Is it because we were laughing at each other just a few minutes ago? Or is it because he's my friend's father?

　Something unspeakable hovers in the air as Bowell, lying down and cold, thinks that he will never speak again.


'Prime Minister!　We searched this man's anteroom and found these things!

　Two men who appeared to be knights of the First Order came to this room with a dagger sheath.

　Oh, I see. I glanced at the dagger on the floor, which seemed to be the murder weapon. The hilt is very similar to the scabbard the knight had brought with him.

　The plot is that the murder weapon and its "mating" scabbard were left in my anteroom.

　Hmmm, heh, heh, ho-oh .......

"You caught me red-handed!　I have proof!　Let's catch this man immediately!

　The Prime Minister shouted at him.
　At the same time, a few knights were closing in on us.

''Angolmore.''

　As a start, I summoned a "spirit summoner".

　I'm not going to be able to get rid of it. When I told them this through telepathic communication, Angolmore appeared in front of the knights while gushing out red-black lightning across the room.

''Hmm, what?

　The knights and everyone else in the room take a step back at the strange, divine presence that suddenly appears.
　''Chance.


''--Prostrate yourself!

　Angolmore, who understood my thoughts, activated the thing without pause.


''What ......?''

　Despite being indoors, a roaring, roaring storm blew all over the place. From "up" to "down".

　If I had to name it, it would be "the wind that makes you crawl. It is a mysterious technique unique to the Great Spirit King that was invoked the first time he summoned it, simply because he didn't like the fact that there were people with higher heads than him. Incidentally, "Crawling Thunder" is only effective on cowardly spirits and their masters, so it couldn't be used this time.


Well...

　I walk gracefully with a deliberate knocking sound and stand in front of the vizier, who is in a crushed froggy posture.

　The Prime Minister is too busy braving the wind to move as much as he would like. In other words: ......


How could you do this to me?


　...... unilaterally, you can do anything you want.

　By now, the Prime Minister is probably incontinent with fear inside. But it can never be shown. That is the same as confessing that you are the real culprit.

"There's so many holes. I don't see why I'd want to kill Dowell. I just don't see the timing of this. I don't understand the dagger sheath in the anteroom. You're right. ...... If I was going to kill someone, I'd have killed you first, right?　In terms of timing, yes, now?　The scabbard would normally stay in your inventory too, right?　Only, right now, at this moment, it looks like you don't need a scabbard or a dagger.

...... ......

　I crouch down a little, look into his face and say. The vizier gritted his teeth and held back the sound of his back teeth snapping with a trembling, desperate form.

''My Second. If I kill you here, you are finally a wanted man.
"(But I can't stand it. I could take one of your legs.)
(I'd like to agree with you, but that's not the only thing we can do. Better to leave it to Winfiled.
(...... Well, you know what?)

　This is exactly what is meant by the phrase "the stomach bug won't subside.

　However, if the Prime Minister's hands were tied to him at this point in time when there was no clear evidence that he had killed him, it would be interpreted as a sign of desperation because he had been observed at the scene of the crime. Moreover, even if the evidence was found, that is no reason to kill the Prime Minister. The opponent is the king's killer. This is a matter that should be judged properly and fairly.

　...... Clearing your name is the first step, right?

(I'm starting to chill out.)
(Hmm. That's my second.


　.............

　This is a place to retreat.

　We're not going to run away by any means. We're only retreating temporarily to prepare to torture this bastard to death.

　We will not be defeated.
　We will not be defeated by this thing, by the Empire.

　The number one man in the world did not lose to ......!


'Tell the Emperor, dammit. Whether this is on your own or the wishes of the Marvel Empire, you've touched something you shouldn't have touched.
Geez!

　I kicked the vizier to scoop up his hand and made him lie down on his back. Vizier couldn't resist in any way, and was shamefully crushed by the wind with his belly showing to me.

'Means of communication, right?　There is, isn't there?

　He speaks, remembering what Winfiled had said while prefacing it with "unlikely". Yes, he had said this, as I recall. If Mein's life was threatened, then the Prime Minister--

It's a team-only newsletter. You think I don't know that?

　-- teaming up with someone in the heart of the Empire, he said.

　The same is true if the targeted party is Bawel. There is no way he could single-handedly kill the king of a virtual enemy country. He must have been in contact with the Empire in such a short period of time. That is the only proof that the Prime Minister has some means of communicating with the Marvel Empire in a timely manner.

　If you ask me, the formation of a team is extremely simple. All you have to do is to get all the team members to accept the Team Formation Quest, and then all you have to do is to attack the C grade dungeons together. It wouldn't be strange if the Prime Minister was teaming up with someone from the Empire. In fact, there's no reason why spies wouldn't make use of such a useful thing.

............

　Apparently, it was a figurehead. The Prime Minister broke out in a cold sweat and kept silent, turning into an ugly old man who just had to endure the storm.

You should make a plea to the emperor for help.　I'm in trouble because they found out I'm a spy and I need your help.

　In front of everyone's ears, it is revealed over and over again that the Prime Minister is an Imperial agent. The existence of team-only communications would also be revealed, which would no doubt make the Prime Minister even more difficult to move. Some of them may not believe it, but at least it should instill suspicion.

　After that, he gave the Prime Minister a round of teasing and lowered his spirits for the time being.

　However, the anger still remained.
　I let out my unceasing frustration with a "whoosh" with my breath, turn to the others and begin to say goodbye.



'Scrape away!　I'm not going to run and hide!　I'm walking out of this room, out of this court!　Stop it!　Come and get me!　I'm going to walk!　I'm walking out!　Remember that!


　Dared in anger, I turned my back on them all and walked out of the room, slowly, step by step, stomping away.


　I would not be allowed to be so feckless as to run away, the best in the world.

　And moreover, such fecklessness in front of the enemy.


　He did not run away. We didn't lose. It's the proof of that, and here I am, walking.


　You've been pressured by my spirit like that.

　The winds of Angolmore should have lifted long ago.

　There wasn't a single person coming after me.






''I'm sorry ...... I'm sorry ......!

　As soon as I got home after making one call, Winfiled clutched at me and apologized to me in tears.
　I've never seen her so distraught.

'I was cringing the whole time, saying I was afraid my master would hate me.

　Yukari says with a bitter smile at the side. It's rare that she doesn't have her usual blank expression here too. It seems that Winfiled's dismay was considerable enough to make Yukari have such a look on her face.

It's not a problem. It's not your fault.
But I'm just wondering if there's even a small chance that the king will be assassinated and not the second prince, if that's what it takes.
'No. It's not that I can prevent it, it's just that I don't like the people who do that kind of thing, so I ...... pouted a little bit.
I don't know if we can take that kind of pressure off my second with a "poof, poof".

　I'm going to repatriate him because Angolmore is picky. It's going to make the conversation even more complicated.
　I send it off with a bang and huff and puff. When I glanced casually to the side, I saw Silvia clenching her fist and shaking with a pout.

''Yup, forgive me ......!　Not only did I kill the innocent His Majesty Bowell, I didn't even kill the Second Lord!
Calm down, Sylvia. You don't have to be angry here.
'But!　We can't let that kind of outcast rule the roost!
Don't worry, I won't let you down. But I want to clear my name first. So don't be so angry.

　I say it as gently as I can and soothe Sylvia, who is furious. But I like this part of him. I mean, it's refreshingly justice, or passionate or clean. I don't think there are many people who can get this angry for the sake of others.

　I thought that Eco might be surprised by Silvia's terrible browbeating, and when I took a look at her, I should say that she was very self-paced, even at a time like this. She was happily sleeping with her hands together on the table, her chin resting on it. It may be true that the word "sleeping child" is pronounced "cat". Eco, forever, please keep it that way. And please continue to heal me as animal therapy.

...... Sorry, I'm calmed down.

　I was soothed by Eco's sleeping face as I thought about that vaguely, when Sylvia regained her composure.

''But it's pretty bad. Lord Second-dono is currently suspected of killing the king, right?''
'Yeah. But Mein and Minister Hai Lai seemed to be doing okay by the looks on their faces.
''Mm, I'm not worried about that. It's just that the Prime Minister and the Third Knight Commander must be completely black. If we leave them alone, won't they really make the Second Lord the culprit?
'Well, the key king who gave them indefinite house arrest is dead: ......

　It's a big deal for the kingdom, and they're likely to say it's a big deal and leave the punishment unchecked.
　Now that the king is gone, the person in power in the kingdom, except for the royalty, would be the prime minister or a minister at the top. So that's what he was after, right?

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but it's okay.

　And here's where Winfiled is back. When he pulled away from me, he returned to his usual crisp, beautiful face. And then she opened her mouth, as if she had been long in the tooth.

If this continues, there will be a civil war, maybe. With the first prince's faction and the second prince's faction.
That's what I'm talking about. "I'm not a messenger of the kingdom and there's no better brother than a snappy brother!　The Next King is the Championship! Does that mean?
Yeah. A faction of people trying to decide who will be the next king. Well, I guess that's not really a problem.
...... Heh?

　Isn't that a problem?

Why?
I'm telling you, the second prince will win. No, they'll win. And then, the Second Prince will be exonerated.
'Well, ...... if you say so, then it must be so. Then what's the problem?
"Kamel Godland.
Uh, .......

　I remember that problem.

Hmm. I'm afraid you've got a serious problem on your hands, Mr. Second.
What's going on?
'With the King killed, the talk of regulating Calameria has gone away, hasn't it?
'Wow!　That's true. Because I told you that right before Bowell was killed.

　There was probably no time to talk to anyone else. It would have been smoother if he had talked to Minister Hai Lai and others, but Minister Hai Lai wouldn't have time for that right now.
　The kingdom is divided between the first prince faction and the second prince faction, so there's no time to restrict Karamelia. So we'll need someone who can work independently of the kingdom's center.

Oh. I've got a better idea on that point. I'll be fine.
Okay, you got it.
'Light!　Light, Second Lord.

　Winfiled says it's okay, so this is a good case to throw around. I stopped thinking about Calameria early on.

'...... Muu. By the way, there's one thing I'm curious about.
What's up, Sylvia? You going to the bathroom?
I'm not Sherri!
That's a very funny thing to say in return, but when you say it in his absence, it's just backstabbing.
'S-Sorry, I didn't mean to go to ......!
What's bothering you?
'Hmm. Lord Second, why didn't you kill the Prime Minister?　You didn't have much of a bodyguard, did you?　I think it was an opportune moment.

　Ah, I see. It's true that I wanted to kill him, even though my feelings at the time had been to kill him. But now that I've cooled down, I think it was a good idea not to kill him.

I'm sure that if I kill the Prime Minister on the spot, the majority of the people will think I killed the King as well. The only people who would benefit from that are the empire and the theocracy.
'Mmm, well, how about if you kill all the first prince groups at ......?'
Hey, man. That's probably true, but how many thousands are there?　There's no way to keep track of it.
"Then why don't we ride into the castle and have the Second Lord slaughter all of them, along with the Prime Minister.
f*ck you!　I'm a killing machine!

　You'll have to excuse me. Yeah? I turned to Yukari and asked, "Isn't it? They give me a look like. Yeah, .......

"Honestly, I think Second-dono would come back unscathed against thousands of people.
It's impossible. I've dealt with thousands of demons before, but there's no way I'm going to take on thousands of humans.

　Demons have a set pattern of behavior, but humans move around freely. Since we don't know what kind of irregularities are going to happen, we can't risk our lives on them. I only fight battles that I can win. I don't want to go around killing thousands of people, and that's not a very pleasant thing to do.

"I'm somewhat surprised at the thousands of demons, but at ......, why don't you use her?
'She?　...... ah.

　Speaking of which. I can think of one being who seems to be able to do the impossible. Yeah, well, you could use her: ......

But the Kamel Theocracy comes first. Under the circumstances.
There's no denying it, Mr. Second.
You don't deny it, Master, do you?
'Shut up. This is somebody else's fight to begin with. I'm not going to break a bone to fix it.

　Certainly, Sylvia and Yukari are convinced that it's true. It seems that they were more shocked that I could win against thousands of demons than that, and they were both getting excited about something.


''............ Alright!


Hey, what's up?

　Then, suddenly, Winfiled shouted loudly. 'It's all very unlike today,' he said.

"I've changed my mind. I'm going to do it. I'm on it.

　It looks like he's going to get laid. I mean, I don't know if I've ever been serious about this. I'm scared.


"Mr. Second, the important thing is to check. I don't care what you have to do. What are you going to do to scare a few thousand people?


　Then he threw an even more startling question at me.


　You're going to scare off thousands of soldiers?　It's not like that: ......


I'll take care of it.


　Well, I'll just say it!




　　* * *



You are a good horse, aren't you?

　In the private chambers of the First Prince Klaus. Prime Minister Val speaks to Klaus in a matter-of-fact manner.

His son, Your Highness, is the undisputed heir to the throne. I don't care what the second prince's party proposes, I will stand firm.
............

　Klaus couldn't nod his head as much as he wanted to at the vizier's words.
　He couldn't get the words of one woman out of his head.

'Think of the Prime Minister as your enemy' - it was just one word, but it was so powerful that it could upset all the trust Klaus had built up to this point.

''If the other side were to use force. The First Order and the Third Order are now in our hands. We will not be defeated.

　Certainly. He was almost convinced of that, but doubt interrupted him.

　During the suppression of the righteous bandits, Klaus hadn't been told anything about making a pact. Cleaning up the rebels, that's all he'd heard. But when it was revealed, the pact was made in secret in order to incriminate the righteous, and in addition, they had even falsified official documents in an attempt to cover up the fact.

　When questioned by the Prime Minister, he refused to admit that the alterations were unavoidable in order to protect His Highness. I understand what they are saying, but it doesn't make sense to me. This is what was going on.

　And more. The righteous bandit R6 was an obstacle to the compromise with the Marvel Empire, so he was forcibly suppressed, Klaus was becoming dimly aware of this.

　The captain of the suppression squad that went out, convinced that cleaning up the righteous bandits nesting in the royal capital would be good for the kingdom. However, the current King's Capital had become even more unsafe due to the disappearance of the R6 bandits. If it was going to be like this, it was better not to force the suppression. So much so that it seemed so.

　Why was it necessary to suppress the righteous bandits to that extent?

　Suppression that does not lead to national interest in any way. Rather, it's a convenient policy for the empire. If you think about it, it has been and will continue to be.

　On top of that, those words of the second.

　The Prime Minister couldn't possibly be really the Empire's--


Now, I ask that you prepare for the coming battle.

　When Klaus had thought that far, the Prime Minister left the room.

'...... tch ......'

　With a single click of his tongue, Klaus had no choice but to stop thinking for a moment and go to his work.