Chapter 349

At the current moment, it was impossible for the Empire to attack Panam.

Even if they could invade and destroy Panam, there would be no way to defend against other countries attacking the Empire’s homeland in the meantime.

The diplomatic relations with the Holy Kingdom, which were already strained, would only worsen.

But still…

“Even if war is impossible, wouldn’t it be possible for me to go and assassinate someone quickly? At most, their guards would only be at the master level.”

I can’t completely erase my presence like the Ghost Sword, but if I cover my whole body with a night suit and storm the palace to kill just the king and escape, it seems possible.

[You say assassination so easily. Weren’t you the one who said you’d protect people?]

Hersela chuckled sarcastically.

Well, sure, I did say that, but…

‘People should act like people. Just because they’re human doesn’t mean they’re truly people, right?’

Evil people can die.

No, they must die.

To create a pure and clean world.

Every time an evil person dies, the world will become a little more peaceful.

“Assassination in this situation? Hmm… Hmm…”

Leopold began to seriously consider it with a thoughtful expression.

It seems he had a lot of pent-up resentment towards Panam.

If he’s pondering over a half-joking suggestion this seriously…

“Right now, it would be troublesome. If the king is killed, only a four-year-old prince would remain, and all the nobles in Panam would start fighting… In that chaos, the most endangered would be my sister, Eleonora, the prince’s mother. Even if Sir Median rescues and brings her here, if the missing queen is found in the Empire, it would be as good as confessing who the assassin is. We can’t hide her forever without being noticed… So, until we have a solid plan to ensure Eleonora’s safety, let’s put the assassination on hold.”

If it’s on hold… that means he’s essentially agreeing to the assassination.

It’s ironic that Leopold, who has been threatened by Isabella’s assassination attempts, is now agreeing to an assassination.

—

After the discussion about Panam was settled, we continued our conversation while sipping the black tea brought by the maid.

He lamented that he had no intention of disrupting the cooperative system with Lacey, but the Holy Kingdom’s protests were becoming increasingly severe, making things difficult.

He sighed about how to fill the vacancies left by Georg, Duver, and the Imperial Army.

He even sighed that the firepower displayed by the fairies and half-humans was so overwhelming that he could only hope for mutual destruction.

Seeing the golden threads scattered on the floor as he spoke, it was clear he was under immense stress… but I had no words to comfort him.

He wanted to send me to the western border, but due to the eastern situation, he couldn’t, and that was troubling him.

If this keeps up, he might just die from stress alone.

This world is only going to become more chaotic as time goes on, far beyond the current level of confusion.

Though I don’t know when that will be.

—

The official award ceremony for the promised rewards will be held tomorrow.

Since the main palace has collapsed, the ceremony will take place at the cathedral.

I also need to meet Lacey, so I’ll visit her after the ceremony.

After bidding farewell to Leopold and Persval, I left the annex and joined Leonor, who was waiting in the carriage.

Since becoming my escort knight, no one has questioned Isabella’s lineage, but Leonor still refuses to meet Leopold, so I left her in the carriage.

“Is Leopold that unpleasant? He does have a slippery side, but… he wouldn’t harm you now, would he?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Leonor twisted her hair awkwardly and averted her gaze.

She seemed to have a reason for not wanting to meet him, but it was too embarrassing to say.

“If not that, then what?”

“…I think I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from bursting into laughter if I saw his hair.”

Ah. Hmm. Right. That’s understandable. If that’s the reason, then there’s nothing to be done.

It’s Leopold’s forehead’s fault for advancing so boldly.

—

With the meeting with Leopold done, our business at the Imperial Palace was complete, and the carriage we were in left the palace for our next destination.

In other words, we were heading to the Academy.

Ophelia’s hideout was outside the capital, and Asha was likely in Himmell, so the only place to visit immediately was the Academy.

“By the way, Leopold said he’d grant me a grand mansion separate from the Rose Cross. What should we do about that?”

This is quite ambiguous.

Moving there to live would be awkward since I just moved into the professor’s residence, but leaving it empty feels like a waste.

I can’t sell or demolish a mansion granted by the Emperor himself.

“A grand mansion? Hmm… where is it located?”

“It’s the mansion Isabella used to own. You’d know more about it than me, right?”

The previous owner is a bit unsettling, but they said it’s been thoroughly purified, so it should be fine.

As expected of Isabella’s mansion, the exterior and interior are incredibly lavish, but the basement was reportedly filled with bugs and human corpses.

“…That mansion? I’m not too fond of it… It feels like a horde of ghosts might appear.”

“Ghosts? Can’t you just slash them with Jin’s Sword and they’d die?”

Even spirits die when slashed, so ghosts shouldn’t be any different.

“That’s true, but…”

Leonor still looked uneasy. Given her bad history with Isabella, it’s understandable.

This makes it difficult to station the Rose Cross Knight Order there.

Since the distance from the Academy to the Rose Cross is quite far, maybe they should move closer.

Then… should I send Damien and Milia there?

If the two of them leave the Academy, their lodging would technically be my responsibility as their nominal master.

Yes, let’s do that.

Milia is lucky to have good friends.

The grand mansion in the capital will essentially become their newlywed home.

The mansion will be filled with laughter.

For the mansion, it won’t be much different from before.

—

“Huh? Miss, isn’t that Asha’s workshop over there?”

On the way back to the Academy, Leonor, who was looking out the window, suddenly turned to me in surprise.

“It’s about time we’d see it. But why?”

Wondering what the fuss was about, I also looked in that direction.

Oh.

Reflected in my wide eyes was a building with one wall completely burned and collapsed, as if a fire had broken out.

What’s this? What happened while I was away from the capital…?

“It is Asha’s workshop… Let’s head over there first. We need to find out what happened.”

Upon my command, the female knight turned the carriage towards the workshop.

Up close, the workshop looked like it had been burned down days ago, with ashes and dust covering the broken debris, and a no-entry line surrounding the building.

In front of it stood a familiar-looking half-human with an annoyed expression, glaring at the wreckage.

I thought she was going to Himmell… Did she not go?

“Asha!”

I called out her name from the carriage to ask what had happened.

If I got out of the carriage and revealed myself, it would only cause more commotion.

“Ha-shal-leur…? You’re back!”

Asha turned to me, smiling warmly as she approached the carriage.

“Yeah. I just got back today.”

After waving Asha into the carriage and closing the door, she glanced at Leonor and nodded slightly in greeting.

“By the way, what happened? You said you were going to Himmell, but you’re here, and why is the workshop in such a state?”

Did she blow something up while experimenting with gunpowder?

“Well… to put it briefly, I was attacked by some people who took advantage of my absence.”

“Attacked…?”

So, that wasn’t an experimental accident but a terrorist attack?

That was unexpected.

At this point, the only enemies who would target half-humans would be the fairies.

But if fairies had caused trouble in the capital, Leopold or Lacey would have told me, right?

Besides, the fairy warriors are busy fighting on the frontlines with Himmell, so they wouldn’t have the leisure to attack a workshop…

“Other craftsmen, I suppose. Humans call them guilds, right? Blacksmiths and tanners pressured me to join their union, and when I ignored them, they did this. Well, I understand. With their skills, they can’t compete with us half-humans.”

Indeed, it’s impossible for human craftsmen to compete with Asha’s products.

Until now, most half-human products were imported through Panam, so the supply was limited and the prices were high, but Asha built a small factory in the capital and started producing goods directly here.

Right now, it’s just Asha, but if more half-humans start operating in the capital… the existing craftsmen might all go out of business.

Moreover, half-humans never reveal their core technologies, so it’s impossible for humans to learn and adapt.

That said, such terrorist acts can’t be tolerated.

“Anyway, this happened right after I left the capital, so I had no choice but to return. If I left it like this, I might lose everything.”

“You’ve had it rough. So, what happened to the arsonists? Did you send them to prison?”

From the way she’s sure the attackers were craftsmen, it seems she managed to catch them despite her absence.

“Well… I sent them somewhere. The automated turrets I set up for the workshop’s security worked a bit too hard, you could say.”

…She turned them into Swiss cheese.