EP6. Before the Storm (1)
EP6. Before the Storm
Shaun opened his eyes.
Today is a week since Shawn and Levi arrived in Laes.
And at the same time, this evening is the day a banquet is held to commemorate the monster subjugation.
Shaun suddenly remembered what Kania said yesterday.
‘I just think you’d better leave this city as soon as possible.’
From noble mtl dot com.
Is it really so? Is it the right choice to just get out of this city and not get caught up in the troubles?
The atmosphere was already convinced that there were no monsters in Raes.
Yourself and Levi went on a journey to catch monsters. But is it right to stay in Raes without monsters?
Shaun looked at Levy, who was still sleeping.
Where should I go if I leave Laes? Would going back to the village be the right choice?
But I don’t think Levy would agree to that easily. Then, would it be better to just say hello to the town and leave for another city?
If you think like this alone, you won’t get an answer. When Levy wakes up, it would be the best option to discuss it then.
As if he had noticed Sean’s thoughts, Levy’s eyes slowly began to open.
Sean did what Levy usually did and this time he decided to do it himself.
“Levy. Woke up?”
As if he wasn’t awake yet, Levy stared blankly at Sean right in front of him with sleepy eyes for a while.
“·······Is it still a dream…?”
Sean couldn’t stop laughing at Levy’s words.
According to Levi’s words, he must have seen himself in his dreams as well. First of all, Sean tried to answer Levy’s words.
But before Sean could even open his mouth, Levy acted first.
Side,
The girl’s soft lips touched the bridge of the boy’s nose for a moment, then it fell.
Thanks to that, Sean couldn’t say anything and just opened his mouth.
“····Heh···Heng····.”
The girl closed her eyes again. Sak- her little snort let me know that she was completely asleep.
Sean was still for a while.
····What just happened…?
Sean couldn’t find the answer and just kept looking at the sleeping girl.
*
“Shaun! Did you sleep well?”
“… Uh, uh uh…”
At Levy’s sunny greeting, Shawn was only dumbfounded. Seeing Sean like that, Levy tilted her head.
Why is Sean doing this all of a sudden? Did you eat something wrong?
As he thought about Shawn, Levy suddenly remembered a dream he had today.
Of course, it’s a dream I’ve had often, but today, the memory of that dream is particularly vivid and vivid.
Especially at the end… Just by imagining her, Levy felt her own face go red and put her hands on her cheeks to cool them.
Sean didn’t notice the meaning of Levy’s actions and said to him.
“First of all, shall we go down to breakfast then?”
“Yes!”
As Sean and Levy prepared to go downstairs, they heard a sound.
Knock. Knock.
It was a knock on the door.
At that sound, Levi said puzzled.
“Who are you?”
Shaun thought it might be the same guest as yesterday. Because he couldn’t explore all the areas yesterday, so he decided to try again next time.
I heard that it’s next time, but isn’t it a bit like coming the next day? Shawn thought so as he went to the door. And when he opened the door, he heard a voice.
“Good morning. Shawn.”
Cleanly dressed, he wasn’t the person Shawn thought he was. He was a stranger he had never seen before. Seeing that, Sean immediately said in a state of alert.
“Who are you?”
At that, the man bowed his head and spoke in a polite tone.
“Top State of the Golden Wagon. Shriegel invited you.”
***
Shrigel’s mansion was magnificent.
The appearance of the magnificent mansion was no inferior to that of Baron Dios.
No, in Shawn’s personal opinion, it looked better than his mansion.
Just by looking at the mansion, you could get a glimpse of the power that a man named Shriegel had in Rhaeth.
When I entered the mansion, that thought became clearer.
There were far more servants than Baron Dios’ mansion.
I don’t know about anything else, but I can call him the best in Raes when it comes to money. Even Sean, who didn’t know much about Raes, felt that way.
As Shawn and Levy entered the mansion, the man who had been guiding them all this time said.
“Shrigel-sama will be in the drawing room. We will guide you right away.”
Sean and Levy headed for the drawing room and looked around the mansion.
All kinds of places were full of expensive looking things.
Paintings, pottery, statues, even jewelry. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the things that were truly expensive were collected.
And when he arrived in front of the drawing room, he carefully knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Once I accepted that permission and carefully opened the door, there were also expensive-looking things decorated here and there, and the man I had seen the other day was sitting in a fancy chair.
Shrigel. He looked at Sean and Levy and said.
“Welcome. You can sit here. Oh, you did a good job too. Go and see the work.”
Leaving behind him as he nodded and turned around, Shawn and Levy sat down on the chairs carefully arranged.
Looking at Shawn and Levy, who were seated, he said with a smile.
“How have you been? If you need anything in Laes, you can always ask me. Aren’t we old-fashioned? Ha ha ha.”
Even with those words, Shawn calmly asked.
“Is there a reason you invited us?”
“Reason! I just called you to explain a few things about the banquet tonight.”
Shriegel said after drinking a cup of tea in front of him.
“By the way, would it be all right if we had a little chat before we talk about it?”
“······Do whatever you want.”
Even though Sean’s answer was quite brusque, he did not lose his smile.
“Thank you so much. Then by any chance… Have you all heard the rumors?”
“A rumor? What rumors…”
“This is a rumor that has been spreading in Laes for some time now. . . . About ‘the one who summons the monster’.”
At that, Shawn was taken aback.
The one who summons monsters. Because Sean had met him once.
Unidentified man.
He is someone who deeply hurt himself when he was young.
The culprit behind Luke’s brother’s death.
The sudden pain made Sean short of breath and break out in a cold sweat.
Then he felt a warm touch in his hand.
Levy, who was next to him, held Sean’s hand.
Sean looked at Levi for a moment. Two eyes meeting each other.
Thanks to that, the boy was able to escape from excitement.
Sean asked, calm again.
“Could you elaborate more?”
“Actually, it’s just a rumor, nothing to elaborate on. A vague rumor with no source or evidence.”
Those words made Shawn feel a little drained. But why are you explaining this to yourself?
“But things are a little different now.”
“Is the situation different?”
“You remember the monster subjugation from yesterday? I heard that Sean-nim and Levy-nim also did a lot of work there.”
At that, Sean and Levy nodded. I went out to subdue monsters because it’s true.
“By the way, I confirmed that there was a small cave inside the monster’s nest. And there were traces of people living there.”
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Signs of people living…? Then it was clear that something out of the ordinary had happened. Are the rumors really true?
“So what? Did you find anyone?”
Shriegel shook his head at Sean’s question.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any traces of it. There seems to be something at the end of the cave, but that too has collapsed. It is estimated that it collapsed during the rampage of monsters during subjugation.”
At that, Sean was disappointed.
He thought he found his trace in an unexpected place.
“Sure, I’m in the process of recovering now. Maybe within a week we’ll be able to clear the wreckage and see what’s at the end.”
Shrigel’s words helped Shawn, but there was something he didn’t understand.
So Levi, who was still, asked him.
“Then why are you telling us this? I don’t think you called us to tell us that.”
“Ha ha ha. Like I said, it’s just small talk. It would be nice to say that the atmosphere was relaxed and chattering.”
Shrigel got to the point.
“What I meant to say is nothing special. Even though the monsters have been subdued because of these rumors and other things recently, the atmosphere in the city is disturbed.”
At that, Levi laughed cynically.
“Oh, as far as I know, the biggest reason this city is in trouble is because of the political power struggle between you and the baron.”
“Oh, what are you saying! I’m just giving the branch manager some funds. It’s not like I’m stepping out.”
Even with that statement, Levy didn’t seem to believe it at all. The branch manager alone would not be able to confront the city’s owner.
Obviously, a tense confrontation is possible because Iza and his merchants support the branch manager.
Shrigel made a gesture of wiping away sweat and said in a confused tone.
“hahahaha, it seems you already know this to some extent. So, let’s not say anything more, but be direct. Won’t you stand by our side?”
As expected, Sean and Levy both said something that they expected to some extent.
He must have prepared this place to open up their minds before the banquet begins.
Sean asked at his words.
“Before that, I have a question, can I ask it?”
“Of course, I will answer anything I can.”
“I heard that the owner of this city is Baron Dios. And he’s a noble. Is it possible that he rebelled?”
As Sean knew, nobility was an absolute guarantee of status. He knew that there was a huge gap between nobles and commoners that could not be bridged by any means.
However, despite Sean’s question, Shriegel did not lose his smile.
He answered the boy’s question.
“First of all, this city of Laes is a bit special.”
“Yes?”
This is how Shriegel’s story began.
As this city, Laes, is called the city of adventure, the situation and resulting structure were different from other cities.
Monsters keep attacking Laes, and Laes has practically become a city on the front line to prevent the invasion of monsters.
And the king granted Laes de facto autonomy. Thanks to that, the city of Laes became a free city.
But in the end, nonetheless practically, this city belongs to the kingdom. Therefore, the king prepared a system.
In order to prevent dictatorship and the resulting rebellion, it was made to be ruled by several people, not just one.
In this way, the special system unique to Laes is the parliament.
Of course there were councils elsewhere, but the council here was a bit different.
There are a total of three presidents in Laes, and they cannot carry out any agenda independently.
And among the three, Dios, the only nobleman, was nominally wearing the title of the owner of the city.
Originally, the three of them should keep each other in check and match the power of power, but two of the council presidents, Shriegel and Dordan, joined hands.
It is because Baron Dios seized and shook the power of the city at will under the name of the owner of the city and under the pretext of subduing the monsters.
Now that all the monsters have been subdued, once the banquet is over, the justification will belong to Shriegel and Dordan. Now that there are no monsters, the dictatorship that has been practiced so far will come to an end.
They planned to arrest Dios right after the banquet. Of course, Dios wouldn’t just watch it. That’s why he’s making mercenaries, including the Silent Wolf, his subordinates.
The war is near. The names have each other.
One side dismisses it as a rebellion to usurp power, while the other justifies it as a revolution to set justice right.
Who is right?
It’s simple.
All history always belongs to the victors.
The shadow over Laes is also the moment someone wins.
The curtain will come to an end.