by Sakon Kaidou
He was a gentle-looking man, who looked younger than he really was.
“Altimia,” he began. His tone was gentle, but it had a certain power behind it. “I did not do that because this is a revolutionary era. The once-few Masters started growing in number a few years ago, and the kingdom alone already has thousands of them.”
“But that is exactly why you should make an ally out of them!”
Masters were immortal entities bearing the supernatural powers of Embryos.
The Contract of War prohibited all except certain rankers to participate, but even so, few could match those Masters in battle. They were significantly stronger than the tian majority, and they would never be at risk of losing their lives.
Even so, Eldor had rejected the idea that Masters should be hired for this battle.
“Altimia,” he said. “If you speak of them that way, you are basically saying that they have been increasing for that sole purpose.”
“Eh?”
“There are more Masters now, and there will likely be even more in the future. They are bound to change the world. I believe them to be the current era’s agents of revolution, sent by the world itself, and believe that their special powers exist for that purpose. However, I don’t believe that using them for war is a good thing. A world where we tians see them as nothing but tools of war, and a world where Masters acknowledge that... is far too bleak,” he said as he looked outside the window — into the world beyond. “That is why I cannot allow myself to be like Dryfe and warp their wills with the promise of rewards.”
After saying so with absolute certainty, Eldor smiled.
“Still, I cannot begin to express my thanks to the Masters who have chosen to stand with this country regardless.”
On this day, Eldor had recruited Masters to stand and defend against the imperium. Because of the aforementioned reasons, he hadn’t promised any rewards, but some had stood up to protect the country, regardless.
“But...!” Altimia protested. Both she and her father knew full well that the quality of those Masters was significantly lower than that of those fighting for the imperium. “But the kingdom will surely lose! If you can’t win, try making peace with—”
“We cannot.” Eldor rejected the idea in an even stronger tone. “Altimia. The current imperator... Leinhart is dangerous. If we do not stop him, he will become a threat to the world itself.”
“Father...?”
Back when the kingdom and the imperium had been on good terms, Altimia had lived in the country as a foreign transfer student.
Thanks to a certain connection, she’d met and talked to Leinhart for a bit, and he hadn’t seemed particularly dangerous.
However, Eldor’s expression as he mentioned that man was intense beyond words, making it quite likely that Leinhart was the reason why the two countries were now going from allies to enemies in such a short amount of time.
“Father...” she said worriedly.
“Don’t worry, Altimia. I used to fight at Langley’s side as a Paladin. And our teacher... the Arch Sage... is with us, as well.”
“Father... Then...”
Altimia was about to suggest something to him, but Eldor cut his daughter’s words short, saying, “One more thing, Altimia. This doesn’t just apply to Masters. I do not want to push people to fight just because they have the power to.”
“But...”
“And that’s why, Altimia...”
◇
Altimia woke up right as her father was about to say something.
The dream just now had shown her last conversation with him. She’d seen it countless times after he’d passed away.
“Your Highness! Marquis Findle is here!” The voice coming from beyond the door was the reason why she had awoken. It was her attendant. “He has urgent news! Please hurry to your office!”
“Coming,” Altimia said, as she wiped the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes as she slept, got up, changed, and went out to her office.
“Is that information reliable?” she asked one of her retainers.
Marquis Findle was the one in charge of intelligence, and right now, he was bearing a valuable piece of information.
“It most certainly is,” he replied. “Ruins have been discovered to the north of Altea... in the Quartierlatin County, bordering the imperium.”
“I see,” Altimia said, and began to ponder.
Ruins were best described as “dungeons left behind by the pre-ancient civilization.” Both tians and Masters would understand that.
The pre-ancient civilization had held magic and science far more advanced than the people of the current day, and the ruins left over from their demise contained many relics of that era.
Considering that those ruins had once been fortresses, research facilities, or castles, it was fair to consider them a kind of natural dungeon.
The ruins discovered so far included Dryfe’s foundation, The Underground City of Granbell, as well as the seven Seafloor Excavation Fortresses Granvaloa had found at the bottom of the sea, and the countless, nameless ruins in Caldina.
Ruins oftentimes contained technology that couldn’t be made today. Much of Dryfe’s magic machine tech and Granvaloa’s shipbuilding knowledge came from analyzing and applying the information found in such ruins.
Though that was a definite perk to such facilities, there were downsides, as well. Particularly, when the technology inside somehow went out of control. It wasn’t rare for them to house dangerous UBMs, as well.
For better or for worse, ruins had the potential to drastically change a country’s power.
The fact that such a place had been found in the kingdom was critically important, but there was a problem in that it was in Quartierlatin — a county bordering Dryfe.
Dryfe had invaded through another area last time, so it hadn’t ended up becoming a battlefield, but there was no guarantee that it would escape that fate the next time — it could easily become the front line.
It was an area of such importance that both armies had fortresses full of soldiers around it, and now there was a ruin there... something that could change the fate of a country.
“Does the imperium know about this?” she asked.
“I would like to hope not... but they have Masters helping their intelligence operations.”
Embryo unique skills could easily include powers of interception or clairvoyance. It was best to assume that Dryfe knew about this, as well.
That fact made Altimia anxious. After all, the technology in the ruins had the possibility of restarting the war earlier than expected.
“Your Highness?” Findle prompted.
“No, I’m fine,” she replied. “Now, what of the imperium? Have they done anything?”
“We haven’t seen any movement from the army garrisoned at the border. It’s hard to think that they would use the appearance of these ruins as an opportunity to invade again.”
“Then they might be considering an ambush, or stealing the technology in the ruins.”
“Yes. I believe the imperium’s Masters will make a move, like they did back during the incident at Gideon.”
He was referring to the major act of terrorism by Franklin, one of Dryfe’s superiors, in the kingdom’s strongest city. He’d kidnapped the second princess, brought destruction upon the city, and even planned to completely annihilate it with a horde of monsters exceeding even the number he’d used in the war.
Thankfully, the kingdom’s Masters — including one Superior, the King of Destruction — had stemmed the flow of Franklin’s abominations at the source and defeated the mad scientist himself.
Remembering the incident, something she’d only heard about while suffering the Epidemic, Altimia clenched her fists in determination.
She couldn’t stand the fact that Dryfe’s Masters had sparked the act of terror, and that Masters had been the ones to subdue it.
Only she would understand who this frustration was directed at, however.
<
br /> Why did...? she thought, but then shook her head and came back to the matter at hand.
“Let us do something about it, too,” she said. “We will send someone to investigate the ruins and counter the forces sent by the imperium.”
“Very well,” nodded Findle. “Then I shall contact the guild and ask them to prepare quests for powerful Masters, so that—”
“Do not do that.”
“Huh?”
Following the appearance of Masters in the world, requesting Masters to deal with difficult problems had become the optimal course of action.
However, Altimia rejected the idea.
“I will send someone of my choosing. And I do not deem it necessary to contact the Masters or the adventurers’ guild about it. Prohibit it and the job guilds from making any quests related to the ruins.”
“But if the imperium is sending Masters, only other Masters would be able to counter th—”
“That is my decision as acting ruler.”
“As you command.” Marquis Findle made a pose of acknowledgment.
“You may leave. Also, keep in mind that I might not respond for a few days as I deal with this situation. I will tell this to the other departments.”
“Very well.” Findle bowed lightly and excused himself from the office.
Altimia stood up from her chair and walked to the front of the full body mirror.
“Tians have little chance against Masters... I know that much,” she muttered to herself.
She looked into her own eyes and remembered those defeated and dead at the hands of Dryfe’s Masters. A number of them had been especially dear to her. Even her own father had been beaten by a Master and eaten by his monsters.
“Even so, I cannot rely on Masters to accomplish something that could have such a powerful effect on the war,” she whispered as she touched the mirror. “I cannot use them as tools of war.”
Those were the words she’d heard many times in the dream of talking to her father for the last time.
Masters were the current era’s agents of revolution. They should not be used in tian... “human” battles.
That was how she understood those words.
Though her interpretation was slightly different from her father’s will, she was determined to abide by it.
Then she considered another thing.
During the war, many Masters had sided with Dryfe for the rewards. Her father had offered no rewards to the Masters of his kingdom, leaving Dryfe with far more of them.
Just like her father, she was thankful for the Altarian Masters who’d participated.
However, she couldn’t help but feel hatred for the many Dryfean Masters who’d fought the kingdom, grudge for the many Altarian Masters who’d done nothing, and rage at the Altarian Superior who had made absurd demands in exchange for her participation.
She even felt like things would never have turned out like this if Masters had never existed in the first place.
Altimia knew full well that this was naught but the result of war. Dryfe’s Masters had only acted as they were requested to, and the kingdom hadn’t made the request because her own father willed it.
Even so, Masters... Superiors... have taken far too much from her, and thus, her mistrust for them ran deep.
“But...”
There were some things that shook her mistrust.
During the capital blockade incident, Masters had formed vigilante groups to take care of the ones responsible.
During the Epidemic, some Masters had walked around nursing people without asking for any reward.
And then there was Gideon...
“But now...”
The matter of the ruins was related to war. Regardless of her likes or dislikes, she wouldn’t rely on Masters, for she wished to respect her father’s will.
Thus, she would do something else.
“This is a job for Azurite.”
◇
After leaving the first princess’s room and walking a short distance away from it, Marquis Findle took something out of his pocket.
It was a magic item used for magical communication, and he used it to connect to one of his subordinates in the intelligence department.
“It’s me,” he said. “Send a request to DIN to leak the information about Quartierlatin’s ruins to the kingdom... Yes, that would be enough... Prohibit all ruin-related guild quests, just as she ordered. They... The Masters will act on their own.”
With that, he cut the communication.
“I understand what Her Highness is saying, but Masters are best left to other Masters,” he murmured.
Even if there was no official request, the Masters investigating the ruins on their own volition would deal with any attacking Dryfean Masters.
Also, if the kingdom’s Masters sold any of the technology they found there, it would improve Altar’s economy.
If it turned out to be something particularly important, the country itself could send its agents to buy it off of them.
The people they called “Masters” rarely considered life-related risks, and acted mostly on curiosity and potential returns. That was why Marquis Findle thought that this was the best way to deal with this.
“But... No, there is no use in thinking about that.”
With those words as his last, he returned to his office.
There were still many things he had to do in regards to the matter of the ruins. That order to his subordinate was just the first step.
Marquis Findle dealt with the next step while thinking of both the current situation and Altimia’s consideration for her father’s will.
One believed that Masters shouldn’t be used for war, while the other thought otherwise, but both believed themselves to be right, and neither could be proven to be completely wrong.
However, regardless if they were both right or wrong... it would all be pointless if the Masters sent by Dryfe were significantly stronger than the Altarian Masters investigating the ruins.
◆◆◆
Dryfe Imperium’s Imperial Palace — Throne of the Imperium, Dryfe Imperstand
Dryfe Imperium’s capital, Vandelheim, had two faces.
One face was relatively modern, while the other was a face of clockwork superscience.
There were two prime representatives of the latter.
One was a large research institute right outside of the capital — the headquarters of the Triangle of Wisdom.
And the other... was this imperial palace.
On the outside, the palace looked like little more than an extension of the modern city surrounding it.
However, the same couldn’t be said about its core — the heart of the palace.
It was best described as an “enormous clockwork fortress,” a castle of ever-moving gears bearing the name “Throne of the Imperium, Dryfe Imperstand.”
It was an ancient construct that was both Dryfe’s core, its strongest weapon, and an existence some would refer to as an Irregularity.
◆
A weapon and the imperial residence at the same time, the Imperstand also had offices for the senior statesmen.
In one such office, two people were having an exchange while enjoying a game of chess — or, at least, a game that looked like it.
“A short while ago, I was informed that one of our Masters had confirmed the appearance of ruins in the kingdom’s Quartierlatin County,” one of them said. The other silently listened. “Could you send the Hell General there?”
“May I ask why, Prime Minister Vigoma?”
One of them was Prime Minister Nobrome Vigoma, the one in charge of the imperium’s internal affairs. As for the other...
“That’s simple,” said Nobrome. “Because there is no method with more certainty, Field Marshal Barbaros.”
“...I see.”
The Zero General, Field Marshal Gifted Barbaros, was the one in charge of the country’s military, and easily the strongest tian in the imperium.
He was both a Gener
al and a field marshal at the same time. It wasn’t unusual for tians to have different jobs and official roles. Though there were Superior Jobs, such as “Commander-in-Chief” and some that included the word “General,” a “Field Marshal” job simply didn’t exist, so there was no helping that.
Despite being the top of the country’s military, Gifted Barbaros was strangely young — somewhere around thirty — and didn’t seem to have the air of command you’d expect from a leader.
To put it frankly, his eyes seemed dead.
“He is in the field marshal faction,” Nobrome continued. “If you convince him, he—”
“We only share a method and approach. He’s not part of any faction,” Gifted argued. “But... very well. I’ll try to persuade him.”
There was next to no vitality in his response, either.
Two of the leaders of the three factions that comprised this country’s forces were sitting at the same table, but he felt nothing about that or the fact that he was one of them. He merely replied emotionlessly and moved the pieces on the board.
But Prime Minister Vigoma didn’t care about the man’s attitude.
After all, he had known him for a long time.
Because of that, he knew better than most that Gifted was akin to a sleeping lion — no, something far scarier than that — and understood that, unless the situation called for it, it was best to let him keep sleeping.
“I must say, this is quite unexpected,” Nobrome added. “I expected you to ask more, or outright reject what I want to ask of Hell General.”
“Masters are free,” Gifted replied. “They aren’t bound by rank or faction — they do what they feel like doing. Even their lives are secondary to them.”
“That is true,” Nobrome agreed, but Gifted’s words couldn’t help but make him think, Doesn’t that apply to you, as well?
“Also, I understand the situation,” Gifted added. “You’re giving this request to Logan because the one you’re sponsoring, Franklin, is currently unusable... or, rather, you mustn’t use him.”
“Oh?”
“Franklin’s strength is the strength of variety. He lost his forces in the previous incident, and is now being pressed into developing new units and stocking up on the mass-produced ones. The matter of the ruins and the potential technology found inside is important, but mostly in the long-term. It will have little effect on the upcoming war. Therefore, you can’t send out a force that’s being developed for the sake of the war — you need them to focus on growing. Then there are the recent additions to our Superior forces — the King of Chariots and the King of Thieves — but you have reservations about using them. I’m with you on the latter. Though we’ve hired that one with a detailed contract, a criminal who’s wanted in many places is still a criminal.” Vigoma silently listened.