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A grand anniversary is just around the corner, yet a territorial conflict has erupted.

One could say it was an audacious act, but the involved parties weren’t completely thoughtless.

Contrary to popular belief, territorial disputes don’t simply occur out of envy over a neighboring noble’s lands.

It all boils down to justification.

Everything has to be justified.

Even in Iceland, to split the skull of an ill-mannered opponent, one needs justification, no matter how trivial. In other regions, the procedures become even more intricate.

What if someone suddenly declared a territorial war just because they coveted a mine found in a neighboring territory?

The instigator would find themselves devoured by nearby lords who turn their backs on them.

However, this implies that if there’s an agreement between the parties, a territorial conflict can occur at any time.

In essence, it becomes a case of creating justification through mutual consent.

The justifications for the recent territorial war were numerous: a terrain that was too ambiguous for the two families to coexist, runaway serfs, the extraction of artisans and knights, and a long-standing vendetta.

Thus, the two families gathered all available forces to settle everything in a single territorial war and clashed on a vast plain.

Naturally, upon hearing the news of the territorial war, the villagers swiftly fled to avoid the noise, also trying to escape from the stimulated wild beasts, monsters, raiders, and the inevitable defeated soldiers that would arise later.

“I will avenge the grudge of our ancestors from 400 years ago!”

“That knight has declared a duel! For whose benefit…!”

“It’s a deserter! Kill that traitor!”

“One silver coin for an ear! One silver coin for an ear! One silver coin for an ear!”

However, it wasn’t long before people returned.

“Ah, this place offers a great view. Let’s continue the banquet here!”

This was because nobles like dukes and various lords, along with their escorting soldiers, had gathered behind the king.

Humans—no, creatures—behave as if they have no fear when they feel secure, even if danger lurks close by.

In a world as maddeningly dull as this, no one would miss the chance to witness a territorial war when their safety was assured.

The villagers near the territorial war began setting up tents and stalls, drawing in merchants who flocked to the scene, accompanied by vendors and curious onlookers.

“Oh, what is that smell?”

Even having eaten their fill, Karem found himself stepping aside, drawn away by an extraordinary aroma.

In that brief moment, news spread like wildfire. Many people passed through the haphazardly set stalls and tents, but thanks to the delightful smell, they didn’t lose their way.

“…What is this?”

And there it was.

A large eel, hideously formed.

It was grotesquely ugly, as if it had just rotted in hell, but it was indeed a gigantic eel.

An estimated four meters in length, with a terrifying head that could bite through not just a child but even an adult in one go, adorned with shells and covered in red scales from head to tail.

The massive, dreadfully ugly eel was being grilled upside down on a large skewer, dripping oil as it was cooked.

“Are you looking at a Mutant Dragon Eel?”

“Not an eel… huh?”

A voice suddenly came from beside him. Karem turned his head to see Michael, effortlessly capturing the attention of nearby women.

“Can I ask just one thing?”

“Feel free to ask, oh god.”

“That god of yours… sigh.”

“You needn’t deny it. If my faith puts you in an awkward situation, I will personally obliterate that person or circumstance.”

Karem felt a headache coming on. Just recently, he had told the flustered Belladonna and her guards to shut up with a single word.

Fortunately, this time, thanks to Duke Richgold, he managed to gloss over the situation, but Karem finally began to understand Catherine’s feelings.

Is this what being on Alicia’s bad side feels like?

This felt much more sacrilegious than the cutesy kitty antics.

“Anyway, where’s the escort for His Highness Inamark?”

“It was sudden, so there were bound to be some miscommunications in security. I left it to my subordinates for a moment. Ah, and don’t eat the dragon eel.”

As Karem was about to consider sampling the stall, Michael earnestly warned him.

“Suddenly? Even if it’s ugly, isn’t that an eel?”

“A variant dragon eel inhabiting the river running through Bendleig.”

In response to Karem’s question, Michael quickly waved his hand in denial.

“The refuse, pollutants, and waste discarded from Bendleig flow down the river towards the catacombs’ sewage treatment facilities.”

He pointed dramatically at the head of the ugly mutant dragon eel.

“The eel that thrived on that pollution has mutated into that twisted form.”

“…So, eating that could end badly?”

“Unless you’re one of the common folk of Bendleig who developed resistance from eating it since childhood, definitely.”

Karem seriously pondered. He had Skadi’s divine object, which could dispel various curses and magical attacks.

However, the catch was that it wasn’t an omnipotent solution.

It could defend against outright hostile magic and curses.

But beyond that, it couldn’t provide protection.

To put it simply, eating the mutant dragon eel right in front of him would likely pose a high risk. Very likely.

…But wait. With divine power, should he just give it a try?

“…Ugh. Still, that smell is absolutely amazing.”

“Oh deity, for your safety—”

“I got it.”

“Speak formally.”

“I said I understood.”

The stall had plenty of other foods aimed at tourists, but perhaps due to the impact of the mutant dragon eel, Karem found little else appealing.

He reluctantly turned back to rejoin Michael, who was inspecting security, following the duke and escort soldiers who had come along with the king, heading to the place where the territorial war could be best observed.

As they sat back down, Catherine shot him a glance, clearly displeased.

“…Now that the knights are here, and we’ve followed our lord’s order, let’s take our leave.”

Catherine showed signs of being by no means interested in the exciting spectacle around them but rather appeared openly bored. She then looked at Karem and asked.

“Hey, weren’t you supposed to get something to eat?”

“There was a mutant dragon eel, but—”

“What? You didn’t go off and eat that, did you—!?”

“Michael stopped me.”

“Ugh…”

Catherine genuinely sighed in relief. As a sage-level wizard who had spent considerable time in Bendleig, she was well aware of what the guild’s wizards discarded into that river.

“Right. No matter how much of a glutton you are, Karem, you should never eat a mutant dragon eel.”

“I was wondering if my holy relic could make it safe to eat—”

“What did I just say?”

“I got it. I said I understood.”

Karem followed Catherine as they began to rise from their seats and glanced around. There was one person notably missing.

“Mary… is over there.”

He noticed her saying something to Alfred, who was sitting next to Inamark from a distance.

“I was told to convey that I would be going ahead to our lord.”

“I see. But don’t the queen and prince seem to be missing?”

“They didn’t come. They’ll be at the castle.”

As Mary returned to tidy up her seat, Catherine led the group out, heading towards the wagon.

Karem’s mouth watered once more at the oily, delectable smell of the mutant dragon eel, but as a finger brushed against his nose, he flinched.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Y-Yes. Okay.”

“Go back and make dinner instead.”

Karem gazed longingly at the mutant dragon eel, the oil glistening as it dripped, releasing fragrant aromas. Despite its appearance, it certainly smelled delightful.

Catherine shrugged and silently gestured towards the wagon. Karem had no choice but to comply.

*

*

*

Bendleig was overflowing with military forces due to the various escort troops brought in by the visiting dukes and the hired adventurers.

Naturally, the city itself, being the capital of a kingdom and the residence of the king and court, housed a substantial force.

And with the troops the dukes had brought, the numbers swelled even further.

While individually not large, there were six dukes.

The number of adventurers dispersed by the dukes didn’t even need counting.

In such a circumstance, one would expect all sorts of incidents to arise, but surprisingly, nothing particularly dire was happening in the capital.

This was partly due to the considerable might of the guard forces, which could be classified as the king’s personal guard, but most importantly, with the king’s 15th anniversary celebration looming, anyone causing trouble would face consequences that far exceeded the mere category of accidents.

Thus, the dukes’ forces weren’t avoiding incidents so much as they were feeling unable to engage in them at all.

In such a situation, the king suddenly departed from Bendleig.

For what reason, to witness the nearby territorial battle.

Despite the absurd rationale, he could hardly refuse to follow. Unless the banquet were declared over, Inamark had stated that it would continue.

This indicated that the banquet was still ongoing, and normally leaving before it concluded would be quite rude.

Of course, treating the dukes in this manner was already a significant breach of etiquette.

There were as many as six dukes present at this gathering.

While one might typically worry about how to resolve such a situation, Inamark was not currently among them. Instead, he was irresponsibly thinking that the future him would handle it.

For now, what mattered most to him was the territorial battle.

He couldn’t afford to miss the thrilling moment.

As the dukes accompanied the king, some of the escort forces followed, while parts of the guard forces from Bendleig trailed the king’s escort, and merchants and onlookers flocked in because of the mention of a territorial conflict.

In the midst of the chaos surrounding the preparations for the Crystal Jubilee, the city became somewhat disordered. Though it was hardly more than tossing a sack of salt into seawater.

Still, in conclusion, the essence was that some of the city’s forces had vacated their posts.

From the shadows of light, those who had been lurking, even harder to find than darkness, finally lifted their heads.

A fleeting pleasure is the typical realm of a brothel.

Moreover, it was the oldest brothel in the capital.

Adjacent to the river that flows through Bendleig, this brothel was situated on the outer castle side, although it did face the inner castle, so it wasn’t without its inner castle guests.

Many sought to visit the capital’s historical and renowned brothel, navigating through the waters that churned with pollution and purification.

In the bowels of such a brothel.

A woman entered through the door of an illicit port arranged beneath the fleeting pleasure. Instantly, the fishy smell of the underground shifted.

A voluptuous figure that couldn’t even be concealed by a black robe.

With a thick, alluring beauty and a beauty spot near her eyes.

The scent of perfumed oils and musk wafted through the air.

However, calling her merely a “woman” is an understatement.

As she pulled back her hood, her black hair spilled forth like water, revealing horns that had spiraled around her head, intersecting with sharply vertical pupils crossing her clear and vivid irises.

She was a Succubus.

“Have those fishy-scaled abominations not arrived yet?”

Lucia was deeply dissatisfied with the current plan.

Despite most of her schemes on this island concluding successfully, the most crucial plan had gone awry.

The northern tomb fortress and the southern grand port.

If successful, both would lead to havoc. But alas, it had failed, causing the king and dukes to gather together instead.

“That’s why these mindless land jellyfish can do nothing but follow others. If they could have done a tenth well…”

It would be a cruel thing to say if the dead shapeshifter were to hear it. Who would think a single bowl of stew could lead to one’s demise?

Unaware and uninterested in that fact, Lucia irritably shook her head, staring at the bubbles surfacing on the water.

“They’re here.”

With a splash, water spray erupted.

What emerged was a dark green-scaled figure.

A thick arm with notably impressive musculature covered in scaled skin, followed by a head of a lizard with an elongated snout and protruding lower fangs.

Drenched and dripping from the couple of water splashes, a Lizardman stepped onto the shabby dock where Lucia approached.

“You’re late, Lizard Orc.”

“Grak. Prostitute. Had to be careful of the guard forces.”

The Lizardman rumbled with a boiling voice as he shrugged his shoulders. Lucia stared at him with disdain.

“The goods?”

The Lizardman turned back, gesturing towards the river’s surface. He presented a wooden box covered in barnacles handed over by an absurdly ugly creature, a cross between a fish and a lizard, that he had caught from the river.

“Grak… but I’ve heard that the most essential task up north has failed.”

“Shut it. As long as the business here succeeds, that’s all that matters.”

“True enough.”

“Don’t get involved. Fergus.”

Lucia glared at the Lizardman, her pupils gleaming like those of a beast lurking in darkness.

“I will unseal the depths of the imperial tombs and gather power, and then you Lizardmen will have to take care of the chaos that ensues among your kind who have become monsters.”

“A great effort for a few unproven Four Kings and a king. I hear there’s a traitor too?”

“Shut it. That is not your concern.”

Lucia ground her teeth and growled as Fergus grinned wickedly, his scaled lip curving into a smirk. His sharp teeth gleamed white.

“Manan declared that, instead, the traitors are the essence of the demon tribe…”

“That must be the evil dragon Orcus. A wretched being.”

With those words, the atmosphere of the once fishy and musky port thickened with tension. The Lizardman and the Succubus glared at each other in hostility.

Splash—

“Captain! It’s time for the human wizards’ waste discharge.”

At the words of a subordinate Lizardman, peering only its head above the water, Fergus turned his gaze away. Lucia clicked her tongue, her thoughts calming.

“…Is the plan going ahead as scheduled?”

“Yes. There were variables, but the fat, hairy pig king has vacated his position. Thanks to that, the timing aligns. However…”

Lucia slowly closed her eyes and lifted her chin.

“Whether you possess the skill to obtain what you consider your kin and the fallen mutants is another matter.”

“If the Swordmasters… if the Red Dragon King sealed beneath the tomb is released, it won’t even matter.”

Monsters capable of turning the tide on their own. Such biological weapons currently roamed the city in abundance. Even if their tribe had prepared through generations, it would still prove insufficient.

“You just need to assure the release of the Red Dragon King.”

“Ha. Why don’t you just swim up there?”

There was no more to discuss. Both averted their gazes, despising each other’s presence as they had interpreted the plan countless times. They could not afford to halt now.

Fergus turned away and dove into the river while Lucia swept the hem of her robe and closed the door.

 

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