Crisis (5)

Leort had been going along perfectly well, only to abruptly point to my father, Hawk, rather than me as the author of The Life of Xenon. It felt as though I had sharply turned the wheel just before reaching my destination and ended up somewhere completely different.

"...?"

At that, I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes and looked ahead. Leort was gazing at us siblings with a confident smile.

Rina, seated beside him, was leisurely drinking her tea.

My mouth would not open after being so tense just moments ago, but a question pierced through the tension in my heart. The pounding in my chest and the sweat soaking my clenched fist remained as well.

Why would Leort leave me out and conclude that my father, Hawk, was the author of The Life of Xenon? Given the situation, I could not think clearly, but Nicole did not seem to be having the same problem.

Nicole remained silent for a moment after hearing Leort's confident statement, then slowly opened her mouth. Her voice was so low it seemed capable of drilling through the floor.

"If I say it wasn't me, will you believe me?"

"If you say it wasn't, your family may suffer. Paying taxes means that you have income, and it is a noble's duty to report where that income came from and how it will be used to those above them. For your information, this isn't a threat; it's simply what the law stipulates. Only my imperial father can enact laws."

The 'imperial father' Leort had mentioned clearly referred to the emperor, the highest authority in the empire. Judging by the fact that he had brought up the emperor, he seemed to be completely serious.

Nicole must have been thinking the same thing as me, because her already stiff expression grew even harder. I could see the fist resting on her thigh tense up as well.

"There's no need to make such a face. In any case, it seems certain that your father is the author of The Life of Xenon."

"...How did you come to be so certain?"

"... ..."

When I heard Nicole's question, I realized that the conversation had taken a strange turn. Despite the real author sitting right beside him, Leort seemed to have decided that his misunderstanding was an opportunity and kept the conversation going.

But the more he did so, the more uncomfortable I became. Wasn't it like putting my father forward as a shield?

My father had devoted himself to me, and I could not accept treating him as a shield. I was just about to open my mouth when—

Squeeze-

Just before I could speak, Nicole silently grabbed my hand. Then she squeezed it tightly, as if telling me not to say a word.

I was briefly flustered by the inexplicable pressure, but the moment I saw Nicole's expression, I had no choice but to abandon my attempt to speak. Her face was that serious.

Although I felt uncomfortable, as if I were selling out my father, she seemed to have her own reasons, so I had no choice but to trust her.

"There was a reason."

In response to Nicole's question, Leort curled the corners of his mouth even higher and leaned back in his chair. An understated charisma flowed from him and drew our attention.

"As I said earlier, taxation is an extremely complicated matter. The Minerva Empire is particularly strict when it comes to taxes, which makes things even more complicated. But that complexity produces definite results. It is also the reason the Minerva Empire has far more capital than other countries."

"... ..."

"Even so, it isn't perfect. There must be people committing tax evasion even at this very moment. In particular, the method Sir Maishal used could easily have been abused for tax evasion. If he had wanted to, he might have hidden his identity completely without paying taxes at all. Fortunately, the firm principles he had held to since his days as a knight prevented him from doing so."

It seemed that Leort was convinced that my father was the author of The Life of Xenon. I had no idea whether I should be pleased or not.

While Nicole and I kept our eyes on Leort, Rina, who had been drinking tea beside us, set down her teacup and spoke in her characteristic gentle voice.

"At first, it was difficult to believe that Sir Maishal was the author of The Life of Xenon. But when you consider his achievements and experience, there are simply too many things that fit perfectly."

"...His achievements?"

My mouth finally opened. I had not known this before entering the academy, but my father had once been a knight of tremendous stature.

He had even been the commander of the Navy Knights, where the monsters among humanity gathered, and had accomplished things I could scarcely imagine.

His achievements were so impressive that he should normally have been awarded a count's title rather than a baron's. It was astonishing enough for a commoner to receive a noble title, but the fact that he could have become a count gave me a rough idea of how remarkable my father's achievements had been.

"Hmm..."

Rina let out a subtle hum at my question and gazed intently at me. Then she smiled and spoke to me in a tone filled with nothing but gentleness.

"Isaac, you know what achievements Xenon accomplished in The Life of Xenon, don't you?"

"Of course... I do."

How could I not? Xenon, the protagonist of The Life of Xenon, had accomplished truly jaw-dropping feats.

For example, he had defeated a vicious dragon with the help of his companions, saved a country from the threat of demons, and reclaimed a holy relic of the church that had been thought lost, among many other things.

Each of his achievements had been significant enough to affect the world, which was why the name Xenon had spread throughout it.

Rina nodded at my answer and began telling me about my father's achievements one by one.

"Sir Maishal did even more than that; he certainly never did less. About thirty years ago, a dragon that had grown ferocious after losing its hatchling attacked the capital."

"Ah. Could that be..."

I had seen it in a recently published history book. Its official name was the 'Askanal Incident,' named after Askanal, the dragon that attacked the imperial capital.

Since this was a fantasy world, dragons existed here as well, but they were nothing more than ordinary monsters. They were absolutely not a 'race' that could use polymorph, possessed mastery of magic, or piled gold and silver treasures in their lairs.

They were simply enormous lizards that flew through the sky.

In any case, the Askanal Incident had occurred because of human greed. Human smugglers discovered a hatchling, brutally killed it, and began cutting it apart, only to be caught by its mother.

Naturally, the mother flew into a rage and attacked the nearest human nation, the Minerva Empire. The problem was that the humans who had committed the smuggling were from another country, not the Minerva Empire.

From the empire's perspective, it was not merely a bolt from a clear sky; a maddened dragon had attacked them, so the resulting chaos must have been beyond description.

"I know about it too. The records say that the army hurriedly went out and subdued it..."

"That's what the records say. But the army was too busy evacuating the civilians, and the person who actually subdued it was your father, Sir Maishal. As it happened, he was in the capital on leave."

"...He subdued a dragon?"

"Yes."

I was dumbfounded as I listened to Rina's unbelievable story. This world had an honorable title called 'Dragon Slayer,' which, as one might expect, was given to someone who had defeated a dragon.

The fact that such a title existed showed that defeating a dragon required a force equivalent to a 'legion.' But even with that kind of force, no one could predict how many casualties there would be.

Yet my father was said to have defeated one almost single-handedly, despite the army's assistance. It was astonishingly similar to the feat I had written for Xenon in The Life of Xenon.

"...That's the first I've heard of that too, Lady Rina."

Nicole seemed not to have heard the story either. Rina answered her skeptical question with a slightly sorrowful expression.

"Naturally. Sir Maishal had a friend helping him during the Askanal Incident, but unfortunately, that friend was caught in the dragon's breath..."

"... ..."

When Rina expressed her genuine sorrow, Nicole's expression softened slightly as well. She was my older sister and knew our father better than I did, so she must have noticed something.

I could understand why my father avoided talking about the Askanal Incident. No matter how strong he was, he was still human, and whenever he remembered that achievement, he must have thought of his friend who had been reduced to ash by the dragon's breath.

Silence settled between us as the tragic circumstances came to light. Fortunately, it disappeared when Rina hurriedly spoke.

"In The Life of Xenon, Xenon also defeats a dragon with the help of his companions. Perhaps he wrote that because he remembered this incident. It was tragic for him, but he may have prayed that Xenon would not lose any of his companions."

"...Then what about the others?"

"Yes. He not only defeated demons who had undergone demonification, but also drove back beastmen and elves who invaded the border on numerous occasions. And he began to be called the 'Red Lion' when he joined the Navy Knights."

It felt like I was listening to the heroic tales of a great man. The fact that he was my father was fascinating, yet difficult to accept.

That was only natural, since my father was nothing more than an ordinary head of household who devoted himself to his family and loved them more than anyone. It was hard to believe that he had defeated a dragon, been called the Red Lion, and gained such fame.

While I was feeling somewhat confused, Rina stopped speaking and looked at Leort beside her. Seeing that look, Leort took over from her.

"Before Sir Maishal began serving there, the borderlands were a place where casualties mounted day after day in battles against the beastmen who lived in tribes. On top of that, it was difficult even to hold them back unless one had forces on the level of the Navy Knights. But after Sir Maishal arrived, things changed."

"What do you mean, they changed...?"

"Sir Maishal killed most of the beastmen living in the borderlands. The beastmen, sensing the crisis, joined forces and launched an all-out offensive, but that only turned out to be a blunder. If Sir Maishal had not been there, we might have lost territory rather than merely our borders. The beastmen were that extraordinarily strong."

It was an achievement worthy of being called 'heroic' in every sense of the word. I was genuinely impressed.

The reason the beastmen repeatedly eyed the border was probably the environment on the other side. It was unsuitable for farming, and from the beastmen's perspective, taking what they needed was more convenient.

Their innate tendency to revel in battle must have played a part as well.

"Thanks to him, our empire was able to save enormous amounts of manpower and material resources. The military spending on the border had been truly astronomical. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Sir Maishal greatly increased the empire's economic power. That is also why I became convinced that Sir Maishal was the author of The Life of Xenon. He had weathered hardships and dangers that an ordinary person could not even imagine, so he must have been able to weave them into The Life of Xenon."

"...I see. Since you said the Navy Knights were needed to stop them, I can understand. But..."

Nicole trailed off, staring intently at Leort before turning her head slightly to look at Rina. Both Leort and Rina wore smiles that revealed nothing.

Had they received some kind of imperial training in how to keep a poker face? I could not tell what either of them was thinking at all.

Nicole must have given up on trying to read their thoughts as well, because she spoke in a low voice.

"What do you intend to do with my father?"

"You aren't denying it anymore."

"Now that everything has been exposed, denying it would get us nowhere."

Perhaps he liked Nicole's frank answer. Leort nodded with a satisfied smile.

Then he slowly leaned his upper body forward, interlaced his fingers, and rested his chin on them. He gave us an unexpected answer.

"There is one thing you are misunderstanding. Our imperial family has no intention whatsoever of laying a hand on either you or Sir Maishal. Holding this meeting is merely a means of confirming things."

"Do you expect us to believe that?'

In the end, Nicole could not hold back any longer. She raised her voice and huffed angrily. I did not say anything, but I glared at Leort with an expression that asked whether he was joking.

After cornering us to this extent, he claimed that he had no intention of touching us? Anyone who believed those words at face value would have to be an idiot. If he truly had no intention of touching us, he would never have summoned us here in the first place.

Leort waved a hand at our heated reaction, signaling us to calm down, and Nicole's expression gradually settled as well.

"You have every reason to react defensively. But this much is the truth. What if we pressured Sir Maishal and he stopped the serialization? What if he told the publisher that he had stopped because of our pressure? Can you imagine what kind of reaction that would provoke?"

"... ..."

"Naturally, the situation would become serious in numerous ways. The influence The Life of Xenon currently has on the world is terrifying. No matter how greedy one is, one does not make the foolish mistake of cutting open a goose that lays golden eggs. More than anything, Rina and I are also among the readers who are passionate about The Life of Xenon. As I said, the reason we brought you here was simply to confirm things."

Should I believe him or not? If it had been anyone else, I might have been convinced, but he was a member of the imperial family with deep ties to politics.

I could not simply accept his words when I had no idea how many cunning snakes he kept hidden inside himself.

When Nicole and I failed to accept his words easily, Rina, who had been watching from the side, took matters into her own hands. Rather than Nicole, she looked directly at me, placed a hand against her chest, and spoke.

"Isaac. I swear on my name as a princess. No harm will ever come to Sir Maishal, your house, or your family. In fact, I can help prevent your identity from being revealed."

"...Then what benefit is there for the two of you?"

"The next volume of The Life of Xenon will come out sooner. That's all."

Could that really be all? I looked suspiciously at Rina as she replied with a smile.

I knew that smile was fake; I had seen it many times before. That only made me more suspicious.

Just as I was hesitating over what to do.

"Understood."

"...Sis?"

"Please keep that promise."

Nicole accepted their assurances in a solemn yet resolute voice. This was a situation I had not expected at all.

Just as I stared at her in bewilderment, Leort nodded with a satisfied smile after hearing Nicole's answer.

"Thank you. Again, please understand that we have no intention whatsoever of touching Sir Maishal. Even before he was the author of The Life of Xenon, Sir Maishal was not someone our imperial family could afford to treat carelessly."

"You're too kind."

"Not at all. Sir Maishal is that kind of person."

How extraordinary must my father's achievements have been for such words to come from Leort, the crown prince? In any case, it seemed that I could finally breathe a little easier.

Using my father as a shield still left me uneasy in many ways, but I decided it would be best to comfort myself with the thought that he would understand. Naturally, I planned to write him a letter as soon as I returned to my quarters.

'What should I write? First...'

I was sighing inwardly and wondering what to write in the letter.

Unlike Leort and Nicole, who were now discussing my father, I felt a gaze coming from in front of me.

When I raised my head, I saw Rina staring at me with a strange expression, her chin resting on one hand.

I nearly lost myself for a moment in her beauty, which seemed to have been painstakingly crafted by a master artisan, but fortunately, I barely managed to regain my senses.

"... ..."

She gazed intently at my face before subtly lowering her eyes. I had no idea what she was looking at, but I could roughly tell that her gaze was directed at my right hand.

Then Rina lifted her lowered gaze again and met my eyes. Just as I began to wonder about her strange behavior.

The corners of Rina's mouth traced a graceful arc the moment our eyes met, and then...

[Please take care of me.]

She silently mouthed the enigmatic greeting.