Arc 24: The King is Busy in Many Ways

Chapter 223: Marriage greetings, and the Golden a.s.sociation

So, what about the said discussion?(Touya)

Umm. Thats right. Its about my marriage with Elisha but...To tell you the truth, we havent conveyed it to Regulus yet(Boulange)

Ha? Why didnt you? Arent they the ones you have to tell first of all about this?(Touya)

What is this? Did you propose yesterday or something? I will take them to Regulus if they ask me to though.

Ive come to this country in order to study magic engineering. The King of Ferzen has gladly accepted me with kindness too, and while Ive been asking him for the advice one after another, umm...(Elisha)

My honorable older sister-in-law looks down with her face blus.h.i.+ng. Thats why Ive said that I still dont know what exactly has happened though. Did she fall in love with this old weapon maniac guy from him reaching out to advise her?

They say every man has his delight, but it seems my older sister-in-laws taste has gone a considerably different way.

Well, it can certainly be said that a princess of the country studying magic engineering is unusual in itself, and add to that the fact that shes been doing it in a foreign country.

The King of Ferzen opens his mouth with a meek look.

His majesty the Emperor of Regulus, in good faith and trust, has entrusted me with his important princess so that she would genuinely be studying magic engineering, and this is how it has become. I dont regret it, but I feel it was inexcusable.... Then here Ive thought of asking the Sovereign King of Brunhild, whos in the same position as me, to mediate things...(Boulange)

Hmmm. It wouldnt be strange if the words like [Hey, what did you do to our daughter, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Stealing her, it is war!] were used as the reason, right? ... Theres probably no way it would happen. I dont think that calm and composed His Majesty the Emperor of Regulus would do something that hasty.

Be that as it may, that talk is something for him to hear as an emperor. I wonder, what will he do as a single parent?

Things have been easily settled in my case, but I dont know whether or not its good to treat my case as something similar to the current one right now.

Either way, you cant not be telling him. Theres no other choice but to resolve yourself and tell the whole story, right? How about I send you till Regulus if it suits you?(Touya)

Without warning!? H-however, my heart not ready yet!(Boulange)

You wont be able to ever advance further should you continue to wait around. They say theres no time like the present(Touya)

I havent heard it though...(Boulange)

Oya? Does that proverb not exist here? I guess its fine though. Ill send a letter with [Gate Mirror] to have them set up a visit.

My older brother-in-law, the knight king, asks me while looking worried.

What are you going to do? Isnt it bad to take the King of Ferzen along to Regulus?(Reinhardt)

Itll definitely be troublesome if Ferzen makes a racket about the king being kidnapped or something. Shall we have the other side come over here instead?(Touya)

But the safety of his majesty the emperor, in that case, will be...(Reinhardt)

Absolutely nothing will happen as long as I am here, you know(Touya)

Of course, I will let that other side bring guards here as well.

I ask the King of Ferzen if theres any suitable room for an audience, and he then has started to have his retainers make preparations in a hurry.

With this, he will be the kind of fellow that would say [Please give me your daughter!]. His partner is not that much older than me though.

The King of Ferzen tries to rush out of the room to change his clothes in panic, but the doork.n.o.b suddenly makes a clattering sound.

T-the door! The door wont open!?(Boulange)

Y-your majesty! Dont pull it, please push it!(Guard A)

W-what? Oh, thats right!(Boulange)

He vigorously opens the door with a Bang!, following what the guard has said, and starts running as if hes rolling over. Hes about to explode, isnt he?

Will he be okay, I wonder...(Touya)

That side of him is cute, you know?(Elisha)

Ive returned a cramp smile toward my older sister-in-law whos speaking fondly about her love with no hesitation though, but my head is still confused as expected. I dont get her standards for cute....

Perhaps its an unexpectedly perfect match between fellow oddb.a.l.l.s.

++++++++++++++++++++++Meeting the parents!!++++++++++++++++++++++

I see, I understand the story(Zephirus)

Sitting down in front of his majesty the emperor are the Ferzen king and the second princess of Regulus who is looking down with a red face.

I wouldve approached it differently if this has been a talk about my daughter being a mistress or a concubine but its a good story if its about being the legal wife that ties the fates with Regulus too(Zephirus)

Father!(Elisha)

Then!(Boulange)

Even I dont have any reason to refuse. However... Touya-dono(Zephirus)

Whats the matter?(Touya)

The emperor turns his eyes towards me who has been watching the development from another table along with the knight king.

I am sorry, but can I ask you to prevent sound from leaking outside this room?(Zephirus)

? Thats fine, I guess?(Touya)

I invoke [Silence] to make sure the sound well be making cant be heard from outside. I wonder if its a talk which will turn out bad if someone else knows about it.

Now the conversation in this place wont leak outside(Touya)

Alright. Then, Touya-dono. Did you talk about that matter with the King of Ferzen?(Zephirus)

That matter? Ah, about Frame Gear robbery?

Nope. I still havent talked about it. Or rather, is it fine to even talk about it right now?(Touya)

I personally think that the possibility that the King of Ferzen being the mastermind is rather low but, speaking in reverse, its still possible that hes the mastermind even if the chance is almost nonexistent. I still havent reached a decision on that though. Is the emperor saying that its fine to talk to him?

At any rate, I cannot possibly allow his engagement to Elisha unless that matter has been clearly resolved. Am I not wrong?(Zephirus)

Well, that is... You may be right, but...(Touya)

W-what in the world are you talking about? You wont allow the engagement!? I-if I have done something wrong, I will correct it. Therefore, please, engagement with the princess(Boulange)

I calm the King of Ferzen who has stood up and has started getting fl.u.s.tered. Having made him sit, Ive then decided to explain the situation.

About those who stole a frame gear in the middle of the battle in Rodomea, about the concealment technology at that time, as well as about starting to doubt Ferzen being based on the route which the steel materials had been taken in.

Such a thing...! Wait a minute! Our country will never do something like taking advantage of the strife to loot anything. Believe me!(Boulange)

I know that. We also believe that his majesty wouldnt do such thing. However, the possibility that the thieves being present in this country is high. Dont you have any clue on who they might be ?(Reinhardt)

This time, the Knight King of Restia stops King of Ferzen when he was about to stand up again. Brother-in-law, the knight king, has said from the start that it mightve been someone else.

The King of Ferzen places his hand on his beard and ponders about something.

An organization seeking to acquire and utilize the technologies of the ancient civilization...Um? It may be those guys from the [Golden a.s.sociation Gordian], I think? No, however...(Boulange)

What is this [Golden a.s.sociation Gordian]?(Touya)

I got caught up in the keyword that has been said so Ive interfered with their talk. Though I know about [The Gordian Knot] if its about that.

This country, Ferzen, is being called the magic kingdom because of a variety of magic researches being done here. However, there also exist magics which can be naturally called as Taboo(Boulange)

Taboo magic...you say?(Touya)

Umu. Those include, for example, the ways to bestow curses that wont allow any recovery even with magic, or magic that can cause cataclysmic events by using a large number of sacrifices. Those things can only invite disaster to the world. Thus, they are being called Taboo magic(Boulange)

Curses and cataclysms... Oh my?! (TL: yup, you use them a lot)

This country forbids the research of taboo magic, but there are still people who are doing research, conducting experiments, trying to revive those techniques and use them behind the scenes. That group is called the golden a.s.sociation Gordian(Boulange)

I see. So thats what youve meant when you said that those guys might be the ones who had stolen the frame gear?(Zephirus)

Its only a speculation. Those guys purpose is not only the revival of taboo magic but they also interested in researching the powerful artifacts and how to manufacture those. Ive been told that they have members from various fields like magicians, magicraft engineers, scholars, and merchants(Boulange)

The King of Ferzen and the Emperor of Regulus nod together while they continue talking. As for me though, my chest is getting filled with a feeling of uneasiness.

Well, you see... That taboo magic... I... can use it. Or rather, our Babylon [Library] is normally housing those grimoires.

Are those things that dangerous...? Ive already used a curse as well... Well, lets keep it quiet for now, and lets also be vigilant of things that could be odd. Though I feel like saying that now is too late.

However, cataclysmic events shouldnt need something like sacrifices, for sure. Those events require outrageous amounts of magic power, so they wont be invoked unless being chanted by a group of a thousand people. Some among them will probably collapse as well. There may be strange exaggerations that have been attached to those and have been handed down. Something like a small island can be sunk with its power.

Can Touya-dono find those people from the golden a.s.sociation Gordian with search magic?(Zephirus)

Only if I know their faces. I will be able to manage somehow if I can possibly tell them apart with just a quick glance(Touya)

I reply to the question of his majesty the emperor, but the most important thing here is that there are too many barrier sites in this country since theyve also established simple ones even on general houses. I cant confirm them one by one and the other party is also not being confined by being in the castle town.

It will certainly be difficult. They cant move in public because those guys are also being kept an eye on even by the country itself. Or rather, the golden a.s.sociation Gordianshouldve already been destroyed once(Boulange)

What do you mean?(Zephirus)

Twenty years ago, the golden a.s.sociation Gordian was trying to revive one taboo magic. However, my older brother, the late king Leold Frost Ferzen, has prevented it before anything happened after quickly sensing what was happening. It has been reported as a magic accident to the foreign countries, but my brother the king died during the fight with that golden a.s.sociation Gordian. The truth is that those guys had blown themselves up and took my brother with them towards the end of their fight(Boulange)

Did the late king personally went to the site ?(Reinhardt)

I also can understand the meaning of the question being asked by the Knight King of Restia. Why would the king himself go to a location where those guys have been trying to revive the taboo magic? Usually, wouldnt you leave such things to your retainers?

To tell you the truth, the chief of the golden a.s.sociation Gordian at that time was a close friend of my older brother. Not in his wildest dreams could my brother have antic.i.p.ated that his own right-hand man would be involved in the underground activity like that. He has probably thought that he must correct the mistakes of his friend by himself because he was a person with a strong sense of justice...(Boulange)

The King of Ferzen speaks sadly. I can feel that Princess Elisha really loves him by looking at her who looks worried at his side. ...But I really can only see them as a parent and a child.

By saying that the golden a.s.sociation Gordian has revived, do you have any lead on who could be leading them?(Zephirus)

Um, even if you ask that.... Umm... Just one person. Theres a person that comes to my mind. Though I dont know what hes doing or where he is right now(Boulange)

Who?(Zephirus)

Galzeld Gouldi. The son of Garland Gouldi, the chief who led the golden a.s.sociation (Gordian) before(Boulange)