Chapter 213

“Wh-What kind of talk is this!”

“You’re saying we ruined Shatren. That’s ridiculous!”

“You’re the one who ruined Shatren!”

The moment I spoke, the residents rushed at me with their veins popping.

▶Clue and Prove Event is activated!◀

▶An internal enemy has been designated!◀

[Number of discovered internal enemies]

[35/35]

▶Residents need to prove that they are the designated internal enemies.◀

Shatren includes internal enemies according to the game system.

Just from the title of Episode IX, you can tell the goal this time is to eliminate these internal enemies.

While the designation itself was helped by Talpon, now it really begins.

If the proof of internal enemies fails, it’s always the same. With failure, your standing falls to the bottom and you’ll face a bad ending.

But proving such a thing? I can do it in no time.

“Everyone remembers, right? A few days ago, I declared a complete closure on Shatren.”

“…”

There’s no way anyone wouldn’t know about it.

Their eyes say as much.

A policy that prevented any residents from leaving Shatren, and conversely, prevented anyone from entering from outside.

Due to the complete closure, the residents couldn’t even step out for fear of being stabbed.

“But even under this complete closure, there were bold individuals who moved. Those are exactly the ones I’m talking about.”

Hearing this, the 35 trapped residents protested.

“That’s nonsense!”

“Do you think you can just arrest us and vent your anger?!”

“How can we prove we went outside…!”

At that moment, the faces of the traitors darkened.

It’s very easy to know.

▶Using Agent’s abilities.◀

[3. Talpon]

“These people all went outside of Shatren. Not only does this risk our Rilfetten House’s honor, but it also puts the lives of the entire Rilfetten Tribe at stake.”

“…”

Rilfetten is called “the pack of dogs” in the Empire due to its reputation for sniffing out everything. Their noses would never lie about something like this.

“There are two common scents among them. One is that they crossed some mountain outside of Shatren. The other is.”

▶Using information obtained from the agent.◀

[The internal enemies all came in with high-grade fertilizer bags smuggled from outside.]☑

“The second point is that the smell of this fertilizer is strongly permeated into their bodies.”

The sharp noses of the Rilfetten Tribe cannot be deceived. Even the residents who doubted me started changing their expressions upon seeing the evidence through the scent.

“Y-you guys…”

“Oh, come on! It’s obvious!”

They couldn’t deny it anymore.

“We can’t just sit around like pigs in pens!”

“We have to do something to save this territory, not just sit idle, right?!”

“We don’t want to starve under an incompetent lord, so it’s natural!”

We have to go all out now.

Even if they went out, we need to refute it.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve been waiting for this moment.

In fact, I’ve been waiting for them to brazenly admit they went outside.

“A few weeks ago, Ferdy found a spy from another territory. What would you do if those guys did the same thing as that spy?”

“W-what are you saying?”

“About the incident where they were ordered to siphon support funds from Shatren by another territory?”

“Yeah. Those guys all performed tasks for other territories. The content was nothing but spreading fertilizer on Shatren’s fields.”

Upon hearing this, everyone started panicking.

“They received a commission? Just like traitors?”

“That’s a lie! We didn’t know anything about it!”

“Getting advance money from another territory…?”

“Bullshit!”

“We blocked fertilizer from coming in, didn’t we?”

“We don’t know! That kid must be making things up!”

“Maybe. But we can verify if he’s lying with this.”

-Flip!

All kinds of documents were scattered over the residents.

The contents were…

“Shatren Territory Fertilizer Application Contract…?”

“You guys…!”

“What is this?”

“We’ve always done the same farming, haven’t we?”

“That’s…!”

“What is this?! Explain it!”

Talpon and the entire Rilfetten House used their sense of smell to find and expose the contract that clearly proved their lies.

“This isn’t all. Residents.”

Seeing his chance, Talpon raised his voice. He brought boxes from somewhere, filled with small bags of fertilizer.

“These came from their houses. Not a single one was left out.”

“And. They were hidden quite meticulously.”

Right next to him, guards including Daike stepped forward.

Luxury goods and jewels that were completely out of place in poor Shatren were displayed.

All conditions were met.

Those who moved despite the closure.

The contracts and small bags of fertilizer found in their houses.

Luxury goods and jewels, items worth money.

The claims matched perfectly with the evidence.

“Fertilizer… jewels… and luxury goods.”

“You crazy bastards!!”

“Trying to save yourselves by taking money and doing this kind of thing?!”

With this, it’s over.

“You… You deserve divine retribution!!”

“Explain… Explain yourself! So…! Ugh!”

-Wham!

A large rock hit Marf’s eye socket.

-Beep!

▶Proof content is summarized!◀

[The 35 traitors accepted commissions from another territory and spread fertilizer in Shatren.]

▶Episode IX. Internal enemy cleared.◀

▶Successfully proved without penalty via Clue and Prove Event.◀

▶Reward is given.◀

■Reward

▶Affinity with residents increases.◀

[Overall 10%]

▶Reputation rank in Shatren field rises.◀

[Current value: 80]

[Rank: C]

▶Reputation rank reached C, residents start listening to your words.◀

***

The 35 criminals were restrained on the spot.

Guards and Talpon’s Rilfetten Tribe personally helped in restraining them.

Afterward, the traitors were pelted with stones by the enraged residents. Once they had hoped to revitalize the territory together, but their betrayal felt indescribable.

Those with the intention to ruin Shatren were expelled.

However, a bigger problem remained.

‘In the end… everything was correct.’

‘There wasn’t a single mistake?’

‘Really, they truly worked for our territory…’

Carsein.

As the temporary lord of Shatren, he had no guilt.

He had worked solely for Shatren.

Without a single wrong word, he solved problems they didn’t even realize.

And now, he eliminated the biggest threat, the internal enemy.

To such a person, Shatren continued to show suspicion and distrust.

There were clear signs beforehand.

Guards stopped Carsein from being insulted.

Rusmaier and Carsein, who had never fought before, were provoked by insults.

The Rilfetten House from the west even angrily rebuked Shatren.

And then…

“Think about it, Lord Carsein has always strived for our territory. Where was there a mistaken argument?”

“Do you really think Lord Carsein ruins this land?”

“He’s clearly someone who cares deeply about our territory!”

Trisha and Ferdy, along with Village Chief Brem, hinted at this.

Yet, I failed to notice.

There were plenty of chances.

But all those chances slipped away.

Until today, I never stopped doubting.

“I leave the decision to you, but I hope no more incidents happen here.”

“…”

Of course, that’s a given. Knowing they created spies from outside territories, there won’t be others like them.

But…

Having done all this,

Getting a proper chance to convince the residents,

To not give any orders?

-Step, step.

The residents felt their breaths catch as they watched him walk away.

In this process, the worst relationship was formed.

Residents who couldn’t trust their lord.

Even worse, relationships formed by their own stubbornness.

Twice, they opposed someone who worked hard for this land.

I couldn’t even bear to look at Carsein with my own eyes.

‘We… what did we do…’

Ungratefulness.

Those four words pierced my heart like nails.

***

After that day, Episode IX was cleared.

Finally, the residents were willing to hear my arguments, improving my reputation significantly.

From now on, I doubt any interference will come from the territory.

But it’s not over yet.

▶Episode X. Transition phase is ongoing.◀

▶Identify and solve problems in Shatren.◀

▶If achievement level is below a certain threshold, a bad ending occurs based on symposium scores.◀

Clearing the internal enemies was essential, but merely removing them doesn’t drastically change the gaze within Shatren or grant authority. It’s not enough to develop the territory.

In other words, while clearing the internal enemies is a fact, it’s insufficient for raising symposium scores.

Not to mention, a low score could lead to a bad ending.

Therefore, my next task is to revive this territory, raise symposium scores, and develop Shatren as much as possible to make it a land to escape the Duke’s House.

That’s the path to survival, escaping the Duke’s House, and leaving this game.

Almost all conditions are met.

By continuously pointing out and proving the residents’ mistakes, I’ve gained sufficient authority. I can use some land autonomously, making investigations easier.

Most of the lacking information is provided by Ferdy and Trisha. Ferdy gives updates on internal movements, while Trisha provides continuous agricultural information.

There are ample human resources too.

Including guards, Talpon and the Rilfetten Tribe, there’s almost no need to rely on the residents.

However, there was one obstacle.

“You can’t get Lohea seeds?”

“No.”

The method used by Carsein in the past can no longer be applied.

“Lohea seeds, like Shatren strawberries or grapes, require specific environments to grow. Moreover, if the timing isn’t right, they won’t grow at all.”

“Is it that they only grow in Rilfetten?”

“Correct. They grow in rare areas, so we rarely cultivate them unless necessary.”

This made the existing plan slightly unstable.

‘Now, this is a variable.’

Clearly, this is a new setting added to the game.

“Do you know what properties Lohea seeds have?”

“Sorry. We don’t know much beyond the fact they’re excellent feed for horses.”

Indeed, only Carsein realized their true value.

Back then, he gathered information from books and encyclopedias.

But searching through those is impossible now.

▶Due to restrictions imposed by Ariana in the past, information related to Lohea seeds is limited.◀

Because of restrictions imposed by the past Ariana.

“My lord, the carriage is ready.”

And as the fifth-week report was starting.

If there are restrictions, they need to be lifted. Right now, Lohea seed information is the most crucial data needed to clear this episode.

“I prepared a horse for you. Let’s go quickly.”

“Carsein.”

“Why?”

“…Wait a moment.”

Though the fifth-week report isn’t urgent, I wanted to hurry to make time for a conversation with Ariana.

‘No, there must be a reason for asking me to wait.’

Currently, Talpon is not only an agent in Shatren but also one of my most reliable allies. Clearly, he smelled something.

As Talpon said, waiting revealed the reason.

…So that’s why he asked me to wait.

“Lord.”

Brem bowed respectfully.

At my age, it would be odd if I bowed like that in my old place.

But he bowed deeply, almost 90 degrees, to someone younger than him.

“Pardon my boldness, but… Could you please listen to this old man’s plea just once?”