Chapter 126: Chapter 126
Duke of Morayen’s envoy came not from the west, but from the east, that is, from Pendia’s side.
This was because he was on his way back after disguising himself as a merchant to cross Solod Castle, travel all the way to the capital city of Hasra, and return.
While returning to Libert under the escort and surveillance of Pendia soldiers alongside a dozen retainers, he learned that Shan was staying at Solod Castle and immediately requested to meet him.
Shan also did not bother to refuse.
After all, he was curious about what Duke of Morayen’s envoy had said in Hasra.
Since the other knights happened to be away, Roden alone stayed by Shan’s side in the capacity of an attendant.
“Greetings to Your Grace, Duke of Velakar, Lord Protector of Pendia. I serve His Grace Duke of Morayen…”
“I believe you were named Baron Telamon.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
It was a face Shan had seen a few times back when they had joined forces to fight Elvin’s army and he had been invited to Duke of Morayen’s camp.
Was it not said that he originally served as both butler and strategist for the duke’s house for generations?
The baron’s gaze upon Shan was somewhat reluctant.
After all, it was not easy to maintain composure when an Altoan, who had once been of lower status than himself, was now looking down on him with a duke’s title equal to his own lord’s.
After a brief moment, the baron controlled his expression and spoke as he bowed respectfully.
“The reason I requested an audience with Your Grace today is to ask for reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements?”
“Yes. Once spring arrives and the wheat is harvested, my lord intends to wage war once more to reclaim the regency from Count Balik. To that end, we wish to borrow Pendia’s army.”
Though embellished with plausible rhetoric, the core of it was ultimately that he wanted to use around two thousand royal soldiers as their mercenaries.
Along with the elite soldiers who had decorated the past Pendia civil war with victory, the condition set by the duke was that the two of them, Shan and Roden, must lead the army.
In return for this, he proposed thirty thousand gold coins, several historic artworks from Libert that were difficult to appraise in monetary terms, and various commercial privileges.
Shan was not sure about the last part, but seeing Roden let out a soft exclamation of “Oh,” while listening beside him, it seemed to be quite impressive.
Having listened quietly, Shan asked back in a low voice once the baron finished speaking.
“First, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Please speak.”
“What did Her Majesty the Queen say when she heard this?”
At Shan’s question, the baron did not answer right away.
After pondering for a moment whether answering this would be advantageous or disadvantageous, he said softly.
“Yes. First, the Queen of Pendia stated that all such military matters have been entrusted to the Lord Protector…”
Strictly speaking, it was closer to diplomacy than military affairs, but it seemed she had used Shan’s name because she was not particularly inclined toward it.
Having opened with that, the baron hesitated briefly before adding.
“Furthermore, along with the conditions presented, Her Majesty demanded the governance rights over West Solod Castle and the abolition of the Western Holy See. As this exceeded my discretion, I felt I needed to ask my lord again, which led to ending the negotiation.”
“Aha.”
Not to mention Shan, Roden, who was listening alongside him, also clicked his tongue, impressed that Cheryn had put forward such a bold proposal.
On the border between Libert and Pendia, there was terrain in the form of a long passage blocked above and below by mountain ranges.
This path was blocked on the left and right by two castles respectively; the side controlled by Libert was called West Solod Castle, and the side controlled by Pendia was called East Solod Castle.
If West Solod Castle fell under Pendia’s sphere of influence as Cheryn suggested, Pendia would be able to project military power into Libert without any hindrance.
Conversely, to invade Pendia, Libert would have to cross the southern river by boat or breach both castles.
Considering that thousands of soldiers would die every time they breached one, by the time they breached both, they would not even have the strength left to fight.
On top of that, the abolition of the Western Holy See… to the people of Libert, who believed themselves to be the direct heirs of the Arman Empire and the root of the Old Faith, was an insult equivalent to spitting in their faces.
Of course, Duke of Morayen, who sought to borrow the army of the Queen of Pendia who had been excommunicated as a heretic in the first place, was unlikely to think that far.
As Shan smirked dryly at the series of absurd proposals, Baron Telamon lowered his voice slightly and whispered.
“In that sense, Your Grace… my lord has a separate proposal for Your Grace.”
“Speak.”
“I heard that the Queen of Pendia is currently pushing forward a policy to reclaim the independent rights of the nobles. Your Grace will also need a fief to govern directly, will you not?”
As Duke of Morayen had proposed in the past, it meant that if Shan helped him fight together, he would guarantee Count Balik’s fief to him.
Not an honorary fief without any practical authority like those in Pendia, but a real fief where he could try and rule people truly at his own whim.
Along with that came the added offer of the honorable position as swordsmanship master to the King of Libert, as well as an heirloom of Great Emperor Baren from the royal treasury.
“An heirloom of Great Emperor Baren?”
“Yes. I am not certain what it is exactly, but my lord was confident that it is an item possessing truly powerful force as well as outstanding symbolism.”
At the baron’s proposal, Shan suddenly recalled a conversation he had held with Duke of Morayen in the past.
He had definitely said back then that he didn’t know well; it seemed he had lied like a slick snake.
Or perhaps something had changed during the time he crossed back into Libert.
The baron made it clear that this proposal was being made not to Cheryn, Queen of Pendia, but to Shan personally as the Duke of Velakar.
In short, speaking somewhat extremely, it meant Shan could come alone without leading a single subordinate.
“To promise the position of a great lord guarding the north and an heirloom of Great Emperor Baren to a single knight… Duke of Morayen is quite generous.”
“That is how highly my lord regards Your Grace. The mere presence of the strongest knight in history will make the enemies tremble in fear.”
Furthermore, an offer was added stating that since an excommunicated Altoan would find it difficult to manage a fief, they would fully assist him with it and even block any interference from the Holy See.
After hearing everything, Shan exchanged a subtle glance with Roden and nodded.
“It was an interesting proposal in many ways. However, as a duke of Pendia and Her Majesty’s Lord Protector, it would be difficult for me to act alone without consulting her.”
The baron’s face darkened at the answer of refusal, but he soon bowed with dignity and accepted it.
After conversing a little more, he was the first to rise from his seat.
“Then I shall look forward to the day we meet again, Your Grace.”
“May it indeed be so.”
After the baron departed, Shan looked at Roden, who wore a deep in thought expression, and spoke.
“I feel this anew…”
“Hmm?”
“I get the feeling that if I had met Duke of Morayen before Her Majesty the Queen, I would have entered his service. Wouldn’t it be quite fun to imagine how things would have turned out by now if that happened?”
At Shan’s words, Roden scratched his beard and chuckled.
“True enough, he did act as if he was dying to make you his ally. Honestly, I even suspected whether that man was seriously pondering taking you as his spouse.”
“No way… More importantly, what could this heirloom of Great Emperor Baren that Duke of Morayen mentioned be?”
“Who knows. I really have no clue either. In the first place, even back in the days of the Arman Empire, exactly what the Great Emperor’s armaments were and what functions they possessed was half close to legend.”
Shan recalled the appearance of Great Emperor Baren he had seen in the past memory of the hydra.
A helmet with wings attached to the left and right, silver-gray plate armor, a long two-handed sword, and the halo emanating from behind his back…
The armaments of that mighty warrior whom Shan still lacked the confidence to defeat… honestly, it piqued his interest.
After sending Baron Telamon off like that, Shan put a spider into the magic device he always carried with him.
Since it was not night, Cheryn responded only after nearly twenty minutes had passed, unlike usual.
[Sorry, I had some work to attend to. Where are you?]
“Solod Castle. I just met Duke of Morayen’s envoy here.”
[I didn’t expect you to run into him right there.]
After replying like that, Cheryn wrote down words as if offering an excuse, saying that it wasn’t particularly kept secret, but rather that she simply hadn’t mentioned it because it wasn’t an urgent matter at the moment.
Apparently, she was worried that Shan might feel hurt or think she had kept it a secret.
At this, Shan chuckled softly and cleared up the misunderstanding.
“It’s alright. So, will you really dispatch troops if they hand over Solod Castle?”
[Honestly, I proposed it as a way of refusing. After all, there’s plenty of work for the army to do within Pendia right now. The frequency of monsters invading from the Demonic Realm has increased, which is troubling. But if they truly accept all the conditions put forward, frankly speaking, there’s no reason to refuse. It would also make it easier to relieve financial pressure.]
The spider, which had been busily moving its forelegs, paused briefly as if tired before writing down more letters.
[However, of course I would have consulted with you before that. If you don’t want to, I won’t send them even if they offer to give all of eastern Libert.]
The meaning contained in Cheryn’s words was clear.
No matter that she was the Queen of Pendia, she viewed Shan not as her subject, but as a partner with whom she must discuss matters when dealing with him.
That feeling reached him, and Shan smiled as he stroked the spider.
“Honestly, I am somewhat interested. Especially in that heirloom of Great Emperor Baren.”
Saying that it was fine to accept if Duke of Morayen’s proposal was acceptable, Shan added a word.
“Though it makes me sad that I won’t be able to see sister in the meantime.”
[Same here. That’s why I’ve made special preparations for it.]
“Preparations?”
[I’ll tell you the details when you return. You can look forward to it.]
*
The next day, Shan ordered the soldiers of the subjugation force to depart from Solod Castle.
Those who had grown relaxed after a few days of rest immediately regained the stiff military discipline characteristic of elites.
The expedition over the past few weeks had taught them the knack of knowing when to relax and when to tense up.
The lord of the castle felt regretful that Shan could not rest a bit longer and appreciate the aesthetic elements of the castle, but he did not detain him.
In any case, if an inspector stuck around for long, the soldiers were bound to tire of it.
As he went down toward the southeast, Shan marvelled anew at the surrounding sights.
As befitted the western region between Solod Castle and Hasra, which was the most prosperous area in Pendia, it was before long reclaiming its past glory.
At Ranpel Castle, which he had visited in the past, the ruining vineyards were also being restored, and by the river, people caught and sold fresh fish.
In Obilos City, visited while following the river south of Ranpel Castle all the way down, he was able to meet Poave Colognia, who had sponsored him in the past.
Originally a jeweler of Obilos, he had earned the position of representative governing the city on behalf of the Queen in return for sending various useful information from the heart of Conrad’s domain during the civil war.
“Greetings to Your Grace.”
“It has been a long time, Mr. Poave.”
“Oh my, it is embarrassing if you elevate me like that.”
At Shan’s honorific address, Poave felt awestruck and repeatedly bowed his head.
Just as he said, using honorific terms to a jeweler originally from commoner origins was against decorum, but Shan did not want to mind such things with a benefactor who had once sponsored him and created the opportunity to hunt a troll himself.
Besides, there was no longer anyone who would say anything even if he broke such minor customs.
Poave treated Shan and the other knights with great care.
The highest quality food obtainable in the city was provided not only to the knights but also to mere rank-and-file soldiers, and they were able to lodge in guest rooms at the mansions of local notables.
Looking around Poave’s mansion, which he was visiting after a long time, Shan felt anew that his standards had risen quite a bit.
Back then, this mansion had definitely felt like a heavenly palace where the Goddess resided, but looking at it now, was it not merely a wealthy person’s mansion commonly found in a small city?
Still, the emotion and gratitude he had felt back then did not grow light.
Of course, that did not mean he could neglect the inspection.
Roden, who spent about half a day checking the city’s account ledgers, nodded in satisfaction.
“Wonderful, Uncle.”
“How could I dare deceive Her Majesty the Queen?”
If he had been caught embezzling massively, it would have been embarrassing to face each other, but fortunately his ledgers were managed quite cleanly.
In the first place, the reason Callion had used Poave heavily was due to his plain and honest nature, so it was natural.
Moreover, since Obilos was a city close to Hasra, playing tricks recklessly carried a high chance of being exposed.
After staying one day in Obilos like that and marching for about three more days, the subjugation force finally returned to Hasra.
Returning after about a month, the soldiers of the subjugation force looked around the city with emotional expressions.
“Seriously, it feels like we met every kind of monster. Maybe the northwest was the true Demonic Realm?”
“It wasn’t like that usually. It was only like that this time.”
Though they entered without a grand welcoming ceremony since the unit size was small, the citizens of Hasra clapped their hands or whistled to show their welcome while talking about their exploits.
Listening with open ears, it seemed rumors of their northwestern expedition had already spread completely.
Tales of valiant knights leading soldiers to subjugate powerful monsters that had seeped into various parts of the kingdom.
Since byproducts that served as proof of it were also periodically sent to the capital, there was no way people would not talk about it.
‘By the way, what on earth is this about the Knight of Purity?’
Puzzled as to what that title could possibly mean, Shan was able to understand its meaning only after entering the royal palace.
After consoling the soldiers and knights who had displayed great achievements throughout the long journey, Cheryn called Shan aside and told him the reason.
“It’s because of the unicorn.”
“If it’s the unicorn… Ah.”
Come to think of it, was it about time the tale of hunting the unicorn in that northwest spread as a rumor?
Yet Shan, who wondered why they were making a fuss now when there were many other monsters caught besides that, realized the reason from her following words.
“There were all sorts of rumors about us, right? But… thanks to the unicorn, it inadvertently revealed that we hadn’t crossed the line at all.”
“Ah…”
Shan, who had not thought that far, let out a soft groan.
In truth, observing the vow of purity as a paladin of the Eastern Holy See was a commendable thing.
The problem was that the plan to slyly spread rumors and make their relationship an established fact had lost its effectiveness.
Upon realizing this fact, Shan found it hard to tell whether he should be happy about it or not.
“Did I perhaps do something unnecessary?”
“No, it’s not quite to that extent.”
In truth, Cheryn had wanted to capture the unicorn alive, bring it before her, and boast by demonstrating in person that she was completely unaffected.
Especially to a few fellows who, whenever they saw her in the past, had not hesitated to direct all kinds of sexual harassment at her behind her back.
Of course, it would not be easy to bring alive a monster that was dying to trample and gank-stab with its horn any unchaste human just standing beside it.
Besides, most of those people had also been executed.
At any rate, thanks to this, Shan proved his purity as a paladin, and Cheryn was also able to revamp her existing reputation to some extent.
Now it was certain that fewer people would make wild guesses that something would happen even if the two were together.
After all, they hadn’t done so even when there had already been opportunities multiple times.
After speaking that far, Cheryn pulled Shan’s hand.
“More importantly, something interesting was completed while you were away. I was looking forward to showing it to you first, and you came at just the right time.”
“Something interesting? Ah, what you mentioned back then?”
“That’s right. Let’s head to the laboratory for now.”
Cheryn led Shan straight to the laboratory in the Red Palace.
To a room where all sorts of magic tools were scattered in total disarray without being properly tidied up, as always.
“Something I’ve been researching since a long time ago finally bore fruit, you see? Adding some knowledge from books excavated from the ruins worked out.”
For some reason, Cheryn seemed quite excited about this invention.
Puzzled as to what it could be, Shan watched her sit down in front of a certain magic tool.
“This is…?”
A mana stone about the size of two finger joints hung from a metal rod, and below it, something like a stand for inserting an object could be seen.
Cheryn inserted a feather pen dipped in ink there, placed parchment underneath, and spoke.
“The Queen of Pendia speaks. Respond.”
Surprisingly, along with her words, the mana stone hummed and began to move the quill to write words.
Shan watched this quietly before asking.
“…Is it a tool that writes down words when you speak?”
Though it was fascinating, he didn’t quite understand what it would be good for.
A purpose to allow illiterate people to write?
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like a tool to be used while expending a mana stone of that size.
Along with Cheryn giving a sweet smile at Shan who was looking puzzled, the mana stone began to vibrate again.
Moving around, it wrote text underneath.
[Court Count Tenon responds from Palles, Long Live Her Majesty the Queen.]