It seemed Shatien was not the only one who thought Count Shatin’s absence was an opportunity.
Just look at it.
The unidentified intruders were currently ransacking Count Shatin’s office.
Furthermore.
“Dammit!”
“It cannot be helped! Kill them. Draw your swords, quickly.”
-Crash!
Once discovered, they drew their blades and lunged toward Shatien and Mage Agpiel.
“Be careful! Their movements are unusual.”
Mage Agpiel hurriedly backed away and shouted.
“Step back for a moment and wait for the guards, young knight.”
Mage Agpiel knew how well Shatien fought. After all, he had seen him fight several times while they stayed together in the North. But this time was a little different.
“Do not rush in one by one! Form a perimeter.”
Not only were five or six swordsmen spreading out in all directions to pounce simultaneously.
“Do not be scared! A knight is not invincible. It is all the same when a blade is stuck in your body!”
“The darkness! Use the darkness!”
They were positioning themselves exquisitely, lingering at the boundary of the shadows in the room. Moreover, as they said, Shatien happened not to be wearing any special armor today.
In other words, he had to face them with his bare body.
“Ah, yes, yes. I will be careful.”
But Mage Agpiel did not know Shatien well enough.
-Shring.
Not only did the darkness fail to restrict Shatien.
“D-Dieeeee!”
“Lunge at him-!”
Shatien’s skill had already crossed the wall and reached a noble peak far beyond the horizon.
-Flash!
-Slice!
A single strike.
“Ke—keuk!?”
-Gush!
The three intruders who lunged at that swung sword collapsed, clutching their throats.
“??!”
“???”
It was truly unbelievable skill.
However, Shatien, who produced that result, was perfectly composed.
“Will you continue to fight?”
By now, an engagement of this level could not even cause him tension.
And the intruders, realizing the clear difference in skill, hurriedly lowered their weapons.
-Clang.
“W—We surrender.”
They were quick-witted.
Truly.
* * *
“Hmmmm…. Is that so?”
Shatien nodded as he interrogated the captives he had seized.
He had expected it since he saw traces of a curse, but as he thought, it was indeed a curse. And it was true that a conspiracy targeting Count Shatin was in progress. Of course, our cautious Mage Agpiel.
“But can we fully trust their words? They might be lying to survive. No, even if part of it is true, it might be a scheme to drive a wedge between us, young knight.”
While speaking sternly, he turned his back to the captives and winked one eye at Shatien.
It was a gesture to pressure them so they would produce more solid evidence.
Shatien gave a short laugh and asked the one who looked like the leader of the intruders indifferently.
“Your response to that?”
“N-No, that is not true!”
“Is it not? How do we know if you are spreading discord, as the Sage of the Forest suggested?”
“Exactly. The crime of trespassing into the Count’s library without permission. You might be acting recklessly since you are going to die anyway.”
Watching Shatien and Mage Agpiel play along with each other, the intruder leader’s heart burned with frustration.
He had never felt so wronged.
But to survive, he had to rack his brains and find a way somehow.
Then, a fact suddenly came to mind.
“The command directive!!! There is a command directive sent from the court of the Holy Emperor! To my knowledge, the branch manager has that order.”
“Oho?”
They left such a trace?
It was hard to believe, but then again, considering the Emperor’s personality, it was plausible. He was the style of person who liked to give meticulous instructions himself.
“The branch manager has left the branch to entertain Count Shatin. Since a large-scale banquet is being held in a clearing on the outskirts of the city, if we go to the branch now, we can enter without any problem. I will go with you.”
“You will go with us?”
“Y-Yes!”
Then Mage Agpiel gave another cynical laugh.
“You want to go to a place swarming with subordinates who follow your orders? Are you trying to pull a stunt to escape?”
“A stunt you say! You can just hold a blade to my back as we go! Why would I play such a joke with my life on the line? Please believe me.”
Just what kind of deep-seated grudge did they have to torment him so viciously? Forgetting the fact that he was a murky and despicable intruder, the intruder leader shed a few tears.
“Fine.”
Well, regardless, his proposal was quite a good one.
It was a definitive card that eliminated the need to find the medium of the curse and persuade Count Shatin through tedious and complex means, or to break a sweat proving it was not the work of the Holy See.
Therefore, Shatien and Mage Agpiel did not refuse the man's offer.
“Lead the way.”
It was somewhat burdensome to head straight to their base without reporting to the Holy See envoy, but the situation did not allow for such luxuries.
It was a battle against time.
“You had better pray that the branch manager you speak of hasn't returned by the time we arrive.”
“D-Don't worry. The branch manager decided to keep Count Shatin tied up until I return and contact him.”
“Yes, that better be the case.”
It was public knowledge that the backer of the Hoppen Merchant Guild was the Holy Emperor.
Plundering an ordinary Merchant Guild might not be a big deal, but plundering one with such a backer was no easy feat. Even more so when suppressing them with a very serious justification like this.
If the manager of the Hoppen branch was at the branch, he would hear the commotion and destroy all the documents, and Shatien and the Holy See would be caught in a very unpleasant dispute over this matter.
Fortunately, of course.
“Captain of the Guard, you have arrived?”
“Yes. Is the branch manager here now?”
“No. He is still greeting Count Shatin.”
At those words, the intruder leader, or rather the Merchant Guard Captain, let out a sigh of relief.
“Then clear the way quickly. I have something to say to these precious guests.”
“Huh? Precious guests?”
The merchant employee glanced at Shatien and Mage Agpiel in the rear. They did not look like precious guests suitable for the Merchant Guild by any measure. Moreover, it was suspicious that the Guard Captain kept breaking into a cold sweat.
But that was as far as it went.
“Understood. Then I will tell the servants to prepare to receive the guests.”
The employee cleared the path. He wondered if the Guard Captain would actually do something strange.
Of course, such a complacent response brought the worst result for the Merchant Guild.
“H-Here it is.”
“Oh, it was true?”
“To manage such an important document so carelessly…. Tsk tsk. You should not be like this.”
There really was a command directive. Stamped with a seal from the Emperor’s court.
* * *
‘Hmmmmm. Why is this bastard so late???’
Hobbs, the branch manager of the Homel Merchant Guild, was burning with anxiety while attending to the people.
It was because the Guard Captain he had given instructions to was far later than expected.
The sun was beginning to set on the banquet that had started during the day, and it was getting dark. This meant the banquet would soon end and he could no longer hold Count Shatin.
“Hahahaha. Why is your complexion so poor, Branch Manager?”
“Ah! It seems I too am being affected by the plague. Dear me….”
“My. You must not be sick. Did I not fall ill first? That sickness was truly terrible. If not for the medicine given by the envoy of the Holy See here, I would have continued to be in bad shape.”
Then, a quite good idea suddenly occurred to Branch Manager Hobbs.
“Ah! That medicine? Is the efficacy that good, Your Excellency?”
“Yes. I felt quite better as soon as I took it. Did you not receive some as well? They probably distributed it evenly just in case.”
“That is right. I have it too, Count. In that case, would it be alright if I went to take my medicine for a moment?”
Using the medicine as an excuse to leave the spot for a while.
Count Shatin was not such a heartless person, so he would surely permit it. And Hobbs intended to use that gap to send people to check the progress.
Fortunately, as expected, Count Shatin moved according to Hobbs’ thoughts.
“Why ask permission for everything. Go at once. It would not look good if the host was missing, so you must return quickly, alright? Haha.”
“Phew. I will be back in a moment, Your Excellency. Hahahaha.”
Saying that, Branch Manager Hobbs hurriedly headed toward his tent set up on one side of the banquet grounds.
It was to send someone quickly to grasp the situation.
Of course, it was unlikely, but if things had gone wrong, he would have to flee first, wouldn't he?
The deeds they had carried out in Count Shatin’s territory under the Emperor’s orders were not things they could handle the consequences of.
However, no sooner had he entered than someone from the branch sought him out.
“Branch Manager. Did you perhaps arrange to meet guests separately?”
“Guests?”
“Yes, the Guard Captain entered the branch just now leading some guests.”
It was absurd enough that he had sought him out suddenly, but he was saying something even more absurd. Why would he meet guests while a banquet was being held outside? Moreover, why the Guard Captain? He was supposed to be performing another task secretly under his orders.
‘Wait,’
Then, an ominous thought flashed through Branch Manager Hobbs’ mind.
‘Could it be…?’
What if those guests were not actually guests? What if the Guard Captain had betrayed him?
Cold sweat began to stream down Hobbs’ back.
“Quickly! Prepare to leave at once.”
“What?”
“Hurry up and gather only the minimal documents and prepare to get out of here!”
Branch Manager Hobbs roared at the dazed merchant employee before him.
But ominous thoughts always had a way of coming true.
-Shrrk.
The entrance of the tent opened.
“Where are you going in such a hurry, Branch Manager Hobbs? Or rather….”
A young man he had never seen before.
A man who looked like a knight by anyone’s standard stepped forward.
“Should I call you the culprit of this filthy business?”
Behind him, Count Shatin stood with a completely stiff expression, accompanied by the envoy of the Holy See and soldiers.
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