The Story of Hero Among Heroes ~The Founding Chronicles of Arestia - Chapter 137

Translator: Raizu

Side Story ~Another Battlefield~ part 2

[Damn it all! That little girl!]

That voice that reverberated throughout the room belonged to the googly-eyed baron, Baron Vin Bowman. Hearing the bark, the lean-bodied baron…Baron Botard quivered, and meanwhile Sven sighed. Baron Bowman looked to be in his 40 or 50s, but he’s actually still in his twenties. He could no longer suppress his frustration.

Baron Bowman belonged to the faction led by Scion.

Currently, many political factions are fighting for power. His faction happened to be the largest at the moment.

After the first prince Carlos was eliminated from the race to the throne, the capital was engulfed in a fierce factional competition. Currently, Scion’s faction holds the greatest influence. They even managed to reel the prime minister in, further expanding their power.

The 『Thunder Emperor』Sephiros Arcadia, after conquering Grants, had mysteriously remained silent as he watched his vassals’ movements.

Therefore, the vassals avoided giving unnecessary stimulus to the emperor, opting to fight between each other to defend their position and influence instead.

And Scion, whose momentum was the greatest at the moment, felt that Ares Schwarzer posed the biggest threat for him.

Ares was the only aristocrat who willingly left the capital without coveting influence on the central power. He married a princess of the royal imperial clan and is also well connected to various great aristocrats. Not only is he the heir to the Archduke, but he himself also possesses a vast territory which is the frontier area.

In terms of territory size, the Schwarzer clan clearly owned the largest territory amongst the empire’s aristocrats.

And it’s quite terrifying that there’s basically no information at all regarding the frontier area.

That’s why Scion attempted to make Ares send out troops, to shave off some of the latter’s power. And also….to explore east of Redgear, towards the mysterious Grants. Those were the messengers’ most important task.

Scion heard that Ares Schwarzer was currently absent, having to deal with the northern barbarians. And the current acting lord is his wife, Cornelia. He believed that a woman like Cornelia would easily bend to his will. And even if Ares returned later, the clause would still be effective. One could even call it compulsory.

That way, Scion would be able to treat Ares like his chess piece. With the prime minister on his side, his faction could take the lead on this western campaign.

Even though the other side is the Lord of Frontier, they’ll have no choice but to obey. It’s a good chance to actually do something about this someone he considered as a threat.

However, Cornelia was not misled by Bowman that easily. On the contrary, their plot was turned against on them. Bowman played himself up by mentioning 『Edict』. In fact, he didn’t even know about the fault within the letter until Cornelia pointed them out. Cornelia pointed out that the letter was not a royal edict since it has no royal seal nor signed by the Emperor; it was actually an order written by the prime minister. Therefore, she saw it fit to decline the order in favor of the prior emperor’s command for the Lord of Frontier.

[Baronet Sven Knorr!]

With his life in line, Bowman decided to call his fellow messenger.

[Yes!]

[You…I heard you were Her Highness Cornelia’s old friend?]

[Yes…we were childhood friends.]

Sven met Cornelia before the Imperial clan found her.

He first met her when he went to the church. His friendship with Cornelia started that day.

[Then…good. You go convince Cornelia-sama.]

[Ha?]

[And while you’re at it, go to Grants to find out what’s going on. Surely she won’t let her childhood friend die, would she?]

Baron Bowman let out a fishy laugh.

From that laugh, Sven realized what the baron intended.

The man intended to make him a scapegoat.

[……as you wish.]

But Sven could only bow quietly as he had no way to refuse.

=====

◆

[It has been a while, Sven.]

Cornelia looked happy to meet her childhood friend again. Theta and Maria stood on her left and right while George was also nearby.

[Cornelia-sama didn’t really change that much at all.]

Sven bowed as he said so. In his heart, he knew…

It’s a lie. He thought.

Cornelia is so much more beautiful now than the past. Right, more than when they first met.

Cornelia was already beautiful even before it became known that she’s a princess. That’s why he often visited the church, sometimes just to be able to talk with her. Yes, for Sven, princess Cornelia was both someone he admired as well as his first ever love.

Perhaps both Theta and Maria may have noticed Sven’s true feelings after seeing his expression. They felt something peculiar in him. You know…woman’s intuition.

[Thank you, Sven. Well, I heard that you have something important to say to me, pray do tell?]

Cornelia still hadn’t changed her expression. Perhaps… she could already tell. She was a brilliant mind after all.

[About that…]

[As someone who was previously close to Cornelia-sama, you were told to convince her and to investigate Grants, is that it?]

Before Sven could say anything, George already beat him to it. And George didn’t stop there.

[And should you fail, they’ll make you take full responsibility for it…am I correct?]

Sven merely listened quietly. Yes, that’s right. The blonde man had guessed correctly.

He took a deep sigh, then smiled.

[You are correct. And…I know that no matter what I say, nothing will change.]

[I see. Then what will you do?]

[Report back to Baron Bowman and return to the Royal Capital to take full responsibility.]

At this rate, no matter what he did, he wouldn’t achieve anything. Therefore, rather than dawdle around, he’d rather get punished and be done with it already.

Although he also knew that he would be made an example. That it doesn’t matter to lose the lower-ranked aristocrats, as replacement can always be found elsewhere. He knew… but it couldn’t be helped.

[So they are making you responsible for it?]

[It can’t be helped. That’s the only reason why Baron Bowman brought me here today.]

It’s the painful reality of the lower rank aristocrats like the baronets. The commands from those of higher rank are absolute.

[I came prepared… I’ve already said my goodbye to my wife and family.]

Sven had a younger sister and an already aged mother, in addition to a wife he married only recently. His sister’s future husband would hopefully inherit the clan name after he’s gone. But what worried him the most are his wife and mother.

Thinking that, Sven couldn’t help but to clench his lips.

[…….what do you think, George?]

[What a resolve. As Cornelia-sama said, I feel that he’s a trustworthy person.]

After hearing George’s assessment, Cornelia nodded then turned to Sven.

[Sven…we have a suggestion. Would you be willing to hear us out?]

Cornelia’s suggestion…was shocking to say the least.

=====

◆

[Hmm…in the end, Baronet Knorr didn’t come back as well…huh]

[Yes…he took the responsibility to sneak into Grants…but apparently he ended up dead along the way.]

Baron Bowman reported with a troubled face. Scion didn’t bother to hide his disgruntled face either.

Of the three messengers he sent, Baronet Knorr was the least known by the masses. He only included this man so that he could use the baronet as a scapegoat and erase all evidence should the negotiation go awry.

But even so…Scion thought to himself.

Once again, men sent by the aristocrats to visit Grants…went missing. Just like how it always does.

Because of the very poor security…anyone would believe such an excuse. After all, Grants was known as a place rife with barbarians and magic beasts.

However…why do many people migrate to this so-called dangerous land?

The aristocrats of course sought to investigate this anomaly, but be it messenger or spy, none returned alive. Sometimes they returned as corpses, but most of the time they went missing, never to be found.

Therefore, Scion still knew nothing of Ares’ land up until this day.

[What on earth is he hiding…?]

『That』 Ares would certainly do something to this so-called accursed land. But why is he trying to hide it so desperately?

In fact, despite being known as an unsafe place plagued by magic beasts…so far there’s no report of rebellion yet.

[As I thought, that man is a threat… If we don’t take action as soon as possible…]

After murmuring that, Scion once again sank into his thoughts.

=====

◆

[Looks like it worked.]

[As always, the people at the capital only know that he’s missing.]

George replied. And standing next to him was…

[Your family will be arriving here soon, yes? Sven?]

Sven, the latest person to disappear on the endeavour of the people at the capital to investigate Grants.

What Cornelia suggested was, to make it so that the capital thought he had gone missing as well when, in reality, he would stay in Grants.

What surprised Sven the most was the fact that many of those “missing” people are currently working for Grants.

Many of them were capable officials, albeit estranged from the aristocrats due to various reasons.

In particular, Sven was most surprised to find out that inspector Marius Bertram, famously known and feared as the 『Ice Dagger』back at the capital, was among these people.

Marius was one of the people sent to investigate Grants, and was reported to have lost his life along with his team when they were attacked by a horde of magic beasts.

Certainly many of the corrupt aristocrats at the capital were overjoyed by the news.

[Marius is now an indispensable personnel in this territory. It really helps when talented people like him come over here. The person himself said that it’s easier to work here than in the capital.]

George explained.

Once he entered Grants… Sven was even more surprised. It was said that Grants was the land rife with barbarians and magic beasts.

But what he saw here was a 『country』more advanced than the capital. The security and culture were probably even better than in the capital.

But… at the same time, he knew.

This fact must not be known to the people at the capital.

Just from seeing how various races live together in harmony and how flourishing the country is, even worshiping their gods in a single church together.

If this fact became known to those greedy aristocrats, there’s no doubt that they’ll come in droves to seek benefits.

All of these need to be kept hidden at all cost.

[For the development of this place, I will be counting on you, Sven.]

[Yes!]

Sven thought.

He knew that he wasn’t all that talented. However, he obtained this chance to work in such a wonderful place. Therefore…he just has to work hard, as a way to convey his feelings and gratitude to Cornelia…