I thought about assassination, turning the thod over in my mind.
The best tool is a bomb. At least this ti, it would be. Because the other side was expecting the bomb to be a dud. All I was doing was inserting myself as a variable into an already staged incident.
"...It's not difficult."
Early dawn. Cor Boulevard in Prozen, where starlight had settled.
I stood along the route that Minister Louis Marceau would soon pass through. Before the Regression, too, the assassination attempt had taken place near this road leading to the parliant.
I took the bomb out of my pocket.
A Mana Bomb, personally crafted by Yukia. It was only palm-sized, but with multiple highest-purity Mana Stones condensed inside, its destructive power would rival a decent artillery strike.
"..."
I crouched down while checking the area for any sign of people. I split open the asphalt surface with a dagger and buried the bomb beneath it.
I quietly turned and wandered around the vicinity. It was to keep watch in case of any preliminary security sweeps.
─Hey! Get up!
─Move it! Get lost!
From the crack of dawn, police and soldiers ca and went chasing away vagrants, but there was no security beyond that.
anwhile, morning broke.
People gradually gathered along the boulevard.
Probably the welcoming crowd that Minister Louis Marceau had arranged.
Thump──
My heart pounded.
Thump──
The number of Ezenheim that the Virus was reacting to exceeded several hundred.
Thump──
Suppressing the surging pulse, I quietly cald my consciousness and mana.
A movent technique unique to Ebenholtz. Concealnt, which erases all presence entirely, including breath and body heat.
Thump──
From within the crowd, I surveyed the area.
Plainclothes security personnel were stationed on the rooftops of surrounding buildings and at various points along the streets, but there were no true experts at the level of knights who could detect mana flow.
A gap in the protective detail, deliberately left open by Louis Marceau's side.
No doubt this, too, was to complete the script of a failed assassination attempt.
BWOOOONG──
From far toward the harbor, a warship's horn blared. The crowd streaming toward the roadside swelled as ti passed. Eventually, not just the boulevard itself but the entire district beca a tangled ss.
Thump──
Far away on a hill, people holding pickets welcoming the distinguished visitor and people holding pickets cursing the Social Party's tax policies hurled insults at one another.
A pandemonium where people and ideologies clashed.
And at last, amid this stifling sea of bodies, the bastard appeared.
Thomas, the Ezenheim cast as the lead in this fake assassination.
Thump──
My heart pulsed with an unpleasant beat, pointing to his location.
Thump──
What is the thod for killing a person in broad daylight, in the middle of a city packed with tens of thousands?
Ebenholtz knows the answer.
Even the act of killing, in the most elegant manner of the nobility. Silently.
Thump──
With a wide-brimd hat pulled low over my face, I let my body drift naturally into the wave of the angry crowd. I simply flowed like a current. Without dropping so much as a trace, let alone any sign of presence, I drew up behind my prey.
Rustle──
In that fleeting instant when our collars brushed against each other.
I fired in succession at two precise points on his body: the lumbar nerve plexus below the spine, and the upper cervical vertebrae. The neck and the lower back.
──.
There was no gunshot. The mana that surged from the muzzle rely severed his body.
With his spine and cervical vertebrae cut simultaneously, he could not perceive his own condition. There was not even any bleeding. Because my mana still lingered inside his body.
His left knee buckled and he collapsed. With the nerve plexus severed, he could not move his body; with the cervical vertebrae pierced, he could not produce a sound.
And so, paralyzed from head to toe, he died.
Thud.
He crumpled lifelessly, like a rag doll. But countless people naturally mixed into the gaps around him, and I slipped out of the crowd in silence. I hid myself in the shadow of a bell tower so distance away.
RAAAAAAH───!
Cheers gradually swelled and echoed. From far at the end of the boulevard, I watched the approaching motorcade carrying the Prozen Minister and the Yursled Pri Minister.
Gripping the detonator in one hand, I pulled the hat lower still.
Their script was torn apart.
Now, it was ti for everyone to witness a new ending with their own eyes.
* * *
"...Under no circumstances are you to displease him. The state guest arriving this ti is extrely important."
Defense Minister Louis Marceau repeatedly cautioned his aides.
The Pri Minister of eastern Yursled would be arriving shortly. A matter of great consequence: the discussion of a military alliance between the west and the east to check the Empire's expansion. Only by reaching an agreent with him could they achieve what they sought, naly, the formation of a defensive line to block the Empire's ambitions.
─He's arriving.
From the harbor side, the voice of the head of the security detail ca through on the radio.
Beyond the horizon, a warship of the Kingdom of Yursled was approaching.
HOOOOOOON───
The warship's horn echoed as it docked at the pier. From within, Pri Minister Bernard disembarked. Minister Louis Marceau received him with an honor guard and mounted escorts arranged in the highest ceremony.
"We sincerely welco you to the Republic of Prozen, Pri Minister Bernard."
"A pleasure, Minister Marceau."
Bernard of the east, and Louis Marceau of the west.
The two n exchanged a brief handshake.
"A luncheon and a grand welcoming ceremony have been prepared for you in the capital of Prozen. Shall we?"
Guided by Minister Marceau, they boarded an armored vehicle side by side.
"Ha ha. To receive such a passionate welco, it is truly an honor."
Pri Minister Bernard wore a satisfied smile.
"Not at all. The honor is mine."
Mounted soldiers flanked and escorted the vehicle on both sides as it moved forward.
"As you are well aware, the Empire's recent behavior has been highly suspicious. Their involvent in Zerpha, the fact that all their labor is directed toward military production... What are your thoughts, Pri Minister?"
Marceau opened negotiations from within the vehicle. He was a man who begrudged every passing second.
"I share the sa concern."
Bernard, too, responded with grave agreent.
As they spoke, the motorcade turned into the bustling heart of the capital, and Prozen citizens lining the streets waved the flags of both nations and cheered.
"Oh... To receive such a warm welco for Yursled."
Pri Minister Bernard gazed upon them with contented eyes. Marceau let out a breath of relief. The agitators had already been cleared out by deploying thugs.
"As you can see, Prozen is very fond of Yursled."
Minister Marceau, reading the man's mood, spoke to the driver.
"...Could you slow down a bit?"
He checked his wristwatch, confirming the appointed ti.
"I'd like to let the Pri Minister enjoy the citizens' warm reception a little longer."
"Yes, sir."
Minister Marceau signaled out the window. In response, the escort convoy slowed its pace. The spacing loosened as well.
"And yet, I never dread that Prozen, the pride of the west, would be the one to extend a hand to our Yursled first."
Pri Minister Bernard let slip a faint smile. There was an intention to lightly provoke him, but Minister Marceau gladly endured it.
"Indeed. There is no longer any reason for the west and the east to quarrel."
At present, the continent was broadly fractured into three blocs: the west, the Empire, and the east. Among them, Yursled was a small but formidable nation directly bordering the Empire's eastern frontier, making it the most perfect partner for the Grand Imperial Encirclent that Marceau was championing.
"With the Empire's blatant expansionist ambitions in plain sight, we cannot remain shackled to the stale grievances of the past forever. As the tis change, should we not march forward in step together?"
Minister Marceau set his expression firmly. Even so, his gaze continued to scan outside the window.
Soon, the appointed event would occur.
"For the peace of humanity. And for the survival of humanity."
Louis Marceau spoke of humanity's survival, and
"The Empire is an axis of evil that must be stopped..."
the mont he ut??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????tered that resolute declaration.
────!
In the middle of the square, an explosion erupted from beneath the asphalt road the vehicle was passing over.
KBOOOOOM──!
The blast pressure that surged in an instant tore apart the vehicle's undercarriage whole. Steel fragnts scattered, shredding the bodies inside.
B??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????OOOOOM──!
The shockwave of the explosion ripped through the air. A thunderous echo filled the entire space, and the face of Louis Marceau, who had been speaking of an "axis of evil
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