“I have to say, that was quite an odd chain of strange events,” Eva remarked.
“Mmm. I guess so?” I replied with a deep nod as I crossed my arms.
We were chatting away in my office. She wasn’t wrong; the recent tumult in the imperial capital was fairly odd compared to the usual helter and skelter. It all started with the attack on the clan house, which was followed by the Devil Sword trouble, then the Black World Tree. Next came the uproar over the strawberry milk, and at the church, a knight appeared from the pendant I had received, and finally, there was a town inside a Magic Bag, and...
“I guess all’s well that ends well,” I said. “Though I still need to worry about people chasing that bounty.”
“About that. From what we can tell, the bounty has been taken down. I was a bit worried, so I had it looked into...”
This caught me by surprise. I didn’t know what sort of channels she must have gone through, but Eva wouldn’t lie about something like this. Though I had expected the bounty to be retracted, it struck me as lucky that it happened so quickly. In retrospect, I think fortune was on my side this time around.
“In a way, I’m glad I got to see many different things,” I said. The words just sort of came out of my mouth.
“Wh-What did you say?!”
J-Just a joke.
Compared to usual, things were on a smaller scale, but there was plenty of variety, like a box of assorted chocolates. Though it goes without saying, I was ready for it to be over. Once I had this Hermit’s Ring off my finger, everything would be taken care of.
“But you gotta admit,” I said with resignation, “the people in this city really are holding on to all sorts of dangerous items.”
Eva looked unamused. “I think you could benefit from learning to be a bit more wary.”
I knocked my fist into my palm. That’s it. I had a feeling something about this was different. Throughout all this trouble, I never got dragged into it!
I only heard about the troubles with the Devil Sword, the Black World Tree, and Strawberry Blaze after the fact. At the purification of Marin’s Lament, I was only a spectator, and at the end with Mimicky (the Magic Bag’s name, given by me), I wasn’t among those who got eaten. Sure, I was the one who triggered all this, but still.
In a sense, this was something to rejoice over. It looked like I, too, was finally showing signs of improvement.
“But damn that Eliza. I don’t know where she is, but I’ll have to have a word with her next time I see her.”
I wasn’t going to blame her for what happened, but there was no getting around the fact that she was the starting point of all this. If she hadn’t brought that Devil Sword, these last few days would have been full of blissful nothingness.
I let out a sigh as I placed the letter from her atop my desk. Eva’s eyebrow twitched when she saw what it said.
“‘Can’t find Cae,’” she mumbled. “That reminds me. Gark informed me of new info regarding Fox. The masked man at the Supreme Warrior Festival was known as Caelum Tail.”
“Hm? Hmmm. Is that so?”
Eva stared at me silently.
No way. This “Cae” isn’t for Caelum, it’s Eliza’s nickname for me. It’s nothing more than a coincidence. Do they think I sent Eliza after Fox? Ha ha ha, you people are so imaginative.
I began to grin, eliciting a sigh of resignation from Eva.
“That reminds me, Krai. Thank you for this. In the end, I was fine.”
Eva placed before me the Safety Ring I had given her the other day. That reminded me: did I use many Safety Rings during this mess? I used one in the explosion and another at the church, but barely any outside of that. Usually, once the chaos broke out, I’d burn through them all before I knew it. Now this was worth rejoicing over.
“Wh-What’s the matter, Krai?”
“It’s nothing. You should hang on to that. You need it more than I do.”
She looked alarmed. “What does that mean?”
It means I can give away one and still have sixteen left over.
Several of them needed charging, but there was both a chance that giving her the ring would benefit me in the next life, and that this would all be over before I needed all of them. Maybe I could find more people to give rings to? Like Tino, perhaps.
Rings aside, the prophecy business had been settled. It had taken me here and there, but Franz was taking responsibility for the purification of Marin’s Lament, and I could ask the Noble Shaman to remove the cursed ring on my finger. For once, I didn’t have any complaints. Was I being rewarded for my good behavior?
I pointed to Hermit’s Ring, which was on the finger that used to hold the Safety Ring I gave to Eva. “I’ve got this, you see,” I said in a hard-boiled voice. “Besides, Cae hasn’t been found yet.”
“Huh?!”
“Right. I’ve got something I need to do.”
“You need to do?! What is it? Don’t tell me there’s more!”
Our newest member, Mimicky, was an exceptional one. Meanwhile, Carpy (the Flying Carpet’s name, given by me) hadn’t once let me ride him and spent his days with his carpet harem. I needed to teach him a lesson.
✦ ✦ ✦
Rapid preparations were underway to welcome the fickle Noble Shaman. They had to prepare a carriage and keep people away. Stopping traffic was no simple task in a city as large as the imperial capital. That also went for the carriage, given the necessary materials and the mythical beasts needed to pull it.
Though they may have had the approval of His Imperial Majesty, making the necessary adjustments wasn’t a walk in the park. Franz and his knights were desperately trying to move the plan along when his Sounding Stone connected to the Divinarium began to vibrate. He furrowed his brow at the report. He hadn’t gotten much sleep lately, but now his eyes were wide open.
“Impossible. The prophecy hasn’t faded.”
“I imagine it’ll fade if this operation succeeds,” said a subordinate. Like Franz, they were similarly sleep-deprived and had dark rings under their eyes.
What they said was certainly possible. Astrology had never been known for its precision. There was no choosing when a prophecy appeared, and there could be time lags. Yet something was bothering Franz. This was going far too well compared to the other events. Normally, he would be pleased by this, but not now, when the Thousand Tricks was involved.
That’s it, Franz thought. Looking back, he’s been awfully quiet. No, too quiet!
Previously, every time that man got involved, he stoked the flames. But not this time. Franz shook his head, body shivering. “No. I think he’s seen a new possibility, one that involves a Fox.”
“Fox?! Do you think they’re also behind this?!”
“Hmph. It’s entirely possible. The Thousand Tricks was attacked only just a few days ago. It’s just...”
Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox didn’t let anyone strike at them and get away with it. Given everything that had happened, it was possible this was their attempt at revenge. But knights had looked into Marin’s Lament and the other cursed items, giving them a good picture of where they had come from. All of them had been in the city for a long time with no opportunity for Fox to intervene.
The only one of uncertain origin is the Devil Sword given to the Sword Saint, but...no.
“Hm. If that’s really what’s happening, Fox’s plans are becoming clear for the first time. In which case, things are just getting started.”
Franz was certain of it—Fox had their sights set on the Shaman being brought over by Starlight. If they lost the Noble Shaman and couldn’t purify Marin’s Lament, that wretched curse would eventually descend upon the imperial capital. No, there was no need to use such complacent words like “eventually.” If those sealing chains were broken, the curse would immediately blanket the entire city. They wouldn’t be able to use the restraining magic circle again.
“Request assistance from all the other orders. Everyone is going to brace for an attack from Fox! We can’t let them interfere!”
“Captain Franz, only so many orders are available. What shall we do about defending the church?”
“Use hunters. We can’t deploy large numbers of knights in the church’s vicinity. Contact Branch Manager Gark!”
Franz wasn’t leaving room for error. He had accepted too many losses lately. If that organization got the better of him again, he would no longer be able to show his face in front of Emperor Rodrick and Princess Murina. He had to ensure this would succeed. His skills were about to be put to the test.