Chapter 113
Chapter: 113
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 113
>Chapter Title: Monster Task Force (6)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Bertrand Street.
>This beautiful avenue on the western side of the imperial capital was the cultural heart of the city, lined with magnificent theater buildings.
>Originally a hub for logistics warehouses, the alleys behind the grand structures were still packed with dilapidated old sheds from those early days.
>Most were used to store theater props or as temporary venues for foreign troupes, but quite a few stood empty, unused.
>One of those warehouses served as the rendezvous point for the group from Rohan.
Late evening.
>As Romain stepped into the building, he froze at the sight of Prince Leonard sitting there sober for the first time in ages, staring blankly.
Unlike his usual disheveled attire, the prince was neatly dressed in traditional Rohan garb, his hair slicked back with pomade.
"Hey, Romain. Out gallivanting till this late? You've even quit poking drunks with your skewer, haven't you?"
"......"
Sensing that this impatient prince had gotten up to something in his absence, Romain cautiously asked,
"By any chance, have you been somewhere, Leo?"
His outfit was tidy enough, but far from befitting royalty. Leonard shrugged and picked up a bottle of liquor.
"Nothing much. I tried to enter the palace as an honored guest, but they kept delaying permission, so I got pissed."
"No way......"
"Yeah, I disguised myself as part of an envoy and snuck into the palace."
Leonard took a swig straight from the bottle and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"They block Rohan royalty, but they let in envoys from other nations bearing gifts. I tagged along with Rohan's envoy right into the audience chamber."
Romain was at a loss for words.
No matter the disguise, Leonard's face wasn't exactly forgettable. If someone recognized him, what a scandal that would be.
"Don't worry. I hid in the crowd pretending to be an envoy, kept my head down. No one should have spotted me."
Even as he said it, his voice lacked the usual confidence—it wasn't like the self-assured Leonard at all.
"I was so frustrated I just wanted to catch a glimpse of the princess. Too bad I didn't see her, but at least I finally got a close look at that damn Holy Emperor who's been rejecting me nonstop."
"You met the Holy Emperor...?"
"Yeah. That guy, his temper..."
"What happened?"
"Oh, nothing big. He just glared right at me—those eyes were..."
Leonard shuddered suddenly, as if recalling something.
Even buried in the envoy crowd, my handsome face must've drawn eyes, huh?
He mumbled nonsense to brush it off and took another swig, but Romain saw through it immediately.
He got caught.
And deep down, Leonard knew it too—and regretted it a bit.
"There's no way he knew my face."
"I told you not to lump him in with ordinary humans."
Romain sighed and sat across from the prince.
Spilled milk. Fortunately, he hadn't publicly shamed the prince in front of foreign envoys, so best to play dumb and enter as guests later.
"If he finds out you're scheming to get close to his daughter, who knows how he'll react. You need to watch yourself from now on."
"Yeah, maybe I should quit?"
Uncharacteristically timid—scared of something—but Romain didn't mind much.
He'd known the prince long enough; by tomorrow morning, he'd be back to his cocky self, hounding Romain to set up another shot with the princess.
"Oh! Speaking of which, something weird happened during the audience."
Now flushed from the booze, the prince propped his chin on one hand and continued.
So.
Brittany's envoy and merchant gifts had just finished, and the herald was about to announce the Ashein delegation.
Until then, the Holy Emperor had sat silently, but suddenly he raised a hand to stop the herald.
A heavy silence fell over the vast audience chamber as he slowly touched his forehead and closed his eyes.
Everyone baffled, Leonard—standing fairly close to the throne—clearly heard him mutter low,
-Noisy......
With all those people in the huge hall watching the Holy Emperor's every move in utter silence, what could possibly be noisy?
Moments later, he opened his eyes, and the audience resumed as if nothing happened.
But the impression of a nasty, inscrutable man was already burned into Leonard's mind.
Hearing the tale, Romain gained new insight.
His soul terminal. The one possessing Aesly Becher—was it killed not because its identity was exposed, but simply because it was noisy?
Leonard sipped quietly for a while longer, then suddenly bowed his head, speaking in a subdued voice.
"Hey, Romain. I've always let your warnings go in one ear and out the other, but seeing Delcross's Holy Emperor up close... he's different. Really different."
"......"
"He was just sitting there, but I could feel exactly how terrifying he is."
The prince looked up with desperate eyes.
"Tell me, Romain. Can we really do anything against a guy like that?"
"......"
Romain met his gaze silently for a moment, then gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
[He has always been alone, and he will remain so. All around him are enemies, formidable ones. With nowhere left to retreat, he will slowly wither here in Delcross.]
The voice carried an eerie magic, visibly calming Leonard's face. He nodded and drank in silence.
But Romain's eyes, visible beyond the mask, had darkened slightly.
* * *
Same time. A long line of carriages headed to Delcross's northern gate, despite the late hour. Priests returning from distant pilgrimage paths for the Nativity Festival, backed by the Orthodoxy.
"The capital gate's coming up, Lady Sisle. You're already excited—guess we were away longer than we thought."
Clop clop.
In the gently rocking carriage, a young girl reading a book looked up.
Her soft silver hair swayed with a rustle. She was a lovely girl with a saintly aura, like an angel stepped from a holy painting.
"I didn't know you missed the capital that much, Sister Ursula."
"Oh? Haven't I told you how much I love Delcross?"
The somewhat dramatic nun peered out the window, chattering away.
"If it weren't for our mission to spread the Lord's grace across the continent, I wouldn't have left home this long."
The girl tilted her head.
"Didn't you always complain about being cooped up in the capital and beg to join the pilgrimage for some fresh air?"
"Ahem, well, wherever I went, nothing beats Delcross—that's all I reconfirmed."
Sister Ursula closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the longed-for Delcross air.
"Indeed, nearing the capital feels different! I thought the sisters' talk was exaggeration, but coming back from afar, I can really feel His Holiness's immense influence."
Sister Ursula wasn't particularly strong in holy power. Yet even she distinctly felt the sacred energy thickening as they approached Delcross.
They said visiting clergy from distant lands often stopped at the gates, weeping in—turns out it wasn't exaggeration.
She clasped her hands, voice trembling with emotion.
"Such powerful energy! Truly, Delcross blessed by the Lord's proxy is a holy nation, Lady Sisle!"
"...Yes, so it is."
The girl's face darkened slightly.
Sister Ursula blinked puzzled at the saintess's lukewarm response but soon got distracted by the scene outside. The inspection at the gate was dragging, slowing the procession noticeably.
"They're being extra thorough today."
Sure enough, armed knights and guards swarmed out, opening carriages one by one to check occupants.
Normally, verifying the lead holy knights and priests sufficed, but with Nativity approaching, this seemed overly cautious even for heightened security.
Soon, inspectors reached Saintess Sisle and Sister Ursula's carriage.
He knocked politely and opened the door. A knight from the palace guard's 5th Order, assigned to gate duty.
Seeing the two in glowing white vestments, he bowed hastily. Every Delcross citizen knew the petite saintess with long silver hair.
"I behold the Lord's grace descended upon Delcross!"
The knight bowed deeply, and Sisle asked,
"Has something happened in the capital?"
"Yes, Saintess. Recently, monsters called beasts appeared in the city, causing a stir. With Nativity near, inspections are stricter."
Heh. Monsters? What's that?
Sister Ursula blinked dumbly, but the young saintess asked in a trembling voice,
"...Monsters? That can't be."
Sisle's clear gray eyes shook with dismay.
She quickly flipped through her small diary, opened a page, and stared intently.
"...No mistake. The gates opening big in the capital should be months away..."
"Huh?"
Ursula and the knight exchanged baffled looks at the saintess's cryptic mutter.
"What... what has changed?"
The knight hurried on as the girl's face paled.
"Ah, but rest assured! Delcross holy knights exterminated them in no time. The capital is safe now."
"......"
"Above all, 3rd Prince Mores slew the largest one himself. He leads a special Monster Task Force, so no more foul creatures will dare approach Delcross!"
"Oh? Prince Mores...?"
Sister Ursula's expression twisted awkwardly, but the knight nodded vigorously.
"Yes! It's his second time felling a monster. Last time, he saved academy students under attack. There were rumors about him, but as expected of imperial blood..."
"Mores......"
Sisle murmured the somewhat unfamiliar name, trembling hands flipping her diary again.
Sure, around now, that fat slob was supposed to reform and train in swordsmanship.
Monster Task Force.
No memory of such a unit, no matter how she racked her brain. Naturally, nothing in the diary either.
"Lady Sisle......"
Sister Ursula's worried voice came from beside her.
"Monster Task Force."
The saintess's eyes sank with unnatural calm for her age.
If things differed from what she knew, it had to involve this unfamiliar unit.
She closed the diary and clutched it to her chest.
Right. Don't panic.
Back at the palace, first investigate this Monster Task Force thoroughly. And...
"...I need to meet him. Mores."
What bothered her: Mores, who should wander skill-less for years, had already reached monster-slaying prowess. He led the Task Force too, right?
Perhaps.
He might be the key hidden card to help him escape his fated doom.
The small girl's gray eyes gleamed resolute as she gazed toward the palace.