After that, I continued to use the map to identify those who were carrying explosives one after another. There were twelve of them in total. All of them had one thing in common: they all seemed to be very serious.
"It looks like all of them.
I exhale slowly as I finish identifying the last person. This person, too, seemed friendly, as if she had no explosives in her possession.
She was in charge of changing the bed sheets in the palace. She was so well behaved that she greeted me with a smile when she saw me. It was unthinkable that she would have such a dangerous thing in her possession.
Suddenly I look at Almond who is standing behind me. He was staring at the woman I had pointed out, a deep crease furrowing his brow.
She is still working as hard as ever. She folds the sheets she has collected into small pieces and puts them in the basket with impressive speed. I activate my appraisal skills on her.
...... It was an ordinary life. She was diligently sending her monthly salary home to her parents in the countryside. She looked forward to eating at a restaurant in the capital once a month with her remaining salary. There she was with her friends and juniors, modestly but still enjoying her daily life.
However, about two weeks ago, she had met a man. An elderly man with a beard. Her memory of him had once been cut off.
"Um, ...... may I have a moment?"
I approach her slowly. The woman looks at me with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"No, you have something on your head."
I put my palm on her head. At that moment, the woman's body shook.
"King Agartha, what are you doing?
Almond opened his mouth with a dubious expression. I looked at him and nodded slowly, signaling him with my eyes to keep quiet.
I had cast a mental spell on the woman. This magic can control the subject mentally, but it can also disarm the one who is being controlled. This woman has lost her memory from the moment she met the man. She must have been manipulated somehow at that time. I tried to figure out what had been done to her by using the properties of mental magic.
I increase the level of my mind magic. At that moment, I heard an eerie man's voice in my mind.
"......no......tswo......kuhatsu......ro."
"Mr. Linos, ......"
"Shh, be quiet. ......"
I look over at Sidi, close my eyes and concentrate on the voice echoing in my brain.
"Sandomeno ...... bakuhatsu wo izu ni ...... bakuhatsu sasero."
"...... She has been trained in the art of inducing explosions when she hears a third explosion."
"Nah ...... what a ......."
Almond's eyes widen in surprise. I look at him and continue to speak.
"Perhaps the others are the same way. Let's see... ...... wait a minute... ....... Apparently, there's also a trick that automatically activates the explosives 30 days after you hear the first explosion. ...... How thoughtful."
I was stunned. Whoever has put this trick in place has no idea of the effects it will have on the people around them. It seems that their sole purpose is to create chaos in this country.
"For now, gather everyone I've pointed out. I'm going to disarm the spell."
Yes, sir. Rodan."
"Ha!"
Move now.
Ha-ha-ha.
"Please don't be too rough with them."
Sidi calls out to Rodin's back as he turns to leave. He shook his body for a moment, but left without turning around. I deactivate the woman's spell.
"Now, let's disarm those who are under the spell. After that, we should take control of the gates that are occupied.
No, we'll take care of that on our own.
"What? Is that so?"
The king of Agartha will only need to deal with those who are under his spell.
With that, Almond bowed his head.
Despite Sidi's pleas not to be rough with him, Rodin brought the wizened ones to us as if he were taking them away. Some of them, especially the women, were trembling. That's true. I was told that they were suddenly blindfolded and forced to carry them in their arms. This angered Sadie.
Sidi kept scolding Rodin while he was enchanted to release the spell and forget the fear he had felt when he was taken away. He listened with his head bowed. Almond watched with a smile on his face.
But this Rodin was a good man. I don't know what he said or how he said it, but after that, the people I had designated came to the room where we were waiting, willingly or not. Most of them were women, but they all said hello and sat down on the chairs provided, as if they were being examined by a doctor.
Because of this, the deactivation went very smoothly. On the contrary, we were almost a little surprised at the speed at which it was done.
Incidentally, the explosives they were carrying were necklaces they were each wearing. There was a small red stone attached to it, and it was designed to explode when magic power was passed through it.
This stone was a stone from Ramallon, and I knew it. According to Sidhi, this stone was refined to a very high purity, which increased the power of the explosion. He said that the stone had been refined very carefully and that it was not produced in this country.
"Now, there is no need to worry about explosions inside the palace. We will move on to seize the gates immediately.
With that, Almond left the room.
"What the hell is he going to do?"
I opened my mouth and looked at Rodin, who was still in the room. He tilted his head to the side.
"Don't you understand ......?"
"I'm a ...... liaison officer. ......"
"By the way, everyone who came to the room seemed very calm, how did you bring them here?"
"No, I mean ......"
"I won't be mad, just tell me, okay?"
"Interview," he said. ......
"Interview?"
"The newspaper is doing a feature on people who work at the palace. So I was wondering if you could help me with the story. ......"
"Well, that's a nice touch."
Thank you very much.
Rodin scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Well ....... I'm just wondering about the identity of the man who used the jutsu on the twelve. We need to catch him as soon as possible.
"Master Linos, I have a hunch that the man is no longer here."
"Well, if ...... Sidie says so, I guess so."
"King and Queen Agartha, please return to your rooms first."
At Rodin's words, Sidi opens his mouth.
"Let us go back to Agartha."
"What?"
"I am sure that those who are controlling the gate will be subdued soon. I think it is better for us to return to Agartha than to stay here.
"But, Your Highness, ......"
"No, Sidi is right, we will go back to Agartha. If something goes wrong, send the faerie dragons to us. Actually, I've been neglecting my work."
Rodin rolls his eyes in surprise when I laugh at him. He said he would show me to the room where we were transferred, but when I told him that was unnecessary since we could transfer from this place, he froze with his mouth open.
"Oh, needless to say, please don't tell anyone that I can transfer."
With these words, I was transferred to Agartha.
"Master Linos!"
The moment I was transferred, my body trembled at the call of my name. I was transferred to my office, where three soldiers were waiting for me.
"Thank God. ....... Something terrible has happened.
What's going on?
His Holiness Pope Vieille is here to see you.
"What, Vieille?"
"Yes, and he is injured. And a very serious one at that.