Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Forging Evidence
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"Father, I feel sorry about it."
"……."
"It wasn't on purpose."
"Is that so……."
"Honestly, isn't it the kidnapper's fault?"
"Indeed……."
Yeah, it all made perfect sense, word for word. It was fortunate that he had returned safely... no, better yet, it would have been ideal if the kidnapping could have been avoided altogether…….
King Sedes let out a deep sigh as he stared at the letter before him. It wasn't just any letter. It was one from the Holy Empire itself.
And for good reason—the Mage Tower belonged to the Empire.
"...I didn't want to have to say this to you, but……."
The Empire was demanding an enormous sum in compensation. An absurdly massive amount that no one could believe was just for the collapse of a single Mage Tower.
And if they didn't pay up, they threatened to withdraw all the mages and the tower itself.
In a time when talented mages were already in short supply, losing them entirely didn't bear thinking about.
Harpen's position was incredibly precarious. Though it was a small kingdom, it barely held on thanks to the presence of the Grand Duke.
Because he was a demonkin.
Without the Grand Duke, it would have long since become a vassal state of the Empire. The neighboring kingdoms didn't even dare use the title "Your Majesty" for their own rulers.
"...Lend us some money, will you?"
"Father, I never took you for the type to pry snot-nosed cash from your own son……."
"……."
Snot-nosed cash? He knew full well how much profit the thermal stone product patents were raking in.
The Empire itself was shelling out huge sums to import them right now. Of course, while Harpen produced them as everyday goods, in other countries, they were luxury items that only nobles could dream of affording.
Fake knockoffs were flooding the market, naturally, but since there was no substitute for thermal stones themselves, even the fakes commanded high prices.
Moreover, knockoffs made without understanding the principles behind thermal stones were prone to malfunctioning. Those duds were imported cheaply, fixed up, and resold at a premium.
Perhaps the Empire was dissatisfied that Harpen had cornered the market on thermal stones.
"It's money for my boy's herbal remedies."
His son's friend narrowed his eyes and glared, then scanned his face before softening his expression.
"Tch, you've aged a ton in just a few days. Fine, let's hear it."
"That's too much……."
Sedes grumbled but continued his explanation anyway. The Grand Duke's presence and how it propped up the kingdom's position, relations with the Empire, and the compensation demand that had just arrived.
"...So that's why I'm asking for your help."
"So, basically, the Empire's been itching to swallow up this thorn-in-their-side kingdom that's never quite fallen, and they don't like seeing us thriving, so they're making a fuss over nothing."
Sedes's eyes widened slightly at the spot-on assessment. He grasped it in one go—his son's friend was even sharper than he'd thought.
"And Father wants to spite them by paying the compensation in full, but the price tag's so steep it'll stir up grumbling among the lower ranks."
"Exactly."
"So you want to throw in some pocket change to quiet the dissenters a bit."
"……."
"Ha……."
His son's friend sneered, crossed his arms, and tapped his lips with a finger. Then he grabbed a pen and paper, scribbled something, and called for Abel.
"Prime Minister."
"Huh? Me too?"
Abel looked up from the resignation letter he was drafting.
"Take a look at this."
"Hm?"
Abel glanced at the proffered paper. It showed what looked like a magic circle—squiggly and deeply unsettling.
"What do you think?"
"What do I think……."
"What's your first impression?"
"A bit... off-putting."
"A bit?"
"A lot."
"Good enough."
Nihil handed the drawing to Sedes.
"Father."
"What is it?"
"The Mage Tower's collapse was the work of a corrupt mage."
"……?"
Doubt flickered in Sedes's eyes. Just moments ago, he'd barged in apologizing for toppling the tower, and now he was pinning the blame on some mage.
"His name's Galdino. A 5th-circle mage who crossed into the kingdom specifically to research demons."
"……."
"He had a lab on sub-level 14 of the Mage Tower, and... hey, take notes."
At the sharp prod, Sedes reflexively picked up his fountain pen. His son's friend continued.
"He gathered sacrifices to summon a demonkin."
"Sacrifices?"
"He collected 'eyes' as sacrifices. And this magic circle is a summoning array for a 'demon'……."
"...Not the kind that falls from the sky, I take it."
"Nope."
"W-wait, hold on! Nil, is this summoning circle real?"
Abel freaked out, but Nihil waved him off dismissively and pressed on.
"Of course it's fake. I just drew it to look creepy. Anyway, ah—Father, don't write that down!"
Smack! Nihil irritably swatted the back of Sedes's hand.
"Anyway, he tried to summon a demon, but the array was a failure, and the backlash shattered his mana heart. Oh, and the Mage Tower collapsed as a bonus……."
"Not a bad scenario……."
Sedes finished jotting down the rest and looked up.
"Does this Galdino actually exist?"
"Galdino."
"Hm, misspelled it."
Holy Empire names still felt awkward on the tongue. Sedes made an excuse and corrected it.
"He exists. More precisely, he's the kidnapper. He snatched me because he coveted my eyes. The search teams probably haven't reached sub-level 14 yet……."
Nihil tapped the fake summoning circle he'd doodled.
"This is a plausible alteration of the spatial transfer array he kept carving into the floor to escape me. Of course, I kept disrupting the mana, so he failed every time, but traces of magic power should remain. From now on, this is a demon summoning array we found in that mage's lab."
"Will they buy it?"
"They'll have to. A lab full of dozens of eyeballs rolling around? Pretty convincing, right?"
"I see."
Sedes summoned a shadow knight and handed over the fake circle.
"Make sure it's discovered as naturally as possible."
"Understood."
The knight vanished, and Sedes picked up his pen again.
"So, an Empire mage came to the kingdom to summon a demon, collected eyeballs as sacrifices, botched the summoning array, and ended up destroying both his mana heart and the Mage Tower."
"That's right."
"Hm. Looking at it this way, we should be the ones demanding compensation."
"Quick thinker, Father."
Sedes chuckled at the praise from his son's friend. He'd never imagined turning the tables on the Empire like this.
"Hold on, Sedes."
Abel, who had just tossed his resignation into the fireplace, spoke up cautiously.
"Demanding compensation might be going too far, no?"
"What's the harm? If they push, we can just cut off thermal stone exports."
"No, Father. Not the thermal stones."
Nihil cut in again.
"Hm? Why not?"
"We're monopolizing the tech for now, but figuring out thermal stone applications won't take long. That's why I limited Alie's exclusive rights to two years. The mines are concentrated in Harpen, sure, but the Empire has them too. Better to rake in as much foreign currency as we can while we have the edge."
"Fair point……. So what should we do?"
"The Empire's go-to leverage is 'mages,' right?"
"Precisely mages and magical knowledge."
In truth, the Holy Empire's greatest power was the Temples, but in Harpen—thanks to the Grand Duke—they held little sway.
His son's friend mulled it over, then pulled a communication orb from his pocket and connected it somewhere.
The projection showed Baron Alie, who looked quite startled at the unexpected faces.
-...Your Majesty?
"Hm? I didn't initiate this."
"Merchant Lord."
Confirming Morris was alone, Nihil angled the orb to show himself.
-...Partner? What's up?
"About those magic tools I handed over."
-What about them?
"Sell them upfront, not from the shadows."
-Suddenly? But... weren't they looted from the Mage Tower?
"I've tampered with them—no tracing possible. Sell them under the 'Magitech Engineering Guild' name."
-Is there... even such a guild?
"There will be soon. Hm... the Prime Minister can notarize it."
"Wh-what? Hold on, Nil. Shouldn't we discuss this first?"
Abel, who had been sitting quietly, piped up timidly again, but Nihil brushed him off.
"Logo... Prime Minister, what's the Bridged Marquis house crest?"
"Huh...? Olive branches and a bluebird, I think……."
"Then we'll go with a chubby canary and some seaweed."
-...Seaweed?
"Take care of it."
Abel and Morris both blinked in bewilderment, but Nihil cut the connection and turned to Sedes.
"Father."
"Hm? I'm fine with seaweed, actually. Good for the health. It's not well-known in the Western Continent, but……."
Nihil narrowed his eyes at Sedes, who was rambling nonsense again. Looked like the kitten occasionally veering off-track was genetic.
"Demand compensation from the Empire."
"Ah, right."
"If they pull their mages... well, nothing we can do about that. Set up the guild too, and the guildmaster……."
Nihil glanced at the only mage he knew well. Sedes followed his gaze to Abel and spoke.
"Put this guy's name up?"
"Any reliable mage would do."
"He's the best we've got."
Sedes, grasping the situation, scribbled more on the paper. Work had piled up, but he felt oddly refreshed.
"I'll wrap it up and get back to you."
"Sure."
His son's friend added languidly, looking satisfied himself.
"I'll turn us into a magical powerhouse."
"……."
"……."
A heavy silence hung in the small bedroom. The man with the grim expression finally broke it.
"Young master."
Nod.
"To be honest... I can't bring myself to trust you."
"You...!"
"No. Marilyn, wait."
Jonathan stopped Marilyn from intervening and forced the words out.
"I know the rumors were nonsense. The butler and head maid both denied it."
Nod.
"But even so, I had to hear it from you directly. After the baby was born, you went through a lot, Marilyn. And Anna... that girl blamed herself so much when she heard the rumors. As for me... not doubting, not checking anything, just letting it slide……."
That... that was starting to gnaw at him…….
Jonathan's voice trailed off. He knew it deep down. He just needed someone to blame.
He'd thought he was prepared, but no. Thinking of a child who'd never see light filled him with worry first.
What if there were more unknown ailments? Could he take responsibility and raise this child right to the end? Even if it got hard, could he avoid resenting it? Could he love it?
"With feelings like these... I might end up disrespecting you……."
Jonathan bowed his head mid-sentence. Those serene eyes, like the night sky, seemed to reproach him endlessly. And with it came a wave of emptiness.
What the hell was he saying to an innocent child…….
"If it turns out I made the baby that way……."
"……!?"
But Jonathan's head snapped up at the voice that followed.
"Would that put your mind at ease?"
"Y-you can speak...!"
Ignoring his shock, Nihil continued.
"What if I devoured the baby's eyes to gain a voice?"
"Th-that's...!"
"If killing me would let the baby see."
Nihil stepped close to Jonathan, gazing up at him steadily.
"If killing the baby would give you a healthy, strong child... what then?"
Jonathan could only gape silently at the calm yet brutally cruel question.
Nihil turned from the man and approached Marilyn. The baby, sensing its parents' unease, had started crying sometime before.
"Can't raise it?"
One step.
"Regret giving birth?"
Two steps.
"Want to pretend it never happened?"
Final step.
Nihil slowly reached for the baby.
"In that case, give the child to me……."
Bang! Slam!
"Nil!"
The pale head flinched and trembled faintly.
"W-whoa, Your Highness?"
The servant couple flustered at their master's arrival, as Lianus grabbed Nihil in a hug.
"You can't steal a baby just 'cause you like it!"
"...It's not like that, Rian. I wasn't gonna steal it……."
"I heard everything! And I saw you secretly making baby toys!"
"That was just a gift……."
Nihil trailed off in excuse, glanced at the still-crying baby, and pulled a rattle from his pocket.
Jingle, jingle—
The baby stopped crying at the sound and flailed its hands in the air.
Nihil seized the chance, toddling over to slip the rattle into the tiny grasp.
"...I was thinking of raising it if you ever gave up, but I wasn't gonna take it."
"So you were luring it away?"
"Not luring...!"
"I can't go on living!"
Nihil looked a bit downcast. His plan had gone up in smoke.
"Come on, let's go. Class is starting soon."
"...Can I stay a little longer?"
"If you skip again, Karus might cry."
"Fine……."
Nihil pulled a few more baby toys from his pocket and handed them to Marilyn.
"Hurry up!"
"Yeah……."