Holy Calendar Year 629, September—some day.
The conference room where the Sauber Empire's most important figures had gathered was shrouded in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
"It's still hidden for now, but we've reached the point where we can't keep it concealed any longer..."
"Damn it, what the hell are those bastards after...! Zimon! Haven't you found those idiots who keep conquering labyrinths yet?!"
"My deepest apologies. We are devoting every effort to the investigation, but..."
At present, the Sauber Empire was on the verge of falling into a severe magic stone shortage.
About half a year earlier, after the western great labyrinth was conquered, labyrinth materials had been obtained in overwhelming abundance.
However, as a consequence, magic beasts stopped appearing, making it impossible to acquire magic stones.
Even so, the vast empire was dotted with numerous labyrinths, so there had been every expectation that magic stones could be sufficiently replenished from those.
But recently, an unforeseen situation had arisen: those labyrinths were being conquered one after another.
In other words, magic beasts no longer appeared in the labyrinths, and the places where magic stones could be obtained were rapidly disappearing.
Furthermore, the conquest of the western great labyrinth had caused a massive outflow of explorers who had based themselves in the empire to other countries, reducing the number of people capable of entering labyrinths. This too had accelerated the magic stone shortage.
Magic stones were now indispensable to daily life.
If the shortage became even more pronounced, magic stone prices would naturally skyrocket. Low-income commoners would be unable to obtain them, forcing them into a life without magical tools.
Humans can adapt to improvements in living standards, but adapting to a decline is difficult.
Once people have tasted an easier life, dissatisfaction builds endlessly—it's easy to imagine.
That dissatisfaction could lead to reduced labor productivity and, ultimately, a decline in national power.
The magic stone shortage was not a problem that could be taken lightly.
Every attendee in the room surely understood this.
Even amid the oppressive air, the participants continued tossing around various ideas to break the current deadlock.
That said, every single one of them already had a clear solution in mind.
Yet no one voiced it. —No, they couldn't.
"Th-this... perhaps we have no choice but to consider importing from other countries...?"
Finally unable to bear the stalled meeting despite the obvious answer, one of the relatively younger attendees mustered his courage and spoke up.
"Hmm... Are you telling me to bow my head to others?"
The emperor—Helmut Roots Kreutzer—who had been silently observing the meeting until now, fixed his gaze on the speaker and opened his mouth.
"N-no... Of course I would never mean... However, if things continue like this, this country will..."
Exposed to the emperor's piercing glare, the speaker poured out cold sweat but still continued speaking for the sake of the nation.
"Surely a mere lack of magic stones cannot cause my mighty nation to falter. Isn't that so?"
"O-of course it cannot! But—"
"Enough. If you understand that, then there is no need to borrow the strength of other countries."
"..."
After those words from the emperor, the conference room grew even heavier. No one dared open their mouth again.
"Is no one capable of offering even a single good idea?"
The emperor's exasperated voice echoed through the silent room.
"Does Your Majesty have a plan to break this situation?"
The middle-aged man standing by the emperor's side—Prime Minister Rank Trales—asked the question.
"Of course. In fact, I'm baffled why none of you have thought of it. —If we don't have any, we simply take them from somewhere that does. Simple, isn't it?"
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, exercising military force requires a considerable amount of magic stones. In peacetime it might be possible, but right now we have no surplus to divert in that direction."
Rank rejected the emperor's idea.
As a trusted imperial vassal, Rank did not face the same treatment as the earlier speaker.
The advent of magical tools had brought not only improvements in living standards but also various other benefits.
One of the most prominent was the emergence of magical weaponry.
In wars of the past, slaughter by magic had occurred from time to time.
However, because magic depended on the individual caster's ability, even if it was tactically or strategically effective, the risk of losing valuable mages had to be weighed against the benefit. As a result, it had never been used frequently.
What completely changed that situation was magical weaponry.
Since magical weapons could be activated by anyone as long as they had magic stones, the risk of losing precious combat assets was dramatically reduced.
Around the time magical weaponry appeared, the Northern Region War broke out in the northern part of the continent. Magical weapons unleashed destruction on a scale never seen before.
That had happened about sixty years ago.
Since then, every nation had poured resources into developing magical weaponry. Fortunately, this became a deterrent, and on the surface, peace had reigned since the Northern Region War.
"Hmph. I understand that much myself. But my nation possesses the ultimate military force—one that surpasses even magical weaponry. —My foolish son, Felix."
A slight stir rippled through the conference room at the emperor's words.
The reason Felix Roots Kreutzer, crown prince of the Sauber Empire, was called the [Hero] stemmed largely from his defense of the imperial capital from an unprecedented outbreak of magic beasts about two years ago.
Moreover, by accomplishing the unprecedented feat of conquering a great labyrinth and achieving numerous diplomatic successes, he had earned overwhelming support from the people.
"You mean Prince Felix, Your Majesty?"
"Indeed. A one-man army who would not fall even if hundreds or thousands of men equipped with magical weaponry attacked him. What is the point of having him if he doesn't serve here? Send Felix and his personal guard ahead to seize the regions with labyrinths. Replenish magic stones there and establish a foothold for invasion. —Rank, where would be the optimal place to send him?"
"...In that case, I believe the Reglif territory in the Nohitant Kingdom, south of the Cryo Mountains, would be ideal. According to our intelligence agents, new labyrinths have recently appeared there. Moreover, the southern great labyrinth exists in that kingdom. If we can conquer and destroy the kingdom, our nation can once again possess a great labyrinth."
"...It's decided then. —Summon Felix!"
—Yes, this was the beginning.
The easy decision made by an emperor steeped in inferiority complex—