Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Chapter 7.9

The city of Anemomylos was illuminated by the morning sun. This town was developed as a trading city leading to Arcazam.

This city, originally a small rural town, became a transit point for goods and supplies in the construction of Arcazam, and it quickly came to life due to the large amount of money that came in.

This city, where not only the human race but demihumans and various other races came and went, was like a smaller version of the Arcazam.

A group of horse-drawn carriages in a formation passed through the central street that ran through the city.

The white-colored carriages were luxurious. The people riding in the carriages must be of high status, judging from the armored knights guarding the front and rear of the carriages.

The carriage continued to run along the street toward Arcazam, attracting the eyes of passersby.

"Sir, we should be arriving at Arcazam soon."

It was a middle-aged female servant dressed in maid clothes who uttered these words in the carriage.

Her master sat in the back seat of the carriage, nodded at the maid's words, and looked out the window at the knight guarding him.

The robe and equipment the nobleman wore can be recognized as the highest quality at a glance.

His handsome face was deeply chiseled as if to testify to his years of experience, and his neatly trimmed golden hair and beard added color to his appearance.

His name is Victor Barenz Francilt.

He is the current head of the Francilt Household.

"Umu. It took quite a long time, but it looks like we made it in time. When we arrive at Arcazam, please use this to make sure the soldiers get enough rest. I've pushed them too hard."

While saying so, the nobleman took a small bag from his pocket and handed it to the maid in front of him.

The maid accepted the Lord's alms in a reverent manner.

Although small, a heavy weight was felt on the maid's arms. The contents were probably gold coins.

"The soldiers will be pleased, since they had to change horses many times during the forced march. Well, we did arrive a few days earlier than we expected..."

The maid's gaze turned to the carriage behind her.

The horse carriages were full of local goods from every region that the nobleman had purchased on the way to this point.

Moreover, it was not just one or two carriages carrying the goods, but a total of six large two-horse-drawn carriages, each fully loaded with goods.

But even so, this was still considered modest.

In fact, Mena's master was trying to purchase twice as many items as this. Of course, he did it secretly behind her back.

Normally, he is a fair and just man, a famous lord, and serving him is a source of pride for Mena, but he has a bad habit of changing into a different person when it comes to certain matters.

In fact, twice a year, this bad habit manifested itself and caused a great deal of trouble.

Fortunately, in the last few years, this bad habit didn't manifest because the cause was not with him.

"Mena, did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing ... But we are also troubled by Jihad-dono. How dare he suddenly summon Master ......."

The nobleman sneered at the maid who looked the other way and muttered something to herself.

However, the maid, who was called Mena, immediately turned to her master and suddenly revealed an indignant expression.

"According to the letter sent by Jihad-dono, there was a scandalous incident involving a student of the school. It is indeed a problem, but I don't think there is a need for Master to come ..."

"But he delivered that tightly sealed letter directly to me. Either the mentioned incident is that deep-rooted, or there may be something serious happened ......."

The maid in front of him did not know the contents of the letter.

The nobleman stated that the letter was only about an incident that occurred at the school, but the actual content of the letter was not something that could be spoken of in a casual manner.

In fact, that was why this nobleman was moving in secret, even from the maid who was his trusted confidant.

While stroking his beard, Victor smiled thinly so as not to be noticed by Mena.

"That old man, he suddenly appeared in front of Master and suddenly handed over a letter... To be honest, his impolite attitude is too much."

"Well, I was suspicious at first too, but Jihad-dono's seal was firmly stamped, and the secret word and handwritings were genuine. Either way, I had originally planned to stop by Arcazam. I also wanted to check on my daughters."

He remembered a gray-haired old man who suddenly appeared in the mansion.

The old man suddenly appeared in the office, and in front of the two who froze in surprise. He gave them a lazy expression and handed over a letter he had taken from his pocket.

The letter contained information about the incident involving a student at the school, the escape of Abyss Grief, and the events of the previous incident.

This caused this nobleman to hasten his visit to Arcazam.

"Since the discovery of the secret agreement with the Waziart Household, Master has not had time to rest. I am sure the young ladies will be pleased with your visit."

"Yeah……"

A few months ago, Victor read a letter sent to him by his eldest daughter, which surprised him as if he had been struck by lightning.

The letter contained information about a secret agreement that the past Francylt Household had made with the Waziart Household several hundred years ago.

The butler of the Waziart Household suddenly appeared on the birthday of the second daughter. The butler, Rugato, was sent to fulfill the agreement, and with the help of the eldest daughter's friends, they managed to fight and repel him.

When Viktor learned of this fact, he hurriedly checked the items related to the previous heads and discovered that the contract was in fact true.

Viktor immediately sent a secret messenger to the Waziart Household and negotiated with the head himself.

He continued to negotiate while performing his duties as the head of the family and kept his pen busy day and night without a break, and just the other day he finally reached an agreement with the Waziart Household.

"But I was surprised that young lady, with the help of her friends, was able to defeat a powerful S-ranked person."

"According to Irisdina's letter, they are quite capable students. Everyone deserves an A rank, and one of them is so capable that he can reach an S rank. When I saw the letter, I was surprised to learn that such talented students had gathered in the third year."

Victor's daughters have been exposed to the social world, where many kinds of bad people abound, from an early age.

He used to feel sorry for that. They lost their mother, and it was a lonely and painful time for them.

But that was why Victor trusted the way his daughter looked at people. The fact that they were blessed with such promising friends was a true testament to the girls' ability to see a person's character.

"Sir. Have you told the young ladies about your wife..."

"I haven't talked about it. I can't bring myself to talk about it... My daughters have no responsibility in that matter. I'm the only one who should bear the burden."

About the magic tools which were entrusted to the Francilt Household at the time of the secret agreement with the Waziart Household. It was Somia's mother, Firana Francilt, who implanted the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] in Somia's body, which was one of the magic tools and the cause of the dispute.

Somia was born with a frail body. In order to save her, Firana offered her soul to Somia with [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] as the medium.

The [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] is a magic tool that gains enormous power by offering one's soul.

Firana drew the power of the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame] with her own soul and fused it with Somia's soul to sustain Somia's life.

Magic related to the soul is extremely difficult magic. The success rate is as low as picking a grain of sand.

Nevertheless, the technique succeeded at the cost of Firana's life. It was as if Firana's strong wish for her daughter to live at any cost was realized.

As a result, her second daughter was growing up very well and healthy.

Neither Irisdina nor Somiliana knew about this fact. Victor thought that if he told them, he might deeply hurt the hearts of his gentle daughters.

"I'm also troubled by our ancestors who impose their mismanagement on their descendants and then die on their own accord, well, I'm one to talk..."

What he did to help his daughter. As a result, he had to put his daughters through a lot of hardship.

The nobleman slumped his shoulders and sighed.

"... I can understand your feelings."

"Fortunately, we managed to negotiate with the Waziart Household. We have lost a lot, but it is for the sake of our daughters. I'm sure Firana will forgive me ..."

"My Lord ..."

The man looked out the carriage window while thinking of the gentle smile of his wife who had already passed away.

The streets of the bustling city of Anemomylos were lined with stalls of all sizes.

On the other side of the road that cut through the dense forest, a small, shining cityscape peeked out, bathed in sunlight. It was their destination, the academic city of Arcazam.

"It's about time ..."

A small murmur melted into the summer breeze.

The trees of the forest stretch to the horizon. Beyond them, the huge outer wall of Arcazam came into view.

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Arcazam's parliament is composed of members sent from various countries, and although it is mixed with the intentions of other countries, this basically does not impede its operation.

The new technologies and human resources created by the goods and personnel brought in from each country undoubtedly benefit each country. Therefore, stagnation in the operation of the city itself can only create disadvantages.

However, the number of pies that can be created is limited. Therefore, they are planning to get as much of the pie as possible.

TL note : 'Pie' here probably means new technologies and human resources)

It was the chairperson, Haibao Fouka, and Jihad, who put together such leopard-like council members.

But recently, due to recent incidents, Jihad's influence in parliament has weakened.

The ;spearhead ;of this assembly is ;a beautiful woman who is giving a speech on the stage.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen. The flaws in Arcazam's security system revealed by the recent incident cannot be overlooked."

A charming voice echoed throughout the majestic capitol building.

"Yes, that's right. Certainly, the school's recent response has been too late."

"I'm sure that even the great hero has become senile. If that's the case, we need to think again about whether or not Jihad-dono is going to retire..."

Following Mekria's statement, the council members who agreed with her voiced their impeachment in their own words.

The council members who followed Mekria's lead with smug smiles on their faces were ready to pursue Jihad's responsibilities once again.

However, their voices were interrupted by the words of another council member who was standing next to them.

"If we were to let Jihad-dono retire, there will be a further gap in the school's security. Besides, the school officials, including Jihad-dono and the others, have already been given appropriate punishments. The responsibility of Jihad and the others should now be over."

"That's right. Punishment is essential to an organization, but it is meaningless to get too caught up in it."

"The cause of the damage caused by this incident was the spy who infiltrated the Starlight. As you all know, this city has been infiltrated by many people who have the support of many nations."

"I suppose we'll have to do something about that first."

The council members who didn't follow Mekria's lead warned the council members who tried to pursue Jihad's responsibility.

"We also have to do something about the demon beast that was sealed in the lowest level of the Gloaurum Institute."

"Currently, the Gloaurum Institute is dedicated to sealing and researching the Abyss Grief that has parasitized a Solminati Academy student..."

"It is the demon beast that has been shrouded in mystery until now. The importance of this demon beast, including its involvement in the Great Invasion, is unparalleled. As for the responsibility of Jihad-dono and the others, let's leave it at this for now, and it will not be too late to decide whether to proceed or not after looking at their future work."

As a matter of fact, the importance of this city had soared more than ever since the Abyss Grief specimen was obtained.

Furthermore, now that the Abyss Grief had parasitized a person and the person had been secured, the new nature of this demon beast had been revealed. Several countries have also promised more assistance than ever before.

"No! First of all, the responsibility for the previous incident should be made clearer! That's why we must first......"

But those who shouted loudly for the impeachment of Jihad refused to back down.

They spit at the council members who were trying to "put back the luggage they had just unloaded from the shelves".

But their enthusiasm was unexpectedly interrupted.

"Excuse me"

Suddenly, the door of the Capitol was thrown open. Interrupting the heated discussion was Jihad who had been the topic of discussion just a few moments earlier.

His sudden appearance. A tense atmosphere leaked from the white armor he wore and instantly filled the hall.

The council members were hushed by the tension.

In the midst of this silence, the chairperson, Haibao, asked Jihad.

"Jihad-dono. What on earth is the matter, that you suddenly entered the ;assembly ;hall in the middle of an assembly?

"I apologize for the sudden interruption, Chairman-dono. Actually, there's something I need to tell you as soon as possible..."

Perhaps it was because they had just been discussing the demon beast of disaster. The council members' faces grew grim, as they were reminded of the bad news in Jihad's words.

"No way, did the demon beast appear again?"

"No, no, this time it is good news. The other day, we conducted an investigation of those who were conducting espionage activities in Arcazam, and we have detained a few of them."

Jihad's words, which suddenly put an end to the tension he had just released and loosened his expression, caused the council members to look at him in surprise.

As previously mentioned, spies from various countries who had infiltrated Arcazam became a problem.

"Hoho~, so how many rats did you catch?"

"Well, let alone stealing the leftovers in the kitchen, I'd hate it if they were to bite us. It would be good for the rats to know what the risks are."

A council member who had just tried to pursue Jihad's responsibility was now looking down at him while lifting his mouth.

Some of the council members, who had been raving about Jihad until a while ago, raised their eyebrows in front of the man in question.

On the other hand, the council members who were being stared at by Jihad were snickering and snorting as if they didn't care about the stare.

"So, Jihad-dono. How many have you captured?"

"Yes, there are about 250 people."

"Wha~!"

"~ !?"

For a moment, everyone present opened their eyes wide and was shocked in astonishment.

There were just too many.

Since the council members thought that Jihad had captured only a few of them, a dozen at the most, it took a few seconds for everyone to understand what Jihad had said.

"250 people, you say?"

"Yes. And with this, we have completed the cleanup of almost all of the external forces operating in this city. From now on, there is almost no need to worry about outside sabotage, as was the case in the previous incident. Of course, we need to continue to be more vigilant than ever before ..."

Jihad began to report on the details of the matter, leaving the dismayed council members aside.

Spies from another country who had been involved in the previous incident. The betrayal within Starlight was caused by them.

The betrayal within the Starlight, which could not be overlooked, led to the identification of all those involved with the Solminati Academy, including the Starlight, and at the same time, the planning and execution of a sweeping operation to clean out the spies who had infiltrated Arcazam.

The result was the number mentioned by Jihad earlier.

This number is almost equal to the number of spies allegedly hiding in Arcazam. In other words, in a single operation, Jihad and Starlight almost completely wiped out the external threats that were hiding in Arcazam.

Even Mekria, who had been smiling, had a slight shock in her eye.

Unbeknownst to the council members, behind this result was the detailed information Zonne had brought to Jihad about the intelligence agencies of each country.

This information was also one of the prices that Jihad demanded from Zonne for his cooperation regarding Nozomu.

"I-I see ... well done, Jihad-dono."

"Yes. Once again, thank you."

The council members, who had been trying to impeach Jihad until a while ago, began to put on air while breaking out in a waterfall of greasy sweat.

On the other hand, the rest of the council members were beyond shocked and were so completely taken aback that all they could do was sigh.

Jihad lightly brushed off the gazes and bowed. Everyone present understood that this was only a ceremonial gesture.

"Thank you very much. Actually, there are still other matters ...... For that reason, I hereby request permission for a certain person to attend this assembly."

Who? The chairman of the council quickly said, "permitted," and allowed Jihad to have his guest in the council.

Prompted by Jihad, a military police officer reverently opened the heavy doors, and slowly a nobleman entered the assembly hall.

"Excuse me"

"Y-, you are ...!"

Being prompted by Jihad, Victor, the current head of the Francilt Household, stepped into the Capitol building.

All the council members present were opening their eyes wide at the sudden appearance of the aristocrat.

Victor glanced at those seated at the council members' table and smiled.

Ten years ago, he was one of the first to take countermeasures against the great invasion and was one of the first to send his country's army to ward off the invasion.

His quick response was the precursor to stopping the invasion of demon beasts, and as a result, Forsina Country's voice was greatly enhanced on this continent.

He is also a benefactor to many countries and, like Jihad, is a well-known figure on the continent.

In the presence of such a true nobleman, the philistine council members were simply overwhelmed.

"Oh, it's been a long time, Sir Tardo. How is your daughter, who was a student at the academy, doing?"

"N-, no. She's fine. Ha ha ha ..."

The council members who had been vigorously denouncing Jihad just a few minutes earlier became quiet.

Victor bowed deeply to the council members around him.

"Chairman-dono. And all the members of the Council. I have received a word from my king. I would like to share it with you here, if I may."

A word from King Forsina. All of the council members present gasped.

The chairman allowed Victor to speak, as he politely made his advice in a manner that would stand up to the assembly.

"Well then, "We would like to thank you for your hard work on the Abyss Grief case. We are very sorry for the victims of this incident. Our heart is aching for your loss. However, we cannot be dragged down by our own grief. I am sure that the Chairman, the Council Members, and everyone involved in the school, including Jihad-dono, will work together to overcome this situation.""

After Victor finished reading all the words from the King, he walked over to the chairman's seat and politely handed the letter of intent to the chairman. He then bowed and returned to his place next to Jihad.

The assembly hall remained silent.

"These are the words of my Lord."

The council members who had denounced Jihad earlier were speechless.

In particular, the council members from the countries that were exposed to the great invasion were looking at Victor with respect, trust, and gratitude.

For them, Victor, who was the first to dispatch troops, and the current King of Forsina, were irreplaceable benefactors.

An air of relief and warmth filled the Assembly Hall. Of course, no one could denounce Jihad in such a situation.

Mekria, who had been inciting the other council members, could not say anything.

Mekria's master is also a vassal of King Forsina. There was no way that he could block the words of such a person.

The content of the letter of intent is not a threat to Arcazam's independence and is only polite. It simply stated, "Please continue to cooperate with all of us in our endeavors."

It was neither an order nor a request. Not even a demand. It was a simple greeting.

However, if these words were coming from the king of a country on the continent, and the person who brought them was the current head of the Francylt Household, who had rushed to help many countries during the Great Invasion, there was no way the council members could ignore them, even if they were only a greeting.

Perhaps Mekria, too, had decided that it was impossible to agitate the situation any further, could only bow deeply to the letter of intent, then closed her mouth.

With Mekria's silence, the denouncers completely lost momentum.

From then on, there were no more angry shouts in the hall, and the assembly proceeded solemnly to reach their conclusion.

After the council members left the assembly hall, Jihad invited Haibao and Victor to his office.

"Thank you very much, Victor-dono, for this opportunity."

"No, neither my lord nor I want this school to be unstable. I'm sure that many problems have surfaced and accusations against you have been made, but in a sense, it's a good thing that we find areas for improvement. What matters is what comes next."

Haibao also gave a small nod at Victor's words.

In fact, King Forsina was also concerned about the recent incident. With the appearance of the Abyss Grief, it would only be disadvantageous to mess up Arcazam badly.

It was because he thought so that King Forsina wrote the letter in his own name.

Thanking Victor and the King, Jihad and Haibao bowed deeply once again.

The important thing was not to leave the problems as they were.

If they were to denounce Jihad, that would not be enough to improve things.

Solminati Academy is 10 years old. This academy, which was created out of fear of demon beasts, is still not mature enough. Rather, many problems will be discovered in the future.

That is why they need people who can take these problems seriously and change them.

In that sense, Jihad was a good human resource. He is a knight and does not turn away from the mistakes he has made. At least, he is much better than the council members who were ranting in the assembly earlier.

It was also commendable that he took the emergence of defectors from his own people seriously, quickly regained his footing, and captured the spies of various countries who were hiding in Arcazam.

There would be much more to come. Victor, for his part, could not afford to let Jihad lose his footing at this point.

Besides, Victor still had something to confirm.

"So, Jihad-dono. Now that we're done talking about the earlier incident, the letter you gave me says there's still someone else you want me to see..."

Actually, the letter that Jihad sent to Victor through Zonne stated that there was someone he wanted him to meet in person.

An extraordinary person who excelled in katana technique and is a promising student, but he seems to have some special circumstances.

And most importantly, he is a male student with whom Victor's daughters have a close relationship. The letter contained no other details.

Victor puzzled over it. However, he was also intrigued by the similar information he received in a letter from his daughter.

"By 'a person who excelled in katana technique,' I assume you mean the student who crossed blades with you at the Martial Arts Garden. Sure, I was impressed by his mastery of the katana technique, but does he have something more to offer?"

Following Victor, Haibao also showed interest in it.

Perhaps reading their intentions, Jihad gave a small nod and quickly looked around.

When Jihad was sure that there was no one around and no presence of anyone, he quickly brought his face close to Victor's.

"Yes, I will be able to show you that later in the evening. Would the two of you please come to this office without telling anyone about this?"

Jihad was careful to keep himself and Victor's body in the shadows so that even the movement of his lips was as invisible as possible to those around him.

Victor and Haibao frowned at this almost morbid vigilance.

".... It is not something we can talk about right here right now, is it?"

Jihad nodded his head in agreement with Victor's mumbling.

At this point, the two were convinced that the situation was more urgent than they thought.

"Well, then I will come to this office at that time."

Once convinced, Victor and Haibao acted quickly.

The two briefly conveyed their answers to Jihad and quickly left the place.

What was he hiding? However, looking at Jihad's behavior, one can imagine that it was an extremely confidential talk.

While thinking that it might be necessary to put on a disguise later, Victor headed for Mena, who was waiting for him in front of the main gate of the school.

His destination was the Francilt mansion he built here in Arcazam.

There were numerous things to do. He needed to do a lot of preparation until the appointed time.

"Good grief, I want to see my daughters' faces as soon as possible..."

Even though he had come all the way to Arcazam, he still couldn't see his daughters.

With his dignified face contorted in disappointment, Victor let out a rueful sigh.

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After she returned to her room, Mekria had a stern expression on her face as she looked out the window.

A report that was brought by Jihad just now. Indeed, she had lost contact with the spies under her command since the other day, and she didn't think it was possible.

"So what was the situation?"

As if to answer Mekria's question, a man appeared from the darkness of the room.

This man was originally one of the spies whom Mecria had ordered to infiltrate the city, and was the coordinator.

He bowed his head while being terrified and, with a tremor in his voice, described the situation at the time of the attack.

"I-I am deeply sorry. Our hideout was suddenly attacked and we had no way to do anything about it..."

Mekria's sharp gaze pierced the man making the report.

His voice trembled, perhaps because he remembered the fear he felt when he was attacked, or perhaps because he was pressured by his master's anger that was now in front of him.

Mekria, on the other hand, kept her sharp gaze on her subordinate for a few seconds, but then, as if she had lost interest, she crossed her arms and began to indulge herself in thought.

"They got us ... I didn't think they could destroy our forces so quickly ... I was a little too optimistic ..."

"... Should we counterattack?"

With a look of fear, the subordinate called out to Mekria.

Mekria shrugged her shoulders as if she had no choice and exhaled heavily to switch her mind.

"From the start, I had guessed that we wouldn't be able to weaken Jihad-dono's footing any further after the recent incident. However, at present, we are in our enemy's grasp, and they are holding our hands and feet. For now, it looks like we have no choice but to be satisfied with the current situation."

As for Mekria, she did not expect to be able to weaken Jihad's footing completely with just this level of agitation.

Originally, it was only a matter of preserving her own forces and reducing her opponents' forces, even if only a little.

However, the price she paid this time turned out to be considerable.

She lost almost all of her forces, and all of the forces that she should have been preserving were crushed.

Obviously, she suffered more damage than she thought, and to be honest, she was in a state where she was completely unable to move at all.

On the other hand, even if she tried to interfere from the inside as she did in the previous incident, Jihad's side had completely solidified its wobbly footing. It was almost impossible to break them down from the inside.

"But I'm not willing to sit still."

As spoke so, Mekria tossed the papers she had spread out on her desk to the subordinate in front of her.

"This is……"

The subordinate picked up the documents spread out on the floor.

It contained basic information on students belonging to Solminati Academy, including their names and grades.

"The following is a list of the students who played an active role in the recent incident. I looked them up, and they seem to be quite interesting kids."

"…………"

The subordinate silently ran his eyes over the documents thrown at him.

Names, appearance, grades, hometowns, and so on. He quickly put it all in his mind in less than ten seconds.

"You must gather information about these students. They are all promising students. I want you to expose all of them to me. Do you understand?"

"... Understood."

Her men heard the command and quickly disappeared from shadow to shadow.

"...... That one won't be useable for long. Should I prepare something just in case? "

Mekria's monologue echoed softly in her room, which was completely devoid of human presence.

She went to the window of her room and gently raised her right hand.

She opened her hand after a small squeeze.

The next moment, with a loud rustling sound, black feathers scattered around the room.

What appeared in her hand was a small bird, dyed in black.

Despite its cute appearance, its vermilion eyes which were inorganic like ore gave the impression of dolls to those who looked at it.

Mekria took out a small piece of paper from her pocket and wrapped it around the bird's leg, tying it to the bird's foot.

"Please deliver this to the [Dead Raven]. I leave it to you."

After she told this to the little bird perched on her hand, Mekria opened the window and released the black bird into the sky.

The little black bird flapped its tiny wings and disappeared into the clear blue sky.

"An existence that can destroy that demon beast ... Whatever happens, I have to find out."

Mekria watched the little bird fly away and then returned to the dimly lit room.

A horrifyingly bewitching smile appeared on her mouth.