The Ruler of Conspiracy

by Kugane Maruyama

  “You’re going to assist with the invasion?”

  “…Isn’t it only natural to see strong countries governing the weaker ones?”

  “You’ll tacitly allow it even though you know it will only end in misery?”

  “We don’t know that for sure. In the first place, has His Majesty made anyone miserable since he took over here?”

  Rakheshir fell silent.

  Actually, to their surprise, they were unable to name anyone who had met with misfortune.

  “Aren’t some adventurers out of work?”

  “Well, yes, but that’s… Don’t get snide with me.”

  “Yeah, that was a cheap shot. Anyhow, he was here, so shouldn’t you have asked him what he intended to do about the shrines?”

  “Hold on. What would we do if by me probing, he said, Now that you mention it, they’re in my way. I’ll abolish them? I don’t want to live with the weight of being the spark that led to a massacre.”

  “Do you think he would do something like that?”

  “No, quite the opposite. He has an extraordinary intellect. Honestly, it surprised me. It almost makes me wonder if that undead face of his is just a magic disguise. Yes—he reminded me of Sir Momon.”

  “I can’t think of any way that’s not rude to Sir Momon.”

  In response to his scowling friend’s offended jab, Ainzach winced. “You’re right. It’s not very nice to lump everyone’s hero and an undead king together. But they are the same in that they both possess power that deviates from the realm of what normal humans are capable of, aren’t they? In a word…yes. I get a unique feeling from them, vibes they must only put out because they are both transcendent.”

  “I see. Then I suppose I sort of understand.”

  The pair fondly envisioned their hero Momon.

  “All right,” said Ainzach after a pause, fixing his gaze squarely on Rakheshir. “If you don’t intend to cooperate with His Majesty, Rakheshir, could you stop visiting me?”

  His reasoning was obvious. It was possible that documents related to running the nation would begin appearing in his room. It would be problematic for an outsider to come into the space at that point.

  The King of Darkness’s words had impacted Ainzach so much that he felt motivated to say such a thing to his friend.

  The new image of what an adventurer would be called to him. Some people did become adventurers for a chance to trek through lands unknown. Most of them, however, either caved in when faced with the reality or died. Only a handful of adventurers were capable of such a journey. But if the King of Darkness, a caster with absolute power, was backing them, he could see new possibilities opening up.

  This was the birth of true adventurers.

  Rakheshir murmured, “Ainzach, you know our Wizards Guild is pretty much disbanded, right?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then as your old friend, I’ll support you. And once this is over, shall we go off together in pursuit of the unknown?”

  “Ha-ha!” Ainzach laughed. “At our age? Heh-heh, you want to?”

  “Could you really resist? Make sure the King of Darkness doesn’t have an age cutoff for the Adventurers Guild.”

  The pair’s cheerful laughter echoed throughout the room.

  Chapter 2 | The Re-Estize Kingdom

  1

  When the magic item in Climb’s pocket vibrated, he pulled it out.

  It fit in his hand and had three of its own—for hours, minutes, and seconds—as well as twelve numbers carved into its face: a pocket watch.

  Some larger clocks were mechanical, but at sizes that people could carry around, they were all necessarily magic items, at least in the kingdom. Since clocks were so closely tied to daily life, they were fairly cheap as far as magic items went. Still, they didn’t come at a price that made them easy for the masses to buy.

  Climb was borrowing this watch. It had powers beyond a normal magic item.

  The watch was called Twelve Magical Powers, and once per day, at the time it was set to, that hour’s magic effect would occur. But in order to receive those benefits, the user had to have been in possession of the watch for at least a day, and Climb had only just borrowed it, which meant the powers didn’t activate for him.

  Gazing absentmindedly up at the blue sky next to him, the girl said, “Hmm? It’s already time? That was fast.”

  “Seems that way,” Climb replied to her—Tina, a member of the adamantite-plate adventurer team the Blue Roses.

  “Huh. I guess it’s hard to tell how time is passing when we’re just taking it easy like this.”

  There were a lot of things he could have said about that remark.

  First, Tina wasn’t taking it easy. She was guarding the front entrance of this place, the building behind Climb. And though she was saying things like, “It’s already time?” and “That was fast,” her internal clock was actually correct much of the time.

  Some adventurers had unnaturally accurate internal clocks. Thieves, especially, but that was the fruit of their training. They often worked alone on clandestine investigations, so it was extremely important for them to have a strong sense of time.

  “Hmm? Is there something you wanted to say?”

  “No, nothing.”

  She replied, “Okay, then,” and looked back up at the sky.

  Climb couldn’t very well have come out and asked, Why do you lie? to probe into what she was hiding.

  He didn’t even have enough money to hire Tina’s team, but sometimes they ended up at the same destination; that was no excuse for him to act overly friendly. He needed to refrain from doing anything that would upset her.

  “All right, I’m going to go talk to the princess.”

  “Get goin’, then.”

  Climb turned on his heel and headed toward the building they had been guarding.

  He had seen it any number of times while it was under construction, but this was his first time inside since it had been completed.

  When he opened the door, what must have been a freshly built smell—a unique woody fragrance—tickled his nose.

  He proceeded inside and down a hallway, then opened a door to a room in the back.

  His master was there.

  She was a princess radiant with beauty—Renner.

  And around her were several children.

  Casting a kind smile on the noisy kids, she was the spitting image of the Holy Mother as she listened to their stories.

  Climb was speechless when he walked in on the picturesque scene.

  He feared he would disturb an inviolable, sacred moment. The women standing by the window, who worked at the facility, seemed to feel the same way, and none of them moved a muscle.

  But one of the people in the room didn’t seem concerned about that.

  “Hey, the boy’s here. It’s already time.”

  At the sound of the cold voice from beneath the mask, Renner raised her head and looked right at Climb.

  Climb could see he was reflected in her sapphire eyes.

  “…My apologies, Princess Renner, but it’s time to return to the palace.”

  “I see… Well, I hate to leave you all, but I must go.”

  The children emitted a disappointed “Reallyyy?” If she hadn’t completely captured their hearts, they surely wouldn’t have said anything like that.

  Their response sent the staff into action. They consoled the children and forced the unreasonable ones to let the princess go.

  “Can I come back and play again sometime, everyone?”

  The kids all gave an enthusiastic response.

  “Okay. Next time I’ll come cook for you. Let’s go, Climb, Evileye.”

  “Hmph. Even without you telling me, I know I’m here for your protection—well, no, I guess you haven’t requested anything, so I’m merely accompanying you. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be right behind you.”

  As their party left the building, the carriage they had waiting nearby was just pulling up.

/>   Tina jumped in first without bothering to say anything. It appeared to be an utter lack of manners, but she was actually confirming the carriage’s safety. After her went Renner, Climb, and finally Evileye. Then the carriage began to move.

  As they bumped along, Evileye suddenly said, “…Man, your job is tough, too, huh? Making these orphanages and stuff…”

  “Is it?”

  “Yeah. Didn’t you hear as much from all sorts of people? That they don’t have the money in this day and age to put toward a cause like that?”

  Renner put a finger to her chin and cocked her head. “No, that didn’t happen. My brother did what I asked right away. And it’s precisely because of this day and age that we need to protect children.”

  Evileye gestured with her chin that the princess should continue.

  “Well, as you know, many people died at the hands of the king of the Nation of Darkness. I figured there would be lots of children without parents, so I built the orphanage to take care of them. We also needed to create jobs for the women who lost their husbands.”

  “The King of Darkness, huh…? Setting that aside for the moment, isn’t there something more important to invest in than street urchins…? It’s only a matter of course that the weak die, don’t you think?”

  “No.” Renner stated it firmly. This refusal had a power unlike her other words. “The strong rescuing the weak is the correct attitude. Besides…”

  Climb felt her eyes on him.

  Is she…?

  Climb remembered himself as a child.

  Did the princess think to establish an orphanage because she knew what his life was like back then? Was it to make sure no one else ended up like him?

  A momentary heat flared in his breast.

  Of course, he hadn’t confirmed her true intentions, but he had an inkling he was right.

  “Well, that’s one way to think about it. And I don’t think it’s right to force my ideas on others. Still, did you really need to make it so big?”

  “Yes, because it seems like lots of children will end up there. We’re planning to gather children from all the territory directly held by the king, so it might even be too small. Those children are my treasures. I need to take care of them to make sure they don’t stray onto a mistaken path.”

  “Huh. Princess, you’re so smart.”

  “What are you trying to say, Tina?”

  “How do you think kids who lost their parents are supposed to survive, Evileye?”

  “Well… Oh… We need the workers too much to have them fill in the ranks of soldiers. Which makes this a different way of keeping the peace…? I get it…”

  “‘Even a person who is capable of living with integrity when people are watching can succumb to desire when unobserved. And if one crime goes well, they’ll roll further down the path of evil with that momentum. A small crime grows like a snowball. We need to keep people where we can see them, but that’s tricky, so we keep an eye on them in this way.’”

  “Hmph. ‘Not everyone is strong’?”

  “So you were told the same thing, Evileye? Guess it must be a favorite saying.”

  “…I’ve heard it on at least three separate occasions already.”

  The latter half was something only Evileye and Tina understood, but hearing this much, the first part made sense to Climb.

  Many children who lost their parents would get their hands dirty to survive. If that happened, even the Eight Fingers, who had had much of their power stripped away, could potentially make a comeback, and the royal capital might end up more dangerous, too.

  His beloved master was taking these steps with the future in mind.

  But then Renner asked Evileye, seemingly puzzled, “What’s that from?”

  “Hey… Are we trying to read too much into it? Or is she acting?”

  “Mm, I think she genuinely just wants to help kids.”

  “If you say so, then she must be. I regret being impressed now.”

  “Ahem, it seems your impressions of me are arbitrarily fluctuating, but… You know…I’ve actually put some thought into this. If this orphanage goes well and we can give the children some degree of education to cultivate some outstanding individuals, I think other nobles will copy my idea. That’s another reason we need a large number of children…though it’s not a very praiseworthy one.”

  “No, if that’s why you’re collecting urchins, that makes sense to me, and I’m impressed. If you get results, then you will deserve praise. Just volunteering for no compensation is incredibly suspicious.”

  “Evileye, you’re warped because you’ve been through too much!”

  “Hey! I’m pretty sure you’re the same as me!”

  “No, I’m not. I’m pure. You’re the only tainted one.”

  “Tch!” A click of a tongue sounded from beneath her mask.

  “Oh yeah, the reason I established the orphanage was that Brain gave me the idea.”

  “Brain Unglaus? What happened to him? Haven’t really seen him today.”

  “Brain is running around the capital on a different errand.”

  “Oh? There’s something he prioritizes higher than protecting you, Princess?”

  “Yes. He’s working to fulfill the wishes of the deceased captain of the Royal Select. Oh, about him… I’m sorry to have caused you trouble.”

  Tina narrowed her eyes to conceal the emotions harbored within them. “I’m pissed about the scar on our demon leader’s pretty face.”

  “I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of my father.”

  “I know you already apologized to her directly, so I forgive you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “…Sometimes a dead person’s words are more powerful than the living’s.” It looked like Evileye glanced out the carriage’s window briefly. But it was only for a moment. “To get back to what we were talking about… What’s Brain Unglaus up to?”

  “Apparently, the captain of the Royal Select told Brain he wanted him to take over as captain, but he felt like he couldn’t do that. Now he’s searching for the right person to take the job with the intent of training them.”

  “If a guy with no noble connections is on the hunt, then… Aha! Both Gazef and Brain came from commoner roots, so I see how they’re thinking. And then you got inspired…”

  “That’s right. And I established the orphanage. I’m hoping I can have Brain come meet the children. It’s possible that one of them might have the aptitude.”

  “I wasn’t really looking back there,” said Tina. “What did you think, Evileye?”

  “Just seeing their magic ability doesn’t tell us anything. If we trained them a few times, we’d know to some extent whether or not they would be able to cast spells, but that’s only for arcane magic. If the kids had an aptitude for psychic or faith magic, I wouldn’t be able to tell with my ability.”

  Renner hmmed worriedly. Then she smiled like a flower just beginning to bloom. “In the future, I’d like to have all sorts of different people come evaluate the children at the orphanage.” She was looking at the other two ladies in the carriage. Her eyes were more effective at conveying what she wanted to tell them than words would have been.

  “…That’s a bit optimistic. Maybe her, but…”

  “Too bad, Evileye. Maybe our demon leader, but…”

  “Right? But I won’t agree so readily to even the stuff she says. And I’d need to be compensated—you’d have to hire me for at least some minimum amount of money. It wouldn’t be fair to the others to work every time essentially for free. It’s against adventurer rules. And passing on techniques is also something that should be paid for.”

  “Everything is just as you say, and I agree, but I’m sorry. I don’t actually have any money…,” Renner said dejectedly.

  The third princess was the spare of the spare. There weren’t any nobles who were willing to back her when all they could expect out of her was adding royal blood to their family line. For that reason, she had almost no mone
y she could spend freely. Renner was modest, so it hadn’t bothered her so far, but the first or second princesses would have found this situation intolerable.

  That was how Climb knew that Renner had imbued her feelings into the armor she had given him.

  “But I hear that princesses wear glittering gowns and live a life of luxury.”

  “Reality isn’t so simple. But I can’t deny that there are princesses like that. It’s something to aspire to…”

  Climb was assailed by an emotion he couldn’t pin down as her eyes sparkled.

  He wanted to provide that kind of life to the world’s most beautiful, purehearted woman.

  But on the other hand, he had been saved because she was how she was and that was why he existed as he was now. Just as he was admiring her profile, she turned to look at him, her eyes radiating a lovely light.

  “What are you thinking, Climb?”

  “Oh, uh, nothing, Princess Renner.”

  “Are you sure? If there is something, please tell me. We need to help each other out when we’re stuck.”

  “I—I will! Thank you!”

  “Hey. Sorry to interrupt your flirting, but I really don’t like the idea of teaching skills for free. I don’t care what she says—when the time comes, I’ll be getting what I’m owed.”

  “I hope it will be a sum I can pay.” Renner bobbed her head.

  “Mm, but you just want to know who has the aptitude, right? I’d only be there to watch their movements? What will you do, Evileye?”

  “…Urk. Agh. I’ll be honest. I can’t see to the depths of their ability from just a few training sessions. Magic is more internal than external. And while I am a genius in the sense of magical ability, that’s all I am. I don’t have the powers of the great caster from the empire, for example.”

  “So you want to see if they have an inborn talent or not?”

  “A talent?” Renner sighed. “It’d be great if we could tell from childhood. Then the pro-nobles might not be able to keep up with their inflexible but they’re a commoner way of thinking.”

  “Then shouldn’t you build a system where all children are examined using magic that can detect talents? If all you need to know is whether they have one or not, there’s a third-tier spell for that. Apparently, there are higher-tier spells that will tell you what specifically they have, but…I guess that’s a fantasy.”