Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Alliance (3)
The Psychic Empire was the secret organization that met the most miserable future among all those appearing in .
Of course, most organizations that aimed for world domination were annihilated by protagonist Abel and his party, but among them, the Psychic Empire was the main antagonist for an entire chapter, so they collapsed even more dramatically and devastatingly than the others.
Rudian was muttering as he slowly recalled the process of their downfall.
'The cause of their downfall was largely due to their desperate attempts to find a way out of a hopeless situation, which only made things worse.'
Originally, the Psychic Empire's initial policy was to prove their worth as members under the imperial regime.
But magicians who were wary of the emergence of new abilities began to check psychics, led by the 4 Magic Towers.
Above all, due to the machinations of a Demon King who survived from Second Heaven-Demon Great War, psychics who had just come to the surface suffered severe discrimination and mistreatment throughout the Morian Empire.
'Clearly, they possessed enough military power to easily overthrow a decent-sized nation. That's for sure.'
But that power was perceived as a threat to the newly enthroned Emperor.
It was partly because they were manipulated by the Demon King who survived Chapter 1 and was operating behind the scenes, but...
'Well, to conclude, they just had really bad luck.'
To begin with, most members of the Psychic Empire were born as nobles and citizens of the Morian Empire.
Isn't it rather abnormal that the situation deteriorated to the point where they had to fight against the country they were born in?
'Now that I've intervened, I can't let things flow that way anymore.'
The Superhuman War went beyond a civil war in the Morian Empire, with different races participating in the conflict, making it a war that absolutely needed to be prevented.
'This is the only point I can intervene at my current level. I absolutely cannot make a mistake.'
Rudian lightly tapped his cheek to steel his resolve.
Then, looking around to his left and right, he addressed the uninvited guests bluntly.
"Seniors, why are you sitting next to me?"
On either side of Rudian, who was sitting on a bench somewhere in the academy.
The Luda siblings, psychics from the Psychic Empire, responded naturally to Rudian's question.
"We have no choice."
"It's Maria's orders."
Del Luda and Nel Luda, the siblings, opened their mouths in turn.
'C-cute?'
In terms of admission order, they were one year ahead, but they had merely entered school earlier, and the Luda siblings' actual age was 15, making them younger than Rudian.
'It feels like younger cousins following me around.'
Of course, feelings are just feelings, and Rudian deliberately narrowed his eyes to glare at them.
"Is that order to monitor me?"
"No, it's to bring you into our faction."
"Because we're allies now."
"Ah, faction..."
Of course, the real purpose was monitoring, but there wasn't much to say in response to that kind of statement.
'Hmm, but this is a bit...'
It was a fact that Rudian had momentarily forgotten, but Elvin Kepler and Karen Leticia didn't get along very well.
It was natural since they were two people who had even formed factions to compete for the position of successor to the Sword Saint.
'This seems like it could be a problem.'
Setting aside the cuteness of the Luda siblings, they were people connected to Elvin Kepler.
The student council president Luciella had entrusted Rudian to Karen.
Although Elvin had also apparently come looking for him after hearing the news, Luciella couldn't have been unaware of the relationship between the two.
If Karen were to see this scene, it would put Rudian in an awkward situation, even if unintentionally.
But fortunately, such a thing didn't happen.
"Ah, it's Maria."
While Rudian was lost in thought, Maria and Elvin were approaching from the distance.
***
Maria Kepler.
She had been in a state of low spirits continuously since accepting Rudian's proposal.
"Are you alright?"
Even Elvin, who was watching her, was concerned enough to ask.
"...I'm fine, brother."
Maria sighed and organized her surroundings.
As a student in the liberal arts department, she had more free time at the academy compared to Elvin, but even so, when she performed her duties as a noble, time would fly by in chunks in the blink of an eye.
Especially during the past few days, she had been so busy with intense schedules that she could barely get proper sleep, leaving her physically quite exhausted.
Elvin scratched his head as he mentioned the name of the culprit who had reduced Maria to this state.
"That bastard Rudian, complicating things like this."
The reason Maria became so worn out was obviously due to the three alliance conditions Rudian had proposed.
Even though Maria had accepted that alliance as an acting leader, it would take quite a long time to coordinate and integrate differing opinions within the organization.
Maria sighed once more.
"But we couldn't refuse either."
"Just what is that guy's identity?"
"According to the intelligence department's report, there are no particular anomalies. He's really ordinary... Literally a commoner, they say."
Elvin shook his head vigorously in denial.
"That's absolutely impossible. I've never heard of a person who can handle such a powerful magical sword while maintaining their sanity."
"That's right. According to the literature, magic swords that can exert enough power to break immortality abilities are exclusively ego swords with high-ranking demons sealed within them, without exception."
Typically, magical swords gradually erode one's self and soul the more they are used, but if an item has a high-ranking demon sealed inside, forget about gradual—one's soul would be taken the moment they grab it.
"At that age, his talent for handling magic is certainly tremendous, but conversely, that means he's just a novice who has barely started handling magic. There's no way he could withstand the power of a magical sword."
"Adora... What on earth are those people?"
While they knew quite a bit about the other side, they knew nothing about their counterpart.
Truly beings who fell from the sky, incomprehensible.
The Elvin siblings calmed themselves and faced reality.
"As long as they're within our sight, we can deal with them anytime if we see something strange. We can gradually learn about the identity of that guy and his organization."
"Yes, as long as they don't approach us as enemies, what's important is our benefit—whether what they're offering us in exchange for the alliance is genuine."
Information, connections, knowledge.
All things the Psychic Empire would desperately want to obtain.
These were too valuable to be given merely as the price of an alliance.
'Could it be that their goal really is world peace?'
To the point where such a naive thought occurred to her, the value of what Rudian was giving away was immense.
Maria rose from her seat and urged Elvin.
"For now, we have an appointment with him today, so let's go together."
"Connections, huh... What kind of connections is he planning to provide?"
Imperial high nobility without deep ties to the Magic Towers.
Honestly, in the current era where magic is the mainstream ability and given preferential treatment, it's hard to find nobles without deep connections to the Magic Towers, even without going as far as the highest nobility.
"If I had to pick, it would be knightly families that emphasize martial prowess. Limiting it to Viscount rank and above, it narrows down to about five."
"Could it be one of those five?"
"...I don't know. There are even border Count families comparable to great nobles like Iskar. What's certain is that being associated with just one of them would be quite beneficial."
At that moment, something occurred to Elvin.
"No, actually, the family he might introduce could be Iskar. On the surface, his origin is from the Iskar family, after all."
The offspring of the infamous Calline von Iskar, theYoung Lord of Iskar.
Especially considering that Calline had now come up to the capital, the possibility was quite high.
"Well, we'll find out when we get there."
Elvin quietly nodded at Maria's words.
***
To state the result.
Elvin and Maria had completely barked up the wrong tree.
"...Where are we going?"
They thought they would be taken to the Iskar villa said to be on the outskirts of the capital, but the path they were currently on was a complete downtown area.
And they were heading toward the 'Guild Headquarters' district located in the eastern part of the capital.
"You'll know when we get there."
Rudian took Maria and Elvin straight to the Information Guild.
The reception area of the Information Guild, which was a full ten stories high, was already a sea of people filled with countless merchants, adventurers, and nobles.
'...Is this where that high noble is supposed to be?'
Being in the capital of the empire, the headquarters was on a completely different scale from the provincial branches.
"Does that noble need help from the Information Guild to meet us?"
Small wrinkles formed at the corners of Maria's eyes, apparently feeling uncomfortable with the terrible crowd.
"No, it's not that complicated."
After receiving a number and waiting for a long time, Rudian confidently approached the consultant when his turn came.
"Please arrange for me to meet with the master of the Information Guild."
When this young man suddenly requested a meeting with the guild master, the receptionist's business smile momentarily changed to an expression that seemed to question if he was crazy.
Moreover, the expressions of Elvin's group behind him also changed strangely.
"A-ahem! Do you have a prior appointment?"
"Yes, if you mention the name Rudian, they'll know."
"Rudian... Please wait a moment."
While the employee left her seat to confirm, Maria gave Rudian a bewildered look.
"...When exactly did you make this appointment?"
As far as she knew, Rudian's schedule for the day consisted of diligently attending his department's classes, and then coming directly here with them without stopping anywhere else.
'That would mean he made the appointment before that...'
"I-I'm terribly sorry for not recognizing such distinguished guests!"
"......!"
Maria witnessed the receptionist who had gone to verify rushing back to Rudian and bowing deeply at the waist.
"The master is looking for you. Please come this way."
'...Really?'
The group was guided by the employee to the top floor of the guild, the 10th floor.
And then....
"You've come."
"H-how are you possibly here?"
Elvin and Maria saw the guild master fighting a battle with numerous documents in the master's office on the 10th floor.
But somehow, the guild master's appearance was quite familiar.
In that moment, Elvin and Maria felt like rubbing their eyes.
"Why is Princess Luciella here...!"
Originally, the identity of the Information Guild's master was not publicly known.
Some nobles boasted about having met the guild master, but they had only met proxy representatives put forward for appearances.
"Is it true that Princess Luciella was truly the master of the Information Guild?"
"I never would have imagined that the identity of the guild master, which has been veiled in mystery all this time, was you!"
It's too much to think of Luciella as merely a proxy representative of the guild master, considering her extremely high status.
"Sigh, I'm as surprised as you are."
Luciella, who discovered Rudian and Elvin's group, placed her hand on her forehead and let out a sigh.
"Is it true that you three were the ones who assassinated Viscount Gude Belstad?"
Gude Belstad. Assassination.
The moment they heard those two words, the expressions of Elvin and Maria hardened.