Ch.430Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

Just as I was lying by the lake in a daze, Imperial soldiers appeared on the scene.

The mobile unit dispatched from the central command defending Petrograd began to control the area. They quickly ushered pedestrians out and blocked entry, but well… The scene had already been passed by many people long ago.

I moved to another location with the help of an officer who had brought an interpreter. He suggested going to the military hospital for a simple examination, but I declined that offer.

“You’ve caused trouble again.”

The Grand Duchess appeared at the scene while the mobile unit was busy controlling the area.

Emerging from thin air with blue flames, she gently scolded Camilla who was resting in the ambulance.

“I urged you to be careful. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nooo…”

Camilla answered in a half-dying voice.

After checking on her condition and mine, Alexandra Petrovna handed us two potion bottles. They were potions to help calm the mind and body.

“Thank youuu…”

As Camilla brightened up and gulped down the potion, the Grand Duchess began to speak with an uncomprehending expression.

“What exactly was the reason for falling into the lake?”

“Well…”

I wiped the potion from the corner of my mouth and answered on Camilla’s behalf.

It was only after my explanation ended and a considerable amount of time had passed that the Grand Duchess opened her mouth. Alexandra Petrovna spoke with a genuinely bewildered expression.

“Where did you put the cube? It would have worked fine regardless of how low the altitude was. Didn’t I tell you to use it whenever you found yourself in a situation where you couldn’t use magic and were falling, and to contact the Magic Department for rescue?”

“……”

This was the first I’d heard of it.

At this, I blinked and turned my head toward Camilla, who quickly averted her gaze.

Her shoulders trembled like an aspen tree, her eyes wandered aimlessly, and her fingers fidgeted with the innocent blanket.

Seeing Camilla’s behavior, a sigh escaped me involuntarily. Ah.

She forgot how to use it.

“……”

“……”

“……”

As an awkward silence enveloped the inside of the ambulance, a soft sigh flowed from the Grand Duchess’s lips.

Episode 17 – The Blood-Drinking Tree

A minor accident occurred when two foreigners, in violation of five ordinances including the Magical Aviation Safety Act, crashed at a lakeside tourist attraction in Petrograd, but the entire incident was swept under the rug.

The Land Ministry overseeing aviation laws, the Defense Ministry responsible for the capital’s air defense, the police under the Interior Ministry, and even the Foreign Ministry all turned a blind eye. After all, the perpetrator was none other than the Northern Grand Duchess’s sole disciple.

However, there was no way to silence the foreign journalists hunting for news stories. The correspondents stationed in Petrograd treated Camilla’s shy and adorable accident as breaking news.

Naturally, Abas’s journalists were no exception.

And so,

-‘You go on vacation and come back having caused quite an incident.’

Summoned to the embassy immediately, I received a sharp reprimand through a secure line.

-‘What on earth were you doing?’

Clebins was holding his office phone and questioning me. He was asking what I had done this time to get my face in the newspapers.

“Actually, I was helping Miss Camilla practice her magic…”

-‘You destroyed a lake while practicing magic?’

“Well…”

It took just over a minute to explain the whole story.

A sigh could be heard from the other end of the receiver, and Clebins spoke in an exasperated tone.

-‘Not content with treating the Empire’s airspace like your own backyard, you’ve gone and smashed up a Petrograd lake in an accident. I’m speechless…’

“I feel the same way.”

-‘Shut up, man.’

Thankfully, there was no formal reprimand.

The Abas Foreign Ministry drew a line through the ambassador, stating that ‘while the material damage from this accident is regrettable, Abas has no connection to it.’

The Kiyen Foreign Ministry likewise clarified its position, stating that no casualties occurred, and this incident happened because Camilla accidentally lost control of her magic, making the Abas government an uninvolved third party.

Though the accident occurred suddenly, the follow-up measures proceeded smoothly.

Once the Foreign Ministry clarified its position, the Defense Ministry also defused the situation.

Although the commander guarding the imperial capital, upon receiving reports of unauthorized teleportation magic manifesting in Petrograd’s airspace, had mobilized troops thinking, “The Abas fellows have finally started a war! Why should we just stand guard any longer?”

He received instructions from the Defense Ministry that nothing had happened and to return the troops to base, then went home with a gloomy expression, drinking vodka.

Thus, the Empire’s peace was preserved for another day.

“Camilla!”

“Eeeeeek?!”

“Come here right now!”

…Probably.

*

“Well, who do we have here? Isn’t this the first person to breach Petrograd’s airspace?”

“Stop it.”

“And without even a parachute…!”

“I said stop.”

The blonde rascal and the dwarf-like nymph were doubled over, clutching their stomachs. They were howling with laughter, making sure I could hear them.

Jake, who had been cackling, began to pout his lips. Then, with an annoying expression, he mumbled awkwardly.

“Hrzh mlrg.”

“You little…”

“Stop it, Jake.”

Just as I was trembling and preparing to give him a knock on the head, Pipin appeared with a binder of documents, chuckling as he restrained them.

Pipin smacked Jake’s thigh and warned Charnoi. It was a reminder not to make fun of a superior.

But Charnoi showed no signs of stopping his antics.

“Charnoi, nymph of the ditch water… I’ve never seen someone jump from such a height without a parachute in my life…”

“……”

“How can a person do such a thing…? Even bird-headed beastfolk wouldn’t do something so foolish…!”

I heaved a deep sigh.

Ever since the accident in the Empire made the news, I’d been hearing such comments whenever there was a chance. Things like, is that the skydiver we’ve only heard about? Or, he’s the first person in military history to break through the Empire’s impenetrable air defense with his bare body.

Not only acquaintances but even strangers whispered, “Is that the guy?” So there was no need to investigate how widely the rumors had spread.

It was happening now too.

As I sat blankly in my chair, staring into space, Jake’s voice reached me. He was poking Charnoi’s side and chattering in a voice that wasn’t apologetic at all.

“Charnoi. He told you to stop.”

“Has the fun run out already…?”

“…I said stop.”

Of course, they weren’t the type to listen to mere words.

Watching Jake and Charnoi circling around my desk and teasing me, I zoned out with a gloomy expression. This is insubordination, you bastards…

“Sigh. Jake, how old are you to still be acting like this?”

Unable to stand it any longer, Pipin casually warned the two. Knowing that there would be no end to this, and that Pipin might start getting angry if his mood soured, Jake and Charnoi returned to their places.

After the commotion of diving from high altitude into the lakeside, I returned to headquarters in less than three days. My vacation was coming to an end anyway, and then the accident happened. “Seeing you cause trouble, I guess you’ve rested enough,” Leoni had said, ordering my return.

There were employees at the embassy who recognized me and whispered when I visited for my return, and there was also Lady Grace Nostrim who rushed over as soon as I passed through immigration. My mother, who had seen the news about her son broadcast prominently on the 9 o’clock news, had dashed out of the palace and smacked my back.

Rumors spread throughout the embassy, I was scolded at the immigration hall, and to top it all off, I became the butt of my subordinates’ jokes—truly a pitiful situation.

Though it was self-inflicted.

“Tsk…”

As I sat there with a gloomy expression, smacking my lips, Pipin put down the binder he had been holding at his side. He took out a paper from it and placed it on the desk.

It was a dispatch.

“A message came in from the Magic Tower branch. The Hero and Miss Francesca have met.”

“Are they safe?”

“Yes. There are no major injuries. The Grand Duchess is still in the Empire. For now, it seems only the two of them are at the Magic Tower.”

After the accident, Camilla moved to the Magic Tower. The pretext was to contact Francesca to prepare for the next dispatch.

Camilla’s visit to the Magic Tower caused quite a stir. She was a guest who had stayed at the Grand Duchess’s mansion for several months and was the only disciple of the Grand Magician, so it was a natural progression.

Some speculated that the Grand Duchess might return to the Magic Tower, indulging in wishful thinking. But Alexandra Petrovna didn’t budge from the Empire.

Having entrusted her disciple to Francesca, the Grand Duchess still remained in the capital. She had temporarily placed Camilla in the care of an acquaintance at the Magic Tower because she hadn’t finished the aftermath of the northern conflict.

Judging by the contents of the dispatch, Camilla seems to be doing well there. Practicing magic with Francesca and looking into various magical tools suggests that she too is preparing for the upcoming new dispatch.

“Well, I’m glad she’s safe. How about the Laterano branch?”

“Saint Lucia had a meeting with a bishop from the Lushan Federation Kingdom. As you know, the Moritani continent is under Al-Yabd’s sphere of influence, so it’s a continent where the church’s power doesn’t reach. It seems she contacted Lushan, which has a similar culture and exerts direct and indirect influence on Moritani.”

“Hmm.”

Looks like Lucia is preparing in her own way too.

It feels somewhat strange to see her going on foreign tours alone without Veronica’s help. I was worried about how well she would adapt to life abroad, given her strong will. Fortunately, it seems my concerns were unfounded.

If there’s a problem, it might be Veronica? Nothing major, but lately, every evening, Veronica calls to complain that Lucia doesn’t play with her anymore.

Of course, I was busy preparing for my own dispatch, so I had no time to listen to the saint’s grumbling.

I put away the dispatch and started flipping through the binder. As the paper rustled and I turned past the first page, Pipin’s voice continued.

“Oh, Manager. About this business trip.”

“Yeah.”

“In our team, only you and Jake have experience in Moritani. Will that be okay?”

I picked up where he left off.

“You’ve all received training too. We’ve found out the urgent information, so we can learn the details gradually once we arrive on site.”

“That’s a relief then. And one more thing. What are your thoughts on the Royal Intelligence Service operations team?”

I looked up from the paper at Pipin. He gestured toward a document inserted in the binder.

“They’ve taken over the project you were in charge of, and instructions from above say you should handle the follow-up personally.”

“Then I’ll have to do it.”

I closed the binder and said:

“Contact the senior analyst.”

*

Moritani continent, a nameless desert.

The wind brushes over the barren sand where sparse shrubs protrude. As the scarf around his neck flutters in the breeze, a man wearing a traditional hat pulled low speaks.

“…I got the message. They’ll arrive soon?”

In his hand was a large radio.

In the van parked behind the man was communication equipment with wires plugged in all over. An intelligence officer crouched in front of it, typing on the keyboard, checking the status of communications.

“There’s no particular sign right now. The reconnaissance headquarters is quiet too. There are only sporadic engagements at the front line, no major battles.”

A gun barrel protruded from between the coat flaps lifted by the wind. The rifle, adorned with various accessories, once belonged to the Kiyen Imperial Army, but no longer.

“Alright, I understand. Be careful coming here too. Since this is an official dispatch, you’ll be entering as a military attaché, so keep that in mind. See you at the safe house.”

After finishing the communication, the man handed the radio to a team member. The team members who had loaded their gear from the desert into the trunk were ready to depart for the next location.

Walking steadily across the soft sand, the man looked up. Pushing his scarf to the back of his neck and slightly raising his hat, he called out to a team member.

“Caer!”

The person standing on the mound turned his head.

The team leader shouted.

“Come down now!”

Ears protruding above the traditional hat twitched. The beastman with an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder came down on all fours, digging through the sand.

Finally arriving in front of his prepared comrades.

As the beastman straightened his bent back and opened his mouth, a strange howl crossed the desert.