Chapter 386 – The King's Strategy

Well then. The discussion with King Farid and Queen Sheriti has been concluded. Now next… I suppose we should start by securing our footing.

“I’ll provide you with some magic tools, please make use of them.”

I took out magic tools from Rosemary’s bag and arranged them on the carpet. I handed over several sets of the Amulet of Evil Repulsion and Clear Blood magic tools, explaining how to use them.

“Hmm… Then I shall use them immediately. Starting with those in key positions.”

“What procedure will you follow? Should we begin by checking for signs of vampiric influence?”

“No. It’s safer and quicker to have them use the magic tools without detailed explanation. If there’s a possibility they’re being controlled, it’s sufficient to explain after breaking the control and ensuring safety. We’ll call them in small groups, gradually expanding the scale as we proceed.”

King Farid and Queen Sheriti exchanged these words.

Hmm. If they can escape the vampire’s mental domination, safety can be ensured, and we can also obtain information from those who have had contact with vampires.

After that, based on that information, if we eliminate the vampires, we should be able to prevent subsequent incidents.

Not giving detailed explanations probably means not letting them detect the removal of mental control. As long as they remain hidden, they likely won’t cause problems until they take action.

But taking action immediately after receiving the magic tools? I understand that delaying could worsen the situation, but this level of quick response really shows he’s a king who has managed to contain the confusion.

“Then we’ll also attend as escorts. While the probability is low, if we happen to hit the jackpot right away, or worse, if they detect it immediately and go berserk, we’ll lose everything.”

“That’s reassuring. Then I’d like to request your assistance until we have gathered a sufficient number of people who have been confirmed safe.”

“Yes.”

It looks troublesome, but it probably won’t be that much work. If it’s clear they haven’t been mentally dominated, then it comes down to their original trust and reliability.

Also, if one person is found, we should be able to follow the trail and remove the control in a chain reaction. If they’re afraid of discovery, we can’t just check everyone randomly. In that case, those informants we mentioned earlier would be relatively high priority.

When I mentioned this, King Farid nodded, stood up, and immediately left the room to give instructions to the maids.

And so we waited in a room of the palace’s detached palace. In the adjacent room, King Farid had his close aides use the magic tools, and after safety confirmation was complete, he would reveal the truth and send them to our room.

The first group gathered consisted of the closest aides – the prime minister, the Knight Order Commander, and the Court Magician.

“What seems to be the matter, young—no, Your Majesty?”

“Well. I received some interesting magic tools from the Verdgar people. They’re apparently magic tools for health promotion that regulate physical and mental condition. Since they’re unusual, I thought I’d have you all try them too.”

“Oh ho. To receive such consideration from Your Majesty.”

The prime minister, with his gentle demeanor, broke into a smile at King Farid’s words.

Regulating physical and mental condition, huh. Well… it’s not exactly a lie. Clear Blood, for instance, uses magic to restore blood to its normal state, so there is an aspect of actually improving physical condition.

“Just wearing it around the neck is sufficient?”

“This one actually requires using magical power to activate the magic tool, I see. Hmm.”

The close aides either wore the Amulet of Evil Repulsion or used the Clear Blood magic tools, appearing somewhat amused.

After everyone had used the magic tools, King Farid asked, “Notice anything different?”

“Let me see. Now that you mention it, I feel like my mood has improved slightly.”

“Indeed. It’s not dramatic, but it’s not bad either.”

Well, if they weren’t released from mental domination, that’s about what you’d expect. For those with poor blood condition, the effects might be more visible.

“My apologies to you all.”

King Farid said this and apologized.

“Oh? What seems to be the matter?”

“Well. Those are actually curse-breaking magic tools and Clear Blood magic tools. I received information that vampires are acting in an organized manner. There’s a possibility that someone under mental domination has infiltrated the royal palace. I cannot take action until we eliminate that possibility first.”

“What…! Well, if that’s true, then Your Majesty’s actions are understandable.”

“Indeed. There’s no need for Your Majesty to bow his head.”

“Clear Blood, you say? No wonder the magic tool’s effects seemed familiar.”

The close aides spoke one after another, then nodded as if convinced.

“For detailed information, please ask Elham and Sheriti in the adjacent room. We’ll have important people use the magic tools in order… Once we have secured sufficient numbers, we’ll expand the scale, so please consider the arrangements and future plans.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Saying this, they saluted King Farid.

Then the close aides heard the circumstances from Princess Elham and Queen Sheriti and began devising the next course of action.

“Conducting inspections is good, but we must eliminate the possibility of falling under mental domination afterward. Particularly, the Amulet of Evil Repulsion is consumed when it removes mental domination, correct? We must use them carefully.”

“Hmm. How about having them sleep and eat in groups of three for the time being?”

“That seems good. For the knights and soldiers, we can conduct inspections by dividing them into squads.”

“Fortunately, we seem to have a surplus of magic tools, but it’s also a race against time. Let’s proceed efficiently.”

“As for dispatching troops to the desert region—”

They continued their discussion in this manner.

From what I could hear from the side, it seemed they were prioritizing security patrols in the capital Mernpios and along the highways to maintain domestic stability, so they didn’t appear to have the capacity for large-scale troop deployment to the desert region immediately.

“Not just the forces for stabilizing security on the Baharzard side… If Kahar and the vampires are moving to the southwest, we don’t seem to have much time to spare.”

When Ashley said this with a somewhat troubled expression, Marlene also nodded with a worried look.

“That’s right. There must be settlements and bases in the southwest too… and the vampires might try to interfere with the Sacred Land.”

“You mentioned Kahar’s forces were about the scale of a large bandit group, didn’t you? That means the kingdom has numerical superiority, right?”

“Probably. That’s likely why they were defeated and driven out. In that case, they would avoid direct confrontation even more.”

So in this situation, rather than sending a perfectly prepared force with overwhelming numerical advantage to crush them completely, it’s more important to quickly mobilize just enough troops to suppress them.

If they plunder and accumulate strength, or if they manage to control the forest’s sinners, it would become troublesome.

“In that case… a quick strike with as many troops as the Sirius can carry.”

When I said this, everyone’s attention focused on me. In other words, a blitzkrieg utilizing mobility. That should cover the troop numbers too.

“We found a vampire victim.”

From the adjacent room, King Farid brought in a maid who looked apologetic. Hmm… Judging by her appearance, the mental domination seems to have been lifted.

“There was a knight who was an informant, wasn’t there? This is his sister. She was attacked when she returned late from shopping in the city, and was subjected to vampiric feeding. Now. I apologize for the abruptness, but do you know anything about other victims?”

Urged by King Farid, the maid lifted her frightened expression.

“There’s no need to be afraid. If it was due to mental domination, then it’s my failure for not detecting the vampire’s presence sooner and not anticipating this. Neither you nor your brother will be held responsible.”

At King Farid’s words, the maid let out a small sigh as if relieved. Then she opened her mouth with an apologetic expression.

“I deceived my brother… and took him to the vampire. That vampire also fed on my brother… and extracted information about Her Highness Elham. Then he conveyed the method for this ambush. He told us to coordinate with Dahl and his group and put the plan into action.”

“Where is that vampire now?”

“He said he was returning to provide support in the southwest. Later, he would send a messenger to me, and told me to report the results via secret letter or similar means.”

Returning to the southwest, huh. A fairly high-ranking vampire who can use the Evil Eye in addition to feeding… seems quite busy. So they’re also trying to compensate for numerical disadvantage with quality.

If they had succeeded in kidnapping Princess Elham, they probably planned to hand her over then, or meet somewhere…

“Hmph. They’re quite something.”

“If I may be so bold. How about feeding false information to the messenger?”

“Oh ho.”

At my words, King Farid grinned.

“I believe the information that Her Highness Elham has returned with us has become rumor. So, if we take advantage of that—”

When I said this, King Farid shook with what seemed like barely contained amusement.

“Kukuku… hmm. I need to think of a reason why we can’t hand Elham over to them.”

“What if we claim that the current Her Highness is a Shadow Clone because she got caught up in the fighting?”

The aide who made this suggestion was also wearing a mischievous smile.

“That’s good. If we spread information that I’m furious and planning to deploy troops to the mountain region, Kahar and his group would likely take advantage of that to come out of hiding and take action. We could also openly prepare for deployment, killing two birds with one stone.”

And then we strike there. We’ll probably need to track the person carrying the secret letter.

“In that case, to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings among the nomads, we must secretly inform the clan leader about the false information. Once we finish inspecting the remaining personnel, begin preparations immediately. As planned, we’ll also hold the evening banquet. We need to show them that we’re using a Shadow Clone as a decoy.”

“Yes!”

“Hmm. This is getting interesting.”

When Sheila murmured this while watching the scene, Irmhild gave a wry smile.