We charged straight through the front gate of the royal castle.
The guards' faces twisted in suspicion when they saw
They hadn't expected us to come, and there had been no advance notice.
Even if we did come, they probably assumed we'd arrive by carriage.
Instead, we were on foot.
Ginger, the sole member of his royal guard, was nowhere to be seen.
We might as well have been asking them to be suspicious, but after a few questions confirmed that this was indeed the real Zanoba, they quickly straightened up and cleared a path.
Watching them, you could see just what a privileged class the royal family was in this country. Simply being royalty earned you this treatment.
Well, there was also the fact that tensions were still running high after the blood purge.
In any case, we requested an audience and were escorted to a waiting room.
We waited there for about an hour.
Permission for the audience came through without a hitch, and we were led into the throne room.
--- The Kingdom of Siluone's Royal Castle.
The throne room.
Five people stood inside.
Just five.
Not a single soldier stood guard.
At the center.
The figure seated on the throne was one I remembered well.
At the very least, his outward appearance hadn't changed much.
A small frame with a huge attitude.
He sat there on his throne with the same self-importance as ever, unchanged in any way.
Looking more closely, he seemed slightly more mature than in my memory, with a certain sharpness to him, but fundamentally he was the same.
Seated right beside him was a beautiful girl.
She looked about middle-school age, wearing a white dress, with slightly unusual light-blue hair.
She bore a strong resemblance to the Migurd Race, though her hair color was subtly different from
Perhaps a different race?
Her eyes were vacant.
Given the coronet atop her head, she was probably the queen.
Pax had one arm wrapped behind her back as he sat.
At first glance it looked like he simply had his arm around her back, but...
I could tell. He was groping her behind.
Did he really think no one would notice?
Well, something like that didn't matter.
My eyes were fixed on the man standing on the opposite side from the girl.
He looked to be in his mid-forties perhaps.
He had a sturdy build and wore a sword at his hip, though his armor was light.
He didn't look particularly strong, and he gave off no menacing aura.
If I encountered him on the street, I'd walk right past him without a second thought.
But his head.
A gaunt, grim face with prominent cheekbones.
An eyepatch over his right eye, a dull, sunken left eye, hollow shadows beneath his cheeks like a zombie.
He gave the impression of a pirate captain from an old movie.
In a word.
"A man with a skull-like face."
I was certain.
This was
"Your Majesty. Zanoba Siluone. Responding to your summons, I have come from the magic city of Sharia."
Zanoba strode into the throne room and immediately dropped to one knee as he spoke.
He showed not the slightest hesitation in calling Pax "Your Majesty" and bowing his head.
I followed suit, though beneath my robe I kept my gatling trained on Randolph.
Pax looked down at the kneeling Zanoba and removed his hand from the girl's behind.
He licked his fingers, then spoke.
"You... arrived remarkably quickly."
"When the matter was urgent, I hurried."
"Hmm. I had assumed you were hiding somewhere within the kingdom. After all, there was no report of you crossing the border."
It had taken us roughly a month from receiving the letter to reach the Kingdom of Siluone.
A trip that normally would have taken a year.
It was an understandable assumption.
"Given the possibility of enemy ambushes along the way, I traveled in disguise."
"Even after entering the kingdom?"
"Especially after entering the kingdom."
"I see."
Pax snorted once through his nose.
He didn't intend to ask why we'd arrived faster than expected.
I, for my part, had no intention of telling the truth either...
Pax settled back into his chair and pointed at me.
"So who's this?"
"As Your Majesty may well know, this is
"I wasn't asking for his name."
"Then what—"
"I'm asking why he's here."
"In times of war, it's better to have powerful magicians, so I brought him along."
That was the official explanation.
In this world, magicians played an extremely important role in warfare.
Even mid-level or advanced-class magicians were invaluable for constructing encampments, and area-of-effect spells were devastating against large formations.
In a one-on-one duel, swordsmen had the advantage, but in large-scale battles where individual importance was diminished, magicians became increasingly crucial.
A
But Pax scoffed.
He gave me a patronizing smile, glancing between me and Zanoba.
"Oh, is that so? I had assumed he was a piece you'd prepared to kill me."
The moment Pax said that, the other two people flanking the Death God radiated killing intent.
Those two were presumably the knights he'd brought from the Dragon King Kingdom.
If I recalled correctly, there were supposed to be ten of them.
Three were present here, including the Death God.
Which meant the remaining seven were somewhere nearby.
Honestly, they didn't look that strong.
"Surely... we have no intention of doing Your Majesty harm."
"Oh? So you accept the usurpation?"
"Yes. After all, I never swore loyalty to the previous king."
"But you have no desire to swear loyalty to me either, do you?"
"............"
Zanoba did not answer.
Pax snorted with displeasure at the response.
It could be interpreted as harboring rebellious intent, but Pax didn't seem to care.
"Very well. Brother—no, Zanoba. Whatever schemes you may be harboring, it doesn't matter."
Pax spoke, then indicated the knight standing behind him with a nod of his chin.
"Look. My knights, brought from the Dragon King Kingdom."
At Pax's words, the knights bowed their heads.
The Death God just yawned.
"Especially this man. He's extraordinary.
Seventh among the Seven World Powers, fifth rank. Randolph Marieon, the 'Death God.'"
Upon receiving this introduction, the Death God shuddered slightly.
With an awkward expression, he stepped forward one pace.
He cleared his throat.
"I'm honored by the introduction. My name is Randolph Marieon.
I was born on the
My occupation is knight.
I serve under General Shagal Gargantis of the Dragon King Kingdom, attached to the Dragon King Kingdom's Black Dragon Knights.
My primary work is killing.
I'll kill anyone.
I don't officially follow any particular sword style, though I've dabbled in the North God Style and the Water God Style.
On the streets, I'm known as the 'Death God,' which leads people to misunderstand me as a serial killer, but that's not the case at all. I'm a gentle man whose hobby is cooking.
I look forward to working with you."
He rattled off the entire introduction in one breath, flashed a forced grin, and retreated back.
What a thoroughly unmotivated attitude.
"He may seem this way normally, but he's strong.
After all, he single-handedly annihilated my brothers' royal guard and brought me the throne."
He'd dealt with them almost alone.
As expected of the Seven World Powers.
I'd heard he'd declined, but that didn't mean he was weak.
"Well, Zanoba. How about testing which one is stronger—the man you brought, or this one?"
...So that was the direction this was heading.
Pax was definitely under the influence of the Human God after all.
He wanted to pit me against the Death God here, have me killed...
For a trap, it was remarkably lacking in subtlety. But maybe that was all there was to it.
"Surely you jest. On the eve of a war with the north, why would you waste your pieces in a place like this..."
I glanced over and saw cold sweat forming at Zanoba's temples.
Was he... trying to protect me?
As for Pax, he was watching Zanoba's discomfort with clear amusement.
He clearly delighted in watching others squirm and scramble to smooth things over, rattled by his words.
Come to think of it, that was exactly how he'd been when he'd captured me in the past.
He came alive when he was in the superior position.
And once he'd satisfied himself by seeing that look on their face, he'd wave it off as "just a joke."
But if Pax was in contact with the Human God, he should be trying to force me and the Death God into a fight regardless.
I knew a fight was coming this time.
I was fully prepared.
Or perhaps I should strike first?
The Death God was wide open.
No...
Someone who ranked among the Seven World Powers surely wouldn't show such obvious openings.
Even if he appeared to be wide open, the moment I attacked, he'd respond in an instant and counterattack. I was certain of it.
Even
As I was thinking this, Pax let his shoulders relax.
"Hmph, it was a joke. Don't take it so seriously."
He withdrew the suggestion effortlessly.
Huh?
Was he not going to go through with it?
Randolph had seemed unmotivated from the start, and was yawning again.
He'd probably start complaining about only sleeping two hours any minute now—so many yawns.
He looked thoroughly bored.
"I've also heard the rumors about you, Rudeus Greyrat.
In the
Randolph is a precious guest entrusted to me by His Majesty of the Dragon King Kingdom.
I don't think you'd lose, but if I let you seriously injure him, I wouldn't be able to face His Majesty."
Pax shrugged with a weary look.
Then he sat back down in his chair and fixed Zanoba with a penetrating gaze.
"Still, Brother. You seem quite wary."
"That is because our parting was rather... acrimonious."
"Indeed... But I have no intention of fighting with you, Brother."
Pax said this while crossing his legs and resting his cheek on his fist.
An imperious pose.
"So I could choose to forgive you."
"Your generous words are most appreciated."
"Very well."
Pax smiled at the bowing Zanoba.
A smile of confidence.
The smile of one who was certain of victory—one that said, "I could win if we fought, but I'll magnanimously let you off."
"Rather, I should be the one thanking you."
"Oh?"
"After all, it was thanks to that incident that I was able to change."
Change?
Pax's outward appearance as a short, chubby kid hadn't changed much.
Actually, on closer inspection, he'd lost some fat.
His belly and jawline looked leaner. His neck was thicker too. His overall muscle mass seemed to have increased.
He wasn't really fat anymore.
...Well, he was probably talking about his inner self.
"It's true—when I was first sent to the Dragon King Kingdom as a hostage, I wept at the injustice of it all. I harbored resentment toward my brother, toward Rudeus Greyrat... toward you, and I spent my days in darkness."
"............"
"But I was able to change."
Pax glanced briefly at the girl seated beside him.
She noticed and returned his gaze.
Their eyes met, and something like trust could be seen between them.
"Let me tell you a little about the past."
"............"
"It was some time after I'd arrived in the Dragon King Kingdom. Nobody paid me any attention, and I was rotting away. That was when I met a certain girl."
Without waiting for our response, Pax began his story.
Well, there was no reason not to listen.
He might let something slip about the Human God.
"That girl was always alone in the garden.
Alone in the garden, doing nothing, looking forlorn.
She didn't speak to anyone, and no one spoke to her.
Even when I grew curious and asked what she was doing, she said she was just sitting there doing nothing."
Pax had apparently been quite taken with her.
He went to the garden nearly every day and spoke to her, he said.
The girl was a woman of few words, but she would respond to Pax.
She was an innocent girl who listened to Pax's conversations with apparent happiness and enjoyment.
Pax found this endearing and would hunt for various topics to discuss with her.
"But one day, I overheard a rumor.
That the good-for-nothing from Siluone was getting cozy with the good-for-nothing from the Dragon King Kingdom."
Two good-for-nothings, a perfect match.
But if they ever mated, a new good-for-nothing might be born.
Oh, this was a crisis. The palace would be overrun with good-for-nothings.
That was the gist of the rumor.
"I wanted to grab every last one of those rumor-mongers and cut off their heads."
In the Kingdom of Siluone, even a drunk at a back-alley bar would never be forgiven for saying such things.
But in the Dragon King Kingdom, he couldn't do a thing.
"Because in the Dragon King Kingdom, I had no power whatsoever."
He was, by his own account, extremely frustrated.
He wanted to get back at them somehow.
But all Pax could do was crawl into bed, soak his pillow with tears of bitterness, cry himself to exhaustion, and convince himself that they were all idiots...
—Or so I thought.
But that wasn't what happened.
From that day forward, Pax reformed his lifestyle and became ascetic, diligent, and hardworking.
"I'm not entirely sure why I did it.
Perhaps because I wasn't actually stupid to begin with.
I wanted to prove that I wasn't a good-for-nothing."
A different environment, meeting different people, gave rise to different feelings, which led to different actions.
A fresh start, as they say.
I understood.
I'd been the same way when I first came to this world.
In any case, Pax worked hard after that.
He devoted himself to magic and to his studies.
He apparently didn't push himself too hard in swordsmanship and athletics due to his physical limitations, but looking at his build, it was clear he hadn't been living a lazy life.
And then, about a year and a half ago.
At a scholarly competition held in the Dragon King Kingdom—something like a practice exam—Pax achieved excellent results.
There, he caught the eye of the King of the Dragon King Kingdom.
The king praised Pax's attitude, saying, "Despite being sent to another country as little more than a hostage, your refusal to give up on the future is truly admirable."
It seems the king offered to give him some kind of reward.
In short, Pax had impressed him.
Pax was summoned to the throne room and asked by the king what he wanted.
Money? Status?
If Pax desired, he could even be granted asylum from the Kingdom of Siluone and become a citizen of the Dragon King Kingdom.
The magnanimous king even made such an offer, and Pax naturally replied: "I would like to request the hand of the Eighteenth Princess."
The Eighteenth Princess, Benedict Kingdragon.
Her mother was a demon woman of unknown origin, whom the king had casually taken in and casually sired a child with.
She had no claim to succession. Though she bore the title of Eighteenth Princess, she was hardly recognized as royalty.
She was emotionally distant—a princess regarded as a good-for-nothing.
Pax declared that he wanted this very princess as his wife.
The King of the Dragon King Kingdom hesitated briefly, then accepted Pax's request.
"Any of my other daughters, and I might have refused. But I wouldn't mind losing Benedict.
Still, even if only in name, Benedict is a princess.
You'll need an appropriate position."
So the King of the Dragon King Kingdom decided to first return Pax to the Kingdom of Siluone.
Send Pax back to Siluone, have him installed in an important position, then marry off the princess.
As a hostage, have Siluone send a different prince.
That was the plan, designed to save face for both sides.
But Siluone gently refused.
Pax had caused nothing but trouble in the Kingdom of Siluone, and The Siluone king probably wanted him to stay in the Dragon King Kingdom until he died.
There may also have been reluctance to give up another prince as a hostage.
The King of the Dragon King Kingdom flew into a rage.
The near-vassal state of Siluone refusing to comply—that was what truly enraged him.
The king gave Randolph, the Dragon King Kingdom's strongest knight and the "Death God," along with knights of the Black Dragon Knights who bore no ill will toward Pax, and launched a coup d'état.
They massacred every member of the Siluone royal family and placed the blood-soaked throne before Pax.
"............And so I gained everything. Status, honor, the woman I love, and the strongest piece of all."
As he spoke, Pax pulled the girl beside him close and glanced at the Death God standing to his side.
The girl's cheeks flushed red, while the Death God merely shrugged.
From the flow of the story, that girl must have been Benedict.
But wait— That story hadn't mentioned the Human God at all.
Was Pax really acting on some divine prophecy?
That moment of personal transformation was suspicious, but...
Then again, based on what he'd just told us, the one who seemed more suspicious was the King of the Dragon King Kingdom.
He'd suddenly gone into a rage... He sounded like he'd been receiving advice from the Human God.
But there might be more than one apostle.
It could be both Pax and the King of the Dragon King Kingdom.
"So you see, I no longer have any reason to resent either of you."
"I see. I'm truly impressed."
Zanoba bowed with exaggerated reverence, as though deeply moved.
Then he asked.
"But if you've obtained the strongest piece, why did you call me back?"
"Ha. That."
Pax snorted.
Still, it was a bit confusing with both of them using the first-person pronoun "ore."
"If I leave it to Randolph, the invasion from the north should be manageable.
But as I said earlier, Randolph is ultimately a borrowed piece.
Someday I'll have to return him to His Majesty of the Dragon King Kingdom.
If I relied on borrowed strength and mistook it for my own while defending my kingdom, His Majesty, who had gone so far as to acknowledge me, might be disappointed."
He'd been recognized, and made king of the Kingdom of Siluone.
That meant he had to keep demonstrating his power.
"Someone like me must always prove their usefulness. Isn't that right?"
I understood what he was getting at.
I, too, wanted to always show Orsted that I was useful.
"So that's how it is, Brother—no, Zanoba.
You may think I summoned you for revenge... but that's not my intention.
As the letter stated.
The coup d'état weakened the kingdom's military strength, and the north is poised to exploit that.
Now is the time for warriors like Zanoba.
Set aside the past and lend me your strength."
Pax said this and gave a slight bow, dipping his chin.
It might be a stretch to call it a bow, but he had lowered his head.
Calling him Zanoba rather than "brother" was his way of drawing a line as king, and that was fine.
"Of course, Your Majesty. That is why I was kept alive."
Zanoba nodded.
There was no hesitation.
It was perhaps that very lack of hesitation that made Pax suspicious.
He pressed further.
"But Brother... I am aware that you are a usurper. Don't you have something to say about that?"
Pax wanted to confirm whether Zanoba bore him any ill will.
After all, he'd wiped out all of his brothers.
Even if Pax himself held no grudge, he couldn't be sure Zanoba felt the same.
It would be perfectly natural if Zanoba had returned for revenge.
"............"
Zanoba raised his head at the words, hesitated for a moment, then immediately bowed again.
As Zanoba seemed reluctant to speak, Pax tilted his chin up and looked down at him.
"Speak freely."
Surely, whatever answer he gave would determine whether I ended up fighting the Death God.
The Death God stood there with a look of complete disinterest, but if it came to it, he'd move at terrifying speed.
I'd use misdirection and immobilization simultaneously, break through the wall, and escape.
Even as I braced myself, Zanoba spoke.
"Whoever the king may be, whatever policies may be enacted, the fact that I live to protect the Kingdom of Siluone—that will never change."
Silence fell over the throne room.
It wasn't a direct answer to the question.
But the meaning was clear: "I harbor no rebellious intent. I will follow you."
Pax wore a complicated expression.
Was he struggling with how to judge?
Was Zanoba friend or foe?
"Hmph. Well, it doesn't matter either way."
In the end, he muttered as if giving up.
Then, as though making up his mind, he declared in a loud voice.
"Zanoba Siluone. I am assigning you the defense of Caron Fortress.
Troops are already deployed there. You will go as their commander and hold off the northern forces."
"Yes, sir!"
Zanoba straightened and bowed his head deeply.
And so, the audience came to an end.
With a feeling of anticlimax, I withdrew from the throne room.
--- Afterward, we were given a room in the Shiroon Royal Palace.
Zanoba's old private quarters apparently no longer existed, so we were in a guest room on the second floor.
A knight who appeared to be from the Dragon King Kingdom stood guard outside the room under the pretense of being our escort.
Most likely a spy.
Pax was keeping a close watch on Zanoba.
We would depart the following day for Caron Fortress in the north.
I wanted to brief Roxy on the situation, but with eyes watching our every move, I should avoid any suspicious activity. It would be best to meet up with her tomorrow and head north to the fortress together.
I entered the room with Zanoba and let out a long breath.
Zanoba was royalty, yet here he was sharing a room with me.
It was probably their way of making sure we couldn't act independently.
Zanoba and I sat facing each other on the sofa.
"Pax is conducting himself rather admirably as king, isn't he?"
Zanoba spoke first.
His tone was the same as ever; if anything, he seemed pleased.
"Is he?"
"To protect this kingdom with his own hands—to bow his head to the very person he once resented—what else would you call that, if not admirable?"
Well, put that way, I supposed it was admirable.
The "bowing of his head" was really just a slight tilt, but still.
"The Master seemed quite worried, but people can change—and they can be wrong."
"Yeah."
"Pax's methods may be rough, and he may be in the wrong, but I believe he is doing his very best."
He was probably right. Pax was certainly an improvement over the one in my memories.
"Doing his best"—that much wasn't hard to believe.
But if that were all there was to it, I wouldn't be agonizing over this.
"Still, there might be an evil god pulling his strings from behind the scenes."
"Oh? The evil god you're fighting, Master?"
I tossed it out half-jokingly, but the response was surprisingly engaged.
"Huh? Did I tell you about that?"
"You mentioned it once before, during a meal with Lord
Ah, right—the time I'd decided to be completely open with Cliff.
But at the time, Zanoba hadn't seemed to believe me.
"I thought at the time that you were making it up, Master."
"............"
"But once I saw how Cliff's magical artifacts could mitigate Orsted's curse, even I could understand the relationship between you, Orsted, and that evil god."
So he understood.
Then maybe I should tell him.
Zanoba had come this far—he was involved now.
"All right, then. I'll tell you."
"Yes, Master."
I told Zanoba about the Human God.
A rough summary of everything so far.
And a rough summary of this current situation.
The possibility that Pax was being manipulated by the Human God.
"Hmm... But Pax never once uttered the word 'Human God.' Could it be that he's uninvolved?"
"He's a god who deceived me. It wouldn't be strange for him to be operating behind the scenes in ways I can't detect."
Even if the apostle wasn't Pax himself, it could be Randolph or Benedict.
Right now, the one I suspected most was the King of the Dragon King Kingdom.
But there could be more than one apostle.
Judging by the Human God's patterns, it seemed likely there was at least one on the Siluone side as well.
"Deceived... You were deceived by the Human God and ended up fighting Orsted, if I recall correctly, Master?"
"That's right."
"Then it's possible that Pax has been similarly deceived and is being set up to fight you."
Zanoba placed his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose.
Then he murmured.
"In that case, I will have to protect Pax."
Huh?
"...Does that mean you'd end up on his side if it came to a fight?"
"What? No, no, absolutely not. I would never turn against you, Master. Besides, weren't you told not to kill Pax?"
"But just now..."
"When I say 'protect,' I mean 'from the Human God.'"
Right.
For a moment there, I'd thought Zanoba would switch sides if it came to a fight.
If that happened, I'd be completely out of options.
What a relief.
But still, the word "protect" had come out of nowhere.
"I thought you couldn't care less about Pax."
I said it without thinking, and Zanoba looked momentarily bewildered.
He placed his hand on his chin again and struck another contemplative pose.
"That was indeed the case before now. We had no connection."
He furrowed his brow, humming thoughtfully.
"Perhaps... it was simply because Pax had never asked me for anything like that before!"
Zanoba said this with a bright, open laugh.
It felt less like being asked for help and more like being used.
And Zanoba wasn't really the type to spring into action just because someone needed him...
Well, the will to "protect the kingdom" and the action of protecting Pax as king were probably very similar concepts to him.
But I still couldn't read the Human God's intentions.
I didn't know who the apostle was.
There was no sign of a trap meant to kill me.
I felt like I was overlooking something, missing some crucial piece of the puzzle.
If Orsted's concerns about a trap proved unfounded, that would be the best outcome, but I shouldn't let myself be optimistic.
There was a trap somewhere, and I hadn't noticed it.
Well, anxiety remained, but there was nothing to be done about something I couldn't figure out.
And persuading Zanoba would be difficult.
For now, Pax seemed willing to accept Zanoba.
He wasn't trying to kill him.
And if asked, Zanoba would probably stay in the kingdom as a pillar of national defense.
If Pax wasn't going to kill Zanoba, my reasons for bringing him home grew thin.
As long as his life wasn't in danger, it was essentially just taking a job during turbulent times.
The fact that the CEO was Pax gave off serious sweatshop vibes, but if it was Zanoba's choice, I should respect it.
Still, the possibility that Pax might change his mind and try to kill Zanoba remained.
At present, suggesting that would be nothing more than unfounded suspicion, but the possibility existed nonetheless.
And once Pax actually moved against Zanoba, it would be too late.
Before that happened, I wanted to find some evidence—somewhere, somehow—that Pax intended to harm Zanoba.
But where would I even look for such evidence?
And even if Pax had no intention of killing him now, he might decide Zanoba was in the way later.
In other words, there was no evidence at present...
Ugh, damn it.
My head was spinning.
This was going to stress me bald.
I wasn't going to come up with an answer mulling over this alone.
Tomorrow, I'd consult with Roxy.