Pector of Despair (3)
Aslan stood with his head bowed, thoroughly dressed down by the elders. Pathetic. The council existed and imperial education for the crown prince or princess had its limits, but I never imagined it would be this bad.
“You should have listened until the very end.”
“Isn’t it normal to leave in a situation like this? Olivia, if what you said is true, then those people—”
“Even if peace comes, they’ll eventually have to return to their homeland. What then? They’ll have to cultivate barren land all over again. And if we just abandon it, the area becomes ownerless territory.”
An empty land would soon swarm with monsters and bandits. Besides, it was originally imperial soil. We couldn’t simply vacate it. Leaving the border undefended like this would make us vulnerable to an attack from the Four Heavenly Kings.
“We can just keep supporting them.”
“They need help now. Of course some might want to settle in other territories, but elders like these never abandon the land where they were born and raised. Nearby domains are close enough that they could return anytime, but the imperial capital or the lands of central nobles are simply too far. Just how vast is the empire, anyway?”
The distance from the border to the center was enormous. Especially here in the northwest. If we wanted to do anything for those refugees, we’d need other lords to station large armies along the border, build houses, and provide shelter and food in the meantime.
“So in the end we just have to watch?”
“The other lords will have to provide support. Since we’ve learned of the situation, let’s request assistance from House Ashtar and the other central nobles.”
Now that we knew, our part was done. That was enough.
“What should we do now?”
“What else? You should head back. You’ve made your appearance, so our role here is finished.”
“Then we’re just going back like this?”
“Pector is still out there. Returning the way we came would be safest. We can’t defeat him with our current strength.”
The unspoken part was that I couldn’t protect him if it came to a fight.
“It’s a bit risky, but wouldn’t it be better to take a longer detour and make it look like a proper royal progress?”
Yuria was useless at times like this.
“We don’t have time to waste on appearances.”
“If what Her Excellency the Taesa says is correct, then continuing the progress would be the right move. If we’re not going to stop anywhere anyway, it would look better to maintain the pretense.”
“We have the justification of Pector’s presence. A Heavenly King could attack at any moment. Continuing the progress would be even more foolish.”
Even if we had the power to defeat a Heavenly King, Aslan was still a prince. His life took priority.
“What if Pector doesn’t show up at all?”
“How can you be sure of that?”
Whatever the reason, even if Pector never appeared, Aslan’s safety came first. A prince didn’t carry that title for nothing.
“Pector is a Heavenly King who commands armies. If he brought troops, House Ashtar would have noticed, right?”
“You think Pector is that stupid?”
His movements this time had been unexpected, but Pector had many ways to summon forces. He could arrive with a small group and swell it into a large army. That was part of his power.
“If not, doesn’t that mean House Ashtar essentially handed imperial territory over to Pector?”
“I’ve been had.”
“Otherwise, Your Excellency the Taesa could personally go find Pector. We could split into two groups—one continuing the progress, one searching.”
Ah. So that’s what she was after.
“You’d rather take the long way around even if it kills you?”
“Yes. It would benefit His Highness’s future as well.”
What a load of bullshit. She just wanted to score points with the prince. She was already his fiancée—what was the rush?
“What do the rest of you think? Young Master Libelt?”
“I have no particular opinion. Do I look like I know anything about politics?”
Right. I knew his head was solid bone. Still, he should understand the situation.
“You can at least read the flow of events, can’t you? This isn’t politics. It’s a matter of His Highness’s life.”
“If it’s only about survival, I’d turn back.”
Valen was surprisingly realistic.
“I exist only to follow His Highness’s commands. If he chooses a difficult path, supporting him is my duty as his vassal.”
Lailer was still a madman. Who the hell raised this lunatic? Stopping your lord from walking into disaster was also a vassal’s duty. We just needed to make a token effort, that was all. This wasn’t even a centralized absolute monarchy, yet he was acting with such blind devotion.
“Lady Olivia.”
“What?”
“This time, I believe His Highness is correct.”
Even Claire sided with the prince.
“I agree as well.”
Seria took Yuria’s side too.
“I’ll be right beside His Highness, so please don’t worry!”
Shariel thumped her chest with her bow. Looked like the elf had joined that faction too. I’d promised to help her with the empire later, but it seemed she intended to follow Aslan no matter what.
At this rate we’d have to split the group. Or maybe… Shariel might actually be stronger than her sister.
“Is Shariel strong?”
“At least I don’t think I fall behind my sister!”
We were barely holding against Pector in a three-on-one fight, and she claimed to be on par with Ella—who I doubted could even pull her own weight. Could I really entrust her with this?
No choice. I pointed to a spot on the map.
“If they’ve crossed the western border of Ishtar, they may be near the strategic city of Karhem. In that case, at least take the opposite route back.”
“Mm. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Not “keep in mind”—he had to do it.
The group split. The team continuing the royal progress left first, while the rest of us returned to Ashtar territory.
“For now, we must focus on locating Pector. Yuria was right. If we’re not careful, House Ashtar’s reputation could take a serious hit.”
Claire spoke with grave seriousness. She was probably right. Being around Aslan felt like force-feeding me dozens of sweet potatoes; going alone was far preferable.
“Is that why you suggested splitting up?”
“I also think separating was for the best. Capturing a Heavenly King takes priority.”
When Seria put it that way, I had no counterargument. She was right. I had no intention of simply returning to the capital either.
Noah was dead. Now I was Olivia. I didn’t know how well this body could fight Pector, but I had to at least drive him back.
More importantly, I glanced at Valen following behind us. Why was this guy still here?
“I didn’t expect you to stay, Libelt. Shouldn’t you be protecting the prince instead?”
“Being around that suffocating bastard is worse. Besides, our chances of encountering a Heavenly King seem higher on this side.”
That did sound like him. Still, now that I was Olivia of House Ashtar, I was dying to know what he was really thinking.
“What’s your true motive?”
“I want to see how House Ashtar handles this situation.”
“Want to throw down right now?”
There it was. This battle-crazed idiot from House Libelt.
“That’s enough from both of you.”
“So what now?”
“First, we examine any traces Pector left behind. That should be our priority.”
Even I had no good way to track him right now. The mage corps had probably already begun their search.
“Lady Seria seems to know a lot about Pector,” Claire said.
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
“Since the young lady mentioned Karhem, that area seems most likely. But if it’s you, Lady Seria, couldn’t you deduce what Pector’s objective might be?”
“Ah. Um. Well… Maybe he’s looking for Noah?”
“For Noah?”
That actually made sense. That bastard Pector had always enjoyed fighting me. Every battle we’d had, he kept coming back for more even after getting beaten. Given that we were the hero’s party, he had no choice but to seek us out, but he’d been especially obsessed with clashing with me.
It wasn’t impossible. If he attacked Berta Fortress and interrupted the fight with the hero’s party because I wasn’t there, it all fit.
Wait. Did that mean this was all my fault?
After Noah died fighting the Demon King, Pector had lost both his master and his rival. Was he now scouring the empire to find me?
……Yeah, that was Noah’s fault. Not mine. So it was fine. Totally fine.
I had no reason to care. Finding Pector came first.
“My lady, your face has gone pale.”
“Then how about we search between Karhem and Ashtar territory?”
Well said, Valen Libelt. The guy had decent instincts. As a wild beast at heart, he probably wanted to fight Pector too. Trusting his gut might not be a bad idea. I had no experience commanding armies, after all. It was better to accept help honestly in areas like this.
“I’ll trust Libelt’s savage instincts. Where do you think he is?”
“How unusual. Ashtar asking me for help?”
Right now neither Ashtar nor Libelt mattered. Pector’s objective was still unclear.
“In this situation, does it matter whether it’s Ashtar or Libelt? If I cared about that, I wouldn’t have gotten so angry at the prince.”
If I were the original Olivia, I would have at least pretended to follow Aslan. But I wasn’t. The same applied to the relationship between Libelt and Ashtar. When you needed help, you took it. Ashtar territory was vast, and I couldn’t immediately ask Rockton for assistance. He was probably busy too.
“Pector entered the western border of Ashtar but hasn’t launched any notable attacks so far. The mage corps and knights are tracking him, yet they’ve found almost no traces. That means—”
“Don’t call them incompetent.”
Valen clicked his tongue at my words. This bastard was dying to insult House Ashtar.
“In the end he must have crossed Ashtar territory. He could be lurking near Karhem. If his real goal is finding Noah—that man—then he’s probably observing from somewhere.”
It wasn’t an impossible scenario for Pector. But why did he think that? Pector might have already accepted Noah’s death.
“Why do you think so?”
“Because Pector will try to find Noah. He might settle for simply leaving bait like this.”
“So what you’re saying, Young Master Libelt, is that if we stay quiet he’ll withdraw on his own?”
“I can’t be certain. But I don’t think Pector wants an all-out war with the empire.”
A rather plausible deduction. Did he not know I was dead? Or did he simply refuse to believe it?
“Noah should be dead, though?”
“It’s too early to be sure. I don’t believe that man would die so easily either. He left the hero’s party and suddenly fought the Demon King. There must have been a reason.”
“……”
No, I really did just charge in and die. That’s why Noah died so stupidly. What the hell kind of nonsense was this?
Surprisingly, many people seemed unwilling to believe Noah was dead.
“Exactly. It’s hard to believe without seeing the corpse yourself. Who knows? He might be living as someone else entirely.”
I’d have to smack Seria on the head later.
“He did defeat the Demon King, so the greatest threat is gone. The Four Heavenly Kings’ attacks are fierce, but not impossible to stop. Perhaps he really is living a new life somewhere.”
Claire piled on too. My mouth was starting to feel painfully dry.
“……For now, let’s search near Karhem.”
If Pector was looking for Noah, it might be good to greet him as Olivia this time.