King Assar of the Sumit Kingdom was receiving a report in his private room.
He always received reports not in a public setting, but in the private space of his own room.
This was tantamount to declaring that conversations held here had no bearing on any official matters.
Furthermore, the trust cultivated with his lineage, which had continued since the founding of the nation, was unparalleled.
In a sense, the family reporting to the King right now was the most trusted by the royal family.
The man, who was approaching old age, was named Machey, and he belonged to a succubus clan that had handled the royal family’s clandestine affairs.
His clan had evolved alongside the kingdom, and could be considered two sides of the same coin as the royal family.
While their clan’s name did not appear in the official history of the Sumit Kingdom, the fact that the royal family had greatly valued them was an undeniable truth.
However, that relationship was now showing signs of strain.
It wasn’t that their mutual trust had broken down.
Rather, external pressures were beginning to constrict the clan’s activities.
Over the past few years, a certain dark guild had begun to gain power within the Sumit Kingdom.
Dark guilds had originally been domestic organizations, with about one in each town.
In simple terms, dark guilds were organizations that handled the dirty work occurring in towns behind the scenes. However, recently, a force had emerged that seemed to be unifying these dark guilds.
Their expansion had been so rapid that Machey’s clan was unable to cope.
By the time they realized it, the organization had become a massive entity with influence spread across various regions, making it a difficult situation to counter alone.
“…I see. It’s tough, then?”
“Yes.”
In response to Machey’s report, King Assar sighed.
Machey, without making excuses, simply nodded.
Machey’s role here was to convey facts, not his personal feelings.
This was a relationship that had remained unchanged since the founding of the nation.
Normally, their organizations would accommodate each other, including their clandestine operations, to maintain understanding and communication.
Especially since Machey’s organization had the Sumit Kingdom as its backing.
Of course, they sometimes clashed, but they had coexisted by sharing information and the like until now.
However, the dark guild that was gaining influence in the Sumit Kingdom was not engaging in any such exchanges.
Their basic modus operandi was to act solely through their own organization.
An exception would be to fall under the dark guild’s umbrella, but it was unthinkable for an organization directly under the king to take such a path.
And in this current situation, there was an additional problem.
“Furthermore, regarding Your Majesty’s concern, we have confirmed that it is almost certainly true.”
“Oh?”
At that report, a light of interest flickered in King Assar’s eyes.
“So, there is no doubt that the Hun are involved with that dark guild?”
“Yes. We managed to escape from the dark guild the other day with information, and someone has brought it back.”
“…I see.”
King Assar did not doubt the information Machey provided.
“Hun” referred to the Hun Kingdom, a neighboring country to the Sumit Kingdom.
When he had received the report about the dark guild’s increased activity, King Assar had muttered a hunch, and it had proven to be remarkably accurate.
However, given the dark guild’s rapid proliferation, it wasn’t entirely difficult to make such an inference.
It was simply that concrete evidence had not been obtained until now.
The Sumit Kingdom, as a matter of principle, did not want to entrust intelligence gathering to an organization influenced by another country.
But if the organization’s very existence was threatened, there would be nothing they could do.
King Assar wished for Machey’s organization to remain intact.
“So? You have devised countermeasures, I presume?”
“Yes. We have several options currently. All of them require swift action, so I would appreciate a prompt decision.”
Machey prefaced his remarks by presenting several possible courses of action.
One option was to launch an attack with the understanding of potential annihilation.
This would, of course, include the deployment of the military but it was not very realistic.
The reason the dark guild could exist as a guild was that there was no sufficient reason to mobilize the military against them.
Machey’s clan could launch an attack on their own, but this was problematic in terms of numbers.
Since they had absorbed the dark guilds in various towns, their current numbers were only just about enough to maintain a balance.
As more time passed, this situation would only worsen.
The second option was to appease or conform to the opposing organization.
As King Assar had worried about earlier, this was a course of action they would prefer not to take.
After all, all of the clan’s movements would become known to the enemy.
Consequently, that information would be relayed to the Hun Kingdom, which was operating from behind the scenes.
From a national security perspective, this was an unthinkable option.
Machey’s clan was used by the King personally, but conversely, it meant that the King’s intentions could be transmitted directly to the rival nation.
“The first option is unrealistic, and the second is unacceptable for the King’s response. Are there any other methods?”
In response to King Assar’s question, Machey nodded.
“Yes. This is likely the most realistic course of action, but… we propose to join forces with another organization to eliminate the problematic dark guild.”
“Hmm. Indeed, that would be the easiest approach.”
Even King Assar seemed to accept this logical proposal and nodded.
If one’s own forces were insufficient, it was commonplace to cooperate with others to deal with a situation.
This was true even for clandestine organizations.
Of course, there was the issue of needing to establish at least a temporary trusting relationship with any potential allies.
“Yes. We have a few candidates, but the final decision rests with Your Majesty.”
Hearing that King Assar’s attention had turned to the third option, Machey spoke.
Within the clan, the third option was considered the most realistic, but ultimately, the decision rested with the King.
If they were to misstep on this point, their long-standing trust could be broken.
While they might subtly guide the conversation, whether the King noticed or not depended on his individual ability.
And King Assar was not so foolish as to be unaware of such subtle manipulations.
In this instance, it might appear as if they were being guided, but given the limited number of options, it was unavoidable.
King Assar understood this well, and therefore said nothing about it.
“Hmm. You have already been considering this, haven’t you?”
“Yes. This is a list of the potential partners.”
With that, Machey handed a sheet of paper to King Assar.
It listed organizations with whom they could potentially form an alliance, which had already been discussed within the clan.
Some were domestic organizations that had not yet been absorbed by the problematic dark guild, while others were foreign.
If the Sumit Kingdom were to be swallowed by the dark guild, other countries’ clandestine organizations would not be able to rest easy either, which was why the possibility of alliance emerged.
As King Assar reviewed the organizations listed on the paper, his gaze stopped at a particular name.
“…Oh?”
Upon seeing the name written there, King Assar smirked.
Later, King Assar would tell his son that seeing that name was what gave him a glimmer of hope that things might work out, after hearing Machey’s report.
There, it was the name of a succubus responsible for intelligence gathering for Razek Amamiya.
The connection to the tower (or rather, Razek Amamiya) appeared finally at the very end.
This chapter plans for the succubi, who have been in the background until now, to play an active role! …Or so it’s planned. (It’s just a plan)
