The thick, still air was warmed by the rays of the afternoon sun streaming in through the closed window. Gwendal had always been more concerned about separating himself from all the annoying noise and ruckus coming from the courtyard. The heat didn't bother him. Even one as blazing as the one brought to them by this year's exceptionally hot summer.
Mazoku with military training were accustomed to such temperatures, but the head of the von Voltaire family prided himself on his exceptional endurance, which was now only surpassed by his youngest brother, about whom it was rumored that he was now able to grab a heated pot simmering on the fire with his bare hands and lift it as if he didn't realize he should get burned - he only noticed this when Gwendal pointed it out to him, but indeed, there wasn't even any redness on his hands.
Although dressed in full uniform, not even a trace of sweat could be seen on him, and the guards stationed outside his door always looked at him in surprise when he brought himself a mug of hot coffee. He preferred to brew it himself. Then he was always sure it was properly strong.
Now, however, the coffee stood forgotten, set aside on the edge of the desk, and Gwendal's attention had been occupied for several minutes now by a strange figure placed on his documents. It made him think of little Wolfram, who always left toys on his desk, hoping this would convince his older brother to take a break and play with him. But now there were no children in the castle.
The figurine represented a cat, carefully carved by the hand of a master, sitting calmly on its hind legs and looking at him with friendly eyes. It was no bigger than a thumb, which did not prevent its creator from adding a mass of detail. A realistic muzzle and soft fur that looked real. The fluffy tail was curled up, and the only thing spoiling the realism was the spot between the front and back paws. Someone had left the material there instead of hollowing it out, probably not wanting to create any stick-out parts that could break off.
Finally, Gwendal grabbed the gold ribbon tied around the figurine's neck and lifted it up, looking at it under the light. The yellow-brown crystal was clean, without any black impurities. However, he still had no intention of touching it. He had no idea who had placed it here. It was only a short while when he was gone, and no one had reported to him that he had visitors.
What bothered him was not only that the material of the figurine was very reminiscent of the crystals they had been finding lately but also that it had taken the shape of a cute cat. It was as if someone knew him perfectly well and tried to create something to suit him. He will have to investigate later.
Eventually, he remembered the coffee. He took a sip and, tucking the figurine into his chest pocket, sat down behind his desk. He glanced at the watch. It was still an hour until his meeting with His Highness.
He dipped his quill in ink and finished writing the letter. Then he reviewed the rest of the remaining documents, approving a few of them. The rest he would have to send back for revision. He was now dealing with matters concerning his territory. Yuuri had finally caught up on his work, so he had time for that. However, he will still have to return to his castle and deal with the rest personally. Gwendal hoped they would manage without him during this time. Fortunately, His Majesty was already competent enough that he didn't have to worry about leaving him alone. Maybe he should let him handle the rest of his duties too, which had been suspended for the time being due to the king's inexperience.
Since Yuuri took the throne, the throne room has only been used for important events. But normally, the king should sit in there almost every day, attending to court affairs, receiving audiences, and settling disputes. Nobles should gather there and discuss politics and trade. Now the only opportunity for them to socialize was at occasional balls, and the court was practically non-existent. At first, people accepted this with understanding. The king is young and inexperienced, of course, he won't be able to fairly settle disputes between nobles. It would be better for someone else to handle it. But slowly, they were starting to get impatient. They will have to think about reopening the throne room. At least once a month to begin with.
After taking care of the affairs of his territory, he still found himself with about twenty minutes left, so he looked through the afternoon mail. There was nothing weighty there that needed to be dealt with right away. The only thing attracting attention was an unfamiliar seal on one of the letters, so he broke it open and ran his eyes over the elegant letters of the courtesy letter, then crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it onto a pile of unneeded documents.
He massaged the space between his eyes, feeling a headache coming on, and took a sip of coffee again. It had begun again. Wolfram ignored or sent away unwanted suitors who didn't recognize relationships until they were confirmed on paper, but instead of giving up, these suitors decided to try their luck by asking other members of his family for support. After Waltorana started training him again, it was already obvious that he had chosen his nephew as his replacement, so there was nothing to be surprised about. Although no. Gwendal was still surprised. To think that all these young men had decided that the position of the spouse of the head of the territory was worth putting up with Wolfram. Not that he had a bad opinion of his younger brother. He simply knew that if Little Lord Brat didn't like someone, that person was immediately doomed to torment by burning. Yet he still had no shortage of admirers. They must have seen him only from afar.
He will have to speak firmly with His Highness and explain to him that it will be best for him as well as for everyone around him if they resume their engagement, this time in earnest, and set a wedding date, even if it is something distant.
The hour of the meeting had already begun to approach, so he left his room, closing the door behind him this time, and headed toward the meeting room. He didn't mention anything to the guards about the figurine, nor did he scold them for it. He guessed that there was nothing they could do anyway. They probably didn't even realize that someone was in his office.
He stepped slowly down the corridor, and the passing soldiers saluted him hastily and quickly marched onward to wherever they were going. The castle's security had been increased, and the atmosphere in the castle was slowly beginning to remind Gwendal of the one when the war was slowly approaching. The mere increase in protection for the royal family made people subconsciously begin to guess that something was wrong, and anxiety slowly grew among them.
He would like to think that there is really nothing to worry about. That the actions they have taken are exaggerated, and that the reports he has received are only worrisome because it is the first view of the situation, and upon closer inspection, it will turn out to be nothing significant. However, in the back of his head, he could already imagine Shimaron rubbing their hands together at the news of a new religion calling for the extermination of all Mazoku and looking to go to war with them, this time on religious grounds. Will His Majesty be able to do anything against the gang of fanatics?
"Gwendal!" called out a familiar female voice from the end of the corridor. Anissina, who had come from nowhere, headed toward him with a brisk stride, her long red ponytail swaying from side to side in rhythm with her steps. "Here you are. I was just looking for you."
He shuddered slightly and, pretending to remember something, turned on his heel and walked quickly back toward his office.
Where had this woman come from? She had been in her brother's castle until recently. He checked it for sure after they discovered the strange crystals. He knew she would have wanted to start experimenting with them right away, so he preferred to keep her as far away from them as possible. However, it looked like she somehow sniffed it out anyway. Apparently, passing on the request to return them to the newspaper was not the best idea. He didn't know that she was reading them.
He accelerated to such a speed that for a normal person, it would have already been a run, but it didn't help at all to increase the distance between them. Quick, light footsteps continued to follow him, closer and closer. Where does this woman get all that strength in those short legs of hers?
By some miracle, she finally passed him and blocked his path. Gwendal stopped instantly, terrified at the thought that he might run into her. The red demon showed not even a trace of fatigue.
"I heard that you found something interesting." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him scoldingly. "Truly, to think that you didn't inform me about it right away. After all, such things need to be investigated thoroughly. You men are never able to deal with such matters properly. However, I am able to forgive you if you immediately hand over the crystals to me."
Gwendal didn't need much time to think about it. If it will keep her busy and keep her away from him, he is willing to give her all the crystals. Knowing her, they probably won't be able to influence her anyway.
"They are in Gunter's care. Go talk to him about it."
The woman needed nothing more and was content to continue down the corridor, leaving him alone.
He turned around but did not yet resume his march to the meeting. Instead, he stopped at the window, pretending something had caught his attention. Actually, it was the truth, as he seemed to notice something glittering reflected in the sunlight on the balcony of the castle tower. It seemed to him that someone was standing there, but from this distance, he couldn't see any details.
He let out a loud sigh and clutched the figurine tighter in his hand. Stiffening, he opened his fingers, noticing the cat lying in his hand. He had to take it out reflexively, wanting to calm himself down. Meeting Anissina always raised his blood pressure. However, this was bad. He shouldn't touch that crystal. So he quickly put the kitty back in his pocket and closed his eyes, trying to focus. He didn't feel anything. But he had no idea how this crystal could work and what he should be looking for. So he must now watch himself.
He moved away from the window and finally went to the meeting.
Anissina couldn't believe that no one even thought to inform her of such a thing, and she had to learn about everything from rumors. When she learned about the crystals with which people could be controlled, she came up with at least twenty ways to test them. And she could bet these men didn't even know what to do with them. Fortunately, they at least had enough oil in their heads to ask the priest of the elements for help. However, she still thought they had acted irresponsibly.
But now she would take charge of the matter and immediately determine what the case with them was.
The soldiers she passed were kind enough to point out where she would find Gunter, so her steps directed her toward the grand council hall. It looks like they will be discussing something serious. It will be good for Anissina to return to this meeting after getting the crystals from Gunter.
She was lucky enough to spot him just before he walked inside.
"Gunter!" she called out, quickening her step. At last, he did not run away, but she noticed that he flinched. Weak men, can't even control themselves at a simple call.
"Ah, Lady Kabernikoff, what a surprise. We were not expecting your visit."
"Truly, Gunter, in this situation, this is the first thing you should have expected. I have come to take the crystals from you and subject them to a proper examination."
"Crystals?" he asked, pretending not to know what she meant.
"Yes, crystals. Now, tell me where they are, and I'll go get them myself. I don't have time to waste talking to you."
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed His Highness approaching them and watching them curiously. On the one hand, this might help her, but on the other, Gunter might use this as an excuse to change the topic of conversation. So she had to get ahead of him and react first.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," she greeted him, and Gunter once again flinched, a shadow of disappointment appeared on his face due to the fact that he didn't notice the king first. "How are you? I hope that the recent events were not too overwhelming."
"Everything is fine. How about you?" Yuuri replied gently and didn't even flinch at her mention of the unpleasant events. Anissina praised him for this in her mind.
"I'm also fine," she replied and pointed to Gunter. "I was just about to ask Lord von Christ to give me the crystals so I could examine them closely."
"Oh, so you came regarding the crystals. I thought you were going to do research on that city - "
"Your Highness!" Gunter suddenly interrupted him in a panicked tone, and the king looked at him surprised. "The meeting will begin in a moment, so let's go inside." He circled the confused boy and pushed him into the meeting room while Conrad walked in behind them, smiling to himself for a reason he only knew.
Anissina was already worried that she wouldn't get the crystals, but before disappearing inside, Gunter told her they were in his office, in a casket on a bookcase. He was clearly trying to distract her from what His Majesty had said. Just which city did he have in mind? The one that was destroyed in the attack? She would have to find out later.
She knew perfectly well where Gunter's office was, so she headed straight there. The man, fortunately, had the tact and decency to keep any improper items in his private chambers, so the room she entered looked tolerable and not repulsive. There were still a few details here indicating that this office belonged to Gunter, such as the china tableware set aside and the delicate floral scent. However, she didn't notice the shrine in honor of the king she expected to find here.
She found the casket he mentioned and looked inside, wanting to look at the crystals right away. But it turned out to be empty.
The very moment he entered the grand council hall, Yuuri knew that he would not receive good news today. The room overwhelmed him with its very decor; compared to the rest of the castle, it looked like it had been taken out of another world. From a much darker fantasy genre.
No decorations, no tapestries on the walls, no carpets. Heavy black curtains obscuring the small windows, through which any light barely entered. Cold, almost icy. Already upon crossing the threshold, Yuuri's shoulders shivered. And silent. His every step floated with a quiet echo, reflected by the stone walls. Nothing was coming from outside. And nothing was leaving.
He circled a large round table with a thick top, scratched and chipped. Bearing the marks and scars of many war meetings. Strategy games, where the pawns slid across the map were real people sent into battle. How often were they sent to their deaths?
Yuuri could almost imagine cool, calculating voices, managing people like livestock. As he sat down on a wooden chair, larger than the others around the table, felt the roughness of the wood under his fingers and leaned against the uncomfortable backrest, he felt too small, and the weight put on his shoulders was too heavy. This is where wars were declared. In this chair, his predecessors were signing a piece of paper that started it all. However, he had no intention of doing so. Never, no matter what the situation was.
So in spite of all the weight and overwhelm, he sat upright, with his head up and shoulders straight, at least trying to tell himself that he could bear it. Maybe he'll tell himself so much that it will turn out to be true in the end.
Murata sat to his right, with an undignified expression on his face, but his mere presence was already lifting his spirits. So did Conrad's, who stood behind his chair like a shadow. After a while, they were joined by Gwendal, who took a seat on the opposite side of the table, and already only Gunter was having trouble deciding where to sit.
He should have taken a seat similarly to Gwendal, facing his king - how exactly such a meeting should look like Yuuri already knew perfectly well. However, he glanced every now and then at the chair to Yuuri's left as if considering whether to sit there. That was Wolfram's seat. He knew it perfectly well. If he counted on being able to occupy it just because the former prince wasn't in the castle right now, the king was going to personally admonish him for it.
Fortunately, he didn't have to do that, and his teacher finally gave up his longing glances and took his proper seat.
"Let's begin, then," Yuuri said after a moment of silence, during which he made sure no one had any intention of wriggling or coming anymore. "For what purpose have you called this meeting?" He tried to sound confident and not the least bit uneasy.
"We received the first reports on the investigation of the entities that attacked us. And more specifically, on the religion that worships them," Gwendal answered him, and at the same moment, Gunter stood up and handed him the file with the reports.
Yuuri unknowingly breathed a sigh of relief. This means that no one has declared war on them, right? Gwendal would be the first to inform him of such a thing. And this is just a disturbing religion. This he was able to bear.
Or at least that's what he assumed until he started reading. Murata must have noticed from his expression that something was wrong because he didn't wait until it was his turn and just started looking over his shoulder.
"This is nothing new," commented his friend, as yet another report described the new religion's preachers' calls to eradicate mazoku. "Any religion that wants to strike out uses existing beliefs and bends them to suit itself."
"They may have been afraid of us so far, but now they will want to kill us outright. I don't want my people to end up as bloody victims in some rituals," Yuuri replied, partly angry and partly worried. These priests didn't even promise things like salvation or eternal life. They brazenly offered riches for killing mazoku. Something tangible and quantifiable. Something that would attract the masses and trigger a blood hunt.
"Normally, I'd think it's sick to come up with the idea of doing something like this in the name of the gods, but I've seen these gods do it themselves. What's next? Should we expect more attacks on our cities?"
"They needed six months to gather strength before they destroyed it. They are not that strong to harm us."
"Great. Then we have six months." Yuuri laughed dryly. "What kind of problem do they even have? Why did they get so entranced by the mazoku?"
"According to their priests, their gods cannot be fully reborn as long as we exist," Gunter tried to explain this in some way.
He sighed heavily and leaned against the uncomfortable back of a chair. He looked at Murata, but the latter had already explained to him that he knew nothing about the subject. That, in his time, they didn't even realize they existed, and their main concern was Shoushu. Now Shoushu had been defeated, and his place had been taken by some gods. Old, ancient gods, worshipped by humans and wanting to get rid of them.
He had no problem with the existence of gods, not when his soul belonged to one. He guessed this some time ago, somehow instinctively. It was when he wondered what the voice he heard in his head was and where his powerful powers really came from. And he didn't particularly care when he realized it. It wasn't the first time it turned out that his soul had previously belonged to someone important. It didn't matter if it was a powerful water god, still worshipped by the religion of the elements, or a woman loved by everyone. Those characters are no longer alive, and he is himself. Shibuya Yuuri, an ordinary high school student who loves baseball, and maou, the ruler of Shin Makoku, who is now struggling with the problem of ancient gods trying to attack his people. That means he has enough problems of his own; he doesn't need those of his previous lives.
"Ask the countries with which we have an alliance and with which we are in talks about their approach to this new religion. And in the others, watch developments. Especially in Shimaron," he said finally. "And I will think about how to talk to these gods. I don't know if it will do anything, but we still don't know enough about them to find a way to stop them."
He hoped he wouldn't have to perform any ritual to talk to them. Even so, before getting to anything, he preferred to discuss it with Wolfram and Adelhard first. They, too, worship ancient gods and seem to know what exactly the gods are.
Gunter took the reports from him and began arranging them while Gwendal stared at Yuuri.
"Anything else?" the young king asked uncertainly.
"The sect that Burenward belonged to is a branch of this religion. They may have left out the part about killing mazoku, but they just as much promise wealth and power, whatever that is, in exchange for performing rituals in worship of their gods. This means they have already been operating in our country for at least half a year."
Of course, it has something to do with them, after all, this monster was operating with Burenward. How many other creatures were there, these "demigods" like that one? They had no reports of new deaths, but that didn't mean they were idle.
"Focus all your forces on breaking up this sect. We don't need a comeback from what happened in that city."
"We are already working on it," Gwendal replied, and Yuuri felt a certain gratitude and satisfaction. Not so long ago, he probably wouldn't have even mentioned it to him. Such a meeting wouldn't even have taken place. He would have simply taken care of everything himself, and Yuuri would have only found out if something big happened. Now, however, he is a king worthy of reporting such things to him.
"Okay then. Do - "
The opening of the door to the hall interrupted him. Lady Anissina stepped inside, strode across the chamber, and sat down to the left of Gwendal, who completely ignored her. She was as confident as if she had been attending the meeting all along, but Yuuri still felt distracted. What was he actually going to ask?
"Have you discussed the issue of the city yet?" the woman asked, crossing her arms and putting her leg on top of another.
This triggered a panic attack in Gunter. Gwendal continued to ignore her. Yuuri had a feeling they hadn't informed her. Well, it was a strictly urgent matter that no one was told anything about. He was the only one who blabbed it out like an idiot.
"No. I wanted to ask Wolfram first what he thought about it," he said when it was obvious that no one else would say anything.
"Really? And why should you ask Lord von Bielefeld about it?"
"Because he's the one who found it, and he's the only person who knows so much about it. So if you want to study it, you have to talk to him about it." He knew how much Wolfram cared about the place, and even if something traumatic had happened there, he didn't want to decide for him and pass it on to Anissina.
"Lady Anissina." Gunter finally regained his voice. "Shouldn't you be examining the crystals now?"
"I didn't find them, so I decided to do something else."
"What do you mean she didn't find them?" Gwendal turned and looked at her.
"I checked the place Gunter mentioned. However, the casket was empty. I still tried to find them in other places, but in the end, I decided not to waste my time on it." Anissina shrugged her shoulders, completely indifferent at this.
Gunter made an unintelligible sound and quickly left the meeting room. Gwendal leaned his head slightly forward and massaged the space between his eyes.
"Conrad, go check it out," he said to his younger brother, who smiled sympathetically at him and moved away from Yuuri's chair, following Gunter.
As if they didn't have enough problems. Yuuri looked at Gwendal, hoping that was the end of the bad news.
"Do you have anything else to report?"
"The rain hasn't fallen in over a month, and peoples are worried about the coming drought."
"Oh, this can be solved quickly," interjected Anissina. "Just use - "
"I'll take care of the matter of bringing rain. Leave that to me, and focus on other things," Yuuri quickly interrupted her, but at the same time, decided to divert her attention in some other way. "There is a bubble of air lingering over the city we discovered. I'm curious as to how it might work."
"Indeed interesting." Anissina smiled at him and began to ponder. "If we could reconstruct, it could be useful to us in many things. Since His Majesty desires it, I will be happy to study it." She stood up and bade them farewell, then left the room. Apparently, she decided that she would hear nothing more interesting here.
Gwendal breathed a sigh of relief when she left.
"We are also having problems with bandits who are attacking the trails leading through Maou territories. They have found themselves a hideout somewhere in the Fire Mountains, making them hard to find."
Brave of them, thought Yuuri.
"Don't these mountains separate your territories from the Bielefelds?"
"Yes. However, these bandits seem to specifically avoid them and head straight for Maou territory."
So Gwendal is so scary that even bandits are afraid to attack his lands. But it's different with the king. After all, he's just an ordinary kid, nothing to worry about. He felt like punishing them properly before other gangs started following their trail, but how would he find them amid all that lava?
"Let's wait to look for them until Wolfram returns. It seemed to me that he and his men are well acquainted with these mountains."
"Yes, sir." Gwendal took his papers and stood up. That meant it was over. "Since Conrad isn't here now, I would ask you to come with me," he said as Yuuri began to rise. And he was already hoping for a little time alone. Looks like he's unlikely to get any until he returns to Earth.
Initial questioning of the guards gave them nothing. Gunter had last been in his office in the morning after breakfast, so this gave a significant time during which someone could have gone in there and taken the crystals. Since they had left the casket, it meant they were prepared and had their own way of moving them. But that didn't give them much.
It was only after an hour of questioning potential witnesses that Conrad learned that someone suspicious was staying on the balcony of the castle tower. However, he didn't get much detail - people were afraid to go near there for some reason. So he had to look at the mysterious person himself.
The balcony at the top of the country's tallest tower was built so that Maou could look out over his kingdom from it. That's why the stairs leading up to the top were wide, adorned with drapes, and illuminated by evening light streaming through tall windows. It was difficult to walk up them unnoticed, but it was empty all the way.
The massive double doors leading to the balcony were ajar. The orange light of the sunset streamed in through the crack, but nothing seemed to move behind them. So Conrad stopped at the side for the time being and listened.
The feeling of unease he had felt all the way up now intensified even more. Something akin to fear squeezed his insides with a cold hand, but a soldier trained as Conrad would not give in to something like that, especially when he didn't know the source of that fear. Besides, this wasn't the first time he felt it. The same thing happened when they approached the city at the bottom of the lake.
No sound came from the balcony. No rustling of clothes or scraping of steel. No breathing. Even the wind had stopped.
So he looked through the crack in the door. Someone was indeed on the balcony. A figure in a silver robe, with a hood thrown over its head. It stood at the edge of the balcony, with its back to him. A white crystal rested on a hand stretched upward.
Conrad stepped back and leaned against the wall next to the door. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know if there was even anything he could do. Lord Adelhard had explained to him emphatically enough that he was powerless in such a situation. So the only thing left for him to do was to inform Gwendal.
Conrad tightened his hand on the hilt of his sword. If he can't do anything against these creatures, is he even needed?
He tried to ward off these thoughts, but they persistently returned to him like a flock of flies. And then everything suddenly disappeared. So did the intrusive thoughts and the inexplicable fear. He looked out onto the balcony again, which was empty. Whoever was there had simply disappeared.
He went downstairs, heading toward Gwendal's office. Before he got there, however, one of the soldiers ran up to him.
"Is something wrong?" he asked the flustered boy once he had caught his breath.
"It's about Lady Hagen. She's demanding an explanation as to why she's locked in a cell. It sounds like she doesn't remember what happened."
"Have you informed anyone else about this yet?"
"Lord von Christ already knows, sir! He said he would talk to her."
"Good. I'll pass it on to His Majesty. You may leave."
He hoped Gunter was back to himself enough to actually be able to talk meaningfully with her. The last time Conrad saw him, the man was lamenting about himself and how much he had let Yuuri down by letting someone steal the crystals.
The soldier moved away, and Conrad went on after a while as well. He hoped that Rosalinde's condition was the result of destroying the crystals and that she really didn't remember anything from when she was under their influence.