Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Twisting Straits (1)
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Nederman and the rest of us were steadily heading south toward Tainan territory, where the headquarters of the Twisting Straits was located.
Our current location was the city of Barbatan.
Rustle, rustle.
While searching for lodging, we paused at the sight of people crowding like clouds.
Beyond the layers of heads, there was a bulletin board anyone could see, and someone was just now posting a portrait on it.
The distance to the bulletin board was no issue for me.
I alternated between looking at the portrait and Allen.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Allen tilted his head. I told him honestly.
“Your portrait seems to have spread all the way here.”
“What?! R-Really?”
The startled look on his face quickly drained of color.
“Go take a look.”
Up until now, we had only heard Cracker mention that the portraits had spread; we had never seen them ourselves.
“N-No, what’s the point? They might recognize me.”
Allen spread the fluffy beard attached to his chin even wider to cover his face.
As if that would hide it.
Still, with the bald head and beard, he did look like someone else.
I said,
“There’s no need to worry about being recognized, so go check it out.”
Allen shot me an anxious glance and shook his head. I considered smacking the shiny dome of his disobedient head but shifted my gaze to Nederman when I saw his drenched-puppy-like pitiful expression.
“Take him and go.”
At my words, Nederman tapped his own chest and widened his eyes.
“Me? This grown man? You must be mistaken. Allen isn’t a three-year-old kid. Look closely. He’s even got a stylish beard.”
“Exactly. Am I a child? You don’t need to watch me. Haha.”
The guy laughed heartily but then glanced around nervously before leaning close and whispering with his hand over his mouth.
‘Why are you doing this? What if someone really recognizes me!’
I shoved his head away with my palm and stared silently at the pair opposing my opinion.
In the meantime, Nederman had spotted the distant portrait and was grinning.
He could see it too, no doubt.
“Fine, I’ll play the good guy this time. I’ve always wanted a three-year-old anyway. He’s a bit oversized, but not bad.”
Having grasped my intent, Nederman hooked his arm around Allen’s neck and half-dragged him along by force. Allen flailed in his grip but had no choice except to follow.
Liriel, watching from the side, looked at Allen with worried eyes.
“Won’t he get even more anxious after seeing the portrait? He’s already been holed up in the inn every time we enter a city lately.”
“That’s why. Seeing it will help.”
Up to Barbatan, Allen had been hiding himself like a criminal whenever we passed through populated areas. Even after shaving his head and sticking on a beard, he was still anxious.
How that timid guy had bluffed in front of imperial troops was a mystery.
In any case, sending such a guy on an errand had been a hassle, so this time I intended to ease his anxiety.
“If you’re curious, go check it out too.”
Liriel, who had been tilting her head, hurried after Nederman. He was parting the crowd blocking the way and dragging Allen closer to the portrait.
“Excuse us a moment! We’ve got a big three-year-old with a beard here. But don’t look at his face. He’s extremely shy.”
Thanks to Nederman’s efforts, they reached the front row easily. Allen lifted his hands from his face and peeked at his portrait through his fingers.
“W-What?!”
Startled, Allen rubbed his eyes repeatedly, as if he couldn’t believe them.
“……No way.”
His despondent voice trailed off weakly. The face of the man called a companion of the White Lion was right there in front of him, but his own face was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh, so the White Lion’s companion looks like this?”
Nederman stroked his chin beside him and let out an exclamation. Liriel, who had caught up, sounded just as stunned.
“……Yeah. So that’s what he looks like.”
Seeing their reactions, Allen confirmed his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The face in front of him was so different it was hard to find any resemblance to his own.
“I could draw better than that.”
Nederman grinned mischievously at Allen. Allen, plunged into despair, plopped down on the spot and ran his hand over his bare head.
“W-Why the hell did I shave my head……?”
He had lost more than he thought for this disguise.
“At least you know now, so that’s good.”
“……Right. At least you won’t be trembling in fear anymore.”
The two patted the despairing Allen.
But to the person in question, it was no comfort at all.
Allen slumped through the crowd of onlookers. He looked shocked, but he wouldn’t be as pathetic as before now.
I had no idea how Allen’s portrait had ended up like that, but roughly speaking, it had been late at night, Allen had been acting arrogant, and the pressure they felt facing him had distorted it into that.
Normally, Allen was big but had a gentle face.
Then the guard who had posted the portrait earlier came running back breathlessly and put up another notice.
“Gasp!”
“No, is that for real?”
“……How could this happen.”
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
The crowd surged dramatically at the new notice.
The commotion spread like wildfire.
Its impact was that great.
Even I couldn’t help being surprised by its contents.
Was he still alive?
My companions approached with hardened expressions, having seen it too.
Allen spoke in a somber tone.
“Lordr Heiser’s public execution date has been set…….”
Lordr Heiser.
I knew him well too.
He had been Francia’s prime minister, a close friend of my father’s, and alongside Duke Treter Serious, one of the pillars upholding Francia.
To publicly execute such a man now.
“He was still alive?”
At my question, Nederman gasped in disbelief.
“You didn’t know that? There’s another three-year-old here.”
“That’s not the answer I want.”
“Your smart friends can explain the details.”
Nederman glanced at Allen and Liriel. He didn’t seem to know the full story either.
Liriel let out a deep sigh and said,
“Do you have to abandon basic common knowledge to get stronger? How do grown adults not know this?”
“Let’s call it a strategy of selection and focus.”
Nederman shrugged, and Liriel shook her head with another sigh.
“Let’s find lodging first and talk. This isn’t street talk.”
Following her suggestion, we secured a room and gathered in a corner of the first-floor dining hall.
No sooner had we sat than Allen, the group’s official storyteller, cleared his throat and asked me.
“Ahem, how should I explain?”
I answered without thinking.
“Short and concise.”
“Got it.”
Allen nodded and began.
“You both know Lordr Heiser was Francia’s prime minister, right?”
Nederman and I shot him incredulous looks simultaneously.
“Good thing you know that much. Not sure about this, but Lordr was the leading scholar of Francia’s mainstream Idrel School. Most of those handling administrative duties back then were from the Idrel School, viewing him as their spiritual leader. So the Governor-General’s office had no choice but to worry about backlash. If most Idrel School people rebelled, the country couldn’t function normally. That’s why they sentenced Lordr Heiser to death but haven’t executed him until now.”
Listening to Allen, I got a rough sense of the situation.
They had occupied Francia, but to run the country under the Governor-General’s system, they needed talented administrators.
With all the backlash from purging the king and nobles, executing Lordr Heiser would have been a burden.
So why was Halent trying to publicly execute him now?
We all knew the reason.
In the north, the White Lion was fueling independence fervor with talk of the Leonir Lancers’ revival.
Lordr’s public execution was an efficient way to snuff out that fire.
The Governor-General’s office scheduled it for a month later.
It was a declaration to spread it across Francia and a challenge: stop it if you can.
Through Lordr’s execution, they aimed to proclaim their strength to the world.
Lordr Heiser, also called the ‘Sage,’ was essentially Francia’s spiritual pillar.
His death would break Francia once more.
Independence fervor would naturally fade.
But what if someone rescued him?
The smoldering northern flames would erupt uncontrollably across Francia.
Now I stood at a crossroads: extinguish the fire I had carefully ignited, or fan it to engulf all of Francia.
Halent knew this well and was using it as bait to lure me.
He was essentially provoking me with Lordr Heiser’s symbolic importance in Francia.
I sneered coldly.
“Dogs and their masters act the same.”
In the end, this was no different from the ‘Prairie Jackal’ capturing Arten people to lure me.
“What will you do?”
Liriel gave me an anxious look.
At her question, Nederman and Allen focused on me too.
I answered without hesitation.
The answer was already decided.
“What else? Make them pay dearly for provoking me.”
“Whaaat?!”
Startled, Allen gaped at me dumbfounded. Nederman spoke up, equally baffled.
“Hey, this isn’t something to take lightly.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“……Well, true.”
“This is too dangerous. Halent’s no fool; he’ll be thoroughly prepared.”
Liriel chimed in from the side.
I understood their reactions.
He would know by now that I was a Sword Master.
With my strength exposed, he’d set traps accordingly.
So they thought even I would be in danger.
But as always, I had confidence.
Halent probably did too.
In the end, Lordr’s public execution.
Was a head-on clash between him and me.