A sense of peace is always shattered abruptly. I was jolted awake by a violent shaking.
"What is the meaning of this, Leader!? Come on! Why are you sleeping when it's already eleven o'clock?!"
"Hmm… hmm… ??"
I was being shaken back and forth, and had no choice but to poke my head out from the futon.
What came into my blurry vision was Lucia's annoyed face. She had always had well-defined features, but lately her beauty had only grown more refined.
There was only one person who would shake me awake by force like this—even Luke, who was always causing a ruckus, rarely did anything so harsh.
It had been quite some time since Lucia became my sister, and back in our hometown, waking me up when I couldn't handle mornings had always been her job.
"Just one more hour…"
"Come on! Why are you so lazy, Nii-san!?"
"…But there's no reason to get up…"
"Haaaaaaah!? M-More importantly, look at this! This!"
The futon was ripped away, and a newspaper was slammed down beside my pillow. Why was it that the sister who was so graceful in front of others had to be so forceful with her older brother?
Where had the old Lucia, who used to trail along behind me, disappeared to?
"Here, I even brought you breakfast. It's already past noon!!"
"Mmm… mmm… oh?"
Reluctantly, I shifted my head slightly and cracked open my eyes to check the newspaper. What I saw was a rather stimulating article for someone who had just woken up.
I reflexively closed my eyes and rolled over. I didn't know anything. I knew nothing at all.
"Good night…"
"Hey, Nii-san! Don't you go to sleep! Don't you dare sleep—!"
My arm was grabbed and I was shaken back and forth. Shaking attacks were one of the few things that the Barrier Ring couldn't handle well.
Sure, people said Mages were weak in combat, but she was still Level 6, and every single one of her stats surpassed mine.
"Just because I'm the Clan Master doesn't mean I'm the babysitter for every Clan member."
"Look, read it properly! It says here that you ordered the attack!"
What adorned the front page of the newspaper was an article about the major clan, Beginning Footprint, launching an assault on the Decadent District.
It seemed that a large group of our Clan members had descended upon a section of the Decadent District. The accompanying photograph showed the cityscape reduced to rubble, looking like nothing short of ruins.
"I didn't order anything."
"It amounts to the same thing! It says they attacked in retaliation for what happened to you!"
"How troublesome… I told them they didn't need to get revenge…"
None of them had been this loyal before, had they? Or was this some matter of a Hunter's pride?
Lucia leaned halfway onto the bed, threaded her arms under my armpits, and forced me into a sitting position.
So this was what I had to thank them for—being dragged through this ordeal first thing in the morning…
"In the first place, why the Decadent District of all places…"
"That's… apparently Citry tipped off the tea house that there might be assassins there. A well-kept secret spot that hardly anyone on the surface knows about."
Citry had… being a hard worker was indeed something to worry about.
She had been quite angry about the lounge being destroyed, so… Citry generally listened to what I had to say, but for her, revealing an assassin's hideout to their allies probably didn't count as doing anything particularly noteworthy.
"But… the Decadent District is already practically ruins, isn't it? There's no need to make such a big fuss now—"
"They apparently destroyed five buildings…"
That was quite the rampage. How on earth did they manage to destroy five whole buildings? Could it be they had been bored? Hadn't they gone on a rampage recently?
Those show-offs… if they kept doing things like this, our clan would be misunderstood. The Mourning Specter's reputation was already bad enough—if the Clan's reputation tanked too, what then? We were reaching the limit of what could be covered under Ark's affiliation.
"The fox business is enough. The government said they'd handle it…"
I really wished they'd just stop. I'd said I'd observe quietly, hadn't I? Well, going on rampages on their own was one thing, but I wished they'd stop causing me trouble.
I was fully awake now. Lucia immediately set out a neatly folded set of clothes beside me.
"Here, Nii-sa… Leader, here are your clothes. It looks like a flood of reporters has come to interview the Clan Master. Eva is handling it, but—you'll be busy today, you know?"
"Ah, thanks. Hmm… This really isn't the time to be accepting interviews."
After all, I had just decided to hole up in the Imperial Capital for a while after finally returning—why did things keep coming one after another…
"I also brought your meals."
"Served on a silver platter, as always."
"I'm your escort today, so please rest assured."
"That's… reassuring. Hmm…"
Having Liliz or Luke as an escort while doing interviews was something I didn't even want to consider. Citry was a bit more rational, but she had a habit of saying unnecessary things occasionally. In that sense, Lucia was reassuring.
She was reassuring, but the fact remained that I didn't want to accept interviews either— And then, I had a good idea. I reached out and picked up the black stone sitting on the side table. The Treasure Weapon that Gaark had brought just the other day—the Resonance Stone.
I felt a little hesitant, but receiving this Resonance Stone right before an incident occurred surely had to be some kind of fate. I took a deep breath to steel myself, then activated the hot line to Franz.
§ § § A room within the Imperial City that Zebuldia was so proud of. The most secure room in the Empire, outfitted with every conceivable counterintelligence measure—within it, the Empire's most important figures had gathered.
From the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial regular army, to the head of the Imperial Mage Academy. From the director of the intelligence agency, to the noble long affiliated with the Empire, known as the Empire's sword.
The one entrusted with frontline command of these seasoned, world-weary figures was the Emperor of Zebuldia's most trusted blade—the commander of the Zeroth Knights, the Imperial guard, Franz Aargman.
Their adversary was a massive secret organization whose full scope remained invisible. Both the number and strength of its members were in a league beyond anything the Empire had previously identified. Extreme caution in handling information was paramount.
Given that he had demonstrated an ironclad loyalty—so strong it bordered on murderous intent—by using a Treasure Weapon that both foreign nations and internal members feared, and that he was a member of the Aargman family who had served the Imperial family since the founding of the nation, it was only natural that Franz was entrusted with this command.
Perhaps some advance preparation had been made, but the operation was proceeding smoothly. Budget allocation and coordination with other nations were going without a hitch. No one could defy Ladrik Atorum Zebuldia, whose very gaze was laced with murderous intent.
Since the incident at the Martial Emperor Festival and His Majesty's declaration against the fox, numerous people within Zebuldia had vanished. The investigation wasn't complete, but they were likely members of the fox.
There had been people who had long served and earned the organization's trust. There had been prominent figures. There had even been people holding key government positions. The fox had secretly extended its devilish reach far deeper than anyone could have imagined.
In neighboring countries as well, numerous people had seemingly vanished. Infiltrating enemy organizations with spies required no small amount of effort. The fact that they had all disappeared simultaneously indicated that a major change had occurred within the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox.
Had they withdrawn on the organization's orders, or had they been eliminated?
The incident at the Martial Emperor Festival had likely affected the organization far more profoundly than what was visible on the surface.
Most important of all was the fact that an informant from within the organization had emerged.
Information had to be selected with extreme care, but precisely now—when the organization's discipline had loosened enough for a traitor to appear—was the perfect opportunity for a counterattack.
One of the members gathered around the table furrowed their brow and let out a deep sigh.
"But their organizational structure is troublesome. The fact that they've implemented such paranoid levels of information control—"
At those words, the atmosphere in the conference room grew somewhat uneasy.
The operation was proceeding smoothly. Cooperation had been secured with multiple nations. An informant had even appeared. Yet the crucial information remained unknown.
For example, the fox's headquarters. The names of the boss or top executives. The organizational structure. Based on information from the informant, they had raided a hideout, but nothing had been left behind.
They had learned about incidents the fox had been involved in during the past, but regarding the essential future strategy, they knew nothing.
Paranoid information control using coded communication. Members were given no information about operations other than their own, and didn't even know the name of their direct superior. This organization was built so that even if a member was identified and captured, nothing would be compromised. If they knew nothing, then even the Empire's treasure, the "Tears of Truth," would be useless.
The thorough secrecy with which the organization was run was almost bewildering. That it had functioned at all was perhaps due to the exceptional quality of its members.
This would be a long drawn-out affair. For that matter, even the members present here—could they truly be trusted allies?
Gazing at the conference members as they debated animatedly, Franz sighed inwardly without letting it show on his face.
The only one he could truly trust was that man, who had proven his innocence through the same means as Franz.
Looking back now, he had to admit that the man's proof of innocence, while outrageous, had been undeniably effective.
If only even one person in this room would be bold enough to prove their innocence with a Treasure Weapon— Like that man—Thousand Transformations.
He bit his lip in frustration at his own inadequacy, forced to rely on that absurd man, when suddenly the secretary waiting behind him spoke up.
"Commander Franz, it's a Resonance Stone. It's from that person."
"Hmm… So that man really can see our movements after all?"
"That… should be impossible. This room is equipped with every counterintelligence measure, and very few people know Commander Franz's schedule."
The anti-fox meetings were classified. The location, the time—even the fact that they were being held was kept hidden from all but those directly involved.
Particular care had been taken to prevent information leaks. Every conceivable countermeasure had been put in place, yet even Franz, with his anti-Thousand Transformations measures, had to acknowledge the man's cunning. Truly a master of stratagem.
"Review the counterintelligence measures. Find out if anyone is leaking my schedule! The enemy is just a Hunter—as a noble of the Empire, I will not allow myself to be toyed with!"
Reprimanding his secretary, Franz switched the received Resonance Stone to receiving mode. The trembling Treasure Weapon fell still, and from it came the languid voice he had seen even in his nightmares.
"Aaah, aaah, aaah, Franz-san? Yoo-hoo! It's me, it's me!"
"I'll kill you! I am not your friend!"
What did this man take an Imperial noble for?!
A venerable noble house that had been passed down through generations. Had anyone ever addressed a member of the Aargman family with a "yoo-hoo" before?
When they first met, there had seemed to be a hint of wariness—but perhaps that was just his imagination. This man had always worn patterned shirts, hadn't he?
He had, admittedly, given him the Resonance Stone with instructions to contact him if anything happened, but to receive contact at this speed—it was appreciated in a way, but it also made his blood boil.
"Do you have new information about the fox? I don't have time—make it brief."
"Huh? Oh, no, I don't really have time to deal with the fox anymore—do you have a newspaper?"
"…Bring me a newspaper."
Suppressing his irritation with deep breaths, he ordered a subordinate to bring the newspaper.
Ever since the incident of guarding the Emperor, Franz's tolerance had grown beyond all limits. No matter how impudent the subordinate, he always ended up being more lenient, thinking "at least this is better than Thousand Transformations."
Franz never skipped checking his information. He had most of what was happening in the Imperial Capital committed to memory.
He had thoroughly read the newspaper as well. He knew that Thousand Transformations had been attacked, that the bomb had been pushed onto Gaark the Branch Master, and that Beginning Footprint had launched an attack on the Decadent District. But there was no way that Thousand Transformations—who didn't even have time to deal with the fox—would bring up something as trivial as this.
"…So?"
Waiting for the words, Franz listened as Thousand Transformations fell silent for several seconds, then spoke in an absurdly cheerful voice.
"I tried to stop them. I really tried hard to stop them… Could you do something about it?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I mean… how should I put this—I know it's rich coming from someone who caused an incident, but the way this is being covered is a bit of a problem. Today's newspaper is fine, I guess, but I've been getting swamped with troublesome interviews."
"…Wait. So what you're saying is—apply pressure?"
This man… Even when asking for a favor, there ought to be a proper procedure. In the first place, something so trivial was beneath the attention of an Aargman noble.
He was being taken so lightly that it actually made him calm down.
As Franz glared at the conference members who were pretending not to listen, the Resonance Stone spoke in a flustered tone.
"No, that's not it! I'm not saying that! But you know, I'm busy too… I'm busy…"
The voice shrank smaller and smaller. Busy? He said he was busy? Well, at Level 8, one would certainly be busy. But this man—did he think that I had nothing better to do?
There were merits to showing his connection with Thousand Transformations to those around him. But even if it was an act, a noble's pride would never allow him to show closeness to a man like this.
Franz took a deep breath, then shouted into the Resonance Stone with the loudest voice he had produced in recent memory.
"…Damn it! Don't you ever contact me over trivial matters again! That Resonance Stone was given to you for fox-related information! What is the relationship between you and me? When did we ever have such a casual relationship!? Say it!"
Receiving Franz's interrogation, Thousand Transformations went quiet, seemingly intimidated, before finally answering timidly.
"…The bond of having protected His Majesty the Emperor together?"
Franz wordlessly deactivated the Resonance Stone and slammed it down onto the table.
He shoved the newspaper spread across the table at his subordinate and roared.
"Contact the newspaper and silence them by any means necessary!"
"Wh-What reason should we give?"
"National security. Contact the Third Knights. The location is the Decadent District—we can't afford to be careless. Just keeping the newspaper quiet is enough."
How regrettable. Truly regrettable. For the noble of Zebuldia's pride to be used by a high-level individual Hunter was unacceptable.
However, he had received His Majesty's order to do his utmost. No matter how trivial the matter might seem, as long as that flippant man refused to reveal what he was thinking or planning, he had no choice but to comply. For example—it might be unlikely, but the possibility that the article becoming a talking point could affect the man's fox extermination operation was not zero.
What irritated Franz the most was that the man genuinely possessed power befitting a Level 8.
If he had been only somewhat capable, Franz could have discarded him, but since the man had prevented an assassination and stopped the activation of the Earth Key, however humiliating the mockery he endured, his fate was not something Franz alone could decide.
He held his head and let out a breath through his shoulders to calm his emotions. Keeping a straight face with that strange man would only give Franz an ulcer. Using him judiciously was just about right.
Getting too caught up in the movements of subordinates and losing sight of the bigger picture—this was the most dangerous trap for a noble of the Empire— The cautious Franz had secretly assigned someone to watch Thousand Transformations as well. In order to learn the source of that frighteningly accurate intelligence, and to be able to act immediately if something occurred, he had placed the man under twenty-four-hour surveillance.
But so far, the only report that had come in was a single one about the Clan House being attacked. Beyond that, there wasn't even a report of Thousand Transformations leaving the Clan House, let alone any significant intelligence.
Since the members of the Mourning Specter were visiting the Clan House in turn, the man was probably limiting himself to issuing orders from the Clan Master's office on the top floor. There was even intelligence suggesting he had carrier pigeons delivering letters.
None of it was acceptable. Thousand Transformations, who never left the Clan House and merely issued orders from within it, the fact that the man called himself "busy," and the current situation where Franz still had to borrow his power despite being toyed with relentlessly— He said he didn't have time to deal with the fox!? The organization that the entire nation was mobilizing to pursue—and this man didn't have time for it?!
There couldn't possibly be a more pressing matter than this! And to bring this up during a strategy meeting against the fox! Aaaaargh, what was the matter with that man?!
Silently hurling curses in his mind, Franz was interrupted when the door burst open and one of his subordinates rushed in.
The eyes of everyone in the room simultaneously turned to him. A member of the Zeroth Knights, pale-faced, spoke.
"Commander Franz! Just now, from the Astrology Mysticism Institute—a prediction of calamity has been issued!"