Chapter 20: Start.
Peach had visited the village on the 79th Floor to confirm something.
Her objective was to verify the legends of Succubi from Giselle.
“A higher species of Succubus?”
“Yes. Do you know any legends, anything at all?”
Giselle folded her arms and pondered Peach’s question.
“Hmm… I haven’t heard of anything.”
“Is that so? I was hoping you might have something…”
Peach lowered her gaze at Giselle’s reply.
“However, I may not know, but perhaps Grandmother would know something?”
“Grandmother?”
The ‘Grandmother’ they were referring to was the living encyclopedia of Peach’s clan. Giselle’s knowledge was limited to what was necessary to manage the clan, while legends and stories were Grandmother’s domain.
“I’m not that knowledgeable about fairy tales. Grandmother would be better for that kind of story.”
“I understand. I’ll go see her later.”
“Indeed.”
“By the way, how are things here?”
“We’re progressing more smoothly than ever before. Being granted refuge in the Tower was nothing short of a stroke of luck.”
Before coming to the Tower, during their life on the run, many had died due to the oppressive living conditions. However, since coming to the Tower, the number of such deaths had steadily decreased. While not all those who went out on missions returned alive, the difference compared to before arriving at the Tower was night and day. Furthermore, with stable living conditions, fewer infants and children were dying. It was clear that the clan’s future was heading in a better direction thanks to coming to the Tower.
“Is that so? That’s wonderful news. Kousuke might not say anything if the clan continues to do its dirty work, but please don’t become complacent because of it.”
“Of course not. I would never commit the folly of discarding such good fortune with my own hands.”
Even if the path of living in darkness was abandoned, Kousuke would not abandon the Succubi now. However, there was no intention of abandoning the path of living in darkness just yet. They understood that they were necessary to the Tower, and this was a way to repay that debt.
“Well, putting that aside… I just heard something…”
With that preamble, Giselle began to speak, and Peach judged it necessary to inform Kousuke immediately, thus returning to the Management Layer.
***
The suppression of Divine Power, which had been trained for some time, was showing good results when Peach brought the news. Of course, Kousuke knew it was information from the Succubus clan, so he immediately headed to the 5th Floor to confirm. Silvia had mentioned that in his current state, he wouldn’t be recognized as an Avatar unless seen directly, so he proceeded to his destination with some caution. Kousuke was heading to Alec’s location.
Kousuke rarely visited the Executive Branch, so he didn’t have a direct route to Alec’s place. During Kouhi’s previous disturbance, he had been able to go straight to Alec because a high-ranking official was nearby. Therefore, it was not easy to meet Alec directly when such people were not around.
“Meetings with those without appointments are not permitted. Please leave.”
He was politely refused at the reception.
“That’s understandable.”
His lack of visits to the 5th Floor was also a disadvantage. Thinking about it, Kousuke was recognized by very few people in the 5th Floor’s town. The only time he had shown his face widely was during the temple’s completion ceremony some time ago, so he was hardly known at all. He also deliberately kept himself out of the public eye, so Kousuke couldn’t complain about the receptionist’s response. Kouhi, who had accompanied him, unintentionally wore a displeased expression, which he chose to ignore.
With a Crown Card, there was no place one couldn’t go within Crown Headquarters. Although guards were present, as long as the card authentication passed, one could generally proceed. Otherwise, it would be impossible to go and come from the Teleport Gates leading to the Management Layer, so that system had been adopted from the beginning. Therefore, he could go almost directly to Wahid’s place, so he headed there at once.
Wahid’s eyes widened at Kousuke’s sudden visit, but upon hearing the circumstances, he readily agreed to accompany him to the Executive Branch. With Wahid present, Kousuke was not stopped at the Executive Branch’s reception and was immediately taken to Alec’s location. The receptionist, who had initially refused Kousuke a meeting, was indeed astonished to see him suddenly arrive with Wahid, the highest authority on the 5th Floor. Wahid’s presence proved worthwhile; Alec quickly came to the room where Kousuke and the others were ushered in.
“Oh, how rare. You’ve come too?” Alec said upon seeing Kousuke.
“Yeah. Actually, I tried to come without Wahid at first, but I was stopped at the reception.” Kousuke said with a laugh, and Alec gave a wry smile.
“When will you introduce an authentication system here?”
The Crown Card within the Tower was already the highest form of identification. An authentication system that could instantly verify it was the highest level of security in this world. Even so, the Executive Branch did not have the authentication system because, from the perspective of not being overly reliant on Crown, which was merely one organization, the implementation was deferred.
“Let’s discuss that another time. More importantly, please listen to Kousuke’s story today.” Wahid, prompted, urged Kousuke to speak.
“Knowing Alec, you’ve probably already grasped the situation, but what’s happening with the West Continent?” Kousuke’s question caused Alec to freeze.
“…Where did you hear about that?”
“Well, it must be them, right?” Alec knew that Kousuke used the Dark Clan, more so than the Tower. Since some of Alec’s information came from them, it was natural for him to know. However, only a select few knew of their presence in the Tower.
“I see… No, the information only just reached me as well.” Alec paused for a moment before continuing. “We received word from West Town that a certain kingdom on the West Continent is making moves to send its military here.” The kingdom in question was the closest to West Town on the Central Continent, called the Corum Kingdom. The Corum Kingdom had prospered through trade, particularly with West Town on the Central Continent. Therefore, they had been resentful of the current situation where the Crown was gradually dominating the continent. While a situation like this could have occurred at any time, for Alec, it was finally happening.
“Hmm… And? What about West Town?”
“They’ve managed to evade and deflect until now, but it seems they can’t this time. It looks like they’ll end up siding with us.” Ideally, they would remain as an independent city-state as they had been, but the Corum Kingdom’s actions left them no choice. The Corum Kingdom’s objective was to force them to declare their allegiance. The military moving now wasn’t intending to invade; it was a mere show of force, a bluff to demonstrate their resolve. However, such a bluff could be crucial in times like these. As a result, West Town was cornered into making a decision, meaning the Corum Kingdom had achieved a certain degree of success regardless of the outcome.
“Siding with us… Does that mean we can use that?” Kousuke’s words made Alec tilt his head.
“That? What do you mean?”
“Didn’t I tell you about the Tower’s functions before?”
“…Are you going to use it?”
“If we’re going to do it, wouldn’t it be good to show it as a precedent from the very first instance? What do you think?” Alec pondered Kousuke’s words, folding his arms for a while.
“If the Tower acts on its own, then we have no objections. Shall I proceed with that understanding?”
“Yes. That’s fine. Let me know when the details are decided.”
“Understood. I’ll start making arrangements immediately.” Alec nodded, and Kousuke stood up, as if signaling the end of the discussion.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the Central Continent was decided in this discussion, yet Kousuke and the others at the time were not fully aware of it. The other continents were finally starting to make their move. This chapter is planned to focus on the Corum Kingdom. …In the final part of Chapter 19, I mentioned that I would continue with the story of Kousuke’s new power. I will write that after this story. I decided to introduce other continental forces here, as the story would not progress otherwise.
