“Mages and citizens of the Magic State.

“I am Teur Rognir, newly appointed as the head of the Tower of Control.

“I cannot hide my truly regretful and guilty feelings for having to convey this content to you first thing upon my ascension to this honorable position, but concealing this matter would bring about even greater shame and sin, so I wish to confess a few facts.

“The claim we made in the past that ‘the Tower of Protection betrayed Great Teacher Orin and tried to steal and use her will’ is not true.

“It was Lotbart Rognir, the previous head of the Tower of Control, who betrayed her and inflicted a fatal wound, and the Great Teacher who denounced the Tower of Protection along with us was not herself, but an impostor impersonating her.

“Moreover, the thief incident that can be said to be the starting point of this affair was an event fabricated jointly by our Tower of Control and the Lennart Ducal family of the Empire, and the Friedel domain forces sacrificed in the incident were innocent victims caught up in the plot.

“It is very difficult to completely settle past sins, but not even attempting to repay those sins is an even greater evil.

“I express my deep apologies to the Tower of Protection, the Friedel domain, and all the citizens who have been harmed by this incident, and I swear in the name of Teur Rognir that I will certainly carry out appropriate compensation. Also, to those of you in other towers who have been indirectly affected—“

“He’s really begging for his life.”

From the mouth of Frandol Herteite, head of the Tower of Annihilation, who was listening to the sound with her heel hooked on the table, came a remark that was either admiration or sarcasm.

As she lightly flicked her finger, the phonograph-like magic tool that had been reproducing Teur Rognir’s voice stopped functioning and fell silent.

“Even a withering flower has its own lingering impression. Selling out his own father, throwing his honor to the ground, and rolling in the mud like that, even that small lingering impression will disappear. Was he always a man with so little pride?”

“He probably chose practicality over pride.”

The one who answered Frandol’s words was Medir Geldnir, head of the Tower of Foresight.

“Certainly, the Tower of Control will greatly decline due to this incident, but the Tower of Control didn’t gather people through virtue or fame in the first place. It was that desire to trample on people and command them with a tilt of the chin, the ability to satisfy that desire is what gathered people. Of course, given how enormous this incident is, they’ll have to struggle for several decades at the very least…”

“Conversely, if they avoid annihilation, they might dream of a comeback someday, is that what you mean?”

“Exactly. Even you would find it difficult to suddenly throw a punch at someone bowing their head so low, wouldn’t you?”

“Hmph.”

Frandol made a displeased expression but didn’t deny Medir’s words.

Teur’s apology was not simply aimed at the upper echelons of the towers but directed at the entire Magic State, and the recipients of the apology included not only mages but also commoners.

Considering the position held by towers and mages in the Magic State, it was equivalent to a crown prince of a nation using polite language to directly ask forgiveness from commoners.

While within the Tower of Control, the new tower head was criticized for not only leading the tower to decline but also selling out their pride, among mages from other towers and commoners who weren’t greatly affected by this incident, there were not a few who directed sympathetic and pitying gazes towards Teur.

To the extent that if Frandol and Medir, representatives of each tower, actively tried to tear into Control, there would be those who would frown upon such actions.

“Tsk, in the end, I guess we’ll have to be satisfied with just receiving some scraps as suggested by the Protection side. We’ll have to pretend not to know about the obvious lies too.”

“Isn’t that natural? It’s not good for us either if the relationship between the Great Teacher and the Witch Mombi becomes widely known.”

“While the Witch of the North was unable to move due to severe injuries from her student’s betrayal, an impostor impersonating her rampaged” and “The Great Teacher herself went mad and rampaged, resulting in countless victims within the Magic State” had completely different meanings.

Of course, the former would also damage prestige to some extent, but compared to the latter, which could negatively affect the legitimacy of the Magic State itself, the damage would be insignificant.

After finishing a few more pre-adjustments, the two tower heads boarded carriages heading to Control’s territory along with their elite mages.

To properly conclude this incident that had shaken the entire Magic State, it was necessary for the heads of all four towers to gather in one place this time.

Looking at the ruins of Aeolia’s old capital visible through the carriage window, Frandol suddenly muttered, “But… I’m quite curious how those lions will throw a fit.”

***

“Those stupid lions are jumping up and down as if they can’t help but be angry.”

Lydia Empire. Aqua Palace.

The Empress, hailed as the most noble woman in the Empire, burst into giggles with a girlish face unbefitting that title.

After the death of the great Emperor, the Iron Blood Emperor who was her husband, if there was a greatest political rival to her who stood as a pillar of the imperial family, it was undoubtedly the Lennart Ducal family, and the current situation where the reputation of the Lennart family was being shaved off was like a winning hand to the Empress.

Especially since the Empress herself hadn’t put any effort into this matter, it was as if her enemies had fallen on their own.

Seeing the Empress, who looked like she might grab her stomach and roll on the floor if left alone, Glinda Goodwitch, the Empress’ friend and political ally, sighed, “Please maintain your dignity, at least.”

“What does it matter when it’s just the two of us? So, how is it? How much damage will Lennart suffer from this?”

“…There won’t be any immediately noticeable losses. There’s no physical evidence for what the Control side is claiming, and the Empire and Magic State are in a semi-hostile relationship to begin with. Even if the Magic State spreads content criticizing the Empire, there will be many who react with opposition before considering whether it’s true or not.”

Despite Glinda’s words seeming to betray expectations, the Empress didn’t erase the smile from her lips.

“Not immediately, but there will be problems later. Is that how I should understand it?”

“If Control had criticized Lennart while still intact, they could have ignored it as groundless slander to disparage an enemy nation. But Control has fallen, and they’re spreading the process everywhere with their own mouths. To ignore this as a simple self-made play… there are many somewhat uncomfortable points.”

“That’s right. No matter how you look at it, the math doesn’t add up for breaking one of your nation’s limbs just to add credibility to a false rumor. I don’t see why they would need to provoke the Empire with fake information when the Magic State’s internal affairs are in turmoil. As time passes, more people will become suspicious.”

Silence fell for a moment.

The Empress, who had been stirring the contents of her teacup with a teaspoon, soon spoke as if a good idea had occurred to her, “—The Friedel domain, was it? We should send some support there.”

“…What are you plotting?”

“Well, right now, even if you mention the Friedel domain, more people in the Empire don’t know where it is or whose land it is, right? It’ll be even more so since the Lennart family intentionally suppressed rumors from spreading. Conversely, the more people become interested in it, the more uncomfortable it will become for Lennart’s position.”

“You won’t have a pretext.”

“A pretext is something you just make up. Oh, that’s right, didn’t the lord and soldiers who died there save some of our citizens too? We can use that as a pretext for gratitude. It would be even better to select someone who had a connection with the late lord and make them a representative. And, according to your plan, won’t that adventurer party become a dagger to stab Lennart? I don’t think it’s bad to earn their goodwill, do you?”

Glinda seemed to fall into thought for a moment, but soon nodded.

“Well, they’re people who certainly take care of their material desires within the range of not bending their beliefs or pride, so a gift isn’t a bad strategy. It’s also meaningful in terms of settling past grudges.”

“Grudges? Ah—the ruins? Or Maximilian? If it’s the latter, should I make him kneel? He’s been useless and troublesome to deal with since the last incident, anyway.”

“Such methods would only cause more backlash, so stop it. Regarding the ruins, we’ve made the first deal this time, so it’s more beneficial to maintain a cooperative relationship and receive cooperation in experiments in the future.”

“For the Empire’s Crown Mage to be so mindful of a mere adventurer party, people would be shocked if they knew. Well, there’s no need to unnecessarily create trouble by irritating capable madmen who headbutted a tower on a whim and actually brought it down. Seeing that they have material desires, they’re not unsuitable as trading partners either.”

The two continued to engage in simple conversation and plot conspiracies that would shake the entire Empire.

During this, the Empress suddenly asked, “By the way, where are those adventurers now and what are they doing? According to your plan, they should be hiding somewhere without attracting attention until preparations are complete, right?”

At the Empress’ question, Glinda let out a somewhat amused laugh.

Seeing this unexpected reaction from her friend, who usually doesn’t easily show her emotions, the Empress tilted her head.

“Those people… since they’ve been on such a busy journey so far, I told them the way to a warm and mild island in the northern part of the continent, where they could take a short vacation.”

“Oh my, was there such a place?”

“It’s a place not many know about, but it’s an excellent resort, yes,” Glinda Goodwitch added with a slightly mischievous smile. “So excellent that it might attract quite the diverse cast of guests.”

***

Northern part of the continent.

On the shore of an unnamed island that could be reached after traveling by ship for three or four hours.

“I’ve found you, vampire!! The Dragon King says he needs your liver, so come with me right now! If you do as you’re told obediently, there won’t be any bloodshed!”

A fishman with a bizarre appearance that looked like a half-and-half mix of human and turtle pointed a harpoon-like spear at Sophia.

The party, who had been concentrating on a beach vacation to avoid the commotion until it settled down and for Adelaide’s mental recuperation, stared blankly at the fishman with a “what is this now?” look.

Dorothea, wearing a black swimsuit that fully revealed her figure, put her hand to her forehead and heaved a deep sigh, then said to her knight who was in the middle of preparing barbecue, “Hey, deal with it.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses admiration for the appropriate placement, saying that at the beach, sea monsters are indeed fitting!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares his ambition to try making turtle soup!]

“W-what are you!? How dare you challenge me, the greatest warrior of the sea—ack! Ugh! Aaargh!”

It took quite a long time for the land reclamation work that began on the blue beach to end.

***

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