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1090: Side - West Conquest Duke

「E-Emergency report!」

One of the soldiers burst into my office without knocking. His face was deathly pale, indicating without doubt that a matter of dire importance just occurred.

I suppose I will have to save his scolding for later…

「What is it this time? Don’t tell me that now it’s our mages who have fallen dead.」

Just the other day, there was a huge incident in the castle’s research tower. All of our alchemists suddenly dropped dead at the exact same time.

According to our chief mage who investigated the case, they had been cursed to death by a curse reversal.

Curses are a nasty power capable of contaminating entire regions when used properly. However, it is also a double-edged sword. Curses will return to the caster if they are reflected, or if the formula is forcibly erased.

And our alchemists were completely wiped out due to a returned curse.

This apparently happened when our magic stone weapon for widespread contamination placed in Kranzel was destroyed. Upon destruction, the curse should have gone unstable and contaminated the surrounding region. But instead, the curse returned straight back to the casters.

I find it hard to believe anyone could reflect the curse created by our entire team of alchemists, but I can’t deny reality. Either a powerful wielder of covenant magic broke the curse directly, or the magic stone was completely annihilated, erasing the magical formula hidden within.

Our biggest loss was the chief alchemist, Ansel. Despite having no involvement with the wide-range contamination curse, he somehow died too.

The lunatic truly had no clue how much I invested in him. And he thinks he can just go die without repaying me! That man was the only person capable of creating the demon-slaying sword’s inferior copies! This means our entire strategy against Phyllius is back to the drawing board.

Truly a headache. That’s why I joked about our mages getting wiped out, but…

「Y-You have already heard the news?」

「What? What do you mean?」

「Umm, our mages have been wiped out!」

「P-Preposterous!」

It seems the guards overheard a series of screams coming from the mages’ research tower. When they headed inside to check it out, they found everyone lying dead on the floor.

I rushed to the tower and was greeted by many guards and mages gathered at the entrance. I called out to the chief mage standing among them.

「What happened?」

「Rebeze-sama! All the mages under my command have fallen, and we are currently investigating the incident. It is possible that poison is the cause, so please refrain from coming any closer.」

「P-Poison?」

「Yes. None of the mages display any external injuries, and there are no signs of any struggle.」

「…I see.」

Poison was, of course, among the subjects being researched in the tower. If poison truly was the cause, then shouldn’t we be in danger at the entrance too? No, the soldiers here are still alive, so it should be fine.

「There are many classified materials inside, so the investigation may take some time to reach a conclusion…」

「I authorize entry for the guards. Find out what happened here, and fast. Perhaps assassination――」

「Milord, there’s been an emergency!」

「What is it now!?」

「P-Please come this way…」

The messenger led me to a place with fewer people. Was this emergency something that shouldn’t be heard by others?

「What happened?」

「All the vessels we deployed have been sunk, including the three Water Dragon Battleships…!」

「Impossible, three Water Dragon Battleships!? And those demonoids were on board too!」

「T-That is true, but we really have lost contact with them…」

What’s going on? Is it even possible that the entire fleet sunk? Not even our navy stood a chance against the Water Dragon Battleships. Was Kranzel’s navy truly that powerful?

While I was busy pondering the issue, the chief mage in charge of the inspection ran up to me. He must have found something.

「Milord, I have discovered the cause of their deaths. It seems they were all killed by a returned curse.」

「A curse? Again?!」

「This must be because that one time Ansel-dono requested my men for a curse enchantment. I believe it was the one we put on the magicite golems deployed to Shallus.」

「And that curse was returned to them?」

「Yes, which means…」

「Something must have happened to the army invading from Shallus.」

None of this makes any sense. Did Kranzel somehow hand out curse countermeasures to every part of its military? We need to investigate this immediately.

「Contact Derrick. We need to gather intel on Kranzel as soon as possible.」

「…About that…」

The chief mage trailed off his words.

「What’s wrong?」

「Derrick-dono has missed his regular report. Also, I believe Ansel-dono’s death was due to the return of the demon-slaying curse…」

「So what you’re saying is the majority of our alchemists and mages died to a curse, our fleet including the Water Dragon Battleships was wiped out, and the ground forces we sent to Shallus were eliminated too. On top of everything, we’ve also lost contact with Derrick?」

「…Y-Yes, I believe that is correct.」

「This is absolutely ridiculous! Do you know how much time and money I’ve spent to prepare all this groundwork!?」

Our plan to take down Kranzel and seize Phyllius has been in the works for over a decade!

And just as everything was finally put into motion, all of our measures failed in the span of a few days? How can Kranzel afford to reserve so many forces for defense!?

My position gives me access to a vast bank of information on foreign countries. Unlike the rest of these imbeciles, I have never once underestimated the adventurers. Yet they still manage to exceed my expectations!

First, our plan to destroy Kranzel from within using Marquis Ashtner ended without much to show for it. We’ve been on maximum alert against Kranzel since then, but still….

Was our intel leaking to them somehow? I have to consider that as a possibility now.

「Use the entire spy team if you have to, and find out what’s going on in Kranzel. There’s no way Derrick will talk even if he is captured. Our bases and intelligence network aren’t compromised yet.」

「U-Understood!」

Our invasion of Phyllius will be delayed yet again! Just how many years will it take until we can recoup these losses…

「Fuck! Dammit all!」

Remain calm at all times, the words my predecessor told me when I succeeded the duchy. Yet not even I could keep my calm in this situation. The pointless swears escaped my mouth without end.

I am well aware of the devastating blow dealt to my territory, though even that is an understatement. The entire duchy is practically no better than a sinking ship.

I bit my thumbnail so hard that it broke. This habit, which had been corrected in my childhood, came out unintentionally. The foolish behavior was a sign of my panic. For some reason, I was now able to view myself objectively.

「Gufufufu. You seem to be in a pinch.」

「!」

I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, especially not him. At least this allowed me to regain a bit of my composure.

Before I knew it, I found a small man standing behind me, his face covered deep in a black robe. Hideman, a subordinate of the South Conquest Duke, and an undead capable of rational thought.

「…Hideman. You appear out of nowhere, like usual.」

「You know me so well. And I do have permission to be here, yes?」

「What do you want?」

「I was simply wondering if I could be of assistance. Shall I search out Derrick-dono and bring him back to you?」

「…What benefit does the South Conquest Duke, or rather, the Black Skeleton Corps, gain by helping me?」

「Oh, but we serve the same country. It is only natural for us to help each other out in times of need, right?」

What a shameless lie. The gall of a rotting undead trying to lecture me about mutual cooperation! In the first place, isn’t his timing a little too perfect?

It’s as if he knew exactly when I would be in a predicament. Could he be the rat leaking info to Kranzel…?

「What’s the matter? I can assure you that glaring at me will not make your situation any better.」

「I’m well aware of that!」

While he is incredibly suspicious, I have no proof. Besides, Hideman being one of the Black Skeleton Corps’s top members only goes to show how useful he can be.

「Hmph. Even with Derrick back, it’s already too late…」

「Gufufufu. Regarding that, I have one suggestion for you.」

「…Out with it already.」

「We would like to borrow the relic of the west…」

The rotten bastard! This must have been his goal all along! I knew it, that damn South Conquest Duke…!

「You think this is some kind of joke?! Our relic is a family heirloom bestowed upon the first duke to prove his title! There’s no way it can be entrusted to anyone outside our family!」

「However, the south’s relic and the west’s relic were originally designed to be used as a pair, and their combined power will make it possible to turn the tables on Kranzel. Don’t you think it is best to prevent things from ending in a complete failure? My lord will surely be grateful too.」

True. At this rate, our invasion operation will fall apart with me to blame. And when that happens, the south and east dukes will try to hold me accountable.

This relic is my family’s treasure, but…

「…Fine, I’ll accept those terms. Find Derrick as soon as possible, then I may lend out the relic depending on your results.」

「Gufufu! Hideman, sixth seat of the Black Skeleton Corps, at your service.」