Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has His Uses
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"No matter what, such baseless rumors haven't spread, Father. Only that a student recommended by Sir Reparte would be entering the commoner faculty has circulated, and that people were being sent to the Callermain territory to investigate the name Beonald."
"Hmm, is that so? Well, Sir Reparte is no ordinary friend... Heh heh heh."
Imperial Knight 'The Unyielding Reparte'. A man so loyal to the Emperor that it was said if the Emperor ordered him to die, he would immediately draw his sword and slit his own throat. He was the epitome of an Imperial Knight, never sparing himself in his devotion.
His personal martial prowess was at the level of a high-ranking knight, making him incredibly formidable. About five years ago during the war, he single-handedly held off a surprise attack by a massive enemy force on the Emperor's main camp and returned alive, earning him the epithet 'The Unyielding' and becoming a hero of the Imperial Knight Order.
"Moreover, the fact that he's going to the 'commoner faculty' is even more of a topic."
"Of course it would be. Even noble children struggle to meet Sir Reparte's standards... It's only natural for everyone to be curious about what kind of commoner managed to pass."
At the very least, if you were of noble birth, you could receive systematic education and support. But a commoner?
p>There's a saying that dragons rarely emerge from muddy streams. Everyone was naturally curious about this boy named Beonald who had passed the standards of the prestigious Sir Reparte.
"Hmm, he's set his residence on the outskirts of the capital. He seems to prefer quiet."
"Yes. He doesn't seem to like showing himself. And his party consists of only three women, they say. Excluding the coachmen who handle the horses."
"You've already attached people to him?"
"Do you think I'm the only one? The moment it became known he had Sir Reparte's recommendation, every major noble in the capital must have attached someone. He's already a superstar."
"Clinging to him like goblins that found food. Those cunning bastards... typical!"
An era of chaos that had lasted about 500 years, filled with constant fighting, division, and turmoil. In a chaotic world, the only things you can ultimately trust are power and authority. And everyone knew well that those things came from the hands of talent superior to others.
And the struggle and competition between the Emperor, who sought to strengthen imperial authority, and the nobles, was nothing new. In such a situation, not giving a talented individual to the enemy and keeping them by your side alone was a net gain of two moves, so there was no reason not to do it.
"Then shall we make the first move?"
"No, let's observe for now. More than anything, seeing whether Sir Reparte made a misjudgment or not should be our priority, shouldn't it?"
"A misjudgment... I don't think that's the case. But carefully confirming what kind of person he is is important."
"I agree. So we must never lose sight of him. Understood?"
"Yes, Father. Then I shall go give those instructions."
Joan bowed respectfully and withdrew.
The Emperor, who remained, reread the content he hadn't told his son.
It was that Beonald was of Callermain Earldom bloodline, but his father was a mercenary, so he wasn't a proper noble.
'So that's why he couldn't be properly utilized in the Callermain territory. And it's a blessing he was discovered by Sir Reparte.'
The Emperor, who now indirectly understood how such talent ended up flowing to the capital after being discovered by Sir Reparte, deliberately didn't inform Joan of this.
It was a chance to once again test the qualities of the Crown Prince, who would ascend to the throne in the next generation, and to discern what thoughts and standards he held regarding talent.
Thus, the Emperor placed Sir Reparte's letter in a drawer and began attending to other duties.
***
Outskirts of the Imperial Capital, Beonald's mansion.
While tending to their new nest, autumn was nearing its end, and the gradually cooling air signaled that winter would soon arrive.
As enrollment was next spring, Beonald's party was spending their time preparing for the winter or doing their respective tasks.
"Having the capital nearby is indeed convenient in many ways."
"Convenient... you say?"
"No need to make various items yourself, just solve everything with this one currency. I'm definitely a city person. Mmm~ This was also bought there... How is it? Pretty, right?"
"Yes. It is certainly pretty, but I'm afraid I might break it..."
Satisfied with the capital's infrastructure and economic scale, Beonald was hosting a tea party while conversing with Sein about the newly purchased elegant teacup with floral patterns.
His newly decorated room within the mansion had several bookshelves and simple experimental tools placed on one side, arranged to resemble his room from his previous life as much as possible.
"Anyway, my lessons are over, so don't forget to review and preview. I'll handle everything else."
"I am truly grateful."
"No, what are you talking about~ You're already like a part of me. I'll minimize your burdens regarding work. No empty words, I'll do everything except meals myself."
Knowing well from his past life how valuable a trustworthy person is, Beonald took measures to allow Sein to focus on her studies.
And after she finished teatime and returned to her room, he left his own room for his next schedule.
"Hmm, now I need to go to Heidi's room... Again?"
Thinking about his next task while walking through the mansion, Beonald's eyes sharpened as he noticed the grass outside the window rustling despite there being no wind.
Yes, it was the presence of spies who had been lurking around the mansion since the day they arrived here.
'...That ogre knight bastard, ruining my plans like this?'
He knew Sir Reparte was prestigious, but he never imagined so many people would pay attention like he was some rare animal at a zoo or a monster.
In his own era, such espionage activities existed, but this was excessive.
'Damn it, I can't do anything. There's another one over there!'
Thus, he was unable to do most of the things he wanted to do in this mansion until spring enrollment, keeping a low profile and only doing things comparable to what he did within the Callermain territory.
He had a rough idea of where those spies came from.
They were likely sent by the major nobles residing in the capital and the imperial family to confirm who 'the person recommended by Sir Reparte' was.
'...If you've seen enough, just leave already! Damn it!'
At first, he thought it was natural and quietly informed Heidi and the others that there were people watching, saying they'd leave if they endured a little. But in reality, they had already been staying here for over a month.
'Winter is coming soon... Do they plan to endure even then? I've shown them a reasonable amount, they should be satisfied and leave.'
If he just hid everything, those spies wouldn't be convinced, so Beonald revealed his swordsmanship skills and alchemy abilities to a certain extent hoping they'd leave, but they were still lingering.
'Will it be better once winter properly sets in? I can't even buy slaves or hire servants because of them, it's infuriating.'
Manpower was essential for teaching Sein, properly managing this mansion, and his other tasks. But he was afraid spies might infiltrate if he hired, and with those damn things swarming around, he couldn't even buy, so irritation welled up.
Having no good plan to improve the current situation, Beonald decided to continue with his schedule for now.
"Heidi, are you there?"
"Yes! I'm here. I'll be right out!"
"Take your time."
When Beonald called, Heidi emerged from her room shortly after.
Perhaps because it was getting colder, instead of her usual armor, she was wearing a shirt, pants, leather boots, and warm-looking attire covered in rough fur.
The distinctive feature was a leather helmet made from a bear's head. Combined with Heidi's height and build, it was an outfit that perfectly resembled a bear, reminiscent of a brave warrior from the north.
"Sorry for being late!"
"No, it's fine. But though it's getting chilly... isn't that outfit a bit early? It looks like it would be quite hot?"
"Ah, that's... I wanted to show you since it's made from the bear I caught before. Haha... How is it?"
'...It's unmistakably a bear, isn't it?'
With the bear's head that looked like it was eating a blonde woman clearly visible, Beonald couldn't think beyond that.
But Heidi's eyes were filled with an innocent purity, like a child showing a newly made toy to their father, so he couldn't tell the truth directly. Having fatherly experience, he could accurately choose the right answer to give here.
"Hmm, it's quite cute."
"Really?"
"Yes. But you should probably remove the teeth. They might get caught and damage your beautiful hair. Anyway, we need to go herb gathering as planned, so go change."
"Yes!"
Apparently, it was the correct answer, as Heidi went back inside with a joyful smile.
And Beonald, watching her, couldn't help but smile too, as she was that charming.
Her talent in martial arts was one thing, but that pure personality with no hidden motives or flaws. Though her sensibilities were a bit peculiar, it could be seen as cute affection.
'Especially when she snuggles against my chest in bed is cute too... She probably still wants to be pampered, but grew up too fast so no one has indulged her until now. Anyway, that's part of her charm.'
"I'm out."
"Good, let's go quickly. We'll take Alterio too~ With those things outside, this is all we can do, so it can't be helped."
"Anywhere is fine as long as I'm with you, Lord Beonald."
Thus, Beonald headed to the forest with Heidi for hunting and herb gathering.
If they didn't leave even after giving the spies considerable information, all he could do now was give them worthless information.
Hoping they would complete their report on him as soon as possible, he glanced at the thicket that was still blatantly showing signs of people and ignored it.
"......"
Inside the thicket Beonald glanced at were two men wearing obviously suspicious black masks and light armor. The younger-looking man cautiously spoke to the man who was writing something on a wooden board.
"...Isn't this enough? Brother? How much longer do you plan to watch? The estimates seem complete already. Comparing with the materials from Callermain, the conclusion is he's sufficiently worthy of Sir Reparte's recommendation, right? Swordsmanship at knight level, alchemy knowledge, griffin taming, mixed mercenary blood but noble lineage, etc... I don't see anything more to look at?"
"That's why you won't last long as a spy, kid. You need to find information that puts you one step ahead of competitors. The finishing move! That's how you make a big score and increase your value as a guild member!"
"...No, a 17-year-old doing everything written here already is unbelievable anyway. It's like he received all of God's blessings alone! There's more than this? Ugh! Brother! Please!"
At the sighing subordinate thief's words, the man called 'brother' found it hard to refute honestly.
Combining what they'd found out so far with the news from the Callermain territory, he was sufficiently talented to be recommended by 'Sir Reparte'.
Moreover, the reason he left the Callermain territory and applied to the commoner faculty was easy to deduce as being due to his impure bloodline as a noble.
'...But something still feels off.'
The man called 'brother' instinctively felt 'the smell of a big shot' from Beonald as he watched him climb the mountain.
But he was just regretting that he couldn't prove it since no other evidence had revealed itself yet.
Eventually, if winter came like this, they wouldn't be able to do proper spy work, so he sighed and added one more line to the investigated wooden board: 'Dangerous smell remains.' Then he left the thicket with his subordinate.