Chapter 21: Armand Duchy – 09
Early the next morning, we departed from the Duke Armand Estate with young Nielsen-kun, who had come to pick us up.
The Viscount Dolmat Territory was to the southeast of the Armand Duchy, and apparently, if we continued further south from there, we would reach the border with Mekalinnan Country.
A part of the duchy also bordered Mekalinnan Country, and that was the reason Duke Armand couldn’t leave his domain, as a result of me assisting with the coup d’état in Mekalinnan Country.
It seemed to take three days to reach the viscount’s territory at an Adventurer’s pace. We took out a carriage and had Shizuna’s ‘Spirit’ pull it as we proceeded along the highway.
Nothing particular happened during the journey, but from the morning of the third day, I became concerned that Freynil was frequently worried about the direction of the viscount’s territory. When I asked her why, she said, “I sense an ill omen coming from that direction,” which stirred up my anxiety about what was happening in Baala, the town in the viscount’s territory we were heading to.
Incidentally, during the journey, I invited young Nielsen to ride in the carriage as well, but he told me, “Sorry, leave me alone.” There seemed to be various reasons, like him being unsettled about his father or feeling intimidated by us, but thinking that he would undoubtedly face a harsh reality soon, I couldn’t say anything more.
And so, at noon on the third day, we arrived in the town of Baala, governed by Viscount Dolmat.
Being a town along the border, it was surrounded by sturdy City Walls, but since young Nielsen, the son of the lord, was with us, we gained entry by recognition at the entrance.
At first glance, the town of Baala was no different from any other common town in the Kingdom of Vermilion. In terms of scale, it was almost the same as Euron Town, governed by Viscount Valius, and I felt a sense of familiarity with it.
However, soon after we started walking down its central street, Freynil said,
“As I thought, I sense wicked presences from various places. Perhaps Stone Tablets for Summoning Undead have been set up.”
And then Lani and Karma started saying things like,
“There’s a really nasty smell coming from all over, isn’t there? Even you can tell, right, Karma?”
“Even I can notice this, as expected. It feels like we’ve jumped right into the middle of enemy territory, this does.”
When they started saying such things, any sentimental feelings I had vanished in an instant.
“What about the townspeople? Is there anything strange about them?”
“I believe the townspeople are ordinary,” Freynil replied. “However, occasionally, there are individuals who possess a wicked presence.”
“That’s right,” Lani added. “There are some humans who smell really bad sometimes. But I don’t think they’re the usual mud dolls. For example, that person in front of the stall over there.”
Following Lani’s words, I looked over and saw a woman with a pale face standing there, shopping at a stall. She was wearing a gray robe and certainly looked a bit unusual.
“Perhaps she’s a member of that group we’ve been dealing with,” Marianne whispered softly in my ear.
Indeed, that was a possibility. Regarding the ‘Netherworld Candlestick,’ we only knew of the existence of Isnani and his companions, who called themselves the ‘Three Candles,’ but it was highly probable that they were gathering members and forming a group. I had also heard that the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’ had appeared in groups here and there during wartime.
While we were discussing such things, young Nielsen had a grim expression and looked like he wanted to hurry on ahead. However, after hearing what we just discussed, I had to ask him to wait a bit.
“Nielsen-kun, do you have a moment?”
“What is it?”
“I understand you’re eager to get to the manor, but I’d like to stop by the Guild before we go. Also, from your perspective, does this town look the same as before?”
“Why… No, it’s nothing. But even if you ask about the town’s condition… It’s been five years since I left this place. Of course, it’s changed somewhat.”
“You’re someone who reached B-Rank as an Adventurer, so your senses should be quite sharp. Even so, you don’t feel anything?”
The young man looked impatient, but given the difference in our noble ranks, it seemed he couldn’t just ignore what I said. He reluctantly furrowed his brow and looked around.
“Ah, let’s see… I do feel it’s become a bit gloomier than before. How should I put it? There used to be more people on the streets. Oh yeah, the Outskirts were gone too. Why is that?”
The “Outskirts” refers to the so-called slum area that spreads outside a fortified city. It seems that no matter how well organized the administration is, these places inevitably appear, just like on Earth in my previous life and in this world. In fact, every city I’ve visited, more or less, always had Outskirts. The Elf Village might be an exception, but considering that, it was indeed a strange thing.
“Did your father ever say anything about the Outskirts?”
“Once, a long time ago, he told my older brother and me that an ideal lord would be one who could eliminate the Outskirts. But he also said that was just an ideal, and as long as humans live in groups, they would probably never disappear.”
“I see… Just from that story, I get the feeling he’s a wonderful father.”
“Well, he was certainly strict, but he was a father I could respect. And now he’s…”
Tapping the shoulder of the young man who was glaring towards the manor, I turned back to Freynil.
“Frey, are there reactions from the Summoning Stone Tablets all over the place?”
“Yes,” Frey replied. “There’s one inside that storeroom over there, another one in the ground over that way, and then…”
As I looked at the places Freynil indicated, it seemed they were set up on both sides of the central street at intervals of roughly 100 meters.
However, it seemed there weren’t any once you went off the main street, so that might be a small relief.
As I was wondering what to do, young Nielsen approached me with a dubious look on his face.
“Hey, Marquis Okuno, what was all that about just now?”
“Ah, the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’ possesses tools to summon Undead, and it seems they’ve brought them into this town as well. They probably intend to activate them in a pinch to protect themselves. Of course, if that happens, the residents of this town will also suffer significant damage.”
“What did you say?”
“If the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’ is in your home, and you carelessly try to corner them, this town will be overrun with Undead. It’s equivalent to having the residents taken hostage, this is.”
“Seriously…? Are they really that kind of people, this ‘Netherworld Candlestick’?”
“They seem to be the type who use power in exchange for human lives.”
I feel like that Isnani occasionally said such things. He also mentioned exchanging many lives when he opened the ‘Otherworld Gate’ at the arena in the Imperial Capital.
However, thinking about it that way, the young man’s words, “there are no Outskirts” and “there are few residents,” stirred up terrifying speculations.
In any case, we needed to prepare countermeasures for the Summoning Stone Tablets in advance. Fortunately, ‘Guidance of Sol’ has members who can handle this situation.
“Dorozitte.”
“I understand,” Dorozitte said. “Let’s go to the Guild now and make arrangements to deal with it, shall we?”
“I just hope the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’s’ influence hasn’t reached the Guild.”
“Let’s all go, just in case,” Dorozitte suggested. “I want Frey and Lani to give it a thorough check.”
The Adventurers Guild in Baala Town was, as expected, similar in scale to the one in Euron Town, but it seemed to have slightly fewer Adventurers. According to what we heard, there were only Dungeons of F to D class in the vicinity, and there was only one group of C-Rank or higher Adventurers.
Both Freynil and Lani said there was nothing particularly concerning inside the Guild, so Dorozitte and Marianne went straight into the back of the Guild.
“Huh? Isn’t that young master Nielsen?”
One of the Adventurers, a young man, said this and walked towards young Nielsen.
The young man raised a hand in response.
“Oh, Zora, is that you?” Nielsen said. “Long time no see. You’re still alive, huh?”
“I don’t die that easily!” Zora replied. “I’ve managed to reach D-Rank, you know, so I’m reasonably well-known in this town.”
“Heh, so the cowardly Zora actually did it,” Nielsen remarked.
“Please, drop that nickname already, young master,” Zora said. “I heard you made it to B-Rank. What brings you here today?”
“I heard my older brother died and my old man collapsed, so I quit being an Adventurer and came back,” Nielsen explained. “Has anything changed around here compared to when I was last here?”
“Ah, are you perhaps going to take over as heir?” Zora asked. “This town has lost a few people, you know. There was a time when a disease spread, and people were dropping like flies.”
“Hey, hey, is that situation under control now?” Nielsen asked, concerned.
“That was over a year ago,” Zora said. “Because of it, the Outskirts were completely wiped out, you see. Thanks to that, there was no one left to do things like garbage disposal, and apparently, it was a bit tough for a while.”
“So that’s why the Outskirts were gone,” Nielsen mused. “Also, I feel like there are some strange folks wandering around. What’s with them?”
“Ah, you mean those folks in robes?” Zora replied. “They showed up after you left town, young master. We don’t really know what they’re up to. However, it seems they were taking care of the people who caught that disease I mentioned earlier, you know.”
“So there are some eccentric people out there, huh,” Nielsen commented.
“Indeed,” Zora agreed.
At that, young Nielsen glanced over at me.
I suppose he was gathering information in his own way, and I felt like we’d heard some pretty good information.
As I was nodding to him, Karma and Shizuna, who had been looking at the notice board, returned.
“There aren’t any particularly unusual requests or monster information,” Karma reported. “But, well, there seem to be a lot of requests aimed at gathering Adventurers, maybe.”
“Requests to gather Adventurers?”
“There are quite a lot of requests like guarding the area around this town for extended periods for monster countermeasures, or culling monsters in the forest. It’s a method where the lord uses such requests to temporarily keep Adventurers in their territory.”
“I see. So they issue requests aimed at low-rank Adventurers to keep them from leaving, is that it?”
“Exactly. Doesn’t something about that strike you as odd, Mr. Soushi?”
“You might be right… That could be a sharp observation.”
Somehow, a lot of shady stories are all surfacing at once. Or rather, it’s more likely this town has been in such a state all along.
Just as a bad feeling was growing stronger, Dorozitte and Marianne returned.
“Mr. Soushi, do you have a moment? For now, I’ve spoken with the Guild Master here, and it’s been decided that we’ll urgently summon the Adventurers. I’ll be staying here to take command in case anything happens, so I need your understanding on that. Oh, and you can take Marianne with you; I don’t mind.”
“Understood. The town will likely need more manpower, so I’ll have some of our people stay on standby here as well. Maricier.”
“Yes?”
“Sorry to ask, but I’ll be leaving a few people here, so I want to entrust you with handling the Undead in town.”
“Understood. Let’s handle it skillfully to prevent any casualties.”
“I’m counting on you. Those staying will be Shizuna, Karma, Sakurahime, and Geshura. I’d like to leave Freynil, but her abilities will be needed over there too.”
“We’ll be fine. I believe we can handle it sufficiently with that many.”
It means splitting our forces, but we can’t just overlook harm coming to the general populace.
Well, if it’s just one of the ‘Three Candles’ from the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’, the five of us—me, Freynil, Lani, Sphenia, and Marianne—should be able to manage somehow.
“Alright, then, shall we head to the viscount’s mansion? Nielsen-kun, sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Finally. Well, I get that what you’re doing is necessary, so I won’t complain. If anything, you’re doing it for our territory.”
Even as he said that, the young man Nielsen’s expression turned grim.
Well, considering what might happen from now on, it’s natural he’d make such a face.
If he thought his family might be involved with the ‘Netherworld Candlestick’… he’d surely want to rush over immediately. In fact, the him from before might have gone off on his own without listening to a word I said.
In any case, this should undoubtedly set things greatly in motion. The only question left is to what extent those bastards have been carrying out their nefarious deeds in this town, but from what I heard earlier, it seems we’ll have to brace ourselves considerably for that.