Chapter 74

The Ryukoku palace. Audience chamber.

As Imelda took one step forward, something slammed into her from behind and sent her flying into the air.

“…What!?”

But before Luknos could understand what had happened, a great number of things fell from up above.

He quickly realized that they were invisible shields.

There was only one magician who used magic like this.

But he wasn’t supposed to be here.

“We’ve been ensnared!”

They had been lured here. It was a trap.

As Luknos was pressed down to the floor, he noticed that man was suddenly standing next to him.

“You still have this thunder rod, huh?”

“Tsk…bastard…”

Harui picked up the staff that had dropped from Luknos’s hand. Then he pointed behind him.”

“Is that one new?”

“I don’t have to answer you.”

“Hmm. Will you be the same way in front of Her Majesty?”

“…”

“…Did you think I would say that?”

—Crack.

An invisible shield caused Luknos’s head to turn in an unnatural angle.

“As for the passage… No one else is coming, huh?”

In just a brief moment, there were two bodies on the floor.

“…”

As the queen’s Left Hands watched in shock, Hif was the only one to return to himself.

“Sh-shouldn’t you have kept them alive for questioning?”

“The magic thunder comes out of this rod…”

“What?”

“He tricks people into thinking that. But the thunder really comes from his own body. He must have really thought that no one knew.”

“No…”

“It’s true. If Savane had been brought before them, he would have attacked, even if it meant exploding his own body. We would have all been electrocuted to death. I don’t know what that woman over there does, but her purpose would have been the same.”

“…”

This plan had two layers.

Use many as bait so that a few could go and assassinate the queen.

And even if they fell, they would likely wish to offer themselves for the sake of the mission.

And so they would explode.

Harui looked towards the back of the audience chamber.

Queen Savane had just come out.

The Left Hands all dropped to their knees. The queen stopped them with a raise of her hand and made them rise.

“Good work.”

“It wasn’t hard.”

Now that Savane was here, the Left Hands all moved to the side of the room.

“So, who are our guests?”

“This one here is Luknos, Thunder Rain. In Ryukoku, the name Thunder Rod might be more well-known.”

“The Sixth Step.”

“I don’t know who this other one is. She’s still young, and I killed her before she could use her magic. So there is no way to tell.”

“I see. So Stones Eyes was not among them.”

“We still haven’t regained control of the escape routes. It’s possible he’s with the others. However, you would think that he would come here directly. My guess is that he’s not here at all.”

“I had Soran make preparations outside. But I suppose it was unnecessary.”

Dragon Master Soran Devoy rode a special dragon, just like the queen.

His dragon was blue and it breathed blue flames.

“It was always just a fifty percent chance.”

“True. Well, you’ll get in the way of the cleanup. Come over here, Harui.”

The queen said as she invited Harui to the room in the back. Then she stopped as if remembering something, and waved her hand.

It was the order to clean up the audience chamber.

After Savane and Harui had disappeared in the back, the others rushed to clean the room.

All of the castle invaders were now dead, and order and been restored.

That was the report that came to Savane twelve hours after the attack.

Harui had stayed with the queen as her guard, while the other Left Hands killed the invaders and patrolled the castle.

At the same time, others watched the area outside of the castle and made sure that nothing unusual was happening.

During that time, Harui and the queen were drinking tea and talking happily.

Hif was not exactly pleased about this.

But he also knew that part of it was his own jealousy, which was resurfacing so strongly after being reminded once again of the difference in power between himself and Harui.

“Apparently, the other one in the audience chamber was ‘Bank,’ also known as Imelda. Though, we call her Bed Sheet.”

“I’ve never heard that name.”

“She’s the Ninth Step. But she’s not very well-known compared to Thunder Rod.”

Besides, she was still quite young. The queen added.

“I know that Makoku is in a desperate position, but I feel like they were not putting their best foot forward with this attack.”

“Really? I think they would have had a good chance of succeeding if you weren’t here.”

It was true. He was not entirely convinced that the Left Hands that were currently in the audience chamber would have been able to take on the Sixth and Ninth Steps.

And only one of them needed to get passed them, and the queen would have died.

When he considered it like that, perhaps the odds really had been in their favor.

“Still, I would say their chances of succeeding were sixty percent at best. I would have expected the Makoku king to attack with more favorable odds. Seventy or eighty percent at the least.”

“Then perhaps this attack was just a way of feeling things out.”

There may be a main attack later on.

“If that happens, I think we can expect Basililk to make an appearance.”

Perhaps the reason Basilisk hadn’t been sent this time, was because they wanted to see how Ryukoku reacted.

“Maybe it was a mistake to have a blue dragon flying outside of the palace.”

If Harui lost to Basilisk, the queen would be killed.

If that happened, she had planned to burn down not just the chamber, but the entire palace with the flames of the blue dragon.

The blue flames that the blue dragon unleashed could melt even stone. It didn’t burn it, it melted it.

The flames would go down all of the passaged and melt everything.

The queen had prepared this as a last resort.

“Basilisk hasn’t appeared at the military exercise either.”

The report had already arrived, saying that no such person had been seen.

“Had Basilisk appeared in either place, I would have been able to order the attack on their capital. It’s rather unfortunate.”

Ryukoku already had predictions of what would happen to Makoku after the Great Shift.

It was a disaster that would throw the country into chaos.

In order for Makoku to survive, they would have to invade another country within the next few years and move onto their lands.

So, why hadn’t they sent their strongest weapon out?

Because if it was known that they did, they would not be able to protect their capital.

There was nothing that compared to the speed of a dragon.

They would be able to suppress the city all at once. As long as Basilisk was not there.

“So, how should I deal with this mess?”

Makoku had attacked. How could she take advantage of this?

As queen, it was her job to think of such things.

“Now is not the time.”

“I know that. It’s not like there’s any hope with Stone Eyes there.”

“Besides, Gigoku is unstable. You must be careful.”

“Ah, that is right. …Then maybe, I will go easy on them this time.”

As Sol was the town that was closest to Shoukoku, a lot of information came in.

And among the information that the merchants brought, there were disturbing rumors about Gikoku.

Harui casually related them to the queen and then stood up.

“I should be returning home soon. I have no more business here.”

“Oh, but we’ve barely talked at all.”

“The best things are to be enjoyed in moderation.”

“…That’s true. Then I will just have to look forward to our next meeting. When should that be? We should plan it this time.”

The queens smiled. Harui didn’t look particularly thrilled.

“Indeed…I will return during the Dragon Welcoming Ceremony.”

“Oh, but that’s half a year away.”

“I can’t leave my house so often.”

“Very well. The Dragon Welcoming Ceremony. I’ll be waiting.”

Harui turned back once and bowed before leaving.

“Until then, I’ll just have to talk with Leon instead. For some reason, Bil and Sara like to avoid me. How boring.”

Prince Bildorad had a serious personality and was always busy with his work. While Princess Saranu liked to travel and was rarely even seen within the Royal Capital.

So it was no wonder that now that the queen had no one to tease, she would satiate her cravings by targeting Leon.

“I wonder when he will return? I look forward to it.”

She was in a good mood as she stood up from her chair and opened her window.

It offered a good view of the dragon stables.

The white dragon must have noticed her gaze because it looked up towards her.

How fun it will be. Savane whispered. And the white dragon roared in reply.

Then Savane moved away from the window as the servants ran around in the dragon stables below her.