The Doiten Royal Court
The next morning it dawned.
Terlo had gotten little sleep after examining the ledger until late at night.
Even so, he was more energetic than ever.
Had he not worked all this time for today?
It was the day he could have his achievement in capturing More recognized and investigate the shopping district he had chosen as his next objective.
In high spirits, Terlo joined his family for breakfast, then left the castle.
He had arranged to visit the royal court once morning came.
RATTLE. RATTLE.
‘We should be arriving soon.’
Terlo was traveling by carriage with an escort knight.
When Doristen said he would accompany him, Terlo insisted on going alone.
Doristen had responded that an escort knight and carriage were mandatory in that case.
Honestly, Teleport would have been faster and more convenient than a carriage….
‘But I can’t disobey Father’s orders.’
Still, the journey allowed him to see many things.
The scenery beyond the carriage window was one new sight after another.
It was only natural, since Terlo had never traveled far from the Krauber Territory.
As he admired the capital’s scenery, the carriage came to a stop.
“Young Master, we have arrived.”
“We’re finally here.”
Following the escort knight’s guidance, Terlo stepped down from the carriage.
An imposing castle stood before him.
‘Wow. I thought our castle was impressive.’
It was on an entirely different scale from the Krauber Family’s castle.
After admiring it briefly, Terlo entered beneath the salutes of the soldiers guarding the gate.
The guide who met him inside led him to a council chamber.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
“Your Majesty. Young Master Terlo of the Krauber Family has arrived.”
“Let him enter.”
At the order, the door opened, and Terlo stepped inside.
King Hendrick Doiten sat at the end of a long table in the center of the council chamber.
‘I’m suddenly nervous.’
The Doiten Kingdom might be small, but Hendrick was still a king who ruled an entire nation.
Facing a king for the first time, Terlo observed the proper etiquette and bowed.
“I greet Your Majesty.”
“Ha-ha! Welcome, Young Master Krauber. I called you here rather than to the audience chamber because I thought it would be better to speak comfortably. Why not take a seat over there?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Despite his dignity, King Hendrick created an easygoing atmosphere.
Thanks to that, Terlo felt a little more at ease as he sat across from him.
Hendrick laughed heartily again.
“I heard the entire situation from Baron Krauber when he requested support from the knights. You had been preparing for quite some time to capture that organization, had you not?”
“Yes. I joined Boss Hook’s plan and helped carry it out.”
“You have truly worked hard. The work itself aside, how could working with that man have been easy? I acknowledge his ability, but his temperament leaves much to be desired. Just look at how he did not even come today. Ha-ha! Still, one of the central figures who resolved such a major incident is here, and that is what matters.”
“Your praise is more than I deserve.”
‘He’s praising me just for working with Boss Hook.’
Being acknowledged for such an unexpected reason did not feel bad.
Terlo laughed inwardly at Hook’s absence, just as he had expected.
Without Hook present, Terlo would not have to watch what he said next.
“You are humble despite your young age. I hear your ability is just as exceptional. You cannot imagine how delighted I am that a talent like you has appeared in our kingdom. Ha-ha! In any case, you made a great contribution to the kingdom, so I should reward you.”
‘Oh.’
I wonder what he plans to give me.
If Terlo did not like the reward, he intended to request something else.
As long as the conditions were similar, the king would probably grant it.
As Terlo waited, Hendrick continued.
“Hmm. I would like to grant you the county that has remained vacant for some time…. The territory connected to the front of the Krauber Territory. What do you think?”
‘He’s giving me a county?’
Terlo’s eyes widened slightly at a reward several times better than he had expected.
The county Hendrick mentioned had reverted to the kingdom after the absence of a count.
Terlo had heard that nobles were fighting behind the scenes to receive it.
And yet the king intended to give that territory to him.
The black-robed organization must truly have caused Hendrick a great deal of trouble.
‘That’s understandable.’
Unlike other kingdoms, the only thing the Doiten Kingdom could boast of was its peace.
If even that peace were broken, the authority of an already weak nation could only fall further.
But Terlo and Hook had prevented that decline by resolving the matter.
Terlo had expected his achievement to be recognized highly because of that….
But he had not expected it to this extent.
‘Then Father’s title would naturally be elevated to Count.’
The Krauber Family would no longer be a baronial house, but a count’s house.
Doristen’s delighted face appeared before Terlo’s eyes.
He wanted to accept immediately, but deliberately hesitated.
Hendrick raised an eyebrow and asked,
“Hmm? Does it not please you? It is a territory coveted by many, so I thought you would be delighted.”
“No. I’m very pleased. But….”
“You appear to be worried about something. Do not be hesitant. Speak freely.”
“…I am happy to have my achievement recognized by Your Majesty, and I am grateful for the reward. But I’m still afraid to leave my family.”
Hendrick sighed at Terlo’s dejected words.
“Ah. You are so mature that I failed to consider how you must feel. You are worried about the deployments that will follow once your achievement becomes known, are you not? Most children your age should still be under protection, let alone learning black magic…. I understand completely.”
Terlo smiled inwardly as everything proceeded exactly as intended.
Deployment.
The conflict that had continued within the Empire since ancient times also affected the surrounding countries.
Naturally, the Doiten Kingdom was not among those neighboring nations.
But one of the Doiten Kingdom’s allied nations was….
Anyone who displayed even a little ability was expected to be deployed to an allied nation.
‘I need to delay that as long as possible. I can’t leave now.’
There were still things he needed to do within this kingdom.
Of course, even after being deployed, he could return to his homeland.
But that would only be possible when he had enough time.
It was better to handle everything now, while his freedom was guaranteed.
For the sake of that freedom, Terlo carefully spoke.
“Thank you for understanding. In that case… may I receive the reward once I’m mentally prepared?”
“Of course! Naturally. I will not retract my word, so tell me whenever you are ready.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. And until then, could you also keep the fact that I captured the organization a secret…?”
“That is only natural as well. There is no need to thank me. Could I not do this much for the person who resolved such a major problem? Ha-ha!”
After their warm exchange, Hendrick asked Terlo several more questions.
They consisted of concerned curiosity and complaints about Hook.
He was a far more flexible man than Terlo had expected.
***
After finishing his audience with Hendrick at the royal court, Terlo headed directly back to his own castle.
Then he descended into the basement where he had confined the member of More.
He needed the man to investigate the shopping district safely.
At the sound of Terlo’s footsteps, the bound captive began flopping around frantically.
“Mmph! Mmmph! Mrrmph!”
‘It seems Bail took good care of him.’
Terlo had only told Bail to keep the man alive, yet he had apparently taken the instruction quite seriously.
Frowning, Terlo removed the gag from the organization member’s mouth.
The man immediately began shouting even louder.
“…Water! Food! Please, give me something to eat!”
“For someone who’s hungry, your voice has plenty of strength.”
“Gah!”
Apparently recognizing Terlo’s voice, the man abruptly became docile.
Then he stammered tearfully.
“W-Why did you only come now? You never returned after that, so I thought I was going to be sold somewhere!”
“Wouldn’t being sold be a good thing? At least you probably wouldn’t die.”
“What kind of dogsh— No. What kind of nonsense is that…?! I want to live a normal life.”
Terlo hummed thoughtfully.
The man’s trembling lips hurriedly opened.
“I-I thought about it all this time! Before, I only told you I wouldn’t say anything to anyone. I realized I forgot to tell you something else.”
“What?”
“That I’ll do anything you order! I truly will. So please… spare me….”
‘Oh?’
Until he came down here, Terlo had intended to threaten the man.
He would tell him that his life would be in danger if he refused to obey.
But the captive had already imagined himself being sold and prepared to do anything Terlo asked.
‘Why does he keep figuring out what I want and acting accordingly?’
Was it merely his imagination?
Tilting his head, Terlo lowered his voice and asked,
“You’ll do anything?”
“Yes, as long as you don’t order me to die immediately…!”
“Then should I give you one chance?”
“R-Really? Thank you! Thank—”
“But only once. If you try anything foolish or fail to carry out even one of my orders properly, your chance ends there. You can look forward to finding out what happens afterward.”
“I-I’ll obey you absolutely, no matter what! I only have one life. I would never do anything like that!”
Terlo nodded in satisfaction at the man’s desperate cry.
The inner thoughts he heard through Connect held the same meaning.
He had not intended it, but keeping the man imprisoned for so long had certainly been effective.
***
At one far edge of the sprawling shopping district,
Terlo stood atop a building with the members of More, both wearing robes as they looked down over the shops.
“Parsley. Are you certain only the owners were abducted in this area?”
“Yes. I am certain! But my name isn’t Parsley. It’s Basley….”
‘How are all these shops still operating normally?’
Several hours earlier, a one-sided negotiation had taken place in the basement.
Terlo had given Basley three warnings.
First, he was to introduce Terlo to anyone they met as another member of More.
Second, if anyone recognized him in the shopping district, he was to say he had been ordered to provide support.
Third, he was to carry out every instruction within three seconds.
Basley had once again sworn absolute obedience.
Then he accompanied Terlo here.
Yet not a single shop among the long rows had its lights extinguished.
‘Even if some time has passed, this is still strange.’
It had not been enough time for every shop to return to smooth operation.
If they were functioning normally despite that, someone must have been waiting to take them over.
‘Are they Ben’s people?’
It would be useful to learn whether the shops had ever been left vacant.
But there were few customers he could ask.
The shopping district was normally crowded, yet there were noticeably few people here.
In particular, no one was leaving through the side where Terlo stood.
After waiting for quite some time,
A single customer walked out of the shopping district.
Terlo gestured toward him with his chin.
“Go ask him whether the shops were ever empty or if he noticed anything strange.”
“Since all the shop owners were abducted, wouldn’t there obviously have been a period when they were empty?”
“Three, two….”
“Gah! I-I’ll go immediately!”
Basley panicked at Terlo’s countdown and ran down.
Before long, he returned out of breath and began explaining.
“I asked him…. Haaah, hah. As far as he knows, none of the shops ever closed. The strange part is that the owners changed across the entire area within a short time. Hah, hah.”
‘They changed within a short time.’
Terlo became even more certain that the new owners were Ben’s people.
But what puzzled him was that the number of shops across the entire district, not merely this area, was enormous.
Was it truly possible to plant people in every one of them?
Terlo wondered whether this was why Ben had been continuously procuring cheap black mages.
As he became lost in thought, Basley caught his breath and continued.
“Oh, right! He also said the prices have risen absurdly.”
“Is that so?”
Terlo considered it briefly, then spoke to Basley.
“Then injure yourself.”
“Pardon…? Injure myself?”
“Yes. We’re going to the potion shop ahead. It’ll be better to have an injury that needs treatment than to go for no reason.”
“N-No. Even so, how can I injure a perfectly healthy body…?!”
“Three, two….”
At the countdown, which began whenever he was close to forgetting it, Basley tilted his head back.
“Haaah. What kind of— No. I’ll do it! I’m doing it!”