Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Change
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“This is Francisca, the mage who will be assisting with this case. She is an outstanding mage who has already achieved the 4th Circle.”
“I am Francisca, granddaughter of Lord Prindal.”
“Lord Prindal…? You mean the personal mage…”
“Yes, I am his granddaughter.”
“Truly, your future is so bright it’s almost frightening. And to be so beautiful as well…”
Baron Velon was busy praising the group, seemingly without a shred of dignity.
He showered Allen with compliments about his dazzling ruler's dignity and charisma, and Francisca with praise for her beautiful appearance, abundant talent, and wit.
Allen responded to his flattery with appropriate modesty.
Baron Velon.
An incompetent baron who had taken no meaningful action until the incident grew this large. He was one of the types of nobles Allen typically despised.
Seeing him reminded Allen of his own past self, who used to act without thinking.
“…However.”
In a manner unbefitting the urgent situation, Baron Velon offered a few more compliments before discreetly glancing around Allen.
“…Weren't we expecting Young Master Julius to come here originally?”
“Haha, it seems the Baron finds me unreliable.”
When Allen made the pointed remark, the baron quickly shook his head with a servile smile.
“How could you say such a thing, Young Master? It's just that I heard rumors about how Young Master Julius has changed, and my curiosity was piqued…”
*Curiosity… hah.*
*If he was so curious, why did he only show his face once before?* Allen noticed a sense of unease swirling around the baron, something he wouldn't have felt in the past.
“Unfortunately, my brother departed for the northwestern city of Gavia some time ago.”
“…How unfortunate. Ah, I've been inconsiderate to my guests. Please, come inside. We have tea prepared with Hivel's local specialties.”
Only after arriving in the drawing-room and exchanging some small talk were they able to hear the detailed story of the incident.
“I first received a report about the incident two weeks ago.”
Allen narrowed his eyes and observed him.
*His demeanor has changed.*
*Is it because the damage to his domain is severe? Or does he possess at least some quality befitting a lord? Whatever it is, it's clear there's something more to him.*
“The news was that merchants traveling to and from the village and herb gatherers climbing the mountains were going missing.”
He put on a sad expression, but no one in the room believed it was genuine.
If he had truly felt that way, he would have requested aid from the Count's family before things got this bad.
“At first, I thought it was a monster attack or a raid by bandits. A few people dying is a common occurrence, is it not? But…”
“It wasn't?”
Allen threw out the question, partly to reconfirm the information he already knew.
“Yes, it wasn't. When I first sent a few soldiers to investigate, we found traces of monsters as expected and concluded it was a monster attack. But… that wasn't the end of it. The reports kept coming in.”
One day, two, three, four, five, six…
“Only then did I realize the gravity of the situation and belatedly dispatched my soldiers, but by then, things had already spiraled out of control. The monsters had begun attacking the village itself and abducting people.”
After saying that, he began to describe the attacking monsters.
“The monsters… frankly, a trained soldier could handle one alone. But the moment soldiers appear, they flee in an instant… It's quite troublesome.”
He grumbled that it was impossible to catch them without being on horseback.
“Then what about luring them elsewhere to capture them…”
When Francisca asked about setting traps, he answered simply.
“Lady Francisca. Have you forgotten where we are?”
“Pardon? This is Hivel, a northern city in the count's domain… Ah.”
Her expression showed she had just realized.
“Yes. This is a city located in the northern part of the count's domain, bordering the Michelant mountain range.”
The city of Hivel was founded during the development of the Michelant Mountains.
It was a city that formed naturally as goods were traded—rare herbs, ores, and hides from the mountains.
Because of this, the area outside the city was filled with dense forests.
A forest meant creatures lived there. Thus, travel was fraught with various difficulties.
“If we knew the whereabouts of the mastermind behind this incident, we could assemble an attack force, but…”
“You're saying that's difficult.”
“Yes. That is correct.”
On open plains, they could be dealt with easily, but tracking fleeing monsters through a dense forest with numerous obstacles and limited visibility was difficult.
Even if they tried, the forest was teeming with other monsters, so it was a situation where they would only be throwing away their troops.
Baron Velon wore a regretful expression.
Allen listened quietly to the conversation between Francisca and the baron, then opened his mouth to confirm the fleeting sense of unease he felt.
“In that case…”
*If his answer to this question is different from what I expect.*
“What were you doing, Baron, while things were progressing to this point?”
*If he acts differently than before.*
*What could be the cause?*
Allen's gaze toward him was tinged with contempt. It was a clear accusation. Francisca fell silent at Allen's sudden change in demeanor.
“As I understand it, there was more than enough time to evacuate the residents around Hivel.”
*How many villages could there be in this harsh region, for you to have done nothing at all?*
The man he knew, the one he had ‘experienced’ once before, would have put on a shameless face in this situation.
*Shirking responsibility and passing the buck.*
After all, he was the man who had hidden in his mansion until the mastermind, the chimera creator, was killed.
But…
“I apologize, Young Master. It was my misjudgment. It is true that I failed to take proper measures in the face of this sudden crisis.”
It wasn't like that.
The baron replied with a shameful expression.
“I will not make the excuse that I was too busy accommodating the refugees flocking here. Had I not foolishly clung to my pride, this situation would never have grown so severe.”
Allen quietly closed his eyes at his non-excuse of an excuse. But inside, his thoughts were a tangled mess.
*The Baron Velon I knew, the one I remembered, did not act like this.*
He hadn't been like this before. He had made roundabout excuses about being scared and hiding, all with a thick-skinned face.
And in the end, hadn't he been caught embezzling taxes by Julius?
Looking at him now, it was as if he had been deliberately acting incompetent…
Regardless of whether Allen was lost in deep thought, Baron Velon wiped away his previous petty demeanor and bowed his head with a rather serious expression.
“In such a critical situation, I can no longer stand aside. Just give the word. I will provide you with the utmost support.”
Now, he truly looked like a noble governing a city.
*In that case.*
Allen opened his mouth for one last attempt to gauge his intentions.
“Then, could you immediately fulfill the renewal of the pledge?”
In response, Baron Velon answered as if it were a matter of course.
“Of course. We of Hivel pledge our continued allegiance to the Reinhardt family.”
***
The meeting, which lasted several hours, ended successfully.
Unlike in his past life, where Baron Velon had fobbed him off, telling him to talk to his knights, this time he discussed constructive plans with Allen and secured his cooperation.
Plans for evacuating the residents, strategies for efficiently defending the city, tracking the culprit behind the incident, and more.
To Allen, who already knew the location of the chimera creator's workshop, the conversation was little more than a waste of time, but the fact that Baron Velon's behavior had changed was a shock in itself.
*It was Julius who saved the city in place of the incompetent baron.*
He was the one who defeated the chimera creator in place of the inactive baron.
And it was Julius who punished him for embezzling the city's taxes.
*What if all of that…*
*…was a scheme to use his incompetence as an excuse to let Julius earn merit?*
“…No need to think about it now, I suppose.”
He shook his head.
He would know for sure depending on what results Julius, that bastard, brought back from Gavia.
Besides, that wasn't why he had come here.
Allen left the mansion, accompanied by only a minimal number of people.
The purpose of coming to Hivel was to resolve the incident, put the past to rest, and recruit someone useful. There was no need to obsess over something he couldn't figure out right now.
Francisca wanted to rest in her private room to recover from the fatigue of a ten-day journey and the subsequent meeting, so he was the only one who went out.
The city was in chaos. No, it was maintaining only the bare minimum of order.
Even though soldiers were controlling the city, all the residents were trembling with anxiety.
Control was not easy.
The main commercial districts and other key areas were protected by soldiers, but the areas near the slums were rife with incidents and accidents.
He had already witnessed more than five crimes while wandering the city, two of which were serious offenses like arson and murder.
The reason a conflicted Allen was wandering about so aimlessly was due to a single concern.
*Just because someone has a certain talent, is it right to decide their future for them?*
From the moment he planned to come here, Allen had been thinking only of this.
He knew who would possess what talents in the future, who would make a name for themselves in battle.
Because of that, he could either harvest the seeds of their talent before they fully bloomed, or he could dispose of them before they blossomed.
But was that right?
*If it's not right, what difference does it make?*
*Haven't I already decided to kill that bastard? I have no intention of hesitating further and acting like a saint.*
But this was different.
The people he planned to recruit were those who held a direct grudge against Julius from before his regression. Those who had suffered from that bastard's ignorant choices, those who were cast aside by the principle of power.
But what about others?
For example… yes, what about the girl who lost her mother and awakened her talent as a young woman?
*It's ridiculous to hesitate now.*
Recruiting those with a grudge against the bastard was fine.
They would stay with him until the end, driven by vengeance alone.
Likewise, those who moved for money were also useful. They wouldn't hesitate to be used if the conditions were good.
But what about those who would otherwise live ordinary lives?
If Allen moved quickly and killed the chimera creator, if the incident was resolved smoothly, and if they could live peacefully in the city, unlike before the regression…
If they were people who would live lives unrelated to battle and war…
*Is it really right to drag them in just because they have talent?*
The path he was about to walk was one that might earn him the condemnation of others.
Allen would handle many things while close to that bastard.
He would help him deal with disasters occurring in various places. He would uncover conspiracies that would have been a great threat to some. And he would build his reputation by saving many people.
As that bastard's name grew, he too would rise to a position no less lofty.
But the end might not be good… no, it would definitely not be good.
Because in the end, he would strike that bastard down.
Whether he found a way to save his brother or not, he would kill that bastard in the end.
His attempts to exploit the bastard's weaknesses could end in vain, and the traps he prepared to kill him could fail.
The time limit was before that bastard rose to a height beyond his reach.
If the timing was early, he might be able to smooth things over even after backstabbing him, but…
*What if it's after ten, twenty years… after that bastard has accomplished feats enough to be called the savior of the world?*
Whatever the reason, Allen would be met with hostility from every faction that had received help from that bastard.
Even if he found a way to save his brother, what would that matter to those who didn't care?
In their eyes, Allen would be nothing more than a dirty traitor who stabbed his brother in the back.
It would be the same even if, by some miracle, he managed to save his brother. The body belonged to his brother, but the deeds were that bastard's, so facing hostility was unavoidable.
On such a path, Allen couldn't help but agonize over whether it was right to drag in people who would otherwise live peacefully without his intervention.
*It would be easier if I felt no guilt.*
For those whose profession was combat, wealth and honor would follow, but what about someone who, if left alone, would marry and build an ordinary family?
Wouldn't they be forced to wade through blood they never had to see?
Julius, that bastard, wouldn't think twice about such things and would just drag them in indiscriminately.
*Am I overthinking this?*
As he was walking down the main street, he heard a shout.
“My mom is still out there! After everything you’ve taken from her!”
“Hey, kid. We told you we'll bring her back soon, didn't we?”
“Yeah, yeah, how were we supposed to know some big shot was coming today? So just shut up for a bit.”
Turning his head, he saw a girl—no, a young woman who had just shed her childish features—confronting some soldiers seated in a tavern.