In the center of Krasland is a castle surrounded by high walls.
This is the residence of Marquis Krall, who rules this city and the
surrounding area.
Currently, three people are in the Marquis' room, located on the castle's top
floor.
They were Marquis Krall, the castle lord, and the Zaintert sisters, Milena
and Florencia.
The sisters had come to report their work to their guardian, the Marquis.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all this trouble, both of you. It must have
been a hard journey."
"No, sir, not at all. It was an easy mission, to be honest."
Milena answered the Marquis's words while trying not to show her
emotions.
"I see. Florencia, how is your father doing?"
"Father is doing well. He is calmer now, thanks to the medicines uncle has
prepared for us."
The Marquis nodded to Florencia, who answered so.
"Good, good. After all, it is only I who have the cure for that disease. Both
of you, don't ever forget our agreement."
Milena and Lacy nodded nervously at these intimidating words.
"Yes. In exchange for our father's cure, we will heed all our uncle's
requests, whatever they will be."
"And we have been fulfilling that agreement ever since."
Among the "requests" ordered by the Marquis were many underground
ones, but Milena and Lacy did it without complaining.
Satisfied with that reply, the Marquis proceeded.
"…So, how was Lucy and the others, Milena?"
The Marquis, who was in front of the two, asked the older sibling while
folding his wrinkled hands.
Taking that as a prompt, Milena nodded once and took out a bunch of
papers summarizing the report from her bag.
She handed it to the Marquis and began to speak.
"First of all, regarding Viscount Lucy Finlay, I think her being an excellent
field commander is true."
"Hm, did it look that way to you?"
The Marquis mused while looking at the dossier he received.
"Yes. In the short time I was with her, I felt she was well trusted by the
soldiers and handled her men well."
To some extent, Milena and Lucy are cousins, but her speech, despite with
pure admiration for her relative, was without any favoritism.
The Marquis nodded with a complicated expression upon hearing Lucy's
growth.
He had been looking at her because she was the daughter of his outstanding
and now deceased brother-in-law, but now, she is becoming a hindrance
because she's with people the Marquis didn't like.
"What about her surroundings? Was that woman from the Demon Race
creating a ruckus?"
The first thing the Marquis checked was Anastasia.
After Anastasia lifted the spell, the freed Count Luke finally realized that he
was the one being manipulated by the Demon Race woman all along.
This was soon conveyed to Marquis Krall, who in turn immediately
regarded her as one of the dangerous people on his list. If yo u ar e abl e to
re ad this me ssa ge, y ou are re ad ing from an una uthor ized ag gre gate sit
e. Re ad at my Wor d Pre ss at st abb ing with a sy rin ge. ho me. bl og to su
pp ort me and my tran slati ons.
To this, Milena also replied with an unreadable expression.
"She is indeed a dark elf woman based on her description, but as far as I can
see, she didn't act particularly suspicious."
For Milena, who was an astute person, Anastasia's appearance, which even
felt frivolous, was the exact opposite of what she had imagined based on the
information she had been given in advance.
…or at least she didn't look like the type that likes to scheme behind the
scenes. A very carefree person.
"What do you think, Florencia?"
After being asked a question, Lacy answered after thinking for a while.
"I think she's fine. Probably. At the very least, I didn't feel any hostility
from her."
Compared to Milena, Lacy's answer is a little vague, but that is because she
is more of a warrior than her sister. To compromise for that, she got better
"instincts" for people.
And she's not just a warrior. Florencia is so strong that even the strongest
soldiers of the Marquis can't get a hold of her once she picks up a sword
and fights, even gaining the fame of being one of the best among the
nobility.
Even this girl couldn't detect any hostility from her… the Marquis nodded
his head, though his face was a little grim.
"But the magic I saw up close was amazing! Even I might be in danger if I
got hit by one of those."
"So you have seen it too, huh? I have seen it before, but it was more
terrifying for us, as we were on its receiving end back then. I really want to
get rid of her as possible, considering the chaos she could bring, but to my
regret, there is no longer anything I can do with our situation."
The Marquis says so as he openly reveals his hostility toward the Demon
Race.
The "back then" he was referring to was the war that happened when the
Demon God was still alive.
As one of the generals, he also participated in the war to protect humanity,
but he was injured by the enemy's magic, causing him to stay away from
the front lines.
"However, it is a pity that in the current situation, we need military power
more than ever to defend the city, especially now that the capital is gone.
Whether it is foreigners, pagans, or demons, we must welcome each
increase in number to bolster our military forces."
Even now, Krasland is experiencing rapid multi-ethnicization due to an
increase in refugees and immigrants.
Already nearly 30% of the total population is of different ethnicity, which
has been a concern for the Marquis.
"I don't want to do anything that will stimulate them to strive for power,
especially in the current situation where these alien races are already eating
into the economy. Their only role here is to provide more labor and I to
redistribute their profits. Only we, of the Krasland bloodline, shall have the
right to rule this land and develop it! …Sorry, I got a little excited there."
"No, It's okay. I understand uncle's grief very well."
Milena tries to calm down the Marquis with such words.
Krasland was once dictatorially ruled by Marquis Krall, who had no
antipathy towards immigrants back then. But ever since the appearance of
monsters began, his way of thinking changed, primarily due to the ruling
structure of his territory starting to shift due to the nobles and refugees
coming in from various places.
However, without the nobles' military strength, the city cannot be defended,
and without the labor force of the refugees, production cannot keep pace.
As a result, the Marquis had to take such foreign existences into
consideration.
However, having no choice but to tolerate them, the marquis' hate for these
immigrants grew, to the point of restorting to making up lies and relying on
nepotism to strengthen his position. This is also why he sees Yuushin as a
threat rather than an ally, with the way he clings hard to the umbrella that is
Lucy to gain benefits while being safe from the rain.
The Marquis, who finally calmed down with Milena's words, dropped his
eyes to the corner of the document.
The name "Yuushin Sanada" was carved there.
"Hmm, then what about Sanada? He's an uncertain factor, so I want as
much information on him as possible."
Milena answered that question again.
"I had a one-on-one conversation with him, but all I heard… was a strange
tale from him. Would you like to hear it?"
"A strange tale? Go on."
Marquis Krall tilted his head at the ambiguous words for Milena, who
always speaks clearly.
"By the way, have you traced his background, uncle?"
"We already conducted a thorough research, but even they could not trace
his steps before coming to Krasland."
The Marquis's voice was full of disgust as he said this.
But that alone indicated that these sisters were not his only pawns.
Some of them were secret agents who used to be active in the former royal
castle, where various schemes and plots abound. Th is ch apter translation is
ma de pos s ible by sta bbin g wi th a syr i nge tr ansl ations. check onl y
up-to- da te tran slat io ns on my Wor dpr ess s ite.
If the origin of such an existence cannot be traced, only one thing is left to
think about.
A spy from other countries.
Although contact between countries has been cut off due to monster attacks,
there is still a possibility of cities in other countries that have survived aside
from Krasland. This is the third-most issue the Marquis is worried about
aside from the monsters (including the Demon Race) and the immigrants.
"So, was he really a spy from a foreign country?"
But to that answer, Milena unexpectedly shakes her head.
"That was what I thought at first, but the person says otherwise."
"And you just believed in his words?"
"No. I did my own research, and I thought his story was worth considering.
But like I said before, it was a bit "strange". Do you still want me to
continue?"
"I see no harm in hearing a "strange" story. Or rather, if it isn't, you would
have reported it by now."
Hearing the Marquis's words, Milena began to speak as if she had made up
her mind.
"He said he had been spirited away. One day he was suddenly dropped here,
into our lands."
"As absurd as it sounds, that would explain why we couldn't find his
footprints. Was there any magic involved?"
"I'm afraid it isn't the case, uncle. Even after digging through our past
literature, there have been no traces of magic of teleporting people or
transferring entities to other places. If so, it must be the work of God."
Even Milena was perplexed by the words she was saying.
"It is possible that "someone" didn't bring him here, but "something" had
sent him here. As for their purpose, I'm sorry, but I can't think of any
ideas."
The Marquis seemed slightly surprised at Milena's outlandish story, but he
quickly found the problem.
The reason he doesn't dismiss it out of hand even though it is absurd is
probably because he met Yuushin personally and felt he was a threat.
"I also asked him about his purpose, but he only said that he only wants to
be an adjutant and that his only desire is to assist Lucy in whatever she is
doing."
Milena says this, but the Marquis clearly denies it.
"That's a lie. He will definitely try to climb up to where I am. That is
clearly what I saw in that young man's eyes."
Milena and the others flinched against the Marquis who asserted this.
"We need to eliminate him before things get worse. In the worst-case
scenario, we will proceed with preparations with the idea of eliminating
Lucy as well, as she seems to be already fascinated by that boy."
"Eh, even Lucy!? But she has done nothing against uncle…"
Lacy raised her voice at the sudden declaration, but the Marquis, who heard
this, glared at her.
"What do you have to complain about? A rotten apple can spoil the whole
barrel. If you can't cut out that part of the fruit, you have no choice but to
throw the whole thing away. Even if it is a commander who is considered a
hero. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes."
Lacy's voice trembles at the pressure given by the stare of the Marquis.
Seeing this, her sister Milena covers and hides her behind her back.
Ruthless and Cold-hearted. These traits of the Marquis led him to survive
the royal capital's politics and made him stand to where he is now.
"However, it takes a lot of preparation to erase someone who is already well
known, if you know what I mean."
"We understand. We'll try to sabotage their operation to buy some time on
your end."
"Even with that, do not underestimate the other party. Although he's a man
of many uncertainties, That Yuushin guy's abilities are the real deal. Don't
let down your guard on a man who has transformed even the meek Lucy
into a fierce warrior in such a short time."