Chapter 15
──Around the time Thor arrived in the Demon Lord's Territory, in the Dorgalia Empire──
This was the guesthouse in the Imperial Capital.
The nobles were enjoying an evening party there.
The gathering included some of the most prominent nobles in the Empire.
The one receiving the most attention was Duke Barga Rigas.
"──Oh, Duke Barga Rigas has arrived."
"──As expected of the Empire's highest-ranking noble. What a dignified bearing."
"──They say he offered his son as a hostage to the Demon Lord's Territory for the sake of the Empire. What loyalty..."
As the Duke walked through the party venue, he heard the nobles whispering.
Duke Rigas was among the strongest of the Imperial nobles.
His swordsmanship consisted of using water magic to immobilize his enemies, then cutting them down by brute force.
Every noble acknowledged its destructive power.
"Good grief, have I grown too strong? Being the center of so much attention is troublesome."
The Duke shrugged.
Beside him, the butler of House Rigas wore a flattering smile.
"For someone of your stature, Duke-sama, it cannot be helped. The Empire needs your power more than ever to expand its territory. The glory of House Rigas is only beginning."
"Yes. That stain is gone now, too. House Rigas's future is bright."
"Y-yes."
"What is it? You're being strangely hesitant."
"N-no, it's just... Duke-sama..."
The butler asked timidly.
"...I wanted to ask about Thor-dono's 'Alchemy' Skill."
"What!?"
The Duke glared at the butler.
"Don't mention him! He went to the Demon Lord's Territory as a noble and became a hostage. He served the Empire as a noble. That's all. Never say his name again!!"
"Eek!"
"You've ruined my pleasant mood. Bring me something to drink."
"Y-yes!"
After bowing, the butler ran toward the refreshments.
The Duke looked around.
The nobles were watching him, but he decided to ignore them.
Thinking that something more important was at hand, the Duke prepared for the guest of honor's arrival.
The Third Imperial Princess Riana was attending tonight's party.
The Duke was to be the first to greet her.
"Oh, Her Highness has arrived!!"
After a while, the doors to the hall opened, and the princess appeared in a dress.
She had cherry-blossom-pink hair and blue eyes. She was Riana, the Empire's Third Imperial Princess.
She was not only beautiful, but also possessed powerful light magic.
The princess looked around the hall, then turned toward Duke Barga Rigas and said,
"──There is someone here who does not belong. Drive him out."
She waved a hand as though shooing away something filthy.
"Understood."
The guards seized the Duke by the arms.
"Duke Rigas-sama. By order of Her Highness Princess Riana, please leave."
"W-what are you saying!? I am Barga Rigas!?"
"We know. Now, this way, please."
"Let go of me!!"
The Duke shook off the guards' hands.
He then began walking toward Princess Riana.
"Wait, Your Highness! Why must I leave!? What crime have I committed!?"
"Duke Rigas. I do not wish to speak with you."
"What in the world are you angry about!?"
"...How can you say such a thing?"
Princess Riana looked at the Duke.
Her blue eyes seemed to burn with anger.
"After putting me and my companions in danger! How dare you say such things!!"
"Danger?"
"I believe I asked House Rigas to repair my magic sword. Do you remember?"
"Y-yes."
The Duke nodded.
He did vaguely recall receiving such a request from the Imperial Court.
Since the butler was responsible for managing weapons, he must have left it to him──
"I received the magic sword back from House Rigas, supposedly repaired. But it could not withstand my magical power. It began to chip at the repaired section, then crumbled away piece by piece!"
"W-what!?"
"And it happened while I was fighting a magical beast."
The nobles around them began to murmur at the princess's words.
The nobles possessed combat Skills and had experience fighting magical beasts.
They understood what it meant for a weapon to break in the middle of battle.
"I nearly died at the hands of the magical beast. I was saved only because one of my companions shielded me."
The princess lowered her eyes sadly.
"I investigated afterward and discovered why the magic sword broke. You merely spliced a piece of metal into the damaged section. That blocked the flow of magic, causing the sword itself to collapse. It was House Rigas that performed that repair, was it not?"
"──P-please, wait..."
The Duke's mind went blank.
He could hear the voices of the nobles around him.
"──Good heavens, did House Rigas really perform such a careless repair?"
"──A magic sword repair, right? I know it's difficult. If they couldn't do it, they should have simply said so..."
"──Don't they understand how dangerous it is for a sword to break in battle? The Duke..."
The Duke could not believe what was happening right before his eyes.
This could not possibly be happening.
House Rigas had eliminated its troublesome child.
From then on, it was supposed to race up the path to glory.
Being blamed by a princess and denounced by the nobility was something that should never have happened.
"Th-that must have been the Alchemist in charge of the repair. He must have done a careless job!!"
That was why the Duke shouted,
"Alchemists are little more than strange blacksmiths. They must have thought they could get away with it by flaunting a useless Skill. The Alchemist is the one who should be punished! Am I not right!?"
"I thought so too, so I sent someone to the workshop and received this document."
Princess Riana nodded toward her lady-in-waiting.
The lady-in-waiting handed the parchment she was holding to the princess.
The princess unfolded it and held it up so that every noble could see.
"Here is documentary evidence. 'A complete repair of the magic sword is difficult. Therefore, House Rigas commissioned the workshop to repair it so that it would at least look good. House Rigas will bear all responsibility.' It also bears House Rigas's seal and the signature of the Rigas family butler. Take a good look, everyone."
"────What!?"
"Ooooooh!?"
The hall erupted in an uproar.
The princess continued.
"The workshop's Alchemist told me that the magic sword had been completely repaired up to that point. He said it must have broken there because of a small defect."
When the princess nodded, the lady-in-waiting held out the shattered magic sword.
Just as she had said, most of the sword had shattered.
All that remained was the hilt and part of the blade.
"How strange. The only part left unshattered is the part that received that 'complete repair.' That part alone withstood my 'light magic.' Thanks to it, I somehow managed to stop the magical beast's claws. Otherwise, I might have lost my life."
"B-but, Your Highness, weren't you going to use the magic sword in a ritual...?"
"My 'light magic' has grown stronger recently, so it was decided that I would subjugate magical beasts at the same time as performing the ritual. Surely House Rigas was informed of that as well?"
"...U-uwaaaaaah."
"In any case, I owe my life to the person who performed the 'complete repair' on my magic sword. It seems there are Alchemists who are actually capable. I would like to make that person my tool, so could you tell me his name and whereabouts?"
The princess said.
The Duke gnashed his teeth.
He did not know who had performed that "complete repair."
Even if he had known, he would not have been able to say.
The Alchemist who had correctly restored the magic sword──Thor──had gone to the Demon Lord's Territory.
He did not know what had happened afterward.
He assumed Thor was either already dead or languishing in a prison in the Demon Lord's Territory.
There was no way to call him back now.
"...Th-the one who first repaired that sword was... probably a wandering Alchemist. I don't know where they are."
"I see. That's unfortunate."
The princess sighed.
"In any case, I don't want to see your face. Leave. Refrain from appearing before members of the Imperial Family for a while!"
"Y-Your Highness!?"
"This conversation is over."
Princess Riana walked past the Duke without even looking at him.
"──I'm sorry for causing a disturbance, everyone. Now, let's continue the party."
When the princess clapped her hands, the music that had stopped resumed.
The nobles resumed their conversations as though the Duke did not exist.
The guards dragged the Duke outside the building.
The dazed Duke Rigas could not even resist.
They took him outside the guesthouse and simply left him there.
That was the end of it.
The guards treated the Duke as though he did not exist and returned to their duties.
"──D-Duke-sama..."
Before he knew it, the butler was standing beside the Duke with a deathly pale face.
"...You... what have you done!?"
The Duke shouted.
"You merely repaired the magic sword's appearance!? And then you left behind evidence that made it obvious... How dare you! I was humiliated because of you!!"
"I-I'm terribly sorry!! But... I told you it was impossible to repair..."
"Shut up! I don't want to see your face. Imprison him in a cell for a while, then dispose of him later!!"
"N-no, please!?"
"Oh, a carriage and escort soldiers have arrived. Perfect."
House Rigas's carriage had come to the front of the guesthouse after hearing the commotion.
"Take this man away. Make sure he does not appear before me for a while."
The Duke said this to his own soldiers.
The soldiers nodded and dragged the butler away.
"D-Duke-sama... please forgive me..."
Listening to the butler's voice recede, the Duke climbed into the carriage.
"With this incident──no, accident, House Rigas's honor has fallen into the dirt. But there is a way to recover it."
He would achieve results.
He would demonstrate that his very existence was a great benefit to the Empire.
"I have a plan. A plan to bring new benefits to the Empire. If I can make good use of those foolish demons and demi-humans... I can regain my reputation. No, I should be able to reach even greater heights."
Muttering this, the Duke headed for his mansion.