Secret Plan

Vin's becoming Leo's vassal gave me more breathing room in several ways.

Almost immediately after becoming a strategist, Vin spread a rumor that he had been the one pulling the strings behind this whole incident.

He used that rumor to convey two things: that Leo had gained a strategist, and that his strategist could make up for Leo's weaknesses.

Vin took over managing Leo's reputation, a task I had handled until now.

I had raised Leo's reputation by lowering my own, but Vin didn't need to go to such lengths. He was perfect for the job.

I used the breathing room that created to investigate the Adventurers' Guild.

Though, technically, Sebas was the one doing the investigating.

Through the information we obtained, I learned that someone of interest was in the Imperial Capital, so I teleported to that person's location as Silver.

"Whoa?! Don't just appear out of nowhere... You startled me!"

The man had been elegantly sipping tea, but when I appeared by teleportation, he didn't spill a drop. Instead, he naturally reached for the sword nearby.

But when he realized it was me, he let out an exasperated sigh.

I was the one who wanted to sigh.

"If you don't want me to appear out of nowhere, stop sneaking around behind my back."

"You certainly hear things quickly. I thought we were operating in secret with the Empire."

"The Imperial Capital is my backyard."

When I said that, the man in the room was Clyde Schauer, deputy guildmaster of the Adventurers' Guild headquarters.

He was a distinguished middle-aged man with black hair and blue eyes. A member of the Guild's upper echelons, he was a formidable veteran who had once been an S-rank adventurer.

The mere fact that such an important figure had secretly entered the Imperial Capital was extraordinary enough, and the fact that this information hadn't reached Silver was equally extraordinary.

"Now then... Why don't you tell me about it?"

"You already have a pretty good idea, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to my place."

"Even so, tell me."

At my insistence, Clyde shrugged, drained his tea, and stood up.

He then headed for a corner of the room.

A map of the continent hung there.

"You know the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emperor's accession is approaching, right?"

"Yes. I also know that guests of honor are being invited from foreign countries."

"Then it's simple. If guests are coming from foreign countries, we need to secure safe routes for them."

As he spoke, Clyde traced the Empire's border with the sheathed sword in his hand.

The Empire's borders, in the center of the continent, were extensive.

Of course, the Imperial Army was stationed there and had established a formidable defensive line, but its specialty was fighting people. Monsters were outside its area of expertise.

"Are you planning to hunt the monsters near the Imperial border in cooperation with the Empire?"

"The Adventurers' Guild is a neutral organization. We don't prioritize one nation's event... However, the opportunity to hunt monsters with the Empire's full support is undeniably attractive."

"So that's why you were operating in secret?"

"That was part of it. But it wasn't the only reason. Do you remember the incident in the eastern Empire that you got involved in?"

"Of course. The incident where the vampire brothers went on a rampage."

"Exactly. The problem is the flute called Hamelin that they used. This is top secret, but the Adventurers' Guild headquarters took custody of it."

"I assume you couldn't entrust it to the Empire."

A magic flute that summoned monsters.

The vampire brothers had used it, but they were connected to an imperial prince. No sane person could leave such a dangerous object in the Empire's hands.

It was the right decision.

"While researching Hamelin in historical records, we discovered something... Hamelin doesn't merely summon monsters. It also has the effect of activating them."

"Activating them?"

"It can awaken dormant monsters. And dormant monsters are sensitive to changes in their surroundings. The awakening of powerful dormant monsters around the eastern region has caused dormant monsters throughout the Empire's vicinity to begin entering their active periods one after another."

"I wasn't given any information about that."

Monsters aren't efficient creatures.

With dragons as the prime example, quite a few monsters enter dormancy to maintain their enormous bodies. And such monsters are generally powerful.

Despite those dormant monsters beginning to stir, it was strange that no information had reached me, the Empire's sole SS-rank adventurer.

"We're deliberately keeping it from the Empire's adventurers."

"...And why?"

"Don't use such a scary tone. Many people dislike seeing SS-rank adventurers do all the work. The quality of the Empire's adventurers isn't particularly high. If a high-rank monster appears, you would almost certainly be the one to act. They want to avoid that."

"Factional infighting at the Adventurers' Guild headquarters... How ridiculous."

"Don't say that. An organization naturally wants to avoid having one person stand out too much. If you defeated everything here, we might have to create an SSS-rank adventurer rank just for Silver."

"I have no interest in that."

"I know. I explained that as well. But more and more people in the Guild's upper echelons have grown wary of Silver becoming too powerful to manage. SS-rank adventurers are troublemakers almost without exception, after all. I can understand why they'd be worried if even someone as relatively docile as you became difficult to handle."

Clyde laughed as though he found that amusing.

I wasn't laughing at all.

Being lumped in with the troublemakers because of the others offended me, and it irritated me that they assumed I'd become conceited if I racked up achievements.

Most of all.

"Adventurers exist to protect the people. Shouldn't the Guild's proper role be to use me to resolve matters quickly?"

"Quite right. It makes me wince to hear you say it. Still, it's not as though we haven't taken measures. Instead of relying on you, we've had multiple S-rank adventurers, along with the parties they belong to, enter the Empire. The Guild's upper echelons are hoping a new SS-rank adventurer will emerge."

"If they can defeat the monsters, that's fine, but do you think they can?"

"It'll be difficult. That's why we're borrowing the Empire's power. Fortunately, the Empire has the Heroic House."

"You mean you're going to use that female Hero? Her abilities shouldn't be a problem, but are there really monsters strong enough to make her take the field?"

"There is definitely one. Its activity is currently being restricted by a certain method, but the person who applied it says it won't last much longer."

Clyde walked back to his chair and began brewing a fresh pot of tea.

His attitude made it seem as though our conversation was over.

"Can't you include me?"

"If I could, I would. You won't be receiving a request. The Empire and the Adventurers' Guild are cooperating under that condition."

"I see... Then I have one last question. Who is capable of restricting a monster strong enough to require a Sacred Sword-wielding Hero?"

A monster strong enough to require Erna would simply be S-rank or higher.

Restricting its movements would be extremely difficult. Even if I sealed it with a barrier, it would take a tremendous amount of effort, and the barrier might last a day at most.

Clyde pondered my question for a while.

He must have been debating whether to tell me.

"If you won't tell me, I'll investigate on my own."

"All right, all right. Stop acting on your own. If you do, I'm the one who gets scolded."

After saying that, Clyde took a sip of tea and let out a deep sigh.

Then he uttered the name of an unexpected country.

"The peninsula nation in the Far East. A small country protected by a barrier, the Black Country that even the Holy Kingdom cannot touch—the peaceful Mizuho Celestial State where humans and beastmen live. Have you heard of it?"

"Of course. Many people in this country would know of it."

"That's only natural. The Sixth Consort is from there. Then you know that the country has something like the Empire's Heroic House, right?"

"Ah... The origin of the name Mizuho Celestial State. The Guardian Celestial House, which creates and maintains the powerful barrier protecting the country. Men are rarely born into that lineage, and those born into it are almost always princesses. Thus, women alone inherit the house. That is why they are revered as Celestial Princesses."

"That's right. The Empire and the Adventurers' Guild jointly requested assistance from one of those Celestial Princesses. From Mizuho's perspective, if the Empire fell into chaos, the Holy Kingdom might launch an all-out attempt to seize its territory. She readily agreed to help."

"So the Empire has both a Hero and a Celestial Princess?"

"That's right."

Clyde said it as though it were nothing, but to anyone from the Empire, it was a massive headache.

The Hero and a Celestial Princess would inevitably be compared.

The strongest spear and the strongest shield.

The people would have a field day discussing that extravagant contradiction.

The problem was that, at present, someone sensitive to such comparisons and fiercely competitive happened to be wielding the Sacred Sword.

I only hoped she wouldn't cause any trouble...

With that thought in mind, I left.