Chapter 131 : Chapter 131

Chapter 131: Labotas Mine

"Guards!"

At Linda's shout, soldiers began to appear one by one from somewhere.

None of them showed signs of great panic.

They all seemed calm, as if this wasn’t their first time dealing with such a situation.

"Sir Bihen, please stay here for a moment..."

"No, I’ll come along."

"..."

Without giving her a chance to protest further, my steps quickened.

I followed the soldiers and Linda as they moved in a rush.

"Please hurry and proceed with the purification of the Labotas Mine!"

"If this continues, we’ll all die! My lord!"

"Don’t you think you should come up with some kind of solution?"

The voices grew closer.

Soon, we reached the source of the commotion.

It was in front of a small side gate along the wall surrounding the Theodore estate.

"It’s Lady Linda! Over there!"

A group of about a dozen protesters surged toward us.

The estate’s private soldiers stepped in front of Linda, forming a shield wall.

The entire sequence unfolded as naturally as flowing water.

"Lady Linda! We finally met. We’ve been waiting for so long."

"..."

"While you and the young master were away in Conwell, five more people have already been sacrificed."

The middle-aged man’s voice cracked.

It was as if his words stirred up a wave of sorrow.

"Lady, please convince the lord. I beg you. If this goes on, we..."

The middle-aged man took a step forward.

It wasn’t so much an approach as it was an inability to steady his trembling body.

Clank.

The soldiers lined up in front of Linda tightened their formation.

Their shields subtly rose higher, as if warning the man not to come closer.

I glanced at Linda’s profile.

The usual lively demeanor was completely gone.

"Linda, may I ask what’s going on here?"

"...It’s a bit long and complicated to explain."

Labotas is a territory under Theodore’s domain.

Conflicts in such relationships are usually about taxes or forced labor.

‘Something feels off.’

The way they interacted, the demands I overheard—it didn’t seem like a simple administrative dispute.

The atmosphere felt different, somehow.

"Just when things seemed to quiet down, they came back like this again."

Declan had approached me unnoticed, wiping blood from above his lip.

"There’s an abandoned mine in Labotas that’s undergone demonic corruption. It’s been neglected for quite a while, and they’re demanding its purification."

If it were as simple as he described, the issue wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

As Linda said, there must be complicated circumstances tangled up in this.

The atmosphere wasn’t right for digging deeper just yet.

I turned my gaze back to the people of Labotas.

That’s when it happened.

My eyes widened.

‘That kid...’

The one-eyed boy I had caught while camping before coming to Theodore.

He was mixed in with the crowd, loudly echoing the adults’ shouts.

As I stood there startled, Declan approached them.

"How many times have we told you? This won’t change anything. Disperse now. If you cause more trouble, you’ll only provoke Father’s ire. Then even we won’t be able to protect you."

"Young Master!? That’s not what you said before...! Didn’t you say that once you returned from Conwell, you might have a reason to persuade the lord?"

"That was because I was worried Father might punish you for causing a scene while we were gone. You didn’t even understand my deeper intentions, tch!"

"Young Master...!"

Even as he spoke, the Theodore siblings’ expressions were grim.

Linda kept her head lowered and Declan continued with a resigned look.

"Didn’t we make it clear from the start? There’s only one way for you: win the Combat Festival and get a private audience with Father. This kind of aggressive approach..."

"Young Master! The knightly lineage of Labotas was cut off by the previous Lord Theodore! How are we supposed to participate in a Combat Festival?"

"Ahem! Well, hire mercenaries or something..."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

That was enough.

‘Demonic corruption.’

Theodore’s lord, who so tirelessly preached martial spirit, struggling with mere demonic corruption? Even Linda?

‘...There must be some difficult circumstances at play.’

This felt familiar. When was it?

Right, the Talrug Canyon.

‘It doesn’t have to be exactly like that.’

These aren’t people unrelated to me.

I felt it clearly.

These are people on my path.

Turning my back on them would be no different from denying myself in this life.

"Sir Bihen?"

"Sir Bihen, what are you doing..."

When I came to my senses, I was already standing in front of the Labotas people.

Good.

My body moved before my mind.

"I’ll take a look at myself. There’s plenty of time before the Combat Festival anyway."

Linda’s eyes widened.

Her face turned pale in an instant.

"W-Wait a moment! Sir Bihen! I haven’t explained everything yet..."

"It’s fine."

"...What?"

It came to me just then.

I’d always wanted to say something like this at least once.

"Meddling or not, all you need is the strength to handle it."

* * *

Theodore and Labotas were close.

It took less than half a day to arrive.

Following the Labotas townsfolk who had been protesting in front of the estate, I entered an old building used as the town’s meeting hall.

Inside, the townsfolk were gathered.

"Is it true? Has His Lordship finally heeded our pleas?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"What do you mean, not exactly?"

I stared at the middle-aged man who stepped forward.

He had the kind of face you could find anywhere in the Kingdom, but his build was quite imposing.

The problem was his appearance.

He wore faded plate armor, but it was only half-complete.

His greaves and sabatons were replaced with worn leather boots, and both pauldrons and gauntlets bore clear cracks.

Even the chestplate, the only relatively intact piece, was faded to a yellowish hue.

No matter how I looked at him, he didn’t seem like a knight..

.

"I heard there are no knights in Labotas."

I muttered, casually scanning the surroundings.

"Who are you? A mercenary sent by His Lordship?"

Judging by how he stepped forward despite my vague remark, he must consider himself a knight.

Anyway, it seemed I needed to introduce myself first.

I realized something on the way here.

I’d become somewhat arrogant without noticing.

The Labotas townsfolk didn’t even know who Bihen Benkou was.

I’d been under the illusion that I was quite famous.

‘I thought everyone outside Conwell would know me too.’

Let’s not get cocky.

I’ve got some reflecting to do.

"The eldest son of the Benkou family, Bihen Benkou."

Facing the flood of gazes, I added one more line.

"...A swordsman of the Empire and a wandering knight from Conwell."

The room stirred.

Even the people who came with me, who hadn’t said a word the whole way, now gasped as if they’d just realized my formidable identity.

"A swordsman of the Empire and a knight of the Kingdom...? Is there such a person?"

The middle-aged man asked, flustered.

It felt a bit like teasing innocent folks, but I hadn’t lied.

"Then why do you think I’m here?"

I’m a swordsman who follows the code of chivalry more faithfully than anyone in the Kingdom.

"That’s who I am."

"Ooh..."

"Now, tell me everything about that abandoned mine."

I’d already asked on the way here to save time, but they all kept their mouths shut, insisting they’d talk after we arrived, as if wary of someone watching.

The middle-aged man gave a quiet cough before speaking.

"It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Bihen. I’m Roberto Cox. You could say I’m the last heir of the Cox family, the knightly house of Labotas."

Quite grandiose.

The last heir, huh.

"In truth, I’m from a distant branch of the Cox family. I was taken in when the family faced extinction, barely keeping the family name alive."

"...I see. Is it alright to share such things so openly?"

Roberto shrugged as if it didn’t bother him at all.

"What’s wrong with it? Everyone here knows and I’m not ashamed of it in the least."

I was the one who ended up embarrassed.

Since coming to the Kingdom, I keep getting caught off guard like this.

Roberto took a moment to catch his breath before getting to the point.

I listened to his explanation without interrupting.

To sum it up:

The mine in question was shut down long ago.

The reason was demonic corruption.

That was ten years ago.

Since then, the mine has been left unpurified.

It’s hard to find the mana core, and more importantly, the demonic beasts haven’t leaked out of the mine.

But the real problem started recently.

"Demonic beasts have been slipping out of the mine from time to time and now they’re even appearing near the village. The frequency is increasing. It’s getting too much for the local militia to handle."

The more serious issue was something else.

"The land around the mine has started to decay. Not just wild animals, but grass and trees—everything is rotting and twisting and the worst part is, the range is gradually expanding."

On top of that, an unknown infectious disease has recently been rampant in the village.

"...It’s because of the poison leaking from the mine."

"Poison?"

"Yes. It’s not lethal enough to kill yet, but the toxicity is growing stronger."

Despite their repeated pleas to purify the mine, Count Theodore’s response has been cold.

"...He told us not to provoke it."

"Provoke? Provoke what?"

"He said that because we keep sneaking into the mine to extract ore, the demonic corruption, which had stopped, is progressing again."

"..."

"With things like this, other territories are now openly calling us people of a cursed land and blocking our migration. Of course, those gathered here have no intention of leaving Labotas."

I crossed my arms over my chest.

Well, there’s a lot of talk, but in the end, purifying the mine would solve everything.

"Has anything been found out about the mana core?"

"We’ve been having the local militia explore the mine for that very reason..."

Knock, knock.

A knock came from behind.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward it.

Creak.

A man peeked through the gap in the door, slightly hunched.

At a glance, he was a young man with kind eyes, but what stood out was that he wore glasses.

My gaze lingered involuntarily. It was the first time I’d seen someone wearing glasses in the Kingdom.

"Ah, we have a guest."

Our eyes met. His shoulders seemed to shrink further.

...Well, I don’t exactly have the most approachable face.

"Teacher Karim!"

"Sir Roberto. Sorry, I’m a bit late."

"No need to apologize, come in!"

The young man scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he stepped inside.

Some of the gathered people welcomed him with bright faces.

He carried a small bundle on his back, and with his glasses, if I were to compare him to an Imperial style, he was a scholarly man with neat attire and refined manners.

‘...Hmph.’

It’s not like I felt any aversion just because he’s the complete opposite type of person from me.

"Introduce yourself, Teacher Karim. This is Sir Bihen Benkou, a wandering knight from Conwell."

"...Oh, I see. Nice to..."

"The eldest son of the Benkou family, Bihen Benkou."

I extended my hand first.

The man named Karim hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it.

"Ah, yes. I’m Karim, a physician..."

"Where are you from?"

Karim blinked.

Unguarded confusion flashed across his face.

The atmosphere around us grew subtly chilly.

...Did I come on too strong?

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