Do you have any identification?
'I had it. I've contacted Xenoas for a photo confirmation, and it's the same Nokia Ambassador's medal that's on file over there. At least the medal itself looks authentic.

　I check with Rain as I walk quickly down the hallway. Is it true that he's a Nokia emissary, unless he killed and took it away or something?

'Is it the same medal as the one Ambassador Jantche brought?
They looked exactly the same. Or maybe two, but...

　You'll probably have to do diplomacy with multiple countries at the same time. In Nokia's case, though, the only interaction is almost exclusively with Xenoas.
　Anyway, if Ambassador Jantche is a fake and this one is the real one, how did he find out that he was here? It's a country that has no knowledge of the land and is in a state of isolation. Is it some kind of [search] type of search magic?

Well, we'll find out when we meet.

　As I entered the audience chamber, I saw five kneeling, head-hanging figures. One was a small, fat, middle-aged man, and the other four were younger than that, dressed in hard-looking leather armor. The four over here would be guards.

''Your Majesty. It's Ambassador of the Kingdom of Nokia, Lord Dryph Chaoma.

　Mr. Kosaka tries to introduce the second ambassador, but is interrupted by holding up his hand.

'Let's skip the greetings. So, Ambassador Drife. I heard that you're going to hand over Princess Paphia and Ambassador Janche, what does that mean?
... haha. It's a complete lie that she is a princess. If Princess Paphira had fallen into the river below the cliffs three months ago in an accident during a distant ride, it would have been the end of her life.

　Hmm. It's just as Tsubaki-san reported. The Drife ambassador looked up, and was a three-eyed, chobi-bearded man with bad eyes. He had a small, fat build and a smile on his mouth, but there were shades under his eyes that weren't smiling.
　There are rings on his fingers and bangles on his arms, but I wonder if they are to ward off evil spirits of some kind.

'Ambassador Jantche had the same Nokia Ambassador's medal as you did, but...'
Faro Jantche is indeed a diplomat in the service of the Kingdom of Nokia. The medal itself is real. On his way back from Xenoas, he somehow went with a group of false princesses to Brunhild.......
That's what you've been chasing?
"Ha.

　Hmm. A diplomat with xenoas is Ambassador Jantche. And he's come to us. But how did you find Ambassador Jantche and his men?

"How did you find the false princess?
It's hard to say out loud, but our country has been gathering information from the outside world in order to conduct diplomacy with countries other than Xenoas since the fall of our hated Euron.
Spycat?
''Well it's not such a big deal. It just so happened that he found Jantje and the others on their way to Brunhild. We received the terrible news and came over here as soon as we could.

　The Kingdom of Nokia is, as it were, a people pushed deep into the mountains. It's not so much a country that has been isolated as it is a country that had to be isolated because of the terrain. Once the hated Euron, who was standing in the way of that, was gone and they were free to go to the outside world, it wouldn't be surprising if they started to seek diplomacy.

'But it is said that you are false princesses, and we have no way of judging that. The only one who can judge is Xenoas, who has contact with your country, but if the Nokia ambassador who was visiting there is Lord Jang Che, can't we just assume that the other side is the real thing?　Do you have anything from King Nokia's edict?
His Majesty is indisposed and the first princess, Miss Leffia, is in charge of administration. However, she has no knowledge of the false princess. We are acting at the behest of Her Majesty's military commander, Lord Kanaza Notrith.

　I'm not feeling well, you know. You don't say that King Nokia is dying, as expected.
　But what about the fact that the King, and then the First Princess, doesn't know about it either?

Since Lady Lefia was very much attached to her sister, Lady Paphira, it was out of consideration of the Warlord who feared that she would be distressed if she found out about this. The Warlord, Lady Kanaza, is the betrothed of Princess Leffia.

　Hmm. Her beloved sister died three months ago, and her father is on his deathbed. In a state of mental illness, if she hears that a fake princess is trying to interfere in another country, she'll be in a state of emotional distress, and I don't know what will happen to the first princess. I don't know, but.......this guy is kind of tricky.
　I'm not sure if the ambassador's eyes are focused, or if he's looking at me, but he's not looking at me. The response to my words is also somewhat slow.

It's impossible to make a decision with this. You and Mister Jantse both have the Ambassador's Medal of the Nokia Kingdom. That's the only way we can judge.

　When you are both righteous diplomats in the same country, then it's your business. It's not for us to interfere.
　It's not for us to interfere, but.... I don't know, but this Mr. Dolife is giving me the creeps. No, I know I shouldn't make these judgments based on likes and dislikes, but....

''Well it's none of your business to begin with. Would you be willing to hand over the fake princess and her party?
You know, I'd say no to this, but I'll tell you what.
No, I'm afraid not.
What?

　I turned around at the sudden voice and before I knew it, Yumina was next to the throne. No one else is here, but what's going on?

'I've heard all about it from His Highness the Paphira. Go back to Nokia and tell Lord Kanaza, the military officer. He said if you're going to run away, you'd better do it sooner rather than later. No, I'm afraid he may have already gotten the message.

　Yumina stares straight at the Drife Ambassador and spins the words in a stern voice. It's rare for her to direct her anger this far. What did she hear from Princess Paphia?　It's a little scary.

Mr. Winter's Night.
'Ha, yes!'
"Look at him with your divine eye.
'What?　With [God's Eye]?

　As he is told, he has divine energy in both eyes and captures the Drife Ambassador. Well..........
　What is that?　I can see something gaseous inside Drife's body. Gas or smoke? It's circulating in every corner of my body.

What did you see?
"There's some kind of gas-like blur inside my body. What is this?
He's possessed by that something. Perhaps an evil spirit. My demon eyes have seen more than one of these beings.

　Hearing Yumina's words, Ambassador Drife stood up softly. Her unfocused eyes were staring vaguely into the void.

''Gu, ga, oboa, abominable........ Paviame......... If I hadn't died that time, I would have been better off........

　I heard another voice coming from Ambassador Drife. No, it was more like a synthesized voice between Drife and someone else's voice.

'Does this mean Ambassador Drife is being manipulated?
'Perhaps. In my demon eyes, one of them has a murky feeling, but the other doesn't have it. I think this is his original quality.

　So that means the Drife we've been talking about isn't who he's supposed to be.
　But an evil spirit? Demons that possess people are rather common. However, most of them act violently or act in an unintelligible manner. As far as the draifs just now, they also responded properly. For a demon, it's 'too rational'. If that is the case........

''A summoned beast, huh?''
"I am the name of the great Kanaza. The great Kanaza-sama is the one who did this. I give death to the Pafia.

　Eptimus?　Oh, so it can talk. Being able to call up a summoned beast that can talk, that's quite a user.
　Normally, to keep a summoned beast manifesting for a long time, the magic power of a sorcerer is needed. That's what this guy is doing by dwelling in the Draif, cutting the cost of the magic power needed. It's a parasite, so to speak, but acting like the host himself, do they share memories or something?

'For now, I know it's not normal.

　The four Nokia knights who were around Drife stand up. Each of them are unarmed because they have taken up their weapons, but as far as I can see with my [God's Eye], something demonic has entered into these guys as well.
　Rain-san and the others who were in the audience room react to the disquieting atmosphere that began to drift, and they put their hands to the sword at their waists.
　For now, let's pull off that demonic thing.

''O light, come, banish the radiance, Vanish!
What?

　The magic I was about to use was released by Linse, who suddenly jumped in and shot at Draif and the others.

''Gu, gah, ughhh, aaaaah!

　A murky, smoke-like substance is spat out from the mouths of Draife and the knights while screaming in anguish. Ugh......... It's like an ectoplasm.
　The five people who were spat out fall down in a flurry on the spot.
　If they were undead, they could have made them disappear, but that seems to be a summoned beast.

''My God........!　'Onore-o's Leonore Onoreeeeeeeeeeeee!'

　Five evil spirits - is this Spectre?　But then they merged into one. It seems that it can control more than one person by merging into one body.
　Through the murky smoke, we could see two suspicious eyes that glowed gold. Spector's hateful twin eyes were turned towards us.

''[Boost]!

　Else jumped out from behind her twin sister, kicking the floor and leaping towards Spectre in a wide leap. Both of her hands were equipped with crystal wood armored gauntlets.

''Bakame!　I don't need a fist on a spacer!　'Possess me!
You're an idiot.

　Else's gauntlets emit a golden light. That gauntlet has been given the magic power of the six attributes contained within it by Else's will. I recently enchanted it at Else's request. Hence, it can even deal damage to Spectre.

''Martial God Style, Kouha Senken!
'Gu, gaaaaaaaah!

　Spectre was pierced through the center of his body by the fist of light that Else unleashed. Immediately, the spirit body is torn into a thousand pieces, and the clouds disappear without a trace.

''Cana, the........sama, you can't.......''

　He must have sent a thought to his master. I heard Spector's voice before he disappeared.
　I'm sure that Lord Kanaza Military Affairs or whatever is in Nokia is aware of this situation. The summoner and the contractor can communicate with each other via telekinesis.
　

''Fuyao-san, I'd like to ask those people to [Recovery].
'What?　Oh, yes, yes.

　I was sitting on my throne in a blur until Yumina told me to get up in a hurry. I have to do that much.
　I applied 【Recovery】, 【Refresh】 and 【Area Heal】 to the five people who have fallen. They'll wake up soon with this.

''Drife-dono.......!

　Ambassador Janche appeared in the audience room, accompanied by the deputy commander, Nicola-san.
　Princess Paphia and her handmaid, Lisia-san, along with Yae and Roux and the others, continued to arrive.
　The three of them, who had come from the Nokia Kingdom, peered into the faces of their fallen countrymen.

''It's okay. These five men are just unconscious. They seem to have been controlled by a spiritual demon, but they should be in good health.'
"So it was manipulated after all........Kanaza.......!　I can't allow this...!

　Princess Paphira grits her teeth and looks angry. No, is she a princess?　Let's check there first.

'Ambassador Drife - or, more accurately, the possessed Spectre - said you were a fake, but what's the point there?　The information I have is that Princess Paphia died in an accident three months ago.
It's not true. I am truly Paphia Rada Nokia, the second princess of the Kingdom of Nokia. The death was concocted by Kanaza, the Warlord, using my impostor's body.

　I'm sure there isn't a single cloud in the eyes that are directed at me. Well, it is difficult to believe in the words of someone who possesses and manipulates others.

That means that Kanaza may have been involved in a horse accident?
'Yes. He was going to kill me, who was in my way, marry my sister and take over Nokia. When I found out what that man was up to, he tried to kill me and I was unable to return to Nokia. That's when I met Yang Che in Xenoas.

　Princess Paphia's gaze turned to Ambassador Jantche. Ambassador Janche smiled an unreliable, drawn-out smile.

''Wow, I was on my way back to Nokia from Xenoas, so I didn't know much about what was going on, and that's why I followed Princess Paphia.... I also, ah, I always thought that the warlord was suspicious, so hi.

　Kanaza has grown in power over the past few years, and he's made a name for himself. However, there were some people who were suspicious of Kanaza's unusual rise to power and the strange behavior of the people around him.

'This Drife is one of them. The once mild-mannered and good-natured man suddenly became a follower of Kanaza one day. He began to work within the court to Kanaza's advantage. He changed so much that it was rumored that he was possessed by something...

　So he was really possessed, as they say. It would be a little hard to tell if he could act like a normal human being to that extent.

''Princess Paphia was looking for an ally to help her defeat the warlord. That's why she came to Fuyao-san.
Then you could have just asked me as a regular person...

　You don't have to make a weird sales pitch about the tenth wife. I frowned at Yumina's words, and Princess Paphira hurriedly bowed to me.

''I'm sorry, I'm sorry...!　Ah, well, I've heard that His Majesty is an incomparable womanizer and indulges his fiancées, so I'm sure if I were to do the same...
Not again!

　Why is that story flying around!　Someone who has something against me is blabbing about something that's not true!　That's rumor-mongering level, man!

''Fuyao-san, we talked earlier and wanted to help Princess Paphia. If Fuyao-san will allow it, we would like to head to the Kingdom of Nokia on our own.
'What?　Just Yumina and the others?

　What do you mean?