Chapter 97
A few days had passed since Sieg joined our faction.
I had people gathering information throughout the Imperial Capital. Anyone unfamiliar or new to the city was bound to become the subject of rumors. I intended to use those rumors to search for Rebecca.
"So? Is it my turn yet?"
"Not yet. Your turn starts once we've confirmed that Rebecca is in the Imperial Capital."
"That reminds me, is she really going to come to the Imperial Capital?"
I nodded at Sieg's question without hesitation.
He was the knight to whom Count Sittarheim had entrusted his final letter and whom he had allowed to escape after rising in revolt. The letter's contents were almost certainly an indictment.
Then her destination was the Imperial Capital.
If southern nobles were involved, the only person she could appeal to was the emperor.
"She'll definitely come to the Imperial Capital."
"You're awfully confident. But how are you going to find someone whose face you don't even know?"
"That won't be a problem. I obtained information from someone among the people of Bassau who knew Rebecca, then had an artist draw a portrait of her. It should arrive sometime today."
"You've planned ahead."
"That was my brother's instruction. Not mine."
"I see. As expected of the Hero Prince, your work is precise."
"Of course, his instructions probably took this possibility into account... Leo feels responsible, and he wants to protect Rebecca."
Count Dennis von Sittarheim had risen in revolt because Leo approached him. He had probably broken with the organization in some way before that. There was no doubt that Leo had been the catalyst.
If Leo had acted sooner—or if Bassau had taken action—perhaps this could have been avoided.
Leo would surely feel responsible.
"He's too soft. As sweet as sugar."
Sieg stuck out his tongue and looked exasperated.
Well, I suppose that's true. I didn't think Leo needed to go that far, either.
But that was Leo.
"That softness sometimes saves people."
"Maybe. But half-hearted softness leaves openings, you know?"
Sieg pointed that out in a sharp tone.
As expected of a seasoned adventurer, he could be ruthless in situations like this.
Adventurers were constantly dealing in life and death. Even if one of their companions died, they couldn't let it distract them from hunting monsters. If they stopped to worry about it and failed their quest, nothing would remain.
Adventurers knew how to control their own emotions.
"Don't worry. Leo's softness is the real thing. It's not half-hearted."
"That's not what I'm talking about..."
"I know. I won't let any openings arise. That's why I'm here."
"That's good, then. But I refuse to be swept along by that softness and forced into doing something reckless. I can only take responsibility for my own life. Especially now."
"That's enough. Once Rebecca enters the Imperial Capital, it will almost certainly become a covert struggle. The organization will send pursuers, and Zandra will send assassins. The other candidates for the throne might send assassins as well. If we obtain the indictment, we can negotiate with Leo. I needed someone who could act safely in the middle of all that. In that respect, Sieg poses no problem."
Whether Zandra was directly involved or not, the south could be considered her power base. She would want to avoid taking a blow there. If so, the quickest and surest course would be to eliminate Rebecca and dispose of the letter. Conversely, if we wanted to deal a blow to Zandra, we needed the letter Rebecca possessed.
That was why Rebecca would definitely be targeted by multiple organizations once she entered the Imperial Capital.
The balance of power would change completely depending on the outcome of this search for Rebecca.
We might be able to knock Zandra, one of the Three Strongest, out of the succession struggle.
If that happened, we would take a major step toward the throne.
"Hey, kid. Mind if I tell you the most efficient method I just thought of?"
"Let me guess. We do nothing, watch from the sidelines as everyone else fights, then snatch Rebecca and the letter at the very end."
"You already thought of it. Why don't you do that?"
Even if he asked me why...
That certainly was the most efficient method.
Sebas and Sieg would have a very high chance of success. But doing that meant using Rebecca as bait.
"If you were Rebecca, would you hand the letter to some convenient person who only appeared at the very end?"
"I would. What a pain. It would put me in unnecessary danger."
"That's a difference in perspective. She's a knight. Her goal is probably to restore the honor of House Sittarheim. She wouldn't hand the letter to someone she didn't trust. No matter how much danger she was exposed to, the letter would undoubtedly be more important to her than her life. To her, the letter is her pride."
"You mean pride is more important than life? How ridiculous."
"Yes, it is ridiculous. Life should be the most important thing. Even so, knights stake everything on that ridiculousness. That's what being a knight means. They're different from us."
Pride alone couldn't accomplish anything.
It didn't make anyone stronger, and it couldn't put food on the table.
Even so, knights sang the praises of pride.
"Pride is something unnecessary if all you want to do is survive. But people are drawn to that unnecessary thing. A knight's pride doesn't belong to one person alone. It also includes everything that has been built up over time. She carries the pride of House Sittarheim on her shoulders as well. Unless she decides someone is worthy of receiving the letter, she won't hand it over—not even to Leo."
"Knights are troublesome creatures."
"Even so, you have the pride of an adventurer, don't you?"
"No. Adventurers don't have pride."
"Really? I know plenty of adventurers who do."
Adventurers were free. That was why they never wavered from the core they kept hidden in their hearts.
Everything outside that core was terribly sloppy and careless, which made adventurers seem like outlaws. But most adventurers had a firm backbone.
They took responsibility for the quests they accepted. If they acted carelessly, their reputations would suffer. They didn't consider that acceptable.
The reason Sieg never went into detail about the forest he had visited was because of his pride as an adventurer. He obviously should have told us. But Sieg never spoke about it.
I could sense that firm backbone in him.
"Hah. If you ask me, an adventurer with pride isn't an adventurer at all."
Saying that, Sieg popped a tea snack into his mouth and drained his tea.
At that moment, the door opened.
"Excuse me, Arnolt-sama."
"What is it, Sebas?"
"The portrait has arrived. At the same time, we've received word that someone resembling her has entered the Imperial Capital."
"I see..."
I accepted the portrait.
She had orange-brown hair cut level with her shoulders and a lively-looking face.
I could call her beautiful. Though that was only based on a portrait.
I showed the portrait to Sieg.
Sieg gave a fearless smile.
"Searching for a beautiful woman is more motivating than searching for a monster. That's good news for me."
Sieg said that and began preparing to leave, taking the portrait with him.
I stopped him and had Sebas bring me something.
"Hey, hey. Do you still need to put another restriction on me?"
"It's not that. Carrying a spear around while you're in that form would be inconvenient, wouldn't it?"
"Well, that's true."
Sebas soon returned.
He was holding a small rod.
The rod was about thirty centimeters long. I took it from Sebas and pressed the button on it. The small rod transformed into a spear roughly two meters long.
"Oh?"
"It's a transforming magic tool. What do you think?"
I returned the spear to its original form and tossed it to Sieg.
Sieg caught it and transformed it back into a spear.
"It's light, but... not bad."
Sieg said that and began swinging it around with ease.
Despite the many objects in the room, he didn't even graze a single one.
Sieg stopped swinging the spear and thrust it forward in an instant.
The spear stopped just short of the teacup Sieg had been drinking from moments earlier.
"It's a fine spear. What's its name?"
"Magic Spear 〝Ruin〟. If you like it, use it."
"Yeah, I'll use it—oh, right."
Sieg stopped as he was about to leave the room.
Meanwhile, Sebas, who had also started walking toward the exit, continued outside without stopping.
Only Sieg and I remained in the room.
"If we absolutely can't save her... I'll prioritize the letter alone, all right?"
"I said I'd leave the method up to you, didn't I?"
"I don't want to be blamed later. The letter comes first. Is that acceptable?"
"That's fine. But..."
"But?"
I simply stared straight at Sieg.
Sieg was asking whether I had the resolve to see this through.
If that was the case, I would answer him with equal resolve.
"That's what I was confirming. You are not permitted to hold back in the slightest. Save her with everything you've got. If you still can't save her after that, prioritize the letter."
Resting my elbows on the desk and clasping my hands together, I gave him that order.
Perhaps he hadn't expected such an intimidating presence from me, because Sieg's eyes widened in surprise.
And then...
"I see. You've got a fine look in your eyes. Understood. Expect results."
"I'm counting on you."
With that, Sieg left with Sebas.
Leo would probably search for Rebecca as well, but what would likely matter most was what Sebas and Sieg did.
Whoever obtained Rebecca would control the situation from then on.
From here on, night would probably become the main stage for a while.
Our opponents would come at us as if their lives depended on it.
That was precisely why we had to win.
"Well then, it's about time you left the stage, Zandra."