novelraw Chapter 155 : Why Are You There? (2)
Chapter 155 : Why Are You There? (2)
Chapter 155: Why Are You There? (2)
Jade looked around the dark forest with a blank expression.
No matter how many times he looked, it only seemed like the same path, and he couldn’t tell the difference.
“Ah~! You mean that way?”
“That’s north. Are you directionally challenged?”
“…Excuse me.”
Scratching his head, Jade turned his back on Larsen and walked into the thicket.
He couldn’t bring himself to admit that he had already been wandering for hours trying to find the prison.
Watching Jade’s disappearing figure, Larsen couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
Then he stepped onto the wall of the annex and climbed to the second floor.
The expression of Marianne, who had been waiting with slight worry, brightened as she saw him.
“I thought I heard sounds of fighting. What happened?”
“It was an intruder.”
“What? Don’t tell me the king sent an assassin….”
Given their current situation, it was a reasonable suspicion.
Marianne seemed to think the same.
The two went back into the room from the balcony to continue their conversation.
As the door closed, Larsen replied,
“That wasn’t the case.”
“Wasn’t it?”
Larsen explained everything that had just happened.
Marianne couldn’t help but be astonished.
“The person who fought against the demon race was actually a prince of the Canel Kingdom…?”
“I don’t know what his intention is, but even his knights have infiltrated Mineta’s royal castle. That in itself is shocking.”
A foreboding sense crept deep into their minds.
If their current situation were discovered, it would be no different from declaring war between the kingdoms.
Larsen and Marianne had been quietly staying in the annex at King Harlan Mineta’s request to avoid that outcome.
“Don’t tell me… something’s going to—”
Knock, knock!
Suddenly, there was a tapping sound at the window.
Marianne, who had been speaking, flinched in surprise and turned toward it.
Larsen did the same, even hurriedly flaring up his aura.
“Who—!”
Beyond the balcony window was a familiar face.
It was Jade, the one they had just parted ways with.
“Sir Jade! Why are you back? Don’t tell me you couldn’t find the way…?”
That was entirely possible.
As the balcony door opened, Jade scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
“It’s not that—I just forgot something.”
“What do you mean?”
Unlike earlier, something was hanging on Jade’s back this time—
a thick bundle wrapped in pitch-black cloth.
He brought it forward and held it out to Larsen.
When the knot was untied, five swords and eleven sets of clothing in the same color as Jade’s appeared.
“What is this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
“That’s not what I meant. Why are you giving these to us?”
The weapons that the holy knights originally possessed had been confiscated by Mineta’s royal castle.
To hand them new weapons now meant defying the castle’s orders.
“There’s going to be an incident soon. The Master told me to deliver these in advance.”
“Prince Raion, you mean? Surely he’s not thinking of attacking the castle?”
“To deliver the message as it was told to me… I’m to keep quiet about the plan. But he said to use these to protect your comrades.”
Was that uneasy feeling from earlier because of this?
Concerned, Larsen drew one of the swords that Jade had given him.
Srrrng—
It was suitably heavy, yet sharp and well-balanced.
He flicked the blade lightly with his finger.
Tiiing—!
The clear tone sliced through the air near his ear.
“This isn’t an ordinary weapon.”
“It’s a piece brought from our kingdom. Dwarf-made.”
“Dwarf?”
Not just one—all of them were of identical quality.
At this level, each would easily fetch an enormous price.
“You’re lending these to us?”
“There are plenty to spare, so you may keep them. And for the priests’ safety, please make sure to wear these clothes underneath your current ones.”
The all-black garments were the kind used for nighttime camouflage.
But from his explanation, that didn’t seem to be their only purpose.
“The fabric feels different from normal clothes.”
“They’re a special product of our kingdom. They can block an ordinary sword strike.”
“They can block swords?”
The thickness was, at most, that of a thumbnail.
It was hard to believe something like that could stop a blade.
Jade drew his sword and thrust it into the pile of clothes.
Thunk—!
Then, without stopping, he slashed and struck at them repeatedly as if hammering the ground.
The sight was so absurd that Larsen and Marianne were too shocked to speak.
“…”
“…”
“Phew! That should do it.”
Jade then lifted the black garments he had just attacked.
If it had been ordinary fabric, it should have been shredded into rags.
Yet, the clothes were completely unscathed—not even a scratch.
“How can such clothing exist…?”
“Amazing. How did you make something like this?”
At their reactions, Jade wore the smug look of a street magician who had just pulled off a successful trick.
“The Master designed them himself. If you don’t wish to take unnecessary risks, I suggest you wear them.”
“He’s not seriously planning to start a war… right?”
Larsen asked the question half in disbelief.
Jade’s expression turned ambiguous.
Then Larsen realized something he hadn’t thought of.
“Wait, have you already been to the prison?”
It had barely been long enough for him to have gone there and back.
“There’s a way. Anyway, I’ll be off now.”
“Wait a moment. You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“It’s an important matter, so it’s difficult to say.”
“Hmm…”
Jade ended his words there and stepped out onto the balcony, leaping down.
Left standing blankly, Larsen and Marianne could only stare for a while.
They still didn’t understand.
Even if they included Raion Canel and his companions, Jade among them, they were only four people.
With just that number, it was impossible to take on a kingdom.
Larsen walked back out to the balcony where Jade had exited.
He had only sensed Jade’s presence in the forest earlier.
But now… there was more than one.
The faint rustle of leaves brushing together echoed like a passing wind.
There were at least ten.
And every single one of them emanated the aura of a Sword Master.
“When did such people…”
Those figures ran swiftly through the forest, leaving the annex behind at high speed.
However, Jade and his comrades were unaware that Raion had already been moved from the underground prison to the annex.
By the time the next day’s sun hung high in the sky,
King Harlan Mineta, seated in the Great Hall of Mineta Royal Castle, looked visibly displeased.
Several nobles who were supposed to enter the capital that morning had not been heard from.
“Still nothing…?”
His voice, sharp with irritation, caused the nobles in the hall to pale.
Standing at the king’s right was the commander of the knights, Luteo Candir, equally tense.
As time went on, Harlan Mineta’s killing intent grew heavier.
Everyone in the hall grew restless.
Then, the doors of the Great Hall burst open, and a minister who had gone to investigate rushed inside.
“Your Majesty, terrible news!”
It was Marv, the king’s first secretary and closest aide.
At his appearance, Harlan Mineta’s expression turned even colder.
“Explain yourself!”
“It’s… it’s the nobles who were absent today! They’ve all vanished!”
“What! Vanished, you say?”
“Yes, sire. Their families are in chaos over the matter.”
“Absurd!”
These were nobles who had spent the previous night in the Great Hall discussing the future of the kingdom.
To hear that they had all disappeared overnight was beyond shocking.
“It’s true, sire. I have already ordered the royal knights to visit each household and confirm the situation.”
“Good heavens…! Does that mean Duke Dominus Flomen is among them?”
“Y-yes…”
An utterly baffling situation.
The duke, second in rank only to the king, had also been in charge of arranging the marriage alliance with the Moratz Kingdom.
On the eve of such an important matter, he had vanished without a word.
It was impossible to fathom what was happening.
“Bring Charoen here—immediately!”
The secretary hurried off once again.
The atmosphere in the Great Hall, once icy cold, now felt ready to ignite at any moment.
The nobles trembled in fear.
If any of them misspoke, their heads could roll next.
Before long, the secretary returned with Charoen.
“You came faster than expected.”
“I was already on my way here. What’s happened?”
“Phew…”
Harlan Mineta’s chin tilted forward slightly.
The secretary then relayed what had been discovered after visiting the noble families.
As he spoke, Charoen’s expression grew increasingly grim.
“The main nobles have disappeared… and we have no idea who’s behind it?”
“If I knew, would I still be sitting here?”
“They likely haven’t left the outer castle walls. I’ll send men to search even beyond the royal capital.”
“I’ll issue the same orders myself.”
The Great Hall meeting ended without proceeding further.
The nobles murmured anxiously as they exited.
Meanwhile, King Harlan Mineta sighed deeply from his throne.
After leaving the Great Hall, Charoen went straight to the eastern annex.
Inside the reception room sat Raion, Turklan, and Patrick.
“Here it is.”
He handed over the letter he’d received from Turklan’s wife.
Turklan carefully took it and unfolded it.
“……”
“Now then, let’s finish the conversation we couldn’t complete yesterday.”
As he spoke, Charoen’s gaze turned toward Raion.
In any negotiation, the impatient one loses.
Normally, Charoen would never be the first to speak like this.
But with the sudden disappearance of major nobles within Mineta’s royal castle, the situation had become too urgent to delay.
He needed to settle important matters before things got even more complicated.
“What is it you want to do?”
“I wish to form an alliance.”
“You? What authority do you have?”
“Have you heard of the Black Crescent Moon? If you’ve worked with Turklan, you must’ve heard the name at least once.”
It was an organization once legendary for its assassinations.
After becoming part of the Eye of the Moon, its traces had vanished for many years.
But its infamy had been so great that mercenaries still whispered its name.
Of course, Raion knew this—but he didn’t show it.
“Do I need to know?”
“I can ensure you lack for nothing. Whatever you require, I can provide it.”
From Charoen’s perspective, Raion was a talent he could not afford to lose.
No offer was too generous.
“Does that include materials? Like orichalcum or adamantium?”
At that, Charoen recalled hearing that Raion’s sword had been damaged.
He silently cursed himself for not remembering sooner.
“That’s a rather difficult condition.”
“If you can’t, then forget it.”
In other words, the deal would be off.
But Charoen wasn’t one to miss an opportunity.
“Orichalcum may be hard to get, but adamantium should be possible. Will that be enough for you to agree?”
“...Just adamantium?”
A heavy wave of killing intent radiated from Raion’s entire body.
It was the aura of a Sword Master—perhaps one beyond the upper ranks.
Even Turklan straightened and showed respect toward Raion.
Charoen had tried to win over such a man with mere materials.
“I spoke carelessly.”
“As long as you know.”
“I’ll acquire it for you. In return, I hope you’ll assist in the matter that’s occurred in the royal castle.”
“I’ll decide after I hear the details.”
At that, Charoen explained what he had heard in the Great Hall.
Though it was confidential information, the matter was too grave, and capable help was essential.
Especially if an organization was behind the kidnapping of key nobles, they needed to tread carefully.