Published: September 10, 2025
Correction made on 2016/10/17.
Partial corrections made on 2016/11/27.
This is Satou speaking. The scene where the protagonist, acting as a detective, brilliantly unravels the mystery in the resolution of a mystery story is full of catharsis and truly wonderful. However, the pain of repeatedly having your reasoning proven wrong at that moment is a slight flaw.
◇
“Oh? You understood well. That’s correct.”
I thought he might play dumb, but he admitted it easily.
Strategist Touya—no, sage Torazayuuya lowered his hood and removed his mask.
Through the single eye, I could see flickering purple flames dancing inside.
On the other hand, his shaved head had no hair or eyebrows, and even the tips of his pointed ears seemed to have been modified.
Come to think of it, in the memoirs I read in "Torazayuuya’s Labyrinth," he wrote, “My life is about to end.”
So why is he still alive and well?
It would be too rude to ask, “Weren’t you supposed to be dead?”
“But the elf Touya is dead. What’s here now is the strategist Touya of the Weasel Empire.”
“What do you mean?”
Does he want to erase his identity as a sage?
“The foolish me was saved by Your Majesty (・・) just as I was about to become the demon king. And at that moment, my life as an elf ended.”
Sage Torazayuuya—strategist Touya gave a bitter smile.
I have no solid proof, but perhaps he overused his unique skill to create the labyrinth.
Still, I don’t know how many years ago that was, but it’s surprising the Weasel Emperor could venture so far.
Back then, he might have been a carefree crown prince or a prince with little claim to succession.
“So you were repaying the favor by building the empire?”
“—Favor?”
Strategist Touya tilted his head.
“Is that not so?”
“Helping to build the ideal empire was the price for receiving the ‘genesis maze seed (dungeon seed)’ found in the ruins of the weaselfolk tribe.”
—Genesis maze seed (dungeon seed)?
That new term reminded me of the labyrinth in Seryu City.
Was that labyrinth also created using a genesis maze seed?
“Let’s stop reminiscing about old ties.”
The emperor, who seemed left out, redirected the conversation to the main topic.
“Sorry, Taro (…). I might have said something unnecessary.”
“Call me Emperor. There are subordinates here.”
“I’ll be careful, Emperor Taro.”
Earlier he called him “Your Majesty (・・),” but now he casually calls him by his name with the title.
I still can’t quite grasp the relationship between strategist Touya and the emperor.
Right, before the main topic, there are a few things I need to confirm—
“First, why did you conduct terrorist activities in the Shiga Kingdom?”
Since the Shiga Kingdom was a virtual enemy of the Weasel Empire’s emperor, rear disruption seemed natural, so I hadn’t asked, but if the apparently benevolent sage Torazayuuya instructed it, I wanted to confirm his intent.
“Terrorist activities?”
It wasn’t that he was feigning ignorance; he seemed genuinely unaware of what I meant.
“You gave the Rebirth Pill (Reborn Seed) to agents of the Parion Divine Kingdom, didn’t you?”
“That’s mostly correct but not entirely.”
Strategist Touya corrected with a complicated phrasing.
“It’s true we gave our Rebirth Pill (Reborn Seed) to the Parion Divine Kingdom, but it was to expand the turmoil in the continent’s west and draw the gods’ attention there. We didn’t expect Parion’s agents to carry out terrorist activities in the Shiga Kingdom, neglecting the war.”
I stared into strategist Touya’s eyes.
There was no wavering or cloudiness.
I see—there seems to be no lie.
The illicit production of demonic enhancement potions underground in the Selbira Labyrinth also seemed orchestrated by demons behind the scenes.
◇
“Touya, explain the divine taboos.”
“Sure, but wouldn’t you be better off checking the documents yourself?”
“Reading 20,000 years of records is impossible, right? You can’t connect to a search engine either.”