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Chapter 219

During the chaos in Korato caused by the defection of the Tenkeiki, Lynette, who had succeeded to some extent in breaking into the management facility of the Tenkeiki, joined back up with Professor Edward and the others, who had evacuated earlier, and they made their way back to Arkrest Kingdom.

Edward and the others sorted through the information they had gathered from the facility, and they passed through Galois on their way to the royal capital, in order to give their report on the situation to Prince Sperion.

After parting ways with Edward and the others at Galois, Lynette continued on to Bern Village, where her Master Dran was waiting for her return.

But before that, in the few days before Lynette met up with Dran after escaping from the facility, there is the story of certain people in a place outside of Arkrest Kingdom, who received news of the circumstances and results of this incident.

This place was the capital of Todorokuni, known as Reiyou.

With a population of over five million people, it is currently the largest megacity on the planet. Since it was liberated from the Celestial Beings, it flourished as Todorokuni’s capital, and has continued to do so through history.

As the heart of the nation, it extended its reach outwards in all directions, to invade, merge with, plunder, slaughter, win over, coexist, absorb, and lastly control all the other lands around it.

Dreams, desires, hopes, passion, malice… This city was a melting pot containing all the emotions human beings can hold. From the royal palace at the northern end of a city, to the outer edges of the city in the other three directions, the city was planned, orderly, and beautiful, as well as functional.

The tiled roofs and the pillars supporting the gates were brightly colored, and the color combinations showed how the city was divided into different sections, such as cloth shops, medicine stores, inns, restaurants, clinics, and brothels.

Slums did temporarily arise due to the process of urban expansion and historical changes, but they were all swallowed up by the plans of the bureaucrats at the royal palace who sought to combine the functionality of the city with the beauty of its appearance, and so these slums disappeared as quickly as bubbles between the waves of an ocean.

Todorokuni was surrounded on three sides by enemies: Akitsu beyond the sea to the east, the Mashur Islands to the south, and Korato and Gandula to the west. But the people of Reiyou were living their lives as they always have, with rumors of war and other events still far in the distance.

The residents of the city dressed in brightly colored clothing crossed by each other on the grid-patterned streets of varying sizes, and the stores lined up on the streets varied from five to six story stores, with their store names carved onto golden signs, and smaller stalls or street vendors with handmade signs and price tags made for commoners.

The people passing through were not only of the human race from the eastern part of the continent, but also most of the other demi-human races, such as regular cat and dog people, as well as typical beast people, like snake, spider, dragonfly, and beetle people. There were even giants, elves, dwarves, and lizard people too.

At the very least, there was no unreasonable discrimination based on race, when it comes to employment, marriage, or other things. This can be seen from the peaceful atmosphere of the people walking the streets, paying no regard to the different races.

Regardless of whether or not they were able to put an end to the Celestial Beings’ history and make full use of their legacies, there was no doubt that they were one of the biggest handful of countries on not just this continent, but on this planet.

And on one of the streets in Todorokuni’s capital city of Reiyou, there was a thriving teahouse.

In this two-story teahouse, the well-built owner and his wife, along with their sociable staff, ran the shop together. They were popular for their dim sum and tea, which were far more delicious than their modest prices would make them appear.

Today was another busy day, with most of the seats occupied by merchants in business meetings, students with some free time, and other workers on their break time.

There were several private rooms in the back of the second floor, and there was a man and woman inside one of these rooms.

On top of the round table at the center of the room with vermillion painted walls, there were steaming baskets full of various dim sum, filled to the brim with fresh and fluffy dumplings made from shaping kneaded wheat flour dough into a flax flower shape.

Sitting at the round table was a man in his fifties, wearing beautifully blue dyed clothing with a glossy sheen wrapped around his round body, and on the other side was a beautiful woman who was like the complete opposite of him, with narrow amethyst-colored eyes, blonde hair tied back high on her head, and dressed in men’s clothing.

「Hmm, hmm, fumu」

The man reached for the dishes on the round table one after another, tossing them into his mouth and savoring every bite along with the feeling of happiness and satisfaction spreading throughout his mouth.

His plump cheeks with smooth skin jiggled with each bite, enough to make one wonder if his body was made of jelly or some other type of sweets.

The beautiful woman, who appeared to be his bodyguard or something, watched her master happily eating vigorously without her facial expression changing in the slightest, but inwardly, she was filled with just as much happiness as he was.

However, the beautiful woman gave herself a few words of encouragement, and solidified her resolve.

It was completely her master’s tastes that brought them all the way out into the city and in this store, but there was something that they needed to talk about.

「Lord Mankan, now that you’ve calmed down, it’s about time…」

When approximately half of the food on the table had disappeared, the beautiful woman attempted to start the conversation by calling her master by his fake name.

Fortunately, her master was not so insensitive as to ignore the words of this beautiful woman, who he has known for a long time. He put down his chopsticks, and gulped down the somewhat strongly brewed tea to wash away the oiliness from the food that remained in his mouth.

「Yes, this is a good time to move on to the main subject at hand. But still, the food here tastes the same as always. With food like this, this shop should prosper peacefully for at least the next ten years」

「Lord Mankan」

「Oops, I got sidetracked. Forgive me, Kouka」

In response to Mankan’s carefree way of speaking, whose good mood in this large store gave off an impression suitable for a philanthropist, Kouka did not pursue the matter further, but simply narrowed her eyes and stared at her master’s face.

Kouka’s glare, which felt like it could cut down even a hundred or a thousand foes, was as sharp as an excellent sword, and made Mankan clear his throat with purpose.

「Have you sealed this place away from tactless eyes and ears trying to uncover our secret conversation?」

「Please do not worry. I have cast a spell on this room to encase it in a thick fog that is impossible to see through, even for someone with space-time clairvoyance」

「If you say so, then it must be true. The incident with the Tenkeiki of Korato took an unexpected turn, but it looks like things have settled down in the general direction I expected」

「Someone took back control of the Tenkeiki’s supremacy, and caused chaos in the war with our own country. This incident was indeed something that we couldn’t understand in the beginning, but as you said, the end result was that the Tenkeiki returned back to Korato.

However, the chaos that arose on the frontlines of Korato until they managed to regain the Tenkeiki, the number of Tenkeiki that were lost in that process, and the complete transfer of control in order to prevent another defection; all of these are definitely major blows to Korato」

Apparently, based on the conversation they were having so far, this Mankan and Kouka must have been people of considerable status from Todorokuni.

Just a few days ago, the remaining Tenkeiki, led by Shion, had recaptured the management facility, and all the other Tenkeiki had only just started to gradually return to Korato, but they were still in the middle of receiving more information, which was still extremely new.

「I heard that the subordinates of the Four Generals also suffered quite a bit of casualties. Don’t forget to give generous payments to the families of the deceased. Though, I’m sure you’ve made the arrangements」

「Yes. I certainly have」

「Fumu, it’s frustrating that in the course of their duties, we cannot mourn for them publicly」

「I’m sure that those people feel rewarded just by your words alone, Lord Mankan. As for the people who were occupying the facility, they have apparently fled to the north, as far as we were able to track them. Since they disappeared by a transfer spell, we can’t quite tell which direction they fled to from there, but…」

「They did a good job hiding. But that means they also handled the Celestial facility with just as much dexterity. The only ones on this planet capable of doing that would be us, the now deceased Grand Sorcerer Bastrell, or some descendant of the Celestial Beings who survived somewhere. Whichever it is, we’ll have to be careful」

「Yes. I have already notified the Four Divine Generals as well as the Four Spirit Generals to be on a secret, second-level alert. As for Byakko and Genbu, since they also have the war with Korato and Gandula, it may be a bit too harsh of an order for them」

「Yes. But, it is unlikely that another set of filthy invaders will come from beyond the sea of stars. If so, the rabbit and crab people on the moon would have made a big deal out of it, and the Three Celestial Dragon Emperors and the Three Dragon God Emperors would have made their move」

「Isn’t there a possibility that the enemy might be something that even the Dragon Emperors wouldn’t be able to notice?」

Kouka’s words made Mankan look a little bit miffed. Due to his smooth skin and plump face, he looked childlike, even though he was supposed to be in his fifties.

「What a nasty question. If they can deceive even the eyes of the Dragon Emperors, then there’s nothing that can be done, even if our Todorokuni were to join hands with all the other nations and work together. If the opponent is on the level of a Dragon God, then we can still take it on, but that’s as far as we can go for now.

Anyway, I knew that things wouldn’t end with just the war with the Three-Country Alliance, but to think they were going to try to bite off more pieces. This situation is getting more complicated. Korato is tougher than expected, but it’s bad that the three princes are also so determined」

「If they cooperate with us, they will be appointed to the throne —- such is the standard, and is a highly effective invitation, but they didn’t complain about it, did they?

Even when we tried to have them executed on suspicion of treason by having them reveal evidence that we had reached out to them, they quickly confessed that they had an invitation from us, and they prevented it from happening.

A number of chief officers are still being bribed, but it likely won’t be of much use」

Mankan hummed in affirmation as he refilled his empty teacup and quenched his thirst.

「Just as I was about to seal the deal on the cease-fire with Akitsu, and start looking inward instead of outward, this war started. It’s annoying that they came at a time like this.

However, with the defection of the Tenkeiki, their opportunity for a counterattack has been ruined. I think it’s about time to make a deal with Gandula and Mashur now.

Some concessions will need to be made, but even if Gandula has the divine weapons of two Great Gods, they must realize that they will be crushed by Genbu and our army, and Mashur must be starting to calculate their disadvantages of being part of a sea blockade.

Of course, Korato will probably propose to maintain the alliance, and from there, there will be even more opportunities for diplomacy and to target the weak points of their strategies」

However, perhaps there was something that Mankan was still dissatisfied with, or maybe he was in a bad mood, but anyway, his expression did not look happy.

Having known him for a long time, Kouka did not have to ask to know what was on Mankan’s mind, but at the same time, it was still something that Kouka was curious about.

「You seem to be concerned about the scholar from Arkrest Kingdom, Edward, and the unidentified golem and its magical armor that invaded at the same time as we did」

「I don’t care about Edward. I have known for a long time that he is a scholar filled with such passion and ability, that I can’t help but wish he had been born in my country instead.

But we don’t know much at all about that golem. If she was acting in cooperation with Edward, then I would think that she’s a new model of golem or magical armor belonging to Arkrest, but…

If Arkrest has created something that is capable of fighting against the high-end models of the Tenkeiki, and is superior to them from start to finish, then I have to say that this is a military threat. Unlike the Tenkeiki or the divine weapons of Gandula, this is something that can be mass produced, after all」

「We have no choice but to increase the number of our spies in Arkrest, and monitor the movements of that country more than ever」

「We haven’t done this since that time the Arc Witch showed her brilliance in magic. What a nuisance」

「I know that there is no such thing as an insurmountable wall for you and my country, Lord Mankan. Now then, it’s time we must return home. The time is approaching for you to return to being Your Majesty again」

「Hmm, then let us clear out the rest of these dishes, and hurry back home after!」

As Mankan said this with great enthusiasm, he began to hurriedly reach his chopsticks toward the remaining dishes, which had now cooled down somewhat. From the way he acted, it was as if they still had a lot of time to spare, and Kouka let out a sigh that was half relieved, and half despondent.