Chapter 265 Not Organization, but Aspiration
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”As you’ve probably guessed, I’m one of the 4 who founded Grelego 320 years ago.”
”So, that’s why. I suspected as much since your name is the same, and the timing of Golarf’s disappearance coincided with the establishment of Grelego. But why would an elf join a human revolution?”
”Well, it was kind of a whim, you know. I was pretty much an outsider, but then there was this talk of ‘Let’s start a revolution in this country!’ It sounded interesting, and I had nothing better to do, so I just went along with it.”
”Joining a revolution on a whim… that’s incredible.”
”Back then, I was even younger than Lewya. I was truly fearless because of my youth. I was the kind of young man who would intentionally get caught by the nobility just to experience it, and then enjoy a half-year stint in prison.”
While the circumstances are different, Golarf-san might be just as unconventional as Lewya’s mother, if not more so.
”You can’t mean you continued leading Grelego on a whim, can you?”
”Haha, by that time, I had a proper vision. That’s why the first emperor, Gran, entrusted the leadership to me. But that was then; now I’m retired, so it’s not my concern anymore.”
”Wait, you’re retired?”
”Yes, even though elves don’t mind the passage of time, I couldn’t keep selflessly serving a country that wasn’t my homeland forever.”
”So, someone else is leading Grelego now?”
”No, the organization known as Grelego no longer exists. It was disbanded 250 years ago.”
”What?!”
I lean forward on the sofa, shocked by his casual revelation.
Grelego has been disbanded and no longer exists?
That can’t be true, because Grelego has been active up until the present day.
As if reading my thoughts, Golarf-san responds.
”Unbelievable, isn’t it? But it’s true that Grelego was disbanded a long time ago. If there’s an organization claiming to be Grelego now, it’s a fake.”
”I’ve never heard of Grelego being a fake.”
”Of course. Everyone is afraid of drawing Grelego’s attention, so they don’t dare investigate or seek out information. Unless they actively seek to learn, they’ll never know.”
”Huh! You don’t mean… you were aiming for that?”
”No, no, this current situation is just a coincidence. Back when we dismantled Grelego, we took utmost care to ensure the nobles wouldn’t regain their power, but it doesn’t matter if it’s known now.”
”I’m not so sure. If the nobles of the Empire hear that Grelego no longer exists, they’ll surely start running amok.”
”Oh, sorry, maybe I didn’t explain it well. When I said that the ‘organization’ Grelego doesn’t exist, I didn’t mean everything about Grelego disappeared. It just changed form, and Grelego has been passed down to the present day.”
”…I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, Golarf. Could you start from the beginning and explain it step by step?”
”Hmm, step by step, huh?”
Golarf-san paused, deep in thought at Lewya’s words.
”If I start from the beginning, it’ll be a long story, so I’ll have to give you a very condensed version. Is that okay?”
”I won’t know if I can understand it until I hear it, so just tell me what you think I can understand.”
”Well, that’s a tough request… Okay, let’s start with when I took over as the leader of Grelego. Do you know what kind of organization Grelego became after the revolution, Lewya?”
”Neil told me it’s an organization that eliminates anyone, even royalty or nobility, if they act against the Empire’s interests.”
”That’s mostly correct. Grelego was an organization that would correct the path if the royalty or nobility strayed, endangering the Empire. But monitoring the entire Empire and eliminating those acting against its interests is no easy task; it required a significant number of personnel. As the organization grew to achieve its ideals, what do you think happened in the end?”
”The organization became too large to manage, losing control over its lower ranks and struggling to maintain a unified purpose, right?”
”Yes, the overgrown organization, once driven by the cause of ‘for the Empire’, had become something beyond the control of mere ideals. By that time, the name ‘Grelego’ held immense influence, and there were even those who sought to exploit it for personal gain.”
”So, you decided to dismantle the organization. But with such a massive organization being disbanded, wouldn’t it be impossible to keep it hidden?”
”Of course, we considered that. Instead of simply disbanding it, we decided to split the organization. Over a long period, we carefully vetted every member and divided the organization into multiple groups based on their commitment to Grelego’s cause.”
”Was that safe? Won’t those who were up to no good become even more emboldened with this division?”
”No need to worry about that. Those individuals were buried alive, along with the branches they were assigned to, before they could act as an organized force.”
”…”
I was left unconscious as Lewya’s uncle, but this person was definitely the leader of Grelego.
”For the sake of empire,” the person who does not hesitate to take on the royal family without hesitation, so if they are friends, they will not hesitate to do so.
”Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
”Yes, I’m fine, please continue.”
”Alright, so after we purged the corruption from Grelego, we decided to continue our activities independently.”
”But why? If only those who shared Grelego’s ideals remained, wouldn’t it have made sense to merge the organizations?”
”There were a few reasons we didn’t do that. Firstly, it was more convenient for our activities to operate in smaller groups. And secondly, we realized that there was a limit to the size of an organization driven solely by ideals. We thought that merging again would lead to the same issues, so we chose to remain separate. We agreed that if any of us strayed from the right path, the others would dismantle their organization.”
”So, you all operated under different names, and that’s how it’s been until the present day?”
”Well, not exactly. We didn’t give our individual groups any names. We had learned from the Grelego incident that names can easily lead people astray. Names are meant to affirm one’s existence, but for us, who had sacrificed our identities for the Empire, they were unnecessary. So, we abandoned the name Grelego and only carried on its ideals.”
”…I see, that’s why you said Grelego as an organization doesn’t exist. It’s the people who inherited Grelego’s ideals who are active now.”
”Exactly. And to be honest, none of the organizations that split off back then still exist, so it’s truly just the ideals that have survived to the present. We did plant seeds, so to speak, but I never expected them to flourish like this.”
”Seeds?”
”Yeah, even after Grelego’s activities ended, I continued doing what I could. I took in and raised orphans who had lost their families due to the country’s corruption.”
”Golarf, that’s…”
”Hold on, don’t jump to conclusions. I didn’t brainwash them or force Grelego’s ideals upon them. It’s true that I intentionally took in children with circumstances that might make them sympathetic to Grelego’s cause, but I always respected their choices. Many of them chose paths different from what I had hoped for.”
Golarf-san, under Lewya’s suspicious gaze, offers an explanation.
Ah, I see. So the children he took in are carrying on Grelego’s mission.
Now I understand why they say that even though Grelego was disbanded long ago, it still exists today.
”Hmm… Well, I’ll accept that for now. So, you don’t exactly know what those who have inherited Grelego’s mission are up to, do you?”
”Well, I only visit occasionally to check on them, so I’m not entirely sure what they’re doing. Is something wrong?”
”Actually, there’s been a rumor that someone broke into Neil’s private room recently, and there’s a possibility it might be Grelego. I wanted to confirm if that was the case.”
”Even if it was Grelego’s doing, and I knew about it, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to admit it.”
Golarf-san, slightly exasperated by the straightforward question, replied and then looked out the window.
”The sun is setting. I think I’ll take my leave for today.”
”Are you going to visit the village (elf)?”
”Of course. I’m already here, and after talking about the old days, I felt like seeing everyone again.”
”…”
”I see. By the way, what brings you to the frontier settlement, Golarf?”
”I’m actually thinking of moving here. I came to check out the place today.”
”Is that so? Then you’ll be returning to the village?”
”Yeah… That’s right. I plan to live in the village.”
There was something about Golarf-san’s words that seemed to have a hidden meaning, but Lewya didn’t seem to notice and continued the conversation.
”Please tell my parents that I’m doing well.”
”I’ll be sure to do that. Well, I’ll take my leave now… Oh, and one more thing.”
Golarf-san turned his gaze from Lewya to me.
”I want to thank you for taking care of my niece. And I’ll let you in on something: You’ll be having an interesting visitor soon.”
”An interesting visitor?”
”You’ll see when they arrive. It might not be as entertaining for you as it is for me, but it’s best to be prepared. See you.”
With that, Golarf-san opens the door to the reception room and leaves.
In the end, I missed the true nature of the discomfort I felt, and I stared at the door where Golarf-san left, holding onto a frustrating feeling.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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