Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Dragon Wasteland Warning
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After the meal ended, Baron Kilburn took a seat with Seilun, bringing only his youngest son, Piott.
Seilun had wanted Administrator Swart to join them as well. Baron Kilburn found it odd to bring an administrator who had no relation to deciding his son's future, but he consented.
And the reason Seilun had insisted on having Administrator Swart present was revealed soon enough.
* * *
"I am certain that something major will happen in the Dragon Wasteland within ten years at the longest, or five or six years at the shortest."
"......!"
The completely unexpected words startled not only Baron Kilburn, who had anticipated a discussion about his youngest son's future, but also Piott and Administrator Swart.
"What do you mean? Something happening in the Dragon Wasteland? No, more importantly, how would you, Sir Seilun, even know that?"
Seilun took a sip of wine before responding to Baron Kilburn, whose face and tone were filled with suspicion.
"You purchased my horse as a birthday gift for your youngest son, did you not? Why do you think I spent seven long years searching for a horse, only to suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
"......Ah! Could it be?"
Baron Kilburn frowned briefly as he pondered something, then his eyes suddenly widened in realization.
Seilun nodded.
"Yes. During that time, I explored the Dragon Wasteland and beyond."
"Huh!"
"Th-that!"
Shock appeared on the faces of all three men.
"I-is that true? The Dragon Wasteland?"
"I swear it on my honor and that of my house."
As Seilun answered the stunned Piott, Administrator Swart muttered unwittingly.
"That's impossible. How could a person survive in the Dragon Wasteland for years...? No one's even lasted a few months there...."
"I survived and returned. Didn't you look into which gate of Burgos I entered through?"
"Ah......!"
It was true. After deciding to accept Seilun's investment, Administrator Swart had gathered as much information about him as possible.
Seilun's royal identification token had dispelled most suspicions, but he still needed to investigate thoroughly.
And among the hastily gathered information on Seilun was the fact that he had first entered through Burgos's east gate, the one facing the Dragon Wasteland.
"More importantly."
Seilun swept his gaze over the three men and continued.
"What would I gain by lying about something like that? Fame and honor as the first to explore the Dragon Wasteland? As you likely know, Sir Kilburn, for a royal like me to gain such fame right now would bring far more harm than good."
"Hmm."
It was true.
The Kingdom of Obla followed the principle of primogeniture, but the current crown prince had so many issues that even the royal palace was abuzz with talk.
For a collateral royal like him to gain world-shaking fame at a time like this?
It would be a great honor for the person involved, but it would undoubtedly spark noise regarding the succession, and the royal family would never sit idly by.
In the worst case, they might fabricate some pretext to confine him or banish him to the frontier.
"And aside from all of you here, I have no intention of telling anyone else about the Dragon Wasteland for the time being. So the assumption that I'm lying for fame is simply wrong."
"Hmm. Very well, I understand for now. Then why reveal this fact? And what does it have to do with me and Piott?"
Administrator Swart nodded in agreement with Baron Kilburn's question.
After all, what did it have to do with him or Burgos?
"Because the monsters inhabiting the Dragon Wasteland are highly likely to head toward Burgos."
"Wh-what?"
"Gasp!"
"And it won't end with Burgos. In my view, monsters could increase by at least double, up to five times, within dozens of kilometers centered on Burgos."
"That's absurd...."
Seilun turned his gaze from Baron Kilburn, whose eye twitched at the mention of his own territory being included, to Administrator Swart, who was staring wide-eyed and swallowing hard breaths.
"Administrator, you've been curious about the exact reason I decided to invest in Burgos, haven't you? A royal suddenly appearing and pouring massive funds into a backwater like Burgos? No matter how you think about it, it's strange. The reason is that I see the events unfolding in the Dragon Wasteland as both a crisis and an opportunity."
"An opportunity? What opportunity is this?"
Administrator Swart looked on the verge of tears.
But Seilun answered calmly.
"Administrator, if monsters spread widely across this region, who do you think would flock here first and in the greatest numbers?"
"Pardon?"
"Knight orders, soldiers, and mercenaries. The royal palace wouldn't just sit by either."
"Ah......!"
It was true.
Burgos was a kingdom-direct territory with an administrator, so any incident would bring dispatched troops. Mercenary hires would also receive funding from the palace.
That meant at least hundreds, possibly thousands, of troops converging on Burgos.
"Now do you see? Why I decided to invest in Burgos. What starts in the Dragon Wasteland is undoubtedly a crisis for Burgos, but on a larger scale, it could be an opportunity."
Just having that many people come to eat and sleep would circulate enormous sums of money.
And it wouldn't stop at eating and sleeping?
Mercenaries lived like there was no tomorrow nine times out of ten. At least half the money they earned in Burgos would be spent right back in Burgos.
"Oh? Ooh......?"
"Um... may I ask something?"
As the administrator's expression began to subtly change, Piott cautiously spoke up.
"If the army comes or mercenaries are hired en masse, wouldn't the situation you described end quickly? Then wouldn't a hasty large investment risk losses...."
Administrator Swart vigorously nodded at the valid point.
"No. There will be no losses. I'm certain this situation will drag on for a very long time."
Everyone wore puzzled expressions at Seilun's words.
Conviction requires evidence.
His claim that monsters would pour from the Dragon Wasteland had gained some credibility from his years there, but this statement lacked sufficient basis for such certainty.
"I said something major will happen in the Dragon Wasteland. I didn't say it would only happen there."
"......!"
"Administrator, you confirmed it with Jena Allot of the Burgos information guild, but I've traveled extensively throughout the kingdom for quite some time. Before the Dragon Wasteland, I was in Axon. There, I heard that a certain cult was plotting something using monsters."
The monster part was fabricated, but Seilun's stay in Axon was true.
The information guild that had followed Seilun since Jena's father's time knew that fact as well.
And revealing that much to Jena posed no problem for sharing with Administrator Swart and Baron Kilburn.
"It's not just Axon. Over the past few years, monsters have been increasing in various regions, with related incidents cropping up. The Dragon Wasteland is just one of them. Of course, it will be the largest in scale and severity. Moreover."
Seilun turned his gaze to Piott, who had asked the question, and continued.
"The Dragon Wasteland is vast. Do you think they can completely eradicate monsters starting from there? Even if it erupts tomorrow, resolving it would take more than five years."
"That makes sense. I'm sorry. I was short-sighted."
Seilun nodded to Piott, who promptly agreed, then addressed Baron Kilburn and Administrator Swart, whose faces had grown serious.
"In any case, the crisis will come within a few years. Then, with support from the palace, we must overcome it centered on Burgos and this Logos Territory."
"Hmm......"
"As a member of the royal family, I wish to prepare for it. That's why I'm investing in Burgos and making this proposal to you, Baron Kilburn, lord of Logos Territory, which must overcome the crisis alongside Burgos."
Seilun placed a hand on Piott's shoulder and said.
"Your youngest son can receive instruction from the Swordmaster of the Seilun Dukedom, become an excellent knight, and serve as Logos's sword."
"......!!!"
Baron Kilburn's eyes widened as he finally understood why Seilun had brought up the Dragon Wasteland.
"If this young man becomes a proper knight, he'll be a great asset to the territory. Moreover, improving relations with the Seilun ducal house means they'll provide support to the lord as well. No one can sever blood ties."
I will make it so myself.
It was Seilun's declaration, as the alpha and omega of the Seilun ducal house.
* * *
"What do you think?"
After Seilun and Administrator Swart left, Baron Kilburn, who had silently sipped his wine for a while, asked Piott.
Piott, lost in thought with a slightly excited expression, looked up.
He took a small breath and said.
"I want to go. Of course, the decision is Father's. I will follow your will."
Baron Kilburn chuckled.
"Of course you do. I'm not asking if you want to go. I'm asking if you can trust Seilun."
"In my opinion......"
Piott thought for a moment before looking up.
"I think we'll only know for sure once we try. Even if he's a collateral royal, it's impossible to fully trust the words of someone we met for the first time today."
"True. There were so many shocks that even I was briefly dazed, but thinking it over, there are more than one or two suspicious points."
"Indeed."
A haughty noble full of vanity would have already been hooked and thrown away liver and gall, but Baron Kilburn was not.
In the first place, his ability to become lord of Logos Territory, not even a direct descendant of the previous lord, was due to his competence.
"Then perhaps it's best to decline...."
As Piott trailed off, gauging his father's mood, Baron Kilburn smiled faintly.
"Youngster, you're saying words that don't match your heart."
"......I'm sorry."
Baron Kilburn's smile deepened as he looked at his embarrassed youngest son.
But the smile slowly faded, replaced by a regretful expression.
'He has more than enough talent to be a lord, and his knightly gifts surpass even his older brothers....'
He was a bit hasty and occasionally swayed by emotions, but that was just youth. Baron Kilburn himself had been far worse at that age.
If he were the eldest instead of the youngest, Piott would have soared.
But displacing the eldest, who showed consistent ability across all fields, was impossible.
In the end, after his coming-of-age ceremony, he had no choice but to leave as a squire to a renowned knight, but even that had been botched by a riding accident, leaving him stuck in the territory, neither here nor there, at already twenty years old.
In such a situation, Seilun's proposal was Piott's best—and only—remaining option.
"Then, Sir Seilun proposed we take a few more days to decide?"
"No. I was going to, but I've changed my mind."
"Pardon?"
As Piott looked puzzled, Baron Kilburn rose from his seat.
"Seilun. If he grasped your situation well enough to give you a few days' grace, he's smarter than I thought."
"What do you mean...."
"This proposal can't be refused, whether considering pretext or benefit. If it were just about your future, the few days' grace from Seilun would matter. But once family relations with the Seilun ducal house and the Dragon Wasteland issue overlap, there's no room for hesitation."
"......"
Baron Kilburn approached Piott, who seemed to have realized something, placed a hand on his sturdy shoulder, and continued.
"Not just as your father, but as patriarch of the Kilburn baronial house and lord of Logos Territory, I cannot even contemplate rejecting Seilun's proposal."
"Ah......"
"The potential incident in the Dragon Wasteland? It's just a maybe, nothing set in stone. But since Burgos's administrator is involved, as lord of Logos Territory, I must prepare."
"......"
"And I must restore my mother's—your grandmother's—honor. As Seilun said, blood cannot be severed. The matter of my maternal family... the Seilun ducal house is something we must face someday."
"Father......"
"Your son's future, mother's honor, and a lord's duty. Everything is wrapped in Seilun's proposal. Even succeeding in one would be a gain, so of course we must accept."
Baron Kilburn slowly raised his son with both hands.
Stroking the shoulders of his youngest, now as tall as himself, he spoke in a firm voice.
"Go. To the Seilun Dukedom. Even if you don't become a great knight, it's fine. Even if relations with the Seilun ducal house sour further, it's all right. Just give it your all. Your father will fulfill his duties as lord and await you."
"Yes, Father. Yes!"
The light in his vigorously nodding son's eyes closely resembled that of his father gazing at him.
(To be continued in the next chapter)