CH 64

──On a rocky mountain east of the town of Nosa──

“Her Highness Sophia is intending on meeting with the Demon Lord!?”

Isaac Mueller shouted out when he heard the report from the soldiers who had rushed to the scene.

He couldn’t believe what was happening.

It had only been a mere three days since they came to investigate the “mysterious sword” in rocky mountains to the east.

He hadn’t imagined the situation could change so quickly in such a short period of time.

“Why would Her Highness Sophia decide to do so?!”

“In the absence of Isaac-sama and Mariella-sama, the only executive remaining in town is Her Highness, Princess Sophia.”

The messenger replied while remaining kneeling.

“So, if Her Highness decides such a thing, we have no choice but to obey…”

“Then you should have ignored the letter until we returned!”

Isaac’s eyes widened as he exclaimed.

“Why did you do more than was necessary?! Who delivered the letter from the Demon Territory to Her Highness Sophia!”

“…… No one did.”

“What?”

“Her Highness walked to the town gate and received the letter from the messenger himself.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Her Highness gracefully declared that she desired peace with the Demon Territory, and for that purpose, she would meet with the Demon Lord.”

Isaac was stunned at the messenger’s words.

The Princess Sophia that the soldier spoke of seemed to someone other than the one Isaac knew.

Isaac thought of her as a sickly, frail girl with no will of her own.

Zagran, who knew the sisters Sophia and Liana well, also thought as such.

‘No way! Was she concealing her true ability……!’

Those kinds of people usually feigned incompetence, but when the time came, they would reveal their true power.

Isaac’s body began to tremble as he murmured to himself, “Just like the heroes of legend.”

The princess, who was thought to be the weakest of the three, had outwitted both Isaac and Mariella.

Isaac was surprised, horrified, and even slightly moved by this fact.

“The investigation of the sword is cancelled! Prepare to withdraw immediately!”

Isaac shouted to the soldiers surrounding the pile of rocks.

Near the peak of the rock pile was a large sword wrapped in chains.

‘But, we can’t worry about that anymore.’

Isaac gritted his teeth.

He shouldn’t have been so deeply engrossed in his rivalry with his second-in-command, Mariella.

He should have left that sword alone.

‘No, who could have predicted that things would change so drastically in a mere three…… or, in fact, two and a half days after leaving the town! Furthermore, I can’t believe that Her Highness Princess Sophia is meeting with the Demon Lord……’

‘We cannot allow Princess Sophia to meet with the Demon Lord alone. If something happens to her, this Isaac will be held responsible.’

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Above all, there was no way to predict what Princess Sophia would say to the Demon Lord.

It was necessary that Isaac be present and possibly prevent Princess Sophia from speaking.

“We must return to the town and prepare for the meeting with the Demon Lord. Since Her Highness has formally agreed to the request for a meeting, it cannot be rescinded. If it is assumed that the Empire has fled from the Demon Lord…. Why did this happen?”

Isaac clenched his fists and shouted.

“However, a hero views a crisis as an opportunity. We will flaunt the power of the Empire at the meeting. We will designate the finest soldiers to escort Her Highness! On top of that, we will establish a perimeter with things that display the power of the Empire. That will be fine.”

“What about military exercises, Isaac-sama?”

“The military exercises on the western plains will be canceled. The demons’ request for a meeting was probably meant as a protest regarding the matter. Knowing that, we cannot continue.”

Isaac sighed.

“I didn’t expect Her Highness Sophia to take action. It seems that this one had underestimated her.”

Besides, I am also concerned about the actions of the Demon Territory.

In a short period of time, the Demon Territory sent a letter to Her Highness Sophia, and they did so with exquisite timing.

Whether it was earlier or later, the letter would have landed in Isaac’s hands. Sophia would never have laid eyes on the letter.

Isaac would have responded to the Demon Territory’s request for a meeting by saying, “I have to decline, as Her Highness Sophia is reluctant to have one.’

Or perhaps he would have said, “Please wait until we obtain His Majesty’s permission.”

He would have continued the military exercises without any concern at all.

“Anyway, we must return to the town and consider how to proceed.”

Isaac instructed his soldiers to proceed with haste.

However, some of them did not comply.

“We almost have it. Just a bit more and the chains…”

“…… Mariella is still fixated on that sword?”

Isaac looked toward the rocky mountains.

At the foot of the mountain was his second-in-command, Mariella, and near the peak were the soldiers subordinate to her.

They had started extricating the mysterious sword early in the morning.

“Mariella! The investigation of the sword is cancelled. Did you not hear me!”

“Please wait. We are going to sever the chains with my axe now!

“Go ahead, I will return first.”

Isaac quickly made his decision.

It was frustrating to see that sword in the hands of Mariella and Zagran, but there was no choice.

Just as that thought of having no other choice crossed his mind…

“The chain has been severed!”

At the sound of Mariella’s voice, Isaac involuntarily turned around.

There were countless holes in the ground as a result of the earth magic used to remove the chains that held the sword in place.

Even so, they could not reach the base of the chains.

That was why Mariela and the rest had been attempting to sever the chains with axes since last night.

They provided the soldiers with magic axes and invested several hours.

It was only now that they finally succeeded.

The sword must be a valuable sword, after all, if it is fastened in place by such sturdy chains.

Boom!

The moment Mariella raised her voice, the chains that had been clinging to the sword constricted and shattered the sword.

“What?”

The chains then also broke into pieces, becoming fine fragments, like sand, and drifting into the crevices in the rocks.

All that remained were the remnants of the shattered sword.

The sword blade, now reduced to tiny fragments, was rusted and decayed, as though it had lost all its life force.

“What! The sword destroyed itself!?”

“Why…… Why…….”

Isaac and Mariella’s voices echoed around the rock pile.

The soldiers also stood frozen where they stood and gazed at the scene in front of them.

“──Does the sword choose its own master!?”

“──No, no I think it’s a trap from the Demon Territory.”

“──There is no sword in the Demon Territory that can shatter itself.”

With a sigh, the soldiers murmured.

What they witnessed was a sight too mysterious to be true.

A sword stuck in a rock, bound by chains and a person who tried to retrieve it by cutting the chain.

As if rejecting the act itself, the old sword shattered itself through the chains.

It was a strange and captivating sight for those of the Empire, who revere the heroes.

“…… Ah…… Ah.”

Mariella, the second-in-command, nodded dejectedly with her hands on the rocky mountain.

“…… We will withdraw. Mariella, you can follow us.”

Isaac then turned his back to her.

They were unaware that the sword embedded in the rocky mountain was merely a rusty sword that had been collecting dust in General Reisenga’s mansion.

The chains binding the sword in place was an [Improved Chain Lock] created by Thor.

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And that the [Improved Chain Lock] boasted security measures that prevented both the item it secured and the chains themselves from being seized…

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The [Improved Chain Lock]’s security system

A feature activated by magic power to prevent important items from being seized.

If the [Chain Lock] is forcibly removed or broken after activation, the item that the [Chain Lock] is meant to protect is constricted and destroyed.

After that, the [Chain Lock] itself will shatter into pieces, and it will lose its magic power and attributes, transforming into a normal metal.

The security system can be released by the person who invoked it, by infusing magic power into it again.

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“D-don’t tell me… Are you suggesting that this was the wrong method to draw it out? That this sword will reject all but the one it chooses? It even shattered itself…”

Mariella was muttering in a daze at the foot of the rocky mountain.

Hearing her voice, Isaac began to prepare his belongings.

“Anybody who has any free time, retrieve the pieces of that sword. We will investigate it after we return to the capital. It will also serve as a record of the unit’s activities.”

That sword would be noted in the records of the Empire.

Mariella caused the destruction of the sword when she failed to retrieve it.

That would be Mariella’s – and thus the Minister of Military Affairs Zagran’s – downfall

“However, at the same time, fault also lies with this small officer. Due to my involvement with this sword, the meeting between Her Highness and the Demon Lord was arranged. In truth, I had intended to conduct further military exercises. Eventually, we intended on honing our magic and archery near the border shared with the Demon Territory…”

Limiting the enemy’s actions and isolating them is the foundation of strategy.

If negotiations were held afterwards, favorable terms could be obtained for the Empire.

It would also be a reminder for the Demon Territory, of the power of the Empire.

“…… However, this is not unsalvageable. This officer intends on redressing this mistake. We will exhibit our power during the meeting──”

And so Isaac and his soldiers began to return to the town of Nosa.

After the troops left, Mariella collapsed onto the ground.

Her body seemed to have lost all its strength.

She had destroyed the ‘mysterious sword’ with her own hands.

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The fact that a tent had been erected here to investigate the sword was recorded in the unit’s activity logs.

Mariella’s blunder would have already been recorded.

‘…… If Princess Sophia had not done anything unnecessary, we could have spent more time on the investigation.’

She did not expect the princess to interfere with her actions.

Mariella’s boss, Zagran, also stated that Princess Sophia was just another member of royalty who would eventually be used in a political marriage.

He had only told Mariella:

“If she disappears, only this Zagran will remain for Princess Liana to rely on.”

One by one, Mariela recalled Zagran’s words.

Her boss was a successful man, and Mariella had served Zagran all her life. She had never made a mistake. This time, Mariella’s failure lay in the fact that she planned and acted of her own accord.

“Zagran-sama, I’m truly sorry.”

Mariella mumbled to her boss, who was not present.

‘”You said it yourself, Zagran-sama. If we fail to exhibit our power to the Demon Territory, use the second plan. It is a risky plan, but one that will make better use of Her Highness, Sophia …….”

Mariella withdrew a letter from her luggage.

It had been entrusted to her by Zagran. The second plan was written in it.

Mariella removed the seal and opened it.

Seeing her boss’s familiar handwriting, she smiled reassuringly.

“‘There are dormant monsters that lay in the north. Use Her Highness Sophia to defeat them──’”

It seems that Isaac Mueller was also gathering information about this monster, but…… Zagran-sama was one step ahead of him.”

She couldn’t help but smile.

The letter described what Mariella should do.

In it was also a note of caution.

‘A new kind of monster, such as Gargarossa, has appeared. First, investigate the surrounding area.’

‘The following is a description of the local collaborators. Contact them and request their aid.’

‘This operation will be an efficient means of demonstrating the power of the Empire.’

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And finally, ‘Upon completion of the operation, you will be permitted to return to the Imperial Capital.’

“I’ll entrust it to you, Zagran-sama.”

Mariella knelt down in the direction of the Imperial capital.

“As your subordinate, I, Mariella, will see to it that I fulfill your mission. For the prestige of the Empire and the glory of Your Excellency…”

Mariella then relayed the instructions to her subordinates.