392 - - Episode 390 At that time, in the royal palace,

Knight Commander Razal, what's your status?

"From a distance, the house of the Marquise de Galli is gone. We are currently attempting to enter the house, but we are blocked by what appears to be a wind ward. We have deployed soldiers to the castle and the entire royal capital in a state of emergency and are on high alert.

You don't know what you're talking about. The emergency services are in a panic. Let's start by talking to the ...... calm old man.

"Well, ...... old man. What is your opinion as head of the court magicians?"

"I've sent my men to the site, but they report that it's unlikely that the wards were created by magic."

"How can warding be done without the use of magic?"

It is said that the sanctuary wards used by the Church are different from witchcraft, but they still reek of witchcraft. According to my men, there are no such traces, and if anything, it is similar to the spiritual arts. Based on this, it may be possible for a necromancer to do so. However, I have not heard of any large-scale necromancy warding that would encompass the residence of a marquis.

If he was my grandfather's man, he would be a competent court magician. Then it is unlikely that the information is wrong. A large scale ward like the necromancer's.

I know a powerful sorcerer who once fought with Viscount Galli but I've given him strict orders to stay out of it. Have we had a renewed conflict?　No, even the Galli would not ignore my strict orders.

Is it possible to get inside?

"If we force our way in, we will have to deploy a large-scale technique to break through the powerful wind ward.

"Is such a thing possible in the noble district?"

It depends on your decision. However, depending on the strength of the wind ward, there is a possibility of causing damage to the surrounding area. And I can't imagine how the other party will react when the warding is broken.

It depends on my judgment. In that case, it is convenient to be in an aristocratic town. It would be much better for the rich nobles to be harmed than for the people to be harmed. Now we have to make a difficult decision whether to let them enter or to wait and see .......

"Barotta, lead the necromancers to investigate the cause. But as yet no one has been harmed except the Marquise de Galli. Avoid provoking them."

If it is the work of a necromancer, a necromancer will be able to find out. Well, I guess he is better than the necromancer who works in the royal court. .......

"...... got it. I am Dublin. I am the current Viscount Galli and heir to the Marquise of Galli. ...... I ordered Baron ...... Messon to kidnap my apprentice in order to take advantage of an adventurer active in the labyrinth. Are you sure about this?"

"What's that voice, old man?"

If I did not hear that voice, I know the cause of the disturbances in King's Landing, and I know who is responsible for them.

Perhaps they are using magic to spread their voices. This is possible with sorcery as well.

"Hmm. You mean to say that the Galli family disregarded my orders and laid their hands on the necromancer?　And the counterattack has brought us to this point."

"To be more precise, he tried to touch the apprentice of the sorcerer, but he was repulsed and captured, I suppose."

It seems ridiculous, but I never expected such a drastic action from the genie magician. He seemed like the type who doesn't like conflict. .......

**

"...... looks like it's finally over."

The voices spread by the magic spread throughout the city, spreading the pathetic voices of the Marquise de Galli and their vile crimes for a long time.

Even if the voices were to be stopped, the location of the magician could not be determined, only that sometimes the Marquise de Galli would fall from the sky. ....... No, they must be in the sky, but there is nothing we can do about it.

I considered using a flying grimoire to scout the area, but a grimoire that can only carry a few people can't be used to get close to an opponent whose capabilities are unknowable.

"Yes, I think it's done. Sire, would it not be better for you to leave this place and take shelter?　The attack that obliterated the house of the Marquise de Galli could be aimed at the royal castle."

"It's useless. If we are going to attack, we will not broadcast the voices of the Marquise de Galli all over King's Landing."

"But..."

Razal, don't make me repeat it.

I'm sorry, sir.

It is not a wrong decision for a Knight Commander, but if he were so quick-tempered, the Adventurers' Guild of the Labyrinth City would have ceased to exist.

According to my information, he is a very good-natured man, and it would have been a different story if his apprentice had been harmed, but it was not attempted. There would have been no further attack. But the destruction of the house of the Marquise de Galli was important enough.

And ...... they must be calculating that if they expose such a vicious criminal act to the whole city, they will have their hands full.

"Yes, but ...... it's a real headache. Have you captured the people you mentioned?"

"Since the only evidence we have is this suspicious voice, we have not taken them into custody, but we have placed those who were in the palace under house arrest with supervision, as ordered by His Majesty."

Then search their houses. Allow the search of the residences of those whose names have been given and whose whereabouts are unknown."

But Your Majesty, we cannot protect you by dispersing our troops in such an emergency.

"No harm will come to me. Rather, their voices reverberate throughout King's Landing. If we do not act quickly and reveal the truth, we will lose the people's trust. Good."

"Ha!"

Phew, some idiot muttered that the people's trust is meaningless, but can't you see that such arrogance breeds corruption?　It is lamentable that more and more people misunderstand the privileges of nobility.

The Marquise de Galli is a prime example of this. ...... How is it that the successor of the Marquise de Galli, who was a man of honor and respect even in my eyes as king, ended up like this?

...... I think that my consideration for my predecessor may have led to the growth of the Marquise de Galli. I must take responsibility for this growth, but first I must get rid of these incompetents. What should we do about that genie magician? .......

Your Majesty!

He's in a hurry. What happened?　Razal and his knights stand in front of me as if to protect me.

Span, pay, rumble, hoon, pasa!

Your Majesty, please stand back!

I see, this is what made the old man impatient.

After a popping sound, the window pane came off and something was thrown in through the pane. Hmm, it must be the Marquis de Galli and his family. He seems to have fainted, but his face is drawn and he is groaning. They must have been in a lot of pain. That stack of papers is ...... for us to clean up.

"I guess we'll leave the rest to the state. Razal, first you must catch them. And take the sheaf of papers that fell there. It will be proof of the evil.

"But I cannot leave Your Majesty's side under such circumstances."

"If they are going to attack us, they will attack us before we can throw them in. Is this a warning?　Well, there's no danger. Just move quickly."

You don't care about the authority of your country when you do this kind of thing with impunity. If you antagonize them, you might end up like the Adventurers' Guild.

I don't know what the upper limit is of that necromancer, but at the very least, he can kill a fire dragon with a single blow, and can stretch a warding over a wide area that even a court magician cannot break.

Oh, he can fly too, right? ...... Wouldn't the country die if they were hostile?　At least if they're shooting magic at you instead of throwing the Gulli clan at you. .......

"Mentor, I thought you said this room was warded?　What happened?"

"I'm sorry ...... only that it was cut open."

Even the head of the court magicians is in this mess. It's a fool's errand to confront him head on. The old man is a spiritualist who brings great wealth to his country. It is more important not to antagonize him than to assassinate him, which may or may not succeed.

But we cannot just sit by and do nothing. On the surface we must look for the culprits, but we must not reach the necromancer. The serious Razal will not be able to do so.

Even a cursory glance at the bundle of papers thrown into the ...... is full of crimes worthy of punishment. Let's leave this one to Razal, in addition to those exposed by the Galli family. And we can't leave the military behind either.

"Commander Razal. Examine this paper and arrest those who have committed crimes. At the same time, we'll take the military to task. Mobilize half of the knights and expose them for all their crimes. The rest of you will be kept in the castle and guarded.

"Ha. But isn't it dangerous to reduce His Majesty's protection?

"Don't worry, for I will have the Kingsguard and the court magicians to protect me. But hurry! The Marquise de Galli's ruin is spreading. Seize the relevant evidence before it is destroyed.

...... My head hurts to think of the chaos to come. For now, we must decide what we cannot talk about here. Let's go back to the back.

****

"Mentor, arrange for the dark side to look into this matter. Especially focus on the cause of the attack on the Galli. But there's no need to lay a hand on them. Make sure they get all the information they need.

In all probability it is the work of the necromancer, but we need to be sure.

Can't you catch him?

Can you catch him?

It would be quicker if we could.

"Well, as head of the court magicians, I can't say that they can't be captured.

Only people you can trust are here. No need for pretense.

"Impossible. The wards that were meant to protect you were easily torn apart without impact. If they attack us, we won't be able to defend ourselves. And if we don't know where the attack came from, there is nothing we can do.

The wards that protect me, the king, are not half-baked. In addition to the warding tools found in the dungeon, the court magicians have done their utmost to lay down a series of wards. It was so easily broken that we did not even notice that it had been broken. Their strength must be too great.

"Well, we can't mess with them. On the surface, we need to look for the culprit, but we have no choice but to pretend that we could not identify the culprit. And if the information from the dark side confirms that the necromancer is the culprit, send a messenger to Barotta. Make sure she explains why she gave him my dagger.

With it, they can come to see me, so please come and talk to me before you act. Well, the Marquis de Galli disobeyed my orders. He must have decided that he cannot be trusted. ...... my stomach hurts.

****

"Hey, hey Sylphie. The Marquis de Galli and the others flew away at a high speed. ......"

"Oh?　You dump them at the castle and the Adventurers' Guild. It's okay. I rolled it right in front of the King and Grandmaster."

...... I know I asked you to throw it away, but it's not what I imagined. You can't just roll it directly in front of the big guy. Oh, I feel a pain in my stomach. Oh, I forgot to hit him. .......