The Kingdom of Horne.
　In the surface world, it is an agricultural country located in the east of the continent. Blessed with fertile soil and mild climate, it has created its own cultural sphere and has tried to conduct diplomacy with only a limited number of countries.
　One of the reasons for this was the invasion of the once existing Heavenly Empire of Euron.
　The Kingdom of Horne had retained its territory in the north until about a hundred years ago. That rich land was taken away by force from them by Euron.
　Naturally, the Kingdom of Horne broke off diplomatic relations with Euron and formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Felsen to keep Euron in check. Since then, the country has been in a semi-isolated state for nearly a hundred years.
　It sounds good to say that the country has an independent culture and national power, but the lack of new culture means that it will be left behind in the world. Even from their allies, Felsen, they did not want to adopt that magical culture.
　It was Kamla Da Horn, the son of the former King, Nnam Da Horn, and the First Prince, who felt threatened by this.
　He believed that the Horne Kingdom would never develop in a new way if things continued as they were. He advised his father that they should invite people from other countries to teach them and actively adopt their culture.
　However, his father did not approve, and a feud arose between the king and the first prince. They did not recognize each other and shouted at each other every day when they saw each other. Both men were stubborn and would not give in to each other and the relationship grew worse with each passing year.
　Then, one year ago, tragedy struck the royal family.
　The first prince dies by accident. He died at the age of 21 when his carriage fell off a cliff in the rain.
　His funeral was a big one, and the whole country mourned his too young death. Then King Horn died suddenly. Only a week after the death of the first prince, King Horn died suddenly.
　Some said it was a combination of heartache, others said it was a worsening of a chronic illness caused by poor health over the last few years.
　A state funeral was held immediately and the whole country was in mourning. The nation was saddened by the tragedy that followed.
　But this was not the end of the Horne's misfortune.
　Normally, the First Prince would be the next king. But the First Prince had died a week earlier. Normally, the First Prince's son, Quo Da Horn, who was one year old, would take the throne.
　Naturally, a one-year-old could not be expected to govern the country. Everyone thought that Schwein Adante, Prime Minister of the Horn Kingdom and maternal grandfather of the Young King Kuo, would be the regent.
　This was challenged by his younger brother, Ganossa da Horn.
　The former king had announced that he would deprive the first prince of his right to the throne and give the throne to his brother. He declared this to be a usurpation and a tyranny by Schwein.
　On Schwein's side, however, the former king wanted to end his feud with the first prince and wanted to repair the relationship. He countered that he was the one who had been asked to help bridge the gap.

The power struggle between the royal grandson and the royal brother factions erupted. So this is the story," he said.
That's what I mean.

　King Felsen gave a small nod at Pope Ramish's words.
　The large carriage of the Felsen Kingdom continued to drive on the road to the Royal Castle of the Horn Kingdom.
　The interior of the carriage is a spacious interior, with His Holiness Pope Ramish and His Majesty King Felsen sitting in front of me.
　And sitting on either side of me are Yae and Sakura, who were accompanying me as my bodyguards.

''Felsen will stand between the two camps and ask them to speak. In the midst of this, I hope His Holiness the Pope will be able to see through their lies.
So, depending on the outcome, Felsen is going to take one side or the other?
Hmm. It's unlikely that our country would want to start a civil war behind it.

　Well, that's as good as it gets. But if His Holiness is the one who sees through the lies, what am I supposed to do?

''I'd like to ask Lord Fuyu to use his magic as a precaution. I don't think it's likely that anyone will be able to harm the king's brother or the prime minister. There's a chance we might not be able to find out what's out there by ourselves.

　I see. Surely, if it's true that Euron's underworld is involved, then something could happen? They're the kind of people who blow themselves up in order to get what they want. I don't know what they're going to do.
　When I was taking a deep breath to brace myself, the carriage was coming to the front of the castle.
　It's called a royal castle, but it's not as big as Belfast or Regulus. The construction of the building was also rather simple, and there was nothing flamboyant about it.
　If I had to make an analogy, what would it be........ If I were to use an analogy, it would be........it looks like Shuri Castle without the red color, right? It's just an image.
　We went through the castle gate and entered the castle. Unfortunately, the gate was not like a guard gate.
　When the carriage stopped, soldiers belonging to the Felsen Magic Corps jumped out of another carriage that was running ahead of us. The same Ramish holy knights descended from the rear carriage as well and lined up in front of our carriage.
　The captain of those soldiers opened the door of our carriage. His Majesty King Felsen, His Holiness Pope Lamish, and us, in turn, step outside.

'Welcome to the Kingdom of the Horns, Your Majesty King Felsen, His Holiness Pope Ramisch, His Holiness Prince Brunhild.

　There is a man standing in front of the door leading to the royal castle. He was around thirty years of age, with black hair pulled back all the way and wearing glasses. He had the image of a civil servant, but his eyes were sharp. He was dressed in an asymmetrical folk costume and wore a kind of sash around his shoulders.

'What about you?'
One of the Four Marquis of the Horn is Torren Hanoi, Marquis of the East Sea. Henceforth, it shall be known to you.
The four marquises?

　When I uttered an unfamiliar word, the person in question replied.

I am the four marquises of the Kingdom of Horne who hold great lands. Since I have been given the great estate in the east facing the sea, I am called the Marquis of the East Sea.

　There are several fiefdoms in the Kingdom of Horne, and among them, four of the largest fiefdoms are said to be called Marquis of East Sea, Marquis of Nishimori, Marquis of Kitayama and Marquis of Minamisen, respectively.
　Among them, Marquis Kitayama and Nishimori are divided into two halves, with Ganossa da Horn, the king's younger brother, and Marquis Donghae and Minamisen on the side of Schwein Adante, the vizier.
　In other words, the Marquis of East Sea, Marquis Toren, in front of you is on the Prime Minister's side.
　The Marquis of Toren is the Marquis of the East Sea, right? The Marquis of the East Sea leads us into the castle.

We didn't expect His Majesty King Brunhild and His Holiness Pope Lamish would also be there.
We wanted to see the famous Horn of Horne with our own eyes. We are grateful to His Majesty King Felsen for asking for a favor.
''I see. 'I see. Our country has little contact with anyone other than the Kingdom of Felsen, so.... I and others think that's not a good idea. But I would be happy if you could be a witness to our discussions.

　With a bitter smile, Marquis Tokai replied. Hmm. So this man is an open-minded person. Maybe he's expecting us, as representatives of our country, to back him in his assertion that we are right.
　Soon we were led by the Marquis of Tokai to a conference room-like place.
　It's a luxurious room with gold walls and pillars. The ceiling is filled with large dragons carved into the ceiling, it's very flamboyant. It is hard to imagine from the plainness of the building. At first, we sat at the north side of the desks that were lined up in the shape of the letter B. Behind us were Felsen's guards and several Ramish holy knights.
　The Marquis of Tokai left the room, saying he would call for representatives from both camps. After that, I looked around the room and found the great source of magic power I had felt earlier.

''Hmm........''
'Lord Winterfellas?　What's wrong with you?

　Yae noticed my gaze and called out to me.

''The dragon's eye carved into that ceiling. And the treasure balls held on either side. Probably magic-granted magic tools.'
What?
''Well, it's not something that could harm you. Perhaps something like [Silence] that prevents sound from leaking outside, a ward that inhibits transference-type magic, and a simple defensive wall deployment formation..............

　In other words, sounds in this room don't leak out, transference-type magic is canceled out, and if you try to harm someone, defensive magic is triggered. I don't know how much of that is true. I'm not sure how much, but I'm not sure how much.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.
　Since neither of them are currently on the throne in terms of position, we remain seated. Yae and Sakura stood and bowed lightly, though.
　We were greeted by each of them as it was.
　To our left is the Prime Minister Schwein Adante, the Marquis of East Sea, Toren Hanoi, and the Marquis of South Quan, Nabite Chermin.
　Although he is an old man, Prime Minister Schwein, who is not yet 70 years old, has an unfailing light in his eyes. His white beard is tucked into his mouth, and his deep wrinkles and eagle nose seem to indicate his strength of will. He looks like the type who can't take a joke or something.
　On the contrary, the Marquis Nabite of Minamiquan was a middle-aged, metabolic man in his thirties. He seemed mild, but he was wiping sweat off his face with a handkerchief from earlier, probably due to nervousness. He seems to be a timid person.
　On the other hand, on the right hand, there's Hawks Manius, Marquis of Kitayama, led by his royal brother Ganossa da Horn, and the Marquis of Nishimori and Ceilia Suir.
　The king's brother Ganossa was 40 years old, I believe. He was quite a strong and well-trained man. His dark moustache and hair still seemed to be fearlessly young. His eyes were sharp, and he was undoubtedly a man of military prowess rather than literature.
　Sitting next to him was Marquis Hawks, an old man of over sixty. He's an old man with an aloofness about him that's rather elusive. He looks like my old man Naito. Is he a day-lamp type?
　The last one, the Marquis Seiria of Nishimori. He is the reddest of all the marquises with chestnut-colored hair.
　The age is in the early twenties, I would say. He's young. However, his resolute appearance seems to be not straightforward. This is just my first impression, but I have an image of an inflexible and stubborn man. She's beautiful, but I wouldn't want to get too close to her, I guess.
　Behind each of them will be his bodyguard and entourage.

　Prime Minister Schwein.
　The Marquis of Tokai, Toren.
　Nabite, Marquis of Nanquan.

　Ganossa, the king's brother.
　Marquis Hawks of Kitayama.
　West Forest Marquis Ceilia.

　The meeting to discuss the future of the Horun Kingdom had begun.




Your brother has rejected the ideas of Prince Kamla. Your brother rejected the idea of King Kamra's son, saying it would undermine the foundations of the Horn Kingdom. Therefore, he has promised to strip him of his claim to the throne and hand it over to me.
'But there is no evidence that such a promise was ever made. If you were actually stripped of your claim to the throne, or if you were to follow the law, I'm wondering if the throne should be succeeded by Prince Kuo, the first child of King Kamla's son.
"Does Your Highness think I'm speaking falsely?
That's not what I said. The King was very concerned about his conflict with the Prince. A statement made only in a moment of hesitation, I suppose that could happen.

　Prime Minister Schwein and his brother Ganossa. They don't take a step back from each other and remain on a parallel track.
　If the Prime Minister was right, if he was drunk or after arguing with a deceased prince, it wouldn't be surprising if he said it out of the blue.......
　There's also the possibility that I said it without any intention to do so........ The problem is that the king's brother has bought into it.

''I would like to confirm something, Your Highness. Is it true that on the day of your brother's death, there was an argument between you and your brother?
"................Yes. It's true, but so what?
The men in the castle said that your brother was sent away to speak with them on an important matter. Will you tell me what he said to you at that time?

　Catching the glaring gaze of his royal brother Ganossa, Vizier Schwein slowly opens his mouth.

I admonished that a new gate should be opened after all, so that Horne would not be left behind in the world. But the king refused to accept my advice, and so we quarreled.
Is it true?　Didn't your brother talk to you about giving the throne to me then?　There are several things that make your brother's death suspicious. Do you have any idea, Prime Minister?
I don't know what you are trying to tell me.

　Hmm?　Don't tell me the Prime Minister killed the King?
　No, no, no, no, no. You're not going to kill the king just because you want to open the country?
　Oh, if the king is gone, he can free this country as regent? I guess the motive is enough.
　The two sides stare at each other and remain silent. To tell you the truth about me, I'm suspicious of both of them.
　Well, I brought His Holiness the Pope with me for a situation like this.
　There are few people who know the 'Devil's Eye of Truth and Falsehood' that can see through the lies of His Holiness the Pope's eminence. This is even more so in the Horne Kingdom, which was almost entirely closed off to the outside world.
　I quickly called out to His Eminence sitting next to me.

''What do you think?　Did you see which one of us is lying?
It's...

　His Holiness the Pope twisted his head with a troubled face.

'Neither of you are lying........'
'What?　What do you mean by that?
'I don't have a response that's lying. Either they're both telling the truth, or they think they are...or they have something to bounce my evil eye off of....

　I've yet to see a magic tool that can repel the magic eye, but if the magic eye is a type of non-attribute magic, that's not impossible.
　But I don't feel like I have that kind of thing....

''The Prime Minister is Prince Kuo's grandfather. If he becomes the regent, he can use his shrewdness even more than before. But with Lady Ganossa around, that's not an option. He's just the man in charge.
What are you trying to say, Marquis Kitayama?

　When the aloof old Marquis of Beishan opened his mouth, the Marquis of East Sea, who was facing him, glared at him with sharp eyes.

''Nope. On the way to the castle, the wheel of the carriage on which Lady Ganossa was riding came off and she was almost seriously injured. A slight mistake could have resulted in my death.
What did you say?

　The Prime Minister's side was astonished.

At first I thought it was an accident caused by age, but something has gone wrong. Kamla Wangzi died in a chariot accident.......do you have any idea what happened to him, Your Highness?
It can't be. I don't understand what makes you ask such a question.
Is that a good idea?

　Although he laughed, Marquis Kitayama's old man's eyes never left the Prime Minister. Was it just an accident when the wheel came off?　Or..........
　I turn my gaze to His Holiness the Pope again, but he still gives me a small shake of his head.
　I don't think there's any reason for the Prime Minister to kill Kamla Wangzi. It's because he's her daughter's husband.

''Well let's take a break for a moment.

　At King Felsen's words, men from both camps retreated from the door that they came out of.
　I sat down deeply in my chair and let out a deep breath. The gishy atmosphere is tough. We've been staring at each other for a long time.
　I drink the tea that a horn maid (she might not be a maid because she was wearing traditional dress) serves me. It's good. It's similar to Yisheng tea, but a little different. Sakura picks up some cookies or something like that as a garnish.

Delicious! You should try it, king-sama?
Which one?　Well, that's pretty good.
Yeah. I'd like to bring something for everyone.

　The cherry tree smiles. It's like a dose of refreshment to ease the tense air. It's soothing........
　The Felsen Kingdom, which had crossed its arms and roared, turns its gaze towards me, which was soothing.

''What did the duke see of the meeting just now?''
'I dunno. They both seem to be telling the truth, and both seem suspicious to me.
Hmm..... This doesn't get us anywhere.
'I'm sorry. I can't help you.
'Oh, no, it's not the fault of His Holiness the Pope...'

　His Holiness the Pope slumped his shoulders, and King Felsen hurriedly mended his words. At that moment, I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

'Kyaaaahhhhhh!

　A woman's screams could be heard as she ripped through the silk. This room is enchanted with soundproofing, but the voices outside can be heard normally, if only because they cannot be heard from inside to outside.
　The voice came from the door on the Prime Minister's side. I immediately opened that door and ran out into the corridor.
　At the end of the corridor was a crowd of people. There was a woman crouched in front of the open door, trembling. The scream from earlier seemed to be this person's voice.
　When I jumped into the open room, I saw a man lying face down on the floor. The man, who had left a puddle of blood on the carpet and was completely out of it, was none other than the Marquis of Nansen, Nabite Chelmin, the man....