Chapter 89 What'S Going On?
Lady Eva, Io, Garon, and Glen suddenly visited my place, and I invited them in.
Fiona, who came out a bit late, joined us, and we all moved to the living room.
Then, I had Lady Eva and the others sit on the sofa――though, to be honest, I only had one 2-seater sofa and one single-seater sofa.
So, I had Lady Eva and Fiona sit on the 2-seater sofa, and Io sit on the single-seater sofa. Garon, Glen, and I brought chairs from the dining area and sat around the living room table.
Once everyone had settled in, we got down to business――but before that, Lady Eva looked at Fiona with a worried expression.
"Fiona, your face is a bit red, aren't you feeling unwell? Do you have a fever?"
"No, it's nothing! I'm fine!"
Lady Eva reached out to touch Fiona's forehead, as if to check her temperature. Fiona denied it with a flustered attitude, but it did seem like her face was a bit red.
"...Maybe you do have a fever? Maybe you should rest?"
"I'm really fine, so let's hear the important talk I want to listen too."
"...I get it. But don't overdo it."
Lady Eva seemed to give up on asking further since Fiona insisted she was okay.
Once Lady Eva and Fiona faced each other, ready to talk, I opened my mouth.
"So, what's this big deal that happened?"
I looked at the 4 of them, who knew the situation, and asked.
"Yeah, it's gotten quite troublesome."
Io said with an unusually serious expression.
"It's not like another clan member was attacked, right?"
I thought it might be like the "Great Outbreak", where enemy forces started attacking us just before it happened, but if that were the case, Io would've just said so. Since Io was being vague, I suspected it was a different issue.
As expected, Io nodded at my words and revealed the truth about the troublesome matter.
"It's not an attack. ...To put it bluntly, the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ is being disbanded."
"...Disbanded?"
"...Huh? Wait a minute I don't get it at all!"
I was shocked, along with Fiona.
The ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ was established by the [Four Great Families of the Seals] to capture the mastermind behind Stampede, an enemy force with unknown true identities.
But now, who's going to disband the team when we haven't even achieved our goal?
"Whose orders are we following to disband?"
"It's..."
Io looked at Lady Eva.
Lady Eva, with an expression that seemed to hint at anger, said.
"It's by the orders of the heads of the [Four Great Families of the Seals]."
――Seriously?
Fiona was left speechless upon hearing those words. She probably didn't understand what they meant. After all, the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ was established by the heads of the [Four Great Families of the Seals]. So, why would they disband the team without achieving their goal?
No, if they judged that the goal was impossible to achieve, then it wouldn't be strange at all. But right now, it's too early to make that judgment.
Something feels off――I thought, and suddenly remembered the last sentence of the letter from Margrave Lorentz.
That sentence, which seemed to caution against the [Four Great Families of the Seals].
I have no idea how everything is connected, but...
First, I need to ask about the reason for disbanding the team.
"Lady Eva, what's the reason for disbanding?"
"It's...because we lost Logan and Mr. Ail, and many other clan members, and they judged that we can no longer achieve our goal...that's the official reason."
Official reason, huh?
Well, the purpose of the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ is simply "to conquer the labyrinth", so the reason for this is probably because of us, the clan members.
And if that's the case, then there must be a real reason behind it.
"The real reason is――"
Lady Eva began to speak.
It was about the story her father, Kirke, told her yesterday.
* * *
"Father!! What do you mean?!"
In the Kirke family's mansion.
In one of the rooms, the lord's office.
Eva questioned her father, who was sitting on a chair across from her, in a loud voice.
"Don't raise your voice, Eva. I've always told you to behave according to your position."
Her father, Isaac Kirke, the current head of the Kirke family, scowled and cautioned her.
Isaac, a man in his fifties, looked like he was in his early forties. Like Eva, he had golden hair and golden eyes, and was slender. His hair was slicked back, and he wore thin-framed glasses.
His sharp gaze and unsmiling expression gave off an impression of strictness or even coldness.
As the head of one of the [Four Great Families of the Seals], he exuded an aura of someone who was used to having others follow him.
Ordinary people would have been intimidated by his sharp gaze, but Eva was not. It wasn't because he was her father and she was used to him, but because of her courage.
Eva, too, was a member of the Kirke family, and her spirit was exceptional.
"How can I not raise my voice?! You're saying you want to disband the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫?!"
It was the day after they returned from defeating the Nord, a unique individual.
Eva, who was summoned early in the morning, was told by her father as soon as she entered the office that he wanted to disband the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫.
She was outraged and shouted, which led to the previous conversation.
"It means exactly what it says."
"Ah, sigh..." Isaac let out a deep breath, then fixed a sharp, piercing gaze on the others.
"We, the [Four Great Families of the Seals], have decided to cut off support for the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ and disband the clan itself. We've lost many powerful warriors, starting with Logan Abrams and Ail Hermit. We've judged that continuing the activities would be too dangerous. It's a sufficient reason, don't you think?"
"But didn't you report that we could replenish our forces?!"
"Of course, I remember. However, those explorers who failed the initial selection are inferior in strength compared to our original clan members. And if we force them to work, won't that lead to even more casualties? Do you plan on getting them killed?"
That was indeed a sound argument.
But Eva quickly countered,
"If you're worried about their lives, then why did you let them participate in the Nord subjugation? If you're disbanding the clan due to lack of strength, isn't it contradictory to let them participate in the subjugation?"
"Don't try to nitpick. Since the Stampede hasn't developed yet, dealing with the Great Outbreak is under the jurisdiction of the explorer guild. It's not our place to interfere with the guild's personnel selection for subjugating the anomalies."
Eva was about to retort, but Isaac shut her down.
Eva knew it too――her father didn't really care about the explorers' casualties and decide to disband the clan.
So, they needed a different approach to attack.
"Then, what about the investigation into the mastermind behind the Stampede? We still don't know their true identity!!"
"The investigation into the mastermind? That's the knights' job, of course."
The 4 knight orders, each affiliated with the [Four Great Families of the Seals], were not just private knight orders. They also worked to maintain public order within Necronia City and had the authority to conduct investigations.
The enemy was clearly a criminal, and it was the duty of the knight orders with investigative authority, or the [Council]'s public safety forces, to investigate.
It was only natural, just as Isaac had said.
Rather, it was strange that explorers had been involved in this matter until now.
"But, but! The knights can't conquer the labyrinth! We can't obtain the evidence to determine the enemy's True Identity!!"
In the deepest floor of the [God's Remains Labyrinth], there are 5 seals that seal away [God's Remains].
It's said that each of them seals the right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and the torso and head.
The masterminds behind Stamped are suspected by Eva and the others――the [Four Great Families of the Seals]――to have at least one of these 5 seals undone.
The basis for this suspicion is that the enemies who had infiltrated the clan had temporarily changed their eyes to gold, and the Unique Individual monsters that appeared during this "Great Outbreak" were created using parts of [God's Remains].
In other words...
In reality, the fact that one of the seals was undone was not questionable, even without their existence.
The [Seal Temple] has a function to confirm whether the seals in the deepest floor of the labyrinth are intact, a room that only the 4 family heads can enter.
So, during Stampede, it was known from the start that one of the seals was undone.
It's unclear which of the 4 families' seals was undone, even from the [Seal Temple]――or so it seems.
But that's exactly why the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ aimed to reach the deepest floor, to confirm which of the 4 families' seals was undone.
And that's something the knights, who are affiliated with the 4 families, can't do.
After all, many of the knights' personnel were former explorers who were promoted, like Logan, but they're not active explorers, and most of them didn't rise from the explorer ranks.
When it comes to labyrinth exploration techniques, it's only natural that explorers are superior, and in terms of combat power, most knights can't even come close to expert explorers.
To conquer a labyrinth, one needs someone with the actual strength to do so. For example, it is meaningless for an army that can be wiped out with a single shot of Ignitor's breath.
If one could conquer a labyrinth with just sheer numbers, it would have been done many times already.
That's why the cooperation of powerful explorers who are confident in their abilities is essential. That's why the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ was established.
However, when Isaac heard Eva's plea, he flatly refused.
"There's no need to conquer a labyrinth for a criminal investigation. If we have evidence, we can get it through a proper investigation."
"Wh...at?"
Her open mouth couldn't close, it was that shocking.
Or perhaps she was speechless. She couldn't find the right words to say, and her anger had stopped her thoughts.
But she managed to regain her composure a little and opened her mouth.
"What...what are you saying?! Isn't that why we established the 'Labyrinth Conquest Team' because we can't do it otherwise?!"
The masterminds behind the Stampede had done nothing surprising after the Stampede ended. At least, there were no notable actions or incidents that became public.
There were no leads on the existence that had completely gone into hiding, and the investigation was going nowhere.
That changed when they established the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ and clearly set their sights on the lowest floor. Driven by the fear of having their true identities exposed if they did nothing, the masterminds finally started to move.
However, Eva's words couldn't even change Isaac's expression.
"That's true. But the situation is different now compared to back then. Thanks to the achievements of the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫, we've already obtained several clues. The items possessed by the enemy organization's members, the teleportation circle secretly set up on the 46th floor of one of the Slum's strongholds... It's more than enough. We can deduce a lot from these clues. They've done a great job. Now, let's leave everything to the 4 families' knight orders... Eva, please give them a good reward."
"――Don't be ridiculous!!"
She gets angry.
It's true that they might be able to figure something out from the information and items they've obtained so far. However, her father never ordered the knight orders to investigate like this before.
Besides, there's no guarantee that the knight orders will actually find the culprits of the Stampede incident through their investigation. In fact, the chances are quite low.
It's better to aim for the lowest floor with the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ instead. That's the more certain path.
"Of course, our clan's military power has decreased, but we still maintain sufficient strength! I've already reported to Father! With Io, Fiona, and the others from the ≪Iron Wall Alliance≫, including Ms. Glenda, we have more than enough power to press on! And we have the real ≪Extreme Sword≫! Conquering the labyrinth is not impossible at all! So why?!"
Why is he being so negative?
There's no need to disband the team, and with the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫, they can definitely conquer the labyrinth. They have gathered such powerful members, after all.
Aaron, the real ≪Extreme Sword≫, is a given, and Fiona, who has acquired [God's Descent], is also a holder of extraordinary power that can't be measured by common sense.
It's unacceptable to disband the clan due to a lack of military power.
However, Isaac didn't change his attitude at all and simply responded.
"Whether we can conquer the labyrinth or not, that's not the problem. The issue is that many ordinary citizens, like 'explorers', have already suffered huge losses. As those involved in Necronia's city government, we, the Four Great Families of the Seals, have a duty to protect the citizens. We can't put them in danger anymore."
"What a load of crap...!!"
That wasn't his true feelings.
If he really cared about them, he wouldn't have created the ≪Labyrinth Conquest Team≫ in the first place and would have just used the knights to investigate from the start. Even if that meant not getting any leads.
"This isn't just an excuse. It's a simple fact."
"......Do the other 3 families agree with this?"
"Of course. This isn't just my personal decision. It's a decision made by all 4 family heads."
"......"
If it's a decision made by all 4 family heads, then there's no going back. Eva understood that.
And with that, she asked one final question.
"Father... don't you want to avenge my brother's death?"
Eva had been actively working hard until now not just because she was part of the [Four Great Families of the Seals]. It was because the people who caused the stampede that killed her brother were monsters.
She wanted to take revenge on the people who created the circumstances that led to her brother's death.
Eva didn't think that feeling was wrong. It was strange not to hate the people who killed your family.
But her father said coldly,
"What nonsense. A ruler must not use their power for personal revenge. You're thinking of avenging your brother's death? Don't even think about such a stupid thing."
"...I understand."
Eva understood her father's thoughts.
She knew that no matter how much she pressed him, he wouldn't reveal the real reason for disbanding the clan.
"I understand. Then that's fine. You may leave."
"Yes..."
As she nodded and was about to leave,
"You're... BALD!!"
She blurted out an angry insult.
Isaac immediately stood up and shouted, his reaction speed impressive.
"Eva! I'm not bald! Correct yourself!!"
"Grandfather's going bald too!! Father's definitely going to go bald as well!!"
"What kind of thing are you saying to your father?! That's not something to joke about Eva, apologize!!"
"Hmph!!"
Eva stormed out of the room with an unladylike dash.
Isaac Kirke, 52 years old, looked surprisingly young for his age, but his forehead was slightly, well, wide――.
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