Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Fland Mayor's Explanation
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"Come now, this way. I'm sure you're angry with me, and you must have plenty of questions to grill me about. I'll explain everything, so please, have a seat."
"......"
Sion momentarily lost his words at the Fland mayor's behavior, as the man grinned broadly and whispered in a low voice.
After encountering that bastard Jaetz Garren, Sion had concluded that Fland was up to the same shady tricks as Rozin.
Whether tricked or doing it intentionally, he saw it as trashy scheming—bringing in outside forces to shake up the dukedom and grab his own share.
But perhaps Fland wasn't the same "kind" as Rozin after all.
* * *
"Forgive us!"
"Forgive us!"
At the lead of Fland Mayor Kembell Sion Fland, the Fland city officials chorused as they dropped to one knee before Sion.
"...What in the world is this?"
Sion was dumbfounded. Though a collateral branch, this was still a descendant carrying his blood, kneeling before a total stranger—it bruised his pride, and his expression hardened coldly.
Kembell looked up cautiously and spoke.
"It seems the story might be a bit long. Is that alright?"
"It's fine. Go ahead."
Curious what excuse this absurd descendant might offer, Sion nodded.
Kembell rose from his seat, took a light breath, and opened his mouth.
"In truth, we here already knew of the feats that Instructor and the Sparrowhawk Corps accomplished in Rozin. However...."
Kembell's tale continued on.
* * *
"Actually, even before hearing about Rozin, we first dispatched part of our Fland Guard Corps to the villages in the sector. About four or five? Ah, six villages, yes. We cleared out the small monsters that had been lurking around those six villages.
We knew the Guard Corps couldn't handle medium or large monsters, so we stuck strictly to goblins, trolls, and kobolds. That stabilized most of the villages in the sector.
The problem was the aquatic monsters inhabiting the Fland Riverbanks and the islands. These bastards would dive into the water or flee to the islands the moment troops approached. With so many medium-sized aquatic monsters in the river, even boating across was dangerous.
Anyway, we managed to resolve some of that by steadily patrolling the riverbanks. But then one day, the medium monsters suddenly became scarce. We wondered what was going on. And then!
A few days later, word of the Sparrowhawk Corps' feats in Rozin arrived—bam! That's when we realized: those bastards got scared and fled upstream!
After that, we relaxed and waited for the Sparrowhawk Corps. But oh no! Turns out my wife, in her panic and anxiety, had sent a letter to her family—the Garren Count house—asking for help long before.
At the time, I figured nothing would come of it. Why would the great Garren territory send troops to our dukedom just like that? At most, they'd send a few relatives to check in—not actual forces. Impossible unless they'd lost their minds. But! That insane thing actually happened.
Yes, you're right. I should have protested immediately and sent them back. But the deputy lord of Sauden territory came personally, and their pretext was somewhat plausible, wasn't it?
As kin, they'd heard my cousin-in-law's plight and come to offer what small help they could. Telling them to get lost outright... well, no. Yes, so that's when it hit me—pop!—an idea.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed Sauden was overreaching. At the very least, I judged that Deputy Lord Jaetz was making a reckless move. So why not turn that to our advantage? Yes, that's what I thought.
We decided to watch and wait. We needed to know their goal. So I deliberately kept my attitude ambiguous to put them at ease.
I figured acting rashly on my own would get me nowhere. Besides, with the Sparrowhawk Corps coming soon, why should I stick my neck out?
Yes. That's how it happened."
* * *
This guy... he's no ordinary fellow.
No, not just ordinary—he's remarkable.
For the first time in ages, Sion felt admiration for a descendant.
He'd thought Fland was playing it ambiguously, testing the waters before picking a side half-heartedly. But no.
This guy's ambiguous attitude had been deliberate.
Of course. Sion, whom he'd just met today, had pegged Jaetz as "Is this guy insane?" And Kembell, who had long served as the responsible leader of this region across generations, wouldn't fail to notice the oddities.
If he were that incompetent from the start, the Fland officials would have sent a rescue request to Shionia ages ago.
"...So, what will you do now, sir?"
Kembell didn't know Sion's true identity.
Yet he was taking this low posture, which meant he truly understood what role Sion had played in the dukedom's internal strife—and exactly what the Sparrowhawk Corps had done in Rozin.
"For now, one question. Send the others out first."
Noticing Sion's softened demeanor, Kembell visibly relaxed and signaled with his eyes.
The officials, their faces similarly easing, filed out of the office in a group.
"So, what was it you wanted to ask...?"
Now alone with him, Kembell grew slightly tense.
His counterpart was the young royal who had received full authority from Hander Yonas and the Three-Headed Eagle Castle ministers.
But it wasn't just the status.
'He looks familiar... but I can't place it.'
Every time he saw that face, his heart pounded uncomfortably. That was why Kembell couldn't fully relax.
"No need to be so tense. What I want to know is... why the mayor sat idly by while those two traitors, Ged Sion and Blint Sion, fought like dogs."
Ah, that.
Kembell inwardly sighed in relief and replied.
"I'd love to say it was because neither was worthy, but that's not it. Truth is, I thought it didn't matter which one won. I believed the dukedom's fracture was inevitable. At that time."
"Hmm."
At Sion's gesture to continue, Kembell sighed and went on.
"Whew. So I figured as long as Fland and Rozin held steady at the center, we'd be fine. The South Mountain Elves would cooperate with us then. If Fland, Rozin, and the South Mountain Elves banded together as three forces."
"Banded together?"
"I judged we could negotiate favorable terms no matter which of those two traitors came out on top. At least the southern dukedom residents could keep living as before."
In short, the status quo.
He hadn't wanted things to get better or worse—just to stay the same as always.
For a mayor responsible for a region, it was almost pathetic in a way.
Thus, Kembell glanced at Sion again, speaking a bit hesitantly.
But.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"......???"
Kembell's eyes went wide at Sion's rhythmic applause.
"Excellent. As Fland's mayor and a noble of the dukedom, you made the best judgment possible at the time."
"I-is that so?"
"Of course."
Sion meant it.
Frankly, since returning to the dukedom, if he compared pure instinct and sharpness, this guy Kembell was the best.
But Sion's applause wasn't just for that.
"You were honest, so I'll be honest too."
"Y-yes...."
Watching Kembell's throat bob, Sion continued.
"Like with the Rozin mayor, I originally intended to punish you. Using the authority granted me by Hander Yonas and the Three-Headed Eagle Castle ministers."
"......!"
"Handling the matter of Sauden's deputy lord Jaetz Garren on your own initiative? It was brilliant maneuvering, but no free pass. Why? Because it's the duty of Fland's mayor. But what you just said."
"......"
"Maintaining the status quo for the residents. Wanting to let them live as before. That's praiseworthy. Ah, isn't that a duty too? Yes. But those two traitors, Ged Sion and Blint Sion, abandoned it. Even the Rozin mayor briefly lost sight of that duty. Yet only you."
To Kembell, who stared blankly at him as if entranced, Sion—the founder of the dukedom—spoke in a gentle voice.
"Only you upheld that duty, the most basic one for anyone born of Sion's bloodline. Kembell Sion Fland."
"Uh...."
Kembell blinked in confusion at the sudden change in address.
"Look at me closely."
But as Sion smiled warmly.
"And think about why Yonas and the Three-Headed Eagle Castle ministers delegated full authority to me."
Moreover, though unspoken, when the man himself mentioned the lingering doubt.
"Eh... Huh? Huh!"
The sharp-minded descendant, who had sized up the situation and deliberately played ambiguous, caught on.
"Yes. It was I who sent your grandfather to pioneer this city."
* * *
"What the hell? What is it with those guys?"
Jaetz paced the room restlessly, muttering anxiously.
"Fine, say Sailun's one thing. But Kembell Fland—why the sudden change from that guy who's been playing it coy all this time?"
Jaetz recalled Kembell's reception of Sailun.
The man had been vague with him, his brother-in-law, but treated this stranger like he'd give him his liver—practically fawning.
No, it wasn't just friendly.
"It was like looking at our Loti."
The image overlapped with his pet dog, who rolled belly-up at the sight of him.
"I miss Loti. No, no! That's not the point."
Pausing briefly, Jaetz gulped down water. Wiping the dribbles from his mouth, he scowled fiercely.
"What are those two talking about? No way... are they telling us to just leave? Yeah, probably."
Then he'd have no choice but to go.
But had he sailed all the way to this backwater without thinking that far?
"My wife's mess is my responsibility to clean up, right? Heh heh."
His cherished cousin from childhood was gone now (had never been there anyway).
From here on, it was the Fland mayor's wife inquiring about a deal with her family, the Garren Count house, in her husband's stead.
He, as deputy lord of Sauden—successor to the count house—had carefully considered and agreed to the deal.
So with all these troops in tow, he deserved compensation, right?
What about pressuring him by pointing out he came without Obla Kingdom's permission?
"I sent a letter requesting permission. To the crown prince. It should arrive around now."
Letters to foreign nobles from another kingdom often "slightly" delayed—it was commonplace.
Once he wrapped things up properly here and slipped the crown prince a cut of the profits, that side would play along.
Why so sure?
Because he knew the crown prince disliked Duke Sion's territory.
Hadn't the crown prince faction sent some lackey noble—Bhutan or Botan or whatever—to probe Sion's dukedom?
So if he succeeded, the crown prince would be thrilled.
Sauden's stagnant old fogeys would be satisfied too. Sure, they'd grumble a bit, but what could they do?
I'd have succeeded. At what?
"Just take from them and pay it back later. Take and pay back."
That was life's truth.
(To be continued in the next episode)