Preparation - 2: The Red Shark's Arrival

Triana Müller. She was definitely Tirus Muller's daughter, the heir to the Muller family, and the woman who'd been given a breeding order by Tirson Muller—the tyrannical eldest son—that sounded like it belonged in some sleazy adult novel, right?

I glanced at Chloe. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She frowned and said, "She claims she'll do anything. In exchange, she wants the Muller lands returned to her someday."

"Haha." Bold as hell. Saying that straight to the face of the Franz family, famous for its military might, basically meant she had nothing left to lose. Still, thinking about her future prospects, she should be bowing her head right about now.

"What did my father say?"

"He refused, of course. But he did arrange for her to work under you, Master Leoric."

She must have taken quite a liking to her. Father hated useless people who only ran their mouths, but if someone he actually liked wanted an honorable death, he'd be the one to grant it. So this was his way of putting her to work under me first, letting her earn merits, and then someday returning the land? That wouldn't be easy, though.

What kind of achievement would even be enough to justify handing over territory the size of the Muller lands? Well, if she wanted them back, the only path was to bow her head to Franz. We had the justification, and we'd been the ones to raise an army and swallow the territory first. We'd also greased enough palms in the capital alongside the Beauleng family. At the very least, the Brahms Kingdom had no grounds to interfere.

For her to reclaim the Muller family lands, she'd either have to receive them as a reward or start another war. Both options seemed impossible.

"...I'll hear the full story when Father arrives. Anything else?"

"Most of the nobles who stayed in the castle have left, but a significant number are still lingering in the city's hotels."

"Hmm. Must be because of Bachn."

I didn't know the exact circumstances, but it was clear those noble bastards had caught wind of something. I hadn't expected them to leave so easily. At least I'd confirmed that the ones likely aligned with certain factions were holed up in the city hotels.

"Nothing we can do about it."

"No, sir. And here."

I had neither the intention nor the means to control that. It would only make the rumors worse, so I let it be. It didn't really matter anyway.

I brushed it aside, and Chloe pulled a letter from her bosom for the main topic. The paper was of fine quality. The seal stamped on it was...

"The Bachn royal seal."

"Yes."

So the time had finally come.

"That's right. I received a letter saying they'll be arriving soon."

I nodded at Princess Amelia's words. The group coming from Bachn had been officially invited by the kingdom and granted permission to stay in this land. It must have cost them quite a bit. Still, the princess didn't look particularly gloomy about it.

"It's rare for anyone to venture this deep into Bachn territory. We'll need to gather quite a lot of information, starting with the local geography."

"Hahaha. You can tell me, you know."

"Mm. I suppose there's no problem with that."

That was true, but still. I let out a small snort.

"May I ask about Duke Han Chalineer, the Red Shark, who will be visiting this time?"

A duke of a nation held a position capable of acting in the king's stead if the royal family faced serious trouble. If his power was great enough, he could even declare independence. For such a duke to come all the way here was a burden even for the Brahms Kingdom. Especially now, when Duke Earthlane—the brown mole who'd attended my coming-of-age ceremony—had left in such a hurry. Even for Franz, the fact that he'd shown up for the second son's coming-of-age had its reasons.

"Mm. It's fine. He's not a bad person, at least. A typical man of the sea. Bold and manly."

"Oh? I see."

"He prefers real fights with tangible power over pointless political squabbles, which causes its own share of problems."

"...A good person?"

"He is a good person."

That wasn't exactly reassuring. Still, at least he probably wouldn't cause an international incident.

"Understood. Anyway, it seems it's time for me to return."

"......"

It felt like quite a long time had passed. In reality it hadn't been that long, but so many things had happened in between that it seemed like a lot. Princess Amelia clearly didn't like it; her gaze toward me was stern.

"Do you like it that much?"

"Of course not. But this won't be the last time, will it? We'll meet again someday for sure."

"I-I see."

The way she slightly lowered her head in embarrassment, avoiding my eyes, made the corners of my mouth twitch upward. I didn't know when that day would come, but at least the connection we'd made this time wouldn't disappear easily. Even if I wanted to let it fade, Father wouldn't allow it. That was why the other nobles had reacted so sensitively.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, Princess Amelia."

"...Mm. I'll be counting on you too, Leoric Franz."

When our eyes met, I thought I saw Princess Amelia smile, ever so faintly.

"The Red Blood have been rooted out."

"Faster than I expected?"

Zeke appeared before me for the first time in what felt like ages. ...Well, we'd met occasionally to discuss work, but the Zeke standing before me today looked noticeably haggard. He seemed exhausted.

"It's difficult to say we've pulled them out completely. Since they don't openly declare themselves, finding them is hard. We'll need to keep checking steadily from now on."

"That's true."

That's how cell organizations worked. Especially if the group's purpose was political ideology—they'd be as tenacious as cockroaches. Those types staked their lives on their beliefs rather than personal gain. Though such true believers were probably a minority.

"We did find some, but upon closer inspection, they weren't actual members of the Red Blood. Just people—not even nobles—who mainly spread complaints about magic users. The kind you find in every territory."

"Hmm."

It wasn't as if there were no such conflicts. Supremacist attitudes toward magic users were an unavoidable characteristic of this world, and I knew crimes stemming from that occurred. They were serious offenses, of course.

"However, there don't appear to have been any traces of such activity within the Franz territory originally."

"That makes sense."

You could call it a centralized system, in a good way. Since Father and most of the direct and collateral members of the Franz family handled the majority of affairs, there were few opportunities for corruption in the middle ranks. And Father's charisma was so overwhelming that family members wouldn't dare engage in such things. At the very least, there was nothing to criticize about Father's abilities. The fact that the Franz family had risen to such prominence was partly due to how capable he was.

"Anyway, I took the opportunity to clean up the adventurers and the back alleys this time."

"Good work."

Few nobles felt any real threat from the Red Blood, but it was still a sensitive issue, so Zeke must have struggled a bit. Now that the job was done, he wore a much more relaxed expression. Sorry about that, though. He was coming with me to Muller, where he'd have to root out more Red Blood there too. Seeing his tired face made me feel a little bad for him.

"Then I'll take my leave."

"Yeah. Good work."

But since I didn't want to do it myself, I'd have to leave it to him again.

After finishing the cleanup of the remaining nobles, handling the tasks I'd put off during the coming-of-age ceremony, checking on a few orders I'd given, and making preparations to welcome the people arriving from Bachn, my days grew busy again. Still, it was better than before. Since nothing was truly urgent, there was a certain pleasure in delegating work to my subordinates and watching over them at my leisure.

At least most matters should be settled by the time Father arrives.

"Master Leoric. Here's your tea."

"Mm, thank you, Neria."

I drank the tea Neria poured for me. Sipping it quietly on the terrace while looking out at the garden for the first time in a while, the tea tasted sweet and seemed to melt away the fatigue in my body. This quiet moment of rest felt like it was healing my soul.

-Saaaaaaa.

......

"Huh?"

Something felt off. What was this? The salty magic power I sensed from somewhere—it felt familiar.

"Oh my. What is that?"

Neria muttered to herself as if she'd noticed something strange too. Her words left my mouth hanging open.

No... wait a second. What had Princess Amelia said? A typical man of the sea? Bold and manly?

"You've got to be kidding me."

Far off in the sky, I could see something red that looked like a tiny dot gradually approaching. Before my eyes could fully register it, I sensed the magic power emanating from that dot. It was my first time feeling this power, but I roughly understood what it was.

"Bold? Don't you mean reckless? What kind of crazy bastard uses this much magic power over someone else's territory...?"

I could tell he was suppressing it. Even from this distance, the magic power felt calm rather than like the massive force needed to sustain something that huge. But still, for someone to use magic power like that in another country... No.

"That's not... magic power?"

The red dot in the distant sky grew larger as it approached. Red scales. Enormous eyes. Gaping gills. Fluttering fins. A giant fish was swimming through the sky as if the clouds were the ocean.

At first I'd thought it was a being created by magic, but no. This was a real, living creature... a living fish. As it drew closer, I realized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what it was.

It was a shark. A massive red shark the size of a castle wall, swimming through the sky.

"But a shark that huge..."

Did something like that actually exist? A magic-wielding shark? Did they have a way to raise those monster creatures? Various thoughts crossed my mind, but when I heard the commotion rising from the people in the territory, I let out a sigh.

I'd have to calm the citizens first and then greet our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guests. The fact that it was flying around so openly probably meant it had the kingdom's permission, but still. I hoped the people here realized just how shocking this was for those receiving them. Of course, it was moving fast, so that explained it...

Just as I stood up to go greet them, the giant shark hovering outside the city walls opened its mouth, and a massive voice boomed out.

......Was that shark actually talking?