TN: Apologies, I didn’t do anything in these 3 months because of copyright claims I got, and when I thought these were over yesterday I got another one.
Chapter 150: Assassination
After burying the soldier’s body with the help of Etna and her subordinates, I asked her.
“Don’t you need to contact your father?”
“Yes! It’s fine. My father won’t yield to their threats unless I’m taken hostage or something.”
“Even so, if they lie and say they’ve ‘captured’ you, he’ll have doubts. Put his mind at ease.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well then—”
Etna thought for a moment and called over one of her nearby subordinates. After whispering something, the subordinate nodded slightly and hurried off.
After seeing her off, Etna returned.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave here.”
Since people were starting to gather for the handling of the body, I spoke in a tone that wasn’t that of the Emperor.
“Where are you going?”
“To the prefectural capital. I want to hear how the rumors are shaping up.”
I omitted the word , my own. [TN: The thing is he is trying to avoid showing that he is the Emperor to others so he left the high authoritative tone of addressing himself. Japanese is really weird sometimes.]
“I-If that’s the case, let’s go together.”
“Together?”
“Yes, I’ll show you around. I know where the rumors are being collected.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded, contemplating. It would be easier for me to infiltrate alone, but having a local guide would be more convenient.
“Alright then, can I ask you to do that?”
“Yes!”
Etna looked so pleased to be relied upon by me, the Emperor, that she called over another subordinate with a beaming smile and said something to him.
After waiting for that, I left the village alongside Etna.
☆
“I-Is that a monster?!”
After we left the village and continued walking for a while, Etna was puzzled as to why I didn’t try to get into the carriage.
Thinking I hadn’t introduced them, I lightly called out to the monster, Muir, allowing only its head to stick out.
Upon seeing monster Muir’s face, Etna was taken aback and nearly fell.
“W-what does this mean?”
“I’ve decided to keep it. Its name is Muir.”
“K-keep it…?”
“Muir, she’s not an enemy. Do not attack her.”
“Miki!”
When I gave my command, Muir responded with her charming eyes and adorable cry.
Seeing that made Etna even more surprised.
“She’s so obedient…”
“Indeed.”
“Your Majesty, it’s incredible… I’ve never heard of a human taming a monster so naturally.”
“Yes.”
I nodded slightly.
The Empire had indeed succeeded in “controlling” monsters.
However, that was more akin to brainwashing.
In stark contrast, Muir’s behavior and demeanor were more like that of a “pet.”
It was no wonder Etna was astonished by this.
As we were conversing, our destination came into view.
Gopher Province, the prefectural capital, Itosugi.
It had long been an Imperial territory, but because it was on the frontier to the west, the high outer walls that surrounded the city were comparable to those of the Imperial capital in terms of fortification.
When we arrived at a spot where we could see Itosugi, I called out to Muir inside the carriage.
“Wait here for a bit.”
“Miki?”
“I’ll be back in about a night.”
Muir looked dejected, its face was filled with reluctance.
I gave her a firm pat.
After that, I jumped down from the carriage driver’s seat and spoke to Behemoth.
“Can you distract the carriage from being noticed?”
[No problem.]
“Alright, I’ll be back in a night. I’ll leave this to you.”
[Understood.]
“Um… Your Majesty? Who are you talking to?”
[To Bahamut.]
“That’s the same name as the ancient sage… what exactly is that?”
[TN: I don’t know why the author changed the name or it’s something Noah did intentionally? But the original text was “ その後馬車の御者台から飛び降りて、ベヒーモス (Behemoth) に問いかける。”
And then it was “バハムートだ (Bahamut)” WHY!?]
Etna said this while glancing around.
Explaining about Livyathan and Behemoth would take too long, so I started walking while deflecting her questions, and she followed behind me.
Since there was still some distance to Itosugi, I thought I would ask while I had the chance.
“Is the security at the castle gate strict?”
“It’s fine. The captain is an acquaintance, so if you slip him a little something, you can get through easily.”
“I see.”
I nodded slightly, accepting the explanation.
It seemed like that was the same everywhere, and I didn’t think much more about it.
“There’s no need to spend money there.”
“Huh? Then what should we do?”
“Let’s enter separately and meet up inside.”
“Separately is fine, but Your Majesty, do you have a place to enter?”
“No problem.”
I nodded again and this time communicated with Ziz purely through my consciousness.
I felt it would be a bit confusing if she asked “Who is Ziz?” right after Bahamut.
Ziz readily responded as if it were the most natural thing.
“I’ve gone ahead.”
“Huh? What do you mean—whaaa?!”
From behind me, I heard Etna’s ridiculous voice rise from the ground.
Ziz, known as the sky-soaring demon bird.
Using Ziz’s power, I jumped into the sky and flew straight toward the castle.
“W-Wow!”
Etna’s cheers quickly faded into the distance, becoming inaudible.
“Livyathan.”
[Yes.]
It was very likely that simply flying would result in not being found.
Generally, enemies almost never come flying from the sky, so the guards hardly ever look up.
So, I used Livyathan to create a distraction.
By the way, anyone could serve as a distraction.
It could be Livyathan, Bahamut, Behemoth, or anyone else.
The reasoning behind it is simply “to create a strong presence on the opposite side,” so as long as it’s a being with an overwhelming presence like Livyathan, anyone can perform this feat.
With that, I gracefully flew over the castle walls and entered the interior of Itosugi’s castle.
I thought that this method might eventually become unusable.
Since there aren’t any humans entering from the sky, attention wouldn’t be directed that way, allowing the distraction to be effectively utilized.
However, once the possibility of entry from the sky was known and there was a battle ongoing, it would no longer be usable.
I reaffirmed that I needed to make full use of it while I still could.
After landing, I headed toward the castle gate.
Once I reached a spot where I could see the castle gate, I stopped and waited for Etna.
After a while, Etna slipped through the gate easily and came inside, so I approached her and spoke.
“Etna.”
“Huh? Y-yes—”
“There are people watching.”
“—Ah, um, yes… Where are you?”
“I’m close by.”
“Close by… Yes, you’re close, I can hear your voice right next to me… But… where?”
Etna looked around frantically.
She seemed anxious, not being able to find my figure.
The state capital Itosugi was deep within enemy territory, and since I wanted to avoid being seen, I focused on creating a distraction.
I originally intended to infiltrate this way, but having Etna alongside did complicate things a bit.
[Then I’ll help you out.]
“Behemoth? What do you mean by help?”
“Huh? Huh? Ehhhh?!”
I temporarily put aside Etna, who couldn’t grasp the situation, and listened to Behemoth.
[It’s simple. While Livyathan creates a distraction around, I’ll just focus her attention on me.]
“…I see.”
I nodded slightly.
If I could create a distraction, then focusing attention would also be easy.
While it’s complex for one person to both divert and attract attention at the same time, it would become much simpler if two worked separately.
“Got it, I’m counting on you.”
[Okay!]
Immediately after I heard the innocent voice like a boy’s, Etna suddenly turned to me.
“There you are.”
“I’ve been here all along.”
“Huh? But…”
“It’s kind of my specialty; if we played hide-and-seek, I wouldn’t lose to anyone.”
“Y-yeah… I get it. It’s such a special skill that you can hear the voice and yet not be found.”
Etna said.
‘Well then, shall we go for a tour?’
‘Ah, yeah.’
Etna nodded and murmured, ‘Which direction should we go?’ as she was about to start walking.
“Young Lady!”
A man hurriedly ran towards Etna.
He approached her, putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.
“I’m glad I found you so quickly.”
“What happened?”
“My lord has requested that you return immediately.”
“’My father? If it’s about that, I’ve already sent a message.”
“No, it’s a different matter.”
“Different?”
“Yes. In any case, he wants you to come back at least once.”
“…What do you mean?”
Etna frowned and turned her gaze toward me.
I suppressed my voice so that the man in front of me couldn’t hear and spoke to Etna.
“Go with him. I’ll come to get you later.”
“Okay.”
Nodding, Etna followed the household member who had come to get her.
Left alone, I contemplated what to do next.
“Shall I catch a glimpse of Eila Nouf?”
One of the things I wanted to do once infiltrating Itosugi was to actually see Eila Nouf with my own eyes.
Eila Nouf is a former royal who occupied Itosugi and proclaimed himself as Emperor.
Naturally, the security must be extremely tight.
It’s not impossible to take Etna with me, but going alone is definitely easier and more certain.
I started walking towards the center of Itosugi.
I had the map of Itosugi firmly in my mind, and I knew the location of the building where Eila Nouf would likely be.
Then, I navigated through the crowds of pedestrians to reach there.
“I see… While it’s not a problem in a mostly stationary camp, it’s troublesome when people are moving around haphazardly in the city since it makes it hard to go unnoticed.”
I smiled wryly.
Even now, I was still diverting my presence with Livyathan.
Because of that, I almost collided with several passersby.
To put the current situation simply, it felt like all the pedestrians were walking while completely distracted from me.
It was no surprise that I was bumping into people.
While in the camp, most soldiers were standing still, so that wasn’t an issue.
But when everyone is distracted and walking their own way, it becomes easy to collide.
Having actually used this situation, I thought again about what I told Henry, “escaping after the assassination” is nearly impossible.
While I was lost in thought, I arrived at the building.
“…It looks just like a palace.”
I was somewhat exasperated.
The town hall of the state capital Itosugi looked quite different from the information I had beforehand.
To put it simply, it was like a palace, resembling such a grand structure.
There were signs of hasty construction here and there, so I figured Eila Nouf must have pushed for it.
While still keeping my presence diverted with Livyathan, I stepped into the palace-like town hall.
“Ah… this is such a hassle. I’m bored.”
“Is it okay to be bored? Or what? Do you want to go to the front line too?”
Two soldiers stationed at the entrance of the town hall were exchanging casual remarks, so I stopped to listen to their conversation.
“The front line is better, right?”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is. The emperor has the military doing whatever he wants, so it’s bound to be a place for great military achievements.”
“Well, yeah.”
“And to be doing this here… they shouldn’t even be able to advance this far without a guard at the gates.”
“Should I take it up directly with the captain that I want to go there now?”
“Might as well, huh?”
“…”
After listening until the end of their near-grumbling conversation, I silently left the spot.
After that, I encountered several groups of soldiers.
Most of them were slacking off, and some gathered to gamble or drink, while others were engaging in indiscretions with female attendants.
I was quite surprised that the discipline had become so lax.
To be honest, I thought it might be easy to infiltrate even without distracting attention.
“…That’s a bit much.”
I shook my head and brushed away the foolish thought that had popped into my mind.
As I said, there’s no way that’s possible.
Still, I couldn’t help but think it might just work.
Looking up at the sky, the sunset had already faded, and it was getting dark.
The surroundings were completely dark as well.
“…”
The lights—still not on.
A few were flickering on, but the pace was slow.
I thought that maybe it would be okay without any distractions at this moment.
“…Livyathan.”
[Understood.]
At my request, Livyathan cut off the distractions.
I thought it was dangerous.
However, the feeling that it might be possible gradually grew stronger.
I cut off the distractions and continued forward with silent footsteps.
Although the palace had been hastily remodeled, the structure hadn’t changed too much.
I headed towards the room where Eila was likely to be.
Along the way, there was a soldier, but..
That soldier was using his spear as a walking stick and was dozing off while standing up.
I passed right by that soldier with ease.
“…”
I was shocked, very shocked.
Eila had proclaimed himself the Emperor.
It would be reasonable for this place to be a royal castle, with security at its tightest.
Yet, I was able to infiltrate it so easily.
I started to think that an assassination like Henry had mentioned might actually be possible.
“…Ridiculous.”
I shook away the thought that surfaced again.
Eventually, I reached the front of the room where Eila was.
There was a guard, as expected. I thought about using distractions to slip inside.
“Hey, it’s time for a shift.”
“Got it.”
After a distant soldier called out, the guard in front of the door left.
“…Wait, what?”
I was even more astounded.
Normally, guard shifts take place at the location being secured.
Otherwise, a gap in security would emerge, which is why such shifts are fundamental.
Yet, that didn’t happen here.
I could hear footsteps from afar, but the distance was enough that I could slip inside before they arrived.
Once I entered, the room reeked of alcohol.
It smelled exceedingly strong.
Looking around, I saw a massive bed with a man sprawled out, holding two women on either side of him.
As I approached, the overpowering scent of alcohol hit my nose.
In a way, I wasn’t surprised.
Just like I had feigned earlier, it was no shock to see a top authority figure indulging in alcohol and women.
If the outer security had been strong, I wouldn’t have sensed anything amiss at all.
However, that did not happen.
[Master.]
“What is it?”
[The new guard outside is yawning and looks like he’s about to fall asleep.]
As Livyathan reported… a sense of disbelief arose in my mind for the umpteenth time since infiltrating.
And thrice.
The word “assassination” flashed through my mind.
“……”
I approached, drew Livyathan, and stood before Eila.
Shaking off the last remaining shackles in my heart, I thrust Livyathan forward.
Livyathan pierced Eila’s chest, his heart. Eila momentarily widened his eyes but could make no sound and then died on the spot.
I opened the window and jumped out into the garden.
And straight away, amidst the lethargic security, I escaped the agency and returned to the city, hardly using Livyathan’s distraction capability.
“…I did it.”
I was stunned.
I couldn’t believe it went so easily; I was so astonished that I couldn’t even speak.
[My Lord?]
Livyathan spoke, as if pondering something.
“Hmm?”
[The master has placed too high a value on humanity.]
“…Henry and Neil said the same thing.”
[Because even the incompetent humans were valued too highly, it ended up like this.]
“…”
Hearing Livyathan say that, I felt a complex mix of emotions. I wondered if I really had overvalued them.
Thinking about all the traps I’d set and the preparations I had made, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
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Welcome back, and thanks for the update.
Hahaha damn boy