Chapter 19: The Black Fox 1

Part 1

The Black Fox was the evilest organization in the world.

Their history began in the Kingdom of Sidian, a kingdom to the west of the Kingdom of Roanne, which stretched down from the center of the continent to the south. The Kingdom of Sidian was only a kingdom in name, as the leader of the bandits there had simply proclaimed himself as king, and it was more accurate to call it a lawless land. Drugs, gambling, slaves, prostitution, extortion, assassination……all sorts of crimes were permitted there, and it was like a heaven for criminals.

The Black Fox, which had been established quietly in the Kingdom of Sidian a long time ago, had started to exert their influence and had devoured the kingdom whole. The royal family of Sidian had desperately tried to resist, but the Black Fox had come out of seemingly nowhere —had they crawled up from the earth or dropped out from the sky?— and its powerful members had mercilessly slain the royal family as easily as adults cleaning up after children.

As a result, the Sidian throne was generally passed down between the executives of the Black Fox. But the Black Fox had started reaching out towards other countries too, unsatisfied with just the Kingdom of Sidian, and none of those countries had been able to halt its infiltration.

The reason why the Black Fox had been able to move about as easily as fish in water was because it had appeared at a time when the entire continent was being ravaged by an era of bloody war. Countries brought their blades against each other in an attempt to gain more territory, and their people, unable to endure their impoverished lifestyles, had sought out more decadent distractions. The Black Fox had taken advantage of the times and had earned an astronomical amount of money by playing a hand in every crime that was known to man. Accordingly, the number of members they had in their organization had skyrocketed as well. By the time the other countries had noticed the Black Fox’s presence, they had already been spread thoroughly across each nation like seasoning on a slab of meat.

The Kingdom of Roanne had plundered Sidian’s borders and cut it off from the rest of the continent in an effort to stop the Black Fox from springing up endlessly like weeds. But Sidian was only the Black Fox’s place of origin, nothing more and nothing less, and it had been long since that another country in the South had been secretly taken over by the Black Fox and was being used as its main base of operations. The Black Fox had already spread all throughout the continent and were a force that could not be ignored.

The Black Fox was reluctant to be public about its endeavors, but it dominated the underworld by carrying out businesses that profited through unsavory means, and those nobles who tacitly colluded with them also helped fill their pockets. The Black Fox’s evildoings only grew worse by the day now that it had both power and authority at its back. Its victims were unable to retaliate, as taking revenge only brought about a crueler vengeance back upon them, and the nobles were only able to regulate things on the surface level —they were never able to resolve the situation completely. People avoid shit because it’s dirty —but they simply lower their heads in resignation when asked if they feared it too.

It was an evil organization that coexisted with hatred and fear.

In the year 1510, an organization called Camastros had risen up to oppose the Black Fox.

Camastros was an organization comprised of only the elite few when compared to the Black Fox, but it still had several hundred members to its name. Camastros scouted out and recruited warriors, mages, merchants, nobles —anyone who could beat back the Black Fox in any way, and the entire organization as a whole hated the Black Fox and was extremely violent toward only the Black Fox.

It raided the Black Fox’s bases and mercilessly massacred its members, man and woman alike. It was a terrifying group in the eyes of the Black Fox’s members. Camastros’ leader was particularly scary. The Black Fox was like a small rodent, unable to even writhe, in the talons of a fearsome kite when the final boss stood before it. His yellowy eyes, flashing like lightning behind his white mask on which nothing was drawn, struck terror in the hearts of the Black Fox’s members. They couldn’t understand why they broke out in goosebumps whenever they saw him, as if he was some terrifying monster with venom dribbling down from his fangs, when he was surely just as human as they were.

The leader of Camastros had dozens of identities, from high-ranking nobles to the lowest of commoners, but no one knew who he really was. His funds came from all throughout the continent, but no one knew that all those trails of money actually pointed to him. He possessed dozens of militant organizations even aside from Camastros, and he had set up independent intelligence agencies that gave him a firm grasp over information. He was like a ghost who held the entire world in the palm of his hand, and he only used his real name in the Institution. Arhad, who would one day be Ianna’s king, was the very leader of Camastros.

“P-please spare…”

Ianna slit her enemy’s throat in one clean stroke before he could even finish begging for his life. Warm blood spurted out from the razor-straight wound she had made and speckled her white mask.

The sensation of her blade burrowing through soft flesh and scratching the hard bone inside was a familiar sensation on the battlefield. Sparring, where opponents weren’t allowed to actually injure each other fatally, was only meant for practice so people could get accustomed to using their weapons. Weapons could only shine the brightest in a real fight. The true nature of all weapons, including swords, was to be cruel as they slew their owners’ enemies.

This was a battlefield, where she must not be merciful so long as she was holding her sword and facing down her enemies. Murder was a cruel tool that ought not to be abused when governing, but it was a necessary evil on the battlefield. In fact, the pitiful virtues called mercy and sympathy were useless here. And more importantly, it was stupid to be hesitant when her goal was to eliminate the Black Fox.

Clatter!

Ianna sheathed her sword when she only saw fellow members of Camastros, wearing black robes and white masks, around her. The back alleys were dim even during the day, and they seemed darker still —perhaps because it was night. The ground, upon which their black robes slid over like the robes of reapers, was littered with the corpses of the Black Fox mob.

The Black Fox’s thugs had grown poor in quality when it sharply increased its numbers while expanding its influence across the continent. After fighting them a few times, Ianna realized that she didn’t even need to fortify her blade when dealing with them. She occasionally spotted a few of Keigus Dimitri’s chimeras every now and again, but the chimeras had been strengthened with Keigus’ blood and they were all but powerless now that Arhad had killed Keigus and taken his fragment.

The Black Fox’s influence dwindled as Camastros grew more familiar with the stench of blood.

“Disband!”

The members of Camastros scattered away and dispersed like ghosts once their work was finished, and Camastros’ clean-up crew took over. They would either bury the corpses on a hill or burn them.

Ianna, too, melted into the darkness, quickly took off her mask and robes, and stuffed them inside the bag she had been carrying with her. Then, she left ahead of Arhad and waited for him to rejoin her at the place where they had promised to rendezvous. They walked leisurely through the heavy night air, as if they hadn’t been the very culprits who had drowned others in a sea of blood just earlier. Arhad pat Ianna proudly on the shoulder.

“You’ve gotten better.”

Ianna smirked.

“Of course I’ve gotten better —I train all day and I get actual experience every week. Is this not true for you as well?”

If Ianna’s skills were improving, then so, too, was Arhad’s. This was why neither of them had managed to be victorious over the other yet even though they had been sparring for an hour every day since Ianna had finished her first year at the Institution. They had decided that victory meant one of them would have their blades pressed up against the other’s throat, but neither Ianna nor Arhad had managed that quite yet.

Some people might have found their ceaseless draws tedious, but both Ianna and Arhad were having great fun. Sparring both delighted them and brought them up to further heights.

“But what about Shawn?”

“He won’t make it today because he has important work to do.”

Shawn, who was Arhad’s partner, was usually always with Arhad, but he was absent today.

“The fighting will probably get harder after today. It’s good that you’re getting better so quickly, since there’ll probably be a lot of casualties going forward. I hope you’ll be huge help to the organization.”

“Does the fact that the fighting is about to get harder have anything to do with the important work that Shawn’s doing?”

“Yes. The Black Fox secretly works for the Bahamut imperial family. And the imperial family summoned the Black Fox’s executives today.”

The Black Fox was an international criminal organization, and even a crying child would cease crying at once upon hearing their name. No one could have imagined who was lurking behind them.

1514, as warm spring had passed and time was running toward summer. At long last, the Bahamut imperial family, who held the highest and noblest seats in the continent, had summoned the three humble bosses of the Black Fox to their empire.

~~*~~

The ashen stone walls stretched alongside the wide floor and the high ceiling. The blackish space was comprised only of straight lines and was cut through by yet another straight line made by an overwhelmingly red carpet. The red carpet started at the entrance to the hall and ended at the large seat of power atop the many steps leading up to it. There were two tall torches, blazing with scarlet flames, that looked like they were composed of coiling snakes set up on either side of the throne.

There was a woman seated on the throne. She looked to be in her mid-thirties at most, but she exuded an air of a ruler that none could dare approach.

“The tributes are growing smaller.”

Her black and crimson empire dress showed off her slender yet voluptuous figure. The blue diamond pin holding up the woman’s black hair, as long and smooth as silk, glistened as frigidly as her temperament. She looked down arrogantly at the people beneath her.

“Tell me what’s happened, and don’t skip over a single detail.”

The frost in her voice stabbed at the three people kneeling before her like daggers. They had been teleported directly to Bahamut from Roanne and weren’t in their best condition, but they didn’t dare mention it to the woman lording over them.

Shailince Bahamut.

The high-handed empress of the Bahamut imperial lineage was still aloof and beautiful despite being well over forty and quickly approaching her fifties, and the years she had lived had only made her visage ripen like a matured flower. Members of the Bahamut imperial family tended to age well. Even when they developed them, their wrinkles tended to smooth like earth filling the cracks in fine china. The fact that they, unlike any other, remained young in appearance until the day that they died made ordinary people fear the unknown.

Slither…….

A large snake crawled up Shailince’s pale skin and its triangular head stiffened as it glowered at the three people prostrating before her. Deadly venom dripped from its fangs, as if it wanted to take a bite out of them and swallow them whole, and caused the floor to start steaming when the droplets hit. Bruce, who was kneeling at the end of the line to the right, slammed his forehead down against the floor as hard as he could.

“I did not think that the situation was worth reporting to the masters. Please kill me.”

“Do you really think I took the trouble to call you all the way here just to take your lives? What I want isn’t for you to tell me something as utterly senseless as you offering me your lives. Eiji, why don’t you talk?”

Eiji forced his throat to stop closing in on itself when he heard the wrath in Shailince’s orders and calmly reported,

“A group called Camastros that was established out of nowhere roughly six years ago has been opposing us. Upon investigating where they gathered the funds and personnel to rival us, it turns out that their recent efforts have been sponsored by the royal family of Roanne —by Prince Schneider Lezè Roanne in particular. We believe that the prince’s aims are to drive the Black Fox out of his kingdom and win the public sentiment. The military might that was dispatched from Bahamut was dispersed all throughout the continent; so, regrettably, it has been difficult to deal with Camastros with our members alone.”

“We freed those vile silvery bastards free from their leashes, and now it’s gotten to their heads. And they don’t even realize that the only thing that lies at the end of their path is ruin. I trust that we still have absolute control over the funds that are flowing in through Luria, Payne?”

Payne, who was kneeling between Bruce and Eiji with his head bowed, answered Shailince’s question firmly.

“Yes. That woman is like a kite whose string will be severed if we withdraw the support we give her. Additionally, I have also secured every weakness we can use to suppress the Roanne nobility.”

A sarcastic smile alighted Shailince’s lips as she sneered, though not at anyone in particular.

“The fools. They fail to realize that the Black Fox belongs to Bahamut and recklessly expose all their weaknesses to us.”

The Black Fox had been established when Bahamut was founded. The Black Fox’s first boss was the first emperor’s beloved pet, a black fox-type beastman, and the faithful fox had gone south when the emperor had ordered for a powerful foothold to be established in the South.

The emperor had supported his faithful fox with great military might and finances so the fox could act freely without any hindrance. Foxes were generally the clever and scheming type, and, with the emperor’s full support, the Black Fox had quickly gained influence in the Kingdom of Sidian. Then, the Black Fox had integrated all kinds of criminal activities within its organization, gathered up gold and foodstuffs, and returned the support that Bahamut had given it twice-fold. That was how the Black Fox had begun.

“It would be spectacular if Luria’s son became king. Anyway, I heard that Keigus went to you last year. What is he doing? Do you mean to tell me that you couldn’t resolve things even with his help?”

Payne looked troubled.

“That’s……we can’t get in contact with him. We ignored it at first because he’s cut off contact with us quite often previously, but it’s been several months since we last heard from him and I am only reporting this because I don’t believe that his silence can be tolerated any longer. Master, he’s been long overdue for the next dose of his drugs, and his chimeras can be killed with magic now.”

“Then you mean to say……?”

Shailince’s eyebrows slanted sharply.

“I believe that he is dead.”

Her slender finger tapped against her armrest.

“Keigus, who possessed a fragment, is dead? The bastard who hardly ever came out of his room and only ever ordered his chimeras around? Unbelievable.”

Shailince raised her hand up from the armrest. Her blue diamond ring began glowing red as she poured mana into it, and an elderly man’s husky voice sounded from it before long.

[You called, Your Majesty?]

The ring was an artefact with a communication spell cast upon it. Shailince spoke at her ring in displeasure.

“Wiffheimer. Have you heard from Keigus recently?”

[I haven’t heard from the bastard ever since he ran out after saying that there was independent research he wanted to conduct, but I will try to contact him at once.]

A moment later, Wiffheimer said through the ring,

[He isn’t responding.]

“Is there any reason why he would betray us?”

[There is plenty. Those drunk on power loathe having someone above themselves. And, while Bahamut provides us the best environment to conduct magical research in, we must also live in fear of having our fragments taken from us. But there is no reason that Keigus should have betrayed us. The drugs are one thing, but he’s also rather spineless.]

“I received a report that claims his chimeras lost their ability to hinder mana.”

[Then he is dead.]

Wiffheimer’s cackling resounded from the ring. Shailince furrowed her brows.

“How strange. Keigus, who counted himself among the archmages, is dead? Was there a beneficiary of a fragment nearby? Like someone from Camastros, perhaps?”

“It is difficult to say. It has been difficult to approach them, as none of our members have survived any of their raids. But we will do our best to collect accurate information and report it back to you posthaste.”

“They’re posing quite the annoyance in these busy times. I will send you the Knights of Grundewalz.”

The three bosses flinched. Grundewalz. They ranked in the upper-middle ranks of the twenty knight orders serving in the imperial palace. They were only in the upper-middle ranks, but they were still as strong as the royal guards of other countries, and, despite their skills, the fact that they were being sent to support the Black Fox was unprecedented and the development was shocking.

After all, the Knights of Grundewalz were sometimes called Bahamut’s Sweepers because they cleaned up after any sort of dirty work if the Bahamut imperial family ordered it of them. In other words, they were a knight order of incredible talent who could do the dirtiest deeds without any hesitation whatsoever.

“I’ll also send you Margarita, the Black Witch. I don’t mind if you use them to overturn Roanne’s capital. I will also permit Luria and her son to use them as well. But I will not have those bastards that call themselves Camastros get in our way any longer.”

“We hear and obey.”

“My generation is one of preparation.”

Shailince’s determined voice rang in their ears like thunder. She continued,

“My beloved children’s generation will overturn the world. There must be absolutely nothing lacking in your support of Taylon and Isabella.”

“We will succeed without fail.”

“Very well. I will not rebuke you since even the likes of Keigus might have been felled by their hands. Go back and await your orders.”

“We adore you and your mercy, Your Majesty.”

Payne and Bruce had left, but Eiji followed after Shailince like a dutiful servant even though she hadn’t ordered him to. She threw open the doors to her chambers. The room was constructed with white marble, a stark contrast to the blackness from before.

The walls and ceilings were painted with the gentle curves of art nouveau patterns, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the entire room, which had been designed by an expert of the highest caliber, was a work of art in and of itself. But Eiji’s eyes were locked on something else entirely.

The setting sun outside the window dyed the room crimson. Eiji’s eyes wavered for a moment as the red sun outside reflected in his pupils. But his eyes quickly fell on Shailince’s back as if he was avoiding its rays. Shailince smiled deeply as she sank down into the sofa and crossed her legs.

“It’s been too long, Eiji.”

“Yes, Master.”

There was a fever in Eiji’s cerulean eyes. He continued,

“I have always missed you, Master.”

“Is that so? In that case, I must reward you. Here, Eiji, lick.”

Shailince pointed her foot at him. Eiji got down on his hands and knees like a four-legged creature, pressed his lips against the tip of her pointed shoe, and carefully took it off. Then, he wrapped his hands around her white foot like it was the most precious jewel in the world. He licked her foot with ecstasy on his face, as if her foot was sweeter than the lips of any woman. He put his mouth to her foot as if he was in love.

Shailince looked electrifyingly pleased as she gazed down at the top of Eiji’s head before she grabbed him by the hair. She stared down haughtily into Eiji’s blue eyes as they reflected only her figure, and the edges of her lips curled up into a smile.

“I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that I’m the only reason you’re alive, right, Eiji?”

“But of course, Master. The grace Your Majesty showed me as you personally brought me out from the puddle of the traitors’ blood is etched into my very bones. My life belongs to you, Master.”

“Indeed. Now, why don’t you pleasure me?”

“It is my honor.”

Eiji stood up as soon as the words had left his mouth and he propped up Shailince’s face as he buried his lips against her nape. He slowly dragged his lips down as he undid her clothes. He brought her voluptuous breasts into his mouth and stroked her back as she moaned.

Eiji looked up as he pulled up Shailince’s dress and pulled her hair back to kiss her roughly on the lips. He grabbed her breasts and made her arch her back.

Shailince’s slender fingers raked over his clothes. He was a young man with a great physique and, while he was slender, the gentle silhouette of his musculature was visible even through his clothes. But he wasn’t as pleasing to the eye when his flesh was bare. His entire back was covered with burns and scars that had been left by the whip.

“…….”

Eiji wiped his mouth with the back of his hand once he had left Shailince’s chambers a few hours later. He walked away quickly. He went to the bathroom at the furthest corner of the imperial palace and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He couldn’t rid himself of his nausea no matter how many times he rinsed his mouth and he grew pallid as he vomited.

“Siigh…….”

His face was stained heavily with an unbearable fury, hatred, and shame.

“Hi, Little Ianna!”

Eiji, who had been out sick for a few days, waved at Ianna as hard as he could as soon as he returned to the Institution. Ianna studied his face. Eiji beamed back, as if he was asking her why she was staring at him like that.

“You look pale.”

“Hmm? Are you calling me a delicate pretty boy?”

“But you also seem to be feeling normal, seeing that you’re still spouting nonsense.”

“Ahaha!”

Eiji burst out in laughter with great fun. Ianna looked perplexed as he, who had looked as dead as a corpse when he had greeted her just now, laughed with such cheer. Immediately after, the smile vanished from his countenance and he sighed like he was sinking in to the ground —it was almost like he was bipolar or something.

“As expected of you, Little Ianna. I really didn’t want to be found out. I look tired, don’t I? Argh……I’m exhausted, seriously. I’m so annoyed.”

“About what?”

“About everything! I just want to quit everything and go on a trip or something! Actually, I wish the whole world would just come crashing down! The world should just end!”

His words were biting even as he laughed vivaciously. His shoulders slumped again as Ianna continued to stare at him. He stopped walking and slammed his head against the wall.

“Why is my life like this? Arghhh!”

“…….”

“Sorry.”

Eiji realized that he was venting at Ianna and apologized. He was whining, pleading with her to acknowledge how difficult things were for him and that he was troubled even when he couldn’t tell her anything about the situation.

Who was he to vent at Ianna to begin with? She was still just a young girl of seventeen no matter how mature she might seem.

Eiji grumbled to himself by saying that it was all because Ianna was almost like a demon in how good she was at reading his mood.

“Would you like to drink until your nose gets crooked?”

“Hmm?”

Eiji asked when the words reached his ears while he was grumbling.

“The world might look like its crumbling down if you’re wasted.”

Eiji felt the consideration in her words. As always, she didn’t know what was going on and she couldn’t resolve anything, but she was still offering to simply stay by his side regardless. She was curious, but she would wait quietly without any questions until he was ready to talk.

“I believe that looking the other way when someone you’ve taken a liking to is trying to hide something is a virtue. I won’t care even if I learn their secrets one day, so long as it isn’t something that harms me. And, even if that secret is something that could be dangerous to me, if that person happens to be a trusted ally, I will accept the risks.”

Eiji was walking along a narrow path with cliffs to both sides. He would fall to his death at even the smallest mishap. He didn’t even know what would be waiting for him at the end even if he did manage to cross it. He was the only person who could take that path, and only he would end up dead if he slipped and fell.

Eiji looked frivolous on the outside, but he was constantly playing a game of tug-o-war between his sharp rationality and his raging emotions on the inside, and he was always being wary of everyone. A spy’s work could not be carried out with a normal mind, and that was especially true of someone like Eiji, who was in it for revenge.

Eiji could not predict where his path would take him.

What will be left of me once I’ve had my revenge? I might be so exhausted, so drained, that I might just fling myself off a cliff.

“Are we friends, Little Ianna?”

“That came out of nowhere.”

“Would you count me as your ally?”

“……Allies, enemies —how long do you intend to get hung up over this?”

“I was really touched back then, you know? Little Ianna, would you hold me back if I tried to jump off a cliff?”

“Of course I would. But I’d also beat the crap out of you if you were only messing around with me.”

“Would you fish me out if I was buried under a pile of shit?”

Ianna put on a sour face.

“……I would need a moment to think about that one……. But if you were in danger, then I would rescue you.”

“Should I just make myself your underling? I’d definitely be your ally then, right?”

“That’s enough of your nonsense. The thought of you being my subordinate makes my skin crawl. And quit going on about being allies and whatnot.”

“You’re the one who brought it up first. What, are you only starting to get embarrassed about it now after all this time? Then again, there was a lot of style in your words back then.”

“Quiet, you. And stop asking about the obvious.”

“The obvious?”

“Do you really think I’d keep exchanging words like this with someone I don’t even like? I consider you a dear friend of mine, so stop asking me about it.”

Ianna’s ears flushed a little red as she said that. She continued,

“I will always take your side no matter what so long as you don’t betray me.”

The tip of Eiji’s nose tingled as he was moved to tears. Ianna might understand. She might still accept him even after she learned about what kind of life he had lived.

He always hid himself behind the lie of being carefree. What would happen if he disclosed his secret to someone? Would they be able to endure it? It was only obvious to Eiji that anyone he told would find it uncomfortable and distance themselves from him. Rather, even before that, there was no way that he could possibly even disclose his extraordinary secrets to begin with. Arhad was the one person whom he could speak to about everything, but he never knew what Arhad was thinking and Arhad was an apathetic man who never cared much about others.

But Ianna was here too now. She was now a colleague who shared his goals and she was the type of girl who generally never so much as blinked no matter what she was confronted with. Eiji, who had been observing her all this time, knew best that her attitude toward him would never change even if he told her his secret.

Eiji had the sudden impulse to tell Ianna everything like a sinner confessing all his sins to a priest. He thought he would be able to find salvation in someone who could accept him for everything that he was.

I should tell her when I get the chance. How hard could it be? —even someone like Arhad got caught by her and now she practically drags him around on a leash. Eiji started to grin now that his mood was lifted.

“Little Ianna, can I hug you just once?”

“Did you somehow manage to get drunk already? I’ll pass.”

“Aww, c’mon.”

Eiji pretended to be depressed, but he broke out giggling when Ianna pat him on the back. She was hilarious. She had turned him down verbally, but her hands were so kind. It was reassuring to have such an adorable girl on his side. He thought this about her even without taking her strength into consideration. Ianna was so sturdy that it made him want to lean on her.

Eiji was determined to protect Ianna no matter what he would have to do if something happened to her. Of course, Arhad, who was crazily obsessed about her, might take care of things first, but there were things that even Arhad couldn’t do too well. Like fabricating or cutting off information. Such things were Eiji’s specialty, as he had grown up as the ‘boss of the Black Fox’s intelligence operations’ ever since he was young.

“Hehe.”

Eiji playfully made a fist and tapped it against the top of Ianna’s head. She frowned.

“You’re really being weird today…….”

Eiji grinned as he watched Ianna sulk a little while she slapped his hand away. He wanted to at least protect this light. Ianna was the one person whom Eiji could be honest with even as he treaded on thin ice, the one person who made him feel so reassured even if all she did was stand by his side.

Ianna gave one last sidelong glance at Eiji, who was truly acting odd today, before she walked ahead while only looking forward.

Summer was fast approaching, and the days were getting hotter. The sun showered its hot rays down to earth like an afternoon rain. After her day was over, Ianna made her way to the library where she could finally breathe, as it was always air-conditioned by magic to help preserve the books. She sat down where she always sat in the corner of the library that had been tacitly designated as her spot. As usual, Rikijen, the future prime minister of Bahamut, was already there and had his head buried inside a book with a stack of papers beside him.

Ianna breathed out a noticeably easier breath before she plopped down next to him. Rikijen was so busy scrawling numbers and letters across his papers that he didn’t even notice that Ianna had arrived.

Ianna draped an arm around the back of her chair and stared at what he was writing from afar. He was always doing homework on topics like, ‘Describe the political and economic landscape of the Kingdoms of Sonia, Zalbates, Morian, Tirkal, and Begoisha in 1,000 words or fewer, and summarize what diplomatic stances the Kingdom of Begoisha should take with the other countries in one sentence each while citing three examples.’

Curiously enough, however, the sheet of paper Rikijen was looking at was filled with currency values and a chart listing a record of the specialties of each region. No matter how Ianna looked at it, it looked similar to the company documents that she had read over Arhad’s shoulder.

“Hmm? When did you get here?”

Rikijen only noticed Ianna’s presence when he made to stretch and readjusted his glasses.

“Just now. Is this homework?”

“No. It’s for my part-time job with the Vinister Company. Lord Arhad introduced me to the company, saying that those who do not work shall not eat. I’ve been working with the company ever since I was young. I ran a lot of trivial errands for the company when I was younger, and now I either organize documents for them or find calculation errors and report back on them. I also occasionally use a list of regional specialties and export products to write up proposals for them. And I get to learn more about working by accompanying the company owner when he’s making important business negotiations.”

The Vinister Company was one of the companies that Arhad had nurtured from the very beginning, and it was one of the companies that were completely in his grasp. Rikijen continued,

“I’m going to work hard and become Lord Arhad’s subordinate without fail.”

“You like Arhad that much?”

“But of course. He’s my benefactor.”

“Because he rescued you from House Owen’s clutches?”

“That’s just how we first met. He’s done so much more for me than that. The work I’m doing now isn’t something that would normally be tasked to an orphan, much less an orphan who’s still a student. Even I can tell that these documents are hugely important, and I’m still lacking in a lot of ways.”

Rikijen waved documents in the air.

“I know that he’s someone important in the underworld. And I also have a rough idea of what he’s been doing. The only reason I’m able to do this job is because he pulled a few strings.”

Ianna took the documents that Rikijen had been laboriously pouring over and read through them. Indeed, they were accounting documents that only higher-ups in Arhad’s companies would be allowed to read.

Rikijen didn’t stop her. He knew that Arhad treasured her dearly, and he also knew that Ianna was walking the same path as himself.

“The truth……is that I’m being sponsored by him. He distracted House Owen until they forgot I existed, he set me up with a good job, and, though he doesn’t go as far as to simply hand me my living expenses, he also freely supplies me with books and stationery.”

“He barely acknowledges your existence in the Institution.”

“We met under one of his other identities, so he prefers to not let the fact that we know each other be known in the Institution. We do talk once in a while if we happen to meet up outside. I help him with his work sometimes too.”

“Arhad was the older boy who brought you to that bakery we visited before when you were crying, right?”

“You remembered that? I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I used to cry because I wanted to eat their bread often when I was younger even though I needed to be in hiding, and Lord Arhad would take me there. I actually just wanted to visit the Mister and Missus, but he probably pretended not to notice.”

‘Was Arhad pretending to ignore him so he could raise Rikijen up as a trustworthy subordinate?’

Arhad looked like he couldn’t care any less about Rikijen on the surface, but he was still making sure to take care of him behind the scenes. And Rikijen knew that. Their bonds as liege and retainer had been firm in the past, and the ties that bound them were crawling up like intertwining vines and growing thicker even now.

“I was just a poor commoner born to a florist with no vision of my own, and I was on the brink of being killed by thugs. It was Lord Arhad who raised me to become who I am today. Whom else would I follow, if not him?”

Rikijen always looked at Arhad with envy in his eyes. He had lost his parents and siblings, and he had been about to lose even his own life to the thugs when Arhad had chanced upon and rescued him. After watching Arhad slay without hesitation the agents of the powerful people who had slaughtered his family, after Arhad had pulled him out of the sea of blood by hand, after Arhad had given him his quiet protection……Rikijen had begun seeing Arhad as an older brother, as his future liege —no, as someone far greater to whom he would offer his everything.

Ianna thought Rikijen was rather curious. He had been Arhad’s greatest retainer even in the past and had spent his entire life supporting Arhad. The joy of offering one’s whole life to another was something that Ianna, who had only cared about herself even as she served her own liege on the battlefield, had never known. She had always put herself first and foremost, so there was no way she could have ever known how delightful it was to do something for another.

But Ianna wanted to try experiencing it at least once now that Arhad was etched inside her heart.

Ianna returned the documents and got up to look for something to do. She wandered about the library and came back with a stack of books in her arms. They were all publications that had to do with swordplay and physical training.

Ianna sat back down and researched about swordplay as she took down memos and drew diagrams in her notebook. Once she had gotten it all down in her head, she closed her eyes and imagined herself fighting an enemy.

She would go to the training hall later that afternoon to teach her body the new swordplay she had learned. She would practice the parts that felt awkward to her and correct the parts that weren’t practical as she developed herself further. As a result, her swordplay, which had originally depended solely on her instincts and physical prowess, would become both more systematic and more unpredictable. Her freely flowing swordplay had become more complicated and difficult to fight against now that she had added a stiff density to her attacks. At the moment, she was strong enough to beat even the best royal guards in Roanne with just her swordplay alone —she wouldn’t even need to use mana.

It was always fun and exciting to brandish her sword. Swordplay was to Ianna as what dancing was to a dancer, what playing music was to a musician, or what painting was to an artist. Feeling herself growing stronger only drove her forward. The sword always gave Ianna a clear path in life.

Stronger, stronger, stronger.

Growing stronger was an ecstasy. There was no emotion that could beat it.

But no, there was. The thrill of fighting a match against that man. His greed as he coveted her strength. And his desperation as he did everything in his power to have her.

“Oh, did you have any plans for summer break? —it’s almost here.”

“I’m thinking of traveling to the West,”

Ianna answered Rikijen’s question promptly. Most people would call her crazy for attempting to make a round trip to one of the four corners in just two months, but Ianna had already been to the South with Chendelf and Mursi previously. She could run faster than a horse if she imbued her legs with mana, so she could make the trip with time to spare if she was strict with herself. And so, she had decided to visit the Girohai Desert over summer break.

Absilot had cajoled her to come visit over and over again until the day he had left the capital. On his last day he had even given her a shining wooden badge to show the mercenary guild.

Absilot knew about the spirits’ secrets. Ianna wondered if he might know about the Holy Age as well. She was going to the desert specifically to see him.

Ianna swept her hair back and crouched over the table. She wanted to learn more about her body. Ianna wanted to know why she couldn’t draw out the divine power that was locked away inside her heart, what the walls that were blocking her divine power were, and what Roberstein’s soul, which she apparently carried inside her body, was. She would need to use every bit of power inside her body if she wanted to defeat Arhad.

She had been a little depressed for a while after that day because of the laws of causality that Arhad had mentioned, but her anxieties cleared away as she made her resolve. The oath she had sworn to Arhad and her heart, which had grown sturdier after living alongside Arhad in this life, would never change even if Roberstein was her past incarnation and still somehow held an influence over her.

And it was probably the same for Arhad. His greed was unfathomably deep, so there was no way he would ever stop wanting her. Ianna was certain that, even if the laws of causality came into play, its effects would either manifest in something that wasn’t the relationship they shared or would affect their relationship only for the better.

First, she would gain more insight into the matter without Arhad’s knowing, and she would only confess what she had done after she had confirmed that nothing would harm their relationship. He’d probably tell her off for acting on her own at first, but their relationship would surely be tempered into something stronger once the awkward remnants of the Holy Age had been settled.

She would need to tell Arhad that she planned on going on a trip over break soon. He probably wouldn’t like it, so she would need to hide the fact that she was going to learn more about the secrets of the Holy Age.

And so, another meeting day for the executives of Camastros was creeping closer.

~~*~~

Part 2

“Ohoho!”

Laughter spilled out from the flock of women under the warm sunlight as the heavy fragrance of perfume wafted through the air. There were choux pastries covered with soft whipped cream, cookies made from honey, and savory tea on the table. Greedy white hands were reaching out to the glittering jewels inside a box.

“Your Highness, there are only five pearls of the highest grade that are produced from the Straights of Kirisher a year —isn’t this one of them?”

The women were chattering away like birds with a certain voluptuous woman with bright red lipstick at their center. She stood out all the more because she was wearing flashy clothes where the woman smiling pleasantly around her were dressed more plainly. It was as if she was the only leading star of the show. The women dug through the jewelry box as they failed to hide their admiration at each and every accessory they touched.

“Yes. The person who gifted it to me said that it was the best of the best and had the most beautiful luster to be seen in generations.”

“Wooow, it’s so beautiful that I don’t doubt it’s true. It’s only natural that Your Highness possesses something so rare and valuable.”

The woman addressed as ‘Your Highness’ puffed out her voluptuous chest. She bustled around and brushed at her golden dress, which highlighted her figure despite how showy it was, as if she had spilled something on it and reorganized how the hem of her dress fell down to the ground. The other women took note of this and turned their eyes to her dress.

“Oh, Your Highness. Might I dare ask if your dress was custom-tailored? It makes your beauty all the more apparent.”

“I am told that Madame Elicier is rather skilled at her craft.”

“You mean the Baroness Elicier? The baroness is certainly skilled……but fortune must surely smile upon her as well. I’m sure her dresses will be on trend this year since you’re wearing them, Your Highness Luria.”

The women didn’t fail to notice how Luria stealthily showed off her fingers as she charmingly brushed back her chocolate-colored hair. It was difficult to miss the giant jewel that was large enough to cover two of her fingers.

“Your Highness, that ring…….”

“Isn’t it lovely? His Majesty gifted it to me personally.”

The sun’s brilliant rays were refracted at multiple angles inside the delicate smooth surfaces that had been cut by a master jeweler. Its shine was captivating as the light scattered and dispersed into a myriad of colors. It was an accessory so expensive that no commoner would dare to even look at it. It was the reward Luria had received for presenting the aging king with a fantastical night.

“It’s always so touching to see how deeply His Majesty loves you, Your Highness.”

“I’m sure Her Highness already knows just how much His Majesty loves her, no? His Majesty loves her so much he might even be willing to die for her. Hoho.”

“It’s so truly beautiful. It’s like there’s a rainbow trapped inside the jewel.”

“This ring belongs only to Her Highness. What other place could possibly suit it better than Her Highness’ fingers? I feel like the ring itself would reject me if a woman such as I tried to even touch it.”

“Goodness, don’t be like that. You’re rather beautiful yourself, Madame Haylin. I do believe that this ring would look good on you……. Would you like to try it on? It’ll be my gift to you.”

The madame who had been buttering up to Luria so hard she was practically drooling dropped open her mouth so wide it looked like she was about to swallow the ring whole. She had been coveting it for a while. It was worth degrading herself to have it.

“Oh, Your Highness Luria. How could I dare possibly accept such a gift…….”

“But I cannot help but gift it to you now that I think that the ring might be worth more on your fingers than mine, Madame Haylin. Here, try it on.”

“To think that Your Highness would be so generous.”

The main star of tea party, Luria, the first concubine to Roanne’s reigning king, Harios Maxium Roanne, took the giant diamond ring on and off her fingers and savored in the luxury as coy and saccharine flattery reached her ears.

Flattery was a formless luxury, but if did it have a form, it would surely be a gift from a god of the highest rank. The women surrounding Luria were also the types to sing praises of luxury, and they stared at Luria’s accessories like fat cats staring down prey.

Luria could do anything if it meant keeping her life of luxury forever. Her homeland no longer had any more expectations of her. After all, she was already the mother of the man who would be the great Kingdom of Roanne’s next king —Crown Prince Fernando.

Which was why the second prince, Schneider, and his mother, Lezè, who tried to hinder her at every turn, were like thorns in her side.

“Schneider……. Lezè.”

Even as she was happily indulging in her luxury, just thinking about them made her so furious that she felt like her brain was being crushed out of her skull. The women who had heard what she had mumbled closed their mouths as if they had been sewn shut. Luria’s mood was as fickle as mountain weather, and their names were a taboo that could instantly turn Luria’s good cheer into hysteria.

There were three major powers in Roanne at the moment.

Muziniel and Linus’ faction, Luria and Fernando’s faction, and Lezè and Schneider’s faction. There was also a neutral faction.

The Queen consort, Muziniel, was a lady of high birth from House Winnifred. She had been courted passionately by the king a long time ago before they had wed, and she couldn’t exactly be called a mummy of the highest quality yet because she was an elegant woman akin to a bunch of white lilies. Her blood, mixed with the blood of the royal family of Roanne, which was said to carry beauty in its very genes, had produced two princesses, Lyxillia and Angelina, who were the epitome of beauty.

Muziniel was beautiful, but she was also very feeble. She had never once complained even after Luria had stolen the king’s favor from her. She had spent so many nights with the king, but she had conceived a silver child capable of inheriting the throne only after the king had turned away from her, so she was no match for Luria. Besides, Muziniel had no ambitions in particular despite having come from such a powerful house.

Rather, the person whom Luria hated dreadfully was the ambitious Lezè, another lady of high birth who had been from House Claude before she had taken on the surname Roanne.

There was practically no difference in power between House Winnifred, a duchy, and House Claude, a march. Aside from House Roberstein, which had abstained from the struggle for power in favor of guarding the frontier, the other Five Founding Houses —Houses Tarwitt, Winnifred, Owen, and Claude— were evenly matched in power.

Muziniel was from House Winnifred and Lezè was from House Claude, but Luria was just a princess from a small and weak kingdom who had been offered up to the current king.

She had had nothing to support herself with but her own beauty when she had first come to Roanne, and she had struggled so hard to climb up to the position she found herself in now. She had endured so much persecution and so many insults. Luria grabbed the handle of her teacup so hard she might have crushed it.

It should have been next to impossible for Luria, a princess from a small and weak country, to build up power. It had only been possible because she had used every means at her disposal to win the favor of the aging king and because of her son, Fernando.

Her life had turned around completely after she had given birth to her son, Fernando, who had silver hair and silver eyes. Expensive gifts had been showered upon her like waves, and people had begun whispering sweet words in her ear. ‘They,’ who had suddenly visited her one day, were included in their number.

And yet, Lezè and Schneider had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and had placed a chokehold on her.

Schneider, in particular, was a thorn in her side. Not only did he have the support of his mother’s dignified maiden house, House Claude, but he was also being supported by the powerful House Tarwitt through his betrothal to Lilith Tarwitt. Even House Solsavier, headed by Schneider’s teacher Duke Shingardra Solsavier, acted as his powerful ally.

Countless nobles supported Schneider, and the people loved him as well. They loved and supported not Fernando, whom Luria had given birth to, but Schneider.

And Lezè, the bitch who had given birth to that bastard. The bitch was more ambitious for power than Luria was for luxury. Lezè Roanne, the insufferable bitch who always looked down on her like she was something vulgar!

“Goodness, how could that woman ever possibly stand against Your Highness? She’s just a stone-cold woman who couldn’t even win His Majesty’s affections.”

The women sitting around Luria began clamoring one after another, starting with Countess Hartneki, Luria’s close aide.

“She’s always showing off. She treats others like they’re idiots just because she happens to be a bit well-read —it’s like she thinks she’s a scholar or something. But all she really knows how to do is recite a few poems to His Majesty, tch.”

“Have you seen the dress she was wearing today? I nearly died trying not to laugh when I saw her. It was so plain and simple. And don’t even get me started on her accessories. That ring she was wearing today, hoho. It was so crude it could have belonged to some country bumpkin. She acts like she’s being thrifty, but I bet it’s actually because His Majesty never gives her anything.”

“She’s not thrifty, she’s loutish.”

“……I thought Her Highness Lezè’s dress was a masterpiece gifted to her by the best designer in Roanne —is it not?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If you look closely at her dress, you’ll see that there are countless tiny jewels embedded into them, and they say that each one is worth an entire year’s budget from your average noble’s territory. And I heard that her ring was dwarven made…….”

Luria’s eyes glistened viciously when one woman failed to read the situation and stated the things that she had known as fact.

“Luria, that brainless bitch, was insulting me behind my back with a few other ladies today, you say?”

“Yes, Your Highness. One lady misspoke and suffered burns when tea was thrown at her face.”

“Was it her first time being invited to Luria’s tea table? Tut tut.”

Lezè looked elegant, yet a cut coldhearted, as she listed to her bowing lady-in-waiting’s report.

Luria was a vile bitch who was eating away at the kingdom. She was a brainless bitch who strutted around like she was the first lady of the kingdom when she was nothing more than a princess who had been offered to the king from a foreign kingdom like a sex slave. She was a cockroach with nothing but luxuries in her head who was squandering away the royal coffers to buy herself more jewels and dresses. Lezè considered Luria and little more than an insect.

The queen was too weak to oppose Luria, and Lezè had judged that there was a very real possibility that the damned bitch Luria might devour the kingdom whole. Lezè was clever and ambitious —she had initially been preparing to enter into the political fray with Marquis Claude behind her—, and though Luria had beaten her to the punch, she had become the king’s concubine and had given birth to Schneider. Lezè had always aspired to be powerful in politics, and she had changed her goals and had decided to place her son on the throne and make Roanne the most powerful kingdom the world had ever seen.

Lezè felt so proud whenever she saw Schneider. The son she had given birth to had every marking of a great king. He had wanted to be king and lead the kingdom into a great revival ever since he was just a boy, and Lezè spared no effort in helping him make his dreams come true. Schneider was bright and radiant, and the nobles and citizens who loved the kingdom chose to follow him like the way people subconsciously reached out for the sun.

And yet, the reason why she couldn’t pull Luria’s son, Fernando, off the crown prince’s seat was because of Luria’s vast wealth —no one knew where it even came from— and because of an ominous group of nobles who were fiercely loyal to her.

She could understand that those nobles who had things they needed to hide supported Luria because they would lose all their power and authority if Schneider rose to the throne. But even a few nobles whom Lezè had thought were decent had sworn fealty to Fernando.

‘What is it? What is the source of her vast wealth? And why are those nobles so firmly loyal to Luria?’

Lezè tapped her finger against the table as she ruminated over questions that couldn’t be solved.

~~*~~

“The Knights of Grundewalz rank fifth among the twelve knight orders under the Bahamut imperial family’s direct command, putting them in the upper-middle ranks.”

Shawn was conducting a briefing before the executives of Camastros. He was pointing to diagram of twelve levels drawn on a piece of cloth. He was no longer hesitant to mention the Bahamut Empire now that Ianna had been made aware that Camastros was targeting the imperial throne.

Shawn reported that Bahamut had finally noticed that the Black Fox was growing weaker and had taken action. They had sent out the Knights of Grundewalz and the Witch Margarita. They were powerful enemies who had been dispatched to weed out Camastros.

“But their difficulty rank is low. The Bahamut Empire ranks their military assets not by a measure of skill but by how well they perform and how much favor they have with the imperial family. Grundewalz falls behind in actual skill, but the knight order is vicious and will take any risk necessary to accomplish their missions.”

There were a lot of rebellious factions inside Bahamut. The rebels were mostly comprised of minority groups who had lived in the North before Bahamut had taken over, and there were also those who burned with vengeance because they had suffered harm, no matter how small or how great, at the hands of the imperial family’s cruel reign.

“The Knights of Grundewalz always leave their targets in ruins, and they take all survivors as slaves. Anyone who revolts against Bahamut are doomed to meet that end. And also…”

Shawn pointed to a circle that had been drawn next to the levels.

“Bahamut’s mages act as one group. It’s a group of powerful mages lead by the imperial family’s head mage, Wiffheimer Potestas. The Witch Magarita is Wiffheimer’s third disciple, and she’s infamous in the North. She specializes in curses. Causing a plague is a piece of cake for her. And she will be supporting Grudewalz from behind.”

“Our plan for the next year and six months is to borrow the Roanne prince’s name and harass the Black Fox enough to make them unveil themselves on their own accord out of indignation.”

It was Arhad who had slowly added on to what Shawn was saying. He continued,

“Our first goal is to shake the foundations of the Bahamut Empire’s wealth, and the second is to make the empire bear her fangs against the Kingdom of Roanne instead of us. Our third and ultimate goal is for Roanne to realize that the Black Fox is backed by Bahamut and to stir up as much conflict within the kingdom as possible. We will then wrap up all of our preparations before that time and head to the Kingdom of Woodruff. We’ll start organizing things little by little going forward.”

Arhad would graduate from the Institution when he turned twenty-three. And he would be twenty-four the year after that. He would be the same age he had been when Ianna had first met him. She hadn’t known where Arhad had been after the Youths’ Swordsmanship Tournament because he had been too busy vying for the imperial throne to pay attention to a young girl like her. Ianna flushed red with shame when she recalled how childishly she had lost herself in rage because Arhad had not come back to seek her out. Just then, Van raised his hand.

“Will we be meddling in Roanne’s politics?”

“Not directly no, but our actions are bound to affect the struggle between Fernando and Schneider. The Black Fox will ask Luria’s faction to deal with Camastros, so they’ll naturally be coming into conflict with Prince Schneider. Be we will only focus on opposing the Black Fox as a third party. The Kingdom of Roanne isn’t our nation, after all.”

Everyone agreed with Arhad’s composed explanation. Ianna nodded as well, unbeknownst to the fact that Arhad had snuck a brushing glance at her direction.

“This sums up our plans for the next year and six months.”

“A year and six months…….”

It was both a long and short period of time. Everyone repeated the time limit to themselves as they kindled their motivation.

“We will weaken the Black Fox as much as we can while we’re still here, and then we’ll move to the Kingdom of Woodruff and prepare for an all-out war against Bahamut. We have more than enough justification for it, since I’m a Bahamut prince. And Bahamut is a nation where might makes right, so every knee will bend in the face of power.”

Arhad used magic to burn the cloth that Bahamut’s ranking system had been diagramed out on. The crimson flames erased the lines of ink that symbolized Bahamut from the face of the world. Soot and ashes dropped to the floor as the flames slowly made their way across the cloth.

“In any event, the Black Fox is our first order of business. We’ll start with Grundewalz and Margarita.”

The hundred members of the Knights of Grundewalz and the Witch Margarita had received long-term orders to eliminate Camastros, the group that had been getting in the Black Fox’s way in the southern half of the continent, and were teleported direct there.

“Roanne…….”

Formido, the commander of the knight order, looked up and felt the sun’s rays as they fell on his face. The sunlight was beautiful as it filtered through between the walls of the buildings.

They were only in the slums, but the warm air that enveloped the entirety of Roanne’s capital was fundamentally different from the bleak and chilly air in the North. The weather here was perfect for fostering life, and the good-for-nothings in the South took it for granted without ever realizing how blessed they were. They beat their bellies and griped about the most trivial things, and they didn’t know what it meant to be desperate to survive.

“Damn it all.”

He looked around to find that the others were of a similar mindset.

Most of the Knights of Grundewalz were men in their forties. Bahamut’s war against the Kingdom of Roanne had paused twenty-two years ago, and they had been starving youths too young to fight while the war was still being waged, and as grown men they had been too busy prowling across the North like a pack of wildcats to ever come down to the South.

They had committed so many heinous deeds that some people in the North claimed that they had eaten human flesh, but they grew dizzy and breathed raggedly as they felt how gentle, abundant, and warm nature could be for the first time in their lives.

Formido, however, was in his late forties and he, who had become a child soldier when he was fifteen, had participated in the war for about three years. He had taken up a weapon to survive and to support his family. He had killed his enemies frantically. And he had pined for the weather in the South even after returning to Bahamut and achieving merit after merit and finally becoming the commander of an entire knight order. It was the memories of the South’s warmth, and not the stench of blood, that those who had fought in the war as soldiers kept even to this day.

“Welcome,”

Payne, the black fox who was technically only one of the Black Fox’s three bosses and the head of the organization’s drug trading operations but whose bloodline had been the Black Fox’s actual leader for generations, greeted them.

“It’s been a while,”

Formido said as he nodded back. Formido had met Payne for work a few times in the past. The Black Fox was one of Bahamut’s core powers, and, though it was difficult to rank them on the hierarchy because they were separated from the other institutions and was a special organization under the imperial family’s direct control, they needed to be shown the proper courtesy. Payne’s eyes then fell upon the skinny woman standing next to him.

“It’s been a while since I saw you last too, Little Margarita.”

Margarita grinned and took a look around her surroundings.

“It has. But where is our adorable little Eiji?”

“He’s been attending the Institution as of late. He only shows up if we have a meeting or if he has work to do.”

The smile was instantly wiped off of Margarita’s face and her cheer was transformed into irritation.

“Arrogant little shit. You mean to say that he didn’t come by even though he knew I’d be here? Has it been too long? He’s supposed to come and entertain me like he used to way back when.”

“That would be difficult, since the bastard’s a boss in his own right now.”

“Hmph.”

Formido ordered his men to follow as he let Payne guide them into a building and bared his teeth.

“Prepare us some beer and meat. And bring out some pretty girls too. I’ve been looking forward to how good these well-fed wenches in the South really are.”

“Did you really need to ask? I’ve already prepared everything beforehand. The girls are in the middle of dressing up, so why not fill your stomachs first?”

The building that Payne had brought them to had once been a large inn. Payne had bought out the entire building for Grundewalz’s use because it had good accommodations.

Payne clapped twice as soon as he entered the main hall. Chefs pours out from the kitchens and placed so much fattened meat that smelled delectable on the tables that the legs were starting to bow. The knights sat down wherever they wanted and drooled as they stared at the food.

“Eat.”

The hungry knights immediately picked up a cask of wine in one hand and a stick of meat in the other as soon as their commander had given them the order. They opened their mouths wide as they greedily bit into the greasy slabs of meat.

“This stuff’s to die for. Do all chefs down here cook like this?”

“It’ll be more than just the women who we’ll need to keep alive and drag back home with us.”

Formido sat down at a table with his retainer, Miloutè, to his right and Margarita to his left, and Payne sat down opposite of him. He held his wooden mug, sloshing with beer, upside-down over his mouth. The cool beer traveled down his throat. Even the beer was good in the South.

“So what exactly will we be doing here?”

“I’m sure the masters already told you the gist of it, but your ultimate goal is to wipe out Camastros. We estimate that there are about three hundred of them in total. And they’re pretty strong. But I’m sure they’ll be no match for Grundewalz. Not their skills, not their recklessness, and not their cruelty.”

“And? Do we just break into their hideout and go to town on them?”

“That won’t be possible. Our informant hasn’t been able to sniff out their whereabouts at all. Even when we do find some useful information and conduct a raid, we end up taking more losses then they do because they’re too strong.”

“Are you sure your informant’s doing his job properly?”

“I tried looking into the matter using my own information lines, and I didn’t do any better. They’re pretty thorough.”

“Hmmm. And?”

“According to our informant, Camastros is a group that the second prince has been sponsoring for a while now for the sole purpose of opposing us. Based on that information, we’ve decided on three goals. First, to get the second prince to stop supporting Camastros. Second, to wipe out those Camastros insects once the second prince has stopped supporting them. And third, to ruin the second prince for the concubine we’re supporting. We can’t possibly let him take the throne when he’s dared to raise a hand against us, now can we? Besides, we need that concubine’s son to be king if we want to control Roanne as we please…….”

“Ahh. You’re talking too much. In conclusion, we just need to go where you point us and destroy everything in sight, right?”

“Yes. You guys are the perfect fit for the work we’ll have to do going forward. After all, you’re crueler and more brutal than any other.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Payne’s words were a compliment for the Knights of Grundewalz. They were the evilest of the wicked who favored infamy over honor. They burnt down entire villages. They killed anyone, even women, children, and the elderly. They dug up the earth and buried people alive……. They carried out the cruelest tasks to perfection so long as the imperial family had ordered it, and the dead wailed sorrowfully in their wake.

“Kill any members of Camastros on sight and torment the people of Roanne for now. The people here have become complacent in these peaceful times, so they’ll take on the foul mindset of not caring if a neighbor gets hurts as long as they themselves aren’t harmed. The plan is to make them resent not the monster that quietly eats people but the people who stepped forward and tried to do something about the monster.”

“I get it, so hurry up and bring out the girls already.”

Payne smirked and clapped his hands together as Formido waved his hand in annoyance.

“Kyah, you sirs are so handsome!”

“Where are you from? I’ve never seen such attractive men before in my life.”

Women opened the doors and ran into the men’s arms.

“It’ll be awkward for a fellow woman to be here, so why don’t you go upstairs and rest?”

Payne pushed an attractive man toward Margarita and gestured upstairs. Margarita coyly studied the man up and down before dragging him upstairs and disappearing behind a door.

Then men were unable to hold themselves back because they were high on the Black Fox’s specially made drugs and aphrodisiacs. Nor did they have any reason to in the first place.

The women were high-class hostesses whom Payne had paid handsomely in advance. It was their job to treat the men well. But the women didn’t need the money to instinctively know that the men before them were big shots. And they also instinctively knew that they were dangerous.

Which was why they simply accepted the men’s rough and sometimes even violent touches.

Payne cackled as he sat in the middle of the hall.

“Our plans can begin after the night is over.”

And the night was still yet young.

Unlike the hall downstairs, Margarita’s room was deathly quiet.

Not a single scream escaped her tightly shut door. All night long.

~~*~~

“Go home before it gets any later, Shinda,”

said a teacher to a student who was hard at work cooking with leftover materials from their practical exercise, with worry.

“I will, Professor. Please go on ahead.”

“It’s already nine. Get home soon —they say that there’s been a lot of suspicious activity as of late.”

“Yes, I will.”

Shinda’s tutor stopped several times to look back at Shinda for some reason before he finally turned around for good and left for his lodgings.

Shinda was a student in the Institution’s Culinary Department. Her father had passed away, she had two starving younger twin sisters, and her mother was sickly and barely managed to keep up with the housework. Shinda worked many part-time jobs because of her family situation, and her professor took pity on her and gave her leftover ingredients from class for free —it would only rot if it was left there anyway. Shinda was grateful for her professor’s consideration every day, and she had made it a habit to cook the ingredients in the practice kitchens before bringing her cooking home.

“There we go.”

Shinda looked down smugly as she wrapped up the food he had cooked. Her friends had given her specially-made meat pies today. She could already see her sisters, who liked meat pie, dancing with glee.

She looked out the window and quickly ran out of the practice kitchen with his food. The days had grown longer because it was summer, but it was still dark outside. The magic lampposts were flickering, perhaps because the mana stones powering them were running dry.

Shinda looked back at the road she had just walked. The only other figure she saw on the road was her own shadow, with its hair tied up in a ponytail just like hers was —she saw no one else. The public safety in the commoners’ district wasn’t as good as the nobles’ district, so commoners tended to come home early and lock their doors. And people had been coming home even earlier as of late, perhaps because there had been a lot of suspicious activity recently.

Shinda clutched her food close to her chest and did her best to keep her composure as she walked. All sorts of things crossed her mind because it was too quiet until she finally recalled her professor’s worry.

“Get home soon —they say that there’s been a lot of suspicious activity as of late.”

“Meow.”

“Kyaah!”

She started and cowered even when a stray cat meowed.

Shinda quickly made her way back home. She was out of breath as she grabbed the doorknob. But something was amiss. Why was her house so quiet?

Shinda’s household wasn’t in the best of circumstances, but it was always loud and filled with energy. She leaned her ear against the door. She heard somethings splashing. It gave her a bad feeling. Shinda quivered as she slowly backed away from the door. But the door swung open just then. Shinda froze in place when a ghost with a pale face and a blackish body appeared before her.

“Oh, what an adorable little wench.”

The black ghost who had come out of Shinda’s house was covered in blood. Shinda twitched as she looked behind the ghost. The entire house was drenched in blood.

Shinda’s eyes rolled in their sockets as she looked back up at the ghost. It wasn’t a ghost, but a man wearing black robes and a white mask. He was holding a large package, and Shinda didn’t want to even think about what was inside it. The man grinned from behind his mask.

“Twin girls are quite popular, you see.”

The man had a Northern accent. But Shinda didn’t have the leisure to take note of it.

“Ugh……ah…….”

“Oh, but you’re not that bad your…….”

Shinda took a step back before she flung her food away and began running. She could not comprehend the situation. But she still knew that she had to flee.

“Help……Please help……!”

But her running away had been rendered pointless when a large hand reached out and grabbed her hard by the ponytail.

“Have you heard? They say that Shinda from the Culinary Department’s gone missing.”

“Her mother’s passed away……and her twin sisters are missing too…….”

“Oh no.”

The unfortunate news about Shinda shook the entire Institution. Rape, robbery, abduction, arson, murder……. Crime had been skyrocketing in Theodore as of late and even the newspapers were telling people not to leaves their homes at night, but the students at the Institution hadn’t particularly felt any danger within the school grounds and were terrified now that something had happened to a fellow student who had been perfectly fine just the day before. Those students whose families lived in the same district as Shinda stomped their feet in worry.

“They haven’t caught the culprit. I heard that the palace sent out mages specialized in tracking because the crime was heinous, but they haven’t caught the culprit yet —doesn’t that mean that the criminal is really dangerous?”

“Gosh, what’s with everything these days? I’m too scared to go outside. I can’t even go drinking. Things like this are still happening even though the police increased their labor force.”

The situation was getting so bad that even the most uptight professors who usually told students to stop paying so much attention to the rest of the world and focus on their studies were telling students to travel in groups out of worry. At this point, the citizens —and not only the students— turned their minds to organized crime and naturally began to doubt the Black Fox.

“Is it the Black Fox? They’re the only people who did stuff like this as an organization.”

“But why are they acting out all of a sudden? Did they suddenly go crazy or something?”

There had been an arson not too long afterward. An inn, in which many guests had been sleeping inside, had gone up in flames and had been reduced to ashes in but an instant, and there was a witness.

“They say that the culprit was wearing black robes and a white mask.”

“What the hell? It’d be terrifying to run into someone wearing that in the middle of the night.”

“And there were apparently several people dressed up like that.”

Three criminals had been caught and interrogated a few days later, and the results of the interrogation had made it to the headlines of the newspapers. The three criminals had initially kept quiet at first, but they ultimately talked through the drool pooling out of their mouths once they had been horribly tortured. They had confessed all the crimes they had committed thus far, as well as the crimes they had been planning to commit in the future. Then, they cheered for the organization they were allegedly affiliated with before killing themselves.

And the name they had disclosed was Camastros.

“Camastros?”

“What’s that? Are they an anti-establishment organization? Some kind of new cult?”

“The newspapers called them a violent religious cult…….”

“Evil bastards.”

“I’ve heard about Camastros. They’re a group who’s been at odds with the Black Fox since a few years back —I used to think well of them because there weren’t any bad rumors about them and because they were opposing the Black Fox, but I guess they weren’t any better after all. I mean, the stuff they’ve been up to recently makes them even worse than the Black Fox.”

Everyone everywhere was talking about Camastros. White masks with black robes. Anyone with any interest in the underworld knew that it was Camastros’ characteristic uniform.

There had been rumors here and there asking if perhaps Camastros was the culprit, but the news had made those rumors explode. Camastros was an elite organization who used to only be known to those who were in the know, but now they had suddenly grown infamous. No one knew what Camastros’ goals were, and the people’s first impression of them had a significant impact.

The Black Fox was a large criminal organization that had been around for a long time. There was already a lot of precedence proving that anyone who laid a hand against the Black Fox would be brought to ruin, be they commoners, nobles, or even entire countries. The people recognized the Black Fox as a monster that should never be provoked, and they gave up on opposing them by brainwashing themselves into thinking that they were only avoiding the Black Fox because they were dirty. In contrast, they viewed Camastros as a new organization that could still be touched. They people denounced Camastros and crossed their arms as they declared that its members should be apprehended before the group become as a second Black Fox.

‘The Black Fox……. I see, so this is how they’ve decided to make their move.’

Ianna realized that Grundewalz and Margarita had started their assault as she picked up several conversations about Camastros while walking down the corridor. It looked like they were trying to drag Camastros down into the same mud that they lived in by pinning their own crimes on Camastros. And they’d probably be jubilant if this made Schneider stop working with Camastros.

But would things really go as they planned? Camastros had already predicted this scheme. The intelligence groups under Arhad’s control had already begun working in secret. At the very least, Ianna was certain that Camastros would not simply suffer as meekly as the Black Fox wanted them to.

~~*~~

“At this point, we can definitely conclude that this is the work of an organization. Is it the Black Fox?”

Schneider was in a foul mood as he waved the report in the air. He continued,

“This is the Black Fox’s work, unless I’ve completely misread the man. The leader of Camastros isn’t the type of man to lead an organization who does things like this. This is probably the Black Fox’s attempt to slander Camastros for getting in their way.”

“It is surely as you say.”

The middle-aged man wearing purple robes nodded beside Schneider, who had immediately started laying out his thoughts as soon as the purple-robed man had arrived.

“But I’ll take some damage too if this continues. I’ve been planning to publicly announce the fact that I’m sponsoring Camastros once they started being active, but I don’t want my name to be seen in this light. What do you think will happen if the fact that I’m sponsoring Camastros comes to light before these rumors are cleared up?”

“Your approval rating will drop.”

“Exactly. I wanted to win the people’s favor by solving our issue with the Black Fox, not lose it. Those Black Fox bastards truly are annoying. Have you heard anything from Camastros, Duke Solsavier?”

House Solsavier had turned out excellent mages for generations. The Solsaviers were mages all the way down to their very bones, and the royal family provided them with everything they needed for magic in exchange for their fealty because House Solsavier was not cut out for managing territory.

The middle-aged man wearing purple robes who had met Arhad in person during the slave auction was Shingardra Solsavier. The duke had been Schneider’s magic teacher since the prince was young, as he had also sworn his fealty to the prince.

“They just contacted me to say that they wanted to meet you in person, Your Highness. I was here to convey the message.”

“What? Right now? Then call them in at once. What are you doing?”

Shingardra pulled out a scroll from his pockets. A powerful gust of mana swirled around the scroll when he ripped it, and the magic circle that had been drawn onto it floated in the air and grew bigger. Then, a single person jumped out from the magic circle when it was about two meters long in diameter.

Shingardra was astonished. He had been alarmed when the leader of Camastros handed him several portal scrolls that could be connected directly back to him like they were free because portal spells were extremely high-level spatial magic and were therefore incredibly expensive. This either meant that Camastros was extremely wealthy or that they had an extremely powerful mage on their side, and neither possibility could be easily ignored.

The man who had come out from the portal, Ro, Camastros’ leader, nodded once at Schneider before straightening himself out. The intelligent light of his golden eyes shone through his mask.

“We can deal with the rumors that the Black Fox is spreading easily enough.”

Ro had been unfriendly ever since they had first met, and he was still unfriendly even now. Schneider raised an eyebrow at Ro because he disliked the attitude Ro was giving him. Ro was technically being courteous, but there was an arrogance to his voice that made Schneider feel like Ro was talking down to him. Ro continued,

“This is a good opportunity to spread Camastros’ name without much effort, since bad rumors spread faster than good ones. We can overturn these rumors in one fell swoop. But we will need your cooperation for that, Your Highness.”

“Tch, you can’t even solve something like this on your own? Let me remind you that I can’t risk my reputation dropping while I’m still in a tight race for the throne against Fernando.”

Ro replied brusquely when Schneider clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and expressed his refusal.

“I am asking for your cooperation, my Prince, because the method that I’m proposing is far quicker and will be far more beneficial to you. But Camastros can take care of things on our own end if you don’t wish to be involved.”

His words were thorny. Schneider’s lips twitched. He disliked Ro’s tone —Ro sounded like he was addressing someone pathetic, like the people who pigged out while still in bed when others offered them food.

“Then what would you like my assistance with? I will hear you out, since you claim this will be beneficial to me.”

“We will hand over about twenty or so men who were impersonating us to you within a month. Please announce your relationship with us as you execute them and draw your blade against the Black Fox. The best time to take advantage of the public sentiment is now, while we’re at the forefront of everyone’s minds. No other time will be nearly as effective.”

“Hmm.”

“Additionally, we will also give you information that is sure to assist you greatly in your fight for the throne, as your official announcement will essentially mean that your relationship with Camastros will go public.”

“Very well. Then I will do as you suggest. However…….”

Schneider folded his hands together and leaned back against his seat. Then, he haughtily looked up at Ro, who was likewise staring down at him due to their difference in elevation. He continued,

“Are you certain that you won’t bleed the citizens dry like the Black Fox is? You’re not plotting to become the second Black Fox, now are you?”

“We can get by well enough without having to go out of our way to bleed ordinary civilians dry. And there is especially little point in tormenting them for no good reason.”

“In that case, I trust that you’ll have no complaints if I order my knights to cut down your members on the spot if they see them raising their hands against civilians?”

“Do as you please. They would have already been rendered corpses at my own hands by then, because that would mean that they went against my orders, but you may kill them if they have somehow managed to escape death. Extenuating circumstances may still arise, however, so I’ll ask that you be flexible in such cases.”

“Hmmm…….”

“That was all I had to tell you. I will seek you out again at a suitable time once we’ve caught the bastards while we’re working. Then…”

Ro disappeared back into the portal once he had said his piece even though Schneider had not excused him yet. The portal spell was sucked into itself after it had swallowed Ro and vanished. Schneider narrowed his eyes.

‘Impertinent bastard.’

Schneider disliked how unfriendly Ro was. He disliked Ro’s appearance as well. A mask and a robe. It reminded him of the 500,000-gold man who had made him taste defeat for the first time during the school festival.

“Let us share our thoughts about that man, Duke. Do you feel anything about him as a mage? Tell me at once if you do.”

“It’s difficult to tell because of the mask and robes he’s wearing, but judging by his voice I would assume that he is in his mid to late-forties……. But I cannot be certain of this, as he must be equipped with a voice-altering ring of some sort since his voice is different from what I heard last time. The most important thing, however, is that he is extremely powerful —I’m sure you felt this as well, Your Highness. Your instincts as a mage is as good as mine.”

“I am not as good as my teacher yet, Duke. In any event, is there no way to bring him under my banner?”

“Who could say? His unfriendly attitude tells me it might be impossible.”

Shingardra flashed a smile. If Schneider was a silver falcon, then the leader of Camastros was a golden eagle. They were both birds of prey who would glower at the other but could never come under another’s banner. That was what Shingardra had felt when Ro had confronted Schneider just earlier.

“We cannot discern where Camastros’ funds are coming from at all. Still, considering that he is strong enough to rival the Black Fox, we can safely assume that he is also the leader of some other, official group apart from Camastros. To be honest, I find it difficult to believe that he is cooperating with Your Highness only because he wants to destroy the Black Fox. There is something else that he is seeking from your cooperation with him.”

“Considering how impertinent he’s being, I doubt that he means to continue a relationship with me once the Black Fox is out of the picture. In other words, that means that there is nothing he wants from me in the future and that he only regards me as a temporary ally. It’s highly likely that our connections will either be severed completely or that we’ll be hostile to each other in the future. In which case it would mean that he dares to use me, Schneider, as a tool at the moment.”

“I am of the same opinion.”

“What could he possibly gain by eliminating the Black Fox……. A business? But if that was the case, it would be better for him to maintain a relationship with me than not, no?”

“This is just a speculation, but is it not plausible that he’s the prince of a country that is at the Black Fox’s mercy? A prince who means to return to his lands after eliminating the Black Fox while hiding behind Your Highness’ back and turning Roanne into a battlefield……. His pride and unfriendliness would make sense, if this were the case.”

“A persuasive argument. I’ll keep it in mind. The man is impertinent even in my imaginations. And as for what we learned from our conference today…”

The crimes had come up during today’s conference, and Schneider had clashed heavily against the ministers on Fernando’s faction regarding the topic of Roanne’s national defense. Schneider scratched hard at his head. He continued,

“I find Bahamut’s continued silence extraordinarily suspicious. I hate to admit it, but, to put it calmly, they’re the strongest militant nation on the continent and they’ve been trying to invade Roanne for centuries —they’ve been too quiet for the last twenty years! No matter how hard I wrack my brains, it seems to me that they’re preparing for something big —they haven’t given up on the war and neither do I think that they’ve come across some other sort of problem. My instincts tell me that danger is lurking nearby. Just what are those idiots who keep blabbering away about how we’re spending too much money on our national defense thinking? Are they not suspicious of Bahamut at all? Do you think I’m worrying too much, Duke?”

“Not at all. I would quite concur. We cannot know what sorts of schemes Bahamut is cooking up because we have no source of information on them, and Prince Taylon Bahamut is almost thirty now, meaning he will no longer press on with zeal alone like young men are wont to do in their twenties and will have gained a measure of composure —Prince Linus is too young to deal with him, and Prince Fernando is too incompetent,”

Shingardra firmly replied. He continued,

“Only you are capable of protecting the Kingdom of Roanne, Your Highness.”

“I believe that as well. Who else could be king if not I? Saiwè’s circumstances are an unfortunate one. He has a good temperament and is rather skilled, unlike his elder brother, but he alone took after his mother’s looks……. Tch. In any event, there are so many problems cropping up that they’re giving me quite the headache. And my ability to act is far too restricted while my Lord Father still lives. All I can do at the moment is to win the public sentiment and gather enough talent by my side in preparation for the future.”

Talent. Ianna’s image flashed across Schneider’s mind. He bit down hard at his lip. The girl who continued to reject him despite the gifts and letters he sent haunted him.

Schneider generally let people go readily if they stubbornly continued to reject him. He assumed they must be fools for failing to seize the opportunity to be one of his. So, why was it that he couldn’t take his eyes off of Ianna? The swordsmanship tournament had a winner every year, she was nothing more than the illegitimate daughter of House Roberstein who was despised for her humble birth, and she was simply a swordswoman whom many said would reach her limits one day.

It was true that he expected great things from Ianna, but why was it that she pulled at him more strongly than any other individual of great talent? Schneider rested his head against his folded hands. Her crimson hair as it fluttered in the wind, the clear light in her crimson eyes.

‘I don’t want to give up on her.’

But he had no cards to play. There was nothing Ianna needed from him. She showed no desire for material wealth or authoritative power. Neither did she seem to have any love for the Kingdom of Roanne because she had been bullied so badly as a child. She was also young, and she had been completely blinded by some unidentifiable man and had declared that she would follow only him without so much as a glance at her other options —it was like she didn’t even register those other options in the first place.

Ianna was similar to the leader of Camastros. They both had nothing they wanted from Schneider. In other words, Schneider was not present in her idea of the future.

And her not wanting anything from Schneider meant that he had no pretext to capture her with. He had tried to meet her again on multiple occasions, but she had never once attended any of the tea parties he had invited her to. Neither did she attend any of the three royal birthday parties that had taken place since Founding Day. All the invitations he had sent her had proven to no avail, as if she meant to declare that her debut was to be the last time she would make an appearance in high society.

Schneider had even tried to ask Count Roberstein, who had been in the capital, for assistance because nothing else was working, but the count had turned down his request with the stiffest look Schneider had ever seen the man wear.

“Please don’t ask me to force that child into anything against her wishes, Your Highness. I have no right to do that to her.”

House Roberstein’s territory was located in the countryside, and, though they had volunteered to stay on the frontier from their very inception, they had many connections with the center regions of the kingdom even on top of being one of the Five Founding Houses, making them a house that could not be ignored even in the capital. Their potential influence on the game of thrones could not be ignored. They were also one of the wealthiest noble houses, as they had built up their fortune by producing and exporting weapons of exceptional make. Moreover, they had been steadfast in their loyalty to the royal family ever since the kingdom had been founded, and Schneider wanted very much for House Roberstein to take his side. Besides, Ianna was from House Roberstein too.

“And I would ask that you not force my daughter into acting against her wishes either, Your Highness.”

And yet, Count Cherno Roberstein was against Ianna becoming Schneider’s subordinate.

“Is that something you should be saying about your own daughter? It is an endless honor to work for me. And yet you would call it forcing her to act against her wishes?”

“What else would you call it but coercion when someone from above your station continues to demand that you do something you don’t wish to? I would prefer to let that child do as she pleases.”

“Hmph —are you not only saying this out of your own selfishness? Are you trying to kick her out of your household as quickly as possible?”

“I am fully aware that I have been a fool. I am aware that I have committed a great wrong against that child, and neither can I deny that I am awkward around her even now. But this is also why I cannot force my wishes and my household’s wishes upon that child.”

“…….”

“I cannot force that child into something contrary to her wishes, Your Highness. I will send her away quietly if she chooses to leave, and I will do everything in my power to support her if she chooses to remain in my household.”

“You will regret it. You want me, a prince, to withdraw my interest? Do you truly understand how honorable it is to be desired by me? Do you mean to say that you will simply watch and do nothing even as she tosses all riches and honor aside to chase after some stranger?”

“A thousand pardons. But that is her decision to make.”

Cherno was stubborn and inflexible and refused to bend his will no matter how much Schneider grilled and coaxed him. The impertinent count had even threatened him.

“I will take it to mean that Your Highness thinks very lightly of my house if you act recklessly toward that child.”

But Cherno had also said this,

“But you will have my praise if you can respect my daughter’s wishes, Your Highness Prince Schneider. A king who knows how to respect others’ opinions even when he has everything and wields absolute power……. I would not mind serving such a king.”

Schneider could not deny the fact that a bead of sweat had rolled down his forehead just then. House Roberstein would willingly rally under his banner if he left the count’s daughter alone. Schneider could not put any more pressure on Cherno now that the count had said what he had.

“Sigh.”

Nothing was working. Schneider could not help but sigh. A bluish vein popped out on his temple.

‘I really should have called for a million gold back then.’

He strongly regretted the fact that he had failed to leave behind a bigger impression on her than that bastard had.

Part 3

That night, Ianna packed her robes and a bunch of bottles in her bag. She turned around to look at Priscilla, who was squirming in her bed, before she left. Ianna recalled how Priscilla liked to habitually crawl outside at night to drink.

“Please stop going outside to drink.”

“Aww, I’ve been holding back, you know. The Institution’s protected by Lord Heinrich’s barrier, and it’s safe here because the Martial Arts professors all live here too……. Besides, my bed is the safest place in the entire Institution. I’m as safe as I can possibly be right now,”

Priscilla muttered with her covers pulled up all the way to her nose. Ianna still told Priscilla, who looked almost as if she planned to spend the rest of her life in bed, to make sure to lock up the window and door before going to sleep as she swung the door wide open.

“You told me not to go out, Little Ianna, but aren’t you doing exactly what you told me not to do?”

Ianna turned back around to find that Priscilla had sat up in bed at some point and was looking back at her with her eyes filled to the brim with worry. Priscilla continued,

“I know you’re strong, Little Ianna……but you never know what might happen. I heard that even strong knights have been attacked while they were on patrol. They’re not your average thugs. Camastros —was that their name? You know about them too, right? You shouldn’t be going out unless it’s urgent.”

“I have an appointment to make.”

Priscilla looked out the window when Ianna shook her head no. It was dark out. And she refused to put aside her worries until the bitter end.

“You do? But it’s already nighttime……. In any case, be careful of people wearing black robes and white masks, okay?”

“Priscilla. Camastros isn’t that kind of organization.”

“Huh?”

Priscilla blinked.

“I know a bit about Camastros, and I can tell you for certain that the bastards committing these crimes are the Black Fox, not Camastros. You’ll understand what I’m saying soon enough.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Those Black Fox bastards. They should all go to hell.”

Priscilla, who would believe it unconditionally even if Ianna had told her that the sun rose from the west, began cursing the Black Fox. Ianna gave her one last warning before leaving the room. She endured another bout of concerned nagging from the guards at the Institution gates before she finally made it outside.

Ianna walked into a visibly dark alley as soon as she exited the Institution grounds and was equipped with her Camastros gear when stepped back out.

Thwack!

She nimbly scaled a wall like a stray cat and climbed up to the rooftops. Smoke was rising up from chimneys as people prepared dinner. Ianna surveyed the ground below as she quickly leapt from roof to roof.

There were still people outside who falsely believed that they were completely safe from crime. There were a few who were in despair and simply didn’t care even if anything should happen to them. There were also those who were afraid of getting assaulted but had no choice but to work late into the evening. There were shops that had opened up now that it was nighttime because this was their normal hours of operation. There were those with their eyes peeled open, confident that they would manage to catch the criminals, and also those who decided to enjoy their evening, crime and criminals be damned.

Others yet had returned home and were spending a relaxing evening with their families. Some people were hungry and were eating a warm meal, and some might have even fallen deeply asleep in their cozy beds by now.

The dizzying world was filled with all kinds of people. And there were criminals who couldn’t have cared any less about the people they targeted…….

Anyone could be the victim of a crime. Evil drew its claws and picked its victims at random like criminals casting lots. There was surely a crime happening in some corner of the world somewhere even now. The hundred or so cruel knights who recklessly carried out the Black Fox’s will were a group of criminals that the average person could not possibly hope to stop.

Thud!

Ianna jumped from the roof of the tallest building in the area down to the back alleys and melted into the darkness. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart and closed her eyes as she drew in a deep breath so she could focus. She aroused the mana floating around aimlessly in her surroundings. With Ianna at its center, the mana that she influenced gently began to stir. Their vibrations aroused the other mana in the air, and that mana also began to hum faintly.

She felt a cluster of people’s presences. She ignored the presences of those who were simply walking along the roads. She was searching for the people who were grouped together in the slums. She found one such group not too long into her search and immediately ran toward them.

“P-please stop this!”

When she arrived, Ianna saw that two unidentified assailants had kicked down a third man and was trying to steal the wallet he was clutching in his arms. Ianna narrowed her eyes and looked into their faces. They were starkly white even in the darkness. Both assailants were wearing ugly white masks. She was lucky to have found two of them already.

“Please sirs, I need this money to feed my family. Please show me some mercy.”

“Shut up. That’s exactly why we’re robbing you.”

“Sob.”

The man burst into tears. His assailants stowed away his wallet in their own pockets before drawing the swords at their waists and pointing them at the man.

“Do you wanna die? Shut your mouth if you want to keep your life.”

“Hic.”

One assailant snickered as the man stopped crying and trembled.

“But it’s too late. We’ll tear out all your organs and sell them for you.”

“Wait, someone’s here!”

his colleague standing next to him shouted sharply.

‘They found me even though I only let out a little bit of my presence.’

They were probably Bahamut knights. If that was the case, then how strong were they? Ianna walked out from the darkness and appeared before them.

The men grew tense. They hadn’t noticed the bastard until he had already come so close. And the mysterious figure’s presence was still faint, like a ghost’s, even though he was standing right there. The white mask that the bastard was wearing was smooth, unlike the crude masks that had been distributed to them. The way the figure dragged across the ground, a contrast to how relatively animatedly they themselves were moving, felt somehow chilling. They stared back at the bastard tensely when a husky voice called out to them.

“Why does the nightingale sing?”

“Kill him!”

The assailants threw away the wallet when Ianna posed her question and grabbed their swords tightly with both hands. It was clear to them that she was a member of Camastros.

They had two courses of action to choose from should they run into a real member of Camastros: capture or murder. They were wolves who had wandered through countless battlefields, but they had instinctively realized that there was no way that they could capture their opponent alive. If the group who had started harassing the Black Fox were all as skilled as the bastard standing before them, then it was no wonder that the Black Fox, which had been working in the South relatively without problem until recently, had requested for the imperial family’s assistance.

One of the assailants fortified his blade as much as he could. He brought his sword down on his unmoving opponent like lightning, hoping to bisect the bastard. There was no hesitance in his actions whatsoever even as he gushed with his intent to kill his opponent. Ianna stared as she watched his sword follow through its course.

The world slowed down around her as she focused. A drop of water fell from one of the clotheslines strung across the rooftops, flattened as it hit against the ground, and seemed to seep into the earth before it bounced back up as if it had been repelled. Sewer rats dragged their feet along the earth as slowly as did sloths. The whispering wind was like an elderly servant carrying a pack on his back as he enjoyed the sights along his slow walk. Even the man swinging his sword down at her seemed to be moving so slowly she almost wondered if he was trying to prank her.

Ianna’s fortification extended past her blade like darting of a snake’s tongue. And it wriggled and surged like a striking snake.

Boooom!

The fortification that had been flung off from the man’s sword to where Ianna had been standing just an instant ago hit the wall and gouged out a chunk of the building.

Swish—

The time that the assailants had thought it would take to reach their opponent was forcibly cut short. The snake who had raised her head as she stared down at her prey had lunged. The snake’s head suddenly grew larger in the eyes of her prey. And so, Ianna approached one of the men. Just then, her sword buried into him from a direction that he never could have even imagined.

Swoosh!

The man immediately held his sword upright to block her surprise attack, but his efforts were in vain and Ianna’s blade broke his sword in two and severed his wrists like a woodcutter’s axe splitting wood.

“Ahhhh!”

The man screamed as he watched his hands, sent spinning from the momentum of the blow and flying into the air before they came back crashing down, wriggling on the ground. Blood erupted from his severed veins like lava from a volcano. He simply screamed, unable to do anything else, because his wounds hurt as if his blood really was lava and he was being burned. Ianna looked at his hands, which were flopping on the ground like a dying fish because their nerves were still alive, and smirked.

“And you weren’t even wearing transfiguration rings…….”

Swish!

The other man ignored the tragedy of his colleague suddenly losing his hands and tried to stab Ianna from behind. Ianna stepped aside and readily dodged him. The man opened his eyes wide —he hadn’t imagined that she would be able to evade his surprise attack. Ianna raised her arm and grabbed him by the back of his neck when he stumbled from the force of his own thrust and kneed him hard in the solar plexus.

“Kgh!”

She had kneed him so hard that gastric acid spilled from his lips. At the same time, Ianna moved her legs like a whip and kicked the man hard across the face as he lost his balance and collapsed.

Pooow!

His wooden mask cracked as the hard tip of her foot collided against his mouth, and his white teeth scattered about alongside his mask’s white splinters.

Craaash!

The man was sent flying and his back slammed against the wall. Cracks appeared on the sturdy brick wall like a spiderweb as it failed to withstand the force behind his momentum. The man fell down like a puppet whose strings had been cut alongside some crumbs from the wall. He spasmed as he frothed from the mouth, unable to endure the impact, while Ianna turned around and gently flicked her sword. At the tip of her blade was the man whose hands had been cut off as he tried to flee.

“Aack!”

Blood spattered into the air as Ianna’s fortification sliced across his back. Ianna caught him by the robes as he tripped, dragged him across the ground, and threw him on top of his unconscious colleague. There was no reason to drag things out for her own amusement. She already enjoyed letting her sword dance with Arhad’s, and she was currently in the middle of carrying out a mission.

“Ugh……ahhh…….”

The victim simply sat in place and trembled, unable to bring himself to flee and unable to even pick up his wallet with the money he was supposed to feed his family with. His crotch and the earth beneath him were moist and were starting to reek.

Ianna paid him no heed and took out a scroll from her pocket. A magic circle sprang out from the scroll as soon as she ripped it, and Ianna grabbed the two men by the hair and threw them inside it like they were pieces of luggage. The magic circle absorbed the two men like it was a living creature being fed and disappeared shortly thereafter.

Ianna stretched out her wrists and rolled her joints. The fifth strongest knight order under the imperial family’s direct command. They had risen to that rank due to their propensity for cruelty, but the Bahamut Empire revered the military arts, so they must surely be an organization of remarkable skill if they had ranked so highly. But they weren’t very difficult to deal with. Rather, Ianna thought that it was actually too easy to deal with them. Had she grown stronger?

In any event, things might be easy for now, but she could never know when she might be faced with an enemy as strong as her. She had taken the lesson to heart when she had underestimated Keigus Dimitri and had suffered for it, so she intended to always fight at her best no matter who her enemy was.

Moreover, Ianna wanted to know how strong she currently was. She had no way of knowing how much her skills had grown at the moment. She was seventeen now, and the seasons were changing from spring to summer —just as she was changing from a girl to a grown woman. She had yet to reach the height and weight she had achieved in the past, and her overworked muscles still had yet to fully ripen.

Her body had not fully matured yet either, and, while she was indeed growing stronger at a significantly faster pace than she had in the past, she could not yet be sure if she was as strong as she had been when she had been the second strongest person on the continent —second only to Arhad. She could not tell how she ranked in the world yet because she lacked practical experience battling against others.

She didn’t count the students in the Swordsmanship Department because they were too young, and she was reluctant to fight at her full strength against the professors who sparred with their students from time to time. On that front, the warriors from Bahamut who were soon to face her provided a good way for her to measure her current level of strength against because they were already officially ranked.

‘Does that mean I’m at least around fifth strongest in Bahamut……?’

“C-C-Cama…”

The man stiffened up like a frog sitting before a snake when Ianna’s frigid eyes fell upon him.

“Cama…stros…milord. P-p-please s-spare…….”

Ianna cleared away her thoughts and put away her bloodied sword as she turned to the frozen man who could barely manage to speak.

“We do not lay a finger against civilians.”

Tears of relief pooled in the man’s eyes when he heard what Ianna had said. They flowed down from his eyes and he hiccupped when he realized he would live.

“H-hic, t-then, are you not with Camastros……?”

“No, I am. But we only fight the Black Fox. Do not be deceived. It is the Black Fox, not us, who have been committing all these crimes as of late.”

Ianna cast one last look at the man who had slumped to the ground while sobbing before she melted into the night, which had grown even darker now, and left the scene. She returned to the rooftops as she ran around in search of more prey. She would have to keep this up for the next week.

If the Black Fox decided to dirty Camastros’ name and turn the people’s ire on them, then Camastros would use it to their benefit. They would simply change their reputation like flipping over a hand now that Camastros’ name had spread far and wide.

The other members of Camastros were carrying out the same exact mission as Ianna. Rumors spread from ear to ear as quickly as a panther racing across open fields. If they saved the Black Fox’s victims and told them the truth, then the victims would be quick to spit out that truth to their closest friends and family. Their story would be credible, as they had actually experienced it directly, and their loved ones would further spread their story to their acquaintances.

It was said that rumors took on lives of their own. The rumors would begin overlapping with each other and become more credible as they saved more victims. And with additional support from Arhad’s informants, they could overturn the rumors in but an instant. All they needed was a week.

They would save victims from Black Fox members who were impersonating Camastros and tell them the truth. And they would stash the culprits somewhere using their portal scrolls so they could all be publicly executed.

Naturally, this was only possible because Camastros was stronger than the Knights of Grundewalz. Ianna began to grow suspicious. Things were easy enough for her, but how were the other members of Camastros faring?

Their members were working in teams. Even the executives were acting in pairs —the spirit-user Giselle was paired with Caesar, the martial arts master, and the archer Van was paired with Rust, a weapons expert. Gold, while a member of Camastros, was rear support —more a manager for their funds and a researcher of magics and weapons than a combatant—, and Shawn had opted out of battle because he was in charge of managing their information and acting as an advisor.

Ianna was a part of Giselle and Caesar’s team. She was supposed to partner up with Arhad because she was under his direct command, but Arhad had stopped working for the moment. This was because he risked being discovered if Bahamut had dispatched a beneficiary of the Demon’s fragments.

He disliked the idea of putting Ianna in harm’s way, but he also knew that he could not keep her snug and protected forever. She needed more battle experience before they faced off against the Bahamut Empire for real. And so, instead of keeping Ianna close like a precious treasure and souring her mood by limiting her independence, he had chosen to utilize her skills for maximum efficiency. He had told her that he had faith in her skills and trusted her to act on Camastros’ behalf. There was little point in explaining just how happy Ianna had been to hear it.

“Welcome back, Ann.”

Giselle greeted Ianna at the place where they had promised to rendezvous. The mute Caesar also nodded at her.

She didn’t let it show, but Ianna was glad to be in the same team as Caesar and Giselle. After all, they were both summoners capable of calling on the spirits. Learning more about the spirits was like trying to pluck a star from the heavens, and it gave Ianna a good opportunity to ask them about the spirits.

It pricked at her heart when she thought about Arhad, but there was nothing she could do about it. Ianna needed the spirits. She needed them for herself, and she also needed them to share a genuine liege-and-knight relationship with Arhad. But for now, she needed to grow closer to her colleagues because she was still awkward around them, and she needed to focus on the mission at hand.

Things started to take effect four days after Camastros had started actively working again. Rumors were spreading all throughout the capital.

“I heard that it’s the Black Fox, not Camastros.”

“They say that Camastros was established to oppose the Black Fox.”

“And most of Camastros’ members have grudges against the Back Fox, or something like that?”

“Then again, it’s only natural that so many people would hate them, considering everything the Black Fox has been doing until now. It’s no wonder that an organization like Camastros exists.”

“Gosh, they’re so cool. I hope things work out for them.”

Aside from the more recent rumors, Camastros had never laid their hands against ordinary civilians before. Rather, though it probably wasn’t their intention, they had rescued people who were being persecuted by the Black Fox more often than not as the two organizations exchanged blows.

The people who had been rescued from the Black Fox during the slave auction and those who had been helped out by Camastros in even the smallest of ways had kept their mouths shut as the public opinion of Camastros dropped even though they had found the circumstances strange. But they spoke of their stories freely now that Camastros had returned to the public’s favor. And so, Camastros’ public image had instantly turned for the positive.

There were still people who viewed them in a pessimistic light, of course. They wondered that, if the recent spike in crime was a result of the two organizations clashing, then weren’t innocent bystanders getting hurt for no reason?

Those who liked the status quo disliked Camastros for provoking the Black Fox. The Black Fox had been notorious for ages —since even before the eldest of elders were children and before even the elders’ grandfathers were children. The Black Fox was terrifying, and people didn’t want the Black Fox to grow angry.

In addition, those who did business through the Black Fox or enjoyed the pleasantries the Black Fox had to offer took offense at Camastros as well.

“Our target is Camastros, a group that refuses to make itself public.”

Steam billowed out from an expensive round cup.

“The civilians are cursing at us like they mean to take up their weapons to eliminate us at any moment now, but, save for the few who forgot what fear is, most of them will be too scared to step up. Besides, they’ll resent Camastros more for disturbing the beehive if we ramp up our activities because of them. Everyone knows that Camastros won’t harass civilians no matter how much the civilians resent them. And once Camastros is out of the picture, they’ll all shut up and bow before our might again. They’ve been doing it for so long already that they’re used to it, after all.”

Formido furrowed his brows at the horrid stench coming from the tea Payne was drinking, but Payne ignored him and gulped down his poisonous tea. He continued,

“Every last rotten noble will oppose them without fail. They have a lot to hide, and they receive a lot of benefit from having us around, you see. And there are also a few bastards who see us as a necessary evil. No other violent organization can form while we’re still around, and they think all will be fine and dandy as long as they can keep us happy.”

“Hmmm.”

“So just keep doing as you have been. You don’t need to impersonate Camastros anymore, since that cat’s already out of the bag. Reduce the number of casualties your order has been taking.”

“Does that mean we can wreak havoc in the capital? What if the royal family’s soldiers start moving?”

“We have connections to the royal family, so that won’t happen. Though I suppose it’s possible that the Second Prince Schneider might start acting independently. In any event, this isn’t that big of a deal. Though……it’s true that I hadn’t planned for this.”

Payne narrowed his eyes and slammed his cup down so hard against his saucer that they clattered. He continued,

“I didn’t expect this. I was trying to get Schneider to wash his hands of Camastros after we dragged them down to our level, but the rumors flipped in just a matter of days. Is Camastros stronger than I thought? I thought that you guys would be at least as strong as Camastros, if not stronger, and that’s what I’d planned around.”

“We were never specialized to fight our enemies one-on-one to begin with. We typically use raids or surprise attacks, or sometimes we strike the enemy from behind, regroup, and come back to finish them off. Didn’t you know this?”

“I didn’t think that one of the strongest knight orders among the many working under the empire would take so many losses.”

“It wasn’t until we faced them directly that we found out they were something special. I can see why they were giving the Black Fox such a tough time. The bastards are a cut more skilled than we are. I’d say they’re about the same level as the Knights of Srinina, the fourth-ranking knight order in our empire.”

He had already lost over twenty men in just a few days. Even Grundewalz was faring poorly against them.

“Arrrgh!”

Formido was tapping at the table when he turned to the door the scream had come from.

“Still, it’s not like we haven’t gained anything in return. Didn’t I bring back a few of them alive?”

“You did. As expected of one of the strongest knights in the empire. We’ve never managed to catch any of them alive before, but you’ve succeeded in the task already.”

“It’s wasn’t that difficult —the Black Fox dispersed out, so they had no choice but to scatter too.”

Slam.

Margarita slammed the door open and walked out shortly after the scream had died down. The stench of blood wafted out from the room behind her. She ripped off her bloodstained gloves in irritation and threw them on the floor. Then, she stomped her way over to where Payne and Formido were sitting and plopped down on a chair next to them.

“One of the three died.”

“They’re precious resources —what did you kill him off for?”

“I had no choice. Torture wasn’t working —I tried prodding here and there but they seemed to be under a lot of taboos……. But there are a few things I’ve learned. First, their masks don’t come off no matter what. You have to rip off their faces if you want to take their masks off.”

“Were they imbued with magic? Can’t you just destroy them?”

“They seem to have been enchanted by an extremely skilled mage. It’s vexing, but I don’t think they can be destroyed.”

Payne furrowed his brow in disbelief.

“Even you can’t destroy them, Margarita?”

“I tried to destroy one of their masks because the bastard wouldn’t take it off himself, and it made my mana flow in reverse. And that’s not all. I tried to cast a spell on him to make him talk, but I was heavily repelled. There was a psychic spell cast over his entire brain —it resisted me and tried to protect him when I attempted to force through it, but then it destroyed his entire cerebral cortex when it reached its limits. That’s why he died. Ugh, this hurts my pride.”

Margarita was one of the strongest mages in the empire. And yet, she had failed to destroy a spell that some other mage had cast. Margarita shrugged. She continued,

“So, yeah. We should keep in mind that this mage might be a Demon’s fragment beneficiary.”

“Should we report back on this matter?”

“Let’s wait a bit longer for now. Wouldn’t you be the first to get killed off if we report back unconfirmed information to the masters? Besides, I may not be an owner, but I am a shareholder……. I’ll see if I can figure something out. Please prepare me a lot of materials for my experiments. Oh, and…”

A peculiar light flashed across Margarita’s eyes. She continued,

“Is Eiji doing his job properly? He’s an informant, but he’s barely sniffed out any intel on Camastros at all —shouldn’t he be disciplined for that?”

“I told you before, but it’s difficult to pin the blame on him. And we’ve avoided disaster more than a few times because of the information he’s brought back before too.”

“Hmph. I still don’t like it.”

Margarita crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes. She continued,

“He’s heard that I’m here and he still hasn’t come to see me even once, you know? My patience in starting to run dry.”

Payne smirked and sipped at his tea, which had cooled off considerably by now.

“I wouldn’t want to see you again either, were I in his shoes.”

~~*~~

After six days —the Black Fox had stopped impersonating Camastros in less than a week. Camastros had captured about thirty of their number. They had stopped impersonating Camastros after that, but who knew what sorts of schemes they were planning next?

Ianna had grown closer to Giselle and Caesar over the past few days. She conversed a lot with Giselle in particular, and she found that Giselle was a very cheerful person. Giselle, who had said that she enjoyed laying on grassy hills to look up at the stars, smelled fragrant like the dawn, and walking with Giselle made Ianna feel like she was taking a walk in a lush forest. It was a very refreshing feeling.

“If you don’t mind, Giselle, may I ask you about the spirits? You’re free to refuse if my questions are overstepping any boundaries,”

Ianna asked gingerly now that they had some time to spare because the Knights of Grundewalz weren’t causing mayhem. Giselle stared back at Ianna, taking note of how earnest she was. It didn’t seem like Ianna had any ill intentions behind her question. She didn’t see Ann as a malicious person.

Giselle felt something strange whenever she was with Ianna. She was certain that Ianna was human, based on how Ianna talked, but being with her made Giselle feel nostalgic, like she was being held in her mother’s embrace. It was a different feeling from being reassured because her colleague was strong.

What a strange person. Giselle tilted her head to the side.

“I can tell you what I know. What are you curious about?”

“Is it possible for humans to summon a spirit?”

“Hmmm…….”

Giselle furrowed her brows. Ianna grew a little disappointed to see her frown. Giselle’s attitude made it seem like it would be impossible for humans to summon the spirits. But Giselle’s response exceeded her expectations.

“Would you know about divine power by any chance? It……is possible for humans to summon a spirit, but it’s difficult to explain how if you don’t know about divine power. I can’t tell you if you don’t know.”

“That’s not a problem. I know about it.”

Giselle was distancing herself from humanity. In other words, she was a member of the mythical races. But asking about each other’s identity was forbidden within Camastros, so Ianna put aside her curiosity about Giselle and pulled her divine power into her finger.

A flame of crimson divine power blossomed from her thumb like a lit match. Giselle stared at her divine power in alarm. And she was immediately captivated. It gave her relief, like she had found the light of a lighthouse while she had been roaming the dark and stormy seas; it gave her warmth, like she had found a bonfire just before she froze to death; and it gave her comfort, like she was sitting around a fireplace with her beloved family.

“And I also know how to control it.”

Giselle snapped back to her senses when Ianna spoke and shook her head. She had no idea why she was acting like this.

“That’s truly amazing. In that case, I’ll tell you. To start with the conclusion, humans are capable of summoning spirits as well. It’s difficult for humans to control divine power because their hearts pull at their divine power so strongly. And humans have so little of it that most don’t even realize it’s even there unless they have an incredibly strong degree of control over themselves. But anyone can call on a spirit so long as they can control divine power and feel nature.”

“What does it mean to feel nature?”

“It means exactly that. Do you feel the cool breeze blowing around us as we speak?”

Giselle raised her hands and gently moved her fingers as if she was feeling the texture of the wind, and Ianna followed suit. The wind was blowing directly at them, and it swirled around her fingers. Ianna nodded.

“That’s what it means to feel nature. Now, watch carefully. I’ll call forth a spirit shaped like a cloud as I imagine how the cool breeze feels.”

Divine power extended out from Giselle’s fingertips. It spread out into the air before it began bunching the air together. Then, a spirit shaped like a round and fluffy cloud appeared before her.

“I called forth a spirit while thinking about the cool breeze we just felt. This is a small and cute wind spirit who can cause a breeze to blow even when there’s no wind.”

The cloud-shaped spirit spun circles around Giselle as it teased at her robes with a breeze.

“But nature can feel like all kinds of things. If I imagine how a typhoon with winds strong enough to rip out trees feels, then I can call forth a wind spirit capable of causing a typhoon. If I imagine how the rich earth of fertile farmlands feels, then I can call forth an earth spirit capable of enriching the earth.”

Giselle smiled from beneath her mask when Ianna nodded back in understanding.

“If you understand how nature feels, then you can draw your divine power outside your body as if you’re stuffing it back inside nature as you imagine what kind of shape you want the spirit you summoned to take. Then, you’ll be able to summon any kind of spirit you’d like.”

Ianna repeated what Giselle had told her multiple times to herself before she stowed the information away in her head.

“Any spirit I’d like……?”

Ianna looked a little embarrassed. She continued,

“I don’t know too many spirits —is there somewhere I can get that information?”

“Information?”

“An acquaintance of mine summoned a mole-shaped earth spirit named Tamatan and a fire spirit named Helghetti that looked like embers. Those are the only two I know.”

Giselle burst out laughing.

“You are mistaken. Spirits are born the moment you summon them.”

“Pardon?”

“There are only four real spirits in the world. The Spirit Kings Innis, Towe, Kagomyne, and Shweia. The spirits I showed you how to summon are simply a part of them. If you summon a spirit by feeling nature as I just taught you and give them a name, then that spirit will remember the form and name you gave them. And they will be born as a new being. They are still a part of their respective spirit king, but they are also new spirits who are like the spirit kings’ children. And the same spirit will be summoned the next time you call their name.”

“Oh…….”

“I think Helghetti and Tamatan are spirits that were created by this acquaintance of yours. I’ve never heard of them before.”

The cloud-shaped spirit that had been circling around Giselle grew hazy, perhaps because it had consumed most of the divine power Giselle had given it. Giselle waved back at it. The spirit circled around her hand one last time before it disappeared.

“Spirits vanish after their summoning is over if you don’t give them a name. It won’t remember you even if you summon another spirit that looks exactly like it the next time you call one. It’s better to give your spirits a name if you want to be friends with them.”

“Can you summon spirits that were named by someone else?”

“Of course. There are some people who call on spirits that were created and named by their predecessors if they have a difficult time training their imagination. But in any event, there are countless different spirits all throughout the world because this is how they are called forth.”

“How mysterious.”

Giselle giggled brightly as if she was having fun talking about the spirits.

“Oh, and you can talk to the spirits too. Spirits grow more intelligent if you supply them more divine power, so you should give them ample if you want to try talking to them.”

“Hmm……. Is there some kind of incantation you use when summoning a spirit?”

“Did you hear me say anything when I called the cloud spirit here just earlier? All you need is the will to call them. You can call them silently, but some people say things like, “Appear!” or, “Come to me!” because it’s easier to express your will more strongly when you say it out loud. Still, I would dissuade you from trying to summon a spirit if you’re a human, Ann.”

Giselle looked back at Ianna in all seriousness once she had stopped giggling. Then, she asked,

“I’m sure you can guess what my race is, yes?”

“……Yes.”

“Most humans can’t live for even a hundred years. But my lifespan is ten times that —a thousand years. Divine power can also be called one’s lifespan, and that’s how much of it I have. The hearts of the mythical races have a much looser grip on divine power than human hearts do, so it’s easier for me to handle my divine power as I please. And that’s why the mythical races are able to live alongside the spirits. The divine power you showed me before……. That was about three days’ worth.”

Ianna’s hair stood on end. It was chilling to hear it expressed as such a concrete number. Giselle advised,

“I can understand why you might be curious. You know how to use divine power, Ann, so it’ll probably okay even you want to try summoning a cute little spirit just once. But humans cannot live alongside the spirits. Please take this to heart, Ann.”

But Ianna had already made her resolve.

She went into the forest once she had parted ways with Giselle. There was no one out on a nighttime stroll these days because everything was so chaotic. The chirping insects quieted as Ianna walked past them. The moon followed after her and lit up her path through the filter of the leaves.

She stopped when she had reached a desolate place where she couldn’t feel the presence of life at all. Then, she got down to her knees and placed her hands across the earth. She found herself a bit at a loss. Towe was a spirit king who was essentially everything the earth was, so how should she call him?

‘Will this really work?’

Ianna rubbed her fingers across the dirt as she did her best to feel the earth. The dirt felt soft beneath her fingers. Ianna conjured the image of the mud doll that Towe always took the form of as she gently poured out her divine power as if she was imbuing it into the dirt.

‘Come before me, Towe.’

The earth absorbed her divine power like it was soaking up water when Ianna manifested her will. Then, a similar phenomenon as to when Finn summoned a spirit began to happen. The only difference was that the spirit didn’t enter her body and gnaw away at the divine power in her heart.

[Ianna!]

Towe ran up to her as soon as he was summoned and hugged her knee tight. He was so affectionate, as if he had finally reunited with a lover he had parted with.

[You finally called me again. But I strongly felt that you wanted to see me when I was summoned……by any chance, did you…?]

“I’m able to call you now.”

[You know how to use divine power now!]

Towe jumped around while flailing his stubby arms before he crumbled into dirt, unable to hold back his joy. He reformed his mud doll body soon enough and tugged Ianna’s fingers tight in his arms.

[We always felt bad since it felt like we were stealing your divine power because we wanted to see you so much. It feels really good when you give me divine power to call me with.]

Ianna choked with the realization that someone loved her so much as she saw how terribly overjoyed Towe was. Then, she grew curious as to how the spirits saw her because they were so open about their affections for her. Ianna tapped against Towe’s head.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call you —something came up.”

[It’s all right. Life is precious. We’re practically asleep when you don’t call for us, so don’t worry about us and call us when you need us. But…Shweia was stirring up a fuss about why he’s the only one you haven’t called yet. If you know how to summon spirits now, it’d be nice if you could call Shweia, who oversees the wind, at least once too.]

“All right. I’ll make sure to do that.”

[But why did you call me today?]

“Oh, I just wanted to see you since I’ve learned how to summon spirits……. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d manage to do it on my first try. I don’t really have any special reason for calling you today.”

[I’m so happy!]

Towe jumped up and down on Ianna’s thighs. Ianna gently rubbed against his soft little head.

“Do you remember how I’d asked you to tell me stories about the Holy Age?”

[I do. But we didn’t have enough time to go over them.]

“I know how to call you guys now, so I’m planning to keep calling you whenever I can starting next month. I’d like to listen to your stories when I do.”

It was the beginning of June. The Institution’s regular semester was coming to a close, and its summer session was about to begin. Ianna was planning to go visit Absilot over the summer, but she wanted to listen to the spirits’ stories along the way.

Ianna had used to think that her previous incarnation didn’t mean much to her, but Roberstein’s existence had become more significant to her ever since that day. Her previous incarnation was simply like an appendage to her, and yet she could not bring it up as freely as she pleased.

[Do you mean we can keep meeting with you? I’m really happy. I’ll be sure to tell the others too.]

Ianna stared down at Towe silently as he held her hand and adorably moved around his little head. As befitting of a spirit of earth, Towe’s temperament was as calm and understanding as the earth itself, from which all creation blossomed in life and to which all creation would return into the embrace of when their lives came to an end. He was a colossal existence that contrasted with the complicated world of man. The spirits had special vision —they did not see with the naked eye—, and they were able to evaluate everything’s worth with their special vision. Ianna thought she would feel a little rueful if the spirits only loved her as much as they did because of Roberstein’s influence.

“How do I appear to you, Towe?”

[Hmm?]

The hand that Towe was holding felt warm and snug. Ianna looked to Towe, who was quietly gazing back at her, and slowly continued,

“I am me. Nobody else.”

[Indeed.]

“I don’t wish to let myself be influenced by any external factors that I myself didn’t want for. I want to live my life in accordance to the choices that I myself will make. But Roberstein……that god always makes me feel uncertain.”

Lebony had said that she had hated and despised her so because Ianna had stolen that god’s divine power from her. Ianna had never wanted to be hated by Lebony. Ianna had tried to learn how to control divine power, only to learn that she couldn’t control it normally because, unlike everyone else, she had some kind of wall around her heart. She had never wanted for this either. Ianna had tried to learn more about Roberstein so she could solve these problems, but Arhad had been against the idea because the knowledge might affect their relationship. This was also not something Ianna had wanted. The fact that she had been reborn into her current life was yet another thing that Ianna had never wanted.

But she had not been devoured. Rather, she had heroically determined that she would be the one to completely devour Roberstein instead. And yet……right now, Ianna felt like she would be a little sad —even if she pretended otherwise— if someone loved her not because she was Ianna but because of Roberstein’s influence. She almost felt like she was putting the cart before the horse.

“Tell me what you see in me, Towe.”

Towe stared up at Ianna without a word for a moment before he slowly began to speak.

[You told me yourself that Roberstein may have been your past incarnation. And it’s true —you may have once been Roberstein in the long distant past.]

“And?”

[At first, I was surprised but happy that your divine power tasted similar to Roberstein’s. But whenever we meet you now, the person we pour our love out to is not Roberstein, who may have been your past, but you, who simply happens to have once been Roberstein.]

Towe pat against Ianna’s hand.

[Spirits can see through the true nature of everything that lives. Virtue and vice, purity and filth, strength and frailty……. We see only a person’s true nature and we deal with them recklessly. We love you because you are the kind of person we love. We would not have loved you if you were evil or weak. Roberstein has nothing to do with it.]

Towe jumped up and hugged Ianna tight when she didn’t respond.

[Roberstein is now simply another part of you. We love you, Ianna. We really love you.]

Ianna continued to sit still in silence. Towe hugged her gently with his tiny body as if he was comforting her. She had only met them a few times now, but the spirits were all so bright and honest. So honest, in fact, that she could see right through them. And they loved her innocently even when she hadn’t purposefully tried to win their love. They simply saw her for who she was.

And it truly made Ianna happy. A radiant and genuine smile graced her lips.

~~*~~

Part 4

The Black Fox had started committing crimes out in the open once the rumors had magnified, and it became impossible for them to impersonate Camastros. They were committing crimes wantonly and for no reason, such as coming out of nowhere to wreak havoc on a store, pulling random passersby off the streets and beating them to a bloody pulp, and kidnapping no small number of regular people without warning. They did what they had always done in the dark of night. The only difference was that they didn’t call themselves the Black Fox.

And so, the situation had grown more dire than it had been when they were impersonating Camastros. They were committing so many crimes that even criminals who weren’t affiliated with the Black Fox had started committing crimes indiscriminately.

It was difficult to blindly curse the Black Fox now that the situation had devolved to this. Most of the crimes were committed by the Black Fox, of course, but it would spell trouble if someone pinned the blame on the Black Fox and were proven wrong.

There had been one knight who had dragged a member of the Black Fox to the police station as the suspect for a crime. But the prison in the police station cellars had been opened within a day of the Black Fox member’s arrest, and all the criminals inside had escaped. And the knight’s household had fallen to ruin in but an instant.

“We will punish the bastards who treat our innocent members as criminals!”

was what the members of the Black Fox were saying.

The citizens were growing more anxious as the situation worsened and they looked to the kingdom to do something, but, strangely enough, the Roanne military had yet to budge.

“We must take the opportunity to eliminate every last one of them!”

“They are making light of Roanne!”

Multiple opinions denouncing the Black Fox and stating that they must be subdued had been filed over the past few days in the cabinet meetings. Those nobles who had hated the Black Fox to begin with stuck adamantly to the opinion that all criminals should be arrested for being members of the Black Fox, with or without evidence, in one fell swoop because the crime rate had spiked so sharply.

‘Did those Black Fox bastards lose their minds?’

‘What the hell are they doing?’

Those nobles who were colluding with the Black Fox could not hide their discomfort as they, who had used to keep to the shadows, suddenly began operating in broad daylight like they were high on drugs or something. The Black Fox was both a secret source of money and a convenient chess piece to resolve dirty matters with. They were also an excellent source of entertainment. Like women, drugs, or gambling.

Luria was one of those nobles.

“What the hell have you been doing these days?”

Luria failed to hold back her uneasiness before the fat man in blue robes with his hood covering his head.

Luria was the third princess of the Kingdom of Begoisha. The Kingdom of Begoisha was a small buffer state in the southeast that was surrounded by Tirkal, Sonya, Zalbates, and Morian. She was a kingdom in name, but was practically as a colony to the four countries surrounding her because she had to pay tribute to all four. As the humble third princess of a small and weak kingdom, Luria had been constantly humiliated and disgraced by the royalty and nobility of the surrounding four kingdoms.

‘Just you wait!’

Luria wanted to take vengeance on those who had humiliated her. But it was impossible for her to achieve her vengeance alone. She was not clever, nor was she charismatic enough to draw people to her. The only thing she had was her bewitching appearance. And the king of Begoisha had offered her to the king of Roanne as soon as the aging king had taken an interest in her.

The king had started taking an interest in younger women over his aging queen, and Luria had been but one of his many playthings. Luria had nearly fallen into depression, but she had quickly snapped back to her senses. She was spiteful in her greed and selfishness.

And a certain organization had taken notice of that and had approached her —the Black Fox.

The Black Fox had taught her how to seduce the king, had helped make her more beautiful, and had given her everything she lacked, like power and money. She had then become the king’s favorite concubine, had given birth to the crown prince, and had received gifts from the king that were so expensive they made her heart tremble.

Luria was where she was now precisely because of the Black Fox’s assistance. She was wholly reliant on the Black Fox, and she was always terrified that they might abandon her. And she grew so anxious that she didn’t know what to do with herself, like now, whenever they were acting strangely. This would continue until her son, Fernando, took the throne. Which was why Luria wanted to make Fernando king as quickly as possible.

“We will promise you, so please just accept our gifts for now, Your Highness.”

The fat man pushed a jewelry box at her. Luria’s gaze was drawn to it. The smooth surfaces of the jewels inside glistened like a meteor shower when he opened the box with his hefty hand. He continued,

“It’s a diamond necklace with a pink diamond as its centerpiece. It is dwarven-made.”

Luria stared greedily at the sparkling jewelry before she returned to her senses and glared at the man.

“Do I look like I’d be interested in jewels right now? Do you know how much trouble I’ve been going through to stop Schneider and his clique from dispatching the military to rip out these recent crimes from their roots?”

“You are admirable, Your Highness. Please continue to work hard for us.”

“I’m telling to you tell me why the hell you’re making such a mess of things right now! And give me some justification for stopping Schneider!”

Luria shouted as she slammed down at the table. She continued,

“It makes me uneasy that I don’t know why you’re doing this. Don’t you know that I’ll lose the public’s favor if my faction stops the military from being dispatched while you’re acting up like this?”

“Please don’t pay the insects any heed. Things will go back to normal once we solve our little problem with Camastros.”

Luria scowled.

“What even is Camastros?”

“We’ve taken quite a few losses thanks to Camastros. Our profits have decreased by almost a fifth.”

“A fifth?”

A fifth wasn’t very much in Luria’s mind. Were they making such a big deal out of thing because of something so small? The man clicked his tongue and continued his explanation when Luria clamped her mouth shut and didn’t say a word.

“Do you know what the Black Fox’s annual profits are? It’s more than three years’ worth of Roanne’s national budget. A fifth of that is a sizeable amount.”

Luria dropped her jaw in shock. Three years’ worth of Roanne’s budget —the man before her was uttering nonsense. The man sneered at her stupidity for a moment before he bowed to her from the waist.

“Are you aware of how far-reaching our businesses are, Your Highness? We mainly operate in the shadows, but we also have a hand in some of the more profitable businesses, like weapons dealing. And we operate world-wide.”

“…….”

“But those bastards started to get in our way a few years ago. All of the bases and markets they’ve raided were destroyed, and our regular members began deserting when they started killing off our executives. And other bastards crawled into our market space when our business operations were paralyzed. Do you understand what this means? Camastros is sabotaging us intentionally, and the bastards who are taking over our markets are either Camastros’ supporters or Camastros themselves.

The man audibly ground his teeth together.

“We earn much more from Roanne than we do from anywhere else. We must not lose our grip on Roanne. But the bastards have made Roanne their stronghold, and they’ve been causing us quite the headache. They must have excellent sources of information, considering that they’ve been destroying our bases one after another, and they’ve been keeping our workers from working properly.”

“Can’t you deal with them on your end?”

“They’re like rats in how good they are at hit-and-run tactics……and it’s come to the point where we have no choice but to turn to you, Your Highness, the nobles under your banner, and the general public.”

“…….”

Luria may be wicked, but she knew fully well that it was not to her advantage to keep the Black Fox on her side. There were many nobles in Roanne who despised the Black Fox, and one small misstep could cause them all to turn their backs on her.

“Allow me to tell you why we have no choice but to ask you to step up, Your Highness Luria.”

The man hammered his point home when Luria simply frowned but didn’t say a word.

“Camastros is being sponsored by Prince Schneider.”

Luria’s hands quivered. The man continued,

“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“Are you saying that the bastard knows that I’m working with you people? Is he sponsoring Camastros because he’s trying to undermine my influence?!”

“That, I couldn’t say. But it will affect you too, Your Highness Luria, if we continue to suffer losses because of them.”

“Then what would you have me do?”

Now they were talking. The man smirked from beneath his robes.

“The notoriety we’ve been building up for ages isn’t simply for show. Please use that to your advantage. And please have the other nobles who are conspiring with you assist you on the matter.”

“What are you trying to say? Are you in your right mind? You wish to eliminate Camastros?”

Schneider slammed his hands down on the conference table as he stood up. The eight-year-old Prince Linus took fright as Schneider expressed his wrath from directly next to him. Unlike Linus, Fernando, who was sitting directly next to the king, ignored Schneider outright and apathetically continued,

“You are the one who is speaking out of turn. You don’t have proof that the Black Fox was impersonating Camastros, and neither do you have any proof that it was the Black Fox that made the situation what it is today. Can you not see how irresponsible it is to recklessly confront an organization as large as the Black Fox without any proof?”

“Do you mean to say that this isn’t the Black Fox’s work?”

“We must not ignore the possibility that it might not be.”

Schneider irritably handed the documents strewn in front of him off to a servant who had been on standby. The servant took the documents and handed them to Fernando. Fernando looked through the documents and frowned.

“I’ve apprehended around fifteen confirmed culprits and searched their bodies. They all had black fox tattoos on them, meaning that they were members of the Black Fox. And they were all arrested for different incidents. Isn’t this more than enough to prove that the Black Fox is masterminding the situation?”

Fernando groaned.

“If it truly is the Black Fox as you say, then why do you think that they’ve been making such a fuss as of late? They used to keep quiet and only harass a few citizens —is it not because Camastros provoked them that they’re acting up? The Black Fox may be infamous for their vengeance, but they never laid a hand against our police knights until Camastros showed up. They never wanted to clash against the kingdom.”

“And?”

“But the knights who arrested the bastards recently all died violent and unnatural deaths.”

“So what?”

Schneider quipped back constantly as if he didn’t understand what Fernando was getting at, causing the crown prince to snap and irritably say,

“The Black Fox will quiet down if we get rid of Camastros. The Black Fox has been around for centuries, but they’ve always co-existed with other countries just fine until now.”

“Then, does Your Highness mean to say that you’ll simply sit back and watch while a criminal organization commits crimes in our kingdom? That would be no different from actively working with them.”

Fernando cleared his throat.

“We won’t be working with them —we would be making compromises with the reality of the situation. The Black Fox has always existed everywhere. We can’t even estimate how powerful they truly are. I would rather we not meddle with active bombs. The bastards will keep quiet if we do too.”

“Why don’t you try saying something sensible for a change? Do you really think they’ve been keeping quiet?”

Schneider glared daggers at Fernando.

“Are you saying that you don’t know how much of Roanne’s wealth they’ve been smuggling away all this time? Are you saying that you don’t know how badly they’re affecting the people’s lives with their drug dealing and human trafficking? Are you truly saying that you don’t know how horribly they’ve been crushing our people underfoot and how many of our people bear terrible grudges against them?”

“…….”

“Camastros is the only anti-Black Fox organization that had been actively opposing them despite everything. And you’re saying that you would not only fail to help foster this sapling of hope that’s finally taken root —but that you’d even trample it underfoot? The status quo dictates that the Black Fox is given free reign to do as they please, and it is actually abnormal for Camastros to oppose them. I’m sure you’re only saying what you’ve said because you aren’t aware of just how much the Black Fox’s operations have been hindered by Camastros.”

“Hindered? You think the Black Fox is being hindered right now?”

“Even a rat will bite the cat before it when it’s life is in danger. The Black Fox would have ordinarily confronted Camastros directly and settled things on their own terms, so why is it that you think they’ve starting to try to influence the public sentiment? It’s because Camastros is that much of a threat to them.”

“Then what would you have us do? Would you rather we let Camastros and the Black Fox fight it out amongst themselves? Even when our people are suffering as we speak?”

“It should be obvious that the royal family should dispatch the military to eliminate the Black Fox at once. This is our best opportunity to chase them out of Roanne altogether.”

“You are suggesting that we make complete enemies out of the Black Fox. I never knew you were so ignorant of world affairs, tut tut.”

Fernando tired of debating with Schneider and leaned back against his chair. Schneider was a progressive, while Fernando was conservative. Schneider was the type to take big risks to win big gains, whereas Fernando was the type to accept smaller gains in exchange for fewer risks. The two of them had always been destined to clash like oil and water.

Also, Fernando was in a position where he must neither take the Black Fox’s side nor allow them to come to any more harm. The Black Fox had been working with Luria since even before Fernando had been born. They were like his own skeleton, as they were the ones who had made everything that he was possible to begin with.

“Other organizations weren’t able to commit organized crime while the Black Fox dominated the underworld. They haven’t been completely useless.”

“So do you mean to say that we should leave them be because they are a necessary evil? That we should eliminate Camastros, the group that is trying to take out the cancer that is the Black Fox, instead? How does that even make any sense? I cannot possibly allow today’s agenda to pass.”

Two long ivory tables had been laid out side-by-side, and the king was staring down at both of them from his seat on the throne. Sitting at the head of the table to the right was Fernando, the crown prince, and sitting at the head of the table to the left were the other two princes, Schneider and Linus. Sitting between both tables were the three dukes, Marquises Claude and Owen, who both worked in the capital, ten counts with large territories, and a few viscounts who were powerful enough to sit in the cabinet.

Harios, the king who had been watching over his sons’ dispute, finally spoke up.

“There is reason to your words, Schneider, but what Fernando is saying isn’t nonsense either. It is true that the Black Fox has never caused a problem this large until now. And, while they are indeed a criminal organization, they are also a legitimate business. They are unrivaled in weapons dealing, so we cannot recklessly make enemies of them.”

Schneider’s eyes sharpened. The king had completely lost his former glory. His father, who had once spearheaded the war against Bahamut for several years before achieving a ceasefire twenty-two years ago, now spent all his time in the arms of vulgar women.

Schneider’s darkening gaze travelled down the king’s visibly sickly countenance before trailing farther down and stopping at the layer of fat bulging over of the king’s belt. Where had the man who had once been called the Valiant Silver Lion gone? Did all men end up like this when they aged?

“Still, it is also true that we cannot simply sit still and do nothing while these ruffians make a mess of our kingdom. It would harm Roanne’s national dignity. What do my ministers think of this?”

Schneider glared at the nobles who had been as silent as mice until now.

“Please allow me to express my humble opinion, Your Royal Highness the Second Prince. Please consider this matter in a more realistic light.”

Marquis Owen bowed toward Schneider. Marquis Owen was the representative of the nobles in Luria’s faction.

“Then what would you say is realistic?”

“I am sure that you know best that the Black Fox is powerful enough to be considered a large country of its own, Your Highness. They will survive in other countries even if we chase them out of Roanne. But doing so would foster a grudge against Roanne in them. I believe that it is unwise to provoke them unless we are strong enough to rip out the roots they have planted all across the continent.”

“I would agree. While I am certain that our kingdom’s knights would be able to resolve the situation at once, we would then have to worry about how the Black Fox will retaliate. Every precedent suggests that the Black Fox always seeks vengeance against those who harm them.”

“What reason is there that the entire kingdom must rise to the occasion? It would like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. It is Camastros that brought about this situation, so it should fall upon Camastros to take responsibility for it.”

“No country in the world sanctions the Black Fox directly. There existed a few in the past, of course, but they have all fallen to ruin.”

Several nobles concurred with Fernando and Marquis Owen. Watching them made Schneider realize that there were more nobles who were content with the status quo and rotten nobles who were benefitting from the Black Fox than he had originally thought. The Black Fox had simply infiltrated that deeply into the kingdom.

Schneider made sure to remember every noble who had come to the Black Fox’s defense.

“Please heed our counsel. We are all of the same opinion, no? Please reconsider and force Camastros to disband.”

Marquis Claude, who was sitting opposite of Marquis Owen, narrowed his eyes when the latter boastfully straightened out his shoulders.

“Why does it almost sound as if you’re trying to defend the Black Fox, Marquis Owen?”

“Perish the thought.”

“I hear that your second son, whom you treasure as if he was a lump of gold, has been running amok as of late,”

said Marquis Claude with heavy sarcasm, prompting Marquis Owen to sharply furrow his brows.

“Why are you bringing up my son in a cabinet meeting?”

“Because the young man seems to be running around with only the wrong crowds. The rumors say that he’s rather friendly with the Black Fox —or have you not heard? Why don’t you manage your own son properly first? It is difficult to believe it when you claim that you are not defending the Black Fox when your own son’s actions cry otherwise.”

“Marquis Claude, are you dragging my son’s private life —rumors of his private life!— into a cabinet meeting right now?”

“I am simply demonstrating why your words aren’t credible, my good Marquis.”

House Claude and House Owen were mutual enemies. They clashed over every little thing on an ordinary basis, and they were taking the chance to dish it out against each other as members of Schneider’s and Fernando’s respective factions. They both settled down when Schneider growled at the two of them.

“Enough, both of you. Marquis Owen.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Even if the Black Fox put pressure on us from outside our borders, we can always block them out. Is Roanne not a kingdom strong enough to do that?”

His predicament showed on Marquis Owen’s face.

“I only meant to avoid needless sacrifices, Your Highness…….”

“We have no future if we cannot rise up to the challenge. I dismiss your opinion, Marquis.”

“I whole-heartedly agree with your opinion, Your Highness.”

One certain hot-tempered count stood up and strongly laid out his own opinion.

“What are the bastards doing now as we speak? We let them be, and now they’re making light of Roanne. Is it not possible that they are plotting to overthrow the entire kingdom?”

“Mind your tongue. How could you call this a plot to overthrow the kingdom? And in front of His Majesty no less?”

“Perhaps it’s an overstatement to say that they are plotting to overthrow the kingdom, but it is clear that they are determined to turn Roanne on her head. We must drive them out from Roanne before the bastards make things worse.”

Duke Sam, who had been sitting quietly in his seat of honor until then, took Schneider’s side.

“To be frank, it is true that the Black Fox is a rather offensive group.”

“The people are suffering. And to my understanding, more people are expressing their discontent and asking why the kingdom isn’t doing anything with each passing day.”

The king looked between Fernando, who was glaring at Duke Sam with a gloomy look in his eyes, and Schneider, who was huffing, in turns before nodding.

“Mm. Even you’re speaking out like this, Duke Sam. In that case, I suppose there is little choice.”

“I am against this, Lord Father,”

Fernando complained with a heavy scowl on his face. Schneider glowered at him for trying to spoil his victory.

“Your Highness, have you forgotten that His Majesty is not your father but your king during cabinet meetings? Besides, did you dare just interrupt His Majesty before he speaks?”

Fernando bit down at his lip when the king expressed a moment of displeasure.

“……A thousand pardons.”

“Mind yourself next time. And Schneider…”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will permit you to take command of the army. However, you will be solely responsible for this matter.”

“Meaning?”

“I will only permit you to send soldiers under your personal banner out on missions. I will also allow other nobles to support you with their personal troops. Every merit the military achieves under your command will be as your own, but it will also be your responsibility if the Black Fox causes more problems and brings harm to the kingdom. Will you subdue the Black Fox even still?”

A subtle look crossed Schneider’s mien while Fernando’s frown smoothed out. Had Luria convinced the king to make this choice? Or had the king made the decision himself?

It was impossible for Schneider to dodge this. But Schneider rose up to the challenge without hesitation when the king laid out his choices like he was trying to test the prince.

It was a chance for him to monopolize the merits. He could potentially gain the public’s overwhelming support, and he could also profit immensely by picking up after the Black Fox’s public businesses once he had driven them out of the kingdom. It would be a huge step toward the throne. Schneider nodded with confidence. He would usher a bright future unto the kingdom and bring salvation to her people.

“I will.”

“You are aware that my birthday comes in two months’ time?”

“But of course.”

“I would have a joyous birthday celebration. Can you wrap up this matter within a month?”

“It will be impossible to subdue the Black Fox completely in just a month. But I will put an end to this current spike in crime without fail and have the people praise how great Roanne truly is.”

“Very well. Do as you will.”

~~*~~

“What’s going on?”

There was an execution being carried out at the center of the plaza. Many people gathered, intrigued by the sudden event. Twenty-six grown men staggered as they made their way up to the executioner. There was an intimidating line of knights equipped with armor that glistened frigidly under the light standing near the criminals.

Just how notorious were those criminals? Then, Schneider appeared before the masses from afar while wearing ceremonial clothes while the people clamored amongst themselves.

“It’s His Royal Highness the Second Prince!”

“My word, did the prince really come in person? Were those criminals tried for high treason?”

Schneider stood up on the platform and retrieved a loudspeaker artefact from a servant and brought it up to his lips.

“Are you curious as to who these criminals are?”

The people stared at his lips as they eagerly awaited his next words. Schneider chose his words carefully before he resolutely said,

“These men are members of the Black Fox. We will execute these men, and we will punish the villains of the Black Fox who have been committing crime after crime with reckless abandon.”

Several members of the crowd gasped.

“But it will not be the Kingdom of Roanne’s entire military that takes action —only my knights and the knights of those nobles under my command will rise up, and I will personally assume all responsibility for this matter. We will focus on stamping out crime over the course of the next month, and every criminal found for violent crimes will be given the death penalty under common law. I, Schneider, personally declare that all criminals will be punished regardless of their station.”

Prince Schneider had declared total war against evil. The people were excited and began stirring up a fuss. Criminals had been having a heyday as of late, and the royal family had ultimately stepped forward to put an end to them. And it was Prince Schneider, whom the people loved and wanted most as their next king, no less.

Schneider slowly surveyed the crowd at his feet.

“We will continue our crackdown even after the month has passed, and we will rip out the Black Fox’s crimes from their very roots. You are all people of the great Kingdom of Roanne. For how much longer will you tremble in fear before the Black Fox and cowardly look away from their violence? Take heart and rise as citizens of Roanne. I will be your strength.”

Schneider’s powerful voice shook the people’s hearts. His words made the people recall how the Black Fox had imposingly strut about the streets and how they had been unable to do anything but avoid the despicable bastards until now, and they sympathized with Schneider’s proclamation.

Right, those evil bastards. Let’s take the chance to get rid of them once and for all, the Prince will personally rise up for us, we’ve suffered so much at their hands and it’s high time we paid them back for it. The task is impossible for any one person alone, but if we all work together……. Everyone in the crowd was seized by a hint of thrill and the sense of justice. They felt as if they had each become as brave soldiers.

But there were still those who did not fit in with the crowd whose complexions had darkened with worry. The timid worried that the Black Fox would ramp up its activities because of this, Schneider’s supporters worried that Schneider would lose this chance to become king if things went poorly, and those related to the Black Fox worried for their future.

“In addition, Camastros, which has been the subject of many recent rumors, is an organization that was established to oppose the Black Fox, and it is a trustworthy organization under my personal sponsorship, so I ask that you not spread any false rumors regarding them.”

The audience wowed as many people expressed their admiration. Schneider turned his back to the crown to cast a frigid glare down on the kneeling criminals. They were gagged with white scraps of cloth that were now drenched in their drool. They were all writhing in their discomfort with bloodshot eyes.

“These men here will set the first example.”

Then, Schneider coldly ordered,

“Execute them.”

Schneider’s knights drew their swords upon his command, and the criminals erupted in screams and scarlet blood shortly thereafter.

Ianna had been watching the execution with Arhad. Schneider had asked Camastros to hand over the knights of Grundewalz they had captured, and he had given them the death penalty as soon as they had.

“The Black Fox missed their mark. Prince Schneider is furious with those who would undermine Roanne —he is never one to yield to them,”

Ianna muttered without much thought. Prince Schneider had been a seasoned politician who was overflowing with patriotism in her past, and he had despised the Black Fox. She had only known him five years later, but she saw the same man in him now whom she had known in the past.

Arhad, who had been observing the Knights of Grundewalz’s execution, slowly turned around to look at Ianna, who’s gaze had migrated from the criminals to Schneider at some point. The light in Arhad’s eyes darkened.

“You say that as if you know Schneider well.”

Ianna realized her mistake but didn’t let it show as she made up an excuse for her prior words.

“That’s what everyone says. He is regarded as a righteous and capable prince. Fernando is the current crown prince, but they say that it is Prince Schneider who will one day be crowned king.”

“He most likely will be, so long as nothing too out of the ordinary happens. I don’t exactly want to praise him, but Schneider is undoubtably an outstanding prince. He has an eye for talent, he’s skilled at politics, and the public adores him. And the people in power who follow him are on a qualitatively different level from those who follow Fernando. And he has a lot of pride in Roanne as a member of the royal family. He is more than qualified to sit as the king of a powerful nation. His only faults are that he is too young to have gained much expertise in politics and that he has too much innocent greed.”

Ianna was taken aback when Arhad praised Schneider so highly. Arhad greatly disliked Schneider. He had disliked Schneider in her last life, and he disliked Schneider in this one as well. But it looked like he still evaluated the prince highly nevertheless. He continued,

“Fernando and Luria are nothing more than the Black Fox’s puppets, and the Black Fox is as Bahamut’s hands and feet. Schneider’s true opponent is Bahamut……so he will see a lot of bloodshed as he vies for the throne.”

“What will happen if the fact that the Black Fox is backed by Bahamut is revealed?”

“Roanne harbors a deep grudge against Bahamut, so Fernando and Luria would fall to ruin rather quickly……. But we can’t let that happen. We need them at each other’s throats until both sides are in shambles.”

If things went according to plan, Camastros would make a mess out of Roanne and settle all of their matters in the South by the time Ianna was nineteen before heading off to the North. Things had probably played out in much the same way in the past. What had happened after that again? Ianna lost herself in thought. It had been seventeen years since she had been reborn. Save for the most vivid ones, most of her memories of her past life were fading away. But even still, the truth that her laboriously-recalled memories pointed to gave her chills. The two princes’ struggle for the throne would last a decade, exhausting Roanne in the process, and Arhad, who would have conquered Bahamut by then, would point his sword at the rest of the continent.

‘Was everything a part of Arhad’s plans?’

Arhad placed his hand on top of Ianna’s head as she lost herself in thought. Ianna snapped back to her senses and looked up at him, and, as if he was trying to hypnotize her, Arhad earnestly repeated,

“And that’s why you mustn’t go to Schneider. He’s doomed to fall to ruin anyway.”

He moved his hand and began stroking Ianna’s head.

“I already told you I wouldn’t.”

Ianna’s lips twitched. The man before her was evil in the eyes of any citizen of Roanne. The fact that the Black Fox belonged to Bahamut would be revealed eventually, but Arhad was planning to watch from the sidelines while Roanne and the Black Fox fought each other to his heart’s content before striking them both from behind. It was rather underhanded, actually, but Ianna decided to write it off as clever now that she was on his side.

“…….”

Ianna blinked her eyes and stared quietly as Arhad rubbed her head, but she began to close her eyes in drowsiness before she realized what she was doing. She snapped back to her senses soon enough. She had grown so accustomed to him petting her head as of late that she hardly even registered it anymore.

Ianna opened her eyes and looked up only to find Arhad looking back at her as if he found her adorable. She found his behavior peculiar. He treated her like a child rather often as of late. She was five years younger than him, of course, so it wasn’t too out of the ordinary……but she found it strange and suspicious that he was so obstinate about treating her like a child when he really didn’t have to.

Should I brush him off? Ianna thought before she decided to wait until Arhad was satisfied and brought his hand back down of his own accord. Ridiculously enough, she didn’t necessarily dislike being treated like a child. She actually didn’t mind it. Arhad was like a plushy and comfortable sofa. In other words, she didn’t mind relying on him. She had never thought that she needed someone like this in her life before, but she found that she rather liked it now that she had one. It was ridiculous just imaging it, and she would never actually do it, but Ianna almost felt as if she might not mind acting like a child sometimes.

Just when had she gotten so comfortable with Arhad? Was it after she had sobbed her heart out in his arms during the school festival? Or was it after he had nagged at her for avoiding him after making a mistake because of Keigus Dimitri? Or perhaps it was because he always asked her to rely on him more?

She didn’t know. But in any event, she now found his antics of acting as her protector rather agreeable, though she had found them disagreeable at first. Arhad was slowly becoming as her refuge, like the way a drop of ink slowly dispersed in water. He made her feel as if she could be at ease when she was with him.

“…….”

Ianna did not generally experience many emotions, so they tended to show on her face when she did feel something. They were normally negative emotions, like absurdity, displeasure, or bloodlust, but they were occasionally positive as well. Ianna didn’t know this, but her sharp eyes and eyebrows would droop down ever so slightly whenever she experienced something positive. Just like now.

Something fervent flared in Arhad’s pupils as they took in the way Ianna expressed her pleasure like a tamed cat before it quickly hid back inside again. He cast a quick glance at Schneider and the execution before he stroked Ianna’s head again and, in all seriousness, said,

“Make sure you always remember that I’m the best, that I’m the only one who’s fully prepared to do anything to keep you by my side. You will never know any master better than me.”

“…….”

Ianna brazenly scowled at him for the absurdity of it all, but on the inside, she rather liked the fact that he now had the composure to go out of his way to say things like this. This was much nicer than having to watch him be anxious. It looked like the fact that she had told him not to worry every time he grew anxious, that she had told him she liked him, and that she did not wish to leave him had taken effect.

“And be sure to keep this in mind too. It sours my mood when Schneider pesters you or when you act like you know him well.”

Ianna grew slightly disconcerted as she wondered —if perhaps the reason why Arhad hated Schneider so much wasn’t because he was an enemy prince but because of her. She was starting to grow narcissistic because of Arhad.

“To be honest, my mood soured just earlier too, but I held back because you’re here with me. I’ll trust that you won’t go to him now.”

Ianna felt Arhad relying on her as he said not that he trusted her, but that he will trust her. Did he mean to say that he would try relaxing a little about the matter now? Ianna rather liked his change in attitude. Her amusement shone brightly in her eyes.

“I quite like that. But what would have happened if you didn’t hold back?”

“I would have overthrown everything and murdered Schneider where he stands.”

It was quite the scary statement. Ianna looked around, afraid that someone might have overheard, but everyone around them was too focused on the execution and was chatting animatedly with other people. It was so noisy that there was next to no chance that anyone had heard him. Ianna turned her gaze back to Arhad only to be startled.

“Just thinking about it……makes me furious.”

Ianna didn’t know what he was thinking about as he mumbled to himself, but his pupils were slightly out of focus as he looked back at her and there was an overwhelming bloodlust muddled in his downcast eyes. Ianna placed her own hand on top of Arhad’s, which was still on her head, before she could stop herself. It was only then that Arhad returned to his senses and the light in his eyes cleared up again. Arhad grinned.

“Whoops. My mind wandered for a moment,”

Arhad whispered as he took his hand off of Ianna’s head.

It was obvious that his bloodlust had been directed at Schneider. Was he trying too hard to keep his composure? If that was the case, then he still had far to go. Ianna looked to Arhad with subdued eyes. Just when would Arhad finally be able to relax? Would the day ever truly come?

Arhad looked guilty and changed the topic as he felt Ianna staring piercingly back at him.

“Founding Day, the king’s birthday, and Thanksgiving —were those the days you were supposed to go to the palace? The king’s birthday is coming up soon. Make sure you don’t exchange too deep a conversation with Schneider when you attend the party.”

“I’m glad you brought it up. Please don’t come this time —I’m being serious.”

Arhad didn’t reply.

“Don’t come. I told you before during my debut,”

Ianna reemphasized. Arhad sighed.

“You truly are rather mean. But all right.”

Ianna then seized her chance after Arhad had folded over one matter.

“And also……I’ve been meaning to tell you that I’m planning to go on a trip next month.”

“A trip?”

“Prince Schneider said that he would wrap up this incident before the king’s birthday, and that also happens to be around when the summer session starts at school. I would like to go on a trip alone for about two months over break. May I?”

“Where to?”

“Anywhere. Somewhere with a nice view, perhaps…….”

Ianna felt uneasy. She was deceiving someone for the first time in her life. She tried her best to keep her facial expressions under control. Arhad didn’t notice, however, and he seemed to be thinking intently over something instead of doubting her as he said,

“I’d like to go…….”

“No.”

“……With you, but I can’t. I don’t know what might happen during those two months. I was only able to accompany you to the South because that was before things really got rolling. But you’re being rather cold, you know?”

Ianna was immensely relieved that Arhad had other matters to take care of. He stared at her.

“Did you need the time to organize your thoughts?”

His question implied a lot. Ianna didn’t answer.

“Very well. I’ll grant you the last bit of time you’ll ever have away from me,”

Arhad said readily.

“You’ll let me go?”

“Yes. But once you’re back…”

Arhad placed his hand on Ianna’s cheek and caressed it as if to express how adorable he found her. He smiled when Ianna squinted her eye on the same side of her face that his hand was touching.

“……You’ll never be able to leave my side again.”

—“The Black Fox 1” End