During the day, he had still been on a distant southern island, facing the scenes Before the Doomsday. By night, he was discussing marriage to the king's aunt with the King of the Northern Kingdom. This once again made the Outlander understand what "Fate is impermanent" meant. Unlike Claire, who felt that her advancement was unreal, Shade was certain that all of this was real. After all, he had only grasped it through his own efforts.
[Will this night end like this?]
After "her" meaningful question, tonight's story took another unexpected turn.
It happened as Shade's meeting with the King was nearing its end. The Silent Night was interrupted by a burst of commotion. Shade looked towards the window behind the King, and Larus III also stopped speaking. He shook his head and said to Shade:
"Don't worry. The guards will handle it."
But instead of stopping, the noise only grew louder. Just as Shade and Larus III rose to their feet, a gunshot rang out from very close to the window. Spiderweb-like cracks immediately spread across the study window, though the glass did not shatter.
"This is special bulletproof glass."
Larus III remained unruffled and even had time to explain it to Shade. Shade had just been about to ask whether bulletproof glass could withstand other things when he saw a pitch-black, smoking "stone" fly in from the side of the window. It struck the glass before falling beneath it.
"Steam Bomb!"
BOOM!
The explosion and the crash of shattering glass nearly made Larus III faint. When he came back to his senses, he found himself crouching beneath the desk with Shade pressing down on his shoulder. In his field of vision were a pen holder that had been blown beneath the desk, several sheets of documents, and ink