Under the cover of night, I stood quietly a short distance from the riverbank, looking out over the entire scene.
Having split up with Zoe to operate on my own, I no longer needed to look after anyone or hold back, so I poured all my energy into masking my presence.
Hiding in the brush was standard practice, but when acting alone, no one would notice me unless I stood right in front of them.
And so, I watched what they were doing.
Dozens of bonfires blazed along the pier on the riverbank, lighting up the area as brightly as broad daylight.
They had made it that bright for the loading work.
A massive fleet of vessels was moored alongside the pier, and an equally large swarm of laborers was hauling hemp sacks packed to the brim onto the ships.
As soon as one vessel was fully loaded, it set sail, a new one took its place, and more cargo was loaded aboard.
The contents of those sacks was salt.
Just in the time since I had started watching, enough salt to supply tens of thousands of people had been loaded and shipped out.
"They really couldn't wait, could they?"
I smiled wryly.
The smuggling they couldn't conduct while I was around had resumed immediately following my "death."
Having anticipated that they might wait a day or two to see how things shook out, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Leviathan."
(——)
The response that returned from Leviathan was a fierce, resolute sense of Leave it to me.
With this, it was safe to say the evidence was secured.
Because taxes were levied on Ducel's salt sales and transport, I had always required detailed figures to be reported.
Those figures, including the latest tallies, were forwarded to me regularly from the imperial capital.
Looking at the situation before my eyes, there was no need to make a careful comparison.
This far exceeded normal sales and transport by tenfold.
The scene itself was more than enough proof.
To seize even further evidence, I made my way toward a pleasure boat anchored a short distance away.
Amid the massive fleet of cargo-hauling vessels, only that pleasure boat kept a loose, trailing distance, and the sounds of revelry drifted over on the wind.
Approaching the boat, I fastened one of Huwawa's threads directly to its hull.
Immediately, voices began transmitting across the wood and through the thread.
"That makes three hundred thousand Rien's worth. Word is we'll hit five hundred thousand by tomorrow morning."
"Is this really safe? Moving this much all at once..."
"Relax. We've got the black-market authorization from Olcott himself; there's no way we'll be stopped along the route."
"Hmm..."
"I'm telling you, it's fine."
Two men were conversing.
One seemed cautious and weighed various concerns, while the other possessed an aggressive, headstrong personality.
"The Emperor might send another guy. We've gotta get as much done as we can between the current guy's death and the arrival of his replacement."
"...Fair point."
The calmer man was persuaded.
I see; that made sense.
Assuming I were not the Emperor but merely an imperial envoy sent to investigate, it was more than likely that a new official would be dispatched following the sudden death.
Until their arrival, factoring in the round trip of information, the Emperor's decision, the travel time of the new messenger, and everything else, counting on twenty days was only reasonable.
Twenty days could be called long, or it could be called short.
Using this window of time to conduct operations on a grand scale so they could prepare to fight the next opponent was, in fact, a sound judgment.
"Don't worry, I'll let you know the moment anything happens. His Tenth Highness is exceptionally fond of the women you sent over the other day, after all."
A third man's voice chimed in.
People change their tone and phrasing depending on their standing in the moment.
The third man spoke with a voice that clearly indicated he considered himself superior to the other two.
"You gathered a fine batch."
"It's nothing, so long as it pleases His Highness."
"His Highness certainly enjoys himself. Well, great men are fond of pleasures. We've rounded up another group, so we'll send them over by tomorrow."
The first two men shifted their tones in unison to flatter him.
Evidently, this man was a retainer of the Tenth Imperial Prince, Dustin.
Dustin had long been notorious for his womanizing; in a sense, some even said he took after His Majesty the retired emperor most strongly in that regard.
During the Knight Selection, he had even demanded sexual favors, an act I intervened in to put a stop to for Cheryl's sake.
So Dustin was accepting bribes in women rather than gold.
"..."
I felt a twinge of regret.
I hadn't wanted to hear this.
Rather, I didn't want to hear anything more.
Severing the thread, I decided to storm the vessel.
Kicking off the ground, I leapt forward and breached the pleasure boat by smashing through its window.
"Wh-What?!"
"Who goes there?!"
Before the two ringleaders could demand my identity, the head of Dustin's retainer went flying through the air.
Splendid!
I heard Bahamut's cheer.
I had drawn Leviathan the instant I breached the cabin and lopped off the man's head, but the strike itself wasn't particularly remarkable.
It was nothing worthy of Bahamut's praise.
That applause was directed at my decision.
For this affair, I had come to reclaim the salt tax.
If Dustin were found to be involved, I would have to hand down a punishment to him as well.
At worst, he wouldn't escape the death penalty.
Claiming the head of the Tenth Imperial Prince would turn this into far too massive an ordeal.
Therefore, I chose to pretend I hadn't heard what was just said, cutting down Dustin's retainer before anything further could spill from his mouth.
Bahamut had grasped that in an instant and sent his praise, calling it brilliant.
Well, setting that aside—I turned to face the two men.
The two still-young men reacted differently: one looked utterly astonished, while the other wore an expression as though he had caught on to something.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Someone who came to investigate the salt tax."
"What?! —Hey!"
The startled, hotheaded man jumped to his feet and signaled outside the boat.
Instantly, the area outside grew frantic, and the sounds of ships pulling away in unison echoed across the water.
"I see, so you anticipated this."
"Better safe than sorry. You were right after all," the hotheaded man said, and the calmer one gave a wry smile.
"It's unexpected that you weren't dead, but too bad for you. Now there's no evidence left."
"Do you truly believe there is none?"
"There isn't. The ships will scuttle themselves once they're far enough away. The cargo is salt; the moment it sinks into the river, the evidence will vanish without a trace."
"I see. Well thought out."
"..."
The calmer man's brow twitched.
His expression suggested he sensed something ominous about my composure.
As if to say, Spot on, I held Leviathan aloft.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I'm going to reclaim the evidence. Leviathan."
(!!!)
A powerful rush of emotion surged into me from Leviathan: I've been waiting for this!!
It almost felt like it was frolicking with excitement.
From the moment it learned I had been served poison meant for an assassination, the emotions of Leviathan—both a loyal hound and a mad dog—had been violently stirred.
Having soothed the sword when it was on the verge of running wild and assigned it a different task, Leviathan carried it out joyfully and, above all, with absolute devotion.
Sounds began to carry over the water.
The massive churn of ships navigating across the river, and the frantic clamor of men shouting.
"What's happening?!"
As the man yelled, a subordinate rushed in from outside the pleasure boat.
"D-Disaster! The ships—all the ships are turning back!"
"What?! Get them away immediately!"
"We can't! All the ships are out of control!"
"What did you say?!"
The man's eyes went wide, and then, realizing the truth with a start, he glared at me.
"Is this your doing?!"
"Indeed. If one commands the river's currents, summoning back ships is a simple matter."
"Nonsense! There's no way anyone could do that—"
"Incredible... Such power. May I ask your name?"
Since the evidence was now completely secured thanks to Leviathan, I decided to state my true identity.
Using Leviathan's power, I shaped the water before me into an emblem designed like a ship, and projected a heavy aura directly into their minds.
A pressure declaring that I was the Emperor.
"I am the Emperor of the Empire, Noah Ararat."
"What?!"
"Y-Your Majesty..."
Both men were struck speechless.
A proclamation backed by the power of a magic sword—a declaration that compelled the listener to believe I was the Emperor, even without physical proof.
I thought that would settle matters, but...
"E-Even if you're the Emperor, it doesn't matter!"
The man shouted and sent another signal outside.
"To arms! To arms!"
The next moment, armed men burst in from outside the boat one after another.
In the blink of an eye, the interior of the pleasure boat was packed, and more surrounded it from the outside.
"H-He's an insolent fraud posing as His Majesty!"
"...Capture him. No, kill him."
The calmer man braced his resolve and gave the order to his henchmen.
(—it to me.)
Leviathan's intent reached my mind.
Leave it to me.
Though faint, I felt as if I could hear it as actual words.
Between its soaring spirits and the feat of breaking through its limits by seizing control of the entire river, Leviathan seemed to be undergoing an awakening, much like Bahamut, whom it viewed as a rival.
In that case, I decided to swing Leviathan.
A swift assessment.
About a hundred men surrounded me, and combined with those on the far side of the pier, there were around two hundred in total.
I swung the magic sword at them.
Over the nocturnal river, the pale-blue light trailed by the magic sword was fantastical and beautiful, and every time it passed, sprays of blood danced through the air and screams echoed.
Like a tempest, a rain of blood fell wherever I passed.
Each time, waves of sheer ecstasy flowed into me from Leviathan.
Aided by Leviathan's euphoric frenzy, cutting down all two hundred men took less than five minutes.
"I-Incredible..."
"A-A monster...!"
Only two remained.
One wore an expression of sheer awe that transcended fear, while the other had collapsed onto the floor, trembling violently in terror.