The Emperor's Political Gambit
Duke Felix's eyes flashed momentarily upon hearing the name Lowell. It triggered memories of reports he'd received at the recent nobles' conference.
“Lowell single-handedly slaughtered the Four Heavenly Kings' lieutenant and wiped out all the orc warriors. The Four Heavenly Kings were forced to retreat.”
“Lowell resolved the assassination attempt on the princess of Moncrito Kingdom and crushed nine hundred rebel troops.”
Ever since these extraordinary reports about Lowell began arriving, Duke Felix had come to realize that the only one capable of rescuing his daughter and the hero's party members was Lowell herself. He had been about to speak to the emperor about it when...
He had already angered the emperor with earlier discussions regarding Lowell, and the words refused to leave his mouth.
“Haa... If it's Lowell, she could even rescue the hero's party and have plenty left over...”
“...”
“Then it would be up to you, Duke Felix, if your pride will allow it?”
Duke Felix had to think deeply here.
If he proposed sending reinforcements to Lowell here and now, not only would the investigation he had planned for the moment Lowell stepped foot in the empire become a complete waste, but he would also be unable to show his face to the nobles who had followed him.
The resulting storm would undoubtedly deliver a devastating blow to him, who controlled nearly half the power of the imperial nobility conference, and there was a real chance it could end his entire political career.
“I'd like to ask Lowell for help too, but I also have to handle the investigation into the hero's party's expulsion that you're preparing, so... I can't ask in a personal capacity...”
“...Y-Your Majesty...”
“Why is that, Duke Felix? Are you perhaps trying to absolve Lowell of all responsibility out of personal sentiment and send her to Kubera Dungeon?”
“...”
Felix could make no response to the emperor's words.
Everything from the first to the last was aimed at him.
“...As Your Majesty commands.”
“What did you say?”
“I will no longer bring up the responsibility for expelling the hero party featuring elf Lowell. Furthermore, I will not interfere with any support given to elf Lowell in the empire going forward.”
This was Felix's major decision.
Both the anti-emperor faction of the nobles' conference and his own allied faction stared at Felix, who was now kneeling before the emperor.
While one side welcomed his words, the other side stirred with criticism that showed no sign of stopping.
“If Duke Felix's decision is truly so, then nothing can be done about it. I will send someone right away to ask Lowell to head for Kubera Dungeon.”
“Your Majesty... I will never forget this favor.”
Felix's political life had ended today in this meeting, but at least he could hope to save his precious only daughter.
However, since the emperor had not sent anyone to Lowell...
The imperial intelligence bureau, being a faction almost entirely driven by the emperor's power, could control every piece of information coming in from outside the empire.
In other words,
The emperor had received urgent communication magic from Kubera Dungeon that morning and heard the news of the hero's party's escape from Kubera Dungeon,
and Felix would likely hear the same news in a week.
Of course, by then he would not be able to swallow his words from today, but thanks to this, Lowell could rest comfortably at the villa and arrive in the empire without receiving any bothersome investigations.
This meant
It was not merely that the empire would not conduct an investigation,
but even other kingdoms such as the Holy Kingdom and the elf kingdom could conduct some level of investigation.
Since they could not impose any punishment that the empire itself did not, they would end up only watching the empire's gaze and failing to deliver any punishment, leaving everything in a muddle.
Perhaps this event had effectively absolved Lowell of all responsibility for being expelled from the hero's party.
“Hahaha, since everyone is following my will like this, can I not hold today's banquet? I shall hold a banquet this evening to celebrate the safe return of the hero's party. Duke Felix, you must attend.”
“Yes... Your Majesty...”
The emperor's banquet, officially held to confirm Felix's execution...
Even while fully aware of the emperor's plan, Felix had no choice but to comply without a single protest.
****
Training grounds at the villa...
One week had passed since five elves, including Cariel, began training with swords.
Their once-soft hands, which had not left the sword except for sleeping and eating, were now calloused like those of an old man,
and the results of such bloody training were only complete once they defeated the imperial knights' teams...
To prepare against any chance that the imperial knights might underestimate the elves or fall for their beauty, Alex had made an astonishing declaration.
“If anyone loses a match against the elves, they will face six months of pay suspension!”
Before Alex's words had even finished, the knights, who had been casually chatting and underestimating the elves in training with them, suddenly blazed with fighting spirit,
and their expressions began to change.
The first one to face them was a knight from the imperial knights' team, not quite a sword master but skilled enough to be comparable.
He was matched against Cariel.
It was obvious to anyone that Cariel was at a disadvantage...
“Lady Lowell, are you sure this is okay?”
“Hm? What is it?”
Alex already knew.
That if an elf lost a match, they would be sent back to the elf kingdom...
“This knight is one of the few in our knights' team who is still almost a sword master in skill. For you to match him against Cariel...”
Alex was already worried under the assumption that his knights would win...
but Cariel, the spiritual backbone and elder sister of the eighty-eight elves here, was irreplaceable.
Without her, there was no guarantee this elf unit would succeed.
“You speak as if Cariel will lose.”
“Of course. Lady Lowell. They are people who have wielded swords since birth. They are too overwhelming a opponent for those who have only trained for a week.”
“Watch and see. I'm sure Cariel will not lose.”
Even under my confidence, Alex looked at me with disbelief, and I simply smiled as I watched the two of them.
“I wish I could lose for you, but I'm sorry. I have a family to think of.”
“No, please give it your all. Only then will Lowell-sama acknowledge us.”
The knight matched against Cariel felt sympathy for her, since she would have to return home if she lost,
but even he could not overlook the six-month pay suspension, as the image of his wife and children at home flashed before him.
“I may not be able to deliberately lose, but I will grant you the initiative.”
“You'll regret it...”
“Fine. Come on.”
The knight surrendered the first move, immediately adopting a defensive stance to counter Cariel's attacks.
But Cariel did not attack immediately; she neither drew her sword from its scabbard nor opened her eyes.
The knights watching this scene looked at her action with confusion, murmuring among themselves if they had seen something similar somewhere.
“Then I shall begin.”
Swoosh!
Slash!
It happened in an instant.
The moment the attack was signaled, her body seemed to vanish, only for her to suddenly appear behind the knight, and in that moment the knight placed his hand on his side.
“**Cariel Victory!**”
Cliff, the imperial knights' sword master and team leader who had observed every detail of the scene, declared Cariel's victory.
“Eek... How is this possible...”
The knight facing Cariel still could not believe his defeat, rubbing his side with his hand several times...
“Thank you for sparring with me.”
Cariel stepped forward and bowed ninety degrees in greeting, then the knight, dazed, returned the courtesy and headed back to the knights' camp.
Meanwhile, in the elves' camp, everyone cheered at Cariel's victory, hugging her as they savored the win,
“Next challengers!”
As the team leader shouted for the next opponents, silence returned in an instant.
The next match...
This time the knight had prepared thoroughly to defend against the Battoujutsu technique Cariel had used moments ago,
but unfortunately the elf who appeared did not use Battoujutsu like Cariel; instead she collided head-on and attacked with extreme speed using a high-speed sword technique.
Saaasaasak!
By changing attack directions at breakneck speed from all sides, the knight could only backpedal helplessly until...
Thud!
He received a strike to the abdomen and collapsed right there.
“Lady Lowell... When did she become so...”
The knights were not the only ones surprised; Alex sitting beside me was too...
it seemed as if he wanted to ask what secret allowed them to grow this strong in just one week of training,
but my answer came after they won all the subsequent matches.
“I only taught them how to become stronger... The effort was all theirs.”
“Eh?”
Alex, not getting the answer he wanted, still could not believe the knights had lost, staring blankly at the training ground.
I had not told Alex any methods or tactics specifically for defeating the knights.
I had only explained the sword techniques suited to their individual body types, strength, and agility...
Fortunately, they had trained diligently on the techniques I taught and, in practice, adapted them into their own styles, so there was fulfillment in what I had shared.