Shadow of Lemdoria

As it was a reception room, it was decorated far more lavishly than the hallway, though nothing was excessive.

An elderly man sat on the spacious sofa, with one knight and a boy in light armor standing behind him.

"Thank you for inviting us today."

Mako bowed alongside Sei.

"Tsubaki-san…"

Before Sei's greeting even finished, the boy had raised his voice.

"Ryo, do you know her?"

"Yes, Your Grace. She's a hero like me."

"Oh ho, so you both have heroes in your company. What a coincidence this is."

The Archduke said with a laugh. He then gestured for Sei to take a seat on the sofa.

However, this Archduke was composed. The hero, on the other hand, was completely flustered.

Hero or not, he was still just a high schooler. The difference in presence was clear.

He was staring intently at Mako standing behind Sei.

"Hmm, the notice said you were searching for someone…"

"Yes, I was searching for that hero."

"My, so Ryo was the one you sought."

The Archduke indicated the seat beside him and invited the boy called Ryo to sit.

At the same time, he invited Mako to sit beside Sei.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Guelss Zet Craia, Archduke of the Craia Grand Duchy."

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Sei Christall Parla, Duke of the Holy Ogress Empire."

Prompted by a glance, Mako introduced herself.

"I'm Tsubaki Mako. Mako is my first name."

"And this is Sakamoto Ryota. Following this country's naming conventions, that would be Ryota Sakamoto."

Guelss drank from the tea that had been brought in. His leisurely movements conveyed an air of composure.

It reminded her of Carla. A dignity that made no attempt to hide its nobility, one might say.

It was the same feeling she had gotten from the Ogress Emperor the one time she'd met him.

Incidentally, she had almost never felt such a thing from Ria.

"So, why were you searching for Ryo?"

"It's a long story…"

Sei spoke without hiding anything, telling of what had happened since coming to this world.

"Wait, this is too big."

Shortly after she began, Guelss stopped Sei.

"Summon Marcus."

The lady-in-waiting who had been standing by the door left the room. After a while, a perfectly ordinary bureaucratic-looking man entered.

"Marcus, reporting."

"Mm, thank you for coming."

Sei had already automatically appraised him and seen through the man's skills.

He had the Insight skill. It should be fine to reveal her titles and status. She would hide her Gifts and such with her higher-level Disguise Concealment.

"This man possesses the Insight skill. He can also use lie detection magic."

Indeed, his principle magic level was high. This meant lies wouldn't work on him.

"I apologize, but could you tell your story from the beginning again?"

"That's only reasonable. Well then…"

Sei began speaking again.

She should keep her own Gift hidden. But the question was how much else to reveal.

She glossed over the existence of Earth's god, beginning with her encounter with the Divine Dragon and the story of Ria and Carla.

What she most wanted them to understand was that the existence of heroes could lead to the world's destruction.

Of course, she kept silent about the part where Earth's side would be destroyed. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"I can hardly believe it…"

Guelss groaned. He turned back to Marcus.

"Your Grace, this person has not told a single lie."

"I see… But she hasn't told us everything, has she? There's also the possibility that you yourself have been deceived."

"That's true. The Gift I received from the Divine Dragon is hidden so that even Insight cannot see it. But it should be true that heroes are a double-edged sword. That is what I was summoned for."

Her title of Knight of the Divine Dragon. Her status as a Duke. Those she did not hide. It added more credibility that way.

She also didn't hide her titles of Serpent Slayer and Undead Slayer. What she needed to keep hidden was the full extent of Sei's combat capabilities.

If people knew how much power Sei possessed in this land of turmoil, many would try to use her.

What was closer to justice, what was closer to evil—Sei did not want to be dragged into wars between humans.

"I understand. Ryo must be returned."

Guelss said that, but added a caveat.

"I still need Ryo's power as a guard for a little longer. Specifically, until the peace conference in ten days."

Just as Kukuri and the others had gathered from their information, the surrounding nations were moving toward peace.

In truth, the preliminary negotiations were already done, and all that remained was to actually conclude the peace.

But if something unexpected happened here—for example, if Guelss were assassinated—the talks would fall apart.

"There are those who wish for exactly that."

The Northern Lemdoria Empire. A nation that opposed the coalition of states and was constantly watching for opportunities to invade.

In contrast, the Southern Lemdoria Empire prioritized trade and supported the formation of the coalition of states.

"Northern Lemdoria has already begun preparations to mobilize troops. We must form the coalition as quickly as possible and prepare for Northern Lemdoria."

Once war broke out, Ryo's power wouldn't be particularly significant.

He would be nearly invincible in one-on-one combat, but killing one hundred or two hundred soldiers wouldn't affect the overall situation.

"Ten days… Actually, why does Northern Lemdoria invade?"

"The banner they raise is the restoration of the Lemdoria Empire, but in truth, that land is poor."

Back when Northern and Southern Lemdoria and the surrounding nations were unified, things were good. There was a distribution network, and food and supplies circulated well.

But now Northern Lemdoria existed as a single nation, poor but with strong soldiers. The demi-humans like the centaur tribes were particularly powerful.

In good harvest years they managed, but even a slightly poor harvest drove them to plunder. Invasion was in name only—plunder was the goal. That's why they didn't occupy territory, withdrawing as soon as they acquired their spoils.

"Perhaps civilization is regressing…"

Sei put it that way.

"Conversely, couldn't you invade from this side and become a unified nation?"

"That would not benefit us much."

Guelss seemed slightly surprised by Sei's words.

"Annex Northern Lemdoria, maintain the distribution network, and eliminate the reason for invasion itself. Wouldn't that be beneficial?"

"Eliminate the very meaning of invasion… That's one way of thinking, but it would be difficult in practice. In terms of national power, it would be more realistic for Southern Lemdoria to act. However, Southern Lemdoria is rarely invaded and would not willingly take action."

"I see…"

"But the idea of eliminating Northern Lemdoria's very reason to invade is interesting. It can't be done immediately, but there may be a possibility of doing it jointly with Southern Lemdoria eventually."

That would also mean the reconstruction of the former Lemdoria Empire.

Guelss knew. The restoration of the mighty Lemdoria Empire—something the Southern Lemdoria Empire actually held as a cherished ambition. But would that benefit Craia?

It was a difficult problem. It might take hundreds of years to resolve. Interesting, but not realistic.

The audience ended.

After telling him they would visit again after ten days, the two left Craia's castle.

They had been offered use of the guest palace, but Sei wanted to scout the surrounding situation during this time.

"That was some difficult talk, huh."

"It's actually a difficult problem."

Among the stories Carla had told her were tales of wars that had occurred in the past.

The war with Cordova. Ria fighting continuously on the front lines.

The establishment of the Ogress Grand Duchy, predecessor to the Holy Ogress Empire.

Stories from someone who had experienced it most closely, a person who was there.

Honestly, it had been fascinating.

And now, war was about to break out.

Back at the inn, Sei spoke with everyone.

"This is bad. I gathered some information, and Northern Lemdoria is completely ready to invade."

"Same with the information I gathered. Craia's mercenary guild is already mobilizing, and conscription has begun."

When she heard Kukuri and Chaos's reports, Sei thought:

Rather than making peace to oppose Northern Lemdoria, weren't they being forced into peace in order to oppose Northern Lemdoria?

Guelss was the head of state, after all. It would be easy for him to deceive Sei with words.

And thinking further ahead—what would happen after this invasion ended?

Wouldn't conflicts with the surrounding nations resume? Would peace only hold as long as Northern Lemdoria remained a threat?

"So that's the situation, but isn't there something we can do?"

"Nothing can be done."

On the other end of the communicator, Ria stated flatly.

"You've barely even spoken with this hero called Ryo, have you? Whether the conflicts resume or not, they won't let go of the power this hero Ryo possesses."

"But we did make a promise for ten days from now."

"Was that a promise with signed documents between you as Duke Parla and the Archduke of Craia? A promise with some influential third party present?"

"No, but for the head of state to break a promise so easily…"

"Verbal promises can be broken as many times as you like. I know because I've done exactly that."

It was tremendously convincing.

"Well… It's understandable that you wouldn't think of such things, but those in power will absolutely protect themselves even if the world's crisis is approaching. Don't expect conscience from the powerful."

"Then what should I do?"

"Wait, let me think for a moment."

That moment was truly brief.

"The surest way is for you to kill the hero by ambush, without question. That would be best."

"Eh, isn't there a more peaceful method?"

"… There's also sneaking into the castle and talking directly with the hero to get his consent to return, but that's not very certain."

"No, that's pretty peaceful."

"You foolish disciple! Do you think a child who's gained overwhelming power and been pampered by everyone around him will meekly return to ordinary life?"

Sei was left speechless.

"To tell you the truth, I think Mako should be returned as well."

Ria delivered an even more merciless, yet coldly logical statement.

"She's good-natured and almost harmless. But people change. That girl with the terrifying power of Gluttony—I think there's a high chance she'll become your enemy in the future."

"Eh, no, Mako will be fine. She understands the world crisis, and above all, she's not that kind of girl."

"You… Women can transform, you know. Do you really think you have that good an eye for women?"

"No, that's not what I mean, but…"

Sei couldn't very well say they had ended up in a physical relationship.

"Otherwise, you could strike Northern Lemdoria and eliminate their capacity to plunder. Then the Archduke might let his guard down, and you might get a chance to speak with the hero. At that point, persuade the hero. Appeal to his emotions—doesn't he want to return to Earth?"

Sei had that much destructive power. If she used the wide-area tactical-class magic she'd learned from Carla, even a large army of common soldiers would be no match for her.

However, using it would require the extremely serious decision of becoming a mass murderer.

"Haah… Also, that hero had murder on his record."

"Whether in this world or any conflict zone, killing people is routine. I wouldn't be surprised if someone who was teleported to an unfamiliar land committed murder while just trying to survive."

Was that really true, though?

Sei had killed one person with her own hands. He had been human scum. Even so, he apparently hadn't been that kind of person back on Earth.

She had killed many bandits with magic. Each probably had their own circumstances, but they had been murderers.

"If he's killed people, then appealing to his conscience might actually be more effective."

Ria offered that analysis as well.

"What was your impression of him at first glance?"

"Let's see… When he saw Mako, he seemed confused, or rather, extremely shaken."

"Then the chances are good."

According to Ria, even if they were heroes, for Japanese children to kill or be killed was considerable stress.

Wanting to forget everything. Wishing to return to peaceful Japan—that would be perfectly normal.

"In any case, you'll need to handle it on the spot."

Everything would be left to Sei's judgment in the moment.

"Seal is one of the few Gifts that can incapacitate you."

Since Seal required seeing the target, attacking from a distance would definitely defeat him.

There were also many ways to neutralize him, such as enveloping him in darkness so he couldn't perceive her, or ambushing him with her presence concealed.

Even so, it was one of the few Gifts that could stop Sei's movements.

"Somehow… I'll manage."

"If you can't manage, contact me again."

Sei thought it over. First, she would wait the ten days. It might end up being an empty promise, but she wouldn't be the one to break it.

But if after ten days he equivocated, she would send the hero back to Earth by any means necessary.

She should also keep the possibility of killing Guelss in mind. Considering the aftermath, it wouldn't be the best move, but she had to consider it as an option.

If Guelss truly recognized the world's crisis and released the hero, that would be ideal, but Sei thought that probably wouldn't happen. No—Ria had made her realize that.

"I'm still too naive."

That aside, Sei turned to her other objective.

There was another hero in Southern Lemdoria. Travel to the north would likely be obstructed, but the south should be fine.

Fortunately, the hero was near the border. If they drove the carriage hard, it was a distance they could make in a ten-day round trip.

She would not waste time. Sei resolved herself to that.