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CHAPTER 200: A NEW PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 200: A NEW PERSPECTIVE

~ Ruzarc’s Point of View ~

After finishing the meeting in the Ibuldia Empire to supplement the Seven Sphinn Nations Council, I boarded an airship and returned to the royal capital as soon as possible. Although I was in a hurry, I was scheduled to arrive at my destination in about six hours. It was unclear what the state of affairs of the coup in Alline would be by then.

As I was sorting out the situation with Legenda inside of a private room, Aun and Kinu contacted me via telepathy.

No matter how many times I experience this feeling of using telepathy, it was still a strange and unsettling thing.

Magical Tools can allow one to communicate over long distances as well, but it is necessary to speak the words out loud. In that respect, telepathy allowed you to share information with multiple people at the same time without worrying about your voice leaking out or you being heard by some unwanted third party. Of course, Magical Tools have their own advantages, and it was hard to say which method was unilaterally better, but…… This time around, sharing information through telepathy would definitely be a material that works to our advantage.

(Ruzarc, do you have time to speak now?)

(Yeah, it’s okay. How’s it going over there?)

(We are slowly crushing Fernando’s tricks one by one. However, there are two bombs planted in the royal capital, and it looks like it will be difficult for us to defuse them on our own.)

(Do you know what they are exactly?)

(Nnh. The bomb Nelfie found seems to have been made by combining various Magical Tools together. She said she couldn’t even touch it herself in case this might trigger it to go off.)

(A bomb made of different Magical Tools, huh…..?. it’s certainly not all that difficult to make something like that if you really want to……)

(So, does that mean it should be no problem to defuse it if you were to give her instructions via telepathy, Ruzarc?)

(No, that’s sadly not that simple. When it comes to defusing or dismantling an explosive, you cannot know for sure what kind of Magical Tools are combined together without actually seeing them in person, and it’s much more difficult than making them from scratch.)

(Hmm, I see. Well then, we really need you to come here as soon as possible, Ruzarc.)
I was a little bit concerned about the lack of clarity in his words, but when it comes down to Magical Tools, there was no one else more qualified than me to be dealing with them. Aun and the others must have thought the same thing, and that is why they contacted me through telepathy. And although it was slightly inappropriate, when I heard about the Magical Tools, I could not help myself from actually feeling a little bit curious.

(Yes, that’s right. I think I can get away with it safely if I ask Legenda for help, and I will immediately return to the Alline Dungeon.)

(Oh, sorry about that. It’s entirely possible that Fernando’s goal is to lure you into the royal capital, Ruzarc. So please avoid acting on your own if possible, and do be careful.)

(Cinque has just returned to the Alline Dungeon. I have asked him to escort and guide you along the way.)

(Oh, that’s certainly reassuring. Well then, I will explain the situation and give proper instructions to Legenda and then return to the Alline Dungeon at once.)

I then turned off the telepathy link and explained the situation to Legenda. Fortunately, this airship was already in the sky, so even if I was no longer here, Legenda could just say some excuse alongside the line of “Ruzarc is currently resting in his room”, so it was possible to get rid of anyone who would want to try and snoop around, and I would be able to somehow get away from here without rousing too much suspicion.

Even so, I never thought my brother Ferdinand would go to such lengths.

Although his faction was indeed large, even the nobles scorned him and called him a mere “puppet.” But when you look into it and find out that his abilities were all deeply hidden, calculated, and his impression was carefully crafted and manipulated, the strangeness of it all would send chills down my spine.

Taking into consideration all the information I have heard from Aun and Barbar so far, my brother was truly a rational and efficient person. He was also a clever man with vast military talent. Otherwise, it would be no mean feat to pull off a coup like that in one night and take complete control of the royal capital with little to no effort. Even if I were told to do it, I would probably give up quickly, saying that it was impossible and that I was not capable of actually accomplishing it.

And then there was the issue of the bomb, which combined various Magical Tools together. I said it was easy to make, but that was only assuming that you had the knowledge of Magical Tools to begin with, and only means that it would be easy for “me” to make one.

Or rather, when did this coup start being planned and prepared for in the first place? The strongest possibility was that it happened right after the Ranking Battles. But if that was the case, then the preparation period would have been around six months or even more……

And the fact that I had not heard about it at all meant that it was probably planned by at most a few selected people, or even by my brother alone.

No, no…… But that couldn’t be right……

In just six months, he made a plan to take total control of the royal capital, gathered enough people, established a means of communication with each unit, gained knowledge of Magical Tools, and actually created a functioning bomb? And he made all of the preparations behind closed doors so that no one would find out……? If you think about it objectively, there’s no way he could do something like that.

But if he did manage to do it, it would only prove that the man known as Ferdinand Alto possessed one of the best minds, judgment ability, financial resources, and courage in the entire world.

Thinking about it, I suddenly remembered something.

Aun had said, “It’s possible that Ferdinand’s goal is to lure you into the royal capital, Ruzarc,” and how uncertain he was about that. And then, his line, “We are slowly thwarting Ferdinand’s moves.”

If Aun and the others continued to fall behind, then that means ――

「I better get my act together here, or else we are going to be the ones who are going to get devoured……」

The place I was heading to right now was not a safe place protected by Aun and the others.

If I do not use all the power I have to fight them off, I will be caught off guard by a formidable enemy.

I corrected my own perception of my brother…… No, the man named Fernando Alto, and give instructions to Legenda at once.

Then I teleported back to the Alline Dungeon, and my field of vision changed in an instant.