Chapter 54
Chapter 54 – Interlude: Star of the Upheaval
Sponsored Content
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
Interlude: Star of the Upheaval
One night, about a month ago, Marquedo and Zofira were having their usual talk in the former’s office .
「Is there any reason why the budget for national defense decreased? I know your “Optimization for Every Department Project” is going great, but there’s no need to cut budget, is there? Ponsonia is dangerous right now . 」
「The budget, huh… I wanted to increase it, but there’s not a lot of people . 」
「What do you mean?」
「Forestia had known happiness for too long . They treat the skirmish between Ponsonia and Quinbland like it’s none of their business . Even if we recruited soldiers, no one would sign up . 」
「So there’s too much money for so few personnel?」
「Fifty-one percent of the national defense budget goes to personal expenses and provisions . No one could consume the increased funds . 」
「Maybe we should temporarily switch to mandatory conscription . What do you think?」
「…It’s worth considering . Though it should only be used as a last resort . 」
「Okay . Launch a review committee . I’ll be the president, and you will execute our decisions . 」
「Fine . More work for me, I guess . Yay . 」
「Don’t say that . You can have more…」
「Are you Zofira Van Houtens?」
「…assistants if you want…???」
They both turned at the direction the voice came from . A boy – at least that was what they assumed – clad in hooded, black cloak and wearing a Sun God mask stood there .
「Where did you come from?!」
Sponsored Content
Zofira quickly got up and stood in front of Marquedo . She was unarmed . Bringing weapons in this room was not allowed . But she was willing to put her life on the line to protect her queen .
「Please be quiet . I can kill you both before anyone arrives . 」the boy said, anticipating that Zofira would call for the guards . He stuck his hand from underneath his cloak and showed his dagger .
「Wh-What do you want?」
Zofira was prepared to die . The intruder had infiltrated all the way here . Her first priority was to let the queen escape . The future they were building for Forestia would all go to waste if both of them died .
「You didn’t even answer my question . 」the masked boy said, a bit exasperated . Marquedo pushed Zofira aside and stepped up front .
「This is my office . I won’t let you have your way . Answer me . Who sent you? Ludancia? Or is it… Ponsonia?」
Zofira was surprised . It made sense to her that Ludancia would send an assassin, one of the nations that comprised the alliance . They were on bad terms with Kirihal, where Marquedo came from .
But the boy reacted to the name “Ponsonia” . Marquedo might have guessed right .
「Someone just asked me to give a message to Zofira Van Houtens . 」
「A message? You sneaked into my office and now you’re saying you have a message? Now that’s funny . If you want to talk to Zofira, get an official appointment . 」
The boy sighed .
「Are you stupid?」
「Wha—?!」
Marquedo’s face turned red . No one called her stupid in front of her face, save for Zofira, at least .
「You dare mock me?!」
「I told you to be quiet . This is the queen’s room, isn’t it? There’s a peephole in the ceiling and your conversation was recorded . 」
「…What?」
「Surely he wasn’t a guard . By the looks of it, he was a complete combat amateur . I knocked him out cold, so you better get him later . 」
Sponsored Content
The women looked at the ceiling . Someone was up there? They didn’t notice at all . Aglaia would have if she was here . But she was with Gafrasti right now . They hadn’t seen her in five years .
If they could sneak into the ceiling easily, there was no doubt someone on the inside was involved . A chill went down Zofira’s spine . They talked in whispers because of the possibility of their conversation being heard outside the door . But who knew how much the infiltrators heard?
「Anyway, you want me to get an appointment? Do you really think a busy cabinet minister would meet a young boy from a foreign country? Even if she did, I wouldn’t want to talk to her in a place that’s being watched . 」
「………」
They couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth, unless they checked the ceiling . If it was true, they wouldn’t be able to offer words of rebuttal .
「Let’s get down to business, shall we?」
Ignoring their uneasiness, the boy tossed a handkerchief of fine quality on the table .
「I have a message from Gafrasti N . Valves . “I got what I was looking for . The Day of Dawn will soon be upon the current dynasty . ”」
Taken aback, Zofira and Marquedo exchanged glances . The meaning of the message was clear . Gafrasti found something that showed the ancient Poelnxinia’s royal family’s lineage . He was going to challenge the legitimacy of the current ruling family .
It made sense now that the boy reacted to the name “Ponsonia” . He was sent by none other than Gafrasti .
「…Why didn’t Gafrasti use the usual method of contacting us?」
「He said there’s no time, and they need to hurry, or something . The bluish-gray haired woman with him was concerned about the same thing as well . 」
This boy knows Aglaia, Zofira thought .
「I don’t care if you believe me or not . I only came here to do my job . 」
「Wait . You didn’t answer my first question . How did you get in here? We didn’t notice anyone enter the room . 」
「………」
Zofira felt the boy’s faint smile under his mask . She trembled slightly at his enigmatic presence .
「Your security’s full of holes . Anyway, I have a question for you as well . Will you answer it as payment for the delivery of my message?」
「…What is it?」
Sponsored Content
This boy was powerful . Right now he wasn’t a hostile, but he exuded an aura that indicated he didn’t care about Forestia . They couldn’t trust him . But fighting him was not a wise option . If what he said was true, he could kill the queen any time .
「What does Day of Dawn mean?」
「…Come again?」
The question was so unexpected that Zofira had to ask him again without thinking .
「It’s a term that was in a poem about the fall of the Poelnxinian dynasty . But I don’t know what it means exactly . Literally “dawn” would mean “daybreak”, but if the dynasty collapsed at dawn, you wouldn’t add “Day” to it . ”」the boy said .
「That’s true…」
The boy had his gaze fixed on Zofira . Unfortunately, she didn’t have the answer to his question . Just like Gafrasti, he was probably quite well-informed about the ancient dynasty . But why he was interested in that particular term, she didn’t know .
「I only know what I heard from Gafrasti…」
「That’s fine . Tell me . 」
Deep inside, Zofira was puzzled . If Gafrasti asked him to come here, why didn’t he just ask the man?
「Do you know that Poelnxinia was a very advanced society?」
「Yeah . 」
「The one who developed the technology they used was called the “Sorcerer of the Dawn” . This person was shrouded in mystery . The people who adored him… or her had a custom that still persists until today . On the dawn of this person’s death anniversary, they would offer their most prized possession at an altar, or something…」
「That’s quite a detailed information…」
「There’s a place where the custom is still being practiced . That’s all I know . 」
The boy seemed interested .
「Where is this place?」
Zofira didn’t feel like telling him, but Marquedo nodded slightly, and so she answered his question .
「…Scholarzard . It’s a university city where the pride of Forestia, the National Academic Research Institute is located . 」
「I see . 」
Sure enough, he sounded very interested . He cleared his throat before speaking again .
「That’s all . I don’t have any more questions for you . 」
「Wait, what’s your name?」
Zofira called out to him, but the boy simply opened the door and stepped outside . She followed the boy in a hurry .
「What’s wrong, Lady Zofira?」
The two soldiers standing guard jumped to their feet, surprised at the woman’s menacing look . Zofira looked around, but all she saw was the same old hallway .
「A boy wearing a black cloak passed through here! Did you see him?!」
「Uh… No, we didn’t . 」
「What?」
She was dumbfounded . The soldiers saluted in a hurry as soon as Marquedo approached Zofira .
「It feels like a nightmare…」the queen said .
「Are you okay?」
「Yes . There’s no sign of a spell on me either . 」
Marquedo checked her bracelet, a magic item .
「At any rate, word will come from Aglaia later . If what that boy said was true, we should make moves where we can . 」Marquedo said . 「But before that, there’s someone in the ceiling of my office! Arrest him right away!」she ordered the soldiers .
The person lurking in the ceiling – who was out cold – was captured . There were four other spots being watched as well and every last one of the spies there was unconscious .
Later, the mastermind behind the spying was arrested and Forestia’s internal government improved just a bit .