I don't know what's been going on with the Empire lately.

　After Yae and I completed the guild's request, Logan-san, whom I bumped into in a coffee shop, began to say something like that.

''Funny what?''
'Somehow it's ... odd. The Empire, like Belfast, is divided into an army and a group of knights. It's the army for invading and defending other countries, and the knightly order for guarding the imperial capital and the royal palace. I've heard that there's been a noticeable strengthening of forces in the military lately, but so far the Empire has no countries that are openly hostile to it.
Isn't that the kind of country we're going to invade?

　Yae, sitting next to her, opened her mouth to face Mr. Logan, but it was Rebecca, who was with him, not Mr. Logan, who answered her.

''That's unlikely. The emperor is now ill in the empire. The next emperor, the crown prince, is still just over twenty years old, and frankly, he's still not strong enough to carry the empire on his shoulders. There would be no benefit in starting a war now.

　Is the emperor sick? Is it impossible to invade another country when the country is in turmoil?
　At least they won't come to our side. Belfast has alliances with the Kingdom of Lefries in the west and the Kingdom of Mismid in the south. It seems that the current empire doesn't have the power to fight all three countries at once.

"You're concerned about the possibility of being attacked by other countries after the Emperor's death, aren't you?

　Belfast has no intention of doing so, but it's someone we were at war with about 20 years ago. It's not strange to be alarmed.
　Besides, there are some countries to the east of the Empire that aren't too friendly with the Empire, such as the Rhodomea Federation and the Lamish Church State.



'I don't think any country would benefit from picking a fight with the Empire under the current circumstances. No, if Belfast, Lefries, Mismid, Rhodomea, and Lamish all attack the Empire, we might win easily.
''After that, there's going to be quite a struggle over how to divide up the imperial territory.

　I answer Mr. Logan with a laugh. Well, I'll just pay it off when the fireworks come over here.
　I leave them and stop by Tsukuyomi to find a request for a shipment. I was alarmed to see if it was that kind of thing again, but this time it was a proper mystery and adventure story. However, it's a bit tricky to get a hold of these books because they're both published by Teikoku. After listening to what you said earlier.

Well, it's not like they're going to do anything to me, so I'll just go over and buy it. What do you think about Yae?
I'm going to invite Lord Linse upstairs to come home, that I will. It's time for a snack, that it is.

　Lately, when she's free, Linse has been reading here. Well, she's been reading some historical stuff lately.
　I asked Yae to take her back to the city, because if left alone, she might stay here all day.
　Well, let's go to the Imperial Capital then.
　I opened the 'gate' in the shade of the shop and transitioned to the imperial capital, Galaria.





''Wha... what the hell is this...?

　The first thing that jumped into my mind was a row of burning houses and flying sparks. For a moment I thought it was a fire, but it was not. Fire was rising everywhere in the imperial capital, and people were fleeing the city. What the hell! What's happening?
　He uses Gravity to lighten his weight and then Boost to strengthen himself. Then I jump up in one go and land on the roof of the building.

''Hey, hey...''

　From there, we see ordinary citizens running away and soldiers in black uniforms ignoring them as they head for the castle. And the knights in black armor stand in front of them to stop them. A cutting contest has begun around here and there. Wait a minute, this is.........
　A scream goes up nearby. When I run through the roof to the scene, I see two soldiers in black military uniforms chasing down one black knight. The knight has blood pouring from his shoulder and mouth, and his left hand already seems to be useless.
　I don't know, but let's stop those guys anyway. We can't just sit back and watch them get killed.
　I landed behind the soldiers and shot a paralyzing bullet at the two people who turned around in surprise.

''Guhaha!
Huh?

　The soldiers crumble down easily. Seeing this, the knight who was wounded from his knees collapses.

''Are you alright!

　I'll use my recovery magic to heal your wounds. Her wounds have healed, but she seems to be in a daze. His eyes are unfocused. He's lost too much blood.

What the hell happened?
The military... has plotted against the Emperor...

　When he said that, the knight was disappointed and fainted.
　The military is rebelling against the emperor........ Hey, hey, is this a coup d'état!
　For now, he carried the knight and carried him into a nearby house. There was no one in the house, but they probably escaped. I lay him down on the floor and put more recovery magic on him. I don't think this will kill him.
　I leave the house and go up to the roof again. I'll have to assess the situation first.

"Search. Er, soldier and knight in different colors.
"...end of search. Displaying. 1,265 soldiers in red and 1,265 knights in blue.

　Almost tenfold.... Isn't that a story? On the map displayed in front of you, the one in red is a soldier and the one in blue is a knight. The screen is dyed red.
　Now, what do we do? At any rate, it's another country, there's no need to get into it. It's possible to just go back to Belfast, just report and be done with it.......

"That's not going to happen........

　What is the purpose of those who staged the coup in this case? Treason against the Emperor. The head of the Emperor.

'Let's head for the castle. And if the emperor is there, we could send him into exile in Belfast.

　But I'm pretty sure the emperor is sick, right? Well, if it comes down to it, let's transition the whole bed.
　I run as if I were flying over the roof. The closer I get to the castle, the more I see the knights and the soldiers, and there is a battle going on all around. I shake it off and run to the castle.
　I don't know what's going on in this country. It's not impossible that they could be righteous soldiers revolting against the evil emperor. To be honest, I can't decide whether it's better to stop this coup or to let it go on as is.
　For now, if the emperor is gone, the fighting may calm down, and we can talk to the people who staged the coup later. That's all I can think of for now.

"Well. So that's the gate.

　The gates had already been breached and the army was already making its way into the castle. Should they hurry?
　As I was thinking about this, a corner of the castle exploded. What the hell!
　Several fireballs are released from the explosion. It's magic. It's getting more and more dangerous.
　I jumped over the top of the castle gate and jumped up to the castle's second floor balcony. From the balcony, I crept into the interior of the castle.

"Now, I don't know which of the emperor's rooms is this...

　There's no point in searching for it if I can't find it myself. If I can't determine that it's the emperor's room, it's useless. I'm sure "throne" or something like that would be a hit.
There's no point in worrying about it. We'll get out of this room for now.
　As expected of an emperor's castle, or should I say the castle of an emperor, as soon as I pulled the door from the corner of the luxurious room to open it, a rumbling person came tumbling into the room.

''Whoa!''

　It was a female knight who rolled over. She was apparently leaning against the door. She was limp and motionless, but there was a firm intent in her eyes that made me ask, "Who are you? I looked at him.
　It didn't look like he was injured anywhere, but hidden by his semi-long blonde hair, he had something that looked like a needle stuck in his neck. I carefully pulled it out and held it out in front of me to see if it was coated with something. Could it be poisonous? We have to get him back on his feet.

I'll fix you up now, but I'm not your enemy, so please don't try to cut me down, okay?

　In the meantime, I'm going to preface this by saying that I'm going to focus my magic power.

'Recovery.'

　A soft light enveloped the female knight. After a while, she got up and made sure her hands moved closed and open, but then suddenly stood up and pulled out the two swords at her waist and swung them at me. Hey! That's not what you said!

"Gravity!
Guffaw!

　I quickly grabbed my arm and activated the weighted magic, but since I was in a hurry, I seemed to take it easy a little bit, and the crumbling female knight was left crawling on the ground, seemingly unable to move a single finger. She lightened the weight a bit and crouched down as it was and called out to her.

''I said you weren't an enemy, why are you slashing at me?''
Who are you! If he's not from the Order, he's from the army! If you are in the army, you are now the enemy! Therefore, I will cut it down!

　Huh? He's not very smart, is he? I don't know what he's talking about.

"First of all, I'm not in the military. You don't even wear a military uniform. First of all, if you're in the military, there's no need for me to save you.
Speaking of which...
'I mean, I'm not even from the Empire. I'm Mochizuki Fuyao. I'm an adventurer from Belfast, and I happened to come across this commotion when I came to the Imperial Capital. The reason why I sneaked into the castle is because I can use transference magic, so I thought I could escape the Emperor's Majesty and other important people in this country.

　The female knight's expression changes as she listens to the explanation. A change from doubt to hope.

'Transition magic ... is that true? If it's true, then I'm asking for help!
Okay, but you're not going to attack me again, are you?
I understand. I swear on my double sword.

　She stood up as I deactivated "Gravity" and she moved her body, jumping lightly. Storing the two swords, she turned to me.

'Fuyao-san, was it? I'm Caroline Riette. Please call me Carol. I'm a Knight of the Second Class, belonging to the Third Order of the Empire.''

　I'm not sure if it's called the second level or something, but I nodded for the moment. At that time, the emblem drawn on the hilt end of the sword suddenly caught my eye. Gryphon and shield, twin swords and laurel........oh? Somewhere...?
　Before I could confirm this, I ran through the castle with Carol-san leading the way. The corpses of knights and soldiers were lying here and there, and the smell of blood filled the entire area.
　Isn't this bad........ The odds are slim for the Emperor to stay safe if he's been attacked this far.
　As I followed Carol's lead, I thought of the worst-case scenario.