Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 14 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 — The Gray Cat’s Invite

Several days later, wearing the third uniform, Zenjirou was in Freya’s homeland. While it was the blazing season in Capua, it was currently summer in Uppasala. Although Zenjirou was only working based on his own estimates, he’d say that the temperature here felt like it was in the low to mid-twenties as opposed to the high thirties to low forties that were common in Capua. Additionally, while it was still summer, the season was nearly over.

On top of that, the capital was located on Lake Mater—a huge lake, bigger than Lake Biwako—which meant that if the wind was blowing in the right direction, it would be a cooling breeze that could make it feel almost biting, even in summer.

“If I’d come here first, I’d have brought a heater, not an air conditioner,” he said to himself as he sat in the annex of the palace, Valaskjálf, which they were loaning him. The building itself was now officially considered the Capuan embassy.

Such treatment had been quite shocking among the countries of the Northern Continent. The shock itself was hardly a surprise. Uppasala had diplomatic ties in one form or another with several other nations, and there were several embassies within the capital. Those embassies, though, were just buildings in the city, not within the palace itself.

The reason for this special treatment for Capua—which was, at best, a newcomer to the continent’s diplomatic scene—was at least half due to their lineal magic. Or, more specifically, their teleportation powers.

Zenjirou was in a guest room of the embassy, ready to meet the guests of honor. He had sent a maid with an invitation several days earlier. The slight disadvantage of the spell was that although he could send a message saying when he was intending to visit, he could not receive any response. Pushing such meetings onto Uppasala without their agreement was somewhat rude, but the only option for any such communication between the two nations was his teleportation, so there was no avoiding it.

The maid Zenjirou had sent was one of the maids Freya had brought with her from Uppasala. It was a welcome chance for a temporary homecoming for her. Of course, it went without saying that she’d had a collection of letters to family from her less-lucky compatriots as well as a list of souvenirs to buy in Uppasala pushed onto her.

Finally, the two guests Zenjirou had been waiting for arrived: King Gustav V and his son Prince Yngvi. Zenjirou had sent individual requests for an audience with each of them, but seeing them together was well within the realm of possibility, so he wasn’t particularly taken aback.

Once the basic greetings had been exchanged and the two native royals were sitting, Zenjirou spoke.

“Welcome. You both have my thanks for responding to my request while you are so busy.”

The king and prince both smiled at that. “Not at all,” Gustav replied with a broad grin. “A son-in-law is still a son, so I am all too pleased to be able to see you.”

“Indeed,” Yngvi agreed. “Besides, I doubt my brother-in-law would ask to see us for no reason whatsoever. I wager this could be quite interesting.” There was a gleam in his blue eyes, so similar to Freya’s.

“I do hope it lives up to your expectations,” Zenjirou said with a wry smile. He felt like the younger man was definitely overestimating him, although he was pretty sure that this would indeed live up to Yngvi’s expectations. Zenjirou straightened in his chair before beginning to speak again. “Princess Freya’s debut was completed without issue a few days ago.”

“Oh my, really?” While Yngvi’s question was joking, there was still a hint of skepticism in his gaze, matched by his father’s. It seemed that both of her relatives had their doubts about how “without issue” it had really been.

“Indeed it did. Her Highness is certainly a thoughtful individual.”

While Zenjirou meant what he said, the king and prince’s doubts were evident on their faces.

“Freya is thoughtful?” Gustav asked, blatantly disbelieving.

Meanwhile, Yngvi’s face broke out into a smile as he clapped. “She really has found the ideal marriage. I’m sure if you looked across both continents for someone who would view a marriage starting as hers did, as well as what she did during the ceremony, and genuinely call her ‘thoughtful,’ you would be the only one they found.”

Yngvi was referring to Freya using her welcome to Capua to ask to accompany Zenjirou to a wedding—in other words, proposing—in front of Aura, along with taking a sword to cut the meat at her own wedding. Based on either continent’s norms, both of those actions were entirely divorced from the social norms.

“Well, while that is certainly true, Freya is intelligent and makes her wishes clear, so she is trustworthy.”

While the words were partially in defense of her, they were how Zenjirou actually felt. Freya was someone who based her words and actions on rational decision-making. Or if you were being less kind with your wording, she based them on her own benefits.

The entire reason she had practically proposed to Zenjirou at an official function was that if she had not, her desires would not be fulfilled. Therefore, if Freya knew that her desires could be achieved through things most would see as sensible, she would only use those sensible tactics. Freya Alcott Capua was not someone who created chaos for her own enjoyment. Of course, she was also not someone who feared such chaos.

Zenjirou had only meant to use talking about Freya as a lead-in, so they had gotten rather off-topic. “At said debut, she mentioned you, Prince Yngvi,” he said, dragging the conversation back on track despite knowing it was a rather blatant diversion.

Fortunately, neither of the Uppasalans took offense, allowing the shift.

“Oh, Freya mentioned me? I dread to think. I do hope she spoke fairly of me.”

“That would not be a concern. The young ladies were rather interested to hear that you were her twin and look similar to her.”

“Oh, well I am glad to hear it,” Yngvi said, leaning forward with a smile.

The smile was real, but even Zenjirou was able to see that the happiness was not just because of his popularity with the foreign ladies. Yngvi was well aware of what Zenjirou mentioning his popularity with the Capuan women meant here.

He responded to the eagerness in Yngvi’s eyes. “I have a proposal. I imagine you are rather busy, but how would you feel about visiting Capua? It would be an honor to welcome you.”

Rumors of Yngvi’s desire for a Capuan concubine to strengthen ties between the two nations had purposefully been leaked within Capua. The response to those rumors was Zenjirou’s question here: “There are young women in Capua who are interested in you, so we would like you to visit Capua” could be translated to “Capua will not refuse to send a concubine. However, we want you to visit our country first.”

Joy welled up in Yngvi’s gaze as he heard this favorable response, and there was excitement in his voice as he answered. “That sounds good. I would be happy to do so. That would be acceptable, right, father?” Even as he answered from his seat, he added a request for permission to his father almost as an afterthought.

Gustav didn’t hide the reluctant amusement at how his son responded. “Well, considering the importance of the trade between us, it is certainly sensible for you to visit Capua at least once. However, you will need to ensure your duties do not suffer,” he warned him.

“I understand, father. There you have it; I will gladly accept. The precise time frame will need to be decided at a later date. I apologize for the extra effort that this will burden you with.”

The only practical method to traverse the distance between the two countries was Zenjirou’s teleportation, so it would all rely on him.

“Not at all. However, I cannot stay here for too long, so we can discuss this in full at that later date.”

“Of course. It is not immensely urgent, after all. Ahh, I’m looking forward to this. Although not as much as Freya, I am rather curious in general, so I am very interested in the Southern Continent. Eric found his time there to be very worthwhile as well.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Zenjirou replied with a smile. “Prince Eric was more taken with the dash drakes than I expected. Would you like us to arrange one for you as well while you are there?”

“That sounds good; please do. If I could be even more selfish, I have to say that I am more interested in the dwarf wyverns. Would it be possible to see one as well?”

“The dwarf wyverns?” Zenjirou responded with a blink, somewhat taken aback.

“Indeed. From what I hear, they fulfill a similar role to our carrier pigeons. While they are only about as large as a crow, they are carnivorous and fly both farther and faster than pigeons. They are very intriguing.”

The sparkle in his eyes had grown to a full-on gleam, so Zenjirou warned him ahead of time. “We can allow you to look and interact with them, but we cannot allow you to bring one back to the Northern Continent.”

“You cannot?”

“No. We cannot.”

However disappointed the prince was, that answer wasn’t going to change. The wyverns were drakes, so they likely wouldn’t cope with the different climate of the Northern Continent, but Zenjirou made the refusal clear just in case.

Unlike the other drakes in common use, the dwarf wyverns flew through the sky. While they were used like carrier pigeons to send letters, there were periodic occurrences where a wyvern did not make it back. The best case scenario was that they had been preyed upon by some other carnivore or died in an accident; the worst case was that they had made their home elsewhere and become feral again. Zenjirou wanted to avoid pointless ecological damage to the Northern Continent, if possible.

Regardless, it seemed that they could take Yngvi’s visit to Capua as all but certain. In other words, it was now much more likely that someone from Capua’s high nobility would become his concubine.

Zenjirou’s own statements had altered the course of someone’s life drastically. He had experienced the same thing with Freya, but unlike with her, he could hold no further responsibility over their life. He swore to himself to try and make sure the couple understood each other as much as possible to avoid an unhappy marriage. Part of that was for his own emotional health, of course.

That brought his business with Yngvi to an end, and now he had to deal with Gustav. The information he had to share with the king was not something that could be widely spread. Much of it had to do with the connection between the White Empire and the Twin Kingdoms, Utgard, and so on. However, Yngvi was practically the crown prince. Zenjirou would have to delegate the decision of whether to include Yngvi to the two royals.

“I have things to discuss with you, King Gustav, but I would like them to remain as private as possible,” he said, his eyes moving to Yngvi.

The silver-haired prince just smiled in response, his eyes essentially saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Gustav sighed at his son’s behavior before replying. “He will be the next king of Uppasala. If there is something I should know, then it is likely he should as well,” he said.

He didn’t entirely sound like he meant it. Indeed, there was a very real sense of unease to his decision.

Gustav saw the young prince as talented enough to be the next king. He was motivated enough as well. The problem was that he was perhaps too motivated, and Gustav saw that extra motivation as a risk.

“The topics include the White Empire, the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle, and Utgard. Is that acceptable?”

Yngvi’s reaction was extreme. His smile had grown even wider, and at the same time, he tightened his grip on the armrests of the chair. It was a blatant declaration that he was not going to move an inch from his seat. It was the very image of a spoiled child insisting on getting his way.

“I would like to hear what you have to say,” Gustav responded with a resigned expression after looking pained at his son’s reaction.

Once Zenjirou had relayed everything he had to say, the king and prince remained silent for a long time. While Gustav naturally had a severe look on his face, so did Yngvi. That was not entirely surprising, though. The subject was rather extreme, and just as daunting if it proved true. Additionally, even if it was not true, there were enough people who would believe it that the impact would be massive.

The Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle had originated from the White Empire. However, the exact cause of shock for the two natives was different.

“I had my suspicions based on what I had heard from Freya, but to think the people of the Twin Kingdoms are truly descendants of the White Empire...” he said, shaking his head slightly.

Yngvi turned to his father in surprise. “You believe it, father? Ah, my apologies, Zenjirou. I am not doubting you.”

None of the prince’s usual relaxed demeanor was present, and Zenjirou waved him off.

“Do not worry; your reaction would be the norm,” he said, simultaneously implying that Gustav’s was not and waiting for his response.

Gustav accepted his son-in-law’s look without complaint and spoke openly. “Indeed. By the norms of our world, it would be unbelievable. My belief in your words is based on a solid foundation. A foundation passed down only verbally through the line of succession in Uppasala.”

Zenjirou made a slight noise of surprise at the same time as Yngvi let out a quiet cheer. The situation was extremely unique, and precisely because of its uniqueness, Gustav’s decision was not wrong. However, forging ahead with information that was only passed down from king to king meant that he saw Yngvi as the next king in all but name.

He cleared his throat before continuing. “The details are rather divorced from the main thrust of the topic, so I shall summarize. The ancestors of our royal family once had contact with remnants of the White Empire. There are tales that we both assisted them and were assisted by them in turn.”

“I see.”

That information being passed down through the royal family would indeed ensure that they did not see the White Empire as mere legend like much of the world. Of course, that did rely on you taking the royal family’s word as the truth rather than the generally agreed-upon history. There might even be actual evidence that supported the existence of the White Empire rather than just verbal information.

Despite Zenjirou’s thoughts on that, it was baseless conjecture, and even if it was correct, Gustav wouldn’t be likely to tell him. Instead, he just took the good luck of Gustav believing him about the Twin Kingdoms for what it was.

Zenjirou then continued. “Given your understanding, I have more to say. The Twin Kingdoms are descendants of the White Empire and are also in an alliance with Capua. Therefore, we are somewhat resigned to the fact that this will cause discord with the church. However, we would like to hear your thoughts.”

“Hmm...” Gustav closed his eyes at that, straightening, then eventually replied. “So, there are royal families descended from the White Empire on the Southern Continent. If that is true, even if it is only a self-proclaimed fact, the church will probably see value in that information. I cannot say how they would react, but it is entirely possible they could move to eliminate the remnants of the empire or ‘liberate’ the Southern Continent. We should bear that in mind, even if it may be a needless concern.”

“Liberating” the Southern Continent would essentially mean invading it. Naturally, Zenjirou’s expression tightened. However, he had somewhat expected this, so he was able to stay relatively calm.

“Which means they would not definitely do so?” Judging from the king’s attitude, he didn’t see it as likely.

Gustav nodded. “Indeed. Naturally, we cannot let our guard down, but I think the probability is low. Fortunately for the Southern Continent—less so for us—things are not so calm, even in the west. The church itself is no exception.”

The king’s analysis was that there was little chance the church would immediately set about invading the Southern Continent. His logic was sound. Of course, any decision would be made by people—an organization, at that—so there was no guarantee they would make the correct choice. If the extremists who saw the church’s doctrine as absolute took the initiative, it was possible they could kick off a large-scale attack on the Southern Continent. Conversely, if the more self-interested faction took the lead and saw the Southern Continent’s nations as an easy target for colonization, there was still the chance they would move on the South.

You couldn’t tell the future. It was the unenviable responsibility of a statesman to take what understanding they could get and draw up plans for that future, though.

“Ah, we may just call them ‘the church’ as a whole, but there are several factions. I recall hearing about the fang and claw, at least,” Zenjirou said, remembering the explanation from the priest Yan.

“Indeed. However, the opposition between those two is historical, so they have a good grasp of each other. Squabbles aside, it is hard for anything to go too far between those two factions. The discord within the church at present is due to internal power struggles among both the fang and claw. Additionally, there are those who wish to step outside of their ancient categories and reconsider their teachings. That reminds me, you met Priest Yan in the commonwealth. He is one of the foremost proponents of that reconsideration.”

Zenjirou couldn’t hide his surprise at hearing the name he was just thinking of. “He is?”

In Zenjirou’s estimation, the priest was intellectual and kind, the very image of a holy man. However, when he considered his interactions in the commonwealth, he remembered Yan being described as “simultaneously like a mountain and a storm.” Zenjirou had only interacted with him for a few days, so it was easy to accept that he had only seen a single facet of the man.

“More difficult will be their interactions with us. Compared to the Southern Continent, we are practically neighbors of the church,” Yngvi muttered, a serious expression on his face.

Zenjirou stiffened at that. The church’s influence was vast on the Northern Continent. Uppasala could certainly distance themselves from Capua to avoid their ire. However, his concerns were soon alleviated.

“It will be a challenging course to chart indeed,” Gustav said. “It is something that will concern us deeply. While keeping the connection between the Twin Kingdoms and the White Empire a secret forever is likely impossible, we should delay it as much as possible, and I would like your cooperation with that.”

The king’s words had been initially directed to Yngvi, but he turned to Zenjirou to finish. The statement itself implied that Capua and Uppasala would remain as close as they were. Zenjirou’s relief and questions must have shown on his face, as Gustav laughed heartily before adding to what he had said.

“The marriage between the two of you took place in the palace in front of representatives from other countries of the continent. Our connection will remain firm.”

While he had put it somewhat bombastically, he was not wrong. Uppasala had openly held a wedding with Capua on the international stage. Changing their course at this point would be far from easy. Of course, it could require losing their first princess and would be quite an injury to them. Zenjirou understood that as long as nothing extreme happened, their policies would not change. The tension eased from his shoulders.

“I will, of course, do my utmost to ensure that relations remain good between our nations,” he said.

“I am glad to hear it. Such a statement from you assures me that our country’s relationship will continue.”

In fact, if the connection between the two nations was to be brought down to a single person, Freya’s husband, Zenjirou, would be the most important piece. He knew that he should keep the conversation going with the assumption that their alliance would not break down, so he managed a smile and spoke.

“Fortunately, while we have strong ties with you, we also have an alliance with the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle. We shall make arrangements to mediate between the two of you.”

The king didn’t bargain at all, simply offering an agreement. “We appreciate it and would be glad to accept.”

Now that they knew the Twin Kingdoms were descendants of the White Empire, they had to meet directly. At present, only Zenjirou could provide the opportunity for the two countries to directly interact. There was no room for negotiation there.

“Very well. I shall discuss it with the Twin Kingdoms. I assume that I will be sending one of them with authority to our embassy here. Is that acceptable?”

“I can accept that. However, please inform them that someone who must return to Capua to make every decision would be problematic.”

In other words, the king was asking the Twin Kingdoms to send someone with the right to decide on national policy. That would inevitably mean someone from their royal families, a member of the direct line, who was part of politics. Since it was international, it would presumably need to be someone from the Gilbelle family rather than the Sharous.

Once he had considered it, Zenjirou decided that those decisions would fall to the Twin Kingdoms and dropped the line of thought.

“Very well. I shall inform them.”

“My thanks. Ah, could you pass on thanks to them for the Lulled Sea as well? It is a wonderful tool. Might you also inform them that we would not dream of handing it off and that it has determined our diplomatic course?”

“I shall ensure they are aware,” Zenjirou replied, unable to contain a pained smile.

The words themselves were fine when taken literally; however, the emotions behind them were blatantly not gratitude, but protest. The Twin Kingdoms giving Freya the Lulled Sea had practically been a pitfall. They had kept their relationship with the White Empire a secret while having Uppasala accept an heirloom from it.

Considering how the commonwealth saw the White Empire and the church’s view of them as enemies of the dragons, it was easy to imagine them deciding to treat Uppasala the same way. To avoid that, they would need to return the Lulled Sea at the very least and break ties with the Twin Kingdoms. However, that would almost certainly invite a mutiny from the sailors who had been so greatly aided by the magic tool.

The Lulled Sea forcefully limited the movement of water and air within its area of effect. Even in the middle of a tempest, a ship would act like it was on calm seas. It also didn’t interfere with eating, drinking, or breathing, so it was extremely convenient.

Latest in ship technology or not, the Glasir’s Leaf was still just a wooden ship. Spending over a hundred days at sea made it completely obvious just how valuable the Lulled Sea was. Trying to take it away because of a political issue would—if the worst came to pass—lead to the sailors fully rebelling.

As soon as the Twin Kingdoms had given the trap gift of the Lulled Sea and the sailors had experienced its benefits, Uppasala’s diplomatic course was mostly fixed. Having a close relationship with the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle—wielders of both enchanting and healing magic—was not a bad thing, but that didn’t change the fact that it had been founded on a trick. They would need some form of recompense to make the relationship more equal and to keep it friendly.

While Zenjirou didn’t know the specifics of Gustav’s thoughts, he also couldn’t involve himself more in matters between the two countries.

The king continued, “Regardless, both our trade and interactions with the church cannot be solely decided by us and Capua. However, I would like it remembered that we are the combined linchpin.”

“We are well aware that Uppasala is our link to the Northern Continent,” Zenjirou assured him.

The man seemed satisfied with that and gave a deep nod. Trade aside, if conflict with the church came to light, the situation would be bad if only Capua, Uppasala, and the Twin Kingdoms were involved. Uppasala particularly would be in a bad position with their status as the only one of the countries actually on the Northern Continent.

At the very least, they could do with getting the other animistic countries—the Kingdom of Ofus, the Kingdom of Tuurukku, the Kingdom of Berggen, and Utgard—as allies. Ideally, they would also have an alliance with the Kingdom of Graz, who were willing to engage in political marriages with the other five countries, along with the Red and White Dragon Kingdoms, who were a step removed from both denominations of the church.

While those countries could be added to both the alliance and trade agreement, Uppasala and Capua should remain at its core. As Zenjirou demonstrated his agreement with Gustav’s implication, he avoided offering a firm promise.

“That reminds me,” the king said purposefully. “I seem to recall the representative of Ofus causing a stir at your wedding. Could I ask you to share what you discussed afterwards?”

The older warrior, Kevin from Ofus, had caused quite the stir during the wedding, with both Gustav and Yngvi witnessing it. Of course, they would investigate it, looking to find what kind of person Kevin was and what had caused the disturbance.

Kevin had once served the first prince of Ofus. He had been aboard the same ship that had claimed the prince’s and princess’s lives. He was one of the few who had made it back from the fateful voyage, and was the one who had retrieved the first prince’s corpse. He believed in the survival of the prince’s daughter—Margarette—whose corpse had not surfaced, and still searched for her to this day.

None of that was particularly secret, so it was rather easily discovered with some investigation. Of course, the two royals present had explained that.

“Is the maid Margarette truly the princess?” Yngvi asked in interest from the side. “That would make her Eric’s cousin, no? She had rather similar hair and eye colors to him, though I couldn’t say whether her looks as a whole were close to his or not.”

The expression on his face was not just one of curiosity. Instead, it was one of calculation. He was wondering whether the veracity of this rumor could be used to the country’s advantage.

Zenjirou had already discussed the matter with both Aura and Margarette herself, so he answered honestly. “Margarette has no such memories. Additionally, our only knowledge of her ancestry is that she was an orphan from the Northern Continent. Naturally, we have no proof that Margarette was a princess.”

“But you do not have any proof she was not either, do you?” Yngvi asked with a slight hint of relish on his face.

“In terms of definitive proof, that is true. However, if the testimonies we have gathered from our people and the warrior Kevin are both accurate, there is a contradiction in terms of timelines.”

Princess Margarette had been lost at sea in the early winter of the Northern Continent. Meanwhile, Margarette had been discovered by Capua in the first half of the active season. The difference in calendars meant that putting a definitive time span between the two events was difficult, but at the absolute longest span that made sense, Margarette had been found on the Southern Continent a mere fifteen days after the princess went missing.

The absolute cutting edge of intercontinental technology—the Glasir’s Leaf—took between ninety and a hundred days to make the trip, so it seemed somewhat unlikely that the maid Margarette and the princess were the same person. The situation would have needed someone like Zenjirou—someone who could use teleportation—to make it possible.

With that explained, even Yngvi had to concede.

“I see. Well, that is a shame. I’d hoped to keep it going for a little while.”

“Yngvi,” the king said warningly before continuing. “Still, this is good news. Even Kevin would have to concede the point with this information.”

While Yngvi was disappointed, there was a clear note of relief in Gustav’s voice. Eric had already been officially recognized as the next king of Ofus. He didn’t want to bring up the “true heir to the throne” or the like at this point.

Perhaps fortunately, neither Ofus nor Uppasala had lineal magic, so they were not so insistent on the purity of the royal bloodline.

“We are glad to know it as well,” Zenjirou replied. Then his expression tightened. “To return to the earlier topic, do you have any knowledge of a connection between Utgard of the Northern Continent and the Utgardr that the Twin Kingdoms informed us of?”

The king remained silent for a long moment.

“Father?” Yngvi asked once the silence had continued for long enough.

The two gazes—one from his son at his side, and one from his son-in-law opposite—seemed to break through Gustav’s reticence and he eventually spoke. “I have never heard of an ‘Utgardr.’ However, I am forced to admit that the legends of Utgardr that the Twin Kingdoms relayed have many commonalities with the legends of Utgard that we have passed down in Uppasala. It also goes without saying that the names are similar.”

“Then would Utgard be—as the Twin Kingdoms said—descendants of the Jötunn?” Zenjirou asked directly.

Gustav remained silent for a few more moments before inclining his head slightly. “Our own legends do not say as much as clearly as that. Utgard has persisted since before even the White Empire, and they were said to be on par with the intelligent dragons—the true dragons. Additionally, they are said to have sheltered descendants from the White Empire.”

“I see.” Zenjirou nodded along, his thoughts swirling. It seemed that a lot of the legends passed down in both Uppasala and the Twin Kingdoms were rather similar. However, the legends in Uppasala were not attributed to “Utgardr,” but to “Utgard,” in addition to Uppasala having no mention of other worlds.

Naturally, it was impossible to know which of the two accounts was the truth. Therefore, it was more important to focus on the commonalities rather than the differences. It was all but impossible for both Bruno and Gustav to have conspired to create a coherent narrative beforehand. The amount of overlap despite that made it seem likely that there was more than a little truth to the parts that were in agreement.

Of course, while the mysteries lurking in Utgard’s past were interesting, it was the present they should be focusing on.

“I understand that Utgard is extremely unique. What exactly is their position within the Northern Continent—and indeed, within the five northern countries?”

In what way and to what extent would they involve themselves in the intercontinental trade deal between Capua and Uppasala? How would they react to hostilities from the church? How strong was their influence? These things and many others were points that Capua wanted to clarify. Naturally, they had spoken about all of this with Freya and Skaji, but there was an almost unnaturally small amount of information they had on Utgard.

“So you wish to know of Utgard’s current standing? Well, they are the single country among the five that still have their lineal magic, and they are the foremost of all of us,” Gustav answered.

“Though really, they’re shut-ins. They interact with the others of the five as little as possible and have effectively no impact on the area. Still, we have to follow tradition and make sure they can attend this, or else we certainly hear about it,” Yngvi added.

“Yngvi, that is too far,” his father chided.

“My apologies, father.”

Despite the warning, Gustav pointedly didn’t refute his son’s claims, which meant that both the king’s explanation and the prince’s comment could be taken as fairly accurate. In other words, they would not involve themselves in the trade deal and were highly unlikely to join an alliance against the church. Therefore, as much as he’d like to postpone things, there was too much history between the Twin Kingdoms and the church, which was tied up with Utgard, to do so.

“I would like to open up communication with Utgard, if possible,” Zenjirou said. “Will that be difficult?”

“It would,” Gustav agreed simply. “While we and the others of the five northern countries have some degree of contact with them, I am unsure how Utgard as it stands would react to introducing another nation through those communicati—”

Partway through the king’s answer, something moved in the corner of Zenjirou’s vision. His eyes followed the movement, and his head turned to look.

“A cat?”

It was indeed a cat, standing politely on all fours on top of a table in the corner of the room. It had gray fur and was average size for a cat. They were not found on the Southern Continent but were relatively common in the north. The most attention-grabbing feature of the cat was the green stone in its mouth.

The stone was transparent and glittered in the light. Perhaps it was even a precious gem. If so, then such a gem would certainly belong in a country’s treasury, judging by its size. It was like a cat had sneaked its way into the palace and was playing a trick with the country’s jewels.

“King Gustav?” Zenjirou asked.

A single look in their direction was enough to put paid to any thoughts of it being some simple prank. Yngvi had a look of shock the likes of which Zenjirou had never seen on his face, and was halfway out of his chair and drawing in a breath.

“Calm!” Gustav immediately bit out quietly. “No one must be brought here!”

Neither reaction was anything like what would be appropriate to a cat playing around. But Zenjirou had not reacted seriously enough in this situation. They were in an embassy entrusted to Capua, in an area of the Uppasalan palace, currently having a private meeting between both royal families. The entire area should have been under heavy guard. A simple cat should have no chance of sneaking its way in. If one did, one of the guards should have reported its breach.

Therefore, he could not understand either Yngvi’s immediate attempt to summon someone as he should, or Gustav’s instant chiding not to do so.

“Father?”

The king didn’t answer his son’s prompt, instead glaring steadily at the cat, a slight sheen of sweat on his brow. With all three men’s gazes focused on it, the cat opened its mouth. Inevitably, the green stone that had been held there fell. It made a dull thunk as it hit the tabletop the cat had been standing on before rolling off the edge and falling to the plush carpet without a sound. Zenjirou had followed the stone on its journey and now looked back up, but the gray cat had already vanished.

Even Zenjirou understood how strange that was. Attention taken by the falling gem or not, he hadn’t had his eyes off the cat for even a second. It had completely vanished in that time span, a blatantly supernatural phenomenon.

As Zenjirou’s and Yngvi’s wariness grew, Gustav relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. He stood and walked briskly over to the stone.

“Father, is that not dangerous?”

“It is no danger. The gray cat is Utgard’s messenger.”

Zenjirou started in shock. They had literally just been discussing the country in a private meeting, and now a messenger from the country in question had appeared. Zenjirou was not foolish enough to be unbothered by that.

“Utgard’s messenger? I have never heard of that.”

“Because it is another thing only passed down to the king. This is the first time I have seen it in person,” Gustav answered as he picked up the stone. “As I thought... I believe, doing...this?”

He held the stone in his left hand, using his right index finger to draw a character on the surface. Immediately afterwards, the stone came undone. The phrasing sounded bizarre, but that was the only way to describe it. It was like unfurling origami back into the single sheet of paper it originally consisted of. In an instant, the green stone had become an oblong plate of the same color.

“Father?”

“What is that?”

Yngvi and Zenjirou both stood a second later, walking towards the king. The other man kept his gaze on the plate with a dumbfounded smile.

“An invitation to Utgard. Here, Your Majesty,” Gustav said, offering the plate—the invitation—to Zenjirou.

Zenjirou held back, though, looking at the king in shock. “Huh? I am allowed to look at it? Actually, I cannot even read the writing of the Northern Continent.”

Despite the refusal, Gustav handed it over with an almost wicked smile. “This is yours. The writing will not be an issue. As long as there is something you can read, you will be able to read this.”

Zenjirou honestly wasn’t sure what Gustav meant, but still had to give in and accept the plate. He then looked down at it. “Huh?”

No one would fault him for his shock. The writing across the plate was, without a doubt, Japanese. Kanji and hiragana were spread across the surface, and even the punctuation was correct.

The writing was—as Gustav had said—an invitation. After the representative’s name and the form greetings, there was a paragraph inviting him to Utgard for friendly relations. The invitation was specified as being for two people. One of them was “Yamai Zenjirou.” Not Zenjirou Bilbo Capua, but Yamai Zenjirou. Zenjirou felt somewhat uneasy about seeing his old name written after so long, and he finally used his mana sense to look at the plate.

Just as he’d thought, it was full of mana. That made perfect sense. After all, it had turned from a stone into a flat sheet. If it wasn’t for magic, it would be utterly inexplicable.

Realizing that, he controlled his mana as best as he could, sealing it all up within himself and looked at the plate once again. The letters on it were completely unfamiliar to him. Of course, he could not read a single one of them. That was not all. What had looked like Japanese written in vertical columns was now clearly some other language written in rows. Because of what he was used to, it seemed to go from left to right, but there was no guarantee of that. It could possibly be read right to left as well.

That was a minor concern at this point. The main thrust was that there were letters that were automatically translated through mana.

“Your Majesty,” Zenjirou said. “What is this?”

“An invitation from Utgard, as it says. It is for two people; however, you are already named as one of them, so only one is open for others.”

“Ah, no. That was not what I was asking. What is it? A magic tool? The Twin Kingdom’s history talked about Utgard sheltering them, so is this part of their legacy?”

That was the most logical theory Zenjirou could come up with, combining everything he knew, but Gustav shook his head.

“No, it is not. This is magic writing, a spell unique to Utgard.”

“A spell unique to Utgard? I had heard that their lineal magic was centered on illusion. Is that not the case?”

Zenjirou had been informed of both the fact that Utgard was the only country among the five northern countries that had lineal magic of its own, and the magic in question was illusion magic. He hadn’t been told anything about what that entailed, but the name made it sound like a matter of creating and manipulating false images.

None of that had anything to do with this translating itself. He glanced to the side to see Yngvi looking just as shocked, so it seemed unlikely that it was just a matter of not preparing enough before the meeting.

“Utgard’s lineal magic is indeed illusion magic,” Gustav agreed. “The magic writing is not locked to a single lineage; it is nothing more than a spell they have kept secret.”

A secret technique that was not lineal magic was lost on Zenjirou for the moment, but Gustav continued his explanation.

“Just as the magic language exists, understood through the spirits, so too does a writing system, simply called magic writing. It is even harder to use than the language itself, and I doubt there are any outside of Utgard actually capable of using it to a great extent. Still, it is not lineal magic.”

It took Zenjirou a moment to internalize the information. Then, he was overwhelmed by his feelings. There was shock, fear, and joy mixed together. Each of the feelings was too deep, overcoming him with a heady mix that defied easy description. Magic that was not lineal meant that anyone could learn it. It was hard to believe that such a thing both existed and had not spread.

“Is it really just a technique? Something that I could do if I learned it?”

“Solely in terms of ability, anyone who can perceive and manipulate mana can use the technique. However, the difficulty of doing so is horrifyingly high. Even the language itself is no comparison. Learning alone would be all but impossible. An accomplished writer and examples would be critical,” Gustav answered.

It was perhaps an unsurprising response. Learning a completely alien writing system with neither someone capable of already using it nor examples would transcend mere genius and be a practically supernatural ability.

“Magic writing...to think such a thing exists in Utgard... Father, is this another secret passed down through our kings?” Yngvi was just as shocked as Zenjirou, and even more excited.

Gustav nodded briefly. “It is. However, as Utgard has delivered His Majesty an invitation using the writing, there is no purpose in keeping it a secret from him, at least.”

Sending an invitation that so blatantly used the writing was a tacit approval of informing him of the spell’s existence. Or at least it could be taken as such. However, assuming it meant that knowledge of this writing could be disseminated far and wide would be a step too far.

“Your Majesty,” Gustav therefore said, “could I ask that you not spread this knowledge too far?”

Zenjirou agreed readily. “I had assumed as much. The only people who will hear of it from me are my wives, Aura and Freya.”

The contents of the invitation, what with Zenjirou traveling to Utgard to accept it, would be impossible to hide. However, it was entirely possible to hide how it was written, if they so desired. Still, while it would be possible to keep it just between the three of them, Zenjirou intended to tell both Aura and Freya. Aura, at the least, was nonnegotiable, as the matter was too big for Zenjirou to decide on his own.

Gustav likely understood the circumstances. After a few moments of thought, he nodded. “Very well. However, I implore you to only tell those two, and have the information spread no further. Skaji is no exception to that either,” he stressed.

“I understand. Would taking Freya as the other recipient of the invitation be acceptable?”

Refusing an invitation like this was not an option. However, since it would require showing his companion the invitation composed using magic writing, candidates would inevitably be limited to those who were aware of it.

The conversation they had just had meant that those who either knew about it—or could be informed of it—only numbered five in total. Discounting Zenjirou, who had already been invited, that was four. Gustav and Aura both had their positions as monarchs stopping them from easily accepting the invitation, which meant that there were only two real candidates.

Zenjirou understood that and had purposefully offered one of their names. As expected, a dramatic reaction to the suggestion came from the other candidate—Yngvi.

“It is not. Not Freya. It should be me. I will go. Indeed, it has to be me.”

The wild look in his icy-blue eyes, identical to Freya’s, meant that Zenjirou could barely muster a proper response.

“Yngvi,” his father said warningly, “stop this.”

Despite the chiding, the prince glared at Gustav. “I will not. I am perfectly prepared to throw a tantrum on the ground until my brother-in-law says he will take me.”

While Zenjirou would have loved to have considered that a mere threat, the look in Yngvi’s eyes said otherwise, and he’d shifted to be able to throw himself to the ground at a moment’s notice. Zenjirou was certain that the prince was deadly serious.

“Then again, the likes of this invitation have not been seen even in our country for over a century. Frankly, I would like one of ours to be among the guests. Considering the requirement to keep the writing a secret, Yngvi is the only candidate we have,” Gustav said with a sigh, before clapping his son heavily on the back.

“Father,” Yngvi breathed, overjoyed.

Despite the weight of the prince’s reaction, Zenjirou knew this issue was too great in scope for him to decide on alone.

“I understand Uppasala’s position,” he said. “However, I will need to return to Capua to discuss this with our queen before giving my response.”

Immediately, Yngvi was on the floor. “Nooo! Take me! Take me! Mee-eeee-ee!” he whined, throwing his limbs in all directions.

Yngvi Uppasala was indeed a man of his word.