Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: 33. Phantom Thief Phantom (3)
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5.
Cygnus Knights.
The knights of Empress Cygnus, who led the Maple Alliance—their role was singular.
Protecting Empress Cygnus!
That was it.
Nothing else mattered to the Cygnus Knights.
“The Cygnus Knights don’t move easily.”
That was why instances of the Cygnus Knights mobilizing in earnest were virtually nonexistent.
Of course, there were cases of individual action.
They carried out various tasks across Maple World under Empress Cygnus’s orders or as part of Maple Alliance plans.
But as mentioned earlier, those were individual efforts.
Simply one member of the Cygnus Knights taking action—nothing more.
Most cases weren’t worth much attention.
In other words, when the Cygnus Knights moved as a unit, the situation was entirely different.
It meant a threat to Empress Cygnus had emerged.
“The Cygnus Knights are mobilizing.”
That was the case now.
The Cygnus Knights had moved.
“Oz, Captain of the Flame Knights, is heading to the Ariant Kingdom.”
Not just any knights, but Oz—one of the captains—moving personally.
It was tantamount to Empress Cygnus herself taking action.
The gravity of it was on another level entirely.
“It’s not about Queen Areda.”
Of course, they weren’t launching an immediate investigation into Queen Areda.
The Ariant Kingdom was a Maple Alliance member state, and Queen Areda—its true powerholder—was no easy target for the Cygnus Knights.
Approaching on such grounds would provoke the Ariant Kingdom beyond tolerance.
It could even spark war.
“The pretext is investigating her disciple’s death.”
But if it involved a captain’s disciple, the story changed.
The Ariant Kingdom had only one option.
“The Ariant Kingdom has promised full cooperation.”
Unwavering cooperation!
Of course, everyone knew.
This investigation would inevitably lead to Queen Areda’s tail being caught.
That was why.
“We don’t have much time left.”
Cheryl’s expression was grim.
Pyr, listening in, felt the same.
“Chaos is coming to the Ariant Kingdom.”
“Yes.”
Queen Areda, once cornered, wouldn’t meekly confess her crimes and repent.
“She’ll stir up trouble one way or another.”
Far from repentance, unprecedented turmoil could engulf the Ariant Kingdom.
The Cross Hunters knew this especially well.
“She’s not alone.”
Queen Areda had followers of the Black Mage behind her—nothing less.
To the Cross Hunters, this was gravely serious.
If the Black Mage’s followers mobilized?
Danger would surely befall the Cross Hunters embedded in the Ariant Kingdom.
“Orders from above?”
“Nothing concrete yet. But one thing’s certain. We can’t run.”
The issue was that the Cross Hunters couldn’t stand idle if the Black Mage’s followers moved—especially not them.
That was why.
“El Pam.”
Pyr and Cheryl had brought El Pam into this critical discussion.
“We need your opinion.”
El Pam was no longer an outsider.
They also acknowledged his abilities.
They had no choice but to.
Take the recent Phantom Thief Phantom commission.
They’d ultimately failed the final test, but without El Pam, annihilation would have been unavoidable.
Of course, El Pam hadn’t mentioned it—his deal with Phantom Thief Phantom.
‘Queen Areda’s death.’
And that was why El Pam’s expression had hardened.
‘Cornered, Queen Areda might breathe her last.’
The current situation was unfavorable to El Pam.
“We know predicting the situation isn’t easy. We just need your take.”
But unaware of that, Cheryl and Pyr simply saw El Pam as troubled by the matter.
To them, El Pam said.
“Predicting the distant future is tough, but the immediate situation is straightforward.”
“What?”
“What’d you say?”
No need to agonize over that part.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Queen Areda’s next move is obvious.”
And El Pam knew.
“She will...”
6.
“The Cygnus Knights are coming?”
When informed that Oz—one of the Cygnus Knights’ captains—was heading to the Ariant Kingdom, Queen Areda spoke to Evoc.
“We need to thin out the princes.”
Evoc’s face registered shock at her words.
Thin out the princes?
Queen Areda’s expression, by contrast, was calm.
Proof of her resolve.
“The situation’s dire, isn’t it?”
Resolve born of knowing failure to navigate this would end her fate instantly.
Indeed, Queen Areda’s position was precarious.
The immediate problem was the Princes’ Tombs event.
Evidence of her prior machinations was surfacing steadily, driving public opinion in Ariant Kingdom—and against her—to rock bottom.
Of course, adventurers’ opinions meant little to Queen Areda.
She didn’t care if they rioted.
A war would even give Ariant Kingdom justification to crush them.
“Lord Will won’t tolerate further disgrace, will he?”
What she feared wasn’t adventurers, but Will—the Black Mage’s legion commander they followed.
She’d already failed to fulfill his orders multiple times.
“If the Cygnus Knights catch our tail, he won’t let it slide.”
Amid that, the Cygnus Knights’ approach was tantamount to a death sentence.
Crossing them would make the Maple Alliance Ariant Kingdom’s enemy.
The Black Mage’s followers would never allow it.
The solution was simple.
Cut off the tail before it was stepped on.
Evoc grasped the gravity.
“Still, targeting the princes is too risky.”
But in this situation, going after them would only hasten ruin.
“And the remaining princes differ from those you’ve already handled.”
Moreover, the surviving princes wielded far greater power than those Queen Areda had eliminated.
That was precisely why she hadn’t touched them.
If they’d been pushovers, she’d have wiped out all the princes long ago.
“You think I don’t know that?”
Queen Areda knew better than anyone.
That was why.
“There’s one final option.”
She aimed to eliminate the princes here.
“A final option?”
“Or the last resort.”
She had it.
“What is it?”
“It’s...”
7.
“What?”
At the first meal after their adventure, during the banquet, Dibo reacted in shock to El Pam’s words.
“The crown prince?”
Fortunately, he didn’t spit out his food this time.
“What’s this? No blunder for once?”
Miner looked amazed, prompting Dibo to frown.
“I’m no idiot—think I’d keep making the same mistake? Huh?”
“No, don’t you get what it means?”
Truth be told, Dibo hadn’t truly wised up.
“Honestly, I don’t get it. What’s picking a crown prince got to do with the Cygnus Knights coming? They pick one, right?”
El Pam explained.
The Cygnus Knights had mobilized, so Queen Areda would counter by selecting a crown prince.
“What’s that got to do with Queen Areda?”
Just hearing it offered no link between the two.
To Dibo, El Pam clarified.
“Selecting a crown prince means choosing the next king, Abdullah IX. Once chosen, the other princes lose all relevance.”
“They do?”
“With a crown prince set, the others must leave the kingdom. Exile means they can never touch Nihal Desert’s sands again. That’s Ariant Kingdom law.”
“Creepy.”
“So the princes wage life-or-death battles among themselves.”
“No kidding. I wouldn’t see them as brothers either.”
Even with that, Dibo and the others tilted their heads.
No connection between crown prince and Cygnus Knights emerged.
“And Abdullah VIII will use the Mystic Gate to select him.”
“Huh?”
The mood shifted the instant Mystic Gate was mentioned.
“The Mystic Gate?”
“Ariant Kingdom enjoys unprecedented wealth thanks to the Mystic Gate. Demanding Mystic Gate conquest skills from the next Abdullah IX is only natural.”
“Sure, but isn’t it dangerous?”
“It’ll be their tombs.”
And in that moment, everyone understood.
“By any means necessary.”
Why Queen Areda wanted a crown prince selected.
“If real trouble erupts during it, things change.”
If princes died in the process?
“The Cygnus Knights can’t touch Ariant’s royals amid princes dropping like flies.”
Gulp!
Dibo and the others swallowed hard.
If El Pam was right, this was no small matter.
“The bigger issue: the princes can’t refuse. It’s the opportunity they’ve awaited.”
“The one they’ve awaited?”
“Overcome Queen Areda’s schemes to become crown prince, and you’re king in all but name. A crown prince’s birth weakens Queen Areda’s power.”
Fleeing wasn’t an option either.
“So Queen Areda saved this as her last resort.”
A double-edged sword for her too.
In other words, she was clearly cornered as well.
Thin ice either way.
“Whew.”
Whatever happened, a massive storm was inevitable.
“We should’ve left Nihal Desert ASAP.”
Naturally, no one wanted to get caught in it.
El Pam agreed.
“We’re staying.”
“Huh?”
But he couldn’t leave.
“No, stay in this mess? Why?”
“I made a deal.”
“A deal? Whatever it is, ditch it! I’ll cover any losses!”
“A deal with Phantom Thief Phantom.”
“Pfft!”
Dibo spat his latest bite across the food in horror.
No one scolded him this time.
“W-what?”
“Hey, what do you mean?”
“What nonsense is that?”
The other three forgot their meals too upon hearing El Pam.
The shock was that immense.
To them, El Pam said.
“The moment everyone was asleep, I made a deal with Phantom Thief Phantom. His demand: Queen Areda’s death.”
They stopped thinking altogether.
Dealing with Phantom Thief Phantom was shocking enough; the terms being Queen Areda’s death?
“I thought it impossible at first, but circumstances changed.”
El Pam had deemed Queen Areda’s death unfeasible initially.
The Cygnus Knights changed that.
“If one prince becomes crown prince, Queen Areda’s as good as dead.”
A path had opened.
“That’s why we can’t leave.”
The plan was set.
“We have to make Prince Kashan the crown prince.”