Chapter 172
──Dorgalia Empire, Imperial Capital──
"So this is what was inside the 'box'?"
In his office, Crown Prince Dias held the documents in his hands.
One was the otherworldly paper found inside the 'box.'
The other was a report written by engineers and scholars.
"I am terribly sorry that things turned out this way, Your Highness."
The newly appointed Minister of Magic knelt before Dias and bowed his head.
He was the man personally appointed by the Emperor after his predecessor, Azim, was dismissed.
Under his direction, the investigation of the 'box' had been carried out.
But—
"The otherworldly box itself and its lock were sturdy. The door was firmly sealed, and with the Empire's technology, we could not unlock it..."
"So in the end, you had no choice but to destroy it?"
"I apologize!"
Beside the minister was the 'box.'
It was in a pitiful state.
There was a large hole where the dial had been, and the parts connecting the door to the body were broken.
The Hero World's box had been sturdy.
The scholars had predicted that turning the dial in a predetermined manner would release the lock.
But they had no clue how many times to turn it in either direction.
They had no choice but to destroy the lock.
"I told you that you could take as long as necessary to unlock it."
"Yes, Your Highness. But..."
"From Father?"
"His Majesty ordered us, 'We must learn about the Hero World as quickly as possible. Open that box by any means necessary.'"
"And so you destroyed a valuable box?"
"I apologize!"
As he listened to the minister, Crown Prince Dias bit his lip.
The 'box' was a valuable object.
He had been willing to wait years for it to be unlocked.
He had never imagined that it would be destroyed on the Emperor's orders.
It had been confirmed that the box was from the Hero World.
The writing on the paper inside was the same kind as the writing the Hero had left behind.
The Empire still possessed letters and documents written by the Hero as national treasures.
The engineers had used them to translate the paper found inside the box, but—
"It seems that both His Majesty and all of you acted a little too hastily."
"With all due respect, Your Highness, without any clue to unlock the box, this was the only way to open it..."
"I have received word from Sophia. She noticed that a mysterious paper had been left where the box was found. It may contain instructions for unlocking the box."
"W-what!?"
"Sophia is trying to negotiate. She is probably attempting to gain concessions from the Grand Duchy in exchange for that paper, but..."
They had no choice but to negotiate.
They could not allow information about the 'box' to fall into someone else's hands.
"Even though the 'box' was destroyed, the parts remain, correct?"
"Y-yes."
"Then I hereby order the Minister of Magic: As soon as the 'mysterious paper' arrives from Sophia, analyze it and use it as a basis for your investigation. Lead the engineers and determine the correct way to unlock the box, in preparation for the next time a similar box appears."
"Y-yes, Your Highness!"
"To think that items and documents from the Hero World would turn up one after another. The Empire has too few people capable of analyzing magic items, which is a serious disadvantage. If only we had a skilled engineer..."
Dias suddenly remembered the boy sent to the Demon King's Territory.
A boy with the Alchemy Skill—Thor Leegas, if he remembered correctly.
At the request of Barga Leegas, who had been a duke at the time, he had been sent to the Demon King's Territory.
If he were still in the Empire, would the situation have been different?
(It's difficult. At the time, we never imagined that otherworldly magic beasts and boxes would appear.)
It would be difficult to bring Thor Leegas back.
He had openly declared before the people of the Demon King's Territory, "I am abandoning my family. From now on, I will call myself Thor Canaan."
The people of the Demon King's Territory—and probably the Demon King as well—had accepted that.
If they forcibly brought him back, it would develop into a diplomatic incident. At worst, it could lead to war.
Of course, the Empire would win a war.
But the timing was bad. The war in the south was not over yet.
In those circumstances, they wanted to avoid starting a war with the Demon King's Territory in the north.
There was also the problem of Daryl Zanno and his gang.
According to Ricardo, they had apparently called themselves 'the ghosts haunting the Empire.'
A war with the Demon King's Territory would be impossible until they were eliminated. There were too many unknowns. How much time, money, and military strength would it take to win?—
(No—am I overthinking this?)
A war over Thor Canaan would never happen.
He was not valuable enough for that.
They would soon find one or two people with the 'Alchemy' Skill.
They only needed to hire them and train them.
(Will there be enough time?)
A flicker of anxiety crossed Crown Prince Dias's mind.
The Demon King's Territory had demonstrated tremendous power in its battle against the new species of magic beasts.
If that power came from magic items, they were far ahead of the Empire.
Could the Empire train engineers quickly enough, starting now?
While the Empire gathered and trained people, would the Demon King's Territory advance even farther?—
"Crown Prince Dias?"
"Nothing. More importantly, what was inside the box? Was this really the only paper?"
"Several people checked it, but there was nothing else."
"Could it have been lost when the lock was destroyed with magic weapons and sorcery?"
"The box was destroyed in the presence of His Majesty the Emperor."
The Minister of Magic spoke in a dissatisfied tone,
"If you doubt me, you may ask His Majesty yourself."
"No, I am not doubting you. This is the translation of the Hero World's paper, correct?"
"Ten specialists in Hero research translated it together. There should be no errors in the contents."
"I am not doubting you. But this..."
Crown Prince Dias read through the otherworldly scrap of paper and the parchment bearing its translation.
It said:
'This world is threatened by powerful magic beasts.
We call those magic beasts, whose skin is terrifyingly hard, "Hard Creatures."
There is a phenomenon in which those magic beasts suddenly vanish.
Scholars speculate that they may have moved to another world.
This is because there have been previous cases of humans from this world (called "Heroes" by those who returned) vanishing in the same way.
It is fortunate that the Hard Creatures disappear into other worlds.
Also, they explode.
When I think about Otherworld Summoning, my head hurts as though it is splitting apart.
Heroes explode. Hard Creatures explode.
They are dangerous.'
That was all.
"'Hard Creature'... So magic beasts like the 'Magic Beast Galgarossa' came from the Hero World...? Could this really be true?"
If so, performing 'Hero Summoning' would be far too dangerous.
They would have to choose between a Hero arriving and a 'Hard Creature' like the 'Magic Beast Galgarossa' arriving.
In the latter case, the damage would be far too great.
Moreover, under the current circumstances, the latter was more likely.
After all, every summoning conducted by fortress commander Geralt Zenger had called forth a magic beast.
And furthermore—
"Heroes explode...?"
"The translators were dumbfounded as well."
"Leaving aside the other parts, this one is abnormal."
"According to legend, a Hero used magic that caused a gigantic explosion. Could it mean that?"
"There were also those who made their magic run wild by letting their anger explode."
"If that is what it means, then that would be a relief..."
"But if a Hero itself were to explode, then 'Hero Summoning' would be terrifyingly dangerous..."
Crown Prince Dias and the Minister of Magic sighed.
They did not know.
This document had been written with reference to a letter from Kerv, the Chancellor of the Demon King's Territory.
When Kerv was asked to write a document to stop 'Summoning Magic,' he had thought and thought, then accidentally written the words, 'It feels as though my head is about to explode.'
Using that as a reference, Thor had rewritten the document in the language of the Hero World.
As a result, the document now in Crown Prince Dias's hands had been completed.
"Could it be that the Hero World has both exploding Heroes and Heroes who do not explode?"
"That is what it would mean. But if there were an exploding Hero, we cannot even imagine how much damage it could cause."
"Probably several times as powerful as 'Meteor'—ten or even more times. At worst, the Imperial Capital could be blown away."
"His Majesty the Emperor said, 'If we perform Hero Summoning, from now on we will need to ask each Hero, \"Will you explode?\"'"
"That is just like His Majesty."
"He also said, 'We will need a barrier and a special summoning facility to contain an exploding Hero.'"
"Does Father intend to perform Hero Summoning?"
"We cannot know His Majesty's intentions."
The Minister of Magic bowed deeply.
"Understood. I will speak with Father later."
"I believe that would be wise."
"Also, keep this document strictly confidential. And—"
Dias thought for a moment, then said,
"From now on... we will also reconsider our diplomatic relations with the Demon King's Territory."
"Diplomatic relations with the Demon King's Territory? Surely you mean closing the border completely?"
"The opposite. Using Sophia as our point of contact, we will open a diplomatic channel with the Demon King's Territory."
Daryl Zanno and his gang were in the border region.
They still did not know how much power those people possessed.
But they had infiltrated the fortress where 'Summoning Magic' had been performed and stolen the 'box.' It was also possible that 'Summoning Magic' had leaked out at that time.
In any event, there was no doubt that they were dangerous opponents.
Fortunately, the Demon King's Territory was hostile to them.
Ricardo, who had obtained the box, had written down the conversations of Daryl Zanno's subordinates. They had escaped afterward, but some testimony remained.
According to it, Sophia's subordinates and demi-humans had captured Daryl Zanno's men.
In other words, Sophia and the Demon King's Territory had cooperated to obtain the 'box.'
The people of the Demon King's Territory must not have been willing to tolerate those who disturbed the peace of the border region.
If so, they should conclude that the Demon King's Territory and Daryl Zanno's group were enemies.
But no one knew what would happen in the future.
Daryl Zanno might try to win the Demon King's Territory over to his side.
They needed to act before that happened.
"We will formally open diplomatic relations with the Demon King's Territory. We will also renew the 'Non-Aggression Pact' with them. I will have my younger siblings present for that occasion. With members of the Imperial Family in attendance, we will announce it publicly to the surrounding countries. That should make it clear that the Empire and the Demon King's Territory are not enemies. It should also serve as a deterrent to Daryl Zanno and his group."
"Will the Demon King's Territory agree to that?"
"We have two points of contact: Sophia in 'Noza Town' and Thor Canaan in the Demon King's Territory."
"It seems Thor Canaan has already declared that he is 'abandoning the Empire.'"
"Then perhaps we should give him a chance to take it back?"
Crown Prince Dias wore a fearless smile.
"Thor Canaan abandoned his family home. Then we need only offer him a new title. We could grant him a title for one generation and a small territory near the border—on the side of 'Noza Town.' We could make it a gateway to the Demon King's Territory, just like 'Noza Town.' That would benefit the Demon King's Territory as well, would it not?"
"I see. In that case, I doubt he could refuse."
"He could also show his father, who abandoned him, that he has surpassed him. If he was born in the Empire, he should be interested."
"He would be showing everyone that he possesses greater power than his father."
"First, let us send an envoy to the Demon King's Territory."
As he spoke, Dias folded his arms and
"But that country is an inscrutable place. We must choose the right time, a period when the other side will be most willing to receive an envoy."
"You mean a day when the Demon King's Territory lets down its guard?"
"A holiday would be best. The anniversary of its founding. A festival day. Or perhaps the Demon King's birthday."
He would have Sophia look into that, Dias decided.
Opening diplomatic relations with the Demon King's Territory would also benefit 'Noza Town.'
Sophia should have no reason to refuse.
Of course, he did not trust the Demon King's Territory, ruled by demons and demi-humans.
He was merely creating a window—a window through which to peer into a foreign land.
So that they could respond immediately if anything happened.
"I will inform His Majesty the Emperor at once. We must also decide who will serve as the envoy."
"Prince Ricardo wishes to go to the border region again."
"I know. He wants to make up for his failure."
Crown Prince Dias shook his head.
"I understand how he feels. But we cannot send someone who is too eager to distinguish himself as an envoy to another country."
"Prince Ricardo is also at the Ministry of Magic. He says he wants to be involved with the 'box.'"
"For now, we have no choice but to leave him alone. Only time can—"
Dias broke off.
For an instant, the sight of himself being defeated by Grand Duke Karon flashed through his mind.
──His opponent was the Sword Saint.
──I had not been in top form, either.
──I never expected the Grand Duke's left arm to move.
──Defeat was unavoidable.
Excuses and bitter emotions welled up inside him.
Dias unconsciously covered his mouth as he suppressed a surge of nausea, and—
"What is the matter, Your Highness?"
"...Nothing. I will tell Ricardo myself to exercise restraint."
Dias nodded and said,
"There are others better suited to serve as the envoy."
"As you command."
"I will tell her myself. In any event, the Demon King's Territory is an inscrutable place. The fewer people involved, the better. We should use someone who is already involved."
(Perhaps Grand Duke Karon's left arm also started moving because he became involved with the Demon King's Territory.)
As Crown Prince, Dias had no need to become involved with the Demon King's Territory.
He would choose someone to handle it and let only that person deal with it. That was all.
(I am the next Emperor, Dias Dorgalia. I must not become involved with the Demon King's Territory.)
Dias declared this to himself.
To that end, he had to eliminate all unknown factors.
The ghosts like Daryl Zanno would be erased.
The measures against the Demon King's Territory would be left to the person in charge.
"If we use these three as bait—the 'renewal of the Non-Aggression Pact,' 'the Imperial Family's presence,' and 'making it public to foreign countries'—the demons will bite."
That would conclude the matter.
Crown Prince Dias would no longer need to think about that country.
Dias nodded with satisfaction.
He ordered the minister to leave, then went to see the Emperor.
He did not realize that, deep in his heart, he was afraid of the Demon King's Territory.