Before starting the meeting with Shuon, Exon checked the damage to the Mansion. There were no casualties. Only the area around where we were fighting was destroyed, which seemed to be a satisfactory outcome for Exon himself.

“If I fought him, it wouldn’t be surprising if the entire Mansion was destroyed.”

Considering his abilities, that’s true… As for me, I think I could have handled it better if I had the Dragon Demon Stone Weapon.

So, we met up with Sofia and the others. Abel and Katora seemed agitated by the continuous roar, but Sofia and Richard had apparently kept them in the room until the end.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I ended up talking to Shuon, one of the Four Dragon Marquises. The fight is over for now.”

“…It seems Lord Ruon was quite active.”

Abel says. Having witnessed the battle with Exon up close, he seemed convinced about that.

“Well, it was more like the Marquis and I worked together. I didn’t expect to fight without a Dragon Magic Stone Weapon, so the Mansion got a bit damaged.”

“If that’s the extent of the damage, then it’s a blessing. So, what about this ‘talking’ you mentioned?”

“We’re not completely allies yet. But there’s no doubt we’re one step away.”

It’s true that Shuon is wavering due to the inexplicable information Exon had… he’ll probably be fine.

Here, I ponder. Currently, Sofia, Richard, and I have a reasonable explanation, but given Exon’s demeanor, it feels like it might be okay to talk about the Book. There’s also the option of holding a Strategy Meeting based on that… hmm, it’s a delicate matter.

“There’s a lot to do, but first, we need to calm the chaos in the Mansion. It seems we don’t have to do anything, so please wait here for a bit.”

“Lord Ruon?”

“I’ll be on standby elsewhere. Well, I’m Shuon’s supervisor.”

With that, I head to the room where Shuon is. Inside, I find him drinking tea, just as when we first met. However, there’s no sword by his side.

“…Somehow, you’re quite calm.”

“Am I?”

Shuon shrugs in response.

“Since we’ve decided to talk, isn’t waiting the most natural thing to do?”

…This Marquis changes his mind quickly.

“If you’re going to behave, then I’m grateful… So, I have a question for you.”

Shuon looks directly at Nefmeiza. First, information gathering from him.

“What is it?”

“It’s about Nefmeiza.”

From there, I give the same explanation about Sofia and me as I did to Exon. As a result, he sighs.

“I see. Exon’s agreement also has something to do with your words.”

“I think so. So, I want to ask about Nefmeiza’s current state.”

It might be difficult to determine if he’s using Time-Space Magic from his information, but… the more material, the better.

“I can tell he’s active from the various organizations he’s forming.”

“Indeed, Lord Nefmeiza is anticipating various situations. Honestly, I wondered if he would go that far for an organization that was almost destroyed… or rather, he was probably thinking of something else.”

“Something else?”

When I ask again, Shuon smiles.

“It’s like… well, he’s preparing to crush the organization as quickly as possible, and also to be ready for a new enemy to emerge. And he’s doing it as if he’s being chased by something. The organization called ‘Jet Black Sword’ is probably one of those preparations.”

–As expected, Nefmeiza is acting with something in mind. Can we just assume he’s using Time-Space Magic now?

“In all of that, I accepted the subjugation of Exon… but honestly, considering the excessive caution he’s taking, to the point of using Magic to grant the right to kill or spare, I have doubts.”

“Regarding Magic… I believe a counter-strategy has definitely been put in place. Something that can slip past your detection abilities.”

Shuon nods, as if agreeing with my words.

“That might be true. If what you say is correct, it’s truly troublesome–“

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Before Shuon can finish, Exon finally arrives in the room.

“Just to confirm, Shuon. Can I demand the Mansion’s repair costs?”

“Send it to the Imperial Capital, not me.”

There’s no other choice but to default on the payment, isn’t there?

Exon says with a laugh. His tone is light, so he probably means it as a joke.

Well, let’s leave the topic of the Mansion for now… So, Shuon. It seems you were talking, how much did you hear?

What their position is.

Shuon replies, looking at me.

Based on that, I think I somewhat understand why you rebelled.

Is that so? …And, well. What are your thoughts on the current situation?

Let me tell you, I’m not in a state to completely accept your claims myself. However, I understand that I cannot take Lord Nefmeiza’s words at face value.

If that’s what you’re thinking, it’s enough.

Well, I don’t think I have a choice in the first place.

Shuon failed in subjugating Exon. It’s unclear what will happen if he just flees back… but, well, failure probably doesn’t immediately mean execution. With Exon in a situation where he’s betraying, they probably don’t want to cause any more trouble for the Marquis, and besides, there are political risks if they were to punish him.

From here on, Exon. We need to consider what you want to do.

Shuon says… and I inwardly agree.

There are things I don’t know about Nefmeiza, but it will still take time to corner him. What method will we use to get there?

There are many ways to do it. However, Lord Nefmeiza seems to have various counter-strategies in place. It will be tough if we can’t surpass them.

That’s true… Well, Shuon.

Exon then opened his mouth.

Return to your territory for now. Report that you failed to defeat me but managed to injure me. You can explain that your Dragon Magic Stone Power severely damaged my Dragon Demon Stone, reducing my Regenerative Ability and rendering me immobile for a while.

Do you think Lord Nefmeiza will be convinced by that?

Even if he’s not convinced, it will take time to dispatch the Army forces. For the time being, they can’t do anything. For now, you just need to act with the stance that you are cooperating with Lord Nefmeiza.

And if anything happens during that time, you’ll pass the information to me?

That’s right.

…Well, that’s probably the compromise.

Exon, the results of this battle must, of course, be kept secret. Tell the Humans in the Mansion to keep quiet.

I know that without you telling me. Oh, and Shuon. Are there any of Nefmeiza’s subordinates around the Mansion? You should be able to sense them.

You mean Humans observing me? There are none near the Mansion, at least. They probably avoided putting a close watch on me, given my Magic Detection Ability, to prevent me from becoming suspicious.

I’ve also been observing the area around the Mansion with my Familiar, but there are no suspicious individuals. It should be fine around here.

If the fact that we are in a cooperative relationship is exposed, Lord Nefmeiza will take appropriate action, so I should know. For now, I’ll confine myself to the territory for a while, pretending to be injured.

Yes. That would be for the best.

Exon smiles at Shuon’s words and turns his gaze to me.

It seems I’ll have to ask you to work again this time.

…I pretty much guessed what you’re going to do. You’re going to ask me to win over the other Marquises, aren’t you?

Exactly.

It might be possible to force them into submission if I just had a War Vessel, but would they really switch sides just for that?

The Marquises all have their own opinions about Nefmeiza, to varying degrees. If you explain what he intends to do, even if they don’t join us, they will likely choose to remain neutral.

So, even if we can’t make them allies, we can make them neutral, huh?

In any case, if we do this openly, the Imperial Capital Side will naturally interfere. From here on, I’d prefer to do it secretly if possible.

…That would also lower the morale of the Imperial Capital Side, so I agree.

Let me handle how we’ll do it. Now, Lord Ruon, since you’ll need to create War Vessels and such, I’d like you to stay at this Mansion for the time being.

I sigh. It seems I can finally rest my bones.