Sea Of Abundance

While Ian had been spending each day in a cheerful reality thanks to Adrina’s pregnancy, he felt puzzled after hearing the words of Viscount Rubingston, who had come to see him.

“Are you saying there has been suspicious movement around the royal palace?”

“Yes, that is correct. It appears that unknown individuals are positioned around the royal palace as if they are conducting surveillance.”

At that report, Ian’s eyes turned sharp. Such movement around the royal palace of all places—given that they had already suffered two intrusions—could only be deeply concerning.

Above all, what angered Ian was none other than the fact that Adrina was currently in the early stages of pregnancy. At a time when even the slightest shock had to be avoided, any attempt at intrusion could only become stress for her.

“Remove them immediately, whoever they are.”

“Yes, we will remove them at once.”

Because it was blatant surveillance aimed at the royal palace, Ian could not tolerate it and immediately ordered their elimination. Having received the order, Viscount Rubingston began moving the secret police at once.

Amid these actions, the suspicious figures stationed around the palace began to be swiftly eliminated one by one. The Magnia Empire intelligence agents, realizing this belatedly, had no choice but to decide on an immediate withdrawal.

They vanished in a single stroke without leaving any trace that could reveal them. However, they failed to notice that several of their agents had already been captured. The captured ones were already confined in a secret safehouse, and soon Ian arrived there himself.

“Hm. These are the ones?”

“Yes, they are.”

Seeing them confined in a small prison cell only a few meters in size, Ian wondered if they might be members of some secret organization. He soon used Mental Manipulation on them. Of course, he did so after having Viscount Rubingston and the other agents withdraw elsewhere.

He was soon able to learn their identities. Yet he had to be surprised, because they were not people he had expected.

‘These are agents of the Magnia Empire’s intelligence bureau, “Longsword”? For what purpose did they do something this bold?’

Among the facts learned through Mental Manipulation, their identities were there, but nothing at all about their objective. Because of that, he suspected they might be targeting Adrina.

He did not know their purpose, but he decided to strengthen security even further, thinking he must never allow them to approach her.

He informed Viscount Rubingston of the result, and soon they were seen spilling everything they knew to Viscount Rubingston as well. Since he had already seen such a sight before, he took it in stride.

He did not know what method caused this, but even without seeing it directly, he simply thought there must be some method. He could do so because Rubingston’s loyalty was extremely high.

In the end, they continued their course by tracking the Magnia Empire intelligence agents. They were gone from around the palace for the moment, but because it was an action done with a clear objective, Ian began the pursuit.

The Magnia Empire intelligence agents also learned of this pursuit quickly. Finding themselves burdened with troublesome trackers, they had no choice but to drastically reduce their activity. Amid these hidden movements, by good fortune, the man named Formus was able to avoid exposing himself and his family.

In that situation, he had to find a way to make contact with the Polia Kingdom. Fearing the Magnia Empire’s grasp that could appear anytime, anywhere, he searched for a method, and the conclusion he reached was none other than to seek out a person in a high position at random.

“Hello!”

“W-Who are you?”

“I-I am Formus! Please, allow me to meet His Majesty the King of this country!”

The person standing before Formus, who even dropped to his knees and begged to meet the king, was none other than Armin. He wore an expression that seemed to say, What is this? The reason it had to be Armin was that he was already a fairly famous figure, known as the lover of the king’s younger sister.

Formus knew this fact, investigated at once, found Armin’s home, and came all the way to the front of it. In truth, it could be said he was lucky. First, Armin—who did not usually return home—had come back today, and moreover, he happened to know Magnian.

On top of that, because the Magnia Empire’s intelligence bureau was currently being pursued by the Polia Kingdom’s secret police, their surveillance range had been drastically reduced. With this stroke of luck, his words were finally delivered like this.

“Step back.”

At that moment, those who blocked the way were the personnel who secretly guarded Armin. He himself was a protected figure as a ship designer, and after becoming Princess Charlotte’s lover, the intensity of his security had increased even further.

As the men with a murderous atmosphere glared at him, Formus hurriedly revealed what he knew.

“I-I have information about ruins! Please, allow me to have this conveyed to the King!”

“Ruins?”

Armin knew the matter of ruins to some extent. Much had already been made public to the world, so even if he stayed buried in a laboratory or shipyard, he heard many things. He had heard that many exploration teams were roaming the world searching for ruins, but now someone right in front of him claimed to know something—so he did not know how to take it.

“I-I am being pursued by the Magnia Empire.”

“You are being pursued by the Magnia Empire?”

“Yes. I was a member of a ruin exploration team, but due to circumstances I escaped to where my family was, and after learning that my companions were all captured, I fled here to the Polia Kingdom with my family.”

At those words, he thought that if this was true, the situation would be no ordinary matter. Of course, it was also a problem to believe it at face value, but since he spoke so desperately, he could not simply disbelieve it either. Then a guard’s voice asked from the side.

“Lord Armin, he is an unknown individual. Shall we arrest him?”

“No. Hearing the situation, he seems like someone who knows something important.”

“What circumstances are those?”

The guard could not understand Magnian, so he asked. Armin, about to explain, realized it would be better for as few people as possible to hear such things, so he decided to bring him inside and notify the royal palace, and spoke.

“I will explain the circumstances later. For now, let’s bring him inside. Standing here like this could draw attention.”

“Understood.”

Seeing the guard respond, Armin immediately spoke to the man who had given his name as Formus.

“First, let’s go inside.”

“I-I have family. My wife and my daughter—may they come in as well?”

“Where are they?”

“T-They are over there.”

In case it was dangerous to leave his family alone at the hotel, he had kept them a short distance away. Upon learning this, Armin told him to bring his family quickly, and at Formus’s gesture calling them over, his wife—carrying their daughter—was able to join them.

After entering the house, Armin immediately called the royal palace by telephone. In truth, there were not many people outside the palace who could directly contact the king inside. Fortunately, Armin was among them. In that sense too, luck was at work again.

He told the palace operator that he wished to speak with the king, and after his identity was verified and some time passed, the call connected.

[Armin? For what reason did you even call?]

“Your Majesty, the situation has become somewhat strange, so I contacted you.”

[Hm? What is it? If you are saying that, it does not seem like an ordinary matter.]

“Someone came to my home and even knelt as he explained his circumstances. Those circumstances seem to be related to ruins.”

[Ruins? Did you just say ruins? Explain in detail.]

It was Ian’s voice, sounding as if his interest had grown greatly. Armin explained that the man was being pursued by the Magnia Empire, that the exploration team had found ruins, and that after learning all his companions had been captured by the Magnia Empire, he came to the Polia Kingdom with his family in fear.

[Now I understand the Magnia Empire’s movements. Armin, listen carefully. Protect that man no matter what. I will send people there.]

“Of course. I have people protecting me as well, so do not worry.”

[Good. I will see you next time.]

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will see you next time.”

When the call ended, Armin finally felt relieved. At the same time, he wanted the people His Majesty sent to arrive quickly. He did not know if the Magnia Empire might learn that a man named Formus was here and come looking.

As he waited with an anxious heart, he was able to receive the people His Majesty had sent. Fortunately, there was no attack during that time. As they took Formus and even his family with them, Armin was finally able to rest at home.

Of course, he did not forget to contact his girlfriend, Charlotte, and speak with her. Naturally, he kept silent about today’s matter. He knew it required strict secrecy, so he did not speak of it.

The person who entered the king’s office was Formus. He could not help but glance around continuously. Who could have imagined that he would enter the office of a kingdom’s king in his lifetime? Seeing the overwhelming splendor, he could not help but feel himself shrink.

“Sit, then.”

“Pardon? Y-Yes!”

At the voice he heard, Formus finally realized that he was facing the King of Polia and hurriedly sat on the sofa the king indicated. They said expensive things were worth their price. As he felt how unbelievably comfortable it was, he had to restrain an exclamation of admiration.

“So, I heard you know about ruins. Is that correct?”

“O-Of course. As a member of the exploration team, I traveled the world searching for ruins, and at last we were able to find them.”

“I have already heard all about your circumstances. So, if you tell me the information about the ruins, I will promise you a considerable sum of money. In addition, through identity laundering, I will allow you and your family to live in our Polia Kingdom.”

“Is that truly so?”

“Is that not why you came here while thinking of such a thing?”

“O-Of course.”

“Of course, I do not act like the Magnia Empire. Unlike them, I understand trust. I will keep my promise without fail. I promise this as the King of Polia.”

Hearing Ian’s words, Formus swallowed hard. Hope rose within him. Perhaps he could live happily with his family after taking the enormous reward that he would have had to split with his companions, all for himself.

“How about it? Will you accept my proposal?”

“I accept!”

“Good. Then the contract is formed. Now then, what is the location of the ruins?”

At Ian’s question, Formus recalled the place they had discovered and spoke.

“It is the Sea of Abundance.”

“The Sea of Abundance?”

The Sea of Abundance was, as the name suggested, a vast ocean filled with islands overflowing with abundance. It referred to the sea route in the eastern waters where the Slave Continent existed, and in truth countless islands were spread widely across it.

In fact, it could be said there was no place with more complicated ownership than there. Many of these islands had flags planted by past expeditions dispatched by each nation and were claimed and ruled, making it a place where ownership rights were entangled in a confusing mess.

“So it is there.”

It seemed plausible that ruins could be found in such a place. With so many islands, many of them likely still contained places yet undiscovered. He already knew that exploration teams from each nation frequently searched such islands.

This man must have found it by chance while doing so.

“Tell me exactly which island it is.”

“Of course. The island we found is an island in the ocean, slightly biased to the south, where volcanic activity is active.”

“Volcanic activity is occurring?”

“Yes. It has recently resumed activity, and I heard that the volcano erupted several years ago as well. In fact, that is why we found the entrance to the ruins.”

“Do you mean the eruption revealed an entrance?”

“Yes. One side of the island had split open, and there the entrance was plainly present. After exploring inside, we learned it was a place filled with ancient characters, so we immediately hid the entrance and returned to the Magnia Empire.”

‘How could ruins exist on a volcanic island?’

As Ian listened to Formus’s explanation, he found it doubtful that ruins could be situated within an unstable island like a volcanic island. In any case, now that he knew this, he needed to send ships there.

‘The problem is that the Magnia Empire already knows as well.’

Thinking that it could become a major competition, he felt it would not be easy. Still, he also thought it was fortunate that they had not remained ignorant while the Magnia Empire obtained the White Crystal.

After hearing even the coordinates of the island, Ian briefly looked at Mardin, who was recording everything beside him, and spoke to the man named Formus.

“I have heard your story well. I will grant you a reward and give you a new identity so you may live in the Polia Kingdom with your family.”

“Th-Thank you, Your Majesty. Truly, thank you!”

Hearing words close to a firm assurance, Formus felt it was an immense relief. He thought that now all that remained was to live happily with his family.