Along with the Gauss Territory's declaration of independence, the news that it had been attacked by the Ecliptic Twelve Palaces soon spread throughout the entire Magic Federation.
"I'll just say we successfully repelled the Ecliptic Twelve Palaces, who infiltrated under the guise of a delegation and ambushed us. It's not a lie, either."
My minor embellishment didn't cause much confusion. If anything, it only served to heighten morale. A few easily excitable people even shouted that they should march into the Gauss Territory right now and make an example of them.
However, the magicians, who were the core of the Magic Federation, were rational. Positively speaking, they were knowledgeable; negatively speaking, they were overly cautious.
"Fighting the Empire is the worst possible choice."
The Empire.
The vanguard of civilization, the apex of the continent.
Power, influence, wealth, military might. A superpower unparalleled by any other nation in the world.
They had nearly dropped a 'meteor' on such a nation. It was only natural for the Empire to be enraged, and the current Magic Federation did not have the capacity to withstand that fury.
"If the Demon King were still active, it might not matter. After all, there is a record of Him holding off the Empire alone. But with the Demon King now in seclusion, we must take a different stance."
They argued for simply letting the Gauss Territory go and accepting the Empire's proposal. It was a rational and pragmatic choice. By bending their pride just a little, the Magic Federation could enjoy peace and tranquility.
"Fools."
However, the Blue Tower Master lightly dismissed the Senate's proposal.
"We must submit because the Empire is strong? By that logic, every nation on the continent should abandon the Federation right now and become a vassal state. Your logic is too shallow."
"What..."
"The Empire does not expand its territory recklessly. Even during the Great Empire era, the most powerful unified empire in history collapsed because its administrative capacity couldn't handle the size of its land. The range the Empire's administration can control is limited to its current territory."
Looking down at the elders as if asking how they could be ignorant of such obvious history, the Blue Tower Master spoke arrogantly.
"That's why the Empire established a buffer zone called vassal states. No matter what happens to the vassal states, it's not the Empire's problem, so they could preserve the integrity of the concept of 'Empire.' However, vassal states are both a buffer zone and the Empire's limit. They won't directly dispatch troops beyond them. Even the vassal states would refuse the Empire's military crossing their borders."
Vassal states are a hard shell that protects the Empire. But a creature with a shell eventually encounters the innate limits it has created. To grow any further, it must shed its old shell and create a new one.
"The Empire pressing us indirectly like this is all they can do. Now. This is my first time giving a history lesson instead of a magic one. How was it? Was it helpful?"
They say position makes the person. Having taken on the role of the Demon King, the Blue Tower Master had regained the necessary amount of arrogance. The elders, who had secretly looked down on the Blue Tower Master, were slightly cowed.
"Besides, with an even greater enemy lurking in the south right now, there's nothing the Empire can do. I guarantee it."
"You don't need to march an army in to deal a blow!"
"If the Patron Merchant Group doesn't come, we can't even export!"
"What about the Gauss Territory? If they leave, the Magic Federation's iron production will drop by more than 40%. How will you handle that massive loss?"
The Empire could starve a nation to death without even invading. The Magic Federation had some resistance, but the damage was inevitable. After all, hadn't they already lost the Gauss Territory?
The elders demanded to know how she would take responsibility for that painful loss. The Blue Tower Master fell silent in thought before speaking.
"What were the coordinates of the Gauss Territory? Does anyone know the territory coordinates?"
"Gauss Territory? It should have been 2 comma 4."
"Wrong. It's 2 comma 6. It's an important territory, so you should at least remember the coordinates."
The territories of the Magic Federation each have designated coordinates to prevent their rules from overlapping. It's a simple and convenience-based arrangement, but that makes it easy to understand and use. Especially for the Magic Federation, which operates its floating fortresses along the trajectory of the Heavenly Autumn, it was even more necessary.
"From here to 2 comma 6. Second orbit. Gravity field control..."
Having silently finished her calculations, the Blue Tower Master tossed an apple she had been fidgeting with.
UlFRblVJeEt0R01oWGZFZXFXMGFSd0Y2UUpveGhINVBiT3dNeElCTUt2UjRSNDlCUzA0eElwdmxqK3lja042Sg
Then, a meteor far in the distance shot up with a flash.
There was no time to even scream. Without leaving a moment to be surprised, the meteor boarded the trajectory of the Heavenly Autumn. Soaring from afar, the meteor drew a parabolic arc far too large to fathom from the ground and flew away.
A meteor falling is awe-inspiring and terrifying, but it is a possible event. Falling by the law of universal gravity is natural in itself.
However, a meteor rising on its own and flying in a parabolic arc is an impossible event. There was no trebuchet, and even if there were, it couldn't launch such a massive meteor.
At least it's not falling. One of the elders, calming his startled heart as he watched the meteor, muttered while looking at the location.
"2 comma 6?"
The location where the meteor fell was exactly where the Gauss Territory was. It seemed as though a massive collision sound could be heard from far away.
Her ability to manipulate the Demon God had reached the realm of mastery. The Blue Tower Master was already outstanding to begin with. On top of that, she was now solely controlling the power of gravity that had once ruled the floating fortress.
The Blue Tower Master stood composedly, holding the apple, and looked at them.
"Anyone have any questions?"
The second coming of the Demon King. The elders saw that shadow in the Blue Tower Master.
***
-That's what I'd say, but. As if the Blue Tower Master would just throw a meteor. She's the one who crashed the floating fortress because she didn't want to drop a meteor on this land. It's an action she would absolutely never take even if threatened with a sword.
There was only one reason she did it.
"Good work."
"It was easy. What about the Lord of Gauss?"
"I sent a message, so they must have already evacuated the people."
She didn't just launch a meteor. She manipulated the gravity field so the meteor would move along a specific orbit. Even when it fell, the impact wouldn't have been severe.
"This isn't an attack, but a loud meteor gift, but people won't know that. The Lord of Gauss said he would take a submissive stance toward us. I got his firm confirmation that he'll supply the Federation with refined iron until this batch, and it'll probably continue next time too."
"They change their mind easily."
"I gave them an easy opportunity to change it. Anyway, we repelled the Ecliptic Twelve Palaces, and the Lord of Gauss's life was in our hands. When an opportunity is given, you have to seize it."
He must have been scared in reality too, right? The Ecliptic Twelve Palaces couldn't protect him, and a meteor fell right in his inner chambers. He'll have a lot to think about from now on.
But for the Blue Tower Master, it's just one of her minor concerns, and since it's already resolved, there's no need to pay it any more attention.
"What about the elders?"
"Three of the elders are already backed by the Empire, and seven sell products made in the workshops they run. Their biggest buyer is the Empire. They'll be afraid of Imperial retaliation."
"I suppose we can't call them traitors... The only place to buy demon tools made by hand at specific academies, which are expensive and have limited applications, is the Empire."
The Empire is a black hole of consumption. It greedily devours goods produced and manufactured from all directions. Whether luxury goods, artworks, or human-made products, it endlessly absorbs them.
The massive flow of the continental economy built on consumption. Those who can't ride this flow are bound to be weeded out. The Magic Federation was no exception.
"There's too much entanglement. Honestly, if it weren't for me, you, or the 'King of Sin,' I would have granted all of the Empire's demands. It's true that the Empire is powerful, but even the Magic Federation is too closely tied to the Empire. So much that it's hard to go against it."
"Because that's the order the Empire created."
"...Yeah. So rather, it's a question. How does the King of Sin plan to destroy the world?"
Well. I don't know that either.
According to Shay's explanation, a war would break out first at that time. The vassal states trying to break out of their shell and the Empire trying to shed its shell would wage war, the Earthly Immortals who obtained the Earthly Seal and the vampires liberated from the Bottomless Abyss would attack the Holy Court, and the massacred beastmen would launch raids—the continent would reek of blood, she said.
But that hasn't happened now. Neither the Earthly Immortals, Tir, nor the beastmen have the power or hatred to cause such things.
Even the vassal states have changed somehow due to 'Sister's' intervention.
"There's still no sign of the great war Shay mentioned. But if there's a variable, it's 'Sister,' and I won't know until I see 'Sister's' country directly. Blue Tower Master, do you have any information?"
"None."
The Blue Tower Master said flatly.
"It feels like a massive blind spot has appeared on the map. Information only flows in and never comes out. Something is swallowing people and information."
"Swallowing? What does that mean?"
"I don't know either. I'm receiving observation results through the crystal telescope, but we've never detected the human king. Their hierarchy is unclear, and we can't even know who their close aides are."
Something seems to be happening. But I can't figure out what it is. If only I could read their mind once with telepathy, I'd know. The problem is 'Sister.' 'Sister' can't use the same telepathy as me, but she would notice if I read her mind.
Ugh. What do I do. I'd like to live without getting involved if possible. The problem is that they might approach me.
I need to find a way. While I was dividing up my plans like that. Today's schedule should have been over, but someone not on the itinerary appeared.
It was the Red Tower Master, Hwaran Fahrenheit. Confirming her appearance, the Blue Tower Master asked.
"Hughes. Did Hwaran say she was coming?"
"Please don't leave schedule management to me too. I'm not a secretary. And I haven't received any prior notice from the Red Tower Master. She must be researching the Eternal Flame right now."
The Red Tower Master had obtained the Demon God to create the Eternal Flame. She managed to extract the Demon God from the Demon King, but its master became the Blue Tower Master, so she only achieved half a success.
The Blue Tower Master looked at the Red Tower Master and asked.
"You want me to participate in the Eternal Flame research? Hwaran, but we can't just recklessly invest the Demon God there. We need it for the restoration of the floating fortress and supplying resources. I told you, didn't I? Design a magic circle based on the Demon God and come. I'll demonstrate it for you as much as you want."
"The Eternal Flame is not a flame."
"Huh?"
However, Hwaran made no request. She was always confident and passionate like a flame, but today she seemed like she had burned everything away, leaving only ashes. In a dark atmosphere, Hwaran burned the last remaining embers.
"My unique demon path is Forced Combustion. The power to burn any substance. But the flame is just a byproduct; it differs from its essence. What's important is the release of energy... The ignition source is of no use anywhere. It's just slightly useful."
"You can stop the lesson there. Hwaran, could you get to the point?"
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the Blue Tower Master raised her guard slightly. Even after burning everything down, the Red Tower Master demanded with eyes that were still fiercely hot.
"Elisha. Hand the Demon God over to me."