Chapter 89: Volume 6 - CH 85

A middle-aged man who serves as the chief chamberlain of the Barony of Dantes was anxiously waiting for his master when he learned that the Senate had adjourned.

Normally, he is the youngest member of the Senate, so he comes out rather quickly, but on this particular day, he had a hard time getting out of the room. Moreover, the tired expressions on the faces of the nobles who had come out in unison were also worrisome.

Barons, viscounts, and counts have appeared, but their own masters have not. The chief chamberlain, however, was surprised to find himself stomping his feet and staring at the entrance of the Senate chamber, knowing that he, a mere chamberlain, would not be allowed to enter the prestigious and formal Senate of the Ares, even though the Senate had already adjourned. He was surprised to see his own baron, whose eyes were bright red and swollen.

「Milord ......」

Baron Dantes let out a frustrated sigh in response to the chamberlain's concern, who was immensely impressed by the transformation of the well-dressed, dignified, merchant-turned-baron.

「Raymond is dead, apparently.」

「What!?」

「The old son of a bitch at the Academy of the Wise has sent Raymond on his own. ...... Ohh, Raymond!」

When the baron began sobbing again, the chamberlain gently placed his hand on baron's shoulder. Although the baron was a rising star, the chief chamberlain had known him since he was a novice merchant, and he truly sympathized with him. Of course, he had known Raymond since he was very young, so he was able to share the shock.

Although Raymond was rough and had a tendency to think too highly of himself, he was by no means a bad man in the eyes of his retainers. He certainly behaved in a high-handed manner toward his subordinates, but he did not force them to do work they did not like, nor did he bully them. And he was never reluctant to pay.

Baron Dantes, who had cried a lot, looked up slowly after repeatedly hitting the ground in frustration.

「Gather up the mercenaries and adventurers! I'll be damned if I'm not going to cut up the bastard who killed Raymond!」

「Milord, that's too much.」

The chamberlain calmly remonstrated with Baron Dantes, who was simply letting his emotions get the better of him. But Baron Dantès was not so happy.

「What is it, then!? You want me to sit idly by like the cowards in the Senate! My son was murdered, and here I am!」

「N-no, nothing like that.」

The chief chamberlain finally got the general gist of what was going on. Raymond was apparently working at the request of the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise, Raymond was apparently dead as a result, the person who killed Raymond was generally known, and the Senate had decided not to help in the avenging of the death.

「Then get to it! If we can get 1L contracts in 5 days, we will have a considerable number will gather!」

「Ha, I'll prepare immediately. ...... And what kind of person that had killed Raymond-sama」

There was something that did not add up for the chamberlain. Noble creatures are especially honorable. It is not usual for the Senate to non-interfere when one of their own has been murdered. Was there a highly political game being played, or was there some other reason?

「That old man said something about Satoru. He also said that he was a "Foreigner" who could be a Demon King. He was a dark-haired man about Raymond's age, and taller than Raymond. He was accompanied by a woman who was also taller than Raymond. He also carried a great sword on his back.」

「...... I'll look into that as well」

「Mm.」

Baron Dantes finally seemed to calm down as he nodded his head in a hawkish manner. The chamberlain breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, he doesn't know if he is a Demon King or a Foreigner. The reason why the Senate did not lend a hand was not clear, but Raymond was a good fighter, and the people who were working with him must have been good in their own right. The chief chamberlain guessed that since he had killed Raymond despite that, he must have been quite skilled. If there were any survivors among Raymond's followers, he could ask them―although that will never happen.

While leaving the royal castle of Strahltraun in a luxurious carriage, Baron Dantes shook on his knees, suddenly began to cry, and was extremely unstable.

This isn't surprising, because the baron, who had risen from a bean peddler to a wealthy man in his own lifetime, had cherished his wife, who had died a few years earlier, and had no mistress or concubines, and was extremely fond of Raymond, his only child with his wife.

Raymond was not a spoiled child, but rather a strict one, and although he was a bit rough around the edges, he did not grow up like a typical usual noble. Baron and his wife were commoners and had a very ordinary soul, so Raymond also had a very ordinary soul. Raymond was looking forward to the future, however, when he was offered the chance to marry the granddaughter of the High Mentor, whose father was a corrupt man but whose soul was still respectable, and he was more than happy to accept the proposal.

Both the Baron and Raymond himself put up with her father's scum for the sake of their future, but he never thought it would end like this――it makes my gut-churning even to think about it.

「Milord, Edward Coogan is here to see you.」

The words of the servant who greeted Baron as soon as he arrived back at the mansion caused an angry streak to appear on the Baron's forehead, almost as if he were about to make an angry sound. The former nobleman, who had been seeking the help of this upstart baronet, seemed to be trying to greet him in a petulant manner, and stood behind the servant, bowing reverently.

「I wish you good health, Baron」

The Baron jumped out of the carriage without a second thought and glared hatefully at the foolish former noble.

「You, who have the nerve to show your face to me!」

「Huh? No, no, I have no ......」

Edward, not understanding the reason for the Baron's anger, looks up, his eyes were surprised. The Baron stared at the blank face with hatred, but it seemed that he knew nothing about it ― the Baron realized this even in his anger-driven head.

It was only natural. His father, Graham Coogan, the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise, has had almost no contact with him since Edward's debarment from the nobility due to the fiasco, and this idiot does not even frequent the Senate anymore. Still, he will probably get some information in the Senate from the influence he has gained in the past.

Gritting his teeth, the Baron raised a trembling voice while praising himself for his discretion in not striking this man.

「Raymond is dead.」

「Say what!?」

The blood drains from Edward's complexion. It seems he did not know after all. If he had known, he would not have come out here like this in front of the Baron.

「Your father instigate him, and your daughter tricked him! Raymond is dead!!」

Cursing with spit flying from the corners of his mouth, Edward blatantly scowled and took a half step back.

「T-then, the wedding with my daughter ......」

「There is no wedding! My heir is dead, you know!?」

And he had no children other than Raymond. He will probably choose to continue his family by adopting a child from a noble family, but he has not yet had time to think that far ahead.

「I knew it, you are a plague, after all!!」

The Baron, who had been holding a staff in his hand and was about to strike Edward with it when he barely stopped himself, thrust the tip of his staff into the ground and spat at Edward, who was in confusion.

「Get out of here! Don't you dare ever show your face in front of me again!」

If he had to look at this man's face any longer, he would remember the face of this man's father and daughter, and he would get angry again. The Baron spat on the ground and walked away from Edward without a second thought.

「What the hell is going on......」

Edward is simply confused.

It would be difficult to hear from the Baron himself after what he had said, so Edward decided to leave. Even though he was no longer a nobleman, he still had all kinds of ways to get information.

But still, I'm at a loss―Edward looked down at the ground and sighed. His daughter Sheryl's marriage to Baron Dantes's heir, Raymond, had given him power, and his plans to slowly gain influence and return to the nobility had all come crashing down.

The former noble, who was looking for a skinny comeback, staggered out of the Baron Dantes' mansion.

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Ares, the largest of the 13 city-states, is one of the largest cities in this world as a single city. The king of Ares is allowed a level of luxury that is unparalleled in other city-states, thanks to the taxes and other benefits he receives from the city.

The food served to the king at the royal palace on this occasion was also the height of luxury. Various delicacies are colorfully arranged, and the number of plates is 20. Of course, not all of the food is eaten; the most delicious is picked up and passed on to the castle.

King Ares frowned as he tasted the delicacies made from fish roe that had arrived from the north. It was not that he did not like the taste of the delicacy. The King turned his attention to the elderly man who was accompanying the King at the head of the throne.

「...... what do you think?」

「I am very impressed with what you have done, Your Majesty.」

The King's question has neither subject nor object. But this nobleman, who identified himself as Edel, was also a member of the Senate, so he knew what the King was referring to.

「I don't need your transparent flattery.」

The King muttered in a bored tone. The King of Ares has heard enough of the transparent flattery and sycophancy to make his ears perk up. Apart from the Prime Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of the army, he had no intention of letting this man, who he had asked to be his personal advisor, utter such words of flattery.

Edel Kraut is only a Count, but he holds the unusual position of chief secretary of the guard of honor for the 18th King of Ares, Faisel Kurt. He is, so to speak, the wisdom bag of the close aide.

「One thing is certain.」

Kraut holds up one finger in a somewhat amusing manner to the King, who looks bored and waves it in a showy gesture.

「Baron Dantes has already made his decision. And the old man」

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The king laughed a small laugh as he recalled Baron Dantes' lack of civility and rudeness in the Senate.

「Graham Coogan is getting old, too.」

How very true, Kraut nodded.

「Old age breeds stubbornness. The High Mentor seems to have declared someone like Satoru to be evil.」

Kraut focused on that point. He realized that the High Mentor had said, "What would you do if that man became an enemy of humans?" but he had a hunch that it wasn't a given that he was a human enemy. If so, as long as they are human beings, they will always have greed for money and honor, and there will always be a way to win them over.

The king saw right through Kraut's words.

「I see. A man with that much power would be a great help if we could obtain him.」

「A seat in the High Mentor's office, a position as a count. If Your Majesty shows him a favor, there will be no denying it.」

「Hmmm ......」

The king reaches for the stewed pheasant and tastes the tender meat while thinking. He had always wanted the old raccoon to retire. But there is no one in the Academy of the Wise with a soul greater than his, and that is the main reason why he has remained in the position of High Mentor for as long as 30 years. When the king was still a prince, his uncle, who was known for his bravery, was killed in battle due to the blunder of the High Mentor's son, and since then, the hatred for him has remained in the king.

It seems like the best deal ever to get rid of Graham Coogan. But there was one problem.

「The Holy Sword Clan.....」

「Let them fight it out as it is. My Ares will not be touched. If the Holy Sword Clan wins, nothing will change. If Satoru and his companions win, it will be a good opportunity to strengthen our influence in the academy.」

「Very well. Leave it to Edel.」

Kraut condescendingly thanked the king for his response. The King reached for the river fish dish, noticed that Kraut was still looking at him as if he wanted to say something, and gracefully stuck his fork into the river fish dish, mouthed it, and then scrunched his chin. After a nod, Kraut carefully opens his mouth.

「How shall we deal with Baron Dantes?」

「You know what I mean. Impiety, and disobedience to the decisions of the Senate. It can be done in any way.」

Grinning gruesomely, Kraut bowed his head. In the Senate of Ares, where the eyes of the living are always on you, it is unforgivable for a rising nobleman who has only risen through the power of money to be so disrespectful. The confiscation of Baron Dantes' property and lands would also enrich the royal family. The Krauts are loyal to the Ares royal family, especially in these areas.

「Oh, and...」

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, the King opened his mouth as if remembering.

「There was a woman that accompanied Satoru, wasn't there?」

「Haa.」

「That was a beautiful woman. I would love to have her by my side.」

Unnoticed, Kraut exhaled. King Faisel Kurn is neither a great king nor a tyrant. He is more of a gloomy type, with a dignified appearance that makes him a king, but he is very active when it comes to women, and he has caused more than a few problems in the past.

Indeed, Kraut had only seen a mental image of her from a distance, but he thought she was a beautiful woman with an outstanding style and a calm and composed impression. Kraut's mind wandered, satisfied that it was only natural that this lustful king would be attracted to her.

「If the king of Ares is making an offer, Satoru can't deny it.」

Well, it's going to be troublesome, Kraut muttered to himself. Still, the other Satoru was a mere adventurer, or in other words, an ordinary person, as far as he could see in the mental image. He wondered if it would be any use to him if he were to offer him a sum of money that he had never seen before.

「Well then, I'll see what I can do.」

Kraut thanked him politely.

If there was any miscalculation on Kraut's part, it was his failure to remember that Satoru had identified himself as a "Foreigner", but that would only become clear later.

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It has been raining for the first time in a long while in this region, which had been fine for some time.

The mysterious explosion suddenly occurred in the west of the continent, creating a huge crater 30 miles in diameter at the edge of a vast deep forest called the 『Dark Green Forest』. It gouged out the surrounding earth and blew away most of the black soil containing magic power and nutrients, exposing the brownish ground. Each time rain falls on the earth, the brown ground turns light black.

There is nothing in the 30-mile round space ― no, there is one large tree growing in the center of the crater. The trunk of the tree is unusually thick, and the height is modest for the thickness of the trunk ― but it is still quite large. It is a magnificent giant tree with vigorously growing leaves shining in lush green, but the tree is unique in that there is nothing around it. If a modern Japanese person were to see this tree, he or she would think it was a toto tree. The giant tree had an overwhelming presence in the crater.

This tree was a seed of the World Tree, which was given to by an elder when Satoru left the Ruijs' Village, and Leia made it appear by putting magic power into it.

Soon after Satoru lost consciousness, Leia, who had recovered her magical power through rest, put magic into the seed and let the tree grow as a temporary lodging at the place where the tragedy occurred. Satoru, Solor, Minerva, and Liz were unconscious, and it was deemed impossible for them to move because it was raining, they sought a place to shelter from the rain.

Immediately after Satoru collapsed, Leia managed to scold Rico, who was on the verge of panic, and waited for her own magical power to recover before taking various steps. Rico also managed to hold her ground, responded to Leia's instructions, and succeeded in settling down for the time being.

Minerva's condition was not bad. In fact, she was the first of the four unconscious people to wake up. However, her injuries are so severe that it will take three to four days for her right arm to be restored. When she learned that Satoru was unconscious, she too almost panicked, but with the help of Leia's calming art called 【Sanity】, Minerva managed to regain her composure and is now resting.

Satoru, who had lost consciousness due to the depletion of his magical power, was covered by Leia's hands with a cloth that contained 【Corruption Prevention】 and 【Preservation】 properties. It was thought that it could not last for long, but as long as the magic power is depleted, only Satoru can recover it, due to the restriction that it can only be activated by its master. Because that Satoru is unconscious, he has no choice but to be in such a state.

Liz seemed to have regained her life, but she never regained consciousness. Just before the explosion, she was pulled into the shadows by Leia, and her life was in danger as she lost her life force due to Leia's 【Life Force Absorption】. It seems that she was saved by intercourse with Satoru, but there is something wrong with her that she does not wake up even though there is nothing wrong with her. Leia did not know that much either.

And what about Satoru?

Even after a whole day had passed, he still would not wake up.

The shock was too great. Rico, who had been staring at the sleeping Satoru, opened her mouth.

「......I'm sorry, it's my fault. I forced him to forced Solor to wake up.」

「No, it is not. Perhaps it is my fault.」

Leia, who had examined Satoru's body through the 【Diagnostic】 art for the first of many times, sighed. Satoru's condition is the same as that of Liz. As far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong with his body. Perhaps he is just in a state of shock and is not waking up.

Some kind of shock - Leia can imagine. The death of Reine, the huge explosion that released the magic power, the rape of Liz' and the injuries of his friends. Each of these shocks is enough to break Satoru's heart. The third case is Leia's responsibility, as she was the one who forced him to rape Liz, even if it was only to save her life, as Liz had been drained by the 【Life Force Absorption】.

The seeds of the World Tree, in which Leia had put her magic power, produced four large huts. Fortunately, they were able to avoid the rain, which showed no sign of abating even after a whole day of continuous downpour. She put Satoru in one, Solor, Liz, and Minerva in the other, and all their stuff in the other. The other is a spare.

After setting up a temporary base, Leia and Rico worked hard to take care of the four of them, putting up a rather large 【Ward】 to keep people away. However, the shock of the collapse of Satoru, the main pillar of the group, was still great, and the two caretakers were walking a tightrope. If it had been just one of them, they probably would not have survived. At any rate, it is a good thing that both of them are safe.

「Rico―, Leia―」

「...... Minerva?」

Rico looked up at the voice of Minerva, who was resting in another hut and shook her head at Leia, who was also about to get up, before heading to the hut where Minerva was by herself. Leia sighed as she watched Rico's back.

Rico had been in a panicked state of shock after Satoru collapsed, but it was because of her that Leia was able to endure the half-hour it took for her to regain her magical power and move. Leia could talk, but she could barely move her body, and after she managed to calm Rico down, Rico took care of the five people who could not move, including Leia, by herself, without Leia's instruction.

Rico also made a waterway with a dagger to prevent water from flowing into the surrounding area, and she made a fire with a fire-crystal stone she had picked up in the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, and to keep the fire going out, she used her backpack and the few spare clothes she had to make a makeshift furnace to keep everyone cool.

It can be said that Rico was simply lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries, as well as Minerva's protection. And if Rico had not been safe, Satoru, Minerva, and Liz would have likely been in a bad state because of the cold, and it was thanks to Rico that they were able to be together now.

When it was first decided that they would accompany Rico to Galhassan, Leia honestly wondered what would happen, but now she really appreciate Rico's presence. She took care of Minerva, did all the negotiations, information gathering, and shopping in town, took care of Satoru's personal needs, detected all the traps and enemies in the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, and was the only one to be at Satoru's side and help him in various ways around the time they reached the World Tree Village. And now, this time. Leia can't thank her enough.

Immediately after leaving the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, she was alone with Satoru under the guise of punishing Rico for being jealous of Solor, but she thinks Satoru had almost already accepted Rico as an inner being at that point. In fact, although they did engage in ass-hole intercourse, there was no air of punishment, whether it was Satoru's mood or Rico, who was passed out from climax. Leia is an 【Immortal Family】 who cannot be seen by the general public, and Rico is naturally the one who can stay by Satoru's side. Both Satoru and Leia recognized Rico's efforts.

Suddenly, Leia felt Satoru crouch down and turned her attention to Satoru. Leia's eyes widened.

Satoru's eyes were open.

「My Lord ......」

「Leia, Liz's eyes ...... Satoru!?」

Rico, who had returned, also shouted at the change in Satoru.

The two were horrified.

Satoru's eyes were indeed open, but there were no iris to indicate his intention.

Leia had read about this kind of condition in literature. In the labyrinth, she had briefly explained to Satoru the condition of a subject who had suffered a 【Mental Breakdown】, a forbidden curse of the mental system ― in Satoru's words, it was described as a human vegetable, or perhaps that is exactly what it was. Darkness grips Leia's heart.

「Please tell me this is some kind of joke,......nooooooo, my Lord,......, my Looooooord!!」

Leia's cries echoed through the hut.

Rico also crumpled, recognizing Satoru's poor condition from Leia's cries.

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