The Eastern Empire had lost all of their mages in the disaster, but they still had plenty of magic stones, and thus plentiful magic tools left. Most people in the Imperial family had carried protective magic detection devices on their person for generations. These devices had been developed by the Eastern Empire’s genius inventor, Gennai Hiraga, as a way to detect traces of magic nearby. No matter how skilled the ninjas and samurai around the Imperial family were, it would be difficult for them to go up against magic. The prince’s device was disguised as a regular accessory worn at all times to alert them to the dangers ahead of time so they could formulate a response to keep the Imperial family from falling under the influence of magic. The last time Prince Tasuku had come to the kingdom, it had never gone off even once.
“Cannons. Each ship is outfitted with six cannons. We spotted several cannonballs as well. What’s more, they’re all pointed toward the kingdom and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.” Hattori’s face was grim.
Cannons were weapons meant to be used against monsters. Even if they were placed along the barrier to defeat monsters, the thought of outfitting a boat with them was unthinkable. Especially since these boats were not from the kingdom. Why would they have crossed the ocean with such equipment when monsters couldn’t appear in the sea? It almost appeared like they were targeting the capital itself.
“They were pointed toward the capital...?”
Based on the distance, it’d be hard to imagine the cannonballs would be able to reach the capital, but the fact that they were anchored in the harbor with cannons on board, all facing the capital...even the people of the Eastern Empire, who had limited dealings with foreign diplomacy, could understand how odd it was.
Seeing the serious looks on Hattori’s and Prince Tasuku’s faces, Joshua cut into the conversation. “Prince Tasuku? Is there some problem with those ships?” Prince Tasuku realized it would be best to let people of the kingdom know, so he gave Hattori a look.
“...Lokkuru.”
“Lokkuru?”
Hattori told Joshua in Sunklothian, which Joshua parroted back. Hattori then nodded, his stern expression remaining.
“I see. Those are Western Imperial ships, and they have cannons on board them ready to fire on the capital at a moment’s notice, right?” Joshua understood the meaning behind Hattori’s “lokkuru” perfectly. It was so perfect that Hattori and Prince Tasuku were utterly shocked. All he’d said was “lokkuru,” but Joshua picked up on every part. It was inconceivable.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Sunklothian is awfully convenient, isn’t it?” Joshua smiled as he looked at the three staring at him.
“Don’t believe him. This boy is a monster,” Momochi said as he shook his head. Sunklothian was indeed quite convenient, but the only reason Joshua had been able to understand all of that was because he’d already looked into the matter. This was his guess based on the information he had, the current situation, and Hattori and Prince Tasuku’s expressions.
“Joshua. Based on the trajectory of those cannons and the distance they can fire, the roads to the capital will be perilous.” The Eastern Imperials had planned to bring all their cargo to the Stewart family household. Given that the cannons were aiming at the capital, in the worst-case scenario, they could get swept up in the mess too.
“No, if the Western Empire is truly planning on attacking, then their sights would be set on the capital...or rather, the castle. That would be the fastest course of action. Destroying the roads there with cannonballs would only serve as a hindrance when they choose to charge in. No matter where they aim, I would say they’d leave the roads to the capital be. I believe they plan on using the cannons to target the castle from here.”
Tasuku then interpreted what Joshua had said to Hattori, and asked his opinion on the matter.
“But I’ve never heard of any cannons that could fire such a long distance!” Hattori shook his head, with a “lokkuru” directed at Joshua. There was no need for a cannon, which was meant to be used to defeat monsters within the barrier, to fire that long of a distance. There was a chance that the cannon could actually damage the barrier if one wasn’t careful, so it was more desirable as a weapon that could accurately pinpoint targets up close instead.
“Hmm... Man-made objects do have their limits, which means they might be using some kind of inhuman power? Like maybe a monster? An owata’s seeds could certainly fly from here to the capital with no problem. The only other thing I can think of would be...magic, I believe.”
As Prince Tasuku listened to Joshua muttering to himself, he touched the earring in his right ear. The reason he’d had Hattori investigate the Western Empire’s ships in the first place was because his earring, the magic detection device he always wore, had reacted.
Miguel was surprised by Joshua’s muttering too. “Sir, the boat...has magic. We detected traces.”
“So it does, does it? Heh heh. That’s wonderful news.” A normal person would have been at a loss for how to react to such horrific information, but Joshua was laughing devilishly. Magic wasn’t just convenient for people. It was also very dangerous. How could he be so happy at the prospect that the Western Empire could potentially be attacking the kingdom? Prince Tasuku, Miguel, Hattori, and Momochi were all at a loss.
“If there are traces of magic on it...then that means there may be at least one mage on board.” The world was currently dealing with a magic stone shortage, so it was hard to imagine that anyone would bring the massive amount of magic stones one would need to attack another country. If they were planning on attacking another country, it was likely to obtain magic stones. In other words, they likely wouldn’t be using magic stones to increase the distance a cannon could fire, as magic stones had limited uses. Once they had been used, they were gone for good. Trying to make a cannon fire several dozen kilometers would likely take a ton of stones, and Joshua knew that the Western Empire did not have the quantity on hand to be able to do such a thing. Rather than using up precious magic stones, it would have been far less risky and more cost effective to simply bring along a mage.
In other words, there was at least one mage on the boat: the very thing that the kingdom and many other countries had been fighting and clamoring and dying to get their hands on.
“Well, every cloud certainly does have its silver lining, doesn’t it?”
The barrier that covered the kingdom was about to crumble, and any place without a barrier was one where nobody could safely live. In other words, the cloud of imminent war truly did have a silver lining for them. While as a merchant, Joshua always carried a pen and paper with him in case he needed to write a contract, he instead pulled an Emma silk handkerchief out of his pocket and began writing on it with a quill.
“Hugh, can you deliver this to Rose the concubine in the castle? Oh, and make sure you grab the dresses the Stewart family made for her from their house too. Once she sees the Emma silk dresses and handkerchiefs, she’s sure to tell Queen Victoria what’s happening.”
Going through the official channels for this would take far too long, and there was a chance it could get dismissed as nonsense before it reached the queen. Thus, Joshua decided it would be fastest for Hugh to make contact with Lady Rose instead. Lady Rose would surely believe Hugh if he had an Emma silk dress, because she adored Emma.
They had magic stones. So when should they make their move to obtain a mage and strengthen the kingdom’s barrier? Right then and there!