives have… references to it," He said in an unsteady voice. "Just… a few scattered references that come down to us from even the days before the Old Kingdom, from the most ancient of times but… nothing that describes the concept in any great detail. Why do you ask?"
Montefort reflected for a moment. "After the bombing incident at the capitol," He began, "Our soldiers managed to capture a few of the Witch Cult survivors-"
"Really?" Chaco called mockingly. "I thought that the Demi-Human Alliance did that bombing."
Montefort glared at Chaco for a moment and then continued, "After several days of painstaking… interrogation, we managed to gather some useful intelligence from the survivors."
The delegates all listened intently. Capturing a Witch Cultist alive, much less getting information out of them, was virtually impossible.
"The three were in agreement on only one detail," Montefort said. "That they believed Subaru Natsuki was in fact the Empyrean King, this 'King of Pride.' Strangely enough, the three survivors were in wild disagreement about their interpretation of that fact."
"What does that mean?" Canae demanded.
Montefort shrugged. "One cultist insisted that this Subaru must be destroyed at any cost or the entire world would know its end. Another proclaimed that his coming heralded a new golden age for all mankind," He said mockingly. "And a third declared that he must be preserved without fail because 'his bride will soon emerge from her slumber and that she dreams of no one but him.'"
Canae snorted. "As clear as mud!" He shouted.
"Agreed," Montefort replied. He turned his attention back to Gustov who sat there, ashen-faced. "That's why I was hoping you could provide us with some further information on the subject, Patriarch."
Gustov took a ragged breath and moistened his lips.
Anri stared at Gustov. I 've never seen Grandfather look so shaken…
Gustov swallowed hard. "You claim that this… Subaru Natsuki is the 'King of Pride?' I find that… very hard to believe…" He said in an unsteady voice.
"Oh? And why is that?" Montefort asked, his gaze on Gustov as sharp as a knife.
Gustov didn 't answer at first. "Tell me," He said, ignoring the question. "Do you believe the words of these Cultists? Perhaps they were simply lying, seeking to mislead us."
"These Cultists were questioned separately over several days," Montefort replied intently. "None of them had any idea what the others were saying and they were each quite hostile to the others."
"Wait a minute," Canae broke in. "The Witch Cult is fighting with itself?"
"So it would seem," Montefort replied, not taking his eyes off Gustov for even a moment.
Canae laughed. "That's the best news that I've heard in months!"
Monteforted nodded absently but his attention remained locked on Gustov. "Patriarch, I make it a point to trust intelligence that comes to me by way of fierce enemies suddenly found in agreement," Montefort said. "What can you tell me about this 'King of Pride?'"
Chaco fidgeted in his seat, beginning to look unsettled. "Patriarch, what's wrong?" Chaco murmured. "You're looking as if someone had just told you that the Witch of Envy was free."
Gustov swallowed hard and shook his head. "Given the hostage crisis which the world is now wrestling with in Girali," He said slowly. "Perhaps it would be wise to focus on solving that problem first. I will direct my people to do more research on this matter. Perhaps in time, we could find a workable compromise which we can all live with to the problem posed by this Subaru Natsuki…"
Canae 's eyes narrowed. "Is this guy really that dangerous? " He asked skeptically. He thought for a moment then shrugged. "Alright. Maybe we do need to organize a Witch Hunt after all. Each of our kingdoms possesses a warrior who stands far above all others in skill and power. Perhaps we should combine them into a task force to hunt down and destroy this young upstart. We could also give them a few legions of our crack troops as a backup."
Anri 's eyes widened in horror at the thought of Gael being sent on such a mission without anyone to care for him. And worse, the mission's goal itself being the execution of Subaru and Emilia.
Gustov shook his head. "I doubt that any of these warriors would return from such a mission alive," Gustov said flatly. "Our legends of the King of Pride come down to us from the most ancient days. Of events that happened nearly ten thousand years ago- "
Canae cut him off. "Be careful how you speak of Vollachian soldiers, Patriarch. We know how to deal with witches in the South. The Vollachian Empire can field armies equaling the total population of Gusteko. Our assassins can find and kill anyone in the entire world. We fear no dark sorcerers. Our ancestors dealt with the Witch of Sloth. We can deal with… whatever this boy is, just as easily. "
Gustov sneered at him. "Ah! Arrogance and ignorance and all in the same sentence! How charming!"
Canae looked shocked at this rebuke. "Now just hold on-" He shouted.
"Listen to me," Gustov hissed in a voice that silenced the General. Gustov's burning eyes bored into all of the delegates. "Even at the height of the Old Kingdom when powers like young Gael's and the Sword Saint's were commonplace and flights of dragons ruled the skies, no one dared to challenge the King. The Empyrean King is not a witch. It is a force of nature. A living flame. And fire can be used as a tool for both transformation and destruction.
"Each time that the King has come, he has shaken the world with his footsteps and all we mortals could do was to hold on tight and pray. Each time, he has changed the very nature of this world. This boy's ambition appears to have no such reach and we should thank the Gods for that! If he simply wishes to disappear then let him do so with our blessing!"
Everyone stared at Gustov in shock including Anri. What 's going on?! The Princess thought in shock. Grandfather talked over and over again all the way here about how important it was not to appear to be sympathetic to Subaru and Emilia. And now Grandfather has openly suggested making an accord with them?!
"I'll take this opportunity to remind you all," Montefort said coolly. "That Subaru Natsuki is still wanted for high crimes in Lagunica. Lagunica intends to see him brought to justice, dead or alive. Now the Dragon Kingdom is prepared to go it alone if necessary but the royal assembly would appreciate, and frankly is expecting, all of your cooperation in his execution."
Canae and Chaco both looked outraged at this naked demand but before they could respond, Gustov rose to his feet, shaking his shaggy head. "No, no, no! This is foolish ! " He thundered.
Montefort gave Gustov a chill glare. "Perhaps the royal House of Siros has closer ties to the Witch than you've previously led us to believe," Montefort mused. "Perhaps he's offered you some assistance with your political troubles if you provide him with cover."
"The Child of the Unconquered Sun would never be concerned with mere political squabbles! And I resent your implication!" Gustov glared at Montefort through clenched teeth. He took a deep breath and then he let it out slowly.
"I have tried to help you," Gustov said in a more composed tone to everyone assembled in the room. "You have refused to listen. So here we are. My Princess and I are returning home. And that is the end of our involvement in this matter. Good day, gentlemen."
Anri felt numb as she rose to her feet, staring up at Gustov in shock.
Her Grandfather, who had ground concepts of etiquette and royal decorum into her mind since she was just a child, had now swept all of this to the side. Anri knew that she was the princess, soon to be crowned as ruler, and that she should jerk her Grandfather up short for his presumption but there seemed to be no air in her lungs to speak.
Her Grandfather had just presumed to speak for her in public and then to give her an order, something which he had never done before and something that he would have insisted that she have any knave who dared to do so whipped publicly as an example.
Anri saw that Gustov 's face was pale and drawn. The signs of fear were written large upon it and she followed Gustov to the door, desperately wanting to be alone with her Grandfather just so she could have her dozens of questions answered.
Gustov held the door for Anri which she stepped through. "Good day gentlemen," Gustov said again, his tone mocking. "I wish you luck in your journey through the dark night of your own ignorance in search of wisdom. I can only pray for all our sakes that in your blind stumbling around, you do not wake the dragon . "
Gustov shut the door.