Chapter 124 – A Farewell Gift

Quinbland’s capital, G. Quinbland, was two times smaller than Ponsonia’s royal capital. Compare to G. Ponsonia’s crowded streets, G. Quinbland was well-organized.

These two nations had similar aristocracy, bureaucracy, and even laws and ordinances. But since Quinbland was founded later than Ponsonia, it was smaller overall, and therefore more organized. The empire studied Ponsonia, after all, so it made sense.

「Has there been any word from Unken?」

「There’s no need to be in a hurry, Your Majesty. It has only been a few days since you called for him. Unken’s loyalty is genuine. I’m sure he’ll be back with good news.」

「But that Master Swordsman caused chaos and our army is in disarray. I want to know why Ponsonia retreated when they were winning.」

Even though it was the middle of the night, light illuminated the spacious conference room. Only four men were present: the Prime Minister, the Minister of Military Affairs who wasn’t a military man, the Chief of the Intelligence Department, and the Emperor himself who sat on the most lavish chair gilded with gold.

「It’s only natural that I’m in a hurry.」

About a hundred and fifty centimeters tall, the crown on his head looked too big for him. But it wasn’t because the emperor was young. He was, after all, seventy-two years old. Yet his face, in human standards, looked like that of a university student, or an adult who just started working.

His young appearance and short stature were due to him being a Man Gnome. Not many knew about this. As to why, the previous emperor Balzard—known as a tyrant and even now abhorred not only by the other nations, but the empire’s citizens as well—was, in fact, a Man Gnome. And the present emperor, Kaglai G. Quinbland, was also one.

「I understand how you feel, Your Majesty.」the Prime Minister said.「Anything from Intel Department?」

「We successfully made contact with Unken, but we have no info after that.」the chief answered.

「Come now. You have to know that.」the Minister of Military Affairs criticized. It was the usual from him. The man wanted the Intelligence Department—which was under Internal Affairs—to be transferred to Military Affairs instead.

「Sir Unken is a legendary man known as the Mist Assassin and the Silent Breeze. He’s beyond our grasp.」

「I’m well aware of that. But your job is to keep track of him.」

「It’s fine. I’m the one who summoned Unken, our trump card. It doesn’t matter what he does on the way. As long as he gives us information.」

「Yes, Your Majesty.」

「Our Emperor really is a benevolent man.」

The Chief straightened himself, and the Military Minister rubbed his hands together.

What a foolish man. Even in times of emergency, he can only think about expanding his power. The Prime Minister shot a glare at the Military Minister. Except the Emperor, all three of them were humans.

But was it really necessary to summon him? Unken, a Man Gnome over two hundred years old. The person His Majesty asked to kill his father.

Fifty years ago, the Empire was heading straight into ruins. The people suffered from heavy taxes, and the young ones were conscripted into the army. And yet Emperor Balzard continued to march his legion.

The likelihood of the Empire conquering the Kingdom of Ponsonia was high, but what would happen afterwards? Ponsonia was exhausted from defending. Even if they occupied the Kingdom, it wouldn’t recover rapidly.

If the other nations grouped up and attacked Quinbland then, the Empire was doomed. But there was a reason why foreign countries didn’t come to Ponsonia’s aid.

The matter was settled among the Man Gnome race. Kaglai, who was around twenty years old at the time, requested Unken to kill the Emperor.

It was top-secret information. Among the people present in this room, only the Prime Minister and the Emperor were privy to it. The Chief of the Intel Department and the Military Minister only knew Unken as a relative of the Emperor who excelled in espionage.

According to an expert in constitutional law, Kaglai’s ascendance to the throne lacked legitimacy since he was involved in killing his father and then taking his place afterwards. As such, the official report stated the Emperor died from an illness. Although many nobles in the Empire knew Balzard was assassinated, they thought the assassin was from Ponsonia or other foreign countries.

After Balzard’s death, Kaglai ascended to the throne and stopped the war. After signing a thirty-year non-aggression pact with Ponsonia, the Empire focused on recovery.

Thirty years for a Man Gnome, however, was a short amount of time. Ponsonia might still hold a grudge thirty years later and invade the Empire, but by that time, Quinbland should be prepared as well.

The only thing they failed to consider was the Master Swordsman—a beast in man’s clothing.

His Majesty is doing a great job governing the Empire. And he’s been Emperor even before I worked for the government. I’m sure summoning Unken was the right idea.

The Prime Minister fully supported the Emperor’s decision to rely on Unken for information as to why Ponsonia retreated. He ordered the Chief of Intel to prioritize Unken’s search, all the while watching the Military Minister so he didn’t do anything uncalled-for.

「So a distant relative asked you to kill his father? And that kid is now the Emperor.」Hikaru muttered after hearing Unken’s story.

Nodding, the old man added more.「Only a few people know about this. If word got out, there would surely be a huge backlash from the nobles.」

「Hmm.」

「That’s all you have to say?」

「It’s none of my concern.」Hikaru simply told the truth.

Unken heaved a deep sigh.「You really are one strange kid. What I just told you concerns the central figure of a whole nation.」

「Yet it doesn’t affect me in any way whatsoever.」

「It does, actually.」

「How so?」

「Why do you think I told you such top secret information? Now that you know about it, you’re involved in this as well.」

「You’re kidding, right?」Hikaru scoffed.「I just want to go home before winter begins.」

He really just wanted to go home. He was also curious how the Foundation Anniversary was going.

「Why do you even do all this? You were doing fine in Pond. You’re going to willingly put your life on the line just because a relative called for you?」

「That’s just how Man Gnomes are. We’re both soft and tough on family; everything revolves around family. I wanted to get away from all that, but it seems you can never truly escape from your own blood.」

「Blood, huh…」

Hikaru thought over what Unken said. His body was Roland’s, but with a different soul in it now. And it was this soul that exacted Roland’s revenge for him. But was his soul actually influenced by the body?

No. I killed Count Morgstad on my own will. Not because of something ambiguous like blood ties.

Yet he also thought that perhaps the long-lived Man Gnomes had some sort of strong bonds that humans couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

「You want me to do something?」

「Oh, you’re willing to help? I wouldn’t have expected that. Ninety-percent I thought you’d just go straight home.」

「I’m willing to repay my debts. But I won’t do anything that takes too long to finish.」

「Haha. Payment for teaching you how to dissect? That’s not what you said a while ago.」

「Or I can go home now.」

「I’m just joking. You’re a strange one, all right. You knew about that old story about the rabbit, too.」

The excuse Hikaru used back when he hunted the Red-horned Rabbit. He was surprised when he learned Unken knew about it. It suggested that there were other people like him in this world. His question was answered when he met Selica, so it didn’t matter now.

「What do you want me to do? 」Hikaru asked.

「I want you to deliver a letter.」

「A letter?」

「To the Emperor himself.」

「Why don’t you ask your subordinates?」

「The Empire’s Intel Department is too weak. Besides, the letter is for His Majesty’s eyes only. The Department might keep the information for themselves.」

It should be quite the distance from here to G. Quinbland. Though I won’t have any problem crossing the border and sneaking into the castle.

「I’ll deliver the letter and that’s it. Nothing else. How long would it take? I told you I want to be back before winter.」

「I don’t know where you live.」

「Forestia.」

「Oh? I’m surprised you’re willing to tell me that. I see, Forestia. It’s an unstable country, but probably still better than Ponsonia and Quinbland. If things go well, you should be in Forestzard well before winter.」

「All right. Give me the letter.」

「Thank you.」

「I gotta say, I’m paying a lot for your lesson on dissection.」

Unken chuckled and reached for a piece of paper from his pocket. He quickly started writing.

Hikaru really didn’t care one bit about the war between Quinbland and Ponsonia. In fact, he only tagged along with Alice so he could see her master’s Soul Board stats. He did realize it was Unken along the way. His priority then changed and he wanted to know what the old man was doing here.

So why did he take this annoying errand?

He’s ready to die.

Hikaru had no idea what Unken wrote, but he knew that Unken wasn’t planning on coming back alive. Perhaps it was because he was aware that he didn’t have much longer to live considering his age, or maybe it was his loyalty to the Empire; it could also have something to do with his family—either way, Hikaru had no way of knowing. He had only one guess.

He’s going to assassinate the King of Ponsonia.

This was completely different from killing the Emperor. The old man killed him in his own land and with the help of the next ruler. Now he would have to sneak into an unfamiliar castle and kill the king without any prior rehearsal. It was only natural that he was prepared to die.

If he died, all they would know was that he worked as the Pond Adventurers Guild’s guildmaster. No one would find out about his real identity. He probably resigned beforehand to avoid problems too.

Should I tell him Lawrence and the others are trying to put the princess on the throne?

Hikaru thought better of it. What good would it do to tell him? In fact, Unken might even want to kill the king even more. Things would go much more smoothly if the king was assassinated and Lawrence supported the princess as the next ruler rather than staging a coup.

There was nothing Hikaru could do now.

「And done.」Unken handed him a sealed letter. Glued, there was no way to check the contents. Hikaru put it away in his bag.

「I’m counting on you.」

「Aight.」

The wrinkles on Unken’s face ran deep. He looked like a crusty old man, but this time he gave a faint smile.

「Hikaru. With your abilities, the world will not leave you alone—whether you like it or not. You should keep that in mind.」

「I gotcha.」

Hikaru simply took the advice—not refuting, nor denying it. It felt like Unken’s farewell gift to him.

Unken disappeared, and so did Hikaru. The two parted ways without a word of goodbye.

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