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Volume 5 Chapter 3 Part 8

「It’s the same everywhere on this island, except maybe for the downtown of Laxia. 」

「That’s why I want to move there! I want to wear pretty clothes all day and eat delicious meals whenever I want! And I want to fall in love with a nice man! 」

「I know that kind of life may be intimidating. Now that I’ve become a Lord, I don’t think that I could get unused to the luxurious lifestyle that I’ve been living. 」

Territory management is definitely difficult, but he never had a problem with food or clothes.

「Theo, you’ve always been different from other boys. I really thought so, and that’s what I liked about you… but then you went and left the village. 」

「I had no choice but to do that. 」

For a moment, Theo lifted his head up to the sky.

「I simply couldn’t forgive everyone from the village for what they did at that time. I thought it was their fault that my father died. 」

「He made a mistake, and we all had to pay for it as consequence.

O club wholesaler. On this island, you won’t live long if you go against the Rossini family. Being on the good terms with the Rossini family is the only way to be truly happy here. 」

「That’s not true. 」

Theo said with a strong tone.
「That’s just what you’ve been led to believe. This island certainly has many Demonic Realms on it, but the climate is warm and the crops are easy to grow. The only reason why you can’t make a decent living thanks to them is because the Rossini family is taking all of it for themselves. 」

「Well, it’s not like we have a luxury of choosing any other Lord for ourselves. 」

Rebecca sighed.

「If the people of a given territory stand up together, they can kick out their current Lord and replace them with a new one that is what I’ve been trying to tell you this entire time.

「But it’d be a forced decision. Besides, if you did that, then you’d soon be killed by Lord Salvador. 」

Rebecca turned away from Theo and said that sourly.

「That might be so. 」

Theo knew that this was a trap, but he still decided to play along with Rebecca.

She thought that he had no chances of winning, and that’s why she thought that trying to do anything was pointless.

The secret granary that Theo’s father build was a few hills away from the edge of the village. It took him years to finish it, since he was digging from the very base of the hill. Theo’s father stockpiled food here, and in years of bad harvest or heavy food deprivation, he secretly distributed whatever he managed to amass to the villagers.

The one who reported him to the Rossini family must’ve been someone who was dissatisfied with the food allocation. Once the news were out, the thugs of the Rossini family surrounded the village with a total of five hundred soldiers.

Thinking about it now, the subordinate Lord responsible for killing his father subordinate might be the nominal Lord of this village.

The hidden storehouse itself was never destroyed, because now that its existence became known, it was being used as one another ordinary storehouse.

「Is he waiting on the other side of that hill? 」

「That’s right… 」

When Theo asked, Rebecca nodded affirmatively.

「Go ahead, tell him you brought me here. Now you’ve fulfilled your role in all of this. 」

「I, I know! 」

Rebecca picked up the hem of her skirt and ran towards the granary hill.

「Lord Salvador! As promised, I brought you Theo Cornero! 」

In response to Rebecca’s voice, three people appeared on top of the hill.

One of them was Salvador Rossini. The other was a man who seemed to be a Shadow, and the last one was a woman with a broom. Theo knew who that woman was as soon as he saw her.

「You’re Yana, the Black Witch from Pandora! 」

Theo lets out an astonished voice.

He knew that Pederico Rossini had a skilled Assassin in his service. However, he had no idea that the Black Witch, who was also the perpetrator of 「The Tragedy of the Grand Cathedral 」was also working with the Rossini family. Theo witnessed firsthand how frighteningly powerful she could be when he thought against her back in Artuk’s Forest of Eternal Darkness.

「See? I told you this would work. That childhood friend of his is really beautiful, so there’s no way that he would’ve refused an invitation from someone like her! 」

Salvador called out loudly and was laughing contentedly.

「Yes, I went along with it. But you know why? Only because how naïve and blatantly obvious it was! 」

Theo laughed as well.

「That sounds like something that only a sore loser would say. 」

「That’s what I’m going to say to you after I win. 」

「Isn’t the match already decided to be my win though? 」

Saying so, Salvador gestured with his hand, and soldiers with bows appeared from the other side of the hill.

There were roughly two hundred people.

「Even if you shoot from that distance, you won’t hit me. 」
Theo spread his arms out to the sides provocatively. They were looking at him down from the top of a hill, so it might’ve felt like he was close, but Theo was actually just outside of the bow range of his ambushers.

「What did you say? 」

Salvador was enraged and sent a signal to his soldiers, who immediately proceeded to shoot arrows towards Theo all at once.

The arrows drew a parabola in the air and flew toward Theo, but only a few of them were likely to actually hit him. Theo saw that and held up his shield at the last possible minute. Since he put the power of his Crest into it, the shield completely repelled the arrows that did manage to reach him.

「You seem to be good at dealing with women, but it doesn’t seem like you’re used to fighting in actual combat. 」

Theo continued to taunt him.

He may have assisted in raiding villages, but he must not have experienced any major battles, which contrasted with Theo, who, although he didn’t want it, has been on the battlefield many times before, participating in many fierce battles.

「Do you think you can beat this many people by yourself? Or do you think you can perhaps escape? 」

Salvador’s face still shows a relaxed expression.

「Oh, but I’m not alone. 」

Theo glanced behind him. Then, Irvin, Luna, and Emma appeared on the top of the hill behind him.

「What, only three people? Those are your reinforcements? 」

Salvador burst into laughter.

「Keep your guard up, that man is the Shadow as well. He’s a Chamberlain, but his skills are considerable. 」

Boltz advised the rest of the soldiers.

「I’ll give you a chance to make amends later. Take your minions and get rid of them! 」

「Understood! 」

The Assassin confirmed the dagger hidden in his pocket.

「Those girls… 」

Yana put her hand to her forehead with a mysterious smile.

「Aren’t you Queen Clara’s twin daughters? 」

「Who’s that supposed to be? 」

「Clara was the Werewolf Queen of Artuk. Over there are her daughters. I have a bit of a history with them as well. 」

Yana sighed. Truth to be told, she had many unpleasant memories related to The Forest of Eternal Darkness.

「I don’t see the Witch from Elam anywhere though? 」

Yana looked around, but much to her displeasure, Siluca was nowhere to be seen. She tried using her 「Witch Eye」to see if she had perhaps used an invisibility spell on herself, but even then, she was nowhere to be found.

「He has fallen for the ruse of his childhood friend and he cannot escape now, so can you deal with him on your own? 」

「I have no doubts about it.「

Yana affirmed.

「About that, Your Lordship… 」

Rebecca said hesitantly.

「What? 」

「Theo Cornaro was aware of Lord Salvador’s plan the entire time. But he still chose to come here anyway. 」

「What? Wasn’t he sore loser who fell for my genius deception? 」

Salvador twisted his neck in disbelief.

「Are you saying that he purposely jumped into what he knew to be a trap? 」

「No, it doesn’t seem to be the case. 」
The Assassin’s keen senses detected the crowd approaching from afar.

「It seems that Theo Cornero has won over the villagers to his side. 」

「No way! 」

Salvador’s complexion changed.