CH 165

Chapter 165 – Dragia’s Choice

“―So you still can’t find them?” (Dragia)

In his office at the palace of Elrond, Dragia received an unfavorable report from the Four Heavenly Beastmasters whom he placed so much faith in. Nike had disappeared, kidnapped by those invaders.

He had immediately organized a search party and had them look all over the capital, but no trace of them was found.

“Fine. Keep at it then,” he told the four figures kneeling in front of him. Immediately after, they disappeared, leaving the room.

Dragia let out a deep sigh and reclined in the back of his chair.

Then, Yosen, one of his subordinates, came into the room and gave him a report on the current status of the palace. Seeing that nothing much had changed, Dragia gave a short nod.

“Yosen, what do you think? About those invaders from earlier.” (Dragia)

“The invaders, huh…? I am ashamed to say that unfortunately, I fell asleep like everyone else.” (Yosen)

Yosen looked down apologetically.

“The invaders moved far too quickly. They clearly knew from the start that Nike was being imprisoned at the Tower of Affection. It’s certain that they were not inhabitants of this world. They were most likely some forces adherent to the previous emperor’s influence that had been laying low all this time, hm? …But could it be Vodara? No… that wouldn’t be possible. In the first place, he was the one who murdered the predecessor.” (Dragia)

“Right. I was really astonished when we learned that Vodara had killed him a long time ago and that he had been animating and controlling his corpse all this time.” (Yosen)

“Agreed. I still don’t know if that was Vodara’s doing or the work of the Curseweaver, but regardless, it’s truly a dreadful power.” (Dragia)

“The people who worshiped him so much didn’t even know he was already dead, after all.” (Yosen)

His appearance at the time must have been extremely lifelike. Dragia shook his head, then quietly got up and went to the window.

His view of the city below was unchanged. The cityscape of the Empire spread out before him, the same as always.

“The other world… When disaster strikes, it always seems to come all at once, doesn’t it? Vodara’s escape, the appearance of the Curseweaver, and the light pockets… Perhaps all of this is connected.” (Dragia)

“Connected? Do you mean to say that Vodara may have been responsible for transporting us here?” (Yosen)

“Or perhaps the Curseweaver…” (Dragia)

“If taking back Nike was their plot to revive the imperial regime, how did they disappear from the imperial capital? It’s too odd that Ouza and the others, who are so skilled at gathering information, couldn’t find any traces of them. They must have made elaborate plans in advance to take Nike back and then made just as thorough preparations to carry it out… It feels as if we’ve been tricked by a fox.” (Dragia)

(TL: There’s a saying in Japanese called ‘tricked by a fox’ which is used to describe a situation where bewildering or confusing unexpectedly happens.)

It might have been tempting to think that the whole affair was an illusion. But the scars left by the invaders still remained. On the palace grounds, there were still people dealing with the large number of plants that had sprung up all over the place from the ground.

“…! Come to think of it, there is one thing that has been bothering me.” (Yosen)

“What is it?” (Dragia)

“Actually, there’s someone I haven’t seen for the past few days.” (Yosen)

“…Who is it?” (Dragia)

“―Lord Rajie.” (Yosen)

“Rajie…? Ah, he was a minister from the kingdom of Allodds, wasn’t he…? Wait. Wasn’t the kingdom of Allodds the homeland of Nike’s mother?” (Dragia)

“That is indeed so.” (Yosen)

Dragia furrowed his brow in thought. Then, he directed his gaze at Yosen and gave him an order.

“Search Rajie’s private chambers at once.” (Dragia)

“Are you sure it’s okay to not receive his permission to do so?” (Yosen)

“I’ll take responsibility. Do it at once.” (Dragia)

Yosen voice his assent and left the room.

A few minutes later, Yosen returned to his office, informing him that he had searched the room thoroughly but found nothing. However, he had heard something of interest from the attendants who had been assigned to Rajie’s care.

“In fact, Lord Rajie got on a carriage with that merchant who had come here earlier, and they disappeared in the city.” (Yosen)

“But if that was the case, why did Hakumen bother to show his face here? Wouldn’t such a thing only serve to put us on guard?” (Dragia)

“…What if the goal was to put us on guard?” (Yosen)

“What do you mean by that?” (Dragia)

“It pains me to say it, but Hakumen was indeed well-spoken. He made us question whether or not we thought we truly knew this world, and he convinced us that he was worth negotiating with.” (Yosen)

“Then Hakumen was drawing attention to himself so that we wouldn’t look elsewhere?” (Dragia)

“We were involved in a light pocket. The incident occurred after we had taken down the Empire, wrapped up most of the post-war negotiations, and announced that the son of the former emperor would be executed. Sir Rajie must have felt that this was the best time to take action.” (Yosen)

There were still many hurons in the imperial capital. Most likely, there were still a lot of them who were faithful to the previous regime.

They were a potential spark for conflict, and it would be best to wipe them out immediately if possible. But it would take time to deal with the aftermath of the war.

The offensive this time was a joint effort between garbels and hurons, so dealing with the aftermath took time because both sides wanted to keep the other in check.

The situation was finally beginning to see a resolution, but now they had to direct power towards finding and eliminating that potential spark of war.

“For those reasons, we were always putting off the matter with His Highness Nike. That’s where Hakumen came in. Our eyes were on Hakumen rather than focusing on the internal investigation or His Highness Nike.” (Yosen)

“So that’s where they got us, huh?” (Dragia)

“Most likely.” (Yosen)

Dragia’s face turned grim as he let out a low growl.

“…If Hakumen was originally here in the capital, how did he know so much about the situation in this world? Shouldn’t he only have the same amount of information that we did?” (Dragia)

“King Dragia, why do you think that what Hakumen told us was the truth?” (Yosen)

“Hm? What do you mean?” (Dragia)

“Is it unthinkable for him to lie to us in that situation?” (Yosen)

“Lie? …But didn’t Ze’ev say that Hakumen was correct?” (Dragia)

“That’s the point.” (Yosen)

“Hm?” (Dragia)

“What if… Ze’ev was on the side of the Empire?” (Yosen)

“…?! Impossible! It can’t be!” (Dragia)

“Why not? He’s just an ordinary adventurer, isn’t he?” (Yosen)

“But he was formerly one of the Four Heavenly Beastmasters! He’s the person I placed the most trust in!” (Dragia)

“That was a long time ago. Now he’s fallen to nothing more than a monster-hunting, money-grubbing hooligan.” (Yosen)

Dragia unconsciously felt his anger rise at Yosen’s scathing words, but…

“Please look at the reality, my King. If he is the enemy, everything makes sense.” (Yosen)

“My King, I believe we should capture and interrogate Ze’ev right away. Setting Julaf aside, Ze’ev could still be influenced as a fellow garbel. But if we delay any further, he may simply flee. Please give your decision.” (Yosen)

Dragia frowned bitterly and pondered for a while.

After several moments, Dragia opened up his tightly closed eyelids, revealing a steadfast gaze.

“―Capture Ze’ev.” (Dragia)

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