Volume 3 Chapter 138-2 Progress Report
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”As a general rule, you know~desuno.”
”If I had to say it clearly, the Beastmen side has much stronger fighting power. If you plan to give up on Lord Owl, then maybe it’s fine. Either way, they’ll head back north after taking Ramsey’s harvest and some slaves. They can’t really rule the land. Actually, wasn’t that the reason Lord Owl was sent there in the first place?”
”When you say ‘that kind of reason,’ what do you mean? If you doubt Izerland’s command, just say it!”
Kian stepped in between them and raised his hand.
”Your Excellency, miss Priscilla—please don’t fight. Arguing won’t help anyone.”
”……”
Maribel bit her lip, frustrated. She had been calm a moment ago, but now something was off.
Maybe someone at the salon earlier had called her out in public—said something like, “You don’t trust the princess’s judgment.” That would explain her mood.
Maribel, as Godfrey’s heir, had been trained well, but at the end of the day, she was just a young girl. She had no real experience. It wasn’t her fault if she didn’t understand everything. The real planning was probably done by the officials around her—but even they were just regular civilians. They didn’t know what was happening on the battlefield. Mistakes were bound to happen.
”Kian,” she said, “will the Beastmen really go back north after they raid Ramsey? They won’t attack us?”
”They have no reason to attack Izerland. They wouldn’t be able to keep their supply lines going. Only Ramsey will be hurt.”
”I see… But this isn’t something we should feel safe about.”
”Right. We can’t relax. If Lord Oswald escapes prison, the more damage done to the land he returns to, the better for him.”
”The power of Izerland will drop a lot. That land grows most of the food for the frontier~desuno. Châtillon buys a lot of grain from there, too.”
”That’s true. We can’t rely only on Azrael’s merchants. That’s risky.”
Priscilla turned toward Kian and looked at him.
”So ‘Storm Herd’ was really that strong?”
”Yes. Even their regular warriors can use magic. Their senses are sharp—they can hear and smell everything. Then they use that to guess what will happen and dodge or attack. Their bodies are strong, too. Even warriors trained to fight magicians lose to them up close. I fought three of them at once. If I had made even one mistake, I’d be dead.”
”Wouldn’t anyone die if surrounded by three people?”
Priscilla gave a dry smile.
”Your Excellency, let’s get back on topic. I really don’t think we should close the gate.”
”I agree. I’ve said that from the start.”
”But what will you offer the Beastmen Alliance in return?”
Kian’s question made Maribel shake her head.
”Nothing. Just send them away.”
”I’m sorry, but the mission you gave me was only to check on Lord Owl. When that’s done, I’ll come back. If you want to reject the emissary, please handle it with Umar. That part has nothing to do with me.”
”Eh? K-Kian! Don’t be so cold! I came all this way, and now you want to abandon me halfway?”
”I don’t mean it that way. But if we go to war alone against the Beastmen Alliance, we’ll be walking straight into death.”
”Eh…”
Maribel was left speechless.
Priscilla stepped in, still calm.
”For now, how about having Lord Kian and his team thin out the Bloodsucking Kind? Rean has already been doing that alone, so we have some proof.”
”That won’t be easy. There are still many Bloodsucking Kind in the swamp. The Beastmen can’t keep their supply lines going like this. If they leave Ramsey, they risk getting wiped out on the way back. So they won’t back down.”
”Then maybe we should talk about a truce. What if we join forces to get rid of the Bloodsucking Kind together? We can say we’ll send them food while they wait—”
”Priscilla! You want to send wheat to the enemy!?”
Priscilla nodded.
”Well, whether we actually send it or not is a separate thing. But why not try talking in that direction? Let’s hear their demands and then report back. Since no emissary has come yet, it’s hard to give clear instructions anyway.”
”It’s a big job… and dangerous.”
As Kian frowned, Maribel stood up and walked over to him. She pressed her hands together, her eyes watery.
”Please, Kian.”
He had been thinking this for a while—this princess really was kind.
”…All right. I’ll handle the talks. Umar and Sarah also said they’re willing to negotiate. Let’s hope they’re good at it.”
”…! Thank you, Kian! I love you!”
”Please don’t say ‘I love you’ so easily. Even if they don’t attack right away, if the talks fail, elite troops will come. Before that happens, please send someone from Izerland to handle it.”
”Of course~~desuwa. I plan to send Lady Eleonora~~desuno. I’ll wake everyone up and hold a meeting right away!”
Eleonora, huh… Kian felt a bit uneasy.
She used to be one of the Sun Knights. Now she was Izerland’s Defense Minister.
But right now, she was taking time off to take responsibility for the mess she caused. She had messed up a weapon Barghest had sent, which had nearly killed Maribel and others during that salon attack.
She had a strong title and a serious heart, but…
Could she really handle talking to the Beastmen?
Could she and her Sunlightland Knight Squad even make it out of the Great Forest without getting lost?
Kian held back a sigh and moved to the next point.
”Speaking of Umar, do you plan to meet him?”
”Of course~desuno. Lord Jibril might attack us, right? If Umar is willing to talk about how to fight demon soldiers and share Vahid’s powerful magic tools, we need to hear it.”
”Understood. If Your Excellency says so, I won’t stop it. But be careful. He’s one of the Twelve Divine Generals—a man who reached that rank in just one lifetime. His mind may be getting old, but he’s still dangerous.”
”He’s your dad, right, Kian? Only a fool would relax around someone like that. Right, Your Excellency?”
”Yes. If we let down our guard, he’ll trick us~desuwa. I’ll tell Eleonora to be careful. Oh, and I’ll have her stand in for me when she talks to Lord Umar.”
”Ah… got it.”
Probably, saying “I think that person was not the right choice for the job” would be rude, so Kian kept that thought to himself.
But still, he felt uneasy.
In Kian’s opinion, Umar was not a good leader. He was clever with words and plans, but there was a danger that he would use Maribel and the others for his own gain.
Even if Kian wanted to stop it, he was just an adventurer, not a politician. He had no power or responsibility in these matters. So he stayed quiet.
”As I said before, Umar has asked for permission to investigate inside the gate. He also wants Your Excellency’s protection from Jibril.”
”We will protect him as much as we can. If we investigate the gate, we might find something that helps Izerland. We will send Eleonora and the Sunlightland Knight Squad as well, both to help and to keep things in order.”
”Who will act as Izerland’s Defense Minister?”
”Kian~desuwa.”
”I respectfully decline.”
”Oh my, I was only joking~desuno! Kian, you take things too seriously! But if one day you get tired of traveling, please let me know. I will keep the Defense Minister seat open for you until then.”
”I have no such plan.”
”…I-I see~desuno…”
”──We will depart once the magician from Châtillon, Lishena, arrives. As for Natra and Rufna, they will leave right after this. It seems they are very worried about those they sent ahead.”
”That’s good to know. Sarah and I were short on hands, Ms. Priscilla.”
”Kian, please also finish the audit of Lord Owl. The Bloodsucking Kind appeared because the gate opened, but we still don’t know the truth about the stories of the dead rising.”
”I understand.”
”As for the Misty Magic Sword, please continue to take care of it.”
Priscilla smiled and added,
”You liked the sword, didn’t you?”
”Yes, Ms. Priscilla. I’d like to buy it if I could. Or maybe ask Lord Guy to make another one.”
”Well, my father is hiding away at the Izerland villa, spending his days working with metal and eating fancy food. He might not even notice if something disappears from Châtillon’s treasure room. Honestly, I don’t mind if you keep using it.”
”I’m surprised to hear that from Châtillon’s head Witch… But I’ll use it a bit longer.”
Kian gave a small nod, and Priscilla gave a happy chuckle.
”I also wanted to offer Kian some help, but…”
”Before that, please rebuild the castle Oswald destroyed.”
”Well~~desuwa, yes. That really was a shame~~desuno.”
Saying that, Maribel, who had been sitting next to Kian, stood up.
Kian and Priscilla stood as well and bowed politely to her.
The meeting ended there.
….Summary:
* Kian and his team will handle the Beastmen Alliance situation and try to keep the gate open during the talks.
* He will also continue the secret investigation of Lord Owl and the reports of undead sightings.
* Eleonora and the Guild members will arrive soon. They’ll eliminate threats in the area and prepare a welcome.
* Eleonora will also handle Umar’s request temporarily. Maribel seems positive about helping Umar and protecting him.
* Priscilla will leave once Lyritisse is taken care of.
* Natra and Rufna will go ahead right away to clear the path for Priscilla and the Guild.
* The decision to adjust the flow of the Spiritual Vein will be left to Priscilla and Natra. Hopefully, they can avoid conflict with the Beastmen in the Great Forest.
Kian stayed bowed until Maribel and Priscilla left. Afterward, he suddenly felt a strange and sharp pull inside him—almost like he had been shaken awake.
The truth was, he had entered this dream world while resting beside Linca.
Because of that, he was only wearing light sleep clothes.
Feeling a mysterious tug on his awareness, Kian quickly returned to the real world, where morning had already begun to shine.
Character Notes:
• Lishena – Trusted subordinates from the Châtillon family, part of Guy’s elite force.
• Mag – The wolfwoman under Yelmar—the one who was caught by Kian’s group earlier.
• Linca – Jibril’s favorite girl. High-ranking warrior monk woman from Shin, with strong abilities like ignoring attacks and poisons.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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