III. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠How to Crush Rock (2)

Rock trolls were monsters Keldric had also heard of a few times.

Occasionally descending from the mountains and settling into a village or a mine, they were a disaster for miners in particular.

Their entire bodies were covered in hard rock, so village watchmen carrying at best a pitchfork or one rickety short spear were no match for them.

They were a problem that could only be handled by properly armed noble retinues, mercenaries, or a knight.

Therefore, when rock trolls occupied something like a mine, it meant a state of emergency for the local lord.

"It is a very difficult situation. I do have troops with me, but I do not know how many I would lose if I threw them against the rock trolls."

And, for Baron Yaven at present, it was not just an emergency—it was a supreme emergency.

"As I mentioned earlier, I was on my way to Carlton Village."

"Yes. I received word from my brother Hilmer."

"Then do you know why I was suddenly heading there?"

"That is..."

Keldric could not readily answer. It was something that not even Hilmer, let alone Keldric, properly understood.

The only thing that came to mind was that the person who had orchestrated the recent attack on the manor house was Baron Gofrit.

"Is it because of Lord Gofrit?"

"That is right, but it seems you do not know the exact details. Am I wrong?"

"You are right."

Keldric knew nothing about Baron Gofrit.

At most, he had only briefly heard about him from the cavalryman who had raided Carlton Village.

"Recently, the fiefs of several lords who follow Lord Bogenberg were raided without warning. We believed the culprit was that young whelp Gofrit."

Baron Yaven's subsequent explanation was as follows.

Baron Yaven and Baron Gofrit had ordinarily been on exceedingly bad terms.

Baron Gofrit would cunningly sabotage the trade routes of Baron Yaven's barony, or conversely, Baron Yaven would spread rumors that a plague was circulating in Baron Gofrit's barony—and so on.

The two men viciously slandered each other as easily as breathing, and this led to the worsening of an already poor relationship.

Had it stopped there, it could have remained a simple power struggle between local barons.

The real problem was that the factions the two belonged to also had bad blood between them.

"To fawn over a whore's brat as if he were a noble. That whelp's head must obviously be addled as well."

Baron Yaven belonged to Count Bogenberg's faction, and Baron Gofrit belonged to the faction of Count Rasau, the Emperor's Bastard.

Like oil meeting water, the two could not combine on any level.

Since they were already sworn enemies and the relationship between their factions was also bad, their mutual attempts at slander grew increasingly brazen.

In that overheated atmosphere, Baron Gofrit had recently started throwing his weight around with Count Rasau at his back, according to Baron Yaven's account.

"Even Carlton Village, the most remote part of my domain, was making me very uneasy. So I intended to station at least a small force there. That is also the reason Sir Werner is accompanying me this time."

"Did you read my brother Hilmer's letter?"

"I read it. I had expected it, but to think that Gofrit's whelp actually did it...!"

Baron Yaven's face flushed bright red. His anger was understandable under the circumstances.

Baron Gofrit's actions were dishonorable and despicable in many ways.

While the mutual slander with Baron Yaven was already too disgraceful to watch, Keldric also found it absurd that someone would raid another's territory without a single word.

'Do they not know what a declaration of war is in this neighborhood?'

The concept of a declaration of war did exist. In fact, it was a tradition and a matter of courtesy.

The Church would usually step in to mediate, and it was common during that process to send each other a warning to the effect of "Our feelings have soured for such-and-such a reason. We will prepare for war."

However, no matter how much tradition was observed, a piece of unowned land did not just suddenly fall from the sky.

One silver mine, one Hufe of wheat field, or even simple vengeance or personal feelings—

—there were many imperial nobles who attacked a neighboring fief for all of that without even giving prior notice.

Just because it was common ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did not mean it could be dressed up as honorable conduct.

"Truly a man who knows nothing of honor. Lord Gofrit has forsaken his house's honor by his own hand."

Sir Werner muttered. His face was clouded with disgust.

"Sir Keldric. You may not be well acquainted with him, but Lord Gofrit is dangerous. He is a fellow around whom caution is never wasted, at the very least."

"I will bear it in mind."

Keldric felt a subdued anger.

Slowly but steadily spreading, the anger burned hot, using the image of Yakov lying pale as its kindling.

The reason Baron Gofrit had raided the Bellaf family's manor house was a truly trivial one.

Simply, he wanted to curry favor with Count Rasau.

Because he wanted to get into a powerful man's good graces.

It might have been a matter more precious than life itself to Baron Gofrit personally, but not to Keldric.

"As Sir Werner said, he is a man who does not know honor. I have also been sharpening my sword meaning to beat him to death before long."

Baron Yaven's tone was one that loosely alluded to a territorial war.

Baron Gofrit's dishonorable act of raiding and looting a neighboring fief without warning provided sufficient justification.

Keldric saw the spark of war flash.

But, at least not now.

"We had better return to the main topic. Slandering that Gofrit whelp is all well and good, but we still have to deal with what is directly in front of us first."

Baron Yaven heaved a troubled sigh and sipped his wine.

As he said, what mattered immediately was not Baron Gofrit but the rock trolls.

"In any case, upon hearing that a nearby fief had been raided, I was trying to hurry to Carlton Village. Because a rumor was circulating that the whelp was raiding mostly the outlying villages of domains."

"But... Carlton Village was already..."

"I received Sir Hilmer's letter saying it had already been raided. Just seeing that was enough to make my blood boil, but fortunately Sir Keldric dealt with those brutes, did he not? Splendid. Ought I to say you are, indeed, a paragon of knighthood?"

Baron Yaven's excessive praise felt quite awkward.

He was pleased that Keldric had protected his domain and thwarted Baron Gofrit's plan.

However, Keldric found himself raising one question at this point.

'What was Fritz's role?'

Though Baron Gofrit had raided the Bellaf family, he had not plundered the village.

All they had intended was to kill Hilmer and seat Fritz in his place.

This was a little strange. Would seating Fritz as head of the house instead of Hilmer have been that greatly beneficial to Baron Gofrit?

When Keldric, who had this question, asked Baron Yaven, Baron Yaven scowled at once and spoke.

"A very filthy trick. First they commit soldiers, and then while spouting some nonsense about 'restoring the honor of Sir Fritz, who was unjustly robbed of the headship,' they create a pretext to exert influence over my domain."

Keldric stuck out his tongue unconsciously.

Baron Gofrit's scheme was filthier than he had imagined.

"In order to prevent such a thing beforehand, I had intended to leave a small force stationed in Carlton Village. I thought a few soldiers with spears would suffice."

"But you encountered rock trolls instead."

"If it were up to me, I would like to deal with the rock trolls using my own soldiers. But if I lose troops here, the defense of Carlton Village will weaken. That I do not want."

Baron Gofrit, who sought by any means to plunder the fiefs of the nobles in Count Bogenberg's faction, and Baron Yaven, who wanted to thwart him by any means and screw Baron Gofrit over.

The fight between Baron Gofrit and Baron Yaven was now unfolding in a pattern reminiscent of rock-paper-scissors.

And, so far, Baron Gofrit's win rate had been high.

Though the raid on Carlton Village had failed, the fiefs of other nobles who followed Count Bogenberg had been raided.

"I even tried hiring mercenaries. But they were wholly unsatisfactory. Rather, eight of them got killed."

"It seems to have been a poor matchup."

"That was the result of those fellows stepping forward overconfidently. Damn it, if they could not handle it, they should not have stepped forward at all."

According to Baron Yaven, all ten mercenaries he had hastily hired used swords and shields.

Although Keldric had never faced a rock troll directly, he thought it was the worst possible matchup if they matched what was described in books or oral tradition.

Swinging a sword at a rock troll would only result in the blade's edge being horribly chewed up, and it was questionable whether edged weapons would work in the first place.

Thrusting with a sword might hold some possibility, but there was no way the rock trolls would stand still and let themselves be hit.

Probably the moment one approached to thrust with a sword, one would be struck by a rock-covered fist and die screaming.

It was understandable that Sir Werner wanted mercenaries who could handle spears.

By prodding the gaps in their rocky hide from a distance with spears, some damage could be inflicted somehow.

But at this point, Keldric's thinking shifted slightly.

'...Could I not just batter them with a mace?'

It was a whimsical thought, but somehow it also seemed like it might not be impossible.

Having just acquired a mace in Schaffendorf, Keldric had something worth trying.

Keldric, whose stray thoughts had multiplied, first focused on his conversation with Baron Yaven.

Baron Yaven, perhaps because he had drunk wine in succession, still had a face flushed red.

"I have issued a gag order to the soldiers and some of the mercenaries. The trolls did come near Yalta Village, but they are just sitting still in the upper reaches of the river."

Keldric silently nodded. He found himself seeing Baron Yaven as somewhat pitiable.

With Bellam already barely functioning, if even Yalta Village ground to a halt in fear, Baron Yaven would die of a rage-induced illness.

"I also wished that Gofrit's whelp would not find out. Rather than stand by and watch a rumor that I am in trouble reach that whelp's ears, I would sooner hang myself."

"I have never seen Lord Gofrit in person, but I understand. There is no need to stir up trouble for nothing."

"That is exactly what I mean. The moment the honorless son of a bitch learns I am tied up here, he will come ransacking my territory again."

Even after that, Baron Yaven's grievances against Baron Gofrit continued.

That Baron Gofrit was so lost in sodomy his asshole would never close, that the reason he had risen to the headship at a young age was likely because he poisoned his own father...

All manner of crude words burst from Baron Yaven's mouth.

It was a spectacle if ever there was one.

"I am pleased that Sir Keldric seems to properly understand what honor is!"

"Thank you."

Whenever Keldric gave an awkward rejoinder, Baron Yaven grew more animated and gulped down wine like water.

By the time Sir Werner, unable to watch any longer, took his leave, deep night had already descended before they knew it.

☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩

Every time Keldric took a step, breath mixed with the smell of alcohol leaked from his mouth.

Having merrily drunk wine in copious amounts with Baron Yaven the previous night, Keldric had only been able to return to the inn near daybreak.

Yet his waking time was still the dim hour when the sky just began to brighten.

In order to inform the mercenaries and Alisa of the previous day's conversation with Baron Yaven, Keldric needed to rise early as usual.

Keldric, steeped in the aftereffects of alcohol and fatigue, staggered down to the first floor of the inn.

Right then, Alisa and Jorgen, who had been eating beer and grilled salmon since morning, spotted Keldric and greeted him familiarly.

"Ah, Sir Keldric. Good morning."

"Good morning, Sir Keldric."

"Yeah. Good morning."

"...Are you all right?"

Alisa and Jorgen's eyes widened slightly.

It was the first time they had seen Keldric ailing like this.

Keldric was not particularly weak to alcohol, but regardless, guzzling drink from early evening until dawn was too much to handle.

For all he knew, there was a strong possibility Baron Yaven could not even get out of bed at all.

Keldric followed Alisa and Jorgen and sat down at a table in the inn's hall.

Thanks to Jorgen, who quickly sat at the table and tactfully handed him cold water, Keldric's hazy mind soon snapped awake.

"Thank you. I feel like my eyes are opening, thanks to you."

"Haha. It is nothing."

"More than that, it is good I ran into you. I was just about to look for you."

"Pardon?"

"What is the matter?"

Keldric, whose head had cleared after tossing back another cup of cold water, briefly summarized for the two of them the story he had shared with Baron Yaven the day before.

When the words "rock troll" came out, Jorgen's face turned the color of dirt, but when the generous reward Baron Yaven had promised and the mention that "Sir Werner will be joining" came out, a bright smile bloomed.

"Is that true? Sir Werner..."

"Do you know Sir Werner?"

"Of course I know him! Are you not speaking of Sir Werner, the 'Crow'?"

The fame of Sir Werner, the Crow Knight of House Henzer, was more exalted than Keldric had thought.

Looking back, even Hilmer, stuck out in the countryside, had known of him, so he was considerably renowned.

"He has achieved a tournament total of 48 victories, and he also participated in the last Holy Land Reconquest Campaign. He is outstanding in martial prowess and an honorable man."

"Oh..."

Keldric admired him without showing it.

It was because, if he was such a famous knight, it might have seemed strange that Keldric did not know him.

After that, Keldric was able to hear a little more detail about Sir Werner.

He heard that Sir Werner had credited the glory of his final tournament victory to a close friend who had joined the expeditionary force together with him and died in battle.

He heard that, during the Holy Land Reconquest Campaign, he had mercifully released captured heathen prisoners.

Various other admirable anecdotes poured from Jorgen's mouth.

Keldric quietly nodded, inwardly raising his assessment of Sir Werner by one notch.

If what Jorgen said was true, Sir Werner was a man of outstanding character.

In a chaotic era teeming with knights who arbitrarily smashed and rampaged everywhere, a rarely honorable and merciful middle-aged knight.

On top of that, he was already fully accomplished in terms of martial prowess.

"I fully understand that Sir Werner is remarkable."

"Ah, er... I am sorry. I talked too much."

Turning his head away from Jorgen, who was bowing his head awkwardly, Keldric looked at Alisa sitting beside him.

From the moment Jorgen had begun his encomium to Sir Werner, Alisa had turned her head away as if uninterested and was nibbling at the grilled salmon.

"Alisa. What do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am talking about the rock trolls."

Jorgen had been full of anticipation from the moment he heard about Baron Yaven's generous reward, so all that remained was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Alisa's consent.

Alisa toyed with her earlobe and fell into thought.

It seemed to be a habit of hers.

Keldric inwardly hoped Alisa would join them.

Although she had been laid up for a day and a half after casting magic once, her magic was still the real thing.

The fact that its conditions were tricky and it was heavily affected by the environment could be dealt with by preparing in advance.

'The trolls are not going to run away somewhere.'

According to Baron Yaven, the trolls would hole up in a cave by the river and seldom move.

Whenever a cart or boat carrying iron ore appeared along the river they would smash it outright, but otherwise they did not particularly move.

As Keldric's additional explanation along those lines continued, Alisa, who had been pondering while toying with her earlobe, finally opened her mouth.

"If they stay rooted in one spot... if I light a campfire nearby, it should not be too difficult."

"That means?"

"I will follow your wishes, sir."

"I will get the lads ready as well."

Though they might well have hesitated, the two of them readily nodded.

Having already seen Keldric's martial prowess to their heart's content anyway, they must have thought there was nothing to fear.

"I will inform you of the subjugation schedule after consulting with Sir Werner."

"Understood."

"Oh, and could you bring the captured bandits?"

"You mean those mounted bandit bastards?"

Jorgen wore a baffled expression, but Alisa seemed to have guessed to some extent.

An expression close to disgust surfaced on her face.

"Jorgen. Who is the lord who owns Bellam?"

"Well, that would be Baron Yaven... Ah!"

Though the commission had been received from Bellam's City Council, in the end the city council ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too were merely those who showed off their big-shot status in a city owned by Baron Yaven.

"Since they are scum who roamed Lord Yaven's domain, Lord Yaven will decide their disposition."

Keldric had no intention of toting around mounted bandit prisoners who were a nuisance to manage.

Resolving the worry of Baron Yaven, who had been concerned about the mounted bandits in the area, was an added bonus.