083 Drifting Arc 23: The Mastermind

We announced the next update would be on Monday, May 28th, but accidentally posted it today, May 25th.

This means we’re changing from weekly updates to every-other-day updates.

Sorry. Since we messed up the update, there’ll probably be a few corrections.

Trying to interrogate the enemy forces that attacked us unexpectedly.

“That kind of underhanded work isn’t the prince’s business. Leave it to the Latherel.”

They said the Latherel were experts at interrogation, so I handed it to John.

The strongest Latherel really are terrifying. Glad they’re on our side.

But then again, you could also think of it as—they’re doing the dirty work we don’t want to do. Suddenly, gratitude floods in.

But it didn’t take long at all.

“Stop! I’ll tell you anything—just don’t send the Latherel!”

The prisoner broke in one second flat.

Still, the guy seemed too terrified to talk once the Latherel were in the room, so we had them step out.

Me and the fortress's high-ups watching the interrogation through what they call a magic mirror.

The interrogation was being handled by a gruff canine officer.

Prisoners'll talk about anything just 'cause there's Lather folk around.

"Where do you belong?"

The canine inquisitor springs a straight-up question at me out of nowhere.

Aren’t we supposed to start with something simpler?

I am a vassal of the Voice Baron family.

I puked. This guy just puked.

"Who's the bastard son of, this Voice Baron?"

"Lord Gilbert, I presume."

Commander Sanders answers my question.

Gilbert’s involvement was revealed with unsettling ease.

Now it's just about how things stand on top of that.

"Born from Count Gilbert’s illegitimate line, are we? Who’s the mastermind? This isn’t just a private army of the count’s bloodline."

The canine inquisitor butted in.

“I don’t know. The summons to deploy came from Count Gilbert to Baron Voice, and as one of the baron’s vassals, I just went.”

“Idiot. You were aiming for the Sixth Prince, weren’t you?”

The prisoner stared, dumbfounded, head hanging low.

“Who was on the flagship?”

“Don’t know. It was a warship I’d never seen before. If it had been Count Gilbert’s ship, I’d have recognized it—this wasn’t it.”

Yeah, well. Gilbert’s warship’s been seized and is now sitting in Anoi Fortress.

It’s been stripped of all ownership—anyone can board it now.

Apparently, only someone with authority at a higher rank can deactivate that lock.

Which means the reason I couldn’t deactivate RIO’s permissions at the station… was because there wasn’t anyone above me in rank.

Even that Prince had recognized, back then, that they were beneath me.

Right, that’s right—back then I’d been saddled with a debt of one hundred million G.

So there was a chance I’d been dumped on the poor like that, just to cover it.

“Have you seen a Count Gilbert or someone higher?”

“No. Not at all. Nobles like that don’t deign to show their faces to servants like me.”

“So Count Gilbert—or someone above him—was the one who gathered that army.”

“No other reason for Voice Baron to be involved. Um… will the Baron be punished?”

The prisoner paled, realizing his own testimony might lead to Voice Baron’s punishment.

He was about to shut up completely.

I reach for the microphone connected to the interrogation room.

“If Voice Baron didn’t know about the attack on me, then the blame lies with the mastermind who deceived him. If you’re loyal to me, I’ll help you.

But if you attacked me knowing full well—no mercy. Prove you’re not guilty.”

“What was that?”

“The prince.”

“I understand. I’ll tell you everything I know. Please, ask for clemency for the baron.”

The prisoner collapsed completely.

“Hey, I never got your name.”

“I’m Brian Sable. A second-class knight.”

“Any knights you know? That patron of yours?”

“I saw a knight aligned with Lord Douglas.”

“Gilbert and Douglas—Douglas is older, stronger. Who’s the one those earls are backing?”

“I’ve heard they support the twelfth prince.”

“Brian, when was this?”

“Probably about two years ago.”

Ah. Solid.

I heard from Aya that when I was certified as a Prince, one Prince fell out of the lineup.

If I’m the 13th Prince now, then two years ago I must’ve been the 12th Prince.

Whether it was the Prince himself or his pet’s rampage, the 13th Prince faction’s involvement is certain.

“The puppet master is the Prince. At least one thing’s certain— the 13th Prince faction is our enemy.”

“The Prince was demoted from 12th to 13th Prince after being recognized as a Prince under Akira-sama.”

“Yeah. So the 12th Prince Brian was talking about? That was the Prince.”

Commander Sanders chimes in, recalling it like a memory. Helpful.

For now, let’s leave the interrogation to the Canine Inquisitors.

We left the interrogation room—(or rather, the one next to it).

Now, what next?

If we add the true Empire’s army, we might just be able to beat the Prince’s forces.

But using the True Empire against the Prince could easily put us at odds with other princes—or even the Empire itself.

Not the right time to bring the True Empire into the open.

I can’t afford to openly clash with the Empire yet.

I still need to play the part of a loyal imperial prince if I’m going to survive.

"So, the only real military assets we can count on are those rogue space vessels. Speaking of which—how’s the application to the Empire coming along?"

I was walking, thinking this through, when it hit me: the whole damn fight started with a spy leaking intel.

I grabbed the return mic next to the interrogation room.

"One more question. What triggered this attack? Why now?"

My voice echoed through the interrogation chamber. Brian and the dog-faced interrogator flinched. The interrogator’s eyes darted to the magic mirror.

The canine inquisitor hurriedly prodded Brian for a reply.

I think we gathered the fleet for combat readiness a few days ago.

I was ordered to launch today—there’s a ship in front of the Dimensional Jump Gate, so smash it.

So, you knew I’d be going out alone, huh.

"Yeah. Make sure you finish them off. The ones we sink should get a reward, right?"

"I don’t know that source, do I?"

Yeah. I can't tell you the source from my position.

Thank you

Ah. It's confirmed—there's a spy at the Anoi Fortress.

Minna served the Prince. Were the feline folk close to the Prince?

If I start doubting every catfolk I meet, I’ll never stop. Especially not with dogs—no way I’m going to ask them for advice.

If we end up at odds again, it'll be a hassle.

Or is it Aisan, the organic terminal of the Empire's support AI?

Aya is just imperial property, you know.

When I got back to the office, I steeled myself and asked Ai.

"Are you loyal to the Empire?"

"No. I'm a support AI. I can only answer questions."

"But you can limit what you say, depending on the person."

"That's just the admin权限 setting. No personal will involved."

"So if the admin sets it, everything we just talked about could be shared as if it were their question?"

"Yes. That's correct."

"(Wow. So it really is like that?) Ai, did you tell the Prince about me?"

"Yes. The main AI body is separate. Collected data can be retrieved from another terminal."

"What's the current restriction setting?"

"Prioritized for Akira-sama."

"Huh? So...?"

"Since the trial, the Prince has been unable to access Akira-sama's information."

"Does that mean higher-ups can't access lower-level info?"

"No. It means personal lockdown is active. The Prince’s access became effective only after Akira-sama claimed the rights of the Sixth Prince."

"So... if I try to access the Prince’s info, it’ll be denied?"

"Yes. The First Prince would be denied access to Akira-sama’s info as well."

"So my priority’s only for non-personal data viewing rights?"

"Yes. That’s correct."

"Uh. Thanks. Sorry about that."

"Huh?"

Not Ayame. I’m sorry I doubted you.

Then again, it’s either spies or eavesdropping.

Huh? Eavesdropping?

"Ayame, is the data collection on the wristband locked?"

"Yes. It’s been locked since the trial."

"Even someone close to me?"

"Even Akira-sama’s family and retainers are restricted from viewing it."

"So, information can only be gathered from people outside the family or household retainers, right?"

"Correct."

"Anyone not recognized as family or a retainer of mine... is currently inside this Anoi fortress?"

"Yes. They are."

"Who exactly?"

"The self-proclaimed自治会 members."

"Them?!"

A spy in an unexpected place.

Worse yet—those people don’t even realize it themselves.

If they’re self-proclaimed自治会, they shouldn’t know I’ve been in contact with the True Empire.

That info hasn’t leaked.

But everyone knows I’m going out alone on a single ship.

They must’ve picked up that detail from the data collected by the wristband.

What a clever bastard.

"Aya, can you block access to the wristband data from the自治会 members?"

"Yes. I’ll lock it under Akira-sama’s authority."

"Wait, really? You can control the wristband management too? So the support AI handles that?"

"Yes. That’s correct."

Good thing you're here, Aya.

Received a review from Amida-sama.

I appreciate the praise, even though I’m such a weakling.