327. Provocation (2)
327. Provocation (2)
- 1 -
Evening at the Crash County Adventurer's Guild.
Harai, who had returned without sending word to anyone, went straight into his office.
He could hear murmuring voices outside the door, but he had no desire to be greeted right now.
Closing the door, Harai shut his eyes for a moment against the sunlight streaming through the window.
His clenched fist glowed faintly.
"Guild Master?"
The door opened and Catherine's face appeared. A smile tinged with joy.
Harai, who had been lost in his own thoughts, gave an awkward grin and nodded.
"I've returned."
"How did it go? Did you receive help from Hylash?"
At her question, Harai sat down in his chair and sank deep into it.
"Well..."
How did it go...
That was, in truth, a question he couldn't answer precisely either.
- 2 -
"What do you think about you personally participating in the dungeon assault?"
Philia Elskopf's proposal struck his ears.
Harai doubted his own hearing.
It was a method he had never even considered.
With a bewildered expression, his lips twitched before he barely managed to speak.
"Personally... what do you mean?"
Harai unconsciously touched the hilt of the sword at his waist.
What he was touching now was a decorative sword, but what came to mind was his old longsword.
Well-maintained and usable even now, yet one that might break at any moment if too much force was applied...
A sword that matched his circumstances perfectly.
Once a skilled fighter who represented the Crash Guild, he was now merely an administrator managing the guild, with no further improvement in his abilities.
His body was still trained, but the skill he could produce with it was not the same as in his younger days.
"I've long since retired from active duty. Of course, I could offer advice to the young ones, but the strength to protect the most critical front lines..."
"And if that strength were sufficient?"
Philia cut in, and he momentarily lost his words.
But only for a moment.
"You speak as though you could grant power at will. If that were possible, then naturally I too..."
It was a sharp remark.
Words that flowed out instinctively, without any calculation or thought.
'Damn.'
He shut his mouth, realizing he'd made a mistake, but the words already out could not be taken back.
Philia Elskopf was already looking at him with the corners of her eyes curving.
"Yes. It is possible."
Such an exceedingly calm affirmation.
Harai felt his heart pound fiercely at those words.
A means to freely bestow power upon others.
Rationally, he thought such a method couldn't possibly exist, but if it truly did...
'Jeina.'
Now, in this moment, the face rising in his mind was...
[I'm alright... Father.]
The gaunt face of his daughter lying in a sickbed, worrying about him instead.
His beloved child, who had stayed with him rather than chasing after the mother who ran away as a result of his lifelong wandering, but who had fallen ill and for whom he could only provide life-prolonging treatment.
He had accepted the guild master position to maintain her life-prolonging care and nursing, so she wouldn't be left alone if he were gone too.
But if he truly gained power...
'Better treatment could...'
No.
That was only if Philia's words were true.
How could he verify that those words were true?
Right. There was no way to verify. None, but...
'Conversely, does she have any reason to lie to me?'
She was a power-holder of Hysen and Grakheizen, while he was merely the adventurer's guild master of a single county and nothing more.
What benefit could she possibly gain by deceiving him?
"You seem deep in thought."
"Ah, m-my apologies."
Only when Philia's words reached him did he realize he had been lost in his own thoughts in front of this powerful figure, and he hurriedly bowed.
Fortunately, Philia chose not to remark further on that.
"You must have been thinking of your daughter. She's been ill for a long time, I hear."
She had seen through his feelings and situation.
Startled, he gripped the armrest tightly as he looked at Philia, who wore a smile that even appeared kind.
Her smile brought Harai both hope and fear at the same time.
"You are a good father."
"I am a father who cannot even properly provide medicine for his sick child. How can I..."
Watching Harai unconsciously spout words that sounded like excuses, Philia drew her smile even more deeply.
And then, she granted him mercy.
"I shall give you time to choose. Return in two days. Think it over until then."
"... Thank you."
Feeling a sigh of relief escape him unconsciously, Harai bowed his head.
- 3 -
Two days was an extremely ambiguous span of time.
'It's too short to return to Crash, and I have no money to stay here...'
Fortunately, Philia had given him a reassuringly large sum of gold coins.
So much money that if he used it for life-prolonging treatment, his daughter Jeina's lifespan would be guaranteed for some time to come.
'To give this as a mere investment...'
He couldn't tell if it was the excess of wealth, or if she truly thought there was something in him.
"Haa..."
Lying on the bed of a high-class inn like a noble family's mansion, a place he'd never stayed in his entire life, he stared at the ceiling and mulled over Philia's proposal.
He couldn't understand why she had chosen him, nor what she truly wanted.
Yet there was a phrase that kept ringing in his ears.
[You are a good father.]
The way Philia looked as she said that seemed somehow both pleased and sad.
Of course, she was a high-ranking noble. She could deceive him all she wanted if she chose to...
But the appearance of that woman, who looked even younger than his daughter Jeina, somehow didn't seem false.
'What am I doing, feeling sympathy for her? Harai.'
He realized his own feelings and let out a scoff.
Who was sympathizing with whom? Whatever anyone said, she was the greatest power-holder in this alliance.
A person who could obtain anything she desired, and who possessed the power to kill anyone who opposed her.
For a nobody like him to pity someone like her—it was absurd.
He turned over and continued with other thoughts.
'With my own hands... I might be able to invite a high-ranking healer. No, a cleric.'
Of course, it wouldn't be easy.
For an adventurer, high reward always came tied to high risk.
Moreover, if he were to go out and about, his daughter Jeina's time alone would grow longer.
That child, who could do nothing but lie in bed, would be left in a situation where she had only the visits of neighborhood girls to wait for.
'But, even so... if that child could finally rise from her sickbed...'
After a difficult night, Harai finally made up his mind.
To accept Philia's proposal.
"Come in, please."
Philia greeted Harai, who had come a day earlier than the appointed time, with a smile.
"Please, take it."
Harai accepted the tea offered by the black-haired, crimson-eyed woman before him.
But a strange light swirled within the teacup.
Watching the green viscous liquid slosh slowly, he furrowed his brow.
It was because he had never seen Western-style matcha before.
'This is tea? As for the taste...'
But having been served, he had no choice but to drink.
'I'd honestly prefer alcohol. Just drink it down quickly... Come to think of it, wait, tea is...'
Just as he brought the cup to his lips to drink, he thought he'd made a mistake, recalling teas that were always hot.
But soon, his eyes widened slightly as he swallowed the liquid in his mouth.
The tea was not that hot, and it went down smoothly.
It was an unexpected experience.
"Isn't it good?"
"Yes. Indeed."
Truthfully speaking, he didn't really know the taste.
It was simply that he could drink it more comfortably than any tea he'd ever had in the company of nobles.
There was also a thought close to a sense of obligation that he must enjoy the tea of a noble who was extending goodwill toward him.
He didn't know the reason, and it was suspicious as could be, but goodwill was still goodwill for now.
So when that moment came, he couldn't help but feel a brief sense of betrayal.
"What... is this...?"
His five senses grew hazy.
His head spun.
Slowly, his consciousness... faded.
"Worry not. I merely added a drug to facilitate the mana's effect."
Philia's gentle voice came from afar.
"When you wake again, the world will have changed."
Seeing him off as he fell asleep was Philia Elskopf's ever-gentle smile.
Without even the time to think something was hidden behind that smile, he closed his eyes.
"... Huh?"
And when he opened his eyes again, the space had changed before he knew it.
A guest room completely dyed in darkness.
Glancing around briefly, he realized he was in a guest room he had glimpsed in passing at the royal castle.
And as he realized that, he simultaneously realized something even more astonishing.
"... What happened?"
His surroundings were still dark.
But even in that darkness, everything was clearly visible.
Even more surprising was his body.
When he rose from his seat, he realized there was no pain at all in his knees and shoulders, which had always creaked.
Not only that, but his body felt far lighter as well.
"What is this...?"
Rising, he bent and touched various parts of his body, confirming.
His muscles had become firmer and more elastic, his body was supple, and his five senses were far sharper.
Above all.
Thump.
"What... is this?"
The intense throbbing felt in his right chest was resonating throughout his entire body.
Clink.
He sought out the prime minister's office to properly understand this change, but Philia was not there.
Instead, her guard came to find him.
"Follow me."
"Huk...!"
When that voice reached him, he was so startled he couldn't help but leap in place.
Because until just then, he had truly felt nothing at all.
"You seem to have slept well, Harai."
Standing in the outdoor garden, Philia waiting for him appeared even more mysterious and beautiful than before.
Even while completely absorbed in his own transformation, Harai felt his gaze drawn to that beauty before he quickly pulled himself together and spoke.
"What... what has happened to me?"
"As promised, I have given you sufficient strength."
Harai looked at his own hands.
On the surface, nothing had changed, but he knew.
The mana flowing within him had transformed to an entirely different level.
Beyond the past 'elite' rank, the power of 'high rank' was there.
"Is such a thing... possible?"
"For me, it is possible."
He swallowed.
He began to feel the reality of the power granted to him.
And so now, in this moment.
What unsettled him was.
"The price... what is it? What price do you demand for such power, such grace...?"
That he still didn't quite understand what she wanted.
"If you knew, would it change anything?"
What answered him was an exceedingly serene voice.
"Now that you've felt this grace, could you refuse it?"
Extending a hand toward him, she curved her eyes in a soft smile and spoke as if whispering.
"No, it would be difficult. But worry not. I..."
She unconsciously stroked the head of the man who had knelt there, once.
"... like people who are perceptive, capable, and above all, 'good,' like you. So enjoy it to your heart's content."
The price he had been so curious about—there was none.
"'Youth' and 'strength.'"
At least, not within what he could perceive and what was possible.
- 4 -
"Are you tired?"
At Catherine's voice, Harai emerged from his recollection.
She was looking at him with a worried expression.
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired..."
Just then, a commotion was heard from the hall outside.
Several men's voices and a woman's sharp scream.
"... Ah, again."
He frowned and rose from his seat, stepping out of the office.
In the place that served as both guild and tavern, a common scene was unfolding.
A mercenary was roughly grabbing a female clerk by the arm.
"Guild Master!"
A staff member spotted Harai and let out a sigh of relief.
Believing he would soon summon the adventurers stationed at the guild to resolve the problem.
But it was Harai himself who stepped before the mercenary.
"What's going on?"
At his low, firm voice, the hall fell quiet.
The mercenary looked at Harai, still clutching the clerk's arm.
"What, this old man?"
The mercenary was intoxicated.
Behind him, two or three companions stood sneering.
"Let go of her."
"Look at this. The old man still seems to have some confidence in his physical ability..."
The mercenary staggered toward him.
Harai let out a sigh.
Peok!!
It happened in an instant.
Harai's fist shot out with intense force.
So powerful that even he himself was startled and had to pull back—the force lodged into the mercenary's abdomen.
Foam burst from the man's mouth.
His body flew backward as if carrying a fierce wind.
"What...?!"
The mercenary's companions drew their swords.
But their movements were far too slow.
One, two.
Using the skills from his adventuring days and his newly gained power, he subdued them in an instant.
With bare hands, against armed men.
"Cough...!"
"W-what...!"
"They said that guild master was nothing special! That there was only a beauty here!"
"Fuck...!"
The mercenaries fled the guild as if running away.
"Whoa...!"
"What? What just happened?"
"Something just passed by and it was over? The Guild Master really is an impressive person..."
As the excitement of battle faded and people's voices reached him, Harai realized his own actions.
He had just stepped forward personally without any hesitation.
He felt a measure of embarrassment at that fact.
'How foolish of me, at this old age.'
Unable to resist his newly gained power, he had swung it around on his own.
It was an act far too much like a greenhorn.
And yet, he gave a bitter smile at himself for not regretting it.
"Guild Master. What came over you to step in personally? Usually you always yield such matters to the young adventurers, saying you'd show them where to properly use their strength."
He turned around.
Facing Catherine, who looked at him with surprised eyes, Harai answered with a wry smile.
"Well..."
He looked at his own hands.
The power Philia had given him was the power of 'high rank.'
He had reached a realm he had failed to attain his entire life in just a single night.
That fact was bitter, but now there was something more important.
"Prepare for the dungeon assault. Miss Catherine."
"Pardon?"
"I have decided to participate personally. And we will also be able to receive help from other regional guilds."
Catherine looked at him with startled eyes.
And soon, she nodded.
There were many things she wanted to ask, but she instinctively sensed from the guild master's solemn expression that she could question him no further.
- 5 -
My private quarters prepared in the Hylash Royal Palace.
"If he succeeds in assaulting even the dungeon across the border, Elieniessi will inevitably protest. Master."
A subtle fragrance of scented candles hung in the room.
'It resembles Saya's natural scent.'
Thinking that, I watched her back as she drew the curtains over the window.
"Naturally they will. That's precisely why I placed that power in his hands."
"It was not goodwill, then."
"That's right. It's a favor."
Clack.
"Even if it's a price he won't have to pay..."
I smiled.
"... a price is still a price."
When adventurers cross the border to assault a dungeon.
The ripple will begin.
Zenota.
Aririt.
Norn.
Elieniessi.
The four nations will each react in their own way.
If they actively step forward to protest, that would be fine.
Even if they resort to military action, that would also be fine.
Some nations may not react depending on their domestic circumstances, but that too is fine.
This is still a shallow justification, so it won't be enough to move the Alliance, but as we stack them up one by one like this, we'll soon be able to create a casus belli.
A casus belli to attack them and show the world the might of the Alliance.
When that time comes, I will be able to seize the opportunity to elevate the Alliance into an empire that reigns over the central region of the Eastern Continent.
"Master..."
Saya called softly, as if reading my thoughts.
Her gaze held silent loyalty.
"Only waiting for the pieces on the chessboard to move remains. I look forward to seeing what moves those four nations will make..."
The beings called humans are truly fascinating.
With just a small spark of hope, they can accomplish tremendous things, and sometimes they willingly throw themselves in even knowing it is a flame that will burn them.
This time, it was the spark called Harai's turn to fall upon the haystack that was Elieniessi and the Eastern Continent.