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Chapter 144: No Face’s Parting Gift

〜Aun’s point of view〜

「Damn, I seriously messed up… I can’t find him at all.」

Having let Brakylls escape, I split up with Kinu, Shinku, and Drake to search for him. However, I couldn’t even grasp a single clue.

If he isn’t found, it’s easy to imagine a future in which the leaders of other countries will be brainwashed in the same way as the Emperor and go to war with each other. Brakylls’ purpose is to cause chaos throughout the Sphin Continent and provoke battles between the armies to make the human races fight each other. As a result, when the Demon King is resurrected in five years, the power of the nations will drop to a level where the human race will no longer be a threat. Now that we already know about it, we can take countermeasures. But I want to avoid dealing with brainwashed country leaders anymore.

While I was wondering about what to do, I received telepathy from Nelfie.

≪This is Nelfie. The Emperor was killed by Princess Luna Ibrudia. We will head to the rendezvous point shortly.≫

≪Good job! I had accidentally let one of the demons escape. Sorry, but please help me with the search..≫

≪Understood. I will head there after guiding Her Highness Luna to a safe plac–!?≫

Hmm? What happened? The telepathy was suddenly cut off… Did Brakylls appear in the Imperial Castle?

It was Kinu who went searching for him at the imperial castle. He wouldn’t be able to have the upperhand against Kinu and Nelfie both, but I should head there right away as well.

As I was running with all my might towards the imperial castle with that in mind, I immediately received telepathy from Princess Luna.

≪Aun-san! Please come to the Imperial Castle now!≫

Her voice conveyed an unusual sense of urgency.

≪What happened!? I’m on my way right now. Just give me a quick status report!≫

≪Immediately after the Emperor fell, No Face appeared before us. He said there’s a secret room under the fountain in the courtyard of the Imperial Castle, and he has left something there. Nelfie-san is confronting No Face currently.≫

≪Understood! We’ll check the hidden room later. Let’s go to Nelfie first!≫

As I arrived at the entrance of the imperial castle within minutes, Princess Luna and Kinu were already waiting for me there. Kinu must have heard the telepathy and joined up with Princess Luna first.

「Where’s Nelfie!?」

「In the Emperor’s room. I’ll show you the way!」

Walking at the front, Princess Luna moved while giving various orders to the servants and guards who passed by on the way to not appear suspicious, and so as not to enter the Emperor’s room.

Among the people who we passed by there were also people who seemed to be nobles in charge of national affairs. S-rank monsters suddenly appeared in the city, and many buildings were destroyed in the battle between Brakylls and I. If you think about it normally, the imperial capital has been destroyed to the level of a calamity. As such, they will need the Emperor’s orders. However, since Princess Luna has given the orders for this as well, it seems likely that the situation will remain stagnant until tomorrow morning.

It would be troublesome if a third party found the Emperor’s corpse in his room at this stage. Considering that no matter how much we try to hide it, someone will come to know about this fact by tomorrow afternoon. So our time limit is until tomorrow morning. We have to settle the problem with Brakylls and No Face by then, or choose to take other measures.

I really want to head towards Nelfie’s location as soon as possible, but rushing here will only add to the confusion.

I kept moving forward while suppressing my impatience.

And when I opened the door to the Emperor’s room, I found a dazed Nelfie sitting inside. No Face was nowhere to be seen.

「Are you okay!? What happened!?」

「Aun… I’m sorry. I am just confused right now…」

「As long as you are safe, it’s alright! Are you hurt anywhere? Did something happen!?」

「No. We just talked. No harm was done.」

「I’m glad… As for what we should do next…」

I was perplexed looking at Nelfie who usually never loses her composure. I want to sort things out, but there’s not enough information. And it will take some time before Nelfie calms down.

Sensing my troubled air, Kinu spoke out.

「I’ll watch over Nelfie. Aun, go search under the fountain in the courtyard.」

According to what Princess Luna told us while we were heading here, No Face appeared right after the Emperor was killed and delivered a message that he left behind something in the hidden room under the fountain in the courtyard of the imperial castle. It seems too unskillful to assume it’s a trap, but I have no idea what else might be there.

However, I can’t let Princess Luna go there. After the death of the Emperor, there is no one other than Princess Luna who can bring the Empire back together. In which case, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she will be one of the most important people in charge of the future situation on the Sphin Continent. And she was also seen by several nobles who probably hold important posts on the way here. Besides Princess Luna, there is no one who can hold back the nobles of the Empire.

Which means, what I should do is search for the room hidden under the courtyard as Kinu said.

「Alright. Nelfie, Kinu, please return to the airship first. You can relax back in the bedroom in the airship. Nelfie, do you think you can move there?」

「Yeah, it’s okay. I’m sorry for being in this pathetic form…. I’ll tell you everything about what happened later.」

「No worries! I’ll take care of the rest!」

In order to put her at ease, I smiled a little exaggeratedly.
As I glanced at Princess Luna, she looked at me and nodded silently. She seems to know what she has to do. Considering that she overthrew her father, the Emperor, with her own two hands, she must have had a lot of mixed emotions in her heart… She’s a really strong woman

「From here on, I will do my duty as a member of the royal family.」

「I’ll leave that to you. Please buy me some time until tomorrow morning. I’ll go search the courtyard first.」

「I don’t know what you will find there, but please take care.」

I went to the veranda through the window and moved along the roofs of the castle and towers, and soon arrived at the fountain square in the courtyard. When I activated the Detection skill, I could certainly sense a hollow space below.

Although it was a little forceful, I destroyed the ground along with the lawn next to the fountain. The space which I felt with my skill spread out underneath.

As I jumped into the room with my Detection skill activated so as not to let my guard down, a bloody unpleasant smell filled my nostrils. My skill didn’t detect any creatures, but considering that No Face slipped past my Detection before, it would be better to be more vigilant.

The light from a magic tool and the faint light coming through the hole illuminated the room dimly.

As my eyes gradually got used to it, I noticed something in the corner of the room. The smell seems to come from there as well.

「What the!! I can’t believe this…」

My eyes widened despite myself.

The corpse of Brakylls, whom I fought a few hours ago, was left unattended there. His body didn’t have a head, but there was no mistaking it… I’m definitely the one who cut off the right arm and one of the wings.

「This doesn’t make any sense, but… This solves the biggest problem…」

I immediately contacted Ruzark and the others. After that, we decided to reconfirm the situation together with the leaders who attended the council.

Thus, the long night of the first day of the Council of Seven Sphin Nations came to an end.