「I’m asking for the information I need to join this battle.」
「Information about this upcoming attack has only been shared with those we trust. This is because we don’t want them to know that ‘we are aware’ of their plans.」
「Then what about those involved—for example, Puffy and the King at the castle?」
「For the simultaneous attacks on four locations, there are, of course, main assassination targets. If they were to go out without knowing anything, we’d have to fight in less controllable outdoor settings. To prevent that, we’ve informed the King and the heads of each noble family, or those equivalent to them.」
So, Anon continues.
「It’s about choosing the right people. We’d be in trouble if someone who knew about the attack acted unnaturally, accidentally leaked information somewhere, or something like that.」
「I see. Then is there no option to make them abandon the attack by letting them know that ‘we are aware’?」
「Even if we fend off this attack, it’s hard to say that there won’t be another. And if we face a similar situation again, we might not be able to anticipate the attack in advance next time. That’s exactly why we need to maximize the advantage of knowing their intentions beforehand and crush all four attack locations completely, so they’ll never think of attempting an attack again—that’s his thinking.」
I immediately understand that 「he」 refers to Chancellor Madison. Though he was a passionate old man who would get emotional to the point of tears, I had heard before that he has a terrifying side that mercilessly crushes political enemies who harm the country. It’s not that one aspect is a lie and the other is true—both episodes represent his personality.
「I still have questions. How will you move the targets when they’re being targeted by assassins?」
「If we let them escape carelessly, the other side might realize that ‘we know’…」
That’s true… If all the important people are absent before the attack, or if they start evacuating from the buildings in unison right before the scheduled attack time, even the dullest person would think, 「Hey, they must have found out about this.」
「It’s a desperate measure, but those who we predict won’t be able to act calmly in an emergency will be made absent that day. The remaining individuals will wait in the secret passages that exist in each noble house before the attack.」
「Got it. If things are that well planned out, I’m guessing you’ve already figured out where and how I should move?」
Anon’s gaze within his hood briefly turns skyward. But only for a moment, then:
「Chancellor Madison wants to capture every single assassin who attacks each manor without letting any escape. Ah, of course, this is just a figure of speech—if capturing them alive is difficult, it means dead or alive.」
「That’s pretty harsh.」
「It’s easier to kill than to capture alive. Especially if your abilities are evenly matched.」
Well, that’s true. You can only afford to go easy on someone when there’s a significant difference in skill.
「This time, to ensure no one escapes, we’ve kept the targets in their manors. In other words, we’ve decided to lure the assassins to each manor. And once they set foot in a manor, an excellent barrier user will completely surround the building so they can never escape again.」
「Ah—I can feel the determination to completely annihilate them…」
「The unfortunate part is that we don’t know which of the four locations the Unknowns will target. So I’m thinking of having Ichiro protect Arcana Castle, which is the most important of the four locations.」
「You really have thought of everything.」
「Information and the ability to analyze it are my weapons. However, there is a problem.」
「A problem? That’s unusual.」
「Yes, and the story gets a bit complicated… I’ve only talked about the Unknowns so far, but the main assassination group involved in this attack is a notorious organization based in the Arcana Kingdom. They’re called the ‘Darkness Hounds.’ Their identities also remain unknown.」
「Seriously… I understand assassins can’t have their identities known, but these guys too?」
「The Darkness Hounds’ assassins intentionally create darkness. They completely block the vision of their targets and guards, allowing only themselves to move freely within that space. Whether this is done through magical tools or innate skills is currently unknown. What’s particularly troublesome is that even if you try to secure light by using ‘Light’ magic or similar spells, it seems you can’t generate light normally within their territory of darkness… Those who have escaped from them were just lucky, and afterward…」
「I see. So the Darkness Hounds aren’t ‘unknown because they’ve successfully eliminated all their targets,’ but rather ‘unknown because they carry out assassinations without being seen, taking advantage of darkness.’」
「Exactly. The issue boils down to—how many people can fight effectively in complete darkness. We’ve secured personnel in preparation for this attack, but whether they can really handle it…」
「Ah, that’s definitely a problem. If we assign personnel who can’t deal with darkness, we’ll just unnecessarily increase the number of victims…」
「That’s the issue. Even if we pit the cream of the Royal Knight Order against them, can they handle the Darkness Hounds…」
This case involves nobles being targeted, and it’s a complicated situation with foreign involvement. Because it’s a case requiring secrecy, even if someone has the skills and abilities suitable for this situation, we can’t easily ask for help from untrustworthy individuals. It’s a difficult situation.
「Tell me who’s participating so I can help think about what to do.」
Anon says 「Sure」 with a sigh, then shakes his head two or three times as if to shake off fatigue. Exhaustion was seeping from his appearance.
「First, at Arcana Castle, we’re thinking of you, Gladius from the Knight Order along with other high-ranking members, and Siesta along with other sisters from Clartel—」
「Eris’s old man and Siesta… That’s reassuring.」
However—
「I’ll ask the knights to guide people to the secret passages and protect the King afterward. I’ll handle the combat myself.」
I’m not confident they can win against unknown enemies in forced darkness. Obviously, we can’t allow uncertainties at the castle, which is the nation’s core. That’s probably why Anon intends to position me at the castle.
「Ichiro, that’s…」
「The knights won’t be happy with that?」
「No, it’s not that. Gladius would have no objections if it’s entrusted to you. But that’s not what I’m trying to say. The castle is likely to become a death zone that day.」
「Don’t worry. I have several countermeasures.」
More importantly, I directed the conversation toward Anon.
「Who else is scheduled to handle the other locations?」
Ah, uh, he swallowed his words.
「The Wiseman ducal house in the royal capital will be handled by the wise Angelica and an adventurer retained by the royal family.」
Angie will be handling the barrier. More importantly, the reason the royal family’s adventurer isn’t assigned to the castle—
「Ah, regarding that, Chancellor Madison has complete faith in you, so there shouldn’t be any issues.」
「Really… is that okay?」
「Yes, it’s fine. Let’s move on to the next one. The Masquerade marquis family, the largest of the neutral faction, will be handled by selected sisters from the surrounding area and myself—Anon.」
「Anon, why?」
Why—when I start thinking about it, the whole thing seems strange. Why is Anon, an information broker, involved in this matter in the first place? Moreover, why is he not just providing information and intelligence, but personally heading into danger? Anon seemed to grasp the intent behind my single question. He spoke as if carefully choosing his words.
「When Chancellor Madison finds someone useful, he doesn’t hesitate to use them unless they have serious skeletons in their closet. I somewhat stepped into the spotlight during the recent Ryūgūin incident, so I caught his eye.」
I feel somewhat apologetic—whether that emotion showed on my face or not,
「Don’t misunderstand. It’s thanks to you.」
「Thanks to me?」
「Yes. The me from a little while ago wouldn’t have thought of stepping into the spotlight and taking action. Yet here I am now, taking command and rushing to the battlefield—I must have been influenced by you beyond help.」
I don’t know if that’s good or bad for him. But I felt somewhat uncomfortable and at the same time felt that I needed to straighten myself up.
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Chapter 282
○○○
「I’m asking for the information I need to join this battle.」
「Information about this upcoming attack has only been shared with those we trust. This is because we don’t want them to know that ‘we are aware’ of their plans.」
「Then what about those involved—for example, Puffy and the King at the castle?」
「For the simultaneous attacks on four locations, there are, of course, main assassination targets. If they were to go out without knowing anything, we’d have to fight in less controllable outdoor settings. To prevent that, we’ve informed the King and the heads of each noble family, or those equivalent to them.」
So, Anon continues.
「It’s about choosing the right people. We’d be in trouble if someone who knew about the attack acted unnaturally, accidentally leaked information somewhere, or something like that.」
「I see. Then is there no option to make them abandon the attack by letting them know that ‘we are aware’?」
「Even if we fend off this attack, it’s hard to say that there won’t be another. And if we face a similar situation again, we might not be able to anticipate the attack in advance next time.
That’s exactly why we need to maximize the advantage of knowing their intentions beforehand and crush all four attack locations completely, so they’ll never think of attempting an attack again—that’s his thinking.」
I immediately understand that 「he」 refers to Chancellor Madison.
Though he was a passionate old man who would get emotional to the point of tears, I had heard before that he has a terrifying side that mercilessly crushes political enemies who harm the country.
It’s not that one aspect is a lie and the other is true—both episodes represent his personality.
「I still have questions. How will you move the targets when they’re being targeted by assassins?」
「If we let them escape carelessly, the other side might realize that ‘we know’…」
That’s true… If all the important people are absent before the attack, or if they start evacuating from the buildings in unison right before the scheduled attack time, even the dullest person would think, 「Hey, they must have found out about this.」
「It’s a desperate measure, but those who we predict won’t be able to act calmly in an emergency will be made absent that day. The remaining individuals will wait in the secret passages that exist in each noble house before the attack.」
「Got it. If things are that well planned out, I’m guessing you’ve already figured out where and how I should move?」
Anon’s gaze within his hood briefly turns skyward.
But only for a moment, then:
「Chancellor Madison wants to capture every single assassin who attacks each manor without letting any escape. Ah, of course, this is just a figure of speech—if capturing them alive is difficult, it means dead or alive.」
「That’s pretty harsh.」
「It’s easier to kill than to capture alive. Especially if your abilities are evenly matched.」
Well, that’s true. You can only afford to go easy on someone when there’s a significant difference in skill.
「This time, to ensure no one escapes, we’ve kept the targets in their manors. In other words, we’ve decided to lure the assassins to each manor. And once they set foot in a manor, an excellent barrier user will completely surround the building so they can never escape again.」
「Ah—I can feel the determination to completely annihilate them…」
「The unfortunate part is that we don’t know which of the four locations the Unknowns will target. So I’m thinking of having Ichiro protect Arcana Castle, which is the most important of the four locations.」
「You really have thought of everything.」
「Information and the ability to analyze it are my weapons. However, there is a problem.」
「A problem? That’s unusual.」
「Yes, and the story gets a bit complicated…
I’ve only talked about the Unknowns so far, but the main assassination group involved in this attack is a notorious organization based in the Arcana Kingdom. They’re called the ‘Darkness Hounds.’ Their identities also remain unknown.」
「Seriously… I understand assassins can’t have their identities known, but these guys too?」
「The Darkness Hounds’ assassins intentionally create darkness. They completely block the vision of their targets and guards, allowing only themselves to move freely within that space. Whether this is done through magical tools or innate skills is currently unknown.
What’s particularly troublesome is that even if you try to secure light by using ‘Light’ magic or similar spells, it seems you can’t generate light normally within their territory of darkness… Those who have escaped from them were just lucky, and afterward…」
「I see. So the Darkness Hounds aren’t ‘unknown because they’ve successfully eliminated all their targets,’ but rather ‘unknown because they carry out assassinations without being seen, taking advantage of darkness.’」
「Exactly. The issue boils down to—how many people can fight effectively in complete darkness.
We’ve secured personnel in preparation for this attack, but whether they can really handle it…」
「Ah, that’s definitely a problem. If we assign personnel who can’t deal with darkness, we’ll just unnecessarily increase the number of victims…」
「That’s the issue. Even if we pit the cream of the Royal Knight Order against them, can they handle the Darkness Hounds…」
This case involves nobles being targeted, and it’s a complicated situation with foreign involvement. Because it’s a case requiring secrecy, even if someone has the skills and abilities suitable for this situation, we can’t easily ask for help from untrustworthy individuals. It’s a difficult situation.
「Tell me who’s participating so I can help think about what to do.」
Anon says 「Sure」 with a sigh, then shakes his head two or three times as if to shake off fatigue. Exhaustion was seeping from his appearance.
「First, at Arcana Castle, we’re thinking of you, Gladius from the Knight Order along with other high-ranking members, and Siesta along with other sisters from Clartel—」
「Eris’s old man and Siesta… That’s reassuring.」
However—
「I’ll ask the knights to guide people to the secret passages and protect the King afterward. I’ll handle the combat myself.」
I’m not confident they can win against unknown enemies in forced darkness. Obviously, we can’t allow uncertainties at the castle, which is the nation’s core. That’s probably why Anon intends to position me at the castle.
「Ichiro, that’s…」
「The knights won’t be happy with that?」
「No, it’s not that. Gladius would have no objections if it’s entrusted to you. But that’s not what I’m trying to say. The castle is likely to become a death zone that day.」
「Don’t worry. I have several countermeasures.」
More importantly, I directed the conversation toward Anon.
「Who else is scheduled to handle the other locations?」
Ah, uh, he swallowed his words.
「The Wiseman ducal house in the royal capital will be handled by the wise Angelica and an adventurer retained by the royal family.」
Angie will be handling the barrier.
More importantly, the reason the royal family’s adventurer isn’t assigned to the castle—
「Ah, regarding that, Chancellor Madison has complete faith in you, so there shouldn’t be any issues.」
「Really… is that okay?」
「Yes, it’s fine. Let’s move on to the next one. The Masquerade marquis family, the largest of the neutral faction, will be handled by selected sisters from the surrounding area and myself—Anon.」
「Anon, why?」
Why—when I start thinking about it, the whole thing seems strange.
Why is Anon, an information broker, involved in this matter in the first place?
Moreover, why is he not just providing information and intelligence, but personally heading into danger?
Anon seemed to grasp the intent behind my single question.
He spoke as if carefully choosing his words.
「When Chancellor Madison finds someone useful, he doesn’t hesitate to use them unless they have serious skeletons in their closet. I somewhat stepped into the spotlight during the recent Ryūgūin incident, so I caught his eye.」
I feel somewhat apologetic—whether that emotion showed on my face or not,
「Don’t misunderstand. It’s thanks to you.」
「Thanks to me?」
「Yes. The me from a little while ago wouldn’t have thought of stepping into the spotlight and taking action. Yet here I am now, taking command and rushing to the battlefield—I must have been influenced by you beyond help.」
I don’t know if that’s good or bad for him.
But I felt somewhat uncomfortable and at the same time felt that I needed to straighten myself up.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link
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