kscans

Chapter 129 - Nighttime Conversation

Outside the Empire, under a sky full of stars.

Shinsuke and Tina were making camp. The investigation requested by the guild had gone smoothly.

Nothing had changed; the monsters were still living in their usual territories. Shinsuke used Matter Conversion to build a small iron hut where they would spend the night. For dinner, they hunted and roasted a four-legged, sprinting demon pig called a 'Dashton.' With their bellies full, all that was left was to sleep.

Tina, sitting beside him, asked, "Shinsuke, what do you think will happen to us now?"

I thought about it without answering. Considering everything that had happened, we were sure to draw attention from the Three Nations. We had to assume we could no longer act inconspicuously.

"For now, we should probably stick to hunting and taking on quests," I said, stating a simple plan. "I don't want to stand out any more than we already have, and I'm not interested in shouldering excessive expectations."

I had become an adventurer who could be called a representative of the nation, but it wasn't what I'd aimed for. In fact, it was quite unwelcome. I would have accepted B-rank, but A-rank was a hindrance to moving freely. Not that I could turn it down now—that would be an act of lèse-majesté against the state.

It was too soon to leave this place; the Empire still held elements that could make me stronger.

Take the border, for example. It was calm now, but a battle could break out at any time. That place was an ideal training ground and hunting field. To that end, I wanted to avoid any missteps. Not that I intended to make any.

As I was thinking, Tina spoke up.

"I understand. If that's what you want, I'll follow you. In that case, how about we focus on finding materials for a while? There are valuable monster parts here. The Empire's technology exists because of this land, after all."

She offered her opinion.

It was true. No matter how advanced their technology was, it was useless without the materials to make it work. They imported ore from the Kingdom. They found some ore here, too, but it was mostly just iron and copper, with the rare bit of Orichalcum.

It seemed they hadn't found any Adamantite. Besides that, aside from food, they could get plenty of monster fangs, claws, and hides. It was a good place for a hunter. The Kingdom was good, of course. The Republic was so-so, as most of its activities were coastal.

"You're right," I said. "My weapon is fine since I got that legendary ore, but I'd like to do a little more work on my armor, even though it's made of Adamantite. Other than that, I guess I need to find something to sell at the underground auction."

I listed the actions that came to mind.

Tina responded to my explanation with a bitter look.

"The underground auction... I'm aware of the situation over there, but I can't say I like the sound of it."

It couldn't be helped. An adventurer like Tina, who walked the straight and narrow path, would naturally feel a resistance to a shady back-alley auction. But a public auction on Earth came with all sorts of restrictions, and worst of all, it would expose the existence of another world. The explanations, not to mention dealing with the high-ranking officials who would actually attend... it was an unparalleled pain.

The people who participated in the underground auction probably understood, at least half of them anyway. But they wouldn't speak of it, nor would they try to monopolize it. Not interfering in the seller's affairs was an unspoken rule.

That one CEO broke it, but considering he was still attending, he must have just barely stayed within acceptable limits.

"One thing is true in any world," I said as I pulled Tina into an embrace. "Wherever there are people, nothing good ever comes of it."

Even through her armor, I could feel it. Tina's body temperature was slowly rising.

"That's not fair..." she whispered, blushing slightly as she hugged me back. "A surprise attack like this..."

We didn't let go of each other until dawn.


At the royal castle, in a reception room for honored guests.

Luxurious items lined the room, at the center of which was a long table and a sofa.

Seated there were Emperor Yorune and Princess Olivia. After the party, Olivia had requested a private chat with the emperor, just between the two of them.

Sipping her tea, Olivia began.

"Well now, thank you for granting me your precious time today. It is for a personal matter of mine."

To Olivia's words of gratitude, Yorune replied, "Not at all. When the First Princess of the Kingdom says she has something to discuss outside of diplomacy, I have no reason to refuse."

He sipped his tea while exchanging pleasantries. A discussion outside of diplomacy. A personal matter. The number of topics Yorune and Olivia could discuss under these conditions was limited.

"Then I will be direct," Olivia said, starting to speak with a smile. "It concerns the future treatment of Shinsuke and Tina."


At the royal castle, in a bedroom reserved for important figures.

A room where nobles and royalty would stay when visiting.

There, Pope Aleister stared at the night sky, a glass of wine in hand, his heart filled with frustration. He had come with this diplomatic mission intending to put the Kingdom and the Republic in their place. It was supposed to be the perfect opportunity to look down on the nobles, but instead, royalty had appeared—and the younger generation at that. It was a rather bold move.

"Damn it all!" the Pope cursed, slamming his fist on the table. "Ban! This was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting where I held all the cards, but my expectations were completely off!"

The sound should have brought someone running, but it was the middle of the night. Aside from the patrolling soldiers, almost everyone was asleep.

The Pope paid it no mind.

"At this rate, my only option is to negotiate as greedily as I can. Otherwise, there was no point in coming. This is so infuriating."

His body trembled with rage.

The outcome was different from the ideal he had envisioned.

It was a reality that no living person could escape. However, the Pope, for better or worse, had lived a life where things always went his way—so much so that he had completely forgotten the hardships of his youth.

There was no one to witness this unsightly display.

No one, that is, except for a single insect.


In the streets of the Royal Capital, atop the roof of some house.

In the deep of night, illuminated by the stars, where most of the residents were fast asleep, there was a grotesque figure with the face of an insect.

It was Lates the Thousand Poisons.

He had been tasked by Bamhal the Dragon King to 'confirm whether any traces were left behind.' No one knew that the Seven Demon Lords were involved in this matter. But he was investigating with extreme caution, just in case. And in the process, he had made an interesting discovery.

That Pope Aleister of the Church was such an ambitious man. Lates, who had absolutely no interest in human social status, naturally had no idea what kind of person he was.

Lates was in a cheerful mood.

"Kukuku... To think there was another interesting one besides that princess. For now, we are all holding back, but considering his age, perhaps we should hurry things along a bit."

With those words, he was enveloped in a black mist and vanished.