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Chapter 40 – Meeting with the Margrave
“I would like to continue the work of deciphering the book that you have entrusted to me, mainly with Angelia. I may also ask Lady Rona for her cooperation in that regard.”
Richard says.
“I don’t mind. It’s not that I’m not interested in the contents.”
The fact that the door reacted to Clare may also be explained by the contents of the book.
“Next, I will discuss the treatment of the captured people. I am interrogating them to see if they have any other allies, and if possible, I intend to capture as many as possible. I will work to have them do this not only here, but also in the royal capital. In any case, I intend to take responsibility for this as the lord.”
As for dealing with those who seem to be spies, it seems that he does not intend to bother Rona and the others any more.
“If their allies are going to enter Toland’s territory instead of the Great Sea of Trees, we need to make sure they are properly educated about where they are entering.”
Richard smiles bitterly. Although he has a gentlemanly demeanor and aura, he is the lord of Toland. He values the logic of power.
“I’ll say that we’ve already started to extract information about the current situation. It seems that they are definitely people backed by the Empire. We need to prepare so we don’t miss them, but we should see some progress soon.”
It’s a race against time, but if we get careless and are discovered, it will be counterproductive. However, Rona’s assessment was that Richard probably won’t make any mistakes.
“…Well, it looks like we’ll have an easier time. In this case, it’s better for us not to do anything unnecessary.”
“Haha. It would be great if you could go easy on us, Rona. Now, I’ve heard that you’ve found other things about the ruins.”
“Yes. The Gravekeeper’s relics.”
Clare said, and explained each of the items lined up, such as the Gravekeeper’s core, the remains of the metal heart, and a bottle filled with soil soaked with the liquid that made up the body.
Angelia was especially keen. She looked at the relic with sparkling eyes.
“I’m so happy to see something so precious. Yes. What a feast for the eyes.”
Angelia nodded with her hand on her chin.
“It’s basically a humanoid shape, but its arms and body stretch out to become like a sword or spear.”
“It can also move at high speed by stretching its body.”
“There have been reports from adventurers, but it seems like it was hiding in a small gap and launching a surprise attack from there. It would have been much more difficult to fight it inside the ruins.”
“Interesting. There have been few reports from the gravekeepers, so this is a valuable experience. It’s different from past examples, but there’s no guarantee that we won’t encounter something similar. You can continue to do as you like with the relics.”
“Thank you. I’ve been entrusted with something so precious, and if I find anything useful, I’ll let you know.”
“That’ll be fun.”
Angelia nodded in agreement to Richard’s words.
“Well, I think you’ve guessed from what I’ve said so far, but this is also part of our response to the Empire, in cooperation with the royal family. We’ll talk about the ruins and work together. I don’t think there will be any problems with the kingdom itself, but if there’s any trouble with the nobles or big merchants who’ve heard the rumors, I want you, especially Miss Clare and Miss Selena, to rely on us without hesitation. We’re grateful.”
“The Adventurer’s Guild is in the same position. At the very least, if something happens in the capital, you can use the guild as a refuge.”
Guild leader Gwaine also looks at Clare and Selena and says.
If there is anyone who is thinking of harming Rona or her family, it’s more likely to be someone from outside the Margrave Tolland territory. For Clare and Selena, who often visit the capital, it would be easier to deal with such people if the Margrave family and the Adventurer’s Guild were to take action. Not only does it matter whether you can repel them directly, but it also matters whether you have help or not, when you think about the aftermath.
“Thank you.”
“I appreciate it.”
“In that regard–I’d like to invite Lady Rona to dinner tonight. Is that okay?”
“I don’t mind. As long as they don’t try to surround me and my apprentices in some weird way.”
“Haha, I’d like to keep in touch, but I don’t want to incur Lady Rona’s displeasure.”
Richard laughed happily. They exchanged casual messages, and it was clear that they were old acquaintances.
They exchanged small reports and information about the progress of other survey teams, information about the Empire that they had obtained in advance, and after sharing information, the guild disbanded.
It seems that there has been no major progress with the other teams, but it seems that traces of the activities of the spies that Clare and her group had captured were found in a follow-up investigation in the vicinity. Their capture made it impossible to destroy evidence such as traces of the camp.
The Margrave’s invitation to dinner will be sent to the inn where Clare and her friends are staying later, so they can just relax at the inn until then. The three of them return to the inn and talk while drinking tea in a corner of the dining room on the first floor.
“So you knew the Margrave.”
“I first heard about him when I had a chance to see him in the capital when he was still young. I think he was a little older than Selena is now.”
“He is a famous warrior in the kingdom, but what was he like when he was young?”
When Selena asked, Rona put her hand on her chin and said as if recalling a memory from the past.
“Hmm. Now that we have made contact, I guess it’s necessary to get to know him better. I saw him in town, so I remembered his magic wavelength and heard rumors about him.”
When he was young, Richard was said to be unmatched by anyone his age in swordsmanship and magic. Although he does not have unique magic like Clare or Selena, he is a promising young man who has shown talent not only in individual skills such as strengthening magic, swordsmanship, and magic, but also in commanding troops and government affairs. He was a treasured child of the previous Margrave, and was considered a promising young man by those around him from the time.
Rona, who had seen Richard in the city and remembered his magical wavelength, sensed his reaction in the Great Sea of Trees and went to see him out of curiosity.
“At that time, he was leading a small unit and was fighting a horde of monsters while giving a pep talk to his subordinates. He was encouraging them by drawing the monsters’ attention from the injured in his unit to himself. Well… that’s his personality. He is skilled and loved by his soldiers, but he has a hard-working nature that doesn’t care about his own danger or burden.”
At that time, Rona sniped the monster from a long distance with just one shot. From Rona’s perspective, he had helped his soldiers as a token of appreciation for seeing something interesting, but later he said he would thank them when they went to the capital.
“I couldn’t figure out your location because you were completely invisible, but if I’m not mistaken, I’d like to thank you for helping my men.”
Richard had said this to Rona, guessing at her.
If he wanted to, he was in a position to find out where adventurers were exploring. If someone who wasn’t an adventurer had helped them in the Great Sea of Trees, it wasn’t strange to think of Rona as a possibility.
“He’s been a great man since he was young…”
“Well, I guess he got a good education from his predecessor. At the time, I told him that he must have misunderstood, but I was a bit worried about how he handled the situation in the Great Sea of Trees. I told him that it might be none of my business, but if you take on everything just because you can do it, it could be dangerous.”
“What did the Margrave say at that time?”
“I appreciate your advice. He said that I should develop the ability to judge who can be trusted. I don’t really get along with that kind of seriousness. We’re in different positions, after all. Well, he’ll probably prioritize matters related to his territory as a criterion for judgment, but if you keep that in mind, he’ll do the right thing, so I guess I can trust him.”
Rona said, shrugging her shoulders.
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