TENKEN 468 (1942 words)

The Fate of Crime and Punishment
罪と罰の行方

Two days have passed since that fierce battle.

Although the capital was still in a state of unrest, it seemed that there were no more of the Marquis' men left. At the very least, there was no one who was organizing to revolt.

But it's not without conflict. A place to live, daily food, medicine. Everything was in short supply. It was impossible not to have trouble with this situation.

The most important thing is the living space. Tents were temporarily erected for the people who lost their homes, but there were not enough of them. One of the main reasons was that a small number of nobles occupied one tent. I thought they should be squeezed into the same tent, but apparently that's not the case.

Well, I understand that it would be rather torturous for commoners and nobles if they were forced into the same place. It would be better to just get a blanket and sleep on the side of the road.

However, it is said that even among nobles, if they don't differentiate the nobles based on their rank, it will be a problem. And it seems that noblemen are even more concerned with their prestige. A count and a baron cannot be given the same treatment. The fact that this was an emergency situation doesn't make them able to disregard it.

In the end, most of the commoners managed to get out of their tents as soon as they could, relying on their acquaintances for shelter......Some of the nobles were so stupid that they started to complain about the tents that had been given to them and asked how they could stay in such a place.

Some nobles even tried to seize houses from commoners, using their power to their advantage, and skirmishes broke out. The rift between the commoners and the nobles only deepened.

Other than that, a strong dust cloud was also bothering the people. It was said to come from the wastelands of the former noble district, blown up by the wind. When we put up wind barrier in shelters and other places to prevent this, they were very pleased.

Well, the shortage of supplies will be alleviated somewhat as support should be sent from various places. It seems that we have already received food aid and more guards from neighbouring towns. From now on, supplies and manpower will be sent from all over the country.

Adventurers and soldiers have been sent out to clear away the rubble, and knights are working to maintain security.

The royal family also seemed to be safe, and they were conducting their affairs at a nobleman's villa in a residential area. I've often seen kings who stay behind in a castle on the verge of falling, saying, 「A king has a responsibility to protect his subjects!」 But unless he was as strong as the Beast King, that's a foolish idea. In all likelihood, it would be better for the country and its people if he escaped and quickly took charge of the reconstruction afterwards.

「Sorry I kept you waiting」

「I'm fine」

「Yeah」

We were currently visiting Count Bailleys. However, the Count's mansion has disappeared. He had taken up residence in a corner of the Knights' quarters.

I thought they would be dismissed or something, but apparently it was an emergency and they hadn't been told yet. That's where Fran and Forrund were called in.

「So, what do you want?」

「Yeah, I just thought I'd let you know how it went. I'd like to thank you all for all your help」

I have already told the Count that Velmeria is actually alive and that Ashwrath has taken her. His grief was great, but he understood that it was better than being dead. He said he would not go after him.

However, only Frederick, the half-dragon, had disappeared right after he heard about it. His allegiance was probably more to Velmeria than to the Count.

「I don't know where to start with......As for Gallus-dono, he will not be blamed for this incident.　But he will be under guard and surveillance for a while」

「Really?」

「Yeah. He had been manipulated and settled in a way that he was innocent. Well, we can't waste time punishing him in the middle of all this chaos」

「What does that mean?」

「His Majesty the King, is a man who puts the interests of the nation first. Now that both national power and prestige have been damaged, any further damage will be impossible to be overlooked」

Well, there's the Kingdom of Raidos to the north, and there's no guarantee that the nobles won't betray the country this time. I'm sure they don't want to see their national power decline further in this state. But what does that have to do with Gallus?

「They say he's the closest being to a divine level blacksmith, and this time he's the blacksmith who actually touched the divine sword. It would be more beneficial to dismiss the charges and let him work for the country. Besides, there is the matter of the Adventurer's Guild」

「?」

Fran tilted her head, but Forrund seemed to get the idea.

「Gratitude」

「That's right. There are many adventurers in the royal capital who feel indebted to Gallus-dono. If we were to charge him with a crime, there would be many adventurers who would not find it amusing」

As was the case in Alessa, where we met Gallus, Gallus was traveling around the kingdom of Kranzel, selling his wares to adventurers at a discount. If he thought there was something worth seeing, he would make good equipment, even for lower-ranked adventurers.

It seems that many adventurers in the Kingdom of Kranzel are indebted to Gallus for his help when they were just starting out.

「This country is home to a large number of adventurers. The reason for this is that the country was originally able to attract adventurers who had been spirited away due to Raidos' misadventures, but it has since succeeded in settling them through policies that favor adventurers」

「Heeー」

「You doesn't know? It's rare to find a country with so many adventurers.　In the first place, there are not many other countries that have five current rank A and more than ten former rank A. Well, the number has decreased.....」

We only know that the Kranzel Kingdom and the Beastman Kingdom Kings, were an adventurer himself, but it seems that there are very few countries where adventurers are treated so well. The taxes are especially low, making life easier for adventurers.

「Though, there's also the problem of how low the knights and soldiers level is. Well, that's okay」

I see. I guess there are many adventurers and not many opportunities for the knights to hunt magical beasts. Is that why it's so hard for the knights to raise their level?

Originally, the knights were mainly dealing with humans, but in this country, it seems that there is a clear distinction between the two.

「Anyway, in a country where adventurers have always had a strong presence, we will need to rely on them even more in the future. Inevitably, adventurers will become even more important」

In such a situation, they could never afford to spoil the adventurer's good mood. It was probably because of what Gallus had done so far that he had saved them.

Count Bailleys himself will not be punished too severely. Although he will be relieved of his position as Knight Commander, the Count's family will only be required to pay some money and provide some labor.

「I myself was prepared to have my territory taken away and to be placed in a camp......」

They were unable to prevent the revolt and allowed mass destruction in the royal capital. Moreover, his daughter was the one who carried out the crime. As the leader of the knight order, he must think that he should take the responsibility.

However, the king's decision was different. He thought it would be more constructive to put all the blame on Marquis Ashtner and the Fanatics to calm the situation down quickly and let them work on the reconstruction afterwards, rather than causing more confusion by charging them with crimes or neglect of duty.

With the current shortage of manpower, I guess they avoided the folly of wasting their efforts on unnecessary things. This is monarch country, isn't it? To a certain extent, it can be controlled by the king.

If that was the case, wouldn't Velmeria be allowed to do the same? I thought so, but it wasn't that simple.

「My daughter has caused too much damage directly. What's more, she destroyed the royal castle.　No matter how much she was being manipulated, it's not like she can be easily forgiven. And there were quite a few people who saw her」

Indeed, the damage caused by the self-destructing swordsmen and Velmeria was too great. In both monetary and human terms, Velmeria had gone too far.

「Eventually, the territories of the former Marquis Ashtner and his allies will be temporarily placed under the king direct control and will be redistributed」

In this way, they will be able to compensate the nobles for the losses they suffered this time.

「So, the two of you have actually received a summons from the king. You are requested to come to the mansion where he is holding his office today」

Huh? King? You mean the King?

「Why?」

「Don't you realize the influence you have?」

Originally, Forrund was the one who renowned as a hero, but it seems that Fran's fame has also grown as she has gone around healing people. Moreover, word quickly spread that Fran was the Black Lightning Princess who had won a prize in the Ulmut martial arts tournament.

Because of this, she is now as well known as Forrund in the capital.

We didn't know anything about it because we've been out clearing debris and stuff for the last two days where there no more people around. Even when we went out into the town, we were moving fast by teleporting and jumping in the air. There was almost no opportunity to be cheered on.

「And I heard that your master was helping Forrund?」

What's more, it seems that the story is spreading that Fran's master---that is me. gave up his life to save the capital. It was definitely the work of Eliante and Colbert. We've been too busy to clear up the misunderstanding, but I didn't expect this to happen.

「His Majesty said that he wanted to pay tribute to the heroes who saved the royal capital. Well, I guess he wants to show off his good relationship with the heroes to the people here」

Is there still politics involved huh?

「Aah. It's okay. His Majesty doesn't expect perfect courtesy from adventurers. In fact, the Adventurer's Guild wouldn't take kindly to the idea of offending you two heroes. I'm sure they know that, and you'll just have a little conversation」

Either way, there was no way we could refuse the king's invitation. If I had heard the information beforehand, we might have been able to escape, but being told face to face that he was inviting her would bad if we escaped. It was a bit of a hassle, but we had no choice but to accept.

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