'Well, Fuyu-dono. Have you been researching the Sandra Kingdom lately?
Yeah, I was just about to ask you that.
You're a quick learner...

　The King of Belfast and Emperor Regulus let out an unintentionally dumbfounded voice at the words of the King of Belfast and Emperor Regulus.
　After the regular meeting of the East-West Alliance, the representatives of each country wanted to relax for the first time in a long time, so the playroom was released until the evening.
　Me, King Belfast, Emperor Regulus, and King Mismid Beast were sitting around the sparrow table, while Knight King Restia and King Linier were playing billiards with other young kings.
　The Governor of Rhodomea and Emperor Liefries were in the soundproofed area in the corner of the playroom, intoxicated by Brother Kanosuke's piano and Claire's cooking, while Pope Ramish was in the opposite corner, chatting about gods with Sister Hanakoi, Sister Morobane, Uncle Kosuke and Sister Karina. By the way, Drunken Flower is sleeping in her room with a bottle of sake.

'Well, it means Fuyadono isn't the only one investigating Sandra. Oops, Beast King, it pon.
There are a lot of places in that country that are causing me problems...
Is that so?

　As I listen to him, I pick up a tile from the mountain in front of me. I don't want it. I throw it away.

I heard that after Euron disappeared, more and more slavers began to gather there. Even in Regulus, there have been reports of incidents where people are believed to have been kidnapped by slavers.
'Ours too. There was an incident where a group of bandits attacked the village and kidnapped young men, women and children. There is no doubt that slavers are involved behind the scenes. The beastmen would be high fighting slaves. And Sandra is the hotbed of those slavers.

　It's true that mismids are easy to infiltrate beyond the Great Sea of Trees, and the beastmen have all kinds of special abilities depending on their race. It must be a tasty business for a slave trader.

''Let's just crush that country, Fuyao-dono.
Haha, that's good. Fuyu-dono has a shot. If you want, we can help you, too.
If we just rode in with a few frame gears, we could take over King's Landing in less than a day.
"Well you make it look like you're joking and you're half serious, right?
".........................

　All three of us will be facing the day after tomorrow. Hey Kora, look at me.

I was joking when I said I wanted you to crush Sandra, but I'd appreciate it if you could do something about the slaves.

　If you just take the words, it feels like the problem is not so much the Kingdom of Sandra as it is the slave-traders who are trying to capture people from other countries as slaves. I can't help it if those merchants are also working under the orders of the state, though.
　There's no country that has diplomatic relations with that country more than Euron. The first thing they might do is go to the nearby Lyle Kingdom or something.

The problem is still the 'collar of enslavement'........

　How do they mass-produce that 'collar of enslavement' in the first place? Is there a granting magician who can use enchantment-based magic like me?
　But if it's non-attribute magic, it's not inherited. If it's only for one generation, will it be able to spread through the Sandra Kingdom for this long?
　That's right, even if the slave dies, the collar remains, so it can be used around, right?
　In general, who's holding the slavers together? Is he the king? Or..........

''Oh, Fuyu-dono, it's Ron. It's Qinitsu. 12,000 leaping manpower.
The "th.

　With a snap, His Majesty the Beast King knocked over the Tsutsuji 《Pins》 one-color tiles. Oops. I didn't think I'd be able to see the hand...
　I'll pay off the dotted stick and start over. This time, the tiles in the hand are also very delicate....

''........Wasn't the Sandra Kingdom originally founded by a 'slave king' or something?'''
'Yes. In those days, there were many tribes that were engaged in skirmishes. But then a man appeared at a moment's notice and united the tribes and founded the Kingdom of Sandra.
'The man wore shackles with chains on his feet, and it is said that he was a slave in some country or a gladiator.

　So you're a "slave king". The gladiators of some country escaped and drifted away. I don't know if there were slaves in that era too.

But there's a theory that they turned the leaders of their tribes into slaves.
'Hmm, it's been suggested that it was the Great Wizard afterwards who mass-produced the Enslavement Collar, but it was the Slave King who created the original one.

　I twist my head at the mention of the Beast King and the Emperor. Mmm. Then you're saying that the power of the collar forcibly brought the tribes together and created a country? But I don't think a mere gladiator could do that. I'm sure he has something up his sleeve.
　Freeing Sandra's slaves isn't too difficult. What happens if we free her? Rebellion........or escape.
　The oppressed slaves wouldn't forgive the nobles.
　Even if the aristocrats are all people who don't even consider people as human beings, is it because they have been brought up in such an environment? But that doesn't mean I can't admit that, though.
　Mmmm........ Or should I tell the king of the other country to free the slaves brought in illegally from other countries?
　But do you think he'll just say it and obey? There's no way they would comply. Normally, economic sanctions or something like that might be possible, but that country doesn't have diplomatic relations itself, you know.
　The food situation isn't good enough for the slaves, and although two-thirds of the country is a desert, the rest is fertile land.
　There's no exchange between countries, but merchants will be coming and going. The rest of the country seems to be in a state of isolation.
　Shall we make a black ship and put a cannon against it?
　Mmmm. It's a bother.
　Rather than destroying the country, it's better to crush the slavers' organization....

''Oh, Fuyu-dono. It's Ron. Qing-Isshoku [Ching-Itsu]. Leap Man 12,000.
Again?

　No, I can't do that while I'm thinking! I need to focus more! If we don't do something about it, we'll lose........no, no, no, no, no.
　At any rate, I'll have to wait until the report of the three Haku no 1s comes in.






　From the next day, the rain continued to drizzle down on Brunhild. Is it the rainy season?
　The training of the knights is also absent, and each one of them seems to be studying, reading, or tending to their weapons in their own rooms.
　I was sitting in a chair under the eaves of the balcony reading a book when I heard music from a distance. It's your brother Kanasuke, isn't it?
　It's definitely a rainy song, but I'm sure someone is not dancing with an umbrella in this rain.
　It's raining pretty hard anyway........ How many more days does it have to rain? I hope the river doesn't flood or something. It would be helpful if this world had a weather forecast.
　No, wait.
　I enchanted "Search" into the weather forecast app on my phone.
　Poof, the current temperature, rain and umbrella marks, and the week's weather forecast appear in the air. ...That's it.
　Hmm, it's going to clear up the day after tomorrow. Just a little patience.
　Summer will be here in a month. Brunhild doesn't have an ocean, but the Dungeon Islands do. If we build a beach and free it, people will be happy to see it. There are a lot of sea monsters in that area, but as long as we summon a large sea dragon, they won't come close to us. I think jellyfish will come, though.
　It would be fun to have a beach house or stall. Like a festival or fair........what?
　Come to think of it, there is no festival in this country. We don't have a national festival because we haven't been founded for a year yet. New Year's Day was a no-brainer.
　And we don't have any shrines. Well, there's no need to make it a Japanese style festival. It's just that a shrine needs a god of worship, but the only god I worship is that man.

I don't think it's a good idea to make him a god of worship.

　I don't think he'd be angry, but if he really wanted to do it, he'd have to get permission to do it.
　If it's just a god, I'm sure there's a lot of them around. I mean, he's really just a rumbling mess! Or the god of wine!
　Just as I began to feel a headache, remembering Drunken Flowers falling asleep with a bottle of liquor in my arms, the phone in my pocket announced an incoming call.
　The words "Incoming call Flame" appeared on the screen. Oh, it's the Sarutobi Girl. Have you arrived at Sandra?

'Yes, hello.'
"Oh, Your Majesty, is it? ! Well, town, town people, people!'
Calm down. I don't know what you're talking about.

　What is it? You look freaked out. What's going on?

"People were glittering and dead! The glitter, from the body... oh I'm sorry, Your Majesty. It's Shizuku. The phone has changed.''

　I heard Shizuku's voice, which had calmed down, changing to a panicked flame. Thank God. I have no idea what she's saying with Flame, she's in too much of a hurry.

''Where are you now?''
"The capital of Astal, east of Kuray, the royal capital of Sandra. I stopped in this city to get some shelter before riding to Currey, but I encountered an unusual situation.
Anomalies?

　Isn't the capital of Astal the second largest city in Sandra, I believe? What the hell happened to you?

"Residents of the city are dying. Every last one of them.
What?

　I can't help but get up from my chair. Every last one of them? Astal is supposed to be a pretty big city. Are you saying it's been wiped out?

''It is dead, sprouting crystals like crystals from its entire body. It was as if all the water had been taken out of his body, and his body was dried up and parched...''

　A crystal? When I heard that, the first thing I remembered was Fray's. But I've never heard of such symptoms.
　It could be a pathogen of some sort. If that's the case, then all three of them are in danger.

''Are all three of you physically OK?
'Yes. For now. It's just that Nagi has been feeling a little sick...''
'In the meantime, get away from that city immediately. Wherever you are, move far away and wait there, and I'll be there to pick you up in an hour.
"Ha.

　I hung up the phone and opened the map. Pulling up a full map of the city of Astal and searching for survivors, I found three dots that were moving away from the edge of the city. These would be the three in Gaku no 1.
　There was no other human response. Are you sure that every single one of them is dead? What the hell is going on here?

'No point in thinking about it. In the meantime, let's go get those three guys.

　Before that, it's not good if it's really some kind of contagion or something, so I'll call Flora in the Alchemy Building and have her set up a quarantine area and testing equipment in the infirmary.
　I told Tsubaki-san, the three senior officers, what happened and quickly opened the "gate". I've gone to Sandra to look for the ruins of Babylon, so we can transfer to that point.
　When we passed through the 'Gate', unlike the rainy weather in Brunhild, the sun was starting to shine, but the sky in the desert was clear. It's still hot as ever........
　I open the map and take off on a 'fly' towards the place where the three of us are.
　The people of the city died all at once. What the hell is going on?
　As if to dispel the eeriness, I increased my flying speed even faster.