Chapter 251
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 251
Chapter Title: Tainted Provisions
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The place where the merchant guild's recovered goods had been temporarily stored was not far from Cascadia.
A distance I could cover in no time with Aurora riding the Shadow Dragon Varil.
Still, during the trip, it was obvious she'd turned pale as a ghost and was desperately trying to act nonchalant.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah... yes. My stomach's just a bit... Sorry. I'll step away for a moment."
I scanned the warehouse, leaving her to flee with a face like she was about to hurl any second.
The Paradise Artifacts weren't in great quantity, so most of the space was taken up by supplies meant for rebuilding the elves' forest.
Sure enough, just as Aurora had said, there were no visible traces of magic or tampering.
It was almost like their sole goal had been stealing the goods—and they couldn't care less about anything after that.
I ran my hand over some nearby long metal struts.
"How does it look?"
Aurora asked weakly, shuffling back in with a somewhat haggard expression.
Nothing showed up with ordinary methods.
In that case...
I activated the Machine God's Heart and swept over the surroundings.
A strange look crossed my face.
Nothing seemed amiss on the surface. But when I probed everything down to the molecular level with the Machine God's Heart... I sensed a faint sense of wrongness.
The anomalous items were mostly foodstuffs.
This shouldn't be possible. Fully processed food after harvest shouldn't reveal anything like this.
"Did you discover anything else?"
"Well, I did think about who the raiders might be. And considering the traces left behind... there's one thing that fits the bill."
At least there was one lead.
"This was found at the scene."
What she showed me looked like some kind of netsuke charm.
Huh. This resembles the one Hwaryeong, Cheonryeong's little sister, had...
That realization cemented my certainty.
"For now, discard everything here."
Western Continent humans were involved...
And conveniently, I'd recently tangled with some Western Continent folk.
The Coral Kingdom.
A nation bordering our Bata Kingdom—one we'd once gone to war with, and who had a major border dispute with us just recently.
That's where the Western Continent connections came in.
Cheonryeong and Hwaryeong, from the Sacheon Clan, had fled to Bata because of that very incident.
"Everything...?"
"Yes. Can't say about the other goods, but the food supplies need to be scrapped entirely."
"What in the world..."
"It's subtle, but it won't have a good effect on the human body."
Her expression hardened at my words.
"What about the other supplies...?"
"Seems like only the food was hit. The rest looks fine. They probably rushed whatever they were doing and pulled out."
With a bitter sigh, she summoned the merchant guild staff and ordered them to dispose of all the food.
"At least that's a relief. Food's lower priority cargo."
"Good to hear. From now on, I'll lend a hand transporting supplies to the elves' forest."
"I'd appreciate that. And sorry for dragging you into this."
This incident had left a massive dent in Aurora the merchant's pride.
That said, I decided to hold back a portion for investigation.
We needed to figure out exactly what it was—and what they were trying to accomplish.
The ones who would know most about this were undoubtedly the Cheonryeong and Hwaryeong sisters.
Cheonryeong had recently taken an interest in sculpting, while Hwaryeong was hooked on decorating worlds with Paradise Artifacts.
Cheonryeong had even produced work of a quality that satisfied the Imperial Emperor himself.
With their talents and the manpower needs, I was making good use of them.
When I relayed the details I'd heard from Aurora, Cheonryeong and Hwaryeong fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
"Big Brother. This is..."
"Indeed. It might just fit. Mind if I run one experiment?"
Taking the problematic item, Cheonryeong requested a few materials.
Fortunately, we had everything on hand.
Cheonryeong tore open a sack of flour from the supply warehouse with a rip! and poured in a strange liquid he'd concocted.
The flour began to spoil with a blue tint—then turned pitch black in an instant.
"It's certain. A drug from the Nakmyeong Clan in the White Tiger Domain—one of the East Continent clans."
"What kind of drug?"
"It induces outbreaks of specific illnesses. No outward signs at first glance, but upon consumption... it lies dormant for a set period before the disease manifests. Low fatality rate, but highly contagious. It leaves people lethargic and induces long-term hallucinations."
I tilted my head at Hwaryeong's explanation.
"Sounds like it's already caused precedents in the East Continent."
"Indeed, there were many victims from this very thing. The East Continent found a cure, but the Central and Western Continents haven't."
So, the East Continent had tampered with Bata Kingdom supplies headed to the elves' forest?
In other words, neutralize the elves' forest in a flash and pin the blame on us.
No need to overthink the motive.
Coral had been itching for war with Bata from the start.
Their vanguard had been swept away by the Dragon Riders and the plans fizzled, but Coral and Bata had nearly gone to full-scale war.
After reporting the Planetaria Merchant Guild incident to the royal court, Melissa returned with a weary sigh.
"The academy's finally reopening... Ugh. War."
She couldn't hide her irritation at the cruelly overlapping circumstances.
"How'd it go?"
"What could it go? Bata doesn't really want escalation internally. They tried negotiating another accord, but then this blew up."
"Their stance?"
"Like, 'What do you expect us to do?' At this point, even Bata's justified in losing their temper."
Her words gave me the full picture.
With East Continent forces firmly in play, they were dead set on winning no matter what.
"No helping it, then."
"The royals still want to issue a final ultimatum. The delegation's already en route to Coral. High chance it won't end well."
"Prepare for war..."
"Leon, I'm sorry to ask this of you..."
"Just give the order. You're the family head."
She quietly closed her eyes at my words.
"They're hell-bent on starting a war. Once it kicks off, countless people will die. So... break their momentum."
Breaking momentum was simple.
"Smash all their heads in?"
"Can you?"
It wasn't a question laced with doubt or worry. She knew I could—she was just asking if I wanted to.
"If the war drags on, our House Cascadia—which manages the Demon Realm—will have to step up too. Right when we're settling into our territorial role... whether it's supplies shortfalls or conscription..."
"Enough. Just tell me your decision. Do it or don't."
"Do it."
"That's all I need. I'll move out separately. Keep Cascadia safe as best you can."
As I spoke, Luna slipped on the Hand of Fury gloves she'd pulled from her subspace.
Isna was Imperial, so no reason for her to join. As for Ashuria, I wouldn't let her even if she insisted.
"Young Master. Hwaryeong and I will lend a hand too."
"I'll do what I can..."
"You two, stand down for now. Won't need a crowd for the travel."
I got their connection to the Sacheon Clan gave them cause for this war, but that was separate from this.
"Help my little sister here instead."
"...Understood."
They withdrew, voicing their regret.
"Moving out right away?"
"Delegation already left and met them, right? Full war once results come in—so yeah, now. If you're gonna start something, see it through."
They needed a proper lesson on who they'd messed with.
If the war kept going, the Holy Kingdom and elves' forest would send aid too.
"I'll contact you once it's decided. And Big Brother."
Melissa called me not by name, but "Big Brother."
"Don't get hurt. For Arsha's and my sake if nothing else—withdraw if it gets risky."
And so, two days passed.
Already deep past Coral's border, Luna and I waited only for Melissa's word.
-Most of the delegation came back with just their heads. I hoped Coral would bend a little, but if not... no choice. Leon.
"Yeah."
-Personally? I don't want to forgive Coral at all.
"Same here."
-If war's already broken out, I don't want them getting up to anything.
After a brief silence, she relayed some intel.
-You're at the Balt Plains now?
"Yeah."
-One of their biggest granary zones for army rations. Blow it sky-high, and Coral's troops—not to mention their people—will face famine.
"Not really my problem, honestly."
-Sorry. Burn it down.
"There'll probably be a separate depot for soldier rations. I'll prioritize that."
-Okay.
They wouldn't expect a small strike team to handle a whole granary district.
In war, weapons matter—but food matters more.
A starving soldier can't fight.
Ending the call with Melissa, I moved out with Luna.
A massive convoy hauling rations for the troops was already on the move.
Watching it, I pondered briefly.
"In a spot like this, going loud and bold beats stealth every time."
Sensing my deliberation, Luna hugged me from behind.
"That right?"
"If Leon says so, then that's what we do."
Thoughts sorted, I strode toward the distant approaching food convoy, extending one hand into empty air and slashing down.
Craaaack!!
Space tore open, and a sword emerged from within.
The Noble Sword Electra.
A blade that radiated overwhelming demonic energy simply by existing gripped in one hand.
Thoom!!
The other hand seized a claymore-form greatsword, Nakwa.
Bloom Fully
The vanguard of the convoy spotted me and sensed something off, raising a hand to halt—but I had no intention of stopping.
Rumble rumble ruuuuumble!!!!
The ground around them quaked as colossal tree roots burst upward, ensnaring everything in sight.
"Gaaahhh?!"
"Wh-what the hell?!"