* * *

House Seaserpent's castle towered atop Hampstead Heath. From its walls, whose lofty position afforded a sweeping view of London, Limon narrowed his eyes at the fog-shrouded city.

Or, more precisely, at the fog itself.

'What a crude imitation.'

To the naked eye, the thick, damp fog was almost identical to what spread during the Misty hours. But the resemblance was purely superficial. Even an ordinary person could have spotted the difference with a little scrutiny. Never mind a magical aura—this fog lacked even the sense of mystery that should accompany a magical phenomenon.

Limon, whose eyes had turned black, could see its true nature more clearly than anyone: long noses, enormous hands, faintly gleaming eyes... The shadows of dozens, hundreds, and more constellations flickered through the dense fog.

'That slippery bastard, the Monarch of Magic. I wondered why he was so confident about coming alone... Did he put every high-level player in his guild to work on this?'

Limon clicked his tongue. Creating enough fog to cover London single-handedly would tax even a Monarch. But Karl had accomplished it through quantity rather than quality. Such an outrage was possible only for one of the ten great guilds—and specifically the Magus Guild, which had gathered 90 percent of the world's magic-type players.

Even so, it was merely fog. It had no special effect whatsoever, a prank that any other city would have dismissed as freak weather. In London, however, its appearance had truly devastating consequences.

"Open the door, please!"

"Aaaah!"

"Ghosts! The ghosts of London have come to get us!"

People pounded on closed doors. Others locked those doors and held them shut. Some ran screaming; others muttered in a daze. With a Sword Master's keen senses, Limon could hear every one of the countless sounds rising from the fog, and his brow furrowed.

On an ordinary day, it might have ended with a little confusion. The problem was that today happened to be Walpurgis Night. Most of the citizens had come out into the streets to enjoy the festival, and panic spread explosively.

FZZT! FZZT! FZZT!

The chaos was so great that thousands of casualties would already have been unsurprising. There was only one reason matters had not taken the worst possible turn: the blue afterimages flickering in and out of the fog.

House Seaserpent's order of knights. Hundreds of its senior knights were master-level experts, and together with the ordinary knights, thousands of Blue Dragon Clan members were crossing space to carry out rescue operations. It was a feat possible only for the Blue Dragon Clan, with its free command of space—and only here in London, its own home territory.

But everything had its limits. London's population was far too large, and the confusion too great, for the Blue Dragon Clan alone to bring the situation under control.

ZZZZZZZ.

It happened just then. A loud noise rang out across London, and the fog suddenly vanished from several districts, as though holes had been punched through it.

"Everyone, remain calm."

"With this Misty breaker developed by our Magus Guild, you have nothing to fear from the fog."

"Come this way! It's safe here!"

In scattered areas, the fog had cleared around Magus Guild members holding staves that resembled oversized flutes. As people gathered there and London began precariously regaining its composure, Limon's lips twisted despite himself.

"... Ha."

He let out a short, incredulous laugh, turned his head slightly, and murmured coldly toward the castle's interior.

"So the old hag was right. A talented little bastard with no fucking manners."

A seasoned veteran, he could see it all: the repercussions this incident would cause, the eventual outcome, and the purpose behind this farce.

And so, taking advantage of the Blue Dragon Clan's frantic activity, Limon drew an iron sword he had casually picked up from the training grounds. At the same time, he considered his options for a moment: the risk of exposing his identity, the possibility of putting the Liberation Brigade on its guard, other solutions.

Exactly one second later, he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Who gives a shit about any of that!"

『Demon-Cleaving Dragon-Slaying Sword: Essential Principle

Demon-Cleaving Dragon-Slaying Sword: Essential Principle

Lightning Is Born from Slow-Moving Clouds.

Lightning Comes from Slow-Moving Clouds.』

Limon slowly swung his sword. It moved as languidly as a cloud drifting across the sky, until at last its arc was complete.

CRAAACK!

A flash of light split the air. The fog blanketing London cleaved diagonally in two, and a fierce storm rising along the sword's path tore the remnants of the severed fog to shreds.

"Huh...?"

"Wh-what was that?"

Whether because the fog had scattered so abruptly or because of the violent wind that followed, the citizens were once again bewildered and milling about in confusion. Limon frowned briefly at the sight, then turned on his heel. Heading back to the training grounds to return the iron sword, he murmured under his breath.

"You're in big trouble with our countess now."

* * *

"... The fog has now dispersed, and the situation is being brought under control. Please rest assured."

"Rest assured?!"

"How can you expect us to rest assured at a time like this?"

"The Misty hours haven't occurred outside noon even once since the Demon God War!"

They shouted furiously, forgetting even their dignity. Yet Rose answered them with the same calm, conscientious manner she always maintained.

"As I have already explained, the fog just now was an ordinary natural phenomenon. It had nothing to do with the Misty hours."

"Don't be absurd! How could fog like that be a natural phenomenon?"

"I've lived in London all my life, and I've never seen or heard of fog like that outside the Misty hours!"

But the confusion did not subside easily. That was how deeply London feared the Misty hours. If these people had been all she had to contend with, Rose could have found some way to calm the situation.

The problem was Karl.

"Hmm. Isn't it too early to conclude that this fog has no connection whatsoever to the Misty hours?"

"You think so too, Lord Karl?"

"That is my personal opinion, yes."

Karl shook his head slightly and continued with a worried expression.

"In any event, this is a serious problem. We may have come through safely this time, but if it happens again, will we really be able to contain it...?"

"W-wait. Are you saying this could happen again?"

"Anything that has happened once can happen twice."

"No...!"

Groans and laments erupted all around.

"Lord Karl, please refrain from remarks that fuel people's anxiety."

"Ho ho, why so sensitive? I was merely expressing my personal opinion."

Watching Karl chuckle heartily, Rose clenched her fist. It was not merely because of his shamelessness in dismissing his words as personal opinion when he knew perfectly well how much influence a single remark of his carried. She, too, suspected that the fog was Karl's doing.

But she could not voice that suspicion. The Monarch of Magic and the Magus Guild were powerful figures who would be difficult to challenge even with solid evidence. Denouncing Karl on mere suspicion would be a reckless move that would expose even the Blue Dragon Princess to fierce backlash.

"In truth, I've been concerned about the Misty hours for quite some time."

As if mocking Rose's inability to confront him openly, Karl continued with perfect nonchalance.

"Until now, they may have appeared and vanished only at noon, but that rule isn't absolute, is it? Today's events demonstrate that much."

Magic was, by its very nature, a vague and uncertain power. Expecting stability from a curse born as a side effect of such magic was far too reckless to begin with. After insinuating as much, Karl added another remark as though it had just occurred to him.

"What's more, my inquiries revealed that the number of people disappearing during the Misty hours has multiplied several times over lately."

"Is that true?"

"That's not all. Some claim to have been attacked by ghosts during the Misty hours, and there were witnesses who saw strange monsters."

"Then why wasn't such important information made public?!"

"How should I know? I'm not the one responsible for London's public safety, after all."

Karl spoke as though at a loss. Yet the blade concealed in his words unmistakably directed everyone's resentment and anger toward a single target.

"Countess Rose, did you know about this?!"

"What a question. How could House Seaserpent possibly be unaware of something happening in London?"

"Then why did you conceal what was happening during the Misty hours?!"

"Whatever your reasons, isn't hiding something this serious utterly irresponsible for someone charged with London's public safety?"

"..."

She had not yet managed to say a word. Rose remained silent as the guests condemned and cornered her, as though she were the source of every abnormal occurrence that day.

She had already realized that there were planted agitators among them. Whatever she said now, those people would seize on it as an excuse to press her harder. At least, the Karl she knew was not so careless as to corner her without making that much preparation.

And events unfolded exactly as she had expected.

"Now, now, everyone, calm down. Could Countess Rose have known things would turn out this way? Besides, condemning House Seaserpent now won't solve anything."

He pretended to mediate while establishing her guilt.

"With that in mind, I have a proposal."

He drew everyone's attention.

"Did you see the items used to clear away the fog today? They are, in fact, the fruit of my many years of research."

He emphasized the Magus Guild's accomplishments that day.

"Research aimed at nothing less than eliminating the Misty hours."

By the time he finally revealed his objective, few found it strange or suspicious. Karl had steered the conversation and controlled the mood with consummate verbal skill.

Of course, those present were leading figures of the British Empire. Even amid the confusion, some did find Karl's excessively polished response suspicious, as though it had all been prepared beforehand. But every one of them remained silent. Whatever their suspicions, no one wanted to make an enemy of the Monarch of Magic, an absolute being of this age.

"Ho ho. It seems the ladies and gentlemen here would like to see the results of my research. What do you think, Countess Rose?"

As time passed, Rose found herself pressed for an answer by Karl, who demanded her cooperation with the support of countless guests behind him.

There was the commoner faction, which had followed Karl from the start. The royalist faction, including Duke Robert with his arrogant expression and Crown Prince Edward, who shook his head helplessly. And even leading members of the aristocratic faction, including Alfred, who only moments earlier had been eagerly speaking to her in an effort to strengthen their ties.

Not a single person in the room would take her side. Now utterly isolated and without support, there was ultimately only one answer she could give.

"I oppose it."