The Returnee Wants Peace

Infiltrating the imperial palace wasn’t particularly difficult given how vast it was.

The problem was whether they could find what they wanted without being detected once they infiltrated, and whether they could safely escape after approaching the location.

Of course, when Nardil heard their plan, he was ready to pack a lunch and follow them around to stop them.

-Have you lost what little caution you had left after spending time with the Duke? A Duke of the Empire and a Guardian Knight planning to rob the imperial palace – if caught, it’s immediate execution.

What stopped him was Froy’s statement that he could teleport to where the ‘Slime’s Magic Stone’ was at any time.

-…You’ve been planning this since the hunting competition.

-That’s not…

-Then I’ll help you too. But if you return safely, you must tell me as well.

Why they were infiltrating the imperial palace. What they obtained from there.

At Nardil’s serious gaze, Rosha hesitated but nodded, ending the argument.

Disguised in case they were discovered, Rosha and Froy successfully infiltrated the imperial palace without any danger.

“Are you really going to tell him? The prince.”

“I promised, didn’t I? He also said he’d help us.”

“We didn’t need his help.”

“Shh, be quiet.”

Rosha covered Froy’s mouth with her palm. Not long after, knights on patrol passed by the large tree they were hiding behind.

As they watched the knights’ retreating backs, Froy suddenly blew a puff of air onto her palm.

“Ah! What are you doing?”

“You don’t seem to trust my ability.”

Meaning there was no need to worry about being detected just from talking.

The man smiled faintly and reached out to adjust the collar of Rosha’s uniform as she looked around.

To mention it now, they were dressed in the attire of imperial knights commonly seen in the palace. It was a flimsy disguise, but at least it would give them something to say if caught.

“So, are you really going to involve the prince?”

He asked again after neatly fixing her flipped collar. I thought he’d let it go, but he’s persistent as ever.

Rosha, who had been subtly conscious of his touch, nodded slightly.

“Yes. Though ‘involve’ is a bit of a strange way to put it.”

“…Didn’t you say you liked my face before? Has your taste changed already?”

“W-what does that have to do with this? And when did I ever say that?”

She had only thought to herself that he was beautiful, never saying it out loud. And she was only going to tell Nardil part of the truth because he deserved to know that much.

‘He came all the way to the imperial capital to wait for me, and even helped with Marian’s prohibition.’

But Froy seemed rather serious at Rosha’s statement that she would tell him because he deserved to know.

“…This is dangerous.”

He muttered in a somber voice while stroking his chin.

‘What exactly is dangerous?’

But there was no time to ask.

Just then, a familiar magical wave was felt from a short distance away, and at the same time, the ‘domain’ underground became faint.

“Now’s our chance!”

Koko flew over and perched on Rosha’s shoulder, shouting.

That’s right. They were near the ‘7 stage Magician’s Domain’ they had discovered in the imperial palace before.

What Koko just did was to lure out the magician who might be in the domain.

The outdoor garden attached to the main banquet hall of the imperial palace.

Today’s destination was in the underground of the small forest connected to that garden.

“The presence of the domain has become faint. We need to go now.”

When she held out her hand to the side, Froy stared at her hand for a moment before grasping it firmly.

The way his fingers slid between hers to interlock was oddly distracting, but she decided to think about it later.

For now, the matter at hand was far more urgent.

Swish-

Finally, with a sensation as if leaping through space, an unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes.

“Hmm…”

Koko, looking around the fairly bright interior, trailed off.

Old books and documents scattered messily on a wide desk. Complex magic circles drawn on the floor and several rooms with one wall made of glass, black slimes moving inside them.

“That… looks like the result of some kind of experiment, no matter how you look at it.”

As Froy said, it was a place that automatically brought the word ‘laboratory’ to mind.

* * *

Speaking of the word ‘experiment’, many experiments were also conducted in the previous world where Rosha had been.

Experiments to mass-produce magicians or ability users under state leadership were typical.

‘At first, many cases completely disregarded things like human rights.’

Even Rosha, who had no connections, was once nearly captured as a target. And by the hand of someone she thought was a friend, no less.

-I’m sorry, Rosha. But didn’t you say you’d do anything if you could break through the trial?

She frowned at the unpleasant memory. Suddenly, the air here felt nauseating.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes. Keep talking.”

She tried not to show it, but apparently failed.

Froy, who had been quietly looking at Rosha, soon examined the documents spread out on the desk and continued speaking.

“It seems they conducted experiments to extract abilities from people and grant them to others.”

“…”

“Moreover, they also attempted to create new combat units by combining magical beasts. Those black jelly-like things seem to be failed products of that experiment.”

Whether it was because his mind was truly exceptional, he extracted the contents of the experiments in less than a minute.

Rosha’s gaze turned to the glass bowl on the desk filled with ‘Slime’s Magic Stones’. Suspicious magic stones that felt like various powers were all mixed together.

Surely there must have been sacrifices of innocent people there too.

As her insides boiled hotly, things finally seemed to add up.

‘This confirms that the imperial family released slimes at the hunting competition.’

The question is why they released such things.

“…What could be the purpose?”

Rosha muttered in a chilly voice.

Even Froy, who grasped all the data in an instant and examined the glass rooms, couldn’t easily guess the Emperor’s purpose, which had been unknown for a long time.

At that moment.

“Oh my.”

Koko, who had been poking around the pile of books under the desk, came with a torn piece of paper in his beak.

On that paper with an illustration was drawn an unfamiliar door engraved with a sculpture from ancient times.

It was clearly the white marble door she had seen before.

“This is…”

“Isn’t this the door you saw in the trial of the sacred relic?”

“That’s right.”

Hurriedly examining the paper, below the illustration were the words ‘Door to Paradise’.

That was the only writing.

“Paradise… I’ve heard that somewhere before. I heard paradise is where immortal angels live.”

“And?”

“And what and? That’s all this one knows. But if you’re asking for this one’s esteemed opinion on paradise… sounds like a load of angel nonsense.”

“…”

Paradise. Paradise, huh.

She felt like she had grasped a clue that could be a lead.

Also, though it could be baseless speculation, she had a suspicion that paradise might be related to the Emperor somehow.

If not, the Emperor wouldn’t have said vague things like ‘If you had a way to escape the fate of doom, what would you do?’

‘…But I still don’t know for sure.’

So it’s best not to make unnecessary assumptions.

For now, she just needed to move forward step by step without being shaken.

At that moment.

“You should come over here.”

Froy, standing in front of one of the glass rooms, called Rosha. His voice was deeply subdued, which was ominous.

And for good reason.

Inside the glass room she approached was a middle-aged man she had seen many times before, slumped in an unsightly posture.

…It was Marquis Lycaon!