Chapter 96: Monster of the Ibrudia Empire
~ Prime Minister of the Ibrudia Empire, Heinz’s Perspective ~
Four days after the declaration of war, the conference room inside the Imperial City was in complete chaos.
The reason for that is that there was no contact from the General who went to the battlefield.
Our plans and preparations for the war with Arto Kingdom, which had been planned over the period of five years, were perfect. Mass production of the magic airships, which we had invested a large amount of money in, was completed in half a year, and 8 of the 10 ships in the Empire have sortied. The invasion began at the same moment as the declaration of war.
We paid close attention to information leaks, and eliminated all spies from the Arto Kingdom as soon as we found them. In addition, according to the information from our spies, there was no sign that the Arto Kingdom was aware of our preparations for war, and they even held a festival called “Clan Ranking Tournament”.
If everything went according to plan, the outcome would have already been decided, and we would already be holding a celebration in this castle.
Despite this, information that the Imperial Army had surrendered two days ago came in through the adventurer network. Considering the difference in military might with the Arto Kingdom, that information was disregarded as it was highly unlikely, but no information other than that has come in.
「Hey, what’s going on! Why haven’t we received any reports or information?!」
I can’t stop feeling on edge. If this strategy fails, my life will be at stake…
Suddenly, the room door swung open vigorously.
「Your Excellency! A letter has just arrived from the Arto Kingdom!」
「What!? Show me!」
The contents of the letter was something unexpected.
To summarize what was written,『Arto Kingdom has shot down all 8 magic airships. All surviving soldiers on board are taken prisoners. Furthermore, about half of the approximately 5,000 Imperial Army personnel died in action. A total of 2,865 prisoners were taken.』
「Th-This can’t be true!」
「But we don’t have any more information right now…」
「It can’t be helped. Now that the letter has arrived, I have to convey this information to His Majesty the Emperor…」
How did this happen… If this information is accurate, what did I mislook…
Where in the Arto Kingdom does such a military force exist? Their magic technology is also incomparably inferior to our country. We also surpassed in both national strength and the number of soldiers. In addition to that, from Arto Kingdom’s point of view, the declaration of war was equivalent to a surprise attack. How did they overcome such a situation!
I don’t understand it at all, but even so, since we have received a letter from the Arto Kingdom, I have a duty to inform His Majesty the Emperor.
(If I’m lucky, I’ll get time to deal with the post-war process…huh.)
Now that this has happened, someone will need to take responsibility. And in the current situation where the Generals who went to the battlefield were killed in battle or taken prisoner, there is no one other than me who can take responsibility in the Empire.
In addition, the current Emperor would definitely execute me…
But until I find out why it turned out this way and what exactly happened on the battlefield, I can’t die…
How can I afford to die while these questions are unanswered!
I have to convince His Majesty somehow… What should I do…
Oh right! The Council of the Seven Sphin Nations! My wisdom will be needed in three months from now! Depending on the recovery at that scene, I may be able to avoid execution…
For that reason, it is most important to have an audience with His Majesty at this time. Let’s think and get through it no matter what!
After 30 minutes, the audience with His Majesty was accepted and I entered the throne room while feigning calmness.
「Your Majesty, there has been a report.」
「…What is it? Has the dragonewt race of the Arto Kingdom been exterminated?」
「No… the information is conflicting. According to the letter from Arto Kingdom, it said that all eight magic airships were shot down. I think General Egon made a blunder.」
「Prime Minister, you have the supreme command of the military operation. What do you mean by conflicting information?」
「The means of communication with General Egon of the Magic Airship Unit and General Knut of the Imperial Army was established through magic tools. However, the fact that there is no contact from both of them means that, as per the letter from the Arto Kingdom, they may have died or been taken prisoner. Now that it has come to this, I will dispatch “No Face” to the Arto Kingdom to gather information. Also, this year the Council of the Seven Sphin Nations will be held in the Imperial City. I will definitely be of use to you, so I would like you to delay my punishment…」
「First, go talk to that guy. If you can’t do that, you will be immediately executed. Heinz… there will not be another chance.」
「Yes, Your Majesty! Of course.」
It was quite tense, but I managed to extend my life for now. However, in that environment, I could not have convinced him by saying I would go to the Arto Kingdom directly.
In order for His Majesty to recognize me as a “pawn that can still be used”, the only conclusion I came up with was to have him misunderstood me as “having a connection with No Face”.
However, that is actually quite a difficult task. No Face can even be said to be “extraterritoriality in the Ibrudia Empire”.
He always wears an eerie mask, and his true identity has never been revealed. Moreover, although he has caused numerous incidents so far, he has never been caught and is considered to be a “phantom”.
Furthermore, according to rumors, even though he always acts alone, he is said to have 1,000 subordinates. In the long history of the Ibrudia Empire, there has been no one else like him in terms of the complexity of information and the degree of elusiveness.
I’ll have to somehow get in touch with this man in the next few days. My information network has recently received information about his sightings in the Imperial Capital.
However, even if I could meet him, it is unknown how much he would charge for the request.
No, if I fail in that negotiation, my life will be forfeit anyway.
Let’s mobilize the imperial spies right away to find out where he is…
However, despite my worries that I might not be able to meet him by the due date, late at night that day… I encountered No Face in a completely unexpected way.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Just before falling asleep, I felt the wind caressing my cheeks and realized that the window was open.
Even though I thought it should be closed, I got up from the bed to close the window without vigilance.
As soon as I approached the window, I heard a man’s voice behind me. When I turned around, there was a masked man with a knife pointed at my neck.
In the moonlight-filled room, the man’s mask was eerily reflected. A mask with a crying face on the right half and an unnatural smile on the left…
I immediately understood that this man was “No Face”…
「You are the one who is looking for me, aren’t you?」
「Y-Yeah. Are you No Face…? Truth is, I was looking for you because I have a request…」
「I don’t take orders, requests, or instructions from anyone. But well, I’ll listen to what you have to say, at least.」
「F-For now…can you put down this knife? I won’t call any servants or guards…」
After a few seconds, the knife that had been pointed to my neck was silently lowered, and I was relieved for the time being.
I could tell from the voice and body that he is an adult male. I couldn’t discern much more than that, though.
「As for the request, I want you to infiltrate the Arto Kingdom. Truth is, the Ibrudia Empire declared war a few days ago, and broke into a war with the Arto Kingdom. However, half a day after the battle began, there was no contact from the battlefield. We were attacking with a difference in strength that would normally be impossible to overcome. It was a war that should have been won with certainty… I want to know what happened on the battlefield, and what is happening in the Arto Kingdom…」
「I know that there was a war going on. The Empire unilaterally launched a war, and even used magic airships.」
「I-In that case, it should be quick! You can name anything you want as a reward! If it’s something that I can arrange, I’ll give it to you right away!」
「Didn’t I tell you? I don’t take orders or requests from anyone… But the Arto Kingdom, huh. It sounds a bit interesting… Might be a good idea to pay a visit.」
Luck is on my side!
If this guy finds it interesting, there’s a high chance that he’ll accept it. Besides, he should know that the reward I can give him as the Prime Minister of the Ibrudia Empire is huge!
「If that’s the case! Will you accept it?」
「Then let me get my reward first.」
「No problem! What reward――」
Eh? How strange… Why am I on the floor…
Also, is that… my legs?
「My reward is your life. With this, it means that I have never accepted a request from anyone. Law, order, position, status, money… nothing can bind me.」
With a thud, I could see my body collapsed on the floor.
There was nothing above my neck, and a large amount of blood was gushing out, forming a puddle on the floor.
Even if I tried to speak, I couldn’t, and in the confusion of not knowing what happened, my consciousness gradually faded.
And the last thing I heard was the words of the man called “No Face”.
「I am the man with the most freedom in the world.」
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Became A Zombie After Being Deceived And Killed
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 70 hours
Most freedom, eh? Sounds lonely. I wonder if he’s a decent enough guy for Aun to recruit…