PROLOGUE II
A year ago, the patriarch of the Armor Clan had come to pledge his loyalty to Suoh-Yuuto, the newly crowned þjóðann of the Holy Ásgarðr Empire.
“Allow me to inspect your goods,” Sigrún demanded.
“Oh, a moment!” the Armor Clan patriarch pleaded.
Sigrún ignored the pleas of the Armor Clan patriarch and uncorked the bottle. The smell that wafted out of the bottle forced her to recoil, covering her mouth with disgust.
“Urgh! What is this?!” Sigrún asked, glaring suspiciously at the Armor Clan patriarch. “You dared bring something like this as an offering to Father? Are you declaring war upon us?!”
“N-No, no! That’s not it all, Lady Sigrún!” The Armor Clan patriarch said in a panic, wildly shaking his head from side to side.
The patriarch’s panic was understandable. Even at this point, the Steel Clan already held control over the entirety of the Bifröst and Álfheimr regions, as well as northern Ásgarðr. By comparison, the Armor Clan, though one of the prestigious Arms and Armor Clans, was medium-sized and not even counted among the Ten Great Clans. There was no way that it would win a war with the Steel Clan.
“This is a very strange and rather interesting item that exists in our lands. I only brought it so that His Majesty could enjoy its unique properties.”
“Enjoy it, you say? Rún, bring that here,” Yuuto said, his curiosity piqued.
“Huh? But to bring you such a...”
“It’s fine. It’s not like it’s poison or anything,” Yuuto interjected. If that had been the case, they would have simply placed it into food, rather than bothering with such an elaborate and circuitous ploy.
“Very well,” Sigrún replied.
She made her distrust and hesitation clear as she brought the bottle to Yuuto. Taking the bottle from her hands, Yuuto opened it. An intense scent wafted out of the bottle. He understood why Sigrún had recoiled at it. It was certainly an unpleasant odor for people who weren’t used to it, but to Yuuto, it brought back memories of home.
“This is known as rock water and...” the Armor Clan patriarch began to explain.
“No, you need not explain, I know of it.”
“Indeed?! I’m impressed, Your Majesty! You truly are a font of knowledge.”
“It’s a smell that was pretty common back in my homeland,” Yuuto said, chuckling softly as he did. Yes, it was a smell that was common in the modern world, and it wafted from a substance that he had been looking for but had given up on locating as he hadn’t found any in his territories.
“Can you obtain a fair amount of this?”
“Huh? Well, yes. It bubbles out of the ground, so with enough time, we can procure quite a lot.”
“I see. Then bring as much as you can gather. I’ll trade you silver for it.”
“T-Truly?!”
The Armor Clan patriarch’s eyes went wide in surprise. To him, the rock water was probably just meant as a little curiosity, particularly as the Armor Clan, with abundant forests, had no particular use for it.
“Father, what are you going to use this for?!” Sigrún asked, clearly confused.
“Hm? Well, something to have just in case.”
Yuuto let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. A particular tactic had come to mind, one that, if executed, would create hell on earth. It would be best if he never had to actually use it, but he had no intention of hesitating if it ended up being necessary.
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