45 - The Thread Leading to the Truth
After finishing the explanation of the mission in the Forest of Bewilderment from the person in charge, Ray was taken to another location.
It was an area he was stepping into for the first time. Halfway there, Ray realized where he was headed. Upon arriving in front of the room, as expected, the Royal Guard Knight he had seen earlier in Princess Ekaterina's room was guarding the door. Without a word, prompted by the Royal Guard Knight, he entered the room. The room was smaller than he had anticipated. There was a single heavy desk at the back, with a few sofas lined up in front of it.
"You've come."
The King, who had stood up from the desk, stepped forward and sat on a sofa.
"Well, sit."
"But..."
"I chose this room so that we could speak without formality. There is no point if you remain standing."
"Understood."
Ray stepped forward and sat on the sofa opposite the King. However, immediately after, sensing a presence behind him, Ray instinctively stood up and looked back.
"Pass."
A man standing expressionlessly muttered the word.
"..."
While Ray stood there in silence, not understanding the meaning of those words, the King spoke to the man from behind him in a slightly reproaching tone.
"Hey, isn't that a bit tasteless?"
"I thought it would be better to verify his aptitude early on."
"Hmph. It can't be helped. Let me introduce you. This man is the one who will eventually become your superior."
"My superior?"
Being told this so suddenly, Ray had no idea what he was talking about.
"A unit that conducts intelligence activities. He is the head of it."
"...I see. I am Kamui."
"I have no name to give you. You may call me the Chief."
"The Chief. Understood."
"Now, shall we begin? Both of you, sit."
"Yes." "Yes, sir."
Ray sat where he was, and the Chief sat beside him.
"How was the explanation of the plan?"
"I received a general explanation."
"Hmph. You sound dissatisfied. If there is something you wish to say, do not hesitate. This is the place for it."
"...Then. Does Your Majesty intend to kill me? If that is the case, unnecessary preparations are useless. You need only give the order."
Though he had the King's permission, Ray's words were quite caustic.
"What? I didn't think you were so blunt. Is the plan truly that terrible?"
"It does not take the form of a plan. At least, not for me."
"What is with that phrasing?"
"The movement plan for the Hero-sama, who will be accompanying me, was properly arranged. Though the fact that the Hero-sama is accompanying me at all was surprising."
"Did you not hear the circumstances?"
"I did. However, I simply wondered if it was necessary for them to accompany me right from the start."
Ray had already heard from Julius what they would be doing in the forest. He knew that Hinata would accompany him after he found the location of the Holy Sword. However, according to the person in charge, they would accompany him immediately, and not just Hinata, but Fumiya and Akemi as well. He found that surprising.
"...I have not heard the details myself. It seems slightly different from what I heard from Julius."
"Do you not intend to leave the planning to Julius-sama?"
"That would be difficult. Besides, it is too late to change it now."
"Departure is at the earliest in one week."
"What?"
This was also news to the King. The King had intended to speak with Ray, thinking they were leaving already.
"I was told that such a period was necessary for the Hero-sama's preparations. If that is the case, I think it would be better to let me go ahead. I am merely improvising anyway."
"Could you tell me about this 'improvising'?"
"The Hero-sama's party will move slowly, establishing bases as they go. I will use those bases to proceed with the exploration."
"I don't think that's bad?"
They would be traversing the dangerous Forest of Bewilderment. Being cautious was not a mistake. That was what the King thought.
"The distance and time for the round trips are a waste. It may seem like they are proceeding safely, but because of that, the probability of me encountering danger increases exponentially. Perhaps the person in charge does not know the Forest of Bewilderment?"
"Is it that dangerous?"
"...Did you not hear the previous report?"
Ray felt a slight irritation toward the King, who seemed to know far too little about the situation.
"No, I have heard. It seems the number of Magic Beasts exceeds imagination."
"Is that all?"
"I have also received a report that food cannot be procured locally."
"..."
The information was far too meager. Ray understood that the King did not involve himself in the details of every single matter, but as the one being sent into a dangerous place, he found it unacceptable.
"What is it?"
"Are Murder Wolves Magic Beasts that can be found anywhere?"
"...Do you know of them?"
The King passed the question to the Chief. As expected, the King did not have detailed knowledge of Magic Beasts.
"Among Magic Beasts, I would place them in the upper-middle tier. Their bodies are sturdy, and an unskilled sword cannot even scratch them. They also seem quite intelligent. They are not Magic Beasts one sees often, so that is the extent of the information I have."
"I see. And the reason you bring up that Magic Beast's name is...?"
"They are in the forest."
"I see... can you defeat them?"
The "upper-middle tier" the Chief mentioned meant they were in a quite strong category among Magic Beasts, but the King did not fully grasp that.
"I have no confidence. The two members of the Demon Race who were with me could not defeat one even together."
"To that extent..."
The King also understood the strength of the Demon Race. Through Ray's explanation, he finally realized the level of strength involved.
"The further one proceeds into the forest, the stronger the Magic Beasts should be. A method of heading there repeatedly is the same as telling me to die. This is what I mentioned first."
"Then, what will you do?"
"I will think about that from now on. Fortunately, I have one week."
"Is there any information you need?"
The Chief intervened here.
"...The only thing that comes to mind right now is a map."
"That would be difficult. We have not grasped the full extent of the Forest of Bewilderment."
If it were possible to make a map, the Holy Sword search would have been carried out long ago.
"I am not asking for something detailed. Is there not even a rough floor plan?"
Ray understood that as well.
"That, we do have. Including the surrounding areas."
"Can you tell me about the rivers flowing out of the forest, and the range contaminated by miasma?"
"...I will prepare it. Not by the time of departure, but I will deliver it before you enter the forest. If there is anything missing, I will send it later."
"Thank you. That will be sufficient."
"What is the meaning of this?"
The King did not understand the reason why Ray requested the information he asked of the Chief.
"The only thing I was able to consume in the forest was water. The water flowing into the cave was ordinary—no, it was water purer and more delicious than ordinary."
"Hmph."
"I wondered why that was, but if I assume it is related to the Holy Sword, it makes sense. The assumption is that it is being purified by the Holy Sword."
"In other words, you believe the Holy Sword is at the end of that flowing water?"
The King's face softened slightly. He had viewed the Holy Sword search as a long shot, but now he saw a possibility of success.
"Only as one possibility."
"What is the meaning of knowing the contamination range?"
"I suspect that the miasma is erupting from its center. I have heard that the Holy Sword exists to suppress the miasma. I intend to set that as the target point and trace the river leading to it. This is what I am currently thinking."
"It seems a week is not necessary."
The King felt that Ray's explanation was convincing.
"I believe the more preparation time there is, the better. If it is your order to depart immediately, I shall do so."
"No, that is fine. Well, we've had a productive conversation before getting to the main topic."
"Was this not the main topic?"
Ray was half-surprised and half-convinced by the King's words. To call him out specifically to talk, the King knew far too little about the plan. Now he understood the reason.
"Yes. I intended it as a small conversation starter."
"I see. Then, what is the main topic?"
"Regarding the attack on Ekaterina, there are a few things I wish to ask."
"Yes."
"First, the current situation."
Before listening to Ray, the Chief requested an explanation of the current investigation status. This was to inform Ray.
"Then, I will give a brief summary. To put it simply, no evidence leading to the mastermind has been found."
"Were you unable to get information from the officials of the Ministry of Justice?"
"I believe the Prime Minister is the mastermind, but the possibility of that being the truth is low. All instructions were in writing. Furthermore, the Prime Minister's signature left behind was an imitation, it is undoubtedly a fake."
"...There is a possibility that the signature was intentionally changed."
Remembering that some daimyo in the late Sengoku period of Japan did such a thing, Ray pointed it out.
"I have not discarded that possibility. However, there is no means to verify it."
"Will you not use the Orb of Something?"
"That is not something to be used indiscriminately. If that were allowed, the subordinates would spend their lives in constant fear. Everyone has one or two dark secrets. Moreover, if the one investigating has malice, they would try to abuse it."
Just as the Prime Minister had ousted Julius, political strife existed within the kingdom. It was a perfect magic tool for learning an opponent's weaknesses or scandals. If they abused it mutually, scandals would fly everywhere, and the kingdom would fall into great chaos. That was what the Chief was referring to.
"I see."
"Even if we use it, it would be as a final resort after solidifying the evidence. But the thread of that evidence has been snapped."
"The Royal Guard Knight who claimed to be a slave trader... I do not know."
"Correct. He was not involved in the attack."
The investigation was at a complete standstill. That was precisely why they were trying to hear from Ray.
"In that situation, what are you trying to hear from me?"
"Tell me what you know. No matter how small or trivial the information."
"That is..."
There were things that were difficult to talk about. Especially with the King right in front of him. Ray honestly let that hesitation show in his attitude.
"I need the end of a thread to follow. From there, I will proceed with the investigation to corner the mastermind."
"...Understood. But even if you tell me to say everything I know, I do not know where to begin."
"Then, I will ask about the points of suspicion. Why did you predict the attack?"
"Because the inspection was unnatural."
There was nothing problematic about this question. Ray replied immediately.
"In what way?"
"First, how the Hero came to know of the existence of the slums."
"...Someone must have taught him."
A trivial question. But thinking about it, it was indeed strange.
"Who would it be? May I ask, would you go out of your way to inform an important guest of the existence of a garbage dump in your own backyard?"
"I would not."
"Yet, that someone went out of their way to expose the dark side of the kingdom to the Hero. It seems they are trying to plant a sense of distrust toward the kingdom in the Hero."
"...And?"
Because the conversation had grown larger than expected from a trivial question, the Chief's voice dropped a notch. The kingdom also meant the King sitting right next to him.
"Next was the fact that they invited Her Highness the Princess. Her Highness is, of course, royalty, and thus a part of the kingdom that they wish to instill malice toward."
"True."
"I do not understand the purpose. One possibility that comes to mind is to show the wretched state of the slums to give Her Highness a shock. There is a possibility that Her Highness would then feel compassion and move to rescue the slums, but if that were the goal, they could have simply informed Her Highness of the wretched state directly without using the Hero's party."
They were people who could contact the Hero multiple times. It should not have been impossible to contact Princess Ekaterina as well.
"...There are uncertain elements, but very well."
The Chief's words meant he generally accepted Ray's reasoning.
"In that case, the purpose was to lure Her Highness the Princess out to the slums. If there is malice, then the purpose of doing so would be kidnapping or assassination."
"And so you thought there would be an attack?"
"Yes. The Hero's party was used so as not to raise suspicion."
In reality, there was one more reason. Although the degree differed, Fumiya and the others were all personalities who wanted to be the protagonist. There was no way they would want to invite Princess Ekaterina, who might steal their popularity, to a place meant for gathering popularity. There was no doubt that Princess Ekaterina's accompaniment was the intention of a third party other than Fumiya and the others. This was a judgment Ray could make because he knew the three's personalities well, but he could not speak of this.
"The person who told the Hero about the slums and guided them to the inspection is one end of the thread, then."
"That is one of them."
"Hm? Is there something else?"
"I have not even reached the end of the thread yet."
"Tell me."
"The relationship between planting distrust toward the kingdom in the Hero's party and the attack on Her Highness the Princess is unclear. From the distant attitude of the Hero's party, I believe they certainly felt something toward Her Highness. Considering they were quite close before, that was abnormal."
"Hmph."
"That said, I do not believe the Hero's party was involved in the attack. Although they did not help, they were certainly agitated. In that case, it means they were simply used to invite Her Highness to the inspection, but the possibility of inviting her to the inspection should have been higher if they had remained on good terms."
"..."
As Ray said, there was a contradiction. If that was not a mistake by the person who planned the attack, what was it? The Chief began to think about it.
"And as for that attack, I do not believe it was meticulously prepared."
"Even though they prepared that many people?"
"It was sloppy for something that was supposedly meticulously prepared. The attack took place while a large number of knights surrounded the slums. Even if it had succeeded, few people would have escaped safely. If the goal was to kill, it would be more certain to disguise themselves as residents of the slums and take them by surprise."
If the goal was kidnapping, the possibility of success was almost zero. Even if the goal was assassination, there were better methods. Though it was large-scale, Ray thought it was a plan with a low probability of success.
"I see... damn, how could I have missed that."
For the first time, emotion appeared on the Chief's expressionless face.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"The distance from the attackers' hideout to the royal capital is not something that can be covered in one or two days. The suspicious person appeared the day before, correct?"
"I have not heard about that."
Ray had been under house arrest since the night of the incident. He could not go around investigating.
"I see. The person you asked for cooperation testified as such."
"I see. As I thought."
"It makes more sense to think of it that way."
Ray understood what the Chief was thinking. At this point, the only one who didn't understand was the King.
"Hey, don't just agree between the two of you, could you explain it so that I can understand as well?"
"My apologies. I believe the attack was not meticulously prepared, but was carried out in haste because a perfect opportunity appeared before them."
"Hmph."
"Therefore, they were unable to sneak assassins into the slums in advance and hurriedly called them from the hideout to force the attack. In other words, the person who planned the attack and the person who schemed to lure Her Highness the Princess to the slums are different people. And the person who tried to plant distrust toward the kingdom in the Hero's party might be yet another person."
They seemed related, but in reality, their respective intentions had simply intersected by chance. That was the Chief's conclusion after hearing Ray's story.
"What? Then that means there are three masterminds."
"Yes. That is a possibility."
"...My head is starting to ache. To think such things were happening right under my feet."
"I am sorry. That is also our responsibility."
Monitoring the movements of subordinates is also the job of the intelligence department. That is one of the reasons why the intelligence department is under the direct control of the King.
"That is fine. But how will you investigate?"
"The person whispering to the Hero's party will not be that difficult. The people in contact with them are limited. The person who arranged for Her Highness to be lured out should be similar."
"Can you really think of it as being that simple?"
"You cannot influence a person's feelings just by mentioning such things once or twice. It is something that can only be done by someone who meets them frequently."
The number of people who could contact the Hero's party, and do so multiple times, was limited. Moreover, if it was someone who could do so without others knowing, they were as good as identified.
"...True. But what about the problematic attack?"
"I will have Kamui work hard on that."
"Me?"
Ray wondered what he, who was about to head to the forest, could possibly do. However...
"I have sown the seeds. The investigation will be carried out over time. I have also told them that the progress depends on you, as you are the one who has noticed something important."
"...As I thought, you intend to kill me."
A person with something to hide would not leave such an important person alive. There was a high possibility they would move to assassinate Ray.
"Work hard not to be killed."
"Is that something for a person who arbitrarily used someone as bait to say? Even if you are to be my superior, I think that is too cruel."
"I just got a bit ahead of myself. Once you become a subordinate, there are plenty of missions like this."
"...By the way, to whom did you sow those seeds?"
"The ones who know about this conversation are the Prime Minister, the Captain of the Royal Guard, the Commander of the Royal Knights, and the Magic Corps Commander."
"In other words, my life is being targeted by the kingdom."
Both knight orders, the magic corps, and the civil service organization might move. That meant the state was moving.
"What are you saying? The 'kingdom' refers, strictly speaking, to the King who is present here."
"Chief... are you secretly enjoying this? I can vaguely feel such an atmosphere behind that expressionless face."
He didn't look like he was joking at all, but Ray could slightly perceive the Chief's emotions. The fact that it was only slight showed that he was indeed the head of the intelligence department.
"Being able to read others' emotions is an invaluable ability for a spy. You pass."
"So, you are enjoying this, then?"
"Now, Your Majesty. I will proceed with the investigations that can be done immediately. I will report as results emerge."
"Um, I haven't received an answer yet?"
"Hmph, I'm counting on you."
The King's lips involuntarily curled at the interaction between the two. While suppressing a laugh, he answered the Chief's words.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
With that, the Chief quickly left the room.
"..."
"It seems he has taken quite a liking to you. That is the first time I have ever heard him joke."
"Should I be happy about that?"
"Well, you may return to your room as well."
"No answer..."
"Ah, there was one more thing I wanted to ask."
"What is it?"
"You didn't touch Ekaterina, even a single finger, did you?"
Erasing the smile from his face, the King stared at Ray.
"Not a single finger... and then some."
"What!?"
The King stood up from the sofa with an intensity as if he were about to grab him. Ray hurriedly made an excuse.
"I had to take care of various things. It was certainly not in a strange sense."
"I trust that is true."
"Of course. You should know that I cannot lie to Your Majesty."
Only at times like this did Ray feel grateful for the collar. Even if he lied, there was no suspicion that it was a lie. Hearing Ray's words, the sternness vanished from the King's expression.
"Hmph, that was right. Then, it is fine. Also, forget about Ekaterina. This is also an order from your master."
"Yes."
Ray thought to himself that he wished he could forget it with such an order.
"...I will assign someone to look after you again. Until your departure, if you tell that person, I will make it so that most of your requests are granted."
"Thank you very much."
"Now, return to your room."
"Yes, sir."