Ribelt Territory (4)
“My, you really managed to talk that man into it,” Celia said from the guest chamber they had assigned us as returning visitors.
“It wasn’t persuasion. It was a threat. He’s keeping quiet for now, but inside he has to be boiling. Ashtar—and taking a hit from that young lady of all people.”
The rivalry between Ashtar and Ribelt went back a long way. For the Ribelt clan, who had a particular habit of looking down on anyone who wasn’t a woman of their own house, this had to be the absolute worst.
“Still, you secured a proper promise of support, didn’t you?”
“I’m keenly aware that I’ve become an Imperial citizen at some point.”
A sense of belonging to the nation, that is.
“Well, Ashtar is a house loyal to the Empire, after all.”
“So what do you think?”
At times like this, I needed Celia’s opinion too.
As the next Magic Tower Master, she would also be helping decide how black mages were treated. Even if I was a mage myself, when it came to this field—information on the New World Group—Celia would know more.
“About the New World Group problem?”
“Yeah. What do you think those bastards want from Ribelt? The Magic Tower is hostile to them as well, after all.”
“Not ‘as well’—anyone who was on friendly terms with those people, or even exchanged greetings, would be a complete degenerate.”
Fair enough. If the Magic Tower had dealings with the New World Group, it would have drawn a line with the Empire long ago. And Celia would never do that, of course.
“Anyway.”
“Hmm. Honestly, there’s nothing for black mages to gain in Ribelt. Resources-wise, the region has nothing but livestock, furs, and iron ore, and the neighboring noble territories have far more magic stones. You can’t even call it an attempt to overthrow the domain.”
“True. It’s hard enough to beat Ribelt in open field combat with ordinary military force—and if it’s on Ribelt soil, that says it all.”
So they were on Mount Taut for some reason.
“Demonic energy was discovered on Mount Taut, which is as rugged as they come? Then there’s only one answer.”
“You think those bastards actually built a sanctuary on Taut for some reason? Or a hideout?”
“There’s an Eastern saying—the darkest place is under the lamp. Who would ever guess the New World Group had a hideout on Ribelt land?”
Right. The deduction was fairly convincing.
After the last attack on the Imperial Capital, the Empire’s hardline measures against the New World Group had been terrifying. Orders went out to every noble territory—soldiers were to monitor any suspicious gatherings, and the hunt for the New World Group never let up.
This was an Imperial House with fifteen hundred years of tradition. And that Imperial Capital, home to that Imperial House, had been attacked by nothing more than the New World Group. Of course it was a fight to the death.
This time, the New World Group had to be caught for certain.
Somewhere on Mount Taut.
On the mountainside of Mount Taut lay a space of alien design, wrought by magic. It was the place where the faithful of the New World Group gathered to set the course of their order—all for the resurrection of their god.
“When will we finally take the Empire? Our god awaits resurrection! His faithful are waiting to rise!”
“We need the White King to make his move.”
Once the White King rose, they would have a real shot against the Empire. So said the young believer.
Some of the faithful burst out laughing in disbelief. He needed to choose his words carefully. Was that even possible?
“Wait for the White King to rise? Until when? At best he’s a neighborhood boss. Even if he got lucky and took the Small Kingdom Alliance, when is he supposed to cross into the Empire?”
“Why do you assume he can’t? That person has already laid all the groundwork. It won’t take the White King long to cross into the Empire.”
He talked a good game. The White King’s prestige was considerable, true—but even if every war so far had been a victory, did that mean he had the capacity to cross the Imperial border?
“Say he crosses. Can he beat the Empire? From the war with the Demon King’s army, the Empire was born for combat, wasn’t it? And if they’re targeting the Empire, they have to prepare for a long war—and as a small nation, their supply of materials will hit a limit. Local foraging for food? The Empire is a country that scorches the earth and restores it afterward with blessings. They even have the Hero Party, and you can’t forget Ashtar.”
At the words of a believer who had once been a knight under a low-ranking Imperial noble, the room grew grim.
They had to bring down the Empire somehow. And yet the odds looked slim. The Empire was no ordinary nation.
Without the Magic Tower’s cooperation, the Empire’s magical forces weren’t particularly strong at present, but—
“That’s right. Even if the capital’s defenses aren’t what they used to be, after the attack on the capital failed, they’ve started to rally tightly around it.”
“When the White King moves, we have to move too. And it isn’t just the White King. If the Empire is torn apart from the inside as well, they’ll be hard-pressed.”
“Every noble who colluded with us has already been rounded up. What are you talking about?”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? The colluding nobles had been dead for ages. Who was going to rise up inside the Empire and smash it?
“We’ve got the Steppe folk, don’t we?”
“Those people who act like beggars every year, calling the Imperial House ‘big brother’ and taking goods—why would they help us?”
Those livestock-herding types on the Steppe, domesticated by the Empire—as if they’d ever rise up. Some of the faithful sighed, beyond words.
“Apparently the young chieftain of the Steppe was humiliated by the Emperor and the Taesa this time. He’s also an independence advocate against the Empire.”
An independence advocate against the Empire. It was almost funny. Frankly speaking, it was hard for those Steppe tribes to become independent from the Empire. That was why everyone faced reality and followed it. And yet there was someone dense enough to want to rise against it.
“You mean Chieftain Orkan of the Turka Tribe?”
“I’ve heard of him. Apparently that fellow was thoroughly shamed by the Empire this time.”
The New World Group’s faithful had heard quite a bit about Orkan of the Turka Tribe. He’d definitely been properly humiliated this time.
“If we egg him on just a little, he’ll raise an army. Dangle the White King stabbing up from below, and he’ll take the bait.”
“And if we throw our strength behind that?”
“The Empire won’t know what hit it.”
There were dozens of foundation cells inside the Empire alone. Naturally, there were plenty of Imperial-born believers among them. If they rose during a war, could the Empire really stop them? Even if it did, the Empire would take heavy losses.
In the end, the god’s advent will come to pass.
The young believer of the New World Group wore a vile smile.
Mount Haut was the most rugged and tallest among the mountains in Ribelt territory. They said no one even knew what was at the summit. The family head had climbed it once, supposedly—so maybe the New World Group was at the peak.
Before going up the mountain, I asked Balk, the family head, a few questions.
“I heard you climbed to the summit in the past. What’s at the top?”
“Nothing much at the summit. Just a tower the founder of Ribelt built long ago after climbing up.”
“A tower?”
“Yes. If you ever reach the summit, rest before you come down. There’s living space enough to stay overnight.”
So we could rule out the summit. Dumb as those idiots were, they knew that much. If they stayed there, Ribelt would find them eventually. So they’d aim for somewhere else.
The demonic energy found mid-mountain—did that mean there was a place on the mountainside where they could hide their presence? We might find it easily.
“Hmm. A tower—that’s surprising.”
“You’re not thinking of that place, are you?”
“No. The New World Group may be stupid, but they’re good at one thing—hiding. We’ll eliminate even the slightest possibility.”
Still, the problem was that they’d left traces mid-mountain after building something there. For now, if we could confirm the mid-slope was the right place, finding the hideout they’d made wouldn’t be that hard.
“Why do you think that?”
“Was it only demonic energy that was found?”
“That’s right. Traces of demonic energy were discovered on the mountainside.”
If that was certain, we just needed to search around the mid-slope.
“The discovery of demonic energy traces ultimately means they traveled the mountainside so often that the faint demonic energy flowing there collected into a detectable mark.”
“Is that so.”
That was how it was. Whether they’d left the traces on purpose or truly hadn’t known—we couldn’t tell yet. If it was the latter, even catching them would only net us foot soldiers.
“Yes. My guess is this: demonic energy traces were found mid-mountain, they couldn’t go to the summit, so the remaining option is the mountain interior. Those bastards set up a hideout somewhere mid-slope, not at the top. There’ll be a sanctuary for the god they worship too. It won’t be the summit—so the mid-mountain where the demonic energy was found is certain.”
“How dare they—here of all places? A sanctuary!”
Veins stood out on Balk’s temples. I knew he’d react like this. The moment anything filthy touched his land for any reason, this man flew into a rage. Someone had once asked what he’d do if an enemy invaded Ribelt, and he’d exploded then too, apparently.
So. I had to seize the initiative for sure.
“Just in case—don’t deploy the army to catch them. They’re mages, after a fashion, so the moment they sense anything they’ll bolt. Catching them is what matters, isn’t it?”
“You have a point. Very well. Can I trust you?”
If you’re going to ask that, why keep me tied up?
“If that’s how it is, why are you keeping me bound? If you want to leave it to me, either do it from the start or flood Mount Haut with troops.”
“Mm. My apologies. Then how do you plan to find them?”
Simple. Just track the traces of demonic energy. If we found them, perfect—but even if we didn’t, this would let us widen the search for where the New World Group might be hiding.
“That’s my business as a mage. There’s no risk of them detecting us, so don’t worry.”
“Understood. But the place with the demonic energy for certain is—”
Hmm. Better if we went on our own. Unlike Ribelt, tracking demonic energy wasn’t hard for us.
“Looking at that expression, a map would be difficult, and having a guide moving around too much isn’t good either. Just the two of us will go.”
“Very well.”
Leaving the family head behind, Celia and I climbed Mount Haut. Up to the mid-slope there were small wooden stairs, so the climb wasn’t hard.
They said Mount Haut got difficult from mid-slope onward. Indeed, from the mid-slope there were no stairs. Or rather, you couldn’t see them. Snow filled everything, rising to the calves.
If we melted our way forward, the New World Group would notice—and that would be handing them a free chance to run. First I needed Celia’s help as a doll mage. There was still a chance of being discovered, so we needed a variable.
“Celia, set your teddy bears in ambush all around. With the snow piled up, hiding them won’t be hard.”
I gave Celia the order. I had no intention of giving Ribelt any chance—I was going to catch every last one of them myself.
“Well, the Ribelt lot would come up fully armed and try to hide, and the New World Group would know all about that.”
“Exactly.”
Celia laid teddy bears everywhere. Her dolls always held mana, so there was no risk of detection. The moment those bastards came out of the mid-slope to flee, the teddy bears’ assault would be waiting. With hundreds of them blanketing just the mid-slope, those people wouldn’t even get their magic off properly before being swarmed from every direction.
“Hmm. So this is where the demonic energy traces were.”
“We found it easily enough.”
“If Ribelt found it, there’s no way we wouldn’t know.”
Spotting demonic energy was no trouble for mages like us.