* * *



　The banquet held at the Imperial Castle was much different from what I had imagined.

　It was more like a standing-room-only party with a classier dress code than what I had imagined, though I thought it would be more of a drink-and-eat affair with everyone.

　I couldn't move a single step from my place and had to deal with a lot of people who came to greet me one after another. Thanks to that, I couldn't even eat a meal to my satisfaction.

　But I was hungry. When they noticed that my glass was running low, they poured me a glass of sake.

　It's a good thing that the conversation is still interesting: ...... The cold eyes always peering at my face, the smile like a shape memory alloy, the empty words that are just surface polish. I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one.

　The ambassadors of the various countries who had been booked to meet with me so often, I had expected them to come in person to greet me at the banquet, but most of them were there by proxy. Well, it seems that ambassadors are not so easy to send out, since they seem to be in a very important position, right?


...... Wait a minute. I'll say hello after I've had this.

Ha, ha.

　Finally, I ran out of patience, refused to say a word to the representative of the ambassador of some country who had come to say hello, and took a bite of the food Olympia had brought me.

　It smelled so good the whole time. It's only polite to eat it while it's warm.

''Yum!''

　It's really good. This steak, as expected. The Castal Kingdom has good fish dishes, but the Marvel Empire has good meat dishes. The sauce had a thick, sweet flavor, which was quite to my liking. Oh, I want white rice.

　You can find it at .......


"Olympia, rice, please.

Ha!


　I asked for it.

　I doubt very much that they have rice at such a proper party, but I guess it's possible that Olympia went to get it.


''Well then, let's continue the story until the rice arrives--''

His Excellency Seven, have a glass of wine.

Oh ...... oh?


　When I opened my mouth to resume my conversation with the acting ambassador who had been keeping me waiting, the guy serving me with the wine bottle quickly offered me a bottle of wine.

　I'm not going to be able to get the same thing from the steak.


I don't need it.

As you wish, sir. But this one is the best one we have on hand. Please take a sip. I'm sure it goes perfectly with the steak.

No, Rice is coming.

Well, well, well, you didn't say that.

Oh, don't pour it out, it's a waste!　I said I don't want it.

Forgive me, my dear sir. However, I had a special order sent by His Highness, Seven, to celebrate his inauguration and I wanted you to taste it first.

So it's yours. You can sneak it home with you.

......, would you like to go to ......? I'd like to take it, thank you very much.


　The man who served us left in disappointment. Did he want me to drink so much?


I'm sorry, but I'd better be going.

'What?　Yeah, I'm sorry. I've been waiting for you for a while now. If you get another chance.

Yes, sir.


　Perhaps seeing the wine dispute, the acting ambassador of some country also left with a blue face for some reason.

　There might have been something wrong with my response. Well, I'm not a very well-behaved person, you know. Well, I'm not very well behaved, you know.

　And then the rush of greetings to me, which had been so much fun, stopped. I knew I was going to do something like that. ...... I can't wait for Olympia to come back.


I'm sorry for the delay. I have brought you some rice.

'Oh, thank you!　I've been waiting for you!

　I've been waiting for this in two ways.

　Now, the rice I'd been waiting for. I accepted a plate of rice from Olympia with a bite and started eating it with my steak.

　Kaaah, this is it!　This is what we've been looking for!　I can't stand meat and white rice!


'......?　......!　Hey, Knight Commander!　What did you do with this wine?

"Huh?

　Something about Olympia changing her blood and pointing at the wine from earlier.


''You insisted on drinking it, so...''

Well, I didn't think you'd drink it!

'No, I'm not going to drink it because I've got rice,'

......!!!


　And now his eyes and mouth open in surprise.

　This wine was that expensive? It's a good idea to have a drink after you finish eating this .......


It's a good thing that you are a knight in shining armor. You have to be able to find a way to get the best out of it. I'm very impressed, my dear Olympian.

?

　Well, I'm selfishly admiring it. I don't know what that means anymore.


'But then again, excuse me for this: ......

　When Olympia finished admiring it, she picked up a glass of wine with me at her side and sniffed it lightly.

　Oh come on, that's not so bad. Is it really that great of a wine? Okay, I'll drink it.


Yes, of course. Yeah, I knew it," he said, "there's a faint hint of Bawi. Deadly poison, fast-acting. He must have been waiting for me to leave. I'm sorry. I was so upset that I thought that the knight master had drunk it all: ...... No, that's not possible, because even a sip is an instant death. I am ashamed of you.

!


　...... awwww. I was about to get all the stuff in my mouth.

　"Bawi extract -- it's a famous item in Mevion. The extract is refined in a special way from the seeds of a tree called Bawi, and just taking a drop of it will lure any player to death in an instant.

　Netgee is a strange thing, and there are a number of people who love things that are willing to die, despite the "permanent loss of some status" desperation. What happens if you die while falling, or if you die at the same time as a dungeon boss, or if you use Death Warp to shortcut your movement and help your RTA, Bawi Extract had such a quirky demand.

　I didn't expect such a maniacal item to be used for assassination ...... No, well, if you think about it calmly, it's tailor-made for you. It's just a slightly fragrant smell, so you can fool yourself by mixing it into something with a strong smell.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. I've forgotten about it completely.


'Oh, ah, bawi hey, yes, yes ......'

　Oh, my God!　I'm scared, I was almost assassinated. Me, I was gulping down every drink that was poured without hesitation until that wine came: .......

　That's why the deputy ambassador was too freaked out to come by. I guess they saw that I refused and decided that the wine was poisoned. If I was in my normal senses, I'd keep my distance to avoid dying in front of them. I'm afraid of being suspected and involved.

　By the way, you're all very perceptive. In this kind of situation, we also need a sense of smell to detect assassination, don't we? I see, I've learned a lot.


Bawi...... Hatha

　I work my head in a rare way, quenching my thirst with a drink that would be safe for me, which Olympia had brought me.

　Bawi extract. I feel like I've been thinking about this lately.

　Huh, what was it? Yes, the assassination. I think it had something to do with the assassination--.


"!

　Now I remember!　It's about the Shadow King of Casablanca (Eeiou).

　The assassin disguised as the Shadow King of Casablanca who tried to assassinate Mein at the awards ceremony. As I recall, that guy planted a Bawi extract capsule in his back teeth and killed himself at the last minute to seal his mouth.

　Obtaining Bawi fruit is a pain in the ass. The refining process is not easy either. It doesn't take that long, but it's something that, along with how to learn a skill, is the biggest thing you need to know.

　Normally, the guy who tried to assassinate Mine and the guy who tried to assassinate me would be receiving orders from the same person.

　Who was it?　Who would be happy to see King Mein of the Kingdom of Castal disappear and who would be happy to see the new General Seven of the Marvel Empire disappear?


　The only two choices I can think of at the moment are.

　Melson Marvel or Cigarone Erebuni.

　Melson has his sights set on becoming the next emperor, so taking credit for the assassination of King Castal would be a big plus. Also, my presence would be a hindrance. As for her, if she doesn't have her own pawn, General Nato Shaman, to be used more heavily by the emperor than her brother's pawn, General Seven, she'll be in trouble while moving away from the next emperor. It's a good enough motive for an assassination.

　Is Mr. Cigarone ...... the kind of person who would do such a roundabout thing?　I'm sure Mine would be in the way, but I don't think he'd carry out it in the form of an assassination. That guy would likely go directly to kill him, not by assassination or anything else. I'm sure my presence is also a hindrance to his hard-line faction in the sense that he's a moderate, but to say that I'm a hindrance enough to assassinate him is a bit of a no-brainer.

　So, the person who ordered the assassination would be Melson.

　Great, it's interesting, it's like a mystery game. And there's an action element to it.

　Oh, right, so he's after me, huh? Well, let's turn the tables on him. It's going to be quite good training. And the battle for the Shadow King is coming up in six months.

　I've already mastered the Infantry Assassination Technique. The only requirement for learning it is "PKing" (Player Kill). I learned it when I wiped out the bandits who attacked me when Yukari was still in a state of brainwashing in the past.

　Among the conditions for learning the [Assassination Technique] skill, there was only one other one that required a PKing-like action. The [Incense Car Assassination Technique]. On the contrary, as long as he learns this, all the rest of the Gui Ma~Long King can learn it against demons.

　And the requirement is ...... "Use the 《Infantry Assassination Technique》 to bring five players to the brink of death.

　Initially, I thought it wouldn't matter if they didn't die, but after thinking about it, it hurts tremendously. And even if I don't die, dying is a death-defying fear in this world. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't something I could ask someone I know to do.

　I feel a little sorry for the assassins who received Melson's orders, but they're going to try to kill me, I'm sure they're ready for it. Let's give them a little, well, a little bit of pain, and let them help me learn my "Incense Car Assassination Technique".




　Tonight?　Tomorrow?　The day after tomorrow?　I can't wait to learn it. I can't wait to learn it.


...... It's the knight chief. You've just been poisoned by someone and you're laughing while eating a steak bowl. I can't help but admire this Olympian.

　Olympia is admiring itself again.

　Don't admire this guy every chance you get.


'Oh, yeah. Olympia.
"Ha.
"I want you to keep Wright under tight security for two weeks from today. You can use my Kingsguard and the Fifth Platoon as well.
Ha!

　If Melson is going to go after me, it might be Wright.

　...... hmmm?　Wait. This pattern is somewhere in .......


"Oh, Olympia.
"Ha.
Just in case you find out about my dad's assassination.
Ha!


　He may already have some kind of shadow guarding him, but just in case.

　This is the same pattern that killed Mein's father, King Castal's Bavell. I'm not going to let that unhappy happen again. I am a man who can learn from the past.

　Well, I don't think my own daughter would ever think of assassinating her father. ......


But you are so well acquainted with His Highness that you call him by his nickname. That's what I call a knight in shining armor--


　...... I'll say no more.



　　* * * *



He wasn't much of a wine fan.

Yes. Rice rather than alcohol, he refused ...... and told me I could take it home.

...... phew ......


　Melson sighs when he hears the report from Salem.

　He had asked for rice in advance to refuse the alcohol. He told the man serving him to bring back the finest wine to celebrate his appointment as general. These two things tell me--'


"They were expecting us. And a warning that this time they would try again: ......

　That means Seven had seen it all coming.

　And perhaps even who is setting it up.



'Set it up, Selam. Tonight.

Ha!


　We are no longer in a phase where we are muddling through orders and playing dumb.

　Melson could no longer back down.

　But he was by no means pessimistic.


'...... It's disgusting to hear of a shadow king in the sunshine, etc.


　The assassination squad she has just sent to Seven, that's exactly what she is - the elite among the elite, the real assassins who slaughtered the Casablanca Shadow King, who was the pinnacle of assassination art. This is a different stage to live in than the play of a title fight or any other play.

　Mine Castal's assassination was thwarted by the Second Firth Test, but this time, there were no such bogeymen, not even in the midst of the crowd.

　Such dark dwellers, who had survived by quietly killing breath and killing people in an environment where a mere failure was not allowed, could not fail by attacking the sleep of a single man.

　Hence, Melson was still confident.

　Now that the sun had not risen, he was still .......