第３４８堀：内通者 (Part1)
### Chapter 348: The Insider
**Side: Yuki**
"You fools, what do you think you’re doing?!"
The King of White Forest roared at the group before him. A Fox Beastman, an Elf, and a Rabbit Beastman were reaching for the box that had housed the Holy Sword.
"Hahaha! With this, we can finally purge the humans from this continent!"
"Your Majesty! We are sick of your collaboration with the humans! We’ve been stagnant for nearly 400 years! We demi-humans are only being driven further into the corners!"
"From now on, we shall lead this country!"
It might look like a sudden turn of events, but since the area had already been turned into a dungeon by yesterday and we had a surveillance net in place, I wasn't particularly flustered. It wasn't exactly a surprising development, either.
Well, they did act faster than I’d anticipated.
Tori and the others had reported that despite orders to ignore the gate’s request for reinforcements, the guards had been sent off anyway—only to never arrive. I’d suspected an insider, and sure enough, here we were. These three were apparently high-ranking officials of White Forest.
I’d like to say "how typical," but there’s always someone looking to rebel somewhere. Honestly, it’s a wonder they were kept under control for these past 400 years at all.
"What utter nonsense! You are men! There is no way you could wield the Holy Sword! Surrender at once!"
The one commanding the soldiers was Tomori, the daughter of Prime Minister Hina. She looked just like Kaya, but her personality was dead serious—likely inherited from her mother. She had them surrounded with absolute precision.
"Hahaha! We know that perfectly well, you foolish little girl!"
"That is precisely why we are going to *make* it usable! Like this!"
"What!?"
With that, the three of them immediately opened the Holy Sword’s box, pulled some kind of gemstone from their robes, and pressed it against the blade...
*Crackle...!!*
A sound like a short-circuiting wire echoed, followed by a burst of blinding light.
*Ugh, my eyes.* I should’ve brought sunglasses. I’d failed to account for the possibility of them using something like a flashbang. Maybe I should consider issuing specialized goggles? They wouldn't be able to actually defeat us, but there was a slight chance they could escape.
However, the three idiots in front of me hadn't thought that far ahead; they seemed to be waiting for the flash to subside so they could see us clearly again.
"Fuhahaha! Feast your eyes!"
"See us as we become the rightful rulers of this land!"
"And watch as the Holy Sword bows before us!"
*Ah, so you guys got blinded by the flash too, huh?* They were stumbling on their feet, and while they looked like they were pointing the swords at us, they were actually aiming slightly off-target. *Pathetic.*
While I was busy being unimpressed, the idiots poured their magic into the swords. Flames, water, and rock began to swirl around the blades.
"Fuhahaha! How’s that!"
"We are the ones who inherit the legend!"
"Now, you see who is fit to be the master of this country! Soldiers! Seize the fake King and these intruders who claim to be related to the Holy Sword wielder!"
They were acting like they were the legitimate descendants of the Holy Sword wielder, but the soldiers didn't budge an inch.
"Gah! Why do you not obey our orders?!"
"Why would we follow fools who broke into the sanctuary without permission? Besides, we were already aware that you were dissatisfied and plotting behind our backs. Moving to action like this was your mistake."
"As His Majesty says, your cohorts have already been captured within the castle for illegal possession of weapons and the like. You really should have thought this through."
It seemed the King and the Prime Minister had been keeping a close eye on them from the start and had effectively neutralized their influence. ...Do they not think these things through before starting a rebellion? Ah, is it the mental interference from the Magic Swords? It’s true that being able to follow orders, maintain high morale, and never retreat is a huge strength for an army, but it’s not suited for this kind of psychological warfare.
"Hmph, useless lot. Very well. We intended to settle this peacefully, but..."
"We shall turn you into rust for the Holy Sword!"
"Regret that you defied those who inherit the legend!"
Ah, they must have thought that as long as they had the premise of being able to use the Holy Sword, brute force would be enough. But unfortunately for them, if they poured any more magic into those...
"A-ababa-ba-ba..."
All three of them started shaking violently.
Yeah. Electrocution is funny and easy to understand in manga, but in reality, it’s just three middle-aged men twitching and spasming. It’s not a pretty sight. If it were my wives, I might find it erotic, but...
As you can see, this Holy Sword is a fake. It was definitely the box that held the Holy Sword, and the real one was inside—until yesterday. What they were holding now was a replica trap version. It was something we’d prepared in a hurry yesterday, but when you have the Weed’s proud magic blacksmiths working with the person who actually *made* the Holy Sword, preparing a decoy is easy.
Since the castle and town of White Forest had already become a dungeon last night, we’d gone to confirm the Holy Sword’s status. We concluded that it would be safer to replace all dangerous items in that corner of the dungeon—which was Comet’s laboratory—with fakes.
I’d expected the King and Prime Minister to object, but since it was Comet’s property anyway, they agreed that as long as we prepared fakes and swapped them out via a different route without causing a scene, it wouldn't be a problem. So, the swap went smoothly.
And that brings us to the present.
The reason we let them look like they could use the swords at first was to see how they intended to use a system that possessed the Holy Sword’s true functions. If they were just going to steal it, we’d just catch them, but I wanted to see what process they would use to bypass the Holy Sword’s individual recognition system.
It looked like they had some kind of hacking tool, which they used to crash the recognition system. Judging by the light, it wasn't so much a "hack" as it was forcing a high voltage through it to break that specific function—strictly speaking, they just shorted it out.
Well, I’ll look into the details later. For now, let’s finish off these idiots...
"Hey, hey, sorry I'm late. Though it seems my help wasn't needed."
"You were prepared from the start, weren't you?"
"...As usual, I have no idea what kind of structure your brain has."
Comet and the others seemed to have returned from their sightseeing.
*“This is Tori. The gate has been suppressed. We’ve secured the Magic Swords and the prisoners, so we’re bringing them in.”*
*“This is Ratz. Riel and I explored outside the dungeon range, found the place where they were gathering Magic Swords and soldiers, and raided/occupied it. I’d appreciate it if you could send some personnel our way.”*
"Understood. Ratz, hold on for a bit. I’ll tell the King to send reinforcements. Sorry to bother you on your day off."
*“It’s fine.”*
*“Yes. Anything for you, Brother. Oh, but it’s cold, so please warm me up later.”*
*“Oh, m-me too!”*
"Got it. Oh, and stay alert—there’s a possibility it’s not over yet."
*““Yes!”*
Looks like the wives have handled their end of the problem, too. I honestly didn't expect Ratz and Riel to find the hostile forces outside. I see—I’d been wondering why Hifie’s and Ex’s Magic Swords weren't in the castle town. The entry inspections must have been so strict that they were forced to hide them outside.
"W-wait! Lady Comet! Lady Kaya! Lady Claudia! If you step out in front like that, the bandits will...!"
Chasing after Comet and the others, General Stong, a massively muscular Elf, came running, his military uniform stretched to the point of bursting. Why is his uniform so tight? What, is he planning to rip his clothes apart by yelling "Haaaaa!"?
"Ah, Stong, my apologies. But it’s fine. It looks like it’s already over."
"It seems so. We’ve caused you worry."
"You know, we aren't so weak that we need to be worried about by you, Stong."
"Is that so? That is the best news. However, Lady Kaya, I know full well that you are all stronger than I am. But I have been entrusted with your escort and protection. As a soldier, I wanted a chance to show that I am different from who I was back then."
"I understand. It’s not like I don't trust you, Stong. Just looking at those muscles, I can't even imagine how much you’ve trained..."
Yeah.