--Princess's office.

　It's been two days since the social party that had Richter scratching his head.
　It's been two days since the social party that Richter was pondering over. Richter was again drooling, wondering why the royal family's call was so cold compared to the glittering feast hosted by the nobility.

　But that's what I'm saying.
　I can't really say it out loud.
　I am in the service of the royal family, and I will serve the kingdom.

...... You're becoming more and more comfortable with me being here, aren't you, Your Highness?
I've never had any qualms. I'm glad to see that you've shed your unnecessary caution.
It's not unnecessary. ......

　I'm glad that you're the one who's losing your guard.

　I guess one of the changes is that I've been able to get some idea of what she's up to from this mysterious, fearful creature.
　Although she is indeed a frightening person, and I don't know what she is thinking. But I somehow know that she is not the kind of monster who summons you and then tries to eat you.

　Nevertheless, I understand that if I say something careless, I will be immediately subjected to all kinds of inconveniences as a pledge, and will be cut off as soon as I am no longer useful.

　The only thing I can do is to show my competence and plan my countermeasures against her behind the scenes.

　She tilted her teacup and looked up at Richter standing in front of her desk and smiled.
　I wonder if Richter is the only one who sees a tremendous amount of evil in that troubled smile.

"This terrorist attack.

　The way she broached the subject was more like a tyrant than a princess.

What?
Wouldn't it have been better if we had formed a common front a little earlier?
Well, I don't know. I had to find out who the enemy was.

　I've been trying to figure out who the enemy is.

　Richter narrowed his eyes slightly.
　Richter had a pretty good idea what the purpose of the call was.

　It was definitely something to do with terrorism.
　On top of that, was she an ally or an enemy of Richter? While leaving aside the fact that both would have the article "for now".

Can I assume that you have some idea of the situation?
"Well, yes. Well, yes. At least you know that His Highness wants to stop it.
Yes. Of course, ...... it's clear that their goal is to stop the Spectacula show - and thus destroy your economic base and mine.
"Yes.

　Affirmative.
　Richter nodded his head in agreement.
　At least a statement has been made. And now they're calling for the restoration of the Shah.
　That's what they're after.

　However.
　The princess and the Lord Treasurer are not fools to believe that.

　If they really took it at face value, the meeting would have been held a little earlier, and more importantly, it would have already been crushed.

　Why not? 　

And then there's the question of what the people behind it are thinking.
What do you know about that?
I know that a certain nobleman is in cahoots with a branch of the court mages.
Oh, about the same. Gracials, right?
Yes.

　In the first place. 　
　I'm sure you'll be able to find something that will help you.
　It's a high price to pay for taking a stand against the nobility. However, the fact that this situation is still going on makes it almost certain that there is someone in the same "nobility" who is protecting them.

　Both of them have thought about that line for a long time now - they don't even know if they are each other's enemies, which is why it has taken them so long to meet each other.

　But on the other hand, the fact that the two of you are now in agreement means that you both know that you are innocent.

"The terrorism of the bombing of the nobleman's residence and others. Leave aside for the moment the bored people who mistake it for justice. I know roughly what Gringott's behind this.
I thought it had something to do with the court mage.
Yes. I thought it was a court mage. - Yes. It's probably to extract Spectacular's magic technology, including Diffused Voice Magic.
I'm not sure what to say.

　It's not surprising that Richter was upset.
　It is true that Richter also thought about that line.

　In addition to the factions led by Hura, there are several other groups of court mages.
　And in the past, the group of mages connected to the warlords had held the power.

　Hura has the most power now because he's the one who's in charge of all Spectacula-related matters with Lilac.

　Of course, it's not surprising that there are forces that don't like that, and considering the decline of the warlord faction, which is rapidly diminishing, there's no doubt that there are feelings of envy.

　There are times when different factions keep their technologies secret from each other, and diffuse voice magic is one of them.
　It's not surprising that they would want to take advantage of the situation and steal the formula, but...

Where can you get enough gunpowder to blow up a spectacle?
Yes, .......

　Lilac's lips pursed in contemplation.

　In fact, this is the reason why Richter himself dismissed this theory.
　In the event that you're blowing up the mansion of an aristocrat, it's unlikely that you'll be able to prepare enough gunpowder to shatter the Spectacula, a stone stronghold with a capacity of 5,000 spectators.

　Even the private sector is forbidden to manufacture this stuff. The same goes for the aristocracy.

　I understand you have enough explosives hidden away to blow up a mansion, but that's outrageous.

　Just...


　The fact that she said it means that she thinks it's at least possible.

"What do you mean?

　There was nothing else to do but ask.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

Have you heard about the bombing of a private restaurant?
"...... Yeah, well. It was so far out there that it was a little hard to piece together as information.

　There are three main levels of intelligence investigation skills.
　First, the ability to gather a lot of information. This simply requires a wide network of people and the ability to determine where information is likely to be found.
　Second, the ability to scrutinize the gathered information. The ability to gather false information, disinformation, and other such inaccurate information, and to verify its authenticity.
　And finally, the ability to connect the situation from the gathered information and derive the truth.

　Richter also had the information itself, but had cut it off after the last ability. He had been sitting on the idea that it was another group that had stolen the gunpowder, or that they were bluffing or something.

I went to the scene.
"Yourself?
Yes. Yes. I found out something interesting.
...... doesn't sound very interesting at all, does it?
There was hardly a trace of gunpowder.
"What ......?

　Instead, what I found was a small piece of stone that I randomly rolled onto my desk.
　Richter quietly picked up the thumb-sized piece, which could have been a fragment of the wall from the explosion.

　He looked at it carefully, as if inspecting it, and realized.

"............ What's this imprint?
I had Hura check it out, and she said it was definitely a magic imprint.
"What the hell is ......?

　I'm not sure what to make of this.

　The premise was wrong in the first place.

　There was no such thing as gunpowder production in the background.
　No wonder they couldn't find the site of the smuggling, and there were no signs of intrusion into the abandoned mine.

　Richter sighs as he realizes that most of his hard work has been for naught.

　Even Richter had gone to the burned nobleman's house to investigate.
　But he couldn't tell which was the gunpowder and which was the embers of the mansion because the house had completely collapsed.

　--The scary part was this woman.

　How could she look at such a small piece of stone among the debris of the bombed wall?

"You mean that?

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.
So that's what you're saying.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.

"Well, we'll see what we can do.

　I'll take care of it.

"Oh, yes?　Blow it up?
"Yes. Well, as far as blowing up Spectacula, to be precise.
"Well, ......, okay. If that's okay with you, Your Highness.

　I still have a hard time believing in blowing up the spectacle.
　But if it happens, it will be the biggest deal of all, that's for sure.

　If you're willing to do whatever it takes.
　Why did you call Richter?

...... It's kind of weird, isn't it?
What do you mean?

　A small, sigh.
　A small, sighing sigh, with a lustrous breath and boring eyes.

　She tells me in an annoyed tone.

I'm not sure what to make of this. I can understand the motives of .......
"............ I see. That's true.

　Richter understood what I was trying to say.
　I understand what they do, and why they do it. Why did they do what they did? Why they did what they did.

　"It explains a lot.

　But.

"Why did they do it?"
Yes. A terrorist act is a last resort. It's what people do when they're trapped. So are they in that much trouble now? Me, Richter, Hurrah. By the hands of Spectacula.
...... It's easy to say that it depends on how they feel.
Exactly. If that's what they think, then it makes sense. But ......


"His Highness feels there's a bit of a discrepancy there. It could be a thing, it could be a person, it could be a belief, it could be a hallucination.

　It could be a thing, it could be a person, it could be a belief, it could be a hallucination.
　The possibilities are many. But Lilac's point is one.

　We're not at the end of the proof yet.

Okay. You've shared this much information with me. I'll proceed with my investigation.

　After all, Lilac said she'd take care of blowing up Spectacula. I'm not leaving here empty-handed.
　--It seems like this was her goal all along.

Yes, please. ...... And, Richter.
What is it?

　I'm not sure what you're talking about.

The aristocrats around you are being targeted one by one. Do you know what to do about it?
"How to deal with it?

　We'll work to stop them.
　I'm not sure if there's anything else to it," he said, shaking his head with a sigh.

I'm sure you're not the only one who can't keep your feet on the ground. The purpose of the ...... opponent has been you, Richter, from the beginning. Then why did he attack your people?
Isn't ...... a threat to me?
Yes, that's one thing. There is more than one background to things. There can be more than one agenda. --I'm asking you, is there anyone in your faction who isn't being targeted?
...... Well, yes.
Then are they still with you?
...... They've moved away. Well, you can't blame them if you think they're going to blow up your house.

　Lilac shook her head in disbelief.

　She looked straight at Richter and said.


It's the other way around.


　Before Richter could respond, everything clicked in his mind, "What?
　Reverse. What does that mean?

　It's about order.

　You didn't leave because you didn't want to be targeted.

　You're not a target because you left.

　And what that means is.




"Lord Lusgood. Why don't you join us instead of staying with Richter and admiring his jewels?
"No, thank you. My family still owes Mr. Lichter money.
"Even if I were to pay your debt to ......?
You owe him, don't you?　I'm not just talking about money.
"Well, ......, that's too bad.




　If you're contacted and don't nod, you're being set up.

No way.
So keep an eye out for those who are still around you. That's the least I can do. ...... Well, I guess that's my advice to you.
...... Thank you, sir.

　As Richter walked away with his head bowed, Lilac muttered to herself, looking as bored as ever.

I'm sure you've heard of it. I told you so. I hope you received more than just words. If you don't, they'll come after your people too, not just the ...... "nobles".

　Well, whatever.











　--Hammot Mansion.

　A few days later.
　The Hammotts had an unusual visitor.

　His name was Gracile G. Gringott. 　

　A young aristocrat at odds with Richter, the leader of his faction.

　However, given his position, there was no way he could refuse.

　The Boneless Hammot welcomed him and led Gracial straight to the dining room.
　There are a lot of soldiers here, he thought.

　For some reason, he hid the three slaves he was bringing to King's Landing in the back.

　If Gracile catches sight of them and asks for them, I'm afraid he will. They are yours.

What can I do for you, ......? I have some delicious meat. You can have it for dinner if you like.
No, I'm going to talk and then I'm going to leave. No problem.
I'm going to talk to him and then leave.

　If you slump down, the fat around your neck will sag.

　This is a great way to get the most out of your time and money.



　Boneless sits with him. I'm used to that kind of stare.
　The soldiers behind me give me the same look, but they are nobles and soldiers. They don't say anything in particular.

So, what's the story?
"No. It's simple. --Come with me.
"......, sir?
I really don't know why this doesn't make sense to you. ...... Well, just look at Richter's situation now. He's stubbornly trying to maintain the spectacle even when terrorists are trying to kill him. It's a muddy ship. Let's pick it up before it sinks.
"Oh, I see.

　He wipes his greasy forehead with a good handkerchief.
　The boneless man rubs his hands fidgety.

You see, ......, that's it. I betrayed you, Richter.
It was Richter who betrayed me. He wouldn't protect his own people in a situation like this.
That's the way it is, huh?
You have a family. You have a territory. A position to protect, a nobleman's duty is a hard thing. There's no reason for you to abandon that and join him.
Huh. ...... Well, ......
Isn't that right?

　Crossing his legs, Gracial continued.

"From what I hear, it's not like he's got a big post. I can get you a better deal than he can. What do you think?
"Well, ...... let me tell you, there's not much to be gained ...... by having someone like me.
There's no such thing.
What?

　I'm sure you've heard of it.

You've got unlimited potential. It doesn't matter what you do now. You just have to work harder from now on. Am I right?
"I see. ...... I see. ......

　Graciel's confusion irritated him.
　--In fact, he really wanted to bring Boneless in.

　Apparently, this man was in charge of some important documents from Richter.
　A detailed map of Spectacula, for example.

　That's why we didn't blow up the house, and that's why we want to keep Boneless around for the future.

"Well, what do you want? I'll give you what you want. Money, women, whatever you want.

　But if I show it, it will be obvious that I intend to take the thing and be done with it.
　That's why Gracial was cautious.

　But he had already sent a few soldiers to search the house.

"Well, yes. What do you want, huh?

　As if in a bit of distress, the boneless man grasps the handkerchief with both hands after wiping his forehead and plays with his hands.
　It's also quite irritating to see them tormenting themselves.

　Gracial let out a sigh and said.

"You know... I'm not here to ask for favors. I'm not here to ask you to do anything, I'm here to give you whatever you want.
"Oh, I see. ...... On your orders. ......
Yeah. Well, if it's an order, what do you want?　It's okay if you have to. At first.
Yes, well, ...... if it's an order, there's no choice .......

　I'm sure you're not the only one.

So, that's it. I'd like to ask you a quick favor.
"Yes, Mr. Graciel.

　You'll be able to get a lot more than just a few of these.
　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a number of things you can do.

　What is it?　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few things to do.

　Gracial looked at Boneless with an irritated look on his face, "Why don't you just get comfortable instead of being scared?

　It's a good idea to have a handkerchief to wipe your forehead with.

You can find a lot of things that you can do to make your life easier.


"Well, I guess you could say that. ......


"I've ...... been taking advantage of it. I am.


　He bowed deeply.


　Gracial said, "I see.