A blue light shone and attracted all gazes.
A quick look and I found that it was coming from the pocket of the Royal Advisor.
Honestly, the man's presence in the room had completely faded before now.
He quickly brought out the shining blue item from within his pocket.
A voice came from within it in the next instant.
"We have received an emergency signal from Whittown. War is said to be inevitable. We await your commands"
The throne room descended into utter silence once more as none dared to speak.
The Emperor's eyes darted between me and Sir Lugard as he spoke…
"It seems that I will have to hold your punishment until later, Sir Lugard. Go and get ready. As you have heard, war may be on the horizon"
As if expecting it, Sir Lugard replied immediately after.
"Yes, your majesty" he said, before taking fast steps out of the throne room.
And I followed suit.
I got up and started walking backwards as I spoke…
"Well then, Father. I shall take my leave as it seems more important business has come up. I'll be wishing for your success"
By the time I was done, I was already by the door, and with a push, I was gone.
"Whew" I wiped the non-existent sweat off my face.
All my plans had almost gone to waste. It was a very close call.
Then I remembered the message.
'Whittown? Isn't that just a bit away from the outpost? So…they've already done it?'
After all, there was no such war at this time in my previous life. The probability of it being caused by someone other than Fredrick and Cabrera was absolutely zero.
Or else…there was another reincarnator.
That was the only other plausible explanation.
'So…I was saved by my own plan?'
It was funny, but that seemed to be exactly what happened.
Seemed, because I could never be too sure about something without proof.
Growing up, I had learnt the hard way that assumptions were the mother of a lot of problems, and so, I deemed it a taboo to assume with certainty.
I looked back and the doors to the throne room remained closed, only then did I breathe in relief.
I had just avoided a crisis.
And I wouldn't be going to meet the Emperor anytime soon.
Thankfully, to collect my gifts, I didn't have to.
Now…what was next?
Well, since news had already reached the Emperor, Fredrick should be arriving soon.
So, the next thing to do would be to prepare for his arrival and set into motion that which would allow the royal alchemists to intervene as intended.
'Hmm?' I looked outside and it was already dusk. Time sure flies when you're practicing combat techniques.
Speaking of which, I never told the Emperor about my affinities, and since he didn't ask…he most likely hadn't noticed anything.
Let's keep it a secret for as long as possible.
'Yes'
I just remembered something else.
I have to start preparing for my long term seclusion, and oh yes, I still haven't arranged a mana technique for my mother. That also needs to be taken care of.
With my next objectives in place, I quickly arrived at Bard's door once more and informed him of his role in my next plan.
Of course, not everything. I still didn't trust him, but if he was trying to get close to me, he'd have to buy my trust.
And boy, oh boy, was my trust expensive.
Hmm, I'm suddenly looking forward to this.
*Buggum*Buggum*Buggum…
A group of men in shabby cloaks rode atop their stallions with perceived haste towards their goal.
It was Whittown's admiral, Sir Winston, with his escort as they raced towards the Windless Peaks.
But they quickly found out that they weren't the only ones. They had already passed by three groups heading in the same direction.
If that wasn't enough, all three parties were from Whittown.
Which only served to baffle Winston as he wondered…
'How did they know?'
On a normal occasion, he would've stopped each party and interrogated them, but there was no time for such measures.
After all, it could be that they didn't know anything and he was only over thinking things.
The situation was that critical, which was why their horses were sprinting like no tomorrow. They had to get there as fast as possible to understand the situation.
The discovery of a manite mine was an important one, and from the emergency signal, they could have been attacked.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries had vacated the mountain long ago and immediately scattered like leaves hit with a wind vortex - what Oranians call a tornado - as each went their own way.
Three were killed in the process.
It was the same with the White Iron and the Red Wolf guilders, only none of them were killed.
After that, the party of missionaries had the mountain all to themselves. They quickly started exploring and found the ground below the mountain, where the Red Wolf guilders and Cabrera had mined mana crystals.
Only, the missionaries hadn't seen Cabrera, and Davin didn't think it was an issue that he didn't tell them that someone had been there before.
So the missionaries were stumped when they found that the number of mined crystals was far above the amount they had seen the Red Wolf guilders bring out.
Then, some of them who were exploring the mountain through the gap Fredrick made also found that a lot of mana crystals were missing. And as if that wasn't enough, they stumbled upon the mana stones!
At the same time, two boys stood in a throne room, one far less lavish compared to the Emperor's.
Within this throne room were four elderly people who sat at the side, and on the throne was a young man who couldn't be older than thirty. He had a slim figure, fair skin on the darker side and a green crown on top of his head.
This was the Avilian King, Valon Arbana.
His expression was stern as this moment with the throne room silent.
Everybody was taking in the information the two boys had just brought them.
"So…we had a mountain filled with mana crystals on our borders this whole time, and we didn't even know it?" Valon asked, indignantly.
"Moreover, the Empire found it first? And have already begun to explore its depths?"
Valon's gaze took a curative glance at all those present.
"I don't think any more words are needed on what needs to be done. The Empire is powerful enough as it is. Anymore, and we shall all be awaiting our deaths"
The four elders nodded, as they now carried a spark of ambition and a light of greed.
Valon pointed at one of the elders.
"Master Ulrik, you shall head to the Empire to secure our rights to the treasures in that mountain"
The Elders sprang into action as they wanted to object.
"Sire, the mountain-"
But they seemed to have forgotten their place.
Valon's body emitted murderous aura.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
The Elders were startled as sweat formed on their foreheads.
But Valon didn't seem to care as he continued.
"I know your concerns and I agree with them. There is no way the Empire will listen or even tolerate our claims" he paused, while the Elders nodded vigorously.
"That is why, at the same time, Master Nicholas shall head to Quarzet, while Master Crowther heads to Solace to inform the nobles of this development"
The Elders let out sounds of exclamation as they understood what the King was getting at.
"If we are denied what is ours, then…we shall march to war. And to do so, proper justification is needed, as well as allies. The Empire cannot be fought alone"
"Lastly, Master Kurt, you will head to the mountain with a few others and begin mining. There's no need to wait for the Empire's permission before taking what's ours, is there? Try to avoid conflict as much as possible. It wouldn't do us good to give the Empire a justification for attacking"
Each Elder had been assigned a role, and they quickly walked out of the throne room to begin preparations.
This was about to get interesting.
