Kays Translations

Chapter 175: Farce

“A hawk was sent from the Plazzo Trading Company, but don’t you think the response was a bit too quick?”

“And just at that moment, Matsumoto-dono happened to be in Inotia? How convenient.”

“Is there even any proof that the hawk came? After all, it’s a foreign trading company. Even if it did come, we have no way of knowing what it carried.”

The emergency meeting had been going on for about fifteen minutes.

As expected, the topic was the suspicion that the Klaufeldt family might be involved in the Plazzo invasion orchestrated by someone named Avalushi.

Duke Yaderud, who had called the emergency meeting, along with Marquis Subulmit and Count Discaf, were proudly raising these doubts.

“Regarding the visit to Inotia, it occurred after visits to the territories of His Excellency Margrave Balsham and Count Eriksen. This was not a scheduled visit, so coordinating the timing was impossible.”

 Selfers calmly responded to the raised suspicions.

“The swift response was thanks to the performance of the new vehicle, the magic-powered car, designed by Matsumoto-dono. As for the Zambrotta Trading Company, while it’s a foreign company, it’s one of the top companies in our allied country, Plazzo, and is highly trustworthy.”

“Such reasons can be fabricated as much as needed.”

“I heard the Zambrotta Trading Company is a newly emerging business. Can we really trust it, even if it is a major company?”

The side of Duke Yaderud continued to oppose Selfers’ responses, maintaining their stance.

It was fundamentally challenging to prove something hadn’t been done, often referred to as proving a negative. Typically, the burden of proof lies with the accuser.

Despite this principle, Duke Yaderud’s side only pursued each individual doubt without making clear what they aimed to uncover, as time continued to pass.

(This is absurd.)

Isamu, who had been granted special permission to attend as a concerned party, sat behind Selfers, feeling utterly exasperated by the farce.

For nearly thirty minutes, the futile argument had dragged on. Just as the other nobles present seemed ready to intervene, an unexpected figure spoke up.

“Enough with the minutiae, Alexei. What are you trying to say? What do you say Selfers is to trying to do?” 

The one who hadn’t spoken a word since the meeting began, King Nerlich Staleen, looked at Alexei.

“My apologies, Your Majesty. First and foremost, I wanted to inform everyone here about Lord Klaufeldt’s suspicious activities…”

Without any sign of remorse, Alexei responded to King Nerlich’s comment.

“Very well, I’ll be direct. Lord Klaufeldt is conspiring with the border Margraves and foreign enemies to betray our country. The recent turmoil involving the magic giant golem is part of this scheme.”

“Absurd!”

“How dare you!”

“Watch your tongue!”

“Do you even understand what you are saying?”

The three border Margraves and Eleonora, accused of conspiracy, stood up, unable to conceal their anger.

“…Calm down.”

“But Your Majesty!”

“I said, calm down.”

“Ugh…”

King Nerlich’s admonition diffused the imminent confrontation, and the Margraves reluctantly took their seats.

“Now, Alexei. You must have some basis for such serious allegations, do you not?”

With a sharp glare, King Nerlich urged Alexei to continue.

“Of course.”

Alexei’s explanation was as follows:

The enemy nation had unearthed something resembling a magic giant golem from ruins. Learning that a large quantity of non-attribute magic stones was needed to operate it, they secretly contacted the Klaufeldt family. They proposed a deal: supply the stones in exchange for a significant reward.

However, even non-attribute magic stones are strategic resources, strictly controlled and restricted for export to enemy or quasi-enemy nations by the country. While a small amount could be handled, providing a large quantity was not feasible.

Therefore, the enemy nation first mobilized as many magic giant golems as they could with their current stock, attacking Plazzo under the name of Avalushi and issuing a statement. 

The optimal outcome would be acceptance of their terms. 

If not, and it came to a fight, Klaufeldt would secretly bring the necessary stones, join the punitive force, and betray them at the opportune moment, annihilating the force along with the enemy.

Subsequently, with ample magic stones, the enemy would conquer Plazzo. 

Simultaneously, the border Margrves would rise up, using the provided magic giant golems to carry out a coup.

“After that, the enemy country would recognize Lord Klaufeldt as the new king and form an alliance, or perhaps agree to partition Plazzo as compensation… something along those lines.”

Alexei continued speaking with a calm demeanor.

“I’ve thought it strange for some time. The border Margrave family, which has always remained unaffiliated, suddenly forming a faction centered around the Klaufeldt family, which has nothing but useless magic stones, even if Matsumoto-dono is exceptionally talented…”

“Are you suggesting that we formed a faction to stage a coup?”

Nazario glared fiercely at Alexei.

“I’m not going that far, and maybe I’ve got the order wrong… but isn’t that a major objective now?”

“Ridiculous… It’s all just your delusion! What evidence do you have for such claims?”

“Oh, is that so? Then please explain the purpose of the recent inexplicable series of events. At least my conjecture makes sense, don’t you think?”

“Nonsense. Assuming that this whole business with Avalushi is connected is absurd in itself.”

Nazario dismissed Alexei’s claims.

However, despite the lack of concrete evidence, Alexei’s hypothesis was coherent and carried a certain degree of persuasiveness.

“Even if what you say is true, what’s the objective? I can’t imagine Selfers or Nazario trying to become king.”

King Nerlich, who had been observing the situation, inquired.

“Well… even I don’t know that. I’ve never considered betraying my country.”

Alexei continued, shrugging his shoulders.

“If I had to speculate… perhaps to flaunt their power, or to make a fortune from the so-called worthless magic stones? Even secretly selling non-attribute magic stones at a high price and securing a promise from the enemy not to invade would be sufficiently profitable.”

“I see.”

“May I ask something as well?”

After confirming that King Nerlich had nothing more to say, Isamu, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“Is it true that the magic giant golem was excavated from the ruins in the rock desert?”

“I don’t know exactly where it was excavated, but there’s a legend that Avalushi used a magic giant golem in that area. That’s why I mentioned it.”

“Thank you. One more question: where did you get the information that the magic giant golem operates on non-attribute magic stones?”

“…This is also speculation. The bandits using the magic giant golem demanded non-attribute magic stones. It’s natural to think that way. Or perhaps you told the Avalushi people about it?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone from this so-called Avalushi… Thank you for your answers.”

After receiving answers to his two questions, Isamu sat back down.

There was no active debate over the ambiguous topic that followed, and King Nerlich moved to conclude the meeting.

“At this point, there is no evidence to support Alexei’s claims. However, it is also true that there is no clear evidence to refute them. Continuing this discussion seems unlikely to yield a conclusion…”

King Nerlich paused and looked around at the gathered nobles.

After confirming that there were no further objections or opinions, he spoke again.

“Given the precarious situation in Plazzo, keeping key figures of national defense here in the capital is a loss. Therefore, I, the king, will take charge of this matter. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes,” came the collective response.

Both Alexei, who made the accusations, and Selfers, who was accused, quietly bowed their heads in agreement.

“Return to your territories promptly and maintain vigilance over Plazzo, the so-called Avalushi bandits, and other nations. Especially Lubinda and Samuel, who are near the Plazzo border, must be extra cautious.”

“Understood.”

“However, Alexei and Selfers, as the involved parties, will remain in the royal castle for a while. We cannot risk evidence being tampered with or fabricated, so we will keep you here.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, this meeting is adjourned.”

Thus, without any concrete results, the farcical emergency council ended abruptly.

—

“What is that brat trying to achieve?!”

Nazario slammed the table in frustration.

Although some time had passed since returning from the royal castle, his anger had not subsided.

“I expected a more aggressive impeachment, but it ended quite tamely.”

Isamu seemed somewhat perplexed.

“Indeed. Even though the king took charge, they readily complied. It seemed like they knew from the start that a conviction was unlikely.”

“Exactly! Why summon us in this busy time just for that…?”

“Yes. This might be a case where the means and the ends are reversed…”

“Hmm. Are you suggesting the purpose was to gather the high-ranking nobles in the capital?”

“Yes. Whether it was targeting specific nobles or all high-ranking ones, just being criticized would only damage their reputation.”

“Indeed. Even though Selfers is detained, if the goal was to convict us, it was a complete failure.”

Lubinda folded his arms and pondered.

“Yes. Given their attitude, it seemed like the outcome of the trial was secondary. The real purpose remains a mystery, though.”

Isamu said with a wry smile.

“But we did learn a few things.”

“Oh? From your final questions?”

“Yes. The bandits calling themselves Avalushi are either from Zun or Kempbach, and Alexei knows this.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“First, Avalushi is almost unknown outside the west. Even the diligent Annemarie didn’t know about it. Yet Alexei confidently claimed that Avalushi operated in the rock desert using magic giant golems.”

In Alexei’s initial explanation, he had only mentioned “ruins,” but Isamu had deliberately rephrased it as “ruins in the rock desert” during his question.

Alexei had accepted this without question and confirmed the Avalushi’s presence and activity in that area.

Moreover, while legends spoke of many large men, they never specifically mentioned magic giant golems.

“We happened to find a part with the Avalushi emblem at the ruins, which linked Avalushi to the magic giant golems, but it’s unlikely others would reach that conclusion so easily.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. We took it for granted because we heard it from Isamu…”

“Unless someone is well-versed in the history of the western region, it’s hard to imagine that person having such detailed knowledge. And another point: they also knew that the magic giant golem operates on non-attribute magic stones.”

It’s reasonable for anyone to think that a magic giant golem is a kind of magic tool.

However, for someone in this world of Ethersia to deduce that it operates on non-attribute magic stones without prior knowledge is almost impossible.

Recently, alternative uses for non-attribute magic stones have become known and their prices have begun to rise, but they are still generally considered substitutes.

“Only someone who has actually operated one would know that. Yet, they mentioned using a large quantity. Isn’t it unreasonable to call that mere speculation?”

“We also heard it from Isamu… but yes, indeed.”

“If that’s the case, doesn’t that imply they themselves are secretly connected to the enemy country? Why didn’t you say this during the meeting?”

“Even if I did, they’d likely evade the accusation. There’s no proof. Plus, without understanding their motive, it’s difficult to act. So, while acknowledging the risk, I decided to observe for a bit longer. Since Alexei has moved, there should be some action soon.”

“I see, so you let them go to gather more information…”

“Yes. I feel bad for Selfers-san, though.”

Isamu shrugged apologetically.

“It’s frustrating to be reacting passively, but there’s no other choice. What should we do in the meantime? Preparations are necessary, right?”

Nazario furrowed his brow as he asked Isamu.

“First, we need to mass-produce magic tools to counter the magic giant golems. We found out that regular weapons are ineffective.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes. Those with your level of combat ability might manage to some extent, but regular knights would struggle. And the enemy likely has numbers.”

“I see.”

“We also want to mass-produce magic cars. Superior march speed and logistics can provide a significant advantage, and it will greatly improve domestic transportation and communication.”

“Indeed. The ride to the capital was extraordinary.”

“I’d like each territory to set up secret workshops for this purpose. We’ll share the magic circle designs.”

“Understood.”

“The Klaufeldt territory alone can’t meet the production demand… However, if this leaks to the enemy, including domestic opposing factions, it would be disastrous. So, we need to ensure strict security.”

“Got it. We’ll enforce strict confidentiality.”

“Thank you. Meanwhile, I’ll work on decoding the magic giant golem parts we brought back and experimenting with various items using the materials we discovered.”

Despite bringing them back, the investigation of the magic giant golem parts had been largely untouched due to constant movement.

This would be an opportunity to start a detailed analysis and to experiment with the abundant metal-rich materials found.

However, by the next morning, this plan would already fall apart.

A magic giant golem had attacked Klaufendam—

A hawk carrying this urgent message flew into the headquarters of the Zambrotta Trading Company in the capital of the Kingdom of Staleen.

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