328. Cage (1)
328. Cage (1)
- 1 -
The regents' council chamber of the Elieniessi royal palace.
An artistic table inlaid with various jewels emitted a cold light from the center of the chamber.
Around it, three people sat in silence.
The late-summer sky visible outside the window was high and clear, but the air in the chamber was so heavy it felt suffocating.
'Haa...'
One of the three regents, Chancellor Sebastian Monperra, watched the duke vent his anger with a troubled expression.
Kwang!!
"This is a clear violation of sovereignty!!"
As Duke Rotar Logburg's fist struck the table, the wine glasses and teacups upon it clattered violently.
His face was flushed red with fury. As if he might explode at any moment.
"You are ignoring the governance of our territory and trespassing without authorization, aren't you?!"
The chancellor composed himself and listened to the duke's words with a calm expression.
His thin fingers stroked his white beard.
"Their actions may certainly appear discourteous, but they did not exceed the bounds. Rather than moving in haste..."
"You mean we must be cautious again? How long do you propose we merely stand by and watch?!"
Duke Rotar cut off the chancellor's words and shouted.
"Those Kaski bastards were the ones who reached out to keep Hysen in check, and now they are just sitting on their hands!"
Tok-tok.
The reason his shouting ceased was the knock that sounded from outside.
Archbishop Theodoros, seeing that the agitated duke had not heard the knock, raised a hand.
"They say Lord Adan, who went as envoy, has returned. Have him enter!"
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a grave expression entered the chamber.
Lord Adan paid his respects to the three and immediately began his report.
"I had an audience with Queen Yurena, but did not obtain the expected result. She claimed that the actions of Hysen's adventurers were 'free activities' and that there was no state-level intervention."
"Ha!"
Lothar scoffed with a sneer.
"Adventurers crossed our border and raided a dungeon on their own? Preposterous!"
"It is indeed an unbelievable claim."
The chancellor calmly continued.
"However, in terms of justification, it is a situation where raising an objection is difficult. The association is clearly an organization separate from the state, after all."
For a while, the only thing dominating the room was Lothar's seething breaths.
The other two regents both understood his feelings.
He was usually a calm and gentle-natured duke, but when Elieniessi's interests were at stake, there were many instances where he stepped forward excessively like this.
"Ah."
At that moment, Archbishop Theodoros flicked his fingers and spoke.
The chancellor and the duke looked at the archbishop simultaneously.
"Do you have some method, Archbishop?"
"It is a simple matter. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
A smug smile lingered at the corner of his mouth, and red greed coiled in both his eyes.
"They started it first, so what if we disregard a little bit of principle? Let us see what comes out of that dungeon. Dungeon core formations have been increasing lately... and there are rumors that gold coins pour out."
"What do you mean?"
The chancellor asked with a dubious face.
His proposal was not so bad, but he seemed suspicious of the archbishop's true intent.
For the archbishop was a man as full of greed as his protruding belly was large.
"Let us also send adventurers into that dungeon. Of course, to the government we would state it as 'restoration of sovereignty and territorial preservation,' and to them, we shall call it 'personnel support.'"
"Finally, a proper proposal."
But for Duke Rotar, it was talk that suited his taste.
"Good. I shall instruct our adventurers' guild immediately."
"We must make a 'request' to the guild, not an instruction. And..."
Sebastian sighed and shook his head.
His eyes, which closed for a moment and then opened, held wisdom.
"In my view, this situation is a little strange. For Hysen's adventurers to suddenly cross the border... This..."
"Whatever their ulterior motives may be."
Archbishop Theodoros intercepted.
"Dungeons within our territory belong to our citizens and our adventurers. Since they broke the rules first, should we not also act a bit more proactively?"
The regents looked at one another.
None of the three expressed any 'opposition.'
"Good."
Duke Rotar made his decision.
"Dispatch personnel from the knight order along with the adventurer representatives. Officially, label them as nobles with adventurer qualifications."
The chancellor frowned, but he did not object further. The tide had already tilted.
- 2 -
The Krash County adventurers' guild was bustling from early morning.
Preparations for the dungeon raid had been in full swing for a week already, but today's commotion was not because of that.
Uninvited guests had arrived.
"I've brought them in, Guild Master."
The door to Harai's office opened, and Catherine led in the unfamiliar visitors.
Harai recognized what their emblems signified.
They were adventurers from Elieniessi.
"Greetings, Guild Master. I am Brandon Hillake, affiliated with the Elieniessi Adventurers' Association."
The man standing before Harai appeared to be around fifty.
His posture, ramrod straight like a soldier's, and his hard-packed muscles stood out.
Behind him stood more than a dozen adventurers of various ages and genders.
"I had heard you were coming."
Harai rose from his chair and asked.
"What is the reason for this sudden visit?"
Brandon wore an expression of utter confidence. As if the offer could not be refused.
"I heard that you are preparing to raid a dungeon in our jurisdictional area. I wish to participate in that dungeon raid. Although that dungeon is in our guild's territory, you were the ones who obtained information about it first... as a gesture of respect for that."
"That is a sudden proposal."
"Is dungeon raiding not a dangerous task? If we cooperate, we can certainly raid it with fewer casualties."
Harai narrowed his eyes.
He felt instinctively that this man had far more complicated circumstances behind his words.
And at the same time, that several among them displayed attitudes closer to soldiers or knights than adventurers.
"I am also a baron of Elieniessi, you see..."
Brandon added politely and courteously.
A subtle pride was imbued in his eyes.
"I also formally possess an adventurer's license. Though I acquired it recently. Moreover, my entire party has extensive experience hunting demon beasts, so we will be of great help."
Harai's gaze shifted to Brandon's side.
The eyes of some in his party were quite insolent.
A gaze as if looking down on an inferior.
He felt a headache coming on.
'It seems the high-ranking parties didn't reach a good agreement after all.'
A woman's face flickered through Harai's mind.
The Black Noble Lady, Philia Elskopf.
'Did she give me power... because she foresaw this kind of situation?'
A chill ran down his spine.
'No, perhaps...'
A thought even more dangerous than that soon surfaced in his mind.
'Perhaps she may have deliberately tried to create this situation.'
But he was already in a position where he could not withdraw.
'We were the first to disturb the principle. On top of that, we are receiving support from Hysen...'
The answer had already been decided.
"Very well."
Harai spoke, lifting the corners of his mouth.
"I welcome you to join us. We plan to depart tomorrow morning, so you would do well to finish preparations and rest today."
Brandon nodded.
"Thank you. If I may ask one more thing, how is the raid plan coming along?"
"We plan to enter divided into four teams: reconnaissance, vanguard, support, and rearguard. I intended to take the lead as captain of the vanguard..."
"Oh."
His eyes widened roundly.
"I had heard you were retired... so it is surprising that you will step forward yourself. Let me join the vanguard as well. It is the most dangerous position, is it not."
"That is reassuring."
Even as he shook hands with him, Harai already had an inkling of his true intentions.
'He has absolutely no intention of yielding the core or the treasure.'
He sighed inwardly. His heart was heavy.
He could devise a cooperation plan somehow, but he could not be certain whether impromptu, unpracticed cooperation would go well.
Perhaps there would be more casualties than we had calculated.
But what could he do.
'I can only muster my strength.'
At least it was a comfort that he, the guild master himself, was stepping forward personally.
No matter how much the other party consisted of nobles, inside the dungeon they would not be able to ignore the abilities and authority of him, the guild master.
No, to be precise...
'I'll have to trust in that.'
Thinking thus, Harai locked eyes with Brandon.
He could not retreat from a crisis of this magnitude.
For he had people he had to protect.
- 3 -
After Yurena moved from Narcissus Palace to the Main Palace, she had given Narcissus Palace to me.
[Still, it is a place steeped in my memories. I would be happy if you, Elder Sister, would take charge of it.]
Though she had said that, it was certainly an unconventional arrangement.
Because a noble who was not royalty (on the surface, at least) had gone and occupied a royal palace.
Even though I did not particularly revel in power or act arrogantly, it was the biggest reason rumors spread that I was the real power behind the alliance.
Ironically, despite seizing such a Narcissus Palace, I was not exactly maintaining any extravagant pleasures.
If anything, it was rather the opposite.
"Teacher."
The door opened soundlessly, and Sonia's form was revealed.
After approaching me, she gazed at my figure for a moment, then soon collected herself and knelt on the spot.
Her flowing gray bob held the mana she possessed and emitted a cool light.
"Welcome, Sonia."
I greeted her with a smile.
I was glad to see her directly after such a long time.
Her face, having returned from Ulland, was shining despite her fatigue.
If anything, she seemed even healthier than before.
The experience of consecutive victories must have given her a great sense of self-esteem.
At my gesture, she rose from her spot and sat in the chair opposite me.
Various fruits and beverages were prepared on the table.
I poured her favorite café au lait and asked.
"How is the situation there?"
Though I had already heard a summary report, I wanted to hear it directly in her voice.
Because moments of personally praising my subordinates' achievements were also a joy to me.
Sonia spoke in a quiet voice.
"Her Highness Queen Rizelotte is stably governing state affairs. The supply of asphodels exported from Kiza has been completed across all the provinces, and the citizens' reactions are positive."
A smile spread on my lips.
Because it meant that both the food shortage problem and the uneasy national mood had been resolved.
"What of the northern border?"
"I was just about to speak of that."
The barbarian nation, Whiscliffe, that had long tormented Ulland.
Recently, they had been undergoing a grand unification process with the direct and indirect support of Astaroth and Dantalion, and having succeeded, all gathered under the banner of the great warrior Tarkr.
But a unified nation after an age of strife often breeds great internal troubles.
Just as every nation recorded in history did.
They tried to divert the internal troubles that would arise within them to the outside.
By attacking Ulland right below them, and splitting the spoils.
However...
"Through the joint forces of the Rizelotte Queen's army and the army you sent, Teacher, the barbarians had to return to their own lands not long after crossing the border."
In Ulland, there was Sonia, my army.
My army continued to defeat Astaroth's demon beasts and gained renown among the citizens, and in the end, bearing that renown, it was temporarily integrated into Rizelotte's royal guard.
And the result was.
"I have succeeded in transferring my fame as a hero to her, and have returned, Teacher."
Sonia sat beside me and spoke joyfully.
I observed her face carefully.
There was no sign whatsoever of regret over having had to transfer the heroic fame she had barely earned to another person.
A face that seemed to say such things held no value from the start.
This was not suspicion, but concern.
For people often change once they gain fame.
Yet she had not changed in that direction, one I knew very well.
Not in a 'human' way.
"... So, couldn't you... praise me?"
She had merely changed in a different sense.
Not a distortion steeped in ambition, but in a direction that craved the recognition of the one she revered.
"Yes. You have done well. My disciple."
I nodded and slowly stroked her head.
With her eyes faintly narrowed, she wore an expression of genuine pleasure.
Like a small animal longing for its master's touch after being long apart.
That sight pricked at my heart, sharply.
It was a moment when I sometimes wondered whether what I gave to them was truly enough.
Was I truly giving sufficient reward to those who staked their lives to offer loyalty?
But soon I put such thoughts away.
For I was, as always, striving to create a better world to live in.
Only that the subject, which on Earth was 'me,'
in this world, had merely changed to 'us.'