Setting Things Straight(2)

Swoooosh—!

The person who stepped through the glowing portal was someone I never expected to see.

Contrary to my expectations that it would be the marquess or one of his close aides, the person who arrived was completely unrelated to him.

Or perhaps they were not so entirely unrelated after all.

“Bjorn… Jandel…?”

As soon as he entered the room and saw my face, the man muttered as if he’d just seen a ghost.

But honestly, I was just as surprised.

“…Glasses?”

He was the guy who had tried to recruit me a few days ago, right before my duel with Demon Eye.

He was one of the Noark lord’s closest aides. Apparently, he didn’t have a fixed position, but instead acted as a problem solver whenever needed.

Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered right now.

“How did the lord of Noark know about this place?”

I stopped my hammer just in front of the man’s nose. Startled, he answered in a tense voice.

Even adding details I hadn’t asked for.

“While the marquis was unconscious, the lord received full authority over the forces. The marquis has abandoned his ambitions and is now being safely protected under the lord’s power.”

“So in simple terms, while the marquis was unconscious you stabbed him in the back and are now keeping him imprisoned?”

Living up to the Noarkans’ pragmatic reputation, he calmly accepted my direct accusation.

“That’s correct. The marquis was too swayed by personal emotions rather than focusing on achieving his greater goals.”

“For example?”

“Lord Baron, did he not fire several Thunder shots at you? Even though there were far more strategic places to use it for victory, he let personal feelings cloud his judgment. And even after doing so, he still failed to capture you.”

Considering that Thunder belonged to the marquis, it was a rather sly argument.

Still… I could understand the logic. Firing Thunder required an enormous amount of sacrifice.

The lord’s faction must have worked hard gathering those sacrifices too, so they couldn’t claim to have no stake in it.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

“That wasn’t my question. How did the lord of Noark know about this place and send you here?”

At my persistence, realization flashed across the man’s face, and he quickly gave his answer.

“Ah! The Lord didn’t actually know you were hiding here, Baron. If we had known, why would I have been so surprised to see you?”

That still didn’t answer my question. Seriously, how much could this guy ramble?

“Get to the point.”

“Our lord is a very wise man.”

“I said the point.”

“The marquis made a request during his captivity. He asked us to confirm if Countess Ragna Phefroc was here.”

“The Marquis requested it himself?”

“More precisely, he asked that if she was safe here, we should leave her alone. But if she had disappeared, we were to find her by any means necessary.”

“And the price for that request?”

The man hesitated briefly before speaking.

“The transfer of ownership of Thunder.”

Now the situation made sense.

After regaining consciousness, the marquis had lost all military authority. In an instant, he had become a mere pawn.

Which meant he could no longer protect Ragna on his own.

‘So he put Thunder on the negotiation table. He must have wanted to protect Ragna no matter what.’

It felt a little unreal.

‘So this is how it ends…?’

All Auyen had done was knock the marquis unconscious for two days.

Yet because of that one incident, the marquis’s grand plan collapsed before it had even properly begun.

‘Well, if the relationship between the lord and the marquis had been stronger, things wouldn’t have ended like this just because he was knocked out…’

In this ruthless world, showing any weakness was the same as inviting others to tear you apart down to the bone. Unfortunately for the Marquis, he had shown vulnerability, and he had no choice but to sacrifice his flesh and blood.

The chain of consequences was far too large to have started from the capture of a single navigator.

“…Wh-why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden…?”

“Just because I’m proud of you.”

Auyen’s small act had given rise to a guiding star that would shine throughout this era.

Anyway…

Leaving the marquis’s situation aside, one question still bothered me. I had not even started interrogating the man, so why was Glasses, the noark lord’s fixer, telling me everything so freely?

Before long, I heard the answer from the man himself.

“Is it not obvious? Because I concluded that persuading you is the only way to complete my mission.”

“Do you think I’ll cooperate in transferring ownership of Thunder just because you try to persuade me”

I let out a scoff of disbelief, but the man simply asked back calmly:

“Is there any reason you wouldn’t?”

“…Huh?”

“We know. Noark isn’t exactly your enemy, is it?”

That was quite a thing to say to a titled noble of Rafdonia and a man hailed as a hero of the city. But looking at the facts, I had no counterargument.

My goal in this war was to keep as many of my allies alive as possible while getting through this mess. And this mess would only end once the Marquis was dealt with.

Right, so…

“Tell me what you want. There must be a point where we can compromise.”

Phew, what should I do?

Before making a decision, I listened to the news from the outside first—starting with how the war was progressing and moving on to personal curiosities.

“Lee Baek-ho? He maintained the front for a while after you disappeared, then retreated. We pursued them, but despite their numbers, they managed to give us the slip.”

Hmm, so Lee Baek-ho disappeared…

Still, it seemed that some kind of ceasefire had been reached. The walls separating each district had become the battle lines, and both sides simply held their ground without daring to make a move.

“We need Countess Phefroc. If you hand her over, our lord will positively consider whatever you desire.”

“Oh? Even if I ask for the lord’s head?”

“…”

“I’m joking. I’m not that unreasonable.”

I figured it was time to put the jokes aside and confirm one last thing.

“What if I ask for the marquis instead? Is that possible?”

“Of course. As long as the transfer of Thunder’s ownership is resolved, we don’t care what happens to the marquis.”

“Is that so? I understand your stance for now.”

“……It’s not just my stance; the Lord will make the same judgment. You can trust me, as I have served him for a long time.”

“We’ll see about that when the time comes.”

Ending the conversation there, I covered his eyes with a blindfold and placed noise canceling headphones over his ears. They were not real headphones, of course, just a magical tool that produced the same effect.

I needed time to think.

“Emily, what do you think?”

Amelia, who had heard everything with me, answered clearly.

“It might be worth trying. Assuming what he said is true.”

“What kind of person is the lord of Noark? Can he be trusted?”

“Of course not. He’s a polite man, but that’s different from being trustworthy. Still… he’s not the type to make unnecessary enemies.”

“Well, he did try to recruit me before. So, are you in favor?”

“Personally… I think there’s a higher chance the deal will go through smoothly and we’ll part ways without issues.”

Amelia’s judgment was the deciding factor.

“Hey? What about me?! Aren’t you going to ask me?!”

Ignoring Aynar’s nonsense, I restored the man’s sight and hearing.

And then…

“I’ll speak with the Lord first. You have a means of communication, right?” I asked the man.

“Of course. Right now… ah, it doesn’t work well in here. Let’s go outside first.”

“Fine.”

It was a potentially dangerous decision, but there was only one reason I didn’t hesitate: even if the deal went south, I would at least know where the Marquis was.

“Let’s go.”

With that, we left the rubble of the building and immediately contacted the noark lord using a magic tool. He seemed flustered when I suddenly appeared on his communication line, but it did not take long to explain the situation and finalize the deal.

[‘In exchange for persuading the Marquis to transfer ownership of Thunder to us, you want the Marquis handed over to you. Is that all?’]

“Yes.”

[Then there is no reason to refuse. Hand the Countess over to him. Once the ownership transfer is complete, I will send the Marquis wherever you wish.]

“No, what do you take me for? I’ll meet the Marquis myself.”

[……You are being greedy.]

What nonsense.

“Aren’t you the one being greedy? If I run away with the girl right now, do you think you can catch me?”

The lord fell silent for a moment before finally conceding.

[I will allow you to accompany him to where the Marquis is. However, please understand that we must make certain preparations at that location.]

“Preparations?”

[We must have a way to stop you should you harbor other thoughts. Don’t worry too much; as long as the deal concludes well, we won’t cause you any harm.]

“Fine. But aren’t you going to see me in person?”

[Haha! Well… I’m not foolish enough to meet someone that even Demon Eye could not stop. Oh, and make sure to bring all your allies with you.]

Normally, one would tell the other party to come alone, so I found it odd, but I understood once he continued.

[It’s a minimum precaution. Even for you, escaping safely while protecting all your allies would be impossible.]

Sigh… now everyone knows my weakness.

[I hope to hear good news when we speak again.]

Soon after, the lord informed us that the preparations were complete.

We followed glasses to the building where the marquis was imprisoned.

It was located in the outskirts of District 4, near the wall bordering Bifron.

Step. Step.

As we climbed the stairs inside the building, Amelia whispered quietly to me.

“Andel. The entire building… no, the whole area is covered with enemies.”

“How many?”

“You, me, or Aynar might escape. But trying to escape while protecting the others would be almost impossible.”

I see.

The lord really did prepare thoroughly in such a short time.

“This is the room.”

Glasses looked back at us once before slowly opening the door.

And then…

The middle-aged man lying on the bed sat up and widened his eyes when he saw me.

Ageni Roten Tercerion.

Chancellor of Raphdonia.

The moment I saw him from a distance, I frowned.

Something about him felt… wrong.

As if he were a different person.

‘Was the marquis always this frail…?’

He didn’t seem thinner.

But the moment I saw him, he looked old and gaunt.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t wearing his usual extravagant clothing.

But the moment our eyes met, I realized what the difference was.

His eyes.

The gaze that once felt like staring into a beast was nowhere to be seen.

‘Well… he’s been stripped of all military authority and locked in a room. I suppose that’s natural.’

While I was watching from a distance, the marquis seemed to understand the situation and slowly nodded.

“…So you came after all.”

His voice sounded like someone resigning himself to a fate he had long expected.

I continued calmly.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That I would come and find you.”

With that greeting, I smacked the back of the Marquis’s head.

Thwack—!

It was a little surprising.

So that’s the kind of sound the marquis’s head makes.

Ever since the Ice Rock expedition, I had been looking forward to this moment and imagining it every single day.

‘…That was kind of anticlimactic.’

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