“What was that noise?” Back in the conference hall.

The atmosphere had quickly morphed into one of chaos. “It was small… but it was definitely an explosion.”

“Oh dear… again?”

The kings were busy discussing the blasts they had heard.

The Great Council had come to a standstill.

It wasn’t just a single blast. There were a few more in quick succession.

Although they weren’t very large or noisy, the effect it had on the conference was not small. “It might be another terrorist attack. Let’s gather all of the reserve forces and take precautions… ”

“We cannot move that many forces based on such an unknown. We need to investigate properly first.”

The people in the Western Kingdom Union were already extremely sensitive due to the terrorist attack last year.

They all strongly reacted to the sound, albeit each king had strong opinions on what should be done next.

Soldiers from each country started to move, and people prepared themselves to escape as the confusion grew.

To say there was a disturbance would be underselling it greatly. The council that was in full swing was abruptly cut off.

“Everyone please calm down.”

The facilitator of the Great Council, the King of Divide, spoke up.

While every public figure and king that made up the Western Kingdom Union was feeling uneasy, the King of Divide, Clora Valdersch looked unusually calm.

“I understand your concern, but it’s certainly not an act of terrorism. I’ve already received word that the blast was just a normal accident.”

At his announcement, the air in the Great Council calmed down.

They had at least stopped talking about it frantically.

“What do you mean by a normal accident?” Clora answered the question raised.

“There seems to be trouble at our magical armaments factory. We’re trying to figure out what happened too, and will let you know as this investigation is underway. But I can assure you that there is nothing to be concerned about.”

The King’s unphased tone made people dubious, but they had no choice but to believe him. He was the facilitator of this meeting afterall.

Moreover, the blasts had stopped.

One extra-paranoid and skeptical member of the council spoke up.

“Just in case, let’s confirm it for ourselves. Zod Exarion, could you check if there is any active magic near us?”

Zod took a moment to confirm this before speaking.

“… Except for defensive magic, there is no other magic inside the palace.”

“Well, does everyone feel relieved now?”

The stir finally died down.

The safety of the palace, and more importantly the Great Council inside it, which would be the first target of any terrorist, had been confirmed. Zod Exarion, who held the highest authority as far as magic was concerned, had verified it himself. “Okay then, let’s continue the Great Council.” However, Desir did not naively trust what Clora had said. ‘It cannot be a mere accident.’

As Desir reached that conclusion, he requested his Side Guard investigate the cause. It didn’t take long before they reported back on what they found.

[-Sir Desir, we managed to track down the source of the noise as you requested. It came from the tower. Lady Swan is currently locked in combat with an enemy force inside.]

It was the tower that he had sent his forces into to collect information.

The noises they heard all the way over in the palace were the aftermath from the battle underway inside the tower.

“Even if they had reserve forces, they would be no match for Lady Swan.”

Honestly speaking, this was an unexpected turn of events. He didn’t expect there to be a battle in the first place.

[-B-But, there was an ambush hidden inside. Lady Swan is unable to escape, even now. She appears to be struggling.]

‘An enemy that Swan struggles with… ?’

He thought no matter how strong the enemy was, it shouldn’t have been a difficult task for Swan to control them, if not flee from them.

That was why he sent Swan, even though there was a high degree of danger involved. ‘Was there someone protecting the tower who could face Swan on equal terms?’

As far as Desir knew, there were only a few people with such abilities in Divide, no, across the entire continent.

“How are things progressing right now?” [-I can’t say it’s going well.]

The member of the Side Guard proceeded to communicate what information they had gathered and what was unfolding in front of him. Although he had limited information, and he couldn’t see what was happening inside the tower, he still flawlessly communicated every detail he could observe.

As Desir predicted, the tower was a facility for the mass manufacturing of chimeras.

Swan had even succeeded in gathering substantial evidence of chimera production while infiltrating.

But that wasn’t what caught Desir’s attention.

Swan had caused so much destruction on her own. Despite how intensely she had fought, there wasn’t much damage to the tower’s structure itself. Even if it was a facility for mass manufacturing chimeras, such a structure should not have been able to endure her aura.

That was more than substantial proof enough that there was more to this tower than met the eye. The tower was not simply made for manufacturing chimeras, but must also be hiding something else.

This was a pretty important piece of information on its own.

‘If it wasn’t built to manufacture chimera, those Outsiders must be preparing something else…’

At the moment, he wasn’t entirely sure what that could be.

Unfortunately, that train of thought had to be relegated to the backburner. Trumping all other concerns now was Swan’s safety, not the information that the Outsiders had gone to such great lengths to hide.

‘They are hiding something else.’

Swan saw through their efforts to conceal it, realizing that there was another purpose for the building beyond just the manufacturing of chimeras. It was only after she attempted to figure out what it was that she got locked into a clash with an unknown enemy.

“The information we have is enough for now, we must retreat before it gets any more dangerous. All of the Side Guard… ”

[-Sir Desir, all direct and indirect interference with those inside the tower is being hampered. Not to mention any form of communication we have tried has been cut off. The information I gave you was delivered to me before the communication was disconnected.]

“Then not even a single Side Guard has come out so far?”

[-That’s right. It’s impossible for us to know what’s happening inside.]

It had been a while since the communication embargo had been set up. But one thing was clear.

‘Until now… the battle has been under way.’

Although there was no longer any noise, it was odd that nobody came out. Desir hoped that the Outsiders had invoked soundproofing magic to calm the Great Council attendees, or to try and cover up what was happening. Because if not…

‘If not… Then Swan has been defeated.’ That was the worst case possible.

As much as he hated it, it was a possibility that Desir couldn’t ignore. ‘If… the Outsiders fully mobilized… ’

* * *

Today, the mice will not survive, not even one.

* * *

Desir could not help recalling the words that the King of Divide so maliciously spat at him. Though he had relied heavily on Swan, it was still an extremely dangerous operation. He was naive for putting the full weight of it on her shoulders, forcing her to cope alone.

‘I need to help Swan.’

Meanwhile, the Great Council was drawing to an end. All attendees were satisfied that they had been able to express their opinions on the topics that mattered most to them. As all of the critical items on the agenda had been discussed near the beginning of the council, there was no longer any need to stay.

Desir spoke quietly to Zod.

“Sir Zod, I have an urgent matter I need to deal with quickly regarding the tower. If the King of Divide or his soldiers seem to move strangely… ”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch them thoroughly. Leave this place to me.”

Reading Desir’s tense face, Zod somewhat guessed the circumstances and let Desir go without asking him why.

“Yes, I will also do my best.”

If anything were to happen to those gathered in the council room, powerful individuals like Priscilla and Zod were already present. In addition, there were plenty of troops ready to defend each king, so they could surely handle any situation that cropped up without Desir.

All he had left to do was to go to the tower and help Swan.

Desir wasn’t going there alone obviously.

It was guaranteed that the Outsiders would be waiting for them, fully prepared. “If I could, I would bring all of our forces.”

It was clear that a considerable number of people had been stationed at the tower by the Outsiders.

However, even if he wanted to move the troops they brought from the Magic Tower, he couldn’t. He couldn’t afford to draw the Western Kingdom Union’s attention quite yet. If he was caught investigating Divide illegally, it would damage not only Desir’s reputation but also the Empire’s. Though Swan had found overwhelming proof of illegal activity within Divide, it wasn’t clearly connected to the Outsiders, and Desir had nothing physical to sway them with…

So he could only move a small number of elite personnel.

And there was only one group of people meeting that criteria.

The Starling Party.

He tried his best to avoid putting them in danger, but he had no other choice in a situation like this.

“So… ”

“What’s happened now?”

Romantica lay into Desir, while invading his personal space.

She took a step forward, her accusatory glare cleanly penetrating his conscience. Desir lowered his head.

“… I’m sorry to drag you all into this.”

“It happens all the time. We can help you if it’s something you need, Sir Desir.” They were rather happy to have Desir’s trust.

‘… I have often been too harsh on them.’

They seemed to have already forgotten those things.

Desir was left with a warm feeling, after hearing and seeing their reactions. “It’s going to be a tough battle, so pull yourselves together.”

As Desir solemnly spoke, he looked back in the room that the Great Council was being held in. He had felt a pair of eyes on him.

The King of Divide, who was busy leading the council as facilitator, looked his way. It was a very brief moment.

Desir felt like the King was grinning.

It was an incredibly unpleasant smile.