“……Masal? Assassinate Deculein?”
Ganesha asked back. Lia leaned into her chair. Gawain nodded calmly.
“Yes.”
At that moment, the mana lamp in the guest room went out. With a thunk, as if there had been a blackout, the room fell dark. Lia hurriedly lit a flame.
Why the hell did that happen all of a sudden? Creepy.
Lia swallowed hard and asked again.
“You’re saying His Majesty the Emperor ordered it personally?”
“That is correct.”
Gawain pointed to the letter. Lia looked at it again.
[I hereby confirm the establishment of the new imperial direct unit, ‘Masal (魔殺).’]
A brief sentence and a broad seal.
The sentence was written in the Emperor’s own hand, and the seal was the imperial jade seal.
“…….”
In Lia’s mind, a certain thought suddenly began to bloom like a thread. Thoughts about something Deculein had once said.
“His Majesty is aware.”
Gawain said. Lia flinched and looked up at him.
“That the existence of the Altar has become official, and that they are now trying to exert influence even over the Grand Council. And that Deculein is their ringleader.”
Ringleader.
If Sophien, who had loved Deculein so much, that very Sophien who had sought advice from her in a manner unbecoming of an emperor, was trying to kill Deculein.
……Then was this truly Sophien’s wish?
“His Majesty told me so in person.”
Gawain said as much, but for some reason, Lia found herself confused.
Of course, Sophien might be disappointed by Deculein’s actions.
She might be disappointed enough to kill him.
But…….
“But why come to us, of all people~?”
Ganesha asked. Gawain answered at once.
“I did not come to you of my own accord. His Majesty personally selected the Red Garnet Adventure Team.”
The Emperor had personally selected them.
Lia quickly asked back.
“Are we the only ones, then?”
“No.”
Gawain shook his head. Then he took another letter from his breast and held it out.
“It is still secret, but there are two others. More importantly, His Majesty is asking you, Lia, to do the selecting.”
“……?”
“As an adventurer who has traveled across the entire nation, you must know many trustworthy people. And you must have met many who despise Deculein.”
“…….”
People who despised Deculein.
He was right.
On this continent, especially in the desert, there were countless people who hated Deculein. For some reason, Deculein’s evil deeds always spread easily and quickly.
“Would the Red Ghosts be all right?”
Ganesha asked. Lia started and looked up at her.
“C-Captain!”
Even so, the Red Ghosts would still be difficult for the people of the Empire to accept.
Lia grabbed Ganesha’s arm, but Gawain answered first.
“That does not matter.”
He was saying even the Red Ghosts did not matter. His tone was calm, as though he was not surprised at all—no, as though he had been waiting for the words “Red Ghosts.”
Lia’s eyes widened, and Gawain continued composedly.
“There is a famous saying even on the battlefield. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Watching Gawain recite those words, Lia gently bit her lip.
“Furthermore, we already know which enemy is more dangerous and more evil. Compared to that enemy, the Red Ghosts would be rather charming friends.”
Clack—
Gawain placed some sort of precious sword on the table.
It was an item bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor, embroidered with all manner of gems.
“So, please gather people. Together with His Majesty the Emperor, we will condemn a great evil and save the continent…….”
—Adjourn the Grand Council.
At that moment, the Emperor’s voice sank majestically through the air. It was the signal announcing the end of the Grand Council, which had yet to reach a proper conclusion.
Gawain rose.
“For now, please follow me in secret. We will now go to meet Deculein.”
* * *
Immediately after His Majesty the Emperor personally adjourned the council.
As if by prior agreement, the key figures of the Grand Council began gathering by the lake in the garden. This lake was the perfect place for an off-the-record meeting.
The first faction to arrive was the pro-imperial faction, including Romellock and Gawain.
“……There he comes.”
The faction that followed, strolling at a leisurely pace, was Deculein.
He was accompanied only by a single knight in armor.
“He has few people with him.”
Romellock received Gawain’s words with a face flushed with rage.
“Because he trusts no one but himself!”
Deculein approached with steady steps, left the knight three paces behind him, and looked at Romellock. But his expression was terribly offensive.
It went beyond mockery; his eyes were full of pity. As if he were looking at a starving puppy on the roadside.
“Y-You…….”
Romellock clutched the back of his neck. Deculein chuckled and shook his head.
“At that rate, you will depart this world, Romellock.”
“Shut your mouth, Deculein!”
The old retainer pointed at Deculein and cried out.
“Today, you showed the face of a traitor! In all of history, never has a subject walked upon the Emperor’s path!”
The Emperor’s path. The red silk road crossing the center of the Grand Hall.
That symbol, which historically and traditionally only the Emperor could tread upon, Deculein had trampled underfoot.
“It was a mistake.”
He shrugged. At that utterly shameless sight, Romellock nearly burst with fury.
“You wretch——! At last, you reveal your true colors! I knew it from the moment you pretended to be a loyal subject! You feigned concern for His Majesty while increasing your own power, and now you are watching like a wild dog for the moment the Empire trembles!”
Spittle flew from his wide-open mouth.
Deculein frowned and straightened the hem of his clothes.
“And after all that, can you call yourself a noble who has received the Empire’s grace? Do you truly think you could take His Majesty’s place—”
“The Emperor was the first to suspect me.”
The voice that had been rising high enough to touch the sky was cut off by that single sentence.
Deculein’s expression sharpened and hardened. At the atmosphere, suddenly fierce as a wolf’s, Romellock unknowingly stepped back, and Gawain too instinctively warmed up his mana.
“Romellock. The Emperor has an illness. It is called envy and jealousy, suspicion and distrust.”
“……Y-You bastard!”
“Do you think not? Then I ask you. Who has had the Intelligence Bureau watch me all this time? Who trespassed into Hadecaine and tried to assassinate me?”
“…….”
Romellock was struck speechless. He swallowed hard and forced his mouth open.
“T-That is because you kept doing things that would draw suspicion—”
“I am merely responding, Romellock.”
Step.
Deculein took one step forward, and Romellock and his subordinates retreated two steps.
“In order to survive…… no.”
The moment he paused, his eyes curved like those of a bird of prey. Anger and contempt burned in his retinas like embers.
“In order not to be killed by the Emperor.”
“…….”
Romellock fell silent. Gawain gritted his teeth soundlessly.
“So, from now on, do be careful.”
Deculein changed his tone in an instant. Something like a smile rose to his lips, and his voice settled warmly.
“For my life and death are infinitely more valuable than all of yours put together.”
At that narcissism, Romellock unwittingly opened his mouth.
* * *
……Late at night, on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
Did a place like this even exist in the Imperial Capital?
In a secluded corner that made one think as much, the Red Garnet Adventure Team and Gawain stood before a small building standing alone.
“This is Masal’s official residence.”
At Gawain’s words, Lia turned to look at him.
Is he screwing with us?
No, that’s not it.
“This is?”
“Yes. The size of the residence itself is not important. What matters are the facilities and the security.”
“…….”
Lia nodded blankly.
“Also, as you heard today at the imperial palace, Deculein is now beyond our control.”
As he spoke, Gawain opened the door to the residence. Fortunately, the inside was clean.
“There is an office and a conference room. Through the radio, you can eavesdrop on all transmissions.”
Gawain introduced each place one by one.
Lia half-listened, thinking instead of the scene she had just witnessed in the imperial garden.
—For my life and death are infinitely more valuable than all of yours put together.
What Deculein had said.
A mad narcissism that sent chills up her spine.
But if she thought about it carefully, it might be true.
The life and death of a villain named Deculein might be able to mend all the wounds of the continent.
“And this place.”
While she thought that, they arrived at the top floor.
The top floor was only the third floor, but in any case, on that top floor, Gawain straightened his clothes.
“His Majesty is waiting.”
“……In this shabby place?”
Lia asked back. Gawain smiled bitterly.
“Of course, His Majesty is in the imperial palace. However, he is communicating with us remotely through magic.”
“Ah.”
“Are you ready? Once this door opens, there will be no turning back. We will have to kill Deculein together.”
“…….”
Lia silently nodded. Then Gawain opened the door.
Creeeak—
Beyond the opening door, the first thing visible was a wooden table. On top of it sat a red cat, loafed like a slice of bread. Judging from its very short legs, the breed was a Munchkin.
—You have come.
Emperor Sophien.
She yawned as she looked at Gawain and Lia. Then, with her tail, she indicated the seats in front of her.
—Sit.
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
Gawain and Lia sat there. The red-furred Munchkin meowed as she spoke.
—Is this all the personnel? You two?
Gawain looked back at Lia. It meant she should answer.
“No, Your Majesty. Captain Ganesha and her subordinates have also promised to participate.”
Gawain, Leo, Carlos, Rayleigh, Dozmu, and the others. The Red Garnet Adventure Team had all agreed to participate.
They had even already written their blood oaths.
—Hm. And?
“And…….”
Lia hesitated for a moment, but soon spoke with a deep breath.
“The tribe of the Red Ghosts. I have sent them a letter requesting cooperation.”
—…….
The red-furred Munchkin said nothing. With those bewitching red eyes, she stared at her for a long while.
Then she asked back.
—The tribe of the Red Ghosts.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
—……
The silence was quite tense, but perhaps Sophien too accepted it with the logic that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” for she did not press the matter sensitively.
—Who else?
“Also, it would be convenient if we had an inside spy.”
Lia continued calmly.
—There is already an inside spy.
“……Pardon?”
There was already an inside spy.
Gawain must not have heard of this either, for he too looked surprised.
—Yes. I have already prepared an inside spy. One who can be trusted.
In other words, an insider within House Yukline who would help them kill Deculein.
“That is…….”
—Yeriel.
Yeriel.
The Emperor spoke the name Yeriel.
In that instant, Lia and Gawain’s faces stiffened.
The second daughter of Yukline, and Deculein’s younger sister.
“Your Majesty. However, Yeriel is Deculein’s—”
Gawain was the first to dissuade her, but the red-furred Munchkin snorted and struck Gawain’s philtrum with her tail.
—Their relationship is the worst.
“That too could be part of a ploy.”
“No.”
Lia shook her head.
“Yeriel and Deculein. Their relationship really is the worst.”
As she said that, she clenched her fist.
Somehow, in the midst of this process, she felt as if a light had come on in her head.
She felt as though she understood why Deculein had personally told her to “pursue him.”
“……Miss Yeriel will help us.”
Lia said, looking at Gawain.
“She will become the new head of Yukline.”
“…….”
Gawain looked back and forth between Lia and the red-furred Munchkin.
The red-furred Munchkin nodded.
—That is correct. Yeriel has already reported to us Deculein’s schedule, and the fact that he travels in and out of the Land of Annihilation.
Listening to the red-furred Munchkin, Lia thought.
The assassination of Deculein, carried out in cooperation with not only the Red Ghosts, but Yeriel as well.
If Deculein became a great evil, and “Masal” succeeded in killing Deculein.
—All you need do is target that schedule and assassinate, attack Deculein.
Then, they would be given justification.
A beautiful justification that would allow the Emperor to pardon the Red Ghosts, and allow Yeriel to safely inherit the position of head of Yukline…….