Sherry and Jacqueline lit up their eyes as soon as I spoke.

“Have you already put out a warrant for the magician in Quina?”

“More or less.”

I used a communication magical device to talk to the local lords through a video call. They said that to prevent a culprit who uses magic, we need someone knowledgeable in that field.

The empire is as blind to magic as it is indifferent. As written in the quest, Quina is a place where magic is well-known. It’s a closed country standing above the desert. It’s known as both the cradle and tomb of magicians.

“I asked them to cooperate with others, and they should handle it themselves.”

Jacqueline, with a playful smile, teasingly glanced at me.

“You threatened them.”

“Not really.”

“Then, turn the story around. The warp gate, right? You negotiated with that.”

Jacqueline was indeed clever.

“Yeah, I asked for it using the warp gate.”

The lord here who promised to send a capable magician from Quina to install the warp gate would be the first one to receive the right to set it up.

“They said they would not monopolize it, but they would give us the preemptive right. So, they diligently investigated whether there were magicians in their regions.”

Sherry nodded approvingly at my words.

“Your Grace, may I ask a question?”

“Anything. Feel free.”

“Why did it turn into a competition for the preemptive right? Although the warp gate is symbolic as it is created by the gods… the capital is dangerous due to zombies. Of course, thanks to the powerful sacred power, zombies can’t get close to the warp gate. Isn’t it still uneasy?”

“It would be uneasy.”

But the local lords promised to cooperate with me, considering more benefits than just that.

“However, there’s the Second Prince here.”

“Ah.”

A eureka-like expression appeared on Sherry’s face.

“I suppose you were thinking of His Highness the Second Prince, Astin. Imagining that he’ll notice when he becomes the emperor. Expecting favors to fall upon us when he ascends the throne.”

Sherry and Jacqueline made faces of disapproval, but they nodded as if understanding.

“In the worst case, we decided to evacuate all the survivors in the capital and then destroy it altogether.”

Magic bomb. If we gather more powerful ones than the lower-level magic bomb used in the first battle against zombies, we could handle all the zombies. The idea of stocking bombs wasn’t uncommon in conversations with the lords.

They say they’ll rebuild the capital once again.

“…If we do that, it might not be an entirely impossible story. As there’s no damage outside, they can think as comfortably as they want.”

“Even so, it’s still in a dangerous state… Already thinking about the next coronation ceremony. I’m getting tired of it.”
“Now that I have an increased number of troops to use, it’s a good thing. Anyway, we can’t move recklessly from here.”

“Why is that? This is a more efficient and safer way… Oh.”

Instead of Sherry, Jacqueline continued.

“We don’t know how the culprit will react.”

“That’s right.”

Honestly, if the local lords hadn’t agreed enthusiastically to abandon the capital and bombard the zombies massively to get rid of them, it would be a lie.

But what worried me was that we didn’t know how the culprit would react to that decision.

“I wonder how far the power of the red emblem can go.”

A cornered mouse opens a way for the cat. Until now, the zombies had a numerical advantage, so the culprit might not have killed the survivors for fun, but…

What if we decide to join forces with people outside and blow away all the zombies in the capital at once?

Would the mouse, cornered in a desperate situation, not resist to cut off the cat’s breath?

“What if the zombies overcome the bombing with the power of the red emblem and come out?”

Then, at that moment, a true battlefield would unfold on the ground.

“Moreover, there is no guarantee that there is no one among the local lords who is connected to the culprit.”

Thanks to Astin’s good looks, we managed to get support from the local lords, but they weren’t loyal to me or Astin.

No one knows if there’s a knife hidden behind a smiling face. The zombie incident caused by the culprit wouldn’t have happened overnight. Terrible magic, it must be a curse carefully crafted over a long period.

The danger zone might not only be the enclosed capital of Agatha but the entire empire.

“No way…”

“Your Grace seems to be worried that if the bombing order is given, the culprit’s intervention could cause a greater disaster.”

“Yeah. So, quickly find out about the magician in Quina. Fortunately, one lord arranged a connection with a magician who came to travel in their region.”

Smiling with a raised chin, I asked, “Can you do it well, Duke Damon’s beloved and Viscountess Celeste?”

Sherry and Jacqueline saluted and laughed along with me.

“Of course!”

“We’ll do our best to extract any helpful information from him. Anything to unveil the culprit hidden behind the veil.”

“Thanks. It’s reassuring. Just as I communicate with the local lords, remember that you can also have a video call with the magician.”