Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 14 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: An Empty Room

A surprise attack. That was the only way of describing the current situation. An incident had occurred in the imperial capital’s grand cathedral—the headquarters of the Holy Church, those who worshiped the saviors and protected world order.

There was a section in the grand cathedral that was, for the moment, under particularly strict security. This well-secured redoubt is where Majima Takahiro, having fought the Maclaurin Provincial Army and the Holy Order’s Fourth Company in Aker, was lodged. He had one room for him and his servants, rooms for the delegation led by Aker’s second prince, Philip Kendall, and rooms for the dragons of Draconia who were here as his guards. This entire section of the cathedral was sealed off from all outsiders. Knights of the Holy Order were posted on the boundaries of the area, guaranteeing its safety. It was supposed to be impossible to intrude on by any common means. However...

“No way, you’re kidding me...”

Having just returned to the room, Kei’s knees buckled. She was dumbfounded. She’d only been away for a short while. She’d gone to visit the dragons because she’d had some business there. At the time, Philip had been there too, sitting across a table from the dragons’ eldest sister, Ella.

During the meeting a few hours ago between Majima Takahiro and the exploration team, the dragons had encountered one of the culprits who’d obliterated their home, the Almighty Vessel Okazaki Takuma. Philip had paid Ella a visit out of consideration for her emotional instability. Thanks to that, Ella had calmed down somewhat.

Aker was Kei’s precious homeland, and the dragons of Draconia were her friend Lobivia’s family. She was delighted to see both sides getting along. However, that idyllic moment had suddenly been shattered. The clamorous noise of something breaking had rumbled through the room. The dragons had immediately charged out. Despite being somewhat behind due to the difference in their physiques, Kei had followed them right away.

Immediately after that, she’d sensed something bizarre. Anyone capable of using magic would’ve been able to sense the tremendous amount of mana being manipulated. Her legs had tangled for a moment, but Kei had remained strong and kept running. Rushing out into the hallway, the room she had been using came into sight right away. The knight who was supposed to be standing there had gone missing. Perhaps he’d gone into the room after hearing the noise. Kei had barged into the room with the dragons.

However, by that time, they were far too late. Not a single person was inside. The situation was far too strange. It hadn’t even taken them ten seconds from noticing the abnormality to their arrival. There were several among Majima Takahiro’s party who possessed tremendous strength in a fight. Even if faced with visitors who were extolled as saviors, they had the strength to repel one or two of them. Against more, they wouldn’t go down so easily. It would be impossible to defeat them in a mere ten seconds.

Kei only remained in a daze for a few seconds. She took action faster than anyone else. She told the spirit—the one with whom she’d formed a contract the other day—to search the area. However, the people she was looking for were nowhere to be found. The dragons and Aker’s delegation began panicking around her.

Hearing the uproar, knights of the Holy Order quickly arrived. They were all pale. They immediately began investigating and asked everyone else to leave the room. Philip and Ella offered to stay and assist in the investigation as representatives of Majima Takahiro’s group. Their offer was accepted.

While moving to another room, Kei remained deep in thought. Something felt off. There hadn’t been any signs of a struggle inside the room. Did that mean all those strong people had been abducted without even being able to put up a fight? Furthermore, had they all been taken so far away in so short a time that a spirit couldn’t detect them? There was also the massive amount of mana she’d sensed before it all happened...

She had no evidence to support her suspicions, but one errant memory continued to pull at her.

“It can’t be...Fairy Ring?”

This was the name of the ability of one of the exploration team’s upper brass, the nicknamed cheater Shimazu Yui. It was the power of long-distance teleportation that had brought Majima Takahiro’s party of twenty or so people from Aker all the way to the imperial capital.

What had happened to Majima Takahiro and those who’d been with him? Were they safe? Where had they gone? To explain all that, we must go back a little in time.