Chapter 147 : Chapter 147

Chapter 147 : Krause (2)

"In the name of His Majesty, the King, I command you. Conwell and Krause, cease your confrontation immediately. If you refuse, the Imperial Capital Knight Order will intervene with force."

Noser's declaration startled me.

'Conwell and Krause?'

I tilted my head.

It seemed like something had gone wrong from the start.

"Sir Noser, this fight has nothing to do with the Imperial Capital."

Valen said, taking a step back.

From their conversation, it seemed the two were not meeting for the first time.

"How can a fight on the Kingdom's soil have nothing to do with the Imperial Capital? I have seen the conflict between you and Bihen Benkou with my own two eyes, and I cannot overlook it."

Immediately following his words, a heavy clang of metal echoed from behind Krause's assassins.

Soldiers then completely surrounded the area.

It seemed Noser had rushed ahead to intervene between the two of us.

"Bihen Benkou, you should also put away your hostility."

"..."

"You remember what happened in Conwell, when Commander Ludsilla and I bowed our heads without a word. Now it's your turn to show the same respect to our Imperial Capital."

I had to remember the goal of this journey.

I was on my way to personally confirm to what extent the Eight Demons had infiltrated the Imperial Capital and if Chancellor Zisair was indeed the leader of the Eight Demons.

The same went for this fight.

Facing the truth of the Poison Demon, I had no reason to act on foolish pride.

Of course, this was all on the condition that Bolero was returned to his normal state.

"My companion has been hurt like this. You expect me to just stand down?"

At my words, Noser looked at my fallen companions and nodded, as if he had just realized what had happened.

"He's been poisoned. Sir Valen, you won't deny that this is your doing, will you?"

"..."

"Hand over the antidote. It seems that's the next step in this conversation."

This made two things clear.

One, the Krause family deals with poison and two, Noser also knew this and, at the very least, intended to remain strictly neutral on the matter.

"..."

Valen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, and one of the assassins approached and handed me a small vial.

I passed it to Jayden.

While the Easton Guard laid the four people down and injected the antidote, Valen and Noser watched in silence.

I didn't fully put away my Heavenly Demon sword.

This wasn't over yet.

"Something's a bit strange."

I muttered and Valen and Noser both looked at me at the same time.

I couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.

The timing was strange, and their reason for intervention was vague.

Why would the Imperial Capital Knight Order intervene to this extent when Aldenfort isn't even a imperial domain?

"...Did the Lord of Aldenfort ask the Imperial Capital for help, too?"

Noser answered with an indifferent look.

"Ask the Imperial Capital 'too'? The way you say that makes it sound like you also came here at the request of the Count of Aldenfort."

"..."

"Since it's come up, don't you think the Duke of Conwell was a bit hasty this time? I find his intention to send troops to a place this far away, when the chaos in Conwell has yet to be settled, quite curious."

Noser was under a misconception.

Before I could object, Jayden spoke up.

"Sir Noser, there seems to be a misunderstanding. We also came here at the Aldenfort Lord's request. The reason was to mediate the dispute involving the Gunbel Trading Company."

"The Gunbel Trading Company? What's that?"

Everyone was momentarily speechless at Noser's innocent-sounding question.

***

"So, the Count of Aldenfort asked for help from both the Imperial Capital and Conwell?"

Noser blinked and pointed at me with his finger.

"...And you, you were working separately from Conwell from the beginning?"

I quietly nodded.

Noser still thought I was part of Conwell and, upon seeing me, was convinced that this fight was a result of Conwell's intervention for profit.

As it turned out, the letter the Aldenfort Lord sent to the Imperial Capital only said that the unrest caused by external forces had grown uncontrollably and requested help to suppress it.

There was no mention of the Gunbel Trading Company, which was the actual cause of the conflict.

'Since it's an Imperial trading company, he probably had a lot he wanted to hide.'

Noser let out a deep sigh.

"What... what is this?"

"You don't need to overthink it."

It was my turn to step up.

Although the Imperial Capital Knight Order had been dragged into this unexpectedly, nothing had really changed.

I held up the 'evidence' of the insult I received from Max.

"We of the Solari simply responded to the Gunbel Trading Company's declaration of war."

I said "we."

Bolero would have fainted with joy if he had heard me.

Bolero was still unconscious, lying down, but his complexion had improved.

The antidote hadn't been a fake.

"I have to end this fight. A conflict with the Krause family, who are protecting the Gunbel Trading Company, is unavoidable."

I was basically telling the Imperial Capital Knight Order to back off.

Noser, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke after a while.

"It is difficult to determine the right and wrong of the Krause family backing an Imperial trading company right now. We have a duty to uphold the Kingdom's order, but we can't yet confirm whether the Gunbel Trading Company is truly harmful. What's more, this all happened outside the Imperial Capital. At this point, Sir Valen, you need to state your position clearly."

Noser didn't seem willing to back down easily.

He stubbornly held his ground, playing the role of a mediator even though he knew this fight wasn't just about a struggle for profit but a matter of honor between factions.

'This is how the Imperial Capital has been exercising its influence over various parts of the Kingdom.'

Valen, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.

"What he says is right, Sir Noser. There is no place for the Imperial Capital Knight Order here, so please back off. We will resolve this ourselves."

For once, Valen said something I liked.

I was just about to consider teaching this Noser a lesson in Imperial etiquette.

Noser, who had been caught off guard, flushed with embarrassment and suddenly raised his voice.

"Where do you think you are?! His Majesty the King and the Count of Aldenfort are bound by trust. Since we came here at the request of the Count of Aldenfort, we cannot stand by and just watch."

What would happen if Valen revealed that the Krause family's roots were in the Empire, just as he had done to me earlier?

The problem would either be simplified or become more complicated. It would be one of the two.

I kept my mouth shut because I couldn't make that calculation immediately, and Valen was the same.

It could be for the same reason as me, or perhaps he was reluctant for the people of the Imperial Capital to know that the Krause family was involved with the Empire.

"And another thing. When the evidence of Conwell's physical intervention is so clear, how can I pretend I don't see it?"

"Didn't I tell you? Conwell came here at the Aldenfort Lord's request."

"Then what about you?"

"As a member of Solari..."

"Do you take me for a fool? Saying that doesn't change the fact that you are an Imperial citizen."

"..."

"Are you trying to escalate this matter further with an Imperial citizen's rampage, Bihen Benkou? And besides..."

Noser raised his finger and pointed behind me.

"Even if you deny it, anyone who sees this scene will have no choice but to question your relationship with Conwell, won't they?"

My head turned back without me realizing it.

Jayden, Janson, Bill, and Ayan, all of them were holding their weapons, tense and ready.

...Well, there was no getting out of this.

"Alright, I'll summarize. I did not consider this matter a mere conflict between a magic school and an Imperial trading company from the start. I judged it to be a conflict between Kingdom families, specifically Conwell and Krause. Therefore, it is right that only our Imperial Capital Knight Order has the authority and responsibility to settle this. And that would be the only way to resolve this situation justly and cleanly."

Things were getting terribly complicated.

If Noser was determined to push this illogical argument, there was no room for me to refute it.

'Could this also be a scheme by Zisair...'

...No, it couldn't be. Noser looked quite pleased, intoxicated by his own forced logic.

"Then, what do you suggest we do?"

Valen said, clenching his teeth.

His tone emphasized that he was also exercising considerable patience.

Noser cleared his throat as if he had been waiting for that.

"I will refer the conflict between Conwell and Krause to a formal trial by combat."

A murmur went through the crowd. Noser drew their attention and spoke.

"The method will be for three, no, five representatives from each side to step forward. The location will be the Aldenfort mansion, and the date will be two days from now. Does anyone have any objections?"

Then he added quietly that the costs incurred from his fair observation would be billed to each family regardless of the outcome.

...I didn't want to believe that this was Noser's true motive.

Would the head of the Sharon Faction do such a troublesome thing for a few coins?

"Ah, the rules for the trial by combat will follow the Imperial Capital's standard, with victory determined by points, not a continuous fight. In other words, the side with two survivors wins."

In other words, it was a fight to the death.

***

"I-I'm so sorry, Bihen Benkou. I had no idea things would overlap like this."

"..."

"Truly! I would never have wanted to put you in such a difficult position! The situation was so urgent that I thought if I contacted both the Imperial Capital and Conwell, one of them would rush to help. But I had no idea it would get this complicated... Ha, I'm truly sorry."

The Lord of Aldenfort repeatedly apologized to me.

Frankly, he had done nothing wrong.

If he had just told me he had also contacted the Imperial Capital, I might have been more careful, but... well, that wasn't his obligation.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. The important thing is not to forget that Solari and Conwell drove out the Gunbel Trading Company."

"Of course! I will take full responsibility for setting up the branch or any compensation. And the fact that you're involved with Conwell..."

"..."

"I-I don't know anything about it, so I won't tell anyone, ever!"

The Lord of Aldenfort made a gesture of zipping his lips, then, after getting my permission, he scurried away.

He said Noser was waiting for him in the drawing room.

'With Max secured, the Gunbel Trading Company matter is settled for now.'

Noser didn't interfere with what happened to Max. Well, since he said what he said, he didn't have a good reason to interfere anyway.

In the end, all that was left was the trial by combat.

The Krause family needed to get Max back and I needed to uncover the truth of the Poison Demon.

We were both in a situation where we couldn't back down.

'And on top of that, I have to protect the Easton Guard.'

How absurd.

If I were to fight in the trial by combat on Conwell's side, it would be as good as admitting Noser's forced logic that I and Conwell were in it together.

'The fact that I've been playing makes me feel even worse.'

Creak.

When I opened the door and entered, everyone inside turned their gaze toward me.

Jewel's spacious bedroom had been turned into a collective infirmary.

Karim was examining Jewel, Maserin, Bolero, Krnock and Deli, who were all lying in a row, while the Easton Guard watched with worried faces.

"Thankfully, the poison didn't spread deeply because the antidote was administered in time. They should regain consciousness soon."

"That's a relief."

"...I heard you're fighting a trial by combat with the Krause family."

"That's how it turned out."

"..."

Karim's face was grim.

I didn't have time to ask why.

"Bihen, what happened to the Vice-Commander? What on earth happened?"

Janson and Bill kept stealing glances, as if they couldn't get used to Jewel's terrible state.

I walked over to Ayan, who was huddled in a corner.

"Spatial Transfer Gate."

"..."

"It was excellent. You finally awakened it."

"N-no, I'm not. If I had been a little more precise, we wouldn't have landed in such a difficult spot. It's because of me that..."

"You still haven't fixed that bad habit of always being so timid. There's no need to belittle yourself so much."

"I'm s-sorry! Ah... yes. I'll f-fix it."

It wasn't a matter of skill level.

Someone like Ayan shouldn't be involved in a fight.

Roland probably knew that and never taught him battle magic in the first place.

"We keep meeting like this, Bihen."

Jayden, who was sitting next to Maserin, stood up and said.

I felt the same way.

We still hadn't fulfilled our promise to have a drink together after we took down the Crimson Flame Cult.

"With Bolero in this state, does Janson have to step up for the trial by combat?"

Jayden asked with a worried voice. Janson was startled but then his expression turned resolute.

"Leave it to me, Captain. It's finally time to show the results of my training."

Honestly, I was curious to see how much Janson had grown.

At any other time, I might have seen this as a good opportunity.

But not this time.

Dusk was settling outside the window.

The already murky sky looked even gloomier.

"Sir Karim, can I see you for a moment?"

I took Karim outside the door.

Leaning against the door frame, Karim adjusted his glasses.

"Was there something you wanted to say..."

"Tell me where the Krause family mansion is."

For a moment, Karim's eyes behind his glasses flickered. He gave an awkward cough.

"W-why would you ask me for the Krause family mansion..."

"You didn't say you didn't know."

"Ah..."

"I'm asking because you seemed to know the Krause family well, even though I didn't explain anything earlier."

I didn't want to ask what his relationship with such a suspicious family was right now.

Instead, I lowered my voice.

"You may not know, Sir Karim, but you should. You are a very clever man, aren't you?"

Karim's face instantly turned pale.

***

Rumble!

I looked up at the sky.

One by one, raindrops began to fall from the dark clouds and soon, they started pouring down.

This miserable weather.

For some reason, it seemed to be raining even more fiercely today.

Bang!

The moment lightning struck, the dark view momentarily flashed a brilliant white.

In that brief flash, the exterior of an Imperial-style mansion standing tall on a hill appeared for a moment.

Its hauntingly clear outline was then swallowed by the darkness once again.

Whoosh!

I slowly walked toward the Krause mansion.

I grabbed my hair, which was already soaked by the rain, and neatly tied it up on top of my head.

I had no intention of a surprise attack.

I would enter through the main gate, with dignity.

Because that was the Imperial code of etiquette.

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