GalaxyTL
“It was about 20 years ago… That’s around when kidnappings started to increase rapidly.”
The emperor began to speak in a matter-of-fact tone. He had already known that illegal human trafficking was being conducted behind the scenes, but it seemed that no matter how many times they crushed it, someone would take over the business, so they couldn’t find a solution. The organization was quite large, with many personnel, and each and every one of them didn’t know who the mastermind was.
It’s like they’re shedding the underlings like a lizard’s tail… The only way is to crush the head, but they couldn’t figure out where the head was for a long time, the emperor said. And even that head might have changed hands, he said. Then, about 20 years ago, their activities suddenly became more active.
“And it was mostly those with magic power who went missing.”
“Eh, but there aren’t many people with magic power on this continent, right?”
Adol raised an obvious question to the emperor’s words. The emperor nodded once.
“Not only the few humans with magic power… but also slaves with owners were being kidnapped. It came to light when those who legally owned them filed a complaint. Upon investigation, it seems that there were also illegal slaves among those kidnapped.”
“Hmm, is there a possibility that the slaves ran away on their own?”
Ash’s question was something I thought too. Naturally, everyone here must have thought the same. Perhaps that’s why the emperor answered without thinking.
“It’s not impossible, but even if they escaped on their own, the chances of a slave with no belongings and chains managing to escape are low. The chances of survival afterwards are also low. And…”
“There were a large number of missing slaves.”
“That’s right.”
Ash, who crossed his arms as if in agreement, furrowed his brow and was probably thinking something like ‘magic could prevent this’. Magic tools are expensive on this continent too. At most, there are communication magic tools in guilds and castles. It’s difficult to freely supply magic power in this environment.
“W-Why would they do that…? Even if it’s a fraudulent business, the risk is too high!”
Adol opened his mouth as if he couldn’t believe it. It means kidnapping the slaves you sold and selling them again. That’s just too shady. And if they get caught, they won’t be able to do business at all. But…
“It wasn’t for business purposes…?”
The one who muttered that was Gil. As expected, he’s quick-witted. He doesn’t talk much, but he makes insightful comments at times like this. Really, he’s so reliable.
“…We think that’s highly likely.”
The emperor groaned with a difficult expression. 20 years ago, huh? Too many things come to mind.
“Hey, Ash. We’re also at fault for this problem, aren’t we?”
“…What do you…?”
The emperor’s eyes widened slightly at my words. When I glanced at Ash, he nodded, understanding.
“Indeed. Actually, about 20 years ago, a suspicious guild that was active on the Demon Continent was crushed. It’s now under new management and starting over from scratch. They deal in legal business, but you can consider the illegal business to be completely gone.”
The suspicious guild is, of course, Nemo. Although it’s smaller in scale, the new boss Mara’s abilities are truly remarkable. It’s a talent agency-type guild that’s rapidly gaining strength.
But even though the illegal activities are gone, they still engage in human trafficking as before. They have to send serious criminals to the human continent as slaves. This kind of work is still necessary, after all.
“…In other words, the number of magic-wielding slaves from the Demon Continent drastically decreased because of that…!”
“That’s what it means.”
The emperor nodded deeply, stating that the mystery of the sudden increase in kidnappings of those with magic power had been solved.
“…Let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Why did they gather people with magic power? We held a meeting and came up with a prediction that’s most likely correct.”
The emperor clenched both fists tightly. We waited silently for him to continue.
“To activate a teleportation magic circle. As you know, we are born with almost no magic power. Even if we do have it, it’s often very little. It’s difficult for such humans to activate a teleportation magic circle.”
“…That’s probably true. Teleportation magic circles consume a considerable amount of magic power to begin with.”
“Then, what kind of people do you think they would teleport first?”
We all gasped at the emperor’s next question. That’s right, that’s right. It’s obvious.
“Those with high magic power reserves…!”
“So they can use the magic power of those they summoned to activate the teleportation magic circle as many times as they want…!?”
“They’re treating Meg like an energy source…!”
Adol continued after Ash’s words. Imagining how Meg was being treated, I was about to explode with anger. Being restrained to activate the teleportation magic circle, having her magic power constantly drained… I also felt Gil’s presence next to me, grinding his teeth.
“…Emperor. Why did you predict that they would use a teleportation magic circle? It’s natural for us to predict that, but it’s unnatural for humans to come to that conclusion.”
The words that came out of Gil’s mouth, who looked like he could kill with his gaze, were a reasonable opinion. Indeed, it’s a common method of kidnapping for us. If it’s within the Demon Continent, no matter where they’re kidnapped to, Gil can instantly go to get them. That’s why we didn’t take any measures at all, which we regret now… But now’s not the time to think about that.
“…We knew. That a magic formation would likely be activated in the near future.”
“…What did you say?”
The air in the room shook. Everyone’s probably reaching their limit of patience, which is understandable.
“W-Wait, please! H-His Majesty the Emperor is…!”
The guard knights who had been waiting behind immediately stood in front of the emperor, and the captains near the door took a battle stance. But such guards are meaningless.
In the atmosphere where it seemed like a battle might start at any moment, the emperor stood up and lightly stopped the guard knights and captains standing in front with his hand.
“Stop, it’s fine. These people can judge properly.”
Then, he gazed at each of us with a straightforward look.
“It’s true that we were at fault, but we weren’t the ones who activated the teleportation magic circle.”
“What do you mean?”
When I asked, still in the same posture, the emperor opened his mouth, seeming to have difficulty saying it.
“…It was stolen. Around the same time the kidnappings increased, a book about magic formations that was being managed at the Eastern Castle of our country was stolen.”
At that time, they didn’t know the purpose or identity of the culprit, the emperor continued. He said it was connected later.
“We thought the organization would use the magic-wielding slaves they gathered to activate some kind of magic. We only recently found out it was a teleportation magic circle.”
“Recently…?”
Saying that’s right, the emperor sat back down in his chair. Seeing this, the guards also stepped back, but instead of standing behind him, they waited at his side.
“We didn’t just do nothing after the book was stolen. The Eastern Castle had prepared a magic formation to interfere if any magic was activated.”
Apparently, they had purchased a large amount of magic stones in advance to supply magic power, so they could activate the interfering magic at any time. In the case of the human continent, it’s rare for large-scale magic to be activated in the first place, so it’s possible. Otherwise, like us, just using a slightly larger magic would trigger the interfering magic.
“And so, that time came. The interfering magic was activated at the Eastern Castle. It happened to be at the time when the castle representatives always gather to greet each other and give reports.”
The emperor put his hands together and placed them on his knees, looking at us.
“When the light of the magic circle subsided, three children appeared on the circle. I’ve been told that one of them… was a young, beautiful girl.”