"You can no longer escape. Submission or death — the more you struggle, the more painful your end will be. Remember that."
With those words, Fake Shal vanished from the spot in an instant.
No, give Shal back.
I did pull a little prank on her, though.
The grand adventure of searching for Shal starting from here... would be an absolute pain, so instead I used [Spacetime Magic] "Attract" to pull her here.
The Shal who appeared before me was alive.
Though she was injured all over.
"Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
"You look a bit like you've been tortured."
"Correct. They asked me about you, but surprisingly, there wasn't much I could tell them."
"Well, it's not like I go around telling Shal about myself."
"Rather, they had done quite a thorough investigation on you. As expected of the rumored 'Shadow of the King.'"
"This isn't the time to be impressed. Shal, hide somewhere for a while. If you get taken again, you'll probably lose your life."
"I know. Let me hide out for a while. No income for the time being, I guess."
◇◇◇
"So, how was it
NO.12
?"
The false Char — that is, the King's Shadow, NO.12 — had returned to some building within the palace.
"Just as expected — it didn't work. And that sharp intuition of his... I can't just leave it be. My Perfect Copy was seen through immediately."
NO.12 headed for the locker room, intending to change out of the clothes identical to Char's.
"Oh? Your Perfect Copy, which replicates everything perfectly... Hard to believe. Hmm, hey — what's that paper on your back?"
"What's wrong,
No.9?
What paper are you talking about?"
When No.9 pointed this out — having seen NO.12's back — NO.12 reached around behind himself.
With a rustling sound, he peeled the paper off his back.
"Wha— when did this—?! What a stupid trick...!"
"What's the matter? Let me see."
No.9, too, examined the paper that had been secretly pasted onto NO.12's back without anyone noticing.
On it was a written warning.
"Don't lay a hand on me. Restore the taxes. Abolish the pyramid immediately."
To think someone would dare issue orders to our true King... the sheer recklessness.
"No.9! So No.12 was here too! Char has vanished! Find him!"
The one who burst in frantically on the two indignant figures was
No.6,
who had been capturing and interrogating Char.
"Vanished? Did he escape? There's no way he could get out of here."
"But he vanished without a trace. He didn't even have a transfer stone on him. At any rate, he's not inside this building. Expand the search area."
"Got it. No.12, you report to His Majesty the True King. The possibility that Char disappearing is the work of Alan exists. That guy is dangerous."
"Understood."
◇◇◇
Now then, time to pay another visit to Lord Harold.
This time the gatekeeper let me through without a fuss.
"Lord Harold, please give me a list of the nobles outside the Yalute Marquis's faction."
"I don't mind, but what are you planning? I'd really prefer you didn't kill anyone. Some of the nobles on that list are competent enough that I'd want to persuade them to come over to our side."
"Um, I'll be civilized about it this time."
"When have you ever been civilized about anything?"
"Dead men tell no tales."
The objective was to weaken the True King's power.
I figured I'd start by getting some payback for what they did to Char.
◇◇◇
The list Lord Harold gave me.
The nobles were arranged in order of importance, from top to bottom.
He didn't say anything specific about the ranking order or any of the finer details, but that's Harold for you.
The very first name listed was Marquis Arkham Round.
Marquis Round, said to wield the greatest power among True King Julian's faction.
On top of that, his eldest daughter Katarina was married to True King Julian's firstborn son.
Ah, this might be impossible.
Cutting off a blood relation... that's a bit much, even for me.
But still, I should at least take a look.
So, I decided to observe from a distance the estate of True King Julian's firstborn son, situated in the most prestigious part of the noble district.
Using the Gentleman Thief's "Far Sight" skill, I immediately spotted a woman standing on the third-floor balcony of the grand mansion.
Long, light purple hair drifting in the breeze, her face tinged with sorrow — she was stunningly beautiful, the very picture of a sheltered noble lady.
However, she wore a transparent collar of servitude.
No one but me would ever notice that.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse][Divine Eye][Sword God][Fist God][Spear God][Scorching Magic][Freezing Ice Magic][Clear Storm Magic][Rock-Iron Magic][Sacred Magic][Dark Magic][Space-Time Magic][Thunder God Sword][Gentleman Thief][Ninja Master][Seeker of Truth][Monstrous Strength][Swift Runner][Pain Dampening][Complete Status Ailment Resistance][Dark Spirit's Protection][Super Intuition][Heaven's Gate][Abyssal Contractor][Magic Hand][Temptation][Temptation][Incitement][Telemesmerism][Eloquence][Strong Luck][Growth Speed ×10][Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!