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Volume 11 Chapter 5 Part 6

「Although we aren’t on particularly good terms with other races, it cannot be termed as discrimination. However, as an elf, I cannot simply sit idly by and hand it over or allow it to be taken away. I hope you understand that.」

If the territory of the Earl of Selmar were to be taken over, then the amount of territories controlled by the Elven nobility would have decreased, and the Duke does not want to let that happen because it would cause problems for the Elves as a whole.

I understand now what it is that they want me to do. The Duke wants the territory of Selmar to remain in the Elven hands, so they want to ask me for help with the clearing and subjugation of the Labyrinths in the Earldom of Selmar.

They must be so extremely busy themselves that they would even welcome the help of a cat,or in this case, someone like me.

That is how big of an emergency it is for them.

Even though the elven nobles cooperate with each other, everyone is supposed to take care of the Labyrinths in their own territory if they want to keep their title and reign over their territories.

There are two more Labyrinths still left in the territory of the Hartz Duchy, and if they are not regularly explored and taken care of, dealing with them might become a considerably tougher endeavor.

When a Labyrinth first appears and opens its entrance, it has 50 floors that can be explored, after which it is gradually growing in size bit by bit.

If it is left unattended and allowed to grow unchecked, losing the ownership of the territory won’t be that unlikely of a result.

If you think about it, the risk will only increase as time goes on.

So, is that the emergency situation? Because even if it is, then the Duke cannot possibly ask me to go and subjugate the Labyrinth all by myself.

At best, the Duke should be convinced that I am an Adventurer who managed to reach thirty-something floor, so even he cannot be this absurd.

Eh? Or maybe… no, you do not really mean that, do you? By any chance, has Gozer been kept away from the strategic meeting for this exact reason?

「W-Well…」

「Which is why I have decided to overthrow the Earl of Selmar.」

「Huh?」

「Although he may try to beg his way out, it will essentially be an invasion.」

So that is what he actually wants to do. He plans to overthrow the Earl of Selmar because of his incompetence instead of trying to subjugate the Labyrinths on the territories that belong to him.

Like overthrowing government? Or perhaps hijacking it?

Lending a hand to him will certainly not end at just that.

In this world, the Labyrinths are born one after another without stopping, so in order to effectively combat the threat that they present, a system of continued Labyrinth extermination will have to be established.

After present subjugation of the Labyrinths in the territory of Selmar, if the extermination weren’t continued, it would lead back to the case of the current Earl of Selmar, with the history simply repeating itself.

Instead of continuously dealing with the symptoms of the disease, it would be much more effective to go and eliminate the root cause of it altogether.

Are you really going to overthrow the Earl? Is the Duke really willing to go that far?

If the matter of the removal of the Earl of Selmar were to be brought up to the Emperor, it would be rejected on the grounds of it being nothing more but rivalry between the Duke and the Earl. If that scandal then got leaked out to the public, it would be terrible.

That’s the way how it is in this world, it seems. Honestly, it almost feels like a military coup.

The thing that I don’t understand here though is what is the reason behind the Earl of Selmar’s reluctance to subjugate the Labyrinths in his territory, but maybe his reasons for not doing it are actually inconsequential here?

Overthrowing the Earl of Selmar may just be a thing the Duke wants to do to win people’s hearts. After all, it is only natural that in the absence of results, you change the leadership, just like with a national team coach in case of soccer.

But in the case of the Earl of Selmar, it is possible that he might even get the axe, and not in the metaphorical sense of the word.

Furthermore, the Earldom is Cassia’s home, and the Earl is her relative.

「That is…」

When I try to observe Cassia’s state, she was resolutely putting up a brave front, so could it be that she knew that such a thing was going to happen eventually?

Which reminds me, she did say that she was prepared for something like that to happen.

「Therefore, I want to borrow Lord Michio’s strength in this undertaking.」

「In what way, exactly?」

It is not about entering the Labyrinths in the territory of Selmar and helping with their subjugation. What is it then? What is he expecting me to do?

「Lord Michio, you once visited the Earl of Selmar together with me.」

「Yes, that is correct.」

「So you probably remember that there was a curtain with my emblem imprinted on it in the throne room.」

During the audience with the Earl of Selmar, there was a curtain with the emblem of the Harz Duchy hanging behind the Earl in the throne room where he received us. Is that the one that he is talking about?

「Indeed there was.」

「Can you move there with your 「Field Walker」Skill then?」

Geh. So he intends to use as a means of penetrating the Earl’s castle’s defenses together with his assault force?

But his plan does make a lot of sense. Even though it’s the invasion of the Earldom of Selmar, in this world, the armies do not even need to march to the enemy territory. Even if it were the Imperial City, one could simply move there by using 「Field Walker」.

「Ah…」

「Despite the appearance, the Earl of Selmar is an extremely prudent and cautious man. In order not to let the Adventurers trespass inside the castle, he used an abundance of Shield Cement while constructing the walls of his castle. Although he did nothing to help with the effort of exterminating the Labyrinths, he is extremely proficient and resourceful when it comes to defending himself. You might think that his castle would be difficult to invade as a result; however, if the one breaking into the castle would be Lord Michio, then it would be a wholly different matter entirely.」

Have you been devising a plan for this for such a long time? Was it also specially for this day that you indebted me with the referral to the Empire Liberation Society? I have been to the Earl of Selmar’s castle before, and that is why he can make use of me now.

「In other words, you want me and my Party to become vanguards in the invasion?」

As an Adventurer who is supposed to break into the castle of the Earl of Selmar, I will naturally be the first one to enter it, which is going to turn both me and the girls into unconditional spearhead, or even a suicide corps, I dare say.

「The Earl of Selmar may have guessed it; however, I cannot allow myself to keep on waiting day after night after day. There may be guards on the lookout to some extent but it won’t be to the extent of posing any real danger to you and your comrades. In order not to have the operation leaked outside, meticulous caution has been exercised at all times.」

Even Gozer, the Duke’s most trusted man, was informed of the operation just today.

Even if the tactics were leaked outside, it would be of no use unless the exact time of the decisive action was known.

「Is there no other Adventurer who is able to enter the castle of the Earl of Selmar at the moment?」

「I cannot say there is no one else; however, if I relied on someone unreliable, the Earl of Selmar would sniff the operation out eventually.」

If the Adventurer who was asked to break into the castle had a connection with the Earl of Selmar, they would definitely leak the information out to him, or even worse, they would betray the Duke.

But if that Adventurer was someone like me, a neutral party in all of this, then the odds of that happening would be significantly smaller.

「Since it has already come to light that I’m an Explorer, then how can we know that some sort of countermeasure against me has not been taken by him already?」