Chapter 0736 Tea Party in Vamos
-x-X-x-
Because there had been fighting at the harbor, the café was completely empty of customers.
As a result, everyone was able to fit inside.
First, Ryo was made to sit down, with Kinme taking the seat to his left.
Perhaps intending to help him out in his own way, Abel sat to Ryo's right.
Patrice and the other three sat across from the three of them.
The Royal Knights sat at a distance around the seven of them…
"I, um, I have a woman I've already given my heart to…"
"Don't worry. I have no intention of making you mine exclusively. If I did something like that, I'd burst."
"I-I see."
Ryo was clearly relieved.
He had thought it would be better to say what needed to be said, at least, so he had done so immediately after sitting down.
Of course, Ryo had no idea what Kinme meant by 'burst'…
Abel seemed to be listening to what Ryo had said, his eyes opening wide in surprise.
Ryo did not understand what Abel's expression meant and was about to ask, but Kinme's words came first.
"It would be fine if I could touch your cheek again in ten or twenty thousand years."
"…Huh?"
Ryo could not understand.
Kinme's party members seemed to think she was joking too.
"Oh, Kinme, you're always joking around."
"In ten thousand years? We'd all be dead by then."
Those were the sorts of things they said.
Ryo agreed with them, but then thought about it for a moment.
Kinme was a Djinn, so perhaps she might still be alive ten thousand years from now.
But Ryo did not think he would be alive.
It was true that he did not seem to age very much, but…
…Surely he would not still be alive, right?
No, even if he did not age at all.
"With so many people trying to kill me, I don't think I'll still be alive."
"Trying to kill you…"
Ryo said it, and Guti was shocked.
As she was recovering from the surprise, she realized something.
"We haven't introduced ourselves."
"Ah… We are the Refreshing Five Peaks, a bodyguard party belonging to the Bardael Emirate of the Eastern Countries of the Dark Continent."
"I'm Guti. The green-haired one over here is Patrice, the yellow-haired one is Toko, the white-haired one is Mau, and the light-blue-haired one is Kinme."
"Thank you for the thorough introduction. I'm Ryo, a C-rank adventurer belonging to the Kingdom of Knightley in the Central Countries."
After Patrice and Guti introduced themselves, Ryo introduced himself as well.
"So your name is Ryo-san."
Kinme nodded with a smile.
"What? Kinme, you didn't know his name?"
"No, I only found out just now."
"Even though you two seem so close…"
"Ryo-san is my benefactor. He is the benefactor who freed me from my yoke."
"Your benefactor…"
The other four members of the Refreshing Five Peaks were astonished by Kinme's explanation.
But there was one person who tilted his head in confusion.
The water-attribute magician himself.
"Did I do something?"
Ryo recalled what had happened back then.
They had all entered the 'shrine', and after a while, everything shook and they escaped…
Then Kinme had appeared, floating in the sky.
Ryo had not done anything.
The power that had allowed her to revive, or break the seal, had apparently been taken from the vampire who had visited the 'shrine' a few days earlier.
"That's right. I stole the vampire's mana and completely revived myself, but the seal had not been broken. However, thanks to Ryo coming there, enough 'droplets' overflowed in that place to make the seal burst apart."
"What in the world…"
The reason the seal on the Djinn imprisoned in the south had been broken was, in fact, the Fairy Factor overflowing from Ryo…
((I didn't know.))
((So it was because of Ryo that the Djinn broke the seal.))
((Th-that's why I said I didn't know…))
((I was only organizing the facts.))
((Am I… going to be charged with aiding a Djinn's escape and thrown in jail?))
((As far as I know, the kingdom has no such crime, so you should be fine.))
((Oh, really?))
Ryo breathed a sigh of relief.
((Wouldn't it be something heavier, like treason or preparation to overthrow the state, the kind of crimes that carry only life imprisonment or the death penalty?))
((Why would it have to be something that serious… All right. I'll show sincerity and try to get leniency.))
((Sincerity?))
((I'll allow the once-a-week cake privilege to be downgraded to once a month…))
Ryo offered this with deep regret.
((And that's how you intend to obtain leniency for a serious crime?))
((Yes. Oh, and I'll promise that my violent neighbors in the Rondo Forest won't invade the kingdom's mainland.))
((…That's just a threat.))
((If you execute me, who knows what will happen to the restraint keeping them in check!))
((…Well, if it really comes to that, I'll issue you a pardon in the king's name.))
((As expected of Abel! I'll follow you for the rest of my life!))
((I see…))
Through Soul Resonance, such a highly confidential conversation took place between Ryo and Abel.
Meanwhile, another conversation was taking place at the table.
"I heard Kinme had a hard time before joining up with us. Were you captured by some bad people?"
Guti asked with a sad expression.
"Well, if anything, I was put there to protect myself."
"Sorry?"
"But I ended up staying there much longer than I expected… and when I finally decided to leave, I couldn't get out. …I suppose you could say the lock had broken, or something like that."
"I see. That must have been hard."
Guti nodded at Kinme's explanation.
The other three nodded silently as well.
"But if you were able to get out thanks to Ryo, then he really is your benefactor."
"And because you were able to get out, you were able to join our party."
"In other words…"
"He is our benefactor too."
Guti nodded, Patrice explained, and Toko and Mau concluded.
The four members of the Refreshing Five Peaks other than Kinme stood up and bowed to Ryo.
"Thank you for saving Kinme."
"Huh? Um, no, I didn't really do anything…"
Ryo fumbled awkwardly.
Through Soul Resonance, he had been told that he might be charged with a serious crime, while here, he was being thanked.
Perhaps this was proof that even the same event could become something entirely different depending on the standpoint from which it was viewed and the position in which one found oneself.
Dark Coffee was brought before everyone.
"As expected, authentic Dark Coffee really is delicious."
"Yeah, it's good. Kona from our country is good too, but this is good as well."
Ryo and Abel praised it.
The people at the heart of the Kingdom of Knightley were coffee lovers.
Patrice, with green hair, and Guti, with pink hair, listened to their praise with satisfied smiles and nods.
Patrice and Guti suddenly noticed something.
"Come to think of it… there seem to be more knights, or rather, guards than anything else, don't there?"
"Are they Ryo's?"
"Huh? No, they're not. They're guarding this person here, not me."
Ryo pointed to Abel, who was sitting to his right.
"Come to think of it, I don't think we've heard that gentleman's name…"
"I heard something about him being a descendant of Richard, but now that I think about it, we never heard his name."
Patrice and Guti looked toward Abel as they spoke.
"Seems a little late for introductions now… I'm Abel of the Kingdom of Knightley."
"Believe it or not, he's the king of our country."
"I see, the king."
"So that's why there are so many guards…"
"…Huh?"
Abel answered, Ryo added the explanation, Patrice and Guti followed the flow of the conversation, and Toko and Mau finally realized it.
"His Majesty the King!?"
The four of them were shocked.
"We did it, Abel. They were surprised."
"Don't say stuff like that. It's embarrassing."
Ryo said it happily, and Abel reddened as he admonished him.
Kinme was the only one among the 'Refreshing Five Peaks' who was not surprised.
"Did you know, Kinme?"
Guti asked.
"Yes. Richard was the king of the Kingdom of Knightley. I thought his descendant would be a king too."
"You could have told us…"
"I wish you'd quietly told us…"
Kinme answered with a smile, while Patrice and Guti looked utterly drained.
Toko and Mau silently shook their heads.
"Then why have Ryo and His Majesty Abel come to the nation of Vamos?"
Having finally settled down, Guti asked.
"Our ship was carried here by a storm."
"Ah…"
"There's nothing you can do about a storm…"
Guti and Patrice nodded repeatedly at Abel's answer.
Toko and Mau nodded even more vigorously.
The Refreshing Five Peaks seemed to have had quite an experience with storms.
"Once, our ship was carried away by a storm and we ended up going down to the southern part of this continent."
"The Dark Continent…"
"The south?"
Kinme answered with a smile, and Ryo and Abel were shocked.
"What is the south of the Dark Continent like?"
"There was a Kraken's nest."
"My word…"
"How did you ever make it back alive?"
"Of course, the ship fell apart in an instant."
"If Kinme hadn't been there…"
"We wouldn't have been able to reach land…"
"We would have become food for the Kraken."
Kinme revealed a shocking fact, Ryo and Abel were stunned, Patrice described the fate of their ship, and Guti, Toko, and Mau expressed their gratitude to Kinme.
"Even if you're on the sea, fighting a Kraken in the ocean is tough."
"Yeah. Normally, it's not a matter of being tough. You just die easily."
Kinme said it with a smile, and Guti's face tightened.
"Ryo, it sounds like you've fought a Kraken before too?"
Kinme seemed to have read it from Ryo's expression.
"Yes… I have several bitter memories."
"You defeated one underwater, though."
"That's amazing! Even for me, it might be difficult underwater."
Ryo remembered it with an expression filled with anguish, Abel recalled the battle fought by the submarine Neil Andersen from his memories, and Kinme praised him.
"Even using alchemy, I've only managed to defeat one… when they're in a group, it's difficult."
"Oh my! You can use alchemy too, Ryo?"
"Yes…"
Ryo's voice trailed off.
That was because the alchemy that had sealed Kinme came to mind.
Of course, Ryo was not the one who had sealed her, but he felt a little uncomfortable anyway.
"Could you perhaps use the technique that sealed me too?"
"Eh…"
Ryo was rendered speechless after hitting the mark.
Not only Ryo, but everyone except Kinme fell silent.
Of course, Kinme herself had no grudge or anything of the sort, and she continued smiling brightly.
"I said this before, but I was the one who asked for that. I asked them to lock me away."
"Yes…"
"At first I asked Hal. But Hal refused, saying he didn't want to. So I asked Richard, who had been his disciple. It seemed quite difficult for Richard too, though."
Kinme explained with a smile.
Abel asked in surprise.
"King Richard was his disciple? Then who is this… Hal, his master?"
"Oh? You're Richard's descendant and you've never heard of him? That information wasn't passed down in the royal family of Knightley?"
"No. At least, I've never heard of him."
"I see… Then I can't be the one to tell you. If it wasn't left behind because there was some reason they didn't want it passed down, then that's the case, isn't it?"
"…"
Kinme's words were perfectly reasonable, so Abel had nothing to say.
"Richard said that he didn't want the technique he used to be passed down to later generations either… so I can understand why that part wasn't preserved."
"I see."
"But somehow, it seems like you know about it, Ryo-san?"
"The technique that uses Kinme's own mana to seal her…"
"Correct! You're amazing, Ryo."
Kinme nodded happily.
"Ryo, that is…"
"Kenneth probably doesn't know the technique either. So it's true that I don't think it was left with the kingdom's alchemists."
"…Then why does Ryo know it?"
"Ah… This isn't really the place for that. I'll tell you someday, Abel. But I don't fully understand it myself yet. So if you ask whether I can make something similar… honestly, I don't have much confidence."
Ryo answered Abel's question honestly.
Ryo had thought that it might be all right to tell Abel about 'Hassan' and the 'Black Notebook' he had inherited from him, since Abel was not the sort of person to go around telling others.
He had simply forgotten about it all this time…
"If I ever need to be locked away again, I'll ask you, Ryo."
"Sorry, but please spare me that."
At Kinme's joke, Ryo frowned and shook his head.
In the end… the Kingdom of Knightley delegation led by Abel did not have an audience with the King of Vamos.
When the crew of Skidbladnir investigated, they determined that the king's 'condition' made such a meeting impossible.
"I feel like we'll be able to see each other again soon."
Those were the words Kinme said to Ryo.
Skidbladnir departed Vamos Island.
It headed west, toward the mainland of the Dark Continent.
On its deck.
"We are gathering knowledge to solve the age-old question of why human beings fight one another."
"…Huh?"
"This encounter has given us an insight that brings us one step closer to solving that question."
"…You think so?"
"Not accepting a letter of credence… in other words, it is a refusal to have a discussion."
"Y-yeah…"
"If two powers come into contact without a discussion taking place, a military clash becomes inevitable. That is the clash that occurred at the harbor."
"Somehow… I feel like you've talked me into this, but you're not actually wrong, are you?"
Ryo calmly expounded on his own theory, and Abel listened with a puzzled expression.
"The difficult point about discussion is that it cannot take place if even one side refuses."
"…That's true."
"The only possible result is an armed clash."
"…That is true too."
"Even if we desire a peaceful resolution as much as possible, if the other side has no such intention, it becomes a military clash. Peace is a fragile thing."
"Y-yeah…"
"As a logical conclusion, even before entering into discussions, we need to consider what happens if the other side refuses a peaceful resolution and prepare for the possibility that it may become a military clash."
"That's… a sad conclusion."
"Perhaps humans are foolish creatures."
Ryo shook his head sadly.
"Though from the start, all the King of Vamos had to do was accept the letter of credence."
"Yes. Just that… it was only that much, and yet…"
"That one little thing was difficult."
"Abel, make sure you accept it properly."
"Hm? Of course I will."
"Even if it is a letter of credence from the Debuhi Empire."
"Precisely because it is a letter from the Empire, I'll accept it."
At Ryo's words, Abel raised only one cheek, his expression turning slightly sardonic.
The Empire possessed greater power than the kingdom.
It was precisely the kind of opponent they wanted to avoid a military confrontation with.
"But someday, without fail…"
Abel clearly said that much.
The words that followed were inaudible even to Ryo.
"I'll repay the debt for invading the kingdom."
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0737 The Eastern Countries and the Federation of Western Countries
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After leaving Vamos Island, the Skidbladnir sailed straight west, heading for the mainland of the Dark Continent.
"Are the Dark Continent's 'Eastern Countries' the name of a country?"
As usual, Ryo asked from the deck of the Skidbladnir.
"Originally, no, but these days it has effectively become the name of a country in the sense of a confederated state. The Bardael Emirate is at its center."
"And the west is the Western Countries?"
"That side has formally become a federal state called the Federation of Western Countries."
"The 'Eastern Countries' and the 'Federation of Western Countries'? That's complicated."
Abel answered precisely as a king, while Ryo grimaced and shook his head.
"If you're involved in a country's diplomacy or foreign affairs, you need to know the formal name of the country, but otherwise, Eastern Countries and Western Countries should be enough, shouldn't they? Ever since they parted ways more than a century ago, I believe that is what people have generally called them."
"I see. That makes it easier to understand."
Ryo accepted Abel's suggestion.
Easy to understand was best.
To begin with, country names tended to change quite frequently anyway…
"The Kingdom of Knightley has been the Kingdom of Knightley for a very long time, right?"
"Yeah. Ever since King Ashton, the founder of the kingdom, established it, the name has never changed."
"King Ashton, King Richard the Restorer, and now Abel…"
"What?"
"It must be hard being compared to such great kings."
"No, comparing me to those two is ridiculous."
For some reason, Ryo crossed his arms and gave his lofty assessment, while Abel grimaced and voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Once you become king of a country with such a long history, you must become a king who surpasses all the kings before you! I thought perhaps you had that kind of spirit."
"I don't."
"If that is what Abel desires, I won't be unwilling to cooperate by restoring my once-a-month cake privilege to once a week…"
"Right. I don't need your cooperation, so I'm not restoring it."
"Damn… Recovering a privilege once lost is difficult."
Ryo's expression was filled with anguish.
Yes, the deck of the Skidbladnir was as peaceful as ever.
As they were talking about such things, Captain Paulina approached.
"Your Majesty, the port town of Borne in the Bardael Emirate should come into view in less than an hour."
"Borne? If I remember correctly, it's one of the Emirate's largest port towns."
"Yes. Not only within the Emirate, but across the Eastern Countries as a whole, it is among the five largest. For that reason, any ship above a certain size is always subject to a boarding inspection."
"With the Skidbladnir's size, that means without fail."
"Yes. A patrol boat will come."
"Understood. As I said at Vamos Island, if my identity needs to be verified, have them check my plate or do whatever else is necessary. I'll leave everything to you, Captain."
"Thank you."
After Captain Paulina left, Ryo asked Abel a question.
"Abel, you actually know quite a lot about the Dark Continent, don't you?"
"Do I?"
"To begin with, you even speak the language of the Dark Continent."
"I learned that at the royal castle. It was a compulsory subject at the Royal Academy as well."
An elite education.
"But the Central Countries and the Dark Continent don't have any direct exchange, do they?"
"No."
"Then why learn it?"
"I learned this through royal family history, but apparently, long ago… several hundred years ago, there was exchange."
"What? No, I mean it's ridiculously far away. How would they even…"
"I'm certain it wasn't a sea route, so it must have been over land. They likely traveled by land as far as the Western Countries, then crossed to the Dark Continent by ship from there."
A trade route that had fallen into decline with the passage of time.
What came to Ryo's mind was Earth's Silk Road.
Trade routes long enough to cross cultural spheres were difficult to maintain.
If political upheaval, war, or the destruction of a country or city occurred somewhere along the route, the route would be severed.
"And now we are trying to revive it."
"Yes. By sea rather than land."
Both Ryo and Abel looked toward the horizon with deeply moved expressions.
After some time, two ships approached from ahead, from the direction of land.
"Heave to. We are patrol boats of the Bardael Emirate. Submit to this vessel's boarding inspection." (TLN: Heaving to is a sailing maneuver used to park or slow a vessel significantly by balancing opposing forces from the sails and rudder)
The voice could be heard even on the deck of the Skidbladnir.
"He's shouting in an incredibly loud voice."
"Well, it comes with the job, I guess."
"They should make him an alchemy tool that amplifies his voice…"
At Abel's rather harsh words, Ryo felt pity for what must surely be a painful working environment and shook his head slightly.
"If they made an alchemy tool like that, wouldn't the man doing the shouting lose his job?"
"They could assign him to more humane work…"
"Well… it must be hard on the throat."
There was no such thing as an easy job… perhaps that was what it meant.
The Skidbladnir accepted the patrol boats' order to stop.
One of the two patrol boats came alongside, and five officials boarded.
"I am Nau, captain of the Third Patrol Unit of the Bardael Emirate."
"Thank you for your work conducting the inspection. I am Paulina, captain of the Skidbladnir, belonging to the Kingdom of Knightley."
They introduced themselves to each other.
Because the person responsible for a ship was, first and foremost, its captain, Paulina introduced herself.
Then she handed Captain Nau the documents.
"A crew certificate, then. I'll verify it."
Nau said this and began checking it with practiced hands.
While he did, the four men who had boarded with him glanced around the deck.
They did not move about.
They still did not know what kind of ship this was or who was aboard it.
Even if they were conducting a boarding inspection, they could not simply ignore procedure and walk around a ship they already knew belonged to another country.
"According to the crew certificate, the fifty crew members are citizens of the Goslon Duchy, while the eighty people aboard are citizens of the Kingdom of Knightley… But the Kingdom of Knightley is not in the Western Countries, is it?"
"No. It is in the Central Countries."
"The Central Countries? The Central Countries are… the group of nations far to the east of the Western Countries, are they not? Why is a ship belonging to such a country off the coast of our continent?"
"The Kingdom of Knightley is currently cooperating with the Van De Vie Theocracy to open a sea route between the Western Countries and the Central Countries. This ship is one of the survey vessels for that purpose. This time, we were supposed to sail from the Central Countries to the Western Countries, but we encountered a storm along the way and were blown to these waters. Therefore, at the discretion of the person responsible, we decided to visit the coastal states of the Dark Continent before proceeding to the Western Countries."
"After going around the Dark Continent? For what purpose?"
"To lay the groundwork for future trade negotiations."
"Hmm."
Paulina had answered perfectly, but Captain Nau tilted his head.
To be frank, he did not seem to understand.
Nau looked around the ship from the deck.
"I occasionally see ships from the Goslon Duchy, but this is the first time I've seen one this large. They possess the shipbuilding technology to build something of this scale?"
"No. This ship was built in the Republic of Mafalda."
"The Republic? No, ships built in the Republic are only operated by republican trading companies or the republican government, aren't they? I remember hearing there was a law like that."
"That is correct. This ship… became a ship of the Kingdom of Knightley in the Central Countries through several exceptional procedures."
Paulina answered.
Hearing that, the patrol captain tilted his head again.
"A ship built in the Republic of Mafalda, operated by sailors from Goslon Duchy, with a registry in the Central Countries? What in the world is that?"
"That should let you imagine it, shouldn't it? This ship is an important vessel involving the intentions and interests of multiple countries. And the one aboard it is His Majesty King Abel the First of the Kingdom of Knightley, a great power among the Central Countries."
"That makes even less sense."
The patrol captain grimaced.
Then someone called out to him from behind.
It seemed to be one of the patrol captain's subordinates.
"Captain, King Abel of the Kingdom of Knightley, isn't he the one from that song? You know, the one people have been talking about…"
"That song?"
"'The royal capital has fallen. It has fallen to the king's brother and the Empire. The people's lament covers the Kingdom's skies'… that one."
"Oh, that. The one the minstrels have been singing lately…"
"He's in it. 'A new king is born in the Kingdom. His name is King Abel. He shall rise in the frontier city.'"
Paulina must have heard the conversation between the two men,
because she cut in.
"Yes, that is the man."
"Hey, hey, hey…"
The instant Captain Nau said that… in his field of vision, he saw a man walking over from farther within the ship, accompanied by a man in a robe.
He was certainly not dressed in gaudy clothing.
However, unlike the ship's crew or the knights, one could tell at a glance that his clothes were well-tailored and of high quality… yet easy to move in.
Yes, he was a man dressed in the sort of clothing the lord of this region might wear in daily life.
When Nau lifted his gaze from those clothes and saw the man's face, he almost knelt on reflex.
But he somehow stopped himself through sheer force of will.
He needed no explanation from anyone.
He could tell that this person was an extraordinary man.
If he had to put the impression into words, it would be dignity.
The man was not giving off a hostile air by any means.
But he was not someone with whom one could become familiar either.
He approached one step at a time.
And with each step, Nau wanted to retreat.
The man was not hostile, but the closer he came, the more Nau felt as though he were being crushed.
And then…
"Thank you for carrying out your duty, Captain Nau."
"Yes, sir."
At the words spoken by the man, Nau bowed his head.
Nau was not the only one who lowered his head.
The four subordinates behind him did as well.
One of them nearly dropped to one knee by reflex and then hurriedly straightened himself.
"As Captain Paulina has explained, I am Abel, king of the Kingdom of Knightley. I have come to lay the groundwork for future trade treaties with the Dark Continent. Will you permit us to land in your country?"
"Y-yes… ah, yes, Your Majesty… I-I do not have the authority to make that decision…"
"Who does?"
"Th-the lord, Borne-sama, I believe…"
"Hmm. I have heard that the town of Borne is one of the Eastern Countries' leading port towns."
"Yes… It is a port town second only to our Emirate's capital…"
"I see. Then would you guide us there?"
"…Understood."
In the span of barely ten or so seconds of conversation, Captain Nau's upper body was drenched in sweat.
And so the Skidbladnir put into port at Borne, a port town of the Bardael Emirate.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0738 The One Sung About
-x-X-x-
"That poor captain. He was stiff as a board, wasn't he? All because of Abel's pressure interview."
"What the hell is a pressure interview?"
Watching the patrol ship running ahead of the Skidbladnir from the deck, Ryo gave the poor man a sympathetic look while Abel shrugged.
"During his conversation with Abel, he was sweating terribly, you know? That isn't normal."
"Don't ask me. I didn't say anything particularly special."
"Didn't you put some kind of frightening pressure on him?"
"Something like Ryo's 'pressure'? It wasn't showing at all, was it?"
"Pinpoint pressure that only works on the person you target…"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Paulina happened to be passing by while Ryo and Abel were talking.
"Those people also knew the 'Song of the Liberation War of the Kingdom of Knightley,' so it seems they were surprised when His Majesty, who is sung of in it, appeared."
"A song?"
"The royal capital has fallen. It has fallen into the hands of the King's brother and the Empire. The people's lament covers the skies of the kingdom…"
"Huh? How do you know that song?"
Paulina hummed the tune, and Ryo was astonished.
That song was supposed to have spread through the Eastern Countries…
"We heard it when it spread through the Western Countries, but recently, it has also been spreading through the Dark Continent."
"Before… a year ago, when I was in the Western Countries, it hadn't spread at all."
"That's right… The first time I heard it was in the Goslon Duchy, half a year ago. Now, many bards, including those on this Dark Continent, are traveling around singing it."
"Even here, there are traces of bards…"
Ryo was astonished by Paulina's report.
Abel silently shook his head slightly.
He had a look on his face as though he had given up on various things.
It had spread through the Eastern Countries.
Now it was spreading through the Western Countries and the Dark Continent as well.
Apparently, being famous was troublesome.
Paulina returned to work, leaving the two alone once again.
"So, Abel is one who is sung about."
"It's not just me. Back in the Eastern Countries, there was also the 'Ballad of Duke Rondo,' remember?"
"That was that. It should have been limited to the Eastern Countries."
"…I don't think that's the case."
Ryo voiced his wishful thinking, and Abel denied it.
"In any case, it's good that it looks like we'll be able to enter peacefully."
"That much is certain."
"Now I just hope it stays peaceful while we're there…"
"I don't know why, but when you say it, Ryo, I suddenly feel uneasy."
"How rude! I'm a duke who loves peace!"
"I see. Ryo loves peace, but peace just doesn't come looking for him."
"What a thing to say…"
Ryo let out a small sigh and shook his head.
The Skidbladnir entered the port of Borne.
The sight soon spread throughout the city of Borne as a rumor.
"A ridiculously huge ship just came in!"
"The patrol ship was leading it, so some important person must be aboard."
"I've never seen a ship shaped like that. It's not a ship from this continent."
"Is it from the Western Countries? Even so, you've never seen a ship like that, have you?"
"Let's go see who gets off!"
Such conversations took place here and there, and by the time the Skidbladnir came to a stop inside the harbor, a crowd had already gathered at the port.
Amidst all this, a gangway was lowered from the ship.
Twenty knights came down and lined up at the foot of the gangway.
At that point, anticipation began to build within the crowd.
There was no doubt that some important person was going to come down.
And so, the person who descended was…
A single man.
His clothes, primarily red and white, were neither particularly flashy nor gaudy.
Yet even from a distance, it was clear that they were well tailored and stylish.
The man himself also…
"Ohh…"
"He's quite dashing… but who is he?"
"He must be royalty from somewhere."
"A prince from the Western Countries?"
Without anyone having to explain, there was an air about him that made it obvious at a glance that he was royalty.
The murmuring spread.
"Abel, you are the center of attention."
"A crowd had gathered before I knew it."
Ryo and Abel were 'walking' toward the lord's residence.
That's right, neither by carriage nor on horseback, but on foot.
Of course, the Royal Knights serving as their escort were walking as well.
"Shouldn't we at least have loaded a horse for Abel onto the Skidbladnir…?"
"You want to make that horse experience that storm?"
"…That would be cruel."
"Whether I ride a horse or walk, my worth doesn't change. If we had the room to spare as we do at home, I suppose there would be a need to 'show' it, but this is a foreign country. As long as they don't look down on us, that's all that matters."
Abel had accepted the situation.
A king was someone who was always being watched.
That was true both at home and abroad.
Therefore, he could not afford to show an undignified appearance.
Even so, he did not think it was right to put a horse on a ship just for the sake of appearances.
A horse required space aboard the ship, food, care… and many other things.
"Well, surrounded by this many knights, no one is going to think little of you."
"I agree with that."
Both Ryo and Abel said this while looking at the Royal Knights walking around them.
As expected of the knights.
They were carrying out their work with perfect professionalism.
Their gazes reached beyond the Kingdom knights.
"The buildings… brick?"
"Looks like it. It's completely different from the Central Countries and the Western Countries, and of course the Eastern Countries as well."
There were many one-story buildings made of brick.
The city itself was quite lively, and there were many street stalls along the roads.
"Every now and then, something smells really good…"
"There are a lot of stalls selling grilled fish."
"As expected of a port town."
Abel and Ryo both loved delicious food.
So they also liked buying things to eat as they walked, but even they…
"In this situation, it's impossible to buy something from a stall and eat it while we walk."
"Yeah."
Even Ryo understood that it was impossible, and naturally, Abel agreed.
However, appetite was one of the three great human desires.
To satisfy it, they had to overcome every possible obstacle…
"Why don't we buy enough for everyone in the knight order and all eat while we walk to the lord's residence…"
"Rejected."
"We could demonstrate to the whole world that this is the style of the Kingdom of Knightley…"
"Rejected."
"If such a group came along, the lord here would tremble in fear and comply with our demands…"
"Absolutely rejected."
Every proposal from the Premier Duke was rejected by the king.
Once you rose to a high position, even buying food from street stalls became impossible.
How pitiful.
The patrol captain, Nau, had probably already sent word ahead.
When the group arrived at the lord's residence, the master of the building came out to greet them in front of it.
"His Majesty King Abel, welcome. I am Chukudy, Lord of Borne."
"Chukudy-dono, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Abel, King of the Kingdom of Knightley."
Abel was shown into the conference room.
It was a spacious conference room, large enough for not only Ryo but also ten members of the Kingdom Knight Order to enter.
Chukudy had been considerate enough to allow them in because, when meeting the lord of a country he was visiting for the first time, in a foreign land, it would be understandable for the king to feel reluctant to have the knights guarding him leave his side.
"Chukudy-dono seems like a capable man."
Ryo murmured.
The murmur was audible to Abel, who was sitting beside him, but Abel merely shook his head silently.
"When you mention the Kingdom of Knightley, your kingdom sent a delegation to the Van De Vie Theocracy in the Western Countries, right?"
"Yes, you are well informed."
"That inauguration ceremony a year ago… our country also sent a delegation, including our chief."
"I see."
A year ago, it had been the inauguration ceremony of the One Hundredth Pope.
Ryo had also been there.
Abel had not… he had been on the battlefield against the Djinn Garwin.
A great many difficult things had happened to both of them…
"I heard that when the delegation from the Eastern Countries of the Dark Continent fell into danger in the arena, they were helped by people from the Kingdom of Knightley. On their behalf, allow me to express my gratitude."
"Ah, please, think nothing of it."
Chukudy bowed his head, while Abel nodded magnanimously.
Sitting properly beside Abel, Ryo nodded only in his heart.
After all, Ryo was one of the people who had helped them.
(I was transferred to the Central Countries through the mana of the 'Coffin' and Merlin-san's power… But the three from 'Room 10' are probably still in the Theocracy even after all that, aren't they?)
During the year that Ryo and Abel had been sent flying to the Eastern Countries, it seemed that a system had been established for exchanging information between the Western Countries and the Central Countries through the efforts of Marquis Alexis Heinlein, the Prime Minister, and the genius alchemist Viscount Kenneth Hayward.
Using special alchemy devices… Of course, unlike the real-time communication of Ryo and Abel's 'Soul Resonance,' it was not possible to communicate in real time, and apparently an enormous device, so large that it was difficult even to move, had been installed in the Kingdom delegation's residence…
In any case, a system had apparently been put in place that allowed information to be exchanged, even if it took time.
According to that information, the three members of 'Room 10' were doing their best as well.
(We're going to the Western Countries after the Dark Continent, so I'll ask them to show me that alchemy-tool communication device when we get there.)
Ryo made up his mind.
Just then.
The hallway suddenly grew noisy.
Ryo and Abel, along with the master of the room, Chukudy, tilted their heads in puzzlement.
After a while, someone burst into the room, barely bothering to knock, and shouted out a report.
"Terrible news! A stampede has occurred!"
"At a time like this…"
Chukudy's face twisted.
"We've sent out the 'Observation Birds' and are checking the details, but…"
"What about the signal flare raised from the watchtower?"
"…Red."
"A scale that could potentially require abandoning the city…"
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0739 The Duke's Job
-x-X-x-
"A stampede?"
Both Ryo and Abel tilted their heads.
"I'll check the 'pictures' from the 'Observation Birds' immediately."
As Chukudy said this, he stood up.
Only then did he seem to remember Abel and Ryo.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I recommend that the people of the Kingdom return to the ship immediately and move out to sea."
"Out to sea on the ship? What is a stampede?"
"In a word, it is a massive rampage of monsters."
"What…?"
Ryo and Abel were left speechless.
The door opened again, and someone came running in carrying something resembling a crystal ball about the size of a human head.
"My Lord, the 'picture' has arrived from the 'Observation Birds'."
The crystal ball was placed on the table.
What was displayed there was…
"What in the world is that number…?"
Yes, it was truly a massive rampage.
"Thousands? No, there are tens of thousands…"
"Boars, bears, goblins… there are even ogres?"
"A scale that happens only once every hundred years?"
After saying this, Chukudy took one deep breath.
But he immediately composed his expression and demeanor and began issuing orders.
"Sound the evacuation alarm throughout the city. Direct all residents to evacuate to the sea."
"Yes, sir!"
The subordinate who had brought the crystal ball ran out.
"Your Majesty, we should evacuate as well."
Scotty called out to Abel from behind.
The other company commander, Zack, had already run out of the room and was heading toward the Skidbladnir.
He was returning to the ship first so that they could prepare for departure.
Meanwhile, Abel continued looking at the monsters displayed in the crystal ball.
Ryo was peering in from beside him as well.
"Somewhere between thirty and forty thousand?"
"There aren't any griffins or behemoths."
"What do you think, Ryo?"
"Yes, it should be manageable."
That was all they said.
Abel turned toward Chukudy, who had been giving orders and was about to move.
"Chukudy-dono, what do you think? Would you allow us to assist in subjugating these monsters?"
"Your Majesty? As you saw, this is a horde of tens of thousands of monsters. As for subjugation… Of course, we will do everything we can to buy time for the residents to evacuate, but even so, our primary objective is not subjugation…"
Chukudy continued explaining what would happen next, still wearing a doubtful expression.
For an instant, Abel changed his tone and called out.
"Duke Rondo."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Abel had called him 'Duke Rondo' rather than 'Ryo'.
Ryo adjusted accordingly.
"You are good at subjugating monsters, aren't you?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. Please command me as you wish."
"There are said to be tens of thousands of monsters. Is that a problem?"
"Whether it is ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or even one million, it will not be a problem."
Ryo answered respectfully.
"And there you have it, Chukudy-dono. If you have no effective means of subjugating them, why not see what we can do?"
"That is… but I wonder whether it is really appropriate for me to ask such a thing of Your Majesty…"
"If it can become an opportunity to establish friendship between our countries, I would be more than happy to cooperate."
Abel said this with a smile.
Chukudy thought for a while before giving one firm nod.
"Your Majesty, would you be willing to lend us your assistance?"
"Understood."
Abel nodded once, then turned toward Ryo.
"Duke Rondo, sweep away the monsters attacking this city."
"I humbly accept Your Majesty's royal command."
The group moved to the top of the southwestern wall of Borne.
Abel, Ryo, and Scotty, along with Borne's Lord Chukudy and his aides.
In the distance, a cloud of dust was rising, and they could see it approaching.
"That is…"
The words escaped Chukudy's mouth before he could stop them.
"My Lord, only about ten percent of the residents have completed their evacuation by sea! We won't make it in time!"
One distressing report after another arrived.
Chukudy looked at Abel, whose expression remained calm beside him.
"Your Majesty, even with this…?"
There was no subject or object, but it still got the meaning across.
When faced with an overwhelming phenomenon, even abbreviated words could convey everything.
"It will be fine, Chukudy-dono."
Abel said this and looked at Ryo.
Ryo nodded silently and looked at the approaching cloud of dust that had grown even larger.
At this distance, they could finally make out each monster.
"
Sixteen magic circles appeared floating behind Ryo.
And then…
"
Ryo himself rose into the air.
Seeing this, no one could utter a word.
The horde of monsters approached, emitting sounds like roaring thunder, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The people on top of the wall were stunned by Ryo's figure, left speechless as silence enveloped them.
Against that contrast, what was unleashed…
"
The thousands of ice spears launched from Ryo and the magic circles spread out in the shape of a fan, piercing the horde of monsters approaching the city.
The first volley.
The second volley.
And then, the third…
With each volley, the fan spread a little farther.
The ice spears glittered in the sunlight as they steadily took the lives of the monsters.
From a distance, the vast array of spears was astonishingly beautiful… But they created a blood-soaked hellscape for the monsters…
Even so, the monsters did not stop.
They rushed toward the city one after another.
They were pierced by ice one after another.
And then…
Five volleys in total.
Every monster stopped moving.
No one spoke.
And yet, they remembered.
They remembered the bards traveling around singing.
The song of the water-attribute magician who accompanied King Abel.
'And with King Abel stands a lone magician. His magic is the great water magic that can erase the heavens, shatter the earth, and freeze the world itself. To defeat an army of one hundred thousand with a single blow is no mere dream or illusion.'
They had been shown that sight with their own eyes.
'The people praise him as Ice Fall, or sing of him as the Silver Duke.'
That very person was the robed man standing before them…
"So that is… Duke Rondo."
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0740 The Cursed One
-x-X-x-
"That was quite something, Ryo. As expected of you."
"Aw, it was nothing that impressive."
Abel praised him, and Ryo blushed bashfully.
The group was slowly making their way back to the lord's manor.
The defeated monsters were being butchered by the soldiers stationed in the city, who were extracting their magic stones.
The evacuation order for the sea had also been lifted, and people had begun returning to the city.
"We've got our chance to buy grilled fish from the street stalls back."
"I think you're the only one who would look at it that way, Ryo."
Ryo looked delighted, while Abel shook his head.
"Still, that was the best possible diplomatic card."
"
"I don't think this emirate originally intended to oppose us, though."
"Who knows? They could have taken King Abel prisoner during his visit and threatened the homeland with him as a bargaining chip… We can't say for certain that something like that would never happen."
"Yeah, I think that's absolutely impossible."
The Premier Duke spun an imaginary conspiracy theory with a thoroughly sinister look on his face, while the King completely debunked it.
They returned to the lord's manor, where Lord Chukudy of Borne once again expressed his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, Your Grace, I cannot thank you enough."
"Don't worry about it, Chukudy-dono."
"I was merely following His Majesty's command as well."
Of course Abel did so, but Ryo also adopted a modest, proper tone in situations like this.
"We intend to head to Hosoina, the capital of the Emirate, from here. Perhaps this was the perfect thing to bring as a gift."
Abel said this with a broad smile.
"Yes, of course. I will report what happened to Hosoina. From the Emir on down, I doubt anyone will treat the people of the Kingdom of Knightley with anything but the utmost respect."
Chukudy nodded firmly.
Anything involving a king becomes a diplomatic card.
Whether it succeeds or fails, every action and every result…
This time, it had been quite a major success.
Even so, Abel had one small question.
"That rampage of monsters has been given the name 'stampede,' so I assume it has happened many times before. You couldn't have abandoned the city every time, could you?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty. It occurs every few years. That said, in most cases, there are only around a hundred monsters. A number exceeding ten thousand like this time… has never happened in the past hundred years."
"And yet you still have the smoke signals established."
Exactly. A red smoke signal had been raised this time, and Chukudy had muttered that it was 'a scale at which abandoning the city might be necessary'.
"That was decided by our Emir long ago. Our Emir can see the future, you see."
"Really?"
Ryo was surprised by Chukudy's words.
However, Abel beside him did not seem surprised.
((You're not surprised, Abel?))
((I was taught before that, among the leaders of the Dark Continent, there are occasionally people who possess the power of foresight.))
Ryo asked through 'Soul Resonance', and Abel answered.
Apparently, not being surprised was the result of his education in the ways of kingship.
"We had anticipated that a large-scale stampede would eventually occur. So we had already drawn up evacuation plans for the residents, but… it seems there were still shortcomings in various places."
"Things rarely go according to plan."
Abel responded to Chukudy's words with a wry smile.
It was an honest sentiment from two people who knew firsthand the difficulties that came with being involved in administration.
"Do you know what causes those stampedes?"
"No, we do not."
"If they've occurred so many times before, surely you've investigated?"
"Yes. The only thing we know is that the monsters go berserk as they move outward from the center of the continent. Because of those occurrences, no cities can be built farther inland than the coastal areas."
"I see."
There seemed to be another reason why most of the people living on the Dark Continent were confined to the coastal areas.
"That is why, even now, we do not know what lies at the center of the Dark Continent."
"What happens when that rampage… reaches the coast?"
"They begin cannibalizing one another."
"Cannibalizing one another…"
Both Ryo and Abel grimaced.
"In the end, once only a few remain, the people who had evacuated to the sea return to land, defeat them, and begin living there again."
"…That's quite a system."
"However, the city of Borne has grown too large and too populous."
"Then there won't be enough time to evacuate. Not being able to simply celebrate the city's development…"
"Yes. It's deeply saddening."
Chukudy also grimaced.
But he gave a small shake of his head and continued.
"We cannot tell the people to leave the city now. We will work to make evacuation smoother and strengthen our defenses. When another stampede of the same scale occurs… even if Your Majesty and Your Grace are not here, we will make sure that the people do not have to suffer any casualties."
"Yes, I think that's the right thing to do."
Chukudy spoke with a look of determination, and Abel smiled and nodded.
Governance never stops.
The Kingdom of Knightley's party would be moving to a residence prepared by Chukudy, the Lord of Borne.
That said, it was a residence adjacent to the lord's manor grounds, apparently intended for receiving important guests from other countries like this, and there was also a separate building for their guards.
They would stay for one night, then set sail for Hosoina aboard the Skidbladnir tomorrow morning.
"You did it, Abel."
"What did I do?"
"There's no doubt that we'll be served this area's finest food at dinner tonight."
"Yeah, that certainly makes me happy."
It was while Ryo and Abel were having this conversation as they traveled that it happened.
Thump.
"What was that?"
"Did you feel it too, Abel?"
"Yeah. I don't know what it was, but… I felt an incredible pressure."
"Yes. It was as if the air itself were trembling… or as if someone had grabbed my heart in their hand… Whatever it is, it's nothing good."
Both Abel and Ryo stopped and looked around.
Naturally, the Royal Knights serving as their escort stopped as well.
"Your Majesty?"
"Didn't Zack or Scotty feel it?"
"Huh? Feel what?"
No one in the Kingdom Knight Order had felt anything.
Was it only Ryo and Abel who had sensed it?
Thump.
"There it is again."
"Yes."
"Your Majesty?"
Once again, only Abel and Ryo… the Royal Knights had felt nothing.
Eventually…
"I thought 'Mizuiro'* had done it, but I was wrong… Two powerful ones, huh. You two, did you defeat the monsters?" (TLN: Literally means Light Blue, most likely an appellation)
"That voice…"
"Yeah, I can hear it."
Ryo and Abel could clearly hear the voice… but apparently, only the two of them could hear it.
No one else, including Zack and Scotty, could hear it.
"Interesting. Why don't you two come visit me?"
"I don't know who you are, but no."
"Come fight me. It'll be fun."
"We have something much more enjoyable waiting for us."
Ryo clearly refused.
"Something more enjoyable than fighting? Is there such a thing?"
"We travel around eating delicious food from different places. It's very enjoyable."
"…"
Ryo stated it with complete certainty.
Abel remained silent. The voice that only the two of them could hear also fell silent.
"I'm glad you seem to understand."
"…Fine. You'll come eventually anyway. Until then, eat some good food. The 'Black Fool' seems to have come as well. This should be fun."
With those final words, the pressure disappeared.
"It seems we've caught the attention of a rather troublesome being."
"Seems that way."
"And there was even more troublesome information in what it said."
"Hm?"
"The existence called 'Light Blue'."
"Yeah…"
"From the way it spoke, wouldn't that mean 'Light Blue' can easily defeat more than thirty thousand monsters, just like I did earlier?"
"That's what it sounds like."
"Given the name 'Light Blue,' it could possibly be a water-attribute magician…"
"Can't rule it out."
Both Ryo and Abel grimaced.
"And apparently, the 'Black Fool' has come as well."
"Yeah… I don't know why, and I have absolutely no basis for it, but the face of one man comes to mind…"
"How strange. The face of a male Djinn comes to my mind as well…"
"His name starts with Gar and ends with Win."
"He may have been wearing black clothes, but I'm pretty sure no one has ever looked down on him as a fool."
"Strange."
"It is."
For some reason, when they heard "Black Fool," the Djinn Garwin was the one who came to mind… poor Garwin.
"Come to think of it, Abel always seems to end up taking on troublesome situations."
"Me?"
Abel looked puzzled.
"Even when you fought Garwin, wasn't it the same? Maybe you're cursed, Abel. Cursed to attract troublesome beings."
Ryo pointed it out emphatically.
"If anything, you're the one who's cursed, Ryo."
"Huh? Me?"
Abel said it while shrugging his shoulders, and Ryo looked genuinely offended.
"The Akumas, the Illusionkin, even Garwin. In the end, wasn't it you who fought all of them?"
"I-I'm only protecting myself and the people I know. I'm doing something very good. The problem is with the people who come after me."
"Even so. Well, there's no point arguing about it here."
"True."
The two of them sighed at the same time.
For the time being, there was nothing either of them could do.
"Can't be helped."
"Yes. Let's eat something delicious and take our minds off it."
"…I suppose that's the best option."
That night, Ryo and Abel, along with the rest of the Kingdom's party, thoroughly enjoyed a delicious dinner.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0741 Obstacles to World Domination
-x-X-x-
The Skidbladnir departed from the city of Borne the following morning.
It seemed they had attracted the attention of some troublesome being, but neither His Grace the Premier Duke nor His Majesty the King was the sort to lose sleep over something like that at this point.
"There's hardly anyone more troublesome than Abel, after all."
"If we held a vote, though, the result would probably say Ryo is more troublesome than I am."
"So you're going to buy the votes with money and corner me! I'd expect nothing less of the wicked King Abel."
"Yeah, I think we'd get that result without any bribery."
The deck where the two spent their time was peaceful as ever.
In one corner of the deck, the knights practiced with their swords while the crew busied themselves with their work.
Abel, who had been practicing with his sword until just moments ago, was now reading a book, while Ryo was looking over the magic formulae inscribed on an ice tablet.
"Are those the magic formulae from that coffin… the box that Regna-dono is in?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"Because there are a lot of letters that look unfamiliar."
"Exactly. I don't understand any of it at all."
Ryo said this with a smile.
And quite a big smile at that.
"Why are you smiling when you don't understand it?"
"Huh? Why? Because it's fun, so of course I'm smiling."
"Fun? You don't understand it, right?"
"Not understanding it is what's fun."
"…I see."
Ryo answered with a smile still on his face, while Abel accepted it without really understanding.
'Not understanding it is what's fun'… Once someone becomes truly exceptional in many fields, this feeling begins to emerge.
Conversely, once you've reached the point where you can think that way, it's fair to say that you have become first-rate in that field.
You might even be among the very best.
When it came to alchemy, Ryo had begun to enter the realm where he could be called first-rate.
As for water-attribute magic, he was probably among the very best in the world.
And in alchemy as well, he had reached a high level… It would be fair to say that, wouldn't it?
Of course, Ryo himself had no awareness of that.
So he never became conceited.
That was because a genius alchemist named Kenneth Hayward was always right nearby.
Continuing to strive upward without becoming conceited… that was a fortunate thing.
"I think the greatest desire of mankind is to uncover everything in this world, to reveal all of creation. When I think about it that way, I absolutely have to become capable of deciphering even a magical formula like this!"
Ryo wore a bright smile, his expression brimming with enthusiasm.
"Everything in this world… That's quite grand."
"You're like that too, aren't you, Abel?"
"Me? I've never thought about possessing everything in the world."
"King Abel must have the ambition to obtain everything in the world. You must have dreams of world domination."
"No, I don't have any such ambitions."
"Now that you're a king, you must have had that ambition at least once."
"I've never had it."
Ryo urged Abel toward world domination, while Abel remained remarkably sensible.
Ryo's attempts to tempt him came in all forms…
"Twilight Land must be the most troublesome opponent when it comes to world domination."
"Yeah… Isn't conquering that place impossible? It's a country of vampires."
"That's true. Let's form an alliance with Twilight Land and make sure they don't become our enemy. I'll handle the negotiations when the time comes. Leave it to me."
"Y-yeah… I'll be counting on you then… No, wait! We're not going to conquer the world in the first place!"
"So close. Almost had it…"
Ryo's efforts at incitement had failed.
That peaceful time aboard the Skidbladnir continued until the morning two days after leaving Borne, when they arrived offshore of Hosoina, the capital of the Bardael Emirate.
Unlike the peaceful Skidbladnir, however, the scene there was…
"Patrol boats… There sure are a lot of them."
"It's quite intimidating."
"Borne should have already reported that we saved the city, so we should be able to enter the port without any problems."
Both Abel and Ryo tilted their heads at the sheer number of ships that appeared to be patrol boats, while Captain Paulina also wore a puzzled expression.
One of the many patrol boats soon spotted the Skidbladnir and approached.
"Stop your vessel. This is a patrol boat of the Bardael Emirate. You are to submit to an inspection of your vessel."
The voice reached the deck of the Skidbladnir, just as it had at Borne.
"I suppose they're trying to shout loudly…"
"It's harder to make out than it was at Borne."
"Perhaps they were suddenly called in from another department and aren't accustomed to this work."
"We're offshore of the capital, aren't we? Normally, you'd station an elite unit here."
"Maybe the elite personnel were called away to somewhere even more difficult…"
Abel and Ryo exchanged rather casual remarks.
Still, it was true that the voice was harder to make out than that of the patrol boat at Borne…
The Skidbladnir accepted the patrol boat's request to stop.
One of the two patrol boats came alongside, and five officials boarded.
That part was the same as at Borne.
"I'm Lexisadou, captain of the Bardael Emirate's 40th Patrol Unit."
"Thank you for your service. I'm Paulina, captain of the Skidbladnir, a vessel of the Kingdom of Knightley."
They exchanged introductions.
Watching from a distance, the two spoke so that no one else could hear them.
((They said the 40th Patrol Unit.))
((The one at Borne was the 3rd Patrol Unit, wasn't it?))
((Compared to Captain Nau back then, Captain Lexisadou this time is quite young.))
((The other four who boarded with him are… all young too.))
((So they really were called in from somewhere else…))
((That might be the case.))
Abel finally accepted Ryo's theory.
Paulina handed the crew certificates to Captain Lexisadou.
"I'll inspect the crew certificates."
Lexisadou said this and began checking them, honestly looking rather inexperienced with the procedure.
Meanwhile, the four other officials who had boarded kept glancing around the deck.
Just as at Borne, they did not move around.
They didn't, but…
((The way they're looking around is obviously suspicious.))
((…Is it?))
((Yes. I can tell.))
((Even so, I don't think they're suddenly going to detain us.))
((Huh…))
((Ryo, that's what you were about to imagine, wasn't it?))
((Damn it… Abel the joke-killer! Are you going to crush even my brilliant fantasies?))
((I don't think there's anything brilliant about fantasies.))
The two continued their conversation.
Even from a distance, however, it was obvious that Paulina's expression had darkened.
She was not arguing with the patrol unit.
If anything, Captain Lexisadou looked apologetic.
After a while, the patrol unit disembarked, returned to their patrol boat, and moved on to inspect another vessel.
Paulina came over to Abel.
"Something happened, didn't it, Captain?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize. It seems it will take some time before we can enter the port."
Paulina reported this with a troubled expression.
"You don't need to apologize, Captain. What happened?"
"The patrol unit didn't tell me the details, but… apparently the Emir has gone to war, and it seems to be related to that."
"The Emir has gone to war? Lord Chukudy of Borne never mentioned anything like that, did he?"
"No, Your Majesty. I didn't hear any news either."
Paulina shook her head in response to Abel's confirmation.
Ryo also silently shook his head.
It seemed that, in the past two days, some major change in the situation had occurred that had made it necessary for the Emir himself to go to war.
"If the Emir is away at war, who's in charge of the capital?"
"The Crown Prince, apparently."
"Hmm… In that case, the procedures should still be able to proceed without any problems, but…"
Abel looked around at the ships surrounding them.
The Skidbladnir had arrived in the morning, allowing them to undergo their inspection relatively early.
However, ships had been arriving one after another from offshore in the meantime… and the situation was beginning to resemble a traffic jam.
"There were a lot of patrol boats too…"
"Perhaps the processing inside the port is taking too long. Not a single ship has entered yet."
"Yeah… so that's why the offshore area is getting backed up."
Both Abel and Ryo gave a small shake of their heads.
"Can't be helped. We've completed our procedures. Captain, let's wait patiently."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
In the end, the Skidbladnir did not enter the port until evening.
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Chapter 0742 Though They Made Port
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"Though we've entered port…"
"They say there aren't any rooms available on land."
"But… while we were waiting outside the harbor, not a single ship came out of the port. So the merchants who've been here since yesterday are still staying in the city, right?"
"Well, of course they'd extend their stay."
The crew of the Skidbladnir had looked around for an available inn, but there were no vacancies.
Of course, Abel did not feel there was any need to force the issue and go ashore.
They could simply stay aboard the Skidbladnir.
Rather, the bigger problem was that despite having sent a request to the Ruler's Court for a meeting with the King of the Knightley Kingdom, they had yet to receive even a reply.
"Abel, please give up on the delicious dinner banquet at the Ruler's Court tonight."
"I wasn't expecting anything like that to begin with, though?"
"But it's all right. We have a powerful ally on our side."
"That's true. Chief Kobatch's cooking is delicious."
Indeed, Kobatch, the head chef of the Skidbladnir, and the cooks under him were all highly skilled.
"When we went ashore earlier to stock up on supplies, we managed to get a large quantity of small white-fleshed fish. We also picked up several seasonings native to the Dark Continent. So we were able to make something delicious with them."
"This smell…"
"Karri?"
Kobatch explained with a smile, Ryo's keen nose picked up the aroma, and Abel tilted his head with his usual wonderful pronunciation.
And what came out was…
"Deep-fried white fish… curry flavor…"
"This is delicious."
"We were able to get tamin, kaamerikku, dougarashin, and the like quite cheaply. We combined them with the seasonings we already had aboard the ship, and it turned out quite well."
"Probably cumin, turmeric, chili pepper…"
Kobatch happily responded to Abel's frank assessment, while Ryo rendered the names of the spices in Earth terms.
Of course it was going to be delicious.
"Maybe it's just as well that we didn't have a dinner banquet at the Ruler's Court."
"No doubt. This is delicious."
"Thank you very much."
Both Ryo and Abel were satisfied, while Kobatch smiled happily.
"Come to think of it, didn't we have something like this in the Eastern Countries?"
"Hmm?"
"You know, when we couldn't go ashore and spent another night aboard the ship."
"We did. Was that when we were in the Free City of Kwebasa?"
"That's it! As expected of Abel and his memory."
"Oh, cut it out."
Ryo praised him, and Abel grew embarrassed.
"Your Majesty, have you been to the Eastern Countries?"
"Hmm? Ah, yes. A lot happened there. We also arrived in the evening and spent the night aboard the ship."
Abel answered Paulina's question.
"I see. So it happens in the Eastern Countries as well."
"Does this sort of thing happen often in the Western Countries too?"
"I wouldn't say often, but I've experienced it several times in both the Western Countries and the Dark Continent. In many cases, rather than a problem with the port itself, trouble within the local administration on land spills over and affects the port."
"I see."
Ryo nodded at Paulina's explanation.
The sudden departure of the Emir was probably related.
Ryo and Abel exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
Early the next morning, following a dinner that had satisfied everyone aboard.
Someone from the Ruler's Court arrived at a very early hour.
It was still early in the morning, yet he was already streaming with copious sweat…
"Y-Your Majesty Abel, I sincerely apologize for…"
"It's nothing. I heard the Emir is absent. The Crown Prince is acting in his place, I presume? Could I meet him?"
"Yes, of course. Please allow me to show you the way."
The guide repeatedly wiped away his sweat and repeatedly bowed his head… He hardly looked at Abel at all.
Without changing his expression in the slightest, Abel disembarked from the Skidbladnir and followed the guide along with the Royal Knights of the Kingdom who served as his escort.
Of course, Ryo followed immediately behind Abel as well.
Abel and the others were shown to a conference room in the Ruler's Court.
A young man of about twenty years of age was waiting there.
"I am Zorn, Crown Prince of the Bardael Emirate."
"I am Abel, King of the Knightley Kingdom."
After introducing themselves to each other, Zorn was the first to offer an apology.
"Under normal circumstances, my father, Emir Battuzon, should have attended to Your Majesty personally, but as he is absent, I will serve as his proxy. Your Majesty Abel, I sincerely…"
"It's no problem."
"First of all, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for saving Borne from its crisis."
"No, I simply happened to be there. I thought it might be an unnecessary intervention, but…"
"I heard there were more than thirty thousand monsters. Without the renowned King Abel and His Grace Duke Rondo being there, the city would have been annihilated. Thank you, truly."
Crown Prince Zorn bowed his head again.
Ryo silently inclined his head.
In situations like this, Ryo wore his most composed expression.
"Come to think of it, I heard the Emir has gone off to war. When we left the city of Borne, Chukudy didn't mention anything about it, so it came as a surprise…"
"Yes. Two days… no, was it three days ago? At the time you all left the city of Borne, there were no plans for the Emir to go to war."
"And that changed over the course of those three days?"
"Yes…"
Zorn stopped there.
He seemed to be considering how much he could tell them.
Abel waited, taking a sip of the coffee that had been served.
After thinking for several seconds, Zorn began to speak.
"The destination of the campaign is a place called Tantoga, the capital of the Julban."
"Hmm, I've never heard of it… No, come to think of it, I remember hearing of the 'greatest oasis city, Tantoga'. Is it related to that?"
"It is precisely that Tantoga. It is the desert country that established its capital there."
Zorn nodded, surprised by Abel's knowledge.
"The Julban Kingdom itself was founded ten years ago, centered around the oasis city of Tantoga, but that country suddenly launched an invasion of our nation. Large though it may be, it is still merely an oasis in the desert. There was no way its population could grow that large. It was a smaller nation not only than the Eastern Countries but even compared to the Bardael Emirate, yet it attacked our cities."
"I see. So this is a counterattack."
Abel nodded at Zorn's explanation.
But then he tilted his head.
"However, I wouldn't have thought it serious enough for the Emir himself to lead troops into battle."
"Yes. At first, our generals were supposed to go. However… the Julban Kingdom had attacked not only our cities but also cities belonging to the Western Countries Federation."
"Ooh…"
"The Western Countries Federation also declared war on the Julban Kingdom. They announced that the head of the federation himself would lead their troops. On top of that, they called for a joint campaign with our country, so…"
"To match the 'rank' of the overall commanders, the Emir had no choice but to go as well."
"Exactly."
Relations between nations were complicated.
"This may be a strange thing to ask, but… the Eastern Countries and Western Countries don't get along very well, do they?"
"Your Majesty is correct. Our Ruler's Court also considered the possibility that this was a conspiracy by the Western Countries Federation."
Zorn nodded emphatically at Abel's words.
That they might lure the Emir onto the battlefield and assassinate him there… Perhaps the Western Countries Federation had drawn up such a scenario and even planned for their own leader to go to war.
No, perhaps even the Julban Kingdom's attack itself was part of such a conspiracy.
It seemed they had considered the possibility that far.
Abel was not particularly good at intrigue to begin with.
However, even Abel could think of a conspiracy that simple… It was only natural that the Ruler's Court had considered the possibility.
"However, we discovered that the damage inflicted by the Julban Kingdom was far greater in the Western Countries than in our own nation."
"So they wouldn't go that far just for the sake of a conspiracy."
"Of course, since we cannot know what may happen, our country has sent twenty percent of its regular military forces on this campaign."
"So you're taking every possible precaution."
Abel nodded at Zorn's explanation.
The Eastern Countries, centered around the Bardael Emirate, and the Western Countries Federation, a federation of more than thirty small nations.
These two nations are the two great powers ruling the northern coast of the Dark Continent.
Of course, there are also countries that belong to neither and insist on maintaining their independence.
However, the disparity in national power between them and these two great powers is enormous.
One to a hundred… one to two hundred…
The difference was so great that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the two great powers did not bother trying to annex them out of hostility.
And the Julban Kingdom, the opponent in this campaign… might have an even greater disparity in national power.
"Do you know why the Julban Kingdom attacked both of the two great powers?"
"No…"
Zorn frowned and shook his head in response to Abel's question.
Naturally, the Ruler's Court had conducted extensive investigations into that matter as well.
Yet no matter how they investigated, they could uncover no information beyond the fact that 'the Julban Kingdom had invaded us unilaterally'.
And it was the same for the other nation taking part in the campaign, the Western Countries Federation.
"Did they start the war themselves? Do they have some plan that makes them think they can win even against the two great powers?"
Abel muttered.
The party from the Knightley Kingdom was to stay at the Guest House adjoining the Ruler's Court.
Abel had said that he wanted to depart today, or tomorrow at the latest, but Crown Prince Zorn stopped him.
He asked them to wait until the Emir, who was away on campaign, returned victorious.
He said that if they departed without waiting, the Emir would scold him when he returned.
The Julban Kingdom to the capital, Hosoina, was two days away.
A battle would probably take place today or tomorrow, so they would not have to wait very long…
It was not a journey that required them to hurry.
In particular, if the Western Countries they were supposed to visit next had also been drawn into the war, their visit might be seen as a nuisance even if the Kingdom's party arrived.
It would probably be unwise to begin a meeting between nations with negative feelings from the outset.
"Under normal circumstances, there's no way a newly established small nation could defeat the two great powers."
"Yeah, I think so too."
At the Guest House where the Kingdom's party had settled.
In the main guest room, Ryo and Abel were discussing the situation as they drank coffee from the Dark Continent.
"But judging from what Crown Prince Zorn told us, there's no way around the conclusion that the Julban Kingdom was the one that started the war, right?"
"Yeah."
"The Eastern Countries have no choice but to fight once they've been attacked. I understand that. I understand, but…"
"Why did the Julban Kingdom start a war?"
No matter how they looked at it, that was where the question always led.
"It looks as though they deliberately intend to take on both great powers at the same time."
"Somehow make the Eastern Countries' army and the Western Countries Federation's army clash… I can't think of any other reason they would have for taking on both great powers at once."
"Friendly fire… The two great powers weren't on particularly good terms to begin with. In that case, it certainly seems possible."
Ryo was not particularly familiar with the history of the Dark Continent, but he remembered hearing something like that while they were in the Western Countries.
That was why, at the venue for the Pope's inauguration, the Eastern Countries and Western Countries were seated far apart from each other…
"They've been engaged in skirmishes ever since they parted ways a hundred years ago. In recent years, the Western Countries have taken the form of a federation, and apparently its leadership has been pushing a policy of reconciliation with the Eastern Countries, so armed clashes were supposed to have decreased."
"I see."
"Even so, underneath it all, they're probably still potential enemies. Given the right trigger, it could create an impetus for war."
"The history between nations really is troublesome."
"I agree."
Abel nodded.
The Knightley Kingdom had also been in conflict with the Debuhi Empire since before it became an empire.
It was a relationship between neighboring nations that had lasted for hundreds of years.
It was not something that could be fixed by a king or emperor in a single generation or two.
That was because it had become deeply rooted even in the feelings of the people.
As the term 'public sentiment' indicated, it was not a matter of reason. It was a matter of emotion.
That was why it could not be resolved through logic, and even a thorough rational explanation would not change it.
Probably one of the most troublesome things within the framework of a nation.
Honestly, how could such a thing be resolved…?
Even if people thought it had been resolved, it would be dredged up again almost immediately.
Those seeking to seize power or those whose own power was beginning to waver would bring it up again, diverting the people's attention outward.
It was used for things like that.
"It's extremely difficult."
"Absolutely."
Ryo understood it from the perspective of historical research. Abel understood it from the perspective of statecraft.
Both knew how difficult and troublesome it was to resolve.
"Well, it's not something we can intervene in."
"True. Let's think about what we can do."
Non-interference in domestic affairs.
It was a fundamental principle in relations between nations.
"We're being kept here in this Guest House, but… I have a bad feeling about this."
"A bad feeling? You mean something like the Ruler's Court suddenly surrounding this Guest House?"
Abel said it with a laugh.
After all, that was exactly the sort of situation Ryo often called a 'pattern'.
"No, that development already happened once, on Ichiban Island. I don't think it'll happen again for a while."
"So it was a 'development,' not a 'pattern'…"
Ryo spoke with an inexplicably serious expression, while Abel gave a wry smile.
"I think this is the kind of place where… the earth splits open, the sky falls, a connection to the Demon Realm opens up, and terrifying creatures from another world come through and ravage this world… That sort of development seems likely."
"Demon realm? Otherworld? Do such things exist?"
"Huh? Come to think of it, isn't there a Demon Realm or something? This is fantasy, so I feel like there should be one…"
"Fantasii? I've never heard of the word 'Demon Realm'."
"Really…"
If a king belonging to the upper echelons of the educated class did not know about it, then the Demon Realm probably did not exist.
"It's a standard word in fantasy, yet it doesn't exist… How disappointing."
Ryo shook his head with a lonely expression.
Two days later.
An urgent report arrived at the Ruler's Court of Bardael.
"We engaged the Julban Kingdom in battle, but our army was annihilated. The Emir has been taken prisoner."
The report sent a shock through the Ruler's Court.