Water Magician

Chapter 140: Intermission

There are three great powers in the Central Nations.

The northern empire, the Debuhi Empire.

The Kingdom of the South, the Kingdom of Knightley.

And the eastern coalition, the Handal Union.

The Handal Union borders the Kingdom in the southwest and the Empire in the northwest.

The Empire overwhelms the other two in all aspects, but the Kingdom and Union had long been in equilibrium. However, it was the 『Great War』 that occurred between the two countries ten years ago that greatly disrupted that balance.

The result was an overwhelming victory for the Kingdom.

The Union ceded part of its territory to the Kingdom, assigned certain vassal states to the Kingdom, and allowed the complete independence of some small nations.

One of them was the Inbury Duchy, which borders the southern part of the Union and the eastern part of the Kingdom.

The complete independence of the Inbury Duchy, which is a small country but has many important resources, was a big blow to the Union.

“Kukukukuku. Ahahahaha. Wah ha ha ha ha.”

Jaycrea, the capital of the Handal Union.

Laughter echoed in the governor’s office.

“Your Excellency ……”

When the owner of the room laughed enough, the aide who brought the report called out.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but didn’t you read it too, Lumber? A report of chaos in the Kingdom Capital. The annihilation of the Kingdom’s Knights’ Order, the enormous damage to the aristocrats and their families, and the incompetence of the leaders who couldn’t take effective measures. How could I not laugh at this?”

Sir Aubrey laughed again.

However, after laughing for a while, he frowned a little and continued his words.

“But this makes the matter clear. His Majesty Stafford isn’t acting normal.”

Sir Aubrey spoke the name of King Stafford IV of the Kingdom of Knightley.

“It’s certainly strange for King Stafford, who is touted as wise and great.”

Lumber also nodded a little.

“Sickness? Or …”

“Or……?”

“Is it the work of someone other than us …”

Sir Aubrey said so and shook his head several times.

“The Kingdom’s citizens are unfortunate … they can’t do anything on their own.”

“That’s the weakness of concentrating power on a single person.”

“If it’s dispersed, it would take time to make a decision. If it’s concentrated, the impact of losing that person is too great. Human organizations never go the way they are intended to.”

“Your Excellency, I was able to confirm it, it is true. The seeds that we finally planted in the Duke of Flitwick’s house … were lost.”

“Oh … Viscount Fletcher. We finally promoted him to the point where he managed to take control of the Duke’s authority, but he died … And he failed to draw in the Hero. Well, the Hero wasn’t in our plans. It’s okay since he didn’t bother us. It was certainly unexpected that the Duke’s residence would be damaged.”

Sir Aubrey continued with a slightly bitter face.

“Even so, the Duke’s residence was swallowed by the appearance of more monsters than we had imagined … I wonder what the cause was for that …”

“I’m sorry. I do not know yet.”

“Well, I guess that’s to be expected.”

Sir Aubrey didn’t expect answers in such a short time.

In the first place, it was a 『ball』 that was purchased from a suspicious source.

“What did you call it … yes, the 『Jewel』? Is it possible to get another?”

“I considered doing so and tried to contact the person who arranged it again, but I couldn’t get in touch.”

Sir Aubrey’s question was answered by Aide Lumber, bowing his head.

“Hmm, so they have disappeared? We were able to incite chaos in the Kingdom so it’s a good outcome. Moreover, if the Kingdom’s Knights’ Order was destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to provide reinforcements to other countries … it is finally time.”

“Yes. We will be able to go into battle in four months.”

“Four months later … at the end of spring?”

Sir Aubrey grinned and muttered further.

“Duke of Inbury, I’ll make you kneel in front of the Union once more.”