第２３８掘：エナーリア聖都襲撃事件！！ (Part2)
“Then why was Princess Miffy spared by the monsters?! And why has she brought armed guards into the very throne room where His Majesty resides?!”
Honestly, in the middle of a chaotic melee like this, the area around the King is obviously the safest place to be. It’s only natural to try and regroup there. Besides, Princess Miffy doesn’t exactly have a map of the castle memorized; she didn’t have much choice but to head for the center of power.
“What are you blathering about? We’re here because we wiped out every monster in our path. What do you think guards are for?”
“That is precisely what is suspicious! Even our finest elites have suffered casualties, yet you lot haven’t a single scratch! It is proof—proof that you are in league with the beasts that stormed this castle! And that goes for those monster units as well!”
“You cur of a Minister! How dare you speak that way to General Mino and his men after they fought desperately alongside us to reach this room!”
Ah, it looks like Hein, who had been accompanying Mino-chan and the others, finally snapped. I was hoping to have him help us out, so it’ll be a problem if he loses his cool now.
“Um, excuse me, but what exactly is going on here? This doesn’t exactly feel like a ‘hooray, the monsters are gone’ kind of atmosphere.”
“Wh—Yuki?!”
Aegil stared at me, her eyes wide with shock at my casual interjection into such a heavy atmosphere. She’s still got a long way to go.
“Hah! How transparent! I am saying that *you* are the ones who caused this catastrophe! Guards, what are you waiting for? Seize them at once!”
The Minister barked orders at the surrounding soldiers, but the King seemed hesitant, watching the situation unfold without giving the word to move.
Well then, time for the finishing touch.
“Geez, what are you talking about? We came here to negotiate a ceasefire; why would we do something like this? Anyway, putting that aside for a moment... I was worried about my wives who went into town, so I went after them, and I happened to pick up something strange. Can you read this, Lord Hein?”
I pulled out a piece of paper, fluttering it in the air before handing it over to Hein.
“Th-That’s—! Give it back!”
“Why are you so flustered, Minister? Hmm, this is... I see. Lord Yuki, you have my thanks.”
“Not at all. I just found some lost property. Since I didn’t know who it belonged to, I figured the best thing to do was consult someone trustworthy before handing it over.”
I gave Hein a knowing smirk, and he returned it with a grin of his own.
“Indeed, quite right. Dear me, I can’t make heads or tails of this myself. Perhaps His Majesty might recognize it. Look, as you can see, I’ve set aside my weapon. Your Majesty, would you be so kind as to identify the owner of this document?”
*Heh heh heh.* This old man knows exactly how to play the game. And you, Minister—you’re way too easy to read.
Meanwhile, my wives were starting to look at the exchange between me and Hein with exasperated expressions. We’ve been together long enough that they obviously know what’s up.
Yes, I set this whole thing up. Or rather, the Minister walked right into his own destruction. I’m the innocent one here.
Whether the King realized the Minister’s true colors or simply caught on to Hein’s performance, he took the paper with a deliberate, theatrical air.
“Hmm. I see. This is something I must ask the owner about in great detail. Wouldn’t you agree, Minister Nok? It seems to be a document bearing the seal of the Kingdom of Roday, detailing a plan to cooperate in an assault on the capital of Enaria... and it bears your signature.”
“Th-That must be some kind of mistake! Yes! They planted it to frame me!”
“Oh? You’re saying a guard who traveled all the way from Zilba just happened to ‘find’ a secret contract between you and Roday?”
“E-Exactly! Why else would such a document be lying in the middle of the street?!”
“A fair point. Yuki, was it? Where exactly did you find this?”
Now then, let’s see how he reacts to this next bit.
“Oh, it was just lying on the ground. I mean, the castle town was attacked by monsters and things are pretty smashed up. I imagine Minister Nok’s estate was hit too, right? Actually, to prove the Minister’s innocence, why don’t we go and search his villa?”
“Hmm, a sound suggestion.”
“Th-That is—!”
Wow, look at him shake. I already knew from Kirika’s prior investigation that this Minister was up to no good with foreign powers, but did he really leave enough evidence behind that a simple search would turn something up? Man, I guess I didn’t even need to have Kirika plant extra evidence. And here I went to the trouble of giving her magic items that summon monsters to stash in his house.
Still, we needed a sacrificial lamb to help us get on the good side of Enaria’s top brass. In a way, Sia and her group’s attack actually helped. It meant we didn’t have to stage an attack on the Enarians ourselves—well, I was only planning to mess with the people in the castle, anyway. The fact that monsters went on a rampage in the town made our behind-the-scenes maneuvering much easier.
“What is the matter? If you truly haven’t committed treason against Enaria, a search should pose no problem, should it?”
The King’s words were the final nail in the coffin.
“Curse it! Those Roday fools failed me! Prepare yourselves! From this day forward, *I* shall be the King of Enaria!”
With that shout, he held up the magic item I’d had planted—a black crystal. An instant later, a Greater Demon appeared, the exact same type of monster that had been rampaging until now.
Honestly, I was surprised when the actual attackers used the same monsters I’d picked out. But it makes sense if they were using a dungeon. Once a Greater Demon accumulates enough mana, it can split—or rather, call for reinforcements. It’s a low-cost way to build an army. It turns out those old RPG strategies for farming Greater Demons weren't wrong after all.
Of course, even if you gather a bunch of Level 90 monsters...
*Thud. Squish.*
The sounds echoed through the room, followed by the light *clatter* of something hitting the floor.
“Gyaaaaaaaah! My arm! My arm!!”
...It doesn’t mean a thing to me or my wives.
I casually stepped over to the now-restrained Minister Nok and spoke to the stunned King and his court.
“So, what do you want to do with this Minister guy?”
“Wh—?! Y-You saved us. Seize the Minister! And send a squad to search his estate immediately!”
“““Yes, Sire!”””
With that, we’ve legally demonstrated our strength to the bigwigs, which should cut down on the number of people trying to mess with us. Now I just need to go collect the two idiots dancing the ‘Fun-Fun’ whatever-it-is outside, finish my investigation... Man, I still have a lot to do.
Oh, but let me just say one thing.
There is always only one truth!
And I am definitely not the bad guy.
***
It was a difficult case. Thanks to Yuki’s brilliant play, the Zilba delegation avoided being framed. However, the shadow of the true culprit looms behind the Minister. How will Yuki and his friends move against the giant known as the Kingdom of Roday?!
Hey, don’t go calling me the mastermind. Other countries were making moves too, so I’m not the villain here. And don’t you dare say the prologue was a spoiler instead of a hint.