And so, the Hori Kingdom passed another week with undercurrents swirling beneath the surface.
After the king's death, the entire kingdom mourned. The conflicts of old seemed to vanish into thin air at that moment, and everyone became amiable and harmonious. The Church and the nobles joined hands to hold a grand funeral. Even without a body, they buried the king's old robes and built his tomb alongside the queen's mausoleum.
Yet in the shadows, unknown events were quietly brewing.
For instance... at the Magic Academy thousands of miles away, anyone paying close attention would have noticed that the once-lively academy seemed to be gradually growing quieter. Quite a few students and teachers had begun leaving to carry out missions, but no one knew where those missions were taking them.
And among the common folk of the Hori Kingdom, beneath the atmosphere of mourning, rumors grew ever more intense, while one name spread farther and wider—"Black Nightmare Society."
People had heard that it was a civilian organization that truly supported His Majesty the King. Though the Church had encircled and suppressed it time and again, it had only grown stronger. And the king's death was nothing like what the Church had declared.
No one knew what the truth was, but people gradually began to realize that something was about to happen. The Hori Kingdom, which had suddenly fallen quiet, might be brewing an even more shocking explosion beneath its still waters.
Silence, silence... everyone seemed to be waiting for a turning point. Many sensed in the dark that the fuse had already been laid; all that was needed was a spark.
A week later, that spark appeared.
"Her Highness the Princess... is going to inherit the throne?"
When most people saw the announcement, their first reaction was stunned disbelief. They