The Great Wall Answers
The Imperial Intelligence Bureau.
"Yeah, she's your princess alright," Caric said. "Annette de Belgarde. I pulled her out of the middle of a snowfield myself."
The agent's eyes wavered as though an earthquake had struck beneath them. Sweat poured down in streams.
The princess who vanished in an accident... was rescued in our sector... by an uncontrollable top-tier collaborator?
He looked like a man whose brain had just overheated and crashed.
"Aren't you going to kneel or anything?"
At Caric's words, the agent snapped back to his senses.
"I greet Her Highness the Princess!"
He dropped to his knees in the snow without a moment's hesitation, booming it out with a fervor that bordered on excessive.
"Yes, I appreciate your hard work, Agent."
Annette said, sounding every inch the princess now.
She's learned how to put steel in her voice. Magnificent, Annette!
"Please rise. Let's continue this conversation somewhere more suitable."
"As you command, Your Highness!"
"Yeah, I'm worn out from the trip myself," Caric said, deliberately thumping the hilt at his hip.
The agent's gaze landed on Crowell's sword.
Oh, this absolute lunatic. That can't be...
The agent began trembling all over.
Before another overload could hit, Caric said lightly:
"Let's hurry up and get to your boss. Easier on you that way, isn't it?"
Only then did the agent realize he didn't have to be the one to judge any of this — or shoulder the responsibility for it.
"I'll escort you at once!"
The agent led the party not through the main gate but into an underground passage — a direct route to the branch chief's office. He was clearly in quite a rush. Even as he walked, though, his fingers never stopped working his magical device, apparently filing situation reports to the branch chief the whole way.
For Caric, that was welcome news; it would make the conversation go smoother. There were things that needed settling anyway — matters that couldn't be waved off just because the man happened to be an acquaintance.
The branch chief of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau's Demon Realm office. Was he truly uninvolved in the attempt on Annette's life?
I'd know once I saw how he played it.
Lost in thought as they walked, they reached the end of the passage. The hatch in the ceiling stood open already.
"P-please, come up."
A ladder lowered. The agent gestured for them to ascend; he apparently meant to turn back here rather than follow them in.
Well, in that case.
Time for a little staging.
Instead of climbing the ladder, Caric scooped Annette up in one arm and leaped straight up through the opening.
"...Thank you, Caric."
Annette looked a touch flustered, but she played along naturally.
"Don't mention it," Caric replied simply.
The sight of the two of them trading physical assistance with perfect ease told the branch chief everything he needed to know about Caric's intent.
We're close. Attempt any sowing of discord, and something very unfortunate will happen to your skull.
But the branch chief, having heard the report, had only ever intended one course of action.
"I greet Her Highness the Princess!"
He dropped to both knees with startling speed, nearly driving his forehead into the floor in the process — as if he'd fumbled the protocol out of sheer nerves. Yet the motion was far too swift and precise to read that way. A thoroughly calculated half-prostration.
The message was unmistakable.
I knew nothing about that assassination! Please, spare me!
"I'm glad to meet you too, Branch Chief."
Annette answered him with easy grace.
"Please rise. We can hardly talk with you face-down, can we?"
Even so, the branch chief didn't dare get up. He seemed to be feeling out whether it was truly safe to move.
In the end, Caric spoke.
"Go on, get up. Groveling like that makes it look like you've committed a capital crime. Don't tell me you actually did?"
"No, sir!"
The branch chief shot to his feet at rigid attention.
After exchanging a glance with Annette, Caric stepped forward.
"Recognize this?"
He held out Crowell's sneaky little skewer of a sword.
"That would be... Count Crowell's sword."
"He got lippy, so I killed him. For the record, he was carrying this, too."
What he drew from his subspace was a tracking compass — the very one that had been pointing at Annette.
"So we didn't just happen to cross paths on a stroll. Your thoughts?"
"I... agree."
"Ah, nearly forgot this one."
Caric produced the commission papers the human hunters had been carrying.
"Now then, Branch Chief. Out of old affection, I'll spell it out for you kindly. I have two hypotheses."
"G-go ahead."
"One: you're a traitorous bastard."
Caric clamped a hand around the branch chief's shoulder.
"You joined the assassination. Or you knew about it and tacitly permitted it — or aided it. Crowell crossing the Great Wall. The anonymous hiring of human hunters. You let every last bit of it slide."
"No! Absolutely not!"
"You're certain? You people have those abilities of yours. This seems like the most common-sense reading to me."
"Caric, please—"
"Don't appeal to my emotions. I'm an INFP. Weak to that stuff."
He was, to some degree, serious. The branch chief was ordinarily quite capable, and watching him come apart at the seams with his life dangling by a thread was a little hard to watch.
Caric pressed on.
"There's a second hypothesis."
He eased the pressure off the man's shoulder.
"Crowell was one hell of an operator. You genuinely had no idea he was coming in."
In truth, this second version looked far likelier to be the real one. The branch chief's attitude said as much — and romance-fantasy male leads were, by nature, off-the-charts powerhouses.
"The circumstances line up. He disguised the attempt as an accident. And yet he still went out of his way to hire human hunters — leaving evidence like this behind."
Caric rapped a knuckle against the commission papers.
"Why do you think?"
The branch chief found his answer fast.
"Because we trusted Count Crowell absolutely."
Cold sweat streamed down him, yet he'd evidently finished sizing up the situation in the meantime, because the answers kept coming without a hitch.
"The Demon Realm's mana currents run wild. Especially once a spatial transfer malfunctions... there was no telling exactly where Her Highness would come down."
"So you hired local human hunters to run her down. Doubles as a confirmation kill. But the traces?"
"We trusted that Count Crowell would handle those perfectly on his own. Because he is that Count Crowell."
"Well, guess what?"
Some barbarian had to go and butt in. Crowell had probably written it off as nothing. He was no main-lead-grade knight commander, after all — surely he could handle one barbarian.
Except.
"Instead, I killed Crowell. Which is how every scrap of evidence ended up in my hands."
Caric folded his arms.
"So — why do you suppose I'm telling you all this? To flaunt my intellect? To unveil my hidden charm?"
"Either way... it's because the responsibility is ours."
The branch chief had, in effect, declared surrender.
"Incompetence or complicity, we bear grave responsibility for missing Count Crowell's illegal crossing."
"Right. If Annette doesn't speak up for you, the Emperor will wipe you all out."
The branch chief knew he'd been checkmated. He had no choice but to take the single path of survival Caric had left open.
"Spare us. We will support you both with everything we have."
"Hmm. How?"
"Within the bounds of the national interest," the branch chief said. "I will do everything in my power."
"Specifically?"
"I'll open you the fastest, safest route to the capital."
He went on.
"You'll cross the Great Wall through the Intelligence Bureau's exclusive checkpoint. From there, a direct gate will take you straight to the capital."
"You're certain the gate is safe?"
"I manage it personally. The destination is a royal security zone as well — it can't be swapped out."
"And if you betray us?"
"...I have no desire to die like the Frost Giants."
"Good."
Caric pressed once more.
"And?"
"Take this receiver."
The answer came without a hitch, along with a small, expensive-looking crystal orb.
"I'll share filtered internal-network intelligence with you weekly. It's receive-only, so there's virtually no risk of it being traced back."
"And?"
"If this affair concludes well, I'll be finishing my term shortly and receiving a promotion."
The branch chief swallowed hard.
"I will attend you personally in the capital."
"And?"
"And..."
The man was starting to run dry.
"I'll provide you a security subspace. One that blocks tracking."
"Count Crowell's subspace probably does that already."
"...It does."
"Take one anyway. And?"
"And..."
Floundering as he was, there was one thing the branch chief did not offer: a personal oath of loyalty. He could put nothing above the national interest — not even nominally. Then again, that wasn't what Caric was after anyway.
"I need people. Someone to support us in the field until you arrive."
He already had a candidate in mind. A perk of knowing the original story.
"Her given name is Celis. Surname unknown. Shadow magician."
"...Do you mean Celis Labrume?"
"Ah, right. I think that was it. Your outside collaborator. The ultra-pricey mercenary."
"How do you know of her— no. Forgive me. Understood. Her skills are beyond question; we only retain her when matters turn difficult."
"Give me a contact token or a letter of introduction. Oh, and about three months of her fee while you're at it."
"...I'll pay that out of my own pocket," the branch chief said gloomily.
"Good. That covers my demands," Caric continued. "One thing puzzles me, though. Are you truly convinced none of this runs afoul of his precious national interest?"
"Protecting the legitimate imperial bloodline from attempted assassination and unlawful cover-ups is the national interest."
"Hm. Is that so?"
"Besides."
The branch chief gave a wry smile.
"Frankly, I was more afraid of what happens if you'd walked away with no information at all."
"Why's that?"
"Because then you'd be administering random skull... physical therapy in the middle of the capital."
So rather than risk that, he'd make things somewhat predictable through cooperation. Reasonable.
"What do you take me for? Where else would you find a man who upholds decency and good customs like I do?"
"Hahahaha! Quite right. Well... truth be told, I'm rather looking forward to it..."
The branch chief wore a faintly vindictive smile.
"Our branch has long been quietly written off as blowhards, you see... on account of a certain someone."
"Sounds like you've had it rough."
Caric was growing tired of talking.
"I've said all I came to say. We can call the deal closed, yes?"
"Of course."
The branch chief answered crisply. Annette, silent until now, nodded as if she had no objections either.
"Right. Now bring out the meat."
"Pardon?"
"I talked too much. I'm hungry."
"You haven't changed a bit, Caric."
The branch chief laughed like a man hearing an old familiar tune, his expression finally loosening at last.
"Just head to the cafeteria and order as you always do. Will you depart for the Great Wall straight after the meal?"
"Annette, what do you think? About resting a day before we move out?"
"I'm fine with that."
"Then follow me. I'll recommend the three greatest desserts this cafeteria has to offer — vetted rigorously over many years."
After a full day spent shaking off the weariness of travel, the two set out for the Great Wall with a handful of agents in tow. The journey proved comfortable this time as well.
"Hehe, Caric! I'm riding this horse rather well, aren't I?"
"Yeah, better than me. Very princess-like."
The Intelligence Bureau had lent them some genuinely fine northern horses — short in the leg and none too fast, but with excellent stamina. Thanks to them, the party reached the Great Wall in two days.
Seen from afar, Annette's impression was simple.
"It's huuuuge...!"
But once the horses were staked and they drew nearer to the barrier, she fell quiet.
It really does carry a strange, crushing presence.
A wall soaring so high it seemed to hold up the sky. Even Caric, with his memories of the modern world, had never seen anything like it. It looked abnormally tall, abnormally thick, abnormally solid. If anything, it radiated a desperate will — a refusal to ever let this place be joined to what lay beyond. Somehow, it was a wall that seemed to smell faintly of blood.
Maybe that's just because I know the original story's history.
Whatever the reason, it was a sight that made the chest swell.
"Annette. Cover your ears."
Caric said it quietly.
Annette obeyed without a word. The agents, catching on, hurried to do the same.
Caric opened his mouth.
"Uuuuuulbaaaaaaraaaaaa!"
His battle cry rolled out across the snowfield, deep and thunderous. The roar flew until it struck the Great Wall — and a moment later—
Wooooooom.
As if the wall itself were answering, the echo came back and shook the snowfield to its bones.
"Hahahaha!"
Caric felt, for some reason, utterly delighted and electrified. The gloom that had been slowly settling over him lifted all at once.
After savoring the lingering resonance for a while, he waved to the agents that it was enough. They looked a little stunned, but set to their tasks at once — casting and dispelling one spell after another to open a way up to the Great Wall.
"How are you feeling?"
While they waited, Annette came over to him.
"You are leaving your homeland behind, after all."
"Homeland, huh. Right."
Caric looked back toward the Demon Realm.
"Don't feel much about it. I can always come back here."
"You look rather excited for someone who feels that way."
"Live here past twenty years and you will too."
This time, Caric asked.
"What about you? You're the one heading home."
"You mean me..."
Annette's voice trailed off.
"I'm a little nervous, honestly."
"Why?"
"I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing. And I have no allies in the capital. Not one."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Caric said, thinking of Crowell and the evidence sitting in his subspace.
"Didn't I tell you what I like? Enemies on every side. Skulls with just cause to break."
Annette blinked at that. Right — this was who Caric was. With a man like him beside her, why on earth had she been trembling?
Just as she smiled, small and warm—
"The work is finished!"
the agents shouted. The path to the Great Wall stood open.
Caric turned back to Annette.
"Let's go. Time to give the capital bastards some lessons in visiting etiquette."