Overlord (LN)

Overlord Volume 5 Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Blue Roses

Part 1

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) 3rd Day, 8:02

Dressed in his white full plate armor, his sword by his side, a fully-equipped Climb stepped into the Valencia Palace.

The Valencia Palace was roughly divided into three wings, and he had just entered one of them. This was the largest of the three, where the Royal Family resided.

Unlike Climb’s dwelling place earlier, the Palace was very well-lit, collecting light from the outside in a brilliant display that seemed to make the interior sparkle.

The polished hallways were free of litter; practically spotless, in fact. The reason why Climb’s full plate armor made no sound as he walked upon it was because it had mithril and orichalcum in its construction, and it was additionally enchanted on top of that.

Along the clean and spacious hallways were the elite soldiers assigned to guard duty in the palace. They stood resplendent in their full plate armor — they were knights.

The Knights of the Empire were commoners recruited and trained into professional soldiers. In contrast, the Kingdom’s knights were usually third sons of landed nobles or others who could not otherwise inherit the family estate. However, the Crown paid them very highly, and so only first-rate swordsmen were accepted for membership. Not even nobles could sneak in through backdoor connections.

The best way to describe them would be “the King’s personal guard”.

Incidentally, Gazef’s position as Warrior-Captain was because many people opposed his knighthood, and so the King created a new appointment for him. Since then, the group of elite soldiers that he had picked and trained personally were known as Warriors.

Climb nodded slightly to them. Almost all of them returned the gesture. Only a few of them did so reluctantly; the vast majority were sincere in their courtesy. They might be nobles, but they were also men of martial spirit who were sworn to the King. Excellent warriors who devoted their lives to their King were worthy of their respect.

In contrast, Climb passed another group of people in the hallway who viewed him with open hostility.

They were the maids. Almost all of them frowned whenever they saw Climb.

Unlike regular maids, the maidservants of the Royal Palace were all noblewomen who had come here to raise their own standing. Thus, to some extent, they were of higher status than Climb. In particular, the maids who personally served the Royal Family were heiresses of high-ranking nobility. They plainly displayed their anger at having to bow and scrape before a man who was beneath a mere peasant.

It was true that Climb was lower-born than they were, so it was not hard to see why they would give him the stink-eye when Renner was not looking. Climb understood this, and he had never once gotten angry at them for that.

However, that mindset, combined with Climb’s own blank expression, made the maids think he was snubbing them and it only deepened their anger for him. Meanwhile, Climb paid that vicious cycle no heed. Or rather, it might be better to say that if he was really that careful, he ought to be able to tie off those loose ends in a better way.

Even so, Climb felt mentally fatigued after walking through this palace.

There were other members of the Royal Family in the Palace besides Renner and Ranpossa III.

—Ggh?!

As Climb saw one of those royals approach, he immediately went to the wall, his back ramrod straight, and pressed his hand to his chest in a salute.

Two people approached him. The one behind was a tall, skinny man, with a head of slicked-back blond hair.

His name was Marquis Raeven, one of the Kingdom’s Six Great Nobles.

The problem was the slightly plump man walking in front of him. His name was Zanack Valreon Igana Ryle Vaiself. He was the King’s second son, and second in line for the throne.

Zanack stopped, and his fatty-jowled face contorted.

“Oh, if it isn’t Climb. Are you going to see thart monster?”

There was only one person whom Prince Zanack referred to a monster. Climb knew that what he was about to do might well give offense to a social superior, but he simply could not let it slide.

“Your Highness. Forgive my impertinence, but Lady Renner is no monster. A gentle, compassionate and beautiful person like herself is more like the Kingdom’s treasure.”

She had solved the slave problem and proposed policies which put the common man first. If she did not qualify as a treasure, then what did? Granted, the nobles frequently obstructed her legislation and prevented most of her policies from being implemented, but Climb still knew how much she thought of the people.

This gentle woman wept before Climb whenever her populist policies were denied. What right did a useless man (Zanack) have to lecture her?

Anger flared up within Climb’s heart, and he longed to give Zanack a good punch.

They might only be half-related by blood, but they were still of the same bloodline, and he should not be saying such things. However, Climb did not allow his anger to take physical form.

Renner had once said, “My brother wants to provoke you into slandering him. I’m sure he’s trying to find an excuse to take you away from me. Climb, you must not show any weakness to my brother.”

Climb thought back to the day when he had solemnly sworn that he would never betray that forlorn look on his master’s face, she who had been abandoned even by her family.

“I never said Renner was a monster. That’s just what you’re thinking... forget it, enough with the cliched excuses. Still, to think you’d actually consider her a treasure. When she makes her proposals, does she actually think they’d be accepted? I can’t help but think that she suggests them even when she knows they’ll be rejected anyway.”

How could that be? It was impossible. This man was simply guessing wildly in his hideous jealousy.

“Your servant submits that such is not the case here.”

“Huhuhuhu... So you don’t consider that woman a monster. I don’t know if you have terrible taste or if her acting’s too good... I’d suggest you doubt her a little more.”

“How could I doubt her? Renner-sama is a treasure of the Kingdom. Of that I have no doubt.”

Everything she did was righteous. Climb could come to that conclusion because he had been watching from beside her.

“Really now, is that so? How interesting. Then, could you send that monster a message? ...Tell her that ‘while I, as her elder brother, consider you as a political tool, if you’re willing to help me, I can relieve you of your inheritance and grant you a domain on the borderlands’.”

Frustration surged up in Climb’s heart.

“...Surely you jest. I can hardly believe you would actually tell me that in a place like this, so I shall pretend that I never heard it.”

“Huhuhuhu. What a shame. Let’s go, Marquis Raeven.”

The silent man nodded from where he had been watching Climb and Zanack from the side.

Climb did not quite understand Marquis Raeven. He seemed to have drawn a clear line between himself and Climb, but he did not look at Climb the same way the other nobles did. Renner had not given Climb any special instructions about Raeven either.

“Ah, yes. Marquis Raeven agrees with me that that woman is a monster. No, it is more that we have the same vision, hence our alliance.”

“—My Prince.”

“Let me say it, Marquis Raeven. Heed my words, Climb. If you were blindly devoted to her, I wouldn’t be telling you all this. However... I feel that you’ve been deceived by that monster. That’s why I’m telling you, in good faith, about her monstrous nature.”

“My Prince, forgive my rudeness, but could you tell me in what way is Renner-sama a monster? Nobody cares more for the country and the people than she does.”

“...That’s because everything she does is a waste of effort. She moves too much for too little gain. At first, I thought she was simply inept at dealing with others. Then, while discussing the matter with Marquis Raeven, I realised that she might already have accounted for that. Once I realised that, everything fell into place. If that was really the case, then she would be a woman who, while locked up the palace, could manipulate the nobles as she desired. What is that, if not a monster?”

“Certainly you must be mistaken. Renner-sama is not that kind of person,” Climb insisted.

Her tears were most definitely genuine. Renner was a compassionate woman. Climb knew this better than anyone else, given that she had picked him up.

However, Climb’s words could not move the Prince. He smiled bitterly, and then left Climb. Marquis Raeven followed behind him.

Climb muttered to himself in the now-deserted corridor.

“Renner-sama is the kindest person in our country. My existence is proof of that. If...”

Climb swallowed the following words, but spoke them in his heart.

If Renner-sama were to rule the Kingdom, it would surely become a great nation that puts the people first.

Of course, that was an impossible dream given the reality of the succession. Even so, Climb could not abandon that idea.

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) 3rd Day, 8:11

Shortly after that, Climb arrived at his most frequently-visited room in the palace.

After checking several times to make sure nobody was around, he reached out and turned the doorknob.

Entering without knocking was an exceedingly impolite course of action. However, the owner of this room had asked him to do so. His mistress had refused to listen to his protests, no matter what he said.

In the end, Climb had given in. There was no way he could win when women’s tears flowed. Still, his mistress had permitted him several exceptions to that. For instance, there was no way he could barge in unannounced if the King was present.

That said, entering without knocking was very stressful on Climb. People who do that ought to be punished. It was only natural for him to feel stressed out when he thought about that as he opened the door.

Just as Climb was about to push it open, he heard the sounds of a heated discussion through the half-opened door.

There were two voices, both female.

One of them belonged to his mistress. Climb was still standing outside the door but she had not noticed him. That was probably because she was too excited about the discussion. That being the case, Climb did not wish to dampen her ardor. Climb stood still, listening to the discussion within the room. He felt guilty about eavesdropping, but he would feel worse if he interrupted their conversation.

“—I told you, didn’t I? People have always focused on immediate gains.”

“Hm...”

“...The crop rotation plan you were talking about, Renner... I have no idea how that will increase yields... but how long will it take to show results?”

“About six years or so.”

“And how much money will be lost in planting other crops during these six years?”

“That would depend on the crops in question. However, assuming a normal yield is 1, I think the yield would go down to 0.8... in other words, it’s a 20% loss of revenue. However, after the sixth year, the yield will go up by 0.3 forever. I’m sure the figure will be higher if we add pastures for livestock into the mix.”

“...That does sound quite tempting, but can farmers really take a loss of 20% of their income for six whole years?”

“...I think we could have the country extend interest-free loans to compensate for the 20% loss and then ask for repayment after the yields return to normal... If the yields don’t go up, then it won’t have to be repaid, or there could be some other way. The important thing is that once the yields go up, the loans can be paid off in four years.”

“That might be hard.”

“Why is that?”

“I told you, didn’t I? People prefer to focus on immediate gains, and many people want stability. A lot of people will hesitate even if you tell them they’ll be able to get 130% of their original crops in six years.”

“I... don’t get it. It worked really well on the test field...”

“Maybe the experiment went well, but you still can’t guarantee that it’ll succeed.”

“...Well, it’s true that we didn’t foresee every possible condition while conducting the experiment, so we can’t be absolutely certain of the results. If we had to consider soil quality and the weather as well, the experiment would have become too big...:”

“That’s troubling. I don’t know if that 30% increase is a minimum figure or an average amount. Either way, it’s not very convincing. You need to guarantee profits, and that they won’t lose out in the short term.”

“How about subsidizing the 20% shortfall for the six-year period?”

“The Noble Faction would love that, because it would weaken the King’s power.”

“But, if we can guarantee a big return after six years, the Kingdom will grow stronger too, right?”

“That also means that the opposing Noble Faction will become stronger as well, while the King’s side will have 20% lower yields. The nobles of the Royal Faction won’t stand for it.”

“Then how about asking the merchants...”

“Those big traders? They have their own politics among them. If they help the Royals too readily, it might ruin their relationship with the Nobles.”

“There sure are a lot of problems... Lakyus.”

“...And they all come up because you’re not good at forward planning. Well... I do understand it’s hard to get a proposal passed when there are two huge blocs within the country... What about just implementing it under Crown territory?”

“My brothers won’t approve.”

“Ah, you mean those ret... those gentlemen who left their wisdom in their mothers’ bellies for your sake.”

“...But we don’t have the same mother.”

“Ahhhh, then they left it in the King! Still, it’s pretty bad when even the Royal Family isn’t united...”

The room fell silent, which told Climb that the discussion was over.

“Ah, you can come in. Can’t he, Renner?”

“Hm?”

Climb’s heart lurched as he heard those words. He was surprised that she had sensed his presence, but at the same time, he had been somewhat expecting that.

He slowly opened the door.

“—Pardon me.”

A familiar sight filled Climb’s eyes.

The room was luxurious but not tacky, and there were two blonde-haired maidens seated at a windowside table.

Both of them were beautiful young ladies in complementary dresses.

One was the owner of this room, Renner.

The other one sat opposite her. Her eyes were green and her lips were pink, and she was in radiant health. While her looks fell short of Renner, she exuded a charm of her own. If Renner sparkled like a gemstone, then she glowed with vitality.

Her name was Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra.

It was hard to tell given the sheer pink dress she wore, but this woman was the leader of one of the two adamantite-ranked adventurer teams in the Kingdom, and Lakyus’ closest friend.

She had racked up a considerable tally of accomplishments at the tender age of 19, and the fact that she had attained the coveted rank of adamantite must be due to her astounding talent. Climb felt the stirring of jealousy in the depths of his soul.

“Good morning, Renner-sama, Aindra-sama.”

“Good morning, Climb.”

“Morning.”

After greeting them, Climb made to move to his designated location — behind and to the right fo Renner — but a voice halted him.

“Climb, not there. Here.”

Renner indicated the chair to her right.

Climb found this very strange. There were five chairs arranged around the circular table. That much was normal. However, three cups of tea had been poured.

One was in front of Renner, another was before Lakyus, and one more was in front of the seat beside Lakyus — not the one Renner had indicated. Climb looked around, but he could not find any trace of the third person.

Climb was surprised, but he looked at the chair anyway.

Renner’s orders to Climb had caused a great deal of strain for him, be it in a commoner sharing a table with their master — a member of royalty — or in barging into a room uninvited.

“But...”

Climb looked pleadingly to the other woman for help. He hoped against all hope that she would reject the request, but that hope was promptly denied him.

“I don’t mind.”

“Th-this... Aindra-sama...”

“I told you before, didn’t I? Call me Lakyus.”

Lakyus looked to Renner.

“Climb’s special.”

“...Meanie.”

Lakyus appended what sounded like a heart to the end of her sentence in sickly-sweet tones, to which Renner replied with a note of mock complaint and a smile.

Of course, that was if a curl of the lips which was not matched by her eyes counted as a smile.

“Aindra-sama, please don’t tease me.”

“Fine fine fine. You really are a stick in the mud, aren’t you, Climb? You should learn not to get hung up on details like her.”

“Eh? Teasing?”

Faced with Renner’s look of surprise, Lakyus froze in an incredibly fake way before exhaling with exaggerated intensity.

“Of course. Well, Climb is special, but that’s because he’s yours.”

Renner’s face flushed pink, and she clapped her hands to her cheeks. Climb had no idea what to do and looked away from Renner, and then his eyes went wide.

That was because there was someone seated in the shadows in the corner of the room, hugging their knees to themselves. She was a woman, who wore form-fitting black clothing that seemed utterly incongruous with the room’s atmosphere.

“Wha-!”

Shocked, Climb grabbed at the sword at his waist and lowered his stance, prepared to protect Renner.

Lakyus sighed.

“Now you’ve gone and scared Climb by taking on that stance.”

There was no caution or awareness of danger in Lakyus’s cool voice. Climb realized what that meant and let the strength drain from his shoulders.

“Understood, boss.”

The woman seated in the darkness sprang to her feet in an instant.

“Ah, you probably don’t know her, Climb. She’s a member of my team—”

“—It’s Tina-san,” Renner helpfully supplied.

From what Climb knew, the adamantite adventurer team “Blue Rose” was composed of five women; the leader and divine magic caster Lakyus, the warrior Gagaran, the arcane magic caster Evileye, and then the rogues Tia and Tina.

Climb had seen the first three before, but not the latter two.

So she must be... I see. Her reputation’s not for show.

Given her long limbs and her tight-fitting clothes, she looked the part of someone versed in thief-type techniques.

“...Forgive me. Pleased to meet you, my name is Climb.”

Climb bowed deeply to Tina.

“Huh? Don’t worry about it.

She waved casually to Climb, and then she silently stalked towards the table with the fluid grace of a savage beast. Then, she took a seat on the chair beside Lakyus. It would seem the tea from just now was hers.

Climb carefully surveyed his surroundings to check for another unseen female. There were only three cups of tea on the table, so it seemed unlikely, but he did so anyway.

Lakyus sensed the reason behind Climb’s gawking and said:

“Tia’s not here. Gagaran and Evileye both dislike stuffy occasions... but it’s not that stuffy, is it? I’m wearing a proper dress just in case, but I didn’t insist on them doing the same.”

Lakyus might have said that, but the fact was that etiquette required one to wear formal dress in front of a princess. Of course, Climb had no intention of saying that to the face of Renner’s friend — particularly a lady who was a member of the peerage.

“I see. Still, it is an honor to make the acquaintance of the famed Tina-sama. I hope I will have the chance to benefit from your guidance in the future.”

“Talk after you sit down, Climb.”

Saying so, Renner poured a fresh cup of tea. The tea which flowed from the magic item known as a Warm Bottle was piping hot, as though it had just been brewed.

The Warm Bottle could maintain the temperature and composition of its contents for an hour, and it was one of Renner’s favored magic items. It saw frequent use when entertaining important guests, though not at other times.

Climb knew that there was no protesting this and resigned himself. Thus, he sat down and drank his tea.

“It’s delicious, Renner-sama.”

Renner smiled, but in all honesty, Climb could not tell if it was good or not. Still, since Renner had made it, he automatically deemed it good.

Suddenly, a flat, emotionless voice spoke out.

“—That girl should be gathering intelligence today. The three of us were supposed to come here together, but in the end our Oni leader handed out work at the last minute. It’s all our Oni leader’s fault.”

Needless to say, that voice came from Tina. A frightening smile came over Lakyus’ face as she heard the words “Oni”. Climb tore his eyes away and said:

“I see... I hope I’ll be able to see her sometime.”

“Climb, Tina-san and Tia-san are twins. Even their hairstyles are almost identical.”

“So once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen the other.”

Climb did not think the matter was that simple, but he nodded in understanding.

Still, Tina stared unabashedly at Climb, making him feel uncomfortable.His original plan was just to bear with it, but then he realised that she might have noticed something about him, and so he made up his mind to ask her:

“Is something the matter?”

“You’re too big.”

“...Huh?”

He heard, but he did not understand. After seeing the question marks popping up over Climb’s head, Lakyus cut in and apologized:

“Its nothing; just an in-joke. Don’t take it to heart, okay, CLimb? No, don’t worry about it. Really.”

“Yes...”

“...What’s the matter, Lakyus?”

Climb told himself not to be a busybody, but Renner could not seem to accept that and interjected. Lakyus had a sour look on her face as she looked at Renner.

“Really, whenever we start talking about Climb...”

“Ah, I—”

“—Quiet. I didn’t bring Tia along because she’d fill Renner’s head with nonsense. So could you please understand that and not blabber on so much?”

“Yes, Oni Boss.”

“...Lakyus.What’s all this about?”

Lakyus’ face began to twitch once Renner began asking, and her expression turned depressed.

She shifted her line of sight to Climb just as he was about to butt in.

“Hm... Climb, it looks like you really favor this suit of armor.”

“Yes. This armor is exquisite. Thank you very much.”

This was about an awkward of a topic change as there could be, but Climb did not want to embarrass a guest. After going with it, he idly stroked the suit of snow-white full plate armor which his mistress had gifted him. It had been made with large quantities of mithril — and some orichalcum — and further enchanted, making it surprisingly light and tough,

Blue Rose had supplied the mithril for its construction at no charge. Climb could not thank them enough for that, however low he bowed.

Just as he was about to do so, Lakyus halted him.

“Don’t worry about it. We simply gave you the leftover materials from making our mithril armor.”

While she called them leftovers, the fact was that mithril was an extremely expensive material. Perhaps mithril-ranked adventurers might own a mithril weapon, while orichalcum-ranked adventurers might be able to afford the construction of a suit of mithril full plate. But only adamantite-ranked adventurers could give a suit to others at no charge.

“Besides, Renner asked me. How could I refuse?”

“—You refused to take my money. I had some pocket money saved up...”

“...It’s not right for a princess to spend her allowance, don’t you think?”

“That’s separate from my domain’s income. I just wanted to use my own money to make Climb’s armor.”

“I figured you wanted to use your own money to make a shiny new set of full plate for Climb—”

“...If you knew, then why did you give it to me for free? Lakyus, you dummy.”

“Given the circumstances, should you really be calling me a dummy...”

Thus did the fuming Renner and the giggling Lakyus go back and forth, in an argument that hardly qualified as an argument.

As he saw this Climb’s face stiffened into an emotionless mask.

The fact that he could witness a heartwarming scene like this was all thanks to being rescued by his mistress. However, he could not allow himself to express his feelings.

Showing his gratitude was one thing, but behind that gratitude was a powerful emotion that could never be displayed.

That was his love for her.

Climb forcibly crushed that feeling and hid it away within himself. In its place, he repeated the lines he had repeated several times now.

“Thank you very much, Renner-sama.”

As she heard the way in which he clearly demarcated the separation between the two of them — it was a hint that master and servant were in different circumstances — Renner smiled.

Only Climb — who had observed her longer than anyone else, who had been watching her every day — could tell that her smile was tinged with loneliness.

“It’s fine. Now, I think we’ve drifted quite a ways off-topic. Let’s get back to the previous discussion.”

“Eight Fingers, you say? We were talking about how we attacked three of their drug-producing villages and burned their fields to ash. I doubt they can recover from that.”

As he heard that name, Climb mentally frowned under his iron mask.

Eight Fingers was the name of the criminal syndicate writhing about in the darkness of the Kingdom. His beloved mistress had taken action to suppress them.

It was not hard to imagine the miserable fate of a village which relied on drugs to survive when their fields had been burned down. However, they were a necessary sacrifice to eliminate the drugs plaguing the Kingdom.

Perhaps if Renner possessed supreme power, she might be able to do something else. However, Renner had no backers despite being a princess. All she could do was perform the cold calculus of saving those who could be saved and abandoning everyone else.

On the other hand, Renner might have been able to beg a boon of her father to attack them with authority or military force. However, Eight Fingers were deeply entwined with the nobles, and if word got out, they might well burn the evidence of their wrongdoing.

Therefore, Renner had decided to directly employ her friend Lakyus.

Climb knew this was a very risky path to take. Under normal circumstances, adventurers worked through the Guild and they were not allowed to take requests directly from clients. That was a violation of the Guild’s rules.

Granted, he did recall that the Guild could not punish its highest-ranked (adamantite-ranked) adventurers, nor could it expel them. Even so, it would still tarnish their reputation within the Guild and would surely lead to repercussions in the future. However, Blue Rose had accepted the task anyway because they loved their country that much, and because Renner was their friend.

Climb’s gratitude towards Lakyus grew as she realized that she was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.

***

Lakyus decided that they should no longer talk about this any more. She opened up the bag Tina presented to her, and took out a scroll.

This was a document which nobody in Blue Rose could decipher. However, Lakyus felt that the smartest person she knew — Renner — might be able to make some head or tail of it.

“We found this scroll while burning the drug villages. It looked like some kind of written order, so we brought it back... can you understand it?”

They opened the scroll, and saw an expanse of symbols. They did not look like letters from any country’s language. Renner glanced at them, and casually replied:

“...It’s a substitution cipher, no?”

Substitution ciphers were a form of code made by substituting a letter or several letters for another letter or symbol. For instance, “a” might become “△” and “b” might become “□”. Thus, the symbols “△△□□△” would mean “aabba”.

“I thought so too. I tried swapping symbols around for hours, but I couldn’t make any sense of it. We took a man prisoner who looked like he was in charge because we suspected that he might have memorized the cipher key, and we were planning to use charm magic on him to make him decode the message for us. However... you should know that when the same caster uses the same spell on the same subject multiple times, you get poorer results. Therefore, I wanted to make good use of our first casting. So I decided to discuss it with you before using the spell.”

“I see... and the reason this was left there was because... a trap? Or something more? If that’s the case, they wouldn’t use a code that was too hard to break. Hm, I don’t think this will be very difficult.”

Renner’s words left Lakyus’ eyes wide. She could not help but exchange glances with Tina, who was seated beside her.

Unbelievable. But at the same time, they thought, “I knew she could do it.”

“Let me think... in the Kingdom’s language, the first word of any document is either a masculine, feminine or neuter pronoun... give me a moment...”

As she muttered to herself, Renner rose with the scroll and went to fetch paper and pen.

Then, she began writing out blocks of text on the paper.

“This is a simple substitution cipher of one character for one symbol, so breaking it is easy. And fortunately, they were using the Kingdom’s language. If they had used the Empire’s literature or something like that as a cipher, it’d be almost unbreakable. But this... well, once you know what one of the words means, you can just fill them in one by one. Anyone could break this if they were willing to work hard.”

“No no... well, you make it sound easy. But wouldn’t that mean you’d need to know tens of thousands of words to break the code?”

“Well, these are encoded literary references. Those usually won’t be too flowery and they can’t use words that are too complex either. So they’d have to make it simple enough that even a child could understand it. That narrows things down a lot.”

Inside her heart, Lakyus broke out in a cold sweat.

Her friend made it sound so simple, but it was hardly as simple as she said.

Still, she really ought to be able to do it... I can hardly believe such a genius really exists.

Renner had brushed it off every time they met or talked, but Lakyus had never met anyone else like Renner who deserved to be called a genius.

As Lakyus trembled internally, Renner lightly said, saying “It’s done. Just a bunch of book references,” before handing the paper to her.

There were many locations within the Kingdom written upon it, and seven of them were within the Royal Capital.

“Are these drug storehouses or other important bases?”

“I doubt they’d put such an important document in an ordinary production area... this is probably bait, don’t you think?”

“Bait? As in for a trap?”

“Hm... I don’t think so. Think of it this way. Eight Fingers is one organization, but they’re more like eight separate groups working together, right?”

Lakyus nodded.

“So this should be information about the other seven groups... or should I say divisions? In any case, this is a way to deliberately leak information on everyone besides the drugs division to outside enemies, in order to briefly take the heat off themselves.”

“In other words, they already gathered information on the other divisions for this... I didn’t expect them to be totally united, but this is just ridiculous...”

As an adventurer, the notion of betraying one’s comrades frustrated her.

“While we were already going to do that, we’d better not act too hastily, or else it might turn out badly for us.”

After seeing her friend (Renner) nod, Lakyus asked again:

“So what should we do about that brothel? I’ve heard it’s a really vile place where one can experience anything they desire.”

Lakyus felt her anger build just by mentioning it.

Bastards. Those scum who can only think with their dicks ought to be killed!

When she recalled what she had learned about the brothel in question, she was no longer a noble heiress, but a bold adventuress, and the curses welled up from inside her heart. The meaning of the phrase “anything they desire” went without saying. It was certain that no few people — men and women both — had been murdered for entertainment.

In the past, when slavery had not yet been criminalized, there were quite a few such bordellos operating in the underworld. However, thanks to the friend before her, the slave trade was now illegal, and those establishments had faded like dust on the wind. This particular location might well be the last illegal brothel in the Kingdom.

For that reason, they would not shut down easily. One could imagine what sort of determined resistance awaited them. After all, it was a tainted paradise for those people with crude, unspeakable desires.

“Say, Renner. Since we can’t deal with them through the law, why not have us force our way in and expose their crimes? It’ll be okay as long as we find evidence, right? If the slave-trading division really is running that brothel, then breaking them will be a huge blow. Plus, depending on where the evidence points, we’ll be able to teach a painful lesson to the nobles who are in league with them.”

“You might be right, Lakyus. But if you do that, won’t it inconvenience your family... the Alvein family? I find it very hard to act because of that. The same thing goes for the other members of Blue Rose... but having Climb barge in there alone seems almost impossible...”

“Your servant deeply regrets his lack of strength.”

As she saw Climb bow in apology, Renner reached out a hand to take Climb’s own, and smiled.

“Forgive me, Climb. That wasn’t what I meant. It’s the only underworld brothel in the Royal Capital, so nobody could take it down by themselves. See, I trust you most of all, Climb. I know how hard you work for me. However, don’t do anything which might get yourself involved. This isn’t a request, but an order, okay? If anything happened to you...”

Even Lakyus, as a woman watching from the side, was moved by the tears of the ravishing beauty before her eyes. Then how about Climb?

He tried his best to put on an emotionless front, but he could not. Those flushed cheeks said everything for him.

Were a bard to give a title to this moving scene, said bard would surely name it “The Princess and Her Knight”. Yet, Lakyus felt a twinge of fear. She thought that it ought to be impossible, but if Renner were doing this on purpose, then she would be a vixen of truly unimaginable proportions—

What am I thinking? Why am I doubting my good friend? Besides, hasn’t everything that’s happened up till now proven that she’s not a petty little schemer? If I can’t even trust someone like her — someone with the title of “Golden”, who crusades for justice — then who can I trust?

Lakyus shook her head, and spoke. That was also to dispel the frightening notion in her head.

“Ah, yes. Tina’s investigations have uncovered several leaders in the slave trades — several nobles with links to Cocco Doll. However, we haven’t verified their guilt yet, so it’s too early to take action right now.”

Renner and Climb reacted to one particular name among the list Lakyus recited.

“That man’s daughter is one of my personal maids.”

“Hm? Well, I don’t think she was sent there as a spy because they’re on guard against you... but still, I can’t be sure that she’s just a maid looking to promote herself.”

“Indeed. Looks like we’ve policed the information quite well. Climb, you also have to keep that in mind.”

“Then, let’s discuss what to do about the locations we’ve learned from the coded orders. Renner, would you mind lending me Climb? I’d like him to tell Gagaran and the others that they may need to move out for an emergency.”

Part 2

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) 3rd Day 09:49

Climb walked along the main street of the Royal Capital. Climb blended perfectly into the mass of humanity, given that he had few distinguishing features about him.

He did not wear his distinctive suit of white armor. While he could use certain alchemical items to change its color, he was not that attached to it. Besides, there was no need to go around in full plate armor while walking on the streets.

As a result, he dressed lightly, wearing a chain shirt under his clothes. Only the longsword at his waist marked him as visibly different from the average citizen.

He looked like a patrolling soldier — a city guardsman — or a mercenary when outfitted in that way. Some people would avoid him, but they would not clear out of his path in the way they would for someone in heavy armor.

Anyone in such a panoply ought to be an adventurer. It was not so much that they needed the protection as the publicity.

Dressing in an eye-catching way was not a strange thing for adventurers, because it helped promote themselves. Some of them even favored unique and provocative fashions to make a strong impression on others. Thus, word would spread and their reputation would build. In other words, dressing oddly was something like a trademark of adventurers.

However, there was no need for high-end adventurers — like the members of Blue Rose, whom Climb was going to visit — to do so. At their level, they would make conversation just by walking along the street.

Soon, he saw an adventurer’s inn along the road. Said inn had a stable and a large yard for sword practice. Its beautiful exterior promised an equally exquisite interior, and the guest windows were fitted with pieces of clear glass.

This was the Royal Capital’s most expensive inn. It was a gathering place for adventurers who were confident of their skills and able to pay the onerous bills.

Climb opened the inn’s door, paying no heed to the guards which flanked it.

The drinks bar cum dining hall occupied an entire floor, but it was sparsely populated with adventurers, considering its size. This clearly showed the rarity of high-paid adventurers.

The clamor within the inn quieted for a moment as several curious gazes were thrown in Climb’s direction. He did not mind, and looked around the interior.

Most of the people in here were powerful-looking adventurers. Just about everyone here could defeat Climb with ease. Every visit to this place made Climb realise how tiny he was.

He resisted the urge to fall into despair, and his eyes focused on a point within the inn.

In front of him — in the innermost depths of the inn — was a round table. He looked at the two people seated around it.

One of them was tiny, dressed in a long black robe which covered their entire body.

Their face could not be seen. It was not because the light was insufficient, but because they wore a strange, full-face mask set with a bloodstone. There was a narrow crack running along eye level, but that did not even reveal the color of the eyes underneath it.

Then, there was the other person.

If the first person was a midget, then this one would be a giant. Seeing this person brought the word “boulder” to mind. Indeed, that person had a stout and massive body, but that girth was not born of obesity.

That person’s arms reminded observers of logs, while the neck which held the head up seemed as wide around as a pair of a woman’s thighs. The head which sat upon that neck was squarish in shape. The heavyset chin — currently clenched closed — and the way that person’s eyes surveyed its surroundings reminded one of a carnivorous beast. The blonde hair upon that head was trimmed short for the sake of practicality.

That person’s chest bulged mightily under their clothes, as though on proud display. Said chest resembled nothing so much as thoroughly-honed pectoral muscles. Put more clearly, this was no longer a tender feminine bosom.

This was the adamantite-ranked adventurer team composed solely of females — Blue Rose.

The two of them were members of Blue Rose. One was the arcane magic caster Evileye, while the other was warrior Gagaran.

***

Climb approached them. One of the people he was looking for nodded, and then bellowed huskily:

“Yo, cherry boy!”

The gazes that had been slowly drifting away all focused on Climb once more, but nobody mocked him. Instead, they turned away once more, as though in sympathy for him.

They did this because they knew that even for mithril or orichalcum-ranked adventurers, showing the slightest bit of disrespect to Gagaran’s guest was not so much bravery, but foolhardiness.

Climb bore the insult and approached steadily.

No matter how many times he pleaded with her, Gagaran refused to address Climb by his proper name. That being the case, the best course of action he could take was to give up and pretend he did not care.

“Good to see you again, Gagaran-sa — san. And Evileye-sama.”

He arrived before the two of them and bowed.

“Oh, it’s been a while. What, come to sleep with me, have you?”

Gagaran jerked her chin, indicating that he should take a seat. There was an evil, savage grin upon that square face of hers.

Climb simply shook his head blankly.

Gagaran said the same thing every time, to the point where it had become something like a form of greeting. However, she was not joking in the slightest. If Climb answered “yes”, even in jest, she would immediately drag him into a singles’ room on the second floor. Climb would be helpless before her irresistible arm-strength.

Gagaran, who prided herself as a “cherry picker”, was such a person.

In contrast to Gagaran, Evileye faced stoically forward, her face unmoving. Perhaps she was eying Climb under her mask, but he could not be sure of that.

“No, that’s not it. Aindra-sama bade me come.”

“Hm? Leader did?”

“Yes. I come with a message. ‘You might need to move out in a hurry. I’ll explain the details when you get backl’. However, Aindra-sama wishes the two of you to ready yourselves and prepare for action at any time.”

“Understood. Still, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble for such a small thing.”

Gagaran’s face lit up with a broad smile, and Climb remembered that he had something else to tell her.

“Today I had the good fortune of sparring with Stronoff-sama. The move you taught me then — the big downward chop — met with Stronoff-sama’s approval.”

Gagaran had taught him that blow in the practice yard behind this inn. Her face split with a grin, as though she had been the one who had been praised.

“Oh, that move? Hehe, not bad, kid. Still...”

“Yes. I won’t be satisfied with just that. I will continue to practice and seek perfection.”

“You’ve got to keep training, of course. But you should also think about what to do if someone counters that move. Think of a move to continue from it.”

Was it coincidence, or merely a unity of opinions from a pair of first-rate warriors? What Gagaran had said was much like Gazef’s own feedback. A look of surprise came over Climb’s face at the similarity of their words. Gagaran seemed to have read his reaction the wrong way, and laughed, “Of course, you have to use that chopping move I taught you as as a finishing blow, otherwise it’s meaningless.”

Then she continued: “In truth, you need to pick a move from all the others out there that has universal applicability. However, you can’t do it.”

Gagaran’s words hinted at Climb’s lack of talent.

“Therefore, you need to develop a way to attack at least three times in combination. That combo must be one that keeps your foe from counterattacking, even if they manage to defend against it.”

Climb nodded.

“Of course, that won’t work when fighting many-armed monsters. But against humans, that ought to be enough. While you’ll be in trouble once your opponent sees through your attack patterns, it ought to be effective the first time you face any foe. Hammer them, hammer them and keep hammering them.”

“Understood,” Climb nodded heavily.

This morning, he had only managed to get one hit in on Gazef. On every other occasion, Gazef had seen through him immediately and he had been counterattacked in turn.

Then, could he lose confidence because of that? Of course not.

Could he allow himself to fall into despair because of that? Of course not.

It was the opposite.

It was precisely the opposite

A mere commoner like himself had been able to come that close to the strongest warrior in the Kingdom — no, the surrounding countries. Climb knew that Gazef had not begun to show his true power, but to Climb — who had been walking a pitch-black path with no light in sight — it was a tremendous dose of encouragement.

It was like telling him: Your efforts were not in vain.

As he thought about that, he fully understood what Gagaran was trying to say.

He was not confident that he could develop a good combination attack, but he was willing to try. A flame had been lit in the depths of his heart. He was determined to become stronger, so that he could draw out more of Gazef’s strength the next time he sparred with the Warrior Captain.

“...Right, I think you asked Evileye about something before, didn’t you? Something about learning magic?”

“Yes.”

Climb glanced at Evileye. At that time, she had merely laughed at him from under her mask and the matter had been forgotten. Asking her the same thing now, when nothing had changed, would only yield the same answer.

However—

“Kid.”

A muffled voice reached his ears.

Her voice was quite surprising, even without removing the mask she wore. The mask she wore was not particularly thick, so it should have been easy to make out the qualities of her voice. However, there was no way to tell Evileye’s age or any emotional inflections from it. At the very most, he could conclude that she was female. It was an emotionless, even voice that sounded both old and young at the same time.

That was probably because Evileye’s mask was magical. But why did she have to conceal her voice?

“You have no talent. Work hard somewhere else.”

She did not allow him any room to respond, as though there was nothing else to be said.

Climb knew her meaning very well.

He was not talented in magic. No, that was not all.

No matter how hard he practiced his swordplay, how many times he bled and blistered and callused his hands, he could not reach the level he longed for. Low walls which a talented individual might soar over were like insurmountable barriers to Climb.

However, he could not give up on working hard to surpass that unbreachable limit. Since he had no talent, he had to hope that his unrelenting effort would help him improve in some way.

“You don’t seem happy with that.”

Having sensed the emotions under Climb’s iron mask, Evileye continued:

“Talent is an inborn ability... Some people say that talents are like buds before they blossom, and everyone has talent... hmph. To me, that’s just wishful thinking, something idiots use to comfort themselves. Even the leader of the Thirteen Heroes was the same way.”

The leader of the Thirteen Heroes. According to legend, he was just an ordinary person, weaker than anyone else. However, he continued swinging his sword even when injured, and he eventually became a hero who was stronger than anyone else. He was a mighty being who could grow without limit.

“He was talented, but it just hadn’t flowered yet. It’s different from your case. You’ve worked so hard, but that’s all the talent you’ve shown... Not everyone has talent, and the difference is blindingly obvious between the haves and have-nots. Therefore... I won’t tell you to give up, but you ought to know your limits.”

Evileye’s stern lecture was followed by a brief silence. In the end, Evileye broke it.

“Gazef Stronoff... he’s a good example. People like him would be considered talented. Climb... do you think you can make up the difference between the two of you with effort?”

He could not answer. His training today had made him realize that he was nowhere near that league.

“Alright, maybe he’s not such a good example... still, the only person I can think of whose swordsmanship approaches his was among the Thirteen Heroes. Gagaran here is good, but she can’t beat Gazef.”

“...Hey don’t compare him to me. Gazef’s a man with a foot into the realm of heroes, y’know?”

“Hmph. You’re a heroic woman too... although the woman part is in doubt.”

As soon as Evileye’s voice trailed off, Gagaran laughed and answered:

“Oi oi, Evileye. These heroes in question are monsters with unique abilities that have surpassed the realm of humanity, right?”

“...I do not deny that.”

“Then I’m still human. Just an ordinary person who can’t reach the realm of heroes.”

“Even so, you’re still talented. You’re not an untalented person like Climb. Climb, you shouldn’t be fixated on trying to grasp the stars.”

Climb knew — better than anyone else — that he lacked talent. Even so, hearing her repeat you have no talent, you have no talent was very depressing. That said, Climb had no intention of changing his life’s goal.

—This body exists for the Princess. For her, I will—

Perhaps she sensed a martyr’s resolve from Climb, but in the end, Evileye scoffed from behind her mask.

“...So you’re not giving up, even after I’ve said all that.”

“Yes.”

“Foolishness. Utter foolishness.”

She shook her head forcefully, unable to understand him.

“Moving forward while clinging to an unreachable dream will set you on the way to destruction. You know that, right? I’ll tell you again — you need to know your limits.”

“I understand.”

“You may understand, but you don’t care at all, do you? The word foolish does not even begin to describe men like you. You’re the type who dies early... and someone will weep for you when you do, am I wrong?”

“What’s this, Evileye? You’re bullying Climb because you care about him?”

Evileye rounded her shoulders as she heard Gagaran speak. Then, she turned to Gagaran and grabbed her by the lapels while shouting:

“Will you shut up, you beefcake bimbo?!”

“Hey, you know I’m right, right?”

Gagaran was content to let Evileye hang on to her while she replied nonchalantly. Evileye was speechless for a moment, and then she sank back into her chair.

Then, she turned the topic back towards Climb.

“Start by learning about magic. Once you know more, you’ll be able to understand how magic-using enemies think. You’ll be able to pick a more correct course of action that way.”

“Won’t learning all those spells be a bit much for him?”

“Of course not. The fact is, there aren’t that many spells which magic casters use. Just focus on the commonly-used ones. If you can’t even do that, then you should just give up,” Evileye muttered.

“Besides, he’ll only need to study up to the 3rd tier. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“...I say, Evileye. We all know spells go up to the 10th tier, but nobody can use magic of such a high level. Yet you know about it. Why’s that?”

“Hm...”

Evileye had a schoolmarmish look on her face as she fiddled around under her robe. Climb suddenly realised that the sounds around them seemed further away now. It was hard to describe, but it felt as though there was a thin film surrounding them.

“Don’t panic. I just used a pointless little item.”

Climb did not know that the activation of that item was a sign of how worried she was about being overheard. All he knew was that Evileye intended to answer Gagaran’s question in strict seriousness. Now that she had gone to that extent, he sat up straight in his chair.

“In ancient myths — little more than legends — there was mention of beings known as the Eight Greed Kings. They were known as people who had stolen the power of gods, and the tales speak of how they once ruled this world with that absolute power.”

Climb had heard the story of the Eight Greed Kings. While they were not too popular, given that they were only children’s tales, anyone with a little bit of knowledge would know of them.

In summary, the beings known as the Eight Greed Kings appeared 500 years ago. Some said that they stood as tall as the heavens, some said they looked like Dragons, but in any case, the Eight Greed Kings devastated the nations in an instant, dominating the world with their power which could move mountains and part the seas. However, their desires ran deep, and they fought each other for their possessions, resulting in their mutual extinction.

This story was not popular for obvious reasons, but debate raged over whether or not it was merely a children’s fairytale. Climb personally felt that it had been greatly embellished. However, a small group of people among the adventurers believed that the Eight Greed Kings existed — and that they commanded powers beyond those of any in this modern age.

The proof of that was a city within the deserts far to the south. Rumors said that it was the capital built when the Eight Greed Kings conquered the continent.

As Climb lost himself in his thoughts, Evileye continued speaking:

“Apparently, the Eight Greed Kings possessed numberless powerful magic items, and the mightiest of them was called the [Nameless Spellbook]... at least, that’s what people call it. That’s the answer to everything.”

“Ah? So those spells are recorded in that book?”

“Indeed. They say that the Eight Greed Kings of legend left that unimaginable powerful magic item behind, a book which records all the world’s spells. Also, they say that due to some kind of magic, even newly-developed spells appear within its pages as well.”

Climb knew of the Eight Greed Kings, but not of this tome. He had a rough idea of how valuable this item truly was, but he remained silent and listened.

“We know of the existence of 10th-tier spells because of this item. Of course, there aren’t many people who know of the [Nameless Spellbook] itself...”

Climb gulped.

“Will, will you be searching for that [Nameless Spellbook]?”

Climb only asked that question because he knew that they were top-class adventurers.

Evileye snorted, as though to say, Don’t be ridiculous.

“Hmph. They say that the book is defended by powerful magic and nobody can touch it but its rightful owner. Apparently, it’s worth as much as an entire world, which is a hint as to how dangerous it really is. I know my limits, so I don’t desire it. I’d rather not die in a stupid way like the Eight Greed Kings.”

“Your leader is said to wield one of the weapons belonging to a member of the Thirteen Heroes... does she feel the same way?”

“...That’s something else entirely. However, I only heard about it from someone who saw it before, I’m just unclear about the details. I think we’ve drifted off-topic, but that’s that. Do you get it now, Gagaran?”

After that, Evileye looked somewhat puzzled, which was quite rare for her, and then she said:

“Climb. Don’t forsake your humanity in the pursuit of power.”

“Forsaking humanity... you mean like the demons in stories?”

“That’s one way. There’s also becoming one of the undead, or a magical being.”

“Normal people can’t do that.”

“Which is true... but after you become undead, your mind often twists to go with it. When once you only acted to fulfil a passionate dream... the changes in the body are echoed in the soul, and you become a terrifying monster.”

The voice from under that mask was typically devoid of emotional inflection, but now it was tinged with a hint of regret. Gagaran noticed how Evileye was staring into the distance and deliberately spoke up in a bright voice.

“Well, the Princess would probably faint if she woke up and saw that Climb had become an Ogre.”

Evileye had probably sensed the good intentions behind Gagaran’s words. Her voice returned to its usual emotionless pitch.

“...Indeed, that’s a way too. Transmutation-type spells can briefly allow you to change into another species. I’ll be frank — they’re valid options for improving your physical attributes.”

“I think I’ll pass on that.”

“If you simply desire strength, then changing into another species is quite effective. After all, the human body is hardly exceptional, and the same abilities are more effective when one’s basic physical attributes are improved.”

That much was obvious. Between two evenly-skilled opponents, the one with the better physical attributes would have the advantage.

“The fact is that many of the Thirteen Heroes were nonhumans. By the way, they’re called the Thirteen Heroes, but there were more of them than that. However, only 13 of them made it into song and story... the battle against the Demon Gods was one that crossed all racial boundaries, and certain human-centric people didn’t want to let the other species shine too much in the heroic sagas.”

Evileye seemed to be making a dig at certain people. Then, her attitude changed, and she continued in a nostalgic tone.

“The Warrior-Captain of the Air Giants and his Axe of Cyclones, the Elf Royal Family who bore the special characteristics of the ancestral Elves, and the Black Knight who wielded the Four Swords of Darkness — the original owner of our leader’s Kilineyram — was also a human with demon’s blood.”

“The Four Swords of Darkness, huh...”

Black Knight, one of the Thirteen Heroes, was renowned for possessing four blades; the Evil Sword Hyumilis, the Demon Blade Kilineyram, the Sword of Decay Crocdabal, and the Deathsword Sfeiz. One of those blades was in the hands of Lakyus, the leader of Blue Rose.

“The Demon Blade Kilineyram, created by condensing infinite darkness, is said to be the mightiest of the four... I have a question, is it true that if it unleashes its full power, it could project enough dark energy to swallow a country whole?”

“What are you talking about?” Evileye asked in a confused tone.

“I once heard our leader muttering to herself when she was alone. She held her right arm and said, ‘only a woman who serves the gods like myself can suppress its demonic power with all my will’ or something like that.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before...” Evileye tilted her head in surprise. “Still, if the owner says that, it might be true.”

“Then is there really a Dark Lakyus, born from the dark side of her spirit?”

“What?”

“Nah, I just happened to hear her muttering to herself again. Don’t think she noticed me, so I decided to take a listen, and in the end she ended up saying, ‘If you get careless, this being of blackness born of the source of all darkness shall take over your body and release the Demon Blade’s power’ or something. Sounded pretty bad.”

“This... well, we can’t rule that out. Some cursed items can control their owners’ minds... things would be pretty dire if something like that happened to Lakyus.”

“I felt that she was trying to keep it a secret, but this is something big, right? So when I asked her straight up, she blushed and told me not to worry about it.”

“Hm. It must be pretty embarrassing for a priest — who should be the one removing curses — to end up falling victim to a curse herself. Perhaps she doesn’t want us to worry? Does she really intend to bear that burden by herself?”

“I didn’t see her act like that again after that... but think about it. Didn’t she start wearing all those meaningless armor rings on all her fingers after obtaining the Demon Blade?”

“I thought she put them on to be fashionable... do you mean they’re sealing-type magic items or touchstones of some sort?”

Climb could no longer pretend to be unmoved, and he frowned.

From what he had seen and heard, Lakyus might well be under the control of an evil magic item. He became even more worried as he thought about where he had just been..

“...Will Renner-sama be in danger?”

Evileye stopped Climb before he could rush out.

“Don’t worry. I doubt the situation will deteriorate. She won’t be taken over unawares, even if the power of darkness threatens to take her over. We’ll have to take the fact that she didn’t tell us as a sign that she’s confident of controlling it herself. I’m certain she has the mental strength for it. Still... I didn’t expect the sword to have that kind of power. Even I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Should we talk to Azuth for safety’s sake?”

“I’m not too happy about asking a rival for help, but... well, she is his niece, so we should let him know, at least.”

“Hm, then shouldn’t we do that right away? We still need to track him down too.”

“Mm. We should just prepare ourselves to back Lakyus up at any time.”

“After all, it takes an adamantite-ranked adventurer to stop another.”

“—Hm? Ahhh! That reminds me, Gagaran. I heard that a third adamantite-ranked adventurer team was formed in E-Rantel.”

“What? Really? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it... did you find that out when you went to the Adventurer’s Guild this morning?”

“No... ah, yes. Sorry. I forgot to tell you. Their team seems to be black.”

“Black? I thought we’d have brown or green after blue and red.”

“Well, black is one of the colors of the Six Great Gods. Nothing strange about that. Who knows, the next one might be white.”

“I’m no fan of the Slaine Theocracy. Actually, didn’t we have a big fight with one of their special ops units?”

Climb sensed th