Assassination

After burying the soldiers' corpses with the help of Etna and her men, 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 actually taken hostage."

"Even so, if they lie and claim they've captured you, he might waver. Put your parent's mind at ease."

"Ah, you're right. In that case—"

Etna thought for a moment, then called over one of her nearby subordinates.

After she whispered something into his ear, the man gave a slight nod, turned on his heel, and dashed off.

After seeing him off, Etna returned.

"Well then, I'll take my leave here."

People were gathering because of the corpse disposal, so I consciously used an ordinary tone rather than speaking like an emperor.

"Where are you going?"

"To the provincial capital. I want to hear for myself what rumors are going around."

I omitted the words "about me."

"I-In that case, I'll go wi—go with you."

"With me?"

"Yeah, I'll guide you. I know where those kinds of rumors gather."

"Hmm."

I nodded, mulling it over.

Infiltrating alone would be simpler, but having a local guide would certainly make things smoother.

"All right, can I count on you?"

"Yes!"

Evidently thrilled that I, the Emperor, was relying on her, Etna beamed brightly, summoned another subordinate, and gave them instructions.

Once she finished, I set out from the village with her.

☆

"I-Is this a monster?!"

After leaving the village and walking for a while, Etna grew puzzled as to why I wasn't getting inside the carriage.

Realizing I hadn't introduced them yet, I gave Mule a quick call, having it poke just its head outside.

The mere sight of the monster's face gave Etna such a shock that she nearly recoiled.

"W-What is the meaning of this?"

"I ended up keeping it. Its name is Mule."

"K-Keeping it, you say...?"

"Mule, she isn't an enemy. Don't attack her."

"Miki!"

At my command, Mule responded with round, bead-like eyes and an endearing squeak.

Seeing that, Etna was even more astonished.

"It's so obedient..."

"Indeed."

"Your Majesty is incredible... I've never heard of a human taming a monster so naturally."

"Umu."

I gave a small nod.

The Empire had certainly succeeded in "controlling" monsters.

However, that was achieved through something akin to brainwashing.

In stark contrast, Mule's behavior and demeanor were closer to that of a pet.

It was no wonder Etna was so shocked.

Before long, our destination came into view.

Gopher Province, the provincial capital of Itosugi.

Though it had long been imperial territory, its position on the western frontier's front lines meant the outer wall encircling the city was towering; in terms of fortification, it was a city that rivaled even the Imperial Capital.

Once we reached a vantage point overlooking Itosugi, I called out to Mule inside the carriage.

"Wait here for a little while."

"Miki?"

"I'll be back in about a night."

Mule looked crestfallen, gazing at me with lingering reluctance.

I gave it a firm pat.

Jumping down from the driver's seat, I asked Behemoth,

"Can you divert attention away from the carriage?"

"A simple task."

"No problem, then. I'll return in a night. I leave this to you."

"Understood."

"Um... Your Majesty? Who are you speaking to?"

"Bahamut."

"That's the same name as the Great Sage of ancient times, but... what on earth is that...?"

Etna asked, glancing restlessly around.

Explaining Leviathan and Behemoth would take too long, so I gave a vague brush-off and began walking.

Etna fell into step behind me.

There was still some distance to Itosugi, so I figured I would ask while we had the time.

"Is security tight at the city gates?"

"That won't be an issue. The captain is an acquaintance of mine, so if I slip him a little pocket money, he'll let us through easily."

"I see."

I nodded, satisfied.

Thinking that things were the same everywhere, I didn't feel particularly strongly about it.

"There's no need to waste money there, is there?"

"Eh? Then what will you do?"

"Let's enter separately. We can just meet up inside."

"Entering separately is fine, but Your Majesty, do you have a way in?"

"No problem."

I nodded and, this time, contacted Ziz purely through my thoughts.

It would only cause trouble if she asked "Who is Ziz?" right after Bahamut.

Just like Bahamut, Ziz agreed without hesitation.

"I'll go on ahead."

"Eh? What does that—eeeeh?!"

Behind me, from the ground, Etna's bewildered screech rang out.

Ziz, the existence known as the magic bird that soars through the sky.

Borrowing Ziz's power, I vaulted high into the vast expanse of the sky, flying in a straight line toward the castle.

"A-Amazing!"

Etna's cheer from behind quickly receded and faded into silence.

"Leviathan."

"Umu."

Even flying like this, the chances of going unnoticed were high.

Normally, enemies almost never descended from above, so the guarding soldiers rarely bothered looking up at the sky.

On top of that, I had Leviathan use Misdirection.

Incidentally, strictly speaking, any of them could handle the Misdirection.

Leviathan, Bahamut, Behemoth—any of them could do it.

The principle was simply "creating an overwhelming presence on the opposite side," a feat easily managed by any of them given their immense power.

And so, I leisurely flew over the ramparts and slipped into the castle grounds of Itosugi.

I realized this, too, was a trick that would eventually become useless.

Since no human ever infiltrated from the air, attention was never directed upward, making Misdirection exceptionally effective; however, once the possibility of an aerial approach became known—especially in the middle of active combat—it would no longer work.

I reminded myself to exploit it fully while I still could.

Landing on the ground, I headed toward the city gate.

Once the gate came into view, I stopped and waited for Etna.

Before long, Etna slipped effortlessly through the gate and stepped inside, so I approached and called out to her.

"Etna."

"Eh? Y-Your Ma—"

"There are people watching."

"—Ah, um, yes....Where are you?"

"I'm close by."

"Close by, you say... yes, you're close, your voice is right next to me... but... where?"

Etna looked around frantically.

Growing flustered at not being able to spot me, she took on an anxious look.

The provincial capital of Itosugi was the heart of enemy territory; since I preferred not to have my face seen, I was using Misdirection at full power.

I had originally planned to infiltrate this way, but trying to move together with Etna seemed to pose a slight issue.

"Then I'll lend a hand."

"Behemoth? Lend a hand how?"

"Eh? Eh? Eeeh?"

Leaving aside the utterly baffled Etna for the moment, I listened to Behemoth.

"It's simple. While Leviathan diverts the surrounding attention, I'll just draw hers directly to you."

"...I see."

I gave a small nod.

If one could divert attention, then focusing attention would be just as easy.

While having a single person divert and attract focus simultaneously was complex, if two split the tasks between them, it wasn't difficult at all.

"Understood. I'm counting on you."

"Okaay."

Immediately after that innocent, boyish voice rang out, Etna's eyes snapped directly toward me.

"There you are!"

"I've been here the whole time."

"Eh? But..."

"It's something of a special talent of mine. I doubt anyone could beat me at hide-and-seek."

"Y-Yeah... I believe it. Being unable to find you even though I can hear your voice is an incredible skill."

"Well then, shall we have you show me around?"

"Ah, right."

Etna nodded, and muttering, "I wonder where we should start," she moved to take a step forward.

"Milady!"

A man came running toward Etna in a fluster.

Rushing up to her, the man rested his hands on his knees, panting for breath.

"Thank goodness, I found you right away."

"What's wrong?"

"The master says you are to return immediately."

"Father? If it's about that matter, word should have already reached him."

"No, this is a different matter."

"A different one?"

"Yes. In any case, he insists that you return at once."

"...What is this about?"

Etna furrowed her brow and cast a glance my way.

Keeping my voice down so the man wouldn't hear, I said to Etna,

"Go with him. I'll come find you later."

"A-All right."

Nodding, Etna followed the servant who had come to fetch her.

Left alone, I considered my next move.

"Might as well go catch a glimpse of Eiler Noufe's face."

One of the things I wanted to accomplish after infiltrating Itosugi was to see Eiler Noufe with my own eyes.

He was a former imperial royal, the man who had seized Itosugi and proclaimed himself emperor.

Naturally, his security ought to be exceptionally tight.

It wasn't that I couldn't have brought Etna along, but going alone was undoubtedly easier and far more certain.

I set off toward the center of Itosugi.

I had the map of the city hammered into my head, and I knew the location of the government office where Eiler Noufe was likely staying.

Weaving through the passing pedestrians, I headed there.

"I see... It wasn't so bad in an encampment where most people stay put, but in a town where civilians wander around haphazardly, being 'unseen' is quite a nuisance."

I let out a faint, wry smile.

Even now, I kept attention diverted through Leviathan.

Because of that, I nearly collided with pedestrians several times.

To put it simply, every single pedestrian was walking while looking away from me.

Of course collisions were inevitable under those conditions.

Back in the encampment, most of the soldiers had been standing in place, so it hadn't been an issue, but when everyone was walking at their own pace while actively looking elsewhere, running into people became dangerously easy.

Experiencing it firsthand, I realized that the "escape after assassination" I had mentioned to Henry was indeed near impossible.

Turning over such thoughts, I finally arrived at the government office.

"...It's practically a royal palace."

I was somewhat dumbfounded.

The provincial government office looked vastly different from the prior intelligence I had received.

In a word, it was a palace.

That was the exact impression the building gave off.

Traces of rushed construction were visible here and there, suggesting Eiler had forced the renovations through.

Keeping Leviathan's Misdirection active, I stepped inside the palatial government office.

"Haaah... what a drag. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Isn't being bored a good thing? Or what? Do you want to go to the front lines too?"

The two soldiers standing guard at the entrance were chatting idly, so I paused to listen in.

"The front lines would be way better."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's an army where the Emperor is just running wild; no matter how you look at it, isn't it an all-you-can-take buffet for military glory?"

"Well, true."

"And yet we're stuck in a place like this... There's no way they could push an attack all the way out here, so what's the point of guarding a gate?"

"Want to go plead directly to the captain to send you?"

"Maybe I will~"

"..."

After listening to what was essentially a string of idle grumbles, I slipped away without a word.

After that, I crossed paths with numerous soldiers in group after group.

Most were completely slack; some gathered to gamble or drink, and worst of all, a few were openly fooling around with court ladies in broad daylight.

I was genuinely shocked that discipline had degraded to the point of being practically nonexistent.

Frankly, I began to wonder if I couldn't have just strolled in without Misdirection at all.

"...Surely not."

Shaking my head, I brushed aside the absurd thought.

Just as I told myself, surely things couldn't be that lax.

And yet, the thought lingered that it might actually be possible.

I glanced out at the sky; dusk had given way to night as the setting sun vanished, leaving everything shrouded in darkness.

The surroundings had grown pitch-black.

"..."

The lights—still hadn't been lit.

A few flickered here and there, but the pace of lighting them was abysmally slow.

I wondered if I would be fine even without Misdirection right now.

"...Leviathan."

"Understood."

Responding to my command, Leviathan deactivated the Misdirection.

I knew it was risky.

Even so, the nagging conviction that this might actually work had been steadily growing.

With the Misdirection dispelled, I advanced relying purely on stealth.

Though the building had been remodeled into a palace through hasty construction, the core layout remained largely unchanged.

I made my way toward the room where Eiler was most likely staying.

I encountered a soldier along the way, but...

Using his spear as a makeshift cane, he was sound asleep on his feet.

I strolled leisurely right past him.

"..."

I was dumbfounded—utterly dumbfounded.

Eiler had proclaimed himself emperor.

To them, this place was an imperial palace, the one location where security rightfully should have been at its most impenetrable.

And yet, I had breached it with laughable ease.

It made me think that an assassination, just as Henry had suggested, might actually be entirely feasible.

"...Ridiculous."

I once again cast aside the thought.

Before long, I arrived outside Eiler's quarters.

There was a guard posted—as expected, at least one was present.

Just as I prepared to use Misdirection to slip inside...

"Hey, shift change!"

"Got it."

Another soldier called out from down the hall, and the guard in front of the door simply walked away.

"............Are you kidding me?"

My exasperation deepened.

Relieving a post was supposed to be done on the spot.

Otherwise, it created a blind spot and an unmonitored window of time, which was why proper handover procedures were standard military practice.

Yet they hadn't bothered.

Footsteps echoed from down the corridor, but the distance was great enough that by the time I slipped through the door, the relief guard still hadn't arrived.

Stepping inside—the room reeked of alcohol.

The stench of booze was overwhelming.

Looking across the room, I saw an enormous bed where a single man lay sprawled out, an arm wrapped around a woman on either side.

As I drew near, the heavy scent of liquor wafted from all three, sharply stinging my nostrils.

In a sense, this part didn't surprise me.

Just as I had played the part myself, there was nothing unusual about a ruler at the pinnacle of power indulging in wine and women.

If the perimeter security had been ironclad, I wouldn't have found this out of place in the slightest.

However, that wasn't the case at all.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"The new guard outside is yawning and looks ready to collapse into sleep at any moment."

At Leviathan's report... a fresh wave of disbelief washed over me, marking the countless time I had felt it since infiltrating the palace.

And, for the third time...

The word "assassination" crossed my mind.

"............"

Approaching the bed, I drew Leviathan and stood over Eiler.

Casting aside the very last hesitation in my heart, I thrust Leviathan forward.

The blade pierced clean through Eiler's chest—straight through his heart.

Eiler's eyes snapped open for a fraction of a second, but without managing even a single gasp, his life was snuffed out on the spot.

I threw open the window and vaulted into the courtyard below.

Then, navigating the utterly nonexistent security without needing Leviathan's Misdirection almost at all, I slipped out of the government office and vanished into the city streets.

"...It's done."

I stood there, stunned.

Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined it would be this easy; I was left entirely speechless.

"Master."

As if struck by a thought, Leviathan spoke up.

"Hm?"

"Master evaluated humans too highly."

"...Henry and Neil told me the exact same thing."

"Because you evaluated even incompetent humans highly, this is the result."

"..."

Leviathan's blunt assessment left me with conflicted feelings.

I truly had given them too much credit, hadn't I?

Thinking of all the intricate plans and preparations I had laid out, a dry, bitter laugh escaped me.