The meeting was adjourned and I asked Vizier Schwein not to let anyone leave the castle.
　There were no signs of a struggle in the room. Looking at the teacup lying on the floor and the dead Marquis Nanquan vomiting blood, the line of poisoning was strong.

''Search: poison.''

　A toxic reaction is detected from the liquid seeping into the carpet by [Search]. I knew it.
　There was a tray on the table, and on top of it was a teapot and a ceramic jug of hot water.

''Who made this tea?''
Apparently, the Prime Minister had everyone in their rooms prepared before entering the meeting. Since the door was not locked until after the meeting, I believe anyone could have entered this room during the meeting.

　King Felsen replied. That means anyone could have done it, right? Not by one of the people present at the conference, but by one of his subordinates. Of course, the Prime Minister, who had this tea prepared for him, could have done it.
　Incidentally, the guards had been standing in front of the room after the meeting was interrupted.
　They were in front of the door and did not hear the sound of a fall inside the room?　But then I saw the example dragon on the ceiling of this room as well. I guess it's because of that thing that I couldn't hear it.
　I'll call Flora in the Alchemy Building later and have her analyze the leftover tea. We might be able to get a clue as to what the poison is.

''But why does the Marquis of South Quan have to be killed?　Pardon me for saying this, but if you're the Prime Minister or the King's brother, I'd understand...

　King Felsen twitches his head. Indeed. A threat?　It's like this is what happens when you stand up to them.

Oh, um, that's the thing, though...

　As we were groaning, a female employee in the corridor called out to us.

To tell the truth, this room was supposed to be used by His Highness the Prime Minister.
What did you say?
''Prime Minister had prepared a large room over there facing south for Marquis of South Quan, but Marquis of South Quan said that this room is smaller and more comfortable, so he asked Prime Minister to change it...''

　The female warden points to the door of a room on the other side of the hallway.
　Indeed, this room faces north and does not get much sunlight. Did you prepare a room facing south for your guests, the Marquis of South Quan and the Marquis of the East Sea, and a room facing north for you?



　The people around him froze at Yae's words.
　They had aimed to kill the Prime Minister with poison, but the Marquis of Nanquan had asked him to change rooms, so he had been sacrificed instead.... Is it more natural to think that way? That is, if there was no reason for Marquis Nanquan to target him personally.
　From the point of view of the royal brother faction, all of the people on the Prime Minister's side are enemies, so it's not surprising that Marquis Nanquan is a target. But in this situation, you would go after the Prime Minister, normally.
　The room is about eight tatami mats in size with a desk and sofa, a large closet, and a window on the north side. Next to the door was a string of bells calling for a servant to come down.
　I opened the closet, but there was nothing in it. Well, this place is like a dressing room or a rest room.
　Suddenly, I glanced at the fact that I might be able to revive Marquis Nanquan with the light attribute [Resurrection], which is called resurrection magic, now.
　[Resurrection] is an extreme magic that requires an hour after death and no damage to the body, as well as an enormous amount of magic and life force.
　Since there is a high probability that the magician casting it will also die, it is almost always used only by immediate family members or lovers.
　The person casting it must also be a high-level magician who is able to use extreme magic, and at worst, both of them may die. Therefore, it is said that there are only a few records of people coming back to life in history. I hear the success rate is less than 20%.
　I thought I might be able to use it risk-free, but according to Hanakoi's sister, my magic power is still good, but giving it too much life force will alter its existence unless it's a family member.
　''Even if you freeze a melted ice doll again, it will never take on the form of a doll again,'' said Hanakoi's sister.

'I pray that this one's soul will not be lost and will be called up to heaven. O God, please grant him a peaceful sleep.

　His Holiness the Pope offers his condolences to the Marquis of South Quan as he lies down. Dead souls do not go to the divine realm where God is. They go to the heavenly realm below it.
　There, the soul is purified and reborn into a new body. I've heard that a soul that is too dirty can only become a d*mn thing but I just hope this guy isn't one.
　In the meantime, I looked in my pockets or something for clues.
　There's nothing particularly noteworthy. A fountain pen, a pocket watch, and a case with tobacco leaves and dampers in it, a pipe and matches. So this is all I have.
　I'll have Flora take a look at the body of the Marquis de Nanquan later.

"Excuse me, sire.

　When I turn around, Sakura is beckoning me from the hallway. What is it?
　I leave the scene and head down the hallway to Sakura. Yae is with you?

What's going on?
Yeah. You know, I've been hearing better lately sometimes.
What?

　Can you hear better sometimes?　What's that?

Sometimes it's someone very far away talking. My sister-in-law Hanakoi said it was the king's fault.
Right.... What does this mean...?
"Sakura-dono, have you awakened to your "Military Characteristics"?　I envy you....

　Yae has a surprised look on her face, but wait a minute. What is the "Military Characteristics"!

'Huh?　Didn't Lady Fuyao-dono hear from your sister-in-law Hanakoi, that she did?　Lord Eumina is awake, isn't he?
'Yumina?　.........Ah, the power of the example born of subordination?

　Those who have received God's love and are becoming members of the family are awakened to a special ability. In Yumina's case, she acquired the power of future prediction. It seems that she can only tell the future a few seconds ahead.
　In Sakura's case, it's in her ears. Come to think of it, Sakura used to sing songs with her Kanosuke brother. Drunkenness was often with him for a party. Maybe there's a "love of God" there too.
　In Yae's case, she's often with her sister Morobane, but she's also with Hilda. Don't tell me they're dispersed?

"And, you know. I just heard something fall from this room onto the carpet. Thump. So I was just focusing on that...
'What?　But that room [Silence] is........oh, I see.

　It's power through subordination, so it's divine power. It's not something that can be prevented by [Silence] or anything else. A thud is the sound of a teacup falling.

Probably so. And you know, after that, I only heard an interruption, but I heard something rustling or the sound of a window opening.
Wait a minute. What's going on here?
Yeah. That's why I called.

　What do you mean?　If he took poison and dropped the teacup, then it's strange to hear a sound after he died. In this case, it meant that there was someone else in the room besides the Marquis de Nanquan.
　The poison was slow-acting, and it was possible that the poison was passed around and killed by Marquis Nanquan after he drank it and moved around the room...?　If they're poisoning you with the intention of killing you, I think they'll make it a quick fix.

Do you ever mishear the sounds in the other room or something?
''Mm. I don't have the [Teleportation] unattributed magic on Date. I'm confident in my spatial awareness of the coordinate axis.

　I know. I use [teleportation] as well, so I know exactly what I'm talking about.
　But there are a number of questions. In the first place, if he was going to kill Marquis Nanquan by poisoning him, would the murderer even bother to visit the scene?　No, unless you want to see them suffer and die or have a perverse goal in mind.
　On the other hand, if you're going to go out there, I feel like it's better if you're not going to poison him. With all due respect, I don't think Marquis Nanquan is very strong. It seems that a single knife is all it takes to kill him.
　No, no, no, no. If the murderer was in the room in the first place, the theory that he was mistakenly killed by the Prime Minister doesn't hold water. It would mean that it was the Marquis of Minamiizumi's intentions from the beginning.

'U~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

　He scratches his head like a great detective with his crunchy, muggy hair and hakama. ........I don't know!
　I returned to the room on site and opened the window on the north side. There was a courtyard with some tall trees planted in it. There was no one there.

The window was unlocked. If he's escaped, it's from here.

　He went over the window and out into the courtyard. There are no footprints in sight. It's impossible to say that he jumped into a tree and escaped along a branch.... The branch from the window is at least five meters away. I can get away with it, though.

The soil is soft. I mean, I could probably leave some footprints, but...

　If the killer was there, how did he get out?　 I'm sure you can escape if you can fly like I can.
　I'm not going to be able to get away with it.　Well that was a blind spot.
　........... You have to find something, don't be stupid. Suddenly, you notice that something has fallen under the window.

What ... what is it, wood chips?

　It was two inches of fine wood chips. I wondered if it was chipped from the window frame.
　As I was thinking about that, Yae came running towards me.

''Fuyou-dono!　The Marquis of Tokai and the Marquis of Nishimori!

　At Yae's words, I hurried back to the conference room to find Marquis Tokai and Marquis Nishimori glaring at each other.
　Prime Minister Schwein and his royal brother Ganossa weren't there, but beside them, Marquis Kitayama was sitting with his arms folded with a face like he had bitten down on a bitter bug.

''You are so mistaken!　Why do we have to kill the Marquis of South Quan!
''The culprit was probably not the Marquis of South Quan, but the Prime Minister. The room was changed at the last minute and he was the victim. Who is bothering the Prime Minister?　I don't think I need to tell you.
"We didn't kill him!　How could they do such a despicable thing...!
''The Marquis of West Forest may be, but what about the others?''

　At these words, the Marquis of Kitayama, who had folded his arms, stared at the Marquis of Tokai.

I'm not sure if you are referring to the Marquis of the East Sea. Are you talking about me?
"All means necessary to win. Isn't this a common practice of the Marquis of Kitayama?
I won't deny it. The North was on the border with Euron. We were always in danger of being targeted. We couldn't choose any means under such circumstances. Well, it's a lot easier now that His Majesty the King has crushed Euron.

　Turning his gaze towards me, Marquis Kitayama smirked at me. Or rather, are you misunderstood here as well?

I'll tell you what, I'm not destroying Euron. There were plenty of opportunities to rebuild the country, but that country was only interested in its own interests. The country collapsed, and it had it coming.
''Wasn't it His Majesty the King who erased the Heavenly City Shen Hai?

　The Marquis of the East Sea turns to look at me. That's not it either.

''That was Frayze's doing. For some reason, the people of Euron say, 'If the Lord King hadn't been there, the crystal monster wouldn't have appeared. There wouldn't have been a battle and none of this would have happened,' but if I hadn't been there, every single one of the people of Euron would have been killed.
"I see. The people of Euron should be grateful. Your Majesty, that's my girl. Excellent.

　Marquis Tokai claps his hands together.
　Mu. I don't know what it is, but I feel a thorn in Marquis Tokai's words. I didn't feel that way when you showed me around earlier. I wonder if he had any relatives from Yulong?

I'm sure His Majesty would already know who was responsible for the assassination.
No, that's..... Well, we're looking into it, but there's still the possibility of suicide.

　Don't be ridiculous. You don't have much of a clue.
　Marquis Tokai took off his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief from his pocket as he stared at Marquis Nishimori and the others.

It may sound rude to say this, but it's good that Prime Minister-dono was not poisoned. If the Prime Minister had died, we would have been crushed in the blink of an eye in the presence of Prince Kuo.
You really want to pin this on us, don't you?
I'm not saying it was you. I'm sure there are others of your faction who aren't aware of what's going on.

　Just as they began to glare at each other again, the door opened, revealing Vizier Schwein and his royal brother Ganossa.

''I have explained the situation to Marquis Nanquan's vassals. I'm sorry, but I've had a room prepared for you, and you'll be staying here for a while.
Lady Ganossa, are you sure you want to do this?

　At the Prime Minister's words, Marquis Kitayama turns to Ganossa and asks. As it were, the royal castle is the home of the Prime Minister's group. You can't blame them for being wary of you.

The castle is the home of the Prime Minister's party, so it's only natural to be wary. "That's all right, we have nothing to hide behind. The suspicion will be cleared up soon enough.

　Unabashedly, the king's brother Ganossa replies that. Are you sure it's not the killer, or do you think there's no way you can find any proof?
　We don't know anything at this point. It is possible that this is not the work of these people, but the result of a vassal who went out of control.

Then I will show you to your room. I'm sorry, His Majesty King Felsen. We'll have your rooms shown to you in a moment.
Before that. May I have a moment?

　His Holiness Pope Ramish raises his hand. Oh?

'In the name of God, I ask your conscience. 'In God's name, I ask you in your conscience: Did you not kill the Marquis of South Quan, either directly or indirectly?　Can you declare clearly, 'I didn't kill him'?

　To this question by His Holiness the Pope, of course, they all replied that they did not kill him.
　The royal brother and the marquises leave the room, accompanied by the vizier. We were left alone in the conference room, and we were led by the guiding soldiers who appeared and led us to a spacious room at the back of the castle.
　I look at the ceiling of the new room I was led to, and there is a dragon here too. But, well, just in case, he said.

"[Silence]

　I will cast a sound-blocking spell over the room. This will definitely keep the conversation in this room from leaking out. Well, if someone was hiding in this room from the beginning, I would hear it, but there's no sign of it, so it should be fine.
　I turn to His Holiness the Pope.

''So, how did it go?　You used the magic eye earlier, right?
'Yes, sir. There was one person who lied to the question I asked earlier.

　The question is, "Did you kill the Marquis of South Quan, whether directly or indirectly? This is a limited one. In other words, the fact that he was lying meant that he himself had admitted that he had killed the Marquis of Minamiizumi.

"So who was lying about it, that I was?

　At Yae's words, His Holiness the Pope slowly opens his mouth.

''Yes. The one who was lying to you is the Marquis of the East Sea──Toren Hanoi.