Squeak.
Even after the demonic energy purification work was finished and Klad removed his hands, the sandworm didn’t run away. Instead, it stretched out its massive body and whined, seemingly exhausted beyond measure.
“The sandworm looks very tired.”
“Does it? Still, removing the demonic energy isn’t a bad thing for this creature either. It gets misunderstood often because of its hideous appearance, but sandworms are regular monsters, not demonic beasts. Since it was forced to harbor demonic energy, if we’d left it alone, its lifespan would have been reduced by more than half.”
The creature that had been scheduled for subjugation today had not only survived but even had its lifespan extended, so it was a good thing for the sandworm too.
Kiyaak!
The sandworm didn’t seem to think so, though.
“Won’t it be difficult to digest demons without demonic energy in its body?”
“Demons won’t be coming here anymore anyway. From now on, it’ll have to go hunting on its own, but since it’s become stronger with my magical power, it’ll be easier to find prey.”
“But if demons don’t come, the only prey left within its territory are the villagers.”
“That’s why we need to expand its territory.”
When Klad patted the sandworm, the creature that had been sprawled on the ground pretending to be unconscious moved its body sluggishly. The sandworm that was already disgusting while still became three times more disgusting when it moved.
“As I explained before, sandworms only expand their territory when they judge they can’t find food. By current standards, the sandworm can’t find food here. But if you follow this way up, monsters appear, though it’s a bit far.”
Jake turned his gaze following Klad’s finger pointing to the distant sky. What he could see was only dense trees and thick darkness.
“There are quite a few of them, so it can find prey there. The monsters in this forest live in groups so food supply will be difficult, but sandworms are originally a strong species. It’s better to fight other monsters while hunting for food.”
“But if the sandworm moves its territory completely, won’t this village be left unprotected?”
“Sandworms value the territory where they first settled extremely highly. Even if the territory expands and they have to travel far, they’ll definitely return to their original spot.”
“So this village becomes this sandworm’s home.”
“Right. Now even if we tried to send it back to the sand desert, it would cry and refuse.”
Klad brought the sandworm to where the villagers were gathered. The gang apparently thought Klad had decided to throw them to the sandworm as food and began wailing.
Klad ignored the gang and demonstrated in front of everyone how the sandworm followed his words. And he threatened that if there was anyone threatening the village’s peace, the sandworm wouldn’t let them off.
Squeeeak.
During this time, the sandworm that had been pretending to follow Klad’s words stealthily moved closer to Jake’s side. Had it noticed that the scary Klad couldn’t move a muscle at Jake’s words? Or perhaps it was showing gratitude for easing the pain of the demonic energy purification work.
A sandworm that could swallow him in one bite rubbing its body and acting cute wasn’t particularly endearing.
Kiyeeeeak!
Having solved the village’s problems, Klad and Jake departed with the sandworm’s farewell. By now, rumors should be spreading in the capital and it was time for the Duke to show movement.
If they returned to Baron Nolson’s territory, they could directly witness what was happening in the city and respond according to the situation, but there was the significant disadvantage that it could become dangerous. Since Jake’s condition wasn’t what it used to be, they couldn’t take such risks.
“Anyway, unless the Duke comes looking with the Black Sphere, there’s nothing more we can find out there. It won’t be too late to go when the trap is triggered.”
“I agree. Rather than wasting time on something where we’re uncertain if we can achieve results, it would be better to aim for when Father has no leisure and find the Hero’s Sword first.”
Then it would be good to stay in a nearby city and gather information about the situation in the capital and the Hero’s Sword. Jake, who had been thinking carefully, asked.
“What’s the nearest city from here?”
“If you pass Baron Nolson’s territory and walk a bit more, there’s a village. The territorial residents who fled from Nolson’s city probably all went to that village too. But it’s not easy to gather information in a village.”
Klad spread out the map and examined it carefully. On the map was marked ‘the route to Audrit without catching the Duke’s eye’ that Jake had drawn.
“Here, the distance is a bit far but there’s a decent city. If we stop by Nolson’s city on the way and go on horseback, we can save time.”
“Wouldn’t it be faster to run with speed amplified by your magic?”
“We already received magical assistance getting this far. Using buff magic too often isn’t good for the body either.”
“If we abuse magic, we might not be able to use it when we really need it urgently. I understand. Let’s go on horseback this time.”
Baron Nolson’s territory, which they returned to walking at Jake’s original speed, was quiet as if nothing had happened. The Emperor or Duke hadn’t shown any movement yet, and all the people were hiding in the temple and not coming out.
Jake confirmed the city was safe, then came out with a horse and luggage.
“Klad, don’t we need to get you a horse?”
“Not necessary.”
Klad climbed up behind Jake who was on the horse and took the reins.
“If we drag around two horses, we’ll stand out and it’ll be hard to respond in urgent situations.”
“Uh…”
“Let’s go.”
Before Jake could open his mouth, the horse started running. Jake, judging that being trapped in Klad’s arms didn’t suit him as a noble, hunched his shoulders and leaned his body toward the horse’s head.
“What are you doing? You’ll fall like that.”
Falling from a horse running at top speed could break his neck and kill him instantly. Klad placed his hand on Jake’s chest that kept bending forward and pulled him back as if embracing him.
“Klad, touching a noble’s body without permission is…”
“A serious crime, yes. It’s better than falling off the horse.”
“That may be so, but…”
In the end, Jake had to travel caught by Klad with a bright red face without adding a single word.
When did he freely grab his arm or lean on his back, yet suddenly showing this attitude made Klad feel strangely affected too.
‘I should get one more horse or something…’
Except for the slightly awkward transportation process, the journey was peaceful. Klad didn’t stop the horse except when Jake ate. Jake, who had tried hard to curl up his body and minimize contact area, only when sleeping did he freely lean his back against Klad’s embrace and fall asleep.
Since they stopped infrequently, they arrived at their destination faster than expected. Just before crossing the city gate, Klad dismounted from the horse and acted as a knight attending a noble young master.
“We’ll rest here for a few days. Don’t get up, just lie down.”
After entering the city, Klad secured the best inn and had Jake rest on the bed. While better than walking and running, riding a horse was also quite an arduous task. Even though Jake was exhausted, he muttered that there was much to do.
“We need to move quickly… We don’t have time to waste in a place like this.”
“They say there’s an Information Guild in this city, so I’ll request information gathering. It’ll take time to get results anyway, so rest until then.”
“Ugh. Then in the meantime, I’ll train…”
“Will you collapse while training?”
When Klad placed his hand on his forehead, the fatigue subsided considerably. Jake fell asleep quickly, feeling his buttocks and legs throb with muscle pain.
If he wanted, he could have removed the pain with magic too, but Klad didn’t. Because the body grows by experiencing muscle pain and overcoming it.
He couldn’t take away the joy of Jake, who had just overcome his limits and awakened to the pleasure of growth.
***
Information related to nobles is expensive. If that noble is House Duke West, the price of information becomes jaw-droppingly high. Since there have been many cases where entire guilds collapsed after touching House Duke West, most Information Guilds are reluctant to handle information about House Duke West.
So Klad placed a request focusing on ‘events happening in the capital and Baron Nolson’s territory’ rather than ‘Duke West’s movements.’
The Information Guild here was quite competent for the city’s size, gathering information in less than a week. Klad returned to the inn with that information.
Hik- Hik-
Jake, who had recovered from fatigue and gotten up, started training again from the day after arriving in the city. Today too, Klad waved a bundle of parchment in front of Jake, who was swinging his sword making deflating sounds.
“The Grand Temple sent someone to Baron Nolson’s territory, what do you think?”
“From the Grand Temple?”
Jake, who had been swinging his sword without knowing Klad was coming, finally stopped training.
“It seems Father judged that he might get wrongly entangled if he sent someone from House Duke since they don’t know what might be discovered at the lord’s castle. Although not known externally, the priest of the Grand Temple is also Father’s person. He sent someone to the scene to be his eyes while emphasizing this incident has nothing to do with House Duke. A very wise choice.”
“While at it, if something goes wrong, he’s planning to blame it on the Hero. Since the Hero was chosen by the Lord God, it’s known that they belong to the temple.”
“That makes sense.”
“By timing, the priest should have arrived in the city around yesterday. Probably visited the lord’s castle today. Want me to tell you something more interesting?”
“Sure.”
“The trap planted at the lord’s castle—it just went off a moment ago.”
