Kingdom (5)
I hated everything.
I couldn't understand any of the situations surrounding me, and I just continued to wander in the snowy winter.
Back then, I was like an extra on a broken stage.
What should I live for?
I didn't know.
There was nothing to protect, and nothing I wanted to protect.
So, I repeated self-destructive days, aimlessly wandering through the snow-covered plains.
"Haa, haa..."
That day was no different.
I was covered in bright red blood from head to toe.
My body was so battered that it was indistinguishable from a corpse.
Traces dragged along the ground.
Leaving a long trail of blood behind, I pushed through the blizzard with mechanical steps.
At the end of that process, I found a silver-haired girl.
"......You were here."
A calm word.
That day, for the first time,
I gained a reason to live.
***
The air flowed coldly.
The atmosphere, which had been noisy until just before, sank into gloom, and at the end of it, only the serpent and the monarch continued their confrontation.
The two thrones, one white and the other black, formed a contrast of light and darkness.
We maintained silence.
The one who spoke first was none other than the old man.
"Doesn't it remind you of the old days?"
A sinking gaze.
The old voice murmurs as if reminiscing.
"We were glaring at each other like this back then... the day you destroyed my kingdom."
Perhaps he is seeing the past overlapping.
As I quietly ponder the sentences the old man utters, a faded memory suddenly flashes in my vision as well.
That memory contained a particularly cold winter day.
The monarch smiles faintly.
"Has it already been three years?"
"......"
"Sometimes, I miss those days."
"Let's cut to the chase and get to the point."
"My, my... how cold."
I didn't let my guard down.
Although the old man was smiling nonchalantly on the outside, there were hundreds of venomous snakes writhing inside him.
The one sitting in front of me was the leader who ruled the shadows.
On the other hand, he was also the only person who had almost killed me in the past four years.
As such, it was inevitable that my nerves would be on edge.
My gaze cools down.
"I'm sick of your deceitful tongue."
"So, a snake is denouncing deceitfulness?"
"I've learned that sometimes, there are people who are more like snakes than snakes themselves."
You probably won't say you don't know.
Because you were the very person who made me realize that.
I say,
"Anyway... it would be good to start with the main point."
"If that's what you want."
The old man shrugs his shoulders.
After a brief pause, his voice begins the serious conversation.
"The atmosphere in the Empire is unsettling these days."
"Specifically?"
"It's like the dawn before a storm... outwardly, it seems perfectly peaceful, but in reality, disaster is approaching."
"You mean that something huge is about to happen."
"I've already detected signs here and there."
"Signs, huh."
He seemed to be showing interest.
It was about time the original story was getting on track anyway.
Whether I liked it or not, the continent was about to face a cataclysmic change.
I remembered most of the events from my past life, but having tampered with the past quite a bit, I couldn't be sure about the future.
Only then do I lend an ear and ask for further explanation.
The old man continues.
"The first ones we need to pay attention to... would be the businessman, of course."
The businessman.
One of the main villains of the original story.
According to the records, he was one of the wealthiest tycoons on the entire continent, and a villain who committed all sorts of dirty deeds with his vast wealth.
He was also the target of revenge for the fox who had lost everyone, including her master.
"His movements are suspicious."
"That's unexpected."
The businessman hadn't shown any particular movements so far.
Except for the attempt to join hands with the monarch a few months ago, which was thwarted by our intervention.
I remember that the businessman and the monarch had become complete enemies since then.
The old man's eyes darken.
"It seems... he's joined hands with a cult."
"Are you talking about the Baob?"
"Who else would it be?"
"That's strange. I thought their interests didn't align. The businessman had already rejected their offers of cooperation several times, hadn't he?"
"He had refused, saying he didn't want to get involved in a messy situation."
"Then why would he accept the offer now?"
"It's like a fire has fallen on my feet."
Fire on my feet.
The ruler pointed a finger towards this side.
"Thanks to you interfering, the business has completely collapsed."
"Interference... you mean the incident a few months ago."
"Originally, we were supposed to do business here. They asked to be aligned with the kingdom's drug cartel in exchange for providing funds."
"Of course, you would have accepted. If it were you."
"It was a profitable deal for us, there was no reason to refuse. Anyway, we were supposed to receive high-grade slaves, boxes of drugs, and various luxury goods as a down payment. It was enough to fill that huge ship, so they must have gone to great lengths."
"And I intercepted that ship."
"That's exactly it."
It felt like the puzzle was finally coming together.
A ship the size of a soccer field was mobilized for mere cooperation, with hunting dogs on standby inside, and even the kingdom's greatest power, the Unnamed, was waiting.
At the time, it felt excessive.
But after hearing the story, it was clear that it was worth the investment.
The old man burst into laughter as if he was enjoying himself.
"Heh heh... who would have known you'd even take the ship so thoroughly."
"It looked quite useful."
"Thanks to you, we're just getting unnecessary hate. He doesn't know you were involved in this yet."
"He probably thinks it was a betrayal by the Unnamed or you acting alone."
"It doesn't matter since I already have many enemies... but where did you take that huge ship and the supplies?"
"It's mine now."
"Of course."
The old man nodded.
I briefly summarized the story and then asked about the most important part.
"Well... I have a rough idea of the justification. As a businessman, you would have wanted to make up for the loss. And the cult's proposal was a perfect fit for that situation."
"He was someone with ambition from the start."
"It seems the cult took advantage of the timing and conditions well."
"Those rats have their own cunning side."
"Okay, so far that's the story about the circumstances... do you have any evidence to prove their contact?"
"I thought you'd check that first."
"Because the other party is someone you can't trust at all."
"Heh heh... take this."
Thud-.
A bag suddenly fell from the air.
It was meticulously sealed.
The contents were filled with encrypted documents.
After roughly tearing it open, it contained records of a businessman's fund flow, recent movements of dark mages, and other detailed elements.
The old man clicks his tongue.
"You'll understand as you examine them one by one. As to the reason for my conclusion."
"I'll check it later."
I throw the file into the shadows.
The fog that had been surrounding us sucked the envelope in like a subspace and then disappeared.
The old man, who had been waiting until then, soon resumes the conversation.
"Then... let's move on to the next matter."
The conversation continued for a while.
Although it was a short time, I was able to hear quite valuable information.
For example.
The Vanity ducal family's movements seem unusual, or that the church is also slowly recognizing the rise of cultists.
In addition, there was a warning that there might be a traitor within the academy.
It seemed that they had discovered traces of collusion in the process of tracking down the dark mages.
I listened calmly.
And so.
After several hours of conversation.
I was able to conclude the conversation only after putting a few more documents into the shadows.
The old man asks with a sly smile.
"How was it? Was it of some help?"
It was hard to deny.
Although I didn't like the way he seemed to be subtly taking credit, I didn't intend to act childishly in this aspect.
I nod plainly.
"It was helpful."
"That's a relief."
"But... I hope you won't be seen by the people around me next time. If you have business, let's talk directly."
"You're the only one who treats me so coldly."
"There are no second warnings."
"What does 'there are no' mean?"
"I'll have to end your breath."
"You can't kill me."
The lord replies with a sly tone.
A sly smile spread across his old lips.
It was.
"That's because."
Something I had forgotten.
The ugly smile of an adult.
"I'm still a necessary person to you."
Irreplaceable parts are not easily discarded.
Whether I liked it or not, the old man was such a part.
The most unsettling card in my hand, but also the most capable and versatile.
The reason I had kept him alive until now was the same.
In short, it was because it was 'necessary.'
It was a world where different values were placed on lives.
The snake and the old man calculated each other's worth.
-This is a transaction.
The moment the bloody war came to an end.
I did not kill the monarch.
Instead, I gave him a role as a price.
The kingdom's massive drug cartel, its influence reaching every corner of the continent, its overwhelming military power comparable to a nation.
I ordered him to use that power to protect the shadows of the empire.
The cults were rising throughout the continent.
For the past four years, the reason they could be suppressed was none other than the monarch's help.
His existence was integrating the shadows of the continent.
"Isn't it too good of a piece to throw away?"
"......"
That's why he was annoying.
The old man had a talent for confusing the other party.
Every time, the conversation barely managed to continue.
However.
"I'll get up now."
I won't be swayed.
I've been through too much to be swayed by such wordplay.
My mind was cold without a trace of wavering.
As I calmly got up from my seat, I heard a voice clicking its tongue in regret.
Even so, the old man wore a satisfied smile.
"You don't even respond."
"Isn't it a provocation I've experienced countless times? I think it's stranger to react."
"Tsk tsk... That part of you is quite interesting."
"Take my warning to heart."
"You say warning, so I can't just ignore it. I'll warn my vassals separately, so don't worry."
"I hope we can meet in a peaceful atmosphere next time."
"I hope so."
Just as I was getting up from my seat.
The old man's question, as if he had suddenly remembered, pierced my ear.
It was a question asking about someone's well-being.
"Oh right... Is that child doing well?"
I paused.
I stopped in my tracks.
It was a reflexive action of my body.
The old man continued nonchalantly, regardless.
"I'm talking about Neria."
"......"
"I wonder if she's doing well after betraying her master and leaving."
"You'd better watch your words."
"If not... are you going to kill me?"
"It means don't cross the line as a mere component. I've only left you alone because it's bothersome, but I can still kill you anytime."
"Isn't that too sensitive a reaction for just asking how you are?"
"Hah."
Just?
If you remembered what you did to that child, you would understand the exceptionally cold reaction you're getting.
Cold gazes meet, glaring at each other.
"Was it perhaps the use of her name that was the problem? If so, I can call her differently."
"I clearly told you to watch your words..."
"Disloyal."
"......"
A ringing silence settles around them.
It's just a brief moment.
But the winter of four years ago, colder than any other, flashes rapidly through my mind.
The name spoken by the old man remained like a scar.
'Those who do not offer themselves, disloyal.'
It was the last person the monarch had made his personal guard, and the past when I no longer stood by the tyrant's side.
At the same time, it was the name I had saved with these very hands.
Neria Lightny.
Called disloyal by the ghosts of the past.
It was the life of a girl who had been forced to live until she met me in this cruel world.
I release the suppressed murderous intent.
The surrounding air is crushed by a suffocating current.
"Do not call our vice captain by such a name."
I mutter.
Within it, only a deep-seated murderous intent was exploding.
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