Chapter 119
I quickly scanned the first floor.
The situation had tilted in our favor as Leonard triumphed over Carius.
“Huff, huff... Joshua, how was it?”
Leo exhaled roughly from the bottom of the stairs.
He wanted an evaluation of the achievent he had just attained.
“Were you at 56 points last ti? I suppose I can give you about 10 more points for this.”
“Only 10 points? This was the greatest obstacle of my life, you know?”
Greatest obstacle, my foot.
Back when I played as Leonard, Carius was not even considered a mid-boss.
“You simply crossed a mountain that you were destined to cross. Don't be too conceited.”
“How could you!”
“Don't just stand there. Help where help is needed, and secure what needs to be secured.”
“I squeezed out every drop of my aura so I cannot move a single step.”
“Quit being a baby.”
Leaving him behind, I checked on the mage unit that had been blocking the knights at the entrance.
A combination of Swamp and Explosion.
The Swamp turned the ground into muck, and the Explosion raised the temperature and humidity.
Even decent knights would faint within fifteen minutes if caught in that.
And even if they escaped the trap and approached the girls.
“Haah!”
Adela kept them at bay with ice.
Her ice could not yet pierce armor, but it could deliver an impact.
Hard lumps of ice flew at high speeds and collided.
It must have felt like being beaten with a blunt weapon.
The knights fell back into the traps they had only just managed to escape.
“They are doing good.”
Admiration flowed from my mouth.
It was worth the effort of dragging them all the way here.
I had only supervised their training for about a week, but they perford better than expected.
If I had abandoned them in the dormitory or at the mine, I surely would have regretted it bitterly.
“I will definitely make sure you grow to the Stella-rank.”
Soday, I would build a group capable of overcoming even a massive army of zombies.
To do that, I could not afford to be held up in a place like this.
I passed through the hallway and headed toward Rodwell on the opposite side.
He was grumbling with a face full of petulance.
“Dammit, I went through all that trouble to teach them the sword, and yet everyone only looks for you.”
“Don't feel slighted. It is they are dealing with, after all.”
“You did not do anything!”
“What do you an I did not do anything? I am the one who has been feeding them and providing them with a place to sleep until now.”
“Are you saying the bond of being looked after is deeper?”
“That is right.”
Rodwell lowered his head and let out a sigh.
If he turned away in a bad mood, he would probably avoid eye contact for at least a month.
It seed necessary to comfort him a little.
“I left sothing delicious for you, so be patient.”
“What?”
“We have to make the proclamation after all.”
Knights who were unaware of the changing circumstances were still clashing swords and fighting.
Owain was captured, and Carius was dead.
It was necessary to announce this fact and break their will to fight.
I thought it would be more effective for Rodwell to do it than .
He was a man with a magnificent voice, after all.
“Shout that you have captured the enemy commander. That way, will the Starlight Knights not beco a world-renowned prestigious order that took down the Knights of Red and the Sunlight Knights at the sa ti?”
“Oho?”
“Does that not sound tempting?”
“Ahem, since you are going out of your way to yield the credit, it would be rude to decline.”
Rodwell cleared his throat and stood up.
His expression was blunt, but he looked quite serious as he loosened his throat.
There was no reason to refuse when the honor of his knight order was at stake.
“I have defeated the enemy commander Owain! All remaining knights, throw down your weapons and surrender.”
His booming voice echoed through the castle.
The knights who were swinging their swords stopped their actions and looked at Rodwell.
“……We lost?”
“Don't give up! If we wait just a little longer, the knights from the city will co to help us.”
A knight who appeared to be the Vice Captain cald the wavering subordinates.
The knights outside the city were not coming.
Because I had asked Lucille and Osmond to keep them pinned down.
But they, unaware of that, regarded it as their last hope.
“Hey!”
Rodwell pointed his finger at the Vice Captain with an angry expression.
The man trembled as he looked at Rodwell.
“I made a grand proclamation, and yet you throw cold water on it? Shall I slice you up first?”
“……Er.”
“You lot are not even a match for a single fist of mine if I join the fray! I will give you 10 seconds. Drop them! 10, 9, 8.”
Before the count reached 5, the remaining knights threw down their weapons all at once.
And the Vice Captain who had comforted them earlier was a second faster than the rest.
“You should have done that sooner. They only listen when a sword is raised.”
With this, the situation in the castle was roughly settled.
Now, it would be over once the situation was announced to the city.
To do that, there was one more thing to prepare.
“Rodwell, I will leave this side to you.”
“You’re going sowhere?”
“I plan to bring the figure who will provide the finale to this stage. Let's et in front of the castle when the cleanup is finished.”
* * *
When I ca out to the backyard of the castle, Vale was waiting there.
Perhaps not sensing any presence, he was practicing sothing intently by himself.
“I was deceived by my current mother, Lady Chloe, and expelled from the castle. After that, I was captured by bandits and suffered all kinds of hardships, and at the end of... ugh, I ssed up again.”
Was that a declaration practice?
His pronunciation was clumsy, as if he had bitten his tongue.
What he held in his hand appeared to be a self-written essay.
It seed he was quite nervous about standing before the public.
“Sir Vale.”
“G-Gwah, you scared !”
He was startled and clutched his chest.
“The castle cleanup is finished.”
“What, already?”
“I told you it would be over within an hour.”
“I did not think you would actually keep that promise.”
“I am the type of person who keeps ti appointnts strictly.”
Vale took a deep breath and crumpled the paper he was holding into his pocket.
“I know. It is not like I, a puppet, need to look good in front of the public anyway.”
I said nothing.
It was sothing he had muttered based on his own assumption.
“But nominally, I am becoming the master of the Glover territory. I judged that maintaining dignity would be advantageous in issuing orders.”
It was not a bad thought.
If the image and reputation of the Lord improved, the people who left would return.
Not only them, but visits from outsiders would also increase.
To regain the lost montum of Stalia, the more such people, the better.
“Say sothing. It is scary because you are too quiet.”
“It is a good idea.”
“R-Right?”
“But to succeed, you must not tremble like you are now.”
“I am worried about that too, but is there no way?”
“……There is always a way.”
I took him and headed toward the front of the castle.
Vale was silent for a long while, but he could not suppress his curiosity until the end.
“May I ask what you did with the Lord and the Countess?”
“I killed the Lord. I captured the Countess alive.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“I plan to leave it to you.”
“You an you want to kill her.”
“If it is unpleasant, I can change the thod, but there will be no scenario where the Countess survives.”
“……I know.”
He turned his head.
Contrary to his words, no anger could be found in Vale's eyes.
He had a face that looked lonely.
Now, there were not many people related to him in this castle.
The Countess had murdered many of the humans who worked for the family.
The Lord, who was his half-brother, was dead, and the enemy, the Countess, was destined to follow.
“What has collapsed can be rebuilt from the beginning. There is nothing more pleasant than watching a tower grow taller each ti you stack a piece.”
“Is that so?”
“When I first t Talleon and Gavinu, they were children who could not kill a single zombie with their own hands. Now, they don't even get scared when fighting a Knight Captain.”
“It sounds like you are telling to beco like that too.”
“I will make you that way.”
Vale swallowed hard.
“There will be no ti to be discouraged then.”
When I arrived in front of the castle with him, the knights of the city, including Lady Lucille, were gathered in one place.
It was not just them.
Residents who had heard the news and ca to check the situation were also there.
The residents looked at the captured Owain and Chloe with angry faces.
The two were tied tightly with chains on a wooden platform.
“……They look ready to tear those two apart the mont permission is given.”
Vale had to comfort and soothe their minds and bodies from now on.
Since it was not an easy task, he hesitated to step onto the platform.
“You said earlier there was a way to make not tremble in front of the public. I would like you to do that now.”
I placed my hand on his back and used [Serenity].
In addition to that, I added one more spell.
It was a magic that deceived the human eye.
It was the sa thod Chloe used to make the Lord look like a human.
With this magic, I made the surrounding scenery look like the sea to his eyes.
“Is this enough?”
Vale climbed onto the platform with a smile, acting with full arrogance.
He imdiately locked eyes with the Countess, who was kneeling.
Chloe's expression froze.
Her skin turned white as if she had seen a ghost.
“V-Vale.”
“I did not expect to see you again. Especially in this manner.”
Chloe was trembling.
She had a face that understood the fate that would soon befall her.
“My na is Vale Glover! I am the legitimate eldest son of the Glover family. I was deceived by her, my stepmother, and expelled from this castle. However, with the help of the boy over there, I was able to return alive safely.”
He spoke fluently without even taking out the crumpled paper from his pocket.
Vale, who thought he was standing on the sea, was a man who knew no fear.
“As the successor of the family, I will restore everything she has ruined to its original state. To do that, the sinner needs severe punishnt. I will now strip Chloe Glover, the Countess, of all her status and authority.”
“Sir Vale!”
Chloe, with her hands and feet bound, twitched and crawled to his feet.
“Please forgive ! I will live the rest of my life as quiet as a mouse. So please, just my life!”
Her beautiful face was ruined with tears and terror.
She had no concern for her dignity as a noble or her sense of sha.
To survive.
In the end, what remained was instinct.
I was catching a glimpse of the purpose of my life in her pathetic appearance.
To live, one could throw away anything and accept anything.
That was survival.
“You hard too many people. To soothe their souls, there is only one way.”
“Sir Vale! I am your mother. To kill your mother is an act of immorality!”
Her sorrowful voice struck his ears.
It was an endlessly ugly sight, but on the other hand, I thought it was impressive.
She sohow thought of a reason and appealed to his compassion.
A weak-hearted human might have wavered.
“You are no longer my family. I decide where I belong.”
Vale glanced this way and then turned his head.
“Sir Rodwell, I would like to borrow your sword.”
Rodwell, who had been observing from the rear, walked out slowly and handed over his famous sword.
Vale drew the sword.
Everyone held their breath and looked at Vale.
A few people who rembered him murmured that he would surely fail.
When he stayed in the castle, he was a human who could not do anything properly.
However, my thought was different.
All he lacked was the opportunity to break out of his shell.
“Knights, please assist .”
Two knights approached and grabbed the struggling Chloe.
Her voice beca so completely cracked that it was impossible to tell what she ant.
Vale steadied his breathing and gripped the hilt of the sword firmly.
Then, he struck down with the sword he had raised high toward the sky.
Chloe's head fell to the ground and rolled.
Red blood spread out in all directions.
“Stalia will change, just as I have.”
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