Chapter 805

There was a time when I thought that way too.

Grand Duke Valdemar, who was amazed that the Holy Sword had already been found.

It didn’t take long for his expression to crumple like a father who just received a paternity test mismatch.

When I told him that the owner of the Holy Sword wasn’t me but a boy knight of ordinary lineage, he was just a little surprised…

But when I delivered the news that not only Beastmen but also monsters would descend through the mountain range, and that a wide path connecting the north and south of the range had opened, he started looking at me as if I were a Beastman.

Even if some punk had said there was a child of his in Freide’s belly and asked for permission to marry, he wouldn’t have looked at me like that.

“Uh… Your Grace? Let’s think positively. There’s no guarantee the monsters will come south, right? Baraykruz will also struggle with monster problems, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

So, I had no choice but to come up with all sorts of excuses to calm Grand Duke Valdemar down.

It was obvious he wanted to draw his sword and settle things, but he probably held back because he knew he’d lose if we fought.

Grand Duke Valdemar is a middle-aged man with a grown daughter. If he gets so angry that he clutches his neck and collapses, it’d be a disaster, right?

If the Grand Duke of the North, who’s supposed to protect us from Beastmen and monsters, gets taken out by high blood pressure, I’d be in big trouble.

“Besides, isn’t the opening of a path through the Sky Mountain Range actually beneficial to us?”

“…Beneficial?”

“Yes, beneficial. The Beastmen have always crossed the mountains even without such a path, haven’t they? On the other hand, the Imperial Army and the Northern Army struggled just to cross the mountains.”

The reason humanity couldn’t subjugate the Beastmen nation, Baraykruz, wasn’t just their strength but also the natural barrier of the Sky Mountain Range, which blocked the army’s advance.

The steep slopes of the mountains, the cold that soldiers couldn’t endure without at least a company of magicians, the crevasses that appeared out of nowhere, and the snowstorms that hit like an ex’s 3 a.m. call.

Not to mention the avalanches, which were like natural disasters the soldiers couldn’t resist.

Sending a large army to march on Baraykruz was nothing short of a mass suicide, burying tens of thousands of soldiers under the snow of the Sky Mountain Range.

That’s why even Lacey, who advocated for the extermination of Beastmen, couldn’t bring herself to send her Holy Legion across the mountains.

“But now, we don’t have to climb steep mountain paths. A wide road has opened.”

Just that alone would significantly reduce non-combat losses.

With a wide road, we wouldn’t need to disperse soldiers according to the terrain, so we could handle any threats that came our way.

In other words, the formation of a road connecting the north and south of the Sky Mountain Range is actually beneficial to the Empire.

Especially for Lacey—she’d be over the moon.

I don’t plan to tell her, but if she finds out that pulling the Holy Sword opened a path to Baraykruz, she might kneel and start praising Elpinel on the spot.

She’d say Elpinel answered her prayers with a miracle.

“So, this situation isn’t harmful to Pailoon but rather beneficial. Think about it. The Holy Sword bestowed by Elpinel was drawn, so this must also be Elpinel’s will. Would she do something harmful to humanity?”

So, I sold out Elpinel.

Well, it’s not like I sold her out.

It’s Elpinel’s fault for sealing her sword in such a place, so this is her responsibility, right?

Right?

“Many people here worship Menes, but Elpinel is a goddess who cares for all, so the people of the North are also under her protection. Therefore, this must be a miracle performed by Elpinel for the Empire and the North. There’s no need to worry.”

With a hint of “Don’t you trust Elpinel? Are you a non-believer?” mixed into my consolation, it seemed to work.

“Hah…”

Grand Duke Valdemar, who had been looking at me like a debt collector catching a runaway debtor, let out a hollow laugh, looking like a loan shark being handed a gambling chip.

When people are too dumbfounded, all they can do is laugh, and that’s exactly how the Grand Duke reacted.

Of course, I wasn’t a debtor, and Grand Duke Valdemar wasn’t a loan shark, even if he looked like one.

“……You…”

“Yes?”

Grand Duke Valdemar coughed and shook his head.

“…You would’ve been a great success as a merchant, not a saint or a knight.”

I awkwardly smiled, sensing the unspoken “You’re a con artist.”

—

Whether my persuasion worked or he was too dumbfounded to argue further, Grand Duke Valdemar didn’t press the issue.

Maybe he decided it was pointless to argue.

Either way, thanks to that, we were able to prepare to return to the capital that day without getting bogged down in responsibility.

Though we had one more companion.

“Ha-shal-leur—no, Marquis Median? You want me to follow him? You’re joking too much today, Father.”

“It’s no joke. Accompany Marquis Median and assist him for the time being.”

Grand Duke Valdemar came to us, who were preparing to depart, and handed over Freide, who had been making a Beastman hide bed in her room.

“In these troubled times when the Beastmen’s movements are suspicious, you’re telling me, the daughter of Pailoon, to neglect my duties as a member of the Grand Duke’s family? Even if you’re my father, you can’t…!”

Since it hadn’t been discussed beforehand, Freide protested, saying it was impossible.

It wasn’t that she disliked following me, but it seemed to be out of a sense of duty as a member of the Grand Duke’s family to protect the North.

“You don’t need to worry about your duties as a member of the Grand Duke’s family. Your father is still alive and well.”

But Valdemar’s resolve was firm. As solid as his hardened expression.

“Or do you already have ambitions for the family head position? The current head is old, stubborn, and incompetent, so you can’t follow or trust his orders, is that it?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

It was a tough spot for even Freide to argue back. If she insisted on staying, it’d be like slapping dirt on her father’s face.

Unless it’s a rebellious phase, how many children would openly defy a father asking, “Don’t you trust me?”

At least Freide wasn’t that kind of person. Quite the opposite.

Just the way she kept mentioning Pailoon showed how much pride she had in her family and her father, the family head.

“Then follow. This is an order from the head of the Pailoon family.”

“But…!”

“This is also for Pailoon. Landenburg will soon become an independent kingdom. The one who repelled Ka`har’s army and subjugated the dragon founded this country. Establishing a strong friendly relationship with its monarch will greatly benefit the North. Isn’t that right?”

Not exactly something to say in front of the person involved.

When I looked at Valdemar with a “What are you saying?” expression, the Grand Duke sneakily glanced at me, avoiding Freide’s gaze, and gave me a look that said, “Please take care of her.”

With his rough appearance, it felt less like entrusting his daughter and more like a gangster asking me to choose between a kidney or an eyeball… but I got the gist, so it didn’t matter.

“There’s not much for you to do in the North anyway. When it’s not hunting season, you’re holed up in your room all day making taxidermy and furniture.”

“Tch…!”

Having no retort, Freide bit her lip and glared at Grand Duke Valdemar.

A look of resentment—or more like a pout. The kind of face a child makes when their parents nag them to stop staying cooped up at home and go out to make friends.

No, not just similar—it was exactly that.

Though he used various justifications to persuade Freide…

In the end, it was just a father who couldn’t stand seeing his grown daughter holed up in a dark room, obsessed with dissections and taxidermy, and wanted her to go out and make some friends.

Freide, too, probably understood her father’s intentions but didn’t want to give up the joy of her hobbies, so she came up with excuses.

It’s obvious, isn’t it?

People who stay cooped up in their rooms without friends are all like that.

They come up with all sorts of plausible reasons to stay inside, just to counter their parents’ nagging to go out.

But in the end, they just get a smack on the back.