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“Did you hear the rumor?!”
“They say the Kingdom of Arangi offered Sir Azadine a countship?!”
“Oh, a count from the Messenger Clan….”
Such rumors began circulating among the soldiers.
Edir and Gidit had come to the training ground to be tested on whether they had skills worthy of the servant class, and heard that rumor there.
The people from the Chadra Plateau rejoiced at the news that Azadine had been granted a countship as if it were their own affair.
However, some soldiers who had come from among the refugees were clearly half-believing and half-doubting, or outright suspicious.
“A-a noble position for someone from the Messenger Clan?”
“Good heavens.”
“No, what is this? Are you doubting Sir Azadine right now?”
At that moment, Edir stepped forward.
“The ones who killed Sir Darhan-Jadek, the last royal of the Kingdom of Vthuma, were none other than the Messenger Clan. They are soulless beings who mercilessly kill even noble God-Kings….”
Then the soldiers of the Chadra Plateau burst into laughter.
“Puhaha. So what?”
“What if all of this is a scheme? Why on earth would he release this much wealth to relieve people and raise soldiers?”
“Aren’t you the one who came here to receive a stipend from that? And yet you are suspicious?”
“I… know how fatal it is when faith is betrayed. Of course, for now, I have a wife and children, so I had to at least put food in their mouths, but even if I must do something unreasonable, I would like to lose only my own life.”
He was drawn by the salary Azadine provided, but he feared that, in the process, he might lose something more than his life. When Edir spoke his honest feelings, the soldiers around him said,
“For one thing, Sir Azadine is at least clean.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because the Chadra Plateau was originally like a place of exile for the Rescue Knights Order. No idiot would come to the Chadra Plateau because he wanted to infiltrate the Order and build power.”
The soldiers from Chadra all acknowledged this.
Azadine had not been the head of a large military faction worthy of being granted a countship from the very beginning.
He had clawed his way up tenaciously from the bottom, and a person who had proven such ability could not possibly be a spy.
“That man had no need to infiltrate. He built everything from the bottom up with his bare hands.”
“It seems everyone likes him.”
“Rather than liking him….”
“He has done too much for us.”
Those exiled to the Chadra Plateau had once had to live like beasts. They could not move a step from their place of exile, vicious seniors from criminal backgrounds oppressed their freedom inside, and there had been no hope at all for the future.
Azadine had united that and created hope.
He had punished the immoral ones who absolutely could not be used, and unified the land of the Chadra Plateau into one. After obtaining Naisandokar and Sandokar, he had even made trade with the outside possible.
Hope had appeared.
At a time when the whole world was full of despair, even greater hope than before had instead arisen on the Chadra Plateau, so it was unreasonable to tell them not to like the guide who had brought such guidance.
“But then, what exactly does he gain from this? Why does he do such things?”
“We do not know either. But from what we hear….”
The soldiers tilted their heads, then said,
“Sir Azadine seems to truly believe in the Threefold Virtues.”
“What?”
“They say he wants to practice wisdom, courage, and mercy, and truly return the Rescue Knights Order to its original form.”
“How could that possibly be….”
Edir said that, then was startled by his own words.
It was an era in which the Threefold Virtues had become a laughingstock. Although he had placed himself under the Rescue Knights Order’s domain, he had regarded stories about the three virtues as something like a fairy tale to soothe children.
Azadine truly believed in that?
“A true Holy Knight? A member of the Messenger Clan?”
“We do not know either. The captain has never said such things with his own mouth.”
“But….”
Everyone knew.
To Azadine, these Threefold Virtues were so precious that he did not carelessly speak of them aloud. If he spoke them aloud, he would be mocked and suspected of falsehood, and that itself would become a wound.
Those who immediately put virtue into words and hang it up like a banner to wave are trying to use virtue as a justification and a weapon. Someone who truly cherishes virtue merely practices it in silence.
To the point that even the completely illiterate realized that fact… Azadine simply and silently practiced what he thought was right.
‘I cannot believe it.’
Edir did not want to believe it. He had believed in the royal family of Vthuma, Manza-Jadek and his son Darhan-Jadek.
For Azadine, a member of the Messenger Clan, to practice the virtuous rule that even the Golden King’s bloodline had failed to achieve felt like an insult to his masters.
But since Azadine himself was not claiming it, and it was his subordinates, soldiers, and the people around him who had seen the circumstances and were saying it… saying he would not believe it would be foolish.
Azadine gathered the executives of his military faction and discussed the matter of the margraviate grant brought by the envoy of the Kingdom of Arangi.
“A count’s position, huh. You have to accept it no matter what, Captain! A count, a count! You’ll become a great noble right away!”
Rijen, the soldier captain, was excited.
“Well, if you do not accept it, they will surely pick a fight by saying we are using the territory of the Kingdom of Arangi without permission… So there will be much we must give up.”
Kallan, also a soldier captain, agreed with the opinion that they should accept the countship.
Scott, on the other hand, opposed it.
“I am against it, Captain. The grain currently stockpiled is… based on last year’s consumption, roughly four years’ worth. You know what that means, right?”
Four years’ worth based on last year’s consumption, but now, consumption was far greater than last year. That was because Azadine was continuing to accept refugees.
“Haa. To think a possessor of great intellect like me is stuck handling this sort of administrative work. Captain, you have other mages, don’t you? Instead of using an outstanding intellect like mine for this work, why not use them?”
Scott was the type who could not be satisfied unless he boasted, so he began puffing himself up over having handled administrative work.
Azadine’s other subordinates did not like Scott’s arrogant remarks, but Scott had indeed checked the books against actual inventories and caught many embezzlers.
Since he had achievements enough to boast like that, no one could say anything to him.
“I know you worked hard. I am grateful. But Scott, if you are that clever, then you must know how much food demand there is because of the refugees we have taken in. How long can we endure with the food currently stockpiled?”
“If we measure based on the refugees accepted so far, the food is roughly enough for about two years and six months. But if you accept the countship, the Kingdom of Arangi will send refugees in droves. Can you handle that?”
It was certainly a problem. If he accepted the countship, they would send him a great many refugees, but if he did not accept it, the Kingdom of Arangi would retaliate.
No matter how much Azadine’s group exercised effective control, if the Kingdom of Arangi asserted ownership over the Naisandokar area, the road between Sandokar and the Chadra Plateau would be cut off.
If they were simply satisfied with receiving taxes, that would be one thing, but if the Kingdom of Arangi, having had its grant of a countship refused, bore a grudge, there was no guarantee that retaliation beyond that would not follow.
“According to prophecy, Fimbulbert will continue for at least three years. Even if we ration the two years and six months’ worth we have now among ourselves, there will be people who starve to death. Perhaps it is not even two years and six months’ worth. In fact, we have been continuously accepting refugees all this time, have we not? And now the Kingdom of Arangi says it will send even more refugees here. At this rate, we may instead have to take food from others.”
Ivchek, Count of Sandokar, subtly changed the subject to “we.”
Since Sandokar was a gate fortress, while ordinary castles stockpiled three months’ worth of food, it had stockpiled half a year’s worth of food.
However, since this autumn harvest had failed, even if Fimbulbert came only this year and ended, they would experience the spring hunger season around next spring.
Because of that situation, Ivchek, Count of Sandokar, was subtly coveting the food stockpiled on the Chadra Plateau.
He wanted Azadine and the Chadra Plateau side to take care of only Sandokar. Let us pretend not to know about the numerous refugees the Kingdom of Arangi will push in. Even he himself thought it was a vile and lowly idea, but there was nothing he could do.
“No, you say not to accept refugees, but you still want to stay connected to Sandokar. Are you telling him to accept the countship or not accept it?”
Niselda, who had been listening, seemed irritated with Count Ivchek and challenged him.
“We should somehow… find a way, should we not?”
“So how?”
“That is, hmm….”
Ivchek was left speechless and lowered his tail.
Azadine turned his gaze to Sedrin. Wild Druid Sedrin had contributed immense power to the territory’s land reclamation, development, and earthworks, so at present, she had become something like the engineering commander of Azadine’s military faction.
“Sedrin. What do you think?”
“It would be good to refuse the refugees, but you will not refuse them, will you?”
Azadine had never said it with his own mouth, but now everyone knew Azadine to some degree.
Azadine was a true Holy Knight. At a time when everyone in the Rescue Knights Order had become politicians and schemers who ignored virtue, he, despite being from the Messenger Clan, was instead dedicating himself to protecting virtue. There was no way such an Azadine would ignore the refugees.
“There is a way to produce food. Though it will destroy nature somewhat.”
“Oooooh….”
Everyone rejoiced at Sedrin’s words. Whether nature was destroyed or not, everyone was relieved to hear that food could be obtained.
“However, if I do that, I will lose my life. Therefore, before that, I want to give rest to my family, who are bound by Sork.”
Wild Druid Sedrin hated that her family had become Sork’s wights and were being used. So she pressured Azadine under the pretext of food production.
However, Azadine shook his head.
“Sedrin. There is no way I would produce food at the cost of killing you.”
“…That is why.”
Sedrin began to grow angry.
“Do not be friendly with Sork. That bastard even toys with my family’s deaths, so if you stay friendly with him, it looks as if you are affirming Sork’s violation of my family! You need food, do you not? I said I could solve it by giving up my life! But Azadine, even though I am threatening you with my life on the line, why do you ignore my desperate demand?”
Then Selim stepped forward to defend Azadine.
“Um, that is a bit unreasonable. Captain Azadine is not staying friendly with Sir Sork because he wants to be friendly with him. It is closer to that side coming over, saying whatever he wants, and disappearing.”
“Then the moment you see him, you should drive a sword into his head.”
“If that were possible, you should have done it, Sedrin.”
“What?”
Sedrin was furious, but the others, who knew well how fearsome Sir Sork was, all agreed with Selim.
If not for Sir Sork’s help, there would have been tremendous casualties during the attacks by the heretical mutants and Griselda, and they might not have been able to seize Ashajit’s Eye.
Sedrin would want to punish Sork and liberate her family regardless of such benefits, but the other people of Azadine’s military faction wanted to postpone the showdown with Sork as much as possible.
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