Karmic Debt Stack
For a while, Daisy simply looked at Ho-yeong in silence before slowly parting her lips.
“I think the chant of ‘long live the king’ is too grandiose. ‘Eternal glory beyond eternity to Daisyares Marie Kain, the hero who protects the Western Continent and the supreme being who most firmly carries out her steadfast will. Long live Her Majesty the Queen’... I am curious what you think of it.”
Still looking puzzled, Ho-yeong was hit with one question after another.
“Do you think I am a hero who protects the Western Continent?”
“Yes!”
“Do you think I am one who has a steadfast will?”
“Yes!”
“And do you think I am one who most firmly carries out that will?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you wish for me to have glory longer than eternity?”
“Well... honestly, that’s not a phrase that really lands with me. But I do hope Your Majesty enjoys long life and good health.”
Daisy kept staring into Ho-yeong’s eyes and did not even glance sideways at the Ring of Truth.
“There are rumors going around that since you were received with cheers, you must have harbored treason in your heart. Are you aware of them?”
“Yes. I heard them.”
“Then I want you to answer right here and now for the fools who spread that rumor in earnest, or believe it. Joren Tamer. This is my final question.”
At the words final question, Ho-yeong swallowed hard.
“Do you pledge your loyalty to me?”
“I do.”
Daisy returned to her throne and lifted her royal baton.
“Count of the Border Region Joren Tamer bears no crime. To those who are always looking for a weak point to exploit, he may seem to have a trivial flaw or two, but the great merit he has achieved of late more than makes up for it. He saved countless citizens and identified the kingdom’s urgent crisis, and that deserves commendation. However, this is not the place to discuss rewards, so we shall settle compensation at a later date. The private audience is hereby concluded.”
The ministers gathered in the great hall looked as though they wanted to speak but could not, their expressions stiff with frustration.
“Anyone who has something to say may raise a hand.”
And yet, once the right to speak was granted, they only traded glances and hesitated.
The first to raise his hand was the royal mage, Guzel.
“Speak.”
“I have no intention of disputing Your Majesty’s judgment. Even so, should we not attempt memory extraction on the Count of the Border Region?”
“And why would that be?”
“Although the Ring of Truth and the testimony of the deputy commander of the Holy Knight Order lend credibility to the count’s words, I believe that alone is insufficient. Since Your Majesty yourself said that it was difficult to believe, I think we need to show everyone undeniable proof.”
Ho-yeong was annoyed by Guzel, who kept snapping at him like a dog with a grudge.
That pointy-eared bastard. Why is he picking a fight with someone who never even did anything to him? And memory extraction... that’s a problem. No, a huge problem. If some memory from the real world gets pulled up by accident, I’m screwed.
While he was still thinking over what to do, Marquis Iorid raised his hand.
“Speak, Marquis.”
“Your Majesty. Memory extraction cannot be used on the Count of the Border Region.”
“Why not?”
“For memory extraction to work, the target’s internal mana must become the medium, but the count lost his mana as a side effect of Resurrection. So regardless of whether it is permissible, it is simply impossible.”
“I see.”
Daisy nodded, remembering the marquis’s youngest son. Of course, she did not say that out loud.
In any case, Ho-yeong felt relieved.
Oh, so that’s how it works. Being mana-deprived can be useful sometimes. Good work, Marquis.
He was grateful that the marquis had remembered the details he had explained while preparing for the battle against the troll.
“So that is how it stands, Guzel. Anything else to say?”
“Your Majesty, then I believe the proper course is to perform memory extraction on Marquis Iorid.”
The court mage, smoothly shifting his target, drew an angry roar from the marquis.
“W-What? Why!”
“The Count of the Border Region has lost his mana because of the side effects of Resurrection, and Sir Demis is a cleric, so he has none. That leaves only the marquis’s memories to extract, does it not? I do not understand why you are so angry. If you have committed no other offense, then you should have no reason to refuse memory extraction.”
“Y-You... you—!”
Marquis Iorid barely forced his rage back down and raised his hand.
There was no point in losing his temper and trading insults with that elf; the queen would simply shut it down anyway.
“Speak.”
“By my humble judgment, the one who ought to undergo memory extraction seems to be someone else.”
“And who would that be?”
“That court mage who is trying to sow discord while the rest of us are pressed for time. I have long watched the court mage’s mischief with caution, though I waited because I could not see his true intent. But now I am certain. That court mage is undoubtedly a spy planted by the Cliad Sect!”
Struck by a counterblow, Guzel tried to seize the floor, but Daisy asked the marquis instead.
“On what grounds do you say that?”
“It has been made plain to all the world that all of this was carried out by elves. The court mage is also an elf, so he should naturally be suspected. Your Majesty, please think this through carefully. If you had truly taken the count into custody as that man suggested, the entire 013 Station area would already have been trampled under the feet of the Giant Troll. Furthermore, that man urged us to send the sons of God into the battlefield, and the figure called the leader of that wicked sect also tried to lure one of the sons of God into a trap. Are the circumstances not plain enough?”
The listeners all gasped in shock.
Marquis Iorid kept tearing into the court mage so calmly that I thought they must have some private grudge, but... seeing it directly, it really does look suspicious.
Ho-yeong also thought there was merit in the argument.
With everyone’s attention now gathered on the room’s sole elf, Guzel grew flustered.
“Y-Your Majesty. Please grant me a chance to clear my name!”
Only after barely obtaining Daisy’s permission did Guzel steady his voice.
“It is unreasonable to be slandered like this merely because I am an elf. Everything the marquis has said is nothing more than a guess without any clear evidence. Please, Your Majesty, make a wise decision.”
At that, Duke Navni, head of the Criminal Court, raised his hand.
“If you have committed no crime, then memory extraction should pose no problem, should it? That is exactly what the court mage just said.”
“No, that is...”
The head of the Military Court, Knight Commander Hemsley Hunterhurst, also raised his hand.
“Since Your Majesty has concluded the private audience and the heads of all the judicial bodies happen to be gathered here, I think this is an excellent opportunity. What do you say? He can prove his innocence before us all.”
His karmic debt for having pledged loyalty only to the royal house while making too many enemies among the ministers.
“Guzel, are you plotting some wicked scheme?”
“Absolutely not, Your Majesty! I have never been close not only to that Cliad Sect, but also to the elf priests who ordinarily serve Saliad. T-The Ring of Truth will reveal the transparent sincerity of my heart.”
Daisy tilted her head as if considering it.
“Really? Earlier, when discussing the count’s sincerity, didn’t you say that a thing like the Ring of Truth wasn’t enough? Those were your own words.”
Caught in his own trap, Guzel fell into despair.
“E-Elves never lie, Your Majesty.”
“But that does not mean they cannot deceive others. As some among your own kind have done. Even if you harbor no malicious scheme yourself, how can you guarantee that you have not been made a puppet by other elves without even knowing it?”
“Y-You do not... trust me?”
“Guzel, you ought to know this well. I despise answering questions with questions.”
Daisy looked at the court mage with a pitiful expression.
“But I will answer you. It is not that I do not trust you. I do not trust elves.”
“Because of history long past?”
“No. Because of the present crisis. Royal Guard, take the court mage into custody and confine him.”
The court mage broke into sobs and cried out for mercy, but Daisy turned her eyes away.
“As someone said earlier, the heads of the judicial bodies are gathered here, so this works out well.”
There was no need to look for the heads of the legislative or executive branches. In both of those spheres, the king was the final authority.
“The heads of the two courts and the two priesthood courts are to carry out the king’s decree. From this moment on, all elves within the kingdom, and all elves entering or leaving the kingdom, are to be subjected to inspection and search.”
Her Majesty made a ruthless move.
“Head of the Religious Court, investigate the Cliad Sect thoroughly. Head of the Military Court, spread the decree to all stations in every region. If anyone is behaving suspiciously, take action first and report afterward. Head of the Criminal Court, prepare for a large number of memory extractions. Head of the Diplomatic Court, inform every kingdom about the Cliad Sect at once. And go directly to Salia to summon the regent.”
The head of the Diplomatic Court raised a bloodless hand, his face as white as paper.
“Do you have a question?”
“If the regent of Salia refuses to come... what then?”
“Tell her that if she will not come, then I shall go to her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. However... I am concerned that the resistance of elves both within and without the kingdom will be fierce.”
“You are in charge of diplomacy, yes, but are you not still a public official drawing salary from the state? Should you not fear the people’s backlash more than the elves’?”
“Y-Yes, indeed.”
Daisy neatly shut him up and raised her voice.
“A great crisis has befallen this kingdom, no, the entire continent, and we must all join hands to overcome it.”
* * *
“Lord!”
“Ah, Chief Steward!”
After a long time, lord and steward were reunited. Duonoraong seized Ho-yeong’s hand and shook it vigorously. He, too, had been summoned to the great hall earlier, but the atmosphere had made conversation impossible.
“How long has it been... though I suppose it hasn’t really been that many days. So much has happened in such a short span that it feels like months.”
“Your efforts have been heard here as well. You have endured much.”
“No, you have had it harder, Chief Steward. You were practically confined in the royal palace. It must have been exhausting.”
Duonoraong’s face showed clear signs of all the worry he had carried in the meantime.
“It would be a lie to say it was not difficult, but I am fine. I believed you would come, Lord. More importantly, you handled yourself remarkably well in the great hall earlier. No one will be able to question your loyalty now.”
“Oh, is that so? I was so scared back there that I just did whatever I was told, so it doesn’t really feel real.”
“Then recall what Her Majesty said when she ended the private audience.”
“All I really remember is the first line, that I had done no wrong, and the last line, that the trial was over.”
“Her Majesty’s hidden meaning was this. The phrase ‘for those who are always looking for a weak point to exploit’ was a warning to the ones who tried to slander you. ‘You may seem to have a trivial flaw or two, but the merit more than makes up for it’ meant that no one should keep harping on the matter of you being received with cheers, or the report from Kihara Territory. And ‘we shall settle compensation at a later date’ means that once this crisis is dealt with, she intends to grant you a great reward.”
Duonoraong, unpacking the king’s words piece by piece.
“Ohhh, I see. Now I get it. In any case, things turned out well thanks to you, Chief Steward. You bought me time back in the capital while I was here.”
“You overpraise me. Still, what am I supposed to do now? Hmm.”
“Wait a bit, then come with me. I’ll stay at 013 Station to finish the rest of my duties, and you can just take the road straight back to Tamer Territory.”
“Understood. Then let us go in at once. Her Majesty is waiting.”
After dismissing the audience, Daisy summoned Ho-yeong separately. To her own chambers, no less.
Why is she calling me again...?
As he moved forward with heavy steps, Ho-yeong was surprised.
He had expected the queen’s chambers to gleam with gold everywhere, but while the room was spacious, the furnishings were surprisingly modest. The only thing that could really be called lavish was the pink curtain hanging against the pure white wall.
“You have come well. The great hall seemed likely to make us both uncomfortable, so I invited you to my chambers.”
“I-I am honored.”
This was certainly easier on the nerves than the grand and rigid great hall.
“I wish to speak with the Count of the Border Region alone. All of you, withdraw.”
Daisy sent all the maids away.
“There is something I want to ask you.”
“You clearly said that was your final question earli-”
“That was in the private audience, in other words, in a public setting. This is a private setting, so it is different. You may sit comfortably.”
Ho-yeong carefully took the chair she indicated.
After a while of silence, Daisy issued an unexpected command.
“Put the Ring of Truth away inside your clothes. And do not show it to me until you leave this room.”
“Pardon? Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”
He did not understand why, but he had no choice except to follow her orders.
“Then I will ask. Joren Tamer, do you have something you are hiding from me?”