Chapter 58
The hour when darkness concealed everything.
Having found temporary lodgings outside the World Tree, Laisen glared fiercely at his surviving subordinate.
The elf, whose face was more than half wrapped in bandages, flinched so violently that one of the elf's ears visibly trembled.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. At first I was flustered and unsure, but thinking about it now, it was definitely Lord Siran.”
Although his master's aura weighed on him, the subordinate answered without hesitation.
That was only natural, since the subordinate had not told a single lie from the moment his master arrived here.
“From his distinctive hair color with its reddish tinge to the spear techniques he displayed, it was Lord Siran.”
At the appearance of an unforeseen obstacle, Laisen clenched his fist.
‘Hadn't Siran gone far away?’
Even after Elrod and Laisen had searched for him, they had been able to relax because they could not find even Siran's shadow.
But he had never expected Siran to appear like this and stab him in the back.
“So what happened afterward? Did Siran perhaps—
Because Siran's appearance had been impossible to predict, Laisen had to hurry and take the next steps.
If it had been discovered that the attackers who ambushed Elrod's messengers were his subordinates, he had to move up the timetable immediately to avoid trouble.
The moment Siran contacted Elrod or the Empire with the survivor, the lavish spread Laisen had carefully prepared in alliance with the Kingdom of Madak would be overturned in an instant.
As if he understood Laisen's muddled words, the surviving elf shook his head.
“That is impossible. Every one of my comrades except me committed suicide.”
“…Suicide?”
“He... he did attack us, but,”
“Enough.”
Laisen cut the elf off.
It was obvious what came next.
That damn sense of kinship must have bound Siran.
“Then are you saying you're the only one who knows about the incident? How can you be sure of that?”
The elf, who had answered without hesitation until then, hesitated for the first time.
Then another subordinate guarding the outpost approached and whispered to Laisen.
“According to his statement, this elf was the first to flee. He says Siran struck him hard on the head in an unexpected attack, leaving him collapsed there, and he secretly hid himself among the bushes.”
If so, after regaining consciousness, the elf must have concealed his presence in the bushes and watched the entire situation.
“The last one, you mean….
With a grim smile, Laisen nodded, then drew his subordinate's sword.
And without the slightest hesitation, he brought it down toward the neck of the subordinate lying on the bed.
Only traces of the Empire or the missing person's belongings could remain at the scene of the ambush.
He could never allow himself to leave the subordinate alive and give anyone a handle to use against him.
With a dull sound, the frightened elf's head rolled across the floor, and Laisen's pulse began to race wildly.
Then came a pain that felt as though his heart were being wrung—the price of killing a fellow elf.
Yet Laisen endured the pain in silence, clutching his left chest without uttering even a groan.
Before long, a dark-red magic circle and a blue magic circle appeared one after another at the nape of his neck.
“I can breathe a little easier now.”
Laisen sensed the fallen elf's energy flowing into his own body as the pain subsided.
The magic circle he had obtained through a deal with the Kingdom of Madak was the greatest gift for elves ensnared by their sense of kinship.
***
Blanc had not seen Vieta for more than three days.
According to Fulcare, Vieta had been locked in a confrontation with the goddess day and night ever since.
At this point, even Blanc, who had tactfully stayed out of the way, could not help asking.
What had made Vieta so angry?
Fulcare replied that he did not know either, since he had been thrown out as well.
On the day they discovered that the energy constricting Blanc's heart had come from a corrupted elf, Vieta had summoned the goddess, Laurent, and Theodore.
Unfortunately, Blanc had been unable to join them.
Because the matter concerned Vieta's safety, he had no choice but to leave the subspace, swallowing his disappointment.
Blanc had been barely suppressing his curiosity, thinking he could wait a little and ask Fulcare—but even Fulcare had been thrown out.
“I don't know for certain, but shall I tell you what little I do know?”
As if noticing Blanc's frustration,
in a separate office prepared for the occasion, Fulcare casually spoke up while holding a parchment inscribed with the words [Magic Agreement].
Blanc looked at Fulcare while drinking wine.
It was a sign of agreement.
“It seems there is a twin dagger matching the one Vieta carries.”
“…A twin dagger? Couldn't there be a pair like that?”
On the continent, it was not difficult to find swords made as matching pairs.
Having swords custom-made as keepsakes for masters and disciples or close friends was something of a trend, after all.
“That is true.”
Fulcare set down the documents he had been holding and lifted a silver goblet to wet his lips with bitter wine.
Fulcare seemed to think he ought to tell Blanc, yet something appeared to be bothering him.
Blanc calmly waited for Fulcare to organize his thoughts.
There was no need for him to press; the Empire's archmage, who was softhearted when it came to people he cared about, would surely tell him whatever he could.
“Well, you may as well hear this much. It concerns you as well, after all.”
And Blanc's guess proved correct.
“Actually, the dagger Vieta carries is a sacred relic. In other words, it was made by the goddess. But according to Vieta, its twin appeared in the Demon Realm.”
The goddess's sacred relic in the Demon Realm?
It was impossible.
“And for some reason, she seems to think that twin dagger is the one that stabbed you.”
“…Huh?”
Fulcare snickered as he watched Blanc make a dumbfounded expression.
“I completely understand that look. I still don't know why Vieta thinks that either. But listen—assuming Vieta is right, when you put together everything we've learned so far, something about it is strange.”
“….”
“The goddess's twin dagger that appeared in the Demon Realm absorbed the energy of a corrupted elf, then was used as a weapon to attack you. At least three coincidences have piled up here. Do you really think that's possible? If someone didn't intend it, isn't this something that could never happen?"
“…Surely that can't be the case?”
At the sudden change in the weight of the conversation, Blanc swallowed hard.
“So I thought about it a little more. According to the first verse of the scripture, when the goddess appeared in this world, she appeared carrying a book of prophecy. If so, what about the Demon King? What did she appear carrying? Or did she come empty-handed? I don't know much about gods, but I think it was the former. Otherwise, wouldn't that be too unfair?”
As those curiosity-filled blue eyes gazed at him, Blanc could say nothing.
“Well, it's purely my own theory, so let's wait calmly for now. And whatever happens, I won't let you die, so don't worry.”
Fulcare approached Blanc and refilled his empty glass.
“More importantly, shouldn't you be worrying about the demonic energy inside you first?”
“Ah, right.”
Blanc's face went blank.
He had been so preoccupied with Vieta that he had forgotten.
Besides, he had carried that energy for nearly ten years, so he had not considered it particularly significant.
What an idiot.
Fulcare snickered again.
***
The next day.
Blanc's temporary office in Arba was bustling from early morning.
The attendees were Blanc and Fulcare, Elrod and Iris, and Laurent and Allos.
They had all gathered after Elrod summoned them over an urgent matter.
“I apologize for summoning the Empire's prince so early in the morning.”
“Not at all, Elrod. More importantly, please get to the point.”
Elrod, seated at the head of the round table, nodded.
It was before the maid had brought tea, but there was no time to wait.
“According to information received recently, Laisen's followers are about to make a move.”
At Elrod's grief-stricken voice, everyone's faces hardened like stone.
“And their target is none other than me—Elrod, is it not?”
Though she tried to appear calm, Elrod's eyelashes trembled.
“That makes no sense! Elves have a sense of kinship, do they not?”
Allos raised his voice.
“Doesn't everyone here know the agony suffered by an elf who kills a fellow elf? The very idea that they would launch a rebellion while enduring pain so severe they can barely breathe is absurd.”
“Perhaps a third party is behind this.”
At Laurent's words, Allos gave him an incredulous look.
“They don't necessarily have to start the rebellion with their own hands, do they? Besides, it is true that the number of people from the Kingdom of Madak appearing around the World Tree has increased sharply recently.”
Blanc recalled the parchment Laurent had shown him on the day they entered the World Tree.
The M written there indicated the days on which mages from the Kingdom of Madak had appeared near the World Tree.
When Fulcare asked how Laurent knew they were from the Kingdom of Madak, Laurent had given the somewhat far-fetched answer that they had the distinctive appearance of southerners.
Even so, Laurent's opinion could not be dismissed out of hand, since suspicious mages whose allegiance was unknown had indeed appeared near the World Tree.
“Laurent, be careful, since we cannot be certain they are from the Kingdom of Madak. In any case, Elrod, is that information reliable?”
At Blanc's words, Iris rummaged inside her clothes, pulled out a parchment on Elrod's behalf, and unfurled it in the air.
Only a single sentence was written on the parchment.
[Laisen's attack scheduled for midnight tonight.]
The two spear-shaped emblems stamped at the bottom were instantly recognized by Fulcare.
“It is Siran's emblem.”
This confirmed the information's credibility.
“Even so, is there not still insufficient motive for Laisen to mobilize his followers?”
“I had been thinking the same thing, as the prince says.”
No sooner had Elrod finished speaking than Iris sent another parchment floating into the air.
[Report on the Messenger Ambush Incident]
[…An examination of the traces of magic power remaining on the wagon found that a framework primarily used by the Empire had been used…]
The report identified the Empire as being behind the messenger ambush.
“The Empire most certainly did not attack the World Tree's messengers.”
Fulcare's voice, as head of the Empire's Ministry of Magic, grew stern.
“I think so as well. But you know better than anyone, Chief, that we cannot simply let this matter go.”
“…It is not easy to change a magic framework once it has been learned.”
Elrod let out a deep sigh at Fulcare's answer.
“Has this report been made public throughout the World Tree?”
“Not yet, Prince. But it will be announced publicly soon. Before then, Laisen sent me a warning letter. He told me to step down of my own accord."
A leader who had voluntarily abdicated her position.
At the thought of such humiliation, Elrod could not even lift her head.
"Otherwise, Laisen will mobilize his followers at midnight tonight.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than an enormous roar erupted outside.