Chapter 194
Chapter: 194
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 194
>Chapter Title: Sigismund Territory (3)
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>The next morning, Seongjin woke up Orden and Hermann and unilaterally notified them of the following matters.
-The recovered goods were unequivocally the property of the Milo Merchant Company, so the Sigismund Earldom would pay the full price to the company without exception.
-Of course, appropriate deductions would be made for the knight order's labor in salvaging and recovering the goods, as well as the transportation costs to bring them to the earldom.
Orden, who had been listening silently, nodded solemnly.
"That seems reasonable. We will proceed accordingly."
At that, Hermann cleared his throat softly from the side.
Hey, no way. Did you think the merchant company was wiped out and plan to pocket everything for free?
"With all due respect, Your Highness. The whereabouts of the Milo Merchant Company's head are still unknown. To whom exactly should we make the payment? Moreover, Giacomo Milo is currently under suspicion as a Demon Contractor. If we obtain evidence, we will arrest him in our territory immediately."
In other words, if the Sigismund Earldom arrested him, wouldn't his assets naturally be confiscated by the territory as well?
There was a church on the surface that performed the functions of the Inquisition, and most of its funds came from the lord's private purse.
"Tsk tsk, Hermann. That's speaking from half-knowledge."
Seongjin clicked his tongue and explained each point to the young administrator.
"First, Giacomo Milo was formally accused by the Grand Prince to the monster task force. Inquisitors and exorcists from the task force, who have investigative authority, have already begun their probe. Therefore, he falls squarely under the capital's jurisdiction."
"Yes? But wasn't our side the first to start a simple investigation? Arresting and trying him should also be handled by the territory..."
"No, his trial will take place in the capital. Indictments have already been prepared for submission to both the judiciary and the Inquisition. The moment he arrives in Sigismund territory, we can file them."
"...Pardon?"
No way could you have prepared a trial faster than that? You're still struggling to find decent evidence, and you can't even start a proper investigation until the merchant head shows up, right?
"So he's a prisoner under the capital's jurisdiction. His assets will be seized there as well. Accordingly, Sigismund territory has the duty to transfer him to the capital immediately upon arrest."
How exactly?
Hermann muttered in bewilderment.
Seongjin smirked confidently. Even before departure, preparations had been made to summon the merchant head using minor corruptions uncovered by Dasha and the medal submitted by Orden as evidence.
Decisively, information from Branch Chief Schmidt had provided grounds for a judicial seizure.
The only thing missing was proof that he was a Demon Contractor, but the demon beast that appeared this time had solved that issue.
Even if the merchant head hadn't summoned the demon beast, the testimonies of the accompanying holy knights alone gave the Inquisition ample reason to arrest and investigate him.
"And there's one more thing to keep in mind. Giacomo Milo is affiliated with the Merchant Alliance. I'm not sure if you know the membership conditions, but from what I've heard, a large portion of his assets has already been pledged to the Alliance from the start."
"The Merchant Alliance..."
"Once he's arrested, he'll have to pay an enormous penalty fee on top of that. Who do you think the Alliance will go after for it? Even if you seize his assets, they'll all end up in their hands anyway, right?"
"......"
He probably hadn't even considered that part.
Seongjin had heard it from Branch Chief Schmidt at the logistics depot.
Of course, the chief had said he'd handle things at his level to avoid penalty and collateral issues, but that was enough to intimidate this naive young administrator.
"And above all, there's the most important matter."
In the hushed carriage, Seongjin's voice rang out clearly.
"That man consorted with evil forces and put a member of the Holy Imperial Family in grave danger. I intend to claim full compensation for that."
So, in conclusion.
"Give the money to me."
"...Pardon?"
"Just hand it all over to me. I'll deal with the Merchant Alliance, so don't worry about the aftermath."
Hermann drew in a sharp breath at that.
"Who on earth has the gall to bill the Holy Imperial Family for a penalty..."
"What?"
"No, nothing. Your words are most just."
The administrator quickly calculated the gains and losses in his head and ultimately surrendered, swallowing his bitterness.
He must have been thrilled all day about saving a chunk of the territory's budget at no cost. Feeling a bit sorry for the dejected Hermann, Seongjin decided to show a little mercy.
"Since the Wolf Knight Order helped exterminate the demon beast, we'll deduct those costs appropriately. Bring the rest to me as soon as it's ready."
"Wow, turns out you're a total thief..."
"What?"
"No, it's nothing, Your Highness."
Just then, Seongjin suddenly felt strange gazes boring into him.
Sharpening his senses, he realized not only Hermann but also Orden, Sir Masain, and Captain Bruno were all staring at him in silence.
Sensing their dismay from their presences alone, Seongjin pouted.
What did I say wrong?
What? Why? Huh?
* * *
In any case, that day and the next passed by. Seongjin's smooth yet frustrating journey continued.
The moment he tried to slyly remove his eyepatch, the usually quiet Demon King would start yapping, and if he tried to step out of the carriage to stretch, Sir Masain would appear out of nowhere to nag.
It made him wonder just how dire his condition had been before recovery.
'I swear... I'm only putting up with this because of what I did... just this once.'
But meditating in place was only good for a day or two; staying cooped up in the carriage all day was driving him stir-crazy. Along with the aura steadily building in his dantian day by day, his patience was piling up layer by layer.
And around that time, the surrounding temperature began to drop sharply.
Occasionally, when the carriage door opened, cold wind carried snowflakes inside, brushing against Seongjin's cheek.
"We've entered the influence of the Demon Realm."
Sir Masain said as he draped a thick winter cloak over him. Beside them, Edith was fitting thick gloves onto Seongjin's hands.
"Are you two okay, Sir Masain and Edith?"
From the presences nearby, both were still in their usual light attire.
"Yes, Your Highness. We're fine. We're circulating aura to ward off the cold."
Seongjin furrowed his brow slightly at Edith's response.
'In terms of aura layers, I'm just about surpassing Edith now. Why am I the only one treated like a kid?'
Noticing Seongjin's thoughts, Sir Masain added an explanation.
"It's because Your Highness has been stacking aura layers so rapidly. Normally, one goes through a full seasonal cycle around the time of initiation to naturally acquire 'aura homeostasis.'"
"Hmm..."
"It's about spreading aura evenly throughout the body, so you start with small amounts and gradually build layers to adapt. But we haven't taught Your Highness that technique yet, have we?"
It's not that difficult, so you can start adapting slowly from now. Sir Masain reassured him like that.
But Seongjin wasn't one to just sit still after hearing that.
After pressing the two for detailed instructions, he succeeded in spreading aura throughout his body to generate heat—without even needing a demonstration.
The problem came right after.
'...Too easy?'
Seongjin lost interest in an instant.
It was so simple it didn't even count as training!
'Circulating aura to keep the body warm continuously is basically no different from constantly moving in cold weather to generate heat, right?'
Stacking layers with focus at least gave a sense of accomplishment, but blindly consuming aura was boring and annoying.
Grumbling inwardly like that, Seongjin tightened his thick cloak and immediately stopped the aura circulation.
'Is it because I've kept my eyes covered? Everything feels so bothersome, and I just want to sleep.'
The biting cold was still there, of course, but Seongjin had his own solution.
A flat, small stone tucked inside his glove. A magic stone Sisle had given him before departure.
Nice and toasty.
Savoring the perfectly warm heat, Seongjin smiled contentedly.
'The kid's got some foresight. This thing's surprisingly warm.'
He was rolling the stone around lazily in the carriage when—
"......?"
Suddenly, Seongjin felt a foreign gaze observing him from afar and lifted his head.
Though it was just a fleeting moment and the gaze withdrew immediately, it had scanned him from head to toe with intense, dry precision.
'...Hey, Demon King? You didn't feel that?'
Seongjin called out to the Demon King with a nagging unease.
But.
[What? What gaze? If you're tired, stop hallucinating and sleep. I'm busy right now!]
He got a sharp retort from the Demon King instead.
Huh, that's weird.
What the heck is this guy so busy with anyway?
"A gaze? I didn't sense anything unusual."
Captain Bruno, sitting nearby, also responded to Seongjin's question with confusion.
'...Guess it was my imagination?'
If even a former Decaron Knight like the captain hadn't detected it, it was probably just Seongjin's mistake.
Uuuuuu.
In the distance, a wolf let out a long howl.
Seongjin sharpened his senses beyond the carriage for a moment, then felt drowsiness wash over him and burrowed into his warm cloak.
On the fourth day of having the bandage over his eyes, Seongjin was finally freed from the stifling wrap.
The advance messenger who had gone ahead to the territory arrived, and the Sigismund count family hurriedly sent their family physician.
"The territory is only a day's journey away, but we judged we needed to check Your Highness's condition as soon as possible, so we requested the physician come here."
Indeed, if something happened to an imperial visiting the territory at the Grand Prince's invitation, the one in real trouble would be Count Sigismund of the borderlands.
Seongjin had no intention of telling Orden it was unnecessary trouble. He wanted the bandage off as soon as possible.
And as expected, the physician declared Seongjin's eyes completely normal.
"You can remove the bandage now, Your Highness. Of course, avoid staring at bright lights or the snow-capped mountains for too long."
"Good. Thank you."
Seongjin sighed in relief as he unwound the bandage.
He had assumed it was fully healed since the Holy Emperor had come and gone. He'd only been compliant lately because the Demon King and Sir Masain were acting so unusually.
And for the first time in days, Seongjin stepped onto the ground outside the carriage without anyone's support. In the meantime, the landscape had completely changed; now they were surrounded by snow-covered fields and mountains.
Hoo.
He exhaled casually, and his breath formed a white cloud in the air.
"Your Highness! Are your eyes alright now?"
Lady Claudia, who had been tending the campfire, ran over beaming.
"Yeah. All good."
"I was so worried! Really worried! You must never charge off alone without us again! Got it?"
"Uh..."
Seongjin nodded reflexively, meeting her eyes brimming with joy and reproach.
Come to think of it, over the past few days, Lady Claudia had been peeking toward the carriage nonstop, checking on him.
Her loyalty bordered on blind. What on earth did she see in him to care this much?
"Wha, sh— No, you can take off the bandage now?"
Carmen soon appeared carrying firewood, his mouth agape as he asked.
You little punk. You were about to curse again, weren't you?
"...No, I wasn't."
"......"
"Sh— I mean it, I wasn't!"
Seongjin was subtly chiding Carmen when—
'...Again!'
A unfamiliar sensation crawled up his nape.
Seongjin turned his head and looked toward the distant snow mountain.
Someone was definitely watching him from atop that peak. This time, it was absolutely not his imagination.
'Hey, Demon King? You seriously not feeling that?'
[What's wrong? What is it?]
The Demon King still seemed clueless.
Guess I'll have to confirm with my own eyes.
As Seongjin absentmindedly started toward the snow mountain, he suddenly noticed Sir Masain tracking his every move with his eyes and sighed.
Ah, right. What to do with this guy in full overprotection mode?
Auuuuuu.
Closer than yesterday, a wolf's long howl echoed.