Chapter 591: Three Visitors
Editor: Tseirp
Ever since the grand piano arrived at the residence, Duke Rondo’s daily life had been nothing short of elegant.
He would have breakfast, then play the piano.
After playing for a while, he would enjoy magic and alchemy.
After lunch, he would play the piano.
Then, he would play the piano again.
And again.
And again.
And again…
“You sure do nothing but play the piano.”The swordsman who did nothing but fly through the sky muttered some complaint.
“Unlike the violin, if you take a break from the piano, it’s much harder to make up for lost time!”
The magician who did nothing but play the piano shot back some kind of rebuttal.
Such was his daily routine.
But sometimes, unusual things happened.
For example, he might be summoned to the imperial palace.
Naturally, the one doing the summoning was Emperor Tsuin.
Hardly anyone else would dare…
For example, someone from the imperial palace might come to visit.
Most often, Workshop Chief Ron Shen.
Or other imperial envoys bringing various things from Emperor Tsuin…
For example, someone from outside the imperial palace might visit.
Usually, his next-door neighbor, Prince Ryun.
Or his wife, Princess Shio Fen, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, Mifa.
But on this particular morning, the visitors were unexpected…
“Here we are.”
“Um, Shau-sama, are you sure it’s alright to come without prior notice?”
At Chief Shau’s words, Inspector Li Wu nervously asked whether it was acceptable to visit without an appointment.
“We’ve already arrived.”
“W–Well, yes, but…”
“You were the one who said we needed to hurry and find them, were you not?”
“That is true, but…”
Li Wu still couldn’t quite bring himself to go through with it.
Because of what he’d heard along the way about the Duke Rondo.
Stories such as: in his homeland’s war, he defeated a hundred thousand enemies in a single strike.
At Prince Ryun’s wedding banquet, he gifted a kraken’s magic stone.
He captured the infamous Phantomkin alive by freezing them in ice.
And so on.
“I told you back at the Censorate—he’s a terrifying man.”
“You did say that, but…”
Inspector Li Wu began to shrink under Shau’s exasperated look.
But the third person who stepped down from the carriage after them noticed something.
“From inside the residence. I hear a musical instrument I don’t recognize.”
This was Kabui Somal, Lord Protector of the Suje Kingdom.
He had come as a diplomatic envoy to attend Prince Ryun’s wedding and had been treated to a display of the Darwei Navy’s exercises. He was supposed to leave the imperial capital today or tomorrow.
And yet here he still was.
(It’s true that my being abroad a bit longer will raise Her Majesty’s prestige… But if I could meet Ryo-dono or Abel-dono here and take that story back as a gift, Her Majesty would be pleased indeed.)
Kabui Somal had once been an admiral.
A man who had marched across many battlefields, he was accustomed to plans not going as expected.
He was highly adaptable.
The gates of Duke Rondo’s residence stood open.
So the three stepped through.
Or tried to—because…
“Something’s there…”
Li Wu muttered.
“Yeah. An ice golem, I’m told. I saw it when I visited the other day. There are more inside as well.”
Shau answered.
He spoke as though it were nothing remarkable, but at least he didn’t try to touch it.
When he had visited before, the golems had been cleaning the garden and residence. The one before them now, however, seemed to be staring directly at them.
Though it had no eyes…
Their hesitation lasted only a moment.
Before…
“My apologies. Welcome to my home…huh? Shau-san?”
At some point, a robed magician had appeared.
“Inspector Li Wu as well? And Lord Protector Kabui Somal? It’s been some time for both of you.”
It was none other than Duke Rondo—Ryo.
The three were shown into the residence.
Ryo served tea.
While Abel emerged from the back carrying a large plate piled with small, mochi-like confections.
“These are sweets Princess Shio Fen next door brought over yesterday. They go very well with tea.”
“Oh, they look delicious.”
“They look like Nian Gao I’ve seen in the southern regions.”
Chief Shau immediately took one to try, while Inspector Li Wu guessed based on his travels.
Kabui Somal ate in silence but clearly enjoyed it.
Ryo and Abel exchanged a glance and nodded.
Three very different reactions, but all satisfied.
“So, what brings you here today?”
Ryo decided to broach the topic himself.
“Ah, right. This Inspector Li Wu’s master asked me to hear him out.”
“Ohh-ho.”
“He’s looking for the two men who filed a report in Nomon City together with Lord Roche-Ten. They should have arrived in the capital by now.”
“I see. Then that would indeed be us.”
“I knew it!”
Ryo’s answer confirmed Shau’s hunch, and Li Wu nodded.
A report in Nomon City could only mean the Tiger Mountain incident—Phantomkin-related.
“Well then, my errand is done.”
Shau chuckled and reached for another sweet.
Leaving Li Wu to continue:
“Actually, regarding the Phantomkin you mentioned in Nomon—you said before you recognized them because you’d encountered one elsewhere, correct?”
“Yes.”
“My superior wishes to know where that was.”
“That was before we came to Darwei.”
Ryo answered plainly.
The one who reacted was not Li Wu, but Kabui Somal.
“The Autonomous city of Kwebasa, perhaps?”
“Well…yes.”
Ryo hesitated just slightly.
Which was enough for Kabui to realize he didn’t want too many details pried into.
With a single nod, he let it drop.
A capable man knows when not to press.
And Ryo’s opinion of Kabui Somal rose further…
“I see, Kwebasa…
Li Wu touched his chin in thought.
Then, after about twenty seconds asked:
“Did the Phantomkin you met call themselves that?”
“No. Someone else…said so.”
Ryo replied.
He said ‘someone’, but in truth it had been an ‘Akuma’.
Because the Akuma—Pastra, who was conducting experiments on the Death Dragon, had called Duke Helb, the younger brother of Grand Duke Atinjo, a Phantomkin back on Blue Island.
“And who was this person who called them that?”
Li Wu asked.
Ryo hesitated.
He’d expected the conversation to go this way…but he wasn’t sure how to answer.
If he continued to be honest, the question of the Phantomkin’s identity would surely follow.
And naming Duke Helb, the younger brother of Grand Duke Atinjo…didn’t seem wise.
Though he couldn’t say exactly why.
So he decided to cut the chain of questions here.
“Inspector Li Wu, the one who told me that is a being humans should never approach.”
“Huh?”
“Beings humans shouldn’t even know exist. Therefore, I cannot answer your question. If my answer were to cause the entirety of the Eastern Countries to vanish in an instant, that would be rather inconvenient.”
“…Excuse me?”
Li Wu didn’t fully grasp his meaning.
And so his reaction was slow.
But Chief Shau, who had been happily eating sweets, seemed to understand.
He stopped immediately and looked straight at Ryo.
He looked at him intently.
Something seemed to click in his mind.
With a nod, he turned to Li Wu:
“Li Wu, that’s enough.”
“What? But…”
“As Duke Rondo said. This is not something humans should know.”
“Still…”
“Enough! Li Wu.”
The sharpness in Shau’s voice silenced him.
Li Wu realized from Shau’s uncharacteristic tone.
That he had been about to step into a forbidden realm.
Dealing with not only non-humans, but beings whose existence was unknown…and far above.
“My apologies! That is all my questions.”
He hastily bowed and ended it.
Which Ryo accepted with a gracious nod.
Though inside, he was sighing in relief.
After some further friendly conversation, the three visitors departed.
“All wrapped up without incident.”
“Incident? You were expecting something…?”
Ryo voiced his relief, while Abel shook his head.
“Of course! We could have been arrested as traitors to Darwei.”
“That’s sudden.”
“When the number two of the Censorate, Chief* Shau, shows up unannounced, it’s only natural to be on guard.” (TLN: Will keep using Chief until the actual head of the organization is revealed)
“Is it?”
“Abel, complacency is your worst enemy. You must live with the mindset of constant battlefield readiness, or you never know when disaster will strike.”
“Right…”
Abel accepted Ryo’s pronouncement with the air of someone too tired to argue.
“Still, I was surprised the Lord Protector of Suje came along.”
“Yes—Kabui Somal. Banhu in town mentioned he was here before…and to think the ship he came on was the Lone Dark.”
The Lone Dark had once carried them from Suje Kingdom to the Autonomous City of Kwebasa.
“So in the end, the Lone Dark had to sail from Kwebasa all the way here.”
“Crossing an unfamiliar sea must have been a great ordeal.”
Both men sympathized with Captain Gorick Dew and his crew.
Sailing without local sea charts is no easy task, even for a sturdy warship.
With unknown weather.
Unknown waters.
And the possibility of pirates…
“If we were coming to the capital anyway, we should have had them bring us on the Rondark.”
“That wouldn’t have worked.”
Ryo argued in hindsight, and Abel pointed out that it was impossible.
Everything seems easy when viewed from the result—and it seems like there was a better way.
But that’s a kind of selfishness…
“If you could foresee the future, Abel, there’d have been no problem.”
“…What?”
“Train harder and master that kind of skill. Or else you cause trouble for everyone around you.”
“How do you even acquire that kind of ability?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s something like ‘Sword Technique: Future Sight’.
“Never heard of such a thing.”
Naturally, this was just Ryo making things up.
Chirin, Chirin♪
At that moment, a cool, windchime-like sound rang out.
“It sounded earlier too—that’s the guest chime, right?”
“Yes. I set it so the golems ring it when they detect a visitor.”
Ryo nodded proudly at Abel’s words.
It worked like , using moisture in the air to allow the golem at the gate to send a signal.
A way for even silent golems to summon Ryo.
When the two went to the gate, a young boy was standing there.
“An invitation from my master.”
He handed Ryo a letter.
“A dinner invitation from Prince Ryun and Princess Shio Fen? Understood. Please tell them we’ll arrive at six.”
After Ryo said this, the boy politely bowed with his hands folded in front of his chest before returning to the mansion.
“We did it, Abel. We’ve secured dinner!”
“True, but… The way you said that makes it sound like we’re penniless and starving.”
A single turn of phrase can change the impression entirely.
Words must be chosen with care…
“At least we don’t need to worry about dinner…”
“So, shall we go get lunch?”
And with that, Ryo and Abel headed out.
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