Chapter 215: Harrowing Bells (II)

Harrowing Bells (II)

Cain and Izirdul were the first to arrive at the designated rendezvous point -- a small, inconspicuous-looking shack amidst its seeming exact replicas making up the far outskirts of the capital where the poorest of the poor lived. There was little to no buzz this far out, making it a perfect temporary hiding spot.

As soon as they arrived, Cain took out some food for the two to eat, since he himself was quite hungry as well. After all, he was too busy putting up conjectures inside his mind to eat that well over the last couple of days, and especially so today. He glanced out the window, solemnly, and sighed; he couldn't wait to get to the end of the quest and exit the Tower. He'd already sworn he wouldn't come back in until the Fifth Floor was opened, whenever that may be.

"This... is good. What is it?" Izirdul asked as he finished the last piece of grilled lamb.

"Lamb," Cain replied with a faint smile. "Not to brag, but it was made by my wife, actually."

"How's that not a brag?"

"Because I noted I wasn't bragging."

"Ah, is that so..."

"Anyway, though Anna told a lot about the state of the palace, you got any newer updates? Hers are a bit outdated."

"Newer? Eh, not so much," Izirdul sighed. "It was perfectly normal just yesterday. My subordinates didn't report anything strange; whether that was because they didn't notice anything strange or because they didn't want to worry me, though, I can't say. I just wonder... if it's all worth it?" the Prince sighed again, his tone carrying a sense of loss he couldn't quite deal with. "Just for a shiny tiara and an uncomfortable chair..."

"... values are values to everyone, prince," Cain said. "Just because they differ from ours doesn't make them any lesser. Whatever it is that you value with all your strength, others, perhaps, value that piece of jewelry and that chair just as much if not more. As such, we need to beat them senseless and kick 'em out, 'cause they're poisonous."

"I thought you were going somewhere wise with that one. You aren't the sage I made you out to be in my head, are you?"

"A sage? I most certainly am a sage!" Cain said. "Nobody can quite bullshit like I can, so that makes me a proper sage, no?"

"..."

"And, if I may say so, others are really lacking compared to me when it comes to making people speechless. It's a craft I'd honed since my early youth, when I got the guy to stop bullying me for two whole days by telling him that 'the only reason you're kicking me is 'cause you're into dudes and that means you're gay, you gay'."

"..."

"Unfortunately, it turned out he was gay, and not at all attracted to me, so he kept kicking my ass. Eventually, though, he thanked me since I helped him realize who he was. Ah, my ways are indeed mysterious..."

"... I can sort of understand why Anna joined you," Izirdul said, smiling faintly.

"You mean my irresistible charm?"

"Ah, yes, sure, we can call it that if it helps..."

"There's very little 'princely' about you, I gotta say."

"Ah, no, don't insult me so."

"Looks like someone's finally unable to put up with your bullshit, eh?" a woman's voice startled Izirdul while Cain merely smiled, glancing at the door where he saw Emma walk through, followed right after by Lek, Taima, and Daniel.

"No, no, the Prince here is totally on board with how sagacious I am!" Cain replied shamelessly.

"The Prince?" Emma quizzed while she walked up to him and gave him a quick peck.

"Hm," Cain nodded. "Meet the Crown Prince of the Kingdom -- the man, the myth, the legend, Izirdul himself!"

"Woaa!" Lek, Taima, and even Daniel played along, clapping at the announcement while Emma merely chuckled, sitting down next to Cain. Izirdul blushed slightly and glared at the strange, grinning man in front of him; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't up up any defense against the stranger. It felt as though all his walls were being systematically torn down by that playfulness and the air of loftiness Cain sported.

"You guys learn anything useful?" Cain asked as everyone settled down. Emma took out some drinks and spread them about, while Daniel took out a sandwich and began wolfing it down.

"Hmm, not really," Emma sighed. "An order came down this morning from above to stay within the 'borders'; it was the same both for Daniel and me. Whatever happened, it had nothing to do with those on the lower bracket."

"I picked up a few whispers," Daniel mumbled while chewing. "Apparently, the main hand behind it all was the Third Prince, while the others just reacted to it. Oh, right -- there's also news that this man, this myth, and this legend here is actually dead. Are we communing with a ghost? Aaa, that's pretty scary..."

"Oh, right," Emma said as though having just remembered. "It was a part of the decree including both the King and the Queen."

"Why didn't you tell me you were a ghost?! That's pretty scary, man!"

"..." Izirdul smiled bitterly, but was rather shocked inwardly; after all, this group... was extremely calm, as though the Kingdom wasn't falling apart at its seams.

Roughly half an hour later, second group returned -- Jamal, Kramer, Sigmund, and Yuki. Similarly to Emma and Daniel, they weren't asked to participate directly, and were instead tasked with just staying within the 'borders' of their powers. Though somewhat shocked to see a 'dead' man, having heard he was saved by Cain, everybody shrugged it off as a completely ordinary thing, indulging even more mystique in the character of 'Cain' in Izirdul's eyes.

In the end, it took roughly an hour more after the four's arrival for the last of the group to come -- Senna, Anna, Sebas, and Mina all appeared at the front doors, their appearances rather ruffled. Anna's eyes widened into saucers when she saw Izirdul casually sitting down near a table, drinking what appeared to be mycelean tea. The latter merely smiled at her and nodded, while Senna pushed her inside, grumbling in the process.

"What happened?" Cain asked.

"Tsk, we got intercepted by some fuckers," Senna explained. "Demanding documents and such. Fuckin' pervs were stripping us with their eyes. God, it felt so good to rip their balls and shove them down their throats."

"... you didn't literally do that, right?"

"..." however, Anna's, Sebas', and Mina's strange looks and slightly flushed cheeks confirmed that that's exactly what she did.

"That's my girl!" Cain cheered immediately. "I didn't even teach her that, you know? But she already got it. Tsk, tsk, whoever has any intentions toward my daughter can't be a good man. They should immediately be put on the chopping table and be minced and ground into feed for dogs."

"He's not joking either, is he?"

"..." noticing Emma's and other's strange and helpless reactions, newcomers realized that, indeed, he was not joking. Like father like daughter, I guess?

"Anyway," Emma dispelled the slightly awkward atmosphere, breaking the silence. "This should be the end of the brunt force, right?"

"Yea," Senna nodded, taking out a bottle of water. "Things have already calmed down; the entire city is basically split into smaller quadrants that are under the eye of one of the powers. The Palace's one, though, holds the largest sway from what I've noticed. They also seem to have the largest army."

"It's not a surprise," Anna said. "Even with tens of thousands dispatched around the Kingdom, the Palace's army still numbers in at least twenty thousand. That's not something that other powers can hope to match."

"Why doesn't the King or whatever just immediately annihilate the usurpers, then?" Jamal quizzed.

"It's not that simple," strangely enough, it was Kramer who replied. "Even if the other powers don't have the raw military of the Kingdom, there's a good chance they are fundamentally rooted in how the Kingdom operates. For instance, the army's weapons and armors -- they came directly from artisans, so I imagine just wiping out artisans isn't exactly in the cards."

"What do you think Eldur's next move will be?" Cain asked Kramer directly. After all, the latter, likely, had more experience in situations like these than the rest of the room combined... and then some.

"Hmm, for a few days I imagine it will turn peaceful again while he consolidates," Kramer spoke after a brief silence, stroking his chin. "If we treat this as just an ordinary coup d'etat, the key is affirming his claim to the Throne in the face of the law while having overwhelming military supporting him. That's also why the decree proclaimed the Crown Prince dead, I imagine; it's just building blocks. If I were him... I'd probably target that moon cult or whatever first. Religious groups are often among the first to be purged in coup d'etats, especially if they have conflicting goals and ideologies."

"..."

"He likely won't do it in the open, though," Kramer continued. "Since the cult has proclaimed itself peaceful and whatnot, buying some goodwill with the commoners. He'll likely instigate some other faction, if not factions, into direct conflict."

"... what... what would he do," Anna suddenly asked. "If he didn't care for the throne?"

"Hm?"

"If the Third Brother didn't care for the throne itself, but just wanted to sow as much chaos as possible," she elaborated. "What would he do?"

"..." Kramer looked into Anna's eyes for a moment before replying nonchalantly. "Fake his own death."