As the Imperial Treasury came into view…
Suddenly, Ezekiel came to a halt.
“Stop.”
“Ah, y-yes? Yes! Understood!”
Currently, Tether’s enthusiasm was on fire.
In a precarious situation, she grabbed the lifeline. The name of the lifeline was Ezekiel, and Tether’s life depended on his next move.
“Hmm.”
Ezekiel tilted his head slightly.
‘It’s certain. I must be the cause.’
The presence of the Elementals strengthened as they approached the treasury. No need to think further. The cause was Ezekiel.
Where he was standing was likely the final safety line.
It was quite troublesome that he couldn’t approach any further.
‘Just a little more and I could go, but I can’t move forward.’
As Ezekiel drew near, the Elementals were ramping up their energy in response to him. In other words, by the time he set foot in the report, all the sacred artifacts would be damaged.
The Elemental Stone should originally be on the second floor. However, if they were pouring out elemental energy with all their might, there was no way the artifacts on the first floor could handle it.
Then…
‘First, I need to take action from this position.’
Finding a way to calm the Elementals without getting any closer. Discovering that was urgent.
“Let me concentrate for a moment.”
“Yes!”
Ezekiel slowly closed his eyes.
Instead of spreading, he was absorbing. He slowly absorbed the energy the Elementals emitted.
─…! …!
─E…zek…iel…!
─…………!
────!
Their voices began to reach him.
He concentrated hard. It was time to gather his fighting spirit.
─Ezekiel! It’s definitely that guy, Ezekiel!
─Don’t come any closer! Someone stop him!
─Salamander, increase the heat!
─You crazy ones, I’m freezing to death too…!
“…”
Ezekiel fully acknowledged his responsibility in the situation.
He really was the cause.
Meanwhile, Tether couldn’t take her eyes off Ezekiel, who looked increasingly troubled. If the one holding her lifeline seemed more anxious, how could she not feel uneasy?
Eventually, Tether couldn’t hold back and asked.
“Um, Inspector! How’s it going?”
“Hmm.”
Instead of replying, the inspector asked for sunweed.
“Is the state of the Elementals really serious?”
“Not really.”
“Aha~ So it’s not serious! Huh? What do you mean?”
Tether blinked in disbelief.
“Are you saying that’s not serious?”
“Yeah. They’re just a little excited.”
“Excited? Why would they be excited?”
“Well, looks like they’ve encountered something pleasant.”
Hoo─
Ezekiel exhaled sunweed smoke.
“Anyway, I found a solution. Let’s start.”
Swoosh.
Hoo─
“…”
Swoosh.
Hoo─
From the position where the treasury was visible, Ezekiel was making an ice chair and continuously puffing sunweed. Tether watched him with a perplexed expression.
‘What kind of plant is sunweed again?’
It was hard to get a hold of, and only a tiny amount was occasionally used for healing. Burning it raw was…
‘…something you usually do when you’re trying to commit suicide, right? Sunweed.’
But Ezekiel was different.
Hoo─
No matter how many he lit, he didn’t seem to get tired of it; rather, it seemed like he was enjoying the herb, continuously lighting sunweed in front of Tether.
“Indeed, the sunweed from Ruiple is quite good.”
“Um….”
What on earth was he doing?
The fact that he could burn sunweed raw was astonishing, but what puzzled Tether even more was why he wasn’t rushing into the treasury immediately.
Carefully, Tether broke the silence.
“Um, Inspector.”
“Why?”
Ezekiel casually responded after inhaling an entire sunweed in one breath. An absurd amount of air. Tether looked horrified.
“It’s just that… the Elemental Rampage…”
“I’m calming them down right now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Wait. That’s your job.”
“…”
Ezekiel rummaged through his left pocket. But with empty hands, he came out without anything, which was actually quite good news for Tether.
“D-did you finish burning already?”
“No.”
Ezekiel dug into his other hand and finally pulled out a handful of sunweed.
“…”
…Was he trying to commit suicide?
“You’re burning an awful lot of sunweed…”
“I don’t usually burn this much, you know.”
“Then why now of all times…”
“I have no choice.”
Tether was on the verge of tears.
“Inspector! I truly messed up!”
A moment later, Tether dove down to the ground.
“I fully acknowledge that I have committed a grave mistake! But I cannot bear this torment of hope anymore! Please, just punish me right now!”
“You’re fine. The treasury is good.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It’s fine, I said.”
Ezekiel added with the smoke.
“Get up. You’re a secretary, after all; don’t lower the Imperial Family’s status.”
“Ah, yes.”
Tether timidly got up.
“If you’re anxious, go check it yourself.”
“Huh…?”
Tether quickly dashed into the treasury’s interior.
A moment later, she returned with her eyes widened several times.
“It seems the Elementals are much calmer than before! Inspector! What did you do?”
“What you see is all there is.”
Meaning he burned sunweed to lower his chill.
…That was something she couldn’t bring herself to say.
Instead, Ezekiel offered something else.
“Do you want to burn one too?”
“No…”
Tether took the sunweed and sat down obediently.
She had countless experiences serving guests while living in the Imperial Family, but she had never encountered someone like this before.
A person whose innermost thoughts were completely unreadable, yet exuded an air of leisure alongside dignity. Truly mysterious.
‘He’s infinitely calm. As if he’s confident about everything.’
He seemed untrustworthy but strangely drew her in.
No, she had to trust him. Hadn’t she just confirmed with her own eyes that the state of the treasury had improved?
Even now, Tether was lost in deep thoughts, but Ezekiel calmly spoke up.
“Hey, Tether.”
“Yes! Inspector!”
Tether, filled with hope, answered loudly.
“Was it a lie that the 2nd Princess left far away?”
“I’m truly sorry, but yes…”
“It’s not something to apologize for.”
Ezekiel continued nonchalantly.
“If the Princess knew what you did, how would she punish you?”
“Punishment? Um…”
Tether pondered for a moment.
“Given her strict nature, any punishment she might give wouldn’t be strange. However, it likely wouldn’t be mild… Why do you ask?”
“Because the 2nd Princess is coming here.”
“Eek!”
The sunweed Tether had been gripping tightly crackled in her fist. Excruciating pain, and she started hopping around clutching her hand.
“What should we do now? How do we handle this?!”
“What do you mean what to do?”
Finally, Ezekiel spat out the last bit of sunweed.
For a brief moment, his chill was greatly diminished.
“Let’s head inside, the treasury.”
The corners of his mouth slowly rose.
The man’s expression was filled with leisure.
On the way to the treasury.
Hedera led the way with the three Dragon-Wielders following behind.
─But is it possible to soothe the Elementals with Dragon Speech?
One of the Dragon-Wielders whispered through a telepathic message.
Hearing the question, Gromon scoffed.
─Not at all. Dragon Speech cannot control emotions.
─So, as expected…
─Your guess is correct. If the Princess fails spectacularly, we can push for a Soul Trade as usual.
─Understood.
Gromon and the Dragon-Wielders exchanged sly smiles.
Elementals were very sensitive beings. While Dragons were ridiculously proud and temperamental, Elementals were extremely timid and difficult to approach.
─I don’t know why they suddenly started rampaging, but unless we call the Elemental Guardian, soothing them is impossible. We’re in for some entertainment soon.
─I’m really looking forward to it. Especially since the fact that she’s a Princess means there’s plenty for us to gain if the deal goes through.
But at that moment.
Finally, upon reaching the treasury…
Hedera, who was leading, suddenly stopped.
“…”
A sense of tension spread among the Dragon-Wielders.
─Did our telepathy leak?
─That can’t be.
During this time, someone felt a sense of unease.
─But, did the Elementals really go rampaging?
─There’s not a hint of sinister energy at all?
Yes, the source of unease was the gentle atmosphere nearby. Not a rampage, but rather only peace filled the area.
Eventually, unable to contain himself, Gromon stepped forward.
“…”
In an instant, a bizarre sight filled their view.
“…?”
It was of a man with his arms wrapped around the Elemental Stone.
Like he was using it as an armrest, the massive Elemental Stone appeared to have cozied up to him, almost like a friend.
And a moment later, they couldn’t believe their ears.
“Why are you so frozen?”
The man who was chewing on sunweed said that.
“And lighten up a bit.”
Hoo─
He exhaled a long puff of smoke.
“You and I, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
