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Chapter 277 Zero Knight Order
Part 1
“Damn, that fucking guy…… He is on a roll again!” (Franz)
Franz Argmann slammed the Symphonic Stone on the table with a snort.
Imperial Capital of Zebrudia. The vast Argmann residence near the Imperial Castle has been used as a meeting place for the Zero Knight Order for generations.
The Zero Knight Order is not only the Imperial Guard to protect the Imperial Family, but they are also a Knight Order under the direct control of the Emperor and are responsible for a wide range of activities in the event of an imperial emergency. Although not as numerous as other Knight Orders, the Zero Knight Order are genuine elites who may give orders to other Knight Orders if the occasion demands it. And the investigation of the 『Nine-Tails Shadow Fox (Kyubi no Kage Kitsune)』 which had been made public since last time and the prophecy of a calamity were both reasons enough for that Knight Order to move.
It was a direct order of the Emperor, so I have no complaints about following it, but――.
I pressed my stomach, which ached sharply. As if they had grown accustomed to this, the knight looked at Franz, who could not hide his anger.
“What the hell is he thinkiiing! It is not as if he didn’t know about the accuracy of the Divination Institute――And he didn’t reflect at all about the fact the Key of the Earth had been activated because he kept everything a secret! In fact, it is getting worse! I didn’t give you the Symphonic Stone so that we could become friends!” (Franz)
Just remembering it makes me angry. No man had ever said “Yahoo!” to Franz, the current head of the Argmann family and the commander of the Zero Knights Order. No matter how coarse Hunters were, they would never be like that. Whether he was teasing or just being honest, he really is a desperate case. Could it be that he got those god-like divine stratagems as compensation for such a personality?
Franz did what Cry asked and put pressure on the newspaper company about the magic sword incident because he thought that the curse of that supposedly magic sword was the cause of the calamity.
Therefore, if he had asked the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 to 『Cooperate』 in order to dispose of it, he could have agreed to a certain extent with his outrageous demand. However, even Franz could not have predicted that the prophecy would not change at all even after the incident was settled.
“You are absolutely right, “Commander (Dancho)”. Seriously, just how can a mere Hunter be so arrogant. You don’t need to listen to him at all, do you? We have an excellent intelligence unit in our country, don’t we?” (Knight)
At that moment, as Franz gritted his teeth to the maximum, a young knight with a faint smile on his face nearby called out to him.
He is a young knight who recently joined the Knight Order. He has loose wavy blond hair and blue eyes. He has a well-proportioned appearance and a slender body, which is rare among the knights of the Zero Knight Orders which are large in stature. Having just graduated from the academy that trains knights, he should be too young to be assigned to the Imperial Guard, but that is probably why there are such high expectations for him.
I believe his name is…… Hugh LeGrand. He came from a lower-class noble family but he seemed to have graduated from the academy at the top of his class.
With a glance, I admonished the other subordinates who tried to stop him. Lately, I haven’t had a chance to meet newcomers because of the short time I have spent in the Imperial Capital. It would be good to have a little chat around here.
Franz stared at the newcomer with a glare, then crossed his arms and replied.
“This is an order from His Majesty. Even the communication part with the Symphonic Stone.” (Franz)
I thought about giving the Symphonic Stone to someone else――Such as a civil official or the head of another Knight Order who is responsible for maintaining security, but the nature of Cry Andrich, which is so difficult to understand, would certainly be too much for Zebrudia nobility, and this could cause problems in the transmission of information. After all, it is best to have it yourself. Even if he is speaking to me in a casual way… As if he were talking to a friend――.
E…… Even my subordinates or my friends don’t say something like “Yahoo”!
I never thought that…… At that age, I would be languishing like this over someone who is not a member of my family. As I was holding my anger that had nowhere to go, the newcomer shrugged his shoulders and said in a light tone.
“However, the intelligence unit is also troublesome. They aren’t worth much if they lose to a Hunter in terms of information-gathering abilities.” (Hugh)
“………… The new guy’s got a lot of guts. Watch your mouth, Hugh.” (Franz)
I must say, I am surprised at how young newcomers are. Just a few dozen seconds ago, he was praising how excellent the Intelligence Unit was――.
The Intelligence Unit is a behind-the-scenes force that has supported Zebrudia’s national power. Due to the nature of their duties, they rarely appear publicly, but their abilities are undeniable, and they have prevented many incidents in the past.
A country as large as Zebrudia has many enemies. Without this unit, there would be no Zebrudia today. It can be said that they held a position as important as that of a regular Knight Order.
“However, “Commander (Dancho)”. I heard that the Intelligence Unit is monitoring 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 for several days, 24 hours a day, and found nothing. If it were me, I would be able to produce some results.” (Hugh)
“Hmph…… It is fine to be confident, but I wonder if you really can. I have seen many Hunters in my life, but I have never seen a man like him. Jeez……” (Franz)
While it is true that 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 got the information before that unit did, that does not mean that the Intelligence Unit is incompetent.
If it had been the Franz in the past, he might have sympathized with him, but that man, after all, has shown Franz an incredible amount of wisdom, even after assuming his network of information.
However, how do I handle this…… Although we are doing our best to find it, except for the events related to the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》, so far we have not been able to ascertain any events that seem to be the calamity of the prophecy.
In such a situation, the only thing that can be done is to gather people and make all possible preparations to respond to whatever may happen, just like last time, but the number of people is limited as we are already on high alert due to the 『Nine-Tails Shadow Fox (Kyubi no Kage Kitsune)』.
In other words, the conditions are almost the same as last time. If things continue as they are, 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 will do what he wants to do to us again. It is very likely that he will do so.
Unaware of Franz’s anguish, Hugh continues indifferently.
“It would be nice if the prophecy of the Divination Institute was a little clearer…… To begin with, the Imperial Capital was already reinforcing its defense. Most cursed attacks coming from the outside are usually ineffective, and countermeasures can be taken in order to not introduce Cursed Items in the Imperial Capital. To begin with, the scale of the incident with Thawne, the 《Sword Saint (Kensei)》 was much smaller than we assumed. Maybe we are overthinking this?” (Hugh)
His words came out very easily and his appearance was filled with a strong sense of confidence.
His words are kind of on target. From the prophetic vision of the Divination Institute, Franz had assumed tens of thousands of casualties. Even if Cry didn’t intervene in the magic sword rampage, there wouldn’t have been that much damage.
In the first place, cursed art is less likely to inflict physical harm like other offensive magic, making it easier to take magical countermeasures. If a person receives it without countermeasures, terrible harm will occur, but countermeasures are easy, and that is the basis of the art of 『Curses』. The long-standing Imperial Capital is also fully equipped with countermeasures against it, so it is almost impossible to curse the capital from the outside and kill the people inside.
The only exception is, as Hugh said, the pattern where a Cursed Item already inside is activated, just like how it was from this magic sword incident, but there is no way there are items lying around that can cause tens of thousands of deaths in the first place.
However, it goes without saying that I am fully aware of this. The problem is that the prophecy hasn’t disappeared yet, even with the defenses we put in place.
“Everyone, is too nervous. Don’t make such a scary face and relax your shoulders a little, “Commander (Dancho)”. We must show that the prestigious Zero Knight Order has some leeway, don’t you think?” (Hugh)
“…………” (Franz)
Asking for my consent, I squint my eyes. My other subordinates looked at Hugh in dismay.