Chapter 3 – The Power of Gold -Blacksmith-
The candle flame flickered, casting dim, hazy shadows across the room. It was a simple space, furnished with only a wooden table and chairs. A map of the Imperial Capital was spread across the table.
“…The time is ripe.”
Two figures leaned over the map. Kei, her profile lit by the flame, gave a fearless smirk.
“Now, shall we begin the strategy meeting—”
“It’s just dark,” Arl cut in, “and I can’t see the map.”
He gave her a deadpan look, walked over to the window, and threw open the curtains. Bright, midday sunlight flooded the room.
“Gyaah!” Kei groaned, blinded. “What are you doing, Senpai! I was setting the mood!”
“It’s weirder to light a candle with the curtains drawn in the middle of the day,” Arl said, exasperated.
“But it’s cool! Like a secret meeting!” Kei pouted. “We’re in a safe house! This is a place Her Highness would use if she was in danger! It’s about the aesthetic! Setting the right atmosphere is just good manners!”
“What world are those manners from? …Were you followed?”
“Of course not. I didn’t even let them step on my shadow. What about you? I bet those troublesome fanatics were tailing you all day again, weren’t they?”
“That’s a terrible way to put it…” Arl muttered, though he couldn’t really deny it. They had to meet in a safe house for this very reason—it was the only place they could talk in peace.
Kei began to narrate his life in a sing-song voice. “A visit to the Knights, a visit to the Guild, a visit to the Academy, all while making sure they don’t realize you’re the Master of all three. But the troublesome fanatics use every trick in the book to keep you, their ‘Master,’ from leaving… It’s so much work!”
She continued, “And now that they know their ‘Master’ is a former Imperial Knight, they’re obsessed with restoring your honor. You’re exhausted from all their ‘heavy love,’ and the only time you can relax is right here, with me. In other words, I am your oasis! Your palate cleanser!”
“…’Palate cleanser’?”
“Even I get a little hurt when you look at me like that.”
Arl tilted his head. The word didn’t seem to fit his junior at all.
Ahem. Kei cleared her throat, looking awkward. “Anyway… what I meant is, living a triple life must be hard.”
“…Not really.”
It had been several days since Arl had resolved to be a ‘worthy master.’ He was receiving a passionate, if overwhelming, welcome from all three organizations, but he wasn’t exhausted as Kei claimed.
“They’re doing all of this for me. I’m still not used to it, though.”
That ‘heavy love’ Kei mentioned… right now, Arl found that weight… comforting. He smiled gently.
“I just… want to be the kind of master they deserve.”
“—S-Senpai’s been poisoned!?”
Kei grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently.
“Get a grip, Senpai! They follow you around like baby chicks! They’re trying to hand you the entire capital! It is heavy! We are way past the ‘Oh, how sweet’ phase!”
“R-Really? I… I just feel like I should live up to it.”
“Ah, I forgot… he’s the ‘service’ type, too…!”
As a former Imperial Knight, Arl’s sense of devotion to a master (the state) was a little skewed. Kei put a hand to her forehead.
“Two obsessive people, finding common ground… Senpai, please, don’t forget Her Highness’s orders.”
“? Of course,” Arl said, wondering why she was suddenly so grumpy. “That’s why I’m after the Serpents of the Sordid Garden.”
He nodded, as if it were obvious. “If we catch the Serpents, order in the capital will be restored. Then the girls will have less to fight over. As their master, I will stop their rampage.”
“…’Their’ master, hmm.”
Kei’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been wondering… The masters of the three organizations are said to be experts in martial arts, gunplay, and magic, respectively. But the real master is just you, Senpai. So why do those fanatics worship three completely different versions of you? How does that work?”
“…Hm.”
Their gazes met. After a beat, Arl looked away with a slight shrug.
“Who knows. The world is full of mysteries.”
“Ugh, you just dodged the question. Gnnn, I can’t stand you having secrets I don’t know about…”
Kei glared, but his expression remained blank. She sighed.
“Fine. In fact, by being the master of all three, you can gather and collate information from groups that would never normally cooperate.”
This was the real reason for their meeting: to combine the intel on the Serpents that he’d gathered from each faction and form a plan.
Kei placed several documents on the map. “Alright, regarding the raid on the ruin, I believe we have most of the information.”
The day Prima’s <Fenrir> squad had been ambushed, Arl had sent in <Blacksmith> and <Noah> to resolve the situation. Those two organizations had captured a significant number of Serpent members.
“These were the troops the Serpents assembled to wipe out the Knights,” Kei read from the report. “A lot of elites, not your usual disposable pawns… According to the record, they said… nothing.”
“Nothing?” Arl mused. “Could be loyalty, but…”
“It seems they didn’t crack even after some… intense… questioning. Some of them apparently endured it until they passed out. It’s a bit unnatural.”
Considering Kei’s ominous clarification, a thought occurred to Arl. Not that they wouldn’t talk… but that they couldn’t?
“…Magic.”
“Magic… Ah, like a ‘Contract’ spell?” Kei nodded, understanding. “A spell that forces the target to abide by a pre-set agreement… right. It’s very possible the enemy has a mage. But to use a spell strong enough to resist even torture… we’d be talking about a very high-level caster.”
“Yeah. Not some hedge-mage. This would be a formally trained, legitimate mage.”
Magic required aptitude, making mages rare. Rarity led to high status. On this continent, it was customary for most high-level mages to belong to the privileged class.
“—A noble?”
Kei’s eyebrow shot up. “An Imperial noble… is working with the Serpents?”
“It’s just a possibility,” Arl said, “but it’s a good way to narrow down the search. The Serpents are planning something on the scale of the Great Collapse. They’re a huge organization. It’s hard to believe they’re operating in the capital without a main base.”
He pushed the interrogation reports aside. “But even the Three Great Organizations can’t find them. And if we assume they have a noble protecting them…”
“…Then their base is likely on land under that noble’s protection.” Kei shrugged, exasperated.
“Her Highness would faint if she heard this.”
“She’d probably be the first one to demand a purge… Kei, how much land in the capital is managed by nobles? Preferably somewhere with a lot of foot traffic, where Serpent members wouldn’t look out of place.”
“Hm. In that case, there aren’t many.” Kei took an ink pen and drew a double circle around one location on the map. “Nobles range widely… but a high-level mage would be a Viscount at minimum. A place ruled by someone of that status, large enough to hide a base…”
“This is… a commercial district?”
“It’s the entertainment district, ruled by a certain Count. It’s known as a place with affordable shops, friendly to the common people. On the surface, anyway.”
Kei revealed the capital’s dark side with a perfectly straight face. “In reality, it’s a showcase for every shady business imaginable. Under the Count’s protection, you have black markets, human trafficking, weapons, drugs… it’s the festering wound of the capital.”
“…A place like that exists here?”
“Only for the past few years. Ever since the Great Collapse, the power struggles within the Empire have become a quagmire. We know about it, but unfortunately, the Imperial Castle doesn’t have the luxury of starting a war with the Count right now.”
“I’d heard the capital was corrupt, but…” Arl felt a new anger at how his homeland had changed.
Kei, however, stated it all calmly. “In any case, it’s a ‘sanctuary’ that even we can’t easily enter. If the Three Great Organizations tried to investigate, they would just find a pretext to shut them down. Which, of course, makes it the perfect place for a Serpent’s nest.”
“Makes sense.”
The target was set. Now…
“The only question is how to investigate it.”
“Stealth is my specialty. I can pop in for a quick look.”
“No, it’s a noble’s turf. Security will be tight. If you, Her Highness’s personal guard, are spotted, it could cause… a misunderstanding.”
“Ngh. I hate my political position…”
“For the same reason, we can’t just ask Her Highness to pull rank. Besides, isn’t she busy with official duties?”
Arl hadn’t seen Eilfina since the day he arrived. She was a princess, after all.
“The timing is bad,” Kei confirmed. “The Memorial Ceremony is coming up.”
Arl wasn’t familiar with the name, but he had heard it mentioned.
“The ‘Five-Year Anniversary of the Great Collapse’… right. I heard all the organizations complaining that crime rates spike when the city gets festive.”
“Dignitaries from other countries will be here, so it’s politically crucial. The Third Princess will be tied up. I haven’t been able to see her either, and she isn’t responding to my telepathy.”
Kei sighed, worried. “I just hope she isn’t overdoing it. She’s just as much of a workaholic as… well. I wonder which of you rubbed off on the other.”
“Why are you looking at me? …In any case, a direct power play against a Count is a bad move. We need another way in.”
Maybe I should just infiltrate it myself. As he thought that, an idea struck him. Even the Three Great Organizations would have trouble. But in terms of influence in that part of the city, one group stood out.
—He knew of one organization that wielded the ‘power of gold.’
Join the Discussion