Chapter 387: Wild Horse (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 387: Wild Horse (1)
Shaaaaaa!
After wetting my hair with warm water, I scrubbed my skin hard with soap for who knew how long. It wasn't until I came out of the bathroom and changed into comfortable clothes that it finally felt real. I was back home.
Step, step.
Toweling off my wet hair as I headed down to the first floor, I found Amelia and Erwen waiting for me in the living room.
"You took your time." Amelia looked somewhat displeased with my squeaky-clean appearance.
I sat down on the sofa across from her. "Since you're not writing this out, I guess there was nothing of note?"
"Yes, despite your fears, I couldn't find any wiretapping devices or anything like that."
That was a relief. I was worried the knights might have left some behind when they broke into the house—
"Aside from the ones already there, anyway," Amelia added.
Huh? Already there?
"Judging by your expression, I guess you didn't know? There has been a recording crystal in the living room from the beginning."
Even if she said that like it was obvious, this was the first I heard of it. But if I were to infer from her statement that it had been there a long time...
"Erwen?"
When I shot a suspicious look at the prime suspect, Erwen flinched and averted her eyes. "W-Well... since you never know... A-And if it weren't for the mana crystal, we wouldn't have been able to figure out what happened to you so quickly..."
...Well, I can't say anything to that.
When I asked, she told me the mana crystals with recording capabilities were only installed in the entrance and living room. I decided to consider this a security measure any homeowner might take.
No wonder they found me with the marquess so quickly.
I raised a question I couldn't ask on the carriage the marquess had arranged to take us home. "Erwen, how did you know I was at the marquess's house?"
"There was nowhere else you could be! After all, that man came here himself!"
"That man...?"
"Oh, you didn't know, Mister? Eltora Tercerion, the prime minister's son, was the captain who came to arrest you!"
"What? Isn't he the one who was recently promoted to captain of the Third Corps?"
Is the prime minister out of his mind? Why would he send his son on such a dangerous mission? What if I bashed his skull in? Though, if he cherished his child in the first place, he wouldn't have sent him off to battle.
The marquess's child-rearing approach seemed very Spartan to me, but that wasn't any of my business.
"But Schuitz, what exactly happened with the marquess?"
"Yes. Please tell us now. You don't know how surprised I was to see the door broken and you missing when we got back."
I explained the marquess's misunderstanding about me and the deal he proposed, and asked them to weigh in. Their reactions differed significantly.
"Oh my, he'll really return your title? That's amazing!" Erwen was happy, saying this was good news.
Amelia, who was on a similar wavelength to me, expressed concerns that things were going too smoothly. "The prime minister is the best possible backer you could have, but I can't shake an uneasy feeling."
"But what else could I do? If I said no, it would've only made things more complicated."
"...I'll conduct my own investigation into the prime minister."
"Yes, I have faith in you."
"Sorry? What about me?"
"You too, of course, Erwen."
The only ones you could truly trust were your comrades. This world was too harsh to survive all alone.
***
Tap, tap.
While he was busy tapping his index finger on the table at regular intervals, lost in thought, the door opened and a man stepped inside. "Did you call, Father?"
Eltora Tercerion was the marquess's only child and the man who would one day inherit everything the prime minister had built. But the marquess's gaze was cold as it settled on him. "If you had functional eyes and ears, you would've seen and heard that for yourself already. So I'm electing to ignore that. What do you make of this incident?"
"To be honest... I was very surprised. I never thought Baronet Yandel would be alive like you said, Father."
"Is that all?"
Eltora gulped at the marquess's follow-up question and chose his words carefully. "His return seems to be advantageous for our family. Although it's been years, many people still remember him. As a political symbol, he can be put to good use—"
"Enough." Eltora's logical observations were interrupted by the marquess. "Is your insight really so limited?" He leveled a look of not just disappointment but disgust at his son. At this, Eltora shifted his gaze to the ground and sighed inwardly.
Why has this old man been acting like this lately?
He was never a kind father, but he was also never this bad. He had gotten a little worse two years ago, though, and Eltora was now starting to feel like an emotional punching bag.
He also brought in that strange woman... Has he noticed something about me?
It was suspicious. Lately, his father never called on him unless he had orders to dole out, nor did he share information with him properly. Just like now.
"Father."
"Speak."
"This is my first time hearing that Baronet Yandel is not an evil spirit. Why did you hide it from me too?" Eltora carefully asked, trying to feel his father out.
The marquess's response was ice-cold. "It sounds like you expect me to hold your hand forever."
"That's not what I meant. It's just, I was thinking I could have been more helpful if I had known in advance—"
"The fact that you believe Baronet Yandel is not an evil spirit is a sign you're hopeless to start with."
"Sorry? But Father, you clearly said—"
"Enough. I'd only be wasting my breath trying to explain this to you."
His words were too heartless to be directed at his own child. Eltora pursed his lips at that but the marquess didn't pay him any mind, instead bringing up the reason he called him here.
"Tomorrow, I want you to go in person and inform Yandel of the day of our next appointment. I want to continue the conversation we couldn't finish today."
"The appointment... what date should I give him?"
"This month's full moon."
The meeting would be held in the evening.
"But what else could I do? If I said no, it would've only made things more complicated."
"...I'll conduct my own investigation into the prime minister."
"Yes, I have faith in you."
"Sorry? What about me?"
"You too, of course, Erwen."
The only ones you could truly trust were your comrades. This world was too harsh to survive all alone.
***
Tap, tap.
While he was busy tapping his index finger on the table at regular intervals, lost in thought, the door opened and a man stepped inside. "Did you call, Father?"
Eltora Tercerion was the marquess's only child and the man who would one day inherit everything the prime minister had built. But the marquess's gaze was cold as it settled on him. "If you had functional eyes and ears, you would've seen and heard that for yourself already. So I'm electing to ignore that. What do you make of this incident?"
"To be honest... I was very surprised. I never thought Baronet Yandel would be alive like you said, Father."
"Is that all?"
Eltora gulped at the marquess's follow-up question and chose his words carefully. "His return seems to be advantageous for our family. Although it's been years, many people still remember him. As a political symbol, he can be put to good use—"
"Enough." Eltora's logical observations were interrupted by the marquess. "Is your insight really so limited?" He leveled a look of not just disappointment but disgust at his son. At this, Eltora shifted his gaze to the ground and sighed inwardly.
Why has this old man been acting like this lately?
He was never a kind father, but he was also never this bad. He had gotten a little worse two years ago, though, and Eltora was now starting to feel like an emotional punching bag.
He also brought in that strange woman... Has he noticed something about me?
It was suspicious. Lately, his father never called on him unless he had orders to dole out, nor did he share information with him properly. Just like now.
"Father."
"Speak."
"This is my first time hearing that Baronet Yandel is not an evil spirit. Why did you hide it from me too?" Eltora carefully asked, trying to feel his father out.
The marquess's response was ice-cold. "It sounds like you expect me to hold your hand forever."
"That's not what I meant. It's just, I was thinking I could have been more helpful if I had known in advance—"
"The fact that you believe Baronet Yandel is not an evil spirit is a sign you're hopeless to start with."
"Sorry? But Father, you clearly said—"
"Enough. I'd only be wasting my breath trying to explain this to you."
His words were too heartless to be directed at his own child. Eltora pursed his lips at that but the marquess didn't pay him any mind, instead bringing up the reason he called him here.
"Tomorrow, I want you to go in person and inform Yandel of the day of our next appointment. I want to continue the conversation we couldn't finish today."
"The appointment... what date should I give him?"
"This month's full moon."
The meeting would be held in the evening.
***
It was afternoon on the fifteenth.
"Then see you later, Mister. Take care of yourself!" As I left the house with a send-off from Erwen, the carriage waiting in front of our gate opened.
"Long time no see," I said.
"Have you decided to stop using polite speech now?"
"I heard you're the marquess's son. Then you should already know who I am."
"That's true..." The prime minister's son trailed off with a somewhat bitter look on his face, but that wasn't any of my business.
"Whatever, let's go."
"Sure."
The carriage traveled down the wide main road. Before long, a military platform appeared. Like last time, we used it to travel in style to Karnon, the imperial capital.
"It's convenient getting to the imperial capital in under an hour. How much does one ride cost?"
"One million stones per person. Of course, that's assuming there's no carriage."
"...Then it's better to just take a carriage."
"Right you are. There aren't many nobles who use this place while accompanied by staff, anyway. I heard it's only used for urgent business."
As we chatted, the carriage finally arrived at its destination. A huge mansion was visible in the distance. I wondered how much it cost to own this much land in a place as expensive as the imperial capital.
"We should hurry. My father is waiting."
"I guess it won't be a mana crystal this time?"
"I told you. Father wants to have dinner with you."
Well, even if he did say that, I kind of assumed the marquess was planning on hosting this dinner over video call.
Creak.
The prime minister's son led me to the banquet hall located on the fourth floor. There was a large window on one of the outer walls that overlooked the garden outside and offered a beautiful view of the palace beyond it. I didn't have the luxury to take in the view, though.
"You're here." The prime minister, who was sitting at the head of the table, greeted me.
"It's been a while, Marquess Tercerion."
"You've come a long way. Sit, Baronet Yandel. Ah, Eltora, you may leave now."
"...Have a pleasant visit."
When the prime minister's son left, the empty hall looked even emptier, but there was no better setting for a private conversation.
Tap.
The first thing I did was sit across from him. Perhaps it was to prevent the staff from needing to enter during the meal, but the table was already covered in food. For reference, the amount of food placed in front of me was five times the amount set in front of the marquess. It seemed they had taken into account my needs as a barbarian.
"Don't worry and eat. I don't plan to ask you to follow any suffocating rules of etiquette."
"...If you say so." The marquess began to cut his meat, and I tore off a chicken leg and shoved it in my mouth.
"How is the food?"
"It's excellent."
"I'm glad."
As we continued our meal, I decided to get down to business. I knew that you weren't allowed to talk about work during meals according to Rafdonian etiquette, but I was a member of the one race not bound by such empty formalities. "Marquess, the food is great, but I want to hear more about what you were saying the other day now."
"About how I'm going to help you reclaim your title?"
"Yeah. I'm sure most people won't be able to accept me suddenly coming back from the dead."
The marquess didn't comment on my impropriety and instead answered. "Let me ask you this. How many people knew who you were when you were in Noark?"
"None. I was in hiding there too."
"That makes things much easier." The marquess proceeded to explain what he had in mind. "I plan to claim that you were given a special mission by the royal family to infiltrate Noark. Now, after two and a half years, you have completed your mission and returned. What do you think?"
It was a short lie that could be summed up in just a few sentences, but there was no point asking whether it would work. The marquess had the power to make it happen. "Not bad."
"Of course, it will take some time. I will have to create a paper trail within the palace to substantiate the claim."
"And what will you do about the announcement declaring I'm an evil spirit?"
"Don't worry. I can just say the rumors were necessary for your infiltration mission to work."
I quite liked the scenario he was cooking up in itself. If I made a return like this, I could get my old life back.
But if there's a problem with this plan...
"And what do you want from me in return?" It was the issue of what I had to give up to get all this.
The marquess set down the knife he was cutting the meat with and raised his hand. "A total of two things."
"Tell me."
"I get to create a special forces unit centered around you. You lead them and join the war."
"For how long?"
"Until the war ends."
He was trying to turn me into his slave. "Until the war ends? It's hard to accept an offer without an end date."
"Then let's make it a maximum of three years. If the war ends before that, the terms of the deal will still be satisfied. Of course, you will be rewarded for any war achievements you accumulate in that time as well."
This was a condition I could live with. Most adventurers were making money in the war effort these days, anyway. "And the second?"
"Second..." The marquess trailed off and set down his fork. "I will tell you the second thing I want tomorrow morning. It'll go faster that way. There are plenty of empty rooms here, so stay the night."
What is this, the commercial break after a cliffhanger?
***
After dinner, a servant guided me to a guest room. To be honest, I wanted to go home more than anything, even if it took hours, but there was something shady about the way the marquess was acting.
Given the date and time the marquess had invited me to the mansion, and even the out-of-the-blue request to sleep over, I was beginning to get the picture. But after asking to send a message to Erwen at home, I decided to spend the night here at the marquess's request anyway. At times, you could turn a crisis into an opportunity.
"Ugh..." This room really was too spacious and luxurious for a single person.
Tick, tick.
Turning only the light on the nightstand, I lay on the bed and checked the time. Then I turned off the room's mana lights as well and set the clock down.
Tick, tick, tick.
The steady click of the second hand's march forward punctuated the silence.
Tick, tick.
The sound repeated ten more times, and then it happened.
[Your soul has resonated and is being drawn into a different world.]
I immediately sat up in Hansu Lee's bed. This time, I'd need to work faster than usual.
***
It was afternoon on the fifteenth.
"Then see you later, Mister. Take care of yourself!" As I left the house with a send-off from Erwen, the carriage waiting in front of our gate opened.
"Long time no see," I said.
"Have you decided to stop using polite speech now?"
"I heard you're the marquess's son. Then you should already know who I am."
"That's true..." The prime minister's son trailed off with a somewhat bitter look on his face, but that wasn't any of my business.
"Whatever, let's go."
"Sure."
The carriage traveled down the wide main road. Before long, a military platform appeared. Like last time, we used it to travel in style to Karnon, the imperial capital.
"It's convenient getting to the imperial capital in under an hour. How much does one ride cost?"
"One million stones per person. Of course, that's assuming there's no carriage."
"...Then it's better to just take a carriage."
"Right you are. There aren't many nobles who use this place while accompanied by staff, anyway. I heard it's only used for urgent business."
As we chatted, the carriage finally arrived at its destination. A huge mansion was visible in the distance. I wondered how much it cost to own this much land in a place as expensive as the imperial capital.
"We should hurry. My father is waiting."
"I guess it won't be a mana crystal this time?"
"I told you. Father wants to have dinner with you."
Well, even if he did say that, I kind of assumed the marquess was planning on hosting this dinner over video call.
Creak.
The prime minister's son led me to the banquet hall located on the fourth floor. There was a large window on one of the outer walls that overlooked the garden outside and offered a beautiful view of the palace beyond it. I didn't have the luxury to take in the view, though.
"You're here." The prime minister, who was sitting at the head of the table, greeted me.
"It's been a while, Marquess Tercerion."
"You've come a long way. Sit, Baronet Yandel. Ah, Eltora, you may leave now."
"...Have a pleasant visit."
When the prime minister's son left, the empty hall looked even emptier, but there was no better setting for a private conversation.
Tap.
The first thing I did was sit across from him. Perhaps it was to prevent the staff from needing to enter during the meal, but the table was already covered in food. For reference, the amount of food placed in front of me was five times the amount set in front of the marquess. It seemed they had taken into account my needs as a barbarian.
"Don't worry and eat. I don't plan to ask you to follow any suffocating rules of etiquette."
"...If you say so." The marquess began to cut his meat, and I tore off a chicken leg and shoved it in my mouth.
"How is the food?"
"It's excellent."
"I'm glad."
As we continued our meal, I decided to get down to business. I knew that you weren't allowed to talk about work during meals according to Rafdonian etiquette, but I was a member of the one race not bound by such empty formalities. "Marquess, the food is great, but I want to hear more about what you were saying the other day now."
"About how I'm going to help you reclaim your title?"
"Yeah. I'm sure most people won't be able to accept me suddenly coming back from the dead."
The marquess didn't comment on my impropriety and instead answered. "Let me ask you this. How many people knew who you were when you were in Noark?"
"None. I was in hiding there too."
"That makes things much easier." The marquess proceeded to explain what he had in mind. "I plan to claim that you were given a special mission by the royal family to infiltrate Noark. Now, after two and a half years, you have completed your mission and returned. What do you think?"
It was a short lie that could be summed up in just a few sentences, but there was no point asking whether it would work. The marquess had the power to make it happen. "Not bad."
"Of course, it will take some time. I will have to create a paper trail within the palace to substantiate the claim."
"And what will you do about the announcement declaring I'm an evil spirit?"
"Don't worry. I can just say the rumors were necessary for your infiltration mission to work."
I quite liked the scenario he was cooking up in itself. If I made a return like this, I could get my old life back.
But if there's a problem with this plan...
"And what do you want from me in return?" It was the issue of what I had to give up to get all this.
The marquess set down the knife he was cutting the meat with and raised his hand. "A total of two things."
"Tell me."
"I get to create a special forces unit centered around you. You lead them and join the war."
"For how long?"
"Until the war ends."
He was trying to turn me into his slave. "Until the war ends? It's hard to accept an offer without an end date."
"Then let's make it a maximum of three years. If the war ends before that, the terms of the deal will still be satisfied. Of course, you will be rewarded for any war achievements you accumulate in that time as well."
This was a condition I could live with. Most adventurers were making money in the war effort these days, anyway. "And the second?"
"Second..." The marquess trailed off and set down his fork. "I will tell you the second thing I want tomorrow morning. It'll go faster that way. There are plenty of empty rooms here, so stay the night."
What is this, the commercial break after a cliffhanger?
***
After dinner, a servant guided me to a guest room. To be honest, I wanted to go home more than anything, even if it took hours, but there was something shady about the way the marquess was acting.
Given the date and time the marquess had invited me to the mansion, and even the out-of-the-blue request to sleep over, I was beginning to get the picture. But after asking to send a message to Erwen at home, I decided to spend the night here at the marquess's request anyway. At times, you could turn a crisis into an opportunity.
"Ugh..." This room really was too spacious and luxurious for a single person.
Tick, tick.
Turning only the light on the nightstand, I lay on the bed and checked the time. Then I turned off the room's mana lights as well and set the clock down.
Tick, tick, tick.
The steady click of the second hand's march forward punctuated the silence.
Tick, tick.
The sound repeated ten more times, and then it happened.
[Your soul has resonated and is being drawn into a different world.]
I immediately sat up in Hansu Lee's bed. This time, I'd need to work faster than usual.