Chapter 210: 195

「What in the gods………」

Upon hearing the captain of the guard's report, King Lemuria went completely pale.

We had changed locations, and were in the royal castle's kitchen.

This is the place where devious plans and confidential topics are usually discussed.

「That said, Khius has――――――」

I sent King Lemuria a look, asking if it would be alright to divulge the secret to the captain of the guard.

「Don't worry about Debra. He's very tight-lipped. He'll die before revealing a secret」

Having checked with him just in case, I continued.

「That said, Khius has asked me to assassinate the magistrate. He might be disposing of the magistrate right about now」

「That's the thing. That outcome isn't any better for us. That damned representative hero, there's a possibility that he'll blackmail me using the magistrate's death as leverage. I wonder what he'll ask for in return」

「Well……I don't think he's that kind of person though」

That Khius is the type who beats people up rather than threatening them.

「No, he is that kind of person. That's just how people are. Heroes are no different」

According to King Lemuria, I'm apparently mistaken.

「He’s a hero of an undertaking, a group, and an organization. Something like his own personality and character can be killed off as much as needed. It benefits him to kill them off. In this particular case, the most pragmatic thing to do would be to eliminate the magistrate, who's a hindrance to him, and then pin the blame on me」

「I see～」

I replied nonchalantly.

「Well then, King Lemuria, looks like you've got your work cut out for you, so I'll leave the rest to――――――」

「You bastard, why are you acting like this has nothing to do with you and trying to run away?」

I was unable to get away from the king.

「How am I involved in this?」

「Isn't it obvious?! Who was the one who killed the assistant?!」

「Don't you mean "broke" instead?」

「That's another issue that bothers me. ………………I had always had a sneaking suspicion, but to think that they would make such inhuman beings their magistrates…… What the heck is Elysium thinking? Don’t they know that they might incur the dragons' wrath?」

「Well, there's something I have to say then」

I had remembered a lot of things that made me angry.

「You should have protested before letting them capture me. You're the one who forced me to cook for them, and yet you let me be captured and tortured! As if I'm going to take on any more trouble!」

I made a sound argument, which was rare for me.

「But what's with those dishes?! They're something you'd expect to find in a low-end restaurant! It was especially bad at the end!」

「Don't give me that crap! That's the limit of a daughter of a ramen store's owner! Or rather, didn't the magistrate say that they were delicious?!」

It's not really Rutsuko-san's fault.

But I'll apologize to her in my heart.

「No, you clearly cut corners! I could feel it in the dishes!」

「Of course I did! You guys were eating too quickly! I had no time to cook them properly! I didn't even want to do it in the first place! I can't explore the dungeon again, and I don't have the foggiest on how to clear it!」

「It's a royal order! Which do you think is more important, that or the dungeon?!」

「The dungeon obviously! You baldy! Don't get in the way of my adventures anymore!」

「How dare you call the king of a country a baldy! Besides, it's just shaved!」

「Don't let Lanseal get dragged into it! You should have stopped them! You're her father, for crying out loud!」

「I sent Debra to stop them, didn’t I?!」

「Do it yourself! And you were too late anyway! If things had gone badly, she could have suffered lifelong injuries!」

By the way,

Lanseal's wounds were relatively minor, but she's been made to rest in a separate room just to be safe.

「Uhh, excuse me?」

Someone had come, stopping our squabbling.

It was a short, white-skinned, beautiful-looking boy in a uniform. He was carrying a staff of bone and had small wings on his back.

It was the President of the Adventurers' Guild.

「Can I borrow that man for the examination of the corpse?」

「Take him!」

Driven away by the indignant baldy, I went out into the corridor with the Guild President.

「Why do you keep making trouble like this?」

「How am I supposed to know?」

Even I'm finding it hard to not be a little down on myself.

But this time, it's really not my fault. It's all the baldy and the magistrate of Elysium's fault. And also Khius’.

Depressed, I went back down to the basement.

There, the dead body of the assistant was pinned to the wall like an insect specimen.

「So, what's this?」

The Guild President smiled at my question.

The body had been opened up, and its insides were not quite human.

First, its skeletal system.

There were too few bones for it to be human. The bones were oddly straight in shape, it was missing several rib bones, and the ulna was absent from each limb.

Its internal organs were even stranger. The stomach was normal-sized, but the intestines were short and seemed to have regressed. Also, there was no liver. And it wasn't the only one missing. There were several organs necessary for humans that were also absent.

「There once was a demon」

As he spoke, the Guild President took out a knife. It appeared to be a good blade with a sharp cutting edge. He held it to his throat and……

「The demon wasn't loved by humans, so he created a puppet that would love him. That's what this body is」

……pushed it through.

「Eh」

It was so sudden that I didn't even think to be surprised.

「Behold. This repulsiveness」

There was not a single drop of blood on the blade when he pulled it out. And the wound in the Guild President's throat regenerated in the same way as the magistrate’s had.

「The demon's name is Margrave St. Dimast. He ruled this region before Lemuria was founded. He was a fool who was killed by a nameless adventurer for his cruelty and atrocious deeds. And he was my creator, my mother, my father, and my lover. That abominable bastard」

「So………you're telling me that it was your parent who created the magistrates?」

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「No. St. Dimast was an apostate of Lyridias. In order to create this body, he stole the research and knowledge necessary from a certain place. Souya, I'll tell you whatever you want to know. But first, you must answer one question」

With a desperation that I had never seen before, the Guild President pressed me.

「How did you kill this one?」

「A barehanded thrust through the chest」

「That can't be it! This thing can never be killed by physical or magical means. I've already tried that a long time ago. Hell, I've even regenerated after being reduced to ashes by a dragon's breath! For the past thirty years, as those closest to me continue to grow old, I've been searching for a way to die! And now, I see it before me! If you have a human heart, tell me!」

What to do?

The curses that I use aren't things I can divulge lightly. Moreover, the person I'm dealing with is the Guild President. I don't trust the baldy, but I don't trust this guy either. However, considering how serious he is about it, he's not going to let this go easily.

Oh, I know.

「Guild President, do you have a box of some sort?」

「A box? Yeah, I do, but what do you want with it?」

「The method cannot be spoken of. So I'll write it down on a note and lock it in the box. If you ever reach the point where you feel like you desperately want to die, open it and read the note. But you have to promise me that you'll absolutely not open it until that time arrives」

「I see. Coming from you, that's a surprisingly good idea. I promise you. I will definitely not open it until that time arrives」

「Alright then, the box please」

「Here you go」

I was given a box, or rather a decorative egg. It was a Fabergé egg covered with precious stones. It opened up in the middle to reveal a space for storing small items.

I dug out a piece of notepad paper from my pocket and used a ballpoint pen to write the following.

『Find out things like that on your own. Dumbass』

I wrote it clearly in the common language of this side. I then returned the egg with the note inside to the Guild President.

「I know I'm repeating myself, but don't open it until you feel it's absolutely necessary」

「I understand. I'll keep it sealed up tightly until I meet the woman I want to be buried with」

The Guild President placed the egg back into his pocket with great care.

「………………」

I do feel a little guilty, but this guy has been harassing me in so many ways. This is his just desserts.

Well, when it comes to how to live and die, a person ought to find it out for themselves. Don't involve others in such things.

「Oh」

I just thought of something.

Could it be that this is what Khius' request to kill the magistrate is about? I've always thought it strange that a man like Khius would ask someone else to carry out an assassination.

In other words, even a hero of Elysium can't kill these human-like creatures?

Magistrates who can't be killed and the curse that kills them. And the hero who made the request for one of them to be killed.

I have a bad feeling about this.

But I don't have enough information as yet.

And if I jump to conclusions, it could mean death.

「Guild President, how many magistrates are there in total? Are they all monsters like this?」

「I don't know the exact number of magistrates Elysium has. There can't be more than a hundred. And they can't all be "this". Most of their military campaigns are directed by former commanders of knight orders who are appointed as magistrates. But………………hmm?」

「What?」

The Guild President went deep into thought for a moment.

「It's strange. Many of the battles Elysium has lost recently have been commanded by "this" kind of magistrate. I've often heard that even in battles where they held the upper hand, they ended up losing after a magistrate took over the command」

「What's with that? Is Elysium trying to lose the war?」

「I don't know. I don't know, but it's possible that this is a strategy of theirs」

「A strategy………」

Do they have some way of turning the tables after losing on purpose?

Are they allowing their enemies to gather together so that they can defeat them in one fell swoop?

Magic?

No, there is indeed magic for defeating large armies. But there is also magic to defend against that. If anything, more research has been devoted to defensive magic, and there are even defensive magic effects incorporated into the war rituals of the Myriad Kings.

Wars in this world……

……start with preventing each other from using magic.

Both sides will then shave away at each other's forces using arrows and crossbows.

Next comes the cavalry charge.

Followed by the infantry mopping up and occupying territory.

In the end, it's the kind of war that existed in the Middle Ages before the advent of firearms.

Hmm, I've seen magic that flies in the face of that before though. I can't quite recall it right now. It's like there's a fog hanging over my mind.

I'll put that aside for now.

In that case, do they have weapons of mass destruction or something? There's also the matter of the Abaddon. There are many destructive weapons hidden in this world.

If any among them are at the level of nuclear weapons―――――――

「Souya, is there anything else you want to ask me?」

「For now……」

I heard the sounds of people coming down the stairs.

There were three sets of footsteps, one loud and pompous, another quiet, and the last set belonging to a woman with a small stride.

「You're taking too long!」

The first to appear was King Lemuria, who was wearing his crown. Behind him was the captain of the guard and Lanseal, who gave me a small wave of her hand.

He must be in a rush because this is a matter of great importance for the country. I, on the other hand, remained calm. I was racking my meager brains trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess.

「Solcia, are you two done talking?」

「Yes, King Lemuria. Thank you for giving us time to―――――」

「I don't care about stuff like that! Souya, I have a royal order for you. You shall accept it!」

Ahh~, I've seen this kind of on edge demeanor before.

It reminds me of that guy Barfuru.

「Assassinate the representative hero, Khius, and pin the blame of Magistrate Jutta and Assistant Morniella’s deaths on him」

「Okay, I refuse」

I've had enough, you baldy.

Hmm, so Solcia is immortal and similar to the magistrates of Elysium. Now, what kind of country creates monsters like them? And why do they seem to be losing on purpose? Finally, how is King Lemuria going to take Souya’s refusal? Stay tuned!

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