Chapter 193 – The Royal Family's Circumstances

It seems Miriam is energetically handling the store opening preparations by purchasing and bringing in necessary items, so it should be ready soon.

I was proceeding with my usual training, but I wanted to give Sheila some settled time too.

So today’s training is canceled. I decided to head to the Royal Castle to hear various updates from King Melvin and Rosemary.

First, when I went to request an audience with King Melvin, I was told he was receiving guests and wouldn’t have time for a while.

In that case, I should probably hear from Rosemary first.

I told them I’d come back later to request another audience, and was seen off by a bowing maid before heading to the North Tower. Riding the Floating Stone up the tower, I appeared at Rosemary’s room.

“Has the problem been resolved?”

Those were the first words out of Rosemary’s mouth when she saw me.

“For now. Though the city might experience some disturbances.”

“Those handling that kind of drug… must be connected to the underworld merchant circles. With their leader gone, there might be some confusion.”

“Seems there are other organizers, so the confusion probably won’t last long.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s good then. Now, let’s proceed with our discussion.”

As usual, we sat across from each other at the table.

“Last time, I believe we discussed analyzing ancient documents related to demons.”

“Yes. Not just codes, but even the characters used and phrasing conventions change with each era, giving me a headache… But I’ve been tracing literature regarding the connection between demons and seals. According to legends, long after demons appeared… several large-scale battles occurred between them and humans.”

It’s said that several countries were destroyed, and those taken away experienced hellish suffering as the demons’ livestock. Demons are said to respect the strong, but conversely show no mercy toward the weak.

Since their dietary preference is others’ negative emotions, the relationship inevitably becomes one of predator and prey. There are countless anecdotes, like when a delegation was sent seeking friendship only to be torn to pieces.

So the battles against demons were apparently extremely fierce. Many documents were lost during the demon wars, leaving few remaining records.

In that sense, Termwills has never been conquered, thanks to Claudia’s protection. Given the labyrinth system, both supply replenishment and combat enhancement can be handled within the city.

Furthermore, the Moon Goddess’s Blessing is effective against negative magical power like miasma and curses like the Amulet of Evil Repulsion. This must make things difficult for the demons.

Regarding these wars between demons and humans—chronologically, they occurred long after the magical storm Claudia mentioned. At least after the magical storm subsided… human nations were established and organized enough to fight demons.

“So the turning point in the disadvantageous situation came when countermeasures against demons and barrier magic were developed.”

Currently, barriers are deployed in urban areas and major strongholds of various countries. This serves as countermeasure against demon intrusion, enabling stronghold defense.

Simultaneously, making strongholds harder to attack means cutting off the demons’ food supply.

“That’s right. And that’s what we’ve discovered. Please keep in mind this is a hypothesis pieced together from various documents and current circumstances.”

After this preface, Rosemary continued.

“Countermeasures against demons—like widely spreading the Moon Goddess’s Blessing, or using barrier and sealing techniques by harnessing environmental magical power… It seems a group of magicians appeared who brought such advanced magical technology.”

“A group of magicians…”

“What you’re using is… probably magical power circulation, right? Among them, some apparently mastered it as a countermeasure against demons. Those capable of circulation due to their magical aptitude were quite limited. Plus, being magicians who fought on the frontlines, the technique declined after demon activity waned… but magical power circulation itself is recorded in ancient documents as one of the advanced techniques.”

That makes sense. Rosetta had researched and knew about circulation’s existence too. Probably an ideal technique for Rosetta’s fighting style, I’d imagine.

“Returning to our topic. With established countermeasures and stronghold defense, the balance tilted somewhat toward the human side. After large-scale battles with demons—they managed to repel but couldn’t destroy the demons’ overlord… so they decided to seal it. The kings of various countries discussed it—and the method employed was to split the demon overlord into soul and vessel, sealing them in separate locations.”

Overlord… Probably referring to the first one Gardinis mentioned.

“So one seal is in Termwills?”

“We haven’t found any descriptions of where or how it was sealed. So we don’t have documents connecting that part yet, but probably so. Soul and vessel. We don’t know which is sealed in the labyrinth…”

In that case… the Miasma Orb must have been brought from wherever the other half is sealed.

“The other location must be somewhere.”

“—Silvatoria, perhaps? Chronologically, maybe its predecessor Beriondora.”

Considering monsters emerge from the north… I think it might be around there.

“I see… Indeed, that country’s magical technology is head and shoulders above others… and considering the magician group as being from Beriondora makes sense. The unknown sealing location also fits if we assume the magicians settled there and established a country…”

“That’s true…”

That would explain why Beriondora was attacked by demons until the very end.

“…Should I visit that country?”

“Investigation in Silvatoria might be necessary… but you should probably avoid Beriondora itself. Since demons broke the seal and brought out the Miasma Orb, we should assume Beriondora might contain the enemy’s main base?”

“If they can only send elite forces here in small numbers, then repelling them and continuously whittling down their strength is the correct approach?”

“That’s what I think. Starting with the female demon from Cardiff that you defeated, then Blazing Heat, Dancing Sword, Black Bones. The notoriety of the latter three is quite significant. Though we don’t know how many demons of similar caliber remain…”

…Indeed. No reason to abandon the advantage of being able to defeat them individually. With Claudia here too, the labyrinth is definitely our home ground.

“Warning Silvatoria through diplomatic channels might be possible, but superficially things are calm now. It’s possible that sending investigators from Silvatoria could become the cause… of something.”

“…Quite difficult. I’ve heard that country has political instability too.”

“Ah. The Crown Prince matter.”

Rosemary smiled meaningfully.

“I’ve never met him myself. But since the amiable Stephania dislikes him, he must be quite something.”

First Princess Stephania, huh. Well, that’s information I can trust.

“Though Verdgar isn’t in a position to laugh about that either.”

“You’re one to talk.”

At my words, Rosemary happily covered her mouth with her feather fan, shoulders shaking.

“Though I was one who got disposed of too, since you took care of Roy, our political instability is limited to the discord between the Grand Duke’s and Duke’s families.”

“…Is that so?”

“You haven’t heard from Father, then? Father was born between the Duke’s family daughter and the royal family.”

“I’ve heard about the tug-of-war between the royal, grand ducal, and ducal families.”

But this is the first I’ve heard about discord between those two families.

“The Verdgar royal family, due to the Nation Protecting Ceremony relationship, also has talent maintenance issues, right? The originally related grand ducal and ducal families produce strong candidates to marry into the royal family. Royal authority is strong, but precisely because of that, there’s tug-of-war among the three families. Indeed, the First Queen is the grand ducal family’s daughter. Because of this, the grand ducal and ducal families try to interfere with the royal family, and Father pretends to listen while neutralizing their influence, or sometimes mediates between them—he’s caught in various dilemmas.”

…That sounds like quite difficult navigation just hearing about it.

“Roy aside… Josiah and Stephania are following Father’s example, trying to remain as moderate as possible. In that sense, those two are honor students. The First Queen doesn’t give special treatment to the grand ducal family either.”

Said the delinquent Rosemary. Well, in terms of royal independence, Rosemary’s thinking does align with moderation. She advocates meritocracy over family background or hierarchy.

“What about Rosemary?”

“My mother was from the neighboring country Glowfonica’s Marquis family.”

“Ah. So that’s why Prince Helfried’s study abroad destination is—”

“Yes. Glowfonica. I was following Josiah’s example and keeping my distance from Glowfonica.”

Rosemary was basically operating on the premise of becoming king, after all.

“Anyway, with you here, Father might find it easier to make various moves.”

Rosemary’s expression as she said this was hidden behind her feather fan.