Support the translator on
After the attack stopped, Viscount Lagart collected two carriages from the village chief of Flos, one carrying the injured knight and the body of the deceased knight, and the other filled with captured terrorists.
In the attack, eight of the knights who were guarding the rear of the magic carriage were caught in the explosion, killing three and wounding five.
Two of the injured knights are in serious condition, but there are no skilled healers in the village of Flos, so they decide to rush them to the next town where they will stay tonight.
Lunch in the village of Flos was canceled, and since the food at the restaurant where they had originally planned to eat might have been poisoned, they had to make do with bread and cheese purchased at a different restaurant.
Since it is not a restaurant that is patronized by the nobility, the food is shabby, but we can’t afford to be extravagant.
If I was dead, I would not be able to eat even this kind of bread.
There are 12 knights of the Viscount Lagart family who can move in perfect condition, but four of them are taken by the guards of the two carriages and the terrorists who are escorting them.
Since two more will precede them as heralds, the actual escort will be six men.
So, with the Viscount’s permission, I decided to take up a position on the roof of the carriage.
From the coachman’s seat, I could not see the rear of the carriage at all, so I could not deal with an attack from behind.
From the roof, there was nothing to block my view, so I could fire as many shots as I wanted.
This morning, we were much later than scheduled from the time of departure, and since we lost time due to the attack, we had to go on the road at night from the halfway point.
Since the carriage was a magic carriage used by the nobility, the magical equipment that illuminated the road ahead was bright enough, but there were no streetlights like in Japan, so the surroundings were pitch-dark.
From the point of view of the attackers, the target was easy to see, and since they were in an inconspicuous environment, the escorting knights were so nervous that it could be felt even by me.
So, I made ten light magic circles and placed five on each side of the road.
They were like streetlights that traveled with the magic carriage, so to speak.
“Oh, this is going to really help us. With this, even if there’s someone hiding, we’ll be able to find them quickly.” (Knight)
The knights were a little less tense, but they had to be on guard, and I continued to keep a watchful eye on them by using my body enhancement magic to strengthen my eyesight.
The knights seemed to be so tense that a huge sigh of relief escaped them when they crossed the territorial border and arrived at Waghkurch, the city of Duke Letburnes.
Duke Letburnes has been in the line of succession since the younger brother of the king two generations ago, and the current head of the family, Ahrens, is known as a lord with the king’s trust.
The Duchy of Letburnes is located northwest of the royal capital and is a strategic point on the road to the north and west.
For this reason, knights of the duchy were stationed in the towns bordering the territory.
Upon receiving word from the knight who had preceded us, the duke’s knight met us near the entrance to the town and led Viscount Lagart’s magic carriage to the inn where he was scheduled to stay.
After arriving at the inn, Mr. Hailwood and I, who commanded the escorting knights, was summoned by Viscount Lagart.
They would discuss their plans for tomorrow and beyond over dinner.
The Viscount and Mr. Hailwood sat facing each other at a table away from Ms. Aida, Derrick, and the others, and I was made to sit next to Mr. Hailwood.
“First of all, Nyango… I would like to thank you once again. Thank you very much.” (Frederick)
“No, I just did the job I was asked to do.” (Nyango)
“Maybe so, but I wasn’t expecting an attack like that at all. Frankly, Mr. Hailwood and the others would not have been solely able to defend.” (Frederick)
When the Viscount turned his gaze, Mr. Hailwood was also nodding.
“I think so too. Not only would we not have been able to defend by ourselves, but we would also have been annihilated.” (Hailwood)
“Um… who are they?” (Nyango)
“I can’t say for sure until we get them to the Royal Capital and interrogate them with the Royal Knights, but they are probably what is known as the Anti-noble Faction.” (Frederick)
According to Viscount Lagart, a group that opposes the system of rule by the nobility and demands autonomy by the people is expanding its sphere of activity around the Royal Capital.
“When they first began their activities, they were moderate, appealing for a reduction in annual tribute and taxes, but in recent years their actions have rapidly become more extreme. Still, I had heard that they were committing crimes to gather goods and money, such as the attack on the warehouse of a merchant family that was doing shady business in the Royal Capital and the breaking of a storehouse in a nobleman’s house.” (Frederick)
Viscount Lagart, who guards the border with the neighboring Country of Estore, is said to be keeping his eyes and ears open and gathering information about the situation in the country, but he could not have anticipated the radicalization that has taken place here.
“Nyango, that explosion was caused by a magic circle, wasn’t it?” (Frederick)
“That’s right. I also use the pulverization magic circle, but as you can see, it explodes at the same time as it is activated, so it is said to be difficult to use. I use it in combination with a shield made from void attribute. I also activate it from a distance, so I used it when subjugating a wyvern, but I never thought it would be used like that…” (Nyango)
The brown catkin who was the first to self-destruct was blown into pieces with no trace left.
The reason he used a magic stone to activate it was probably because the catkin’s magic power wasn’t powerful enough to do the job.
“I thought that some poor catkin was forced to blow himself up. But the black catkin who I stopped exploding said to me, ‘How dare you get in my way, aristocrat’s lap cat.’” (Nyango)
“Then, at least with regard to the black catkin you captured, he was trying to blow himself of his own volition, correct?” (Frederick)
“Yes, I think so. Um… before we go to the Royal Capital, would you allow me to talk to that black catkin?” (Nyango)
“What are you going to talk about?” (Frederick)
“Why did he target the viscount? Why would he give up his own life to kill?” (Nyango)
“Hmm…” (Frederick)
Viscount Lagart stopped eating and contemplated.
“Nyango, to be honest, I don’t want to put you in contact with them, because they use false information to criticize the aristocracy and justify themselves. For example, does Nyango know the amount of tribute and tax rates actually collected in our territory?” (Frederick)
“No, I don’t know the actual amount of tax, because I was told that the guild’s rewards are paid without being taxed.” (Nyango)
“They mix up such amounts with false figures and talk as if they are being heavily taxed in order to draw their sympathies and bring them into their ranks. This is a trap that those with a strong sense of justice are more likely to fall into. ” (Frederick)
The aristocracy is bad, the aristocracy is unfair, the aristocracy is greedy… and it is said that if only the aristocracy disappeared, the world would be a better place, our lives would be better, and our country would be a better place. That is what the Anti-noble Faction spreads.
“It is true that we, the aristocrats, are much better off than the poor commoners, but our mansions were left to us by our ancestors, and there are plenty of merchants who live at least as well as we do. Some of them earn their money through far more unscrupulous means than we do.” (Frederick)
“Their claims are hidden behind lies. Can’t I just decide not to believe them until I see for myself? I understand from what you told me the other day that it is not easy for Atsuka village or the Catkins to escape poverty.” (Nyango)
From Viscount Lagart’s point of view, he must be worried that I might switch sides to the Anti-noble Faction on the way to the Royal Capital.
Even though they don’t have enough bodyguards, they probably think they can’t make enemies among their own people.
“Then, let me give you a condition. You will be able to have a dialogue every other day, and on the days, you don’t meet them, you will have to talk to me.” (Frederick)
“In other words, you want me to listen to both sides and make a decision…?” (Nyango)
“No, I don’t want you to listen to what they say in the first place.” (Frederick)
“But I’m sure some of their claims are true. If everything they say is a lie, it would make their stories less credible…” (Nyango)
“Well… if you really have to believe their claims, limit them to those that can be backed up with accurate numbers.” (Frederick)
“I understand, I won’t believe every claim until it can be verified. I will tell the Viscount everything I hear in the talk… how about this?” (Nyango)
“Good. Nyango may be able to extract more information than Hailwood and the others can interrogate him. I will be staying at Duke Letburnes’ residence tomorrow night, and we can arrange an interview then.” (Frederick)
“Yes, thank you.” (Nyango)
Dinner that night consisted of grilled orc spareribs marinated in a honey sauce, but as one would expect, the mood was not one for enjoyment.
When I returned to my room after my meeting with the viscount, Mr. Novak was already snoring on his bed.
It was understandable, since he had been under a lot of strain from the faster-than-usual pace of the tour, the raid, and the nighttime road trip.
I rolled Mr. Novak’s body over, pulled the quilt, and pulled it back over him so he wouldn’t catch a cold.
The room came with a bath, so I filled the tub half full with hot water and soaked myself.
As a catkin, I could soak myself up to my shoulders in this amount of water.
When I closed my eyes after soaking in the hot water, I saw the face of the dirty brown catkin floating in the water.
We did not exchange words, but our eyes certainly met just before the explosion.
I can’t help but feel like he was trying to tell me something, but what was he trying to convey?
I feel like it was “Help me…” and I also feel like it was “I’m sorry…”
I can’t speak with those who have left this world, but I can speak with those who are alive and ask their thoughts.
Maybe I’ll see what the black catkin, who is older than I am, has to say about… it all starts tomorrow night.
T/N: If you like the series rate, review it, and add it to your reading list on Novel Updates. You can also donate through Paypal or Ko-fi or subscribe to Lazy Translations. Thank you!
Support the translator on lazytranslations.com