Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Chairman's Badge
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“What… What did you do?”
Though she hadn’t looked away for a second, Delia stared blankly at the wall.
She wasn’t the only one; most of the Nostra remnants did the same.
They could sense that the lingering traces belonged to Enzo, but they were completely baffled, as if the intervening steps had been skipped entirely.
Loan and Tetis had no reason to indulge their confusion.
“Ugh!”
The thrown Sheville dispatched the man who was about to slit the duke’s throat.
*Shhlick—*
Tetis approached Delia in utter silence and thrust his sword into her heart.
Slowly, Delia’s head turned again, her expression showing she couldn’t understand how she hadn’t noticed him this time either.
***
“Clean this up.”
At Tetis’s command, the Practical Division immediately took control of the banquet hall.
While they eliminated all the Nostra remnants, leaving no unnecessary prisoners.
Loan checked on Bella’s condition.
“…”
Her mana was circulating slowly.
Her heart was beating faintly.
She had overcome the backlash of the contract’s termination and was still alive.
Considering Amy's case, even though the demon had unilaterally broken the contract, this was nothing short of a miracle.
Perhaps it was because Loan had consistently contained her with Convection, weakening the concentration of dark mana.
“She will recover with some rest.”
Loan gave a subtle glance to Vagelis of the knight order and stood up.
Finally given a task, Vagelis lifted Bella into his arms.
“Where can she rest peacefully?”
He then quickly exited the banquet hall.
He had chosen this over rushing to Duke Silas.
Loan approached the duke with a somewhat heavy heart.
Though they hadn't shared many personal interactions, Loan felt a sliver of responsibility for Philippa's death.
“Agh! Aaaargh! Ahhh!”
The duke was cradling Philippa’s severed head and sobbing.
Blood gushed from his half-severed shoulder, but he felt no pain.
He glared at the ceiling and shrieked with rage.
“I curse you! Grave! Union! I curse you all!”
Loan knew well the sorrow of losing a loved one.
He also knew well the misery of those who disappeared as sacrifices, never having received such love.
Should he offer comfort?
Should he say he was sorry?
Just then, a hand gently pulled at Loan’s arm.
Tetis spoke.
“Don’t trouble your heart. You cannot take responsibility for everything, nor can you carry it all. You did more than your best.”
“Yes.”
“So, is the puppeteer completely gone?”
The remaining vessel, Philippa, was dead, and the newly contracted host, Enzo, had vanished, leaving only a trace behind.
Unable to return to Bella, the demon Asmo, whose true name they never fully discovered, no longer existed in this world.
“Yes. It’s all over now.”
And so.
The ill-fated connection from the Danton Shelter was finally severed.
For some reason, Loan felt like eating ice cream.
Although Duke Silas abruptly went into seclusion, Rhodos did not immediately fall into chaos like Ferrara.
This was thanks to it not being a country swayed by a single ruler or one family.
Duke Silas was the chairman of the tribal federation, and in his absence, a line of successors was ready to take his place.
In a situation like this, the vice-chairman would take charge.
Panis Moras.
He was the elder brother of Vagelis Moras from the knight order.
Only after learning this fact could Loan understand some of Vagelis’s past actions.
His passivity, or his rather cooperative attitude toward Loan.
‘It seems he wanted Duke Silas to fall…’
Perhaps for that reason, the interim chairman, Panis, was not hostile toward Union, and especially not toward Loan.
The Rhodos Council’s official residence, a stone’s throw from Silas Castle.
Panis welcomed the Union party with the utmost courtesy.
He was a man with incredibly dense mana. He was so short that Loan wondered if he might be a dwarf, and it was a mystery how he could be brothers with the hulking Vagelis.
“I’ve heard the story. There seems to have been a misunderstanding with the former chairman.”
Panis said, singling out Loan.
It was impressive how he had already definitively referred to Silas as the *former* chairman.
Loan replied.
“I don’t believe they’ve been fully resolved yet.”
“Well, given his current mental state, it would be difficult to expect much. Be that as it may. There was another story that caught my interest.”
There was a subtle tremor in his voice.
Words like these create a unique vibration.
It usually happens when one’s true feelings are involved.
“I heard you visited the Forgotten Wheat Field. I was quite surprised, as that is not a place one can enter and return from. While there have been a few who miraculously came back before, most went mad, so we could never hear their accounts.”
“Yes, so I’ve heard.”
Suddenly, Panis’s eyes gleamed strangely.
“What kind of place is it?”
“To be honest, I don’t really know.”
“You don’t know…”
He showed a hint of disappointment, but a sense of anticipation still seemed to outweigh it.
However, Loan got the impression that he was fundamentally a person who was very good at hiding his emotions.
Loan answered.
“After entering the wheat field, the ground suddenly gave way, and I think I wandered for about a day. With no light, I lost my sense of direction. I just followed the airflow and walked blindly until I got out. That was all.”
“Did you see anything in particular?”
“I’m not sure what you might be interested in, but there were no ruins, records, artifacts, or treasures. Your own brother, who was the first to see me come out empty-handed, knows this well.”
“I see. Even though it has long been the land of Rhodos, it has remained an unknown territory. As the new chairman, I can’t help but be interested.”
“What is certain is that it is an extremely dangerous place. It’s teeming with magical beasts, and the air is very foul. That is why people’s minds were affected.”
“I didn’t get the impression that the air was particularly bad…”
If one could discuss air quality after smelling dark mana, it would mean they had talent on par with Loan’s.
In any case, it meant Panis had at least been near the wheat field.
It was necessary to raise his guard again.
“It is my hope that the Forgotten Wheat Field will be reinvestigated in the future. If there’s any potential danger to the citizens of the Duchy of Rhodos, I believe it is Union’s calling to investigate and protect them. Of course, I’m sure the wise Chairman Panis was already planning to do so.”
“Ah… of course, that’s right. That is what I meant.”
“When I return to Union headquarters, I will be sure to report on the chairman’s wisdom and character exactly as I have seen and heard. And I will add that we must offer our help, as you are working so hard to stabilize Rhodos.”
“Haha, you don’t have to go that far. It’s not what I was hoping for, but if you do, I would be most grateful.”
The interim chairman, Panis, seemed very pleased by Loan’s words and couldn’t hide his honest smile.
But he quickly regained his serious expression, and Loan was briefly impressed, thinking that this is what natural-born politicians must be like.
Panis spoke.
“But shouldn’t I write you some kind of certificate? For the credibility of your report, I feel I should give you something…”
He then pointed to the right side of Loan’s chest and asked.
“Those badges. Some of them look familiar. What are they?”
“Ah, this is the Bull Badge from Duke Barcino. It symbolizes my knighthood. This is the Torch Badge, the symbol of the Bridge District clan; they honored me by calling me family. And this mountain-shaped badge is the symbol of the Albre family, a renowned house of swordsmanship in Versa. They treated me like a fourth son, which is how the name Luan Albre, which the former chairman misunderstood, came about. Ah, now that I think about it, all of these were given to me by the heads of renowned groups as a sign of their trust.”
They were traces of the path he had diligently walked.
Along with his Runner emblem, each and every badge made him proud and satisfied.
Mesmerized by Loan’s voice, Panis stared at the badges for a moment before latching onto a particular word, muttering it to himself.
“A leader… a leader, you say.”
He immediately summoned an aide and had him bring something. A moment later, a badge shaped like an ear of wheat was placed in his palm.
“A fitting shape, isn’t it? Haha. This symbolizes the Tribal Federation Council. In other words, to possess this means that person has the right to speak and vote in the Rhodos Council.”
“A Rhodos council member’s badge?”
Loan’s eyes widened.
He certainly hadn’t been asking for something of this magnitude, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.
Panis read Loan’s mind and smiled broadly.
“Don’t feel burdened. I’m giving it to you in the capacity of an honorary member. Of course, a high-ranking member of Union, especially someone like Director Lazarus, will fully understand its meaning.”
“Are you acquainted with the Director?”
“We shared a drink back when he had two eyes. Ah, and he had hair back then, too.”
Panis gazed somewhere for a moment, as if reminiscing about a distant memory.
Loan found it hard to imagine Director Lazarus with a full head of hair.
“Alright, then. This spot should be good.”
Snapping out of his reverie, Panis personally pinned the badge to Loan’s chest.
He felt the weight of responsibility and expectation simultaneously.
Additionally, he was pleased to have seemingly secured a promise for the reinvestigation of the Forgotten Wheat Field.
After the meeting with the interim chairman.
Loan headed to the residence’s rear garden with Tetis, who had stayed by his side the entire time without a word.
As they walked side by side.
Tetis praised Loan for establishing a friendly relationship with the interim chairman, finally breaking his silence.
“Well done. What you did was also part of Union’s duty. It’s not all about using swords and magic.”
“Thank you. I was worried I might have overstepped my bounds with you here, sir.”
“A Runner can represent Union anywhere. Seniority doesn’t matter. It would have been better if you had mentioned some parts beforehand, but given the circumstances, I understand your intentions.”
“Ah… you mean about the investigation of the Forgotten Wheat Field.”
“I’m from here, too. If that mission is assigned, it would be good to work on it together.”
Loan didn’t quite understand what Tetis meant.
“Do I have the authority for that?”
“I said it in advance because I think that’s what will happen.”
Tetis added with a faint smile.
“You should return first. We will remain in Rhodos to watch for any potential rampage from the duke.”
Even if Interim Chairman Panis had seized real power, the authority of the Silas ducal house had not vanished.
The arrows of curses he had fired at Union and Grave could stray to unintended places.
Tetis added.
“The duke’s situation is pitiful. But there’s no one in this world whose situation isn't. So, we simply look after those in lower places.”
That was the work of the Practical Division.
They scattered and gathered, then scattered again, collecting regional intelligence and preparing responses.
Loan wondered how the scouts who had protected him, most of whom were from Rhodos and whose faces had all been exposed, would blend back into Rhodos society.
“Then will I see you during the wheat field exploration?”
“Haha. For a member of Union, what could be more futile than promising a ‘next time’?”
“That’s why you must be especially careful about your safety.”
Tetis nodded with a smile on his face.
“Don’t worry, and get going.”
“Then I’ll return to Ferrara first.”
The people of the Bella Company were waiting.
Loan was overjoyed that he would be able to keep his promise.