————

 

 

“As for the reason why I’ve called you all here at this time. It’s about the front page’s article of this morning’s Vinz Newspaper. Do you have something to say about this, Prime Minister?”

 

　Five people were gathered in front of King Barwell: Prime Minister Val Morrow, Minister Hairai, First Knight Order Captain First Prince Klaus, Second Knight Order Captain Memphis, and Third Knight Order Captain Djarum.

　Before disclosing the story to the public, the idea was to confirm the facts with those involved.

 

“Yeah. This is a completely rootless story. Honestly, it’s bothersome.”

 

“Is that so? How about you, Klaus?”

“There wasn’t a breach of agreement, Father. After all, suppressing the rebels is something that doesn’t require an agreement to be made in the first place. Why did this story of an agreement come out after all this time? ……This is something I fail to understand.”

 

　Klaus declared in a dignified form, “I didn’t even know of the existence of a ceasefire agreement”. However, two people thought those were “barefaced lies”. They were Minister Hairai, and the Captain of the Second Knight Order, Memphis.

 

“What do you think, Memphis?”

“Yes. For the fact that there was an agreement made, I wasn’t informed of such at that moment. I will commit myself to a thorough investigation within the Second Knight Order as soon as possible.”

 

　Memphis was convinced there was something being hidden. He basically said, “There was a violation of the agreement I wasn’t informed of”. However, there was not enough evidence.

 

　The Second Knight Order was the standing army, so to speak. And Memphis was a patriot by nature, a soldier who couldn’t stand to sit idly and wiggle his tail to the Empire. In other words, he was with the Second Prince faction. That’s why he had always worked hard to acquire information on the illegal activities the First Prince faction might be part of, but they were wary of him so it was hard to grasp their tails.

 

　And then, at this time, a chance had finally appeared in the form of such a scandal. There was no way he would let this chance slip by. He decided it was necessary to move carefully, without rushing, and properly collect any evidence.

 

“And you, Djarum?”

“Y-Yes. This was a story that truly came out of the blue for me. To my perception, while I was having problems with the suppression using the Second Knight and Third Knight Orders, we were only able to reach a prompt resolution only with the help of the First Knight Order. That’s what I remember. Yeah.”

 

　Djarum, the captain of the Third Knight Order, decided to deny it. And to continue denying it to the bitter end, in order to extend the time he had to disclose the official documents. All the while, his brain was working on ways he could tamper the documents with.

 

“Hairai.”

“Yes. Gentlemen, I can tell with certainty just by looking at your complexions. There was indeed a violation of the agreement.”

 

“What did you say!　Hairai, you bastard, are you taking us for fools!? “

 

　The Prime Minister was the one who shouted at the Minister.

 

“Wait. Hairai, tell me why you think so.”

“If I were in the shoes of the suspected party, I myself would propose to disclose the official documents related to the suppression of the bandit group in order to prove my innocence. However, nobody has mentioned this. It’s almost like saying there are facts in the official documents that shouldn’t be seen. It’s just a simple reasoning.”

“I see, the official documents, huh?”

 

　Barwell whispered to himself as if convinced. Seeing this situation, the Prime Minister frowned, while Djarum’s face went completely pale. The Minister then began to talk as if pushing forward the subject.

 

“If the violation of this agreement is indeed true, it will become a crisis in the Knight Orders, and thus, to the national politics. A thorough revision is needed. If the genocide of these people was carried under the pretense of repressing rebels, this could spell, in the worst-case scenario, the collapse of the country. If there were such outrageous and wicked people like these, they must not take part in the politics of our Castall Kingdom.”

 

“Why do you call that a genocide!?　Suppressing the rebels is a natural thing to do! “

 

“Were you aware, Prime Minister? Currently, crimes such as theft and robbery are common problems near the slums of this royal capital, Vinceton. Now that the R6 bandits, which up until now had been a deterrent, have disappeared, the number of small scoundrels has increased, and thus the security has greatly deteriorated. As a result of this, with things going as they are, vulgar criminal groups are starting to appear more and more in the capital. But, since the suppression of the R6, no other suppression team has been assembled. Is this negligence? “

 

“……Obviously, I’m aware of that. However, the truth is, that will never end. After a while, we’ll do a roundup of the criminals. Still, there’s no reason to call that genocide. I’d like an apology.”

 

“Let’s speak honestly. I’m concerned that the bandits from the R6 might have been suppressed because they were in your way, ‘politically’ speaking. The R6 was supported by the populace. They were particularly supported by those who opposed making a compromise with the Empire. Since, as commerce with the Empire deepens, the gap between the poor and the rich would become more widespread.”

 

“Those are completely baseless accusations!　Nothing less than rubbish!　That’s not something people in our position should be uttering!　Aren’t you ashamed to say such nonsense before the King!? “

 

“Let me say the same to you, aren’t you ashamed of such an unsightly display?　It’s almost like you’re confessing.”

 

“How dare you, bastard! ! “

 

“Can you two, stop?”

 

　One phrase from Barwell was enough to quiet down the raging Prime Minister and the opposing minister speaking calmly. These two immediately shut their mouths and bowed down.

 

　And then, as if to give his judgment, Barwell broke the silence.

 

“It looks like this might not be just a made-up story. After each of you investigate this issue, I want a detailed report. I’ll go through it and, if needed, will order the disclosure of the official documents. If that’s the case, I shall summon the concerned parties. That’s all.”

 

　――And like that, the curtain of this great turbulence came down.

  

————

————

 

 

 

“Call Djarum.”

 

　The Prime Minister, Val Morrow was extremely calm.

 

　Given the circumstances in which he was placed, the uproar this time was a matter concerning the Captain of the Third Knight Order, Djarum.

 

　However, even the Prime Minister was impressed. “They did great to poke their nose this far” ―― He thought.

 

　He had anticipated some shortcomings in the First Prince faction, but those were some scandals related to Prince Klaus, and Queen White, as well as the persecution and decimation of Duchess Icene, which he identified as a particularly “critical point”. Therefore, countermeasures for those scenarios had been established.

 

　But. The actual breakthrough came surprisingly because of the “Suppression of the righteous bandits”. He never expected the weak link would be that issue.

 

　However, if they were to poke around too deeply…… that could become a considerable key point. With just a single poke, if he were to be careless about it, everything he had worked for so far could go up in smoke.

 

“……Just, who in the world are you……?”

 

　The Prime Minister had been seen through.

 

　And this way of doing things was too clever for it to be the work of Minister Hairai or the Second Prince Maine. A tricky and clever scheme that set it far apart from his political opponents of the past. He had sensed someone lurking behind the scenes.

 

　But who was that person? The answer to his question was answered in less than a few seconds.

 

“That mage……!? “

 

　He came to the conclusion that the most recent changes occurred around that time with the Second Prince.  A man named Second, appointed as a temporary lecturer for the First Royal Court Magician Division. The timing was suspiciously perfect.

 

“Tch, I don’t have enough information.”

 

　A person completely out of his radar had suddenly appeared. Therefore, it was just natural that his information on him was lacking.

　Still, the Prime Minister lamented. Although it was the stronghold of Paula Memento, one of the more prominent figures supporting the Second Prince, he could send some spies to the Royal Magic Academy to widen his information network, and he was also able to release some sniffing dogs among the adventurer community. Therefore, so long as he wanted to obtain information about that person called Second, he could. However, it was late now. He lamented he couldn’t do so sooner.

————

 

“Pardon me. Sorry, it took me this long.”

“Djarum, huh? You know why I called you? “

“Yes. It’s about altering ‘that’, correct?”

“It’s great that you follow. It needs to be done fast and carefully. It’s likely the other side will keep a watchful eye.”

“Yeah. In that case, there aren’t too many options.”

“So long as no traces are left, it should be okay. I don’t care what method you use; it just needs to be perfect.”

“U-understood.”

 

　A drop of sweat came down Djarum’s temple. His stomach had been hurting ever since this morning. But there was no turning back now.

 

“By the way, Djarum. Could you look up information about that man who became the lecturer for the First Royal Court Magician Division the other day? “

“The temporary lecturer? “

“Yeah. There’s a high possibility that this person called Second might be involved.”

“What……! ? “

 

　After showing a surprised face, Djarum was then immediately relieved.

　He was familiar with that name.

 

“……Mister Prime Minister. If it’s about that person, leave it to me.”

“What?　Were you already working on it? “

“Yes. I have one of my Order’s dogs on him.”

“I’m impressed! “

 

　Here, the bad habit of the man called Djarum came to light. He just jumped straight into the trap that Windfield had set to him. His motivations were also impure, of wanting to show off “I can do this all on my own”. It embodied the core ‘values’ of the Third Knight Order of “Looking down on others as excellent people by taking the credit of their subordinates”.

 

“Hey, Djarum. Isn’t this a great opportunity to lay a trap? I leave to you gathering information about that man, in addition to dealing with the documents. If everything goes according to plan……”

“Yes, just leave it to me.”

 

　It was still further ahead the time when these scheming smiles would turn into cornered wails.

 

======

 

Thank you for reading.

---

Cheat sheet

Stats details

＜Status Details＞

• HP　Hit Points
• MP　Magic Points
• SP　Stamina Points
• STR　Short range attack skill power, strength, physical power.
• DEX　Long range attack skill power, dexterity, hit rate.
• AGI　Quickness, avoidance rate.
• INT　Attack Magic skill power.
• LUK　Good luck, critical rate.
• VIT　Simple defense.
• MGR　Magic defense.

Types of combat skills

Named after shogi pieces (The word in bold is the one being used in this translation). From easier to acquire to harder.

1. Pawn/Soldier (Fuhyou)
2. Lance(Kyousha)
3. Knight (Keima)
4. Silver General (Ginshou)
5. Gold General (Kinshou)
6. Bishop (Kakugyou)
7. Rook (Hisha)
8. Promoted Bishop/Dragon Horse(Ryuuma)
9. Promoted Rook/Dragon King (Ryuuou).

List of Swordsmanship skills

Swordsmanship

1. 《Soldier Swordsmanship》　                  Normal attack.
2. 《Lance Swordsmanship》　                    Piercing attack.
3. 《Knight Swordsmanship》　                   Precision attack.
4. 《Silver Swordsmanship》　                     Strong single-target attack.
5. 《Gold Swordsmanship》                           Small-range attack to all directions.
6. 《Bishop Swordsmanship》                       ???
7. 《Rook Swordsmanship》　                      ???
8. 《Dragon Horse Swordsmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Swordsmanship》　       ???

List of Shieldmanship skills

Shieldmanship

1. 《Soldier Shieldmanship》　                  Normal defense.
2. 《Lance Shieldmanship》　                    Piercing deflection.
3. 《Knight Shieldmanship》　                   Defense + knockback.
4. 《Silver Shieldmanship》　                     ???
5. 《Gold Shieldmanship》                           Ranged guided defense + knockback.
6. 《Bishop Shieldmanship》                       Reinforced defense (Temporarily boosts VIT and MGR)
7. 《Rook Shieldmanship》　                      ???
8. 《Dragon Horse Shieldmanship》　    ???
9. 《Dragon King Shieldmanship》　       ???

List of Archery skills

Archery

1. 《Soldier Archery》　                  Normal range attack.
2. 《Lance Archery》　                    Piercing range attack.
3. 《Knight Archery》　                   Precise sniping range attack.
4. 《Silver Archery》　                     Strong single-target range attack.
5. 《Gold Archery》                           Weaker range attack with added knockback.
6. 《Bishop Archery》                       Strong piercing range attack.
7. 《Rook Archery》　                      Very strong single-target range attack with scaling % damage.
8. 《Dragon Horse Archery》　    Powerful piercing range attack.
9. 《Dragon King Archery》　       Powerful on-impact range attack.

Types of Magic skills

They use the “Form” or “step” system of martial arts. From lower to higher.

1. First Form　      　      Regular attack
2. Second Form　      　 Extended range attack
3. Third Form　      　    Strong single target attack
4. Fourth Form　      　  Strong extended range attack
5. Fifth Form　      　      Extremely powerful extended range attack

• Their cast time becomes longer in this order First→Third→Second→Fourth→Fifth.

Ranking of the skills

From lower to higher, then it changes to the “Dan” system of martial arts, which means Grade.

1. 16th class
2. 15th class
3. 14th class
4. 13th class
5. 12h class
6. 11th class
7. 10th class
8. 9th class
9. 8th class
10. 7th class
11. 6th class
12. 5th class
13. 4th class
14. 3rd class
15. 2nd class
16. 1st class
17. Grade 1
18. Grade 2
19. Grade 3
20. Grade 4
21. Grade 5
22. Grade 6
23. Grade 7
24. Grade 8
25. Grade 9
26. Title

---

 ToC    

If you enjoy the translations, you can support me by donations or read ahead via Patreon

---