344. Red Curse (3)
That night, Masain belatedly told me about the red stone he found in the forest.
“West Mountain?”
“Yes, sir. “I discovered it by accident, while I was guarding it.”
“okay.”
Seongjin was deep in thought.
Now that I think about it, even though it was only a moment, didn’t he feel something ominous in the western mountain?
So, right before Max called me.
“… “I’m sorry for the late report, sir.”
As Seongjin kept his mouth shut, Masain bowed his head again as if he was sorry.
“no it’s okay.”
What do you think of all the stones you accidentally found on the mountain?
Since nothing was certain, I guess I thought it was something I didn’t need to know.
‘Or maybe they just wanted me to not be involved as much as possible.’
Although he guessed his intentions to some extent, Seongjin pretended not to know and asked another question.
“So, what did Francis say about the stone?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Masain continued speaking with his head down.
“But Francis said he didn’t feel any magic in the stone. He said there didn’t seem to be any signs of a curse. To investigate, he first returned to the Imperial Capital with the stone.”
I guess that was the reason Francis went back in a hurry.
“It’s not a magic trick, and it’s not a curse. “So you’re saying it’s not that dangerous to people?”
“Seeing as there is no major problem even if you touch it with bare hands, it seems like that at first glance… … .”
Nevertheless, Masain trailed off as if he was somewhat anxious.
“After a brief search with Francis, we were able to find several more similar stones in the western mountains.”
“I don’t know what it is, but does this mean that someone must have prepared it with a clear purpose?”
“Yes, sir. So, I think it is difficult to be easily optimistic that there will be no harm.”
but. The same goes for the giant bear Max caught. Although it was only a glimpse of Seongjin’s memory, the bear clearly ate a red stone.
But as soon as we dismantled it and removed its internal organs, it reverted back to the size of a normal bear. The amount of meat was reduced by a whopping 1/3. Too bad.
“But you. What you said about lifting that stone earlier… … .”
“Ah, that.”
I had just come out of the sense of unity with the bear, so I said that without realizing it.
“I didn’t eat it. “I was so distracted earlier that I made a mistake.”
“… … .”
“Really. “Sorry to confuse you, Lord Martha.”
So, don’t look so nervous. I feel guilty for no reason.
Of course, although Seongjin repeatedly emphasized that it was okay, Masain’s anxiety did not seem to subside easily.
“It’s somehow ominous. As soon as you left the imperial capital, things like this happened again… … .”
“hmm.”
It seems that the ‘jinx of social gatherings’ still remains.
‘I’ve made the 8th floor as an Auror. From now on, I’ll have to stay in the Pearl Palace and train hard. Now I guess I’ll never attend a social gathering again!’
While I was rumbling to myself, Masain opened his mouth again with a somewhat earnest expression.
“Lowering. “I may be presumptuous, but I have a favor to ask you.”
“huh?”
“Why don’t you go back to the imperial palace right now?”
“… … .”
Seongjin was speechless. Masain’s face as he made that request looked desperate, as if he was barely holding on to a weak lifeline at the edge of a cliff.
“I have already told you about the red stone, so Francis and the Knights of St. Aurelion will take care of the rest.”
“Sir Martha.”
“I will tell the Earl of Bathurst and order him to stop the hunting party immediately. So, if you please take refuge in a safe place… … .”
“… … .”
“If not the imperial palace, can’t you at least return to the imperial capital, a place where Your Majesty’s grace fully resides?”
This is why this loyal knight sometimes expresses concern for him to the point where it seems excessive. Seongjin also had some idea about that.
But unfortunately, Seongjin couldn’t answer that desperate voice right away.
Didn’t your father do the same? There must be a special reason why I chose the hunting group.
“That cannot be done, Lord Martha.”
“Lowering!”
“I understand you’re saying this because you’re worried about me. But nothing has happened yet, right? But if you have to avoid every single one at the slightest sign like this, how can you be so anxious that you can go outside Jinju Palace for the rest of your life? “What will the members of the group think of me?”
“One down… … !”
“Besides, this work can’t just be left to the Knights of Saint Aurelion. “Even though it is wrong, it has nothing to do with demon species. If that is not the responsibility of our ‘monster task force,’ then what is it?”
Masain purses his lips with a stern expression. But Seongjin had no intention of backing down at all.
“So this is something I, as an advisor to the Monster Task Force, must investigate, Sir Martha. As the prince of the Holy Empire, I must fulfill the ‘noble man’s duty’ given to me.”
“… … .”
“are you okay. “I promise you, nothing dangerous will probably happen to me.”
In the end, Masain realized that he could not persuade Seongjin and stood up with a sad face.
“If you do it, everything will be as you wish. “I will just focus on supporting the situation without any setbacks.”
“uh… … .”
Seongjin blinked his eyes.
“Hey, Sir Martha?”
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“Then rest, my lord.”
Masain bowed politely and left the tent. I thought I was really angry about the cold wind blowing.
Still, the back of the person looked somewhat dejected, so it was impossible for a person to be that miserable. Looking at the atmosphere, it looks like they will foolishly devote themselves to training until late at night from now on.
‘I always feel like I’m doing something wrong to that guy… … .’
Max must have sensed Seongjin’s bitter mood and put his head under his hand, sniffling.
Kiing-
-are you okay? Do you want me to play?
“Hmm, do you want to, Max?”
Wong wong!
-of course! There are many strange smelling things in the forest! Let’s search together!
“You got me on the same page, Max! “We were already planning to play a fun game together tomorrow.”
[Fun game? what is that?]
The Demon King asked curiously, but Seongjin only raised one corner of his mouth in confusion.
And when the next morning dawned, he gathered the resident knights in front of the tent and declared:
“There will be no hunting competition today. “Shouldn’t we give the members of the hunting club a chance to achieve some results?”
“yes? then… … .”
“Instead, we’re going to go on a treasure hunt today.”
Treasure hunt? What is that?
The resident knights exchange glances and whisper.
“Now, everyone, let’s take a look at this.”
In front of them, Seongjin proudly lifted a stone. It was another red rock that I found by secretly digging into the bear’s stomach last night.
“This is something that Adjutant Sir Francis discovered near here yesterday. In his words, he said that he had discovered that a group of rebellious people who had betrayed the Lord were actively moving around here. “This is one of those pieces of evidence.”
Of course, Francis never said anything like that.
Since he is good at instigating and fabricating, he will definitely understand Seongjin. Since he is a paladin, it is easy to use him selflessly.
“Sir Francis said he suspected this was some kind of magical item.”
Last night, Seongjin closely examined this stone with his spiritual eyes.
There wasn’t any particular information, so I thought it was all nonsense, but the devil bastard carefully confirmed it. It is said that the laws of the normal world can be felt, however faintly, in this stone.
The reason information did not appear before my eyes was because the rules contained in this stone were extremely poor.
‘Then the more stones there are… … .’
[that’s right. If enough laws come together, no one can guarantee what will happen.]
Then the solution was simple.
Collect everything in advance.
I already felt like they had brought in too many resident knights, but they all had fun going on a treasure hunt.
“It is said that it is not a very dangerous item to humans. Still, we can’t just ignore the plots hatched by these seditious groups! So, as the sword of the god who protects the Holy Empire, you must take the lead and retrieve all these items!”
When the words ‘disturbing group’ came out, the expressions of the resident knights became serious. Although they said they came out to have fun, their duty to protect the royal family and the empire did not change.
Of course, there were some knights like Lord Haven who were as motivated as ever. Seongjin glanced at him and added an explanation.
“Of course there is compensation. “Whoever finds the most of these will receive the finest Rohan spirits, wine from Brittany, and a week’s vacation!”
“… … !”
The eyes of the resident knights suddenly light up. Only Masain realized how things were going and looked at Seongjin in horror.
Seongjin grinned an evil smile.
okay. Stones, patterns, plots, what does it all have to do with it? If you are concerned about your political enemy’s intentions, wouldn’t it be okay to hunt them down and destroy them before they can function properly?
* * *
“Lowering! “I found another one here!”
Sir Haven’s performance this time was truly outstanding among the resident knights. He quickly found the red stone and ran up the mountainside again, shouting a strange slogan.
“Hey! Distilled liquor from Rohan! Haha! Wine from Brittany!”
Yesterday, Sir Haven was tempted by his seniors and ended up cracking open the bottle of distilled liquor. To make up for that loss, are you still searching all over the mountains with your eyes lit up?
“I’m here too, sir.”
Sir Claudia, Sir Calmen, and even Sir Kurt, who were passive about hunting. As a result of everyone moving in unison, the number of red stones increased rapidly.
‘There are more hidden stones than I thought?’
Especially near the halfway point of the western mountain, aren’t they spread out almost at your feet?
Seongjin inwardly clicked his tongue. I don’t know who did this, but it must have been a huge undertaking if everyone did it alone.
“But where should I put all these, sir?”
“huh?”
In response to Sir Claudia’s question, Seongjin blinked for a moment.
Then he pointed to a large rock nearby. The top is worn flat and looks exactly like a bench or shelf.
“That’s good. Should we put it all together there first?”
“Yes, I understand, sir!”
Urururu-
Just like that, red stones began to pile up on top of the rock.
* * *
“It’s a shame, it’s a shame.”
“What do you mean?”
At Leonard’s sudden lament, Romain stopped working with his hands and turned his head.
“Baron Cadogan’s salon. I heard the princess happened to be at that meeting? “If only Alton had gone as planned, he would have been able to brainwash the princess, right?”
“… … .”
“It would have been better if you had just lured me into a civil marriage.”
Romain felt a headache and put down the necklace he was working on.
“Do you really want to go to war with the empire?”
“hmm?”
“Don’t forget, Leo. “The guardian of Delcross can blow away Rohan at any time with a single wave of his hand.”
“You really want to go that far… … .”
“The only reason he doesn’t is because there is no sufficient cause and effect. If we had succeeded in brainwashing the princess, the Holy Emperor would also have been willing to destroy her Rohan.”
Sheesh. When Leonard clicked his tongue, Romain presented him with the necklace he had finished working on.
It was an item that Leonard prepared for Princess Amelia some time ago, but it was gathering dust day by day as there was no way to meet her.
“The princess said she was attending the Lady of Bathurst’s tea party.”
“So you’re telling me to take this to a cute tea party for noble ladies?”
“You can just go as the Earl of Bathurst’s guest. Meet her princess under the pretense of coincidence, and hand her her gift in public. “He probably wouldn’t refuse a gift from another country’s royal family in front of others.”
Leonard had a clear look of dissatisfaction, but he accepted the necklace obediently without any complaints.
“When you meet the princess, give her a necklace and say this. ‘This jewel is a magical item from ancient times. ‘If an emergency occurs, the princess will be moved to a safe place.’”
“But this is just Yeonsujeong? “There is no such function, Romain.”
“I know. “It simply means adding appropriate seasoning before cooking.”
All of this is a work in progress to make the princess use the [portal] voluntarily.
“You should tell me that in advance, so when the selection window suddenly pops up, you’ll click [Accept] without any doubts, right?”
“hmm.”
Leonard nodded and put away the necklace.
“Anyway, what have you prepared? Will it work properly and on time?”
In his opinion, Romain’s preparation was extremely lax. No matter how busy he was with his preparations, didn’t he just lay out all those codes clumsily on the ground?
However, Romain, who heard Leonard’s concerns, laughed lightly.
“Haha, it’s okay. Leo. I’m sure there isn’t even that level of safety device. “The codes I created are extremely incomplete, so they cannot be easily activated unless special measures are taken on our part.”
“okay? “What are the chances that someone will find it?”
“The Earl of Bathurst’s hunting grounds are far away. “The Count strictly prohibits hunting by the people of his territory, so it is safe to say that he rarely climbs this mountain on purpose.”
“But what if a wild animal touches it or the wind rolls it somewhere? “Aren’t all the preparations going to be in vain?”
“Even if a few codes really disappear, it’s not a problem. “Because we prepared a sufficient number.”
In Romain’s opinion, there was only one way for this to fail. Gathering all the laid out codes in one place, especially in a place where there were strong traces of [disaster], and completely disrupting the function of the code.
but-
“No matter how much you think about it, that is absolutely impossible. The probability of that many codes gathering in a specific place by chance is almost zero… … .”
That was when I said that.
Pow!
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and the small cabin shook violently. Romain and Leonard looked at each other at the same time as if they had made a promise.
“… … !?”
“… what?”
fantasy,
