I nodded. “I’m aware that there is a fake Lionel and that he has been fighting on the front line.”
“How strange. Based on the information I’ve gathered, the Lion of War withdrew from the front line after the incident. That allowed Luburk to push Illumasia’s forces back, which led to a ceasefire, with both armies glaring at each other on opposite sides of the battlefield.”
How would Lionel react if he heard about that? A true warrior like him would likely say that it was better to die honorably than to flee from the battlefield.
“You probably know more about Lionel when he was the Lion of War than I do,” I said.
“Naturally. And so do many others in the empire, which is why they found it odd to hear he’d fled from his duties. However, the emperor has forcefully shut down the rumors by ordering anyone who speaks of them to be beheaded.”
If the emperor had issued that decree, it was likely that he knew about the fake Lionel.
“Since we’re on the topic of the war with Luburk, have there been any changes at the border between those nations in the past two years?” I asked.
“I’ve heard that the Illumasian army is getting pushed back. Their forces must be in complete chaos without the Lion of War. He was the cornerstone of their military strength, after all. His absence is bound to affect the morale of both Illumasia’s troops and those of Luburk.”
If the empire was losing, there must’ve been certain information they couldn’t disclose.
“Do you think the emperor had anything to do with Lionel’s exile?”
“I can’t say with certainty that he did. There have been instances of people causing a stir, claiming that demons had appeared in the empire, but those were quickly shut down with gag orders. If the emperor truly was involved in such serious matters, it would be unthinkable for these kinds of rumors to leak out.”
“So do you think Blanche was the mastermind behind the rumors? Just like they spread those stories about me?”
“That’s also hard to say. There could have indeed been demons that escaped from Illumasia’s research facilities. Blanche has the means to turn people into demons, but I don’t see why they would make them appear in Illumasia.”
He had a point. Even if Blanche were to use those demons as “proof” that Illumasia was experimenting with demonization, the empire could just deny the claims. Their proven track record of defeating demons would allow them to frame the narrative in their favor. They could easily claim that they were researching how to combat demons and were attacked as a result, or that a demon they had captured had managed to escape. There would be no real downside for them. Luburk hadn’t publicly denounced Illumasia either, even though Lord Wisdom had told me that the empire had thrown him out after experimenting on him, thinking that he was dead.
I decided to ask Dongahar for more information about Illumasia to better organize my thoughts. “Do you have any updates on what the Lion of War has been doing since his return to the capital?”
“He hasn’t been making many public appearances, which likely means he’s holed up at the demonization research facilities,” Dongahar replied.
Truthfully, I was pretty scared of the fake Lionel. Not from a combat perspective, but because of how easily he’d framed the true general and taken control of the empire’s army. Another concern weighed heavily on my mind regarding our plan to enter the empire: Lionel’s level reset. My initial plan had been to make him fight the fake to prove that he was the real deal. But if the impostor had been undergoing demonization experiments, I couldn’t neglect the possibility that he was stronger as a result.
If the worst-case scenario were to unfold and Lionel were to be defeated, I needed to have a clear plan in place. This meant that rather than having Lionel make a triumphant return to his home nation, we would likely need to sneak into the capital and even into the emperor’s palace. But if we couldn’t find any documents about the empire’s experiments with demonization or locate their research facilities, we’d end up putting the Church in a difficult position.
Just like Dongahar had said, if we were to be invited to the empire, we’d most likely be able to reach its core. However, this approach could lead to us getting crushed without being able to do anything. The quickest method would be to fly all the way to the imperial palace with the airship, raid it from above, and arrest the emperor. But without proof of any wrongdoing, we wouldn’t be able to justify such a drastic action. Besides, Illumasia had wyverns that would most likely prevent us from reaching the palace. I needed a better plan.
A sigh escaped my lips before I suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right. I have another question. Do you know how Blanche learned that I killed the demon in the labyrinth in Grandol?”
“They told me that you and your companions appeared when their men were pretending to be adventurers. But I personally think that Lord Kamiya has been keeping an eye on you. It’s only a gut feeling, though—I haven’t been able to confirm my theory.”
Seriously, how had he managed to gather so much information? I often wondered the same thing about Galba. It was almost like they were ninjas or something.
“Did you learn all this just through your work at the Executive Division?” I asked.
“No. The messenger from Blanche proudly told me about it.”
I assumed he must’ve confirmed one way or another that the messenger was telling the truth, or he wouldn’t have brought it up. I decided to ask him more questions about the messenger.
“Wait, you’re saying that the messenger from Blanche told you all this confidential information?”
“He seemed to really resent you. He thinks that you’re a scoundrel who tricked and deceived his younger sisters.”
I was flabbergasted by his reply. I hadn’t been expecting that at all.
“His younger sisters? He must be a relative of Nadia and Lydia, then. Right?” I asked.
Dongahar nodded. “He’s the older brother of the two sisters in your entourage. He’s clearly not used to scheming and tends to let his emotions get the better of him, so it was easy to extract information from him,” he explained calmly. He didn’t smile or seem amused, so I could tell he was being truthful.
Should I tell Nadia and Lydia about this? I now had one more concern to add to my ever-growing list.
“I see,” I said after a short pause. “Next question: What is that ‘power’ Blanche received? The one you said could allow them to rule the world in your farewell note.”
“The messenger didn’t tell me what it was, as you might expect. But he seemed afraid when he mentioned it.”
“Afraid...”
Even someone as loose-tongued as that messenger wouldn’t reveal such crucial information, huh? Still, I wondered what he was afraid of. As I sat there, trying to come up with a reason to explain his behavior, Dongahar suddenly bowed his head to me.
“Sage Luciel, I know that I am in no position to ask anything of you, but I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll most likely be traveling to Blanche and Illumasia in the near future. When you’re there, you need to destroy the labyrinths in their territory—for the sake of our nation.”
I’d most likely do it, but that meant I had something else to add to my to-do list, along with figuring out the two nations’ schemes and coming up with ways to deal with the demons they’d been summoning-slash-creating. My head hurt just thinking about juggling all those tasks. But all I could do was nod in response to his request.
After that, I continued to ask him questions, my impromptu interrogation finally ending when the sun began to rise. Dongahar had answered every single one of my questions. I debated taking him to the pope, but it was early, so she might still be asleep. Instead, I decided to lock him up in one of HQ’s underground cells.
Opening the door, I saw that Ketty and Kefin were guarding my room (when had they gotten there?), so I entrusted Dongahar to them.
“May the day come when I can call myself a fool and regret doubting you, Sage Luciel,” he said as he was led away to the cells.
Alone in my room, I reflected on Dongahar’s retreating figure and his final words.