Chapter 361
Chapter 361
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 361
>Chapter Title: On This Day, the Moon Did Not Rise
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The Second Prince is involved in the Second Development Zone.
That was my first thought when I heard the story.
‘Second Prince for the Second Development Zone?’
……Of course, it was a joke.
I didn’t even think something stupid like whether royals preferred names ending in ‘lond,’ like Mel’ond’ or Kal’ond.’
That wasn’t the important part.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s circumstantial, but certain.”
“Then we should move somewhere else first.”
Kalond nodded at my words and reentered the conference room. He then issued a gentle dismissal to Melond and the Eitzpf Merchant Lord.
“You two should go in and rest.”
“……Understood.”
“G-Got it.”
“By the way, Eitzpf Merchant Lord, you should stay the night.”
“……Very well.”
He had a real knack for wielding power subtly—it was second nature to him.
How had someone like this cowered like a coward in the First Development Zone?
‘Reliable guy.’
A typical bully who was strong against the weak and weak against the strong, but those types were all the more dependable when they were on your side.
Of course, I was different.
‘I’m strong against both the strong and the weak.’
Anyway.
Once the two merchant lords left the conference room, we got down to serious business.
“So, what’s the basis for suspecting the Second Prince as the backer of the Second Development Zone?”
“Melond didn’t mention the Second Prince directly. But one of the investors’ names rang a bell.”
Viscount Kalond was prying profit shares away from the Second and Third Development Zones over this incident. During the negotiations, some investors’ names came up.
One of them was……
“Viscount Neibit.”
“Neibit?”
“He doesn’t seem like much on the surface. His merchant company is mediocre, and his territory is nothing special. He’s not even prominent in high society. ……At first glance, he’s just another run-of-the-mill minor noble, but in truth, he’s the Second Prince’s slush fund handler.”
“Slush fund handler?”
“That’s right.”
The small merchant company was actually a front for laundering money.
He briefly explained the setup and the Second Prince’s faction, but that wasn’t the key point.
“So, the backer of the Second Development Zone is the Second Prince?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…… That would explain a lot.”
It made perfect sense of how Melond could take such a reckless gamble—he must have trusted the Second Prince.
No, it was more baffling that he hadn’t gone even bolder.
That raised a question.
“Coincidence?”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. The Third Princess invested in Arapurkin land. And lo and behold, the Second Prince did too? Seems a bit too convenient for coincidence.”
In other words, my doubt was this:
Had the Second Prince learned of the Third Princess’s investment and muscled in to sabotage it?
But Viscount Kalond shook his head, letting me know my concern was overblown.
“If he knew of Her Highness the Princess’s involvement, he wouldn’t have approached it this way. It’s coincidental, but that’s all it is.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Small mercy amid misfortune, I suppose.
‘No, too early to relax.’
If it were anyone of middling status, today’s events would have scared them off from causing more trouble in the Arapurkin development zone.
But the opponent was the Second Prince.
The very one notorious for his foul temper.
Of course, a figure like the Second Prince wouldn’t personally scrutinize every investment, but underlings learned from their superiors.
If the underlings even half resembled the Second Prince……
“This could get annoying.”
“I agree.”
“So, what now?”
“Viscount Neibit being here in the development zone is the immediate problem. He’s probably heard about the incident by now…….”
That was when the conference room door burst open and a group stormed in.
Bang!
Viscount Kalond and I halted our conversation and turned toward the entrance.
The intruders were composed as follows.
‘……A sycophantic noble in flashy attire resembling Viscount Kalond.’
To his right stood Melond. Unlike before, his face was brimming with confidence.
And to the left……
‘……Not bad?’
A knight radiating a decent aura. Mercenaries lined up behind him, but they weren’t worth worrying about.
As I assessed that far.
The sycophantic noble resembling Viscount Kalond fixed us with a cold glare and spoke.
“You’re the ones, aren’t you? The bandits who intimidated and extorted us with force.”
He was probably Viscount Neibit.
“And what if we are?”
“Then we execute you on the spot.”
“Hah.”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Why won’t they give me time to think? Time to think.’
Clashing with the Second Prince would bring no end of headaches.
It would unfold differently from tangling with the Seventy-Two Members, which was exactly why I was in a bind.
Still, what to do?
“The wind wants calm, yet the branches won’t stay still.”
“……Isn’t it the opposite? Seems like the tree and wind got switched. And that’s not the saying for this anyway.”
I shrugged at Viscount Kalond’s words in lieu of a reply, then took in Viscount Neibit.
“You won’t back down, right?”
“If you hand over the First Development Zone’s land, I’ll consider it.”
“Not happening.”
“Then no choice. Sir Colossus, if you would.”
At that moment, the knight to Neibit’s left drew his sword.
Scree……!
So fast that ordinary folk wouldn’t even realize he’d unsheathed it, but I raised a barrier to block the blade.
Clang!
Sparks flew with the clash.
I thought.
‘Yeah, simple enough.’
Division of labor.
……Handling the Second Prince falls to Velrose.
So, he’d handle whatever came next too.
Of course.
‘Self-defense now that my life’s been threatened.’
“From here on, if you die, that’s on you.”
Whoosh, roar—
As soon as I willed it, the ambient mana responded, flames erupting.
* * *
“Th-This…… What is this?!”
Viscount Neibit let out a shocked yelp and hurriedly retreated.
Flames consuming everything around.
“Fall back.”
Knight Colossus immediately scooped up Viscount Neibit and put distance between them and the mage.
Melond Merchant Lord and the Second Development Zone’s mercenaries followed, fleeing the flames from afar.
“What are you doing?! Block him!”
Viscount Neibit, now outside the conference room, yelled in fury.
It made no sense to him.
Why hadn’t the mage’s head been severed in one stroke? Why evade instead of blocking?
But for Colossus, it was the obvious choice.
‘……No ordinary magic.’
He’d reacted swiftly, expelling ether for defense, but the flames pierced the ether barrier and scorched his skin.
The burn on his sword hand was proof.
Not severe, but far from negligible.
Above all……
That barrier blocking his strike.
How could an improvised barrier be so sturdy?
“Still, fortunate.”
“What?!”
“If he’d meant to kill, I might’ve survived, but you certainly wouldn’t have.”
“……He’s that strong?”
“Yes. No idea why someone like that is in this backwater, but…… he’s no pushover. Yet you’re still alive. What does that mean?”
“That’s…….”
Viscount Neibit finally grasped the gravity and fell into thought.
The mage was skilled enough to kill him effortlessly. But he’d let him live.
‘Why?’
He’d clearly tried to take his life.
And not just that?
Look now.
Crackle, pop! Crackle!
The conference building collapsing in flames.
Yet the mage hadn’t moved.
Surely a mage of that caliber wouldn’t perish in a burning, crumbling structure.
“……He’s holding back.”
“What’s his reason?”
“Who knows? I couldn’t say.”
Could be temperament, reluctance to cause a public scene, or knowledge of his faction.
But the reason didn’t matter much.
What mattered was the opponent’s hesitation.
“He’s staying within reversible bounds.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, then he’s not someone who won’t talk at all.”
Viscount Neibit sincerely believed that.
If the opponent wanted him dead, he wouldn’t be breathing now.
Thus, Viscount Neibit was plenty willing to talk.
‘A mage like that…… His Highness the Second Prince would be pleased.’
The man was wracking his brains over unheard-of groups like the Seventy-Two Members.
Talent was scarce, so recruiting this mage could score major points with the Second Prince—not a pipe dream.
“Sir Colossus, I have a favor to ask.”
“Speak.”
“Could you bow your head to that mage once? To talk, we should resolve this grudge first.”
“……Hmm.”
Colossus hesitated.
He served the Second Prince in the shadows now, but he’d once been a Royal Knight. His pride remained. Bowing to a frontier mage was no easy task……
“If it aids my lord, gladly.”
“It will. I’ll bow alongside you. At worst, we avoid making an enemy. At best…….”
……We might even recruit a mage too much for the Royal Knights to handle.
Either way, no loss.
“Very well. Let’s try talking.”
……With that, Viscount Neibit drew a deep breath to call out to the mage loudly.
That was the moment.
“Fire!”
“……?”
A booming voice from inside the burning, collapsing conference building.
Viscount Neibit tilted his head, wondering if he’d misheard.
But no.
Again……
“Fire!”
Booming voice.
Roar, whoosh.
From the crumbling building emerged a mage and a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man seemed protected by a barrier, his face calm—naturally, it was Aster and Viscount Kalond.
“What in the…….”
Viscount Neibit scowled, but another voice rang out.
“F-Fire!”
This time, Viscount Kalond.
Then……
“Fire!”
Aster bellowed as he strode forward.
Neibit was speechless at the absurd sight. But the real absurdity was just beginning.
Because.
“Fire!”
“Fire!”
The boy and middle-aged man began dashing through the Second Development Zone, shouting about the blaze.
Roar, whoosh!
Wreathed in flames.
“Fire!”
“F-Fire!”
With utterly unhurried faces and voices.
……The flames spread to the Second Development Zone’s buildings. From one to the next.
Laborers and mercenaries evacuated swiftly at the shouts. No casualties……
“A, ah, ah.”
……But pity the buildings—they had no legs.
They couldn’t flee.
Thus, the Second Development Zone burned.
“Ah, ah, nooo!”
Melond Merchant Lord’s anguished scream echoed through the space.
……The sun dipping low.
On this day, the moon did not rise.
Only brilliant stars lit the darkness.