Second World

"What?! That was a terrible incident! Why didn't you call me back?" Jack asked.

"Because it won't make any difference even if you are back. There is still too little information," John said.

"The six noble houses were starting to make noises again," Thaergood informed. "Currently we can still quell the masses. I must say the effects of Goddess Serenity's blessing and the Wonder Buildings do help, but we will need to provide an answer soon. Otherwise, things will still get messy."

"How is the progress of the investigative teams?" Jack asked.

"There are not many clues for them to go with when they first arrived," John answered. "But this murder has provided them with fresh clues to investigate. The last time I talked to them, they followed a promising lead."

"Do you think this murder is connected to the thefts and vandalisms from before?" Jack asked.

"I don't believe in coincidence. The timing, place, and situation were similar. Even if it is a coincidence, treating them as connected is better. Otherwise, we might miss something. We can treat them as separate incidents once we find proof supporting that."

Duchess Isabelle came in then. Her expression didn't show that she brought good news.

"I just received message transmissions from three different towns near our border with Verremor," Isabelle said. "A murder has happened in each town. The victim was native humans. Eyewitnesses again saw orcs leaving the crime scene…"

"How can so many murders happen at the same time? Haven't we increased the security in those towns?" Thaergood asked.

"I have not yet finished," Isabelled uttered. "The number of murders isn't the worst thing. One of the victims is a prominent member of the Orline house. It was the second son of Hans Orline."

"What?! This is a disaster!" Thaergood exclaimed.

"Yes… The report says he is currently on a crusade. He is inciting the masses. He even hired several adventurers to help him capture every orc in town for questioning."

"Tell the guards in that town to stop him! Bring every orc into a safe location and prevent Hans from getting to them," Jack ordered.

"I've already instructed so," Isabelle said. "However, I'm not confident the orcs will willingly comply."

Jack frowned. Knowing the orcs' nature, he was sure some would object to being forced to move away from where they were staying.

"Whatever this is. The situation has escalated rather unnaturally," John said.

"Are you saying this is planned by someone?" Isabelle asked.

"Do you remember what this situation reminds you of?" Instead of answering Isabelle, John asked Jack a question.

"The murders in Hydrurond?" Jack said.

John nodded.

"Do you think Master is behind this?" Jack asked again.

"I'm almost certain he is," John answered. "And if this is true, then the situation might be far more worrying than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Thaergood asked.

"If this is indeed their doing, they must be doing something big behind this operation," John said. "My mot… The enemy's chief strategist is not someone who does things without a reason."

"Do you think they will attack us?" Jack asked.

"If this is their strategy to destabilize us before they attack, it's possible," John said. "They couldn't do it as freely as in Hydrurond because of the blockades you placed on their guilds. In Hydrurond, the murders had gone long enough before the war started. Their guild was only banned when the war started. Before that, they were free to go around causing havoc covertly. Maybe that's why they target our border towns because the deeper they infiltrate this country, the higher the chance they can be caught."

"Even if it's only the border towns, they picked targets that are painful to us," Isabelle said.

"Yes, they are aiming at the stability between our peace with Verremor," Jack agreed.

"Are we sure it is truly their doing?" Thaergood asked.

"Frankly, I think it is still too early for them to attack us," John said. "Unless they have an ace-in-the-hole we don't know about. You mentioned that Master got Joy's divine heritage. Can that give him God's power as it did to Euphosine?"

Jack had made a short report about his time in the Council of Charites when he was inside the Space-time Chamber. He sent this report to John and Jeanny. He figured it was still better if they knew what had happened.

"I don't think so," Jack answered. "I have discussed this with Wilted via messages. Euphosine can utilize Joy's power from her divine heritage because they are both denizens of this world. We are outsiders. The way we interact with this world's objects is more instantaneous, like the way we can learn a technique book instantly while the natives have to spend time training them. That's why Master won't be able to utilize the divine heritage the way Euphosine did. He will most likely use it to craft another Godkiller or another unknown item. Plus, if he can get a God's power just by acquiring the divine heritage, why go through the trouble of collecting the seven divine treasures?"

"Hm… You are right. But the fact that he got that divine heritage is still worrying. Well, anyway, it should be safer to assume that they will attack," John said. "I've sent messages to the investigative teams about these new murders. They should be able to gather more clues from these fresh sites. In the meantime, I will start gathering the army just in case. It is better to prepare rather than get caught off guard."

"You do that, I will go to the town where Hans Orline is and try to keep things from going out of hand," Jack said. He then asked Isabelle, "Which is what town?"

"It's Thenitsa," Isabelle answered. "It's also the border town that was occupied by Verremor's first army during their invasion. Many of the inhabitants there still have fresh memories of the occupation, so their enmity toward the orcs is rather strong there."

Jack nodded. "I will be going there then."

"I will notify the governor in Thenitsa so he will be ready for Your Majesty's arrival," Isabelle said.

Jack talked with John and Thaergood a little longer while Isabelle went to inform Thenitsa's governor. Afterward, he walked toward the teleportation chamber.

On the way, he sent messages to Four Winds informing him of the recent incidents. Four Winds told him that things were also in an uproar here. An emergency meeting for the council members had been called which he would be attending shortly. One thing he knew for sure to appear on the meeting agenda must be about reclosing the border and halting any interaction between Themisphere and Verremor. This would severely hurt the peace they had been striving for.

Four Winds informed Jack he would try to influence the lord chiefs of the council so that the border stayed open, but he honestly admitted he was not confident. If the murders were not resolved in a short time, things might get from bad to worse.

Jack told Four Winds to delay the council for as long as possible, while he tried finding out the real cause of these incidents.

Four Winds told him to not take too long.

Jack teleported to Thenitsa's Zone Portal. Arriving there, a man with the age of around fifty wearing an ornate robe was waiting for him. A squad of soldiers was on standby behind him.

"Welcome to Thenitsa, Your Majesty," The man greeted with a bow. The squad behind him saluted. "I am Lance Guinan, this town's governor. I wish I could have welcomed you in a more favorable situation."