novelraw Chapter 113 : Chapter 113
Chapter 113 : Chapter 113
Chapter : 113
“Thank you so much.”
“How can I ever repay this kindness....”
The villagers, one after another, prostrated themselves before me almost excessively to express their gratitude. We had just finished treating the last critical patient and calmed the epidemic situation.
“No, I merely did what anyone who follows God's will should do.”
“Ohh.... Indeed, Your Excellency.”
“Pious Margrave, Your Excellency. May blessings be upon you for generations for your mercy!”
Despite my words of humility, the reaction was even more fervent. Even the priests dispatched to the village were praising me.
‘Hmm.... Well, I understand why....’
What I had bestowed upon them was tremendous.
Treating the epidemic, giving food, mobilizing elf knights and soldiers to deal with nearby monsters and undead.
I had done everything I could as if I were the lord ruling the village. And that, as a lord of another country!
One might ask if it was excessive, but doing things halfway was worse than not doing them at all.
-Ding!
[You have calmed the village's epidemic. People will be greatly moved by your goodwill without expectation of return.]
[Notification: Your good deeds spread throughout the Prince-Bishopric of Cologne.]
[Notification: Friendly relations with religious orders and priests increase.]
[Notification: Friendly relations with nearby Holy Empire lords increase.]
Only then could I receive such hot rewards.
“Enough. I didn't do this to be praised like that. Spend this time going outside and helping people.”
“Understood. Your Excellency.”
Still, it was true that it felt burdensome.
I shooed the people away with a wave of my hand. I had calmed the epidemic, but there was still much work to be done.
“You must absolutely not do laundry near the well.”
“Um, um. Yes, understood.”
“Never dump pollutants like excrement into the river. If possible, mix it with vegetation and burn it to ash, then let it ferment; you can use it as fertilizer.”
“Ohhhh. Is that so?”
Since the consciousness level of the villagers was at the level of [Pangea Universalise], there were many things to touch upon in various ways. I busily went around dealing with the aftermath and talking about points to be careful of in the future.
As they say, treatment is important, but prevention is even more important.
“Your Excellency!”
While I was talking for quite a while, the elf knight I had sent for subjugation returned urgently and shouted.
“What is it?”
“An envoy from the Prince-Bishop of Cologne has arrived.”
“Oh, finally?”
I wondered when they would come, but it seemed they had finally moved their heavy bottoms.
* * *
Helping a village struck by an epidemic was fine, but leading an army to conduct a full-scale subjugation was a different matter.
If the former could be an honorable act, the latter was a serious matter infringing on the rights of the lord ruling that territory.
To move within the Prince-Bishopric of Cologne from now on, I needed the consent of the Archbishop of Cologne by all means.
That was why I intended to move leisurely after receiving a request for help from the Archbishop of Cologne....
“......?”
The content the envoy brought made me slightly flustered.
“Say that again. What did you say?”
“Yes. Honorable Margrave, Your Excellency. The Archbishop of Cologne hopes that Your Excellency will lend a hand in this undead disturbance. If you help, we will duly reward you....”
“Stop!”
I had heard correctly.
“Y-Yes?”
“I did not help this village expecting a reward. There is no need to say it. As a brother following the same faith, how could I ignore a request for help? Naturally, I will help.”
“Ohh....”
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of doing so for free. But the envoy seemed deeply moved by my lip service.
“However, since I do not know the situation exactly, I will talk with my vassals for a moment and give you an answer. So please wait outside for a moment.”
“Understood. Your Excellency. Please call me again when you are ready.”
Saying that, he bowed politely and went outside. I watched his retreating figure for a moment and asked Magician Agpiel.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm, it certainly is a bit strange. There is no ruler who likes another noble's army roaming around in their territory.”
“It's not a trap, is it? Magician Agpiel.”
“Haha, surely it wouldn't be a trap? Don't you have no connection with the Archbishop of Cologne? Rather, as an anti-emperor force, the possibility of him being friendly to you is greater.”
Bishop Marco, the goat beastman who was listening from the side, also added his opinion to this.
“Meeeeeh! Lord. The Bishop of Cologne is a person who cares for his people to a pathetic extent. Mehr. He even fought with me because of that! Isn't the situation just turning out difficult? Meeeeeh.”
Of course, there was also an opposing opinion.
“But isn't it a bit strange to ask you to move immediately without inviting you, My Lord?”
It was Biden's opinion.
Originally, inviting a noble to the inner castle and treating them generously was the custom of this era. Yet, ignoring customary procedures and asking like this was rare.
In this case, it was one of two things.
Either it was really dangerous and there was no time for that, or an insidious trap had been dug.
‘Of course, I don't think the Archbishop of Cologne would do that out of the blue....’
Still, wasn't it true that it felt uncomfortable?
It would be so easy if someone knew the internal information of the Prince-Bishopric of Cologne. Thinking that, I suddenly made eye contact with Azuela.
“W-Why are you looking at me like that? Your Excellency?”
Then Azuela shouted in surprise. She seemed flustered, thinking I would ask her.
“Why are you so surprised? I just happened to make eye contact while turning my head.”
“Ah...? You weren't trying to ask me?”
“Hmm? Ask what. Ah, surely ask you?”
I said it out of consideration for Azuela in my own way.
The Archbishop of Cologne was a person on the opposite side of the Emperor. So asking about him could endanger Azuela's reputation.
However, Azuela seemed to think differently.
“I can answer such questions too, you know?”
She pouted and answered as if her pride was hurt.
To listen to everyone's advice but not ask her-!
As a court mage who always gave wise advice, she felt very offended. Besides, she felt like she was being treated worse than that money-grubbing goat beastman bishop.
“Is there... a need to?”
“No, I'm telling you it's true?”
“Hmm.... Alright. Tell me then.”
Then Azuela continued excitedly.
“I remember that the Prince-Bishop of Cologne was recently swept up in the war with the Emperor. Most of the army is probably tied up in the Free City dispute in the northern part of the Holy Empire.”
“Oh? Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. It's news I heard before leaving for Baron Vigneux's territory.”
“Then the Archbishop of Cologne must be in a very urgent state right now?”
The army was far away, but inside, undead and monsters were swarming. That was why he ignored even customs and asked me for help.
It seemed the puzzle was finally solved.
“Hmm...?”
Then a thought suddenly occurred to me. No matter how I looked at it, wasn't this information unfavorable to the Emperor?
But the Emperor's court mage was telling me this?
“Oh, hohoho.... Y-Your Excellency?”
Realizing her mistake, Azuela also let out an awkward laugh.
‘Damn it? Why do you keep touching my pride!’
Azuela thought things kept getting twisted whenever she met the Margrave.
* * *
As information gathered, opinions solidified. I immediately called the envoy and said I would accept the Archbishop of Cologne's proposal.
‘It’s a proposal with no downsides.’
If the situation was like this, I could gain great benefits from the Archbishop of Cologne.
Moreover, I could receive troop support not only from my army but also from nearby knight orders.
It was a subjugation without much burden. Therefore, without hesitation, I immediately led the army out of the village.
“Scout thoroughly. From now on, we are entering the territory of undead and monsters.”
I immediately spread scouts around and advanced.
Armies collapse largely because they are ambushed in disordered formation during movement.
Sending scouts in advance was the way to prepare for danger in many ways.
“Whoa, whoa.”
Of course, fortunately, we were able to go towards the destination without any particular attacks yet.
“The situation in the territory seems much more serious than I thought?”
“Ah, Your Excellency.”
I asked the envoy sent by the Archbishop of Cologne. I intended to get some information on the way.
“Undead and monsters are swarming everywhere. They are appearing unusually even in the capital city of the Prince-Bishopric of Cologne.”
“Hmm.... Has some special mishap occurred?”
“T-That is....”
Then the envoy scanned the surroundings and spoke cautiously.
“It is a secret, but since it is Your Excellency, I will tell you. The truth is, a consecrated holy relic that was dedicated to the Cologne Cathedral recently disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes, it appears to have been stolen.... Seeing that guards and priests were dealt with before entry, it seems to be a very planned crime.”
“Hmm....”
As expected, it was slightly different, but content I knew well.
The [Cultist] event that occasionally occurs when playing the Prince-Bishopric of Cologne.
It was an event where cultists believing in an ancient evil god steal a holy relic and perform an evil ritual to resurrect the ancient god through it.
If not dealt with in time, an evil curse would descend upon this land, causing it to swarm with undead and monsters like this.
“Internally, we think this matter is related to the reason the holy relic was stolen.”
“I think so too. When a sacred holy relic disappears, wicked things tend to be active.”
I nodded at those words.
Now that I had grasped the situation, all that remained was subjugation.
If it was an extension of the [Cultist] event, there was nothing particularly difficult.
The undead or monsters appearing would only be ghouls or forgotten dead at best.
Large monsters were hard to find there, and at most, kobolds roamed around.
Of course, this was also quite dangerous if they moved in large scale, but the knights belonging to the group I was leading now numbered a whopping 50, and even all of them were elf knights seasoned in battle.
That kind of undead and monster swarm could be smashed without difficulty.
And while I was thinking that.
“Your Excellency! We have arrived at the place where we agreed to meet the knight orders.”
Before I knew it, we had arrived at the destination.
* * *
The encampment was busy.
Everyone was busy unpacking gear, feeding horses, and filling their stomachs heartily to prepare for the next day's battle.
Meanwhile, there was someone distracted for another reason.
“Meeeeeh!”
It was Bishop Marco, the goat beastman.
“Lord! Lord!”
Whatever surprised him so much, his goat-specific rectangular pupils looked round.
“What is it?”
“S-Silver is piled up like a mountain! Mehr!”
“.......”
I thought something big had happened, but this rotten goat beastman?
I hid the pathetic feeling rising from deep in my heart and spoke in a low voice.
“That is.... weapons. Bishop Marco.”
“Mwah?”
Then Bishop Marco blinked his eyes and tilted his head.
“We are dealing with wicked things; naturally, shouldn't we plate the weapons? Surely, would I have come without any preparation like a madman? And why would I come with silver piled up like a mountain? Get a grip.”
“!?”
Only then did Bishop Marco laugh awkwardly and scratch his head.
“Meheheheheh. Lord. Embarrassing. Embarrassing.”
Truly.... Bishop Marco was a goat beastman consistent in front of glittering money.
Of course, in fact, although I didn't show it, I was slightly surprised seeing what Bishop Marco showed.
To think they would silver-plate all the armaments! Just how much money did they have?
‘Oh.... Once this job is finished, it's going to be no joke.’
Thinking of the heaps of silver coins I would receive as a reward later, a smile naturally formed.
“You two are truly a match made in heaven. That lord and that bishop. Tsk tsk.”
Of course, Magician Agpiel was clicking his tongue as if pathetic, watching me like this.