The Abandoned City (4)

“Retainers”

The nameless Rose Knight laughed in bewilderment.

“Do you really think this makes any sense, Baron?”

Come to think of it, that was a question I had heard often while living as a barbarian.

And my answer now was no different than it used to be.

“Huh? What doesn’t make sense?”

I scratched my ear with my pinky finger, and the knight frowned.

“Over ten thousand people—”

“Mm, to be exact, 8,712.

“What difference does that make? Not even the most prominent noble families in the city have ever had that many servants, not in the past, not now.”

“Oh really?”

I exclaimed, genuinely pleased.

“Then I’ll be the first!”

I wonder if something like this could be engraved on the Stone of Honor as well.

I muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, but the woman, who looked like she wouldn’t shed a tear even if the world ended, completely ignored me.

And then…

“Baron Jandel, are you planning to raise a private army?”

She asked with the precision of a veteran swordswoman striking at a weak point.

This was a sensitive question I couldn’t brush off casually.

If I answered with something like, “Why not raise a private army?” it would be easy to misinterpret my intentions.

In the worst case, I could be accused of treason.

So…

“Of course not. I have no intention of forming a private army. I swear it on my name and my honor as a warrior.”

This was one thing I could say with absolute certainty.

Ah, of course, she didn’t even acknowledge it.

“Instead of swearing, explain yourself. Why do you need so many retainers?”

Tch, so strict.

I clicked my tongue, then decided to answer her question.

“Well… isn’t it good to have more servants? I like things lively, you know…”

“You want 9,000 retainers just because you like liveliness?”

“It’s 8,712. Not 9,000.”

Cutting her off with my nonsense, I quickly continued.

“And it’s not just because I like having a crowd—I genuinely need them all. For example, this document lists Kaina Elmoshi as a… Oh! Kitchen assistant!”

“Baron, do you honestly expect us to believe that?”

…Well, of course not.

Even I knew that no one would believe such an excuse.

But so what?

“Whether you believe me or not, why should you care?”

“……”

“If anything, I’m the one who doesn’t understand why you’re making a fuss. Weren’t you just following the King’s orders yesterday? These people are now my retainers, and they’ve obtained legitimate entry permits. So why are you trying to stop me?”

As I pressed her openly, she couldn’t refute anything.

Time to press harder.

So…

“Human woman. If you’re capable, make the decision yourself.” I lowered my voice and continued, “If not, then shut up.”

A Barbarian-style piece of advice: if you’re a tool, act like one.

The Rose Knight’s expression didn’t change much.

But perhaps my advice had some impact on her.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell, with even the knights at the checkpoint rolling their eyes nervously. After a long pause, the woman finally spoke.

“Baron…”

“Baron?”

“…You will regret today’s decision.”

Pfft, what kind of threat was that?

Oddly enough, I’d heard this line many times before.

Whenever things didn’t go their way, people always resorted to ominous warnings about the future.

“Oh? Are you a knight or a fortune-teller?”

As I kept poking at her till the end, the woman glared at me bitterly before she turned to the knights:

“…Let them through!”

Whew. One hurdle cleared.

District Four, home to the bustling market city of Commelby, was usually filled with shops and crowds. But the District 4 that we entered via the checkpoint looked completely different from usual.

All the shops were closed, and not a soul was in sight.

“Hey lady, what’s going on here?”

“…District 4 has been temporarily closed for the safety of the citizens.”

“What about the other districts?”

“Only District 4 has been closed.”

I almost couldn’t believe my ears.

“…What?”

Her words didn’t make sense.

District 3 borders the Noark-occupied District 13.

District 5 borders District 7.

‘But they closed District 4, which borders Bifrons? For safety reasons?’

That didn’t add up.

But no matter how much I asked, I couldn’t get a straight answer.

“The rest, you’ll have to ask the Chancellor. As you said yourself, I’m not the one who makes decisions.”

“The Chancellor? Are we going to see him now?”

“Yes.”

No matter what I asked after that, the only response I got was to go and ask him directly. So, the conversation ended there.

Soon after, we arrived at the District 4 square and set up a temporary shelter for the residents of Bifron and those from District 7. She told us that it would take some time to decide on our treatment, and that we would have to stay there until then.

“Huh…”

“…I don’t think I’ve ever seen Free Plaza this empty in my life.”

Still, the people didn’t seem too bothered by the royal family’s treatment.

They just seemed to accept it as normal.

“Baron, this way please. The Chancellor is waiting.”

“…I’ll be back. Emily, Versil. Take care of things here.”

Once the situation at the plaza was settled, I followed the rose knight to a high-end residence not far away.

And…

“The Chancellor will contact you shortly.”

As expected.

Instead of the Chancellor himself, the room held a communication crystal for video calls.

Bzzzt.

As soon as the knight left and I was alone, the orb started to vibrate.

When I pressed the receive button, a familiar face appeared.

[Long time no see, Baron Jandel.]

“Long time, indeed, Marquis Tercerion.”

[Before we begin, I apologize for not meeting in person. We’re in a state of war, and it’s difficult to leave my post.]

Difficult, my ass.

How long does it take to get from the royal capital, Karrnon, to here?

He can even use military teleportation circles at will. It was laughable, but of course, I didn’t show it.

“I understand. And I’m not offended. Don’t worry.”

[Thank you.]

“So, did the expedition team that went to the first basement floor return safely?”

[Yes. They’ve all returned to the city unharmed and submitted their reports. It’s thanks to them we learned you were in District 7.]

“I see…”

I usually disliked small talk, but this time, it was a good way to gather information.

“Then how did you know we were in Bifron?”

[From an agent we secretly deployed in District 7. I heard you declared in front of everyone that you were going to Bifron… Why did you do that? I heard they said they’d let you go.]

I was expecting that question, so I answered smoothly.

“How could I trust them just because they said so? Besides, I got the sense they were planning something shady using Bifron.”

[Something shady? Did you discover anything?]

“Unfortunately, after several days of investigating, I still haven’t found anything.”

[I see… Regardless, I’ll relay your information to the strategy room. The Noark forces may be plotting something in Bifron.]

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

A brief silence followed, and I casually brought up something I’d been curious about.

“What happened to Saintred?”

[Sir Saintred is also safe. Thanks to his unique abilities, he recovered and shared what happened down there.]

Good, so the chief survived.

Would’ve been nice if he’d just dropped dead, though.

[Speaking of which, I heard you took command of the expedition after his collapse?]

“Ah, it just happened that way. We all needed to get out alive.”

[You did well. Very well. You’ve accomplished something great.]

“Oh, so can I expect a promotion?”

[…That conversation will have to wait. There will be a proper recognition ceremony for the expedition’s achievements someday, but right now, we’re in a state of war.]

In other words, the rewards for our achievements can only be determined after the Noark invasion is over.

That was fair enough, so I didn’t press further.

‘Anyway, that’s enough small talk…’

It was time to get to the main topic.

But just as I was about to speak, the Chancellor beat me to it.

[By the way, I heard you’ve taken in the residents of Bifrons as your retainers…]

Since this old man, who usually liked getting straight to the point, was speaking so roundabout, my actions must have caught his attention at least a little.

[Are you not considering sending them back?]

“Send them back? Did I do something illegal?”

[No, it’s not that. But… from our perspective, having all those people come out of Bifron isn’t exactly desirable. You’re a noble now—you should understand.]

“You’re saying I should abandon personal feelings and act in the royal family’s interest?”

[Exactly.]

“Well, maybe if you’d told me sooner. But now it’s too late. I already accepted them.”

[You could just kick them out.]

“Sorry, but I’m not good at saying harsh things to people.”

[…You?]

The Chancellor let out a disbelieving laugh.

Tch, don’t you know how sensitive and introverted I am?

“Anyway, if it’s not illegal, then this discussion is over. It’s already done.”

[…Baron, I say this out of concern for you.]

Concern my ass.

If I dropped dead right now, he’d probably be the happiest man alive.

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll handle my own decisions.”

[……]

“So, what are your plans for Bifron?”

If the retainers were the main topic for the Chancellor, this was the main topic for me.

What does the royal family intend to do with Bifron?

[I can’t disclose military intelligence lightly… but I suppose there’s no need to hide it from you. You’ve likely already guessed.]

“If I had to guess…”

[Correct. The moment the Noark forces take shelter there. We plan to annihilate Bifron]

He spoke calmly, but his words were cold and brutal.

“Even though they planned to blow up Bifron, he had just told me to send its residents back.”

‘…What the hell do these people think of human lives?’

It was a savage world, but from a distance, I wasn’t much different.

Besides, now wasn’t the time for moral dilemmas.

“Wait, you’re luring Noark there? Do you know what they’re planning in Bifron?”

[We don’t know either. However, we expected that if we kept pressuring them, they would take shelter there.]

Even if he said he didn’t know, I couldn’t believe it.

Given how both the royal family and Noark were acting, something was clearly going on.

A secret they won’t tell me, huh…

That just made me more curious.

[Regardless, that’s why we acted so quickly to extract you upon hearing you were in Bifron.]

Honestly, this part didn’t make sense either.

If I were the Marquis, I’d have just blown the place up with Noark and me inside.

Why go out of his way to save me?

Thankfully, the next exchange of words helped clear that question up a little.

[Ah, I nearly forgot. You still have most of the goods recovered from the basement floor 1, correct?]

“Yeah, I did.”

[Did?]

The Chancellor tilted his head at my use of the past tense, but thinking it was just a misstatement, he didn’t question it and continued.

[Leave the items you obtained from the expedition here in this room when you leave later. They are all valuable assets of the royal family, and after the merits are officially recognized, the things you need will be returned to you.]

As soon as I heard that, I lowered my head.

After all, the spoils from the basement floor 1… I hadn’t expected that the reason they went out of their way to rescue me was because of those.

[…Why are you suddenly lowering your head?]

Well, because if I made eye contact, it would be hard to keep a straight face.

“…Sorry, Marquis.”

I used them all up.

 

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