Chapter 77: Chapter 37: Envoys from Afar Part 1

Chapter 37

After they all calmed down Mark said to the Adventurer.

“Have you calmed down yet?”

The Adventurer nodded, albeit shaking a little. Mark nodded.

“Well, I want to ask you if you can contact the other Adventurer? You know, coordinate with us so that it makes it easier to find the culprits. We only have 38 hours till the festival.”

She looked awkward for a moment.

“Ummm…. Well we don’t contact each other at all.”

Mark narrowed his eyes and so did Ryuu and his party.

‘Is she implying that?’

“You are all working alone….”

The girl nodded. It was getting ridiculous. Looking how organized and systematic that the [Adventurer Guild] and [Merchant Guild] were, you’d expect some kind of proper procedure in place. But in the first place, expecting something out of people who (may) have fetishes for hammer was wrong. The place was filled with eccentric people with only few sane ones. The poor adventurers probably had gotten instructions like ‘Get the damn barrels from the thief’ or something like that and thrust without any preparations. Mark sighed as he did a face palm.

“Fucking bloody fantastic. Then how’d you know how many barrels has been recovered then?”

“Well, it is my record of it. I don’t know how many others have brought in.”

Mark’s eye lighted up in hope. It meant that others may have brought even more and thus narrowing the amount of the [Gunpowder] they had to find. At least it was some good news. He nodded as he said to the others.

“Well, we need to find the rest of it. I won’t get my hopes high completing it today but tomorrow we PKF are going to be quite busy.”

Ryuu asked while frowning.

“Is something happening tomorrow?”

Mark nodded as he replied.

“We need to bring the envoys from other kingdoms that will be coming tomorrow for the festival and a sign of goodwill. As far as I know, there will be an envoy from Elsev Urik, Larad and Ushur. Two neighboring Kingdoms and from the Merchant Kingdom. It is going to be pretty hectic as the [Star Cardinal] is also here.”

Sarada asked.

“What is the [Star Cardinal] doing here? When we were in [Holy City], we did not even get a glimpse of even one cardinal. Now that he is here, what are we supposed to do?”

Mark just shrugged, his hand on an alcohol bottle which he got from somewhere.

“Who knows? Could be to investigate the attack on the [Temple] last time. This is the first time the [Cult] has gone on an offense against them so it could be that.”

Ren asked seriously.

“……Where did you even get the bottle? You did not even open your [Storage Ring] even once.”

Mark just grinned. He held the bottle up in the sky and spoke in a smug way.

“I stashed an alcohol bottle in every corner of the capital when I was drunk once. Even I don’t know where it pops out from. I just grab it from a dark place and voila, it appears……”

All the others deadpanned including Ryuu’s party and the soldiers around him. They already knew what kind of a man he was. The Adventurer, on the other hand, was gaping like a fish. Her expression looked like as if she was a foreigner that was getting cultural shock. She knew that the Captain Mark was widely known as the [Drunk Commander] but to see such brazen display made her tongue-tied.

After hours of searching with the information they got from the blue haired girl, they finally got the remaining ragtag bunch of Adventurers. Discussing with them, they found that who was behind the stealing while Mark and Ryuu knew that they had found altogether 34 barrels of [Gunpowder]. Very less than what Mark was anticipating. But still, it was better than a hundred barrels of it in the hand of the [Cult]. The Adventurers affiliated with the [Blacksmith Guild] had a dark face when thinking of the consequences therefore they agreed to co-operate with the PKF.

When they were discussing, Mark listened on as to how they were able to sniff out some of the barrels. The blue haired girl told Mark.

“You see, they always use enchanted barrels when transporting some very important stuff and this time as well the Guild used the same barrels.”

Another Adventurer chimed in.

“When we were learning in the [Blacksmith Guild] we were educated on how to discern such pattern when we are to hunt it down if it ever were stolen.”

However, Mark asked.

“So the reason why you spread out was?”

The blue haired Adventurer nodded as she replied.

“Well…. The signal was all over the place. It was everywhere which meant that the barrels were separated so we had to look individually. We don’t get an exact location, just where it had been. So we ask the local about it, some… you know, suspicious activity. That is how you found me in that abandoned place and the sewers. I lost track of the person who carried the barrels and ran away in the sewer system. Honestly, there were so many people in the sewer and I was confused. Now I know the reason…”

All of the Adventurers affiliated with the [Blacksmith Guild] made a face at that. Mark resumed his questioning.

“And the reason why there were only few of you searching for the [Gunpowder] was that you all thought you would find it by yourself?”

Blue haired girl meekly nodded.

“Well, yeah, we thought we had time….”

“It looks stupid, sounds stupid and is stupid. Matters like this, involving explosives, is a serious one. We can shrug off such wounds, but a normal citizen?”

All of them flinched at that. Mark sighed at the same time. He looked at his soldiers and ordered them.

“Compile any complaints or even rumors of any ongoing suspicious activity for the past months from the 3^rd regiment by today from all sectors. Form 10 Teams of 8-man squad from the 2^nd regiment with at least one from the 4^th regiment. You all have to cross check the places with these 10 Adventurers as soon as possible! Also find the map of the sewer system from the storage. It is likely that the perpetrators are using the sewer system to hide so look for a hole on the places. We have till tomorrow to find them all.”

The PKF soldiers saluted him.

“Yes, sir!”

Ryuu had learnt that there were altogether few hundreds of PKF soldiers. They were divided into 5 regiment, each consisting of soldiers from tens to hundreds under the command of Mark. 1^st and 2^nd regiment were the patrolling one, who were combat oriented. 3^rd was the logistic and information gatherer. Those that sit and gather complains and information. 4^th was the investigator. Smart ass people were in this group while the 5^th was the least staffed. They were responsible for the medical side. The capital was divided into various smaller region. There was temporary outpost that had members from each regiment and rotated duty every 4 hours with the new ones.

Ryuu asked him.

“What are we going to do then?”

Mark looked at them before thinking to himself.

“Go with one of the teams tomorrow as it is already late today. I won’t be coming back today because I have to prepare for tomorrow. 1^st regiment will be with me for this drill. We have to stand guard at the harbor because the envoys will arrive from there tomorrow. And from ongoing situation we have to be even more vigilant. But today we need to rest and cross check our information. You, Adventurers, should arrive tomorrow in the morning at 8 AM sharp.”

All of the soldiers and Adventurers nodded knowing that tomorrow it will be the test of time.

Kimiko Pov

Kimiko had gained some insight of the world. Various memory seemed to be playing in her mind when reading about several things. The ‘Tower of Babel’ still seemed to going strong. However, it was surprising to see that they had established a city around it, not to mention establishing many freaking Academies in many Kingdom capitals. The principle of the main Academy situated in ‘Tower of Babel’ was ‘that’ elf. The self-proclaimed rival of Solomon. He was just a small kid elf then, genius and a little bratty at times.

‘Ah, good old times…’

Now that she thinks about it, it was time to go home. She had already spent at least an hour in the library. She kept the book where it belonged and walked out of the library. She had gotten the gist of the world. The Temple holds a strong influence this time while the might of the Kingdom is nothing to sneeze at either. The world seemed to be having an uneasy truce with the twin Kingdom even shutting out the various invitation from other Kingdoms.

The Temple also seemed to have established a big branch of the Temple with many smaller ones in every Kingdom. One might take it as a show of power but it also acted as a place to worship their faith. The believers in Temple of Origin Gods had not dwindled down in population. Instead, it boomed. It was suspicious since it had once been almost destroyed, but like they say about cockroaches. But it did not mean that what people believed in was wrong.

Kimiko thought as she walked on.

‘Religion is a complex thing.’

Religion was both blessing and a curse in disguise. In one hand, it gave a mental support to the people. To the broken, to the one that had lost their belief in something. On the other hand, it gave excuse to things like [Cult] whose philosophy of believing in the fallen [Chaos God] led to its creation, originally. Now? She was sure that it was a haven for mentally insane psychopaths doing whatever they can to cause chaos and death.

Now was not the time to muse as the mansion gate came into view. The mansion door opened as she went inside. Another minute or so and she was already inside. Annie was waiting for her.

“Welcome back, My lady.”

Kimiko nodded. Annie again asked.

 “Dinner is ready.”

After an ordinary dinner (After Kimiko said that she can’t eat THAT much to Gabby), which consisted of a salad as an appetizer, Golden baked honey mustard Chicken and a dessert from the local shop, she slept promptly after changing her clothing. She could consider her trip to this world as a vacation and an excuse to laze around a bit. Maybe tomorrow, she would have to ask Arthur about the best [Space-Time Magician] around. She would have to find clue on how to go back after all.

The Next Morning

Kimiko woke up as usual. Just like yesterday, Claire came at the right time and served her some tight tea with biscuits. Claire curtsied before asking.

“My lady, what are your plans for today?”

Kimiko thought for a while before saying.

“I have more questions for Arthur. Maybe I will ask him some?”

A glint appeared on Claire’s eye. Kimiko frowned a bit. Was she missing something? Claire smiled as she replied.

 “My Lady, Brother Arthur is just downstairs. He came to the mansion just 5 minutes ago.”

Arthur? Here? Kimiko nodded as she got up from her bed. It was rude to keep your guest waiting after all. Fifteen minutes later, she wore her more casual outfit as she walked downstairs. Arthur seemed to be talking with the other as well. However, there was someone on his lap. Upon closer look it was Mira. It seemed she was getting a scratch on her ear as her tails were swinging rapidly in delight. Arthur noticed her as he stood up after placing Mira on the sofa.

“Good morning, Master! Hope I didn’t disturb you or anything.”

All the other maids greeted her. Then she replied to Arthur.

“Not at all, Arthur. I wanted to visit you to ask something anyway.”

Arthur perked up.

“Really?”

“Yes, it is about a competent [Space-Time Magician], that can potentially know to reverse engineer the [Summoning Magic] used by the Temple.”

Arthur seemed to think for a while. He seemed to be thinking very hard if his scrunched brows were any indication.

“Maybe that person…”

Before he looked at her with a difficult face.

“There could be one but considering his ego. Master, do you remember the small elf you and Solomon used to talk about?”

Kimiko nodded. It was such a coincidence that she had learnt about him just the day before.

“Yes, is he already that skilled?”

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Arthur seemed to think hard for a while. His face morphing into the fabled ‘Excalibur face’. Kimiko’s eyes widened at that. Why was he making such face?

“Maybe it is better not to go to him….”

Kimiko just looked at him before he relented.

“Yes, he can but do you have the [Summoning Circle] of the Temple?”

“Yes. I got it from that time when I returned to the ruins of Amrita Empire.”

Arthur sighed in finality.

“Well, all I can give you is a permit under my name but he is hard to deal with.”

Kimiko nodded. So why was he here? Kimiko asked him.

“Well, then Arthur. Why are you here?”

Arthur nodded as he replied.

“Well today is an important day after all. Envoys are to be coming from 3 Kingdoms after all. There will be a parade and all that. If you have nothing to do then, why don’t we watch them from afar?”

Kimiko seemed to be thinking for a while before saying.

“Why not. It is not like I have anything better to do.”

Arthur smiled a bit.

“Then let’s go Master!”

But before anyone could make a move, Claire cut in the middle.

“Hey hey, this is advancing too fast for anyone’s liking. Arthur what is the meaning of this?”

Arthur replied while looking at Claire.

“Nothing’s wrong dear sister. Let’s say I have something to discuss with Master. I just wanted to say ‘hi’ and leave but I saw something that may be too important to leave alone.”

Claire frowned a bit before relenting.

“All right then. Take care of Master for us. We still have so much to do in this mansion. New furniture to add as well as other necessities after our stay here. Some things are still arriving from the [Craftsman Guild].”

Arthur then used a spell. A dark blue circle glowed under them.

[Gate]

Before they disappeared. This time when Kimiko came to, it was the capital house where they had previously. She whistled a bit. [Gate] may be useful for short distance teleportation but the actual range where the cost in [Mana] starts to get ridiculous was after 100km away. The distance between Adventurer City and Capital could be at least a thousand kilometers so the [Mana] used was enormous. There were other easier teleportation spells but Arthur’s core was not exactly compatible with [Space Magic]. It was already unprecedented that he could do that magic as well as make such progress in making [Teleportation Circle] at the Guild. She asked him.

“Are you ok? How is your mana?”

Arthur replied.

“No worries, Master. Didn’t even take 3% of my mana. Wait a minute till I transform myself, after all I am pretty much a celebrity.”

He used a magic skill. He then turned into a middle-aged man with black hair. He nods to himself before looking at Kimiko.

“Now we can go then.”

After saying that, both of them left the mansion. The Guards and the house-keeper seemed to be aware of his new face as they still bowed to him. Then Kimiko followed Arthur. It was quiet before Kimiko asked him.

“So what are we discussing about?”

Arthur said.

“Master, that young maid…. Was she a Black cat-kin?”

“Yes. Despite being white, she was once a black-cat kin.”

Arthur closed his eyes as he murmured.

“….as expected.”

Kimiko was curious as she asked.

“What about it?”

“Well, in the neighboring Kingdom of Elsev Urik, almost a decade ago there was a coup. Don’t know how it happened but in one night, they managed to overthrow the then [Royal Family] which were the Black Cat-kins.”

Kimiko nodded. She knew where this conversation was heading. Maybe the new one will be trying to kill Mira if they knew about her? However, what Arthur said next seemed to throw that thought out into the trash.

“However, loyalists to the throne were able to suppress that faction completely. However, by then the [Royal Family] was massacred. Even the Queen, Concubines and the children were slaughtered by the Nobles involved. The Nobles were executed in the public but the damage was done. The throne was empty. This led to an uneasy peace in the Kingdom barely held on by two people, one of which will be coming today.”

Kimiko asked.

“So how can you say Mira is the lost princess?”

“Well, when you look at the back of her neck, there is a mark of the [Bloodline]. You can say that it can be faked but I tested it. It was the true one.”

That? She had seen the mark and thought that it was a birthmark or something. Kimiko looked ahead as she replied.

“Well I don’t know but it is Mira’s choice if she will go or not. I won’t force her. If she wants to remain under my care then do not think about taking her away, Arthur.”

Arthur replied.

“I know master, I know. Still it feels like it is my responsibility because I did not investigate sooner. I found out that the Prime Minister of the Merchant Kingdom was the one behind it and he was a [Cult] member. I killed him and refused to tell the reason to the world because it would tarnish the reputation of the Merchant Kingdom. Only the Prime Minister was involved while the others were clean and also the impact it would cause to the world as the [Merchant Guild] was started in the Merchant Kingdom’s capital.”

“But why is it necessary?”

Arthur hummed for a while, no doubt wondering to tell her or not but eventually relents.

“Well there is that [Storm of the End]. The [Royal Bloodline] is descended from the family of ‘Priestess of the Storm’ that pacified the storm into not encroaching the land. They believed that the storm was due to a [Dragon King]. Don’t know what that is but they were its…. Caretaker, for lack of better term, and worshipped it. The throne was created from the alter and only that of the [Royal Bloodline] could sit on it. It rejects other people. It was a secret but the Nobles that led the rebellion did not know and that is why the [Storm] is slowly encroaching the land. Everyone is tense as the storms grows further in and many villages at the border is engulfed by it.”

Kimiko understood him and said nothing. That storm was like a boundary that separated the East part of the world from the west part. Or that was the legend. Even they did not participate in finding out the truth of the violent storms. And when they felt that they were strong enough, they had to deal with the [Demon King]. Back to the present, they walked until the streets were more crowded as people were seen here and there. There were colorful decorations hanging in every street as the mood of the festivities began. The more they went towards the harbor, the more crowded it became.

The soldiers were having trouble with keeping the crowded people at bay. Arthur took a turn and so did she. There were people ready to escort him but quirked an eye when she came as well but did not comment. It seemed that Arthur was prepared for himself. They found themselves above the balcony that opened to view the harbor. People in colorful dresses were already dancing and the various people performed various tricks that got the crowd people going. The harbor was big, as there were more than 15 ports where ship could land. She whistled at the scene. Arthur looked at a distance.

“Ah! the envoy from Elsev Urik is coming. One of the two people I mentioned….”

The ship he was looking dwarfed the others in sheer size. It was almost 3 times as big as the other ones. But it is to be expected as it was an envoy ship, built to be luxurious as well as strong. It was red themed ship with 4 big masts and loaded with cannons. The people working on the ship were all beastmen. Various beastmen could be seen which ranged from bull-type to ox-type to even monkey-types and so on. It landed as the welcoming parade greeted them. The soldier from earlier seemed to part the crowd, making a way for the people inside. Then a lady walked out.

One would immediately notice her revealing ‘bosom’ when she loosely wore a dark blue Kimono with various patterns in pink. The other noticing fact was the 9 fluffy tail currently swaying behind her. Then one could see her long, silver hair which curled at the tip along with a pair of fox ears poking out of it. Her honey colored eyes that seemed to suck the soul of anyone who looked at her, whether they be a man or woman. Then her beautiful face with mischievous looking smile seemed to sway the crowd. Some would say she was the incarnation of lust or even a succubus. But their heart ached when she looked around and made a sad face when the person she was looking for was not there.

From the balcony, Arthur seemed to be saying.

“Eh, that is the Kitsune General known as Tamamo Mae from Elsev Urik. She used to be a slave. An illegal slave organization used to run in the Kingdom but then the previous King of Elsev Urik freed her when she was performing an escape that had gone bad. She was grateful for his help and swore an oath to serve him. Ah, it seems that the others are coming as well.”

Kimiko looked on to see other two ships just as big as the one known as Tamamo arrived from. Tamamo was the name of the Kitsune back in her world. The demon fox that said to have tempted the Emperor or something like that and caused the end of a dynasty. Kimiko wondered if it was just a coincidence because what Arthur did say was scarily similar to what happened. The other envoys arrived. From one of the ship a man wearing a red turban and a white robe and a black half coat. He seemed to have a brown colored skin as if he was tanned. Arthur replied as he ‘tsked’.

“He comes from the Kingdom of the Desert, Ushur. They are more commonly known as Merchant Kingdom because that is where the [Merchant Guild] was established. 8 Merchant families along with the Royal family helped established the Guild.”

Kimiko asked, curiously.

“That Kingdom was in the southern hemisphere. Why are they coming from the sea in the North? They could have come by land?”

Arthur nodded as he replied.

“Show of Wealth, most likely. The [Merchant Guild] is the richest Guild in the world so they think they have to keep certain standards. Carriage… would not be as grand as a ship. That is why they first arrive in the harbor city in Larad and arrive to Keipnihar from the ship from there. That is why when they come to Posat for an international meeting, they usually come along with the envoy from Larad.”

Kimiko nodded, getting the gist as she looked at the envoy from the next Kingdom. Larad was it? A tall but thin man seemed to come out of the ship. Arthur seemed to sigh.

“Just a normal envoy.”

“Why?”

Kimiko was getting curious as Arthur explained.

“I had hoped that they would send some other people to help us. We can see where they stand in this conflict. The whole world is in state of alert due to the [Demon King] and the summoning of the Heroes. If the Temple opted to summon the Heroes, the crisis from the [Demon] may be big, that is what they will think. Intelligence network of all the Kingdoms is running 24/7. It means they must have known the crisis we are facing. Though the news was suppressed, it doesn’t mean there won’t be any leak when something big like a Temple Headquarter of a Kingdom was destroyed.”

‘A Temple was destroyed?’

Arthur continued on.

“We saw that our close ally, Elsev Urik already sent out one of their Generals to help us. But the other two are normal people. Extraordinary as they are nearing level 400 but not as powerful as Tamamo, who is half-way through Lvl. 500. They will probably sit doing nothing when we are facing a crisis. That is also what I wanted to show you, Master. People have grown stronger. In each kingdom, there is at least a person who has already crossed level 500. Like Grand Marshal Stan who has already surpassed Lvl 500 and one of his subordinate Captain Mark who just entered it. Still, we don’t know how much powerful the [Demon King] is.”

Kimiko nodded. She had known without looking that there were some powerful people in this Kingdom. Not only Arthur had grown but it seemed that the all over the world, people were growing in power. Back in her first time, it was hard to see someone pass even the Lvl. 400 mark but it could also mean that most of those who did pass even Lvl. 500 were killed in the [Crusade] between the Amrita Empire and the Temple against the [Demon King Kosmos]. She had arrived in the world after they had left for the [Crusade] so she did not know how powerful were the people in those days.

Back to the present, there was still one presence left in the sea. Kimiko frowned as Arthur had said that everyone had arrived and were in the process of leaving. The envoys were leaving from the carriage prepared by the Kingdom. Looking at Arthur’s perplexed face as well as the perplexed people who were in the harbor, it seemed that even they did not know. There was still one ship that was arriving. It was black in color. A flag on top of the ship had made people actually realize from which Kingdoms it was from. Arthur widened his eyes.

“…..Someone from the twin Kingdom, Larbung?”

Kimiko asked.

“Are they uninvited?”

Arthur shook his head.

“No it is actually the opposite. The Kingdom of Posat sends a letter of invitation to every Kingdom. If they will come, then great, if not then nothing. It is just that we did not expect one of the twin Kingdom to respond. They lived in isolation since the [Great war]. Larbung, the Kingdom of Knights and its twin Kingdom Urcheng, the Kingdom of Magic. Two totally different Kingdom, ruled by one for a decade.”

Kimiko wanted to ask about the ‘decade’ thing but stopped once she sensed something inside the ship. From inside, an indomitable aura arose. From the hull a black haired man walked out. He wore a black hakama and had two swords on his hip. Well, one could be called a wakizashi while the other was a short katana just a bit longer than the wakizashi. As for his appearance, he was not that big when compared to others. Just 5 feet 11. He did not have big muscles nor did he have a fierce face. But when he walked, it seemed as if a sword was walking, waiting to be released. Arthur seemed to have recognized him and said to Kimiko without looking to her.

“Ah!... it IS him. Well you see Master, there is a tradition to declare who is to rule for a decade with a one-on-one fight in the twin Kingdoms. Both Kingdom has to present a warrior who has won the qualification by a competition held in their respective Kingdom. They are held as a [Champion] of their Kingdoms. Then they have to fight between them and whichever kingdom’s [Champion] won, their ruler will rule both Kingdom. Or have the power to influence the other Kingdom’s policy. For the last 4 times the Magic Kingdom of Urcheng had won until 2 years ago. The [Champion] of Larbung defeated the [Champion] of Urcheng in three strikes.”

Arthur focused his gaze on the man and so did Kimiko. Kimiko sensed that in the skill of swords, he was not below her, the [Sword Saintess]. She just knew it from her inborn instinct, that the man will not lose to her skill with the sword. Maybe the difference in level will help her suppress him but that’s it. The man too, seemed to sense their gaze as instantly he locked onto them. Arthur grinned ferally for the first time she had seen him as he finished his sentence.

“His name is Susanoo.”

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Sorry for the late release. Exam of the previous semester will be held soon and I forgot what I even studied in that Semester. Release will be slow if not outright stopped but worry not, I will continue writing it.

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