Chapter 19: The One Who Rules the Kin of Twilight 09
The next morning, after finishing breakfast, we all visited the Marquis’s estate in the center of the city.
The Marquis’s estate was more like a military barracks than a noble’s mansion.
At the entrance, we were greeted by a young man, who looked to be around 20 years old, accompanied by several servants. He was a slender, handsome man who somehow resembled Young Momental.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Count Okuno-sama. I am Liental Sohgrahn, acting head of the House Falcram. I was the second son of the Falcram family, but I was adopted into the Sohgrahn family.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sohgrahn-sama. I am Okuno, an adventurer. I offer my deepest condolences for what has happened.”
“Thank you. I am deeply grateful to Count Okuno-sama for saving my mother and brother from the heretical arts. Please, come this way.”
The younger brother of Young Momental, who was mentioned by His Imperial Majesty, seems to have been summoned quickly and is now managing the Marquis’s estate. It’s quite unreasonable to expect someone so young to handle such an irregular situation, even if he is a noble. As an older person and a noble, even in name only, I should offer my cooperation.
We entered the Marquis’s estate and were led to the reception room.
After some small talk, Young Liental got down to business.
“Yesterday, we received word from the Imperial Capital that the invasion of the ‘Kin of Twilight’ is imminent. We have heard that there are as many as 3,000 of them. Moreover, we understand that Count Okuno-sama himself obtained this information.”
“Yes. On my way to this territory, I encountered the ‘Kin of Twilight’ who were trying to block the road, and I got the information from them.”
“Does that mean you fought them?”
“No, they seemed to be the more moderate faction within the ‘Kin of Twilight’ and were not intending to fight actively. We had someone who could negotiate with them, and that’s how we got the information.”
“I see…”
Young Liental said, glancing at Geshura before nodding.
“By the way, I was very surprised by the number of 3,000 ‘Kin of Twilight’. When I told the general who leads the troops of this territory, he said that it was a hopeless force. I have heard that Count Okuno-sama has fought many ‘Kin of Twilight’, but what is your assessment of the situation?”
“I have heard that Princess Marishielle is coming from the Imperial Capital with many high-ranking adventurers. Also, half of the ‘Kin of Twilight’ seem to be moderate. Moreover, they are not originally a group that gathers together, and it seems that they are only being held together by force by a powerful king named Rendurm. Therefore, if we defeat that king, we will have a good chance of winning.”
“A king who holds the ‘Kin of Twilight’ together by force… Is that an opponent that humans can defeat?”
“We won’t know until we try, but I intend to take on the challenge. Please be assured that I have a good chance of winning.”
I gave some lip service to encourage the young acting lord, and Young Liental looked somewhat relieved.
“I have heard that Count Okuno-sama defeated Princess Marishielle in the Martial Arts Tournament and then defeated the giant demon that appeared afterward with a single blow. We will do everything we can in our territory, but if the opponent is an army of the ‘Kin of Twilight’, we simply do not have enough forces. Please allow us to rely on your strength, Count.”
“That is why adventurers exist. There is no need for Liental-sama to feel indebted to us for taking the brunt of the attack. Rather, as a lord, you should focus on comforting the people of the territory who are worried about the battle with the ‘Kin of Twilight’. This is simply a division of roles.”
“Thank you. Hearing your words now, I understand that it was good fate that my brother was saved by facing you in the tournament.”
The young man said, pressing his hand to his eyes.
Hearing him say that made me feel a little uncomfortable, but if it made the bereaved family feel better, my feelings didn’t matter.
After a moment of silence, the young man spoke again.
“I apologize, I got a little emotional. The reason I called you here today was not only about the ‘Kin of Twilight’, but also to consult with you about my brother and mother. Specifically, I would like you to investigate this mansion for any traces of the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld’ or anything left behind by them. His Imperial Majesty has also told us to rely on the party led by Count Okuno.”
“That is something I am also concerned about. Freinir here is skilled at detecting suspicious presences, so if you don’t mind, we can go around the mansion and investigate later.”
“Thank you. I will gather the servants in front of the entrance, so please do so. Also, if you could investigate some of the soldiers of the territory’s army, that would be helpful.”
Young Liental stood up and began giving instructions to the servants. It seemed like it would be a surprise investigation.
We decided to start the investigation immediately. Led by Young Liental, I, Freinir, and Larni moved around the mansion.
First, we checked the servants at the entrance, but there were no problems at all.
Next, we went through each room of the mansion. What caught our attention was the Marquis’s office, as well as the private rooms of the Marquis and Young Momental. It seemed that some undead-like presence still lingered, which Freinir could sense. However, there were no actual undead present, but rather the remnants of the power of Isunani and Sarasa, the practitioners of the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld’, who had manipulated the corpses of Marquis Falcram and Young Momental.
There was a slight reaction when we approached the warehouse in a separate building.
Freinir exclaimed, “Ah!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I sense an ominous presence from that warehouse. And quite a few of them.”
“Are there undead?”
“No, I think it’s probably a tool for summoning undead. It doesn’t seem to be moving.”
“That’s amazing, you can tell that much?”
I was impressed, but Young Liental looked very anxious.
The Marquis’s warehouse was a large building, about the size of a school gymnasium. Inside, there were many rows of large shelves, and wooden boxes, each about the size of a hug, were neatly arranged.
“Basically, this is a warehouse for storing weapons and horse equipment. If it’s the same as when I was here, new items should be stored here…”
Young Liental led us to a shelf where there were indeed newer wooden boxes lined up.
“Frei, can you tell?”
“Yes, this one, this one, and this box here.”
With Young Liental’s permission, we opened the boxes that Freinir had pointed out. Inside, there were many stone slabs about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, so-called ‘Summoning Stones’. They were the same as the ones I had seen in Mecalinan. They were undoubtedly for summoning undead.
Young Liental looked down at the wooden boxes containing the strange tools with a disgusted expression.
“Is this a tool for summoning undead…?”
“Yes. It’s the same as what I saw in another country before. It seems that about 10 undead can be summoned with one of these slabs.”
“There are about 100 in one wooden box. So, that’s a total of 300, 3,000 undead. If they were released into the city, it would cause terrible damage.”
“It would have been a disaster if they had been deployed during the battle with the ‘Kin of Twilight’. But the fact that they are here means that someone brought them in. If we follow the trail, we might be able to find out where they came from.”
“I see, you are right. Let’s have people investigate. Basically, the merchants who come and go are fixed, so if someone different is coming and going, it should be noticeable.”
“Please do. We also want to know as much as possible about the whereabouts of the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld’.”