Chapter 156: Misunderstanding (1)

Mineta Kingdom’s capital had been turned completely upside down.

All the gates that allowed passage outside the outer castle were checked.

But there were no traces of anyone having left.

Knights and soldiers began combing through every corner of the outer castle.

“Search everything! I said check every corner!”

They even went as far as smashing apart the slums that sat in a corner of the outer castle.

Those who had been struck without knowing the reason behind such excessive actions could only feel wronged.

“Who do you say is supposed to be here!”

“Sir Knight! I’m telling you there’s no one here!”

“It’s only my sick old mother!”

Anyone who resisted was often trampled by soldiers until they couldn’t move.

It was hard to tell whether this was truly a search or simply a demolition disguised as one.

There were those who quietly watched such a scene.

Raion and his group, who had come from the palace annex with the king’s permission.

I simply observed the situation, frowning slightly.

At my side, Charoen spoke as if trying to justify the uncomfortable situation.

“It’s something we’ve delayed for a while, but now that we have a reason, we’re taking care of it along the way. That land was ours to begin with anyway.”

“Did I…… ask?”

“……My apologies. I thought you might be curious.”

Maybe it was because of the oppressive atmosphere.

Charoen behaved as if he were addressing a superior.

Strangely enough, it didn’t feel out of place.

‘What is this? Because of my strength?’

Even when he faced Turklan, who was considered nearly his equal, he hadn’t behaved like this.

Only when he looked at me did his mouth and body move like this.

“So you really think the missing nobles are hiding somewhere like this?”

“Since we don’t know who the enemy is, we have no choice but to search everywhere.”

“No traces at all?”

“You haven’t seen them yourself.”

We had even visited the mansion of Duke Dominus Flomen.

We searched everything—the bedroom, office, library, and all the rest. Even so, traces of an intruder couldn’t be found.

“Did you check unused noble mansions?”

“You mean those near the inner castle?”

“If they didn’t go outside the outer castle, wouldn’t that side be more likely?”

Most mansions were owned by nobles.

Trespassing into private property regardless of status would cause noise.

Because of that, Charoen had excluded such places from the search.

“Hm……”

It wasn’t a possibility that could be dismissed entirely.

After a moment of thought, Charoen made a decision.

“Just as Sir Dragonia said, we should search that area.”

He was referring to me.

So the knights and soldiers headed toward the inner castle under Charoen’s orders.

The reckless destruction of houses came to a stop.

Those who had been shouting around the area now wore slightly relieved expressions.

“A carriage has been prepared, so please board.”

Raion, Patrick, and Turklan boarded the carriage parked nearby.

After that, the knights and soldiers continued their search with renewed speed.

Naturally, I and my party waited near the mansions, preparing in case an enemy happened to appear.

We continued searching several mansions.

Then a soldier’s cry rang out.

“There’s something here!”

Knights who had been checking other areas rushed over.

There, a handkerchief and pocket watch engraved with the crest of the missing noble families had been dropped.

It was a definite trace.

“So they really were hiding in an empty mansion?”

We checked the surroundings further.

Soon we discovered a place where dust had been wiped away—as if someone had stayed there.

Clear evidence.

Smiles appeared on the tired faces of the knights.

“They couldn’t have gone far.”

“Let’s report this to our superiors.”

The knights began moving even more busily.

They thought it wouldn’t take long to find the missing nobles now.

.

.

.

I had returned to the palace annex of the Royal Capital.

There was no progress in finding the missing nobles.

Since we couldn’t stay in the mansions forever, we decided to wait in the annex.

“The Royal Capital is still unsettled.”

Patrick, who was pouring tea at my side, spoke with a slight lift at the corner of his lips.

“They’re probably too occupied with searching for the nobles.”

“How long do you plan to keep them waiting? It seems Sir Jade has been building up quite a bit of dissatisfaction.”

“Are they eating well while hiding?”

“They must be avoiding leaving any traces, so even lighting a fire would be difficult. And it would be hard to keep the nobles with them constantly.”

I nonchalantly sipped my tea.

During such conversation, Turklan suddenly looked surprised beside me.

“Master, were you the one behind that incident?”

He had known nothing, so his reaction was only natural.

I blinked as if I had forgotten.

“Ah, did I not mention it? Is that so? Patrick.”

“You never said anything.”

“What exactly is going on?”

“Did I? Anyway, that’s how the situation is. Be careful not to let it leak outside.”

“What is it you’re trying to do?”

If someone wanted to collapse the central power of Mineta’s Royal Capital, it would have been better to execute the kidnapped nobles.

But it was only a kidnapping.

And for some unknown reason, the culprit was dragging out time.

“I need something.”

“……Yes? What do you mean……?”

“I told you before. Materials.”

“Materials?”

Turklan recalled the condition I had set when meeting Charoen.

Adamantium.

A material to forge a new sword.

“All that, just for that?”

“Do you think getting adamantium is easy? Where else would we get such a chance?”

If it were steel or some special alloy, I could make as much as I wanted with my ability.

But their hardness and durability fell short.

What I needed now was a metal stronger than any of those.

“When do you think we can get some…”

“Adamantium is an extremely rare metal. My sword contains a bit of it as well, but even that’s in a very small amount.”

“Huh? Your sword has it too?”

Raion looked surprised and pointed at Turklan’s sword leaning against the wall.

“Specific Analysis.”

[Steel 65.3%, Silicon 12.5%, Adamantium 5.4%, Carbon 1.7%, Others 15.1%]

A detailed composition floated into view.

He singled out “Adamantium” and analyzed it again.

[Stilla 53.2%, Mithril 14.5%, Carbon 14.5%, Silicon 8.3%, Others 9.8%]

Among the components, one particular name caught his eye.

Raion’s eyes widened as he read it.

“Stilla? Could it be… Stilla Wood?”

Needing more detail, he zoomed in on the component marked as “Stilla.”

[Stilla: A mineral formed from the sedimentation of Stilla Wood]

Adamantium was the third strongest substance on the continent—second only to Dragonbone, which was now impossible to obtain.

And now, its recipe had appeared before him.

“There’s an abundance of Stilla Wood, though.”

Even regular Stilla Wood took an incredibly long time to form.

But sedimented Stilla Wood? He had never even heard of such a thing.

That was why Adamantium, like Orichalcum and Dragonbone, was so hard to acquire.

“Should I ask the Kanas Territory to look for it?”

A possible solution came to mind—but with an immediate problem.

“No, that won’t work. Unless it’s someone like me or Caldein, anyone who lands in the Sellios Dungeon will collapse the moment they arrive.”

Maybe I was focusing too hard.

Patrick and Turklan, standing nearby, were staring at me blankly.

Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat.

“Hmm, hmm! So that’s why your sword was able to block my aura, huh?”

“I also mixed in some of the adamantium I managed to get with great difficulty. It’s possible Charoen might use the pretext of procuring such materials to manipulate the Master.”

It wasn’t a strong possibility, but not an impossible one either.

Of course, I had already considered that.

“Don’t worry. I’ve already found a way.”

“A… way?”

At that question, a smile spread across my lips.

Charoen, the Branch Leader of the Black Crescent Moon’s Mineta Branch, sat at his desk, meticulously going through piles of parchment scrolls stacked high.

He had no idea how many hours had passed.

As the night deepened, the crease between his brows grew sharper.

“How can there be absolutely nothing?”

Kerom, who was checking the scrolls beside him, didn’t look any better.

Then, as if something came to mind, he spoke up.

“The fallen noble family of Canel, known as Dragonia, doesn’t appear anywhere. Could they have been connected to the royal family, perhaps?”

Coincidentally, the name was the same as that of the Third Prince.

Moreover, Regina Foster—the head of the Blue Sun faction—had also been from the Kingdom of Canel.

Charoen considered that possibility but soon shook his head.

“Wasn’t the Third Prince there infamous for being an idiot?”

“However, there are rumors that he was involved in the rebellion of the royal in-laws. Because of that, the queen, the duke, and the First and Second Princes were all imprisoned in Deraf, leaving him as the sole heir.”

Duke Alito and Queen Elina’s faction had been powerful—even neighboring kingdoms knew of their influence.

Everyone believed the First Prince, Ashuran Canel, would inherit the throne without question.

But everything had turned upside down in an instant.

Not only the neighboring kingdoms but even the Eye of the Moon at the time had been shocked.

“You believe those rumors? It must’ve been Laskan Canel who orchestrated everything.”

Laskan Canel—the king who, like King Harlan Mineta, had reached the realm of Swordmaster.

In terms of ability alone, Laskan Canel might even have surpassed Harlan Mineta.

That was information gathered back when he had been part of the Eye of the Moon.

“Do you really think so?”

“He was known for being born without any talent whatsoever. What could someone like that have done in the kingdom?”

“But he did go to the Kanas Territory, which developed dramatically afterward.”

“That too must’ve been Laskan Canel’s scheme. Everything must’ve gone according to his plan. I thought he was a brute lion, but he turned out to be a cunning serpent.”

After that, the Eye of the Moon had tried to form direct ties with the Canel Kingdom.

But the sudden separation of the Blue Sun faction had put an end to it.

“Then what should we do now?”

“I thought we could uncover something by investigating the Dragonia Family…”

The purpose of this investigation was to find Raion Dragonia’s weakness.

Just as with Turklan, they planned to use his wife as leverage.

But with no leads at all, they were stuck.

“Could it be a family secretly hidden by the royal house of Canel?”

“So you think the Dragonia Family might’ve helped in Canel’s civil war?”

“It’s possible.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable idea.

At Kerom’s speculation, Charoen nodded slightly.

“Not entirely impossible. But why would such a family be here, of all places?”

“Well…”

The Kingdom of Mineta was far from the Kingdom of Canel.

There was no reason for them to have crossed such a distance.

“It feels like everything’s tangled. There’s still no progress on the missing nobles either.”

“We’re finding traces bit by bit. Since we’ve caught their trail, it’s only a matter of time before we find them.”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll instruct the knights to speed up their search of the remaining areas.”

“The nobles’ safety is also important. Make sure they’re well protected.”

“Yes, I’ll see to it.”

Kerom acknowledged the order and promptly stepped outside.

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