Crossed Paths

There was no reason for the Arken Empire to panic.

Olivia had said they must have identified and recorded the exact numbers and types as well.

They must have known that the colossal monster that had suddenly appeared was giving birth to more monsters.

They also knew, naturally, that the situation would turn against them as the numbers grew.

They had been racking their brains over how to record the number, which had swelled by twenty thousand, and exploit it politically.

But neither they nor the coalition of the Grand Duchy of Waldrova had anticipated one thing.

Who would have thought that, while the Grand Duchy was under siege, the monsters would strike the Empire first?

-Tell me! Why are those things coming toward us?!

Ferda answered the situation like this.

“We don’t know, either.”

-What do you mean, you don’t know!? Think logically! In this situation! It makes no sense for you not to attack them!!

The way he was screeching made him look like a little child throwing a tantrum because someone had refused to buy him a toy.

Regardless of the situation, Ferda could not describe how enjoyable this moment was, with their fortunes reversed.

Ferda explained their current circumstances.

“It may sound irresponsible, but we had been preparing for a defensive battle all along. We already have more than twenty defensive-battle scenarios, and Count Consilius had prepared himself to die.”

-What does that have to do with us?!

“Didn’t you ask why they were heading that way? We merely answered that we did not know why.”

-So you’re saying you bear no responsibility?!

He could not understand what on earth the man wanted him to add.

Did he want Ferda to slam his head into the floor and placate him?

Ferda was better at slamming other people’s heads than his own.

He was tempted to curse him out, but Olivia, who had been listening in, lightly touched Ferda’s shoulder.

When he turned, she was smiling with her eyes as she casually touched the communication crystal ball.

She had turned up the volume so the crystal ball’s sound could be heard throughout the staff room.

She mouthed,

“Launch the attack.”

“I don’t understand why you’re getting so angry. We were going to send reinforcements here anyway, so we must have been preparing. Why are you angry with me when we can use those troops to fight a defensive battle or launch a punitive expedition?”

-If the Far East couldn’t stop the monsters in the Demon Land, doesn’t that mean you failed in your duty?! How dare you raise your voice and claim you’re not at fault when you’re the one who failed!?

The staff officers, startled by the sudden increase in volume, turned their heads toward them.

“How were we supposed to respond immediately to a colossal monster summoned without warning? That is why we requested reinforcements from within the Empire, and didn’t you say they would take two months?”

-That’s our problem! I’m talking about the Far East’s duty right now!

The Far East’s duty was to eliminate the monsters pouring out of the Demon Land.

But that applied only when they came physically; magic left them utterly helpless.

-Wasn’t dealing with such enormous monsters the Grand Duke’s responsibility?! You had the ability to resolve it! It wasn’t the Empire that neglected them—it was the Grand Duchy!

“Are you saying we should have moved even if it meant allowing this place to be completely destroyed?”

-I can’t understand why you would abandon your own duty just to protect that useless village!

Useless village.

He bit his lower lip without thinking.

He had no idea what kind of curse would burst out if he opened his mouth.

Just then, a silky, gentle sensation brushed against Ferda’s hand.

It was Olivia’s hand.

She had lightly touched his hand beneath the table.

As if telling him to calm down.

Astonishingly, her touch freed Ferda from his anger.

Everyone here was listening to this conversation anyway.

He looked over their expressions.

At least, they were not on the side of that brat throwing a tantrum for a toy.

-Tell the Grand Duke to carry out his duty immediately! Otherwise…

“What will you do?”

Alexander’s voice caught at Ferda’s question.

He could sense murderous intent through the telepathic link.

-You will be held accountable for this situation! And not merely accountable! Even now, there are more than a few people who suspect you of colluding with demonfolk!

Colluding with demonfolk.

What a ridiculous line of reasoning, taking things all the way there.

Just as Ferda was about to tell him to go ahead and try, Olivia cut in.

“Brother, please watch your language~.”

-W-What? Who is this?!

“Who else? Who else would call the Crown Prince ‘Brother’?”

-Olivia? Why are you…?

Alexander was so stunned by Olivia’s sudden voice that he could not collect himself.

She grinned and said,

“They say the birds hear what is said by day, and the mice hear what is said by night. You do realize how many birds here are listening to the Crown Prince’s words, don’t you?”

-W-What?!

Alexander was worked up and flailing wildly.

The staff, who had heard the entire conversation with the Crown Prince, wore incredulous expressions.

After hearing him say that they had joined hands with demonfolk, hostility surged through them.

Alexander stammered as he asked Ferda,

-R-Regent! Have you set a trap for me?!

“I only had a conversation. You were the one who got worked up and ran wild on your own, Your Highness.”

-You, you…

“If you had told me that we should speak privately, just the two of us, I would gladly have agreed. But you became agitated before I could even say anything. Who could have expected you to come out with all that?”

The child who had been screaming was gone, replaced by nothing but the choked sounds of a pig hanging from a gallows.

Olivia began prodding the sore spot with infuriating skill.

“Everyone here is following us because they trust their own honor. Isn’t it cruel to treat such people like dregs of demonfolk?”

-No, what I meant was that Regent Ferda might do such a thing. I wasn’t saying that about the others…

“Oh my, what do you mean, no? I heard the whole thing. You lumped them all together and condemned them as people without honor, and said our response had been slow. I think this is something we could formally lodge a complaint about, don’t you?”

Olivia continued with a triumphant expression.

“This happened because the Crown Prince of the Empire picked a pointless fight to bring the Far East to heel.”

Although he could only hear her voice and not see her expression through the crystal ball, Alexander shouted as though he could see that expression, overcome with agitation.

-How dare an Imperial princess meddle in a situation like this! What if you get hurt?! Return to your room at once and look after your own safety! Regent, send that girl back immediately!!

So now he was telling her to leave because things had turned against him.

“That might be true if I were merely a princess, but this is different.”

-How is it any different now?

“I am the chief of staff of this provisional alliance in the Far East.”

-W-What?! Why?

“Why? Because I earned everyone’s recognition and am standing here, of course.”

No sound came from the crystal ball.

Alexander’s mind must have been in turmoil.

If he said, “Why are you so competent?” she would surely retort by asking whether he was calling the other young masters incompetent.

In that situation, Alexander did the best he could.

Click—.

He simply cut the connection.

The crystal ball lost its light, and Olivia calmly said when she saw it,

“It seems the mage on the other end made a mistake.”

She laughed lightly and let the matter pass.

But the staff could not hide their bewildered faces as they confronted the uncomfortable truth.

“I’ve heard many times that the Crown Prince is a hopeless man who enjoys showing off, but I never imagined he was that bad.”

“He tells us to wait two months when we’re in a hurry, then orders us to send troops immediately. Does that make any sense?”

The staff were too busy cursing the Crown Prince.

Olivia let them continue only long enough to raise their morale and solidarity to a suitable level, then cut them off.

“My brother’s wrongdoing is his own, but regardless, let us find a new way forward. This Grand Duchy is, for now, unavoidably one of the Empire’s territories. So we need to respond to threats within the Empire as well.”

“Yes.”

The map of the continent lay on the table.

She turned all the monster markers on the map around to face the opposite direction.

“As you can see, the monsters are heading toward the Empire. That means we, who are supposed to fight a defensive battle, now have an opportunity to strike first instead.”

“Do we really have to strike?”

Defending alone was already overwhelming; now she wanted them to attack instead.

But the other staff members looked askance at the person who had asked that, as though he were pathetic.

As they wore expressions that seemed to say, What kind of pathetic thing is he saying?, Olivia smiled.

“This is actually the perfect time. You said all the troops are moving toward the Empire, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Which means the enemy’s main base is at its most vulnerable.”

The colossal monsters they had identified had no ability to defend themselves.

They possessed only the ability to reproduce, and used it to mass-produce monsters.

Once they had mass-produced the monsters and sent them away, what would be left?

Nothing.

Moreover, reproduction meant dividing the vitality within their own bodies.

Even for monsters, that left them in an absurdly vulnerable state.

Striking when the enemy was at its weakest was the most basic of principles.

The man who had raised the objection withdrew his words with an embarrassed expression.

Olivia continued explaining.

“Why did both the Empire and us assume the monsters would come after us?”

“Because once we formed a line around them, we were closer.”

“Yes. That would normally be the standard course of action.”

The positions of the markers on the map made it obvious.

The distance to the Empire was three times longer than the distance to Hestia Village.

“We estimated it would take them two days to reach us, so I expect it will take six or seven days for them to reach the Empire. Therefore, we will wait about two days before beginning our march.”

The march itself would take two days.

If the enemy continued marching, it would have traveled for three days by then.

In terms of timing, they would be a little past the midpoint.

At that point, it would be difficult for them to turn back.

“Then they’ll have reached the midpoint, correct? We’ll strike their empty main base while they’re in no position to turn back.”

“Then the Empire will already be under attack.”

“There is no need to worry about the Empire. If it cannot even stop an attack of that scale, it cannot call itself an empire.”

The Arken Empire had concentrated everything in its capital.

It possessed magic and an army dozens of times more powerful than Count Consilius’s castle, which would serve as the Far East’s final bastion, so there would be no problem.

“Assuming we can approach the monsters, how do we kill them? I’ve heard that small and colossal monsters have different bodily structures…”

“I looked into it, and apparently their skin is even tougher and their muscles stronger, so I doubt ordinary magic will work on them.”

“I’ll address that point.”

Platinum Adventurer Erika stepped forward.

“Just as we die when we lose our hearts, monsters die when they lose theirs. Pure mana is the ultimate counter to junk mana. In other words, if we cause an explosion inside them powerful enough to shatter their hearts with pure mana, we can kill them.”

“How much mana would that explosion require?”

“A Fifth-Tier spell, Supernova, should do it. I tried this a long time ago… I mean, I read about it in some documents.”

If there was Magic Blast at the Fourth Circle, there was Supernova at the Fifth.

It excelled in pure destructive power, and above all, it was mana in its unaligned, original form.

It was the perfect technique for monsters to whom pure mana was practically poison.

“I heard their skin is as hard as rock. Can one Supernova really finish them off?”

“That is why we need the elite knights to play their part. The elite knights must manifest aura, cut through the monster’s flesh, and approach from within. If they bore through far enough to expose the organs, the inside will become as vulnerable as a human body. Cast Supernova there, and it will die on the spot.”

“Setting aside the method… isn’t it another problem whether anyone knows Supernova?”

“If they don’t, I can teach them. And if they don’t want to learn, they can simply draw a magic circle and inject mana into it.”

Naturally, the mages would want to learn it.

No one would be foolish enough to turn down an offer from a renowned adventurer and high-ranking mage to teach them a high-tier spell.

“How many Fifth-Circle mages are there?”

“Including Count Consilius’s territory, five in total, by our count.”

“Administrator Isabella should be Fifth-Circle as well. That makes six.”

Platinum Adventurer Erika knew an eerily suspicious amount about other people’s families.

There were twelve colossal monsters, and the number they could destroy at once was six.

“Destroying everything within two days… would be an overly optimistic plan, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. Considering the marching speed and everything else, it will take four days even if we set a tight schedule.”

Four days.

If only there were a way to reduce it dramatically.

After hearing the situation, Ferda glanced at Luri.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, she looked toward Ferda.

Luri insisted coldly and forcefully,

I am not your shuttle.

“We can’t guarantee victory, but we can’t just sit around doing nothing, either.”

If there was a chance to eliminate them, they had to take it.

“If anyone opposes this, we will hear your opinion as well.”

Naturally, no one opened their mouth.

Just in case, Ferda contacted Consilius as well and explained the operation.

Consilius’s answer was predictable and extremely simple.

-As you wish, Regent.

Thus, the decision to march was made.

As the staff moved to relay the meeting’s contents,

Ferda asked Erika for one favor.

“Captain Erika.”

Erika turned her head.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, may I ask you a favor?”

* * *

It was an open area of the castle normally used as a vacant lot.

Luri had cast a barrier around it, turning it into an isolated space.

“Amazing.”

After carefully confirming that it was completely sealed off, Erika spoke.

“I never expected you to request a spar, Regent.”

“You’re known throughout the world as Goldie Hand. Surely you can give it a try?”

“Rumors are always exaggerated.”

She said that, but her shoulders and the bridge of her nose were practically reaching for the sky.

“Tell me. What is the purpose of this spar? I’ll tailor it accordingly.”

“There’s something I want to test. Fight me on the assumption that this is a real battle.”

“Hmm, if it’s a real battle…”

Erika smiled faintly.

“Then I suppose I should start with provocation? Mr. Winged Dragon’s Fiancé?”

“Much better than a water lizard who does nothing but sleep as though dead.”

“…Oh?”

He had thrown out a jab and taken a clean counter.

“Let’s stop. If we aren’t careful, we’ll end up having a fight to the death with our honor on the line.”

“Wouldn’t it be a real battle only if we went that far?”

“Heh… Don’t regret this!”

Erika unfolded a magic circle and launched the first attack.

Unlike a classic battle in which both sides stayed in place, the two of them fought while frantically switching positions.

That was a mage’s real battlefield.

Creating magic circles, discerning them, dispelling them, feints, baiting moves…

In the brief span of one minute, no fewer than forty moves passed between them, and Erika let out a silent exclamation of admiration.

‘Impressive.’

Ferda was already at a disadvantage in sheer power, so defeat was the obvious expectation.

Taking that into account, Erika gradually increased the force of her attacks to gauge his abilities.

She intended to test where Ferda’s limits lay by starting at an even level, gradually making things more difficult, and then overwhelming him.

‘What kind of experiment is he trying to conduct?’

Erika continued the spar while keeping in mind the need to uncover his intentions.

“I lose.”

After driving him to his limit at last, Ferda raised the white flag.

Though she had won, Erika sincerely praised him.

“You’re incredible. No exaggeration—you’re one of the top five mages I’ve ever fought.”

“You flatter me.”

“You have no wasted movements, and you aren’t so far below my level that you’d need to ask me for feedback. You said you had something to test, as you put it, but I can’t even tell what experiment you’re conducting. Did you get your answer?”

Seeing her, Ferda understood.

She truly had not noticed what he was doing or what he was hiding.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I got it.”

Yes, this might work.

* * *

The night before their departure.

Ferda lay down to go to sleep as usual.

But this was a momentous day, so things were not quite as usual.

Luri came to him and said,

“Master has summoned you, Lord Ferda, to the lair.”

Ferda blinked.

Wasn’t it said that when people received too great a shock, they became unable to say anything?

That was exactly how shocked he was.