They made their way through the north gate of the wall surrounding the capital.
"You seem troubled, Mister Kurozuma."
"...A wall should never be necessary."
Reiji said.
"Well, bad people will always exist. History repeats itself after all."
The carriage was silent after Lord Fujioka said those words.
After a while they noticed more and more people in the streets the deeper they got until the carriage stopped.
"Can't go any further. The crowd is too big."
Said the coachman.
"I'll go check it out."
Said Reiji.
"I can't allow that. We are near the court where the meeting is supposed to take place. Anything could happen."
Said Lord Fujioka, clearly not happy with Reiji's decision.
"Alright, mom."
Reiji then stepped out of the carriage, still holding his katana in his hand.
He noticed that the roads were actually made from stone and not dirt like everywhere else.
He then looked at the crowd in front of the carriage and walked through it.
He wiggled his way through the chaos until he was at the front of the crowd.
He saw knights standing around a collapsed building, trying to disperse the crowd.
Reiji looked to his side to a man that seemed pretty wealthy.
I've got to ask nicely if I want a normal answer.
Reiji thought to himself.
"...May I ask, what happened?"
"Oh, the building collapsed. Some say they saw puffs of smoke and rubble flying from certain places of the building before it fell but I personally don't believe it."
"Thank you."
Reiji turned and wiggled his way back to the carriage, stepping inside and putting his katana in-between his legs.
"Collapsed building directly up ahead. We need a new route."
"...I…haven't misheared you, have I? Directly up ahead?"
Asked Lord Fujioka.
"Yes, so?"
"I believe that directly up ahead was the court where the meeting was supposed to take place."
Reiji saw the concern on Lord Fujioka's face.
"...Puffs of smoke and rubble coming from the building were seen before its collapse, supposedly."
Said Reiji.
"Well, I don't mean to jump to any conclusions but…planned explosions might have been the cause."
Suggested Lord Fujioka, causing Reiji to look out of the window and respond a moment later.
"I should've asked about any loud sounds before it went down and the time between the puffs and collapse. Still, it could be just regular wear and tear."
"No, I very much doubt that. Buildings should stand for decades, especially in the capital."
Silence filled the carriage.
"So…what now?"
Reiji asked.
"I have an office in the capital, almost all of the nobles in this country do. We'll go there."
Lord Fujioka signalled to the guards and they stepped out, clearing a path through the crowd so the carriage could move.
Once the carriage got through the crowd, the knights got back in and the carriage continued to Lord Fujioka's office.
It once again stopped in front of what looked like an apartment building.
All of them stepped out.
Reiji looked up at the building.
"On which floor is your office?"
Asked Reiji.
"I own the building."
That's all lord Fujioka said as he walked inside.
Reiji was surprised, standing in the same place as Lord Fujioka entered.
"Of course you do."
Reiji muttered with a sigh as he walked inside.
They made their way through the halls and up multiple flights of stairs before they got to his actual office.
Along the way, there were actually multiple employees walking through the hall.
Behind every door was also an office with at least two names written on each door.
Those were the names of the workers in that office.
Lord Fujioka opened his office and stepped inside, Reiji following behind him.
The two guards stood in front of the now closed door, one on each side.
There was one window and a desk in the corner. There was only one chair in the entire room.
However, there were a lot of shelves filled with papers.
Lord Fujioka sat down behind his desk, clearly troubled as he intertwined the fingers on his hands.
Reiji put his katana diagonally across his back, looking out the window at the city.
He didn't have anywhere to sit so he just stood in the middle of the room.
"Wasn't it…top secret?"
Reiji asked.
"It was supposed to be."
"The classic case of a spy? Maybe you spoke about the plan in your sleep and someone listened in."
"This is no time for jokes, Mister Kurozuma."
Lord Fujioka responded in an irritated manner, clearly stressed from this new development.
"Got it. So what if we… have an information leaker?"
Reiji asked, finally looking at Lord Fujioka.
"Then they know about those creatures."
Reiji tilted his head, confused.
"How would they know?"
"Do you remember how you said that I'd get executed after telling the king they existed? Well, that wouldn't have happened because I personally handed him a letter with the necessary information to make his Majesty organize a meeting."
Reiji's gaze drifted back to the window.
"...I don't get it, they would only know about the meeting. Did the king hand out the letters for the meeting to the other nobles by hand or did he send a messenger?"
"I don't know."
Lord Fujioka answered Reiji's question in a defeated tone.
"Well, if the mole got their hands on your letter then it's game over. If they got their hands on the letters the king sent out then the scenario is a bit better."
Lord Fujioka leaned back and spoke after a moment.
"Too many questions. All we have to determine what happened is puffs of smoke and rubble."
"Don't you have some kind of investigators in the capital? Someone who will tell you what happened?"
As Reiji asked the last question, he turned to look at Lord Fujioka.
"The investigation bureau but they'll need time, possibly even days."
Answered Lord Fujioka.
Reiji looked back at the window.
"Yes, but all we need to know is if it collapsed or if it exploded. They'll try to find who did it and much more that isn't currently our concern."
Lord Fujioka let out a stressed
laugh.
"You're quite smart when you aren't trying your best to be rude, Mister Kurozuma."
"So, are we going to the investigation bureau?"
Reiji asked.
"Yes, we are going now."