Zebuldia Empire, Imperial Capital. Third Knight Order Station.
The room existed in a wing of the building belonging to the unit responsible for maintaining public order—a unit that handled crimes occurring within and around the capital, targeted Red Hunters, and criminal organizations.
It had originally been a room for temporarily detaining nobles who had committed offenses. It had not been used once since the current Zebuldia Emperor's reign, but now a single Hunter was being held inside.
In front of the room, two knights from the Third Knight Order on guard duty were talking to each other.
"Are we really fine with facilities this barebones? This is a noble's cell, you know."
"Can't be helped. There's nowhere in the capital that can hold a Level 8 Hunter in the first place. Besides, the higher-ups figure the escape risk is low."
"But still, if he seriously tried to run—"
As one partner spoke with a tense expression, the other forced a pale-faced smile and said: "We're fine, don't worry about it. If that happens, both you and I—we wouldn't be alive anyway."
High-Level Hunters were monsters possessing inhuman power. No matter how prestigious the profession was among the Zebuldia Empire's subjects, and no matter how highly regarded Zebuldia's knights were in other countries, they couldn't hold a candle to that strength.
The man currently under house arrest in that room was one of the capital's most prominent Hunters.
He was Klye Andrich, the "Thousand Transformations" known for his divine schemes and demonic stratagems, who had received Level 8 certification ahead of even Ark Rodan of House Rodan—the very family that held the title of Hero in the Empire—and had achieved numerous accomplishments far beyond the reach of ordinary Hunters.
He was a formidable Hunter who had once been appointed as the Emperor's bodyguard and had even foiled an assassination attempt by a criminal organization. The fact that someone of his caliber was being held under house arrest made one wonder just what atrocity he had committed. However, no detailed information had trickled down to the rank-and-file of the Third Knight Order. Most of them figured that unless a Hunter had committed one of the ten gravest offenses in the capital, it would be practically impossible for a Level 8 Hunter—a trump card of the Explorer's Guild—to be captured.
For the time being, the man himself was behaving quietly inside the room. Occasionally he was seen drooping his shoulders, but whether that was genuine or just an obvious act required no deliberation.
A Level 8 Hunter could easily tear through metal-reinforced walls and could escape this building as casually as taking a stroll.
Staring at the silent room's door, one of them said: "The higher-ups seem pretty taken aback too, apparently. The word is—he turned himself in."
"Turned himself in!? What does that mean?"
If he had confessed to his own crimes and surrendered, then the remarkably lenient house arrest did make sense.
But then again, for a Level 8 Hunter, virtually any act in this country shouldn't even constitute a crime.
What crime could a man known for having divine foresight and demonic stratagems—essentially a form of precognition—possibly have confessed to?
"Well... I guess it's none of our concern. If he's admitted guilt and been placed in here, they'll probably transfer him to the prison before long."
"If a Level 8 is being imprisoned... it'd be that place they recently built, wouldn't it?"
In the wake of repeated criminal organization activity and the rise of Red Hunters who absorbed massive amounts of Mana Material, a new prison island had been planned and designed following the mass prison break from South Isteria Great Prison a few years ago. It was created to contain criminals too dangerous for conventional prisons.
One of the Empire's nobles—Marquis Alter's domain. East Seal Prison Island.
It was the Empire's trump card, created to replace South Isteria Great Prison for containing the most dangerous criminals.
If it was a prison built with high-Level Hunter containment in mind, then even the "Thousand Transformations" would find escape difficult.
In fact, as of right now, no one had ever escaped from that prison island.
"But is it really okay to imprison the Thousand Transformations? The exchanges with Yggdrasil are about to begin—"
"Don't worry. The higher-ups have that all thought through."
§ § § This is a huge mess.
Crimson carpet, a large bed. Sofa, side desk, chandelier. The room was furnished with more elegant pieces than my own Clan Master's room, and I let out—what must have been my dozenth sigh.
The single small window was fitted with iron bars, forcibly reminding me that I had become a criminal.
Well, I was tricked, but I did push that mysterious switch of my own volition, and there was a high probability that was what caused Phantoms to start appearing in the capital. That said, I never expected to be transported here in my sleep (apparently I just didn't wake up at all).
I wanted time to brace myself.
That said, the treatment was mysteriously generous. The room I'd been given had a bath and toilet, high-end furniture, and three meals a day of absurdly luxurious food. Aside from not being able to freely walk outside, it might actually be nicer than my normal life. They hadn't even confiscated my Treasure Weapons like the Barrier Ring.
Not being able to see friends was tough, but... all I could do was pray that my capture wouldn't drive Lize and the others to do something reckless.
Just how much punishment was I facing? Years of imprisonment? The death penalty? Or perhaps exile? In this golden age of Treasure Hunters, high-Level Hunters who contributed to the country often received significant reductions in their sentences.
How much weight would the fact that I was tricked carry? I had served as the Emperor's bodyguard at one point, but that also involved recruiting Termu and Kechachacca, plus the airship crashed, so maybe no leniency there? Looking back, I really haven't caught a single break.
By now, Gaark must be furious after learning what happened...
Well, all I could do now was patiently await the Empire's verdict. The necessary legal representation would be arranged by Citry and Eva. There was nothing I could do.
I pulled out my phone and sent a message to my little sister fox.
"I got caught. They're putting me in prison. What should I do?"
The reply came back immediately. Perhaps my little sister fox had free time.
"草"
"Grass"... what does that mean?
My little sister fox knew more about phones than I did, so there might be some special meaning. But she hadn't been replying much lately...
Pulling myself together, I opened the call function and tapped the numbers displayed on the screen.
"Hello? Mary-san? It's me, me."
"!?! I'm Mary. Stop calling me from your side."
Oh, she actually picked up.
Mary-san was the only one left who'd answer my calls on the first try.
"Don't say that. Where are you right now?"
"...I'm Mary. I'm right in front of you, but you can't see me anyway. More importantly, I'm busy with things going forward right now, so... call me again later."
True enough, there was nothing visible in front of me.
What on earth was Mary-san? (At this point) Lucia had said she was a Phantom, but for a Phantom, she was harmless enough.
"So you're not telling me never to call again."
"I'm Mary. If I said something like that, my very reason for existing would be shaken...!"
I didn't really understand, but unlike my brother fox and little sister fox, who had been too busy to reply lately, Mary-san would actually engage with me.
I cleared my throat lightly and decided to file a complaint.
"Right, speaking of which, this is a problem. I pressed the button you told me not to press, and things went really wrong."
"...I'm Mary. I properly told you not to press it."
"!?! ...You're right."
...Wait?
Mary-san had indeed told me not to press it. The call had been choppy at the time, but that much I remembered.
No, but up until that point I had been following instructions and doing all sorts of things... Huh?
"I'm Mary. More importantly, because Klye pressed the button I told him not to, the Ladies went berserk, and I got scolded really badly. I want an apology."
"I, um... I'm very sorry."
I ended up being the one to apologize. Well, for me, apologizing was as natural as breathing... But wait, who were "the Ladies"?
I had no idea. I didn't even know what I didn't know.
"...I'm Mary. W-well, as long as you understand. I'll contact you once my form becomes visible again."
"Wait. The situation with Phantoms appearing in the capital right now—can you do something about that? If possible."
Mary-san sighed at my desperate request.
"I'm Mary. That's already been resolved. That shark bastard said he'd had enough of the outside world, so no one else should be coming out anymore. I've already talked things over with that noble of yours."
She left behind those unexpected words, and our call disconnected. I blinked and stared at my phone.
Resolved? Really? And you've already talked it over?
I had thought I'd done something catastrophic, but all of my concerns had been resolved.
I hadn't forgotten what I'd done, but that explained why my current accommodations didn't feel like captivity. I'd panicked for nothing.
Still, it was an unprecedented situation, so they were probably carefully considering how to settle it.
I let out a breath of relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Now that my worries were gone, I was starting to think continuing this lifestyle wouldn't be so bad.
On top of that, they'd even told me to speak up if I needed anything.
After a moment of thought, I called out to the knight keeping watch outside the door around the clock.
"Excuse me! I'd like some chocolate, please!"
§ § § The appearance of Phantoms in the city. The capital was currently being struck by an unprecedented catastrophe of the highest order. But even that event, which had been dominating the front page of newspapers day after day, was nothing but a newspaper comic strip compared to the information that followed.
The Master had been detained.
As a fellow member of the "Beginning Footprint," Tinno Shade had been informed before the public. That news hit him with an impact equal to the collapse of the world.
At first, he thought it was a false report. After all, the Master was currently the hottest Hunter in the capital. All of his accomplishments were things an ordinary Hunter could never achieve in a lifetime, but his role as intermediary with Yggdrasil was an achievement known to every citizen of the capital. It was significant enough that it had earned him the right to take the Level 9 certification exam (though he apparently declined).
With those accomplishments, and considering the Empire absolutely could not afford to lose him—what could the Master have possibly done to end up arrested?
Come to think of it... despite all the chaos he'd caused in the capital until now, he'd never been caught once...
The Clan House lounge was buzzing with the news brought by the Sub Clan Master, and in a rare occurrence, the seats were full despite it being morning.
The Master was the head of this Clan. It was only natural that members would gather when their own Clan Master had been arrested.
The Master being arrested was absolutely absurd. It could be some kind of conspiracy.
Moreover, if someone powerful enough to frame the overwhelmingly formidable Master was behind it, it had to be the work of someone truly significant.
If nobles, then a Great Noble of marquis rank or above. If Hunters, then Level 9 or above. If criminals, then a boss-class figure like a fox.
As Tinno walked along in a dark mood, Lyle spoke to him.
"Hey, Tinno. Heard about the Master's arrest? Apparently he confessed."
"!?! Ehh!?"
!?? Confession... a confession!? What did you do, Mastaa!?
His earlier conspiracy theory vanished from his head in an instant. When he thought about it calmly, there was no one who could possibly frame that Mastaa... except Mastaa himself!
As Tinno clenched his fists, Lyle let out a deep sigh and said in a weary voice: "You know how Phantoms have been appearing in the capital lately? Apparently that was the Master inflicting the Thousand Trials on the citizens."
!?
That's ridiculous—well, he wanted to say that, but he couldn't fully deny it.
One reason was that despite the scale of the current upheaval, the number of casualties was remarkably low. No—there were, to Tinno's knowledge, zero deaths.
That was one of the hallmarks of the Thousand Trials. The Master calculated every single person's abilities and devised the trials accordingly, so everyone barely survived (probably).
To think that the unprecedented Phantom appearance incident and the Master's arrest were connected...
...But even so, Master, if you went and did something like that, of course you'd get arrested...
How the Master had engineered a situation where Phantoms could freely roam outside was beyond Tinno's comprehension. But even if the culprit had been the Emperor himself, this incident would have undoubtedly sparked a coup.
And a confession at that—it was practically asking to be caught. Tinno's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me... the Master got himself arrested on purpose so he can do something else!?"
"...What's he planning next, I wonder..."
Lyle, a veteran Hunter of the Clan who had witnessed the Thousand Trials numerous times just like Tinno, gazed off into the distance as he spoke.