If Ebiza’s residents became too dependent on Bazack and his group, then it might be more akin to a strategic invasion rather than them offering their support to the townsfolk. But Saint Shurule hadn’t tried to forcibly remove them from its territory, and the inhabitants of Ebiza were most likely pleased to have an organization they could rely on.
The prince and his faction had taken advantage of the instability at the core of their nation, yet their coup d’état had failed. He’d successfully gathered many people on his side to join what he called the “resistance,” but I couldn’t help but wonder what his goal was. Did he want the emperor to abdicate so that he could seize the throne?
I glanced at Lionel. If he had still been in Illumasia at the time, the emperor likely would’ve managed to stop the prince’s rampage, and the furrow in his brow confirmed my theory. To my surprise, I sensed an even stronger, more dangerous anger coming from Brod. Did he have some sort of connection to Illumasia?
“What kind of things did your faction—the resistance do in Illumasia?” I asked Bazack.
“We freed slaves sold by illegal merchants, cleared the imperial capital of the soldiers who were acting as if they owned the city, freed people who were arrested on false charges... We attempted to assassinate the Lion of War as well, as he was the reason the empire has been going on such a rampage, but we failed. If he really is an impostor, we should have managed to kill him, though.”
I could only assume that those people they had freed had accompanied them to Ebiza. As for the fake Lionel, perhaps he had allies who wanted to keep him alive. But Bazack’s wording gave me pause: “If he really is an impostor, we should have managed to kill him.”
That raised a lot of concerns. Perhaps the impostor was as strong as the real Lionel, or maybe the resistance was weaker than I had assumed. It was also possible that there were traitors within their ranks who had prevented them from killing him.
Freeing the slaves and innocents, bringing down soldiers who were abusing their authority... It made sense that people would rally behind the prince if he had indeed accomplished all those good deeds. But looking at things from another perspective, if we assumed that the former prince’s goal was to ascend the throne, the failed coup must’ve been a significant blow to his plans. The fact that Bazack had been truthful and mentioned it to us meant that he likely wanted to enlist our help. I wasn’t skilled enough to deal with such cunning individuals, so I would prefer to leave the situation to Brod or Lionel. But I wanted to make sure our intentions were aligned first. With that in mind, I decided to retreat before accidentally making a promise I would regret.
“I see. Managing such a faction sure doesn’t seem easy. Well then, I’m done healing the people you wanted me to, and I’m all out of mana, so could you please show us to an inn?” I asked.
“Can you not wait until they have woken up?” Bazack asked me after a short moment of hesitation. He was trying to get us to stay, but I had no intention of doing so.
“I did my best to heal them. I swear it on Lady Crya and the Divine Healer. Is there a reason you cannot take us to an inn?”
“Nothing of the sort, no,” he replied, but sounded unsure. “However, to show you my gratitude for healing the former prince, I would like to invite you to stay at my residence instead.”
He was using every trick in the book, huh? Under normal circumstances, I would have refused his offer, but I was hoping that Rina and Nanya could stay here while we went to Illumasia, so I didn’t want to cause any trouble. As such, I reluctantly agreed to stay at Bazack’s residence for the time being.
Bazack’s mansion turned out to be as large as the fancy hotel we’d stayed at in Grandol, so it seemed there would be no problem accommodating all of us. However, Dhoran and the rest of the research and development squad refused to stay put, considering it was still light outside. After making sure the backyard was large enough, they secured a corner for themselves and went to work on the airship without even stepping into the mansion.
“I need to get my thoughts in order, so I’m leaving the rest up to you,” Brod said, joining Dhoran and the others to make sure nothing would happen to them.
As for Ketty, Kefin, and Estia (well, the Spirit of Dusk), they headed to the basement, which Bazack had told us wasn’t being used, to tortu—interrogate the people who had turned into demons. Kefin asked me for a cask of Substance X, which I readily provided, but I couldn’t help but worry that one wouldn’t be enough.
Lionel and I sat in chairs on either side of the sitting room table and began to discuss our future plans.
“I’m very sorry, sir,” Lionel said right off the bat.
“What for?”
“I used to be in charge of training Prince Albert in the military arts. He’s always been the type of person to put more emphasis on the well-being of his people than on warfare.”
“That’s why he attempted that coup.” I nodded. “Bazack calls him ‘former prince Albert,’ so it must mean the emperor already disowned him. I assume you want to hear the details of that story directly from him.”
“I do. I am proud of being one of your followers, sir, and I have no intention of returning to Illumasia. However, to be completely truthful, I cannot bear to see and hear about the empire rotting from the inside like this.”
He must’ve been feeling some level of attachment to his homeland. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
“Do you have a suggestion?” I asked.
“We should cooperate with Prince Albert’s faction and head to the imperial capital together. Our goal is to destroy the empire’s research facilities on demons and demonization, and I also want to kill the man impersonating me. We’re not going there to take control of the capital.”
“That is indeed our goal. All right, then; when Bazack comes back, you’ll be the one in charge of dealing with the prince.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Speaking of Bazack, do you think we can trust him?”
“When I wasn’t yet a general, I once had an encounter on the battlefield with a sorcerer who could wield all four primary elements at will. After a grueling battle, I managed to defeat him, and that victory earned me my promotion to the rank of general.”
“A grueling battle? Don’t make me laugh. You used your sword to slash at my spells like a madman. You charged at me while laughing as your entire body was on fire and cut me down like a devil.”
I turned in the direction of the speaker and saw Bazack entering the living room, followed by the former prince and the holy oracle Melphina. I stood up and looked at them.
Bazack said, “Sage Luciel, let me introduce you to the leader of our faction, former prince Albert, and our deputy leader, Lady Melphina.”
“Sage Luciel, you have my thanks for saving our lives. I was once the first prince of Illumasia, but now I am simply Albert.”
“Thank you kindly for saving us. I also simply go by Melphina now.”