Episode 622

Though morning had long since come to Toorun, there was no sign of life in the king’s bedchamber. The attendants stood awkwardly, unsure whether to approach or speak—after all, this was someone they dared neither to see casually nor to address lightly. Had it not been for the prime minister bearing a letter, they might have waited there until midday.

“His Highness?”

“No word from him.”

“…Open the door.”

Unlike the bright morning outside, the bedroom was shrouded in darkness by blackout curtains. Only a few faint rays of light filtered onto the bed, where the silhouette of a child sat, hair white and flowing.

King Kumasha of Toorun.

The child muttered something inaudible. Though it seemed he had been awake for some time, he was still dressed in pajamas.

“Your Highness?”

“Shh.”

Without looking toward the prime minister, Kumasha motioned for silence. Upon closer inspection, the child held a doll in his hand. The strings connecting it were all severed, and its limbs looked damaged, but the prime minister immediately recognized who the doll was linked to.

The puppeteers who had gone to Bariel—the ones who had gone to retrieve Ian Hielo’s birth mother, Philia.

“Ah, just a little longer. At least look away for a moment.”

The child narrowed his eyes and shook the doll repeatedly. Judging by its condition, he had been doing this since waking. The prime minister stood quietly behind him, patiently waiting for the king’s business to conclude.

Not long after, the child’s lament broke the silence.

Snap!

The last string of the doll snapped.

The death of the puppeteer. The prime minister had heard nothing of this and was already crafting excuses in his mind about how to report it to the king.

But the child showed no intention of assigning blame. He simply flopped down, kicking his feet in frustration. The doll was crushed in his clenched hand, as if it might be torn apart.

“Of all times… Ah, damn it!”

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“The puppeteer who went to Bariel is dead. I noticed the strings were loose this morning and thought something was off. Turns out, just bad luck. Looks like they ran into those Cut-Ear fiends. Probably before they even crossed into Toorun.”

Kumasha let his hair fall over the side of the bed as he muttered. Though he looked every bit a child lying upside down, the cruelty in his words was unsettling.

“If they were going to die, they should’ve just died quickly. Dying slowly meant we found out too late. Would’ve been so much better if we’d known sooner, right?”

“Did you see anything?”

“Just some bushes. Not enough to go on.”

“How did you know it was the Cut-Ear’s doing?”

“The coachman lying nearby. His ears were cut off.”

The Cut-Ears were a band of thieves operating near Toorun’s borders. Mostly former mercenaries hired by merchants traveling to and from Toorun, they had been driven out of the underground slave market and now lurked outside the city.

Their name came from their gruesome habit of appearing like ghosts, killing victims, and cutting off their ears. Rumor had it there was a reason behind this, but Kumasha didn’t care much to think about it.

‘If Philia was taken by those Cut-Ears… what should I do?’

Did they even know her value? If they didn’t realize she was Hielo’s mother, she’d likely end up sold in the slave market.

As these thoughts swirled, Kumasha suddenly noticed the letter in the prime minister’s hand.

“What’s that?”

“A letter from Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of the Bariel Empire.”

“Oh?”

Surprised by the unexpected news, Kumasha sprang up. His wild white hair spread out like the doll’s broken strings. The prime minister deliberately looked away and respectfully presented the letter.

Greetings. I am Ian Hielo, Minister of Magic of the Great Bariel Empire. I apologize for the sudden letter. This is not an official dispatch from the imperial palace but a request for cooperation sent in my capacity as Minister of Magic to Toorun.

Currently, an unidentified individual from Toorun has caused a disturbance in Bariel and is now in custody. This person claims to be connected to the Toorun royal palace. To verify the facts, close cooperation from Toorun is necessary. With your permission, the Ministry of Magic will visit Toorun directly.

“Hmm.”

Kumasha squinted as he read the vague letter. It was full of ambiguity. Why was the Minister of Magic making the request instead of the imperial palace? What crime had this unidentified person committed? There was no mention.

“Is this really a request? From a Minister of Magic? He didn’t seem that foolish.”

“It seems like a probe related to the puppeteers.”

“The unidentified person refers to a puppeteer?”

“They must have heard about their mother’s disappearance. That’s likely why the Minister of Magic sent this instead of the palace. That’s how I interpret it.”

“Or it could be Rutherford.”

The child smiled faintly and looked at the prime minister.

Rutherford was an unknown figure based in Toorun, involved in the Bariel princes’ rebellion, and had caused great chaos by supplying Idgal.

“That’s right, it’s a probe. They’re leaving it to us to decide whether the ‘unidentified’ person is a puppeteer or Rutherford. Let’s see.”

But what could they do? Kumasha laughed, holding up the limp doll.

It was a transparent smokescreen. He had seen with his own eyes the puppeteer lying dead in the bushes. Ian’s claim of capture was a blatant lie.

“Clearly, they haven’t found any leads on Philia’s disappearance. If we deny the puppeteer connection, they’ll just say the unidentified person was Rutherford.”

“I agree, Your Highness.”

“We can’t completely deny Rutherford’s involvement, but since this isn’t an official letter, there’s no need to respond.”

The king’s puppeteers had once supported Rutherford in Agiar, and Kumasha himself had come close to the former emperor through the eyes of the demon swordsman Barsabe.

“There’s a Kalamath seal on the letter. It looks like Bariel has successfully entered Burgos’ capital. If that’s the case, their next target is here—Toorun.”

In other words, this letter was a pretext for invasion.

If they refused cooperation, it would only strengthen the unidentified person’s claim, and Bariel would likely respond by force, pushing up to Toorun’s borders.

If they accepted, they’d be inviting mages into Toorun, even into the royal palace—a risk they could never allow. Unlike ordinary people, a single mage could cleave the earth itself.

“So what should we do? Ignore the letter?”

Kumasha grinned and tilted the paper, and the prime minister fell silent for a moment.

“That’s one option.”

It wasn’t stamped with the emperor’s seal—just a request from a minister. Kumasha had no obligation to reply.

“But if we do that, the next letter will surely bear the emperor’s seal.”

“Just buying time, then?”

“Yes. Admit we supported Rutherford but claim it was unintended, to reduce their justification.”

“Say it wasn’t to help Rutherford, but to aid the people of Agiar?”

“Excellent.”

Kumasha tilted his head thoughtfully.

“But if we agree to cooperate, doesn’t that mean we have to open the palace gates? Can we really allow mages inside?”

“Of course not. But if you think carefully, this could be an opportunity.”

Puppeteers could exert influence over great distances, as long as they had the background and the doll.

If they could confine the mages to a designated area, they could neutralize Bariel’s main forces without direct confrontation.

“Hmm.”

Theoretically perfect, but surely the mages knew this too. And Ian Hielo was a key war leader—would he risk coming to Toorun?

“If they won’t come even if invited, why not just tell them to come to Toorun if they want?”

“That’s too risky.”

“…Understood. Then let’s allow them only near Toorun, and hold talks there. Prime Minister, send someone to arrange it. Which border area would be best?”

“The small city west of the capital, which we’ve already prepared as a background setting.”

West of the capital lay Masantar, but to protect the temple, they had replicated the surrounding area as a background, making it ideal for luring and capturing enemies.

“Very well. We need to find Philia, so let’s give ourselves some time. Send people to the slave market area.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Humming softly, Kumasha examined the torn doll.

Foolish prime minister. No matter how you look at it, Ian Hielo didn’t seem like someone who’d fall for such a simple trick. Yet, granting permission was meant to set a ‘trap’ for him.

Kumasha was the underground god worshiped by his subjects and king of Toorun. To disrupt the prime minister’s power base, he had no choice but to use outside forces.

---

“Captain Akorella! You forgot your ID!”

“Oh, I totally forgot!”

“There’s a time and place to forget things, but you’re leaving this behind?”

“So what? I’m going with the soldiers anyway.”

Akorella, Chloe, and the soldiers were setting out for a nearby high-grade mana stone deposit. Akorella stuffed experimental equipment into a bag larger than herself.

“But captain, how are you planning to carry that?”

“Me? Carry it? Chloe, my lady!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Akorella’s call, Chloe came running over without hesitation. The mages exchanged uneasy glances, sensing something was off, but the two of them acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“It’s just a short flight there and back. If anything goes wrong, come back immediately. And don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head!”

“Do I look like someone who doesn’t worry? Huh? A messenger pigeon.”

At the mage’s muttering, everyone looked up. A single pigeon circled gracefully in the air before lightly landing on Ian’s shoulder.

Tied to its foot was a letter. Judging by the magic stone hanging from its neck, it was a reply from Toorun.

“A reply? That was fast.”

“Right? I thought they’d ignore us.”

“I figured they’d respond, but not this quickly. Ian, what do they say?”

Ian motioned for everyone to wait a moment and unfolded the letter. The message was longer than expected, visible through the paper. After a brief read, Ian’s eyebrows furrowed gently.

“…The prime minister has replied.”

“The prime minister! How suspicious!”

“Quiet, captain. Try to read the room.”

“To sum it up, they acknowledge supporting Rutherford but insist it wasn’t to oppose Bariel—it was to protect the survival rights of the Agiar residents. They’re willing to cooperate but feel uncomfortable letting us into the royal palace, so they propose meeting near the border instead. …Though they’ve given us quite a long timeframe.”

Ian flicked his fingers, signaling for the map.

“Yes, yes.”

With a soft rustle, the letter and map were spread out. Ian examined them carefully, then muttered as if it was nothing.

“The area they’ve chosen for the meeting is definitely within the influence of the King of Toorun. For Bariel’s soldiers, it’s a long detour, but for us, it’s a risky place to be.”

“R-risky? What kind of risk?”

“Since it’s a place where their influence is strong, there’s a high chance a temple is there. Conveniently, it’s to the west.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll inform His Majesty the Emperor and Minister Tweller as well.”

Ian nodded and added,

“…And above all, it’s hopeful news.”

“Hopeful? How so?”

“They believe the ‘unknown’ individual is Rutherford, not the puppeteer, which means they know exactly whether the puppeteer is alive or dead. And one more thing: if you calculate the travel time from Bariel to Toorun alongside the day Filia disappeared, they should have arrived long ago. Yet, they’ve set a fairly long period before the meeting. That means Filia is still in Toorun—more precisely, still in the king’s grasp.”

The fact that they kidnapped Filia was clearly a ploy to lure or target Ian Hiel. But even though Ian agreed to come quietly, the long wait suggests they’re not ready yet.

Ian muttered the thoughts that kept surfacing without realizing it.

“…They must still be on the move. And judging by how long it’s taking, something must have gone wrong with the puppeteers.”