Author: Himezaki Shiu	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: Jiro	English Source: Re:Library

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Sometime after that, trouble began circulating at the Collegium. Although I didn’t involve myself directly, I could tell that everything was unfolding just as I’d been promised.

The private property of the captured employee had been sold and transferred into my possession. I was also informed that the employee would soon face judgment—and would be sentenced to slavery.

I could only hope this capital would remain standing until that judgment was passed.
Everything depended on the choice of the king.

On whether he’d keep things as they were, or if he’d seek the power of the spirit. The policy of substituting Mana in place of spirit was failing, to say the least. I was certain the royal castle had already announced that the operating hours of the town’s machines would be shortened.

Naturally, the people of the capital were disgruntled. However, given that these were orders from above, nothing has happened as of now. But I wondered if the people would continue adapting to their current way of life, or would they begin longing for what they had before?

This was briefly the current state of the capital. And Monia, who was unable to enter the town, was wandering through the woods, crying. I didn’t know the specifics. Even if, by some miracle, she managed to bring back the Ancient Dragon scales, she still wouldn’t be allowed inside the town. Which led me to think that I could, at least, build her a sturdy house to live in for the time being.

A month had passed since the events at the Collegium. And I had already sent the Spirit of Fire to God. I had some thoughts about whether it was a “he” or a “she,” but in the end, it seemed less stable than Lullus, who had received her power directly from God.

“Should I take my spirit form for today?”
“That would be ideal. But if you want, you can stay like this.”
“I feel like the discussion will go better if I’m in my spirit form, so I’ll do that.”

(Wait? She can make it so that people can see her even in her ball form?)

As the thought crossed my mind, Lullus transformed. Up until now, I’d been the only one capable of seeing Lullus in this form, so I wasn’t sure if others could see her.

“You made it so that others beside me can see you, right?”
“Yes. Besides, this is the original form of us spirits.”
“So you weren’t using this ball shape just because you’d been drained of your power.”

Without further discussion, we decided to head for the royal castle.

◇◇◇

Thinking back on the royal castle, I realized something. I didn’t even know what the king of this country looked like. Because of that, we ended up taking a slight detour. I followed the most important-looking people around until I finally found the king. If I had to describe him, I’d say he looked like a stubborn old man.

Being a dwarf, he was short with a tough, intimidating face. So much so that I was sure children would cry if he stared at them. As I explored the castle, I also came to understand that the situation was even more dire than I had imagined. The issue wasn’t just about the cost of buying Mana. The country’s top blacksmiths—including the king himself—had been relying on the spirit’s fire to fuel their craft. Now that the source was gone, everything had come to a standstill.

Thanks to that, the king was annoyed and troubled.

(Thank you for your hard work. And I’m sorry for your loss.)

The rest of the talk centered on how Fraus was making rapid progress, how it continued to station forces in the kingdom despite everything, and speculation that the current unrest might be connected to the loss of Viridis’ Tree of Spirits.

One person even went so far as to claim it was a sign of the world’s impending collapse—but no one seemed to take him seriously.

I watched him for a while, wondering if he might be part of the Spirit Liberation Faction. But once I realized he was only trying to stir up chaos, I stopped paying attention to him.

I could have whispered to him, “That’s the truth,” but I held back because I didn’t want to disrupt my plans.

The king was, as mentioned before, a stern old man. He must have been irritated by the mention of such things, which made it hard for the people involved to deal with him. Not that it had anything to do with me.

Now, it was time to speak with the irritated king, who was alone in his office.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.”
“A thief? What are the soldiers doing?”
“A thief? Well from your perspective I might be one.”

For the record, I was officially recognized as being one of this world’s top beings, so I wouldn’t exactly call myself a thief. But I didn’t care what he thought about that. What concerned me more was that the king’s right hand was reaching for something. In an instant, I moved and pressed a knife to his neck.

“Please don’t make any sudden movements.”
“Damn it… What do you want?!”
“I was thinking of having you choose something for me. You know that your spirit is missing, don’t you?”

When I asked that, the king’s face turned bright red.

(You shouldn’t get so worked up. You might burst a blood vessel.)

“IT WAS YOUUUUUUU!”

With a furious shout, he swung his fist as hard as he could. I caught it effortlessly with my free hand. His strength was impressive, and his Strength status was high. Specifically, he seemed like he’d put up a good fight against the Beastmen’s leader. The king’s eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting me to stop his punch so easily.

“Yes. I am the culprit. Can you see that over there?”

I pointed toward Lullus. The king turned his gaze toward her, staring as if trying to devour every detail.

“What do you want?”
“Before that, I want you to promise me something. Promise you won’t lie during this conversation.”
“Fine.”

There was a pause before he reluctantly nodded. Whether it was because of the knife at his throat or some other reason, I wasn’t sure. A promise was a promise. That was enough for me.

“Now then, what would you do if I handed this spirit over to you?”
“Nothing would change. We would just lock it up and use it¹.”
“Okay, you’re out.”

The king looked taken aback by the words that had left his mouth. I clapped my hands beside him, enjoying his confusion.

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