Chapter 279 – Change

#279.

“Your majesty. I have brought you what you sent.”
“Show me.”

The man seated on the splendid throne, Leonard Karleya, quietly gave an order to the masked man standing in front of him. At that command, the masked man politely took out a crystal ball from his bosom and held it out.

With Leonard’s gesture, the crystal ball flew up. The floating object was quickly sucked into my grasp.

“Hmm… Well made.”

It looks like an ordinary crystal ball, but this object is incomparable to them.

Clairvoyance.

The magic eye possessed by the former king. This crystal ball processed from that material retains the function of the demon’s eye.

If anyone is caught even once, they cannot escape their gaze. And, of course, Kiris Karleja couldn’t escape from that goal either.

Of course, the former king would not have any intention of pursuing his beloved daughter, but Leonard was not. If the king were to choose the person he had seen the most in his life, Kiris Karleja would definitely be included.

As such, of course, using this crystal ball, you should be able to follow the trail of the hateful nephew. Leonard smiled at the thought of finally being able to relieve himself of the last stress.

If he goes out on his own, he could kill Kiris in a matter of days. Leonard thought so, but… I couldn’t go out now.

The surest way for him was to step out himself, but he didn’t bother. It was because he thought that if it was the guy he had been given from the Church of Destruction, if he had reached the level of 10 stars, he could do it.

Leonard called the masked man who had been silently bowing his head until then.

“Black. Give this to Leviathan. Bring the head of Kiris Carleya.”
“Yes. I will follow your orders.”

The crystal ball returned to the arms of the masked person again. Black, who lowered his head again, disappeared as if it were immersed in the shadows, and Leonard, who had been thinking for a while, picked up the communicator.

─Ugh…

As soon as the mana permeated, the connection was immediately established and a hologram emerged. A man with a sharp impression against the background of an old-fashioned room replies with a disapproving expression.

-… What’s going on?-

The true identity of her man is a demon in charge of a part of the Church of Destruction.

Its true identity is the second-in-command of the Imperial Mage Tower, the sub-top master, Rajius Sisbald.

He is the one who blocked the warp gate to the current kingdom of Carleya, and a great mage who has reached the level of 11 stars like the tower owner. He was also a collaborator who created the artifact from earlier.

“The item was well received. How are your preparations?”

– There is no problem with preparation. However, Sernia Harpe is suspicious of me. It’s fine now, but the siege is getting tighter.-

“Hmm… How much time do you have?”

-One month. If it was more than that, the possibility of meddling in the Kaiers duchy would not be small. The emperor might move.-

Sernia Harpe itself is not a big problem. However, the problem was that the Duke and Imperial family of Kaiers existed behind them.

If Sernia Harpe moved the Duke of Kaiers and the duke family petitioned the emperor, the imperial family had no choice but to move.

Of course, doing something without clear evidence will be accompanied by political risks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t just be relieved and prepare.

In the end, it was right to see that the remaining free time was one month.

‘It’s been a month…’

One month. I don’t know if it was before receiving the artifact. It was difficult to think that now that I had received it, I would not be able to catch Kiris Karleya before then.

It would take a week to figure out the base of the vigilantes, and it would take that much time to subdue them as well. In other words, two weeks is enough to prepare everything.

From there, it was three weeks even if an additional week was added to completely take over the kingdom of Carleya. It overflows because it is not enough to keep the time limit of one month.

Leonard, who was estimating what would happen later, opened his mouth with confidence.

“Then let’s decide to launch the operation in a month. Until then, I will finish the preparations.”

-Are you sure?-

“Of course. I will completely end the seizure within a month.”

-… Then I’ll tell everyone.-

Communication ended there. There was no such thing as a personal friendship between the two, so he didn’t feel the need to talk further once the business was over.

“Francis Lasker. We just have to deal with that old man.”

A man who was an ally of the former king. Even after being demoted after taking responsibility for the murder of the king, he is still trusted by the people, and he is suspicious of Leonard himself and is looking for an opportunity.

The news of Kiris Carleya’s survival is somehow blocked by planting a spy, but it has reached its limit now.

It needs to be killed so that there is no noise. Of course, I had to kill Kiris before that.

“It’s not long now.”

The end of a long-awaited task. It’s time for him to become a real king.

***

The chatter of drunken members ringing in the ears.

They mingled with everyone, ate food, drank beer, and laughed as one. It’s a short time, but at one point I was hanging out with the vigilantes as if I was a member of the original vigilantes.

Just like that, the moment I empty my beer glass and spit out exclamations at the carbonic acid that resonates in my throat. I could see the back of Kiris leaving the drinking party.

‘A watchtower again…’

The direction to Kiris is the pier. What is the point of going to the place where countless ships are anchored? Wouldn’t it be to climb the watchtower as always and be immersed in memories alone?

I follow my advice and get along with everyone, but even so, I can’t erase the longing for my family. After rolling my eyes for a while, I got up from my seat wondering if there was anything to notice.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom for a while.”
“Heh heh… Come on!”
“I look forward to.”

Garros and Orbin understood what I was saying, and returned a smirk and a serious expression, respectively.

Leave them behind and get out of the drinking party.

“It’s already gone.”

Even after a few seconds, Kiris had already disappeared. After passing through the alleyway to the pier, she finally arrived at a place where the view was open, and she was already caught climbing up on the watchtower and drinking alcohol.

I’m a little sorry for interrupting your alone time every time, but since you said it’s okay, it should be fine. She made that decision and jumped straight up onto the watchtower.

Percussion!

As she landed lightly, she lifted her head and her eyes met Kiris’s. As if she knew it was coming, she took out fruit wine from her inventory and handed it to me with a confident smile on her expression.

“It’s not long now.”
“… Yes. Thanks.”

There was no proper explanation, but Kiris, who understood my meaning, expressed her gratitude.

It’s only been 3 weeks since I joined. I’ve already caught two of Samuhae during those three weeks, so it won’t take too long to catch Ilhwang.

Leonard is the problem. By all means, I hope you can find related information in the stronghold of that bastard, Emperor Il-hwang. If that happens, public opinion will turn to us, so we can ask for help without worrying about meddling in our internal affairs.

However, if it was difficult, it would be better to solve it with the power of only the Kingdom of Carleja. Although there is Arisha’s guarantee, the king, the father, may be hiding other plans.

After thinking for a moment, he carefully opened his mouth.

“Leader. Is there anyone in the Kingdom of Carleya to ask for help?”
“… What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t there anything good about intervening from another country? Even if Princess Arisha is okay, wouldn’t the others be like that?”

I asked as if he didn’t know what he was talking about, but he seemed to have already guessed to some extent. Despite my words, Kiris just quietly gulped down his drink.

Kiris, who was staring blankly at the horizon with clouded eyes as if deep in thought, suddenly poured her alcohol into the sea! Scattered and answered.

“I’m sure there’s someone to help, but it’s too late. It’s been 5 years. During that time, there is no noble who still resists. Even if there were, they would all be dead right now. ‘By accident.'”

It’s an accident… Of course, that didn’t mean really simple thinking. Perhaps, over the course of five years, countless people who fell in love with Leonard passed away due to an unknown incident.

Who would do such a thing? Thinking of him gave me a rough feeling.

“Emperor Japan and Samurai.”
“Okay. It’s good to know right away.”

I don’t know if it’s on land, but who is the culprit in the accident at sea? No, everyone will already know the culprit. It’s just that I don’t have the courage to condemn them.

If so, where will the resentment towards him go? A king aiding and abetting pirates? Or not… The navy to protect the sea?

‘Wait for a sec…’

It also seemed like something was going to go wrong.

When I first entered the waters near the Kingdom of Carleya, who was the first thing I resented while being attacked by pirates?

Was it a king? No. I resented the Coast Guard. That’s because I didn’t know what kind of person the king was.

Of course, the king also has the duty to protect the people of the kingdom, but the maritime guard was created for that reason. And the Coast Guard had a demoted General Francis.

Although unlikely, there was a slim hint that General Francis could become our ally.

“Leader. General Francis.”
“Hmm? General Francis? Why did he suddenly…”
“How is the reputation heard from the people of the kingdom? Even though the pirates are rampaging, the Coast Guard is standing by, aren’t they? Surely that’s not good, right?”

When I induced the story as if to sneak a peek, Kiris frowned and denied it.

“… No. General Francis’ reputation is very good. Of course, over the past 5 years, there have been some flaws, but it is still in good shape. He had been loyal to the kingdom for decades. But why are you curious about that?”

If General Francis had been bribed by Leonard, would he have been demoted? A person who is greatly trusted by the people of the kingdom?

I don’t think so.

There is no way that he would have given up a handshake that would make his throne more solid and his legitimacy recognized by just having it by his side.

If that’s the case, it’s better to see that the relationship between the two is not good. If it doesn’t harbor dark feelings in any form, you might be able to convince them when you explain all the circumstances.

After coming to the conclusion alone, I immediately explained it to Kiris.

Kiris’s face, which had been calm at first, changed color as my words continued. After going through various emotional changes, he finally comes back indifferently.

“How is it? I think there is a possibility.”
“… I don’t know if it is. But… I can’t move if I’m not sure.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Just keep it in mind for a moment. It’s good if it’s good, but it can’t be helped if it’s not, isn’t it? Take this.”

I took out the letter of introduction from my inventory and handed it to Kiris.

Of course, if it was Kiris, he wouldn’t even need it, but maybe he didn’t know. There is a possibility that they think Kiris is dead, but if they just go there, they may say that it is an impersonation.

After seeing the letter of introduction that I handed over, Kiris thought about it for a moment before accepting it with a quiet nod.

“Let’s get it as a thank you.”

At the end of the conversation, as usual, a pleasant silence fell between us.

The night deepens with the moon leaning toward the horizon.