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“Ah, here it is.”

Margaret’s castle. In her study, which exuded a cozy and comfortable atmosphere, there were quite a few bookshelves filled with a notable number of volumes despite the narrow space. She was an elf who studied a lot. For an elf born and raised in the land of fairies, it was essential to study harder than the average elf to become a prominent figure in the human world.

Eramenia was abundant with trees, and papermaking using pulp was highly developed. Although there’s a legend that fairies dislike cutting down trees, in reality, elves consume more wood than humans. They need wood for building houses, making paper, and crafting weapons.

However, the fairies of Eramenia instinctively knew the limits to the amount of logging that wouldn’t harm the forest. As for logging to create books, they don’t mind being generous. The elf forests are not fragile or small enough to crumble from that level of axe work.

The book that Margaret pulled out from the mountain of piled books was a small notebook covered in black leather. Jeongjae, receiving the book from Margaret, read the English title written on its cover.

“World Domination Plan – J. Moriarty.”

“What?”

Margaret blinked her eyes in surprise at such a blunt and bold title. Jeongjae felt just as baffled. ‘World Domination Plan’? It seemed like a title that someone didn’t mind being seen by others, and it was quite embarrassing. Jeongjae discreetly flipped the book’s cover to glance at its contents.

“The Kaiser of the Dual Empire is in an extremely vulnerable state, and by tightening the political situation surrounding him just a little, it can shake up the whole of Europe. I’ve already removed Rudolf, and Karl has also met his end. Ferdinand is the last trigger to move on to the next phase of the plan. By having Hungary assassinate the Kaiser’s nephew, it will lead to an irreparable downfall for the world.”

Jeongjae’s tone paused for a moment as he read the first paragraph of the book. The content was somewhat familiar yet slightly different from what he knew. He recognized having read similar content in this world before.

Yes, Sherlock Holmes’ reports claimed that James Moriarty was attempting to provoke the world war.

“I have no idea what that means at all.”

“That would be the case. This is about our world, well, something that happened over a hundred years ago… um, a sort of plan.”

Jeongjae had no idea how to explain the situation to Margaret. The international background, events, and characters surrounding the world war were far too complex and intertwined.

Margaret tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes, as if trying to digest what Jeongjae had just said.

“But it feels like… it deals with fate in a certain world. I don’t know the specific place names or country names well, but it seems like some… shadowy force is secretly assassinating royalty to bring down a great empire and instigating internal division… am I right in my guess?”

It wasn’t something just anyone could deduce from a story about an entirely different world without any background knowledge. Jeongjae nodded with a slightly surprised expression.

“Uh, generally correct. To be honest… it looks like an incomplete prophecy to me.”

“Incomplete prophecy?”

While not taking his eyes off the book, Jeongjae continued to nod at Margaret’s question. It’s polite to look at someone’s face during a conversation, but he couldn’t help but be captivated by the book’s terrifying content, fearing he might lose track of the next sentence.

The tidy, carefully arranged English sentences were written in a handwriting style far clearer than that of Sherlock Holmes. Words and expressions flowed into his mind despite it not being his native language. It seemed certain that the author was part of the educated elite of his time. This notebook served as another piece of evidence that it was indeed written by James Moriarty himself.

“First off, the one who actually killed Franz Ferdinand was not a Hungarian but a Serbian, and… um, this sentence here…”

Jeongjae pointed at an English sentence that Margaret couldn’t recognize with his finger.

“A humanity that has never experienced such conflicts cannot properly respond even with a little disturbance and will inevitably collapse. This will lead to the second conflict. Even if London learns something from the first war, nothing will change. After totalitarianism collapses, a wave of socialism will rise. And in the third conflict, humanity will sink into despair from which it cannot rise again.”

“That’s some scary stuff written here.”

“This book, is it really something obtained over a hundred years ago?”

“Absolutely. I took it directly from its owner.”

Jeongjae felt confused. The content within this book was… more shocking than he could bear. If the book had not been forged by someone and was indeed written by James Moriarty, who lived during the mid to late 1800s, then he had predicted the world war before the Victorian era came to an end.

No, not just the world war. Within this short paragraph is the emergence of the second world war due to an inadequate resolution of the first world war, and even the outbreak of the third world war due to the rise of the communist camp after that. Lenin had not yet emerged on the scene, and this was an era when Karl Marx was still alive!

If the contents written within are genuinely, truly real, James Moriarty deserves to be called one of the worst villains in human history. Frankly, Jeongjae had not expected Margaret to possess such a weighty document.

“Margaret, do you happen to remember who had this book?”

“It was an enemy commander leading a small detachment. A young succubus who was skirting around Eramenia.”

“Really?”

Hearing Margaret’s remark, Jeongjae’s hands that were flipping through the pages paused. Sensing his tension, the Elven Princess straightened her posture.

“Um? Why… is that so?”

“You just said a young succubus, right? Do you happen to remember… their face?”

“The elves have long memories. I can recall somewhat. It was my first time defeating a commander in battle, so I have a rather significant memory of it. They had sharp eyes and were quick-tempered.”

“Any other distinct characteristics?”

At Jeongjae’s request, Margaret closed her eyes and seemed to ponder deeply on something she’d never thought about before. Her excursion to the outskirts of Eramenia a hundred years ago was an unofficial activity, and thus it wasn’t recorded publicly, nor was there a reason to explain it in front of anyone.

So, this was Jeongjae’s first time asking such detailed questions about that fight. Even an elf with a good memory needed to delve a bit to remember.

“Now that you mention it, there was something unusual. She barely dodged my arrow and then started screaming at me, with fangs as sharp as a vampire’s. It’s not common for a succubus to have such a fierce mouth when using it professionally, so I thought it was quite peculiar—”

Jeongjae abruptly shut the book and leaped from his seat. Margaret, startled, slipped and landed on the floor with a thud.

“W-What was that? You scared me!”

The Elven Princess, who muttered somewhat sullenly while patting her behind, shut her mouth upon seeing the serious expression on the Grand Mage’s face.

“It seems she is someone important. If I’m correct, it can’t be…”

“Violet Moriarty. The heir born from James Moriarty, who drank the blood of Dracula and became a vampire, with Succubus Queen. If the young succubus you defeated a hundred years ago is now the Demon King, it explains why she had this book.”

Upon hearing Jeongjae’s words, Margaret grasped the seriousness of the situation. That she had encountered the still immature Demon King as a commander a hundred years ago.

And that even after threatening her life closely enough to seize the book from her directly, she had ultimately been unable to land a decisive blow, leading to the current reality. A sudden surge of emotions washed over Margaret, and she clenched her fists tightly.

“My arrow grazed her face back then! I can still picture her screaming at me while awkwardly trying to notch another arrow, fleeing in panic! If only my shot hadn’t gone astray, we wouldn’t have ended up in this situation, damn it!”

“That aside… what I’m worried about is something different.”

“What do you mean, Wizard?”

“Perhaps the purpose of the attack on Eramenia was to target this book. The Demon King might want to get this book back.”

“Does that content hold such value?”

“Moriarty Machine. A masterpiece left by the previous Demon King, James Moriarty, hidden under Baron Harriet. Commonly known as the Mana Battery. This book contains ideas about Moriarty’s global conquest. If that’s the case, it might hold clues about the design of the Moriarty Machine, the necessary device for this great villain, who brought about the chaos in our world, to grasp power over the world with the might of mana.”

“A Mana… battery?”

Margaret, who until now hadn’t known about its existence, blinked her eyes in surprise. The concept of storing mana not in the body but in another device and drawing it out freely is a field not studied in either the Empire or Eramenia. Jeongjae reached for the notebook he’d closed and nodded.

“I don’t understand either. What principle such a device exists through, it’s beyond me. Even Jenis conceded it would be impossible to implement at this stage. The crucial point is that James Moriarty succeeded in developing such a device, and his daughter desperately seeks to obtain it or hopes to restore it with her own strength. This was made abundantly clear through the last battle.”

“I can see that this situation is turning serious. If there is a method to store magical power in an external device, even the most dangerous Grand Mage could wield it like child’s play. For instance, the Manhattan you conceived…”

“Likewise, yes. If the enemy manages to create that device by any means, something like Manhattan wouldn’t even be a problem. The dark magic flowing through the northern lands is immense, and if the land’s mana can be converted into a usable form of magic power through some device, it would serve as an infinite power source. It wouldn’t be strictly infinite, but—”

“It would yield enough firepower to annihilate humanity and elves and still have plenty left.”

“Exactly.”

With a sigh, Margaret shut her eyes tight. She seemed unable to imagine that letting slip a single young succubus commander a hundred years ago could lead to such enormous consequences.

While she would never feel guilty about that incident, she couldn’t completely conceal her regrets and frustrations. However, it must be that in the mind of the Demon King, who barely escaped death after suffering his first defeat at her hands, the Margaret of Eramenia would remain a deep trauma, an indelible fear.

“Can I ask for the translation of this book?”

After calming herself down with a deep breath, Margaret asked in a calm voice. Jeongjae readily nodded.

“I was thinking of suggesting that too. A document of this importance shouldn’t just be read and judged by me alone. I’ll translate it into the continent’s common language and show it to you. But be careful. We still have no idea what content is written in this book and what kind of repercussions it might bring.”

“My father and I, and perhaps my mother, will have access rights to that book. No need to mention the translation. For the time being, don’t tell Harker or Hellhound either. Mana-based communications can be intercepted in many ways, and especially in times like this, discussions like these should be done face to face whenever possible.”

“Got it. Then I’ll get started right away. The location is…”

“Use my study. No, you should stay in my castle for now. I’ll lend you one of the guest rooms. I’m going to be mobilized for recruitment and wartime propaganda, so I might not come back often. Though I might spend days in other towns, don’t feel too left out if you don’t see me around the house too often.”

Margaret said with a faint smile, as if she were a husband going off on a long business trip.

“I won’t feel left out about such a thing.”

“I thought you would say that. Even if it’s not now, I hope you’ll feel a bit left out someday.”

To be honest, as Jeongjae watched Margaret immediately pack her bags and prepare to return to the Kingdom, it did seem like a tinge of regret lingered within him.

Perhaps it was because this was not merely a ‘business trip’ but something closer to ‘going to war.’ The heir of the kingdom setting out to gather military forces to prepare for a battle that could determine the fate of the nation. Seeing her back, he couldn’t help but feel a bittersweet sentiment.

Yet, Jeongjae, too, did not have the luxury to wallow in bittersweet feelings. He was not the ‘survivor’ waving a handkerchief as he bid farewell to his spouse in this war. He, too, was a participant in this war, someone who had fought and would continue to fight.

And he might even be a historical witness, watching a whole era collapse amidst upheaval and storms, closer than any hero could ever be.

 

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