Chapter 8 Part 26
Translator : PolterGlast
In the administrative
district of the northern part of Arcazam.
Egrod was in a room on
the second floor of the mansion he had rented for his stay, and was looking out
over the garden below him.
Beyond his gaze, the
Knights of the Iron Skeleton, which he had commanded, were training.
The Iron Skeleton
Knights are Egrod's personal knights and are one of the most powerful in the
Kingdom of Forsina.
Although the quality
of its personnel is not as high as that of the Silver Rainbow Knights, it still
possesses high leadership, organizational, and overall strength, backed up by
the strict discipline and training characteristic of the military.
While watching his own
knight order undergo rigorous training, Egrod felt a sense of excitement in his
heart.
By nature, Egrod is a
military type of person, and watching this kind of training is how he spends
his spare time.
After watching the
knights train for a while, Egrod rang the bell that was placed by his side.
"Mekria, are you
there?"
"Yes, I'm
here."
In response to Egrod's
call, Mekria appeared.
Upon seeing Mekria,
who was bowing to him, Egrod asked her a frank question.
"You invited that
boy to join us, didn't you? Have I not told you that I would let that
opportunist take the risk for us?"
Egrod called Mekria to
ascertain why she had recruited Nozomu at the opening party.
Before the party at
the opening festival, Egrod had told Mekria not to be involved with Nozomu.
However, at the
opening party, Mekria even used an aphrodisiac to try to recruit Nozomu to her
side.
It was an act that
could be described as disloyalty, and it was only natural that Egrod questioned
her about it.
"My apologies,
but I thought it was necessary to maintain the connection for later use."
In response to
Mekria's explanation, Egrod furrowed his brow and stroked his beard as he
pondered.
He knew that this
woman would never behave in a way that would draw attention to him without a
reason.
Although Nozomu
Bountis is still a student of the academy, he is on good terms with the
Francilt household, and their relationship is already recognized by those
around them as an open and public one.
If the Francilt
household were to find itself in trouble, Nozomu Bountis would undoubtedly make
his move.
"Are you
suggesting that we should intervene if it works and further reduce Francilt's
power?..."
"Yes, it has
always been the usual thing in a war to seize the opportunity and take the
initiative..."
"But although
that opportunist is a little shaken by the agreement with the Waziart
household, he is still capable of making a decisive move. As long as they still
have the geographical advantage, a half-hearted intervention would be a bad
idea."
"But, as the
saying goes, to kill a tree, one has to start from its roots..."
While showing a
certain understanding of his subordinate's words, Egrod was determined to
maintain his non-interference.
On the other hand,
Mekria advised her lord that a certain degree of contact was necessary.
Even though both sides
agreed on the basic principles, there was a clear difference in the details of
their opinions.
"Hmph. As usual,
you're a shrewd woman."
"Thank you."
Egrod's words and
attitude toward Mekria were somewhat indifferent and devoid of warmth, as one
might expect when dealing with a trusted subordinate.
Mekria, too, was
accustomed to Egrod's responses, which were completely devoid of any kind of
intonation.
"... I understand
what you're trying to say. I'll let it slide this time. But I will not tolerate
any further intervention. Be dismissed."
"Excuse me."
In the end, Egrod
forgave Mekria's arbitrary decision at the party, but made it clear that he
would not tolerate any further intervention.
Although Egrod and
Mekria had a relationship of master and retainer, and Mekria acted on her own
initiative, their exchange was still too cold considering the fact that Mekria
was a subordinate on whom Egrod had placed a great deal of authority on.
As Mekria was leaving
the room, a man of mature age wearing black armor entered the room.
He is the leader of
the Iron Skeleton Knights Order and one of the trusted subordinates that Egrod
brought to the city.
His name is Berdik.
Because he was
entrusted with an important position, his figure exuded a stern and strict
atmosphere, but he was not so tall that he somehow reminded one of a young bear
cub.
"Master, what's
wrong?"
"Nothing."
After saying only that
to Berdik, Egrod began to watch the training session of the Knights Order
again.
"Were you calling
for her, sir?"
"Yeah, I had something
to ask her. So, how did it go?"
Egrod brushed aside
the questions of his subordinate and urged him to report on the matter he had
asked for.
Berdik glanced at the
entrance where Mekria had left as if to make sure, but immediately turned to
his master again and began to report the matter he had been investigating in an
eloquent manner.
"I have
investigated, but I could not find any evidence that she was involved in the
Ken Notice case, since all of our investigators were captured or killed. However,
it appears that she had brought a man to Arcazam prior to the incident."
What Egrod had Berdik
investigate was a background investigation into Mekria's activities while she
was in Arcazam. It was a kind of supervision.
However, the personnel
sent by Egrod had all been detained and kept in isolation due to the combined
efforts of Zonne and Jihad.
Therefore, it was not
possible to obtain any supporting evidence for Mekria's activities while she
was in Arcazam.
However, they were
able to obtain some evidence of Mekria's attempts to contact people outside of
Arcazam.
Among them, Egrod was
curious about one person she had called in as a bodyguard.
"Hmm, the Corpse
Raven huh?"
"Yes, a highly
skilled mercenary whose origin, background, and real name are completely
unknown. However, he is a genuine maniac whose thoughts and actions do not make
sense, as he kills not only his targets but also his employers on a whim."
"I see, the
skinny guy who was next to Mekria at the opening night party."
The Corpse Raven.
The Corpse Raven is a
maniac whom Mekria brought to Arcazam as her personal bodyguard, a mercenary
who possessed extraordinary skills as an assassin.
He has reaped so many
lives and shed so much blood that his nickname, which had taken root as an omen
of death, became the name by which he is known.
Among the people he
has killed, there are some who belong to the "S" rank, and his
ability and lunacy to easily kill even his employers have earned him a
reputation as a dangerous man of the highest level in many countries.
"It seems that
before coming to Arcazam, he was employed by the Cremazzone Empire."
The Cremazzone Empire.
The moment that name was mentioned, Egrod's stern gaze hardened even more.
"By any chance,
was the Corpse Raven hired at that time?"
"Yes. He was a
member of the Vuitton faction that won the war."
The Cremazzone Empire
is a powerful nation, but for the past decade or so it has been fraught with
internal strife due to factional rivalries within the country.
Recently, however, the
main figures of one faction died one after another, and the factional conflicts
were quickly resolved.
And if the side that
won the conflict had a presumed S-rank assassin who was "hired by the
hypothetical enemy" to come to Arcazam immediately after the conflict was
resolved, the situation would become all the more suspicious.
"Honestly, I
don't trust her. It is true that her abilities are outstanding, but I don't
know what she is thinking, and above all, I don't know where she comes
from."
Another problem here
would be that Mekria herself was of unknown origin.
Mekria was a woman who
had served in the Fabran family even before Egrod had yet to become the head of
the family.
According to her own
story, she was from a village that was destroyed in a bandit attack, and she
studied under a master of the stream techniques, but her master passed away.
After that, she was
looking for a place to work to make ends meet, and came to Fabran of her own
accord.
"But she is a
capable woman. She has a good track record."
At first, Egrod
thought that Mekria was a mere young girl of unknown origins, but she has made
many accomplishments with her outstanding skills.
She even helped to put
the foolish former head of the family into retirement, and her achievements
were second to none among Egrod's subordinates.
However, Egrod is also
one of the sly-old-fox aristocrats.
He sensed that Mekria
was hiding some kind of ambition behind her courtesy to him.
"She is certainly
ambitious. I don't know what she really wants, but she has an unusual ambition
inside of her. But whatever ambition she harbors, if it actually benefits us,
she will be rewarded accordingly..."
Whatever her ambitions
might be, if they were not hostile, and if they were accompanied by actual
benefits, Egrod would give proper credit to her accomplishments.
He believed that a
ruler needed to be able to swallow both the clean and the dirty.
In fact, he has
awarded Mekria with a considerable fortune and a spacious mansion.
But at the same time,
it meant that if she were to betray him, he would eliminate her immediately.
"As for the
Francilt family, it seems that they are starting to negotiate with the Waziart
family... I wonder, is it really possible? To negotiate with such a dangerous
race like vampires..."
The common perception
of vampires is that they are monsters that suck human blood and turn them into
monsters.
They have a long life
span, powerful magic, and numerous unusual abilities.
Even if one were to
take into account their weaknesses, such as the fact that they cannot survive
without blood, they are still a race that is much more powerful than humans.
In fact, there are
stories of villages and towns destroyed by these blood-crazed vampires, and one
would normally think that negotiation with such a race would be impossible.
"If it were ten
years ago, it would have been impossible. But now, if we set up the conditions
and limit the number of people in contact with them, it would not be
impossible, although it would be difficult..."
However, contrary to
Berdik's expectation, Egrod's words were an approval of the Francilt family's
actions.
Berdik tilted his head
at his master's words, which were contrary to his own opinion.
"My Lord, are you
acquainted with vampires?"
"No. Vampires,
for example, have not been out in the public eye for the last hundred years.
But if we knew that there is a possibility that we can have a chance to study them,
it would be a different story. In that sense, this city's raison d'être is not
something to be abandoned."
Berdik could not fully
read Egrod's thoughts.
But he was also
convinced that if his master said it was possible, then it must be true.
Berdik had been
discovered by Egrod when he was just a soldier, and he had risen to the rank of
Knight Commander.
He was so proud of his
own loyalty to Egrod that he was willing to kill even the king if Egrod wished
to do so.
"Anyway, there is
no need to worry about it now. Just keep monitoring and gathering
information."
"Understood!"
Egrod ended the
conversation by saying, in unspoken terms, that he would slay them mercilessly
if they turned against him.
Berdik, the leader of
the Knights of the Iron Skeleton, also returned a deep bow to his master's
intention.
