90. The Continent in an Uproar (1)
In the Trade City of Caravana, one could hear about incidents occurring throughout the continent.
Those incidents included no shortage of extraordinary events.
For example, Sirens were Mermaid Monsters with the beautiful upper bodies of women and the lower bodies of fish.
Sirens kidnapped human men to propagate their species, and one man had deliberately allowed himself to be charmed and captured by them.
However, it turned out that fish reproduced through “External Fertilization”.
In the end, the man failed to achieve what he wanted and died after being repeatedly milked dry.
All kinds of incidents poured in from across the continent—events so extraordinary and absurd that they would seem ridiculous even in a novel.
Because the people of Caravana constantly heard such stories, ordinary tales could not faze them.
Therefore, only one recent rumor had managed to set Caravana abuzz.
It concerned “monster meat”.
Monster meat had been distributed from the Commercial City of Freche.
Its enchanting flavor had left the entire city of Caravana excited and in an uproar until recently.
The Trade City of Caravana was a Free City that had developed through its specialization in “trade”.
It had established itself as a center of external exchange, transportation, and trade networks.
Rumors spread there exceptionally quickly.
Therefore, causing an uproar in Caravana was practically equivalent to causing an uproar across the entire continent.
Consequently, rumors concerning monster meat had also begun stirring the entire continent—
“What...? Violess disappeared?”
The claim that Violess had vanished from the map was even more shocking than monster meat.
“What kind of absurd nonsense is that?”
“At least make a lie believable if you want people to fall for it.”
Perhaps because of that, people did not believe the rumor at first.
After all, what kind of city was Violess?
It was a city that produced criminals who ran rampant throughout the continent.
If the Langrid Mage Tower was called the Cradle of Mages, Violess could be called the cradle of criminals.
It was no exaggeration to say that every criminal on the continent originated from Violess.
Many crimes occurring throughout the kingdoms, including kidnapping and murder, were commissioned from Violess.
Various illegal weapons, drugs, and cursed objects were also distributed across the continent through Violess.
Violess was therefore a city that presented a severe problem for the entire continent.
Even so, it had been left alone.
More accurately, there were reasons why everyone had been forced to leave it alone.
“Destroying Violess would be impossible with any ordinary military force.”
The first reason was that it was a Lawless City beyond the control of even a kingdom’s army.
As a Free City without an absolute authority such as a monarch or lord, the sole absolute authority within Violess was “military strength”.
In other words, the Visters possessed tremendous combat power.
Subjugating Violess would inevitably consume enormous amounts of military strength and resources.
“How many years has it been? Didn’t the Duchy of Illuer mobilize its army and suffer a devastating defeat?”
The required expenditure of resources was extreme. It was more than even a duchy’s military forces could withstand.
Who would recklessly draw their sword first without knowing how much damage they might suffer?
“I’ve also heard rumors that Violess has secretly established connections with noble officials from various kingdoms.”
Thus, Violess had been a city that could not be touched either militarily or politically.
“Did Violess truly disappear?”
“I confirmed it several times. Violess truly no longer exists.”
“My word...!”
There was a reason the entire Trade City of Caravana had been thrown into an uproar.
Furthermore, military and political concerns were not the only reasons Violess had been left alone.
“Then what will happen to those who lived in Violess?”
Violess was a Lawless City, but that did not mean every citizen living there was a criminal.
Exiles and fugitives from various kingdoms had entered the city.
There were poor people unable to overcome the disparity between rich and poor.
There were slaves who had been abducted and sold there.
There were even people born within Violess.
Violess was still a city inhabited by ordinary people.
Therefore, erasing the city of Violess meant accepting “responsibility” for every poor person who lived there.
What if they were simply abandoned?
It would be no different from driving tens of thousands of people to their deaths.
“The cost of resettling all those poor people must be astronomical....”
That was the most fundamental reason Violess had been left alone.
It was also an unavoidable practical consideration.
“According to what I heard, they’re providing the poor residents of Violess with new settlements.”
“What? I-Is that true?!”
“Yes. They’re even providing generous assistance to help slaves who have homes return to them.”
“My goodness...!”
It was only natural that the entire city of Caravana would be astonished.
And when the Trade City of Caravana was astonished—
“Friends, what are you discussing so excitedly?”
“Tell us about it as well.”
Merchants and adventurers visiting from various kingdoms would hear the story.
“Wh-What did you say?!”
“Is that really true?!”
And that meant it would rapidly spread across the continent once again.
“Wh-What in the world?!”
“Is that really true?!”
“Impossible!!”
It was equivalent to throwing the entire continent into an uproar.
One question naturally arose—
“W-Who was it?!”
“Who accomplished such a thing?!”
Who was responsible for erasing Violess from the map of the continent?
* * *
“Oh, and I have one final request.”
Adrian’s voice suddenly reached her.
Isolde, who had been reflecting upon herself, immediately regained her senses.
“Could you publicly announce that you and the Holy Kingdom resolved the incident in Violess?”
“....You want me to omit your name?”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
This was something she could not understand. More accurately, she could not accept it.
Causing the fall of Violess was not merely a great achievement.
It was an extraordinary one.
How could it be anything less when he had resolved a problem that no kingdom had been capable of handling?
Through this incident, Adrian could immediately free himself from the stigma of being a delinquent.
Furthermore, it was an opportunity to earn tremendous glory and spread his name across the continent.
Most importantly, Adrian had practically accomplished everything by himself.
To put it bluntly, Isolde’s name should have been omitted instead.
Yet he intended to discard that opportunity and glory himself?
Isolde could neither understand nor accept it—
“Information can become severely distorted through even the smallest opening.”
“You don’t want to reveal your identity?”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
Isolde repeated the same question.
Adrian answered with an impassive face.
“I am someone who carries out missions that are never recorded.”
His attitude suggested that such treatment was completely familiar to him. And that he considered it completely natural.
“As always, the glory does not belong to me.”
He was saying that Isolde was the one who should receive the glory.
“I hide within the moonlight and perform deeds that cannot be conducted openly, merely imagining the glory of walking beneath the starlight.”
One who hid within the moonlight and walked beneath the stars.
After those words, Adrian slowly disappeared into the darkness of Violess.
But for some reason, even after his voice faded, even after his figure disappeared—
The traces Adrian had left behind were being engraved deeply within Isolde’s heart.
* * *
“I heard the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom personally resolved the situation!”
Isolde Cordelia was named as the person responsible for erasing Violess.
The miracle once considered impossible was quite literally a “Miracle of the Saintess”.
“The Saintess acted personally...?”
“My goodness...!”
Isolde’s name echoed endlessly throughout Caravana.
From there, it spread to every kingdom and across the entire continent.
“I heard the Saintess personally neutralized the Visters of Violess and granted its poor residents new lives.”
“I heard that rumor as well. I could hardly believe it when I first heard it....”
“Ah, you said you visited Violess once, didn’t you?”
“Don’t even mention it. That place was a hell containing every vice in the world.”
The people of the continent began praising Isolde’s achievement without end.
“To think the Saintess truly brought order to that hell....”
“Does that not prove that God’s grace truly exists and that the Saintess is God’s genuine representative?”
“I even heard that the Saintess mobilized the Holy Kingdom and generously distributed Relief Supplies!”
* * *
Now—
The incident in Violess was gradually drawing to a close.
Approximately thirty million gold had been spent establishing new settlements for the poor residents of Violess and supplying them with various necessities, but that was fine.
Isolde’s name had become so famous that virtually no one across the continent remained unaware of it.
Her name had transcended the title of Saintess and become a symbol of hope and salvation for the continent.
“Glory to the Saintess!!”
“The only light we can follow!!”
Isolde’s existence spread like a legend, throwing the entire continent into an uproar.
Thirty million gold was a tremendous sum even on the scale of a kingdom.
It exceeded the amount I had stolen from Avarus’s secret vault.
In other words, it was a budget that even the Holy Kingdom would struggle to spend readily.
Furthermore, Isolde had publicly declared that the Holy Kingdom would establish settlements for the poor residents.
I could not make her shoulder the financial burden as well, so I paid the entire amount.
Even so, my Inventory still contained plenty of the gold I had stolen from the Black Market.
It was more than enough to establish the Coalition Forces.
‘I can always earn more.’
I merely needed to earn more money.
That was why I intended to continue operating the Predator Merchant Company.
Of course, if Ian was deliberately drawing the Emperor’s attention, it might be safer to discontinue the Predator Merchant Company.
However, that possibility was not certain.
Ian might not know that I had returned to the past.
Because I had to account for both possibilities, maintaining the Predator Merchant Company was the better choice.
Most importantly, the Predator Merchant Company did not exist solely to locate Ian.
As the current situation demonstrated—
The Predator Merchant Company’s monster meat was also the reason I had been able to meet Isolde.
“When will the people from the Holy Kingdom arrive?”
“I received word that the Azure Silver Knights will arrive soon.”
Isolde’s answer caused me to tilt my head involuntarily.
The Azure Silver Knights.
The Holy Kingdom’s most elite order of knights.
The Azure Silver Knights carried out special operations to eliminate forces hostile to the Holy Kingdom and prevent foreign invasions and internal rebellions.
Therefore, they were not mobilized easily.
As the description suggested, they acted only in grave situations such as “foreign invasions” or “internal rebellions”.
Strictly speaking, the incident in Violess was not serious enough to mobilize the Azure Silver Knights.
‘It looks like Isolde personally ordered them to come.’
....I could roughly understand the situation.
‘Will Erdan come, then?’
Erdan Spellhart.
Commander of the Azure Silver Knights.
Simply put, he could be described as the “paladin version of Kai”.
Kai, the madman obsessed with Seraphia.
Erdan, the lunatic obsessed with Isolde.
If the Imperial forces had Kai, the Coalition Forces had Erdan.
Of course, there was a clear distinction between their “loyalty and faith”.
However, they were equally insane—
‘I should leave quickly.’
There was no telling what kind of headache I might suffer if I encountered him.
Erdan was a lunatic who disregarded everything whenever Isolde was involved.
He was even someone who had defied Ian.
Avoiding lunatics was always the wisest course.
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Lady Isolde.”
In any case, I had done everything I could here.
Now I had to bring the Visters to the County, work them like dogs, rehabilitate them, and train them.
If I intended to establish the foundation of the Coalition Forces in Ian’s place, I could not continue wasting time in Violess.
I was about to bid Isolde farewell and depart—
“......”
Isolde said nothing.
For some reason, she merely stared intently at me.
Even Find Weakness [U] could not identify her emotions.
Whether in the past or present, she remained a woman whose thoughts were impossible to understand.
Well, I had not particularly intended to exchange farewells either. Becoming more deeply involved with Isolde here would be inadvisable.
By now, news of the incident in Violess must have spread across the continent.
In other words, the Holy Kingdom and Isolde were currently under the spotlight.
Becoming deeply associated with Isolde would expose my existence.
For now, I needed to conceal my existence as much as possible while increasing my power and forces.
Isolde was one of the strongest individuals I needed to recruit into the Coalition Forces, but now was not the proper time.
Most importantly, parting here did not mean my connection with Isolde would end.
I turned away without hesitation—
“Wait.”
Isolde suddenly called out and stopped me.
* * *
Adrian stopped walking.
He slowly turned his head—
“I owe you my life.”
Isolde spoke immediately.
“If it is something within my power, I will do anything for you.”
“You have already helped me more than enough.”
However, Adrian showed no particular reaction. In other words, he did not appear to want anything more from Isolde.
But Isolde did not want matters to end this way.
Perhaps—
She did not want her relationship with Adrian to end here.
“The debt of my life has not been sufficiently repaid.”
Isolde expressed her determination—
Eventually, Adrian released a short sigh as though conceding defeat.
“Will you truly do anything within your power?”
“Yes.”
“Can I trust your word?”
“I swear before God.”
“In that case—”
Adrian strode toward Isolde.
Seen from nearby, Adrian’s expression appeared highly meaningful.
Was he about to make a serious request?
Adrian’s red eyes stared directly into Isolde’s—
“Occasionally, Lady Isolde, you should think about yourself.”
Isolde’s topaz-colored eyes widened.
“No matter who you are, if you attempt to carry too much, you will eventually become unable to endure it and collapse.”
“......”
“It is like indiscriminately mixing too many colors until they eventually turn black.”
Adrian’s moderately sized hands lightly patted both of Isolde’s shoulders.
“Sometimes, you should lessen the weight carried upon these shoulders.”
For some reason, Isolde felt as though her body had become considerably lighter.
“Try sleeping late in bed occasionally. Smile while enjoying the breeze. Spend some time idly watching birds fly across the sky. None of that is a waste of time.”
“......”
“I’ll check the next time we meet. Don’t forget your promise.”
After saying that, Adrian turned around and walked away.
Honestly—
‘I thought she was going to ask how I knew about Divine Ascension.’
I had vaguely brushed the question aside in the Black Market, but I had no convincing excuse.
I had been extremely anxious, so it was fortunate that she had not asked.
However, there was no telling when Isolde might remember the question.
Therefore, just as I attempted to leave quickly—
“Wait.”
Isolde called out to me again.
‘....Damn it.’
Should I pretend that I had not heard her?
However, my body had already flinched. Having no other choice, I stopped and turned around.
Isolde was staring directly at me. It was obvious that she had something to say.
As I waited anxiously, her topaz-like eyes sparkled.
“The next time we meet, may I call you Adrian?”
“Call me whatever you prefer.”
....So that was all.
I released an inward sigh of relief.
Now that she mentioned it, during our time in the Coalition Forces, she had referred to me only as “you” or “over there”.
What had she called me when we first met?
Ah, right.
I think she had called me some kind of beast.
Isolde had strongly disliked seeing me tear out and eat monster hearts.
In that sense, Isolde and I had not shared a particularly good relationship during our time in the Coalition Forces.
In any case, calling me by my name was hardly significant.
Just as I casually turned away again—
◆Isolde’s Affinity toward you has increased!!
An Affinity message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
However, the situation was different when the person in question was “Isolde”.
She regarded everyone as someone she had to embrace. She even regarded Ian, the Hero, as someone she had to protect.
Consequently, she never developed affection for anyone.
Perhaps that was why—
◆Isolde’s Affinity toward you has reached [Favor]!
◆A person in the [Favor] state possesses basic goodwill toward you.
◆This person will show consideration toward your words and actions and will tend to prioritize your needs over their own.
◆However, continued interest and consideration are still required. If your connection is severed, their Affinity may fall easily.
◆The Hidden Quest [I’ll Steal Her Away] has begun.
The activation requirements for a Hidden Quest had been fulfilled. However, there was something ominous about the quest’s title....
Isolde’s Affinity had suddenly reached the [Favor] state.
In truth, because [Favor] was merely the stage following [Indifference], it was not especially high.
‘Isolde’s?’
==[I’ll Steal Her Away]==
[Objective]—Plant a kiss on Isolde!
[Reward]—Aah~♥
[Failure]—No penalty
Is this thing insane?
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!