Chapter 50

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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Episode 50

#50. Talents of the Arad Company (2)

“O people of the North, I, Archbishop Theresa, the first servant of God in the Empire’s Church, ask thee: speak only the truth.”

As soon as the crown prince gave permission,

Archbishop Theresa sharply demanded,

“What is this new single faith you’ve created, the Lenslet Order?”

The almost interrogative question from the archbishop.

“It is a holy and great faith born from the fusion of the northern ancestral gods with the zealous ancestor of Lenslet.”

However, it seemed Gard had anticipated this and answered without hesitation.

“Hah! It’s heresy, a barbaric religion!”

“Seems like you didn’t see us that way until now?”

The relationship between the empire’s church and the north was no better than that between the royal family and the north.

“If you would only drive out the witches, the Empire’s Church will immediately spread the grace of God to the north.”

“We’re fine; we’ll just believe in the zealous ancestor of Lenslet.”

Even in response to Archbishop Theresa’s rude and arrogant words, Gard countered with a wry smile.

“Would such heresy grant you divine power?”

“It’s already been proven by Mary’s blessing, hasn’t it?”

“Uneducated fools! Such deception will surely be exposed eventually!”

“You’re being too harsh!”

“Step away from that heresy immediately. Go ahead and burn the witches. The order’s paladins and inquisitors will assist you.”

The fervent words of Theresa had shifted from preaching to threats by now.

“Heavenly Father who dwells above, please don’t descend here. Alas, the Savior has come.”

Naturally, the envoys of the north began responding at a similar level.

“Ha, ha! You cursed people abandoned by God! Ignorant cursed folk who still believe in their ancestors! How dare you insult our Father and Master!? What are you doing? Crush those accursed barbarians on the wagon wheels…!”

“Hurry, hurry! Please escort the archbishop outside!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Crown Prince Khanbraman quickly ushered Theresa out.

“No, no! Your Highness, Crown Prince! Those heretics must be burned!!”

Ignoring the echoing voice of the archbishop in the distance,

“Ugh… I sincerely apologize.”

The crown prince apologized to the Lenslet delegation.

“And as you know, this has absolutely nothing to do with the empire or the royal family.”

“We understand. Just give us more gold then.”

Gard and the envoys smiled while speaking. It was also the reason they had chosen to overlook Theresa’s harsh words appropriately.

“…Understood.”

The crown prince nodded, pressing his forehead with his hand as if suffering a headache, calculating how much he’d have to bill the church internally.

“Hurry along now. I’ll call you when the banquet is ready.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Thus ended what had almost become a prelude to all-out war.

Once again, the conflict between the north and the royal family ended peacefully.

After the delegation left,

the crown prince spoke with cold eyes.

“Prime Minister, and Richard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Sell eastern porcelain to the north. Cheaply.”

“Cheaper, you say?”

“Yes. And when it seems to be becoming a trend, raise the price.”

“Understood.”

“Remember this: Above all, we must prevent the north from prospering. We must hinder their growth even a little—just a tiny bit more.”

“I accept the crown prince’s command.”

Giving these orders, the crown prince felt it was far from enough.

‘Thanks to that so-called blessing or whatever, arable land is increasing in the north now. If that happens… the population will grow!’

We absolutely must stop those barbarians from multiplying. At least until I ascend the throne.

Until I become the commander under the direct authority of Emperor Doom, who only listens to the emperor.

Most importantly, until I can meet Lady Habana proudly.

“…And contact the Demon Den again.”

Therefore, he brought out a rarely used card.

“The Demon Den? The church won’t like it.”

Minister Karaso expressed concern with a slightly stiff tone.

“Is that so?”

The crown prince observed Theresa walking back toward the main hall, her disheveled eyes more fanatical than ever.

“I’ll make the contact right away.”

Seeing this, the prime minister and other officials immediately understood.

Another scheme of the empire against the north was underway. Again.

* * *

Daisy’s father was a retired soldier who participated in the polar expedition two missions ago.

The expedition where Grand Duke Bykal Rune Lenslet perished.

During that expedition, Daisy’s father Mark lost both his arms and became a disabled veteran.

“Daddy, look what I made this time!”

“Wow, good job, my daughter.”

Daisy proudly showed her father the wooden crafts she had carved late into the night with her delicate hands.

“Alright, let me take off the prosthetic arms now. Time to work!”

“Absolutely not! Don’t sell them for less than three copper each!”

While removing her father’s prosthetic arms, the daughter cautioned him.

“Of course! Who made them, huh?”

With loosened sleeves, Mark nodded with a forced smile.

“Let me carry this box?”

“Nope. If I carry it, people will look more. Hurry up, hang it around your neck.”

“Yes…”

He carefully hung the wooden box, as big as a bag, that his daughter handed him.

Inside the box were fourteen wooden crafts made by the young girl during her free time.

She inherited her father’s knack for craftsmanship.

The prosthetic arms he had just removed were also made by his daughter.

“Let’s go!”

“Yeah!”

Father and daughter exchanged smiles.

“Shouldn’t we greet mom before leaving?”

“Right! Mom, we’re going out!”

Before leaving, they never forgot to pay respects to the small shrine in the room.

Inside the shrine were the hair and belongings of Daisy’s deceased mother.

‘Time flies, doesn’t it?’

Three months ago, Mark’s wife lost her life to monsters outside the city.

An unfortunate accident that happened when she went far from the city to gather herbs needed for Arad salt.

“I’m going too, dear.”

Retired soldier Mark mourned his dead wife and started another day with his daughter.

The fief where the father and daughter lived was directly administered by the grand duke.

Originally, it was a medium-sized fief belonging to Narvik, governed by a northern noble above viscount rank, but recently, due to involvement in treason, it was being managed by bureaucrats dispatched from High City.

The size of the fief wasn’t too large nor too small.

Thanks to this, quite a few people lived in the old castle where the former lord resided, and there were decent streets and multi-story buildings visible here and there.

“Buy a pretty wooden bird~! We also have knights made of wood!”

In other words, the market was sufficient for selling the wooden crafts Daisy made.

“Kind sirs, please spare a coin!”

Thanks to this, the father and daughter could sustain themselves by selling their wooden crafts through begging.

The money container was a helmet engraved with the white shield emblem proving he was a veteran of the expeditionary force.

With this helmet placed in front, neither the guards nor the administrators complained.

Instead, they subtly helped from behind the scenes.

“Even if you don’t buy, please take a look~.”

The disabled veteran with no arms and his cheerful young daughter selling wooden crafts beside him.

It naturally stirred pity in the hearts of passersby.

“Tsk tsk tsk… How much is that puppy shape?”

“Yes! Three copper!”

“Give me one.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“Thank you, sir! May the blessings of the zealous ancestor be with you.”

Among the passersby, a few sighed with pity and bought one of Daisy’s wooden crafts.

By noon, they managed to sell four pieces.

“Daughter, are you hungry? Let’s go eat?”

“Yeah!”

Their faces lit up with hope and joy.

Today, they could afford something a little expensive—like stew with meat.

“Hey! Who said you could beg here?”

Just as they were about to pack up for lunch, a group of clearly thug-like men appeared in front of the father and daughter.

“What do you want, sirs?”

“What do you mean? Dare to beg in our territory without permission?”

“Oh no! Sorry! We didn’t know. We’ll leave right away!”

“Sorry? Is that all after what you’ve done?”

Thwack!

“Ouch!”

The thugs showed no sympathy for Mark, who had no arms. To them, he was merely easy prey for extortion.

The thug kicked Mark aside and snatched the helmet filled with copper coins.

“Not possible! Not that money!”

“Ahh, we do have consciences. We’ll just take this much as commission?”

That’s what they said, then took all the coins in the helmet, leaving only one copper.

“Huuuuuuh… Huh…”

Daisy could only watch this scene with tears streaming down her face.

Fear, sorrow, despair, and helplessness piled up in the heart of the twelve-year-old girl.

‘Guards! Aren’t there any guards? Or someone report to the guard patrol!’

Mark looked around with a despondent gaze.

People passing by avoided looking, fearing the thugs.

Unfortunately, no guards were in sight.

“Looking for the guard patrol?”

“Do you even know if we’re wandering around here now?”

“It’s nap time for the guards right now!”

“Go ahead and try reporting. Will the guards arrive faster, or will our clan’s swords?”

“Anyway, hope you enjoy living well, mister? And the pretty young lady too.”

With that, the thugs left.

“…”

Father and daughter scanned the scene the thugs had ransacked with a sense of defeat and emptiness.

The rolling helmet on the ground and the single copper coin reflected the powerless father and the trembling, frightened daughter.

Plodding back home, Mark and Daisy couldn’t speak for a while.

At least the fortunate part was that ten wooden crafts remained undamaged.

“Let’s head to Polton Street tomorrow to sell them. The guards patrol there more often.”

Breaking the silence, Mark was the first to speak.

Hiding his disheartened feelings, he tried to smile at his daughter.

“Mm-hmm…”

Daisy responded with a sad smile to her father’s forced grin.

Knock knock knock knock

At that moment, heavy knocking sounded at the door where father and daughter stayed.

“I know everything inside.”

The knocking was accompanied by a polite but chilling voice.

“…!”

“!!”

Mark and Daisy felt their hearts sink even more now than when they were harassed by the thugs earlier.

“Daisy… open it. And get the emergency fund.”

“Emergency fund?!”

“Yes, the last support money Daddy received!”

“Yes…”

Eventually, the door opened.

“Hmm…?”

The creditor entered the house.

“How have things been lately?”

“Well…”

“To be honest, I’m not unaware of your situation.”

“I’m sorry…”

“But your interest is three months overdue now. That’s difficult for me too. I’m not demanding the principal immediately. But at least pretend to pay the interest, right?”

Three months ago, on the day his wife died, Mark wanted to give her a proper funeral.

Through adventurer requests, he gathered the remaining fragments of his wife eaten by monsters. He held a modest funeral with the remains collected.

The current debt originated from that time.

“In this state, I’ll have no choice but to take the collateral, this house. It’s disappointing since it’s just a small house without even a field, but I suppose I can rent it out.”

“I’ll pay. Please give me a little more time…”

“Are you taking me for a fool?”

The tone of the creditor addressing Mark turned angry.

“Here! Here! Please consider this!”

At that moment, Daisy pulled out the emergency fund she had hidden tightly and handed it to the creditor.

“Hmm…?”

Not only did the man’s expression not soften, but it grew even darker.

“You had money after all? Now that I think about it, didn’t High City start giving you a small allowance of food and money every month?”

When the creditor mentioned this, Mark opened his mouth indignantly.

‘I don’t know why, but the support payments stopped two months ago! This is really all I have left after scraping together everything!’—he intended to plead.

“But if you’re getting support, there’s even less reason to cut you slack. Next month then. Pay off the overdue interest by next month.”

Clang!

Without listening further, the creditor roughly slammed the door and left.

The storm passed momentarily, foretelling an even bigger one to come.

The devastated hearts of father and daughter. Yet as the head of the household, Mark tried to console himself and asked his daughter,

“Are you hungry? Daisy?”

“Not really.”

“At times like this, we need to stay strong! Since we’ve used the emergency fund anyway, let’s eat the emergency rations too.”

Because Mark had lost both arms, he received slightly more food and support money from High City compared to other disabled veterans.

Of course, it was barely enough for father and daughter to survive.

Worse, it hadn’t arrived since two months ago.

“Yes…”