NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33.2
‘Keter?’
Amer didn’t know what that grade meant.
However, looking at the reflexive incredulous reactions of the wizards and the enchanted expression on the court mage’s face, it appeared to be quite fearsome.
“That’s right. If it was a meteorite, it would have melted into mana and disappeared long ago. If it was magic, it would have exploded the moment it hit the barrier, shattering it. A roar and flash would have been a bonus confirmation of this too.”
Soniel, sitting beside Amer, crossed her arms and nodded in agreement.
An atmosphere of a consensus having been reached was formed by the wizards in the meeting room.
Even with the shocking news, her older sister remained calm throughout the meeting.
Amer felt that she wanted to emulate the calm demeanour of her older sister.
Then, 1st Prince Porcus changed the subject of the meeting.
“No, but why the hell did the barrier get broken through? Commander? Wasn’t the barrier installed to block things like that? Isn’t it because you guys didn’t manage it properly?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“How the hell are you going to take responsibility for this?”
He fired shots fiercely as if he had hooked onto a fish on a fishing rod, while the commander lowered his head.
The nobles around the first prince cheered on and nodded.
‘This is not good.’
Second Prince Dave thought.
The 1st Prince, 1st Princess, and himself were trying to achieve success and excellence in their respective fields for the succession to the throne.
1st Prince Porcus dealt with matters surrounding the aristocracy, 1st Princess Jennifer was involved in military affairs, and his domain was policy and administration.
The Imperial Defense Commander was a person on the 1st Princess’s faction.
This situation would work against his sister Jennifer.
She was unable to attend this meeting because she was leading the 3rd Legion to subdue some cultists hidden in the provinces.
Some might have thought that a competitor’s fall would be a good thing, but that was not necessarily the case.
Currently, in the race for the throne, the situation was one in which his elder brother was ahead, while his older sister and himself were chasing to catch up.
Therefore, it was desirable for him to join forces with his older sister to get rid of their older brother first.
In the first place, his older brother Porcus lacked the qualities of an emperor.
He was a cunning schemer and a horny man.
His head hurt whenever he pictured the decline of their great empire under his rule and with many of their subjects living in grief.
That was why the 2nd prince intervened in the criticism that was being dished out by the 1st prince.
“Hyung, let’s move on to a more constructive discussion about this issue.”
“Constructive? If it’s not important to make it clear who’s responsible for this situation, then what could it be, huh?”
“It’s more urgent for us to think of countermeasures first. It’s not too late to blame the person concerned even after the problem has been resolved.”
“...Yes, yes. But, as I said in advance, I have no intention of putting an end to finding those who have endangered tens of millions of Imperial subjects through negligence and just leaving them with a simple reprimand.”
It appeared that he could not get his brother to drop the issue.
Dave sighed internally and leaned back against the chair.
The war of nerves against his brother had always been tiring.
Besides, in this case, his brother wasn’t particularly wrong.
With this incident, the blow to his older sister’s faction was inevitable.
In order to minimize this... he had to have this problem solved well through his sister’s faction or with his own means.
He glanced at his father’s seat in the middle of the room.
The emperor barely spoke a word, as if he had no intention of intervening too much in the meeting.
That meant that the resolution for this situation would also be a part of the competition for the succession to the throne.
Meanwhile, Amer became fed up with her two older brothers’ war of nerves.
The eyes of the nobles around her were also too fierce.
She felt the pain in her bones from the last emergency meeting she had attended, but it appeared as though her family would never be able to reconcile.
‘Let’s just stay quiet and neutral like Soniel.’
She promised herself once again.
“Chief Magician, you must be the highest authority on such matters in the magic world. Is there anyone who you presume to be the intruder of the ecliptic?”
The old man paused for a moment before answering Dave’s question.
“The ‘Magic Tower Master’ and ‘The Ruler of Magic’, Douglas Schmidt... And the ‘Epistle of the Pentateuch’ of the Empire, Lucidia. If it was them, it may be possible.”
The Magic Tower was a gathering of workaholics who devoted their lives to magic, and their leader and guardian was the Magic Tower Master.
And the Transcendent directly subordinate to the emperor, Lucidia, monitored and held in check the Magic Tower which stood erected in the western part of the Empire.
When the two superhumans were mentioned, the emperor shook his head in denial.
“Based on Lucidia’s report two hours ago, both of them are currently very far from the ecliptic.”
“Then are you really saying that it is a monster or a reclusive superhuman...?”
“If this unknown archmage had revealed his realm, he would have been welcomed by our empire. Since he invaded in such a violent and abrupt way, he must have been a monster or a person with nefarious intentions!”
The meeting continued with everyone guessing at the identity of the culprit.
Digging further into the unknown intruder’s identity was nigh impossible as there were just no more clues about the unknown’s existence.
In the end, the meeting reached the following three conclusions and promises for later.
[First: focus all efforts on searching for the intruder.]
[Second: if it’s a monster, hunt it down immediately, and if it’s a great wizard, try talking to them, but if they’re hostile, shoot them down.]
[Third: order the 1st Princess Jennifer di Cairos and the 3rd Legion to return early.]
The last was the result of a consensus having been reached between Porcus, who wanted to reduce her military might even a little, and Dave, who concluded that he would need force to solve this problem.
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