“Uwah!”
Startled when the Baron suddenly appeared beside him, Jake jumped back with a start.
“Calm down. I’m drawing out the traces of mana remaining in the room to visualize what happened here.”
“Magic can do even that. Amazing.”
Before Klad could clarify that not just any mage could do this, the Baron’s form began speaking first.
[I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Duke-nim!]
Even though only sound was connected, the Baron’s form kept bowing toward the crystal orb.
The Duke beyond the crystal orb, who had been quietly listening to the cries of apology, only opened his mouth when the Baron was exhausted and gasping for breath.
[I’m disappointed, Baron Nolson.]
“That’s Father’s voice.”
Jake bounced his shoulders up and down like an adventurer discovering a new continent, not knowing what to do with himself.
Klad placed a hand on Jake’s back, signaling him to be quiet.
[The Hero deceived me. He brought a forged document saying it was Duke-nim’s order.]
The Baron’s lengthy excuse began with a lie.
Baron Nolson spent over ten minutes elaborating on how clever Jake’s lie was and why he had no choice but to fall for it, then prostrated himself before the crystal orb.
The Duke’s expression couldn’t be seen, but he surely didn’t believe a word of the Baron’s story.
“Can’t we find out how Baron Nolson ended up contacting Father first?”
“That’s difficult. With this method, I can only see from the point when the mage who connected the crystal orb used their mana.”
But there was a reason to suspect.
Baron Nolson had taken the lead in trying to help Jake because he panicked and lost his judgment due to the sudden visit and the murderous intent Klad released.
But as Jake and Klad left and he had time to think, his fear of the Duke resurfaced, and he must have forgotten Jake’s proposal not to report to the Duke.
‘I wasn’t trying to control my power.’
The problem was that he had released his energy weakly to avoid leaving traces of his power.
If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have released murderous intent throughout the entire castle to dominate them with fear down to their bones.
[I’ll give you a chance to make up for it. But this will be the last time.]
[Yes, yes yes! Please give me a chance. Thank you, thank you!]
A lie. The only reason the Duke wasn’t punishing the Baron was because he had work for him to do.
The Baron’s help was most important in resolving this matter.
If he threatened too much punishment and the Baron, fearing death, quickly changed his mind and sided with the Hero, that would be troublesome, so he couldn’t punish him.
[Proceed with the festival as Jake proposed.]
[The, the festival…?]
[Pretend to do as Jake ordered and tie that child’s feet down.]
[Will you send the knights?]
[No. I need to release something even better than that.]
[Something even better, you mean….]
[Demons.]
[……Hk!]
At the conversation flowing exactly as expected, Jake clenched both fists tightly.
He wanted to run over and throw away the crystal orb, but that was a residual image of mana. Knowing he couldn’t interfere with the Baron or shatter the crystal orb, he had to endure it.
[Wait until as many people as possible gather, then release them in the middle of the plaza. If we plant bombs in the plaza beforehand and make them explode along with the demons’ appearance, we can increase the damage without dragging things out for long.]
[Wh, what’s the purpose of doing that, Duke-nim? For what reason are you doing this to my city….]
[I’ll pin all that damage on Jake.]
[Kheok,]
Everything was as expected. The Duke planned to spread rumors in advance through his people that the Demon King was leading an army chasing after him because the Hero was running rampant, and to destroy the city using demons.
Even if it was just the Hero doing his duty, those who lost their families and homes wouldn’t see that.
The city’s survivors would think:
That a Hero without ability lured the Demon King and destroyed the city.
[Jake will lose credibility, and our House Duke West, which will handle the aftermath, will be welcomed. How about that, isn’t it perfect?]
[It truly is perfect. I’ll do my best to turn this place into chaos!]
[……If Jake dies in that chaos, even better.]
[Yes, yes.]
Klad sneakily checked Jake’s reaction. No matter how bad their relationship was, hearing your biological father waiting for news of your death must be a big shock.
Sure enough, Jake clenched his fists tightly and frowned.
“I don’t understand!”
“I’m listening. Speak.”
“What does Baron Nolson gain by following this order? What’s the reason for being loyal to Father even while losing the city and the territory’s people?”
“Ah. That’s what you don’t understand?”
“Hm? Then what else is there?”
He doesn’t seem to care at all that the Duke is trying to kill him.
“Do you know how amazing it is for a noble with merely a Baron’s status to become the lord of a city? Anyway, it would be a city gifted by the Duke, so he would have thought he’d lose everything if he went against the Duke.”
But the Baron ultimately betrayed the Duke and fled.
Whether he wanted to protect some emergency funds he had hidden away, or worried that returning to the capital would result in being abandoned by the Duke and losing his life, in the end the Baron made the choice to abandon the city because he didn’t want to lose it.
It was truly foolish.
When the crystal orb’s communication ended, the Baron’s form scattered into the air and disappeared.
Watching that, Jake hung his head low and muttered.
“It’s my great oversight that I failed to notice the Baron was someone who valued loyalty to Father more than protecting the territory’s people.”
“It’s the Duke’s fault for treating people’s lives like toys, so who are you blaming?”
“If I hadn’t made plans from the start, this wouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have started something I couldn’t handle.”
“Use that time to worry about your own safety.”
“My safety is good too, but right now I need to focus on saving the territory’s people.”
Jake overcame his helplessness due to his own lack of ability with a sense of responsibility to save the territory’s people and stood up.
“We don’t know when the Duke will appear leading the knights, and you want to stay here?”
“This place has already lost its leader. If it loses the Hero too, the territory’s people will suffer even greater damage. I can’t just watch that happen.”
Klad grabbed Jake, who was about to rush outside immediately.
“You don’t have the Hero’s Sword or the ability to fight demons, so how are you going to help?”
“I’ll evacuate the people.”
“If you go out now and shout that demons are coming, it’ll only look like you’re admitting the rumors the Duke spread.”
“I don’t care.”
“They believe the Demon King follows wherever you go, so no one will follow your orders.”
“In that sense, I guess I do care a little.”
Jake, who had been jumping around trying to rush out immediately, only fell into quiet contemplation after hearing those words.
The Hero had already lost credibility. Even if he shouted his head off that they needed to evacuate, they would only think the Hero was admitting he didn’t have the ability to fight demons. The people would wait for the Duke’s knights to come.
Not knowing that what the Duke sent wasn’t knights but a group of demons.
“I’ll make it as if it never happened.”
After pondering for a while, Jake came to a conclusion and muttered.
“If Father made this plan to lower my reputation, I just need to make it as if it never happened.”
Finally, an opinion he liked came out.
If they subjugated the demons before they appeared in the city, they could save the territory’s people and prove that the story about the Demon King chasing the Hero wasn’t true.
Or it wouldn’t be bad to show them subjugating the demons and claim they could defend against this much.
It was a good opportunity to save the city and raise his reputation. Above all, it was also an opportunity to give the Duke, who would be feeling triumphant, a taste of great defeat.
It would be absolutely impossible for Jake alone, but with Klad together now, they could definitely do it.
‘Good. Now ask me to help.’
Klad muttered to himself as if reciting a spell. As if it were natural for Jake to ask him for help.
Jake turned to Klad with a brightened face.
“I need to find the bombs. If I find the bombs and prove the city is in danger, the people will believe my words.”
“Wait. Wasn’t your plan to go eliminate them before the demons appear in the city? You said you’d make the Duke’s plan as if it never happened.”
“Of course I meant I’d stop the bombs from exploding. But I can’t drive away the demons with my own power.”
A lie. If Jake’s plan was ‘find the bombs and evacuate the territory’s people,’ it wasn’t much different from the plan he made when excited earlier.
The only change was the addition of finding bombs? He wouldn’t have made a resolution to make the Duke’s plan as if it never happened with just that much.
Jake had definitely thought the same thing as him. The thought of making everything as if it ‘never happened’ before the demons appeared, just as the Duke said.
‘But why is he pretending otherwise?’
Perhaps Jake didn’t know that Klad had the ability to subjugate demons and wasn’t asking for help? Yes, that must be why.
Jake had only seen Klad use various support magic, but had never directly witnessed him dealing with enemies. So he must be unable to easily ask for help and was just spouting nonsense.
In the end, Klad was the first to extend a helping hand to Jake.
“I’ll help you. I can handle a few demons by myself.”
“Ah….”
At that moment, Klad didn’t miss the awkward smile that flashed across Jake’s face.
‘What?’
What’s with that reaction?
“No, it’s okay.”
It’s not that facing demons alone is dangerous, but it’s okay?
“This is my matter, so I should resolve it.”
What? Why won’t he ask for help?
“I’ll resolve it quickly and come back, so rest at the inn…… Ah.”
Jake’s eyes wavered. He must have realized that even to himself it was a ridiculous thing to say.
All this time when he needed help, when did he hold on saying this and that, and what? Rest at the inn? It was absurd.
It was even more absurd because he knew why Jake was spouting such nonsense.
“Ha.”
Klad let out a breath mixed with a hollow laugh.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
