While one of the "Cyclamen Order" executives, the "Doctor" Ozwell MacLeod, was lost in thought seated in a chair inside a certain room within the Sauvel Empire's imperial castle,
( Not only did Gary die, but to lose Farm Farm as well... My future amusements have decreased. Now then, what shall I do to pass the time from here? )
""Doctor", it seems the emperor is reaching his limit soon."
Ozwell's twin sister—Lueria Ingrot—who shared the room, called out to him with a tired expression.
Hearing her voice, Ozwell grimaced as he returned from the sea of his thoughts.
"How troublesome... Could you deal with him appropriately on Lueria's side?"
"Please spare me that. Seeing that old man's incompetence up close makes me want to cut him down on the spot."
"You're saying some dangerous things."
"You're the one saying that—the very person who made me this way?"
"When you put it like that, I have no comeback. Sigh... Fine, I'll go placate him somehow. Though I really don't feel like it."
"—In that case, how about I give you some information that might interest you?"
Just as Ozwell, whose motivation had plummeted, was gathering what little enthusiasm he had left to head toward the emperor, a man opened the door and entered the room, addressing Ozwell.
The one who entered was the young man who had been entrusted with managing Farm Farm as the "Doctor"'s assistant—Stig Strem.
"...You sure have the nerve to show your face in front of me, Stig."
The moment he caught sight of him, Ozwell's eyes sharpened, and he spoke to Stig in a low voice.
In contrast, Stig showed no sign of being bothered by Ozwell's change in demeanor and wore his usual seemingly innocent smile.
"As for Farm Farm, that was force majeure. Even if I had remained, I couldn't have stopped "White Demon"-sama. If it had been you, "Doctor", in that place, nothing would have changed, would it?"
"I know. It's just venting. So, what do you want?"
"I came to give proper greetings again."
"...Greetings?"
"Yes. Having newly received the name "Rakshasa" from Lady Beria, I have been allowed to join the lowest seat among the "Cyclamen Order" executives. So I am going around greeting the other executives."
"Hmm, how dutiful."
"I heard this is the first step in building human relationships. And although it was force majeure, I caused you trouble with Gary's disposal and the loss of Farm Farm. As an apology, please accept this."
Saying so, Stig produced a sheet of paper from his storage magic tool.
He then spread it out on Ozwell's desk so the contents could be read.
"...A newspaper?"
What Stig spread out was a newspaper previously published by the Blanca Press in Tsutorail.
"Yes, exactly. I thought this article would catch your interest, "Doctor", so I purchased it."
Lueria—who had been silently listening to the two men's conversation from beside Ozwell—scanned the newspaper article and
"—っ!"
widened her eyes and caught her breath.
Her expression seemed to show more bewilderment than surprise.
With Lueria's reaction in the corner of his eye, Ozwell also skimmed the article.
"...Are you saying Caroline is alive...?"
The newspaper article focused on the second unit A-rank party of "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky".
Among them, "Twilight Moonbow" received particularly detailed coverage compared to other parties: mentions of the former hero Luna, Sophia—the younger sister of S-rank explorer Selma—and the fact that every party member possessed a unique skill.
"No way. That one is already used up, isn't it? Isn't there someone far more interesting? Someone as knowledgeable about unique skills as you should notice."
Receiving Stig's provocative words, Ozwell frowned and now read the article more carefully.
"...Hm? All members of "Twilight Moonbow" are unique skill holders?"
At Ozwell's mutter, Stig deepened his smile.
"Yes, that's right. And interestingly... the eastern region of the Nohitant Kingdom is said to have strong connections with surrounding countries."
In Ozwell's mind, the framework for a new experiment to pass the time began to take shape.
Regarding unique skills, he had drawn one conclusion from his research results:
'Unique skills have a close connection to bloodlines.'
Furthermore, unique skills manifest only once every few generations, and when one does manifest in a person, no close blood relative will manifest a new one.
"I see, I see. Just when I was troubled with nothing to do until the Order moves in earnest... But this looks like it could turn interesting!"
"I'm glad to hear that. What do you think? Doesn't this move raise the certainty of the first stage of our... plan while also bringing you one step closer to your own goal, "Doctor"?"
"...Yeah, you're right. If this clan... possesses what I desire, ah... I absolutely must obtain it no matter what!"
Literally listening to the devil's whisper, Ozwell's expression bore a dark smile as he daydreamed about what was to come.