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Vol 01 Chapter 27-2: Iarl

Iarl was visiting King Ferme’s Country.

In King Ferme’s Country, there are hundreds of villages, each with a population ranging from about fifty to two hundred people. Consequently, there are just as many village chiefs.

Iarl’s village was one of the most remote in King Ferme’s Country, with a relatively small population. Additionally, Iarl became the village chief three years ago following the sudden death of his father. Thus, he was relatively unknown.

However, considering he was the chief of a village that recently fled, it might be better to assume he was somewhat well-known. Although he was officially dead, so there might not be much need for concern.

The real issue was how to make contact with those likely dissatisfied with King Ferme, those of the so-called Aris faction. Iarl had someone in mind who might belong to this faction.

The man’s name was Boros. He was a former member of the Aris Family and had earned distinctions fighting against King Domorgal’s Country multiple times.

When King Ferme rebelled, Boros was on leave at home and was easily captured. Initially, King Ferme intended to kill Boros, as his loyalty to Ragou Aris seemed genuine. However, he couldn’t go through with it.

The reason was simple. King Ferme’s own soldiers and the residents from Boros’s domain petitioned for his life. Even King Ferme couldn’t kill him when faced with pleas from his own supporters.

Afterward, Boros was spared under the condition he swore loyalty to King Ferme and was demoted to guard duty in a remote area. There were many other patricians who, for similar reasons or because of their originally low status, were also spared.

The problem lay in whether Boros swore loyalty to King Ferme out of a desire to save his own life or to have a chance to seek revenge. Depending on what were his intentions, approaching him could be dangerous. However, Iarl was almost certain Boros was loyal to the Aris family.

Rumors suggested he had been in contact with other spared patricians. Still, these were, after all, just rumors. King Ferme had been unable to execute him due to the lack of conclusive evidence, and Boros himself had been fervently denying these accusations.

Nonetheless, this man seemed to be the best option to start with.

◇

First, Iarl arrived at the village to which Boros had been exiled.

It was near the border with King Domorgal’s Country, but strategically, it wasn’t of much value. Such was the place.

There, Iarl disguised himself as a merchant. His goods were furs and wine he received from Almus as props for his disguise. First, he went to a small mountain near the village. Then, after climbing a reasonably tall fruit-bearing tree, he waited for a villager to pass by and jumped, breaking his right leg bone in the process. The kind-hearted villager helped him and brought him to the village.

In this way, he was able to infiltrate the village, albeit a bit unnaturally.

Once inside the village, he freely talked about his fake persona and made-up background, asking if he could stay until his broken leg healed in exchange for his goods as lodging fees. The value of the goods he offered as lodging fees surpassed the cost of the food Iarl would consume, so the villagers were delighted with this arrangement.

Through the village chief, Iarl made contact with Boros. They drank together and became friendly. In his interactions with Boros, it became clear that the man was quite pleasant and also very cautious.

Even when Iarl casually brought up topics related to King Ferme or Ragou Aris, Boros never voiced any dissatisfaction towards King Ferme. However, his expression shifted ever so slightly. It seemed he wasn’t very good at lying. Thus, Iarl became almost certain that Boros was part of the Aris faction.

However, there was still no conclusive evidence. He wanted something more definitive.

But then, something unexpected happened. His broken leg healed much quicker than anticipated. Normally, it would take at least two months, no matter what. But it healed in a week, and he was able to walk in two weeks.

So, Iarl pretended his leg was still injured and decided to secretly monitor Boros at night. Of course, he couldn’t just wander in front of Boros’s house so, carrying a crutch, Iarl sneaked around the village. If worst came to worst, he could claim he was just practicing walking.

But finding evidence wasn’t so easy.

Perhaps I should try watching Boros’s house despite the risks…

Iarl contemplated this while looking at the full moon, then a small shadow crossed in front of the moon.

It was something that wouldn’t be visible with normal human eyesight, but Iarl, who was beginning to be affected by Almus’s blessing, was able to faintly see it. The shadow was an owl, with something like a tube tied to its leg.

The owl flew straight to Boros’s house.

A formal envoy from King Ferme wouldn’t use an owl for messages. Therefore… it was either from his allies in the Aris faction, a secret message from King Rosais, or maybe he was secretly colluding with King Domorgal. Either way, it was clear he was an enemy of King Ferme. Thus, Iarl got solid evidence in hand.

The next day, Iarl went to Boros’s house.

「Actually, last night, while I was secretly practicing walking, I saw an owl. It had a letter tied to its leg.」

As Iarl said this, Boros drew his sword almost at the same time. The sword stopped just shy of Iarl’s neck.

「What are you trying to say?」

「Don’t you want to know where Tetra Aris-sama is?」

Iarl later recounted that Boros’s face at that moment was quite a sight to see.

◇

「Are you Almus-dono?」

「Yes.」

Before me stood a large man with a fierce look and an old woman holding a staff. Next to them was Iarl.

And beside me stood Tetra.

「May I see it?」

「Yes.」

Tetra turned her back to the large man and lifted her clothes slightly. The old woman touched the sacred words on Tetra’s back, which began to glow faintly.

「There is no mistake. These are the sacred words and family crest I engraved on Tetra-sama when she was four years old.」

The old woman declared.

「Tetra-sama!!」

「Wow!!」

As soon as the large man saw the crest, he knelt at Tetra’s feet.

「I apologize for doubting you … I’m so relieved. Truly relieved!! There has not been a day since that defeat when I have been as happy as today.」

Wow, a grown man is crying… You are deeply loved, Ragou-san.

Someday, I should visit his grave.

「Almus-dono!!」

「Whoa!」

Suddenly, Boros grabbed my shoulder. His nails were digging into my flesh.

It hurts, let go!

「I apologize! But thank you, thank you so much for protecting the young lady up until now. From this moment forward, including myself, all the members of the Aris Family swear loyalty to you.」

「I see, thank you. I understand, so wipe your tears.」

I handed over a handkerchief. Boros used it to wipe his tears.

Hey, don’t blow your nose on it!

「But it’s not like we’re definitely going to war, okay? We have a disparity in military strength. We’ll avoid war as much as possible. You understand, right?」

「Yes. I understand that we should not initiate battles with low chances of winning.」

「That’s good then.」

My goal is to protect everyone and this place. I don’t have any ambition to become a king or a patrician. I’m doing this because it’s advantageous to have the Aris Family on our side.

「Still, for a small village, you have quite the facilities.」

「 We had to rush, but we should be able to finish the construction in time. Just need to dig lots of pitfalls and it’ll be complete.」

Ten months have passed since then. It was very challenging.

「By the way, I hear there’s something called a secret weapon?」

「Well, yes. Want to see it? It’s actually about to be completed soon.」

I took out the black powder prototype NO.100.

This is my hundredth attempt. It’s a good number, so I hope this one has the correct ratio. The ratio I used this time was 75% nitrate, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal. After that, you put the mixture into a sealed container, and the bomb is complete.

「I’ve perfected the formula using the first ninety-nine prototypes. I think this composition ratio is perfect.」

Making black powder is easy. But transforming it into a bomb with lethal capability is extremely difficult.

When subjected to a strong impact, it explodes, but if just ignited, it only burns. That’s what happened to most of the prototypes so far.

I placed the black powder on the magic circle and rested my hand on it. The magic circle began to glow faintly.

This magic circle was developed by Tetra. Its effect is to ignite five seconds after channeling magic power into it.

I quickly moved away from the spot.

Five seconds passed.

A thunderous noise pierced my ears, and the ground shook.

「Sort of a success, I guess.」

I looked at where the explosion occurred. When the white smoke cleared, the ground had a small crater on it.

It seems like this will be quite destructive.

「This is incredible. What kind of magic is this?」

「It’s not magic. Well, it uses some magecraft, though.」

Boros showed a slightly frightened expression. A big man like him was scared. The soldiers of King Ferme won’t stand a chance.

「With this, victory is assured!」

「Well, maybe.」

That’s quite dubious. After all, the enemy outnumbers us.

「If it comes to battle, will it be in two months?」

「Yeah. Around the harvest. Soon, a year will have passed since they came last time. There’s a high chance they’ll come to collect the tributes. It was colder than usual this year, so they probably had a poor harvest and will try to extort food from us. Obviously, we’ll refuse. We don’t have any reserves either.」

I really wish we could buy another year tough…

「The basic strategy is to disrupt the enemy’s formation with bombs before charging.」

A phalanx is strong because it forms a solid formation. If that’s disrupted, we have the advantage. Originally, the phalanx has a weakness in that it cannot make flexible movements. Moreover, the enemy soldiers’ training and morale are low.

I hope they retreat before reaching our village.