Chapter 719: Chapter 719
When Ghislain announced their departure, a crowd of nobles, including Alex, came to see them off.
Of course, their inner thoughts varied greatly.
‘Now that you’re actually leaving, I feel kind of empty… and relieved… and maybe a bit regretful… Still, I’ll never forget that I owe my life to you all.’
Alex felt torn. Ghislain scared him, but his presence had given him a sense of security.
The three people now occupying key positions in the kingdom felt much the same.
‘Is this really okay? I just wanted to live peacefully, raising ducks or something. How am I supposed to run a kingdom? But still… this feels great. The Julien Mercenary Corps really is the best.’
‘The kingdom’s still unstable. Why couldn’t he have just stayed? What am I supposed to do…? Still, I’ll be forever grateful to the elder brothers.’
‘Oh my, I really picked the right side, didn’t I? This is a huge honor for the family. But why did he give me such a position? I mean, I’m grateful, but what am I supposed to do now?’
All the other nobles wore bright smiles.
‘That madman is finally leaving.’
‘I was seriously too scared to even breathe.’
‘It was disgusting having to work with him. Let’s never see each other again.’
Honestly, had he wanted to, he could’ve become someone even more terrifying than Marquis Falkenheim.
Everyone knew it. That’s why they all breathed sighs of relief as they watched him leave so peacefully.
But even after he left, none dared covet the throne. They knew that the Julien Mercenary Corps stood behind the three in power.
They would only dare when news of death reached them.
And so, thanks to Ghislain’s efforts, the power structure of the Kingdom of Plovitz was completely reshaped.
The remaining vassals of Marquis Falkenheim would surely continue to squabble over power, but he wasn’t too concerned.
After all, the strongest faction now was the trio he had appointed.
With that, he moved on to another kingdom and began causing trouble all over again. The infamous(?) reputation of the Julien Mercenary Corps started to spread far and wide.
* * * *
[……It wasn’t hard to raise our notoriety. First, we beat up that kingdom’s mercenaries, absorbed them, and expanded our power. Naturally, the nobles started assigning us various requests. Among those, we only accepted the just ones and carried them out successfully. As for those who offered us filthy jobs, we didn’t let them off.]
[……As our reputation grew, the requests became more difficult and complicated. But that wasn’t an issue either. Ghislain had the ability to simplify even the most complex matters. Of course, most of those solutions were…… ########Right now, my life is in danger. Please, someone save ……]
[We built up our reputation across multiple kingdoms, solving a great many requests. The scale of the jobs we took on kept growing as well. We quelled rebellions and even got involved in succession disputes. Ghislain, when necessary, would mobilize all the mercenaries he had gathered to forcibly and peacefully resolve the issues.]
[After a year and a half, branches of the mercenary corps were established in several kingdoms. More and more people came seeking to join the corps. Our fame rose higher, and wealth flowed in abundance. Yet, Ghislain seemed somehow unsettled. He often muttered to himself that something felt strange.]
[……Then, in the Kingdom of Arsena, members of the royal family began to die slowly after being poisoned. Since there were multiple victims, the entire kingdom was thrown into chaos. No matter how thoroughly they investigated, they couldn’t find the culprit. In the midst of this, Ghislain boldly stepped forward and declared he would solve the case.]
[Normally, he would have been thrown out on the spot, but fortunately, our mercenary corps’ name had spread considerably even within the Kingdom of Arsena. Desperate, the king entrusted the matter to us.]
[After spending several days in the royal capital being treated like royalty and doing nothing but enjoying himself, Ghislain suddenly gathered everyone working in the royal capital in one place. There were many high-ranking individuals among them, so the resistance was fierce, but with the king’s authority, they were finally assembled. I… I still can’t forget what Ghislain did that day.]
By royal command, everyone was brought into an enormous building.
Ghislain looked around at the assembled people with a serious expression and spoke.
“The mystery has been solved. The culprit is among us.”
“……”
Everyone wore identical expressions of disbelief. They were already irritated that some mercenary had shown up and been treated like a guest of honor, and now he was spouting nonsense after calling them all together.
Among the crowd were high-ranking officials and nobles of the royal court. They pointed fingers at Ghislain and shouted.
“How dare some lowborn mercenary act like this just because he’s gained a bit of fame!”
“So, what if there’s unrest in the royal family? A mere mercenary has no right to meddle!”
“Do you even know who these people are, talking about culprits?”
“Your Majesty! Why in the world did you entrust this matter to that man!”
The room erupted in outrage. The lower-ranked servants simply bowed their heads, gauging the mood of the noble class.
Even as they raged, the nobles didn’t dare leave. The king had posted knights and soldiers outside to guard the building.
And at the seat of highest honor sat the king, observing everything with a grave expression. He didn’t even try to stop Ghislain.
As the atmosphere grew overheated and people began pointing fingers, Ghislain suddenly extended both arms and shouted loudly.
“Don’t move! Anyone who moves from now on is the culprit!”
“……”
The nobles looked dumbfounded. This was getting absurd even by absurd standards.
Eventually, the chancellor, unable to hold back, stepped forward and bellowed.
“You wretch! Stop this madness at once! Your Majesty! This cannot be right! We need to organize a proper investigation team…”
“Oh? You moved? So, you’re the culprit!”
“W-what? You lunatic, what nonsense are you…?”
The chancellor stammered in shock. Ghislain didn’t care and swiftly approached the chancellor and swung his fist.
Thwack!
“Gahk!”
The chancellor screamed and collapsed. Those who had intended to speak were all frozen in place.
Ghislain shouted at the Royal Guards standing by.
“This man is the culprit! Tie him up!”
Even the guards stared at the king in disbelief. The situation was far too bewildering.
But the king, with a hardened expression, simply nodded. He didn’t seem inclined to stop any of it.
The guards had no choice but to tie up the chancellor and drag him into a corner.
Unable to comprehend what was happening, the Royal Chamberlain stepped forward.
“L-let’s calm down. We need to properly explain the situation and proceed with…”
“Oh? You moved? You’re a culprit too!”
“W-what?”
Thwack!
The chamberlain also took a blow and fainted. He was immediately bound and dragged next to the chancellor.
Only then did the others begin to realize this wasn’t a joke.
Afraid of being falsely accused, everyone held their breath, watching warily.
“Hmmm…”
Ghislain looked around with a smug expression. No one dared meet his gaze, lowering or averting their eyes instead.
“Feels like there are more culprits…”
Ghislain muttered to himself as he slowly strolled in front of the crowd. Everyone tensed their bodies and braced themselves.
Then, as Ghislain passed the Chief Aide of the Royal Court, the aide flinched slightly.
“Oh? You moved just now, didn’t you?”
The Chief Aide broke into a cold sweat and gave a strained smile.
“N-no, my body just cramped up a little…”
“Oh? You smiled?”
“……”
“This one’s a culprit.”
“……”
Thwack!
The Chief Aide was dragged away as well.
The crowd fell into deeper terror. Anyone falsely accused now would surely be labeled a traitor for poisoning a member of the royal family and executed.
Because of that, even innocent people couldn’t help but flinch with fear whenever Ghislain passed by.
“Hmmm, maybe I saw that wrong?”
Though a few people twitched, Ghislain pretended not to notice and moved on.
There was no way he had seen it wrong, but those who didn’t truly understand Ghislain’s skill failed to notice anything strange.
After passing by a few people, Ghislain stopped in front of someone who stood as still as a rock and spoke.
“Oh? You just moved!”
“I-I didn’t move!”
“Your chest moved as you breathed. I definitely saw it.”
“You… bastard!”
Thud!
People grew even more terrified. No one could figure out Ghislain’s criteria for picking people out.
Now, even if the target didn’t move, Ghislain would accuse them and beat them before dragging them away. After catching a few more, he stood in front of a man.
The man was a Royal Mage who had reached the rank of a 6th-Circle Master. He glared at Ghislain with a murderous expression.
Ghislain looked at him and smirked.
“You moved, didn’t you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Something inside your body seems to be moving quite a bit.”
“If you know that, then die, you crazy bastard.”
Fwoooosh!
A tremendous surge of mana burst out from the Royal Mage’s hand. Ghislain was engulfed by the sudden magical assault.
The Royal Mage twisted his lips into a crooked smile. He had used enough power to shatter the body of even a seasoned knight in one go. That should’ve been enough to turn a body completely to dust.
Even in front of the king, he had lost his patience and cast the spell.
But his expression soon froze.
“W-What is this?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? I’m a mage too.”
Ghislain’s body was surrounded by a blue glow. Seeing that, the Royal Mage mouthed words in disbelief.
He was a 6th-Circle Master. Just one more step and he would have reached the level of a Transcendent.
For someone to block such powerful mana, released in an instant, with such ease was no ordinary feat.
“N-No way… 7th Circle?”
“I’ll show you just the same.”
Ghislain grinned and extended his hand. A mighty force of mana erupted from within him.
Boom!
“Gah!”
The Royal Mage’s body jolted violently. Instead of being blown away, he floated up momentarily before collapsing.
People widened their eyes in shock. To overpower a 6th-Circle Master with magic in a single move could only mean one thing, his Circle was higher.
Through ceaseless training and experience, Ghislain had finally reached the 7th Circle. He had even obtained a 7th-Circle grimoire as a reward while completing a commission.
Of course, an ordinary 7th-Circle mage wouldn’t have been able to take down a 6th-Circle Master in one blow. But Ghislain had already surpassed the realm of the Transcendent.
He could imbue his will into magic, amplifying its destructive power and producing a wider array of effects.
That’s why, in a close-quarters situation like this, he had no trouble subduing a single mage in the blink of an eye.
Ghislain looked down at the fallen Royal Mage and smiled.
“Magic isn’t about real combat, it’s about circles.”
The phrasing changed depending on the situation, but for now, this was how it was.
Ghislain didn’t kill the Royal Mage. He only knocked him out, then placed his hand over the mage’s heart.
“I’ll make good use of your mana.”
Flaaaash!
The Royal Mage’s body convulsed as light burst from his heart. It was a sign that his mana was being transferred into Ghislain.
This wasn’t simply borrowing mana for a while. It involved destroying the opponent’s circle and extracting mana from its very source.
In truth, the energy he could actually absorb wasn’t even half of what the other had accumulated, but Ghislain didn’t care.
“Still, the more I consume, the better. Though, this one isn’t all that pure.”
A typical mage wouldn’t dare attempt this due to the mana collision.
But Ghislain, whose ability to control mana had reached the pinnacle, forced the opponent’s mana into one part of his body, and took time to slowly dissolve and absorb it.
Once the Royal Mage had been completely drained, he was tied up and tossed into a corner.
Ghislain then pointed out a few more individuals.
“Everyone else, head over there as well.”
Having witnessed both his insane behavior and his insane skill, the others followed without resistance.
The people dragged off to the corner were a truly diverse bunch from high-ranking officials like the Chancellor and the Royal Chamberlain to court chefs and ordinary attendants.
Once the task of catching the “culprits” was complete, Ghislain stood before the king, bowed exaggeratedly, and said,
“Your Majesty, I have found all the culprits.”
“Are you certain of them?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The king glared at those bound in a row.
But he still didn’t look convinced. There were simply too many culprits.
“To think that they’re truly… the culprits…”
The aged king seemed so shocked he let out several heavy breaths. He was already in poor health due to long-standing emotional turmoil.
Many of his blood relatives had died, and yet the culprit had remained elusive; his anger and fear had been intertwined for some time. There was no way his aging body could endure it well.
Still, he couldn’t blindly accept Ghislain’s word and declare them all culprits.
So, the king told him,
“Explain to everyone here… exactly why they are the culprits.”
“As you wish.”
Ghislain smiled and spread his arms wide.
Flaaaash!
Mana burst from his body and began to radiate in all directions.