Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The exact location where the "Oath of the Founding Five Houses" had been sworn was unknown.
Seldoche Plain was one of the many candidate sites.
Since the content was what mattered, not the location, each region insisted the oath had taken place on its own land.
The central region also had a hill that was said to be where the "Oath of the Founding Five Houses" had been sworn.
The east, north, and south probably each had one as well. But in the west, it appeared to have been Seldoche Plain.
"The oath that had continued unbroken was shattered...... that is, the land was ruined...... starting three months ago, when the Monster Waves began appearing and an impurity of commoner blood appeared in Sears......."
Impurity? Was that how they were describing Alpheus just now?
The atmosphere chilled for a moment, as if doused with cold water.
This was something that had never happened in the original novel.
A problem in the western land was Sears's fault? It was truly an infuriating situation.
'No matter how unrelated the west and north are, no matter that the imperial family has yet to officially recognize him, Alpheus is still the hero who ended the civil war, and this is how they treat him.......'
The manager bowed his head and prostrated himself.
"I apologize! It came out that way while relaying the words! I apologize!"
I quietly raised my head and looked at Alpheus.
Alpheus had gone rigid.
'Right. This is normal.'
Being disregarded by Gilav could be dismissed as "he's just a kid," but this was blatant malice.
Collective malice, even.
Alpheus himself had done nothing wrong.
But it was truly strange.
Alpheus, who always laughed cheerfully and shouted only "Understood!", was wearing that kind of expression, and it made me feel a little odd.
In the original novel, it was said that after losing everything and being subjected to looks like these, Alpheus would sink further and further into darkness.
Since he hadn't fallen into corruption, he kept catching protagonist syndrome, but seeing signs that he was starting to fall into darkness was.......
I watched him quietly for a moment, then gripped his hand tightly.
Alpheus looked down at me in surprise.
I squeezed his large hand with my small one, then looked at the manager.
"So? Keep talking."
"Th-that if Nozen acknowledges the impurity mixed into Sears as things stand, the curse will spread across the entire west...... such rumors are circulating."
"I see."
I spoke calmly.
"Starting today, no less."
"Th-that is! It so happens that the Magic Tower announced today that the soil had stopped functioning as soil......."
"Right, even though this place is quite far from Seldoche. It's remarkably organized."
At my words, Leopold's eyes sharpened as he vowed:
"Go to the Grand Duke's Residence first, Brisa. I'll pursue this matter to the end before I come. Everything is strange, just as you said. It's difficult for rumors to spread this quickly in a single day. I swear that I'll crack down so that nothing like this ever happens again in the west......."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Leopold, you can crack down on actions, but you can't crack down on hearts. You know that too. If we resolve it this way, when something beyond our control happens later, it'll come back as a bigger problem."
Then, still holding Alpheus's hand, I made a proposal.
"If it's all right, I'd like to go to Seldoche Plain and see its condition for myself."
In truth, ever since learning in the original novel that the western land would become unusable, I had been thinking of a method. That was partly why I had suggested coming, just in case.
But I had only left the possibility open; originally I had no intention of meddling in someone else's territory.
However, now that we were involved, I absolutely had to step forward.
At that, Baron Forman, who had been keeping silent with a grave expression, spoke up.
"My lady, I recognized your knowledge and ability long ago. In truth, I was not even surprised to see you in action at the eastern tomato field."
Baron Forman spoke with flowing eloquence.
"I simply thought my eye had been right, and that even in old age I had not lost the sharp judgment of my younger days. I was quite proud of that."
Was this praise for me, or praise for himself?
While I was briefly confused, he continued in a gentler tone.
"But this matter is different in nature."
He spoke with warm eyes full of concern.
"The soil has stopped functioning as soil. Since the Magic Tower has already been here, it is unlikely to be a simple matter of buried Mana Stones. This isn't something ordinary knowledge can resolve."
That was true.
The western land, whose productivity had fallen sharply, could not be restored by anyone except the heroine.
I had not yet seen her face, but she was the heroine born with the north's Special Ability, "Purification."
She was probably the same age as Alpheus.
The north's Special Ability was said to have died out. But the heroine would manifest it through a chance event.
'Finding the heroine would be the fundamental solution, but...... I'd have to know where she is at this point in time.'
In the original novel, Alpheus and the heroine were supposed to meet at the Second Imperial Prince's funeral. But the Second Imperial Prince had returned alive and well, so that funeral had never taken place.
The story had already diverged too far from the original novel, which meant I couldn't simply keep relying on the heroine forever.
"I know too. I know that I can't return the land to how it was."
I spoke calmly.
"But there's only one answer. We have no choice but to face it head-on and solve it ourselves."
As Baron Forman had said, I had no Special Ability, but I did have knowledge.
Once public opinion had taken hold, it was hard to change.
The land would only get worse from here.
If we didn't resolve this now, it could bring an even greater disaster down on Sears.
'Then I'll be in danger too.'
Sebon was already after my life.
On top of that, I couldn't let hostility toward Sears be turned on me as well.
Some unknown person I hadn't even considered might decide that "everyone bearing the Sears name must be eliminated" and quietly hand me over to Sebon. All while claiming to be doing a service to the continent.
That was when it happened.
Alpheus spoke seriously.
"Brisa, I understand what you're saying. But you go to the Grand Duke's Residence first."
Still holding my hand tightly, he continued.
"I know too that we have to break through this head-on. But the person at issue here is me. Not you. So I'll go and do my best to resolve it somehow."
Even with a wounded expression, his voice was firm.
"No matter how smart you are, I'm the one directly involved. I can't hand everything over to you and just stand back with my arms crossed, watching."
"That's obvious."
I couldn't hold back at those words.
"Did you think I was going to stand back and watch with my arms crossed? Absolutely not."
According to my plan, Alpheus had to work. His extraordinary ability to get work done was essential here.
A single great commander decides victory or defeat on the battlefield. A naturally gifted worker was no different in principle. I had already seen that for myself in the Sears Marquisate.
"Remember. I do the thinking, and you do the physical work."
As siblings, we had to solve problems together, just as we always had.
"Let's go to the Grand Duke's Residence first."
Baron Forman spoke with a stiff face.
"In truth, I had an ulterior motive."
It was a belated confession.
"I wanted His Highness to see you as well."
At those words, both Leopold and I looked at Baron Forman in surprise.
There was no reason or occasion for Hilbury to meet a Sears girl.
"I simply wanted to show you off, Lady Brisa. That's just how I felt."
Baron Forman said, his shoulders drooping.
"I felt certain you could do great things in the west, and for that you needed to catch His Highness's eye, not just mine....... But I never imagined something like this would happen. I apologize."
At that, Alpheus jumped.
"Not at all! You only did it because you think highly of Brisa! And it's not your fault, Baron! Please don't say that!"
So that was why I'd had the feeling he was deliberately dragging us to the Grand Duke's Residence.
He must have wanted to present us in person while reporting on the resolution of the tomato field incident.
Seeing the hardworking old man slumped over made my heart ache again. As Alpheus said, someone else entirely had spread the malicious rumors.
And...... I had a rough guess who it was. Though I had no physical evidence.
"That dirty blood mixed into your precious house head will soon become unbearable. Soon. Very soon."
Gilav might only learn one thing when taught one, but he wasn't the type to make things up.
He had clearly used the word "soon" because he knew rumors like this would be circulating about Alpheus.
'It's the east's doing.'
I bit my lower lip.
They had probably sent their own people through the wagon Warp to spread rumors disparaging a noble of commoner birth.......