What on earth was going on?
The audience with His Majesty the Emperor had ended with results that were, to say the least, most unsatisfactory.
Whether it was from mental fatigue or something else, I dragged my heavy body along as I walked. The Martial Emperor Festival sightseeing trip, which was supposed to be nothing but fun, had been cast under dark clouds.
Could this mean... I was going to get caught up in some strange incident again? This world was far too dangerous.
It might have something to do with my position as a Level 8 — no, that had nothing to do with it. It had always been like this.
Unlike me, grimacing with every step, Citry walking beside me was in tremendously good spirits.
On the surface, she looked the same as always with her cheerful smile, but to me — her childhood friend who had known her since forever — it was crystal clear. I could almost hear the phantom hum of a melody; Citry was in an excellent mood.
"Seriously, what is she thinking?"
"I think that was a very wise decision — knowing one's place!"
"............"
"We were able to have Experiment Subject No. 123 promptly taken away as well, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how things unfold from here!"
Who was the idiot who first advised Citry to become an Alchemist without thinking twice?!
"I hope my research will be of use to you, Klein."
Citry's eyes were perfectly clear, without a single cloud of impurity. Her expression made her look several years younger than usual (though in truth, Citry had always been mature; she had never had an innocent phase).
"Of use to me" — please stop talking as if you made that fake princess just for my sake.
I wanted to punch Citry the way Lucia always did, but remembering her reaction earlier, she'd probably enjoy it, so I decided against it.
...Could it be that I hadn't spent enough time with her lately? Was that why Citry's head had become so thoroughly Alchemist?
"Hmm..."
"If you have any worries, I'm happy to listen!"
I had so many worries it was like a bargain sale of worries. One of them was you.
Well, about half of them were probably overthinking, so I'd toss those aside. My biggest current worry was the "Key of the Earth."
Apparently the Key of the Earth was a terrible weapon, and the fox on the secret society's side was after it. On the way here, another Key of the Earth held by a museum had been attacked — so that explained the circumstances.
But I couldn't make sense of what came after that.
In the end, the Key of the Earth had been refused.
If it was dangerous and I'd tried to return it, wasn't it strange to have it pushed back on me?
They could just store it safely in the country's vaults, but before I knew it, I'd nodded along and ended up being the one to store it.
It was always like this. There was never any good in nodding along, but I couldn't very well shake my head while surrounded by the murderous-looking Franz and the others.
Storing it with a Level 8 like me instead of keeping it themselves was, no matter how you looked at it, absurd. The deal was that they'd prepare defenses on their end and I'd return it once those were ready — but the burden was far too heavy for me.
That was when Citry pressed a finger to her lips and spoke with a thoughtful expression.
"However, a sword that invites calamity... could have various uses, couldn't it?"
The Key of the Earth. According to the classified intelligence the Empire held, it was an energy weapon designed for efficient wide-scale destruction.
Ark's Treasure Weapon, "Opener of History," gathered power and released it with terrifying destructive force, but the Key of the Earth was essentially a wide-area version of the same thing.
According to the Treasure Weapon literature, when the Key of the Earth was activated, the earth would crack, the sky would split, and islands would sink.
Treasure Weapons generally increased in power proportional to the magical energy required, so it made sense that it consumed enough to exhaust Lucia, who could fully charge my Treasure Weapon.
Since it wasn't a focused-attack type, it wasn't suited for use against Phantoms, but it was a terrifying Treasure Weapon that could perhaps even destroy a nation.
In terms of danger, it was unquestionably at the top among the Treasure Weapons I'd seen so far.
Citry said with a cheerful smile: "If you'd like, shall I keep it for you?"
But I couldn't exactly let Citry and the others protect it just because it was dangerous.
They would — use it. Without a doubt, they would.
I could practically see Riesz going, "Ooh, that's dangerous! How do you use it? Like this? Like this? Something like this?" while swinging it around.
And of course, I couldn't entrust it to my sister either, who was quietly glowing with excitement right now. Citry's stock had already hit rock bottom.
Fortunately, the Key of the Earth wasn't that large a Treasure Weapon. If I kept it in a plain scabbard and carried it around like this time, it wouldn't attract much attention. All I could do was pray that their preparations would be finished as soon as possible.
As I walked back to the inn pondering these thoughts, I spotted a familiar middle-aged man in the crowd.
It was Gafu — the man who had been the catalyst for me obtaining this key in the first place.
He wasn't in the mood for a fox mask today, apparently, since he wasn't wearing one. Our eyes met for just an instant, but he immediately looked away. I raised my hand.
"Hey! Gafu! Over here!"
"!?"
Gafu's eyes went wide and he flinched. But when I kept waving, he approached with a strained expression.
Gafu's large frame carried an intimidation that was second to none even compared to the battle maniacs who had gathered for the Martial Emperor Festival. His heavy footsteps drew everyone's attention.
When he reached me, Gafu lowered his voice.
"Boss, contact outside is —"
"I was just thinking that. About this key —"
"!? Wh-why do you have that Treasure Weapon?! That was supposed to be returned —"
??? ...Why did Gafu know about my attempt to return the key?
Maybe the Fox Mask Appreciation Society's intelligence network?
I wasn't quite sure what was going on, so I collected myself and got to the point.
"For some reason, it came back to me. And they told me to keep it safe. Could you hold onto it for me?"
"It... came back? N-no... that is... of course, but..."
Good, good. The Emperor had ordered me to keep it, so I couldn't exactly return it to Gafu.
Gafu blinked his eyes in confusion, staring intently at my face.
So I clapped my hands together and pulled a fox mask from inside my coat.
"Oh, right. Gafu, here — I'll give you this."
"!!? !?!!??"
Taken completely by surprise, Gafu's face froze solid.
This mask had been a drop item. It was probably rare, but I had no idea what it was worth. In that case, it'd be happier with Gafu, who understood its value.
I took Gafu's hand and pressed the mask into it. His rough, large hands were slick with cold sweat. For someone with such a bold appearance, was he actually quite timid?
"You wanted it, didn't you? You'd been waiting for the right moment this whole time."
"That — but — I haven't yet — worthy of inheriting — my work is still incomplete —"
He was either in complete shock or talking utter nonsense.
I nodded along as if to say "yes, yes, exactly" and delivered something suitably hardboiled: "No... it's enough! Gafu, you've shown you have the talent worthy of inheriting this!"
"!?"
Come to think of it, that mask was probably what started this whole pestering. I really shouldn't have gotten involved with the Fox Mask Appreciation Society.
If I hadn't, I wouldn't have ended up with the Key of the Earth, and Citry wouldn't have made a fake princess. Luke wouldn't have become an indiscriminate slasher, no one would have forced me to be a Hunter despite having no talent, and Tino wouldn't have been subjected to Riesz's torment.
"I want you to keep working hard for the Fox Mask Appreciation Society! That mask belongs with someone who truly wants it! I'm just a man who happened to acquire it, but as the former boss, I'm counting on you!"
"B-but — what about future guidance and the handover —"
"Guidance... the handover — no... from now on, you're the one giving the guidance!!!"
"!?"
Gafu stared at me with his eyes stretched to their absolute limit, speechless.
I was done. I wanted to be free of this, even a little. Whatever I did, they kept pinning things on me. What? Doing nothing was what's wrong? Ha ha...
"...If you run into trouble, try consulting Sora. For now, just keep doing what you're doing."
After a long silence, I dumped everything onto Sora.
She'd insisted it was the real deal even though she knew I was a fake, so she could take some responsibility too.
Well, but... come to think of it, Gafu seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Appreciation Society, and he seemed like he'd manage just fine. At the very least, it was healthier than someone like me — who had no idea what was going on — standing at the top.
Gafu stared at me silently for a while, then gave a heavy, solemn nod.
"Humbly... I accept. Boss."
Good, good. That settled everything. Now all I had to do was surround myself with Luke and the others to guard the Key of the Earth, and return it once the country's preparations were complete.
I knew nothing about the fox on the bad side, but the fire-wielding crone would surely burn them to a crisp.
"What will you do now, Boss?"
"Let me see... I suppose I'll just sit back and watch, if they'll let me."
Watch Kurahi, Luke, Tomoshibi, and the others do their thing. I'd eat popcorn with Tino and enjoy the show. That was originally what I'd come here for.
Ideally, I'd have stayed holed up in the house, but without bodyguards, even hiding out at home wouldn't make me any safer.
Gafu nodded deeply, as if in full agreement with my words, then turned to look at Citry, who had been standing there smiling silently the whole time.
"By the way — who is that beside you?"
Come to think of it, this might have been the first time Citry and Gafu had met. How should I introduce her —?
While I hesitated, Citry clapped her hands together with a beaming smile and declared: "I'm his wife."
She'd said that precisely because she knew it would annoy me.
§ § § Creet. Somewhere. In an underground chamber, three figures wearing fox masks had gathered.
One was a slender young man. Not enormous by any means, but with a lean, taut build; composed, yet with an impenetrable bearing. He did not radiate the intimidating aura that powerful fighters typically wore, but his figure carried a strange charisma that made one instinctively want to bow.
His face was hidden behind a white fox mask, so it was impossible to tell.
One of the top leaders of the largest secret organization in this world — the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox. The man called Boss spoke in a voice that, for once, carried a faint edge of irritation.
"Everything around here is already in shambles. We cannot afford to make a move."
The two fox-masked figures facing him — his trusted lieutenants — said nothing, receiving the Boss's words with solemn deference.
"All members are frying their tofu as instructed, fully convinced they're following orders. The other organizations, once useful pawns, have been culled one after another with no replacements in sight, and the core is in chaos. To make matters worse — we're even suspected of interference from other white foxes. Truly hopeless."
He had understood that their intelligence network was unusual. He had recognized that excessive secrecy sometimes caused friction. But this level of utter disarray was unprecedented in the entire history of the foxes.
Where had the interference come from? What had been infiltrated? By what means? Were there truly traitors inside?
Only the foxes in this area had been compromised; the organization itself had not yet collapsed, but this could not be ignored, and interfering with the Martial Emperor Festival under these conditions was out of the question.
The timing had been fortunate, and they had recovered the Key of the Earth — the linchpin of the operation — but the operation itself was far too weighty to carry out with that alone. What was needed first was to restructure the organization.
The fox-masked man gazed at the box containing the Key of the Earth and spoke in a ruthless voice.
"We'll pull back. But we're not retreating empty-handed."
If they withdrew like this, the name of the foxes would be tarnished.
He didn't know exactly how someone had managed to throw the organization into such disarray, but he had a pretty good idea who was responsible.
Level 8 Hunter, "Thousand Transformations." And the one who had most likely commissioned him — the Zebuldia Empire.
The man who had perfectly thwarted and repelled the assassinations of Radlick Aturm Zebuldia — carried out by "Still Water" and "Dragon Caller," two of the foxes' finest Mages.
He had also discovered that the man had been summoned by the Hunter's Association specifically to fight the foxes. If they didn't crush him here, he would stand as an enemy of the organization for years to come.
There were very few in the organization with the power to defeat a Level 8 Hunter. He couldn't afford to waste any more resources on pointless attrition, and he certainly couldn't let this affront go unanswered.
He would destroy the man personally. On the grandest stage. And the Zebuldia Empire would pay as well.
The foxes were tenacious. A name that had until now been known only in the underworld would now resound throughout the world above.
"I'll handle Thousand Transformations myself. You two — seize the princess. Choose your methods. We'll carve the fox's mark into the Martial Emperor Festival."