Chapter 174 : Chapter 174
Chapter 174. The Capital Transfer (5)
“Go ahead. I will make a good excuse to the knight order and Sir Edmund.”
Indeed, the iron-blooded emperor was a strategist who saw several moves ahead.
His decision to tell Archduke Gabir my true identity was correct.
Not only because of his lie detector trait, [Eight Thousand Angels' Insight], but also because only he could appropriately fill the emperor's absence when I needed to leave in an emergency.
“Thank you.”
“Hoho, for what? I am only doing my duty.”
“Duty.”
“Is Your Majesty not also struggling to do your duty?”
Duty.
Perhaps so.
I gave a slight nod and entered the emperor's room.
I shoved all the clothes I was wearing, including various accessories, into the subspace and dispelled the doppelgänger.
“…….”
It had been a while.
The sensation of being in one body.
I got up from my seat.
The place where my main body was located was the Imperial Library.
“Ah, my lord Viscount?”
“I'm going to get some air.”
I patted the shoulder of Bart, who was still buried in a pile of books, selecting necessary texts, and went outside.
The sky was purple.
The sun was setting.
The imperial palace grounds, where the Imperial Library was located, were on high ground.
In the distance, I could see the procession of refugees leaving the city.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens leaving for the southern lands, passing through the passages of various spells and miracles that protected them, through the cold wind.
The reddish light of twilight descended upon them like a divine blessing.
If Alina had been here, she would have clasped her hands in prayer.
She probably would have asked me to follow suit, at least in form.
Well, this was a world where gods existed.
I had no faith, but I hoped they would arrive safely.
I prayed silently and turned my body.
I covered my entire body with various stealth magitools that I had ‘legally’ acquired from the imperial treasury.
‘Eyeball. Let's use some strength.’
‘It's been a while. Are you exempting me from today's work?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. I accept the deal.’
I leaped through space.
The direction was north.
I landed on the main road stretching north.
Before me unfolded a cityscape covered in a sickly yellow plague aura, devoid of any human presence.
Chiiiiii…!
Indeed.
It was a good thing I had hurried the evacuation plan.
Even though I had only stepped into the plague for a very brief moment, I could feel the protection of the divine power I had practically doused myself in fluctuate intensely.
Even the Soviet Union, which had once divided the world, couldn't solve the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster when it exploded and had to cover it with a giant coffin and evacuate all the surrounding cities.
It would be safe to say that the plague bomb that had exploded underground was comparable to the radiation spewing from the collapsed power plant.
‘Eyeball.’
‘On standby!’
I leaped through space again.
The scenery before my eyes changed rapidly.
From the main road to an alley.
From the alley to the top of the city wall.
Beyond the city wall, a vast plain unfolded.
Even after leaving the city, the spatial teleportation continued.
Unlike traits or skills that required one's own skill, the power of a sacred relic was difficult to obtain, but once obtained, there were few restrictions.
The sacred relic of ‘The Eye that Gazes Beyond’ dealt with space.
Because the previous owner, a Ratman, had made a mistake, the power to teleport other objects was lost, but even without that, the uses of this power were endless.
Above all, speed.
The speed of the journey changed.
Of course, I was also human and needed to sleep and eat, and usually, my schedule was so tight that it was difficult to leave my post, so this was the first time I was using it properly.
My thanks once again to Archduke Gabir for taking my place.
Anyway, right now, if I were alone, I could theoretically circle the globe in one day.
Of course, actually circling the globe was difficult.
Because the surrounding environment changed every few seconds, it consumed a little mental power along with a sensory overload.
Still, it was something that could be adapted to with constant practice.
Feeling the surrounding scenery change in real time, I organized my thoughts.
‘…The destruction of the Paradise Elves.’
It was strange.
It had been almost two years since the elven kingdom was proclaimed, with Karen at its head.
Although it was a fledgling kingdom still in its swaddling clothes, it was growing into a respectable power as exiles who had been hiding in various places, including Karen's hometown, the Akitarī tribe, gathered.
The Paradise Elves had shown no reaction.
To preserve their legitimacy, ruled by the regent and the senate, they should have executed Karen and the other royals on sight.
That wasn't all.
On my way back from the Eastern Expedition, I had annihilated an elven delegation.
I had even imprisoned their souls with necromancy, sentencing them to a perfect death.
Because only by imprisoning their souls could I prevent them from resurrecting through the fake eternal life they had created, that is, [Immortal Reincarnation].
Of course, to say it now, there was a good deal of political calculation involved.
Because I had deliberately let one of them live.
In my capacity as Viscount Ash, I had kept a suitable distance, and in my capacity as Tribus, I had incurred their grudge to turn the arrow.
The vampire duchy, which had been minding its own business, would be hit by both the Lumer Legion from the south and the Paradise Elves from the north.
Well, couldn't it be considered the price for the [Infernal Meteor] that had fallen on my head as soon as I opened my eyes?
‘Master, are you a gangster?’
‘?’
‘Ahem, no I'm not. I'll just get back to work. C-Crusty!’
Anyway, what was important was that the Paradise Elves had shown no particular reaction to these incidents.
I hadn't been able to pay attention because things had been happening so chaotically, but in retrospect, it was a clearly strange situation.
I would know if I saw it for myself.
We were almost there.
In the distance, I could see the lights of a city.
‘Benenkarbon.’
A small city located on the eastern edge of the Northern Archduchy.
And the city that ‘No. 31’, an intelligence organization under the Imperial Secret Knight Order, used as its base.
***
Another advantage of spatial teleportation was that it allowed you to avoid checkpoints.
Over the city wall, and then inside the city wall.
With two light spatial teleports, I safely landed in an alley in the city's slums.
I looked around.
A narrow alley.
No witnesses.
‘Hoo, can I rest now?’
‘Yes. You've worked hard.’
‘Th-thank you, master. Finally, I can rest….’
‘……Tick-tock?’
You're not even tired, what a drama queen.
In the back alley, I changed my appearance to the Emperor's.
‘Master, can I rest too?’
‘No.’
‘Wh-why! Eyeball gets to rest! Starfish and I haven't rested for a single day in the past few weeks!’
Come to think of it, that was true.
It was unfair.
Still, it would be strange to take back what I had given, so I decided to create a rest system.
‘One person gets to rest every 12 hours. Then a break will come around every 48 hours, right? Instead, the remaining four will produce the amount of five.’
‘G-good! I'm in favor!’
‘Omnyom?’
‘You have to produce magic stones. No rest, but double the sugar. And if any snacks come up, you'll get them first.’
‘Nyam nyam!!’
With this, the in-house welfare of the subspace was sorted out.
After equipping the various magitools that the Emperor wore, I put on a hood and left the back alley.
From what I had heard from Archduke Gabir, ‘No. 31’ was an espionage organization that observed the Paradise Elves.
Naturally, it was impossible to infiltrate paradise with a human body.
It was the same for recruiting elves to infiltrate.
All residents of paradise had a unique mark.
Without that mark, even a pure-blooded elf could not pass through paradise's barrier.
Therefore, the trends of paradise had to rely solely on external observation.
And they had to observe stealthily from a distance, avoiding the elves' keen senses.
The base for such observation was here.
The closest city to the paradise of the elves, within the sphere of influence of the empire.
Of course, as befitting an intelligence agency, the base was disguised.
An inn.
I pushed the door and entered.
Creeak-
“Welcome!”
A rush of heat.
Followed by sounds and smells.
Loud laughter, angry shouts, wood, meat, endless stew, leather armor, the thud of a table being slammed. The creak of a bed on the third floor, sweat, semen, human excrement, fish, animal excrement, the crowing of a rooster, swords and spears, gold and silver coins, medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs, and so on.
Countless stimuli gathered to form a single picture, engraving the blueprint of this entire building in my mind like a 3D graphic.
It had been about a month since I had felt such sensations.
Because among the traits I had learned in the underground city subjugation, there were three or four that enhanced the senses.
I sat down.
A woman who seemed to be a waitress approached.
I examined her attire.
Clothes made of fur, characteristic of the north.
Ironically, it was quite revealing.
Considering that this inn also doubled as a brothel and a gambling den, it wasn't strange.
A front business run by an intelligence agency often didn't shy away from dirty work.
Because it was easier to avoid the eyes of the local authorities, or conversely, to get a hold of their weaknesses.
In the first place, their very identity was an organization that had to hide in the shadows.
The woman leaned towards me.
She blew a warm breath on my face.
“What'll you have? The booze and food here are the cheapest around. Of course, if you want something more…”
“Natalie!”
A man shouted.
A momentary silence fell over the boisterous inn.
“Get away from him!”
“Oh my, why are you yelling…”
“Now!”
The woman backed away.
A relief.
I was just about to find it unbearable.
Of course, in the opposite sense.
The woman's appearance would be tempting to many men, but my developed senses had conveyed too much unnecessary information, from her body odor to her skin.
The man who had pushed the woman away waved his hand, turning the focused gazes back.
The inn hall, awkwardly at first, began to fill with the sound of musical instruments, humming, and the shouts of gambling addicts again.
The man walked over.
With quite a cautious gait.
He lifted his hood slightly to show his face.
“H-how did you come here in person. No, how did you get here so quickly……”
“I had to see for myself.”
I got up from my seat.
“Lead the way.”
***
The man's name was No. 31.
“It's the name of this branch and my name. Ah, of course, I have a separate alias that I use locally.”
The sun had long set, but No. 31 did not delay and gathered his organization members to form a team.
For guidance and escort, he and eleven others joined.
Considering it was a secret trip, it seemed like too many, but since the Emperor himself had come, they probably felt they had to do at least this much.
“This way. I will guide you on a safe and fast path.”
I walked into the forest with the organization members who had formed a kind of escort formation.
A snow-covered coniferous forest.
Although it was a moonless night, everyone seemed to have good night vision, as they didn't carry any torches, lanterns, or even a small piece of luminescent stone.
Looking closely, the organization members' appearance, equipment, and training level all seemed to be quite good.
“Ah, the kids are all locals. I only took the ones with good night vision and trained them.”
From what I heard, No. 31 was an organization that was properly rooted in the local area.
They were said to have good business acumen and were earning a lot of profit in addition to the support funds from the imperial family.
“Actually, the lodging fees and food prices are close to cost, and the main source of income is women and gambling. Lately, medicinal herbs have also become popular.”
“I see.”
“As I wrote in the report, all the profits are reinvested in the organization. Because it takes a lot of preparation to get a glimpse of paradise.”
He was a talkative friend.
I answered with silence and increased my speed.
The organization members, who had been walking slowly at first as if to accommodate me, also started to walk at a brisk pace.
As expected, the local organization members, except for No. 31, didn't know I was the Emperor.
In the first place, they didn't even know who this organization served.
They just guessed that it was some high-ranking person from the empire or the duchy.
Therefore, No. 31 did not address me directly.
Still, he seemed curious.
“I never thought you would come in person.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And so quickly. And even if you were to come, I never thought you would come to us…”
Well, I knew the location of paradise.
But there were many variables to finding it alone.
Paradise had been destroyed.
Before they had even opened their gates and started conquering the continent.
This was a situation I didn't know.
Therefore, it was wiser to get help from the advance reconnaissance team.
Of course, I could have not come at all and just trusted the report.
However, the fall of paradise was honestly an event that was difficult to believe until I saw it with my own eyes.
It seemed we were getting closer.
No. 31, who had been talkative until a while ago, became quiet.
My developed senses felt the scent carried by the cold wind from afar.
Stone, gunpowder, blood, and iron.
The dense coniferous forest disappeared as if the ground had collapsed at a certain point.
A clearing.
No, a huge crater.
One that had been created within a few months.
Beyond the crater, which looked as if a giant meteor had fallen, between the sparsely standing pine trees, I could see the silhouette of a quite high hill.
“…….”
It wasn't a hill.
It was a collapsed, snow-covered ruin.