Текст книги "Overlord - The Man in the Kingdom - Part 2"

Автор книги: Maruyama Kugane

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

All of the flies coated in the white mist fell out of the air, then the mist engulfed Entoma. In that moment, Entoma felt unbearably intense pain.

“Uwaaaaaaahhhh!”

The entomomancer maid’s face steamed as if acid had been splash on it.

At first the objective had been to nullify the opponent’s gas spittle, and they hadn’t expected that it would even reveal the enemy’s true face…

“Hey, hey, could this be our chance?”

Gagaran who had assumed a fighting stance with her war pick and searched for an opportunity to decisively end the fight. If she had realistically estimated her opponent’s strength, it was necessary to end the fight in one fell swoop.

Gagaran did not pursue with an attack because the ten-metre long giant insect whip began to move violently, not permitting her to get any closer. However, this was nothing but the spasming of a defeated person.

“This...what kind of magic is it?”

Evileye replied to Entoma’s question.

“Insecticide magic ‘Vermin Bane’. Two hundred years ago there was an insect demon god, and this magic was developed for the purpose of repelling the insects used by that individual. Well, it’s an original magic I came up with.”

“Hey! It should be harmless for us right?”

“Harmless indeed. It is especially effective on insects, but doesn’t cause the slightest harm to other organisms.”

“...Her face has melted.”

“Tia, that is her true face… Huh! No, that’s not the face!”

As Evileye shouted out, the maid’s entire face fell off, like a scene where the facial skin had been stripped off and dropped onto the ground. There was a difference though. The facial skin which fell onto the ground had many insect legs on the backside.

“That can’t be… it’s a mask shaped insect…”

“kAHoooOOoH!”

The maid’s throat exposed itself. A single crack appeared in the seemingly hard throat, and a large liquid chunk of matter fell out. It looked like vomit, but the biggest distinction from that was the fact that this object was still crawling on the ground.

“What the…”

This really was startling, even for Evileye who was stunned by surprise. It was the first time she had seen such a sight in her long existence.

“—Lip insect.”

Tia exclaimed towards the mucus-covered leech-like creature which had fallen on the stone-paved road.

“An insect which consumes human vocal chords and imitate the voice of its victims.”

The front end of the flesh coloured leech had a section which looked like a human’s lips. With an “ah, ah”, it gave out the maid’s cute voice.

In full gaze of everybody, the maid’s hands which covered her face slowly lowered, revealing an appearance that was exactly the same as an insect’s.

The frightful appearance made the Blue Rose members involuntarily take a step backwards. Although they had already experienced terror when the mask insect fell off due to the insecticide magic, this sight ignited their fear again.

A monster from beyond this world had invaded. They couldn’t help but feel a shadow cast over this world.

“yoU ACTUallY, YoU actUally Dare…”

The rigid voice difficult to listen to.

“Didn’t her voice become rather cute? Personally, I rather like this voice.”

Gagaran’s hostility was on the verge of eruption. She was the most humane member of the Blue Rose.  She was filled with an emotion as she prayed for the soul of the young girl who was sacrificed to give the mouth-lip insect a voice and clenched her weapon even tighter.

“hOw dArE YoU MeRe hUmAnS AaAaAhHhHh!”

In previous battles she had always fought her enemy with ease. However at this moment she didn’t have such a leisurely spirit.

Well, there was no longer any need to hold back. Time to commence a fierce attack.

“The real battle starts now! Neither of you two should relax! Prepare to launch even more fierce attacks than before!”

Evileye cautioned the other two, but they had already predicted this before she had spoken. To ready their resolve for a fight to the death!

The insect maid’s back suddenly burst out, and four spider legs extended from beneath her clothing. This posture looked as if her back had sprouted new legs.

With these newborn feet, she jumped extremely high. For anyone looking, they would have drawn the conclusion that this was the effect of flight magic.

From above, the monster spat carnivorous flies at the people.

Clicking her tongue, Evileye casted ‘Vermin Bane’ once more.

“OnLy To yOu GuYs! i WIlL Show YOu WhaT TRUe TERrOR MEAnS! aftER KIlliNG YOu GuYS i WiLl TUrN You AlL into COrpse DoLLs!”

As soon as they had reached the ground, the carnivorous flies were completely obliterated. The insect maid used her compound eyes to glare at Evileye’s true face. Indeed, only Evileye was comparable in strength to this monster. If Evileye were to lose, then needless to say victory would be impossible, and both Gagaran and Tia would be massacred. However, it would be foolish to just focus on one thing.

Gagaran’s spiked war pick came from the side.

Even if Evileye had an advantage, they could not afford to waste opportunities against such a powerful opponent.

She knew that it was very probable that she would suffer serious injuries if she was intercepted. That was why she chose to fight alongside her companions. Evileye smiled at them from under her mask. If she were to be unmasked, others would definitely make fun of her smile.

The monster which was about to evade Gagaran’s strike suddenly stopped moving. That was because of Tia’s ninjutsu skill, ‘Immobility Binding Paralysis’. The monster had a high level of resistance, more like a nullifying ability, so it was impossible to seal its movements completely. However creating an opening even for a brief moment would be sufficient support for Gagaran.

The monster spat out white silk enhanced with ‘Powerful Strike’ from her mouth. There was enough to dye Gagaran’s upper body white.

Gagaran found it difficult to break out from the rigid and adhesive spider silk by herself. Her attack was interrupted, and she staggered as she retreated. In contrast, the monster came towards her.

“「Crystal Lance」!”

Although it had embedded deep in Entoma, she did not appear to be in huge amount of pain. She calmly summoned insects which appeared from the darkness and gathered densely on her wrist in a bulging mass.

“「Vermin Bane」!”

The white gas blew over and the insects fell one by one. The monster involuntarily let out an excruciating cry of pain.

The mouth in the equivalent place of a human’s lower jaw spat out the same kind of spider silk towards Evileye as it did to Gagaran.

If I used magic to block this, it would simply be a waste of magic power. Since I can nullify any restraining magic. I can probably take this shot– wait, this isn't—

In a panic, Evileye activated her magic. Yes indeed silky material was spat out, but compared to the ones which were shot towards Gagaran, these threads exuded a rigid radiance.

“「Crystal Wall」!”

The crystal barrier in front of her split apart as if it had been cut apart by a sharp blade, and shattered into nothingness.

“Is that a slashing spider web!?”

“A present for you!”

The black wire mesh Tia threw expanded in mid-air, but failed to envelop the monster. Entoma simply passed through it like a phantom.

“Sure enough, she’s immune to any obstructing techniques!”

“Bah! Combat formation time!”

In order to maintain a distance from the battle maid who was closing in on her, Gagaran, kicked with the intention of pushing away her opponent.

Her boot collided with the maid, creating an astonishing metallic sound.

Gagaran retreated while focusing on maintaining the distance whilst joining up with the rest of the Blue Rose members. They gathered while paying careful attention for any area of effect attack.

"ChIKu, cHIkU, tHesE AtTAcks ...... So AnNOyiNg!!"

Whilst observing the maid’s jaw mouth which was muttering non-stop, Gagaran whispered to Evileye:

“Did you hear that sound just now? Her maid costume is just as hard as my armor; truly unbelievable.”

“It must be woven together with sturdy metal wires. Considering how thin it is, its hardness must be far above that.”

“Adamantite… looks like it is far above that too.”

“Oh, so it’s not just at the same level? The equipment is of such an unimaginably high quality that my earth magic is not of much use. She’s probably wearing equipment that reduces magic damage, too. Specialized attacks probably won’t affect her that much..”

“That means?”

Tia’s doubt made Evileye smile under her mask.

“We’ll finish this head on with overwhelming fire power.”

“That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? How do we pull it off? We are done for if we don’t act soon. It also uses talismans to strengthen itself.

“Everybody use your own most powerful technique! I’m going to use the insecticide magic.”

“...That’s easy to understand. Well, let’s go for our final strike.”

Although they said they would strike with overwhelming firepower in a single strike, in reality it was not that simple.

In general Evileye used ‘Sand Field: One’ or ‘Region Petrification’ to hinder the enemy, and support the warriors, but these methods would not work against that maid.

If they wanted to inflict damage, it would best to leave it to warriors like Gagaran to inflict physical damage. Evileye only needed to come up with contingency plan in case this strategy did not work. She had always believed focusing purely on attack magic was wrong, but the situation called for a desperate measure,

Magic casters that rely purely on magic to attack are second rate. This is what I personally think, but this time I will have to compromise.

Evileye began to adjust herself to the magic she was about to use.

Even though ‘Shard Buck Shots’ was the most effective method of attack, but her teammates would also be caught in the area of effect. The mana consumption of her original spell, ‘Vermin Bane’ was extremely large and was best reserved for when the opponent was about to summon insects. This meant that right now the most appropriate kind of skill to use was the hated acid-type magic.

The three exchanged a brief glance, confirming that their preparations were complete, and attacked together.

Evileye used ‘Acid Splash’ as her main attack whereas Tia, who had weaker firepower, mainly relied on her supporting items. Gagaran continuously activated martial arts, executing an unending barrage of attacks.

After a while, the tide of battle began to shift.

The opponent was indeed incredibly strong. Many types of spider webs, talisman-based magic attacks and summoned insects were launched in her offensive attack. Not to mention that her magic items were more powerful than those possessed by the members of Blue Rose.

Eventhough the number of consumables like recovery potions were starting to run out,  the insect maid steadily began to retreat.

If one was to ask what had caused the tide of battle to shift in her favour, Evileye would puff out her chest and reply “Companions!”

There was no doubt that Gagaran, Tia and Evileye were of an inferior race compared to this monster, but they still created opportunities nonetheless. Being able to attack and recover at the same time created a favourable situation.

In particular, having the means to do self-recovery and having supporting recovery through teammates was an enormous advantage. Gradually the situation became certain.

“As long as we don’t screw up, we can beat her like this!”

 

Part 3

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) 4th Day, 22:27

The outcome of the battle.

Finally, the insect maid collapsed to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Evileye’s mana consumption had been severe, and her consumables were almost depleted. From an economic standpoint, she was in a serious amount of debt.

“We’ve won!”

Gagaran who was covered in wounds declared their victory with heavy breaths. Not a single recovery potion was left, and she had external injuries, but her physical stamina was still holding up.

“Stab her throat.”

“Yes.”

Evileye agreed with Tia’s suggestion. The dying insect maid was still alive, as evidenced by the maid making chirping “Yeeh yeeh” sounds.

In this situation where it had already lost its ability to fight, the safest and most secure thing to do was to kill it without hesitation.

Tia who had taken up her sword and gone forward suddenly froze. Before Evileye could even ask “What is it?”, she already knew the reason for why she had stopped her movements.

“How about we end this right here.”

Unbelievably, and without anyone knowing when he had appeared, a man stood in front of the insect maid.

He wore strange clothing which had never been seen before. In Evileye’s knowledge, this was a set of garments which was worn in the south – a full suit. He also wore a mask which made it impossible to see his face.

However he was not human. A tail sprouted from his waist.

“Hey, a relative of Evileye?”

You idiot! Evileye hesitated. His dominating presence hit her as if her entire body had been struck by lightning. If she were to look at her right hand, she would discover that it was covered in sweat.

“—Are you alright? Leave the rest to me. You go back first to recuperate.”

He ignored the armed Blue Rose members standing in front of him and spoke in a kind tone to the insect maid. Although he was the enemy, he gave others a good impression of himself. However, Evileye knew that this wasn’t the case.

The tingling sense of fear reached the tip of her very toes, and this feeling was very real.

With her survival instincts screaming at her, she held her breath then spoke with a grim determination to Gagaran and Tia who were standing to one side.

“...Escape! ...Fools, ignore the fact that I am here and listen quietly. That… is an overwhelmingly powerful existence. A monster amongst monsters. No matter what happens behind you, use your full strength to escape.”

“...Then what about you?”

Gagaran asked with a bitter voice.

“Don’t worry about that. I will drag this out until you escape, then immediately use ‘Teleport’ to get out of here.”

Not knowing what she had done, the injured insect maid which was not supposed to be able to move unsteadily stood up. She was not seen using any healing magic, nor did it seem like she had consumed any item.

Out of nowhere an insect appeared which attached itself to the insect maid’s back. Leaving behind a few “yeeh yeeh” sounds, she flew away into the night.

Helplessly watching her escape, Evileye was unable to take any action because of this man standing in front of her. The other two were the same, with their foreheads drenched in sweat and their bodies petrified, unable to move.

After watching the maid depart, the man turned towards Evileye.

Having lived for over two-hundred and fifty years, she had come across powerful beings of all sorts. Even so, the aura he gave out was exceptional. No, this was a nauseating and revolting maliciousness which, compared to others, was at an impossible level.

As a powerful being, he should be at the same level as the Platinum Dragon Lord right? Because he is far too powerful, it is already unclear which is stronger.

“You’ve waited long enough. Now then, since time is tight, shall we begin right away?”

“Quick! Escape!!!”

Evileye cried out.

The two turned around and fled like wild dogs. There was no way that they did not feel guilty about leaving a companion behind. It was precisely because of this guilt that they had only chosen to escape immediately after Evileye had finished speaking. Trust! If it was Evileye, anything could be done. If it was Evileye, escape should be possible!

However this thought was immediately overturned.

“Firstly, don’t leave during introductions. It’s not that painful, let me block your transfer,

「Dimensional Lock」. Giving a greeting before departing is the proper etiquette, and delightful.”

This was a skill which could only be used by the highest ranking devils or angels, and had the area effect of preventing anyone in the surrounding from using transfer magic. Evileye and her team’s retreating strategy was rendered useless.

However this was not the main problem. They knew since the beginning that the best strategy would be to leave someone behind as rearguard, and that it was impossible for that person to return alive.

“Death is also natural. The young survive whereas the elderly die. That is the proper course of nature.”

With a life experience of more than two hundred years, the girl bid her farewell as she provoked the opponent in front of her which she stood no chance against.

“Now then, ladies first. But if you plan to do nothing, allow me to make my attack.”

A terrifying amount of murderous intent spewed out from between his words. Evileye mentally collected herself, expelling the sense of dread from inside of her.

I am Evileye. A woman of legends. No matter how strong the enemy is– fight!

“Such kind intentions, then I shall act pre-emptively! Eat this! 「Maximize Magic: Shard Buck Shots」!”

She used the spell she was proud of from the outstart. Many crystals smaller than the size of a fist shot out in a scattered pattern.

These were crystal fragments with sharp front ends. Originally it would be used in close-quarter combat to inflict enormous harm, but it was unclear how to get close to this archdevil in front of them.

Although she had hardened her resolve, she still held herself back a bit. Evileye mocked herself. The enemy’s strength was unknown, so fighting cautiously was only natural.

The masked devil opened his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. The hail of crystal bullets arrived in front of him– and the magic spell disappeared. The magic disappeared so fast that it was as if it had never existed.

“Is that a racial talent, magic invalidation!? Or is it because the difference in strength is actually this large!?”

If there was a significant gap in strength, magic would easily be rendered ineffective.

Ignoring Evileye who had made a mistake on her first move, the man elegantly stretched his arms out sideways in a stance similar to that of a commander and acted:

“「Hellfire Wall」.”

The heatwave pounced in a direction behind her. The incredulous Evileye frantically looked backwards.

With a swishing noise, the night combusted and black flames which could not possibly exist burned.

They surrounded the fleeing Gagaran and Tia who struggled momentarily before gradually falling onto the ground like garbage. The flames disappeared as if they had been an illusion all along, and the two had already stopped moving and breathing. She strongly suppressed her own desire to immediately rush over to check their conditions. Evileye deeply understood the meaning behind the phrase ‘not daring to believe, yet impossible to deny reality’. That was a fatal injury. With a single strike, her companions, with whom she had gone through thick and thin, had been slaughtered.

She gritted her teeth, not letting herself make any sorrowful sounds.

“I merely tried to stop them with all my strength, but they were weaker than I had imagined and died from flames of that degree. Please accept my remorse.”

As if he was apologetic from the bottom of his heart, the man bowed deeply. Such an attitude made Evileye unable to suppress her own emotions.

What could possibly be the reason for him to disregard Evileye, who was the opponent in front of him that launched an attack, and instead strike at the two persons behind her? Escape was indeed one of the reasons, but in addition to that there was another.

He knew clearly just how big the difference strength between us was, and knew that I posed no threat to him whatsoever. But in reality… he did not even regard the person in front of him to be ‘the enemy’.

Since they were fleeing in front of him, he killed them first. The train of thought was just that simple.

“...So difficult. Dying from such a degree of injury, I can’t use you as the standard of measure... Why would you team up with those that are weaker? If you didn’t do this, wouldn’t you be able to challenge even higher-level areas?”

“—You! You! You! You are not permitted to say this!!! Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!”

This was not a cry of sorrow but a howl of anger. Full of hatred and shouting loudly, Evileye ran forward. It would be more accurate to say that she used magic power to glide through the air. Injecting magic into her fist, she accumulated “invalidation” and “difficult resistance” melee magic.

The devil raised his hand to receive the blow.

“Aspect of the Devil: Archdemon’s Wrist.”

The devil’s wrist expanded multiple times and the enlarged arm hung down until it reached the ground. That cracking noise was not because it was inflated with air, but because it had turned into an extremely hard lethal weapon.

With the lethal weapon blocking the front, Evileye’s advance was stopped. Her heart wavered for a moment, but immediately she hardened her resolve to seize this opportunity!

The enormous wrist closed in on Evileye. With a speed beyond imagination, it was like a huge wall stretching endlessly within sight. As it was unavoidable, Evileye made a split-second decision and activated her defensive magic.

“「Translocation Damage」!”

Darkness covered her sight at the same time as she was sent flying by a strong impact, making her disorientated and not knowing where she was. Her body was thrown onto the stone-paved road and bounced up like a ball before being sent flying by another impact.

But there was – no damage.

Evileye activated the magic ‘Flight’ and flew up in an awkward and unnatural posture.

She had not been injured, but if she had not used a spell that turned physical damage into mana loss, she would have already been dead.

“「Enhanced Maximize Magic: Crystal Dagger」!”

A larger crystal dagger than the one before appeared in mid-air and shot out! This sword did purely physical damage and could not be resisted. On top of this, by further applying special magic skills, it was able to easily break through defences.

Without evading, the devil took the attack head on. Although he had received magic with the greatest damage output, not the slightest effect could be seen on the devil.

“...No injury even when defense shattering magic was applied? ...It is a superior devil exceeding imagination… No, even greater than the demon king! It should be the Demon God King right?”

Although a king wasn’t necessarily stronger than everything else, it was common sense in this world that having this as part of the name meant that it was the strongest of the race. Humans were basically the only ones where the weak could proclaim themselves as king.

“Aspect of the Devil: Razor Sharp Claw.”

The devil’s claws elongated, stretching beyond eighty centimetres. Evileye could not help feeling that these claws were unstoppable and could tear anything in the world apart.

I can’t retrieve those two’s corpses and get away. Even if others arrived, they would not be strong enough to face this person. I can at least move away from the battlefield and make it easier for others to discover their corpses...

The corners of Evileye’s mouth curled upwards.

The worst scenario would be allowing Lakyus, who was able to use revival magic, to meet this devil. That could never be allowed to happen.

“I’m coming!”

Just as Evileye was bracing herself to charge forward– a sharp sound rang out as something fell in between the two of them.

Unable to withstand the weight, cracks appeared on the stone paved road and dust billowed about.

There, with his body bent over because of the impact of landing, stood a single warrior.

The serene moonlight reflected off the dark armour, causing it to flash with a dazzling beautiful radiance. A cloak, as red as a burning flame, billowed in the night air. Both hands were separately grasping gigantic swords which shone with an incredible brilliant light.

Slowly, the dark warrior stood up. His body build was tall, about the same height as the devil. However that divine radiance made the devil retract his body, and Evileye caught a glimpse of the powerful demon turn fearful at the moment that the dark warrior had appeared. That expression was as if he had seen something beyond his imagination.

In the silence, Evileye heard the sound of saliva being gulped. This sound was from the devil. The devil which had exceeded Evileye’s imagination was holding in its breath in front of this burly warrior.

A cold, penetrating voice pierced through the darkness.

“Let’s see… who is my enemy?”

Intermission

Translator: Skythewood

Editors/Proofreaders: TaintedDream, Namorax, Ferro, SifaV6, JcqC, Rockgollem, ZackTan

A room that befits the extravagant description.

The red carpet that covered the entire room was so soft you could feel your feet sinking into it. Two chairs were placed inside the room, made from high quality wood carved in the style of French Rococo, the black chairs gleaming in a way unique to treated leather.

The man on the chair stretched his legs and laid back into his seat.

A pretty face. If someone sketched his appearance perfectly, that would be how others think of him.

His blonde hair reflected the magical illumination, just like the shine of the stars. His clear purple eyes were like amethysts, tempting the people who looked at him.

However, people who actually saw him in person would have a different impression other than a pretty face. Basked in his aura of a natural leader that had nothing to do with his face, no one would have a different impression.

And that, was one of a ‘ruler’.

He was Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix.

The reigning emperor at the age of 22, feared by the aristocrats and respected by the citizens, the most talented emperor of all times. He was also the one who purged the nobles within the Empire, a man feared by the neighbouring country as the Bloody Emperor.

There were four other men aside from Jircniv in the room, but all of them stood as still as statues .

Jircniv shifted his eyes away from the paper he had been reading and gazed into the distance. As if there was a blackboard before him, he started writing his thoughts on it.

Jircniv exhaled with his nose shortly after. That was either a mocking or curious noise.

The information he received from the Kingdom was something that made him show such an attitude.

At that moment—

Without any knocking, the door opened.

This impudent action made the servants lower their stance and watch the door with hostility. But after confirming the identity of the one entering, they lowered their guard.

The one entering was an old man half their height with a long white beard. He still had a full head of snow white hair.

His age was shown on his face as wrinkles, and the light of wisdom could be seen in his eyes. On his neck was a necklace made with numerous crystal balls.

On his dried up fingers were several plain rings. The loose white robe he wore was made from a very soft material.

This was the image of a magic caster for those who were ignorant.

“—It would be hard to accomplish.”

The old man walking slowly into the room said this with a liveliness that didn’t match his appearance. Jircniv simply shifted his curious gaze.

“What is the matter, gramps?”

“I investigated, and discovered that it is impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

“... Your Imperial Majesty, magic has to follow the laws of this world too. Researching knowledge—”

“Ahh, I get it, I get it.” Jircniv waved his hands disinterestedly.

“Your lecture is too long, gramps. Instead, can you get straight to the point?”

“... If the man named Ainz Ooal Gown does really exist, and he possesses magic items or the ability to avoid detection, then we can presume that he is a mage of a similar or higher level than me.”

With the exception of the emperor and the old man, the tension in the room raised several notches.

To be on par with the highest tier magic caster in the history of the Empire, ‘Tri-arts’ Fluder Paradyne, they couldn’t believe their ears.

“I see now, is that why you are so happy, old man?”

“Of course. It has been more than two hundred years since I last saw an arcane magic caster who was my equal, or more powerful than me..”

“You met one two hundred years ago?”

The words driven by the curiosity of the Emperor threw the thoughts of the top court magician to the distant past.

“That'd be so. One of the thirteen heroes from the legends, necromancer Rigrit Bers Caurau, a great figure. She was probably the best of the thirteen heroes.”

“But right now, is gramps more powerful than she was as an arcane magic caster?

Fluder’s eyes seemed to be lost as if he was glancing into the distance.

“Well… I have already reached a higher plane than her… Though I don’t have hard evidence. There are no right answers in the law of magic.”

In contrast to his movement of stroking his beard while speaking, his words were full of confidence. He then raised an eyebrow.

“Are you hoping that Ainz Ooal Gown has that kind of value?”

Jircniv smiled and chose a piece of paper from the few scattered on the couch, and stretched his hand over.

He felt baffled, but Fluder still caught and scanned the paper.

“Oh.”

That was the entirety of Fluder’s comment. But his sage-like appearance changed drastically. A fire burned brightly in his eyes, like those of a famished beast.

“I see, so that’s what this Ainz Ooal Gown, whom your Imperial Majesty is looking for, has done? This is really intriguing. They could probably hold their own against the special unit of the Theocracy with just the two of them… Hmm. I want to meet him and discuss about magic with him.”

On the paper was detailed what Gazef Stronoff said before the king, it even included the comments of the official taking down the minutes.

“Your Imperial Majesty, who did you dispatch to that village?”

“I didn’t go that far. It is too obvious to send people over.”

“...Send my disciple… No, if this report is true, we should try to build a cordial relationship if possible.”

“That’s the idea, gramps. If he is a man we can put under our control, I will welcome him to the Empire.”

“That will be for the best. In order to glimpse into the abyss of magic, all sorts of knowledge are needed. If possible, I would like to meet a pioneer.”