Chapter 42: Ruin

Standing alone before the rows of Royal Guard Knights was nerve-wracking enough, but when the next man was brought in by a knight of the Royal Knights, his face made Warrens’ knees tremble.

It was the branch manager of the Kreis Branch—now wearing a slave collar and forced to kneel behind him.

He didn’t need to ask what this meant.

Warrens, pale and shaking, let out a groan when Marquis Fleming entered next.

Marquis Fleming, seeing Warrens there, felt that the result of pretending to be uninvolved ever since receiving Warrens’ urgent message had finally come to be tested.

Then Chancellor Brighton appeared, followed by an attendant in splendid ceremonial clothing who announced, “His Majesty the King.”

The Royal Guards straightened their posture, and both Marquis Fleming and Warrens knelt.

When the king took the throne, Chancellor Brighton bowed and began questioning Watrens.

Interrogation

“Martin Warrens, the man kneeling behind you is the branch manager of your Warrens Company’s Kreis Branch. You understand why he has been summoned here, do you not?”

“Your Excellency the Chancellor, I employ many servants as a merchant, but none of them wear slave collars.”

“Is that so? Yet in a hidden room built in the basement of the Kreis Branch, two young women were found wearing slave collars. Why would there be any need to hide them in such a secret room?”

“I leave the matters of each branch to their branch manager. I know nothing of the details.”

“Is that so? According to that man’s testimony, within a few months of the women being confined there, you would visit the store. And when you left, the women were placed in your carriage and taken away.”

Damn it. After all the favors I gave him, after everything I did to let him live well—he dares to spill everything like this.

“Now then, Marquis Fleming—you seem to have a close relationship with Martin Warrens.”

“Chancellor Brighton, he maintains a shop in my domain capital, Korche. As one of the wealthy merchants, he is invited to celebrations such as New Year gatherings and the birth ceremonies of my children.”

“That is the extent of your relationship?”

“Is there something more?”

“You often visit your villa on Laszlien Street in Korche. Do you not meet and converse with Warrens there?”

“True, I do have a villa there, but it is used for resting from work or for my companions to entertain the townspeople.”

“I see. Then may we make use of it for a while?”

“Contact me when necessary—you may use it at any time.”

“This is after the fact, but by His Majesty’s will, we have already dispatched Duke Berlant’s knights to Korche. Thank you for permitting this.”

Marquis Fleming did not know that four days before he was summoned, Duke Berlant’s knights had already departed from Heliant toward Korche under the royal flag.

■ The Knights’ Operation

On the morning the order was received, three hundred knights left Heliant. The leading squads of one hundred and two hundred galloped forward carrying the royal flag, passing through the town of Gerand shouting, “Clear the way for Royal Duty!”

At the entrance of Korche, they commanded the gate guards. 

“We proceed to the Marquis Fleming estate on royal business. Lead us!” 

The guards panicked, but were forced to comply.

After the 200-knight unit passed, the remaining 100 knights—also carrying the royal flag—raced not toward the Marquis’ estate, but into Laszlien Street, together with a group of men wearing red cloth on their arms and hiding their faces.

They halted before the indicated residence.

“By order of His Majesty the King, we are seizing this villa of Marquis Fleming. Open the gate!”

“We recognize Duke Berlant’s knights, but what is the meaning of this ‘royal order’?”

“Do your eyes fail you? This is the royal flag! Open the gate at once. Disobeying would be treason!”

With that final line, no servant of the Marquis’ household dared resist. The gate was opened.

The knights and the masked men flooded inside, subdued the estate, and separated those wearing slave collars, as well as the servants and guards.

Marquis Fleming’s face paled upon hearing Chancellor Brighton’s words.

That villa could only be used by the Marquis and his heir, though it was officially registered under the name of another merchant. He did not know that among the townspeople, it had long been referred to as the Marquis’ villa because sometimes the Marquis’ carriage came and went—and at other times, only Warrens’ company carriages visited.

Warrens should never have spoken of the villa. If he did, it would implicate a Marquis—and he would lose all chance of being protected.

He realized how naive he had been and hung his head.

“Marquis Fleming, we have received an interesting report regarding your villa from the unit dispatched to Korche. You will remain in the royal castle for some time—we have many questions for you.”

Hearing this, Marquis Fleming finally understood he had been completely played. There was no longer any way out.

Warrens, kneeling beside him, felt the same despair. He could not understand how things had come to this.

Marquis Fleming tried to meet the eyes of the king on the throne as he was dragged away by the Royal Guards, but before he could speak, he was hauled from the room.

■—————–Aftermath———————-

“Is it finished?”

Duke Berlant addressed the king and Chancellor Brighton.

“Duke Berlant, thanks to your report, we have avoided a disgraceful scandal. You have my gratitude.”

“The honor of the Sutherland Kingdom was at stake. I am grateful to assist.”

“No, this began by chance. It was discovered because the Adventurers’ Guild had grown dissatisfied with the arrogance of the Warrens Company.”

“And if we had not captured that branch manager first, the entire affair might never have come to light.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? This all began with Marquis Fleming requesting the Adventurers’ Guild to capture a large number of Chikki-Chikki Birds—and one particular adventurer became involved.”

“Oh? That sounds interesting. Tell me the full story over tea.”

The king showed interest, and with those words, Duke Berlant sat on a sofa in His Majesty’s office and began explaining the events to the king and the chancellor.

“After delivering the Chikki-Chikki Birds as requested, the adventurer I mentioned earlier was later approached by an envoy from Chairman Warrens. The problem started with that envoy. He apparently walked up to the adventurer while he was speaking with other adventurers, invoked Warrens’ name, and demanded the Chikki-Chikki Birds.”

“Did he not request them through the Adventurers’ Guild?”

“The adventurers who had been talking with him said the envoys drove them off like stray dogs. Those adventurers saw the envoy chasing after the man afterward—and that was the last time either group was seen in Korche. Later, the sub-master of the Adventurers’ Guild spotted them in the city of Kreis. He informed the guild master, who then contacted me. At that point, Warrens was only trying to obtain Chikki-Chikki Birds and Runner Birds to send to me.
But soon after, the guild sent another message—there had been a disturbance at the Warrens Company in Kreis.”

“That was the beginning of all this?”

“Yes. After the guild master contacted me, I had a squad led by the guild sub-master hide nearby along with my security unit.”

“Hm? They did not work directly under your command?”

“The guild reported that the man had been invited to the Warrens Company, and they sent word they were heading there. But we were strictly warned not to storm the place until everything was over—it was too dangerous.”

“He went alone?”

“He is apparently a wind-magic user, and he has records of defeating Big Horn Boars and Black Bears alone. On the night he was invited, just after his carriage entered the company grounds, chaos erupted inside the building. Windows shattered, various things flew out from inside—even people, they said. Once things quieted down, the sub-master signaled his men to enter. They reported that the interior looked as though a storm had blown through.”

“He’s that powerful a mage?”

“I wasn’t entirely convinced at first. But that is when they discovered the hidden basement room containing two women wearing slave collars.”

“So Warrens brought ruin upon himself by targeting that adventurer?”

“The man testified that he simply retaliated after being dragged into a torture chamber.
As he said, many were dead in that torture chamber, the knights in the manor were all badly injured, and even the branch manager’s office had been subdued.”

“A single mage capable of all that… quite fascinating.”

—————————————–

Although the branches in Kreis and Zandra had been crushed, there were still the towns of Renand and Billing before the capital—each likely to have a Warrens Company branch as well.

There’s a saying: “If something stinks, you destroy the source.”

So I’d love to crush that ‘Boss Warrens’ himself, but his defenses will be tight.

Stopping by the Adventurers’ Guild now would reveal that I’m heading for the royal capital, so I decided to cut straight across the grasslands toward it.

The two branches that dragged me in made a mistake, but the main body—Lord Warrens himself—probably never imagined I would strike back.

It takes a day and a half to reach the capital along the Blanges Highway.
And once I arrive, I won’t know left from right, so I need to memorize at least some routes.

Also, I should prepare an escape method that doesn’t involve creating balloons or tornadoes.

For now, I’ll head to the royal capital, Leclerc, and do a bit of sightseeing.
I should buy souvenirs for Mom and the others… though having only a little over 5,000,000 Dara makes me feel a bit uneasy.

Rather than worrying about Warrens, I should earn some coin the adventurer way—by hunting monsters.