Operation Fruit Frost (5)
"Of course."
Mabel answered with a faint smile.
"It's a rare flower that only grows in the Demon Realm, isn't it? Anyone with a love of horticulture would know the name."
I had wanted to see my brother waver. But his expression remained as calm as a gentle breeze passing through.
"And would you believe me if I told you that this rare flower is what caused the famine?"
"Is that true?"
"Yes. The Scarlet Blaze is a plant that grows by draining the vitality of the earth. Someone planted it in abundance near the farmland, and that is the cause of the famine."
"A bold claim."
My brother nodded impassively.
Even after following up the flower with the keyword of famine, he still didn't budge.
By acting standards, he was good enough to headline an opera.
But this opera had two leads. And I was holding Lucian's report. I had the script; he didn't.
"Do you happen to have any evidence to back up what you're saying? It's not that I don't trust you, but I've never once heard the claim that a flower caused a famine."
"I do."
I spread the map I'd brought wide across the table in front of him.
"This is the location of the farm where the Scarlet Blaze was cultivated on a large scale."
I pointed to the first farm's position with my finger.
"The famine spread outward from this farm in a perfect circle. The Scarlet Blaze we found here alone numbered more than fifty roots."
"...Hmm."
Mabel's brow furrowed slightly.
Even with the farm's location exposed, his expression didn't change. Even if the investigation turned up a portion of the land under his ownership, he could simply claim he'd leased it out, or left it untended, and be done with it.
"I'll have to send investigators to that location. Do you happen to know whose doing this is?"
"I don't. But there is one thing I do know. The culprit is a selfish creature who couldn't care less whether everyone else starves to death, so long as they profit."
"Criminals do tend to pursue their own interests."
"That's not all. While searching the farm, I made an interesting discovery — there wasn't a single trace of anyone else having worked the fields alongside the culprit. The culprit is most likely a loner with not a single soul in the world to open their heart to. They'd know full well that no one could ever love someone so sinister and repulsive. That's why they holed up in that remote place, crouching alone and pulling weeds by themselves."
"Oh my, how pitiful."
Daphné chimed in from the side.
"How could anyone have no one to believe in... Well, I suppose that's how they became a criminal in the first place?"
"You shouldn't offer sympathy so readily. They're nothing more than a wretched sinner."
"That was careless of me."
Mabel changed the subject, as if he had no interest in our conversation.
"What did you do with the Scarlet Blaze you found?"
"I burned it all."
"Burned it?"
His face stiffened.
"A 2nd-grade material... You burned that precious mana source?"
"Yes."
"Why on earth would you burn it? If you'd brought it back, we might have found a useful use for it."
Mabel had been listening to me with leisurely composure, but this was the first time he'd pushed back — at the mention of burning the material.
"It's a thing made from the lives of spirits. Profiting from it felt like dancing to the culprit's tune."
Of course, the Scarlet Blaze was all safely tucked away in my warehouse. The talk of the culprit's intentions was purely meant to get under his skin.
"Aren't you remarkable, young master? How can a twelve-year-old be so decisive?"
Mabel seemed not to hear Daphné's words. His gaze never turned away from me.
"Emotionally, I agree with you. But in another sense, it's a little unfortunate. It might have served as evidence to catch the culprit."
"There's plenty of other evidence. The culprit was so sloppy that the clues number far more than one or two."
"...Is that so?"
"Actually, that farm isn't all there is."
I pointed to another spot on the map.
"We found a farm here as well."
Then I indicated yet another location.
"And another one set up here. A real poisonous mushroom of a place. Of course, I burned the poisonous mushrooms to the ground on my brother's behalf."
I gave Mabel a bright smile. For just that instant, he seemed to have forgotten that he was supposed to be managing his expression. In that fleeting moment, he stared at me coldly. It was brief enough that one might think they'd imagined it — but it was more than enough time to reveal his true heart.
Mabel smiled again. Sinking deep into the sofa, he spoke in a voice that had recovered its ease.
"Well, you've certainly been busy."
"Yes. You've worked far too hard, young master!"
"And yet I find myself worried."
"What sort of worry?"
"If the culprit is truly as selfish as you say, then by now they must have absorbed countless 2nd-grade mana sources and become terribly strong, haven't they?"
"I suppose so."
"And such a powerful figure... perhaps one far stronger even than our father, the strongest swordsman of the duchy — would they simply leave you alone, the one who uncovered their secret?"
This was a threat to kill me.
At the same time, it was also the moment he confessed where the Scarlet Blaze was being used.
"Indeed. What should we do? If the young master were ever to be hurt..."
Daphné looked at me with anxious eyes. I gave her a gentle smile.
"There's no need to worry. That will never, ever happen."
"Why is that?"
"Strength doesn't simply mean the size of one's power. There are countless variables — technique, judgment, experience, mental fortitude. A criminal good for nothing but watering flowers could never defeat a father tempered by real combat on the front lines against the demonkin."
If he really had devoured all those Scarlet Blazes alone, he would certainly be strong. Mabel's power might even rival the legendary realm of Ascension.
But the Flame Giant had been stronger than me too.
"Let's set Father aside. You're still young, aren't you? You lack technique and experience just the same."
"Actually, the culprit didn't just leave the farms untended. Determined not to be caught, they installed all manner of traps."
"Is that so?"
"But... pfft. Ah, my apologies."
I smirked.
"The traps were so crude I could hardly bear to look at them. The illusion magic in particular was utterly pathetic, wouldn't you say?"
This provocation was specially prepared.
A signal that everything he had poured his heart into preparing was nothing to me.
Mabel was a cautious man who styled himself a schemer despite having ample power at his disposal. So, like a beast puffing up its body to intimidate a rival, I puffed up mine as well — so that he would misjudge me and miss the moment he needed to act.
"Your confidence is a fine thing to see."
Mabel rose from his seat. The audience was over. Taking my hand, he offered a final word of advice.
"Still, you'd best take care of yourself. You never know how things will turn out."
His black eyes glinted threateningly.
**
"Are you truly all right?"
The moment I returned to the ducal residence, Vitten asked with a worried air.
"If Lord Mabel really is the one behind the famine, he won't leave you alone, my lord."
"He won't dare move against me carelessly. He has no idea what documents I'm holding, or how many."
Having spoken with Mabel, my thoughts felt far more organized. Now that it was certain he had used the Scarlet Blaze for personal gain, how I would deal with him had become clear as well.
"Are the knights training well?"
"Of course."
"Let's get them ready for real combat as quickly as possible. I don't think we have much time."
After finishing my talk with Vitten, I took a single root of Scarlet Blaze from the warehouse and headed for the pill alchemy workshop.
Kaspar was working day and night to create something worthy of being called a dan-yak — a true pill — alongside me.
This scrawny boy possessed a remarkable passion for the work of mixing substances to create something new.
He claimed even eating and sleeping were a waste of time — he'd gone so far as to move his bedding into a corner of the workshop. That said it all.
"A 2nd-grade material?"
Kaspar's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of the Scarlet Blaze.
"That's right. If we're going to make medicine, we might as well make the real thing."
I boldly sacrificed one root of Scarlet Blaze for the experiment. It was a precious material that could never be obtained again — but then again, I couldn't exactly plant it back in the ground either.
"We need to burn off every impurity. Refine it, and refine it again, until only pure mana remains."
"We'll need an astonishingly precise distillation apparatus."
"Yes, and don't skimp on the budget. The results are everything."
After putting our heads together with Kaspar for a heated debate over the new formula, I returned to the palace.
The moment I arrived, I received unexpected news. Baron Caldric, lord of Fairchild, had requested an audience.
"Baron Caldric came all the way here?"
"Shall I turn him away for you? You're busy, young master."
Lily seemed displeased, evidently thinking some country baron I'd never met was coming to peddle his interests.
"No. Show him in. And serve him a nice cup of tea."
She knew nothing of Caldric, but I did. I had received a very good impression of him. He was an honorable and courageous man. Among those of high birth, such figures were rare.
Before long, a young man in armor was ushered into the drawing room by a servant. The moment he saw me, he bowed with stiff formality.
"It is an honor to be received by Lord Iden, Prince of the realm!"
"At ease, Caldric."
"I could not possibly. How could I dare presume with Your Highness..."
Caldric's nervousness was plain to see. He hadn't been like this last time — probably because then he'd been in his homeland, in front of his own men.
"So, what brings you here? I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
"I first wished to inform you that the materials in your possession, my lord, have been loaded onto carriages and brought here."
"The byproducts of the Flame Giant?"
"Yes. We should have transferred ownership to you that very day, but the defleshing and tanning took considerable time, and the schedule was delayed."
Since I had already taken the Flame Giant's mana core, what Caldric had brought must be the hide and bones.
The hide and bones of a powerful monster made excellent material for armor and weapons. And I recalled hearing that the knights' equipment costs were already nothing to sneeze at.
"Thank you. We'll put them to good use."
"Not at all. They rightfully belong to you, my lord."
"How is Fairchild? Peaceful now that the giant is gone?"
Caldric seemed to relax a little, and smiled faintly as he spoke.
"Not long ago, a new holiday was established in our domain."
"A holiday?"
"A feast day honoring Iden Esterzy, who delivered Fairchild from the giant's grasp."
"...Well, that's something."
I smiled at him. It was welcome news to hear. If they were holding a festival, things must truly be livable now.
"You saved us from generations of terror, my lord. It grieves us that this is all we can offer in return."
"Don't think of it as a burden. I did it for my own benefit, after all."
"Should you ever have occasion to pass through Fairchild again, I beg you to visit my estate. The people wish to repay you. My father also wishes to express his gratitude in person."
Caldric spoke with heartfelt sincerity. I'd heard something about his father in passing — an expert in giant hunting, was it?
"Very well. I'll stop by when the time allows."
Caldric bowed and took his leave.
I opened the window and looked down at the courtyard. The materials Caldric had brought filled five full carts. Processing all of that would be quite a job in itself.
Then, just as Caldric's carriage departed, another carriage arrived. Unlike Caldric's shabby one, this was a luxury carriage drawn by four white horses.
Before long, a girl in a fresh green dress stepped down from the carriage. She was an even more unexpected visitor than Caldric.
"...Daphné?"
Daphné Highcliff.
Mabel's fiancée was walking alone toward the entrance of my palace.