Chapter 57: The Treasure the Emperor Seeks (1)
Chapter 57: The Treasure the Emperor Seeks (1)
Eugene had charted their march route primarily through friendly or neutral territories.
The free city of Veles, which they were about to pass through, also belonged to the Noble Faction. Eugene therefore felt no alarm when he spotted a band of armed men on the road.
"I am Baden, knight of House Jules."
The knight who appeared to be the captain raised his visor and spoke.
"Haha."
At the sight, Eugene couldn't help laughing.
"Why are you laughing?"
"No, it's nothing."
Eugene had laughed because Baden's motion of raising his visor happened to look exactly like a military salute.
He knew that raising a visor, along with tipping a hat, was one of the historical origins of the salute. Experiencing it firsthand, however, felt strangely different.
"Eugene Meyer. I am en route to a fief granted by Count Morad."
House Jules belonged to the Noble Faction. Eugene made a point of learning the leanings of nearby houses whenever he crossed from one domain to another, so he could introduce himself without concern.
"Ah, so congratulations are in order. As a fellow knight, allow me to congratulate you."
Baden's voice was full of envy. Catching the eye of a great noble, receiving a fief, and becoming a lord was every knight's dream. The knight before him was also far younger than he was.
Eugene spotted two prisoners bound with rope behind Baden.
"Are you escorting criminals?"
With winter bringing the war to a lull, out-of-work mercenaries had begun spreading across the region. Many turned to banditry, worsening public security.
At times like this, it was common for a free city to make a show of goodwill toward nearby lords in exchange for knightly patrols.
"These men were planted in the area by the Emperor."
"They were caught spying, it seems."
"No. Had that been the case, he would have used adventurers or scouts. These two are knights. They had a few followers with them, who were executed on the spot."
No wonder they seemed to have a noble air, too refined to be mere bandits.
"The Emperor can hardly have enough men to spare that he would dispatch knights somewhere with no fighting."
The Emperor's territory lay in north-central Roman, leaving him surrounded by enemies. A precarious balance held only because of his diplomatic skill and neutral nobles who feared civil war.
"Under interrogation, they have said the emperor is frantic to find some treasure."
"As someone else opposed to the Emperor, I am curious. Would you tell me more?"
Eugene handed over a leather waterskin filled with wine.
"A fine aroma."
"It is wine of House Morad."
The rare wine loosened Baden's tongue even further.
"The Emperor has been secretly sending retainers throughout the land to search for the legendary Wandering Castle—or, more precisely, clues to its whereabouts."
Baden chuckled. Even in Bonyard it was treated as half tourist marketing and half legend, so naturally outsiders took it even less seriously.
Eugene, however, did not laugh. For some reason, the moment he heard the words Wandering Castle, the dream he had had on the night of the lunar eclipse came back to him.
"Please, do go into more detail. My mage is most interested in such matters."
Varda shot Eugene a displeased look for so casually using her as an excuse.
Yet she too was curious, and Baden's expression was one of understanding, as if to say, 'Naturally, for a mage.'
"As you know, the Emperor is plagued by questions of legitimacy. On the advice of his court mage, he apparently began gathering relics left by the Ancient Kingdom."
"So he means to surround himself with the prestige of the past."
"Precisely."
It was common for a newly crowned monarch to consolidate his grip on power through grand public works or expeditionary conquest.
The kings of Roman, fiercely proud of being direct heirs to the Ancient Kingdom, had also favored excavating and claiming relics from that era.
"The emperor believes the Wandering Castle truly exists. Should he truly secure it..."
"That would go a long way toward solving his legitimacy problem. It is the greatest treasure left by the Ancient Kingdom, after all."
Eugene fixed his gaze upon the prisoners.
"Did those men claim to have found something?"
"Yes. For it is not a matter of ransacking at random. They gather intelligence at the capital, pinpoint a place that may hold a clue, and then dispatch agents to that place."
Baden pointed to a mountain near the city of Veles.
"It is said there is a small ruin from the era of the Ancient Kingdom over there. Those knights were on their way to search that place when a hunter's report led to their capture by us."
Near the soldiers stood a young man with excitement written all over his face. He would return to the city with them to collect a bounty.
"If it is not too much trouble, could you tell us where it is?"
When Eugene handed over an entire sealed bottle of wine, Baden laughed and accepted it.
"No problem. We already searched the place ourselves and found nothing unusual."
They had apparently found plenty that could be sold, however. Their spare horses were laden with expensive-looking pottery, silver candlesticks, gilded ornaments, and other loot.
'I don't sense any magical energy.'
Varda looked relieved as well, apparently having reached the same conclusion as Eugene.
"Hey, hunter! Come over here and tell Sir Eugene where the place is."
After receiving a detailed description of the landmarks, they parted ways with Baden's party, who planned to continue patrolling the area a while longer.
"So the Wandering Castle really exists?"
"I thought the city folk had just made it up to draw tourists."
While the mercenaries who had followed from Bonyard chattered in wonder, Eugene and Varda looked at each other.
"We shall have to search it, I suppose?"
"You state the obvious."
Even if anything of monetary value had been stripped, knights and soldiers could not possibly uncover the secrets of magic.
What if they found even one piece of ancient knowledge sleeping within the ruins? For a mage like Varda, an encounter like that could become a stroke of fortune that advanced her mastery.
"Perhaps the place you saw in your dream..."
"I had that very thought."
Mages attached great significance to bonds and fate. Both Varda and Eugene felt some connection between the ruins and the dream they had shared at the House of Boundary Knights.
"For now, we should head into the city."
Dusk was already falling. Searching an unfamiliar mountain in the middle of the night would be madness.
Veles was a free city dating back to the Ancient Kingdom. Unlike Bonyard, which had grown out of a workshop settlement, Veles had been designed as a city from the beginning and boasted beautiful, well-built facilities.
Naturally, the notables who governed it were fierce in their pride. And that pride was also a form of loyalty to tradition.
It was only natural that the people of Veles, furious at the Emperor's assumption of an imperial title, had become fiercely anti-Emperor.
"At this rate, won't the emperor's army come invading?"
"Emperor, my foot! He has enemies on every side. You think that bastard has time to worry about us? And even if he comes, what of it? How is he supposed to cross walls built by the Ancient Kingdom?"
"This is not some far-off land of libertines. To bring a disgusting word like emperor into sacred Roman—tsk, tsk!"
Thanks to this, Eugene, visiting as a member of the Noble Faction, received a lavish welcome.
"I heard you took the vanguard and cut down the imperial guard knights one after another."
"Ah, yes. I did."
The magistrate of Veles refilled Eugene's cup with a broad smile.
Unlike the plump Panis, this man looked martial to his very bones. His hatred of the Emperor combined with his admiration for a mighty knight, and he gazed at Eugene with almost syrupy affection.
"Do you know this is the first time in more than a decade that a stone castle has fallen to a battering ram? Not seeing it with my own eyes will be a lifelong regret! A lifelong regret!"
"Hmm."
The host meant it as praise, but the words left a bitter taste in Eugene's mouth. If possible, he wanted to make his name through Hall Wars, bandit suppression, and monster hunts.
"Sir, I doubt anyone in this banquet hall supports the Emperor. I heard his supporters have already lost their influence in the city and are close to being driven out."
Haind, passing nearby, murmured quietly.
Unlike most knights, who seemed to have muscle for brains, Haind was calm and knew how to read a room. He could anticipate what information his temporary liege needed, gather it, and report back.
Combined with his prowess as a knight, that was a rare virtue.
"I see. Why not have a drink yourself, Sir? I smell no alcohol on you at all— have you not taken even a sip?"
"I have no fondness for drink. A knight must always keep his wits clear."
"You speak words to shame every knight in the world."
Eugene glanced toward a group of knights from other regions who were drinking themselves senseless with their arms around one another's shoulders.
"Come, come! A toast to the hero who caught the emperor's snitch!"
Baden, it seemed, had also been invited, for he was dead drunk from the drinks poured on him from all sides.
"To be honest, I dislike alcohol—the feeling of being drunk and the way drunk people behave."
Haind moved on, deftly avoiding the wine while enjoying the food.
"It seems you have taken in a capable knight."
"He is the sort who finds useful work on his own instead of merely standing behind me like scenery."
"It must be said that birds of a feather flock together."
Varda smiled in satisfaction.
With tomorrow's operation ahead, having the knights drunk would have been a problem. Eugene was protected by his physique, Haind by his temperament, and neither was touched by intoxication.
At dawn the next day, Eugene's party left the city as soon as the gates opened.
The drunken Baden had blabbered about the ruins at the banquet, so rumor would soon spread. It would be troublesome if adventurers or city notables meddled.
Following the landmarks the hunter had described, they found the ruins without difficulty.
The site was so remote that they had to make a long detour along a narrow path between dry valleys. Anyone not deliberately searching for it would almost certainly miss it.
"Everyone, wait here. Sir Haind, I leave command to you. If anyone weak enough to handle comes up, chase them off. Otherwise, stall them as long as you can."
"Understood."
Eugene left the troops in place in case anyone tried to interfere. A knight and several dozen mercenaries would overwhelm most opponents.
Haind put the mercenaries to work building a solid temporary position. He stationed scouts on high ground, felled trees, and even erected barricades.
'A real windfall.'
Eugene smiled, pleased at the admirable sight.
"Should you not take a few men for odd jobs?"
The mercenary captain asked.
"Too many people would break Varda-nim's concentration. Just guard this place like a fortress."
They might find something harmless, but they might also uncover something even more sinister than the bloodletting dagger. The fewer witnesses, the better.
Eugene entered the ruins with Varda and Homi. The place resembled an open-air ritual site with its roof missing.
Baden's party had already stripped away anything of monetary value, leaving only rusted and broken remnants.
"It seems this place was once used for magical research. You, too, can feel the energy converging here, yes?"
"It feels similar to the mansion where Varda-nim once dwelt."
There were places in the world where mystical energy gathered like veins of gold. Mages often made such places their homes or laboratories. This site had likely served the same purpose.
"They must have been researching magic involving the Otherworld here."
"For instance?"
"Summoning, or powerful secret arts that manipulate space."
"How can one tell?"
"Buildings erected in places like this are normally sealed tight so the gathering energy cannot leak out and instead concentrates inside."
"This place is wide open, though."
The ruins were open to the sky and exposed on the sides.
"Only one branch of magic would require that: the study of connections between this world and the Otherworld."
Eugene recalled the custom of leaving the front door and windows open during a rite so that the ancestors might enter. The ruins seemed to operate on a similar principle.
While searching the vicinity, they discovered geometric figures on the floor of the ruins.
"It is a magic circle."
Homi's eyes widened as she peered at the floor. She could not see anything at all.
"This was not drawn with ink or dye. Had it been, it would not have endured the long years. It is a kind visible only to those who understand magic."
Varda stroked Homi's head.
"The emperor's knights would not find it, then."
"He could hardly send valuable mages out at random. They would narrow the possibilities down first, then send a mage to make the final inspection."
A faint magical energy still flowed through the magic circle.
"Hm."
"What is the matter?"
"I sense a dissonance in several places of the magic circle."
"It is so old that parts of the magical formula seem to have broken down. I cannot sense the damage myself, however."
"Huh?"
Eugene was genuinely surprised. To him, Varda was someone who seemed to know everything.
"Do not look so shocked. There are countless fields of magic, and everyone differs in what they are able to see, hear, and feel."
It was not strange that Eugene could perceive something Varda could not. It was a matter of affinity, not mastery or knowledge.
"Come to think of it, your Eucharist was also a power drawn from the Otherworld. For you to be sensitive in this manner is only natural."
Varda withdrew with Homi so that Eugene might concentrate.
'Is it this part?'
When Eugene approached the point where he sensed the dissonance, something strange happened.
The energy flowing through the magic circle was drawn toward Eugene as though by osmosis, and the movement cleared the blockage in its flow.
The magic circle began circulating smoothly again, and even Varda noticed the subtle change.
"Did you touch something?"
"Not at all. I merely drew near, and it acted on its own..."
Homi, who had been listening quietly, reflexively raised her crossbow. Two figures stood there now, though she had no idea when they had appeared.
One stood with a straight posture, swathed head to toe in a mage's robe. Within the hood lay only pitch-black darkness.
The other was a knight sitting against one of the ruined pillars. His head hung so low that he looked asleep, and his helmet too was filled with nothing but darkness.
Both exuded a powerful scent of magic, as if it pulsed from them.
"Guardians in such a small place as this!"
Varda cried out in surprise.
To think two of those magical sentinels, found so rarely even in large-scale ruins, would appear here.
At that moment, two lights kindled in the darkness beneath the mage's hood. Eyes flickering like will-o'-the-wisps swept across the ruins Baden's party had ransacked and left in disarray.
'Damn.'
Eugene drew Last Autumn and raised his shield.