第３５４堀：隠し札を切る時 (Part1)
### Chapter 354: Playing the Hidden Card
**Side: Yuki**
I’m currently whiling away the time in a guest room at White Forest.
My mana replenishment is already complete, and since the sun has set, I spent the day doing exactly as planned: pretending to gather supplies while actually scouting the perimeter of White Forest.
However, there were no enemies to be found outside of the strongholds that Riel and Ratz crushed yesterday. For now, the White Forest incident is closed.
But at almost the same time, I received a report that my wives and Comet had also been attacked while they were off confirming the status of the Holy Sword in Enaria.
*“So, that’s the situation. We were attacked.”*
“Are you all safe?”
*“Yes, yes. We’re fine, Brother.”*
*“Indeed. I didn’t let them lay a single finger on us.”*
*“Yuki-san. As you can see, all three of us are unharmed.”*
*Phew.*
It seems they’re all safe.
Even if they are just doppelgangers, I don’t want my wives getting hurt. Even though Eris had already reported that everyone was fine, I couldn't help but ask for myself.
*“Hmm? I feel like there’s a difference in temperature regarding my safety compared to the others?”*
“Well, you’re not my wife.”
*“Whoa. I’m hurt. I’m hurt to the very core of my soul.”*
Comet puts on an exaggerated act of being deeply wounded.
...This type of person is best handled by either threatening them or ignoring them.
Well, I’ll hear her request, at least.
“Would you prefer I report this to Hifi, or just ignore you?”
*“I’m sorry. Please, ignore me.”*
A knee-jerk reaction.
She really hates the idea of being reported to Hifi...
“So, were you able to confirm the Holy Sword?”
*“Ah, yeah. I got it.”*
“And?”
*“Hmm. I’ve only summarized it briefly, but if that’s okay with you...”*
“That’s fine. Besides, the attacks are happening too frequently. The enemy is likely to start moving openly soon. I need whatever information I can get.”
*“I agree. I’ll send the report separately, so make sure you look it over.”*
“I know.”
*“Well, to put it simply: it’s as if they took Difes’s Holy Sword and made a direct copy of it.”*
“Difes? You mean the leader of the Holy Sword Users?”
*“Exactly. Like I’ve said before, there shouldn’t be multiple Holy Swords of Light. So, I assumed it was a homemade replica. But when I looked at it, the structure and the spell formulas were identical.”*
“Is there no possibility that they just happened to be similar, given the nature of crafting Holy or Magic Swords?”
*“It’s beyond the level of ‘similar.’ I told you, it’s a copy. It’s exactly the same. Not just the appearance, but the internal spell formulas, too.”*
Magic formulas are a form of art.
No, while it’s true that technology eventually converges on similar solutions through simplification and efficiency, each creator usually leaves their own unique mark.
Take blades as weapons, for example.
They fall under the general classification of swords, but as you know, there are many types.
Western longswords, the slightly curved scimitar, the flame-like wavy blade of the flamberge; in Japan, you have the katana, the odachi, the kodachi, and the tachi.
To an amateur, they’re all just swords, but their handling and properties are completely different.
In other words, since Comet—the leading expert in this field—calls it a copy, it means it is an exact replica.
*“Right down to the fake maker’s mark I carved into it myself.”*
“That means we have to assume the enemy is using a Dungeon Core to mass-produce Holy and Magic Swords.”
*“Probably. It would be too convenient to think this was the only imitation.”*
“Haa... that’s an unpleasant discovery. I don’t know why a replica of a Holy Sword is in Enaria, but it means whoever is acting as the Dungeon Master must have had a chance to touch or see Difes’s sword.”
*“Likely. But it’s strange, isn’t it? The Holy Sword housed in the Ex Kingdom has a different attribute. Why go to the trouble of imitating Difes’s specific Holy Sword of Light instead of that one?”*
“Well, I can think of a few theories. ‘We mass-produced the national treasure,’ wouldn’t that be a massive problem?”
*“Yeah, that would be a disaster. Since it’s a perfect copy, even if it doesn’t work, if it accidentally activates, they’ll be accused of theft.”*
“No use dwelling on that. But, regarding what you said earlier, how was Light able to bypass the personal authentication and use the Holy Sword?”
That’s right—due to their immense power, Holy Swords have individual authentication functions.
Magic Swords also require a certain amount of mana to wield, so the Holy Sword Users’ group only produced a limited number based on those restrictions.
*“Ah, I was wondering about that too. Remember when we shorted out the individual recognition during the White Forest incident? They probably used that same method.”*
“I see.”
*“Well, the precision was probably lower than it is now; maybe it was an experiment of sorts.”*
“That means if we dig into Light’s background, we might find something.”
*“Agreed. For now, I’ll try to meet this Light kid myself. He seems to be in Enaria.”*
“I’m counting on you. I plan to leave White Forest by tomorrow, and I’ll start thinking of ways to infiltrate the Ex Kingdom.”
*“Got it. Leave it to me.”*
With that, the call ended.
“Now then, how do we get into the Ex Kingdom?”
“I think entering through the front door would be quite difficult.”
“That’s the problem. If we enter with the support of another nation, we’ll definitely be watched.”
As Samantha said, if we walk in openly, the enemy will definitely be on guard.
We could handle it, but I’d rather not announce our movements if I can help it.
“...But Yuki, your names are already known in every country. Information has definitely reached the Ex Kingdom. I don’t think a stealthy infiltration is possible.”
“I agree with Cleena. My name is already famous in Zilba, where I used to be. With the commotion we caused in Enaria, the Academy, and August, there’s no way the Ex Kingdom—which lies between them—hasn’t heard of us. A major power orchestrating such a large-scale scheme wouldn’t fail to gather intelligence on forces that could disrupt their plans. If we think we’ve snuck in, only to find out we’re being watched, it wouldn’t just be meaningless—it could backfire on us.”
“I understand both Cleena’s and Jessica’s points. It’s a double-edged sword.”
Pros and cons.
Or rather, I’ve just been too rowdy until now.
Now, my fame has become a hindrance.
Either way, because of our reputation, they won’t underestimate us.
In this world, to deal the maximum amount of damage, you have to strike with everything you’ve got while the opponent is completely off-guard.
In other words, the element of surprise is key.
If they’re already braced for us the moment we arrive, our effectiveness is halved.
It’s not that we couldn’t force our way through, but we’d have to reveal the cards we’ve been keeping hidden.
That would likely breed distrust in the countries we’ve built relationships with.
Everyone is going to be wary of a mercenary group that can suppress a nation by force.
So, I’d like to avoid using brute force for the sake of future developments.
“In that case...”
“Hm? Tori, do you have a good idea?”
“...I do.”
“Kaya, you too?”
“I have one too!! Look, what about Mauve-san and the others!!”
“Ah, Riel let it slip...”
“You’re not reading the room. We should have said it all together.”
“Ah, sorry.”
The three of them are chatting away like that, but...
“I completely forgot.”
Yeah, yeah.
Everyone else nods in agreement.
That’s right—we had them waiting in the demi-human village for situations just like this, and they’ve been working on maintaining public order to foster friendly relations with the demi-humans, haven’t they?
“Eris. Can Mauve and the others move right now?”
“Um... please wait a moment. I had also completely...”
Ah, I see.
Even Eris had forgotten.
Well, it can’t be helped.