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147
“Something seems…”
“Unsettled.”
Leriana muttered discontentedly as she looked around immediately after getting off the carriage upon arriving at the town Dein had pointed out beforehand. The other three who looked around with her didn’t have opinions much different from hers.
As a prosperous city not too far from the capital, it was natural to have a lot of people coming and going. If judged by that alone, it would be a scene no different from usual, but the gloomy concern etched on people’s faces and their whispering voices were fostering a strange atmosphere.
An unusual current flowed among the passersby. Arpel easily guessed that a subtle uneasiness and tension were eating away at the surroundings.
“…Let’s take care of our business first.”
However, finding the reason for these inexplicable emotions could wait until after they finished their business in this town. Nodding in agreement with Rohan’s voice leading the momentarily hesitant group, they moved on.
A small tea house located subtly in a corner, different from the main street outside. With a cheerful bell sound, those who entered could see a familiar-faced man. As he seemed to be the only one present, as if he had rented out the entire shop, it would have been strange not to notice him immediately.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve all met together, hasn’t it?”
His carefree wave, as if he had been waiting, was excessively nonchalant. His cool, curved eyes alternately gazed at Rohan and Leriana standing side by side. Perhaps because he looked like someone who had anticipated this situation, Rohan frowned, unable to shake off an uneasy feeling.
“Did you reconcile well?”
“Ahaha… Yes.”
While Dein had shown consideration by not asking about the conflict he had guessed, this man, his superior, seemed to have no such intention. Lexia, brushing back his disheveled green hair with a smile, finally brought up that topic.
Leriana answered with an awkward smile and skillfully found a comfortable seat. With Casia following and taking the seat next to her, suddenly only seats on the same side as Lexia were left. Lexia turned to look at Arpel, who was silent as usual, and patted the seat next to him.
“You can sit here if you’d like.”
“Then I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Puhah!”
Although Arpel was the one who spoke, it was Rohan who quickly took the seat next to Lexia. A faint fierceness flashed across his face as he gave a rather firm answer. His intention to absolutely not let Arpel sit next to Lexia was evident.
Seeing that face, Lexia couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed Rohan didn’t realize that Lexia had casually thrown out those words wanting to see this exact reaction. Lexia only managed to stop laughing when he met Arpel’s piercing gaze.
Ahem, ahem. He lightly cleared his throat, leaving behind the awkward atmosphere. Although some gazes contained traces of exasperation, everyone’s eyes were focused on Lexia.
The same was true for Arpel.
“I heard the story well from Dein.”
Lexia continued, smiling as if painted. Although his words cut out all context before and after, no one failed to grasp the meaning of what Lexia wanted to say here. After all, what Dein would have told Lexia was obvious. He must have talked about the commotion that occurred in the village recently.
“Thank you for your help.”
But… yes. This appearance might be quite unexpected.
Lexia’s face was more serious than expected as he bowed his head with a straightforward expression of gratitude. The words he uttered were more transparent than ever before, making it easy to understand how profound the emotion behind that brief voice was.
It seemed he wasn’t the only one with such an impression, as the expressions of the other three were similar. It was understandable to be flustered when someone who always acted sly and playful suddenly expressed sincere gratitude.
Of course, when Lexia raised his head again, his usual mischievous smile played on his face. The voice that followed was also extremely light.
“Whew, those expressions are a bit much.”
“…What’s the reason you wanted to see us?”
Rohan, who had briefly opened his eyes wide as if it had been a lie, now wore a blank expression and brought up the main point without giving room for any more nonsense.
It was Dein who had relayed Lexia’s message that he wanted to meet and talk. In a sense, he was the one who had called them to this unfamiliar city.
Although they had planned to visit the mercenary guild anyway to coordinate their future schedule, the address Dein had given them was just a small tea house in a quiet area. Moreover, it was an empty tea house with no one present except Lexia.
It was as good as expressing an intention to have a serious conversation. It was immediately apparent that the topic would be quite heavy.
“Straight to the point? That’s fine too.”
Lexia muttered with a familiar smile. …Along with a completely new hypothesis he had never considered before.
“It seems the original target might have been me.”
At those words, silence fell all around. Arpel, his eyes uncharacteristically wide, turned to look at Lexia sitting on the same side. Lexia, who had been loosely rubbing the teacup that had been placed beforehand, shrugged as if unconcerned and added:
“I had sent Dein, but I was planning to go myself if the situation escalated. The matter was that serious.”
He then listed several reasons. The fact that the imperial family had been checking on the mercenary guild more frequently than necessary recently, and that Evelyn was tied up in the imperial palace. This meant that the emperor might have noticed the connection with the mercenary guild while keeping her confined.
Since he had moved directly before, the imperial palace might have predicted his movements. Rohan’s brow furrowed at the utterly calm voice.
“…Then, the reason for calling us to a tea house.”
“That’s right, I thought I should be cautious as I got closer to the capital, as I might be under surveillance. Showing myself entering and exiting the mercenary guild would just provide fodder for them to chew on.”
Leriana stuttered out. Lexia kindly answered her vague words, which were neither a question nor a complete sentence.
Arpel quietly sank into thought. Although the person actually in the troublesome situation responded shamelessly as if it wasn’t his own story, considering the various grounds Lexia mentioned and the situation at the time, it wasn’t a completely unreasonable assumption.
‘So that’s how they set the stage.’
It was one of the questions that had arisen while being caught up in the incident. The events surrounding that village were clearly not a simple plan to anyone’s eyes. Until arriving there, Leriana and Casia had moved irregularly, and Rohan and himself had followed them.
Yet, as if they had been waiting, the conspiracy surrounding the missing mercenaries surfaced, and two executives even appeared. One executive had even been stirring up conflict between the mercenary guild and the temple for a long time.
At the time, they were too overwhelmed by the situation to make such judgments, but thinking about it now, it might not have been a plan targeting ‘Rohan’ and ‘Leriana’ from the beginning.
Rather than targeting the two, they had jumped into a situation that was already set up.
Although the confusion was visible, everyone seemed to be trying to understand somehow. If Lexia and the mercenary guild itself were the targets, it made some sense why the opponent seemed strangely clumsy, and why the surveillance personnel were so shabby despite it being an underground prison monitoring ‘beings blessed by the god’.
“And… regarding that matter.”
Eventually, Lexia, who had been silent for a moment, called the attention of those who weren’t hiding their unsettled expressions once again. This time, his face was also subtly downcast.
“Have you heard any recent rumors related to the imperial family?”
“…The imperial family?”
Rohan blinked in confusion at the sudden topic. Rumors surrounding the imperial family out of nowhere. The endless stream of thoughts was suddenly cut off.
“It seemed unsettled outside.”
“Yes. Looks like you noticed.”
Arpel, who had been keeping his mouth shut, brought up the topic on behalf of those who remained silent. Anything related to the imperial family always stirs up the lives of the people. Anxiety, worry, tension… He was able to recall more easily the negative emotions emanating from those walking on the streets, as he had felt them more keenly than anyone else.
As if confirming this, Lexia nodded lightly and pushed a bundle of papers across the table.
“His name is Oscar. A man who until recently was in the emperor’s inner circle. According to the guild’s speculation, he seems to have been handling all sorts of dirty work on behalf of the emperor until now.”
Leriana frowned as she looked at the portrait scrawled on the first page. It was an all too familiar face.
The man who had attacked them when they first set out on their journey, the one she and Casia had faced in the village recently. Her teeth clenched at that hateful face. While she was slowly taking deep breaths to suppress her rising anger, Rohan’s eyes, on the contrary, became strangely distant as he looked at the portrait.
He instinctively felt he knew who the protagonist of the ‘rumors surrounding the imperial family’ circulating among the people was.
“This person was beheaded yesterday. For treason.”
Leriana, who had been grinding her teeth, suddenly raised her head. Her blank eyes, forgetting even to blink, were staring intently at Lexia. As if asking if what she had heard was really true.
Lexia could only remain silent. Both the fact that he had died and that his head had been displayed in front of the imperial palace after being charged with treason were unchangeable truths.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
