Chapter 257 : Chapter 257
Chapter 257 : Insiders (2)
Insiders
"Well, then, it seems I have conveyed my intentions sufficiently, so I shall take my leave first."
Philinus II rose from his seat. At the loud sound of the chair dragging, the bureaucrats corrected their loose postures and made a show of paying their respects.
"The Treasurer shall generously allocate the budget for the engagement ceremony. The historical task that is the completion of the Pantheon, there must not be a single inch of deficiency so that it matches its majesty. Only then will we not be ashamed before our ancestors in the underworld."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Our Palace Officials should pay some attention as well. Pour all the capabilities of the Imperial Household Agency into it so it can be recorded as the most splendid and luxurious engagement ceremony in the history of the Kingdom! Understood?!"
Ternien remained completely silent. She did not even make eye contact.
It was a tremendous disrespect, but the one who instead tucked his tail was Philinus II. He stealthily studied Ternien's mood once and left his seat with a limping gait.
The one who broke the short silence was Zisair.
"Well, it has turned out like this. Chief Attendant."
"......"
"Since His Majesty's will is this stubborn, as his subjects, we have no choice but to merely uphold his—"
"Is there still no news of Bihen Benkou?"
A flat, tranquil voice immediately cut off Zisair's words mid-sentence.
In an instant, the gazes of all the bureaucrats in the assembly hall gathered on Ternien.
Amidst the flowing of a strange stillness, Zisair nonchalantly replied.
"Are they saying he is alive?"
"I have not heard such talk."
"Neither have I. However, you speak as if he is alive somewhere, Chief Attendant. Would you care to share the basis for your belief?"
"Before that, I shall ask first, Your Excellency."
Perhaps it was because of the honorific title of Your Excellency he had not heard from Ternien in a while. Zisair permitted her to speak, as if he would let it slide this once due to her compliant attitude.
"Why did you stop by Grimbalt Prison? No matter how bad the weather was, there were plenty of detour routes. I would like to know the reason why you had to specifically inspect that place while escorting His Majesty and the Duke of Conwell."
"......"
"Was it your plan from the beginning to drive Bihen Benkou into a death trap?"
The moment she finished speaking, sharp shouts poured out from both sides.
"Chief Attendant! Are you in your right mind saying such things right now?! What kind of bizarre nonsense is this!"
"There is absolutely no reason to go all the way there just to kill a single Imperial Ronin! Above all, did we not all clearly see the bastard jump in on his own two feet! You should keep your absurd remarks in moderation!"
"Your imagination has gone far too overboard! You must clearly understand that insulting His Excellency with such unfounded words right now is an act that desecrates our entire government office!"
Someone jumped up from his seat, even pointing fingers and raising his voice in anger.
Even amidst the raining arrows of criticism, Ternien steadfastly stared at Zisair.
When Zisair raised his hand, the commotion immediately ceased.
"Honestly, I am quite surprised, Chief Attendant. Just how did you come to harbor such an absurd thought?"
"Have you been outside the royal palace recently?"
"Being chased by state affairs with my insufficient abilities, I have not had the leisure to do so."
"Rumors are widespread in the streets. A story that would be very uncomfortable for Your Excellency to hear."
Ternien struggled to remove her emotions as much as possible. She added in a low voice.
"That Chancellor Zisair incited an assassination because he feared the Sword Fiend Bihen Benkou. It is currently a situation where even the specific circumstance is circulating that the accident at Grimbalt was, in reality, a trap set by Your Excellency in advance."
The moment the bureaucrats were about to erupt into loud shouts as if they had been waiting, Zisair lightly raised his hand first and suppressed them. Far from getting angry, he tilted his head very slightly instead, as if he had encountered an interesting topic.
"Rather than feeling uncomfortable, this is simply amusing. They say rumors originally have no feet, but is this case not quite specific and elaborate?"
Zisair stopped speaking and moistened his lips with his teacup. Even during that short time he held the tea in his mouth and swallowed it, a suffocating silence lingered.
"Grimbalt Prison is a place whose very existence is not well known to the public. Furthermore, only those of noble status were present there that day. It is impossible for prisoners to break out of prison in the first place, and to say that rats had snuck inside without our knowledge...... Well, even a passing dog would laugh at that."
Zisair slowly put down the teacup he was holding. A clear sound broke the silence.
"Just where on earth did those specific circumstances leak from?"
Zisair's gaze very sluggishly swept the surroundings. Wherever his eyes lingered, the shoulders of the bureaucrats noticeably shrank back.
"It is something that would be impossible unless someone in this room opened their mouth. Is that not so?"
The bureaucrats only rolled their eyes around. It was an awkward situation to even step forward and protest. Zisair, who was staring at them as if savoring their cold sweat, spoke again in a nonchalant voice.
"Of course, I guarantee and do not doubt that there is no such disrespectful and foolish person in this seat."
Only then did the shoulders of the bureaucrats slump down. The sound of people exhaling the breath they had been holding could be heard from all over.
Zisair leisurely watched that sense of relief, then showed a chilling smile toward Ternien again.
"To my knowledge, the people gathered here are neither so free as to go out into the streets, nor are they so frivolous as to listen to the vulgar sounds there. They are loyal subjects who suffer from state affairs all day long, worrying only about the tomorrow of this Kingdom."
Zisair lightly rested his chin on his hand and added.
"We live this fiercely, but since you have enough leisure to pay attention to the floating rumors in the streets, Chief Attendant, I am truly envious."
Snickering laughter could be heard from among the bureaucrats.
Even at the blatant mockery, there was not even a slight movement on Ternien's face. Instead of bothering to refute him, she put strength into her eyes.
"......What is your true objective, Your Excellency?"
She looked nonchalant on the outside, but it was like the final scream of one who had nowhere left to retreat.
"Are you asking what I desire? I only hope that this Kingdom is peaceful, and that His Majesty's majesty reverberates throughout all nations. As the Chancellor of this country, what else would I covet besides that?"
A desperate struggle borrowing the form of a question.
"Is that why you killed Bihen Benkou?! Did you want to cut off one of the Duke of Conwell's arms to prove your loyalty?!"
Ternien's voice quivered and trembled for the first time.
At that moment, the bureaucrats pushed back their chairs and stood up in unison as if promised. A sharp insubordination, incomparable to before, poured out.
"Chief Attendant! Shut that mouth of yours!"
"There is a limit to listening to insults! Royal Guards! Drag this insane woman away at once!"
Right when the shouts were becoming uncontrollably violent, Zisair twitched his hand again to quiet the commotion.
He closed his eyes and slowly opened them as if enjoying this moment.
"Why would the truth be so important?"
Everyone's gaze lingered on Zisair's lips. He murmured like a wise man who had transcended the secular world.
"It is enough if everyone in this room simply keeps their mouths shut."
Everyone was a person who oversaw the large and small affairs of the Kingdom. It was laughable how lives could crumble at a single word from them.
Whenever Zisair's dry gaze touched them one by one, their faces turned deathly pale.
"The truth does not belong to the one who records it, but to the one who coerces silence."
Zisair stood up and leisurely left the assembly hall just like that.
***
It had truly been a long time since I stopped by the Altar of the Abyss.
The colorful flames dancing in the eight braziers, and the golden stars that fully embroidered the ceiling, were emitting a much more brilliant light than when I last saw them.
When I recalled the first scenery I faced after my regression—that is, the pitch-black darkness without a speck of warmth and the desolate, empty braziers—it was enough to make me feel a profound sense of change.
'It's at the point where it's embarrassing to even attach the name of the Abyss to it anymore.'
I stood blankly in the middle of the altar and slowly appreciated the scenery that had become radiant.
To sing my own praises that all these fruits were solely thanks to my hard work...... I couldn't ignore the assistance of our excellent and competent staff officer, maid, errand runner, advisor, attendant, sorcerer, bizarre housemate, and an ambiguous existence that was neither here nor there, who can no longer be called just a dead spirit—Kuhn.
"It is a relief that no strain was inflicted on your physical body."
Kuhn revealed her figure amidst the clusters of light in the altar. With her back to the flames of the braziers, her voice was even calmer than usual.
"If I say you look a bit disappointed because it went against your expectations, am I overthinking things?"
"Yes."
"I see."
Feeling awkward, I smacked my lips for no reason. She was a fellow who lacked the very concept of a joke.
Anyway, honestly, I didn't know it would be to this extent.
'Since I took on the karma of the two evil spirits exactly as it was, I thought I'd be stuck languishing in bed for at least a few days.'
Well, who knows. It might be because the accomplishments I piled up in the meantime were much more massive than expected. Or it could be that Kuhn's unseen arrangements had quelled the storm within me.
"It might only be like that on the surface."
"Hmm?"
Kuhn strode toward me. There was no time to stop her. Having approached closely at some point, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and looked up at me. Her jet-black pupils thoroughly dug into my complexion.
"You preyed on two of the Eight Demons, not even minor spirits, and swallowed the Lust Demon and Phantom Demon whole, so—"
"......?"
Kuhn's breath touched the tip of my chin.
"You surely cannot be free from their foul lingering scents. I shall personally verify exactly where the natures of those two evil spirits have seeped into you, Young Master."
The flush that arose on her pale cheeks was reflected exceptionally clearly. Was it an illusion that her breath seemed to be trembling? As if lightning was striking in my head, something flashed rapidly, and soon, a sticky and explicit flesh color filled my vision to the brim.
'......What is this now.'
When I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, the hallucination disappeared. I felt like I had woken up after being caught in a base hallucinatory sorcery.
"Don't say useless things."
Forcing a guise of composure, I poked Kuhn's forehead with my index finger.
With her head pushed back, Kuhn mumbled as she stepped backward.
"As expected."
......What do you mean, as expected.
***
I finished preparations to leave the Shadow Village.
Because it was an underground cave, there was no boundary between day and night, so it wasn't certain, but a good five days must have passed.
The reason I couldn't leave immediately was because, aside from my physical condition, there were many things left to sort out.
"I'll follow right behind you, so don't worry, Brother."
Bolero said as he patted my shoulder. The two of us were standing side by side, looking down at Nebria, who was lying on a cot.
'Fortunately, she was cleanly separated from the Phantom Demon.'
The reason Nebria couldn't wake up right now wasn't due to a symptom of an illness. It was because her energy had been entirely depleted to the point where even the root of her soul was shaken during the process of detaching the Phantom Demon.
'She's passed the critical juncture, so she'll wake up soon.'
Well, honestly, this was paying a cheap price.
"I leave it to you."
I also patted Bolero's back. I said it like this, but Bolero probably wouldn't have any room to join the fight against Zisair. That was my wish as well.
"Cult Leader......"
When I turned around, Roxy, who had been waiting behind me, hesitated while twisting her body.
The one I was worried about was this girl. No matter how much stockpiled food there was, an underground cave where not a single ray of light entered was far too harsh an environment for a pregnant mother and baby.
Even so, recklessly taking her out was akin to bringing upon a greater danger, as I still didn't know how far Zisair's demonic reach extended.
'I have no choice but to end this quickly.'
I once again confirmed the invisible line connecting Roxy's belly to me. Caressing the string of karma that couldn't be caught in the hand but clearly existed, I spoke.
"Hold on just a little longer. I'll do my best too."
"Thank you so much just for saying that. To think you'd care this much for someone like me...... I don't even know how I should repay this."
Roxy slightly stuck out her tongue.
"I've already run away from home twice, so it's obvious I'll get kicked out of the family. Even if I want to repay you with something, I'm completely broke. Hehe."
At that moment, Isaac, who was next to Roxy, suddenly cut in.
"I heard the story briefly from Bolero. That the Duke of Conwell was swept up in the Imperial Capital's conspiracy."
I stealthily glanced at Bolero behind me. Bolero nodded his head as if it was fine. It meant he hadn't said anything unnecessary.
"......Actually, the one who dragged the Duke of Conwell into the war was me."
Wrinkles formed on Isaac's forehead. His mouth bobbed as if he was about to say something, so I quietly waited for him.
After swallowing hollow breaths and saliva several times, Isaac barely opened his mouth.
"I owe you a lot of debt in many ways."
"Don't mention it."
"Take this."
Saying so, the guy suddenly held out a scroll.
"What is this?"
"It's a letter of recommendation for Simone. Exactly one is given per member. This is all I can give you, but...... it'll definitely be of great help."
I took the scroll in bewilderment. It was small enough to fit perfectly in my palm, and green wax engraved with a deer antler crest was hardened in the center.
"What is Simone?"
I was glancing at the inner contents by pressing my eye against the round gap of the scroll.
"It's a secret social gathering created by prominent figures from various fields, including the nobles of the Imperial Capital. On the surface, they say they discuss noble art and philosophy, but in reality, it's no different from a black market where the deep inner workings and all sorts of secrets of the royal palace are bought and sold. Across all the magic schools in the Imperial Capital, it's probably the only sanctuary, along with Solari, where Zisair's shadow hasn't reached."
After swallowing his saliva once, Isaac added quietly.
"Because it's the place where Raven and I first met."