Chapter 133 — The Story Hidden From You (4)
In an offhand manner,
Roan said he would go to the East Yellow Territory tomorrow,
but for the officials, it was anything but an offhand matter.
The East Yellow Territory was the place designated early on for field testing if the Count's experiment succeeded.
As soon as the Count's experiment succeeded, the officials had to pack up all sorts of things for the Emperor to take to the East Yellow Territory.
In just two days.
Officially, it was merely the task of transporting support supplies granted by the Emperor to the East Yellow Territory.
And not all officials in Basel were tight-lipped or fervently loyal to the Emperor.
The Dark Archduke fell into deep thought.
It was an established fact that the Emperor's personality had suddenly changed.
Though the war had abruptly fizzled out, it did not only have disadvantages,
and the long-drawn-out marriage ceremony with Erenier would soon be held. It felt as if a persistent ailment was finally being cured.
He did not know the exact reason, but since around last summer, the Emperor had been busily scheming something.
Was he trying to play the merciful Emperor all of a sudden?
"Right. The materials are departing for the East Yellow Territory."
"That is correct, Your Grace."
"...But what is this list?"
The Dark Archduke shook the report he was holding at his secretary.
Though the secretary had obtained the information through the intelligence operatives at the crack of dawn, both the Archduke and even the secretary who had gathered it found it just as puzzling what they were to be used for.
"First he suddenly summons the Count of the Dark Pit and turns the greenhouses upside down, and now he's loading seedlings and seeds to send to the East Yellow Territory."
"Yes, presumably... that is correct."
The Archduke shot a ferocious glare at the secretary for voicing uncertainty. However, the secretary kept his mouth shut even while trembling.
He was a secretary who knew all too well that adding a clumsy elaboration here would only fuel the Archduke's wrath.
This, too, was ambiguous information he had not seen for himself.
It was already a remarkable feat to have gathered this much of Basel's urgent movements.
Therefore, he could not even know that the humans transporting the luggage had left for the East Yellow Territory just like that.
'At a time when even Erenier is not here.'
Erenier was out of her mind with wedding preparations.
'Did he deliberately get rid of Erenier to scheme this?'
The Archduke's sharp gaze sank even deeper. He thought of the other three Grand Lords.
The Lord of the West Blood Territory had long been one of the Former Emperor's right-hand men.
When the Former Emperor actually died, he had not been at his side, as he was executing his duties as a Grand Lord. He held a debt of heart toward the Emperor because of that.
The Lord of the North White Territory was a wizard. Like any wizard, she was someone who prioritized the fulfillment of her desires above all else, including her thirst for knowledge.
Their relationship was neither good nor bad,
but she was not easily swayed.
You never knew where she would jump, and she was troublesome to handle.
The Lord of the East Yellow Territory was extremely cautious.
This was because, due to the nature of his territory being mostly desert, feeding his people became difficult if relations with neighboring territories soured.
Thus, he had been someone who never took any side until now.
'Yet he's sending those materials to the East Yellow Territory. He intends to make the Lord of the East Yellow Territory his ally.'
Seeds and seedlings.
And boxes packed in secret.
It was not like he was sending food provisions like last time.
Everyone knew nothing would grow no matter what you planted in the East Yellow Territory.
Was he trying to farm now, of all times?
'Don't tell me he's doing something similar to his father....'
The Former Emperor struggled to reclaim this wasteland. In the end, that failure ended with his death.
"...Back then, too, I told him not to...."
"...Your Grace?"
A small sigh.
The secretary asked again, but the Archduke did not answer.
**
"What is the occasion? All gathered together at this late hour."
Seeing the four members of the Small Council somewhere other than the council chamber was truly rare.
He had probably only seen it at the New Year's banquet hall.
It was a dark night, but the gaunt faces of Aranya and Shwikviena were pale under the moonlight, making this send-off feel even more burdensome to Roan.
"It's a matter of just following the route the Knight Commander has arranged, yet you go this far."
Instead of a horse, Ker, the demon beast used in Evirgio, was snorting heavily under Roan's hand.
If one had to compare, it was an animal similar in feel to the raptors from dinosaur movies.
Aina was patting the nape of the demon beast she had mounted with a reluctant look on her face.
She had probably never thought she would ever ride a demon beast, which had been her hunting target all her life.
"Your Majesty. We are regretful that we cannot accompany you on your meaningful journey."
Aranya, whose eye level matched the Ker's, looked up slightly at Roan.
"Please, be careful throughout your journey."
The Prime Minister, who had cautioned Roan, could not speak for a while. But since she looked as if she had something to say, Roan waited.
Aranya spoke after a brief silence.
"From the moment Your Majesty arrives in the East Yellow Territory and reveals your purpose, everything will become different from before again."
"...Hmm."
The haggard look on her face was not solely because she had to suddenly prepare the goods to be sent to the East Yellow Territory.
"I doubt not your success just as until now, Your Majesty... but please, do keep your heart resolute."
Roan looked into Aranya's eyes.
The Prime Minister, and the Lord of the West Blood Territory.
Those who knew the Former Emperor feared I would follow in his footsteps. And they were worried I would be hurt by the Former Emperor's affairs.
For demonkind, ambiguous mercy could become a weakness.
The only thing that could cover that was when one possessed overwhelming force. The Former Emperor was no weakling, yet despite that he could not fully spread his will.
But I would be different.
Because I am not his son.
I am a Player who knows the future.
I am a stranger who has received the Goddess's power and knows the hidden elements.
Thus, failing by following the Former Emperor's footsteps would not be a source of pain for me....
The Demon King's bitter smile was hidden by the darkness.
"I do not fail."
If it did not work, he would make it work—even if he had to seize the Goddess by the collar. If she had summoned him here, she bore responsibility.
Before this autumn. Before the Hero comes to kill the Demon King. I should have something prepared to say to him too.
No, I would prefer if he never came at all....
"Your Majesty. We will be waiting."
Grünent said, holding Helen's hand.
Diobe, who had been working outside the castle as an official for some time, was already heading to the East Yellow Territory, accompanying the humans who would teach farming to the people there.
Aina, being known around me as a wizard who operates the waypoint... had to accompany me.
Instead, Helen remained with Grünent.
"I will be back often anyway. Do not worry."
Everyone present here (whether they knew it as the power of ruins or as Aina's power) were people who knew I possessed a method for traveling long distances in a short time.
Thus, Roan was able to comfortably soothe Grünent.
The wagons that had departed first for the East Yellow Territory were fully loaded with Count-made magic tools for measurement, and also Count-made shielding suits.
As they began making crystal powder in earnest, the problem the Count confronted was the fact that producing shielding suits was actually more urgent than the crystal powder.
While crystal powder was sufficiently functional even in small amounts, without the shielding suits, handling the powder was too dangerous in the first place.
"...After all, Your Majesty or Helen cannot always be the ones to spread the powder, can you?"
The Count willingly offered the spare shielding suits she had first.
At any rate, the above items were being divided and secretly packed alongside the seeds and seedlings to be tested in the East Yellow Territory, and were currently being transported by wagon.
"Then, I will see you soon."
Roan skillfully mounted the demon beast.
Fortunately, the Demon King's shell could mount a demon beast as naturally as it did when using swordsmanship.
"Let's go."
Two knights who would escort Roan were waiting for Aina and the Emperor a short distance away near the back gate of the imperial palace.
Roan briefly gazed at those who had come out to see him off before the garden in the castle's rear courtyard.
Grünent, Helen.
And the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Knight Commander. The Correction Officer.
There were people wishing for his safe success and return.
Roan felt his heart swell just with that alone.
The moment a faint smile flickered across his face,
the demon beast took a step.
Thus, the Emperor's journey proceeded very quietly and secretly.
'Since I can return anytime once I register the waypoint.'
As long as he visited the ruins near Raju,
those who had been wondering at the Emperor's absence for a while would no longer be able to be suspicious.
So, around the time the Emperor had been absent for a week.
Around the time disquieting rumors began to circulate within the castle about the Emperor, who had not been seen recently.
The tribal chiefs and acting lords of the East Yellow Territory who had gathered in Raju were struck by a bolt from the blue.
It was a bolt from the blue they could hardly experience in their lifetimes.
"Hmm. It is the Emperor."
"......."
"What are you all doing?"
As the Lord of the East Yellow Territory bared his teeth and growled lowly, only then did the acting chieftains and acting lords hurriedly prostrate themselves.
"Y-Your Majesty...."
"To be granted an audience with Your Majesty... uh.... It is a great honor."
Roan stared blankly at the backs of their heads, and the Lord of the East Yellow Territory shook his head repeatedly with his face buried in his hands.
At the center of the West Blood Territory was Basel.
The people of the North White Territory, being relatively familiar with the culture of other nations, were trend-sensitive and had a refined side.
The South Black Territory was prosperous and thus had composure.
But the East Yellow Territory had nothing.
It was mostly wasteland and desert.
90% of the population lived clustered in Raju and its vicinity.
The people gathered here were not even the minor lords of such an East Yellow Territory, nor the tribal chiefs who led the people of the desert.
They had gathered after hearing that the Emperor himself would grant seeds to the East Yellow Territory and teach them cultivation techniques for next spring.
They were merely their representatives.
They were not firstborn sons or daughters who mastered noble etiquette in advance with the intention of inheriting positions,
but those who were learning skills or studying to help with family work.
Therefore, one could not expect noble decorum from them.
"Enough. I am not here to be entertained."
Roan waved his hand dismissively.
"I came to work."
At Roan's words, when he saw an acting lord reflexively raise his head in surprise, then flinch and bury his head again trembling after meeting the Emperor's eyes,
the Lord of the East Yellow Territory's sigh grew even deeper.
"My apologies, Your Majesty."
Roan, who had shown his face to those assembled and was about to head to the location that the ruin exploration team had informed him of, shook his head at the Lord of the East Yellow Territory's repeated apologies.
"I told you earlier, I didn't come to receive a proper greeting. Rather, I'm the one who will be scolded by the Count if I don't deliver the experimental results properly."
"...Pardon?"
"You should have seen how sternly she admonished me, teaching me how to handle the machines."
The cultivation test in the East Yellow Territory was being conducted separately from teaching farming techniques and instructing the use of crystal powder.
It was a secretly conducted test from the start.
Farming on the land after the crystal powder was spread would be handled by humans dispatched from Basel and the working-level personnel from each territory who would learn the techniques from them.
However, collecting experimental data and handling the crystal powder was something only Roan could do.
After the crystal powder arrived, they would eventually educate someone to wear a shielding suit and spread the powder, but it was not something that could be done right away.
"Did you two grow closer while working together?"
The Duke looked at Roan with rounded eyes, as if surprised.
"Hmm. Closer...."
What suddenly crossed Roan's mind was,
the Count who had pulled her hand away urgently, her face flushing,
and the affection rating that had subtly surpassed +40.
"...I suppose we did."
"Ho-oh. He's not an easy one to get close to. That is fortunate."
The Lord of the East Yellow Territory, who had grinned without knowing the Emperor's thoughts, erased his smile from his face again and said.
"I am glad the research is progressing well, but it will not be easy to teach those foolish fellows the techniques here."
"Some here are trying to master in a short span what others have spent a lifetime doing. Is difficulty not natural?"
"You are correct...."
The Duke, who had readily nodded, asked in a worried voice.
"You mentioned that humans would teach the skills; were there no problems in Basel?"
"Hmm. There was some friction at first, but everyone has grown accustomed to it by now. Did you not see it at the New Year's banquet? There are many humans within the castle."
The farmers and materials that departed with Diobe had not yet arrived in Raju.
Roan had ridden swiftly on a demon beast alongside Aina and his escort knights, overtaking them to register the waypoint.
"Friction... you say."
The Duke, who had seemed to be silently lost in thought, confessed his honest feelings.
"I am concerned. The demonkind in places other than here have often seen humans. They share a border, and have seen many prisoners of war. However, the East Yellow Territory is a place where it is truly hard to see a human."
"Why is that?"
"Because they died during transport."
"...."
Roan closed his mouth.
It had been a while since he had felt this awkward.
The straight-line distance from Basel to Raju was not long, but you had to cross several mountains in between.
You could not detour around the mountain range. It was a massive range stretching thousands of kilometers.
In the end, that was also the biggest reason the East Yellow Territory was isolated.
Humans in a frail state who had been taken captive would not have easily survived arriving here.
"To those who have lived here, humans are like ghosts. Everyone knows of them, but they have never seen one. Furthermore, those who clashed with humans on the battlefield are returning home one by one."
"...They must be the main workforce who will farm."
"Yes. As such, Your Majesty, this foolish subject is worried."
Roan looked at the Lord of the East Yellow Territory's expressionless face, which was cool yet filled with deep concern.
However, Roan shook his head.
"There is a capable official. I trust her."