I looked toward the source of the voice. That's when I noticed the only thing that existed in this room.
A throne.
Upon a simple white throne sat a single old man. Sunken eyes, arms even thinner and bonier than mine.
An elderly man of indeterminate age spoke to me, who still hadn't gras the situation.
"Sorry, but I can no longer move. With my lifespan, this life of mine will soon come to an end. The reason I called you here today is—to express my gratitude."
Finally, those words made me realize.
This man was the Code King. The voice was nearly identical to the one that had resonated inside my head.
And this situation. It seemed that voice really was the king of this country after all.
I took a deep breath and slowly approached the Code King.
The Code King's eyes no longer looked at me. He merely continued in a voice devoid of dignity.
"Alisha was in your care. For the past several days, I've been watching you. You showed me something wonderful. I have many children, but today is the first time I've truly witnessed their growth. I've spent my entire life trying to produce a strong king, but perhaps I... may have done something terribly wasteful."
His voice held a certain satisfaction.
Even to an amateur's eyes, it was obvious the Code King wouldn't last much longer. No, it was more surprising that he could still hold a proper conversation like this.
Well, dying was probably unavoidable. He'd said it was his lifespan, and as a Hunter, death was an occupational hazard I was all too familiar with.
So I sighed and said: "Your Majesty, if that's the case, then you should have called—someone other than me. You'll have regrets, won't you?"
"Perhaps. But I have no face to meet them with. You see, after all—even if I had my reasons—I engineered a situation where my children would compete for the throne."
Reasons, huh? So that meant... the nobles had forced him to do it?
"What's done is done. Well, if we only look at the results, Your Highness of course, but Zachary, Nora, and Tony too—they weren't bad people. Things won't turn out the way you're worried about, Your Majesty."
"I—I couldn't trust others. I was once... betrayed. And as king, the burden was heavy. I am a small man, which is why I could only solve problems this way. I never even realized my mistakes until now. And now I'm speaking like this to you—someone who has absolutely nothing to do with any of it."
I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I decided to just listen for now.
This was probably more of a monologue, and if I interjected too much, the king might run out of energy and die.
"The last succession war. You've heard that the Explorer's Guild used the ensuing chaos to attack, I presume? And that there was a collaborator who knew all about the Code? At that time, the one who fled the Code and ran to the Explorer's Guild was... my lover. She was beautiful, spirited, unpredictable—my lover. Like the current Alisha. This is something no one knows anymore. I'd forgotten about it for a long time—but the reason Alisha resembles her so much is probably because the city system made it obvious that my heart still lingered for that woman."
A photograph materialized in the air before my eyes. A woman with golden hair, long locks, and emerald eyes—who bore a certain resemblance to Your Highness.
Come to think of it, when I'd accepted the job, they might have mentioned that there had been a collaborator the last time the Code was attacked.
I made a mental note to write a thorough report later.
"As king, I was desperate to defeat the Hunters my lover had sent against me. In my fury, I slaughtered all my brothers and sisters who wished for my downfall. And out of overwhelming terror, I used the 'Royal Decree'—which can only be used once—to construct a field that blocks magic. The Royal Decree should have been utilized far more effectively. And so, I established various rules to ensure that a tragedy like mine would never happen again. Rules to make the next king stronger. I even believed it was pointless for my children to kill each other."
He was just a terrible person. But in a sense, an impressive one. Even if I became the king of Code, I could never do the same.
"That was a mistake. Looking back now, I think perhaps I knew that all along—which is why I averted my eyes from my children's growth and threw myself into my mission. I felt my resolve wavering—and I had to fight. Klye Andrich, this Code has a mission. A mission known only to the king. It's something only the one who holds the King's Staff—the activation key of this Code—can comprehend."
The Code King raised a trembling arm. The floor opened, and a single staff embedded in a pedestal appeared.
It was a peculiar staff with a large, round gem floating above its head... Wait, hold on. This staff looked familiar somehow?
Before I could get a good look, the staff vanished back into the floor. The Code King continued as if nothing had happened.
"This staff reveals the Code's information to the king. Klye—this High-Mobility Fortress City, Code, is not actually a High-Mobility Fortress City. It's a small-scale floating city that the first king forcibly expanded using the 'Royal Decree' after learning the Code's true mission. No—that's not right either. It's just a house. A personal, recreational floating city. It doesn't even have proper military equipment. A truly massive High-Mobility Fortress City—one incomparably larger than this—once existed."
The words from the king, who seemed almost feverish with passion, were hard to believe.
A city so massive that even the Explorer's Guild wouldn't touch it was merely a personal floating city...? What even was a personal floating city?
"But that's not the issue. The issue is—the Code had an enemy to fight. A terrifying enemy that once destroyed a highly advanced physical civilization. And now, with the true High-Mobility Fortress City no longer in existence, this city—this city's king—had a mission to fight the nemesis that would soon manifest."
Manifestation through Mana Material followed certain patterns.
The Treasure Hall of the highly advanced physical civilization era tended to manifest Treasure Weapons from that same era. Swords and their scabbards manifested together. There were even records of a holy sword manifesting in a Treasure Hall where the Demon King appeared—one capable of slaying that very Demon King.
The fact that the manifestation of a fortress city with a mission to fight monsters suggested the manifestation of its nemesis—that wasn't necessarily wrong.
...Well, in my case, I'd probably be fine either way.
"To that end, the previous king built weapons, destroyed nations, absorbed them, and strengthened the city. I focused on recovering the losses from the Explorer's Guild's attack and worked to create a stronger king, preparing for every eventuality. When I die, my children will seek the throne and begin a war of blood against blood. But Klye—I have no right to stop my children."
I see... I sort of understood now. So this was the succession war everyone kept talking about.
And the succession war begins because the king is going to die. Today I'm really on my game.
I didn't think this king was a wise ruler, but well, since he'd already gone this far, there was no helping it. Let's think positively.
What matters is the future. I said in my best hard-boiled voice: "There's nothing to worry about. No tragedy will occur, because we're here. I have my own plan. Regrettably, I can't stop Your Majesty's death, but you can leave everything after that to us."
"Is that so... Ugh..."
The king groaned as if overcome with emotion. So even the king had apparently lived such a lonely life that he found salvation in the words of a man whose background he didn't even know.
It'd be fine. The ones handling this would be three Level 8 Hunters—the strongest in the world. You couldn't ask for better treatment than that.
If the king passed away, the people to protect would number six. I had to get to them before their time came...
...Hmm? ...Time?
"Now that I think about it, there was something I needed to confirm. How long until the city's mobility is restored?"
"Mobility... capability? The repairs are already complete. So the next king can mobilize immediately. That was... my final task."
That was unnecessary... Well, whatever. So I needed to hurry.
It was an emergency, but it'd be fine—this was the usual. Wait, was it always an emergency? Wasn't that kind of bad?
"Lastly... when it's all over, could you apologize to my children for me? Tell them I was wrong."
Suddenly, the card at my chest grew hot. I hurried to check it, and the card's display was just changing.
From a silver card with one shining gold star—to a gold card with one jet-black star. A sight I'd never seen before; it was probably Class 7—the proof of a high-ranking noble.
It could only be set by the king—a recognition granted by the king alone.
A platform bearing a box rose from the floor. The box opened automatically before my eyes.
What came out was a rod wrapped in familiar silver packaging—a chocolate bar.
"Give that... to Alisha. I'm entrusting... everyone to you."
The king's voice, now faint. With those final words, the king stopped moving.
The throne carrying the king sank silently into the floor, and the glass was painted over in black.
I picked up the chocolate bar, and as a powerful dizziness overtook me, the transfer began.