Chapter 51

Before they knew it, the sun had set, and Serpens’s group was walking along the southern coastline.

The sea spread before them held the moon on its surface,
and the waves quietly tickled the sand.

Serpens quietly gazed at the horizon.
What brushed past his ears was neither the roars of monsters nor the metallic sounds of arms and armor.

Only the sound of waves.
And the occasional cry of seagulls.
At the peace that had come all at once, the boy almost forgot that he had been fighting a monster just a few hours ago.

Lucas and Lars walked through the familiar darkness.
Serpens needlessly dipped his feet in the waves, then hurriedly chased after them.

“By the way, Lucas. Did you deal with a huge lump of filth again this time?”

Serpens asked after matching their pace.

There were many things he wanted to ask about what had happened today.
Thinking back, he and Lars had handled the Basilisk quickly as well.
But when they returned to the outpost, Lucas had already arrived there first.

‘Didn’t Lucas face two of them alone?’

That was how he remembered it.
There had been two unidentified monsters.
That was why his curiosity only grew.

“No.”

Lucas answered.

“They were similar in size, but this time, they were not masses of filth. If I had to compare them, they were more like golems.”
“Golems?”
“Moving masses of rock.”
“Aha……?”

Serpens tried imagining moving masses of rock.

He didn’t think they would be that dangerous.
A mass of rock as huge as a mountain.
What use would that be in front of Lucas?

Perhaps it was only natural that Lucas had dealt with the monsters faster than the two of them.
If Lucas set his mind to it, what monster could possibly stand against him?

‘Would it take something like the king of monsters to be a match?’

Serpens looked at Lucas’s back, then suddenly felt a laugh slip out.
The fact that he could travel with someone like that, and that he was being taught by him, moved him.

“I need to work even harder…….”

The boy’s murmur was buried in the sea breeze and did not reach anyone’s ears.
But those words remained in the boy’s heart more deeply than the wind.

“Where are we going now?”

Serpens asked.
Lucas and Lars exchanged a short conversation without looking at each other.

“We are going to House Navigatou.”

After spending several days walking and training.
The three arrived at the outskirts of the Navigatou territory.

They stopped by a small inn and made a meal of bread, cheese, and simple soup.
Lars quietly stirred his ladle, and Lucas sat silently while looking out the window.
Serpens was the only one hurriedly eating.
The reason he hurried his fork was because he was hungry.
No one rushed the boy.

And just as the boy was about to finish his satisfying meal.

Creak-

The door opened, and someone carefully entered.
Silver armor with a golden flag engraved on the chest.
Seeing the sword fastened at his waist, Serpens’s shoulders stiffened for a moment.

“Are you Sir Liberator?”

A calm and firm voice, and movements with proper etiquette.
The person who seemed to be a guard bowed his head.

Lucas slowly nodded.

“I deeply apologize for interrupting your meal. The reason I have come is that my master wishes to invite the three of you.”
“By your master, do you mean Count Kerel?”

The guard raised his waist only slightly and looked at Lucas while maintaining his courtesy.

“That is correct.”
“Understood.”

Lucas rose from his seat.
At the sound of the chair scraping, Serpens hurriedly gathered his belongings as well.

When they left the inn, a cool wind brushed their cheeks.
Clouds spread widely across the sky, and under the pouring sunlight, the people of the count’s territory were each going about their business.

The guard took the lead and walked in the direction of the castle.

As they walked, Serpens glanced at Lars.

“Why did we come to the Navigatou territory?”
“Recently, command over the war in the southern region was assigned to Count Navigatou’s House. The big fire here has been put out, so I’m thinking of helping other places and telling them where they should send the count’s forces.”
“You do things like that too, Lars?”
“Originally, it is something the imperial court should do. But they are so unreliable.”
“I think you and that Lucas over there are the only ones who find the imperial court unreliable.”
“Keke. There are probably more than you think.”

Lars stretched.
When a cracking sound came from his waist, he smiled as if satisfied.

“Are there monsters like the Basilisk in other places too?”
“Hmm……. No. In both the eastern plains and the western mountain range, the problem is the number of monsters. There are just a loooot of them.”
“A loooot?”
“Yeah. A looooot.”

Serpens’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Just how many does there have to be for it to be a problem?’

He tried going over his experiences.
When had he encountered the most monsters?
The thousands of monster corpses he had seen near this place, Navigatou, a year ago?
It was probably then.
He had only seen them lying about after being cut down by Lucas, but he couldn’t forget the shock he had felt when he first saw them.

‘Well. The fact that Lucas had dealt with all of them and the strange monster appearing were more shocking, though…….’

Still, shock was shock.
When he imagined that many monsters running toward him, his legs went weak.

But it was a problem only for him, not for Lucas.
It was probably the same on the battlefield.
Could strong knights not handle that many goblins and orcs?
Then the ‘loooot of them’ Lars mentioned might mean even more than several thousand.

‘Just how many are there?’

Serpens scratched the back of his head roughly in confusion and unease.

In the meantime, the group arrived at the count’s mansion.
They passed through a splendid gate, walked along an orderly corridor, and stood before the door to an office that had an ornate yet antique beauty.

The guard who had guided them knocked on the door.

“My lord. I have brought the honored guests.”
“Come in.”

When the door carefully opened, the warm scent of spices and the faint fragrance of herbs brushed past their noses.

The inside of the office gave off an overall tidy atmosphere.
Bookshelves filled with old maps and documents lined the walls, and antiques collected from across the continent were placed by the window.

“It has been a long time, Sir Lucas.”

A blond man rose from the long desk at the center.
The master of Navigatou Harbor.
Kerel Navigatou greeted the group with utterly tired eyes.

The document that left his fingertips settled onto another pile of documents.

“You have worked hard coming all this way and resolving the matter. I can only thank you for resolving the south’s troubles twice.”

After stepping out from his seat, he politely extended a hand toward the chairs placed before him.

Lucas nodded and quietly sat down, and Lars and Serpens sat in the seats beside him.
Serpens straightened his back on reflex.

“Rail said he thought he saw you on his way back after finishing his work. I had also received a report, so I was certain it was you, Sir Lucas, and invited you here. I apologize for interrupting your meal.”

Hearing the familiar name, Serpens needlessly looked around the room.
Since he had come all the way here, he wanted to see Rail’s face before leaving.

“Not at all. Bro and I also came to visit you, Count.”

Lars answered.
Kerel stared at him for a moment with thoughtful eyes.

“By any chance, are you Lord Lars Musica?”
“Yes, I’m Lars Musica. Drop the surname and the Sir as well. Please just call me Lars.”

Kerel shook his head.

“Are you not one of those who represent the empire? You are also a benefactor who helped with the southern subjugation. I must show proper respect. I will call you Lord Lars.”
“Well…… do as you like.”

Lars rubbed his nose and continued.

“The south should have no major problems for a while. Therefore, may I ask what you think about sending the south’s forces as support to the east or west?”
“Of course, we must send them. The entire empire is in danger, so how could there be rest? And even if one were reluctant to send support, one cannot simply refuse to send it.”

Kerel answered with a bitter expression.
It was not that he was reluctant to send support.
It was simply that this war was far too exhausting.

“I was already considering the troops to send as support to the east. Since there is talk that House Levvels will send forces to the west, it would be right to strengthen the eastern side.”

When House Levvels was mentioned, Lucas’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
That brief moment entered Kerel’s eyes.

Kerel closed his mouth for a moment.
No one spoke to him first.

After the brief silence ended, Kerel carefully gazed at Lucas.

“Sir Lucas. Are you truly the Lucas Liberator?”
“If what you are thinking of is the same as what I am, then yes.”

Lucas answered silently.
Kerel touched his forehead and let out a small sigh before speaking.

“By any chance, do you know a knight named Muto Mariposa?”

Lucas’s mouth hardened.
It was a name he had heard before.
It had been when he visited the Quantums Merchant House because of Serpens.
At that time, the head of the merchant house had mentioned the name Muto Mariposa.

“I have heard of her. I heard she reached the Master level at a young age.”

Kerel nodded, then spoke in a relatively quieter voice.

“The thing is, a few months ago, she came to my territory saying she had a message to deliver.”

He looked as if he thought someone somewhere was listening to this conversation.

“She spoke as though we had to bring the current chaos under control and prepare for what came afterward as well. With those cold eyes of hers, and that calm way of speaking, everything sounded right.”
“So what did you do?”
“I refused.”

Kerel looked toward the sunlit window.
The sky visible through the window was blue, but in contrast, his mind was nothing but gloomy.

“There was not a single unnecessary word in what she said. She had insight that saw through the state of affairs, a justification that it was for the nation, and even realistic alternatives prepared. It didn’t feel like she had said it only once or twice.”

He closed his eyes for a moment.

“The war against monsters, and the war after that, are surely means to strengthen the vested interests of the marquis house.”

Then he sighed and took a sip of the herbal tea in his teacup.

“Judging by her attitude, as if she was certain I would accept the marquis house’s proposal, it seems many people have already been won over.”
“…….”
“To carefully state my thoughts, the marquis’s desire seemed to be crawling toward a place higher than where he stands now.”

Both Lucas and Lars could understand what Kerel meant.
The marquis was the second-highest person in the empire.
Because the only one above him was the emperor.

“I intend to refuse his proposal.”
“…….”
“I may have to pay the price for refusing. I am certainly afraid of that.”

Lucas cast him a questioning look.
Receiving that gaze, Kerel answered slowly, as if strengthening his own resolve.

“Because the marquis’s proposal does not take people into account.”
“People……?”
“War is not fought only by powerful people like us.”

Gravity entered Kerel’s voice.

“Fishermen, farmers, artisans, women, and children. Are all of them not fighting this war together as well? And it is often they who suffer greater harm from war.”

The three silently nodded.
Brief sympathy and anguish passed through their eyes.

“The argument Muto Mariposa presented as flawless did not care about such people. To start another war against the other empires once the war against monsters ends? It is absurd.”

He stopped speaking for a moment.

Serpens was listening intently.
It was not exact, but there were parts he could understand little by little.

“Looking at it this way, there was a major omission after all.”

Kerel gave a bitter smile.

“Even if I fear the price of refusal, I could not do something that did not match my convictions.”

‘He’s a good person.’

Lars inwardly praised Kerel.
At the same time, he felt pity.
How many nobles would have thought this way?
Very few.
Perhaps Count Navigatou was the only one.

The amusement faded from his eyes.

‘The rotten roots have spread far too deep.’

Muto Mariposa’s proposal was not her own.
Was it not the same as what Girium Levvels had argued?
If she had delivered these words to the count’s territory,
then many people had surely already been brought over.

‘I was too indifferent to the state of affairs. This is my oversight.’

Lars clicked his tongue briefly.

He had been indifferent to imperial affairs because he had been watching over Lucas’s daily life.
If he had paid even a little attention, it would not have rotted this far.

“Understood, Count. Thank you for making the right choice.”

But not all the roots had rotted yet.
So he intended to pay attention from now on.

Before the roots that were still clean rotted away,
the parts that had already rotted had to be cut out.