A long silence followed Zaimon’s plea. Zaimon stayed low the entire time, bowing with his head touching the floor. Meanwhile Farris stood, visibly struggling to find his words after so unexpectedly being put on the spot. But eventually he regained enough of his composure to speak.
“Please get up, Zaimon. I do not wish to make my brother-in-arms prostrate himself so.”
Zaimon quietly looked up. “Does that mean...”
Just then, footsteps and voices could be heard coming up the stairs. The two looked over to the door with identical wary glances. There was no guarantee everyone in Balandias was in agreement with the rebellion. They couldn’t afford to let anyone else find out.
“Let’s go. The strategy meeting will start soon,” Farris said, holding out a hand.
“Yes...”
Zaimon accepted the hand and got to his feet. The two left the room, quietly closing the door behind them.
What we saw pretty much explained Farris’s circumstances, as well as Balandias’s. Whether Zaimon’s rebellion would result in success or failure, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the ruler of Balandias was replaced.
“Should we get the paintings back for him?” Misa asked.
“If it were that simple, Farris would have come to me himself. I believe he was telling the truth when he said he was waiting for the light of Balandias to be born. The paintings were just the trigger. Regaining them may not change his mind.”
His love for painting hadn’t changed, but as he said before, he had broken his own brush. As someone who didn’t paint, I could only imagine the depth of his pain and sorrow.
“He used to draw even in the middle of the battlefield. When he makes up his mind about something, he will not yield his decision easily.”
Yet that same Farris had broken the promise he once made to draw a picture of peace.
“In that case, he may have a plan—”
“You three. Get down here,” Maytilen’s voice echoed loudly across the room, easily reaching us through the ceiling.
Hmm. I guess I should have expected as much from a chief god. She had noticed us long ago.
“Shall I strike her?”
“Do I cut her?”
Misa and Shin asked at the same time. How reassuring.
“Doesn’t hurt to hear her out first,” I replied.
We descended into the room through a gap in the ceiling. The Royal Tiger’s Divine Eyes stared at us as we approached.
“You’re the ruler of Militia’s World, aren’t you?” she said.
“What do you want?” I said.
Large Divine Eyes narrowed slightly in laughter. “How did you know?”
“If you were going to just dispose of us, you wouldn’t have waited for them to leave first.”
“Then I’ll cut straight to the chase. I heard you were a misfit, but you’re clearly sharper than Kaltinas. Someone worth serving, at least.” The Royal Tiger Maytilen got up and brought her large head close to mine. “I’d like you to destroy the Immovable King Kaltinas, Ruler of Balandias.”
“Oh?”
The Royal Tiger’s gaze pierced through me like she was staring into the abyss. It was clear this chief god had considerable power—power she hadn’t shown yet. As the chief god of a deep-level world, her birth was probably much different from Equis’s. There’s no way she could be inferior to them.
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” I asked.
“You’re new to the Sacred Silverwater Sea, yes? You seem to know nothing about these waters. Chief gods cannot destroy the rulers they chose themselves. If I break this rule, the miniature world will perish, and I will become a nameless god with no world.”
She was most likely telling the truth. In any case, facts like that were easy to confirm later with Ottolulu.
“You wish to formally join Pablohetra. We’ll let you win the Silverwater Ranking Skirmish tomorrow. Take as much firedew and insignias as you like.”
“And in exchange, we destroy the Immovable King for you?” I said.
“Yes. I chose him as a means to more quickly cultivate Balandias, and he’s served his purpose. The foundation is done. All that’s needed now is a beautiful castle to sit on top. A true ruler worthy of being the rock of my Balandias.”
Maytilen smiled fearlessly.
“That Farris, now he’s a good one. His hands that create castles, his eyes that see into the abyss, all of it is beautiful. He would be the perfect ruler for me—for Balandias.”
“Why didn’t you choose him first then?” I asked.
“Balandias has a long history. There were over ten rulers before Kaltinas. Our neighboring seas have many enemies unaffiliated with Pablohetra, so I couldn’t afford to leave the ruler position empty and wait for the right one to come along.”
Even a decorative ruler was necessary at times. I supposed I could see the logic behind such a decision.
“Once the ruler perishes, I am able to choose a new ruler. But Farris refuses to agree. If he had, Balandias would be within the Holy Six by now,” Maytilen said, sounding frustrated. “As you heard earlier, Kaltinas is so envious of Farris’s talent that he took his five castles hostage. His actions have only made Farris even more opposed to the idea of being a ruler, and now he obeys Kaltinas’s every whim.”
The Immovable King also knew, at his core, that Farris was a more suitable ruler than he was. Yet he refused to give up his post—how greedy.
“But a chance has finally arrived. Zaimon has been searching for an opportunity to remove Kaltinas for a long time, but that man is vigilant. As Farris rides on the same ship as Kaltinas, only he would have a real chance of doing anything. But Farris is kind. He may not agree to the rebellion. And even in the event he does agree, he may ruin the plan by being unable to kill Kaltinas.”
“So you want me to make a move the moment the Immovable King stops the rebellion and therefore has his guard down.”
Maytilen cackled with laughter. “Clever one you are. But do not let Farris know. If Farris doesn’t truly believe he failed, Kaltinas might not fall for it.”
So that’s why she’d waited for them to leave before calling out to me.
“Once Farris is ruler, we will maintain a close relationship with Militia’s World. You may reunite with him as you please. Your former subordinate will stand shoulder to shoulder with you as a fellow ruler. Not a bad deal, right?” Maytilen said, looking down on us.
Clearly, since she viewed us as residents of an ephemeral world, she was underestimating us. She had been vigilantly waiting for a ruler who had no choice but to accept this deal, and as Farris’s former master, I was the perfect candidate.
“There’s no need for any useless haggling. Your answer should be obvious.”
“Indeed it should,” I said.
Maytilen smirked.
“I refuse.”
“Wha...”
Maytilen gave me a dumbfounded look of disbelief.
“Fine. Perhaps we may negotiate after all. I shouldn’t have expected any less. Go on, say it. What more do you desire?” she asked.
I pointed at the paintings behind her. “First of all, it’s you who is keeping the paintings here and forcing Farris to obey Kaltinas.”
Maytilen paused, then replied. “I was asked to keep a constant eye over them. The moment my barrier fades, Kaltinas will be notified immediately.”
“You’ve been plotting a rebellion with Zaimon behind his back. There should have been plenty of opportunities in that time to return a few paintings to Farris.”
“Get to the point. What are you trying to say?”
“You’re the one who won’t return the paintings to Farris, not Kaltinas. If you did, you would risk him vanishing from your sight. He may even leave Balandias altogether. That is what you really fear.”
Maytilen fell silent, glaring at me with her Divine Eyes.
“You want Farris as your ruler—by any means necessary.”
“I will not deny that. It is within a chief god’s nature to seek better rulers. It’s order. That’s why—”
“That’s why you created a plan to catch him,” I said.
She neither agreed nor disagreed. Her magic power just rose from her body in a threatening wave.
“You say Kaltinas took the paintings hostage out of jealousy. But who made him jealous in the first place? Who told him about the paintings at all?” I grinned back at her fierce glare.
“Kaltinas noticed his talent and sent his soldiers to the village,” Maytilen replied.
“You think that foolish man’s Demon Eyes would notice an atelier for hobby artists in a remote village?” I said.
She didn’t say anything.
“I assume you were the one whispering words in his ear. Manipulating Kaltinas to act so that you could force Farris to be Balandias’s ruler and by doing so steal his freedom, his paintings, and his soul,” I said, moving my finger to point at her. “You’re just like the worthless chief god back in our world; you have a total disregard for the feelings of others, only taking what’s convenient for you. The only thing you have in that rotten skull of yours is your order of self-interest.”
Maytilen’s ugly smirk spread from ear to ear.
“And you’re no different from the fools of my world,” she said. “Definitely a misfit. Know this: I have never stolen anything. How could I? I am the will of the Silvercastle World Balandias. Everything in my world belongs to me. The sky, the land, the countless castles, the lives—they are all mine.”
She was surprisingly quick to confess. I hadn’t even provided any proof yet. Was she really just that offended by being provoked by a misfit? Well, considering her position, it didn’t have to be me. She could wait for another willing ruler to come along instead.
“I will not eliminate you here, but remember this, misfit.”
Maytilen’s front legs glowed silver. It didn’t feel like she had done anything, but the authority of the Royal Tiger lifted my body into the air. My body, that had been transformed into mist through Titegenne, slipped through the gaps of the ceiling and was launched out of the castle. The sky appeared, a wide swath of color over my head.
“Farris belongs to Balandias now. He will never go back to you. Never.”
“There are some lines that should never be crossed carelessly,” I replied to her with Leaks. “And you just crossed one. Enjoy your last day dreaming of your unfulfilled ambitions. Tomorrow, I will crush them—together with that worthless plan of yours.”