Trouble in the Empire’s Heart

"The Regulus Empire has been acting strange as of late..." I had finished a

guild quest with Yae, so we went to a coffee shop. Logan was there, and he

made a passing comment.

"Strange? How so."

"Hm... how should I put it. Much like Belfast, they've split their military force

into a standing army and an order of knights. The army is for offense and

defense against other countries, while their order is for domestic security and

patrolling their capital. But lately their standing army has been actively

recruiting a lot more people, even though they're not at war with anyone."

"Do you think they're gearing up for invasion, do you?" Though Yae had asked

the question to Logan, it was Rebecca who turned and answered him.

"I doubt it. They say the emperor is bedridden with sickness. His son, the

crown prince, isn't even twenty years old and is in no state to be running

national affairs, either. There'd be no reason for them to start a conflict." I

didn't know that their emperor was ill. Regardless of their internal situation, it

was good to know it wasn't in their interests to start a war.

They wouldn't start anything on this side, at the very least. Belfast, the

Kingdom of Mismede, and the Refreese Imperium were all on good terms. That

meant the west and the south territories immediately adjacent to Belfast were

covered. Regulus definitely had no way of going up against three other nations

at once.

"Then, once the emperor passes away, will the empire have to worry about

being invaded by others, will they? It could be why they're bolstering their

army, it could." Yae had a point. Belfast had no such intentions, but they were

old enemies dating back over twenty years. It was only logical for them to be

cautious.

There was the Roadmare Union to the east of the empire, as well as the

Ramissh Theocracy to the south.

"I think every country's aware that there'd be no real point in fighting the

empire these days. Even if they aren't as strong as they used to be, they're still

pretty sturdy. Well... if Refreese, Belfast, Mismede, Roadmare, and Ramissh

attacked all at the same time... it'd probably be an easy win."

"Then again, dividing the territory after an effort like that would be a whole

other battle in itself!" Logan chuckled in response. Well, if sparks ended up

flying, I was sure we'd be able to take care of it. Not that I expected any trouble

from them.

Yae and I left Rebecca and Logan, then headed back to Moon Reader. Once

again, I had received a fresh request for a new title to purchase. I was a little

wary, but I did some research and found it was a serious adventure tale, not

some dodgy smut.

As it turned out, the book was only available in a certain place... The Regulus

Empire.

"Well... I suppose I should go and look into picking up that title. What about

you, Yae?"

"Linze-dono is on the second floor, she is. I will invite her to come home with

me, I will. It is time to eat soon, anyway." Linze had been spending most of her

free time here recently. Luckily, she had moved on to more interesting genres

like history and general fiction.

But, if left to her own devices, she often spent whole days reading, so I asked

Yae to check on her from time to time.

I decided I'd visit their capital, just to take a look.

I opened up a [Gate] to Gallaria, Heart of the Empire.

"Wh-What the hell is going on here?" The scene that had appeared before me

was not a peaceful city, but a roaring sea of flames and mayhem.

For a moment, I thought a fire had simply broken out nearby, but this was

clearly something else entirely. Everywhere I looked, civilians were fleeing,

people were screaming, buildings were erupting into ruin. I was completely

taken aback. Just what had happened here? I invoked [Gravity] to lighten my

weight, then further amplified my body with [Boost]. I jumped up right away to

the roof of a building, realizing I needed a better vantage point.

"Hey, hey..." I saw civilians scrambling and trying to flee, while soldiers clad in

black uniforms ignored them and marched toward the castle. There was a line

of men clad in black armor, royal guards and knights, trying to prevent the

uniformed men from carrying on. There were blades clashing here and there in

the streets. I had no idea what was happening.

I heard a shriek from nearby. I ran along the roof to see where it came from,

then caught sight of two soldiers in dark military uniforms who had a knight

cornered. The knight was bleeding profusely from the shoulder, having clearly

lost the use of one of his arms.

While it was true I didn't know the circumstances, I had to stop them from

continuing. I couldn't just stand by and watch a man die, no matter who he

might be. I hopped down behind them and fired off some paralyzing rounds.

"Guh!"

"Gah!" The two soldiers fell down instantly. The injured knight suddenly fell to

his knees as well.

"You okay, man?!" I cured the man's injuries with Healing magic. He was only

barely conscious, however. The man needed rest. His eyes were unfocused, too.

It was likely the result of blood loss.

"Just what the hell happened here?!"

"The army... betrayed our glorious emperor.." The knight uttered a few words

and fell unconscious.

The army rebelled...? W-Wait, does that mean there's a military coup going

on?! For the time being, I slung the man over my shoulder and carried him into

a nearby house. It was deserted, so I assumed the residents had fled. I plopped

him down on a bed and applied more healing magic. I stopped when I was sure

he wouldn't die.

After that, I left the house and jumped up to the roof. I needed to get a feel

for the situation.

"Search. Display the two factions in two different colors!"

"...Search complete. Displaying. Royal knights are displayed in blue, one

thousand, one hundred and sixty-five units. Army soldiers are displayed in red,

twelve thousand, six hundred and fifty-four units."

Almost ten times as many. The situation before me was absolutely insane.

The map was dyed a deep red.

I looked around for more fires, but it seemed that this district had it the

worst.

What should I do, though? Should I just leave? It's not like I have any

obligations in this country. I can just return to Belfast, leave the situation as is,

and report to the royal family back home. That would be the easiest thing to do,

but..."

"I guess I can't leave like this..." I didn't even know why a coup was happening

in the first place. I figured they were after the emperor's head.

"I'll head to the castle... Maybe I can offer the emperor refuge in Belfast if I

get to him in time." The emperor was sick, but I could move the bed too if push

came to shove.

I dashed across the rooftops. As I got closer to the castle, more conflict came

into sight. Both the royal guard and the army were clashing against each other

and getting in my way. I shook them off and continued my course.

I didn't know a single thing about the Regulus Empire. It could be that the

army was fighting for a righteous cause, that they were opposing a wicked

emperor. Honestly, I had a few moral questions about my involvement in this

whole situation, so I once again briefly considered just leaving and letting it all

work itself out.

If the emperor was out of the picture, then the conflict would be settled, and I

might be able to peacefully talk to whoever started the coup. Not like I had a

choice in how to deal with the situation at that point. If the emperor was

indeed wicked, then it might even be for the best.

"H-Hm... Is this the castle gate?" The castle gate was already broken, which

meant the army had invaded. I figured I should hurry. As I was thinking, part of

the castle detonated. I was shocked by that, but then I noticed the various

fireballs flying around of the impact site. Magical artillery. I hadn't even

considered how dangerous that could be.

I made my way over through the castle gate. Security was... definitely lax. But

that wasn't exactly surprising. It'd be impossible to patrol at a time like this.

I ran through the royal garden, then made my way to the second floor

balcony. From there, I made it into the castle itself through an open window.

"Well, I don't know where the emperor's room is..." I couldn't use the search

function to find it, either. I wouldn't be able to determine which room belonged

to the emperor. If he wasn't bedridden, I'd have just searched something like

"throne" to find him.

I decided there'd be no point fretting about it any further. I decided to leave

the room.

As one would expect of the emperor's castle, it was extremely gaudy and

well-decorated. I opened up a particularly large, ornate door, and someone fell

from the inside.

"Whoa!" The person that fell out was a female knight. She had been leaning

against the door before I moved it. Although she wasn't moving, there was still

a fight in her eyes. She surveyed me as if to ask, "Who are you?" which wasn't a

surprise.

She looked to be around her mid-twenties. I didn't notice any clear injuries on

her, until I looked at the back of her neck. Hidden behind her blonde hair was a

needle lodged in her skin. I carefully removed it and pulled it up in front of my

face. It seemed to have a strange substance in it.

I wondered if it was poison, so I looked around for enemies. I only saw one

fallen soldier in the inner hall, so I wasn't entirely sure of the source. Either way,

I had to heal her.

"I'm gonna heal you now, alright? I'm not an enemy, so please don't attack

me after I'm done!" I briefly introduced myself to make sure she wouldn't

panic, then invoked my healing magic.

"[Recovery]." Soft light enveloped the woman. She got up and slowly opened

and closed her hand, seemingly confirming her own strength had returned.

After that, she pulled out two blades and slashed at me. What the hell?! That

wasn't part of the deal!

"[Gravity]!"

"Gah!" I grabbed her arm and invoked my weight alteration magic. I was in a

panic, though, so I used a little more than I expected. She began to collapse

under her own weight until it almost looked like she was groveling on the

ground. I reduced the weight until she was at more of a crouch, then spoke to

her normally.

"I told you I'm not the enemy, so why'd you try to attack me?!"

"Name yourself immediately! If you aren't in the royal guard, then you're with

the army, right?! If you're with the army, then you're the enemy, right?! That

means I need to slay you!"

Does this woman have brain problems? Seems like she doesn't understand a

thing.

"First of all, I'm not with the military. I'm not even wearing a military uniform!

On top of that, if I was with them, why would I have saved you?!"

"W-Well, that makes sense..."

"I'm not even from this country! My name is Mochizuki Touya. I live in Belfast,

I'm an adventurer. I traveled to the Heart of the Empire and accidentally got

caught up in this mess! As for why I'm here in the castle grounds, I came in to

try and help any of the royal family. I have transportation magic, so I was

hoping to evacuate with any important people." As she listened to me, the

female knight's expression changed. It slowly shifted from concern to hope.

"You have transportation magic... really?! If that's so, could you help me?!"

"Sure, but could you maybe promise not to attack me again?"

"Very well. I swear, upon both of my blades." I canceled my spell and she

stood up. She shook off the sluggishness and moved her body a bit, then looked

toward me as she sheathed her weaponry.

"Touya, was it? My name is Caroline Rillettes. Please call me Carol, though. I

belong to the Empire's Third Order. I'm a Second-Class Knight." I didn't really

know what that meant, but I nodded regardless.

Carol seemed to have been fighting with soldiers from the army, but was

struck down with poison as soon as she turned her back. As I expected, grasped

in the dead soldier's hand was undoubtedly a blowgun just short of ten

centimeters in length.

"We must meet with His Majesty the Emperor at once! Come, I shall lead you

to him!" It was then that I noticed the crest on the hilt of her blade. A Griffin, a

shield, two swords, and laurels... I felt like I'd seen that somewhere before.

Carol hurried on before I could dwell too deeply on it, so I dashed to the castle

alongside her.

Knights, soldiers, and other were strewn around the courtyard. All dead,

bleeding into a collective pool of gore. The area reeked of fresh blood. This is

bad... If the place is in this state, it's not likely that the emperor is safe.

I went ahead with Carol, but my mind was already full of the worst possible

scenarios.

After running up stairs for a while, we eventually reached a grand hallway.

Carol moved straight forward, but I suddenly stopped. I could hear a faint

screaming.

I stopped for a moment and concentrated. Explosions... the cries of warriors...

clashing weapons and... there it is... A woman... no, a young girl... I can hear a

girl's voice!

"Search! A young girl within a 100 meter radius! Anyone who might be trying

to hurt her, too!"

"...Search complete. Displaying."

The map displayed a room at the far end of the hall. Got it... Straight ahead!

I kicked open the door and burst into the room. I surveyed the room, finding a

man in a military uniform. He was straddling a young girl with silver hair. His left

hand was wrapped around her neck, while his right was just about to pierce her

breast with a knife."

"Huh?! Who are— Gyuuuh!!!" My surprise entry made the man hesitate, so I

took the chance to launch a paralysis bullet at him. That was seriously close! She

would've died if I got here even a second later! The man collapsed on the spot,

falling on top of the girl.

"E-Eek?!" The girl shoved the man off her and scrambled away to the corner.

She clutched her own body, trembling. That wasn't exactly surprising. She had

just survived a murder attempt, after all.

"You okay?" I wanted her to be calm, so I tried speaking in a gentle manner.

The girl realized my intentions and looked me in the eyes.

Her eyes were a full, deep jade, and her skin was white as porcelain. She wore

a beautiful white dress, but her silver hair was a little messy. She looked close

to Yumina's age. The fact that this man had tried to murder a child of all things

was despicable.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed her clothing was slightly torn. She had cuts

on her exposed skin. If I didn't do something quick, she'd end up scarred.

"Come forth, Light! Soothing Comfort: [Cure Heal]!" I suddenly invoked a

Healing spell, but her reaction was a fearful one. Luckily, when the soothing

light wrapped around her arms, her expression changed to one of wonder.

"Wh-Who are you..."

"I'm Mochizuki Touya. Just a traveling adventurer, really. Not affiliated with

your country or military." I chose my words a little more carefully. I didn't want

her to freak out or attack me like what had happened with Carol.

"M-Mochizuki... Touya."

"Can you walk?"

"I-I can." I took her by the hand and helped her up. Hm? I didn't think about it

until now, but... who is this girl, exactly? Her clothes are quite high-quality...

Could it be that... No, she couldn't be.

Her eyes were fixed on mine. She wasn't even blinking, she was simply

staring... the sensation was a little familiar.

"...What is it?"

"Wh-What?! N-Nothing! I-It's nothing at all!" The girl's cheeks flushed faintly

pink.

"I... I don't usually get a chance to interact with gentlemen such as yourself...

So, please, forgive me if I seem rather tense..."

"...Don't sweat it." Seemed the girl was sheltered, which only made my

suspicions more concrete... Just as I was about to ask her name, I heard

someone charge through the door frame I had left in my wake.

"Princess!"

"Carol!" Carol barged into the room and ran over to the girl. It was as I had

expected. The girl was the princess of the empire.

"Are you safe?! Are you hurt?! Who is that?" Carol motioned toward the

uniformed man on the ground.

"He was here to kill me! But Touya here saved my life..."

"He what?! Unforgivable... to even lay a hand against the princess is high

treason! I'll kill him!"

"Hey, wait a sec!" Carol unsheathed her blade and brought it close to the

unconscious man's neck. I grabbed her by the collar and dragged her back. She

was a frustrating person who didn't think before she acted.

"So you're the princess? That explains your general behavior." I called out to

the princess as I dragged Carol. I had a feeling it would end up like this.

"I am the Third Princess of the Regulus Empire. Lucia Leah Regulus. ...My

apologies, but you don't seem terribly surprised, Touya. Many people change

their attitudes upon learning I'm royalty."

"I've met two other princesses besides you, I guess I'm just getting used to it

at this point." Yeah, one's my fiancee, and the other's a freaky author.

"To know so many members of royalty... just who are you?" This time Carol

was the surprised one. In all honesty, I had no idea how to define myself at this

point. I felt as though my position on the political stage hadn't exactly been well

established. Tentatively, I was affiliated with Belfast due to my engagement to

Yumina, but... I definitely didn't want to become the king.

"Well, I can explain the details later. For the time being, shall we carry on? I

can use transportation magic to send Princess Lucia to safety, if you want."

"That would be wise, I think." Carol started to ponder, I assumed she was

thinking of safe places to send her, but the princess herself actually refused.

"I'll go later on. I'm more worried about father and my elder brother right

now. Let's all go together." Lucia spoke with bravery and determination in her

voice. I thought it was a tad dangerous, but I probably needed her with me to

get the crown prince and the emperor to trust me, as well. I decided that once

we found her family, we'd all teleport back to my house and take refuge there.

I left Lucia's safety to Carol and focused on the surrounding area. We

returned to the main hall where I had parted from Carol, then continued down

it.

"We only need to rescue the emperor and the crown prince, right?"

"That's right. But I'd also like to keep an eye out for the state minister and the

aides, too." Carol answered me as we ran along. That reminded me, Lucia called

herself the third princess, but where were the other two? I asked, and

apparently her oldest sister had married off overseas, while her other sister was

studying abroad. They were in countries on good terms with Regulus for the

time being, but... But depending on what happened to the empire after the

coup, anything could happen. The princesses abroad might even be forced

home and subjected to who knows what.

We ran through the corridor and turned the corner. Five soldiers were waiting

for us with drawn blades.

"It's Lucia! Catch— no, slaughter the little bitch!" The soldiers turned their

blades on us and charged in unison.

"That's dangerous, you know." I pulled out Brunhild and unloaded a barrage

of paralyzing bullets. With a ra-ta-tat-tat, the men fell one after the other. It

was pretty simple.

"Y-You killed all five so quickly..."

"It's not like that. I only paralyzed them. Is the emperor nearby?" Carol was

annoying me a little bit, so I asked Lucia a question.

"Yes, the room ahead is my father's bedroom. He's ill, so I haven't been able

to see him very much..."

"Is he diseased? Is it infectious?"

"No... he's just very old and unwell. I think he doesn't want me to see him like

that. I've heard that he's become very frail and weak as of late." That was

worrying... I had no idea how to proceed. The fact that there were five enemies

waiting for us this far in didn't exactly bode well for us. It was entirely possible

that the army had made it in there and already slain the old man. I didn't want

to be responsible for exposing someone so young to her father's potentially

brutalized corpse. Lucia noticed my hesitation, and quickly grabbed me by the

sleeve.

"I'm prepared to see it through, regardless of the consequences. If I don't see

my father with my own two eyes, even now... I'll truly regret it. Therefore, I

shall come with you." The girl's determination was nothing short of admirable,

so I couldn't say no to her after that. Steeling myself, I flung open the door.

The room was very spacious, clearly build for royalty. Several men were

standing around a king-sized bed on the far wall, but they turned toward us as

we entered.

They were all clad in military-style uniforms. Three regular soldiers, two men

who looked like officers, and a single general. There were several corpses

dotted around as well. They had been clad in armor, so presumably they were

the royal guard.

There was an elderly man amongst them all, lying in the bed. He appeared to

be neither a member of the army or the royal guard. It was likely the emperor

of the Regulus Empire himself. If that was the case, then we were too late.

"And just who are you? You aren't with the royal guard." The man who

appeared to be a general spoke up. He had sharp eyes and a hooked nose, kind

of reminded me of a hawk, overall. He looked to be about forty years old.

"General Bazoar! Have you laid hands upon His Eminence the Emperor?!"

"Father...!" Carol furiously roared at the man, and I heard Lucia gasp in

horror. So he was a general. I wondered if he was the mastermind behind the

coup.

"Hmph, if it isn't Princess Lucia and the stupid daughter of the Rillettes house.

How vexing. I'm sure I had ordered both of you be killed." The general frowned.

It seemed he was annoyed by their survival. I wondered if Carol had a

reputation... I gave her a cursory glance before looking back at the general.

"You're the one behind all this, then? Tell me this, at least. Why? What are

you doing this for?" I spoke my question right to General Bazoar's face. In the

end, I was an outsider to this situation. I had to hear him out in order to know

which side was the right one.

"The emperor has a sickness. A sickness within his heart. He signed a peace

treaty with Belfast and Roadmare, and he even hesitates when we say to

trample on such agreements and conquer those territories! The emperor as he

was in his prime would never have behaved this way. Truly, age is a frightening

sickness with no cure."

"...And just for that, you'd kill him?"

"For the sake of his people, an emperor must be strong. If he loses that

strength, then he must move aside and make space at the table. A new

emperor must take his place, one with true strength and drive."

That's not how it is, is it? This is just treason, it's clearly a hostile takeover. The

general must command more respect from the military than the emperor does,

otherwise he would have never been able to kick off a revolt like this. An unwell

old emperor with no plans for his people, and an unreliable crown prince...

When you put them alongside a determined general who'll stop at nothing to

win... Well, it's pretty clear which of those three has the biggest presence. Still,

do these guys seriously intend to break the treaty and wage war?

"Belfast, Refreese, and Mismede all stand together in an alliance. Can you

even hope to go against all three nations at once?"

"Of course I can! Do you think that I've been sitting by, idly twiddling my

thumbs for the last twenty years of peace?" General Bazoar raised his right arm

toward a nearby window and began to focus.

Oh, is he a magic user?! Wait, more importantly... what kind of magic is this?!

I felt an immense pressure. This was clearly a greater force than I had

encountered from any magic user before. What is this feeling...? My body

feels... heavier, somehow?

"Come forth, Darkness! I seek a fiend of the highest order: [Demon Lord]!"

The general spoke his incantation. As he finished his sentence, the window

shattered to pieces and the room was engulfed in a white light.

When it finally subsided, the wall that the window had once been attached to

was no more. More importantly, there was an enormous creature floating

outside, clearly visible despite the fact that we were on the third floor. It had

the head of a goat, the wings of a bat, the upper body of a well-built man, and

the lower body of an owl.

What the hell is that thing?! He called it a Demon Lord? That's an

understatement, the damn thing looks like the Devil himself!

"I-Impossible...! How could he forge a contract with such a creature? WhWhere is he even getting the magic power to keep it on this plane?" Lucia

mumbled to herself, awestruck and horrified. She had a point. Lizardmen, Silver

Wolves, and Skeletons were standard summons, but this thing was on another

level entirely. I had no idea where the general was getting this kind of magical

energy.

"Contracting with the beast was a trifling matter. I simply offered it living

sacrifices. Criminals of our great city were offered up as fodder for the creature.

The emperor stubbornly opposed the idea, of course. But think of the potential.

If one could contract a Greater Demon, then one could also control Lesser

Demons vicariously. After fulfilling the contract conditions and feeding the

beast with as many lives as it desired, I was able to successfully collar it. And

now, an entire army of monsters is at my disposal! As for the magic..." General

Bazoar held up his right arm and pulled back the sleeve. He lifted it up to show

us a beautiful bracelet wrapped around his wrist. A stunning red gem was fixed

on to it, which shimmered with a terrifying glint. Is that... an Artifact?!

"This Drainbracer absorbs the magic energy from places and people around

me. Little by little, it has drained the magic from everyone in the vicinity. You

people are the ones maintaining the Demon Lord." It drains magic? That

explains the weird feeling from before, I guess... That's bad news, though. I

should get out of here or he'll just gain more magic.

I noticed that Lucia and Carol had fallen to their knees. It looked like they

were becoming weaker with every bid of energy they lost.

My magic had already regenerated enough, but there'd be little point in using

[Transfer] on the girls. Any magic I gave back to them would just be sapped

away again.

Then there's only one thing to do... I'm gonna have to wipe it out at the

source!

"[Apport]!" I tried to pull the Drainbracer away with magic. Instead of what

was supposed to happen, a strange sound reverberated near the general, and

the spell failed completely.

"Hm? My my, you little whelp. You still have magic to spare? It's unfortunate

for you that such things will not work on me at all. Why do you think I chose a

demon of all things to contract with?" The general gestured toward the

monstrous creature that was still hovering in the air nearby.

"This Demon Lord has a special trait. It's called Magical Nullification. Magic

attacks, and the effects of enchanted weaponry, have no effect at all on it. And,

as its master and contractor, the ability now extends to me!" Magical

Nullification?! How am I supposed to do anything against that?! Guess I have to

use physical attacks, then...

I pulled out Brunhild and reloaded it with paralyzing bullets. If magic didn't do

anything, that was likely my best bet.

"Hm?" I pulled the trigger on the general. The gun echoed out, and... the

bullet struck an invisible wall in front of the general's face. The hell was that?!

"Hm? Was that some kind of projectile weapon just now? You thought you'd

switch to physical after failing to strike me with magic? How unfortunate." The

general rolled up his left sleeve to reveal another bracelet with a different red

gemstone set into it.

"This is my Blockbracer. It forms an invisible barrier equal to the level of the

magic poured in, nullifying all physical damage entirely. My Drainbracer absorbs

magic, my Demon Lord grants me a resistance to all magical attacks, and my

Blockbracer resists all physical strikes! This is my holy trinity! My ultimate

defense! I cannot be damaged, regardless of the means employed!"

H-He's gotta be lying, right?! That can't be possible! I mean, I'm not exactly in

a position to be saying anything at all about this, but doesn't that sound kind of

cheap? He's way too overpowered! That's not fair at all! And he's using me as a

magic battery, too! No fair! So even if I used [Gravity] to do an extremely heavy

or powerful attack, he could just use my own magic to generate a shield to block

it. Wait, does that make sense? How can he draw that much magic out of me at

once? Well, I guess others are supplying magic to him, as well...

Tsk... this is bad. If only I could get rid of his damn bracelets.

"I don't know where you hail from, but you can't be allowed to leave alive.

You'll become fodder for the Demon Lord, another sacrifice for the pile."

"Then what? You plan to summon a monster army and wage war? How many

of the innocent citizens of this nation do you plan to sacrifice?!"

"I'm not sacrificing the citizens, the only ones that died so far were criminals.

In life they were trash, of no use to our glorious empire. Is it not better for them

to die for the sake of my ambition? But if that's your concern, worry not. We'll

be using Belfast's soldiers as sacrificial fodder soon enough!" The general

laughed heartily. It was at this point that I realized he was nothing more than a

madman with a lust for carnage.

I didn't know whether the coup was righteous or not, but his tirade sealed the

deal. It was wrong.

Using and abusing the lives of others for one's own ends was simply an

unforgivable sin.

"Uuh..." The emperor, who was out cold on the floor behind the general,

moved his foot very slightly. Is he alive?! Neither the general nor his

companions seemed to notice. I decided then that my priority should shift to

saving the emperor. The two behind me seemed to be on the edge of

consciousness themselves, so it seemed like their magic reserves were at their

limit.

"Invoke [Gate]. Target three individuals. Emperor, Lucia, and Carol. Send

them to my home, just outside."

"Copy that. Invoking [Gate]."

"What?!" A light appeared around the three individuals, and they vanished in

a flash.

"You wretch, you can even use transportation magic?!"

"That's right. I'll be retreating just for today, but don't think for a minute that

I'm done with you." I reloaded Brunhild with a different set of bullets. I leveled

my gun and aimed it at the general.

"Foolish child, it's futile! For as long as I wear the Blockbracer on my wrist,

you cannot lay a scratch upon me!"

"Fine. It may not be possible to damage your body, but... I'm sure I can still do

a number on your pride."

"...What the devil are you talking about, boy?" A cruel grin spread across my

face. I lowered the aim of my weapon, then fired near his feet.

"[Slip]."

"Augh!" The general fell with a magnificent thump. He put his hand to the

ground and tried to get up again, but the bullet I had fired was programmed to

create a frictionless zone in a wide area. It didn't matter where the general put

his hands, his feet, his anything. He was entirely at my mercy now.

"G-General! Don't worry!" His allies ran to help him... like idiotic lambs to the

slaughter. The magic effect wasn't just focused on the general, after all. It was

an area of effect spell.

"Whuh!"

"Gah!" As expected, they were pulled into the slippery hell and began to fall

over repeatedly. They didn't have a Blockbracer like the general did, so they'd

definitely take some damage after bashing into the ground repeatedly for a

while.

"Ohoho... Ahahaha!!! Yes, writhe! Fall forever! Keep dancing this pathetic

dance until you die!" I said a few dramatic things to try and provoke him, but he

didn't bite. He could have used his Drainbracer to absorb the magic I'd imbued

into the ground, but he didn't seem to realize. I didn't have any obligation to

tell him, though.

"Demon Lord!" The goat-headed monster reached for me in response to his

master's call. That wasn't good. I didn't think [Slip] would work on things in the

air.

This thing could definitely be damaged by physical attacks, though. Still, the

general would probably be able to call it back if I defeated it... And so, I decided

to do the only thing I could do.

"Farewell, dear gentlemen! But don't think you've seen the last of me! Soon

enough the Hammer of Babylon shall descend upon you! The thunder of my

vengeance shall bear upon you with the gust of a thousand winds! Live in fear

until then, vermin! Fuhahaha!!!"

I got a little too into it.

Just before I left, I conjured up a mirage to shock their senses. The image I

created was that of cockroaches, maggots, centipedes, and other disgusting

squirming animals, all over the floor. That was my parting gift.

"Eek!!! Augugh!!!"

"B-Bugs! They're everywhere!!!"

"Y-You son of a...! I'll g-get you for this!" They let out their anguished cries in

response to my abuse. Either way, their suffering made me feel a lot better.

I opened a [Gate] beneath me and escaped.

I landed in my garden, looking over to see that Lucia was by her father's side.

He looked pale and cold.

"F-Father! Father...!" The situation was looking grim. It seemed I needed to

treat him immediately. Lucia was clutching one of his hands, so I bent down and

grabbed the other.

"Come forth, Light! Calm of the Goddess: [Mega Heal]!" My advanced

recovery spell created a beautiful light that wrapped around the emperor's

body. The stab wound on his side sealed itself up. Even so, that spell wasn't

enough on its own.

"[Recovery]." I cast another spell just in case there were any unusual effects

on him. Now there was nothing else I could do. It was all down to the man

himself at that point.

I had the emperor moved to a guest room, then quickly put him in bed. After

that, I told Laim to contact the Royal Palace and bring Doctor Raul, then brought

Lucia and Carol to the emperor's room.

While I waited for Raul to arrive, I gathered everyone together in the living

room. Then, I gave them all a brief overview of the situation.

"Geez, Touya... why do you keep sticking your nose into these crazy

circumstances?" Elze sighed.

It's not like I'm sticking my nose into things! It's more like things keep sticking

to my nose!

"Even so, disregarding the trouble in the empire... what about the prince?"

Linze muttered her concerns, but all I could do was pray. I'd have preferred to

teleport everyone out to safety, but I hadn't seen the prince before, so I was

unable to include him in the mass recall.

"But this is terrible... What if the empire makes a move against Belfast soon?"

"The demon army is the most important thing, here. We need to take care of

that before anything else." The easiest way to do that would be to defeat

General Bazoar, but... Magic attacks did nothing, and I couldn't think of a way to

defeat him with physical attacks, either.

If I were to use [Gate] and drop him from a great height, his Blockbracer

would nullify the damage. Plus, it's way more likely that he'd summon that

Demon Lord before that. Then he could just fly off and make a retreat. [Gravity]

would likely have the same lack of effect. Man, what a pain in the ass.

Spells like [Slip] and [Mirage] worked fine, probably because they were

indirect. It was pretty clear that I had to think of something, but more

importantly than that... I obviously had to report this to the king of Belfast.

A military coup in the Empire was an enormous deal, and the king had to be

informed about the rise of a demon army, as well.

But should I tell him about Lucia and the emperor...? They do have a tentative

peace treaty, but they're former enemies as well...

I briefly entertained the idea of what might happen if the king wanted them

out of the country. I decided I'd just let them take refuge in Babylon. I didn't

want to ally myself with any particular nation, but I definitely couldn't give up

on an injured person just like that.

As I was thinking, Laim brought over Doctor Raul. I figured it was best to leave

the rest to the professional. In the meantime, I had some planning to do. I had

to devise a way to defeat the Demon Lord, as well as the general controlling

him.

Can I get those Artifacts off that general and manage to beat him, too...?

Actually... hold on, it might be easier than I expected... Definitely might need

some prep time, but I think I can do it... I carefully mulled over my idea and

came to a solid conclusion. Yup, that should do.

I had formulated my plan. Harassing people wasn't exactly the classy thing to

do, but I suddenly imagined the face of the general, weeping and begging. It

was hilarious. Before I knew it, a sadistic grin was spread across my face.

Everyone that looked at me kind of backed off a little.

What, do I look that weird?

◇ ◇ ◇

"His condition is stable for now. He just needs some bedrest and time to

recuperate. He'll be awake soon enough, I'm quite sure." Raul put his

stethoscope down and gave us the prognosis. By all rights, the emperor should

have been riddled with an illness, but apparently there was nothing

symptomatic of that at all.

I wondered if it was the effect of the [Recovery] spell I had used on him. But it

shouldn't have been able to purge sickness or disease from the body. I once

tried to use it on Linze to get rid of a cold, but it did nothing.

[Recovery] was one of those spells where the details were a bit obscure. I

wasn't exactly a medical specialist, though, so I didn't have a handle on the

intricacies of disease classification. Viruses and tumors might have been a

whole other ballgame. I decided not to worry about it too much, since the end

result was clearly positive either way.

"Goodness me... I never did think I'd be treating the emperor of Regulus... Life

certainly comes at you fast." Doc Raul gave a small wry smile as he spoke. I

asked him to keep this matter a secret from the rest of the palace, just for the

time being. The plan was to inform the king of the situation once the emperor

woke up.

From a medical perspective, he probably understood that we wouldn't want

to put any unnecessary strain on the patient. Yumina's presence probably

helped boost his confidence, at least.

Lucia sat by her father the entire time, nursing him gently by the bedside.

Naturally, Carol stood by the girl throughout all of this as well.

"Princess Lucia... You should take some time to rest, If you end up passing out

from exhaustion, your dad'll get worried, won't he?"

"A-Alright, then... Erm, could you please call me Lu? I-If that's okay, I mean."

The princess looked up at me with innocent eyes and a hesitant tone of voice.

Well, if that's what she wants, I don't mind.

"Alrighty then! Lu, was it? That's nice."

"Y-Yes, thank you. That's much better." Lu looked up with a smile. I noticed

someone staring right at me through a crack in the door. That someone was

looking right through me. It was unsettling, honestly. Whoa, that's scary! I-Is

that Yumina? Why's she glaring like that...?

With that, the door opened and Yumina strolled in. She stood before Lu and

bowed with decorum and grace.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Yumina Urnea Belfast, princess of the Kingdom

of Belfast. Daughter of Tristwyn Urnes Belfast, king of the Kingdom of Belfast."

Carol and Lu both went stiff at the sudden introduction, but quickly snapped

out of it. After a few short moments, Lu stood up and bowed in return.

"Good tidings and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Lucia Leah

Regulus, third princess of the Regulus Empire. Daughter of Zephyrus Loah

Regulus, emperor of the Regulus Empire."

Heh, so this is a formal greeting between royals, is it? It's more adorable than

beautiful or awe-inspiring, though. Probably because of their age, actually.

"I've heard the news, how horrible. I'm quite glad you're safe."

"Thank you. Thanks to the assistance of Sir Touya here, I managed to escape

to safety." Lu smiled like a flower in full bloom.

"Indeed, that's wonderful to know. It makes me happy that my fiance is so

selfless. Touya is a wonderful fiance indeed."

"A-Ah... I-I see..." The flower wilted immediately.

Is she okay?

"My dear Lucia, would you please join me in my private quarters for a while? I

think we have a matter to discuss."

"H-Huh? Right then, of course!" Lu hastily followed behind Yumina. After the

door closed, Doc Raul muttered something under his breath.

"...Catfight..."

"P-Please don't make jokes like that." I personally didn't find this to be a

laughing matter.

"Well, no matter how you look at it, you've swayed that little princess from

Regulus. Two princesses enamored by the same man... It's a recipe for trouble

indeed." Wait, seriously?! I thought she was just uneasy because I saved her life!

"...You think Yumina noticed?"

"Sorry kid, but she definitely has. She's a little lady, but her ability to sense

rivals is pretty well-honed, I think." That's... troubling. I hope those two'll be

okay. A sense of unease suddenly washed over me.

It's not like I can imagine Yumina yelling something like "Hands off, you

hussy!" or something... I was still a bit worried, though.

"...I don't feel so good."

"Need a medical checkup?" That wasn't what I meant.

"Doc, if you wanna head back to the castle we can go through a [Gate]. I

should probably report to the king, anyway."

"I'll take you up on that offer, then." I left the emperor in Carol's care and

headed through the [Gate] to the royal palace. Then, I immediately reported in

to the king.

"And that's what's going on in the Regulus Empire right now..." I explained

most of the situation and proposed that a defensive line be drawn on the

border closest to the empire. I also recommended that they focus on magical

troops to prevent frontline casualties. After that, I made several Gate Mirrors

for ease of communication.

Gate Mirrors were small mirror pairs that I had enchanted with [Gate]. If a

letter was sent through one, it would come out the other.

If one was sent out to a fort or the front lines, it would allow near-instant

contact with the capital.

"Hmph... to have such good news and bad news all in a short timespan...

What a day this has been," His Majesty the King muttered with a small sigh.

Hm? I only brought bad news, though... What's the good?

"Well, I'll be blunt. Yumina is going to have a little brother or sister."

"Whuh?" I exclaimed.

The king gave me a small grin. He seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Heheh... congratulations! I hope your wife gives birth to a strong successor."

If it's a boy, the likelihood of me having to take the throne'll go way down.

That's just fine by me.

"Hm... my feelings are somewhat mixed. If you succeeded me, Touya, I'd be

quite happy."

"But if you have a boy, he'll take the throne, right?"

"Hoho, so you're saying if we have a girl, you'll be taking the throne?"

"...No, that's not what I meant!" The king's argument was a little irritating. He

shouldn't have been assigning roles to people who hadn't even been born yet.

"So, what does the emperor intend to do...?"

"Uhh... I'm not sure what's going on there. He either fled with his daughter or

was executed, the details are hazy." I gave as vague an answer as I could. I

wanted to wait until the emperor was at least stable and conscious before

explaining everything.

"For now, the general has an army and something needs to be done about

that. If I defeat him, then the invasion should be prevented."

"Hoho... you seem quite confident, lad! I trust you have a plan, then?"

"Well, I won't know until I give it a shot..." I left the royal palace after giving

yet another vague answer as to my intentions.

The Demon Lord nullified all magic, but I still felt I could take it out with

physical force instead. I couldn't use [Gravity] on it, but maybe dropping

something really heavy from above would do the trick...

But even if I defeated the creature itself, the general would probably still have

that passive magic resistance. On top of that, his Drainbracer would just absorb

all the magic in the area and call the Demon Lord back immediately.

Everything in this world had magic in it, no matter how miniscule. Animals,

plants, tiny insects... all of these things had magical energy. Alone they were

nothing worth noting, but combined they were great. If his bracelet could

passively absorb magic from everything in the vicinity, then it gave him a

fearsome power indeed. It was the very nature of magic that made the

Drainbracer something truly formidable.

The Blockbracer was another matter entirely. At first I thought it was

preventing my bullets, but it was a bit different. The barrier generated itself

depending on what hit the general. If his whole body was hit, then it'd deploy

across his whole body.

It didn't seem to fully block damage when I made him slip over, though... He

continued to fall regardless of whether or not he was hurt. In general, it was a

troublesome automatic shield, though. I had to do something about it.

There was nothing else for it, I'd have to use that.

Well... it definitely won't be fun for him. He certainly won't like it one bit. Hey,

at least it won't kill him! There's one positive for him. Heheh... I'm looking

forward to it already.

I decided to get ready for the battle ahead. I went home and asked Linze

about a certain item that I hoped existed in this world. As it turned out, the

item did not exist here, but there was something similar and considerably more

powerful. It would be my ultimate weapon against him if magic proved

impossible. I decided to head off and arrange it.

I scoured the marketplace in Sandora, and was finally able to obtain it. The

old merchant begged me not to open it anywhere nearby, so I put it in

[Storage]. I wanted to test it out before the big day, but I didn't want it to go

wrong or anything. I decided there was no need to get ahead of myself.

I headed off to the workshop and had Rosetta create several thick iron plates.

I then enchanted them with [Invisible] and made them completely transparent.

I had basically created reinforced metal with the visible properties of glass.

I didn't really understand the technical aspects of the spell that Leen often

tried to explain to me, but it was good enough as glass for me.

I was amazed to find that no matter how thick I made the sheet, it was

completely see-through. I could probably set up some kind of aquarium through

this method.

Instead of getting sidetracked, however, I focused on my goal. I put the item I

had bought in Sandora right in the middle, then finished the whole thing off

with [Modeling].

After it was complete, I quickly stashed my secret weapon in [Storage].

"Hmm, you said something about the Drainbracer and the Blockbracer..."

Rosetta suddenly tilted her head and folded her arms.

"Hm? Do you know something about them?"

"I'm pretty sure those things were meant to be inside the Storehouse of

Babylon, yessir!"

"Wait, what?" Seriously? Did those bracelets just fall out of the sky into his

hands or something?!

"Well, sir! It's been thousands of years, sir! There's no guarantee the

storehouse is even still intact, sir! It may be that various artifacts and other such

things fell out and are now all over the place, sir yessir!"

"Wait a second... have you ever heard of an artifact that grants its owner

immortality and control over the dead?"

"Yessir! That's definitely in the storehouse! Doctor Babylon sealed that one in

there good and tight, sir!" I knew it! So the crisis in Eashen was caused by that,

too? Wait, doesn't that mean the storehouse might've crashed, or burst open, or

something? That also means there might still be a ton of dangerous artifacts out

there being spewed out even now, doesn't it...?

"If it crashed, what about the gynoid managing the place?"

"We have short-range emergency teleportation capabilities, so it's possible

she escaped, sir! However... The one in charge of the storehouse is quite a

careless and unruly girl, sir! So it's also possible that the artifacts fell to the

ground through other means..."

Sounds like a troublesome robo-girl... Though, Cesca and Rosetta are just as

bad, really.

Oh well, no point worrying about it right now. Not like I can do anything.

All that aside, my weapon against the general was ready. Evening fell, so I

returned to my home with Rosetta, and it was here that Carol told me the

emperor had finally woken up.

I was glad he'd woken up, but I was still a little concerned. Carol set those

fears to rest, however. She said he looked better than ever and was even ready

to talk.

She followed behind me as I entered the spare room with the emperor in it.

He was there having a casual conversation with his daughter. He actually looked

very well.

"T-Touya, my father has awakened!"

"Oh? This is the fabled Mochizuki Touya?" Lu turned around with a huge smile

plastered on her face, while the emperor regarded me quietly. He had a gaunt

face and a long, white beard. He almost looked like a mountain hermit.

"Please accept my most sincere words of thanks. You saved my daughter, you

saved me... Words alone are not enough, but even so...!" He bowed his head to

me. Honestly, it was all a tad embarrassing.

"Don't mind it, Your Highness. I happened to be in your capital on a shopping

errand." No matter how you looked at it, it was just a coincidence. If I was there

a day earlier, it would've been a very different story.

"Regardless, I am thankful. To have had such a horrible thing happen, it

indeed fills my heart with regret."

"So, what do you want to do now? I haven't informed the Belfastian

government of your whereabouts just yet. If you have somewhere you'd prefer

to escape to, I can open up a [Gate] and take you there instead." The emperor

suddenly stopped and stared at me.

Is there something on my face?

"Touya... are you not an agent of Belfast?"

"I live here, so I guess I could be called a citizen. But aside from that, I don't

serve the country formally or anything. I'm friendly with the king, but I don't

like to get involved in political affairs." I figured he should go seek asylum in a

safe place away from any political issues. Maybe he could go and see his second

daughter, who was studying abroad or something.

The emperor took a small while to think, then finally gave me his conclusion.

"I would like to meet with the king of Belfast. Ideally, I'd like to meet him

confidentially... Could you arrange this, perhaps?"

"I mean, I could probably arrange that, but... Is that really fine with you?"

"I think so, yes. It's about time I spoke with him anyway, about the past, and

our future together."

Hm... it's not too late, so the king is probably still available... I decided that I'd

take Yumina with me and speak to her father. I left the emperor and went off to

find her.

"Excuse me, can you repeat what you just said?"

"Er, well... I've been granting political asylum to the Regulus emperor and his

youngest daughter. I, er... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." The king was

completely surprised by what I had told him. He wasn't entirely sure how to

take it.

"The Regulus emperor? In my capital? Today is just one surprise after the

other, isn't it...?" I couldn't really say anything about that. Everything other than

the queen getting pregnant was kind of my fault anyway... Well, not kind of. It

was totally all my fault.

"So, the emperor wishes to meet with you, Your Highness. What do you wish

to do?"

"The emperor wishes to meet, does he?" The king slouched slightly, lacing his

fingers together with a sigh. He pondered for a while, then stood up as if he'd

made a final decision.

"There's no point in running from this. I'll open up negotiations with him."

"Alright, let's go to my house." I used [Gate] to bring us directly to the

emperor's temporary room.

The emperor, who was laying in bed, was initially startled by the sudden

appearance of my portal. He was even more surprised when we passed through

it. The two monarchs locked eyes and, after a short while, the emperor averted

his gaze and bowed his head.

"Please excuse my sorry state, O king of Belfast. I have brought trouble for

your nation, it would seem."

"Fret not, O emperor of Regulus. I've heard the circumstances from Touya,

and I know you are not to blame." The king sat on a chair at the bedside. A highlevel political discussion was clearly about to take place. I left the room. It was

best to leave the two royal families to sort this out.

Carol stood guard outside the door. She was initially surprised when she saw

me come out of the room, since I'd entered through a [Gate] and all. I figured

she'd get used to it, so I didn't mind too much.

"Don't go inside, the emperor is having a political discussion with the king of

Belfast."

"You what?! When did that happen?!" Carol suddenly spoke up in surprise.

She had a habit of overreacting to the tiniest things.

Suddenly, my eyes drifted toward her sword, and I was reminded of

something. It was that crest on her blade's guard. I couldn't shake the feeling

that I'd seen it before. Now where did I... Oh, right!

"Excuse me, Carol? What does the emblem on your sword there mean?"

"Hm? You mean the Rillettes family crest? What of it?" She let me look at it

up close. It was definitely the same one that I'd seen before. The one that

Renne had on her.

"I've seen this crest somewhere else before, Carol. On a pendant."

"What?! Was it a wind spellstone?! Tell me, now! Where's the owner, where

is she?!" Her eyes suddenly grew sharp and focused, and Carol began marching

toward me with passion in her tone. She clearly had her reasons, but I didn't

know them yet, so I decide not to mention Renne to her.

"The owner died of an illness. I'm sorry, she was sick."

"Oh... I-I see..." In response to my words, Carol faltered and the strength

seemed to drain from her body. The person must have meant a lot to her.

"The owner of that pendant was my elder sister. When we were younger, our

stubborn and strict father expelled her from our household."

Her older sister, huh...? No wonder she seemed so desperate. Hmm... does

that mean Renne is Carol's niece? They don't exactly look alike. Carol is blonde,

but Renne has auburn hair. I wonder if she took that from her dad's side.

"Is the Rillettes family a noble house in the Regulus Empire?"

"The house isn't especially affluent or anything, but we're descended from

one of the Twelve Blades of the Empire."

"Hm? What's that?"

"I doubt the people of Belfast would know much about it, but the Twelve

Blades were the people who supported the first emperor and helped found the

nation to begin with. Kir Rillettes the Twinblade was one of those men, and he's

my ancestor. But the descendants of the Twelve Blades are really just nobles in

name only these days..." Carol let out a small laugh as she spoke.

So they're noble, but they're still impoverished and largely obscure... Even

Laim didn't know what their crest was.

"So my elder sister passed away... Our father fought with her until the day he

died, and they never reconciled their feelings... On his deathbed, he named it as

his biggest regret... I can only hope they made up on the other side."

"Ah, er... well, about your sister... She has a daughter, which means you have

a niece. The girl's actually here, right now..."

"...Say what?" Carol was at a loss for words. She just stared. I wasn't too

surprised. After all, it must've been a lot to take in.

Just then, in a case of terrible or excellent timing, Renne came charging

through the hall.

"Oi, Bruv— Touy— Er, Sir! Dinner's ready!"

"Ah, thanks, Renne. I'll get it soon." Renne gave a short bow to Carol and

myself. Carol followed the girl with her gaze, until she turned the corner. Then,

she returned to looking at me.

"That's your niece. Her name's Renne. Before I hired her, she was living in the

slums and picking pockets."

"What...?!"

"She had to do what she could to survive. Her dad was an adventurer who

never came back from a particularly difficult mission. But even though she was

on the edge of poverty, she still treasured her mother's pendant above all else."

Carol looked over at the spot where Renne just was.

"...Would it be fine with you if I spoke to the girl?"

"Right now? I can call her, if you like."

"No, not while the empire is in such a state. I want everything settled first. I'm

glad she's here, actually. It seems to be a safe and happy place for her. But I

would like her to meet my mother. The girl... her hair is reddish, and her eyes

are different, but she looks almost the spitting image of my sister."

Carol's mother... So that's Renne's grandma, right? I hope they get to meet

each other soon.

As I thought about that, Yumina appeared in the hallway.

"Touya, my father and the emperor are asking for you."

"For me?" What do they want? I deliberately left the room to avoid being

roped into this!

The emperor was seated on his bed, seemingly relaxed. The king looked

equally relaxed on the bedside chair, as well. The two of them seemed quite

calm, given the situation. I wondered if negotiations had finished already.

"Touya, about earlier today..."

"Hm? What about earlier?" I didn't understand what the king was getting at,

since a lot had happened today already.

"Is it true? The king here says that you had some kind of plan. A plan to defeat

General Bazoar." The emperor chimed in to clarify what the king had meant.

Oh, that.

"Well, yes. I'm pretty sure I can defeat the general. I can probably take all

power away from the army, too. I feel like I could take back the capital in less

than a day. Probably tomorrow, honestly."

"Excuse me?!" Everyone, aside from Yumina, stiffened with shock. Yumina

proudly puffed out her chest as if to say "That's my man!" to the room. Heh...

they're growing a little.

"I'm curious. The members of the army that joined the coup... Do you intend

to punish them all?"

"Not to the same extent. The general's execution is inevitable, as he's the

mastermind, but I think I'll simply banish the soldiers that joined the coup."

Dismissing them, not a bad call... Pretty fair, really. It's close to half of their

standing army force, so it's not like they can't recover those numbers over time.

"Display map. Regulus Empire. Heart of the Empire."

"Understood. Displaying map." A map of the empire's capital was projected in

the middle of the room.

"Wh-What is this...?"

"A map of our capital...? This detail is incredible...!"

"This is one of my Null spells. Do you like this?" Lu and the emperor seemed

extremely surprised and impressed. The king was quite shocked, as well. That

was weird, as I could've sworn I'd shown him before.

"Run search. Royal Knights in blue. Standing Army in red."

"Understood... Search complete. Displaying." A red wave painted itself across

the map of the capital. It felt like there were more people than there were last

time I checked. They were likely called in from other towns across the country.

In one corner of the castle, there was a concentrated cluster of blue points.

"What's this?"

"It's the underground dungeon. The remaining knights are likely there, but

this can't be right. There are so few of them... Did they flee? Or, were they

killed...?" The emperor clenched his fists. He was understandably frustrated. Lu

suddenly spoke up and asked me a question.

"Uhm, Touya...? Could you please look for my brother?"

"Well... yeah, I think I can do that, but... Does he have any distinguishing

features? Something that would let me notice him right away as the crown

prince." The search function was based on my subjective perception, after all. It

could find members of the army because I viewed people in military uniform as

"members of the army."

But because of that, I can't exactly search for people I've never met or seen

before. It'd be good if he had something that made him stand out. Like how

Yae's brother had a scar on his cheek.

"Something distinguishing...? Um... well, he has silvery hair, but..." Lu was

thinking pretty hard. The emperor smiled a little as he saw her trying hard. I

guess he didn't stand out too much, after all. So there was nothing else for it. I

just had to enter her memories.

"Lu. Can I have your hand for a moment?"

"Hm? Yes... ah..." I grasped her small hand in mine. Lu's face suddenly turned

a beet red, so I spoke up and tried to get her to calm down.

"Close your eyes and picture your brother for me. The most recent memory of

him you can muster."

"Y-Yes..." I pressed my forehead against Lu's as she concentrated. Taking a

memory from the emperor probably would've been easier, but I didn't want to

push my head against another guy. It just made me think of the Refreese

princess. She'd surely have a field day with a concept like that.

"A-Ahh?!"

"Concentrate, now."

"Y-Yes!!!" Honestly, Lu was pretty cute when she was flustered, but it wasn't

the time for that. I focused my energy and cast the spell.

"[Recall]." A vague face began to appear in my mind, and the image gradually

grew more clear. His hair was a faint silver, but it wasn't especially distinct... His

face, on the other hand, was extremely gentle. "Wait... if this is the crown

prince... then I've met him already."

"What?!" Everyone in the room yelled out in surprise.

There's no doubt about it. When the capital was under assault... I saved a

young knight from a group of soldiers. And... that was the crown prince,

apparently. Was he trying to escape in disguise?! Ah crap... I just left him there

in a bed!

"Search. The empire's crown prince."

"Understood... Search complete. Displaying." A green pin fell down on the

map of the capital. It was moving around, which meant he must have been

alive. That was a relief.

"He's alive, then... Where about is this?"

"That's the home of our empire's western general, Romero. Wonderful, it

seems my son is safe."

He's safe? But he's with the army... Just as I thought that, the emperor gave a

chuckle. He then spoke up like a true mind-reader.

"Not every division of the army operated under General Bazoar. General

Romero was a strong opposing force to Bazoar's proposed plan to use demons

to bolster our troops. He likely got a handle on the situation and offered refuge

to my son."

I see... So not every soldier blindly follows Bazoar. Guess that makes sense...

He'll be safe there for now, but I don't think we have a lot of time left.

"Then we'll head to the capital tomorrow morning."

"W-W-Wait a moment! Are you sure that's alright? The opposing army is

massive, and they have the ability to call down demonic reinforcements!" The

emperor flew into a panic and tried to stop me. I understood where he was

coming from. If it was a normal person, I'd definitely have my doubts, too. But I

had no intentions of losing. It was a similar situation in Eashen, as well.

"I'll work it out, don't worry. I have companions I trust, after all." I glanced

over at Yumina, and she gave me a firm nod. The emperor also seemed to be

relieved by our confidence in one another.

"Tomorrow morning, then... Will you take me with you?"

"Are you sure about that? It'll be dangerous. It'd probably be safer to wait

here."

"No, I have to see this through with my own eyes. It's the very least I can do

as the nation's emperor."

Hmph, if he's gonna be like that... Well, I can't just leave him here after that,

but I can hardly put him out on the front lines either.

"Let's have Belfast's knight order serve as the emperor's guardsmen. I wish to

see Touya in battle, myself." The king put forward an offer, and the emperor

gratefully accepted. I guess things might be fine after all, then.

I decided that the following morning we'd head to the capital, along with the

emperor and a group of Knights.

I used a [Gate] to see the king back off to the palace, then left the emperor's

room.

I went out on to the terrace and called over Kokuyou, Sango, and Kohaku. I

had to ask them some questions about summoning magic. I wasn't going to just

go in with these guys, after all. I needed to call in reinforcements.

"So what you're saying is... while the summoned beast is completely random,

if you contract a high enough being from a certain family of creatures, then you

can freely call upon any lower-level creature in that same family?"

"That's correct. As my contracted lord, you can summon almost any kind of

brutish beast, typically ones with fangs or claws."

"And in our cassse, you can sssummon any beastsss with ssshells or

ssscalesss." Kokuyou and Kohaku explained their specializations to me. In effect,

as an extension of my ability to call on them, I could call on any four-legged

mammal or reptilian creature. To command such power... they really were

worthy of their Heavenly Beast status.

"It would be bessst if you could contract with the massster of each family.

That way, once you've granted their leader a name, the entire tribe would be at

your disssposssal. The practice isssn't just limited to demonsss, after all."

Kokuyou chuckled slightly as it spoke.

"Well, I'll give it a try... Er... what should I go and summon?"

"If I might suggest one... Cerberus has excellent combat potential."

Oh, I recognize that name. Cerberus is the guardian hound of Hades, right?

Large, black, and three heads, if I recall correctly. I don't see any harm in

summoning him...

That afternoon, I summoned countless beasts. I summoned one, I named it, I

summoned another, I named it... Frankly, I ended up naming them pretty

randomly by the end. I hoped they'd forgive me, but wasn't like I had a

stockpile of names ready or anything...

After that, I went to bed early. I needed to be prepared for the next day.

Just like that, the next morning came. I stood atop a roof in a corner of the

empire's capital.

I took out my smartphone to confirm the time. It was eight in the morning. I

tried to open up a portal straight to the castle, but it didn't work. I wasn't

surprised. They knew I could teleport, so it was only natural they'd erect a

barrier to counter it.