“You and your brother… truly, there’s never a peaceful day.”
Late afternoon.
Anastasia, who had just finished her meal and was enjoying tea, placed the newspaper she had been reading in front of Shane as she said this.
The headline on the newspaper read in bold:
[The Yellow Dragon Klein Stops Mass Murder!]
[A mass murder by a non-human almost unfolds in the heart of the coalition! Authorities investigate possible links to the noble assassin at the center of the incident!]
The article detailed how Klein had prevented mass murder in the capital of the coalition by a non-human, just as the headline suggested.
It was simply good luck that Klein had been at the scene.
In other areas, similar incidents had occurred simultaneously, with many being killed by non-humans.
Though the coalition had many adventurers and quickly brought the situation under control, public opinion was already turning in a negative direction.
“This is just the beginning.”
“Hmm… so this is only the beginning…”
Anastasia couldn’t help but be astonished by the audacity of the organization known as “Nameless”.
Although the coalition had been unable to prevent the noble murders, this was only because Shane had been thorough.
However, an organization like Nameless who moved in a group would inevitably leave a trail.
“They’re probably hoping by now that their trail will be discovered.”
“Hmm? Why is that?”
“Because what they ultimately want is a war among humans.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense.”
Anastasia quickly understood Shane’s explanation and nodded.
“So, that’s why they caused such an incident in the heart of the coalition.”
“That’s right.”
The organization would leave behind a trail, but it would lead to someone else, not them.
In Shane’s view, the current scapegoat was the King of the Kingdom of Haiel.
“The Empire might still be difficult to shake, but the Kingdom of Haiel is likely the most tempting target for Nameless due to its location.”
The Kingdom of Haiel was geographically the closest country to the coalition after the Empire.
As such, its influence within the coalition was significant, and if the Kingdom of Haiel were framed for terrorism, the very core of the coalition would be shaken.
“But it seems they didn’t expect an unforeseen variable.”
“A variable… what is it?”
“Klein.”
“Hmm? There were no casualties where your brother was, but other places also managed to prevent the attacks, didn’t they?”
Anastasia asked, and Shane responded.
“It’s a little different. Klein is the only one who successfully captured someone alive.”
Now that she thought about it, the newspapers reported that Klein was the only one who subdued the rampaging non-human.
“I see. Your little brother is the only one who captured someone alive.”
“That’s right. The lizardman Klein captured is already under investigation. The organization likely intended for them to die after their rampage so that the coalition would follow the trail Nameless deliberately left behind during the investigation.”
“But now there’s a survivor.”
“That’s correct.”
“Still, wasn’t Nameless too careless? If they were causing such a large incident, they should’ve anticipated efforts to capture those involved.”
Anastasia’s sharp remark cut to the point, but Shane gestured toward a newspaper with Klein’s face printed on the front page.
“They were prepared enough. If you look here, there’s also a case where they attempted to capture someone but failed.”
Just as Shane said, the article also mentioned that another non-human had died after coughing up blood once the rampage ended.
“Did they set it up so they would die naturally after the rampage?”
“Yes. And we have testimony as well.”
“From that black mage you brought in yesterday.”
“That’s right.”
Anastasia recalled the black mages Shane had secretly brought in the day before.
All of them were gaunt as if they hadn’t eaten properly in ages, and they were now resting in rooms set up in the underground city.
“But why was your brother the only one who succeeded in capturing someone alive?”
“This was an unexpected result for me as well… but it seems Klein did something rather interesting.”
As he spoke, Shane pulled out a small orb from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a video recording tool that a nearby reporter happened to have.”
“Quite lucky.”
“The reporter was following Klein around.”
In the video, Klein was seen facing off against a large lizardman, exchanging blows several times.
However, unlike what Anastasia had seen on the battlefield two years ago, Klein’s approach was strangely passive.
Though the reason wasn’t clear, it seemed Klein had been fighting with the intention of subduing the lizardman from the very start, even as shouts from nearby citizens called for him to kill the creature.
Despite his cautious movements, at a certain point, Klein began spreading threads of magical energy around him, and in an instant, he detonated them.
However, the explosion carried no physical force. Instead, it burned away the magical power lingering in the air in an instant.
“Mhmm? This is…?”
In an instant, the space was drained of all magical power, causing it to rapidly absorb power from its surroundings according to the will of the world.
As this happened, blood magical power began to seep from the lizardman’s body, and at the same time, Klein spread another thread of magical power and burned that blood magical power away as well.
“He copied me.”
It was the same method Shane had used during the war two years ago, when he had wrested control of an Elder Shaman’s spell.
Of course, this was a much cruder version of what Shane had done, but Klein had replicated it just from watching.
Because of that, the power that should have driven the lizardman into a frenzy and killed him was also erased, leaving the creature as the sole survivor.
This brought Shane an emotion he couldn’t quite understand.
He couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
“…I’ve never seen this before.”
“Yes, it’s a first for me as well. I’ve mastered others’ techniques, but I’ve never been on the receiving end of it.”
“No, I meant I’ve never seen that expression on your face.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm, I didn’t think I’d ever be jealous of your brother… and he’s not even a woman.”
“……”
What kind of expression had he been making for Anastasia to say such a thing?
[Based on human emotions, Master, you seemed quite pleased with yourself.]
[Yes, that was exactly the expression.]
Then, sensing their master’s predicament, Arcane and Evelyn offered advice but it didn’t help much.
When Shane fell silent, unsure of what to say, Anastasia let out a small chuckle.
“That expression you’re making right now, it’s just like before. It’s something only I can do. I’ll be satisfied with that.”
“……?”
What kind of expression was he making this time?
Shane felt confused. He realized that even with his understanding, he couldn’t grasp his lover’s feelings.
What on earth could it be?
This situation where she becomes jealous and then comes to terms with it on her own.
Unable to follow the flow of events, Shane eventually cleared his throat and continued speaking.
“From now on, it’s only a matter of time. Though this incident was caused by Nameless, it’s also the moment the Crown Prince has been waiting for.
“My brother?”
“Yes, which is why we must move quickly as well.”
“I suppose I’ll need to summon my sister.”
At the moment, Olicia had gone to the coalition to interrogate the crocodile beastmen subdued by Klein.
But fortunately, that evening, Olicia returned directly to Arunvida after completing the interrogation.
And with her came a rather welcome guest.
“It’s been a while, Osten.”
“G-Good to see you, Sh-Shane. I-I’m glad to see you’re doing w-well.”
The second son of the Bernshtein family, and a genius strategist like no other, had arrived in Arunvida with Olicia.
***
Osten was a figure whose stock had recently risen considerably among the nobles of the imperial family.
Instead of forming teams to explore dungeons at the academy, he had played a key role in the ongoing two-year war against the orcs, following the deployment missions issued by Olicia.
Although the orcs were remnants, Osten had directly commanded the army under Olicia’s command, and remarkably, the forces he led had never suffered a single defeat. He continuously pressured the orc elder shaman Kargato.
Achieving such results amidst Arunvida’s unpredictable weather and constant monster attacks was no easy feat.
Thanks to this, the army led by Osten inflicted minimal casualties while delivering significant results, which made him a subject of great interest among the political nobles of the imperial court.
However, there were still many who looked down on him due to his stuttering.
Despite his accomplishments, in noble society, charisma and outward appearance were important elements in politics; so it was only normal that some would dismiss him.
Of course, Osten didn’t care. He valued seeing people for who they truly were, so it made no difference to him.
“But why come all the way here and still stutter?”
“Right?! He doesn’t stutter at all, this guy? Why were you hiding it even from me?!”
“Ah, haha.”
Osten responded to Olicia’s question with an awkward laugh.
In fact, over the past two years of serving Olicia, Osten had come to trust her; it was largely due to his mischievous personality.
“It was amusing. I just couldn’t help but watch how the princess kept waiting for me to speak comfortably.”
“Youuu …!”
Olicia glared at him. She was clearly irritated, but she soon sighed and got to the point.
“Anyway, we’ve finished interrogating the crocodile beastman. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any useful information.”
“He didn’t seem to be in his right mind, did he?”
“No, most of what he said was incoherent.”
Though they had successfully captured the crocodile beastman thanks to Klein’s efforts, it seemed the beastman wasn’t in his right mind, possibly due to the effects of the doping drug.
“Did he manage to say anything at all?”
“He mentioned a few disjointed words: kin, abduction, red drug, fear, underground.”
“That’s good enough.”
Good enough?
Olicia wondered how that could possibly be sufficient, but seeing Osten nodding beside her, she finally understood.
“Are you saying we can create more solid evidence ourselves?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What do you mean by that?”
When Anastasia asked for further clarification, Osten spoke up.
“According to the information obtained by Sir Shane, the organization known as ‘Nameless’ currently has two main objectives.”
“The first is to foster a climate of hatred among humans towards other races. We can assume that this operation is already halfway successful.”
“The second is to disrupt the human alliance by continuing these terror attacks from non-humans. In reality, this too has been halfway achieved, thanks to the foolish ambitions of King Haiel.”
“Therefore, our goal is to minimize the fallout from Nameless’ plan, which is already partially in motion.”
“However, the current situation is that we’re clearly at a disadvantage if we proceed head-on.”
Anastasia who got a grasp of the situation from Osten’s concise explanation nodded her head.
“Are we planning to expand the investigation based on the crocodile beastman’s testimony?”
“That’s right. Normally, given the nature of the coalition, even with both of Your Highnesses’ opinions, there are limits to how quickly we can accelerate the investigation. Furthermore, the Crown Prince will likely hinder the process as well.”
Due to the multinational nature of the coalition, it leaned heavily towards democracy, but this also meant there was often a lack of speed in handling matters.
Unlike kingdoms that operated under the direct orders of their kings, the coalition was rife with power struggles among the nobles who held seats in each country’s council.
“That’s why the crocodile beastman’s testimony will provide crucial justification.”
“So we’ll be piecing things together, then.”
“Yes.”
For example, since the crocodile beastman had mentioned the word “underground” in his testimony, it gave them the justification and authority to investigate the underground city.
“I see. So, while pretending to conduct an investigation, we’ll actually be able to move more freely based on the information we already have?”
“Yes, that’s right. It may not seem like much, but the time we’ll be able to cut off is exactly what the Nameless Organization will be most wary of.
“But what if the enemy catches on and acts first?”
“That would be impossible as well.”
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t Osten who answered, but Shane.
“According to the black mages I brought, they said the enemy doesn’t yet have the necessary supply of doping pills prepared, so they’ll need time to regroup as well.”
The documents found at Miss Sue’s mansion indicated that the doping pills being ordered weren’t something easily made.
Not only did the refining process take time, but the black mages of the School of Life knew better than anyone the effects their drugs would have on those who consumed them.
As a result, they had delayed production as long as they could, and so there weren’t many doping pills manufactured at that point.
“So we’ve bought ourselves some time.”
“Yes.”
However, despite this, Nameless had already launched their operation, which meant they had something they were confident in.
Time wasn’t fully on their side, and from now on, it would be a race against time.
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