The Spider That Collects Gold Coins
The northern barbarians were moving again.
I frowned at the Emperor’s words.
“If my memory serves, the intelligence department concluded they would focus entirely on recovery for the next ten years and wouldn’t stir at all. Correct?”
“It is.”
The northern barbarians. The term didn’t refer only to humans, but to every monster and subspecies that survived in the frozen wastes. Unlike the continent, where nations guarded their borders, the north was a patchwork of tribes. Different races had banded together simply to endure the biting cold. Each tribe had its chieftain, much like a kingdom had its king, yet the chieftains rarely communicated smoothly with one another. The reason was brutally simple: the northern cold did not forgive anyone who tried to move alone.
“The war ended only five years ago. We’re barely halfway through the timeframe they themselves calculated. For them to start moving again is utterly—”
“Which is why, a short while ago, I kicked the intelligence chief who made that ten-year prediction hard enough to crack his shin.”
The head of the Empire’s intelligence bureau answered directly to the imperial family. He led an organization composed solely of the elite, on par with the special forces. Naturally, he ranked among the ten most powerful figures in the Empire. And the Emperor had just spoken of dislocating that man’s joint with the same casual tone one might use to discuss the weather.
“Ah, I also took the opportunity to verify his ideology.”
In this world, only two ideologies were worth verifying: demons and Outer Gods. Both were entities that could never be confirmed through ordinary means. So when the Emperor said he had performed an ideology check, it meant he had used decidedly unordinary methods.
“…Let’s move on to the main point.”
“I could elaborate further if you wish, but very well. On to the main topic.”
The Emperor tilted his head at my words, then continued.
“Information gathered from the north indicates that the scattered tribes are beginning to gather, one by one.”
“Tribes have gathered before from time to time. Five or six at most—”
“Fifteen.”
The Emperor cut me off and named the count.
“Fifteen confirmed so far. More are likely converging even as we speak.”
“If entire tribes are assembling rather than just chieftains meeting in council, then this is no ordinary occurrence.”
Chieftains never called themselves kings, yet each was both a transcendent warrior and a peerless leader. In a land where even a single blade of grass struggled to grow, only those with overwhelming strength and vision could guide a people. Their pride was necessarily immense. If such individuals were rising from their seats and moving…
“It’s the Khan, then.”
“Most likely.”
On the continent, rulers were called kings and the greatest sovereign was called Emperor. An orc of the north who witnessed this decided his people needed a title that surpassed mere chieftain. Yet they could not simply steal the continent’s terms—that would only prove their own inferiority. So they chose Khan: both supreme leader and great chieftain.
“The war ended five years ago with the Khan’s death. Now a new Khan has appeared. Either the previous one’s successor or…”
“Or the man himself has returned.”
The Emperor’s conjecture supported my own. The previous Khan was certainly dead. The Emperor had witnessed it, and I had stood on that very battlefield when the fatal blow landed. Still, this world was broken enough that annihilation was its predetermined ending. The possibility that the dead could rise again could not be dismissed.
“Either way, we’ll be facing a monster.”
“Indeed.”
“So that’s why you’re looking for Heavenly Thunder?”
I stared directly at the Emperor as I asked. Having once been the Empire’s first star, I understood its military strength better than most. The Emperor himself, the imperial knight commander Scarlet—who now held the position of first star—and the transcendent warriors who would answer her summons without hesitation. Even if the previous Khan had returned, the Empire was a nation that could mobilize its full power. There should have been no need for the Emperor to personally issue a wanted order for a mere criminal.
“You drive me too harshly. Even an Emperor cannot simply order every transcendent in the Empire to march north.”
“It’s difficult. Not impossible.”
“Of course it would be possible. If it were the usual me. But right now, it is not.”
The Emperor’s silent gaze seemed to ask whether I truly needed him to explain. Indeed, even without the northern situation, the Empire was already mired in chaos. The aftermath of successive wars, the recent crisis involving Princess Arlea, and the increasing frequency of contaminant appearances had the Empire’s forces moving in tangled, complicated patterns.
“So you chose Heavenly Thunder.”
“Correct. Someone not bound to the Empire, yet who will obey my words. An unknown transcendent capable of traveling to the north and reliably delivering information.”
“……”
“The one once called the nightmare of the north should manage it easily.”
I let out a long sigh.
As the Emperor said, with the Empire’s internal affairs in turmoil, borrowing the identity of Heavenly Thunder was the optimal choice. The name carried suitable renown even in the north, no one knew anything beyond the alias, and it could willingly provide everything the Emperor desired. Moreover, I had no reason to refuse. The Emperor always offered compensation equal to the request. Beyond a pardon for my crimes, she would undoubtedly grant rewards beyond ordinary imagination.
It was not for nothing that I had once remained at her side to prevent the apocalypse.
Still.
“Grant me a little time.”
“Why? You have refused my proposals before, but you always had rational reasons. This time I cannot see one.”
The Emperor muttered to himself while I remained silent, then clapped as if a realization had struck.
“Aha. Is it because of the owner of this merchant group?”
“……”
“I hear you have been personally tutoring her. You must have formed some manner of contract.”
“You’ve looked into it quite thoroughly.”
“One hears many things simply by sitting in this seat. Still, a 5-Ring transcendent—and a manipulation mage at that…”
The Emperor pondered for a moment, then smiled brightly.
“Break it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I understand the Spider that Collects Gold Coins conducts business on reasonable terms. Offer her suitable compensation and she will likely dissolve the contract.”
I stared at the Emperor with an expression of pure disbelief. I had been about to speak when he continued in a tone of mild curiosity.
“Is that not so?”
For the first time since entering the room, the Emperor’s gaze was not directed at me. I turned to follow it.
“…This humble merchant greets Your Imperial Majesty.”
Beyond the barrier that now had a gaping hole, Beatrice stood with her head bowed in perfect etiquette. I had no idea when she had arrived. Or, more pressingly, how she had punched a hole through the Emperor’s barrier.
Before I could voice the question, the Emperor spoke again.
“Humble merchant? You don’t appear to think so at all.”
“……”
“Well, how many people truly believe themselves lowly? It would be ungentlemanly to throw a tantrum before someone who has shown such courtesy. Greetings, then.”
When the Emperor returned the greeting, Beatrice slowly raised her head. The eyes that met his were colder than I had ever seen them. Even through the barrier the Emperor had erected, her gaze was perfectly clear. She looked at both of us in turn before speaking.
“If someone who cannot even share the same space as Your Majesty without permission is not lowly, then who in the world could be?”
The Emperor’s expression grew intrigued.
“Hoh. Indeed. Anyone willing to bore a hole through a deliberately erected wall must possess quite the audacity to take what belongs to others.”
Beatrice’s eyebrow rose a fraction.
“I merely removed an eyesore that had been erected without permission, as is the duty of the rightful owner.”
“An eyesore? You call yourself a merchant yet cannot accurately appraise the value of an object?”
“Then may I ask how highly Your Majesty values that eyesore?”
“At least more than you imagine.”
“…I would very much like to exchange views on its exact worth. Would Your Majesty be so gracious as to grant this humble one a private audience?”
The temperature in the room plummeted. Not even the ice age that had once frozen the Earth, nor the merciless cold of the north that could freeze a man solid, could compare to the chill that now filled the air.
From the moment their exchange began I could say nothing. I simply listened. I understood the surface of their first few sentences, but after that their words transformed into something I could no longer parse. The only thought that remained was that I must not, under any circumstances, interfere.
“My first star.”
“You.”
“It seems I must have a short conversation with this merchant.”
“Could you leave us for a moment?”
The instant both of them issued their polite order for me to disappear, I bolted from the room faster than light itself.