Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Mad Prince Route
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In the underground dungeon of Berit Castle, the upstanding locals who had rebelled against the count's exploitation were imprisoned in wretched states.
It was already horrific that dozens had been crammed into a cell where imperial law forbade holding more than five, but on top of that, they weren't even properly fed, leaving most of them suffering from desperate starvation.
It took half a day just to free them all, heal the dying ones with recovery magic, and cook up porridge from grain flour to feed each a bowl.
In the end, out of 210 prisoners, I managed to save 172.
The 38 who perished were either already dead before I arrived or too far gone for even the world's greatest Arch Priest to save.
I ordered the bustling soldiers to collect the bodies of the deceased locals and promptly return them to their families.
"Even coming this fast, I couldn't save them all."
A sigh escaped me as I watched the corpses being carried off on stretchers. This was the first time I'd run this "Mad Prince Route" in my first regression year...
Still, I had no choice but to be satisfied that I'd minimized unnecessary sacrifices.
Previously, in my fourth regression year when I'd taken this route, the problem wasn't people dying in the dungeon—it was that Berit's 60,000 territorial subjects had dwindled to less than half.
That time, I'd had to subdue the empire's strongest knight myself after he went berserk... Whew, just thinking about it made cold sweat break out. Better not dwell on it.
"What the hell are you thinking?"
Over 200 people had filled the underground dungeon, but now only one remained imprisoned. I glared at Count Talisman, huddled beyond the bars, and demanded.
"You stack people in here like layered rice cakes and still sleep at night? Why pull this crap? If you're gonna kill them, at least chop their heads off cleanly."
"Lay... layered rice cakes? What are those?"
"That's what you're curious about right now? What a numbskull. Anyway, you've gone too far, Count Talisman. You won't get off easy, so brace yourself."
"The one who needs to brace... is you."
The count grimaced in agony from his broken leg and bellowed.
"No matter that you're a prince, you can't just let this slide! I am the lord of Berit, appointed directly by His Imperial Majesty. This is treason, defying the emperor's command!"
"Still got some fight in you, huh."
I smiled, imagining what he'd look like three days from now.
"But what can you do? Whether I've committed treason or not, that's not your concern right now."
"Pardon?"
"How long do you think it'll take for Emperlord to hear about this and send someone? Five days? Ten? How many days do you think you can hold out? Why do you think I didn't just kill you and tossed you in here instead?"
"No way..."
The count twisted his body, his face draining of color.
"You're going to torture me?"
"Why would I enjoy torturing you? You're just getting back exactly what you dished out. The prisoners in this dungeon, and the other Berit locals—they were all skin and bones from starvation."
"So what?"
The count shot back with a look of utter incomprehension.
"Don't tell me you don't know? The purpose of this land called Berit? It's to exploit the locals and drain their strength."
"I know that. But that's the system from a hundred years ago."
"Doesn't mean things won't change now..."
"From now on, everything changes."
It had to change.
Otherwise, in about ten years—no, nine years and six months from now—the otherworld invasion would destroy the world again.
"Anyway, none of that matters. The point is, I'm pissed. So I'll treat you just like those locals."
"What do you—"
"What's your name?"
I asked the soldier I'd brought in from outside to guard him. He snapped a salute and replied briskly.
"I'm Rabin, a soldier guarding Berit Castle!"
"Good, Rabin. From now on, you're in charge of Count Talisman here. Ignore whatever he says and make sure he can't escape. Oh, and give him water three times a day."
"Understood! But water, you say..."
"Water. Just plain water. You know, drinking water?"
"Yes? But..."
"They say a person can survive on water alone for about fifty days. Get what I'm saying?"
The soldier's eyes widened for a moment, and he replied off-topic.
"I'm not one of the lord's soldiers brought from outside—I'm from Shurt Village in northern Berit!"
"Huh? So?"
"Three people have already starved to death in Shurt Village this year alone! I just wanted to say that!"
Ah, I see.
Not off-topic after all—a declaration full of resolve. I nodded with a smile and left the underground dungeon.
* * *
"We used up all the elixirs before even passing the first village on the way here."
By the time the sun had set, Meredes finally arrived at the lord's castle and explained her delay.
"So I went back to the mansion first, loaded up as many as the horses could carry, and came back. But we used them all up again in the second village we stopped at. If I'd gone back to the mansion again, we wouldn't have made it to Berit Castle tonight, so I ignored the rest and raced straight here. We're empty-handed now."
"Good work. I saw a bunch of new stuff in the count's private storeroom—think you can make something with it?"
I led Meredes to the count's hidden private storeroom. She bit her lip at the sight of the vast warehouse filled with goods.
"...There's a ton of silver coins. All plundered from Berit's locals, I assume?"
"Probably. But I won't touch the money. This isn't about the cash."
"And this is deer antler from the White Light Forest. It's an expensive elixir ingredient, but it has strong effects on its own."
Meredes pulled a white horn fragment from a sack in the storeroom. I played dumb even though I knew all about it and asked.
"Oh? What kind of effects?"
"Well... it's good for men."
"Men? Good for what part of men?"
"Men's... that... primal... it boosts vigor and vitality."
"Vigor and vitality? Perfect for feeding to Berit's starving, scrawny locals then?"
"No, you can't!"
Meredes slammed the sack shut and shouted.
"Giving this to weakened locals would be disastrous! Luckily, there are all sorts of elixir ingredients here, so I'll mix something to make stamina elixirs—or at least something with similar effects."
"Got it. I'm counting on you."
I waved and left the count's secret storeroom.
Of course, with just these materials, I couldn't provide for all 60,000 of Berit's locals.
But it should be enough to put out the fires for the worst cases. I popped a sugar bar into my mouth and flopped onto the count's plush bed.
* * *
The next morning, screams from the underground dungeon echoed all the way to the castle gardens.
"Please! Give me food, please!"
"Call Prince Claude! I was wrong! I was wrong!"
"Help! They're starving me to death!"
"Ch-Chief cook! Where's the head chef! Do you know how much I paid to bring you here! Hurry with the herb-steamed meat! No, rose syrup cake!"
I went down to the dungeon entrance, heard the count's cries, and turned right back around.
"Cake this, cake that—he's not quite hollowed out yet."
The only fitting punishment for someone who starved others was to starve him the same way. A few days of it, and he'd grasp just how horrific his actions were.
"I knew Your Highness acted on whims, but..."
As I reached Berit Castle's main gate, I spotted Kyle inspecting cargo from dozens of just-arrived wagons.
"This was especially shocking. Do you know how startled I was when I heard yesterday?"
Kyle shook his head with a sigh. I rapped on a wagon piled high with goods and grinned.
"Why make a fuss over this? Or do you not like helping Berit? Not a fan of this neck of the woods?"
"I have no special feelings about Berit."
Kyle shook his head without flinching.
"I'm just worried about the backlash you'll face and the hit to your reputation. Berit's so isolated it'll hold for a while, but at most four or five days before the news spreads across the empire."
"I'll handle that. I'll turn myself in before the rumors fly."
"Turn yourself in? You mean go back to the palace and surrender?"
"Yeah. Heading back to Emperlord tonight."
I turned and gazed at the southwestern sky in the distance.
"But you stay here and handle things. First, distribute food to relieve Berit's locals."
"Not easy. The supplies from Guspf Merchant Company won't feed all of Berit's locals."
"We've got stuff from the mansion too, right?"
"That's even less."
"Berit Castle's warehouses are stocked too. Yesterday, I had soldiers release about twenty percent, but I don't trust how they've managed it."
"How much food is left in the castle?"
"All told, around 3,000 sacks?"
"That much..."
Kyle thought quickly and nodded.
"Combined, we can hold out for a bit. Half a month—no, ten days at best."
"That's plenty. I'll take care of the rest after."
"Understood. What's the second order?"
"Second: Keep Count Talisman locked underground, starve him as long as possible, but keep him alive."
"...Pardon?"
Kyle's eye twitched. I chuckled at the faint echoes of the count's wails, like auditory hallucinations.
"Been starving him in the dungeon since yesterday. Part of me wants to grind him into mince and feed him to the ogres... but that'd be rude to them. Anyway, killing him would make cleanup a nightmare later."
"Good call. Count Talisman comes from a founding merit noble house. He wields immense wealth and influence. Killing him carelessly would cause a huge uproar."
"Not letting him off easy, though. His family will come in three to five days. Faster than imperial troops or regular knight orders."
"I figured as much. So I just hold out until then?"
"Nah, ignore his family."
I crossed two fingers into an X.
"You received orders from the prince. Say you can't release him without direct orders from me or the imperial government."
"That's... a tough mission."
Kyle frowned gravely.
"What if they bring force? Hire elite mercenary knights? Local troops can't stop them, and I don't even have authority over them."
"Hand it to Meredes then. I'll leave her here too."
"Meredes? The tall maid? Always carrying elixirs?"
"She can summon a spirit. Calls it a pebble spirit, but it's ogre-sized, so it can fend off most knights."
"What in the... Never mind, I'll follow orders."
His face screamed disbelief, but he nodded. I smiled up at Kyle.
"If even Meredes looks overwhelmed, just hand him over. No need to risk your lives over starving the count."
"Your words honor me. I'll keep that in mind."
"And ask Guspf Merchant Company to spread the word. Everything I did here, the punishment I gave Count Talisman— all of it."
"Information manipulation?"
"Nope, just the plain truth."
"That'll make your infamy spread like wildfire."
"Don't care."
I shook my head firmly.
"Let anyone who sees it as evil think that. Spread exactly what happened. Got it?"
"Hmm. Drawing a line between enemies and allies?"
Sharp as ever—that's why I like him. I nodded and turned toward the count's room, where Meredes was working.
But enemies didn't matter in this case.
The real goal was to leave a strong impression on those who could be allies. Especially the empire's strongest knight, whose gut must be burning right now—Knight Dabi. Winning him over was more important than anything.