Volume 1 Chapter 39 Interlude： The Night of Schemes and the Prime Minister's Fate
※This is from a third-person perspective.
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It was the night after Ryuuji and the others had been captured and then escaped.
In the quiet castle corridors, several faint footsteps moved forward.
"...Strange, it's too quiet."
One of the assassins frowned, sensing something off.
Even they, who had figured that the king would never expect assailants to come again so soon, felt an uneasy tension in the castle's unusually sparse atmosphere.
"Should we go back?"
"No, it's an order. Besides, tonight the king will be encouraged to drink heavily, making it a perfect opportunity. We'll execute the mission swiftly."
"Understood."
The subordinates replied shortly to their leader's words.
Of the 5, one was creating a disturbance to draw attention, while the leader and one other headed toward the king's bedroom, and the other 2 went to the princess's.
Upon arriving at the intended bedroom, one of the assassins deliberately switched on a light to be spotted, luring the guard outside.
"Alright, now's our chance. Just as planned, you two head toward the princess."
At their leader's words, the two nodded silently and moved towards the princess's bedroom.
The leader and the other watched them leave and quietly opened the door to the king's bedroom where the guard had moved away.
As the assassins had expected, King Georg was sound asleep, snoring loudly.
They smirked at his utterly defenseless state.
Then, the leader stood before the king and swung down the dagger he held.
With a sharp sound, it was deflected.
"What!?"
The leader shouted, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
But, the Hero King wouldn't give him even a moment's opening.
He leaped up, sending the blanket over the leader of the assassins.
The startled man staggered, and the Hero King slammed a fist into his stomach.
"Gah──"
Without seeing the leader slump, another assassin hurried out of the bedroom.
"Where are you going?"
As if barring his way, the gigantic figure stood in a threatening pose.
The assassin froze for a moment, then was blown across the room in the next instant.
* * *
"Your Majesty! Another rogue has attacked, is that true!"
Prime Minister Elmer burst into the audience chamber, gasping for breath as he asked.
"Ah, yes. Thankfully, all is well. Cecil was also targeted, but she is unharmed."
"So, that's good.... I never thought they would attack so soon though... what were the guards doing! I've also heard rumors about commoners escaping prison, and they are likely helping them! We must issue an arrest warrant and capture them immediately!"
Elmer spoke rapidly, indignation bubbling over.
King Georg watched him with narrowed eyes, sighing deeply.
"Elmer, your little play acting is quite impressive. A fee for your service, perhaps?"
"...What? What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
Elmer's face widened as if struck by lightning.
He seemed completely oblivious to the implication that he was being suspected.
In truth, it was as the King had said, assassins under his command had committed the crime.
However, they were bound by a magical restriction that prevented them from speaking the truth, no matter what, so Elmer knew they could not betray him.
That's why Elmer never imagined the King, Georg, would make such a proclamation without any evidence.
To Elmer's bewilderment, Georg pounded his hands on the table twice.
Suddenly, from the side door, guards dragged in a group of men in black.
Among them were the escapees Elmer had been desperately searching for: an enchanter, an alchemist, and a magician.
"What! You lot!"
"Well, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. We heard the story from this fellow, so the charade is over."
Saying so, Ryuuji, with the bound assassin still in his grasp, grinned wickedly.
(Fools! They must have cast magic to prevent them from speaking! This must be a bluff!)
Swallowing those words, Elmer could only stammer, "What do you mean?"
"Don't underestimate a Second Rank magician. My sister lifted the magical restriction. And using a truth serum, we made them talk. Right here, before His Majesty."
"What──"
Elmer gasped in shock, hastily covering his mouth.
But it was too late.
His very demeanor already acknowledged the connection to the assassins.
In a panic, the Prime Minister spun on his heel, but at the door that was the only exit in the audience chamber, the remaining escaped prisoner, a swordswoman girl, stood holding a Two-handed sword.
Faced with her impeccable form, Elmer, who could only see a future carved apart if he passed by, gasped in horror.
"It's over for you, Elmer. It's your turn to go to jail. Maybe you'll get out, but it could be the gallows this time."
With a mischievous grin, Minori had just shown her amusement.
* * *
"Damn it! How did it come to this!?"
Sent to the underground dungeon, Elmer cried out in frustration, pounding the stone wall.
His pet keeper had already been disposed of, and a royal guard knight was temporarily serving as a guard, making his escape from this underground cell utterly despairing.
As Minori had said, even if he got out next, it would be to the gallows.
"To begin with, those commoners were too irregular...! Easily performing disenchantment with their enchant magic, treating magic constraints as a given, forcing confessions with drugs... could such things have been predicted!?"
Until a few weeks ago, everything had been going smoothly, but if asked where Elmer's plan had gone awry, it was undoubtedly due to the actions of a commoner named Ryuuji and his group.
He had knowledge of enchant magic and alchemy, but he had never heard of someone with abilities as extraordinary as Ryuuji's.
"You're a mess, Elmer."
"...You! Ferron! Why are you here!?"
Startled by a sudden voice, Elmer turned around to find the man in white robes, who should not have been there, standing at the back of the cell.
The man named Ferron let out a dry, eerie chuckle as he raised his hand towards Elmer.
Suddenly, Elmer felt a intense power flowing into him from the necklace he was wearing, and he let out a voice of agony.
His body convulsed as it tried to resist the torrent, but Ferron made no move to withdraw his hand.
"You're completely useless. But for the sake of the evil god Abnella, I'll let you do one last job."
As if he no longer heard Ferron's monotone voice, Elmer's body, which had even stopped suffering, began to transform into something golden.
"Come on, Elmer. It's good to unleash that tyrannical power against King Georg."
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