The Power of the Saint is All Around (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 5.1

Behind the Scenes II

EARLY IN THE MORNING, not long after Sei and company arrived in Zaidera, a letter arrived at the manor where the Salutanian delegation were staying. A member of the delegation brought the letter to their ambassador, Crown Prince Kyle, while he was eating breakfast. 

“I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of your meal.” 

Realizing that this required his immediate attention, Kyle stopped eating to listen. “Has something happened?”

“We have received a letter from Taeyuangan. Grand Magus Drewes has just arrived from Salutania.”

“Pardon me, Grand Magus Drewes?”

Taeyuangan was the name of the harbor town where Sei and the others had docked, and it was the closest port to the imperial city. As it was open to visitors from abroad, Prince Kyle’s delegation had also reached the capital by that route. It was understandable that travelers from Salutania would go there first—but what Kyle couldn’t understand was why Yuri of all people had come.

Yuri was Salutania’s strongest mage and crucial to the protection of their kingdom. It was hard to imagine they would have let him just take a jaunt over the border, even if they weren’t currently at war.

Neither could he imagine the Saint herself ever leaving the country. The Saint, who hardly ever made public appearances. In times of emergency, she was even more important than the king himself. It was unthinkable that they would willingly let her go to Zaidera and deprive themselves of her protection.

Therefore, Kyle frowned at this news. Something troubled him about all of this. What could possibly compel Salutania to allow people who would never ordinarily be permitted to leave to do exactly that?

When he thought about it that way, it was easy to guess. The potential conclusion shook him to his core.

Kyle did his best to remain calm as he asked, “Did the grand magus bring anyone with him?”

“Yes—two personal assistants, and a knight as his guard. He brought a number of other retainers as well, including a civilian merchant.”

Although he didn’t mention the person Kyle most feared, the prince felt this only served to further support his theory.

If they’re trying to avoid as much risk as possible, then they would of course conceal her presence.

It was highly unnatural to suggest that Salutania’s most powerful mage required a guard, but if the person Kyle imagined was indeed with the grand magus, then Yuri’s sizable entourage made perfect sense.

As the delegation member studied the look of confidence on Kyle’s face, he began to realize who else might be accompanying Yuri. However, he couldn’t believe it either, and though he usually schooled himself into maintaining an expression of perfect equanimity, he ­accidentally let this show on his face.

Sure enough, Kyle’s hunch was right.

When Kyle heard that Yuri was soon to arrive, he went to greet the grand magus’s party at the manor door. There, standing behind Yuri, was Sei. Kyle straightened at the sight of her. Thanks to his royal upbringing, he somehow managed to keep his face still, but he couldn’t completely contain an air of anxiety.

“Thank you for coming all this way.” Kyle heard the slight tremble in his voice as he greeted Yuri, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

The reason for his nervousness was rooted in a moment of past rebellion. Once, in his stubborn belief that Aira—the other girl who had been summoned in the Saint Summoning Ritual—was the true Saint, Kyle had called Sei an impostor before a crowd.

If he had done this just after both ladies were summoned, the blowback wouldn’t have been so terrible. However, Sei had by then proven herself by healing many who had suffered injuries fighting monsters, successfully purified the black swamps where miasma gathered, and accomplished a number of other feats as well. By that point, she was already widely regarded as the Saint in truth.

As a result, Kyle had been severely punished for showing such disrespect toward someone of equal status to his father, the king.

Why hadn’t he listened to everyone else? Why had he firmly refused to believe that anyone but Aira could be the Saint? When Kyle thought about it now, he could only call it the rashness of youth.

However, despite reprimands, he had been unable to change his attitude. Only recently had he been able to look back on that time with a cool head.

The king had forbidden any contact between his first son and the Saint, so this was the first time Kyle and Sei had met face-to-face since the incident. He hadn’t yet apologized, and so in this moment of sudden reunion, he was, of course, overcome with guilt. But because Sei was traveling incognito, he couldn’t possibly apologize now.

Kyle instead focused on guiding their group into the manor, which was when he realized that Yuri had an odd look on his face. In fact, the rest of the delegation looked just as surprised, or like they were deep in thought.

Something unusual was clearly afoot.

Kyle wanted to uncover the truth, but they couldn’t talk outside where others might see them. Having come to that decision, Kyle briefly exchanged greetings with Yuri, who was acting as the second delegation’s leader, and urged them to come inside at once.

The prince led Yuri, Sei, and Albert into the parlor so they could discuss just what was going on.

By all rights, Oscar should have joined them too, since he was a member of Special Services—who were tasked with gathering Salutanian intelligence—but that would have been problematic, so Kyle would speak with him separately.

While Oscar was in truth a covert guard for Sei, in public, he acted as a merchant in her employ. It would have been strange for him to join a political discussion in this manner.

Kyle cleared the room so it was just the four of them. He was quick to jump to the topic of greatest import: Just why were they here? He lacked the mental fortitude to warmly receive and welcome them because he was compelled to address the person in the room with the highest position: Sei.

The first thing he asked was why they were visiting Zaidera.

Sei’s expression, when he spoke to her, was indescribable.

Why was she making that face? Kyle knew she must have a terrible impression of him given his ongoing lack of apology, but did she think so poorly of him that she loathed even the sound of his voice?

Sei’s attitude worried him, but he soon learned that she had good reason to look at him like that: Her delegation had come because of an urgent letter sent from his delegation—a letter about which Kyle had no knowledge. The more he heard about the situation, the more the seed of anxiety that had taken root in his heart began to sprout and grow. It sounded like someone had forged a letter in order to draw the panacea—or the Saint—to Zaidera.

Who in the world could have sent that letter? The information they currently possessed led to no immediate conclusions.

Nevertheless, it would be foolish to sit around doing nothing. Kyle decided to start with what he could control. His first priority was guaranteeing Sei’s safety. He recommended that the Saint’s party return to Salutania right away, though he regretted having to do it since she had been looking forward to sightseeing.

However, this plan was soon interrupted. As if in anticipation of what they would do, the ports surrounding the imperial capital were closed to foreign travel. The timing was such that Kyle imagined this was a tactic to detain the Saint and the panacea in Zaidera.

However, he soon adjusted his suspicions when his agents reported that they were unsure as to whether this was premeditated or pure coincidence. It was dangerous to act on assumptions. He knew this all too well, given his past mistakes.

So, Kyle gave the order for his people to investigate the reason for the border closure—and, separately, who had sent the letter.

Their investigation of the letter yielded immediate results, as they had a clue: the seal upon the letter itself.

Prominent members of the delegation found time amidst their hectic investigation into the border situation to gather in the room Kyle used as his office. They had come to share what progress they had made in regards to the letter.

In addition to Kyle, his aides, and investigators, Yuri, Albert, and Oscar, were also present. As, of course, was the owner of the seal.

This individual was a viscount, and he had clearly already learned what had happened to his seal, because he looked pale and was trembling.

“So, this is the owner of the seal?” Kyle asked.

“That is correct, Your Highness.” 

When Kyle’s aide answered, the viscount trembled even harder.

“So, did he send that letter?”

“No, Your Highness. He has no recollection of doing so,” the aide continued; he had already asked the viscount these same questions.

“Then why did the sender use his seal?”

“According to him, the seal went missing not long before we believe that letter was sent.”

Seals were extremely important, as they were not only a means of self-identification but also a means of legally validating documents. If it became known that a bureaucrat had lost theirs, they would be openly condemned and disdained for their lack of managerial ability. It could even affect the ability of a palace official to rise in the ranks.

Because of this, the viscount had told no one that his seal was missing and continued searching every last nook and cranny it might have vanished into.

“And he still hasn’t found it?”

“No, Your Highness. He has been searching ever since its loss but has yet to locate it. A number of our people are searching for it as well.”

Now other members of the delegation were searching for the missing seal too. There was a chance that it had been pawned, so they had begun with a covert investigation to see if it had turned up at any stores. However, they still hadn’t recovered it, partially because they had only just begun to look.

The seal used on the letter had likely been the one they were searching for. It was also highly likely that the person who had sent the letter was still in possession of it. This was the conclusion those gathered quietly reached after hearing that the viscount himself had found no traces of it anywhere during his initial searches.

“Was it just a coincidence that the seal went missing?” Oscar wondered out loud, a hand on his chin. Though Sei wasn’t here, the Special Services agent had come to lend his prowess in intelligence gathering and analyzing situations.

Kyle heard his mumbling. “What do you mean?”

“It sounds to me like it might have been stolen for the express purpose of sending that letter—especially when you consider the location where we must assume he first lost track of it.”

“Oh? You mean you assume the tavern is the point of interest?”

“Yes, exactly. In a place like that, where so many people are coming and going, strangers blend in with all the rest. It’s the perfect scene for stealing a seal, if you ask me.”

Some of the gathered nodded, as they had come to the same conclusion at some point.

Around the time that they speculated the viscount had lost his seal, he had been working inside the manor. He had only ever gone out to the tavern that Kyle had mentioned.

The viscount was a lifelong foodie, and even in Zaidera he enjoyed trying all manner of different restaurants. This tavern was known for delicious food on a budget, so it was a favorite of the viscount’s. As an ordinary establishment, it was easy to gain entrance. The viscount had eaten there several times and had recently even become friendly with the proprietor.

Oscar didn’t say so out loud, but it was known that the restaurant served alcohol as well. The viscount didn’t drink to the point of blacking out, but, having grown comfortable with the establishment, he had on occasion drunk enough to impair his judgment.

It was no great feat for a sober man to steal from a drunk one. If someone had been aiming to steal the viscount’s seal, then the tavern would have been the best place to do it.

The truth was that on the day the viscount believed he lost the seal, he had drunk a bit too much, encouraged by a waitress. He had barely been standing by the time he returned to the manor. He realized his seal was missing the very next morning. This was another reason why the viscount had kept the incident to himself.

“If it’s been stolen, then there’s little chance that we’ll actually recover it.”

“You speak truly, Your Highness. We can continue our search, but if we take that possibility into account, perhaps it would be wise to look into whether any suspicious individuals have been in contact with the viscount.”

Kyle nodded his agreement. If the seal had been stolen with specific intent, they could assume that the thief was still in possession of it, and their chances of finding it would be vanishingly small. Therefore, he agreed with his aide’s proposal to focus on finding the person who had used the seal to send the letter.

As their discussion wrapped up, the viscount was promptly relieved of his post and informed that he would be returning to Salutania with Sei and her delegation. Until then, he was detained under house arrest within the manor.

This was the viscount’s punishment for losing his seal and allowing it to be used on a forgery, but it was also for the viscount’s safety, as well as to deprive the seal of value.

“That sums up all we know about the current state of the matter. There are far too many things that we don’t yet know. You must continue your investigations.” 

At Kyle’s command, the meeting came to a close.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the people in the room responded as one, before filing out of the office to carry out his orders.