Chapter 80
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Persuading Lara and Cleanup
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Convincing Lara turned out to be easier than expected. It was because, unlike with others, she always listened well to Ian.
Only after confirming that Lara had erased all the stars from the sky did Ian finally let out a sigh of relief.
'Whoa. That was close. We almost had a real disaster.'
If this had been the imperial capital, the damage might have been minimal. But this wasn't the capital. With virtually no magical defenses in place, the area would have taken the full brunt of it.
It probably would have turned into a sea of fire.
"Tch. What a shame. I could have wiped them all out."
But this girl still seemed to be hoping for that sea of fire.
"You hold back. What good would wiping them out do? Like I said earlier, it'd only hurt you in the end. Think about it rationally."
"It might hurt me, but the world would be cleaner for it. Could even be a gain."
"No. That's not true. It'd just get dirtier. Humans would seek revenge on you, and if things go wrong, Eltea Forest could end up as a sea of fire. Your children would lose their home. Is that really what you want?"
"No. I couldn't do that. For your sake, Ian, I'll hold back."
Lara's anger hadn't fully subsided, that much was clear.
Ian understood her feelings, but acting purely on emotion wasn't the right path.
It might be fine if she were alone, but Lara was the queen responsible for her fairies.
A ruler shouldn't let personal emotions dictate solutions.
Ian emphasized this to her, earnestly advising restraint.
Generous—no, excessive—empathy and comfort were essential.
His coaxing, almost like soothing a child, finally calmed her down.
"You're right, Ian. I wasn't wise enough. I should have killed them without even knowing who did it."
No, Lara.
"Pfft, just kidding. I'm not that reckless."
She kind of is, though.
"Thank you, Ian. I almost made a foolish judgment in the heat of the moment, but thanks to you, I avoided that."
Lara smiled softly. She'd regained her composure. Our Lara had truly come around!
"The elves say humans are ugly, but I don't think so. Humans aren't evil. Just a few have some flaws. I don't want to hate all humans because of them."
Lara beamed. For some reason, that smile seemed holy.
Was it just his imagination? Or was he seeing what he wanted to see?
'Yes, that's it, Lara. You've finally understood me!'
All that repetition had paid off.
"So, in that spirit, I'll forgive those who kidnapped our children!"
'Huh?'
"I've already dealt with most of the kidnappers, but I'll try to talk sense into the remaining humans."
No, what are you talking about?
"I believe in human goodness. If I reason with them, they'll repent for sure. That's how they grow! They'll come to like our fairies without that ugly greed!"
Why does she always go to extremes?
"Lara. That's not it."
"Great! So I'll go do that right now... What? It's not?"
"Forgive them? No way. Those who dared kidnap fairies need to be crushed—all of them."
"Cr-crushed?"
"Yeah."
Repentance? What nonsense.
Why bother recycling trash that can't be salvaged?
"Repeat after me. Blood for blood."
"B-blood for blood...?"
"Exactly. That's how you ensure they never try kidnapping again. You want your children kidnapped again?"
"No! That's horrifying!"
"See? Then you prevent repeats. Make them shed bloody tears so they never dare. Got it?"
"Mm, I understand."
She nodded vigorously.
"I hadn't thought of that. Preventing repeats—that's key. It's right for protecting our children."
Nice, she got it perfectly.
"But we can't harm innocent humans. Hurting the good ones would make us unworthy fairies."
Lara nodded emphatically, her expression fully relieved.
"Then I'll go put your teachings into practice, Ian!"
"Good."
With that, Lara went off to handle her duties.
Ian moved to fulfill his own purpose here.
'Time to tidy up a bit.'
Got to make sure Lara doesn't take any blame.
He hadn't done much as a parent figure, so this was the least he could do.
Ian headed straight to Baron Ahennu, the local lord, for a talk.
Or rather, it was more like half a threat.
"S-so, you're here because of those fairies?"
"Yes. As you know, the Empire and Eltea have been engaging in frequent exchanges lately. We're close allies now, and His Majesty holds Eltea in particularly high regard. Yet merchants from the Pelumer Kingdom kidnapped fairies from Eltea. As a sword serving His Majesty, how could I stand by?"
"Uh, w-well."
"Of course, we believe this wasn't your intent, Baron Ahennu. We trust it was the sole act of vile criminals who dared commit the grave crime of kidnapping non-humans. Surely you wouldn't associate with such felons. Right?"
"Y-yes! How could I ever do such a thing? Hahaha..."
Baron Ahennu broke out in cold sweat. Ian chuckled inwardly at the sight.
'He's guilty, alright.'
He had reason to be.
The baron had been protecting the slave traders, after all.
Ian had been stunned when he learned that.
'No wonder continental law means nothing. Tsk tsk.'
So what if it was a serious crime? If the one with judicial authority ignored enforcement, it was pointless.
Part of him wanted to take the baron down too, but he held back.
He didn't want to meddle too deeply in another nation's affairs.
A warning would suffice.
If the baron was sharp, he'd get the message and grovel accordingly.
If not?
'Then he'd dig his own grave.'
Eltea would handle him then, not Ian.
"We trust you, my lord. As a true noble upholding continental law, we believe you'll cooperate fully."
"Of course! How could I not? Those scoundrels dared violate sacred continental law by kidnapping non-humans. I'll round them all up and hand them over, so rest assured!"
"That's reassuring. Ah, hand the kidnappers over to Eltea. Mention my name, and they won't object."
"Pardon? Oh, yes. Understood! You're not reporting this to the Empire, then?"
"As long as you extradite the criminals properly, there'll be no issue. It could even strengthen ties between our nations."
"Phew, got it. I'll make it happen."
"Very well. Farewell."
Ian bowed and left. The tension drained from Baron Ahennu, and he slumped into his chair.
"At this rate, I won't live long. Damn it."
He wiped his back. It was soaked with sweat. When had he last sweated this much?
"Anyone out there? Bring me some water."
"Yes, sir."
He gulped down the water his servant brought and panted heavily. Still slumped, he heard his belatedly arriving guard ask,
"My lord, may I ask one thing?"
"What?"
"Why bow and scrape to that young kid like that?"
The baron's eyes widened. He immediately clamped the guard's mouth shut.
"Are you mad? He hasn't fully left yet! One slip, and he might hear!"
"But who the hell is he...?"
"Count Ian Landert, court mage of the Empire."
"What?!"
The guard was shocked. Only then did he realize how insane his comment had been.
Daring to call an imperial noble—a court mage no less—a "young kid"!
But soon, he tilted his head.
"Isn't he an imposter?"
"What?"
"Come on. He looks barely mid-twenties. A court mage? And a count? Isn't he trying to scam you...?"
Thwack!
"Ow! Why hit me?"
"Am I so incompetent I can't spot a noble impersonator?"
"No, of course not. I was just thinking of you, my lord..."
"You're so ignorant. How do you not know the name Ian Landert paired with court mage?"
"How should I know that?"
"Sigh, you idiot. How many times have I told you to study the world instead of just swinging a sword blindly?"
The baron rubbed his aching back and tsked at his staring guard.
"Listen up. He's the one who became the youngest court mage ever at just twenty-four. He could kill trash like you with a flick of a finger."
"Pardon?"
"He's the fastest-rising star in the Empire right now, the most watched man. Rumored to have the favor of both the Emperor and the Crown Prince. That's Ian Landert, Count."
"Is that for real?"
"Yes, you fool! Now do you see how rude you nearly were?"
"Y-yes. But how do you know all this, my lord? He's not even from our kingdom."
"Sigh, idiot. It's basic to know major nobles from the Empire. And you presume to serve me without that? Tsk tsk."
The guard's face went blank. The baron shook his head.
"Anyway, gather the soldiers now. Go arrest every last one from the Greenchi Merchant Group."
"Pardon?"
"What are you waiting for? Move!"
"Is that safe? They won't go quietly. Plus, you've been getting a nice cut from them."
The guard mimed counting money. The baron hardened his expression and shook his head.
"Greed can get you killed. Drop it if you want to live."
His face was deadly serious. The guard nodded. He had enough sense for that.
"Ahem. Understood."
"No, wait—this isn't the time. Round up all the slave traders. Every one."
"All of them?"
"Yes. All. Clean sweep."
"My lord, that's..."
The guard hesitated. The baron grabbed his head, pulled him close, forehead to forehead, and growled menacingly.
"Still don't get it? The Empire is glaring at us. They've drawn their swords to protect fairies on a massive scale. One wrong move now, and we're all dead."
"Nah, no way. Even the Empire wouldn't touch a noble of great Pelumer..."
"Touch what? Think you're above Landert Count? Think the royals will shield me from imperial meddling?"
The guard paled. Now he fully grasped the situation.
"No chance. Forget it. Move fast. Money and favors mean nothing if we're dead."
"Yes, sir!"
The guard hurried off. The baron sighed deeply at his retreating figure.
'It's a shame... but no choice.'
The kickbacks from various slave traders had been lucrative. His pockets were lined.
Losing that cash flow hurt. But not as much as losing his life.
'Landert Count spared me as a warning. A silent demand to wipe out the fairy slavers.'
Do that, and he'd live.
Naturally, curiosity arose.
How did Landert Count learn about the mushrooming fairy slave trade?
Knowing that enabled this pressure.
'Terrifying. The Empire's intelligence at work.'
He shuddered, vowing never to cross the Empire again. The joke that angering them meant nowhere safe to live might not be a joke.
A short time later.
A piece of news reached Ian's ears.
Slave traders dealing in non-human smuggling across the Pelumer Kingdom were being swept up en masse.
From those handling the most numerous elves and orcs to the few dealing in beastkin— all rounded up...
"Huh. What's gotten into Pelumer? Acting out of character."
Ian scratched his head at the unexpected report. It felt like the sun rising in the west.
'No way it's because of what I said.'
Ian chuckled. Ridiculous thought. What influence did he have? Just recently, he was a nobody commoner.
The fairy kidnappers made sense—he'd openly demanded cooperation—but he hadn't even mentioned the others to Baron Ahennu.
'It'll fizzle out. Nobles pretending to work isn't new.'
Ian brushed it off. But things didn't unfold as he expected. Non-human slave traders were vanishing at an astonishing pace.
All from a single threat's butterfly effect.
Of course, the source was oblivious.