Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Volume 6 - Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Preterhuman Artificer’s Wall Spaghetti

I was feeling trapped. At times, I may have acted rashly or flippantly, but I had never acted maliciously. Yet here I was. One night had passed since the Gathering. I was in my usual spot in the clan master’s office, slumped over on my desk. Sitri had planted poison and the Abyssal Inferno had nearly destroyed the banquet hall.

My friends’ trespassing somehow got overlooked, but the poison was going too far. Just bringing something like that into the Gathering was asking for trouble. There was no excuse I could possibly give and groveling wouldn’t be enough to make this go away. Sitri hadn’t been found out just yet, but Zebrudia had access to excellent investigators. They would find out the truth eventually. After all, the empire owned a Relic that could detect lies.

“Here’s the newspaper, Krai,” Eva said as she handed it to me.

I usually just glanced over it, but this time I read it carefully. It seemed a gag order had been issued because I didn’t see a single word concerning an intruder at the Gathering. Instead, something else dominated the front page.

“A dragon attack in Zebrudia?” I said.

“I’m sure you’re already aware, but it was shortly after we left.”

Eva had dark rings under her eyes and had a weary expression on her face. And no, I didn’t already know about the dragon attack.

“Eh? No such thing as too much bad luck, huh?” I muttered.

“Hm? Luck?”

Dragons were considered to be the strongest of all the mythical beasts. Their forms varied from one variety to the next, but they all had generally powerful bodies and vast pools of mana. Entire countries were said to have been annihilated by lone dragons. The accolade Dragon Slayer had long been considered proof of a champion.

However, dragons didn’t typically attack human settlements. It might sound hard to believe, considering my encounter with the hot spring dragon in Suls, but in my hunting career, I had only ever seen dragons attack towns on three occasions.

“Fortunately, there were a number of high-level hunters present, so the dragon was exterminated,” Eva said.

“Hmm.”

I checked the newspaper. Apparently, Ark and everyone else there had saved the imperial capital. House Rodin had strong ties to the nobility, so it was usually his job to deal with threats like this. But Luke and many of the hunters at the Gathering had also stayed to guard the castle for the night. That was one silver lining of the gung-ho nature of hunters—it gave them the strength to fight off dragons.

An elemental had just recently attacked a town, then there were the Cave People, then the hot spring dragon. Zebrudia was having a rough couple of months. Was Sitri’s poisoning related to this?

And then it hit me. I crossed my arms, folded my legs, and looked up at the ceiling.

Hold on. Liz said those drinks weren’t spiked with poison but instead with a drug. So there are two culprits? There was an intruder at the event after all...

“This is one complex case,” I said. “I wonder if the empire’s investigators will be able to handle it.”

“Hm?”

Left alone, it wouldn’t be that bad, but Sitri had complicated things. And because the pyromaniac lady had burned nearly everything to ash, there was a good chance they wouldn’t even be able to figure out how the intruder had gotten in. Even the brilliant investigators of the empire were unlikely to suspect that the initial drug and the poison were placed by different people.

There wasn’t even any proof that a drug had been placed in the drinks. It was possible there were some that I hadn’t given to Liz, but those, too, had been destroyed by the pyromaniac lady. I groaned as I closed my eyes and thought it over.

“Have you figured something out?” Eva asked hesitantly.

“If I’m on the right track, there’s two culprits at work here.”

“Huh?! How can you tell?!”

There was Sitri and there was whoever had placed the drug. It was only natural to assume that whoever had planted the drug was connected with the intruder. But I wasn’t going to go telling anyone my ideas. If I did that, Sitri could be branded a criminal.

Committing crimes was no good, but, as a general principle, I was always on Sitri’s side. I’d sooner flee the empire than report her to the authorities. I’m speaking with the benefit of hindsight, but nobody had gotten hurt by her poison and I considered that to be the most important thing of all.

We could just pin her poisoning on the real criminal. After all, they were already destined for the gallows since they had broken into the Gathering. Huh? What’s that? Tino and most of my party also trespassed? Ha ha ha.

“Still, that old lady really messed things up for us...”

If the Abyssal Inferno hadn’t incinerated everything, we might have found some evidence and caught the culprit by now. And when I really thought about it, the emperor himself could’ve gotten burned back there. Why the hell hadn’t that old lady been arrested yet? Was it because she’d set everything ablaze if they tried?

Either way, all I could do was pray that the real culprit be arrested and do my best to cover for Sitri in the off chance that she became a suspect. There wasn’t much I could do about the former, but for the latter, I was ready to do whatever I could.

I hadn’t been able to do enough for her when she was suspected of being involved in the prison break, but I had grown in the years that had passed since then. It was mostly just my Level that had grown, but that directly translated into trust. If a Level 8 said something, they were likely to be taken at their word.

The only issue was that this time, Sitri wasn’t actually innocent.

“Do you know who the culprit is?” Eva asked.

“The culprit is the intruder.”

“Um, but their identity? And you said there were two, so they had an accomplice?!”

“Now, now, calm down, Eva. It’s not that simple.”

Eva’s eyes briefly widened, before she glanced downward.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” she said.

Maybe it would be fine if Eva knew the truth.

I had relied on her a number of times already and I had complete faith in her. But most of all, she was much more competent than me and she might actually be able to figure out a solution to all this.

“By the way,” I said to her, “Sitri and Tino were the ones who planted the poison detected after the attack.”

Eva’s eyes opened as wide as they possibly could. “Wha?!” she said, her voice weary and tired. A pretty reasonable reaction, all things considered. She blinked a few times, then looked at me with disbelief. “Huh? Huh? Huuuh?”

“Relax. That’s not what I’m concerned about.”

“H-H-How am I supposed to relax?!”

Eva seemed to be panicking, which was something she didn’t do very often. I was starting to think I might have said too much, but I couldn’t undo what I had done.

It’s fine, it’s fine. Everything will work out. Nobody’s died yet, so we can still come back from this!

Then the door swung open. Eva’s entire body trembled.

“Hey, Krai! Let me show you something!”

It was Luke, my friend who was supposed to be guarding the Imperial Castle. He noticed Eva’s look of terror but didn’t show any particular reaction.

The issue lay in what he was carrying. It was about as big as him and reeked of blood. That was a smell most treasure hunters were used to, but I still really wished he’d take that thing elsewhere.

“I jumped in the air and cut it down,” Luke boasted after setting it down with a thump. “Ark nearly got it before me, but I emerged the victor!”

Are you a cat, bringing in your catches? Hey, don’t open it.

“Those guys from the imperial government took half. I guess it’s fine, this wouldn’t fit through the door otherwise.”

Walking around with something that smelled so repulsive was tantamount to terrorism. It’d definitely be leaking blood everywhere if someone hadn’t wrapped it up to prevent that. In some ways, Luke was the most determined of us to live on his own wavelength. Compared to him, Liz looked pretty sane.

“Oh, right, Krai. Those guys from the imperial government want to talk to you. They’re waiting at the Explorers’ Association.”

“I don’t wanna talk to them.”

“That so? Should I cut them down?”

“Suddenly, I really want to talk to them.”

But I couldn’t bring myself to go alone. As I reluctantly stood up, I noticed Eva was looking at me, tears in her eyes. That was something that rarely happened. I guess the past few minutes had been pretty shocking for her.

“Eva, come with me. Luke, you don’t have to come. That would just complicate things.”

If a civilian was present, even those from the imperial government would show some restraint. They might have been scary, but they weren’t like the feral children of our party.

“Wait, Krai. What do I do with this?” Luke said with a strange look as he pointed at his blood-scented bundle.

I didn’t have a clue what to do with it.

“Do what you want, just don’t get anything dirty,” I said with a deep sigh.

Honestly, why did they keep coming to me for help? There were plenty of other competent hunters in the imperial capital. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. My body whined that it didn’t want to go, but I pulled myself together and headed to the Association’s meeting room.

Together, Eva and I entered to find a room already filled with notable faces. There was branch manager Gark and Kaina; Franz, the knight who had brilliantly exempted me from patrol duty along with a few of his cohorts; and the Abyssal Inferno, acting like she owned the place. I couldn’t help but scowl when I saw her.

“Hmph. Have something to say?” she asked. She looked at me with a powerful glare that shouldn’t have been possible for someone her age.

“No. Not really...” I said, avoiding eye contact.

I looked around but wasn’t surprised to see that the emperor wasn’t present. I took a seat and Franz said a brief greeting before getting underway.

“I’m glad you could all come,” he began. “I’ve summoned you all here so we can confirm matters regarding last night’s dragon attack. I trust you’ve already heard what happened?”

“Before that, can I ask a question?” I said.

“What is it?”

Gark’s cheek twitched and Eva looked concerned. They were worrying over nothing, I wasn’t going to say anything weird.

“Has the culprit of last night’s poisoning been identified?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

Safe, I thought and let out a sigh of relief before I could stop myself. I heard Franz’s teeth grinding.

“Is there something you’d like to say, Krai Andrey?”

“No, nothing at all. You can continue.”

That they hadn’t found the culprit was actually a good thing. If they hadn’t yet identified someone, then this would probably end up a cold case. Sitri must have done a fine job.

Franz took multiple deep breaths and spoke in a strained voice. “Last night, a crimson dragon attacked the Imperial Castle. It happened in the midst of the night, around three in the morning. That’s right after you went home, Krai Andrey. Fortunately, the castle had the stalwart protection of a number of high-level hunters.”

“Oh yeah, one of our own, Ark, was there. I read about it in the newspaper. Poor dragon,” I commented.

Dragons certainly were powerful beings, but just about every hunter with a high level was also a Dragon Slayer. If my memory was correct, Ansem had also been there. Even a dragon would find themselves out of their depth against opponents like him and Ark. A dragon attack was unfortunate, but at least it had been easily dealt with.

But why was I being called about this? I didn’t see what it had to do with me.

“The dragon came straight for the Imperial Castle,” Franz said, glaring sharply at me. “I checked the records to be sure, and this was the first time this has happened since the capital was transferred out here.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything. I have first-time experiences all the time.”

“Krai, quit beating around the bush!” Gark yelled, even though I wasn’t beating around the bush. That was very unreasonable of him. Ever since I had come to the imperial capital, every major incident here had been a first for the place. Maybe I was cursed.

“Dragons do not attack human settlements without reason. We’re all of the opinion that the dragon was after something within the Imperial Castle.”

“I see. That’s a real mess,” I said. “Wait, hold on. If the dragon was after something in the castle, then wouldn’t they have attacked a long time ago?”

Some dragons had a habit of hoarding treasures. It was said if someone stole their treasure, they would go insane with rage and chase someone as far as necessary to retake what they felt was theirs. The mythical beasts boasted extraordinary strength and intelligence, but they were by no means lenient. They thought of humans as nothing more than an unsatisfying snack.

So whatever the dragon was after was most likely something that had recently been brought into the Imperial Castle. Pretty brilliant deductions on my part.

“Quit feigning ignorance!” Franz yelled as he slammed his hand on the table. “As we see it, that dragon was lured here by the dragon egg you gave to Her Highness!”

“Huh?”

That wasn’t something I had expected to hear. Dragons generally did lay eggs, but only one at a time. Stealing one would enrage the dragon and they would come to retrieve their egg as soon as possible.

However, that souvenir wasn’t a dragon’s egg. As I had told Eva, “hot spring dragon egg” was just a product name. It was a chicken egg, one of the many being sold in Suls. What was this guy on about?

“I’m sorry to say this, but that was just a hot spring egg,” I hesitantly explained.

“Exactly! That’s exactly it!” Franz yelled, slamming the table again. “And so we made haste and inspected the present. And like some sort of joke, we found that it was a plain and simple hot spring egg! Nothing more! We even confirmed that they were sold in Suls! Do you know what this means?”

Franz leaned towards me, red in the face and breathing heavily. I gave it some serious thought.

“Crimson dragons have a fondness for hot spring eggs?”

Franz stood up, his lips trembling.

“It means that someone is trying to set up Krai, or rather, the Thousand Tricks,” Eva said. I could always count on her.

Franz clenched his fist and took deep breaths. “Indeed. That’s quite right. If your present had been a genuine dragon egg, even if it wasn’t the egg of a crimson dragon, you would be a prime suspect and have little chance of proving your innocence.”

Ah, so that was the trick. Now I know.

“But you avoided that,” Franz continued. “And you narrowed the list of suspects. The perpetrator has to be someone who knows you handed that egg to Her Highness.”

What a miraculous dodge that was. What had I done to deserve such good luck? It probably helped that I wasn’t living a life that involved stealing dragon eggs.

After listening quietly for once in her life, the Abyssal Inferno snorted and offered her opinion. “Laid a trap, did you, boy? How very like you.”

“Hm?”

Trap? What was she on about? I had walked into traps, but I was never the one setting them. Besides, this whole talk of laying a trap with a dragon egg just sounded insane. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Anyways,” Franz said after clearing his throat, “there are very few people capable of manipulating dragons. Everything from here on is to be kept a secret.”

He raised his hands and the knights standing behind him left the room and some of the employees of the Explorers’ Association followed after. The only people left were myself, Eva, Gark, Kaina, Franz, and the Abyssal Inferno. I wanted to leave as well, but that seemed just a bit obtuse.

Franz took a deep breath and placed a large object wrapped in cloth atop the table. Signs of tension crept across his face.

“We find ourselves in dire circumstances. I will be permitting myself to take the steps I’ve deemed necessary,” he said.

“That’s the— You can’t be serious!” the Abyssal Inferno said in a trembling voice.

Gark, Kaina, and Eva were all taken aback.

Franz undid the cloth and from it appeared a completely transparent Relic. You could see through it just as you could through calm seas and it sparkled in a manner unmatched by any gemstone. It was Tears of Truth, a crystal ball Relic that could expose any lies. It was one of the empire’s most treasured possessions and had played a role in the founding of Zebrudia. It was a national treasure and not something that was used without good reason.

“I don’t believe it!” Gark shouted, red in the face. “Use of that Relic is heavily restricted! There’s no way permission was granted for a case like this.”

He was quite right. Tears of Truth exposed any lies said by whoever placed their hand on it. It bypassed brainwashing, memory erasure, and any other form of neural alterations. Nobody had yet found a way to deceive it.

However, Tears of Truth wasn’t some mere convenience. A Relic that could discern the truth was capable of starting wars. Therefore, a number of applications, approvals, and, most of all, evidence were required before it could be put to use. Even the emperor, the highest authority in the land, couldn’t use it at will.

Tears of Truth was just too powerful. Nobody can lead a life of perfect innocence; we all have a secret or two. Nobody would want to live in an empire where something like Tears of Truth was being used regularly. And if everybody left, Zebrudia itself would cease to be.

Tears of Truth was generally only permitted to be used on those who had been found guilty of one of the ten capital crimes (the most severe crimes in the empire). No matter how suspicious someone might be, suspicion alone didn’t make the cut. The empire couldn’t continue any other way.

But it had been used on me a number of times. I was probably the only person in the world who had been judged by Tears of Truth multiple times and not gotten arrested.

The tension in the room was palpable, so I spoke up on behalf of everyone.

“Did you get the emperor’s permission?” I asked.

“Of course not! His Imperial Majesty holds himself to the highest standards!”

“Hm. So you brought it here on your own.”

Even if Franz was a powerful noble—no, because he was someone with the authority to walk away with a national treasure, that was impermissible. Misuse of Tears of Truth was a grave crime; some terrible punishment surely awaited him if word of this got out.

“Prove your innocence, if you can!” Franz said to me, and only me.

“Sure. That suits me just fine.”

“Hm?!”

I had no crimes to be found guilty of. In fact, I was glad I got another chance to look at Tears of Truth up close. No matter how many times I saw the Relic, its beauty never wore off. I saw myself reflected in its crystalline surface. With a yawn, I placed my hand on the crystal ball.

“I, Krai Andrey, have never once acted as an enemy to Zebrudia,” I said.

My conscience was pulled into the Relic and my mind went blank for a moment. Then the crystal ball emitted a blue light—proof that I had said the truth. Franz’s mouth hung open. Honestly, there really wasn’t a single person as harmless and incompetent as me.

Gark’s eyes bulged. Back when I first had Tears of Truth used on me, he got seriously angry when he heard about it. He said that it was the job of the Explorers’ Association to protect the honor of hunters.

“Now, now, relax, Franz. No need to be so wary. I don’t have a problem with it, but I wouldn’t recommend suddenly using Tears of Truth on a hunter. You might find yourself getting burned.”

Especially when there’s a famously short-tempered old lady nearby, I thought, glancing at the Abyssal Inferno.

“Tsk. If I must,” she said with a twisted smile. “Here, ‘I have never acted as an enemy to Zebrudia.’”

The Relic glowed light blue and the Abyssal Inferno scowled. She probably wasn’t used to using Tears of Truth.

“Huh? You haven’t? Ah—” I stopped myself too late.

“Not a shred of respect in you, boy.”

The Abyssal Inferno—Rosemary Purapos glared at me like I was kindling.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Franz said, bowing deeply. “Now then, let us move to the main subject at hand.”

Was he not going to test Gark and everyone else? I guess it was just me and the Abyssal Inferno that he didn’t trust.

Franz wrapped the Relic back in its cloth and cleared his throat.

“Thousand Tricks, Abyssal Inferno, I take it you both know of Fox?”

Fox? Come to think of it, that guy clinging to the ceiling was wearing a fox mask.

“I see!” said the old lady, a knowing glint in her eyes. “So that’s what that mask meant. Very straightforward of them.”

Can you please stop assuming I know all this stuff?

I thought about it for a moment, then clapped my hands.

“Fox? Of course I know. But just to be sure, you’re not talking about the animal, right?”

“Indeed. What I’m talking about is neither animal nor monster.”

So I was right. If he wasn’t referring to an animal or monster, there was only one thing he could be talking about.

I’m really not trying to brag when I say this, but one of my encounters with misfortune brought me to a thirteen-tailed fox.

A profusion of mana material had turned a moving location into a treasure vault. In it was an extraordinary fox phantom. It was intelligent, experienced, and powerful. It was like a god; even laying a scratch on it was beyond our means. That phantom was most likely worthy of a Level 10 designation, the highest there was.

The encounter was a product of pure coincidence. It was a treasure vault that typically remained elusive even if you wanted to find it. After a number of twists and turns, we managed to make it out alive, but I was sure that that aberrant fox and its treasure vault were still wandering the world.

Another thing about that treasure vault: the trash mobs were humans wearing fox masks (but they weren’t actually humans). So the fox mask should have been familiar to me. The design of the mask was pretty different from what I remembered. Maybe they had done a makeover of the treasure vault or something.

“Last night, our country was attacked. A number of those attacks are believed to be the work of Fox,” Franz said.

“I see... I see?”

The fox I knew had strength approaching that of a god, but it wasn’t an enemy of humanity. If anything, it was entirely disinterested in humans. The phantom fox had power that far surpassed its peers. Even the typical rule that phantoms couldn’t exist beyond their treasure vaults meant nothing to this phantom. What could Zebrudia possibly do to piss off such a creature?

“Zebrudia’s gotten too big,” Franz said with irritation. “We’ve expanded by valuing our treasure hunters, but not everyone thinks that’s a good thing. This was most likely an attempt to sour relations between the empire and hunters. Though I must say, the poisoning was a very sorry attempt at it.”

“Ah, that was definitely the work of ‘Fox.’ What a mad bunch they must be if they want to frame me!” I ignored the questions that were crossing my mind and took the opportunity I saw in front of me. I was already planning on pinning the poisoning on the intruder, all the better if they were a phantom.

“It’s because of Fox that Luke cuts people,” I went on. “It’s because of Fox that Liz broke into the Gathering. It’s also because of Fox that Sitri and Tino planted that poison! What an unscrupulous bunch!”

“Huh? Fox can hardly be to blame for— What did you just say?!”

“So that Fox bastard’s just another beast, huh? I’ve always had a mind to put them down!”

They came back, even after I groveled and gave them fried tofu. I hadn’t heard a peep of them since our encounter, so I had let my guard down. Not that it would have any difference even if my guard had been up.

The old lady gave me a sideways glance and shrugged. “Let’s quit wasting the day and get to the main topic at hand. I imagine you have a good reason for illegally using Tears of Truth?”

I had always thought of her as being the type to look before leaping, but she was fairly mellow that day.

Franz cleared his throat and took on a serious expression. “What I want to say is that Zebrudia cannot afford to show any sign of being intimidated by these scoundrels. I trust you are all aware that His Imperial Majesty plans to travel abroad soon?”

“I see. So that’s it.”

I didn’t see, but, apparently, that was it. The Abyssal Inferno nodded, Gark leaned forward, and Eva had a serious look in her eyes. It seemed I was the only one who didn’t understand. But I was used to being left out of the loop, so I just put on my hard-boiled smile.

“And so, we have a quest for you, Thousand Tricks.”

“Sorry, but I don’t take just any old quest.”

I didn’t even wait to hear what it entailed, I just refused, mostly on instinct. It wasn’t just the near-impossible ones, I had passed on just about every quest that looked remotely difficult. I couldn’t let people think I’d take any request. Best I could do was lend them Ark. And why me? In the very same room, there was an old lady who was ten million times more powerful than I was.

“Fox tried to frame you. They’re afraid of you. And with Tears of Truth, we know you’re innocent,” Franz said.

“Maybe the Relic’s broken.”

“The Tears are a pillar of the empire. And Relics don’t break down!”

Gark looked at me like he was suppressing the urge to strangle me. I began to devise another feat of preterhuman artifice; such as maybe shoving this off onto Ark or someone?

Franz then placed a large trunk in front of me. Was this my payment? There was no such thing as being too prepared, but did he really think money was enough to sway me? I didn’t appreciate the idea that I could easily be bought. I was a guy who went shopping for Relics, even when he was knee-deep in debt.

“You’re a Relic collector, right? His Imperial Majesty has permitted me to draw your payment from the castle vault.”

I braced myself, determined to make my refusal clear. Then Franz opened the trunk. Packed inside it was a cloth of mellow shades of red, green, and gold. It wasn’t an article of clothing. It was fairly thick and fairly ornate. My eyes bulged. I reached out with a trembling hand and touched its smooth surface.

It’s smaller than I expected, but could this be it? A famed Relic that appears in fairy tales, but rarely on the markets. Is this a Flying Carpet?

I looked up, my expression strained. For the first time that evening, Franz smiled at me.

***

All good treasure hunters made training a part of their daily routine.

Sven was on the fifth level of the First Steps clan house basement. He had just come down to get some exercise and was surprised to see a crowd of hunters gathered around the door to the largest of the underground training grounds.

“What’s got you all gathered in a place like this?” he asked.

“Ah. It seems the fifth layer has been reserved for the entire day,” someone answered.

Sven scowled. “Reserved for the entire day? That shouldn’t be possible. Is Liz acting like she runs the clan again?”

“No,” the other hunter said with a slight tremble. “The CM’s training.”

What could that man possibly be doing? Wordlessly, Sven looked at the door. From the other side, he repeatedly heard a heavy thumping sound. The Thousand Tricks trained only rarely, so rarely that it made his high level all the more unbelievable. But sometimes he made exceptions and used the training grounds he had made.

The Thousand Tricks was also known for being a collector of Relics. When he got a new one, he would take it to a training ground to test it out. Not only that, he never hesitated to activate a Relic, even when it was one most normal hunters would have trepidations about.

He most likely knew what a Relic would do (after all, people generally didn’t activate Relics they weren’t familiar with). Still, his tests were a nuisance to everyone else in the clan, who had absolutely no idea what might happen.

“It sounds especially bad in there today. Guess that’s that. I’m gonna go drinking,” the other hunter said.

The other training grounds were still available for use, but the Thousand Tricks had no sense of restraint. It was entirely possible he might blast a hole in the ceiling and damage the other floors. Today he seemed especially into whatever he was doing and nobody wanted to be anywhere near that.

With a collective shrug, Sven and the other hunters turned around. They were used to this.

***

My world accelerated in an instant. I was overwhelmed with indescribable sensations of elation and omnipotence.

Incredible! I can’t believe this! It’s like I’m the wind itself!

And then, with a dull thud echoing about, both the Carpet and I crashed head-first into the wall and my body slumped to the ground. Good thing a Safety Ring prevented me from taking any damage.

Lucia the Relic Charger was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

“Leader, have you perchance been conned?” she asked, her brow knit.

“No, it can fly just fine,” I told her.

“Yes, but it hardly seems like it wants any passengers.”

Once Lucia was done charging it, the Carpet stood up on his corners. Just as Lucia had suggested, he stood a short distance away, almost as though he were wary of me.

Relics that could move on their own, such as this and the Hounding Chain, were called “self-propelled.” Activating these Relics was simple enough, but they were finicky to control. For instance, animal-based chains were numerous and came in myriad varieties; even chains of the same variety had differing personalities. All of this made it difficult to put them to practical use.

This new Carpet of mine had a very touchy personality.

“You’re no Flying Carpet,” I said with a grin, “you’re a Delinquent Carpe— AUGH!”

In the blink of an eye, the Carpet had slammed into my body. Being a carpet, it was a light blow, but that featherweight prevented my Safety Rings from automatically activating. I coughed and rubbed my sleeve against my mouth.

Not half bad. I guess this is why you were sleeping in the Imperial Castle’s vault.

“I’ll consider you my rival,” I said between panting breaths.

“The Carpet?” Lucia asked.

Its attack power was just as low as mine, but it surpassed me when it came to defenses. I jumped at the shadowboxing Carpet and grabbed its body. All of a sudden, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. It was all I could do to merely hang on while my world spun and the Carpet zigzagged through the air.

Despite the weight I added to it, the Carpet flew at an incredible speed. Even among Relics, some were more capable than others. This Carpet had extraordinary acceleration and a high max speed, meaning it could be an excellent means of transport. It also had tremendous maneuverability and could even perform a loop the loop. It would’ve been worth a fortune if it had been capable of showing any consideration for its passengers.

Once again, I collided spectacularly with the wall. The Carpet was made of cloth, so it was unharmed, but I expended another Safety Ring.

Flying Carpets were famous Relics that were sold for enormous sums. The only other flying Relic I owned was Night Hiker, which wasn’t nearly as well-known as Flying Carpets. This Carpet was about the size of a welcome mat, but most were large enough to seat multiple people and even carry luggage. With that and their ease of use, it was only natural that they were popular.

I had never heard of a Flying Carpet that didn’t want to be ridden, but that probably had something to do with why the emperor was willing to part with this bucking bronco.

Lucia sighed for the umpteenth time as she watched me approach the Carpet.

“Perhaps you ought to return it?” she said.

“Flying through the sky is the dream of all humanity. Don’t you get that?”

“Yes, I can already fly on my own. Besides, don’t you have Night Hiker?”

“That’s defective and I can only use it at night.”

And a Flying Carpet was something I had wanted for a long time. I couldn’t let this one go, even if it had an unruly personality.

The Flying Carpet slipped behind me with ease and pulled my leg. I fell on my bottom, and before I could gather my wits, the Carpet leaned one of its corners forward and patted me on the head. It was making fun of me.

“Huh, you’re a real darling,” I said with a hard-boiled smile. “Guess I gotta give you a name. Hmm. I’ll call you, Carpy!”

The Carpet slid up to my feet, put me atop it, and gently lifted me five meters up, just under the ceiling. I was beginning to think I had finally been recognized as its master, but then it flipped upside down and dumped me on the ground. With a tremendous crash, I hit the metal floor headfirst. Yet another Safety Ring was expended. I didn’t think anyone else had ever exhausted so many Safety Rings in one day.

“I’m not convinced Hiker isn’t the more practical option,” Lucia said.

“No, I crash just as often with Hiker, and I’ve had more practice with that one.”

Lucia let out a long sigh, almost as though her very soul was escaping, and charged my Safety Rings.

“Please try and see this from my perspective,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a ride once I’ve mastered this.”

“Forget it. How many times must I remind you that I can fly on my own?”

Lucia could fly on a broom. Not a Relic broom, a normal broom. That was just the sort of magic she was capable of. It was one of the spells I had thought of. When I first came up with the spell, I hadn’t realized that there was also a famous flying Relic known as Witch’s Broom. My sister was probably the only person to soar through the air atop a normal store-bought broom.

Lucia, by the way, said it was easier for her to fly without the broom. Yeah, uh-huh.

So far, I had been dumped off the Carpet, thrown into walls, and more, but I wasn’t going to fold so easily. I was stronger than that. I was getting out of shape, so I actually welcomed this chance to exercise. The Delinquent Carpet had thrown me off repeatedly, but it hadn’t flown out of my reach. In other words, his instincts were telling him to let me on.

The Carpet drifted down and bumped into me. He was just cloth, so his strength was limited, but at high enough speeds he was still capable of serious impact. I bounced across the ground a few times before coming to a stop, my limbs splayed apart. The Carpet gently floated above me.

Maybe he just has a bad personality.

But that was just fine. I was an adult; I wasn’t going to let some taunts from a Flying Carpet get to me.

“I just remembered, Leader,” Lucia said to me as I got up, “shouldn’t you be preparing for the quest?”

“Huh? Quest?” I asked, wide-eyed. I hadn’t been thinking about that at all.

Lucia made a dour face. The Carpet stood still, almost as if he could read the room.

“I heard about it from Eva. That Carpet’s an advance payment, is it not?”

I didn’t say anything.

Oops. The quest had completely slipped my mind. I had turned into a nodding machine when the Carpet was placed before me. Nothing else mattered to me when I saw something I had yearned for for so long. I had a feeling I had been commissioned to do something, but what was that something? I wasn’t enthused by the idea of working, but I didn’t want to return the Carpet either.

“Do you have the quest brief?” I fearfully asked my little sister.

She glared at me, red in the face. “I do. Eva gave it to me. I can’t tell you how embarrassing that was.”

I’m really sorry for everything I put you through.

She handed me an envelope with the seal of Zebrudia, which I opened with shaking hands. The Carpet peeked over my shoulder. I quickly read the contents of the brief. Then I died.

“It’s a quest to protect the emperor. I see.”

This is, uh, a big responsibility. They must be crazy if they’re asking me to do this. Maybe they issued it with Ark in mind?

I was, in many ways, not suited for the tasks of a hunter, but the tasks I was the least suited for were escort jobs. The reason for this was very simple: I had atrocious luck. From the very beginning of my career, I couldn’t remember a single escort job that had gone well.

Hiring a hunter to escort you was essentially a form of insurance. Nobody hires protection if they don’t plan on going somewhere dangerous, but most jobs ended without any notable incidents. Or so I was told.

I had run into some sort of trouble during just about every escort quest I had undertaken. Sometimes it was phantoms, other times it was monsters. I had even run into bandits, criminal organizations, and natural disasters. To be fair, I also ran into trouble while on vacation and whatnot, but the rate of incidents spiked during escort quests.

I knew my weaknesses, and that’s why I had no desire to accept escort quests and made sure that I never did. Sure, I was used to near-death encounters, but most people couldn’t say the same. So let me be clear: It was for the client’s sake that I declined those sorts of quests.

This time, however, I was being held hostage by the Flying Carpet. My only potential escape route had been cut off and I had an escort quest in front of me. After giving it some serious thought, I decided to gather my friends. We had always discussed things with each other as we moved forward. I hadn’t been able to talk to them while they were at that treasure vault, so this was the first time in a while that I was able to consult them.

So we gathered in the clan house meeting room. We all sat in chairs surrounding a table in the center of the room.

We had a man who was one of the foremost Swordsmen in the imperial capital and an apprentice to the Sword Saint—Luke Sykol, the Protean Sword.

The Thief who could move faster than her shadow—Liz Smart, the Stifled Shadow.

Our prodigious Alchemist who was both the brains of our party and managed our resources—Sitri Smart.

The party’s lifeline, the renowned Paladin who both protected and healed us—Ansem Smart.

The girl who could use any variety of magic and charged my Relics for me. That was Lucia.

And our guests (who we had, for some reason), Tino and Eva.

I clapped my hands and said, “Now then, it’s time to begin the thirty-fifth Grieving Souls Conference!”

Luke and Liz both erupted into excessive cheers.

“WOOO! YEAAAH!”

“WOO WOO! KRAI BABY’S THE BEST!”

“Uh, Master is god!” Tino frantically added.

“Eliza’s once again nowhere to be found,” Luke remarked.

“Mmm, I saw her yesterday, but Ellie’s a free spirit,” Liz said, tilting her head and folding her legs.

Nothing strange about that. One of Eliza’s conditions for joining Grieving Souls was that we respect her freedom. I had already given away the souvenirs I had bought for her and it seemed she was fine, so I wasn’t worried.

Sitri then took over as host, just like she always did.

“Today’s meeting is being held in order to discuss the quest, ‘Defense of His Imperial Majesty,’ which was issued after the recent Gathering of the White Blade. As you are all aware, once a year, the emperor of the Zebrudian Empire meets with the leaders of other nearby countries. This duty has previously been entrusted to the Zero Order, but this year they have requested the aid of the Thousand Tricks.”

Tino raised a timid hand. There were dark rings under eyes, almost like she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

“Huh? Um, why was he chosen? After all, the poison—”

I didn’t understand what was going on, but Eva cleared her throat and offered an explanation.

“That matter is to be set aside. It is most likely going to be interpreted as being part of Krai’s trap.”

Tino looked shocked, then began to mutter like a broken toy, “Master is god, Master is god...”

When did the poisoning become connected to me?

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself. “The point is, this quest is something we must undertake.”

“Ooh, Krai’s ready to go!” Luke said. “Protecting the emperor, huh? I can hardly wait! I hear he’s a Swordsman!”

“Well, we’re dealing with that Fox, after all,” Lucia replied.

“Huh?! That’s big,” Liz said. “Hm, it makes sense. That guy at the Gathering did have a fox mask on. That makes it much simpler. I’ve always wanted to have a go at them.”

Ansem grunted in agreement.

“Master’s ready to go...” Tino mumbled.

Judging by reactions, they (not including Tino) weren’t too worried about dealing with the worst phantom out there. It was reassuring, but I just hoped they weren’t forcing it. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about the escort quest, but I trusted my friends. If they were around, the emperor would be just fine. And if I managed to get myself out of the picture, it would go perfectly.

But could I get out of it?

“Ah,” Sitri said, looking at the quest brief. “There’s a limit on how many of us can go. We can’t form a team larger than five people.”

Liz fell silent. Luke began to count.

“Hmm, I see,” I said with a nod. “So they want everyone but Eliza and myself. A smart move.”

“Krai, please quit joking around!” Eva said.

But I wasn’t joking.

“Hmm, so someone’s gotta get left behind.” Liz re-crossed her legs and looked at me. “Krai Baby, why don’t you decide who comes along?”

“I agree. I’ll respect your call, no matter what!” Luke said.

An oddly mature response from those two.

“That seems like the best way to ensure this goes smoothly,” Sitri calmly agreed. “After all, my job is material procurement.”

Hmm, who to pick?

For starters, Luke and Liz were too dangerous, so they were out. If Liz was out, then I couldn’t bring Sitri without creating a mess. What a conundrum. I thought it over for a minute before nodding to myself.

“All right. It’ll be Ark, Eva, Lucia, and myself.”

Eva looked at me with bulging eyes. “Huh?! Krai, I’m not a hunter!”

She had nothing to worry about; as long as we had Ark, we would be fine. Lucia would just be there to charge my Relics.

“Krai Baby, there’s still one more spot,” Liz said in a sweet voice.

“Uh, well then I guess Tino will do.”

“Huh?!” Tino sounded utterly bewildered.

“I can’t accept this, Krai!” Luke shouted as he stood up. “The escorts should be picked on their merits!”

“I agree!” Liz said. “Krai Baby’s trying to be nice by picking the weaklings!”

“Well then perhaps we should hold a tournament, no, a battle royale to decide!” Sitri declared.

Ansem grunted in agreement. Everyone was just raring to go.

Lucia sighed heavily and cut in. “Calm down, everyone. This is our leader’s decision to make. You shouldn’t kick up a fuss because you weren’t—”

“You’re only okay with this because you got picked, Ms. Brother-Complex!” Sitri objected. “Krai, I’ll have you know Lucia was twirling around in front of the mirror in her apron dress! I heard her wonder aloud whether you might compliment her on it!”

“H-Haaah?! I did no such thing!”

Luke drew his sword and began to swing, Liz kicked the table over, Sitri began throwing potions, and Lucia made a grab for Sitri. The blood drained from Eva’s face and I heard Tino scream. Taking cover behind Ansem, I took those two with me and fled from the room.

I should have known that was a bad idea. In retrospect, I should have realized it before deciding to hold a conference. Everyone in our party got along well, but at the same time, they were very competitive. Something like that was inevitable. I could probably get away with not picking any of them, but if I picked one then they all had to come, almost like they were children or something.

Either way, while that member limit was a pain, bringing our less cooperative members along would just be playing with fire. The others might be fine, but I didn’t think I could keep our resident barbarians Liz and Luke under control. Eliza, meanwhile, was too much of a free spirit. She’d probably catch a lizard or something and offer it to the emperor.

“I would assume the member limit is to keep a proper ratio of hunters, nobles, and the imperial guard,” Eva said. “The empire and the imperial guard have their own appearances to keep up. In fact, you and your party are probably going to be secondary to the imperial guard.”

“Master, this is, um, too much for me to handle. You were joking, right?”

Don’t worry, that was a joke. A prank even. If I brought you and left Liz behind, your days would be numbered.

But Eva had a point. We were going to be secondary to the imperial guards, nothing more. It made perfect sense. I started to think that I had been letting my nerves get the better of me. And then I had a revelation. A smile formed on my face before I even realized it.

First Steps was a massive clan and had plenty of connections. I may have been a wimp, but I was the highest level of anyone my age and the leader of a famous party. I was especially well-connected among hunters; I could just gather up five who were strong, high-level, and reliable. Hunters were generally too proud to decline a quest from the emperor. And in the unlikely—the extremely unlikely—event the emperor did get assassinated, the blame would be dispersed among all of us.

I would make the dream team; I’d call it “Operation Five-Star Wall Spaghetti.” Naturally, Ark would be included.

Man, I’m on fire today, I thought as I began to actually enjoy myself.

“Wh-What are you smiling for?” Eva asked.

I’d also make Gark part of the team. He had once been a hunter and I was sure he was still strong and reliable. He was always foisting quests onto me, but now I had a chance to give him a taste of his own medicine. If I couldn’t get out of this mess, then I’d bring him and Ark down with me. I’d show them the preterhuman artifice everyone loved to spread rumors about.

Gark’s shoulders shook and he made his scariest face yet as he slammed his hand on his desk.

“Krai, you’re escorting the emperor! Put some actual thought into who you’re gonna take with you! Listen, failure isn’t an option here. The work you do here will affect the very future of treasure hunting in Zebrudia.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ve already retired from hunting and I don’t have any mana material! Maybe you’re just trying to be nice, but think about this seriously. Do you really think I’m cut out for this job?”

I wasn’t trying to be nice, I just wanted to make this his problem as well as mine. But he wasn’t going for it. But, if he wasn’t cut out for this job, then how could I be?

I folded my arms and pretended to think, but I couldn’t calm down when Gark was breathing so heavily. My only salvation was Kaina’s healing smile.

“That’s it.” I snapped my fingers. “Kaina, you’re up! Please help us protect the emperor!”

“Huh?!”

What a brilliant idea. A healer was necessary for an escort quest and I had always thought Kaina was extraordinary at that job.

“Quit playing around!” Gark shouted in a rumbling voice. “This is a matter concerning the emperor! Don’t you have any sense of restraint?!”

He then chased me out of his office, if you can believe it. He was always forcing jobs off onto me (not that I was always the one to do them) yet he flat-out refused me when I asked for his help. It seemed I had been completely wrong about that man.

Kaina, wearing an apologetic smile, followed me out of the office and handed me a list.

“I’m sorry, Krai, he doesn’t have anything against you. This is a list of all the high-level hunters registered with the imperial capital branch of the Explorers’ Association. Perhaps this will be of use to you.”

“Ah, thanks a ton. Honestly, I was being serious when I invited him.”

I felt a bit better and admitted to myself that maybe bringing Kaina wasn’t the smartest idea. But now Gark’s slot on the team was open and I had to fill it in. I looked over the list and saw a bunch of familiar names, including everyone in Grieving Souls.

There sure are a lot of high-level hunters in the imperial capital...

Then, one name caught my eye. It was a Level 6 hunter and their name was very unique. It wasn’t an acquaintance of mine and I didn’t recognize their name. With four slots still open, I figured this mug could fill the first. At times like these, it was momentum that mattered.

“Kaina, could you contact this Kechachakka person?”

“Oh, certainly.”

Kaina looked surprised. I suppose she hadn’t expected me to make such a fast decision.

During escort quests, it was important that your team have the wide-area firepower necessary to handle large groups of foes. The possibility of being swarmed by monsters made Magi indispensable for these jobs. I wasn’t thrilled about where I was headed, but there weren’t many other places I could go to for a powerful Magus that wasn’t Lucia.

My next stop was the headquarters of the Magi clan, Hidden Curse. After all, the Abyssal Inferno was an accomplice to this mess. Not giving her an invite could lead to problems later on.

Quite unlike the clan house of First Steps, Hidden Curse was based out of an old mansion. The storied building had housed them since their clan was first founded. It had been renovated many times over the years and excelled in both form and function.

I was about to take my first brave step inside when a familiar cold-eyed young man stepped out.

“Ah, Krai. What brings you here?” he asked.

“Hey there, Arty! How have you been?” I replied.

I was trying to be affable, but he just shrank back with embarrassment.

“Er, that’s a nickname only Mary uses. Could you just call me Art?”

I thought Arty was a pretty good name. If I had an extra spot, I would’ve made him part of the wall spaghetti.

“I’m here to see the Abyssal Inferno,” I said. “Is she around? If not, I’d like to leave a message for her...”

That woman was usually pretty busy. God did I hope she was out somewhere. If I at least made an attempt to contact her, she wouldn’t immolate me for being so rude as to not ask in person. But my prayers were done in vain—Arty was all too happy to open the door for me.

“Perfect timing,” he said. “I was just talking with her. Head on in.”

The office of the Hidden Curse clan master was like a drawing room you might find in a noble’s mansion. There was a thick rug and an antique lamp. The walls were covered by packed bookcases and portraits of the previous clan masters. The current clan master, meanwhile, still looked like a witch out of a fairy tale. An evil witch, at that. She might have been lanky, but her height made her intimidating.

I extended my invitation to Rosemary Purapos, the Abyssal Inferno, and she grinned at me.

“Hee hee hee. I’m honored you think I’m worth the kindness, Thousand Tricks.”

I wasn’t sure what to say.

“But, as I’m sure you know,” she continued, “the empire’s put a shackle around my ankle; I’m not allowed outside the imperial capital. I’ve also got to sweep up the aftermath of our battle with Akashic Tower, and they tell me I’m needed to protect the capital.”

“I-I see. I had no idea.”

But it made sense. There was no covering up the damage she had done to the Imperial Castle, and, even if it had been an emergency, there was no way that would go unpunished. This probably explained why the escort quest hadn’t been given to her.

“That reminds me. I never had the opportunity to say thank you,” she said. “I wanted to say it at the Gathering, but the opportunity eluded me.”

“Thanks for what?” I asked.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. You were the one who exhausted my fire elemental, weren’t you? And their lightning elemental as well?”

I really didn’t understand what she was getting at.

“I don’t know how you knew where to find them,” she continued with lambent eyes, “but the capital would’ve been hit much harder if not for your meddling.”

“Ah, right.”

I had heard that during our vacation, a lightning and a fire elemental had fought in the imperial capital, but how did that lead to me being thanked? I had never even encountered the lightning elemental.

I noticed the old lady was looking at me like she could singe me at any moment, so I rubbed my Safety Rings and took a deep breath. The rings would protect me against magic attacks, but fire spells had plenty of side effects. If the room ran out of oxygen, I could die, and so I had an Oxygen Ring. I could also die from the heat, so I wore a Cooling Ring. That said, the barriers of my Safety Rings wouldn’t extinguish flames, so if any blazes outlasted my Safety Rings I could still get roasted.

But more importantly, I now had another open space in my party.

“If I may, CM,” Arty said, “Hidden Curse is a clan with more than a few Magi suitable for this venerable duty.”

“Hmph, well that’s for the Thousand Tricks to decide. Hmm, well why don’t you go, Artbaran? Since you brought it up. If Mary comes along, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Mary. Mary, huh?

That was the girl who had been with Arty at the café. Both of them seemed pretty young, but I wasn’t going to doubt the opinions of the Abyssal Inferno.

Arty was entirely caught off guard by this suggestion. “I’m confident that together Mary and I could handle most any situation. However, if the invitation was to you, then doesn’t that mean there’s only one available position?”

“That so?” the Abyssal Inferno asked, looking at me.

I had come here with the intention of filling one slot, but I wasn’t going to balk at the idea of filling two. I nodded and decided I could try and put them in my debt.

“Ah, I’ll make it work out,” I said. “If those two are a good team, I’ll fit Arty and Mary into one slot. How does that sound?”

The Abyssal Inferno sank into a silence. Arty looked at me with wide eyes. Could I make it work? Maybe not? Either way, it didn’t really matter since all the slots hadn’t yet been filled.

The Abyssal Inferno suddenly began to bawl with laughter. The furniture in the room shook and so did I.

“Well said, Thousand Tricks! So you think our Mary and Artbaran are each worth half a person?”

“No, that’s not—”

“But you have a point and there’s no denying it. Let’s forget about sending Artbaran.”

The conversation was moving along without my control. Arty seemed like a nice fellow and I had no problem bringing him, but there was no getting through to people like the Abyssal Inferno.

“We’ve got our hands full here,” she boomed and hit her staff against the ground. “I’ll send the vice clan master, Telm Apoclys. You know him, don’t you? He’s a Level 7 Magus. No objections?”

I knew the name, but I had never met him. I couldn’t even pick him out of a crowd. But I certainly wasn’t in any position to be arguing, so I simply nodded like a puppet.

After my harrowing experiences with Gark and the Abyssal Inferno, I returned to the clan house. All that was left was to recruit Ark. I entered the lounge and started talking to the first familiar face I saw.

“Huh? Ark isn’t here?” I asked.

“You didn’t know?” Lyle replied. “He has some major quest to take care of and won’t be back for a while.”

That useless fop. It’s like he tries to be gone when I need him the most.

If I was going to be surrounded by unfamiliar faces like Telm and Kechachakka, then I was going to need a strong ally like Ark to avoid the quest being a total nightmare. But if he was unreachable, then there was nothing I could do. Nobody could replace Ark. Many could match his strength, but nobody was as reassuring a presence as he was.

I slumped in a nearby chair and crossed my arms, tapping my fingers as I racked my brains. I had found two people, leaving me with three open that still needed to be filled. Three. What a nice number.

“Maybe get the old wall spaghetti party together?” I wondered aloud. “But that means Tino would be left out.”

“Wh-What’s on your mind, CM?” Lyle asked.

I was tired. Visiting those two places had exhausted me. I began to grow apathetic. After all, we were just insurance and it was possible we might have a miraculously easy trip. Even if something did happen, the imperial guard would probably be enough to handle it.

“Why don’t you come, Lyle? We’re protecting the emperor.”

Lyle nearly choked on his drink. “H-Hell no! And don’t just ask that like it’s a casual outing!”

Maybe protecting the emperor wasn’t that prestigious after all? I looked around the lounge and everyone shook their heads at me. Did these clan members not have any faith in their CM or something?

What a pickle. I’d be in serious trouble if I couldn’t pull together a team. I no longer cared who, I just needed those slots filled. But then my thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched voice.

“Ah, human weakling!”

First Steps had two problem-child parties. One was mine—Grieving Souls. The other was Starlight, a party composed solely of Noble Spirits, a race predisposed to looking down on humans. They caused us trouble at every possible opportunity.

The source of the voice was one of their members, Kris Argent. Behind her was the party’s leader, Lapis Fulgor.

“The rumors passed my ears. Hmph. You seem to be doing well for yourself,” Lapis said.

“You kicked another hornet’s nest! Sir! Life sure isn’t fair if someone like you is still drawing breath!” Kris said.

With only a few exceptions, Noble Spirits were generally exceptional Magi. Starlight was one of the top Magi parties in the imperial capital. Their personalities were what they were, but they weren’t bad folk, and, since I had no pride, they were easy to interact with. Not to mention, Noble Spirits did respect humans who excelled at magic, and by virtue of being Lucia’s brother, they were soft on me.

Now, I didn’t really think a Noble Spirit would behave around the emperor, but maybe it would be fine. Maybe the emperor would just shrug and say “Well, that’s just how they are.” What’s more, Noble Spirits stood out; if I brought one along, they would draw all the aggro.

Seeing as those two rarely came to the lounge, my only option was to assume this was a sign from god.

The choice ingredients of this plate of wall spaghetti were coming together. I returned to my room, forcing myself to get excited about it.

First up, the one recommended by the Explorers’ Association and whose odd name I liked—Kechachakka Munk! Class: unknown!

Next, we had the vice clan master of Hidden Curse, the assassin sent by the Abyssal Inferno—Telm Apoclys!

Third was Starlight leader Lapis Fulgor...’s favorite party member—Kris Argent! Lapis was always telling her to not use coarse language! And she was only here on Lapis’s orders!

I needed a party of five, so two slots remained. I gave this grave responsibility of mine some serious thought. Kechachakka was “bitterness,” Telm was “spiciness,” and Kris was “sweetness.” Once I had my “sourness” and “saltiness” (don’t ask), I’d have the five basic flavors and I’d be all set. Maybe Kris could be sourness and make someone else sweetness. What I needed most was someone who could do a good job leading the party.

The obvious choice among the parties of First Steps was Obsidian Cross, but Sven was a busy man. If I couldn’t find him training or in the lounge, there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to find him at all.

This is a tricky one. I need two more people. Maybe I can fill a slot with Carpet?

As I thought hard about the issue, Sitri strode the lounge, a jovial air about her.

“Krai, how goes the selection?” she asked.

“I’ve got three people. I’m thinking and thinking, but I can’t come up with any more options. Are you all right after that meeting?”

“Oh, yes. After you left, we had a discussion and decided none of us would participate in this quest! It wasn’t fair for just one of us to have all the fun!”

“All the fun?”

We were raised in the same town and had similar upbringings, so why had we turned out so differently?

Sitri walked around and embraced me from behind. “How-ev-er, I thought you might need some help. So I brought a potential team member for you.”

“Hm?”

Sitri cheerfully called out in the direction of the door. It swung open and in came a figure two meters tall and clad entirely in armor. Vertically and horizontally, they had the outline of a Heavy Warrior. Their face was hidden by their helmet’s visor and their armor was an uncommon charred brown.

They marched up to me and stood up straight, their arms at their side. I really didn’t know what I was supposed to say.

“This is Sir Killigan Version Alpha, my new friend,” Sitri said, her arms still wrapped around me.

“Is that their real name?”

I’d like to meet their parents.

Sitri just giggled and said, “Here’s the controller.”

She handed me a box with a joystick, four large buttons, and one small button. I moved the joystick forward, and Sir Killigan moved forward. They continued moving their legs even after bumping into the table.

Should I be worried?

Sitri noticed my uncertainty and explained what all the buttons did. “This button orders him to fight, this one to defend, this one is to run, and this one to dance. The joystick controls movement.”

I recognized the expression she was making, that one that made her look like she had a new toy. Every time Sitri learned something new or obtained a new item, she would always come to me to show it off.

I had a lot I wanted to say, but I settled with asking about the controls. “Shouldn’t there be more buttons?”

“I thought there were too many. Hence why there’s one assigned to dancing. Oh, right, this small button is for Autonomous Action Mode.”

If that was there, then why did I need the controller?

“Sir Killigan won’t let you down, so please, include him in your team! I won’t mind even if you sacrifice him!” Sitri’s voice was full of both passion and confidence.

So this definitely isn’t a human. It’s a golem, right? Extraordinary as ever, our local Alchemist.

If Sitri was so confident, then it would probably be a useful asset. I wasn’t sure if a golem really counted as a team member, but I decided to say this was another slot filled. My five-star wall spaghetti was one step closer to competition.

“All right,” I said. “Thanks, this is a huge help. Now, just one more slot...”

“Um, wouldn’t that be your slot?”

“Hm?!”

My eyes bulged as I counted on my fingers. Kechachakka, Telm, Kris, and Sir Killigan made four. If you included me, you’d get five. I had totally forgotten about my own existence. But now I had a brilliant idea: I could pretend to accidentally pick five people, then get left behind. I furrowed my brow and gave it some serious thought.

Number five can be...I guess we just go with Tino. No, hold on, she’s been dragged into way too much lately.

Not one of my original picks had ended up on the team. If Ark was in, then I could’ve brought Tino, but alas. What other acquaintances did we have? Maybe I could try paying Arnold a visit. Sure, we still weren’t on great terms, but a prestigious job like protecting the emperor should be irresistible to a high-level hunter. Maybe this wouldn’t just settle our differences, it would put him in my debt?

Hee hee hee. Not only will I have one less problem, he’ll owe me a favor. Maybe I really am a preterhuman artificer? 

While I was busy counting my unhatched eggs, Sitri let go of me and clapped her hands.

“Ah, that’s right. Sir Killigan is an omnivore, so any food will do. It can go a while without eating, but I’d appreciate it if you could feed it raw meat. Bear in mind, it’s trained to eat in places where nobody will see it.”

“Huh?”

And so the day of destiny was upon us.

I was sitting in a room at the Explorers’ Association. Franz came in, offered a cursory greeting, and checked my list of team members.

“What’s this?” he asked, furrowing his brow. “I don’t see anyone from your party.”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

“Telm the Counter Cascade and the Magus from Starlight are familiar enough, but I’ve never heard the name Kechachakka Munk. And who’s this Sir Killigan Version Alpha?”

More like a what. Wish I could tell you. 

But look at this wonderful wall spaghetti. The average level is much higher than that of the White Wolf’s Den crew, so we can safely call this five-star wall spaghetti. I begged the heavens for someone to save me. At some point, I had become strangely excited about the whole thing (Arnold, by the way, declined the invitation).

“Calm down,” I said, holding up my palms and making a wry smile. “These people are the best of the best.”

“You have three Magi, that’s terribly imbalanced. You should have at least brought the Immutable! I understand personnel selection was left to your discretion, but I hadn’t expected such a mess of a...”

My ears were hurting. Franz was right about our balance, but I hadn’t known that Kechachakka was a Magus. Sure, maybe I shouldn’t have invited a total stranger to help guard the emperor, but I didn’t have any better options!

“If you’ve chosen them, then may I assume they aren’t Foxes?”

“No doubts on that front. They’re safe.”

The phantom I knew was far too extraordinary to be overlooked, even by someone as blind as myself. I would never misidentify them.

“Save the yapping! Sir!” Kris, my personal protection, yelled in a cool voice. “As long as I’m here, there’s nothing that can go wrong! Consider your job good as done!”

Being captain of the imperial guard, Franz was no doubt a high-ranking noble, but Kris spoke to him without a hint of restraint. Noble Spirits were born with natural magic proficiency, good looks, and had once been emissaries of the gods. Maybe it was only natural they had no regard for the hierarchies of us humans.

Kris banged her hand on the desk like a child, but her good looks made the action strangely adorable. The beautiful sure have it easy, I mused as I watched in silence. Even Franz didn’t seem like he could bring himself to tell her off. Yeah, uh-huh.

“Make no mistake! Sir! This man might be the emperor, but that means nothing to Noble Spirits! I’m helping because I can’t turn down a request from Lapis! Sir!”

In case you’re wondering, Kris’s weird speech was because she wasn’t used to speaking politely. Even when we had first met, she wasn’t afraid to tell me what was on her mind, and that was usually a storm of vitriol. Since I was technically the clan master, Lapis was always yelling at her to speak politely and that led to her current speech pattern. It seemed she thought adding “Sir” here and there was enough to make her speech seem courteous.

“She’s the Carpet-charger,” I said with a smile.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, human weakling! I’m only here because Lucia asked me! Sir!”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

“We’re only even in your clan because you said you’d hand Lucia over to us! Sir! Quit making us wait! How long do you think you can keep this up?!”

“Yeah, uh-huh.”

Lively as ever. It was anyone’s guess how she yelled so much without her voice going hoarse.

Of course, we never promised to hand over Lucia. When we were negotiating with Starlight, Sitri ceded them the right to recruit Lucia. However, members of Grieving Souls are allowed to join and leave entirely at their own discretion. So to put it bluntly: Starlight had been duped. Except they would never face up to that fact.

“I’m lending my aid and that’s more than enough! Sir! Your weakness never fails to astound me, so just stay out of my way!”

“I don’t have to go? Really? It’s my lucky day!” I said, pleasantly surprised.

“Don’t kid me! Sir!” Kris slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and pointed a finger at me. “You intend to make me work while you sit back and relax? Give me a break! At least pretend you deserve your Level 8! Sir!”

“Now, now, calm down. Your throat must be dry. Here, you can have my tea.”

I held out my tea cup and she swiped it from my hand, fuming all the while.

Kris was a Level 3. She wasn’t lacking for talent, but her habit of arguing with quest-givers held her back. To get along with Noble Spirits required either a big heart (like Ark) or a complete lack of pride (like me). However, when I really took a moment to think about it, choosing Kris might have been a bit too adventurous.

I noticed Franz was at a complete loss for words. “She’s a perfect choice,” I told him in a desperate attempt to seem in control. “I’m sure His Imperial Majesty will find no room for complaint. And if anyone in my team isn’t to your liking, you can find someone else to do this job.”

And so I managed to get away with my team selection.

What sort of job did they think this was? Yeah, uh-huh. Yet this was all somehow my fault. The only thing I could do now was make the best of what I had.

“Krai, here’s the file you requested,” Eva said. “With the time I had, I could throw together the information we already had on file.”

“Ah, thanks. I owe you one.”

While I had been resisting the urge to vomit, Eva was working hard as ever. What she had made was a list of all the noteworthy bandits between here and our destination. The conference was being held in the country of Toweyezant—a nation resting at the center of a large desert. Compared to Zebrudia, it was incredibly rustic; much of our journey wouldn’t even be on proper roads.

Every year, the role of hosting the conference rotated among the participating countries. This year’s location provided an excellent opportunity for those with designs on the emperor. I didn’t really think the defenses of the empire would mean anything in the face of that fox, but who knew what went on in the mind of phantoms?

My eyes went wide as saucers—the list was much shorter than I had anticipated. But I wasn’t going to allow myself any complacency.

“I don’t think you have much to worry about,” Eva said. “Considering your schedule and the fact that it’s the emperor you’ll be traveling with, you’ll probably proceed by air part of the way. The emperor and his entourage have used airships during previous long journeys.”

“There might be sky pirates.”

“No. There. Won’t! What are you even talking about? ‘Sky pirates’?”

It was pretty sensible that the emperor wouldn’t want to cross the desert on foot, but flying in a vehicle? Did the man have a death wish? The land and sea were brimming with dangers and the sky was no exception. Humans couldn’t fly on their own, but plenty of monsters could.

My Safety Rings would protect me if we crashed, but I still thought it might be smart to try and befriend the Delinquent Carpet (as I liked to call him). Maybe the emperor gave me the Carpet for that exact reason? Could the Zero Order fight in the sky? And what about me? I couldn’t fight on land, sea, or sky.

Just to be safe, I paced around, clutching my head and groaning. “No. There might be bandits, there might be monsters, a treasure vault might spring up, there could be a natural disaster. Eva, I could be in serious danger.”

“Where’s this coming from?! You’re always so relaxed.”

“I just thought that if I say it now, it might not actually happen.”

“Did you now?”

I’m not proud of it, but I had never made a correct prediction in my life. These ominous predictions were my way of praying for good luck. This way, even if we were to run into something, it wouldn’t be bandits, monsters, or a treasure vault. I could accept that.

I had left most of the preparations to Sitri. The only thing I had left to do was carefully pick which Relics to bring so that I could be ready for anything. Combat could be left to the knights and my hunters. My job was just to keep an eye on the companions I had brought along, but they were all high-level veterans, so I wasn’t particularly worried.

***

“Let’s begin the thirty-fifth-and-a-half Grieving Souls Conference! Our next field of operations will be the sky and the desert!”

Every member of Grieving Souls was gathered in one of the clan house’s meeting rooms, except Krai and Eliza. Standing before a blackboard plastered with documents was the usual facilitator, Sitri.

“Bring it! The sky! The desert! Sand dragons!” Luke yelled, his eyes shimmering.

“Krai Baby is a real busybody,” Liz said as she threw her feet up on the desk. “He needs to take a break. He’s not giving himself any time to train. I wanna go on a date, even if it is in the sky or the desert or whatever!”

Ansem grunted.

“Our objective is to support Krai during his upcoming duty of protecting the emperor!” Sitri continued. “If all goes well, his level might increase. Let’s not make any mistakes!”

“Honestly,” Lucia grumbled, “just because you weren’t chosen—”

“Lucy, we’re all a team! Nobody gets left behind!” Sitri shut her down with a smile. “Toweyezant gets extremely hot during the day, but that’s no issue. That volcano provided plenty of opportunities to bolster heat resistance. The night temperature won’t prove any trouble either, so our primary concern is the sky. You see, there typically aren’t any airships headed for Toweyezant. To put it bluntly, it’s not the sort of place to have regular airship traffic.”

“The sky! Even I’ve never cut down a monster of the sky!”

“Calm down, Luke,” Liz told him. “Lucy should be able to handle the sky. Are we gonna sneak onto the airship?”

“Unlike the Gathering of the White Blade, sneaking onto the airship won’t be possible. No doubt, they won’t let anyone on without proper identification,” Lucia said contemplatively. Lucia was a powerful Magus, but magic wasn’t omnipotent, and all Magi had strengths and weaknesses.

She pulled out a battered book and flipped through its pages. “Making multiple people fly through the air is difficult, to say the least, all the more so if we also have to keep pace with an airship,” she said. “I might have to create a new spell...” She flipped a few more pages. “Ah. Here we are. Shinobi’s Miracle Number Five. Ninpo: Kuuton.”

“Is that from that old manga?” Luke asked. “That’s the one that you fly on a massive kite?”

“Quite right. Not even a paltry attempt at originality.”

Luke’s excitement permeated his voice. “Riding a kite sounds absolutely wild. Imagine Krai looking out a window and he just sees us there atop a kite.”

Lucia didn’t seem at all pleased by the mental image.

“Now then!” Sitri cut in with a clap of her hands. “Per clan rules, we’ll decide via a majority vote. Eliza’s adrift on the sea of life, so she has no vote. We have three options: have Lucy do her best with a kite, do our best to sneak onto the airship, or do our best to cling on to the outside of the airship! First, those who want to fly via Lucy!”

“Are you sure this is a fair vote?” Lucia objected.

Ansem grunted.

After that, as they always did, they decided on how to proceed. Grieving Souls were often thought of as a reckless party, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Advance preparation was necessary for overcoming difficulties and, if their record was anything to go by, they were no strangers to overcoming challenges.

“Krai picked four individuals, the famed Water Magus, Telm Apoclys, the Counter Cascade; Kechachakka Munk, a Hex Magus and Level 6 hunter new to the capital; the simpleminded and easily teased, Kris; and last, my special invention, Sir Killigan Version Alpha.

“Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to look into the backgrounds of Kechachakka or any of the other recruits. None of them are suited for direct combat, so Sir Killigan might be enough to protect Krai, but, if necessary, perhaps Lucia could rile Kris up to our benefit?”

“There you go agaaain!” Liz groaned. “Siddy, your blatant attempts at scoring points with Krai Baby are nothing more than a pain in his ass!”

“What, they don’t have a Swordsman?” Luke said. “Now what am I supposed to cut?”

“Kechachakka. Hmm. I don’t know why our leader picked him, but everything should be fine if the Counter Cascade is in their group,” Lucia offered.

Sitri smiled and casually ignored the two brick walls as she turned to Lucia, the one still very capable of conversation.

“As always, I’ll look into what sort of monsters we can expect. However, we may be dealing with an enemy unlike anything else we’ve faced. Proceed under the assumption that we have no information of any kind.”

The air in the room changed. Lucia looked very grim. Ansem corrected his posture.

Luke furrowed his brow. “So this fox everyone is talking about is the Thirteen-Tailed Fox we encountered long ago? Back then, we could barely even touch it, and after all this time, I still don’t know if I could cut it. If only they were a Swordsman.”

For someone normally so gung-ho, this was a very levelheaded evaluation.

“Yes, but you’re thinking of something else entirely,” Liz said with a sigh. “That phantom has no interest in human affairs, remember? The empire is worried about Fox, the criminal organization.”

“Huh? There’s another Fox?” Luke asked with surprise.

“Indeed. While they’re a preferable adversary to the one you’re talking about, they’re enough to pose a potential threat to the empire,” Sitri kindly explained. She was well aware of how Luke could be so astoundingly ignorant of anything he wasn’t interested in. “There isn’t much known about them, but their danger and secrecy is comparable to that of Serpent.”

Luke’s eyes were wide yet glimmering as he leaned forward. “What?! Comparable to Serpent? Oh man, I can’t wait for this.”

His hands shook with anticipation and he smiled nervously.

“‘Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox,’ they’re called. Or just ‘Fox,’” Sitri informed him. “Their aim is the total destruction of civilization. They’re a secret society of which nearly nothing is known about.”

Information about their command structure, members, leaders, and the like was nonexistent, but it was said they had once served as the intelligence agency of a country that was now long gone. Even that fact was still shrouded in mystery. Most countries had only just recently become aware of the existence of Fox, and that was probably because the organization wanted it that way.

And now Fox was trying to harm one of the largest nations in the world. The intruder at the Gathering had been a show of force. And also a declaration of hostilities.

“I see. I guess they don’t have enough tails,” Luke said.

Sitri giggled. “According to rumors, their name is derived from the phantom fox which you mentioned a moment ago. The might and wisdom of that aberrant fox have supposedly generated them a devout following.”

Hunters were powerful, but not suited for fighting in large groups. This made Fox a troublesome enemy. They were secretive enough to evade the grabbing hands of a number of nations, but they likely were also rich in both funds and personnel. They were rumored to have high-level hunters in their ranks and to be completely ruthless.

“The empire’s caution is entirely warranted,” Sitri continued. “This upcoming conference is an excellent chance for someone to strike. Whether the emperor lives or dies isn’t of much concern to us, but we have to fight if our opponent is trying to set Krai up.”

Liz removed her legs from the table and stood up. “Sooo basically we just need to do what we always do? As usual, we’ve got bad guys, we don’t know what’s gonna happen, and Krai Baby’s up to something. And as usual, we can just do as he directs us.”

Hunters very rarely fought criminal organizations. Unless they were the type who preferred hunting bounties, most hunters had no reason to make enemies out of criminals. But Grieving Souls was different. They had been attacked. They had counterattacked. They had gotten revenge. They had done whatever they could to climb the ladder. Now they were at ease, without any reason to have fear.

“Indeed,” Sitri said with a smile. “Caution is necessary, but we can, as per usual, follow Krai’s directions. He’s our compass, and this is our chance to show him what we can do.”

***

“So the Thousand Tricks has accepted the quest, has he?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. However, his behavior defies comprehension. I can’t help but wonder if requesting his aid was truly necessary.”

Deep within the Imperial Castle, which rested at the heart of the prosperous Zebrudian Empire, was the throne room. There, Rodrick Atolm Zebrudia was speaking with Franz, the captain of the imperial guard. The topic of their conversation was the escalating steps being taken by both Fox and the Thousand Tricks.

The situation was confounding to the extreme. Franz had more than just the attack by Fox to blame for the haggard look on his face. He didn’t care for anything the Thousand Tricks had done. Not for the rude way he had interacted with the imperial princess, his flippant attitude when the emperor had been attacked, or his complete lack of respect for the prestigious job of protecting the emperor.

“Even if it was part of his plans, planting poison at the Gathering of the White Blade was an excessive move,” he said.

Franz hadn’t pursued the matter any further because of the judgment passed down by True Tears. He had watched Krai Andrey place his hand on the orb and there was no mistaking the words that had come out of his mouth. The results were indisputable.

“However, it is quite clear that he is no ally of Fox. Franz, what you did was unquestionably foolish, but I appreciate your loyalty. Thanks to you, we have one less person we have to harbor suspicions about.”

Rodrick was a realist. Using whatever means necessary to head straight for an objective made him a failure of an emperor in some regards, but he managed to overcome that with pure charisma. Someone could blast a hole in the Imperial Castle or plant poison at the Gathering; what he cared about was just that the benefits outweighed the costs. And the Thousand Tricks had made the benefits of what he had done very clear.

“We can’t delay the conference in Toweyezant. That would tell Fox that their intimidation worked.”

Even after their attack, this secret society had still managed to evade the grasp of the empire. But if the empire let themselves be discouraged, that would lower their reputation among the other nations.

“It’s just that the Thousand Tricks is the most suspicious figure out of them all,” Franz groaned.

“How ironic that the most suspicious figure should be proven innocent,” the emperor said with a chuckle. “Unless that’s exactly why you used the Tears?”

Franz held his tongue.

Tears of Truth were a pillar of the empire. They had never made an erroneous judgment and harboring doubts of its reliability could not be permitted—that would invite reexamining every case they had been used in. Franz was calm, sharp-witted, and his use of the Relic had proven his loyalty.

However, he was also a straightforward individual. If the Thousand Tricks was capable of the preterhuman artifice he was said to be, then manipulating Franz should be a simple task for him. If that was the case, then gladly accepting judgment from Tears of Truth, the nemesis of all schemers, was extraordinarily bold.

What Franz had done would normally be considered a capital offense. If word of this got out, he would, at the very least, be stripped of his position—a fate worse than death for an Argman, a family that had devoted themselves to serving the imperial family since the founding of the empire.

But the Thousand Tricks hadn’t ratted Franz out. And by personally encouraging use of the Relic, he had both saved Franz and encouraged the Abyssal Inferno to follow suit. It seemed he was just as, no, he was smarter than the rumors had suggested.

“So I’m to trust him then? Just how much has that man already figured out?” Franz wondered.

He still couldn’t place total trust in the Thousand Tricks, but it was clear that man had figured out something about what Fox was up to.

Zebrudia was a large nation. They needed to maintain a proper front of strength if they wanted to be considered a formidable power. The age of direct confrontation between countries was over. Now it all came down to how well one could utilize the resources of treasure vaults.

Could that man be used? Was he safe to use? Earl Gladis had vouched for his intelligence. But if he was going to be working for the emperor, Franz wanted to confirm it firsthand.