Chapter 151

"Thank you all for gathering. I have something urgent to discuss, and I'd like to hear your opinions."

That evening, they gathered around the dining table of the house they had temporarily rented as lodging.

Leandros, Amelia, Verde, and even the snowman.

Seeing everyone gathered together made him feel somewhat tense.

Verde, still looking tired, raised his hand.

"Whatever it is, I agree. Please let me sleep. This is physician abuse."

"Listen first before saying anything!"

Suddenly, the tension disappeared.

After clearing his throat a few times, he began again calmly.

"As you all know, the representative of the royal direct territory has asked us to come to Valentine for Gallo's reconstruction."

"With the r-representative naming the v-village elder, but n-no successor available. The v-village elder is m-missing."

"Miss Amelia is right. So I'm thinking we should visit Valentine directly."

Silence fell over the table for a moment.

Amelia raised her head.

"I-I object. R-right now, we d-don't represent Gallo. It's enough j-just to gain the s-support of Gallo's residents. I th-think this much is s-sufficient."

"For the sake of Gallo's residents, you mean, Miss Amelia?"

"Because it's an a-action that won't b-benefit us."

Amelia was right.

If they were acting purely for the benefit of the Hartmann ducal family, they should visit the villages and cities that had belonged to the ducal territory as soon as possible.

Going to Valentine now would be a waste of time, she meant.

"That's right. Perhaps on the surface, there's no benefit. But I think the representative is deeply involved in this situation."

"The r-representative... the one s-sent by the royal family?"

"What happened in Glico could be considered a tragedy caused by a negligent representative and lazy mercenaries."

Verde, who had been slumped down, raised his head.

"What happened in Glico to make you say that?"

"The village was hiding pig-humans and throwing travelers to them as food. His Grace was a victim."

"Wow. Pig-humans? Did you bring back the corpse?"

"Does it look like I would?"

At Leandros's cold reply, Verde slumped back onto the table.

While keeping his gaze on Verde, he continued.

"It's strange when you think about it. The mercenaries who supposedly contracted with the representative, there weren't any in Gallo or Glico except for the gatekeepers. This incident unfolded so quickly that we didn't notice, but mercenaries couldn't be found anywhere."

"Th-that's."

"I can only think of it as deliberate neglect. That's my opinion."

Then why?

Was this just a rebate contract between corrupt representatives and mercenaries?

But there were other suspicious points beyond just this.

"Moreover, the representative is also responsible for the appearance of the demonic beasts called the Children of Shub-Niggurath here."

"N-now that you m-mention it, those gray e-eggs... called buds. They c-came from the banquet celebrating the r-representative's appointment."

"Right. They were the eggs that the representative said he received from a previous village. But from which previous village? Why would he bring such things? Even if he brought them unknowingly, there are still unclear points."

"So Your Grace is suggesting that the representative has been creating the root cause of this incident?"

Leandros, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke.

A representative who doesn't appear.

A representative who distributed buds to the villagers of Gallo.

A representative who merely observed when pig-humans appeared in Glico.

On the surface, it could appear that way.

But he shook his head.

"No. It wouldn't do to cut off the tail while leaving the head. Who could be behind this? The current king, who merely preserves his position, wouldn't devise such a thing without purpose."

"...Crown Prince Yurik."

At Leandros's murmur, Amelia's expression hardened.

With the sudden tension in the air, Verde slightly sat up.

"Are you saying we need to uncover Crown Prince Yurik's intentions?"

"No, I think it's better not to do that. Even if we knew his purpose, the people wouldn't believe us."

Besides, he already knew the purpose, so it didn't matter.

What he wanted was in a slightly different direction.

"There are many rumors about the Crown Prince. One of them is that he handles demonic beasts. What if he didn't start the Eastern Wasteland project for nothing? What if he was conducting some kind of... 'experiment' in the direct territories?"

"You mean experiments related to demonic beasts? Is that true?"

"Whether it's true or not isn't important. But what's clear is that there are suspicious circumstances, and if we can expose them in front of people."

He didn't have the sense to calculate politically.

Normally, he wouldn't be able to devise such schemes.

"We can gain support. A lot of support."

Utilizing the devices set up by Yurik would be as easy as eating rice cakes while lying down.

Everyone remained silent.

Each of them seemed to have complicated thoughts.

In the midst of this, Verde asked.

"I'm not sure if my ears are playing tricks on me, but for some reason, Your Grace seems extremely hostile to the royal family? Is this right?"

"Haven't you heard the rumors that the Hartmann family nearly faced extermination?"

"Well, I have. But being resentful and making statements that sound like... how should I put it. It sounds like you're deliberately trying to target His Highness the Crown Prince, which is a different matter, isn't it?"

"I will target him."

"Haha. It seems my ears are definitely malfunctioning."

"I said I will target him."

Verde abruptly stood up from his seat.

"That's treason, you crazy Duke!"

"Correct. It's treason. And it's the only revenge I can take."

"I don't want to get involved in such things! I refuse! I'm leaving! Farewell!"

"But right now, you're being treated as part of Leandros's company. Even if that weren't the case, there are many witnesses who have seen us."

"No, no, no, I'll go to the mountains. I'll bury myself in the mountains. I know my life is precious, you know. Is someone going to execute?"

As Verde acted as if he was about to leave, Leandros and Amelia rose slightly from their chairs.

Their attitude suggested they would stop him by force if necessary.

No, that wouldn't do!

"Verde, listen."

"Listen to what? Your plan to overthrow the royal family? To pollute my ears?"

"No. I'm sorry for involving you, who has nothing to do with this, up to this point. But there's one thing I'd like you to understand."

"What is it?"

"How he treats ordinary people. Couldn't you see for yourself and judge?"

"Do I need to know that? While taking a risk?"

Verde started laughing in disbelief.

But to Verde, whose eyes weren't laughing at all, he replied seriously.

"Outwardly, we're still faithfully following the royal family's orders. From the outside, there's nothing suspicious. At least until some conclusion is reached in Valentine City."

"And?"

"If you want to part ways, do it in Valentine. We'll settle our deal then as well."

"..."

Verde didn't say anything for a long time.

He tore at his hair, muttered something like 'Oh, seriously,' and looked up at the sky saying he was going to go crazy.

After spinning around in place for a while, he finally sat down.

"You'll definitely settle the account, right?"

"Yes. Of course."

What did dying one more time matter?

As long as Leandros and the others didn't find out.

"What do you all think about going to Valentine for this?"

Valentine would be the stage for building up before officially raising the flag against Yurik.

Leandros and Amelia nodded.

Thus, their journey to Valentine was decided.

* * *

The villagers were sad to see them leave Gallo.

But thanks to Amelia sharing the news that the representative was unable to leave Valentine due to some business, and therefore someone from the village needed to go to Valentine, there weren't many people who tried to stop them.

"Sir Knight, you must return. You must."

"When the time comes for you to visit, we'll give you a splendid reception."

"Please contact us before coming from Valentine!"

Leandros received a favorably warm send-off that surprised even himself.

It seemed that regardless of his stoic attitude, their protagonist had the ability to rapidly increase likability.

They left Gallo with food that the villagers had barely managed to gather, a poorly repaired cart for transporting patients, and the two horses they had brought.

Ah, the patient transport cart was naturally occupied by him. His bones hadn't healed yet.

When they reached the hill after leaving the village and looked back, they could see the blackened district at a glance.

"Even though we didn't stay that long, it feels like we've been there for at least a year."

"That's a-all an illusion."

"Verde, don't be so rude. I'm being sentimental here."

Clatter, clatter.

The cart moved, and Leandros walked beside the horse pulling it.

Amelia had given the remaining horse to the frail Verde and was sitting at the end of the cart where he was lying.

Aphoom-Zhah in the form of a snowman was inside his cloak hood.

It was a peaceful journey.

He thought it would be good if such a path continued until they reached Valentine.

On the fourth day since departing from Gallo for Valentine.

They heard surprising news at a small farm where they stopped to stay for the night.

"Valentine has been blockaded?"

"That's what I'm saying! Even my relatives living there have suddenly cut off all contact. From what I hear, something big has happened in Valentine."

"What exactly is this big event?"

"Don't tell anyone. So, I just heard very recently."

The farmer looked around and whispered.

"They say heretics have risen up in Valentine. They've occupied the city, rumors are spreading!"

He squeezed his eyes shut involuntarily.

So much for a smooth journey.

He had known this would happen.