kscans

Chapter 91 - The Land of the Empire

A letter from the Empire.

Why had it come?

Let’s turn back the clock a bit.

The Empire was in a period of turmoil. Emperor Dion had reigned for a long time, and the politics and control of the past had existed only because of him. The moment he was gone, however, the government began to fall apart. No matter how obedient they had seemed, there were those who harbored dissent. To make matters worse, these dissenters held important roles within the Empire. They took this opportunity to throw their weight around.

But it was the two princesses who put a stop to it.

Each commanded her own faction, and thanks to their popularity and achievements, many nobles fell in line behind them.

Faced with this situation, even the most disgruntled among them decided it was unwise to make too many enemies.

Their first order of business in this internal chaos was to seal the Empire’s borders.

The reason was simple: the timing of the emperor’s assassination was far too convenient. A noble from the eldest princess’s faction had suddenly switched his allegiance to the younger princess. Not only that, he had been in charge of security on that fateful day—and had resigned his post.

There wasn’t a soul who wasn’t suspicious.

What’s more, the event had taken place right before the citizens’ eyes. Everyone knew.

That was why the borders were sealed.

In the Second Princess's chamber.

There, a woman named Grine sipped her tea, meticulously reviewing the scenario that would make her emperor, searching for any potential flaws.

Just then, a knock came at the door. The one who entered was Harynair, dressed as a maid.

"...Grine? Is something wrong?"

Grine replied, "I’m rechecking the plan. I’m thinking through it as long as time permits, ensuring there are no mistakes, no failures."

Harynair smiled. "...That’s perfect timing. There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to. May I call them here?"

Grine nodded.

Harynair began to mutter something under her breath. A black mist suddenly materialized, and from it emerged a fairy radiating a soft light.

The fairy spoke. "Greetings. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Rumby the Fateweaver. I hope we’ll get along."

She waved a hand in greeting.

Grine froze for a moment.

Fairies were rarely seen, and they were said to be beings that brought both good fortune and misfortune.

However, their power was trivial. Good fortune meant finding a coin on the street; misfortune meant tripping over a stone.

It was usually nothing more than that.

But Grine sensed it. This fairy was dangerous.

She felt a terror so profound it was as if one wrong move would send her plunging into an abyss.

Grine composed herself. "...It’s a pleasure. I’m sure you’ve heard from Harynair, but allow me to introduce myself again. I am Grine, the Second Princess of the Empire."

She offered a simple greeting. In situations like this, it was often best to avoid being servile or arrogant; a neutral attitude was least likely to cause trouble.

It was an instinct honed by a lifetime in the royal court.

Rumby said, "...How unexpected. I thought you’d be more haughty. I suppose that’s why Harynair took an interest in you."

She said it with a knowing look.

It left a rather unpleasant feeling, but Grine said nothing.

Harynair laughed. "Ufufu, thank you. By the way, I heard things at the border are quite difficult. Is everything alright?"

Grine answered the question. "...Frankly, it’s not going well. I never expected the General to be at the castle. He was wary of me, so he must have returned in secret. What a nuisance."

She muttered, looking as if she were about to click her tongue.

Apparently, this General was a formidable military asset. When the soldiers were informed he had been gravely injured, they had been visibly shaken.

And, of course, the same was true at the border.

The drop in morale was so severe that it was clear they couldn't hold the line for much longer. For now, nobles from Grine’s faction were filling the gap, but how long could they last?

Just then, Harynair spoke.

"...I have a proposal. Why don’t you request reinforcements from the Church?"

Grine considered it. "...I can’t expect much from them. We have a cooperative relationship with the Church, but I doubt they’d dispatch forces strong enough to change the current situation."

She stated it with conviction.

The Church’s forces were for self-defense. They wouldn’t dispatch their strongest units unless it was an extreme emergency.

Even after hearing this, Harynair pressed on.

"...What about posting a request to the Church’s Guild?"

Surprised by the unexpected proposal, Grine thought for a moment.

"...What are you plotting?"

Harynair’s reply was simple. "...Because I want to make things more interesting."

She declared it with a bewitching smile.

Time returns to the present, at the Church.

After staying the night, we departed from the north gate.

Other adventurers were heading out as well.

Some were steeling themselves for what lay ahead. Others were grinning and chatting, exuding an air of confidence that this would be a cakewalk.

With all these different thoughts swirling, everyone headed toward the Empire.

And we were among them.

Once the cart was out of the gate, I used my magic to move it.

Even with another person, I didn’t have the stamina to pull it all the way to the Empire by hand. If anyone saw, I could just say it was a skill. Having come this far, I was starting to lose the desire to hide things. A sense of carelessness was creeping in. I still had no intention of talking about the other world, though I had let things slip before. I just had to hope there was no one in the Empire with ties to other worlds.

Two days passed.

As we traveled north, it gradually grew colder. It wasn't winter, but it felt like a chilly autumn day.

We encountered monsters, but we were able to hunt them without any trouble.

We came across Goblins, Orcs, and even a Tiger. Among them was a creature called a ‘Stone Raccoon-Dog,’ a tanuki whose entire coat was as hard as rock. My sword was useless against its tough hide, but no matter how rock-hard it was, it was still just fur. Tina’s water magic soaked it completely, and I finished it off with a jolt from my lightning magic.

I thought the fur would be damaged after taking the materials, but it was almost pristine.

As expected of a monster—a far cry from the tanuki on Earth.

I considered selling it at the underground auction, but decided against it. It would be too difficult to process. In the Empire or the Church, they could make it into armor or a cloak, but that would be impossible on Earth. There was no craftsman who could work with a hide that tough.

With that in mind, I decided to take it to the Empire after harvesting the materials.

The number of forests we passed through decreased, replaced by a landscape of only rock and earth.

It felt like we were approaching a cold region. The trees had few leaves, giving the impression of a land without bounty.

It was no wonder they had to rely on imports from other countries.

In the end, what people desired most was food. No matter how advanced your technology, you would perish without something to eat.

And then, we saw the Imperial Capital.

A wall that seemed to pierce the heavens stretched out before us, so thick it looked like even a missile would struggle to break it. The gate was massive, large enough for a giant to pass through, but it was clear it was rarely opened.

The cost of opening and closing it must be immense.

I was told that people usually used the smaller gates on either side.

However, those were sealed shut, with soldiers standing guard like statues.

The adventurers simply detoured and headed east.

We followed them from a distance.

Count Munil’s territory was about half a day from here. Along the way, we were attacked by monsters. We prepared to intercept them as usual, but these were Lizardmen.

I’d seen them in manga—they walked on two legs and carried swords and spears.

This was going to be a good hunt.

I jumped down from the cart to face them. Tina did the same, sword in hand. It was happening elsewhere, too. In the distance, I could see other adventurers fighting Lizardmen.

It seemed they were attacking in groups, and large ones at that.

Four of them approached us.

I imbued my sword with fire, and Tina infused hers with magic as we began the fight. I swung down with an overhead strike. The Lizardman blocked it with its sword; it was slightly stronger than me, but it didn't feel like it was trying to push back. Just then, I sensed killing intent from the side and immediately leaped backward.

A spearhead struck the spot where I had just been. It seemed I was fighting two at once.

The same was true for Tina.

Two against one, and they were strong.

A brute-force approach wouldn't work. I had to use my head in this fight. It wasn't my strong suit, but this was no time to complain.

If I lost, I died. It was that simple.

"Thunderclap Incarnation!" I yelled.

I activated my enhancement magic.

Power surged through my body. The Lizardmen must have sensed the threat, as they both attacked at once.

A swordsman in front and a spearman behind—perfect coordination.

Their intelligence was higher than a Goblin’s.

I moved at high speed, targeting the spear wielder in the rear. The Lizardman was surprised. And why wouldn't it be? It had suddenly been targeted. It had probably never experienced that before.

I wouldn't let that opening go to waste.

A swift horizontal slash, and the Lizardman’s body was cut in two. It was dead.

I turned my attention to the other one. It was already close, its sword raised to strike. I unleashed my lightning magic from my body.

As the Lizardman froze, I stabbed it.

Flames erupted from the sword buried in its gut, burning it to a crisp. My part of the fight was over.

I looked back to see Tina facing two Lizardmen, both of them swordsmen. They were closing in on her, maintaining their distance. She was at a clear disadvantage in close combat.

Sensing this, Tina activated her water magic.

"Ice Field!"

She plunged her sword into the ground, and the earth in front of her froze over.

Unlike in the Kingdom, this region was cold, and the ground froze quickly.

The Lizardmen’s feet were frozen in place, immobilizing them. While the two were confused, Tina cut them down. A flurry of blows gave them no chance to counterattack, and they fell.

All four Lizardmen that attacked us were now dead.

I asked about their materials.

"Like Goblins, Lizardmen only have magic stones. They yield water magic stones. They don’t sell for much in the Kingdom, but they’re valuable in the Empire’s arid regions," she explained.

In that case, they were worth taking. I extracted them from their bodies and packed them in a bag.

Just as we were about to move on, we heard a scream from ahead.

We rushed over to find an adventurer party being overwhelmed by Lizardmen. The bodies of five adventurers and four Lizardmen lay on the ground. Two Lizardmen remained. We began our attack.

The result was a decisive victory.

We were already warmed up from the previous fight, so it ended without much of a struggle.

We collected the magic stones and buried the adventurers’ bodies. It was the fate of an adventurer, but we couldn't just leave them there. We made simple grave markers and prayed for their souls.

After that, we reached the territory without further incident.

We showed our guild credentials to the gatekeeper.

"We’ve been expecting you," he said. "Please head directly to the lord’s manor."

We headed toward the large mansion the soldier had indicated.

A large number of adventurers had already gathered there.