Demon's Virtue

"Zaragon is inside the royal castle? You said something like that before, but... it was actually the case?" James asked with a deep frown, "I mean, that place never had anything like windows, so I guess it's possible... but what benefit would the Emperor have to let Zaragon set up his shop in the castle?"

"Easy. Control, power, information. Anything, basically. Although there is another possibility, which I think might be a bit more likely. This race that Zaragon is, they're a special sort of being. They link their whole existence to a particular space that they will reign over. For all we know, Zaragon could be older than the Holy Empire, and he made a deal with the first emperor."

James looked back at him after Eiro's explanation, and slowly understood what he meant, "You think Zaragon made a deal with the first emperor that let him create this country? But in exchange for what?"

Eiro shrugged, "Again, anything. Not that it really matters what they exchanged, since we're not part of whatever deal they made. We don't owe anything to either party, meaning that this deal relates to us in no way whatsoever. All that we need to know is that Zaragon is there."

"...Right." James replied, still eager to go, although he was a bit nervous considering the place that they were going to need to invade.

"But also..." Jess started, "Considering that this place has been completely destroyed eight years ago, it looks pretty..."

"Good? Yeah, I thought the same." Eiro replied, "They were struggling for a few years, but then they were able to pretty quickly recover. Well, the capital, at least. The attack caused damages to all parts of the empire, even if indirectly. But that is nothing compared to what the capital's recovery did. Insanely high taxation, an increase of slavery by 200% over the past three years. Basically, they focused everything they could onto recovering the capital, ignoring everything else. But in return, this place outwardly looks like some kind of utopia. Everyone that can actually afford to live here now is so rich that they can live in ignorant glee, and those that can't and ended up in the slums, are either killed, pushed away, or enslaved. It's a horrible place, really, just not to the upper class."

Hearing these things about the empire made these three even more eager to get in there, although their target wasn't even to do anything that would hurt the empire directly. They were just going there to take out Zaragon, and that was it.

"Anyway, I figured out a decent path for us to take. We're heading into the capital before sundown and act like regular traveling adventurers. You guys should wear the fancy versions of your armor that I gave to you, even if they're practically useless compared to your normal stuff. We're not attacking anyone right away anyway." Eiro explained, "We're going to head into the noble district and take a room at this inn right here. It's apparently quite popular with traveling clergymen and religious nobles, since it promises a perfect view of the cathedral built into the royal castle."

"...And what help is that going to be?" James asked, "Can't we just sneak in there somehow?"

"Of course not. They are heavily guarded, it's going to be nothing but a bother. No, I'm going to be disguising myself as a noble paladin using my armor, and you three will be my escorts, and we'll try to convince one of those clergymen or religious nobles to bring us into the cathedral with them. Not everyone can get in there, after all. And once we're inside, it's easy to evade detection, especially using the ace of cups."

Krog scratched his cheek and looked at Eiro confused, "Can't we just use the ace of cups to get inside in the first place?"

"Places like that usually have high-tier detection spells placed onto every possible entrance. Without fusing myself with the ace of cups or drinking it, it's impossible to get past those even with the ace of cups. The most I can do with it is affect a specific area, like I'm doing right now, to get the four of us through the place. But once we get through an entrance, that area is going to include the spell as well. I mean, I might be able to figure out a way if I took some time to analyze the exact spell, but this is a much easier way to deal with it. On top of that, if we can use someone to get inside, we can use them as a distraction as well, just in case." Eiro explained to them.

Since the overall basics of the plan had been discussed, Eiro simply went into some of the details for how they were going to need to act, and what exactly everyone's roles were going to be throughout this whole ordeal.

And then, when they were done, Eiro got rid of the 'barrier' around them and they headed off to the capital. It was still about three or so hours away with the carriage, so they continued discussing things on the way.

--- 

The small group soon found themselves within the walls of the Holy Empire. James' breathing was still calm, but it was a bit irregular compared to before, as Eiro noticed. Clearly he was a bit nervous, now fully realizing where exactly they were, and why they were here in the first place.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to work out in the end." Eiro reassured James, who turned his head and looked back at him with a wry smile, "And how do you know that for sure?"

"Because I said so. We're all strong, and it was me that made this plan. Do you not trust my mind?" The Demon pointed out, and James let out a light sigh as he shook his head, "No, of course I do. I know how ridiculously smart you are. Just can't help myself when I feel like this, y'know?"

"Yeah, I understand what you mean. But again, there's no need to worry. Both of us want this to happen, so we're going to make it happen." Eiro told James, as the group made their way further through the town on the carriage. Since the last time that James and Eiro had been here, this place practically became even prettier by now. It was really quite incredible how this place had changed considering that catastrophe back then.

They stopped the carriage in front of the Inn. Krog stayed outside with the carriage while James and Jess came inside with him. For now, Eiro had already changed the armor to be something that gives off Holy Energy, albeit an amount that was below the threshold of Holy Energy that his body was able to take. And of course, Bavet was also helping him out by creating something of a shield around his skin to fend off some of that Holy Energy. He wanted to make sure that the image of him being a noble paladin was upheld right from the start.

Before Eiro even had to walk up to the front desk, an employee came up to him and bowed forward, "Welcome, my lord. Is there any way I can assist you?"

"I need a room for a few days. Preferably one with a view, if you understand." Eiro explained to the employee, who immediately nodded his head, "Of course! If I can ask you to follow me, let's handle the specific plan and the payments immediately, and I will show you to your room."

Eiro nodded and followed the employee. Of course, he also quickly paid for everything. He made sure to exchange the currency that he was using from Skyhart's currency to that of the Holy Empire's in a smaller town they were in a few days ago, so it was no issue.

"Thank you very much, my lord. Please, follow me."

"Wait. We have a carriage outside, as well as my familiar. Is there a stable connection to this place we can use?" The Demon asked, and the employee nodded without a moment's hesitation, "Of course! We will take care of everything, do not worry!"

"Perfect." Eiro said, and made his way upstairs to his room together with James and Jess following behind him, acting as if they were his guards. The moment that Eiro stepped into the room, he turned toward the two others, "One of you go downstairs and help Krog out. While you're at it, make sure to look at other customers to figure out if they're going to be good targets."

"As you wish, my lord." James said while bowing forward, and Eiro looked at him with a wry smile, "Don't call me that, man..."

"But aren't you supposed to be a noble? Why shouldn't I call you that~?" He asked with a light grin, and Eiro rolled his eyes, "Considering that I'm actually in fact a noble and you never spoke to me like that before, I don't think that's a good enough excuse. Now just go and do it. I'll go ahead and scan the building in the meantime."

"Sure, sure..." James said as he stepped out of the room. Once he was gone, Eiro looked at Jess, "While I'm doing that, could I ask you to set up everything we need for artificing?"

"Alright. Do you want me to prepare some of the magic circles already as well?"

"Yeah, as I said, everything we need for artificing. We need to hurry up and prepare as much as we can." Eiro replied with a smile on his face, as he sat down cross-legged, and poured his mana into the ground.