Chapter 104 - Chapter 104: At the Imperial Castle
Steve, Cecily, and Daphne had infiltrated the Imperial Capital using Cecily's magic. They did not enter the Imperial Castle immediately; they scouted the inside from outside the castle.
Since it was daytime, they avoided busy alleys, hid in a warehouse owned by the Crown Prince near the Imperial Castle, and used birds, small animals, and insects as usual to spy on the inside of the castle. It was very calm there.
The defeat in the Eastern Military District had not yet reached the Imperial Capital, and furthermore, there were no factions opposing Leonard in the Imperial Capital, so there was no reason to strengthen vigilance.
When the controlled rats went somewhat deep into the Imperial Castle, the sensory sharing was cut off.
"Huh? I can't share my vision anymore, even though they didn't die."
"Probably a barrier to prevent scouting."
According to Cecily, it wouldn't be surprising if the Imperial Castle had such traps. Steve tried passing another rat through the same place as a test, but again, the sensory sharing was cut off at the same spot.
"Can't they use magic either?"
"No, they can't guard Your Majesty if they can't use magic, so I think it's just hindering sensory sharing. I've seen them use magic inside the castle."
"I see. If that's the case, it seems fine, but did they detect our scouting just now?"
From the eyes of the hawk flying overhead, it was visible that the inside of the castle had become frantic.
Daphne looked at Steve's face.
"What will you do?"
"We have to go, but since the enemy is waiting, I want to avoid going straight on. I can't find hidden soldiers like usual, so I want to teleport directly in front of the Emperor."
This time Steve looked at Cecily's face.
"I can imagine several locations, but if I can't specify, it'll be a thorough search."
"It's inefficient, but I suppose it can't be helped."
Steve's specialty strategy, which involves grasping the opponent first and binding them with magic to neutralize them, couldn't be done, so they had to force their way through.
"Isn't there anything else?"
Asked by Cecily, wrinkles formed between Steve's eyebrows.
"There's also making steel in the sky with magic and dropping it like rain onto the Imperial Castle, but the damage would be huge. Also, searching for the target among the rubble would become difficult."
It was a strategy Steve had considered before but hadn't executed. Dropping heavy objects like H-beams from the sky like rain to destroy the enemy's position, but since people would die indiscriminately, he hadn't put it into practice. There were non-combatants inside the castle, and he had no intention of getting them involved.
Searching for the target among the rubble was just an excuse; he just wanted to avoid a large number of people dying.
Daphne, hearing Steve's words, thought that it could be used as a diversion.
"If we drop that steel where there are no people and draw attention there, won't the castle's defense become thin?"
"Ah, that might be good. Find a place with no people with the hawk's eyes, teleport there and drop the steel. Then, while attention is drawn there, let's infiltrate the castle."
"Yes."
Daphne was happy that her opinion was adopted by Steve. Unlike Cecily, she wasn't well-versed in things inside the castle, and although she came along, she was worried about being compared to Cecily, so the anxiety disappeared because she was able to make a useful proposal.
Once the policy was decided, execution followed immediately. After applying support magic by Steve, they teleported onto the castle wall.
"Here we go."
Saying that, Steve gathered mana in his fingertips, and a giant H-beam appeared in mid-air. It immediately fell due to gravity, hit the ground, and caused a rumble.
Before they could watch that, Cecily teleported the three of them into the castle. The location was the audience hall. It was a room like a wide gymnasium, and there were many soldiers there as if they knew of the three's arrival. There was a chair on a raised place, and a person sitting there looking down at Steve and the others. There was also a knight next to him.
Seeing that, Cecily said
"That is Leonard. Next to him is Ace of Wand."
She taught Steve.
"We got lucky drawing the right one in one shot."
"If guarding a large number, this is the most optimal place."
While having that conversation, Steve bound the soldiers with iron chains made by magic. Not everyone became unable to move with that magic chain. Those who reacted to the chain and avoided it immediately were Leonard and Cyrus, and besides them, were tiger and bear beastmen.
Steve was surprised by the appearance of the tiger and bear.
"A zoo?"
"No, that tiger is King of Wand and that bear is Queen of Wand. They can transform into beastmen with magic to increase combat power."
The magic used by King of Wand and Queen of Wand was beastman transformation. It means gaining animal physical abilities while keeping human intelligence. Both tiger and bear were not opponents humans could match, but Steve and the others had also enhanced their physical abilities.
It was a tiger attacking Cecily, but it was cut down in one blow, its front legs and head separated from its body. Even seeing that, the bear did not stop, and this one attacked Daphne. However, this one also ended up with its head and torso separated by Daphne's Godspeed Sword.
Because Steve's consciousness turned that way, the attack by chains stopped, and Leonard gained the leisure to speak.
"Strong. As expected of Ace of Chalice. If you become my subordinate, I'll give you half the Empire, how about it?"
Leonard presented conditions to try to coax Cecily. But, Cecily refused that.
"I do not lend ears to traitors. How can I believe the words of someone who killed the Crown Prince on the verge of coronation and usurped the throne?"
"That is a pity. Then, how about those two over there?"
Leonard looked at Steve and Daphne. Steve shrugged and rejected that proposal.
"Even if I can't govern a thousand people properly, getting half the Empire would be too much for me to handle."
"That is a pity. By the way, I haven't heard your name."
"Steve Archibalt. Nice to meet you, Your Majesty the Emperor."
Hearing that name, Leonard understood.
"I thought animals controlled by magic had infiltrated the castle, but if you came, I understand. The elites gathered for guarding were meaningless then."
Leonard also knew about Steve. He knew the biggest obstacle when the Empire fights the Kingdom of Cascade in the future, so he was gathering that information.
"I thought you were fighting my army in the Eastern Military District by now, but you passed through there and aimed directly here?"
"No, that is already over."
"Deception?"
Leonard glared at Steve.
"If you think it's a lie, try to confirm. If you can do it right now, that is."
Leonard could not get proof that Steve was lying from Steve's appearance. Leonard had had many opportunities to talk to many people and had seen through lies thoroughly, but this time there was no sign that it was a lie.
"It's not something to confirm right here and now. I'll confirm slowly after defeating you."
"You think you can?"
"I probably can. Hey, Cyrus."
Cyrus, told that by Leonard, used curse magic. Snake tattoos appeared on the necks of the three of Steve and the others.
"This time is special. It's a curse that kills you immediately."
Cyrus explained happily. Leonard also directed a look of pity at Steve.
"I wanted to add you to my subordinates, but that's a pity. If you beg for your life now, I'll have Cyrus remove the curse."
"Well, I thought it would be something like that. I thought there would be curse removal magic as well as casting curses. Did you evaluate me as foolish enough to invade without any countermeasures knowing the opponent's magic?"
Steve said as if exasperated, and used magic to force an order on Cyrus.
"Remove the curse."
Cyrus followed that order and removed the curse cast on Steve and the others. Leonard, realizing that order was magic, gritted his teeth.
"If it comes to this, I should have given Cyrus a ring that invalidates magic too."
Leonard threw a magic item ring he had in reserve to Cyrus. Cyrus also received it and immediately put it on his finger.
"One more time."
By Leonard's order, Cyrus cast the curse again. However, this time Steve removed the curse himself.
"Hmm. Is removing the curse more efficient than canceling the previous curse with an overlay?"
When Steve said that, the snake tattoos disappeared. Cyrus panicked that his curse had disappeared.
"What did you do!?"
"I just imitated it after being shown the curse removal magic. I told you not to invade without any countermeasures, right?"
Steve knew Cyrus would use curse magic, so first he waited and created a work standard manual for that. There it was written as a quality critical point that the previous curse is erased by overlaying. He assumed this meant the ring invalidates magic, and it would be the same as mental magic. And, in fact, it was exactly that way. Additionally, he made him use the curse removal magic too, and created a work standard manual for that as well. With this, countermeasures against curses were complete. Without the curse, Cyrus is not an enemy.
Steve kicked the floor and closed the distance at once. And, flashing his sword, Cyrus's head fell off. With that momentum, he attacked Leonard this time.
Clang
The sound of metal hitting metal echoed throughout the room. The arm of Leonard that Steve thought he cut had turned into steel and blocked that attack.
"Mm."
Steve attacked Leonard again to confirm once more. The result was the same, the place the sword hit turned into steel. Steve returned to the original place once and took distance from Leonard. Leonard smiled happily.
"This is my magic."
"I see."
Steve had also learned Leonard's magic during the second attack. Using that magic immediately, he tried to cut the left hand that had turned to steel with the sword held in his right hand, but he couldn't cut it. Seeing that, Leonard saw through Steve's ability to use the curse removal magic just now.
"An ability to imitate what you see. I really want to add you to my subordinates."
"The difficulty with this is that you can't become more than what you saw."
"A luxurious worry."
Leonard couldn't help but laugh at Steve's words. Steve also smiled bitterly and scratched the back of his head.
"So, before I die, I want to confirm, was it Your Majesty the Emperor's order regarding the attack on our country's King?"
"I'll tell you as a memento of traveling to the afterlife, but that was my order."
"There seems to be room for debate on who is traveling to the afterlife, but I'm glad I know the mastermind, Daphne."
"Yes. Now I can report to His Majesty."
"Well, since the confirmation is over, let's end this fight too."
"Do you think you can do anything about this body that turns to steel?"
Leonard smiled fearlessly, but Steve didn't mind and hit Leonard with fire magic. Not something like Fireball that disappears upon impact, but a continuous flame like a factory burner continued to burn Leonard. Leonard turned his whole body to steel and endured it. The steel burned and turned bright red, but Leonard endured it while laughing.
"If you try to burn me to death, that is useless."
"I know."
Steve stopped the fire and this time hit Leonard with water made by water magic. The heated steel was rapidly cooled by water, and steam filled the surroundings. Steve pushed through that steam and attacked Leonard with his sword again.
"Futile thing."
Leonard said that, but the arm attacked by the sword fell to the floor with a sharp pakin sound.
"What!?"
Leonard could not hide his surprise at what happened to his own body. Steve didn't care and dealt a blow to the waist this time. Like the arm, the waist cracked with a sharp sound, and Leonard was separated into upper and lower bodies. However, the body was steel, so there was no bleeding.
"Have you never done quenching?"
"What is that?"
Leonard asked Steve to explain.
"Steel becomes hard when heated and cooled. However, depending on how you cool it, it becomes very brittle. Like now. I'm bad at quenching, so I've been scolded for making such brittle steel."
Steel becomes hard by heat treatment. Being hard is equivalent to losing toughness, and simply heating and cooling steel will cause it to break quickly. Therefore, heat treatment has a process called tempering to restore toughness. Steve had once taken on a job to urgently make equipment parts in his past life. Usually, you order heat treatment from a heat treatment company, but for customers who want parts quickly because equipment is broken and stopped, they performed heat treatment in-house. They heat it with a burner, then soak it in oil or something to cool it, but since it's not controlled by machinery, the results vary. His father and veteran craftsmen did that without trouble, but the things Steve quenched broke immediately and were unusable. That steel property was the same with Leonard's magic. So, he heated it with fire and then poured water to rapidly cool it.
Steve looked at Leonard rolling on the floor.
"If your mana runs out, it's goodbye, but do you have anything left to say?"
"I'll ask one thing, whose country is the one you think of?"
"When asked whose, it's difficult. It's not just for kings and nobles, it's also for the people. The people also have patriotism, so they should have their own recognition of their country."
Steve answered that while thinking of the eastern people who cooperated with him with cedar futures, and Ino who said it was for the Empire.
"I don't think so. If it's the Empire, it belongs to the Emperor, and the people just obey however it's handled."
Leonard said that and released the steel magic. Immediately the surroundings were dyed bright red. When Steve and the others' eyes gathered on that, Leonard flowed mana into the ring on his finger. Steve noticed that.
"What did you do?"
"A companion. I will die with this country."
Saying only that, Leonard drew his last breath.
"Dead?"
Asked by Daphne, Steve looked at Leonard, but he was clearly dead. Since he said companion, I thought he might explode, but there was no such sign.
"Cecily, that ring was glowing, do you know what kind of ring it is?"
"I don't know what effect it has. However, I don't think there is anything that takes the Empire with it. If there were such a thing, I think one of the past Emperors would have used it."
"Right. I can't believe there wasn't an Emperor who grew old and was tainted with madness. Do the prisoners know anything?"
Steve asked, but none of the soldiers answered.
They would come to know what Leonard had set up, 10 minutes later. When they finished forcing the prisoners to swear loyalty to Lewis, smoke became visible in various places in the Imperial Capital. Leonard's ring was a communication method, and the Knight of Wand and his subordinates hiding in the Imperial Capital received the ring signal from Leonard and set fire to various places in the Imperial Capital. It wasn't that they were wary of Steve's attack, but they had prepared to set fire to the Imperial Capital and escape if some Suit Knight betrayed them while the support base wasn't solid. That was what was triggered this time by Steve's attack. The place set on fire was the area where ordinary subjects lived. Because houses were densely packed and fire spread easily.
Soldiers ran into the audience hall. The soldiers didn't know a battle was happening in the audience hall, so they entered, looked inside, and were surprised.
"A large number of fires have occurred in the Imperial Capital's subject residential area! Whoa!!"
Cecily spoke to that soldier.
"Report work done. The rebel Leonard Iso Yellow has been defeated by this Ace of Chalice. I don't intend to punish you all, so please rest assured. So, are you putting out the fires?"
"We headed to extinguish the fire as soon as we found it, but for some reason, the wind became strong at the same time the fire started, and the fire extinguishing work seems to become difficult."
"The Knight of Wand who wasn't here is a user of wind attribute magic. Probably hiding in the Imperial Capital and creating wind. Which way is the wind coming from?"
"It is blowing from the direction of the North Gate."
Hearing that, Steve looked at the situation through the hawk's eyes he had stationed in the sky. Smoke rose in places, and visibility was worsening. And, he found the mage creating the wind.
"Daphne, Cecily, let's go."
Saying that, they teleported and appeared before the Knight of Wand's eyes.
"It's over!"
Cecily said that and cut the Knight of Wand. With that, the wind stopped, but the fire's intensity had already become strong, and there was no sign of the spread stopping. Cecily asked Steve to extinguish the fire.
"My Lord, could you please extinguish it with water magic?"
"I used mana to force the order. I probably won't be able to extinguish it all."
Steve had used too much mana and didn't have the spare energy to extinguish the fires spreading in the Imperial Capital. While watching the people of the Imperial Capital fleeing, Steve thought it can't be helped even if his mana runs out, and decided to use water magic.
"Ah, by the way."
Just before activating the magic, he remembered collecting the water of rivers flooded by the eastern flood with Storage Magic. The amount was too large and he couldn't collect everything, but there was enough to use for fire extinguishing. And, Storage Magic consumes mana only when storing, so it doesn't use mana when taking out. Repeatedly taking out the collected water and pouring it on burning buildings, by the time all the fires in the Imperial Capital were extinguished, the sun was already setting on the horizon.
Steve asked Daphne and Cecily what they thought about the answer to Leonard's question.
"Who do you think the country belongs to?"
Cecily looked straight at Steve's face.
"It belongs to all those who live in that country. It is not just for those involved in governance."
"I think so too, but it's a dangerous thought from the king and nobles' perspective. Maybe you shouldn't say it too much."
"I told Nancy to abandon the country. At that time, I already recognized that older sister also owns the country."
"That's true too."
Steve returned a smile. Cecily also showed Steve a brilliant smile. Daphne also thought it can't be helped now, and was watching the two smiling.
Leaving the affected residents to the soldiers, Steve and the others returned to the mansion.
Here, the usurpation of the throne by Leonard came to an end.
Thank you always for typo reports.