Chapter 179: Oblivion (4)
TL/ED – Miso
Before long, every noble in the capital had been summoned.
The sky was no longer visible from the Imperial Palace. A curtain of snow had blanketed everything.
Because of that, the one who opened the emergency committee meeting was a young noble carrying a lantern.
“Yes. I’ve just returned from confirming it. It appears certain that this weather anomaly has covered the entire continent.”
“As I feared…”
“What is this… it wasn’t just the shadows?”
The noble brushed the snow off as he entered, and his statement turned the already troubled atmosphere of the grand banquet hall even more somber.
“That doesn’t seem to be the case, actually. The horrifying phenomenon that had covered every territory of the Empire has vanished. It feels as though it’s been replaced by… this brutally harsh winter.”
“That’s… fortunate, at least, given the circumstances.” “Phew. If they had overlapped, it would’ve been a true catastrophe.”
Just as the nobles were catching their breath.
That man entered.
“However, there is no doubt that this is a crisis incomparable to the shadows.”
Thud, thud.
Silver armor clad his entire body.
Instead of noble attire, a knight with a greatsword strapped to his back strode in as if it were the most natural thing in the world and spoke in a cold, biting tone.
In the corner of the meeting hall, hiding alongside Dersia, who was uncomfortable with all the stares, I tilted my head at the unfamiliar face.
“Who is that? I’ve never seen him at the Imperial Palace.”
“That is Balkan, the Guardian Knight Commander who guards the capital’s north gate. There’s a saying that he would defend the gate even at the cost of his own life, but it seems that was all talk.”
“Ah, I see.”
From what I’d heard, he should have been a knight, yet the nobles actually grew cautious and backed away the moment they saw Balkan.
“S-Sir Balkan. What do you mean by that?”
“Shadows coming to life is merely something grotesque. In the end, the enemy we need to cut down is graciously standing behind me. There’s nothing to worry about.”
The position of Guardian Knight Commander must have ranked above most nobles.
Balkan openly looked down on the nobles and seized control of the meeting hall.
“But this blizzard happened to strike just before all the harvests could begin. Every crop will have been destroyed. Most buildings couldn’t withstand it and have collapsed, and materials for repair are in short supply. We can no longer obtain anything from the land.”
“…”
“This is an emergency beyond comparison. It’s time for immediate action…”
Balkan’s sharp eyes turned to glare at the head seat of the meeting hall.
It was still empty. Reserved for the most exalted person present.
“Where is Her Highness the Princess?”
“Her Highness is currently assessing the situation.”
“Assessing the situation should be as simple as looking out a window. Go and bring her here.”
“…Watch your tongue! It is not for us to decide whether to summon her or not!”
Even as nobles, they weren’t about to sit idly by when his insolence extended to the Princess herself. They gritted their teeth and pushed back.
Balkan smiled as if it were all beneath him and moved his hand toward his waist.
“If she has vacated her seat during a crisis like this, then by the Empire’s solemn laws, authority of command falls to me. If you intend to resist…”
“The law prioritizes my hand. Sir Balkan.”
Thump.
What stopped him was the Heaven’s Judgement Knight, who had effortlessly pushed open the massive doors of the meeting hall with nothing but the tip of her toe.
Black armor, the exact opposite of his silver. Yet the greatsword on her back was at least one and a half times larger than Balkan’s.
Karos stood between the nobles and Balkan, offering only the barest pretense of courtesy while issuing her warning.
“Even a stray mutt on the street will sit still for hours if its master tells it to wait. Is the position of Guardian Commander really lower than a neighborhood mongrel?”
…Well, she hadn’t even bothered with pretense at all.
Balkan estimated where Karos’s eyes were behind her helm and met them, then curled his lips into a smile.
“The difference between a dog and a knight is that a knight can think for himself.”
“That would be where knights are inferior to dogs. Wait quietly. If you’d rather not, I can keep you company.”
“It’s 2 to 1!”
A cheerful voice, wholly out of place for the mood, chimed in to back up Karos.
I spotted Linmel with a greatsword strapped to her back, far larger than the one she’d had last time, and burrowed even deeper into my corner.
It seemed Karos had taken quite a liking to Linmel. Bringing her along to a place like this was proof enough.
“…Tch.”
Balkan measured the distance between himself and Karos for a moment, then sat down.
So Sharmia hadn’t fully taken control of the Empire yet.
Seeing that people like him still remained. As I sat there waiting patiently, it wasn’t long before attendants opened the doors and the gentle sound of a flute drifted in.
Every noble, every knight, and of course Balkan himself prostrated flat to receive Sharmia.
Sharmia accepted the greetings in passing and hurried to the head seat.
“There were several facts reported to me urgently, and I was late because I was compiling all the materials. I trust you’ve all grasped the situation by now. If anyone has anything to share, I would appreciate it if you’d do so now.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ve just received word from my domain that the castle gates have frozen shut…”
“From a wizard tower near the coast, there is news that the sea has frozen over. Solid enough for a person to walk across…”
The nobles scrambled over each other, each desperate to report the damage they had received.
After listening attentively to every last one, Sharmia rose with a grave expression and made her declaration.
“Yes, it would be fair to say that the Empire currently faces an unprecedented crisis.”
“Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to speak.”
At that moment, a noble approached and knelt before Sharmia, then raised his hand with a confident expression.
“House Priad has wielded Extreme Flame for generations. Every member of our house can unleash flames large enough to blanket an entire city, and sustain them for a full week. The current situation is dangerous, yes, but if you would grant us a little time, we can handle it with ease.”
“That’s reassuring to hear. But it’s impossible.”
“…Pardon?”
“This snow doesn’t melt from heat.”
Seeing was believing. Sharmia gestured, and a jar packed full of snow was brought forward.
“Would you like to try melting it? I’ll permit the use of magic.”
“Ah, yes.”
The dumbfounded noble of House Priad took a deep breath, then poured every ounce of his strength into blasting the jar with fire.
Whoosh!
“Ohhh…!”
“So this is Priad’s fierce flame! Incredible!”
The nobles’ praise was well-deserved. The intense blaze, seemingly capable of melting even steel, actually reduced the jar to a soft, warped mess.
But.
“…Huh?”
“What in the world…”
Just as Sharmia had said, cold snow spilled out from the melted jar.
Melton and the other nobles stared at the snow in utter disbelief.
It was Balkan who moved. Without hesitation, he plunged his hand into the warped jar, then furrowed his brows.
“It’s cold. Not a bit of it has melted.”
“…Th-that can’t be…”
“It’s not Sir Melton’s fault. This snow, while it takes the form of snow, is actually composed of metaphysical concepts. Even if summer comes and the sun rises, it will never melt. Nor will it ever stop falling.”
“Snow that doesn’t melt, falling without end?”
“Then… if it keeps piling up, what will become of the Empire?”
“Everyone, please calm down.”
Sharmia gently quieted the panicking hall and rose from her seat.
“If things continue as they are, then as you all fear, the Empire will face a crisis of its very existence. Therefore, the only way to stop this calamity is to eliminate its source.”
“By the one behind it, you mean…”
“The Crimson Circle. I believe you’re all already familiar with who they are.”
At those words, every noble gnashed their teeth.
“So our objectives are twofold. We, meaning all of us currently within the Empire, will open shelters, deploy medics, and release food stores to ensure as many people as possible can hold out for as long as possible. I ask for the cooperation of all nobles in implementing the same measures across every domain.”
“Of course, without question.”
“And we will form an Expedition Force.”
Sharmia glanced at the nobles one by one, then continued in a commanding tone.
“The Empire has confirmed that the Crimson Circle operative responsible for the current crisis is a high-ranking member known as Decay. An Expedition Force to brave this frozen path, track down Decay, and eliminate him. That is what we will create. Are there any volunteers?”
“…”
“…”
For all their fervor,
not a single one raised their hand.
“Only natural.”
Dersia, watching from beside me, spoke up as though none of this surprised her.
“Brave this blizzard and hunt down an Upper Tier member of the Crimson Circle whose location is unknown… easy to say, but it’s essentially asking someone to find a needle in a haystack. What lunatic would volunteer?”
“I will step forward.”
The one who answered was not me.
Balkan was the first to raise his hand, his expression resolute as he locked eyes with the Princess.
“Sir Balkan, don’t you have a duty to defend the Empire’s north gate?”
“If the Empire’s enemies were to invade in weather like this, that would be nothing but a blessing. They’d all freeze to death. More importantly, those who can endure this cold… at least among the nobles, there are none.”
Balkan directed his silent pressure toward the nobles.
When none of them dared to even raise their heads, he snorted and turned back to Sharmia.
“I will bring you the head of this one called Decay, without fail. Please trust me.”
“…That’s reassuring. Very well. Is there anyone else?”
“…”
Karos, for her part, kept her mouth shut. Though her hand was twitching, clearly wanting to volunteer.
At the very least, she seemed to have the good sense not to leave Sharmia alone during a winter this brutal, and that put me at ease. The problem was that no one besides Balkan had volunteered, and in fact, his presence seemed to be the very reason the nobles were even more reluctant to step forward.
“It’s fortunate I secured Sir Brimdal’s agreement before coming. This Expedition Force will consist of Sir Balkan, Sir Brimdal, and Sir Dersia.”
“…”
Dersia wore an expression of displeasure mixed with resignation as she stepped into the center of the hall.
“Oh, wait, she was here too…?”
“Ahem…”
The nobles murmured at the sight of Dersia, only to be struck by her cold gaze and hastily bow their heads.
Looking at the members of this newly formed Expedition Force, their lineup was, capabilities aside, nothing short of miserable.
Balkan, clearly despised by the nobles.
Dersia, despised by practically everyone on the planet.
Brimdal, the notorious madman who had turned countless knight trainees into broken husks.
Honestly, more than an Expedition Force, it seemed like someone had seized the opportunity to order a bunch of nuisances to go out and die.
“Your Highness. Do you have any idea where this Decay might be hiding?”
“I don’t, but there is someone who knows the way.”
“…”
Sharmia looked at me, huddled in that deep corner, and smiled softly.
In an instant, every noble’s gaze swung toward me.
How did she find me?
…Surely this wasn’t why I died, was it? I let out a sigh and stepped into the center of the hall, where their stares could find me more easily.
“Jern Aspandal. Currently a disciple of Dersia, and…”
Apart from a startled Linmel, these were all prominent nobles, so none of them seemed to recognize me. The best I got was murmurs along the lines of, “Hmm… wasn’t he the one who’d been imprisoned?”
Sharmia moved to introduce me before the nobles, then paused briefly and met my eyes.
I could guess what she was about to say. Since she’d already brought in an outsider like Balkan, there was no point in hiding it any longer. I nodded.
“…the only Fallen I have at my disposal.”
“…W-what?”
“A Fallen…?”
The moment the nobles heard that word, the way they looked at me changed completely.
It was as if they were staring at something bizarre, something beyond the reach of common understanding.
And in truth, that wasn’t far off. From their perspective, the word Fallen was roughly 80% synonymous with the Crimson Circle.
“I ask that this fact never be spoken of outside this hall. Jern can use his abilities to track down Decay. In other words, he is our only hope.”
“Ohhh…!”
“W-well, if that’s the case…”
But the instant they learned I was the means to find Decay, their expressions did a complete reversal, and they broke into cheers.
If only this sentiment would last even after Decay’s subjugation. I accepted their well-wishes with a bitter expression and glanced around.
I was curious about Linmel’s reaction now that she knew I was a Fallen.
‘…Where did she go?’
But Linmel was nowhere to be seen.
Well, maybe she’d gone to the restroom. If that was all it was, it felt wrong to activate my Current Sense just for that, so I shook hands one by one and took my place beside Dersia.
“Please, I earnestly implore you.”
Sharmia gazed at Dersia, Balkan, and me with a serious expression and bowed her head.
“We will hold out on this end for as long as we can, so please… Decay.”
“Yes.”
“No problem.”
“I shall do the same. However…”
Balkan was the last to answer, and he looked at Sharmia with an expression of lingering unease.
“When all of this is over, would you honor my contributions and answer one question of mine?”
“Of course. If you wish, I would do so even now.”
“…One cannot accept payment before the work is done.”
Balkan turned his head as if every second counted and strode out of the hall.
He seemed to be in a hurry.
…Tremendously so.