Chapter 90: Reunited with a former ally, part 7
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
Before long, other knights arrived and I had to make a hasty retreat. At the very least, I had rid Rina of one of the pests eating away at her.
「What now…」
I decided to head for the old castle.
I could make out its silhouette under the moonlight. While there were numerous sentries on duty, none of them were able to detect my presence. Using the darkness to conceal myself, I slipped past them without activating my skill and approached Lord Moisander’s residence.
I climbed to the highest floor and began the search using my intuition. Most important people will have an escape route ready. The castle had been constructed such that this escape route led underground. Backtracking from that point, I could make an educated guess at which room belonged to the baron.
Believing that I had found my target, I walked right in without hesitation.
「Who are you?」
Behind a desk that was too big for him sat a young noble. His face, lit by a lamp, was slender and gentlemanly.
「Good evening. I apologise for coming so late at night.」
「…I would much rather you knocked first instead of only being polite in your speech.」
「I take it that you know Rina… a small girl from the Heroes’ Party who lives at the orphanage.」
「Who is that? What are you talking about?」
「Paska told me everything.」
「Seriously, who are you?」, snapped Lord Moisander as he tutted at me.
「I’m from the Kingdom of Ferland’s secret service.」
It’s a bogus position, of course, but rather convenient.
「Never heard of it.」
「We do report directly to his Majesty, after all. Of course a noble like you would never have heard of it. My requests are simple — return the funds you embezzled from the king and discontinue the use of that disgusting underground arena.」
「This is Lukas Moisander you’re speaking to, you know?」
「My requests will not change regardless of who I’m speaking to.」
Putting his pen down, Lord Moisander tried to turn me away.
「You’re clueless. Completely clueless! Who do you think is supporting this entire kingdom? It’s me, me! The head of the Moisander family!」
「I’ll say it again — I don’t care who you are.」
The baron glanced at the doorway.
「Your knights won’t be joining us. Especially that bedfellow of yours, Paska.」
The commander had probably become dog food by now. I mean, I had stuck a fork in his hand. If that doesn’t symbolise my desire for him to become supper, I don’t know what does.
「…」
Not all the knights are Paska’s henchmen. After the commander’s demise, I had visited their outpost and spoken to an earnest-looking man. It was halfway through our conversation that I found out that he was the vice commander. According to him, much of the formation had wanted to speak out against their commander, but couldn’t.
I took one step toward the baron, causing him to stand up abruptly.
「W-What are you after!? If you want money, you can have as much as you want!」
「Have my words gone in one ear and out the other? I asked you to return the funds that you probably pocketed to run that underground arena.」
「How do you know about that…?」
The arena itself was rather old. It had clearly been refurbished in order to allow the audience to sit comfortably. This had only happened recently. Lord Moisander’s previously calm expression gave way to anxiety. Beads of sweat began to appear.
「That was our money to begin with…! Do you know how much money we contribute every year!?」
「The kingdom only collects an appropriate amount from each region. None are asked to go above and beyond.」
I had heard this from King Randolph himself in the past.
「It was used to fund the war! We, the Moisander family, funded the war! And are we supposed to get zero recompense for it…? Think about it!」
「If we lost the war, everyone you know, including yourself, would have been killed.」
At the end of the day, he’s just a miser, huh?
「D-Don’t come any closer! Who do you think I am!?」
「I despise people who keep repeating the same thing.」
「What’s wrong with running the arena on my own turf!?」
「If you want to dispute that, then… this is what I realised when I visited it personally. That arena is not running on your turf. It’s on Lord Bardell’s.」
「What…?」, the baron said, his jaw dropping.
「That makes no sense! We made it such that the entrance is within my region, so of course it belongs to the Moisander family!」
「What an outrageous argument.」
I kicked his desk, producing a much louder sound than I had expected.
「Hyaaa!?」
「It’s your choice. Will you return the money? Or do you prefer to beg for mercy from King Randolph himself?」
If the arena is on — or under, rather — Lord Bardell’s land, then his argument would hold less water than a fishnet.
「If the public gets to hear of this, you will be recorded in the history books as a low-life who committed unspeakable atrocities on another family’s turf.」
「Look, I’ve said this many times now…! This is the Moisander family you’re messing with! We’re distant relatives of the royal family! You might as well be staging an insurrection against them!」
At long last, he decided to pull the Ferland card. Rather than being appalled, I almost felt like laughing.
「King Randolph himself told me that he ‘knows nothing’ about what will happen.」
「This cannot be…! You mean to say that we, the Moisander family… no, I, Lukas Moisander… have been abandoned…!?」, wailed the baron.
「No, you haven’t been abandoned. They’ve just turned a blind eye to you. You embezzled the orphanage’s funds and used it to run an underground arena. Not to mention the blatant violation of human rights going on down there… you need to understand that they want nothing to do with you.」
「No, no way…」
Pushing his back to the wall, he slid onto the floor, trembling slightly.
「Fine, I’ll return it. But about this, about everything… pretend you haven’t seen anything… please…」, he muttered as he lowered his head.
「King Randolph will be told everything anyway. Also, he said that if anything happens to you, he sees not, hears not and knows not.」
「Then, I’ll…」
「You, the kingpin of the Moisander family, will also be its undoing.」
He clenched his fists and raised his voice.
「Even if I cease operations, those pleasure-seeking folks will still walk the earth! No matter what you do to me, nothing will change!」
It was at that moment that a dazzling light filled the room accompanied by a deafening roar. You could feel the shockwaves in the air. Even though it was nighttime, it was clear that smoke and dust was rising from somewhere far in the distance.
「What, what was that…」
「That’s… the area where your arena is.」
Could it be…?
「What happened!? That arena… I poured so much money into that arena!」
He picked himself up and took a pair of binoculars from his desk drawer.
「It’s been blown up…!?」
I snatched the binoculars from him. Looking through it, I found a massive crater where the arena had once been. Some underground establishment had been erased by mysterious, yet powerful magic, it seemed. When the smoke began to clear, I could make out the faint outlines of a few people walking among the rubble. Rina was still asleep, so I had an inkling of who else it could have been.
「It’s all over… do what you want…」
He had completely lost the will to fight. Bringing the defeated man along with me, I created a ‘Gate’ and blinked to the royal capital.
Despite intruding in the wee hours of the morning, I found a man in the king’s private chamber still awake and doing paperwork. I explained everything to him.
「I see. It was on another family’s land… but you didn’t kill him, huh, Roland?」
「I don’t kill every evil person I see. I only kill when it can’t be helped.」
After all, the baron still had royal blood in him. Even though the king had hinted that it was okay for me to assassinate him, I much preferred to leave his sentencing to the authorities.
Lord Moisander’s head was hung low. I grabbed him by his hair and looked him in the eye.
「Oi.」
「Yikes –」
「If I get wind of you doing anything again, I’ll actually kill you like I did to Paska. Got it?」
「Yes, I promise…」
Intimidation is the best way to get someone to follow your orders.
「I must thank you, Roland. He might be irredeemable, but he’s still related to us by blood. You’ve settled the matter of the arena too. Oh, and sorry for not lending you a hand.」
「Save it. The sun is rising.」
「Shall we breakfast together?」
I shook my head. Fine, I get it, laughed the king.
「I have to go now. I’ll be late for work.」
I have to get home before that young mage wakes up.
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