kscans

Chapter 113 - Chapter 3. The Meeting

Unlike the rugged Anti-Monster Knight Order, the headquarters of the First Knight Order, supposedly the cornerstone of the Royal Capital's defense, had an elegant atmosphere.

"There are fewer people here than I expected, isn't it."

The First Knight Order was supposed to be smaller than the Anti-Monster Knight Order, but even so, there weren't many people in sight.

"Most of the members are heads of noble houses. It's not as if they can be at headquarters all the time," Claudia, who had accompanied Alfina, explained.

I see. Even their clothes are different. Of course, the knights of the Anti-Monster Order are on a different level from commoners, but still.

"If a war were to break out, not against monsters but against humans, the knights here would lead the soldiers from their own domains and serve as commanders of their respective units," Hyde, who had also come along, added.

I get it. So calling them a royal guard is only because there's no war. It's like only the upper echelons of the military have been organized. Since commoner soldiers are almost useless against monsters, it's different from the Anti-Monster Knight Order, which is structured as a purely knightly force. Still, isn't this a little too lax...

"In that case, if the Empire were to attack..."

"Well now, Your Highness Alfina. To have you grace us with a visit is the utmost honor."

A particularly large, magnificently dressed man stopped in the middle of the hallway. He was a middle-aged man, muscular and sturdy, the very picture of a veteran knight. His family crest was embroidered on the lining of his tasseled mantle, and the hilt of the sword at his waist was adorned with gold and silver patterns and jewels. Based on his attire alone, he looked to be of much higher rank than someone like Prince Craig.

"Marquis."

So this is the Commander of the First Knight Order. A marquis, a title I'm not familiar with. The fact that my immediate reaction was to think a marquis isn't a big deal must mean my sense of these things is numb. The density of royalty and their ilk around me is just too high. I need to think about rehabilitating my self-preservation mentality. A baron is a big deal, you know. He's a courtier. ...It's no use. When I think of a baron, the only person who comes to mind is Fulsy.

"I understand you are here today to visit a former schoolmate."

The sarcasm was so thick even I could tell. How kind of him to be so considerate of my poor communication skills.

Our attire was our academy uniform, and we were, in fact, students. It was probably natural for him to think that. But his tone was spiteful and his gaze unfriendly.

This was the man who, after we had made a request through the Chancellor in Alfina's name, had sent back a reply telling us to come to him if we wanted a meeting.

To have distinguished himself in the Fellbach Rebellion means he fought against Alfina's maternal grandfather. Is this more about his displeasure at having his duties encroached upon than a fear of her connections to the Empire?

"Is that not disrespectful to Lady Alfina, the Oracle Princess of Prophecy?" Claudia said.

"Ah, the daughter of Count Adele. Should we come to blows with the Empire, the Second Knight Order will fall under our command. I expect you to contribute greatly. At the very least, you seem to be proficient at transporting provisions."

He's even holding a grudge about the carriage race. We were so preoccupied with the Imperial carriage that we'd completely forgotten we were even competing against them. You were just an extra. How petty to be such a sore loser after getting crushed so badly. What's more, it seems he hasn't gotten over his rivalry with the much more active Anti-Monster Knight Order. The biggest problem is his complete lack of any sense of crisis regarding the Empire. Is this man really going to be the commander in a war against them?

◇◇

Fortunately, the Commander of the First Knight Order quickly retired to his office. A knight of the First Order, assigned to us by the Marquis's command, guided us to a room in the back.

"Lady Alfina. Thank you for coming with me today," I said in front of the room.

When I thought about it, the First Knight Order headquarters must have been a place Alfina would have preferred not to set foot in.

"I'm worried about you, Ricardo-kun."

"Haha, of course, I'm counting on you."

My communication skills are far too unreliable to extract information from an Imperial princess, so this is a real help. However, depending on how things go, I may have to use Lisabet. When that happens, I'll need to be the one to get my hands dirty. Considering the post-war situation, I want to preserve the connection between Alfina and Lisabet. As someone who isn't royalty or anything of the sort, it's fine for my contact with Lisabet to be indirect.

"I... I won't let you lay a single finger on the princess."

The maid who had prepared tea for us that day stood defiantly before her mistress, glaring at us as we entered. There was supposed to be another maid serving as a guard, but I suppose there was no way such a dangerous person would be left with a captive from an enemy nation.

"...Your Highness Alfina. And Vinder-dono, as well..."

Behind the maid stood Lisabet, dressed in simple room clothes. She kept her face down, looking haggard.

"First, allow me to express my gratitude. Thanks to Your Highness Lisabet's warning, we were able to keep the damage from this recent calamity to a minimum," Alfina said as soon as we were seated at the wooden table.

If I had said that, it would have sounded like, "Hahaha, thanks to your little slip-up, we managed to foil your plan, serves you right!" But when Alfina said it, it sounded like she was genuinely grateful. And well, she probably was. Of course, given the circumstances, Lisabet herself likely didn't know the monsters were going to be released.

Still, whenever I see someone, I try to read between the lines. In a way, that means I lack the confidence to see what's on the surface. I think a person who can truly read people doesn't try to find hidden meanings, but sees the hidden truth from what is openly presented.

"!"

Lisabet looked at Alfina as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Th-that's right. Th-the princess knew nothing..."

"Ann. That is enough."

Lisabet stopped the maid who had tried to defend her mistress at the first opportunity.

It was the right call. Frankly, in this situation, Lisabet's own intentions were irrelevant. For example, she was used as a decoy this time so the Imperial envoy could escape. She was a victim twice over. But to the Kingdom, she had simply played a role in helping the main culprit of the Empire's bioterrorism escape.

"Then, would you be willing to tell us your objective, Your Highness Lisabet?" I asked. Time to play the part of the tactician with zero virtue.

"I... I told you, the princess... I apologize."

The maid squared her shoulders in anger, but she fell silent under Lisabet's gaze.

"My objective, you say?"

"Not the objective you were sent to the Kingdom with, Your Highness Lisabet, but the objective you came to the Kingdom with."

"...You would not believe me."

"I won't believe you. I will simply make a judgment," I said. Alfina looked at me with a complicated expression. Was that too harsh? But this is the best I can do.

"You truly are an interesting person. Strangely, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease."

Lisabet finally smiled. Then, slowly, she began to speak. The tragic state of her hometown was recounted from lips that had lost some of their color. Her hometown, close to the Blood Mountains, or rather her mother's hometown, was suffering from repeated dragon attacks.

What's more, the dragon was apparently showing signs of being in its child-rearing phase. If things continued, they could expect attacks from multiple dragons in the future. I see. A dragon family visiting the shop. They don't pay. They wreck the place. And their order is live humans. No wonder she's so desperate.

"I see. However, doesn't the Empire have a unit dedicated to defeating monsters? One large enough that you could dispatch forces to the Kingdom?" I said pointedly.

"............Regarding that, I cannot give you the details. However, everything has its priorities. Is it not the same in the Kingdom?" Lisabet said.

Her hometown was near monster territory, and the land was probably not very fertile. In other words, for the central government of the Empire, it had poor cost-effectiveness. Well, that much I had already guessed. But that remote land, worthless to the Empire, was of great interest to me.

"Just what you can talk about is fine, but could you tell me a little more about your hometown, Your Highness Lisabet? Even things unrelated to monsters."

My words brought a look of confusion to Lisabet's face. But slowly, as if confirming the details herself, she began to talk about the basin. That it was a producer of buckwheat and beans, and that despite looking out over a river and fertile plains, they could do nothing but gaze upon them because of the monsters.

"Fufu, I would love for you to visit sometime, Vinder-dono."

"Yes. I would like to do that as soon as possible."

I couldn't help but jump at Lisabet's words. Ah, that was a social pleasantry... no, a kind of sarcasm, wasn't it?

"Um, Ricardo-kun. Right now, with the Empire..." Alfina looked at me with a worried expression.

"Ah, ah, of course I don't mean right away."

I let my personal objective show a little too much there. In any case, I could believe her "personal objective." It was certain that she had been pained by the suffering of the Kingdom's people at the hands of monsters. Of course, she likely had the ulterior motive of building a connection with Prince Craig, and her actions might have changed if she had known it was an Imperial terror plot.

But I judged that I could form a relationship of mutual interest with her. In other words, Lisabet had value to me. To put it a bit more gently, I had value to her, as well. We could create a relationship where we could both profit by exchanging what we each possessed.

It was a very merchant-like judgment.

"In that case, I would like to tell you the secret to defeating dragons, Your Highness Lisabet."

I decided to start doing business. Though given the circumstances, I couldn't be completely honest.

"Vinder-dono?"

Lisabet was shocked.

"Hey!" "Ricardo, that's..."

Hyde and Claudia, who had been listening silently behind me, grew flustered. But I silenced the son and daughter of the count with a gesture and took a paper-wrapped packet from my breast pocket.

Of course, I had gotten Prince Craig's permission. When I unfolded the triangularly folded paper, a purple powder was revealed. I briefly explained this pollen's effect on dragons.

"So, you can suppress a dragon's breath and its ability to fly with that poison..."

"That's right."

"...If that's true, then a dragon's power could be halved, no, even less than that, couldn't it? That is why the Kingdom could subjugate it so easily.... Is this not an incredible secret? ...Why would you reveal such a secret on your own authority, Vinder-dono..."

Lisabet voiced two sources of confusion.

"That is because Ricardo-kun was the one who discovered this pollen," Alfina said.

Establishing credibility is important. Otherwise, she won't even give it a try.

"Then, Vinder-dono, you are responsible not only for the bearings and the bean jam, but you also played a role in stopping the disaster from the prophecy?" Lisabet said, her face a mask of astonishment.

So they were investigating things like the bearings. I'll have to be careful if the Empire has taken an interest in me.

"I found it hard to believe from my investigations alone. So, it was you, Vinder-dono, who repeatedly fended off the monsters and made arrangements to enrich the people of Bertold and its surroundings..."

Lisabet stared at me, dumbfounded.

"No, I was just the catalyst, you could say. I myself have no aptitude for magic, no talent for leading an army, and no ability to govern a domain."

Stop overestimating me. It's bad for my stomach and my life.

"To put it another way, that means even without a talent for magic..."

Lisabet leaned forward over the table, her gaze piercing me. It was a heated gaze, completely different from before. Am I in danger of being assassinated?

"R-Ricardo-kun. Perhaps we should return to the topic of the pollen."

Alfina's suggestion brought me back. Right, that was the most important thing. For Lisabet's interests, and for my own.

Recalling the results of Dalgan's investigation that I had been given before coming here, I proceeded with the conversation. Revealing only the parts of the truth I chose, pushing it as far as I could.

"Of course, since the dragon that attacked Kurtheite and the dragon that attacks Your Highness Lisabet's hometown are not exactly the same, I cannot guarantee that this will work. However..."

◇◇

"Thanks to you, it looks like things will work out somehow," I said to Alfina as we walked out into the corridor.

The secret to dragon subjugation that the Empire had been so fixated on. Now that Lisabet knew it, her value to the Empire had skyrocketed. Now, how to leverage this in both the short and long term?

"...I am glad I came with you."

Alfina stopped walking.

"Ricardo-kun."

"Yes?"

"Your Highness Lisabet... she won't go back to the Empire or anything, will she?" she asked me, looking forlorn. She looked up at me, her eyes glistening slightly.

"O-of course not."

What I want in the future is next to her hometown, and that's not Imperial territory. And for now, it's safest to leave dealing with Lisabet to Alfina.

Perhaps I will eventually...