Chapter 218: Alforam (2)

Evening, after all lectures had ended.

Three people exited the Bayern Academy and boarded a carriage.

“Why am I coming along too…….”

Yuria looked at Carl and Laysis with a bewildered expression.

Laysis wore an apologetic look, while Carl nodded as if it were only natural.

“She’s the creator of the Mana Beads, of course she should come with us.”

“No, I still have assignments left.”

“I’ll help you when we get back. If we do it together, we can finish in less than two hours. And……”

Carl glanced toward Laysis and continued.

“This is for Laysis. Can’t you spare at least one day over the weekend?”

“It’s not that, but……”

Yuria sighed at the mention that it was for Laysis.

It seemed she would have to cancel all her weekend plans.

Laysis, who had been quietly sitting, looked at her friend apologetically and asked for her understanding.

“Yuria, I’m sorry. But it’s something important.”

“Is this because of the marriage proposal?”

“Yes. I’m certain they’re trying to marry me off before I graduate from Bayern.”

“That must never happen.”

Yuria snorted and crossed her arms.

One way or another, they had become quite close since arriving in Artenia.

And she wasn’t heartless enough to ignore Laysis when she was in a pinch.

“So? What do you need me to do?”

“Just go along with whatever I say, like we did at the Merchants’ Guild.”

“Is it going to be dangerous again?”

“Probably. But I’ll do my best to make sure you’re not kidnapped this time.”

Yuria’s kidnapping incident at the Merchants’ Guild had also been unexpected for Carl.

He hadn’t anticipated they would act so recklessly, which led to a slightly delayed response.

Still, thanks to that, they had been able to root out their informants and crush the related organization using Crown Prince Yulian’s power—but he didn’t plan to let something like that happen again in the Kingdom of Alforam.

“She’s right. I’ll be by your side to protect you too.”

“No, I’m not asking you to protect me. I’m actually hoping we get attacked. It’s a good chance to test my creation.”

With a triumphant expression, Yuria pulled a small box from her cloak.

Click.

She opened the lid and showed the contents to them.

Inside was a blue bracelet without any notable features.

“It’s pretty. Is it a magic tool?”

“It’s a control device for the ‘Four Seasons’. Unlike the original Four Seasons, where I inscribed functions directly onto my magic circuits, this one has the formula engraved into an external device. It’s easier to use, but if the bracelet breaks, it becomes useless. Still, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“A control device.”

Carl looked at Yuria’s bracelet, clearly impressed by the breakthrough.

Had her research on the ‘Four Seasons’ already reached this stage?

Storage of magic, chantless casting, castless activation, instant release, and an automated computation algorithm tailored to the environment and situation.

“By the way, how much did it cost?”

“……I pulled my entire three-year budget allocation for it. Just the raw material cost is tens of thousands of gold, and in terms of value……”

Yuria paused thoughtfully before giving her conclusion.

“I’d have to ask for at least 500,000 gold.”

“Five hundred thousand gold, huh. Your ‘Four Seasons’ could be used even by those who don’t know magic, right?”

“Yeah. That was one of the goals. Though you do need to know how to use mana. If a mage uses it, it’ll be more efficient.”

“Once we’re done with this mission, reserve five units of the prototype for me.”

“Five……!”

That alone would be worth 2.5 million gold.

How many years’ worth of budget would that be?

“It’s still incomplete and there are parts I need to fix. Are you sure?”

“I’ll pay a separate fee for maintenance as well.”

Carl nodded without hesitation.

This was an investment.

He was laying the groundwork to be the first to get his hands on the emerging result of the ‘Four Seasons’.

If he distributed them to the NOX executives along with himself, they could be incredibly useful.

Especially if non-magic users could receive magical support—there was no better form of assistance.

If Yuria’s invention reached full completion, it was certain to revolutionize magical history.

Though she and her friend still didn’t seem to realize the full ripple effect it would cause.

“……”

Carl felt a gaze piercing him from the side.

Wondering why, he turned toward Laysis and saw her pouting.

“You two seem close.”

“I’m close with you too, Laysis.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Pardon?”

Carl tilted his head, unable to grasp what Laysis was pointing out.

“Why do you speak casually with Yuria but use honorifics with me?”

“Well, Yuria told me to speak casually with her.”

“That’s right. Isn’t it better to speak comfortably than to sound distant with formal speech?”

Yuria added, backing Carl.

But that only seemed to irritate Laysis more.

“Yuria, then do I come off as distant to you?”

“No? That’s not what I meant. And you said you’re not allowed to speak informally because of the Alforam royal family’s rules.”

“That’s true.”

“So it can’t be helped. Do I feel distant to you?”

“Well, not exactly.”

“Right?”

“……But Carl is different.”

Having lost the verbal exchange with Yuria, Laysis redirected her focus to her original target.

Carl smiled awkwardly at her blue eyes staring directly at him.

“I’ll speak informally then.”

“Good.”

As soon as his tone changed, Laysis beamed brightly.

Truthfully, she preferred casual speech over honorifics.

‘Honorifics feel too fabricated for some reason.’

At first, she didn’t notice the artificiality.

But the moment she saw Carl speaking casually with others, she began to sense something she couldn’t quite explain.

At Bayern, Carl seemed like he was wearing a mask, and that other side felt more like the real Carl.

The cynical side wasn’t bad either.

If anything, her preference leaned toward the colder demeanor he showed outside the Academy, rather than how he acted within Bayern.

“On that note, I should tell you now.”

“…Tell me what?”

Laysis, who had been listening to Carl with a smile, belatedly grasped the meaning of his words.

What was it that he felt the need to reveal now?

Yuria also turned her attention toward Carl.

Swish.

Carl raised his finger and wrote “Alforam” on the carriage window.

“The royal family of Alforam has been corrupted.”

“……”

“…Uh, I kind of felt that way too, but are you really okay saying it that bluntly?”

Laysis froze.

Yuria glanced at her friend and cautiously asked.

It wasn’t uncommon in history for royal families or noble houses to fall into ruin.

But stating it so directly was another matter entirely.

Carl, however, shook his head and elaborated on his point.

“I’m not talking about the royal duties or the dignity of the crown. I’m talking about the fundamentals of being human.”

“…The fundamentals?”

“Most of the royal family has aligned with forces from the Demon Realm. Many have already fallen to become puppets of demons and devils. It wouldn’t be surprising if those claws……”

Carl looked at Laysis.

“…soon reached you too.”

“…Tell me in more detail.”

Laysis, who had been silently listening with her lips tightly pressed, lifted her head.

She knew Carl wasn’t someone who joked about things like this.

So, with a more serious expression, she urged him to explain.

“Here.”

Carl pulled out documents from the back of the carriage and handed them to Laysis and Yuria.

“We’ve confirmed that the major nobles are already dancing in their hands. Bribery, drugs, and various other crimes—they’re all involved. But that’s the least of it.”

“…This is…”

Yuria’s face contorted with disgust.

Carl nodded.

“Yeah. We’ve even found several who sold their souls to demons and became Demon Humans.”

It was the result of a single night’s investigation.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how rotten things were deeper inside.

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

Carl was troubled too.

Thanks to King, he had discovered that several national leaderships were colluding with forces from the Demon Realm.

He had only lightly investigated Alforam this time, but didn’t expect things to be this dire.

Outwardly, crime rates were low, the treasury was strong, and the nation seemed wealthy and powerful—but inside, it was a den of Black Mages and demon worshippers.

‘If they dragged all the criminals and underworld figures inward, of course the crime rate would drop.’

And perhaps conscious of public perception, they thoroughly covered the light and shadow.

They left the average citizens untouched and only abducted criminals or those connected to them.

Because of that, Alforam’s underworld had been scorched, turning into a place rife with dread.

Of course, from the kingdom’s perspective, that was a good thing—but if the underworld disappeared, where would the demons turn their attention to next?

“It’s not just Alforam. We’ve discovered that other kingdoms are in similar situations too.”

“Not just Alforam?”

Yuria stood up with a face full of disbelief.

She was short enough that her head didn’t touch the carriage ceiling, but the way the carriage shook showed just how startled she was.

“That’s right. I mentioned it at Maximilian’s estate, didn’t I? Things are about to get serious soon. And it looks like that time isn’t far off.”

He had no desire to be a hero or a warrior.

Carl’s goal was to become the Absolute Shadow Sovereign.

To make NOX the mastermind behind every organization.

But if the fundamental structure of the continent collapsed, things would become highly troublesome.

“Then shouldn’t we do something about it?”

“She’s right. Don’t tell me… is the Empire affected too? If the Empire falls…”

The entire continent would collapse.

Realizing the gravity of it, Yuria and Laysis looked at each other.

“You don’t need to worry about that side. I’ve already asked Crown Prince Yulian for cooperation.”

Fortunately, it seemed Crown Prince Yulian had also been observing those aspects with great care.

Given his insight—enough to spot a regressor—it was only natural.

Thanks to that, the number of demons or Demon Realm agents embedded in the imperial leadership was significantly low.

Carl himself had visited the Imperial Palace to confirm this, so he was sure of it.

Of course, he couldn’t track every person who accepted bribes indirectly, but that was Crown Prince Yulian’s responsibility.

With his capabilities, he could certainly cleanse the parasites.

‘He mentioned he had joined hands with the Holy Nation.’

While Carl had been busy laying the groundwork for NOX in Leipzig, the Holy Nation had been vigorously hunting Black Mages and heretics.

But then, a few years ago, something happened and they suddenly ceased all operations and retreated into their own land.

Even Carl didn’t know what had happened there.

There were no groups as closed off and difficult to sway as the Holy Nation.

At the time, it didn’t concern him, so he didn’t care—but now, their cooperation had become essential.

“So don’t worry about the messy stuff. Crown Prince Yulian will take care of the hard part. What we need to do is……”

Carl paused for a moment and looked at Laysis.

“…to stop Laysis’s marriage.”

That would mean they would have to overturn the Alforam royal family.

One of NOX’s plans was to eliminate the royal bloodline, including the king, and install Laysis as queen.

‘A queen, huh.’

Carl covered his mouth and chuckled softly.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a NOX member as the monarch of a country.

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