"A life destined to die is destined to die anyway."
I cautiously asked Isar, who was speaking so carelessly.
"Then I guess I can't ask today?"
"I guess so. It takes some time to get back up after dying once. No matter how quickly you revive them."
The way Isar looked down at the Master was as if he were looking at a test subject.
Then, the Master groaned and muttered, uncharacteristically.
"I would appreciate it if you could at least consider the fact that I am listening, Tower Master."
“Do you know me?”
"If the Information Guild Master fails to recognize someone noble, it would be embarrassing to even call him the leader of the Information Guild."
The Master, lying down with the back of his head where the magic tool was inserted fully exposed, mumbled.
Isar chuckled at those words.
"You've got the nerve. Are you prepared?"
I quietly added an explanation to Isar.
"The Master has congenital excessive magic power, and his heart is particularly weak, so you need to be careful."
" You should have told me that sooner."
" Did you give me time for that?"
When I smiled and asked Isar, he eventually gestured to me with his chin.
"Then I'll take this fellow, so you guys go do your work."
" It seems like it will be difficult right now, doesn't it?"
"If you really want to watch someone die, do it now."
Isar glanced at me with a bored look and shook his head.
"I think I need to feed this guy a few potions before I can work on him. It won't be done today."
Carcel also nodded at those words. Then he calmly asked me.
"Asha, you haven't fully recovered yet, so why don't you go and rest for today?"
"Alright."
Anyway, there was nothing more I could do by staying here.
In the end, I apologized to the master.
"Master, I didn't know it would turn out like this today either. I'm sorry."
"There is nothing to be sorry about. However..."
I saw the Master's face without the mask for the first time.
Perhaps because he was ill, he smiled bitterly with a pale face.
"I never imagined I would be dragged here like a dog."
"You talk too much, prisoner. This is actually a bit of a concession."
Carcel reprimanded the master.
Unlike Raphael, we still had no idea how far he was involved.
Since he is in a position to access more information than Raphael, valuable information might come out if the Master speaks up.
In the end, the Master kept his mouth shut.
"Then I'll contact you when it's done, so don't bother me and go."
"Yes! See you later, Mr. Isar!"
Today, I had to turn back more regrettably than I had anticipated.
As I rode in the carriage back home, I asked Carcel.
"Carcel, who do you think is the mastermind behind all these plans?"
"There is certainly someone who can command the merchant guilds as they please, but the Empire has many enemies."
Carcel answered calmly.
"To be honest, I suspect the threat is from the outside rather than an internal enemy."
"That's something I've never thought about before."
Since I used the original work as a standard, I actually didn't think deeply about the events that occurred outside of the original.
"By the way, what exactly do you mean by 'outside'? Countries outside the Kaldtran Empire?"
"Yes. It is similar. I am not simply referring to all countries other than Kaldtran, but the Empire's recent pace of development has begun to surpass that of neighboring nations."
This means that even more countries are paying attention to the empire, especially in these times when people are sending each other goods.
"So, since it is a country that has already become wealthy through a war, you are saying that if its development is this fast, they will naturally try to keep it in check?"
"Yes. And simply having one country won't be enough to keep us in check."
This was a really unexpected remark.
"Then that means at least several countries intend to form an alliance and attack us..."
"Of course, there will likely be countries that take the lead, but we don't know for sure yet."
I asked Carcel.
"Did intelligence agents from other countries perhaps report any unusual movements?"
"There are no countries specifically raising armies or withdrawing diplomats or key figures from the Empire, but..."
Carcel tapped his knee with his index finger.
"We should probably keep various possibilities open."
"I don't think Grand Duke Dischlie did this all by himself. He doesn't seem like the kind of person capable of carrying out such a long-term operation with such meticulous detail."
Carcel also nodded at my words and smiled softly.
"Any citizen of the Kaldtran Empire with common sense knows that Grand Duke Dischlie is not fit to be Emperor. Naturally, his son is also..."
That's true. A leaky bucket leaking inside won't stop leaking just because it's outside.
He spoke while lost in thought, as if ruminating on the clues one by one.
"Furthermore, His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince lack the slightest bit in terms of legitimacy or ability, so there is no justification."
"So, it is highly likely that they pretended to attempt to assassinate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince or unleashed monsters to further aggravate His Majesty's already weakened mind, just to create a pretext."
"Yes. And they probably needed the Grand Duke and his son, if only for the sake of justification."
I pondered with Carcel for a while and then just threw out a random guess.
"How is the Kingdom of Cerberus?"
"It’s not impossible. In fact, it might be closer to the highest probability."
"Other nations would have had their national power somewhat weakened by the war or would have to be wary of the Empire, but since the Kingdom of Cerberus is in the desert, they returned without being able to conquer it."
"If judged solely by national power, it might be worthy of being a key player."
Carcel nodded.
"Although we have designated a commemorative day called the Day of Peace and spend time exchanging greetings, the Empire has no allies trustworthy enough to protect its back."
There is no country that is not desperate to befriend an empire that appears to be a great power on the surface.
However, if you look into the inner workings, the reality is different.
To them, the empire is still a fearsome predator, and if it were to collapse, it would also be the most tempting prey.
Usually, in such cases, one forms a marriage alliance to forge a new bond...
"Currently, His Majesty the Emperor has only one direct descendant, His Highness the Crown Prince, so it is difficult to even proceed with a marriage alliance."
"First, I will identify those connected to or originating from the Kingdom of Cerberus who might possess inside information."
I gave Carcel a sweet smile.
"Thank you. And you mentioned before that Princess Amira of Cerberus might die on a day of peace when it comes."
"Yes."
"Come to think of it, nothing happened to Princess Safiya. And she also had a close relationship with Raphael."
Even though Princess Safiya was merely a 'friend,' she attended almost all social activities as Raphael's partner.
People must have naturally speculated on the possibility of the two getting engaged.
Even though Raphael couldn't possibly have been unaware of that, he steadfastly took Safiya with him.
Even though he knew that she liked him.
'Given Raphael's personality, there's no way he would do that if there were no benefit.'
"I think we need to investigate Princess Safiya. I know you are investigating everyone around Raphael, who was the messenger, but we need to make Princess Safiya our top priority."
"All right."
Carcel might have been puzzled, but he did not raise the slightest objection to my words.
On the contrary, he simply nodded as if to say not to worry.
So I leaned comfortably against Carcel and smiled.
"...Hmm."
He cleared his throat, perhaps feeling embarrassed for no reason, yet his hand naturally wrapped around my shoulder.
" I receive a lot of help from Asha every time."
" I didn't really do anything, though."
"If it weren't for Asha, I wouldn't have known in advance that the Master's warning or the monsters' movements were suspicious."
He confessed to me as if he were embarrassed.
"Honestly, no matter how wide your information network is spread out, you cannot see everything in the world."
"Rather, the empire is such a vast forest that it likely has many flaws."
"Yes. There are far too many places to hide. However, thanks to Asha's information, I feel like we are getting closer to the answer faster."
Feeling awkward, I laughed, "Hehe."
"Well... Thank you!"
After saying that, I suddenly realized my mistake and added something.
"But you know what? Do you remember what Raphael said? I asked him to name the mastermind, and he handed me Count Tabes."
"Count Tabes... Honestly, I don't think he would have much advantage even if he joined forces with another country."
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