[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 57: The Infected City (2)
Inside Lonely Ridge Castle.
Lord Edmuir, having heard of Rupert's arrival, ca out to greet him.
Along with his wife, the lady of the house, and their two sons.
"Welco, Young Master!"
"It's been a while, Sir Edmuir."
Lord Edmuir and Rupert, seemingly quite familiar with each other, greeted each other with a hug instead of a handshake.
After a mont, Rupert turned his head and also greeted the lady of the house.
"Congratulations on your recovery, Madam."
"Thank you, Young Master."
The lady of the house, the main character of this festival, also expressed her gratitude to Rupert with a faint smile.
"It's all thanks to the Great Lord Glenvale."
"Thank you for saying so."
Just as Rupert replied with a grin,
Lord Edmuir tilted his head and asked,
"It's obvious you're here to participate in the festival... but who are those behind you?"
"Ah."
Rupert glanced back at Hal as if he had just rembered.
Then he said dismissively,
"They're a priest and his companions I t on the way here."
"A priest, you say. Haha. Welco. Where are you from?"
Hal stepped forward and took off his hood.
His silver hair and blue eyes shimred in the sunlight.
"..."
The lord's family and soldiers, and even Rupert, who was seeing Hal without his hood for the first ti, were speechless for a mont.
With everyone's eyes on him, Hal slowly opened his mouth.
"My na is Hal Saint Gilmore. Lord of Heidern and priest of the Order."
"Saint...!"
"Oh my..."
The surrounding people and knights suddenly exclaid in surprise.
Rupert also stared at Hal with wide eyes, seemingly shocked.
As for Hal and his companions...
They were taken aback by the unexpected reaction.
'What's this?'
Hal, tilting his head at the reaction he had never experienced before, asked the lord,
"Do you know ?"
"Of course, I do. Aren't you the most famous hero these days?"
"...?"
When Hal asked again, Rupert interjected,
"So you're the new saint who defeated a special-grade demon. Why didn't you say so?"
"Ah."
Hal finally understood what was going on.
It seed his story had spread like a heroic tale.
"I didn't know my story had spread this far."
Hal replied calmly.
At the sa ti, he wondered why this had happened, but soon ca to accept it.
Thinking about it, it was a story people would probably enjoy.
A new saint had been born after many years.
It would be strange if they weren't interested.
And stories of heroes who always fight against monsters are always popular.
"You really didn't know? Then you must not have heard the song about the ball. It's quite a good song."
"...The song?"
When the lord asked with a smile, Hal asked back with a hardened expression.
Then, one of his sons ran up to Hal, held out his hand, and asked,
"Wow, are you really Lord Hal? The one who saved the Magic Tower recently?"
"I didn't save the Magic Tower, but..."
Hal shook hands with the boy, who had sparkling eyes, with an embarrassed look.
Just how far had his story spread?
While he was wondering whether to be happy or not about this, the lord asked again,
"So, what brings you here, Your Excellency?"
The lord's attitude towards Hal had changed, even if only slightly.
The lord's face was full of goodwill, showing even more courtesy than before.
Hal, after a mont of hesitation, slowly opened his mouth.
"I stopped by on my way to Sturnhelm because I heard there was a festival."
"...?"
Rupert looked at Hal with a dumbfounded expression.
After all, he knew the real reason why Hal had co here.
In fact, the reactions of the others weren't much different.
They all tilted their heads as they watched him not even ntion the demon.
But no one openly interrupted the lords in the middle of their conversation.
Lord Edmuir, hearing Hal's answer, smiled broadly and held out his hand.
"It would be an honor to have such a famous hero grace our territory's festival. We'll prepare a place for you in the castle, so please feel free to stay as long as you like."
"Thank you for your hospitality."
"Instead of standing around here, let's all go inside."
The lord opened his arms wide and led everyone into the inner castle.
Rupert looked at Hal with a strange expression, then approached and whispered,
"What are you thinking?"
"Tell your knights to keep quiet, and co to my room in a mont."
"...Alright."
Rupert frowned at the commanding tone but accepted it.
He thought there must be a reason why Hal hadn't brought up the main topic to the lord.
And his guess was right.
'Things have gone wrong.'
Hal quietly closed his eyes tightly.
He had his suspicions.
It was strange that the lord knew nothing when demons were running rampant throughout the territory.
Therefore, he had considered the possibility that soone close to the lord was being controlled by a demon.
But...
'But... I didn't expect everyone in the lord's castle to be wearing the pendant...'
Of course, he didn't think all of them were Vinea's subordinates.
He had thought that he only needed to be wary of one or two people, but things had beco much more complicated.
He had no idea who to suspect.
Hal clenched his fists.
He had to keep his wits about him.
The place he was about to step into wasn't the lord's castle, but the maw of a beast.
***
"This is serious."
Daniel frowned and crossed his arms.
Lena, as always, seed to have no thoughts on the matter.
And Ono...
"What are you doing? Pack your things. We need to get out of here."
He was quick to cut his losses.
"Mr. Ono, please wait a mont."
"Wait, my ass. Do you want us all to die together?"
Ono jumped up and shouted at Hal's attempt to stop him.
"...!"
Ono flinched at his own loud voice and quickly lowered it, continuing his rapid-fire criticism.
"Old habits die hard, I see. Why are you always so eager to throw your life away...?"
"I just..."
"It wasn't long ago that we almost died because of a single puppet of Vinea. If what you're saying is true, then this city is now..."
Ono couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
But Hal, and everyone else present, knew what he ant.
"Yes. This territory is probably beyond recovery."
One in ten people were puppets?
This place was no different from a giant farm for Vinea.
If Vinea wanted to, it could wipe out the entire territory in an hour.
The only reason it hadn't done so yet was probably to turn as many people as possible into its subordinates.
"That's why we need to capture Vinea now more than ever."
On the other hand, it ant that there was still a chance to stop it.
If they could just capture it now, they could at least prevent a massacre.
Hal's resolve was firm.
Judging from the state of the people wearing the pendants, it seed that none of them had even reached the early stage of infection yet.
But what if they were already Trents like the old woman, perfectly disguised as humans?
What if, as Hal assud, the pendant was causing the illusion?
In that case, there was only one option.
Killing the host, Vinea.
Although those who had already beco Trents couldn't be saved, he could at least save the citizens who were still in the process of being infected or were still healthy.
Hal couldn't back down, for the sake of the countless people in this territory.
And the others shared his resolve.
"If you're going to do that, I'll stay too."
" too."
Daniel and Lena replied as if they had been waiting for him to say that.
Then they turned to look at Ono.
"...!"
Ono held his head as if he had a headache.
But after a mont,
He sighed and said,
"...Damn it. That's right, this is who you are. Fine, let's all die together."
Ono lay down on the bed as if he had given up.
Daniel and Lena, watching this, chuckled simultaneously.
A determined yet heartwarming atmosphere flowed between them.
Then, Hal raised his hand with a puzzled expression and said,
"To begin with, running away was never an option..."
"...What are you talking about?"
The deep emotion was shattered in an instant.
Ono asked with a frown.
Hal shrugged and replied,
"If we try to escape now, Vinea will definitely pursue us. I already revealed my identity earlier. We'll be caught before we even leave the territory, and in the worst case, we'll have to fight Vinea under the worst possible conditions."
This lord's castle itself was a trap.
The way to survive here wasn't to run away.
"We can't avoid a fight."
"..."
"Then it's better to fight when we're fully prepared."
"Prepared?"
"Yes."
Hal nodded.
First, they needed information.
Where was Vinea's main body hiding?
What was the reason for holding the festival?
And to what extent was the lord involved?
"Is there a way?"
Hal nodded in response to Daniel's question.
"It might not be such a disadvantageous fight after all."
In less than a month, the entire territory had fallen into Vinea's hands.
This ant one thing.
Vinea was controlling people from sowhere within the lord's castle.
Even for a higher-ranking demon, that would be impossible without borrowing the lord's authority.
If they didn't know where it was hiding, it would be troubleso.
But if its main body was inside the castle, Hal had a way to pinpoint it.
Although it would require so effort from Lena and the children.
While he was thinking about this,
Ono looked at Hal in disbelief and asked,
"Do you even know how great the difference in strength is?"
"Yes, I do."
"No, I don't think you do! Seeing as you think we can actually fight!"
The enemy's numbers were imasurable.
In the worst case, they would have to face all the territory's soldiers and knights, as well as the Trents, Vinea's subordinates.
Even the citizens might turn hostile towards them.
In this situation, the logical decision would be to sohow escape and then return with the strength of a knight order to burn down the entire territory.
But Hal had sothing he was counting on.
"Even so, we have Sir Rupert and his knights."
They were the only force that wasn't the enemy.
Rupert and his knights.
They alone outnumbered the territory's knights by far.
Their strength was comparable to the entire force of Lonely Ridge.
If he could get Rupert on their side, things would beco much easier.
"As allies go, he doesn't seem to believe a word we say..."
Just as Ono grumbled in dissatisfaction,
Knock knock
"It's ."
The person they had been waiting for finally arrived.
"Co in."
Daniel, who had been standing guard at the door, opened it.
Rupert entered, giving Daniel, who was clad in full plate armor, a strange look.
After glancing at the ard group, Rupert looked at Hal and asked,
"Are you going off to war in the middle of the night?"
"No."
Hal shook his head and replied calmly.
"We're already in the middle of enemy territory."
"...This is about that Vinea demon you ntioned earlier."
"Listen carefully, Sir Rupert. This territory is no different from a graveyard right now."
"What do you an...?"
"I suspect Lord Edmuir and his family."
Rupert frowned at Hal's words.
"That's a bad joke, Priest. Lord Edmuir is a just and honorable lord, and his family are all devout."
Despite Rupert's reaction, Hal didn't stop.
He continued to explain his observations.
"The pendant they're wearing around their necks is the sa as the one I ntioned earlier. Have you seen how many citizens are wearing that pendant since you arrived here?"
"Priest, calm down. You seem a bit agitated right now."
Rupert looked at Hal as if he were a madman.
It wasn't an unreasonable reaction.
That's why Hal didn't expect him to readily believe him.
There was only one thing Hal needed to ask of him.
"Don't touch any of the fruit, no, any of the food that Lord Edmuir offers you. And always have soone on guard in your room, taking turns."
"..."
Rupert stared at Hal for a mont after hearing his request.
After confirming that Hal was serious, Rupert shook his head and sighed.
"I'm disappointed. To think the rumored hero is such a lunatic."
"I'm not a hero."
"Is that so? You seem quite obsessed with playing hero to ."
Rupert gave Hal another contemptuous look and grabbed the doorknob.
Just as he was about to leave, he paused and looked back at Hal.
"Do you want to convince ?"
"Of course."
"I don't have the talent to discern the truth just by listening to people's words. Participate in the swordsmanship tournant tomorrow. And prove it with your skills."
"...The swordsmanship tournant?"
A swordsmanship tournant in this urgent situation?
Hal was montarily taken aback by the unexpected words.
Rupert, perhaps misinterpreting his reaction, sneered and replied,
"Yes. There's nothing like skill to prove the weight of your words. This is the north."
"...Glenvale speaks with the sword."
Hal muttered the Glenvale clan motto that suddenly ca to mind.
Rupert responded by solemnly tapping his chest.
"Glenvale speaks with the sword. Defeat in the na of your family, and then I will believe you."
With those words, Rupert left the room.
Ono, watching this, sighed deeply and muttered,
"Honestly. He's more of a burden than an ally."
"..."
Hal couldn't find anything to retort with and remained silent.
Only an awkward silence filled the room.
It seed this matter would be far more difficult than he had anticipated.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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