“My mother is his daughter, but in Twilightland, only direct male descendants can inherit the throne. Ergo, I’m excluded from the line of succession.”
“But Myu’s father is a marquess in the Kingdom, so she can inherit his title,” added Imogen, a swordswoman.
Ah, now I get it, Ryo thought. She’s the daughter of a marquess who just happens to be the granddaughter of Twilight’s Archduke. I can imagine that’d cause a few ripples...
“I informed the Grand Master and Lord Ignus about my background when I was chosen as an escort for this delegation. The Grand Master said that it could actually be an advantage rather than a disadvantage, and that I should do my best...”
Despite pointing out the potential risks, the higher-ups had still given Myu permission to join.
“I understand,” Ryo replied. “Thank you for telling me.”
Then the water magician headed toward the leaders’ meeting.
By the time he arrived, the meeting had ended, and everyone was milling about as they tended to their various tasks.
“Ryo!” Abel called out.
“I see you all are done. I just found out why the Sect targeted us,” Ryo said. He went on to explain Myu’s background, and then Abel described their next move.
“Since we’re in Twilight territory, we have no choice but to hand over the assassins to the government.”
“I see... Even Rosalia, the dark magician?” Ryo asked, thoughtful. “She’s a valuable asset, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“R-Riiight,” Abel said, grimacing.
“What’s the matter, Abel?”
“Well, I was surprised to hear the words ‘valuable asset’ come out of your mouth, Ryo...”
“Do you seriously think I’m some evil mastermind?! I mean, honestly... I was just thinking about the Kingdom’s future, just like you and everyone else! With her on our side, we could make some incredibly rare alchemical tools, you know? It may be beyond my ability at the moment, but if we get Kenneth’s help...”
“Gotcha. That makes a lot of sense.”
When it came to doing anything, Ryo had just three criteria: it had to be cool, it had to be interesting, or it had to involve alchemy.
“Anyway, once we get to Karnak tonight, we’ll reach out to the right authorities and transfer the assassins to their custody. Dunno know how long it’ll be before those authorities actually show up, though.”
“Understood. This is a foreign country, so we shouldn’t be too surprised that its procedures and systems are different from Knightley’s. On the off chance they arrive sooner than we expect, though, I’d like to ask that frozen woman a few questions.”
After getting permission from Negotiator Ignis, Abel and Ryo approached Natalia.
“No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t believe the people you freeze actually survive,” Abel said, staring at the frozen body of the assassin.
“That wouldn’t be the case without quite a bit of practice. You have no idea how many monsters were sacrificed in the Forest of Rondo while I perfected it...” Ryo said.
The water magician thought he’d come across as sincere, but Abel saw right through him.
“Ya don’t say,” he said, unimpressed.
Ryo scowled. Without another word, he melted the ice encasing Natalia’s face.
“Hello, Natalia. We’d like to have a little chat.”
“To hell with you! Go rot in a—”
In an instant, he covered her head in ice again. Then Ryo lifted his right hand and waved it back and forth, as if beckoning something. The ice seemed to shift in response, following the motions of his hand...
After about two minutes, Ryo uncovered Natalia’s face again.
“Such a shame for a beautiful woman to have such a foul mouth,” Ryo said. “Now, I’m sure you felt the ice constricting around your body just now, didn’t you? I was compressing it. Were you scared? I bet you were. As long as you’re in there, remember that I can crush you any time I’d like. Don’t forget that.”
“You cur...”
Fear and hatred wrestled across her face. She agonized over the fact that he held her life in his hands, but she despised the idea of submitting to him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t ask you anything complicated. I know why you targeted Myu, but I just want to hear it from your mouth. Oh, and I’d like to know who your client is. But first—you targeted her because of her background, yes?”
“Do you truly believe I’ll answer you? You must be joking,” she said, trying to flaunt her bravado with a derisive smile.
“Would it make you feel better if I told you I don’t hold a grudge against the Sect? The only reason I froze your village in the first place was because you people kidnapped Prince Willie. But keep being stubborn, and I may just go after Black next, hm?” Ryo beamed at her.
Natalia was speechless. After a long, silent minute, she finally lifted her head. “As if... As if you even could...”
“Would you like to put that to the test? You do know what I’m capable of, don’t you?”
She knew this man was a monster. He had single-handedly annihilated their headquarters, frozen everything in ice, and stood his ground against the leader. She respected Lord Black but couldn’t deny that he was inferior to the leader in terms of fighting ability... In fact, nobody in the upper echelons of the organization—in the entire Sect, for that matter—could defeat the monster before her.
“I have no interest in what happens to Black or the Sect,” Ryo continued as Natalia hesitated. “I promise you that I won’t attack you unless provoked—but that’s only if you answer my questions. Their fate lies in your hands, Natalia. You’ll never get a chance like this again.”
A threat backed by his sheer, overwhelming power. It was a common tactic between nations, but equally effective in negotiations between people—especially in a world like Phi, where there were no institutions like the police to enforce order.
“Fine... I will tell you most of what I can, but not everything. However, you must swear again that you won’t lay hands on Black and the Sect if I answer your questions.”
“I swear I won’t do anything to Black and the Sect unless they attack me first,” Ryo promised her.
Some people believed negotiating with assassins or terrorists was unacceptable, but Ryo didn’t fall into that category. If he could get information through interrogation, he’d happily negotiate with an assassin.
And that was exactly how Ryo obtained some vital pieces of information.
He learned that rebelling nobles were behind the attack on the delegation. It was supposed to be carried out within the country’s borders. The assassins could spare the emissary and the other civil servants, but the knights and adventurers—and, most importantly, Myu—must be killed. The attack had been supposed to take place within three days of the entourage entering Twilightland. That was the extent of what Natalia knew.
“Excellent. That’s more than enough,” Ryo said.
“And your promise?”
“Of course I’ll keep it. Black and the Sect are safe from me.”
Relief washed over Natalia’s face.
Ryo genuinely had no interest in the new Sect. He was just fine with them merrily going about their business—as long as that business was far, far away from him... He had no intention to break his promise to Natalia.
As for Abel, who’d been listening quietly behind him, Ryo figured he probably had a lot on his mind too and decided not to worry.
Ryo turned back to Natalia and froze her again.
“There you have it, Abel.”
“Yeah... Well, we can put the Sect out of mind for now, but I’m worried about these rebels.”
The two started walking as they continued their conversation.
“I’m concerned too, but there’s not enough information to form an opinion one way or another.”
“True... Ignis knows about Myu’s background, right? I say we bring all this to him and take it from there.”