Cleaning the Kingdom (4)
"Both of them are dead?"
"Yes, my lord. It appears to have been caused by the Oath of Mana."
Alberto answered my question.
If it was the Oath of Mana, there was no way Elisa would have missed it.
"No, if they had sworn an oath, Elisa would have noticed."
"Indeed. But when I examined them, there were no Oaths of Mana or curses bound to their hearts."
If Elisa said that, then it wasn't a constraint or contract made of mana...
"Let's go to the basement."
We hurried down to the underground torture — no, interrogation room, where the two nobles' bodies lay.
The corpses sprawled across the interrogation room floor were in a gruesome state, reminiscent of the Seven Orifices Bleeding described in Eastern martial arts novels. Black blood had poured from both eyes, nose, mouth, and both ears, soaking the floor beneath them.
"I need to check this out."
If it was caused by poison or something similar, detection magic would catch it.
Detection magic was also commonly used to find objects without mana, after all.
I raised my mana and carved a magic circle into my eyes.
Detect.
"It's not poison... but parasites?"
When I examined both corpses with detection magic, no toxic substances were found, but various small parasites began to show up.
"Parasites?" Alberto asked, sounding startled.
'It's like Gu poison from those martial arts novels.'
Indeed, since they had planted a purely physical organism inside them, mages and knights specialized in sensing mana and curses wouldn't be able to detect it.
But Gu poison in a romance fantasy novel?
Well, it probably wasn't actually called that.
"They're Blood Worms."
Just as I was thinking to myself, Elisa, who had been closely examining the bodies beside me, spoke up.
"Blood Worms?"
"Yes. They're parasitic magical beasts that Black Wizards often use to silence their puppets."
Without minding the filthy floor, she bent down and examined the blood that had flowed from the count's corpse.
"They're administered in egg form, mixed into food or drink, or injected directly into the bloodstream while the host sleeps. They take root around the heart and brain. Because they live completely assimilated with the host's life force, most mana detection spells mistake them for normal blood flow or part of an organ and pass right over them."
'...Tha, that's an impressive level of knowledge.'
Alberto also looked like he wanted to ask, "How do you know that?" but he didn't actually voice the question.
Right. Elisa really was brilliant, after all.
Internally nodding in understanding, I continued listening to her explanation.
"These Blood Worms are designed to receive signals from a parent specimen. If the host tries to reveal certain information, they all go berserk simultaneously."
'Pretty similar to what I was thinking.'
They were parasites with almost identical properties to the Gu poison from those martial arts novels.
"Anyway, this means they were also used as cutouts to sever the trail."
I looked down at the two noble corpses sprawled on the floor.
They must have thought they'd found some powerful backer and could shake the Espada Kingdom to its core.
But in the end, they never realized they were nothing more than disposable pieces that could be discarded at any time.
"Alberto."
"Yes, my lord."
"Drag these bodies out right now and burn them all. Make sure no one touches the blood or bodies directly."
"Understood!"
Alberto left the interrogation room to call the soldiers.
"Can you trace them?"
"At present, it's impossible. The trail has been completely severed."
"I see. Then for now, Elisa, I want you to focus on tracking the Black Wizards. I can't just leave this be."
At my orders, Elisa showed rare signs of displeasure.
"I will follow your command gladly, but... if I devote myself to tracking the Black Wizards, your lordship's assistance during that time..."
It was true. She handled everything from daily scheduling to magical advice and protection. Her absence would leave a considerable gap.
'But I can't completely ignore the Black Wizards either.'
And when it came to finding Black Wizards, Elisa was the perfect person for the job.
"Don't worry. I have Seria."
"..."
'Huh?'
Elisa's cheeks were subtly puffing out.
It looked oddly similar to the expression she'd made back in childhood, right after meeting Roxanna for the first time.
"I'm assigning this to you because it's something only Elisa can do."
I soothed her by subtly praising her abilities.
Only then did Elisa's puffed cheeks deflate, almost imperceptibly.
"No one's better at tracking Black Magic traces than you, Elisa. Seria and Roxanna might be good at combat, but they can't handle this kind of delicate magical tracking."
"...That is true."
"Right? Without our Elisa, the Black Wizards could have eaten the whole kingdom from the inside without us even knowing. That's why I'm leaving this to you — the most talented person for the job."
"Understood. I will do my best to track them as quickly as possible."
"Thanks."
Even though her expression showed she wasn't entirely pleased about being separated from me for a while, Elisa knew how to separate public duty from private feelings.
It wasn't like we wouldn't see each other every day — she just wouldn't be serving directly as my aide.
Just then, Alberto returned to the basement leading soldiers who had donned thick cloth and leather gloves.
"Secure the bodies! Make absolutely sure no blood touches your skin. Once you get them outside, burn them completely!"
At Alberto's orders, the soldiers began wrapping the bodies in cloth.
Leaving the cleanup to them, Elisa and I exited the lord's manor.
Outside, the knights, including Seria, had already finished subduing the territory's private soldiers.
"My lord. All preparations for departure are complete."
Seria approached and reported upon spotting me.
"Good work. Any casualties?"
"The enemy surrendered without putting up any real resistance. Our forces have zero casualties."
"You loaded all the confiscated evidence, right?"
"Yes! It's all collected in the wagon."
"Good. The detachment sent to the baron's territory should be just about done too. Leave a minimal force to control this territory and have the main force return to the capital."
"Yes, sir! Understood."
Hearing Seria's response, I climbed onto the wagon with Elisa.
Now that the kingdom cleaning was mostly done, it was time to return to the capital and prepare for the next battle.
After all, we were still at war.
A greenhouse designed to face south, filled with warm sunlight.
The greenhouse was packed with rare plants on all sides, at first glance appearing to be a peaceful space.
The figures seated around a luxurious round table at the center of the room were enjoying a peaceful tea time, savoring black tea and sweet desserts.
This gathering, which anyone would mistake for a noble's social club, was surprisingly the meeting room for the Black Wizard leadership.
Originally, true to their nature as Black Wizards, they had mainly held meetings in a stinking, damp basement.
But recently, when a growing number of junior Black Wizards complained the working conditions were too harsh and considered withdrawing, the leadership had completely overhauled the meeting room to retain them.
In the past, they would have simply executed the complainers or turned them into experimental subjects.
But with the Holy Kingdom's surveillance tightening, the Black Wizards were also suffering from a manpower shortage, so they couldn't just expel them.
However, after the remodeling, it turned out the leadership rather liked the new space too, so they decided to keep it permanently.
"Mmm. When it comes to macarons, this place really is the best."
"I know, right?"
Just as this friendly conversation was flowing —
A sound of something shattering came from inside a glass tube displayed in one corner of the round table.
—Crunch.
Two parent specimens of Blood Worms that had been implanted in the southern lords of the Espada Kingdom as insurance for silencing them had burst.
"Oh. They popped?"
"Looks like it's Count Baller and Baron Monte's side. I thought they'd last a few more days."
"So you still haven't found the Witch, then?"
"That's right."
"Sigh... She's definitely in this world, though..."
They had been racking their brains quite a bit over the Witch's whereabouts, who had been showing no sign of herself for years despite the prophecies.
"Well, she'll appear when the time is right. It's too dangerous for us to act directly ourselves. The Holy Kingdom's eyes are still on us."
"That's true, I suppose..."
The Holy Kingdom's Inquisitors were always watching them, after all.
The Black Wizards seriously wondered whether the Witch had actually abandoned them.
A few days later. The Royal Castle.
Thanks to the evidence recovered from Count Baller's and Baron Monte's territories, the royal castle was buzzing with activity.
Confiscated ledgers and secret documents implicated not just those two nobles, but a whole string of corrupt aristocrats scattered across the provinces.
The royal family didn't miss this opportunity and began pressuring the provincial nobles even harder.
Knight orders had already been dispatched to apprehend nobles who had illegally raised private armies and embezzled taxes. Within a few days, they would all be locked up in the capital's prisons.
Furthermore, the leadership of the Commoners' Council, who had colluded with them in insulting the royal family, was quickly sent to the execution grounds.
'This kind of thing really shows that the Middle Ages were the Middle Ages.'
Once solid evidence was found, the process moved very swiftly.
Since Elisa was handling the Black Wizard side, it was time for me to focus on what I needed to do.
Currently, my biggest concern was whether it was okay to start an Industrial Revolution.
After all, I only knew the technology — I wasn't well-versed in politics or economics.
And if I recklessly advanced technology, problems were bound to follow.
But...
'We're too short on manpower.'
The Espada Kingdom currently boasted rapidly developing wealth, resources, and technology.
But there was such a severe manpower shortage that bottlenecks were inevitable.
'Maybe I should start by modernizing the military factories first.'
Weapons would be needed in greater quantities going forward, after all.
Just as I was thinking this, Seria, who had entered my office without me noticing, submitted a report.
'Come to think of it, starting today, Seria is supposed to fill in for Elisa.'
"My lord. An urgent message has just arrived from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"A message?"
"Yes. A notice has come from the Imperial Navy Admiral."
A notice?
Don't tell me —