Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: A Guest More Precious Than a Holy Relic! (4)
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Imperial Treasury entrance foyer.
Teder, secretary to the 2nd Princess, was slumped on the floor.
“Haaaaaaah...”
Occasional sighs heavy enough to cave the ground were all that could be heard. The surroundings were unbelievably quiet. All the guards and custodians had left in unison.
The reason for their departure was extremely simple and clear.
─It would be better to report to the superiors after all.
─Isn't this under Teder's jurisdiction, Teder's responsibility?
─That sounds right! Better than getting dragged down with her...
─No reason to cover for her lie.
In the end, disaster had struck, but what could be more tempting than claiming zero responsibility?
A fire in one's own house is a catastrophe, but in a neighbor's, it's mere entertainment. In the end, self-preservation mattered most to everyone, and Teder bore some blame from the start.
As a result, they had all scurried off to make their reports.
“It's my fault... My fault...”
Teder muttered with a resigned expression.
She couldn't stop them from leaving. It was true that she had lied, and trying to cover it up could drag everyone into shared blame.
One person still remained by Teder's side.
Zekiel, inspector from the Imperial Magic Tower. He was that man.
Exhale—
He exhaled a long plume of Sunweed smoke and asked,
“Teder.”
“Y-yes?”
Her deeply bowed head lifted to meet Zekiel's gaze. Her face was pale with fear—dreading punishment, no doubt.
But what Zekiel actually wanted to ask was something else.
“You're the only secretary to the 2nd Princess?”
As a former Imperial insider himself, Zekiel found it baffling that operations tied directly to a princess—Imperial business, no less—could face such disruption.
And then...
The answer that came back was quite unexpected.
“Yes. Just me.”
“Just you?”
“That's right...”
He had suspected as much, and his suspicions were confirmed.
Zekiel let out his Sunweed smoke like a sigh.
The Imperial Palace hasn't changed a bit.
One princess alone wielded influence equivalent to a living, breathing organization.
The workload piled up like a mountain piercing the heavens, yet assigning just a single secretary from the outset was bizarre staffing to say the least.
“From what I know, secretaries number nearly ten.”
“They used to. That was before...”
“Explain in detail.”
Teder's explanation dragged on for a while, but the gist was simple. All too familiar, even.
The 2nd Princess Hedera's secretarial staff had totaled ten. But when she abruptly left the human realm for celestial living, the numbers were cut.
The problem? Hedera had returned without warning.
With the 2nd Princess back, operations had to resume, but the other secretaries were long gone. Teder was stuck handling the workload of ten.
“Of course, they do pay me the salary for ten secretaries. And they occasionally provide some assistance...”
Zekiel silently met Teder's eyes.
Dark circles thick behind her glasses.
He could somehow guess her feelings.
─Zekiel, I'm planning to cut one department this time.
─Can't you handle that too?
─You're capable, aren't you? We'll compensate you generously.
─Zekiel, this time...
─You've done it before.
─No one handles it like you anymore.
─See? It works when you do it. So this time...
Long ago, in his passionate youth full of stamina but naive to the world, Zekiel had taken on extra duties beyond his original remit.
Gratitude flowed at first, but soon everything was judged by harsh standards as if expected. Later still, blame followed.
They rolled him until he broke. Like a machine part.
A way of handling people like components.
Come to think of it, another question arose.
“If the 2nd Princess had prepared thoroughly before returning, there'd be no issue. Why the rush? What was so urgent?”
“Hm, can I really speak on Her Highness's personal matters...”
But Teder soon decided.
“This much should be fine. She mentioned receiving a message. I don't know the contents, of course.”
“A message?”
“Yes. Apparently, a single letter.”
“...”
Zekiel unwittingly crunched his Sunweed.
One message was the cause. Delivered by letter, no less.
“...”
A natural thought surfaced.
Could this be my fault too?
The reason 2nd Princess Hedera rushed back to the human realm.
The culprit who sent her down unprepared, dooming her secretary to this grind. Could it be...
Himself.
“...”
...No doubt about it. No matter how he thought, the letter was to blame.
Meanwhile, Teder bowed her head apologetically.
“In any case, I'm deeply sorry to you, Inspector. In fear of punishment, I lied without thinking... I'll accept any penalty you deem fit.”
“...We'll see.”
Zekiel saw his past self in Teder.
The difference? He'd endured years steadfastly before snapping. Teder had bent with a lie when she couldn't take it anymore.
Punishment per Imperial law would come later, but Zekiel didn't resent the lie. Without it, she'd have broken entirely.
Teder, was it? She seems promising.
Just the teleportation magic she'd shown on first appearance confirmed it. Teder was competent.
Watching a capable person wear down wasn't pleasant.
“You said Holy Relic oversight was your duty.”
“Y-yes, it is...”
“Let's focus on the treasury first. I have a hunch about the spirit rampage inside.”
It was the most practical help in the current situation, and a way to change the subject. But Teder didn't take it that way.
“Ah, ah!”
Did she hear it as “How will you produce the relic in that state?” Her face drained of color as she bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Inspector, I'm truly sorry!”
The secretary's waist bent at ninety degrees.
“The thing is, truthfully... the spirit stones inside weren't supposed to be on the first floor. They should be at least on the second, but I lacked the ability to move them.”
Zekiel quietly chewed his Sunweed as he listened.
“Spirits are so sensitive and delicate, aren't they? So I left them be, but this rampage is the first I've seen. Being the first, I don't know how to fix it...”
“I imagine so.”
Of course it was the first time.
...Because Zekiel hadn't visited until now.
“I'd love to pull out fine relics right away, but there's nothing I can do...!”
Teder rushed on, then abruptly stopped. A specific phrase from Zekiel's words struck her hard.
“Huh?”
Puzzlement crossed Teder's face.
“Inspector, did you say you have an idea about this rampage? Did I hear right?”
“Yes.”
Zekiel nodded calmly.
“How about we hurry? We might resolve it before your superiors arrive on the report.”
“...!”
Teder clenched her fist unwittingly.
But the hope enveloping her didn't last.
“But I'm already a sinner. Even asking for your help is beyond my station...”
“No need to fret over personal matters.”
...It doesn't seem entirely your fault anyway.
But Teder, unaware of the circumstances, thought differently.
This inspector is no ordinary man.
A unprecedented spirit rampage, and he calls it a “personal matter”?
Vast.
His skill and magnanimity were immeasurably vast.
Like the sea itself.
Teder immediately stuck by Zekiel's side.
“I-Inspector! Then let me help however I can. Whatever you desire, I'll provide it!”
“No need.”
“No, I insist! Whatever you want? It may be humble, but—”
“I said no need.”
Zekiel found Teder's reaction simply burdensome.
“...”
It was only natural.
Both her ordeal and the spirit rampage.
...Somehow felt partly his responsibility.
Within the Imperial Palace's guest chambers.
The fragrance of tea filled the air sweetly.
Facing a dragonkin no less—Hedera stroked a stone slab placed in one corner of the guest room. This mysterious slab would likely be the main topic of today's meeting.
Less than ten minutes until the dragonkin arrived.
“...Hm?”
Hedera suddenly sensed something.
The heightened senses unique to dragon blood owners. No mistake. The origin was the treasury nestled in the mountains behind the palace.
The detected aura was utterly bizarre.
As if something were rampaging wildly.
...Wait, the treasury?
“...”
Hedera narrowed her eyes faintly.
It seemed she needed to check it out herself.