Ch.808Incident Report

After arriving at the capital, I had no choice but to head straight to the Imperial Palace without even resting.

Thanks to asking the knight at the checkpoint who recognized me not to cause a commotion, I managed to avoid any disturbance…

But my arrival must have been reported to the higher-ups immediately, as I had to face an urgent messenger from the Imperial Palace before I could even reach the mansion of the Five Swords.

Leopold had commanded an audience with me.

Well, I had more or less anticipated this, so I nodded and changed my direction toward the Imperial Palace. After reaching the main gate, I got out of the carriage alone and sent my companions back to the mansion.

After all, Leopold had summoned only me.

“Congratulations on your safe return, Marquis of Median. It must have been a difficult battlefield, but you achieved results far beyond expectations.”

Leopold, whom I was meeting after quite some time, looked several times more exhausted than I did, despite my having just returned from a long journey.

Bloodshot eyes, dark spots on his skin, and occasionally trembling fingers. He looked like someone who should be put to bed immediately rather than having a private audience.

I wasn’t sure whether to call it impressive or stubborn that he was trying to handle official business in such a state.

Whenever I saw him like this, I was reminded that the position of a nation’s leader was truly a shackle that made it difficult to live out one’s natural lifespan.

Either they struggle to bear the responsibility of the nation’s fate and die from overwork, or they throw away that responsibility, become tyrants, and get assassinated.

Isabella, Rurik, Danon, Ragnar Lokan, and Aishan-Gioro Orhan. Having killed five self-proclaimed kings, I could say this was an eternal truth.

“I’m glad I could be of help, Your Majesty.”

In any case, Leopold seemed pleased that I had annihilated the dispatched forces of Dragonborn and fairies.

Well, if I had only partially crushed them, it might have been different, but since I completely wiped them out, they wouldn’t even think of attacking the Empire for the time being.

According to the interrogation results from Eirnesia, the fairies apparently had a way to fill the power vacuum left by their guardians… but even so, it would be impossible to produce a dozen new guardians right away.

It would require time or demand a huge price. There must be such constraints. After all, no power in this world comes without cost.

If they could produce guardians without any restrictions, they wouldn’t have been driven to the western continent in the first place.

No matter how strong Carlos the Great and his Twelve Knights were, they would have eventually met their limits against an endless stream of mass-produced guardians.

The very fact that Carlos’s Empire had achieved victory against Alvheim was evidence that there were limits to the forces Alvheim could mobilize.

“With this, both Alvheim and the Dragonic Kingdom will remain quiet for a while. All thanks to you.”

“You flatter me.”

I nodded lightly with a smile.

In truth, it was indeed thanks to me. I was just being modest.

If it weren’t for me, Demian and the others would have been annihilated, and the fairies and Dragonborn would have returned with what they wanted and begun invading Imperial territory.

The Empire, having lost three heroes at once, would have struggled to withstand their offensive.

Then the Empire would fall—followed by the kingdoms—and just as the jubilant non-human races celebrated, the demon armies would descend, causing the entire world to collapse like dominoes.

So Nidhogg and I had saved the world.

Thank you, Nidhogg.

Stay strong, even as bone fragments.

—-

After that, I reported on my activities.

Leopold already seemed to know about the fierce battle with the non-human races in the snowy mountains, probably informed by Nigel or Millia, so I only reported on what happened afterward.

For instance, the issue of the wall repair costs claimed by Duke Valdemar… and the information extracted from interrogating Makaoros and Eirnesia.

I argued that since the airship was built and operated by the mages of the Magic Tower, they should be responsible for the repair costs. Surprisingly, Leopold had already made the same claim to the Magic Tower.

Is this what they call being on the same wavelength?

Apparently, when the Tower Master Floheta received the enormous bill, she wailed like a banshee queen and tried to challenge me to a duel… but Leopold had managed to persuade and calm her down.

That was truly fortunate.

Even if Floheta had somehow crossed the threshold to become an archmage, that would still only put her at the level of a newly ascended hero…

If I accidentally struck a mage rather than a knight, I might send her to the afterlife before she could even receive treatment.

The Tower Master dying at the hands of the Empire’s strongest knight while venting her anger—what a miserable way to go.

“Hmm… this is quite… interesting information. To think the Dragon King was behind the rogue Dragonborn. Now that we know this, we need to reconsider the distribution ratio of the remains.”

The information extracted from torturing Eirnesia and Makaoros seemed to greatly interest Leopold. Judging by how he was muttering to himself while stroking his chin.

As he carefully read through the documents containing the interrogation results, his eyes revealed his intention to use this information for diplomatic advantage.

How cunning. He probably wouldn’t have been this pleased even if I had found and gifted him a holy sword. Though he did show some concern when he learned about Eirnesia’s broken state.

Apparently, he had originally planned to buy time until the Imperial forces recovered by making a peace treaty with Alvheim.

He had intended to extract significant benefits in exchange for returning prisoners, but returning a prisoner who had been reduced to a broken mess through severe torture might trigger an immediate war rather than a peace treaty.

Well, that woman was apparently a guardian who had lived for over a thousand years. If such a woman returned in a state where her very self was shattered, unable to control even her bodily functions, the fairies would be beyond furious.

A thousand-year-old guardian would have had many followers and admirers.

But there was no way to restore her shattered self… so what could be done? Lady Eirnesia would have to spend the rest of her life locked away in Faelrun’s underground prison.

—-

I didn’t bring up the holy sword.

If Leopold learned that I had become the master of the holy sword’s master, he might remove the crown from his wig-covered head and place it on either mine or Demian’s.

Neither Demian nor I wanted that.

Those who wish to wear the crown must bear its weight. The consequences were evident just by looking at Leopold’s bald head covered with fake hair.

Fortunately, unlike Duke Valdemar, who had guessed my purpose was searching for Caliburn just from hearing I was looking for something in the Celestial Mountains, Leopold didn’t seem to have any inkling.

Unlike the Duchy of Faelrun, perhaps the imperial family hadn’t passed down the truth about Caliburn’s loss?

…That might be the case.

The Duchy of Faelrun would have had to hand over the holy sword to the imperial family even if they found it, so they probably gave up without regret once they realized the slim chances of finding it…

But if the imperial family, direct descendants of Carlos the Great, had known this fact, they would have tried everything possible to find the holy sword.

Even if it meant great sacrifice.

That’s probably why Carlos didn’t tell his descendants about losing the holy sword.

To prevent them from obsessing over a sword they couldn’t draw anyway and wasting enormous manpower and resources in vain.

—-

Since I couldn’t report finding the holy sword, I had to make up a story about a family heirloom that didn’t exist.

Leopold knew my character well enough that if I said I had given up searching for the heirloom and returned empty-handed, he would immediately suspect I was hiding something.

So I answered that I had found it, but couldn’t show it.

The heirloom I sought was something like a blessing that enhanced “my power.” And now that I had returned with the heirloom, my power was certainly stronger than before.

It wasn’t a lie.

Since Demian was my knight, the power of the holy sword he obtained was essentially my power. That’s the nature of a lord-vassal relationship.

Moreover, it was true that my physical strength had increased. There was simply no correlation between my increased strength and the holy sword.

So I hadn’t lied.

—-

After completing my report, Leopold and I took a short break.

He massaged the space between his eyebrows and drank tea, trying to fight off drowsiness, while I leaned against the window of his office, smoking and waiting for him to gather his thoughts.

By the time I had finished one cigarette, Leopold called me back, apparently having rested enough, and began to lay out his business.

The independence issue of Landenburg territory, the scope of the border, the management of the isolated Median marquisate, establishing national foundations, and all sorts of political and administrative issues.

Every topic was enough to give me a headache just by listening.

Perhaps the only thing I could pass over without much thought was Ludwig Wilhelm von Landenburg’s funeral.

“What? You’ve been postponing that until now? How long has it been since the Margrave died…”

I was genuinely surprised, having assumed they would have taken care of the funeral, but Leopold just sighed as if I was talking nonsense.

“Haah… I suspected as much, but you really haven’t given it any thought. A funeral without the successor present—does that make any sense?”

…Now that I heard it, he was right.

I was that man’s adopted daughter, after all.

[What a disloyal bastard. Even if you’re not related by blood, to ignore even his funeral. Your adoptive father must be weeping in the afterlife.]

You’re one to talk.