Shadows Before the Solstice
On the road to Ket County ahead of the winter solstice, Kriel heard an unexpected story from Orishin.
[You know, doesn't it feel like there's a similar pattern here?]
"Pattern?"
[Think about the Gabi family and the Lir family. Grikenkos was involved in both cases, right?]
That was certainly true. There was a difference—Tushkin Gabi's illness had been a charade, while Pand's had been genuine—but the core outline of "a family elder afflicted by some abyss-related ailment" was strikingly similar.
[I remember the explanation we heard in Argentlam. The pink-haired mage's father, Count Ket, suddenly fell into a coma too.]
[Yeah. Someone in the family gets sick, and the whole house falls into chaos. I think this is exactly the strategy Grikenkos is pushing right now.]
A scheme to plunge the empire into turmoil. Grikenkos secretly unleashes a plague on noble houses he can influence, sowing discord from within.
"It's plausible, but there's one key difference between the Gabi and Lir families and Count Ket's coma."
[Difference? That we haven't found evidence of abyss involvement yet?]
"Close. It's the timing of the abyss contact."
Tushkin Gabi had appeared to fall ill relatively recently, but the true cause—her own abyss corruption—had occurred back during the Demon King War. The same went for Pand's affliction. Wasn't it a wound from the Demon King War that had lingered all this time?
In other words, Grikenkos was like a farmer who had sown seeds during the Demon King War and was now reaping the harvest.
"But Count Ket collapsed suddenly right before I fought the Wild Hunt. The timing doesn't quite line up."
[That's true. If it was a charade like with Mazal Gabi, the infection timing might align similarly.]
Orishin tilted his head.
If it was staged, it didn't explain why the onset coincided perfectly with the Wild Hunt's assault. There was no reason to plunge the county into crisis timed to the Wild Hunt's arrival, which wasn't even an abyss incursion.
[It's certain. It can't be a charade like Mazal Gabi's.]
Tuon's firm declaration. Kriel asked for the reasoning behind her certainty.
[If he could dust himself off and rise whenever he wanted, he would've stopped the pink mage from founding the Abyss Prevention Society—whether as an abyss agent or as the family head. Isn't it like dumping gold into the sea?]
"Tuon, don't say that in front of Armed..."
Ket County was bustling. Even the farmlands outside the walls conveyed that frantic energy. The harvest was fully gathered, but the snow-covered fields and paddies were alive with preparations for the winter solstice festival—erecting fences, arming scarecrows with spears and swords. Scarecrow soldiers and fortifications to ward off the abyss.
Yet that busyness lacked the raw tension of an army bracing for war. It was the lively clamor of joyful anticipation.
One vivid slice of that festive bustle lined the road to the county gate: the finest produce from the commoners' final harvest, offered up one by one. Bribes or lures to grant "fortune" safe passage along this road.
Besides the new solstice custom of guarding against the abyss, the old tradition burned away lingering grudges to pray for next year's luck.
"The atmosphere's completely different from when I was here before."
Kriel recalled his time as a mercenary in Ket County. A sudden monster outbreak then, too—but the territory hadn't sunk into despair. The people trusted the county forces led by Count Ket.
The mood had hit rock bottom only after the count collapsed and signs of the Wild Hunt appeared. The county itself had seemed drained of color, turned to ashen gray.
As he left after the Wild Hunt battle, the Dark Knight's powers had warped his vision, twisting the scene. The last normal glimpse he'd had was a desolate, gloomy landscape of despair before the encroaching calamity.
Definitely better than that gloom.
A smile spread across Kriel's face as he headed for the county gate. And got stopped by the guards.
Surprisingly, the guards' tone was polite.
"Sir, starting your solstice costume now might cause misunderstandings. It's fine inside the walls, but please refrain outside."
Solstice costumes fell into two categories: stylish, beautiful ones symbolizing incoming fortune, and scary, fearsome ones representing grudges to be driven away.
The guards clearly pegged Kriel's look as the latter and offered the advice accordingly.
Once the friendly guards finished explaining—with a "Happy solstice!"—and departed, Orishin burst into laughter.
[Pfft. Kekeke. Hahaha! Man, these are the first people to approach you so nicely after seeing your face, right?!]
Tuon was outraged.
[These ungrateful humans! How dare they forget the knight who saved the territory! My fury reaches the heavens!]
"Calm down. It's understandable."
Back when he'd worked as a mercenary here, Kriel had always worn his helmet in public. The only times he'd removed it were brief maintenance periods after monster hunts, so ordinary folk naturally had no idea what he looked like. Even among the soldiers who'd hunted monsters with him, more probably didn't know his face than did.
Kriel knew his own appearance well enough and stuck to the helmet as a rule.
Before heading straight to the inner castle where Armed and the Ket family resided, Kriel took a leisurely tour of the county. It brimmed with life. With the solstice nearing, shops prepped festival foods, and others sold costume props like Earth's Halloween stalls.
A fountain square he didn't remember had a fine knight statue too. Kriel bought a freshly baked bread from a nearby vendor, tore into it, and admired the plaza.
Kriel proceeded to the inner castle. The guards noted his striking appearance but, recalling the solstice season, didn't raise much alarm. Sure, the armed, cloaked figure looked intimidating, but someone going all-out on a costume to match the festive vibe? Must have decent social skills.
Indeed, the uniquely costumed man approached slowly and stated formally,
"I've come to visit the inner castle."
"Hm, who inside do you have business with? The guard captain and steward are out at the moment."
"With Lady Armed Ket of the count's household. Tell her it's about the Abyss Prevention Society."
"...No merchants here for overdue payments!"
Leading with "We haven't stiffed anyone"? Kriel could imagine the headaches Armed dealt with running the society.
He offered a suitable excuse.
"I'm not here to collect payment—I'm here to provide it. Say it's an investor she met in Argentlam Duchy; she'll understand."
How could that be? Hadn't even the Gabi Merchant Guild—which dispatched mages—paid only for service contracts? The guard, thrown by the "investor" claim, soon composed himself. They were the face of Ket County; couldn't look like fools before a guest.
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
"Lady Armed!"
Armed had already declared she'd step back from the Ket succession dispute. Afterward, she preferred being called by name over the subservient "lady." That was why the servants addressed her without formal titles.
If she had to pick a title, "Society President" or "mage" suited her—the identities she'd chosen herself.
"Someone's here to see the president!"
Though lately, being called "president" often soured her mood. Her antisocial, unbusinesslike mages caused trouble daily.
Armed schooled her expression and asked,
"What is it?"
"Someone's here about the Abyss Prevention Society."
"Shit. Which idiot screwed up this time..."
"He said you'd know him as an investor from Argentlam Duchy?"
Kriel. Armed asked hurriedly. He'd been running late—oddly so. She'd figured outfit coordination or whatever, but he should've arrived sooner. No way he'd show up on solstice day itself, right?
He was here!
"What does he look like?"
"Hard to say. He's in costume."
"Costume?"
"Yes. White hair aside, the pale skin looks powdered, and the red eyes seem like festival magic drops or lenses. Black cloak, swords at his side—I thought he was some frost ghost from the mountains or the Wild Hunt's Wraith King."
Armed facepalmed. Not a Wraith King cosplayer, but the knight who'd driven away the Wraith King himself...