Volume 6 - CH 5

Chapter 5 – Sudden Turn of Event

Cyril, a city in the territory of Rasun, is located just across the Great Frederick Bridge.

Right now, the large gate of Cyril is opened, and knights and soldiers continuously pour in and out of the town. There are also long lines of people waiting to enter the town, and yet, there is no sign of progression, likely because the situation in the town has become chaotic due to the impact of the previous explosion. While lining up in that line, Eto and his group were cautiously observing the surroundings.

Eto didn’t think the Acting Lord and his group were the ones who blew up the great bridge to seal the mouth of the victims. That was because even if by chance the information of their journey was leaked from the Knights, one of the main culprits, the slave trader Kabs has already been detained. Which means, anything they do to the victims can only buy them some time or threaten the Knights.

However, if they are really trying to do something like that by blowing up the great bridge bearing the name of the current King, it is just equivalent to suicide. And there is no way the nobles around the Acting Lord weren’t aware of it.

Nevertheless, no matter who committed the crime or for what purpose, the ones who can cause such an explosion are dangerous. In other words, the threat still remains, and a second or third explosion may occur. Therefore, as an escort, Eto and his party still couldn’t let their guard down.

Amou walks in front of the first carriage, and Sorano and Kohaku walk in front of the second carriage. Meanwhile, Eto follows the carriage from behind while observing the surroundings. As of the Knights, one of the knights went ahead to the town as a liaison, while the other two are guarding the left and right side of the carriages.

Until suddenly, a young man approached the carriage with a silent step that made people couldn’t sense his weight. His head is wrapped in a blue cloth, and his mouth is also covered with a cloth of the same color, so nobody knows his countenance. But, when the Knights were about to move, Eto stopped them.

“It’s been a while, Narl-san.”

It was Narl, an adventurer’s guild-exclusive investigator who is supposed to be infiltrating the Margrave.

Guided by Narl, Eto and his group were able to successfully enter the town through another gate. And Narl, who rides on a knight’s horse, accompanies Eto and his group to the facilities of the Knight’s order. Apparently, he has already contacted the Knight who went to the town in advance.

As the group entered the facility, several female knights were already waiting for them, and they guided the kidnapped victims to a nearby building. Although the women were uneasy, Kohaku and Sorano reassured them by saying that it would be fine because they will also be in the same facility.

Eto and his party were also guided to a room where the branch leader who oversees the Knights in Cyril, Jerome, was waiting. They exchanged a light greeting then proceeded to talk about the explosion in the Great Frederick Bridge. Eto then talked about what he had seen, and expressed his view that the explosion was likely to be a detonation technique using a magic circle.

“I think it is difficult to create such a powerful explosion in a way other than magic. However the problem is, I didn’t feel any fluctuation of magic when the explosion occurred. And when a magician uses great magic, it should be difficult to hide the fluctuation of the magic power.”

Saying that, Eto turned his gaze at Sorano, who had excellent magic power detection.

“I, too, didn’t feel anything. Is that not magic?”

“I also don’t think they cast magic from that place. I’ve read about detonation techniques in a book before. It seems it will indeed explode suddenly without any fluctuation of magic power.”

Sorano frowned and made an unpleasant expression.

“I see. That’s why Eto-san pointed out the possibility of a detonation technique.” Branch Leader Jerome said.

“Yes. We happened to be on the bridge when the explosion occurred. It’s hard to imagine we won’t feel any magic power at that distance. Which means, they might use some kind of ways to hide it.”

“That’s true. It seems we have to take that into consideration.”

“I never imagined that I would be involved in such an explosion. And if Narl-san is here, does that mean there is something happening in the Margrave territory?”

After confirming with Jerome, Narl shared the information with Eto and his party.

“Last night, Acting Lord Riesenbolt, who had been under house arrest in the Margrave’s castle, fled the territory and barricaded himself in a fort in the south. And the fort is defended by the cooperators of the Acting Lord, including some nobles and their private soldiers.

Narl indifferently explained about the event that signaled the sudden change in the situation. Looks like things started to move as soon as Eto and his group approached the Margrave.

“How many forces are in the fort?” Eto asked Narl.

“It is unknown. But it shouldn’t be that much, as there are only a few people siding with the Acting Lord at this stage. The problem is that the kidnapped victims are trapped in the fort. Currently, the Knights and soldiers have been surrounding the fort, but the enemy seems to prevent the invasion of the attackers by using the hostages as shields.”

“They are really rotten. Over time, the kidnapped victims will be exhausted. I know this is impertinent, but if the enemy’s force is small, I think attacking them at once with several times more force is also an option.”

Hearing Eto’s remarks, Jerome showed a stern look.

“We, the Knights Order, can’t just gather our troops to attack that fort. Considering the possibility of the empire taking advantage of the turmoil in the Kingdom, we still have to keep some troops on the western border. And as the Great Frederick Bridge was blown up earlier, we can no longer expect support from the Royal Capital for a while. The situation is just getting worse.”

“You don’t think the escape of the Acting Lord to the fort and the bombing of the Great Frederick Bridge happening at the same time a coincidence, right?”

“… It certainly doesn’t seem coincidental, but I don’t think the Acting Lord could draw such a plan.”

“In that case, does Narl-san think there is another mastermind?”

“Well, these things happened when we’re just about to ask the Acting Lord about that….”

It seems the information that Eto could obtain from here was just this much. And looks like allowing the Acting Lord to escape is a fatal mistake for the kingdom.

Then the conversation turned to the suggestion to let the kidnapped victim in this town until the situation of the Margrave improved, as they didn’t know what kind of incident or accident will happen to them if the group still decided to take them to the territory of Veil, which is the home of the enemy, in the current situation.

With that, Eto’s party’s escort request ended here, and they received a completion stamp from the Branch Leader Jerome. In exchange, Jerome asked their party to deliver some documents to Commanding Officer Andrea, who resides in the castle of Margrave. And since the request will be officially made via the Adventurer’s Guild, Eto decided to accept it.

“We will be responsible for the victims that Eto-san and his party escorted here.”

“About that, there is something I’d like you to help me with.”

“What is it?”

“We are planning to start an initiative to support the victims in the Margrave territory in order to give them a stable life just like before the incident. For that reason, I would like to consult with the relevant parties and create a support framework. When that happens, can I ask for the cooperation of the Knights?”

“That’s a great initiative. If it’s the heroes of the kingdom who saved the Royal Capital from the Stampede move, there is no way we wouldn’t cooperate.”

“Thank you. But first, we have to put the situation under control.”

“Ee. If things have calmed down, I think I will be heading toward Veil too, so let’s talk about this again at that time.”

With that, Eto and Jerome shook hands firmly.