I'll Eat Well

Rumors began spreading throughout the continent.

"The Empire... is recruiting talent?"

"I hear they'll even accept you as an Imperial citizen if you can prove your abilities."

"You can become an Imperial citizen... If only I had the ability... if only I had the ability!"

What kind of empire was the Empire now?

There had been a time when it was merely large and handed things out to the surrounding nations like a fool.

But now it was a country advancing with such tremendous momentum that one might wonder whether it had ever been like that at all.

It had originally been called an empire because its scale was already absurd.

But now it boasted an even more absurd size.

"What does an academy generally teach, anyway? What kind of abilities do they evaluate?"

Ordinary people wondered about the Empire's standards.

"Basically, swordsmanship and magic, of course... but the odds of that are slim. Aren't the Imperial knights all Sword Masters by default? If you have to be better than them... isn't that absurd?"

"I heard there's a young mage with incredible magical talent... Then is it academics after all?"

"I can't even read, so academics would be a little... difficult."

"I heard that most Imperial citizens can read and write? They say there are almost no illiterate people."

"What a ridiculous lie! Good grief!"

Simply put, the Empire was already a place that possessed most things.

But they were recruiting the talents they needed from such a place? It was only reasonable to assume that most applicants would be rejected.

And that was precisely why the eyes of scholars throughout the continent began to shine.

"If I become an Imperial citizen, I can learn about magitech and mana stone trains, and even use them, right?"

"Magitech is the greatest subject of interest on the continent right now, and we've been given a chance to see and experience it firsthand."

"They're not recruiting people for swordsmanship or magic. The Empire is interested in academics. Starting with the basic fields and moving on to... all sorts of disciplines."

Who could possibly teach the Empire about military force?

That was absurd.

But in the academic fields, there was at least some possibility.

Of course, the Empire's academic standards were probably superior to those of other nations.

But being an empire did not mean it could handle every academic field with ease.

'If an academy is established, it will cover various fields... Then couldn't I become one too?'

'My research, which I funded myself... My own achievement, which I developed alone for decades without any support from my country... Perhaps this could be enough.'

The scholars' silent competition began.

Colleagues who had been laughing and chatting together only yesterday had all become rivals.

'I don't know what the Empire's test will be... but I can roughly guess what I need to do to take it.'

Although it was still only a rumor, the scholars were certain this could not possibly be mere empty talk.

Because there was such a definite way to make contact with the Empire.

'The Imperial garrisons!'

Imperial knights were stationed throughout the kingdoms.

Through them, it was clearly possible to establish a connection with the Empire.

What's more.

'They said that wherever the Imperial garrisons are stationed is Imperial territory... If I can just enter the places where they live, I can even receive the Empire's protection.'

The method was not particularly difficult, either.

All they had to do was run straight to wherever an Imperial garrison was stationed.

Every nation that heard the rumors about the Empire was thinking along these lines.

"...Should I really go to the Empire?"

"Why are you saying that? Are you planning to leave Maselin?"

The Kingdom of Maselin was no exception.

It was true that the Kingdom of Maselin had recently been growing at a frightening pace.

Yet the Empire was growing so rapidly that, as though casually overshadowing Maselin's momentum, it did not feel particularly impressive.

"Does it make sense that the Empire, with its history and its size, is growing at a pace comparable to the Kingdom of Maselin? You need to think carefully about where to place your future."

"You want to abandon your country? Huh?"

"Abandon my country... No, how is this treason? I can go somewhere I can live better, so why should I just sit here?"

“....”

"You fool, don't you have five children? Huh? You said you wanted all five of them to live in comfort and prosperity. Wasn't that your dream?"

“....”

"You're not simply becoming an Imperial citizen. If you do this right, you'll become a professor at the Imperial Academy! Have you ever seen the Empire discard people easily? As long as you don't betray it and remain faithfully loyal, it's a place that will make sure wealth follows! And besides! We aren't guaranteed to pass, either. They're only asking us to take the test, so why are you being so frustratingly thick?"

That was what the scholars were saying at the drinking table.

And there was someone listening to this conversation with great pleasure.

'The day when Maselin's talents cross over is not far away.'

It was none other than the Crown Prince, who had infiltrated the Kingdom of Maselin.

+++++

Infiltrating the Kingdom of Maselin was not particularly difficult.

Dragon magic, the fairies' mysteries, the giants' wisdom, and the merfolk's melody.

On top of that, if I used the concealment tool made by Gilbat, the dwarf Executioner...

'It was impossible to get caught even if I wanted to be.'

With the combined power of the Executioners hiding my aura and changing my appearance,

I could walk around freely inside the Kingdom of Maselin without anyone noticing.

Of course, the moment I revealed my power directly, I would be discovered.

But until then, I could move around here and there, even nearby, with such an insignificant presence that people would wonder whether I had ever been there at all.

'I thought I'd find the dwarves right away, but apparently not.'

My purpose in coming here was, of course, to find the dwarves.

Either to find the dwarves or to discover whatever it was that Gilbat was searching for.

I had entered the Kingdom of Maselin to accomplish one of those two things.

Perhaps they were hidden somewhere, or perhaps even Mirne still could not meddle with them properly because of the pact.

For whatever reason, though, there were no dwarves to be seen on the streets.

'By the way, it feels like a miniature Empire.'

Although this was my first time walking through the streets of the Kingdom of Maselin,

I had wondered why everything felt so familiar, and it seemed that the Kingdom of Maselin was like a smaller version of the Empire.

Perhaps because it had not properly received the support it should have gotten from the Empire, it was more accurate to say that it had only a rough skeleton.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that the Kingdom of Maselin was undergoing dazzling growth.

Since it was receiving a steady stream of support from every country except the Empire,

it was being forced to grow even if it did not want to.

'It's even receiving support from the Eastern Continent, so that says it all.'

If support from the Empire had been added to that, wouldn't it have grown enough to truly threaten the Empire?

Then again, according to the story, the Empire would eventually step down from its position as an empire of its own accord.

Perhaps the Kingdom of Maselin becoming an empire really would have happened in an instant.

With those thoughts in mind, I continued walking through the capital of the Kingdom of Maselin.

If they were hiding something important, it was only natural for them to keep it in the capital.

And the more precious something was, the more likely it was to be inside the palace.

'I don't know how far I should extend my sensing range.'

Having met Gilbat several times, I could already identify the aura characteristic of the dwarf race itself.

Then how far should I investigate?

'I just have to keep going until I confirm it.'

The moment I expanded my senses with that thought,

- You hid this thoroughly.

- So this is how you were making use of the dwarves?

- How horrifying.

- Was this why, despite receiving so much support, there was no sign of serious development?

- This is beyond anything I imagined, Mirne.

- I have to give you credit for your clever scheming.

The Crown Prince's memory surfaced.

And I immediately withdrew my extended senses.

'How many things did you do?'

The reason the Crown Prince's memories were so surprising whenever they surfaced was that my actions always served as triggers.

How many different attempts must he have made over countless regressions to keep helping me like this?

Feeling awe at the Crown Prince's mental fortitude, I immediately flew up into the sky.

I had assumed that, according to conventional fantasy logic, the dwarves would naturally be underground.

As though casually disregarding that common sense,

the moment I flew straight upward and burst through the clouds above the Kingdom of Maselin's royal palace,

"Huh."

A structure that could aptly be called an aerial fortress came into view.

Krrrrk.

The most astonishing part was the perimeter of the aerial fortress.

Was it expanding in real time, or what?

Things resembling mechanical arms continued moving back and forth, expanding the size of the aerial fortress.

And the ones controlling those mechanical arms were, as one would expect...

"Hmm! We should expand it by a reasonable amount today! We're getting close to the target size!"

"Be careful not to expand it too much at once! Otherwise, other countries might notice!"

"Instead of expanding the fortress, focus on making the clouds thicker and darker for now! Otherwise, we'll really be discovered!"

"We need to hurry and make it invisible even when there are no clouds."

They were dwarves.

The moment I heightened my senses, I could make out everything, from their appearances to their conversation.

"So that's why I couldn't see it."

Just as the former Magic Tower had secretly parasitized the Empire through perception-obscuring magic,

the dwarves had been hiding in the clouds and deceiving every nation except Maselin.

It was obvious who had ordered it.

'Mirne, right?'

The reason the Kingdom of Maselin remained so lacking despite receiving constant support was fully explained by a single aerial fortress.

No wonder there had been no dramatic changes even when it was receiving the Empire's support.

They had been building an aerial fortress all this time without anyone knowing.

"...Haha."

Laughter came naturally.

It was not a hollow laugh but the expression of someone who was genuinely happy.

Boundless gratitude toward Mirne surged from within me.

'To give the Empire a gift like this.'

Now that I'd discovered it,

the aerial fortress belonged to the Empire.

I'll eat well.