“3, 2, 1…!”
In the Black Tower’s conference room, everyone remaining synchronized their voices with excitement. They were counting down the time the Imperial Magic Tower was supposed to arrive, but in reverse.
And finally, exactly on the hour.
“It’s time! Unleash the barrier!”
Whooooosh─!
A tremendous energy wave shot out.
At the same time, the entire area of the Black Tower was covered by a violet hemispherical barrier. It wasn’t just large; it was also intricately flawless.
The original intent of the barrier was to protect the distinguished guests attending the exchange meeting by controlling access. However… it was utilized in the opposite way.
It was a blatant act of mockery against the Imperial Tower, explicitly making their entry even more difficult.
Everyone burst into hearty laughter, delighted.
“The Imperial Tower is going to have a tough time!”
“They started the provocation first, and now they’re getting what they deserve!”
“Even without a barrier, they would have been late anyway. There wasn’t even a report that they reached near the river!”
In this moment of excitement for everyone, there was one person.
Only Teddy Divine wore a notably serious expression.
The girl, hugging her teddy bear, confirmed again.
—The Imperial Tower has set foot in our territory?
—Y-Yes…!
It’s strange.
It was indeed a bizarre occurrence.
Of course, Teddy didn’t view the Imperial Tower completely as a trash group. After all, they were wizards adept in magic, so an early arrival would be possible.
But the truly bizarre point was something else.
‘How did they suddenly arrive out of nowhere when they weren’t detected at all?’
She had set up surveillance measures along every path from the Imperial Tower to the Black Tower to thoroughly grasp the movements of the Imperial Tower’s group.
In other words, if the Imperial Tower group had ever shown themselves even once, there was no way there wouldn’t have been a report.
‘They skipped all the processes and suddenly appeared?’
It was preposterous, yet it actually happened.
—Was there any area they stopped by in between?
—None. There are no traces of having left the Imperial Tower.
—How many?
—There are three in total, we estimate.
‘Did they utilize space movement?’
However, considering the distance from the Imperial Tower to the Black Tower, it became a hard-to-believe hypothesis. Who could use such intricate magic to move three people like that?
Could it be that inspector?
“Ha….”
Teddy Divine chuckled in disbelief.
The inspector, with no credentials and from a common background, using teleportation magic at that level? No matter how you thought about it, it just didn’t make sense.
The Ruiple area? That investigation was already completed.
They were able to figure out that ice magic was involved. Someone who majored in elemental magic using space movement magic too? That was outrageously ridiculous.
—What should we do now, Teddy?
—What are we to do?
After regaining her composure, Teddy casually said through telepathy.
—Just because they said they arrived doesn’t mean our plans are a failure! We can still proceed with the rest, right?
Right, the important thing is that the main plans haven’t failed at all. Delaying their approach was merely a matter of a first greeting, really.
—Carefully survey the path to the altar and prepare.
—Yes!
After finishing the telepathic message, a smile crept onto Teddy’s face.
“Aaaah~ How unfortunate! If they had just shown up being late appropriately, they might have saved their lives! But they arrived! They’re going to regret working so hard to get here!”
Holding her teddy bear’s paws, she twirled around with a cheerful motion.
“Now they’re all going to die~ What will the Imperial Tower do~?”
Inside the Black Tower’s territory.
Though called ‘Black Tower,’ it was essentially a region name. It included not just the black spire but also a massive village surrounding it.
The Imperial Tower team surveyed the surroundings.
“Setting up a barrier, how arrogant.”
As Ezekiel muttered, Agnes nodded.
“It seems they planned to block access entirely if we were late. This is indeed beyond rude.”
“Well, that’s something we can reprimand later. What about the princess?”
Then Tether perked up her ears.
“She should be in the guest room inside the spire. Regardless, since we’ve arrived like this, it seems we can meet after completing the demonic sword’s business!”
“Alright, let’s first take a look around.”
However, the surroundings were quite different from what they expected.
“…It’s desolate.”
Ezekiel’s brief impression was all there was.
The surroundings were unbelievably tranquil.
Agnes emotionlessly turned her cube.
“This is strange. It shouldn’t be like this according to the report.”
“Yes. That’s right. This area is far from what it should be.”
Tether nodded in agreement.
“Doesn’t this area resemble the Demon Realm in many aspects? Just like the Demon Realm seeks pleasure, this place is usually festive. There should be many people around during the exchange meeting, so how could it be like this…?”
“Oh, there’s a person over there.”
Agnes pointed to a corner, but—
Thud─!
A household immediately shut its window.
After that, similar occurrences repeated. They would avoid Ezekiel’s group upon seeing them and close doors as if they were fleeing from a monster.
Ezekiel quietly mumbled to himself as he chewed on some sunweed.
“It doesn’t look like they’re welcoming us.”
“Indeed…”
Agnes blinked her eyes twice.
“The displeasure on their faces, the hostility towards us seems considerable. There’s definitely something going on, so it wouldn’t be wise to proceed as we are.”
“How can those guys even recognize us?”
“Well… their clothing is the issue, isn’t it…?”
Everyone’s gaze turned towards their outfits.
The three were all dressed in attire that resembled nobility.
Distinctive fabrics that clearly hinted at their origins, embroidered decorations indicating their affiliations—even Tether’s outfit bore the royal emblem…
Tether cleared her throat.
“…Um, then shall we change our clothes first? I know of a place where we can get clothes.”
“No stores. They’ll read our movements.”
“It’s not a store, you’ll see when we go. Let’s go!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
“…”
Silence hung between the three.
“What kind of clothes are these…?”
“What is this…?”
Ezekiel and Agnes looked somewhat incredulous, but Tether merely coughed as if nothing was wrong.
“Ahem! Anyway, it fits, doesn’t it?”
They had changed, but the type of clothing was the issue.
Agnes and Ezekiel were dressed as a perfect married couple, while the small-framed Tether was dressed in an outfit that looked like a little girl would wear. From a distance, they appeared to be a family.
A newlywed couple and their bunny-like daughter. Such was the resemblance.
Tether pushed up her round glasses and spoke.
“…Why are there only these clothes available?”
“A long time ago, when the Black Tower was struggling, the royal family provided clothing and supplies.”
“So, these were the leftover clothes they couldn’t distribute back then.”
“Yes. That’s how it is.”
Tether subtly gauged their reactions.
She had a lot of experience hosting guests, but she would have been punished if she had handed out clothes like these for unavoidable reasons. Because of her pride.
In comparison, the Imperial Tower was exceedingly generous.
“Indeed, it seems there are quite a few magnanimous people in the Imperial Tower.”
Feeling relieved, Tether opened her mouth.
“Still, you two look quite well together! Tall and beautiful… You really look like a couple…”
As Tether said this, she suddenly trembled.
‘Hmm?’
Ezekiel and Agnes began to emit a killing intent they had never shown until now.
…Was the word ‘couple’ a little too old?
“Um, you look a bit like lovers as well…”
“…”
“Oh, I mean, just children’s play….”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
Tether crumpled like a sheet of paper.
“Well, anyway.”
A moment later, Ezekiel broke the silence.
“We came all this way to get the demonic sword, and yet the Black Tower didn’t even reveal the exact address of the altar?”
Agnes nodded.
“Indeed. Surprisingly, they only mentioned that it’s somewhere in this town, without any further details.”
“Are they implying we should gather information directly ourselves?”
“…It seems there might be some sinister conspiracy at play. How about we just ignore the request regarding the demonic sword?”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
Ezekiel answered firmly.
From this point on, as he chewed on the sunweed, he would stand out. While sucking on a long candy stick.
“Is anyone tired? Let’s move right away.”
“Where to?”
“To gather information.”
“So, there’s a method for that?”
“A method, a method….”
Ezekiel grinned with the long candy stick in his mouth.
As always, it was a mischievous smile.
“I’m going to go with the method I’m best at.”
After that, Ezekiel and his group wandered around the dining hall.
Perhaps thanks to changing their outfits? As soon as they were spotted, people began not to avoid them.
Agnes moved her fingers in the air.
Since her beloved cube was missing, only her hands could move.
“Since we changed our outfits, people are no longer avoiding us. In other words, it means they were averse to us as a result of the Imperial Tower and the royal family.”
“…Why? What could be the reason?”
“It seems we’ll have to find that out now.”
Just then.
Voices leaked from a nearby dining establishment.
“I heard the Imperial Tower couldn’t even step foot in this region. They’d be quite the laughing stock, right? If they were to fall flat on their faces in front of everyone…”
“Too bad they didn’t come! I’d love to trample them!”
“Should we go and bother them? Hahaha!”
Even without listening closely, it was evident.
Indeed, the animosity directed towards the Imperial Tower was colossal.
Ezekiel frowned.
‘The arrogance surpasses bounds.’
This clearly showed how much the Imperial Tower had neglected its duties. Their authority had been trampled into the ground.
“Let’s go in.”
Ezekiel gestured with his chin.
Bang!
He kicked the door open, and for a moment, there was silence.
The dining hall was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
It was filled to full capacity with ominous-looking people, sorcerers emanating a chilling aura… all of these were taken in at once by Ezekiel’s eyes.
“Did I confuse the dining hall with a library?”
Crunch!
Ezekiel bit into the candy stick and spoke.
“Why is it so silent?”
At that same moment, Ezekiel pointed at one of the tough-looking guys.
“You there, continue what you were saying.”
“…What? You fish-headed brat, have you lost your mind?”
A massive muscular man rose from his seat.
He flexed his muscles in a threatening manner and asked.
“Hey, who do you think you are to come here and show off?”
“…”
Just as Ezekiel’s mouth was about to open, a hand tugged at his sleeve.
At the same time, a telepathic message from Agnes pierced his mind. It was a telepathy connection involving Tether as well.
—Inspector, you shouldn’t reveal your identity.
—Don’t worry, I know.
—Then let’s proceed as we had discussed beforehand…!
In truth, they hadn’t scripted anything in advance; however, wearing these clothes meant their identity was obvious, so it was unlikely for it to go awry.
The three thought this as they simultaneously spoke.
“We just made eye contact for a moment.”
“We’re just an ordinary couple.”
“They are my adoptive parents!”
The tavern froze in silent shock.
Ezekiel hadn’t even used ice magic yet.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.