Chapter 122 – Be patient to save properly.
Chapter 120
Let’s investigate ourselves?
“Is it related to the third method?”
“Yes.”
“What is the method?”
Estelle looked at me for a while without saying a word, then she smiled and said.
“It is a way to expel the current duke and establish a new duke.”
“…Yes?”
What?
“If we put together the change magic stone distribution case, it will be possible to deprive us of the title. If the head of the household is succeeded by his son, not the current duke, then the hero’s worries will disappear.”
So… You’re trying to create a situation like ‘I’m inheriting the title, father’?
“But Elfriede is a warrior, and Elena is not an adult. Isn’t it difficult to inherit the title?”
“There’s one more.”
“Yes?”
Do you have another brother?
“I know that the eldest son of the family, that is to say, Hero Elfriede’s younger brother is currently studying in the Kingdom of Minerva.”
“Yes?”
You’re studying abroad in the kingdom of Minerva? Suddenly, a certain school comes to mind. The one Chloe went to…
“The Royal Magic Academy. I am a student there.”
“Really?”
“I will find a way to contact Young master at school through the Athenian temple. So, we should finish the investigation without being noticed by the duke.”
Estel pointed at the gang leading the cart.
“Shall we chase it?”
“Now? If you’re going to expel the duke, you can’t go after him right now.”
“You have to figure out where you are hiding so you can come next time, right?”
“Ah.”
That’s right.
“Shall we follow carefully?”
“If you go down an alley like that, you’ll get caught right away.”
“So what?”
Estel quietly put her hand on my chest. And infused her divine power.
《 Solaria’s Blessing 》
What a blessing all of a sudden? When I looked at her, not knowing her intentions, Estelle pointed at her self and said.
“Hold me and go upstairs.”
“Above?”
“Yes, over there.”
The place Estelle pointed to was the tall roof of a building. You want to go up there?
“Won’t it stand out?”
“It’s okay because Abel’s speed, which has been blessed, will not be seen by ordinary people.”
“…Is that so?”
On the roof. It was definitely a route that I could pursue without being noticed by them. I happen to be doing parkour.
If I were to walk on her roof with her Estelle, I had to hug her.
“Then excuse me.”
“Yes. Oh, you can’t just touch it. I will scream~♡”
…You touched it a while ago?
After Estelle’s joke, I placed my hands on her shoulders and thighs. And I lifted it with all my might.
“Wow!”
“Hold tight.”
From noble mtl dot com.
After getting Estelle’s arms around my neck, I kicked the floor with both legs, strengthened with blessing. After a short run, I jumped up strongly and landed on the roof of the building at once.
“Estel, please find them.”
“There it is. It’s the alley on the left.”
The Estelle held by me was pointing to her left. As he said, I could see the guys I had seen pulling the cart and wriggling around.
“I’ll follow you slowly.”
“Yes, please.”
Following them, I crossed a roof with different heights. It really feels like parkour…
At that time, Estelle, who was still in her arms, spoke to me with a slightly raised corner of her mouth.
“Abel, don’t keep touching my butt. This pervert♡”
“I didn’t touch it!? Are you sure you’re leaving?”
“Ah, that can’t be done. I don’t like high places.”
“…That is absurd.”
…You asked to come up.
“Abel, look over there.”
“Yes?…Uh.”
A group of people pulling a cart stopped in front of a wall and looked around. Seeing that, I remembered the time when I wiped out the same group as them in Athens.
“…Even then, there was a door in that wall-like place.”
“I see there. Abel, remember the roof right here.”
“…I’m not confident.”
“This goldfish hero♡ What are you doing if you can’t remember that too~?”
“Then Estelle remembers.”
“I already remembered. But where’s the guarantee that I’ll come with you next time? Abel should use her mediocre memory to the fullest to remember it ♡”
“…Yeah.”
I figured out the geography by the surrounding buildings. At 11 o’clock, you can see the roof of the inn building…
“Ah, I can remember with that.”
“Yes?”
“I thought it would be convenient to remember the Bathory mansion seen from here.”
I saw the Bathory family mansion from this side. From this side, the gymnasium is clearly visible. After watching that, Estelle tilted her head slightly and said,
“Abel, can you see that?”
“Yes?…Yes, I can see it?”
“…That’s strange. No matter how much the divine absorber constitution is, the change is too big.”
“A Divine Absorber?”
What is that?
Estelle looked at me quietly and then quietly talked to me.
“…Abel’s hearing got better and her body got faster. She probably does because Abel has the constitution to absorb her divine power.”
“Huh?”
Was it like that? Somehow, after receiving divine protection, it felt like my body suddenly sped up.
“If you receive divine power, it refers to those who remain in the body, and when it accumulates, the body is permanently improved.”
“…That’s why Estelle’s body suddenly sped up after I received her protection.”
“You heard the sound of a brook suddenly heard outside the forest, right?”
“Oh, I did.”
Yeah, I thought something was strange. I wondered if I had hallucinations because no one else heard it except me.
I guess that’s why I can see Bathory’s mansion from here.
“…Honestly, even if it is a constitution that absorbs divine power, it feels like it changes too quickly.”
“Isn’t that nice?”
“…Well, there’s nothing wrong with Abel because he’s a hero. Divine Absorbers also have limitations. I heard that if too much divine power accumulates in the body, it becomes a toxin.”
“Ah…”
Yes, too much of anything is not good.
“Abel, go in there.”
“As expected, this seems to be the right place. Then what shall we do now?”
“For now…Let’s go back to Bathory Mansion.”
“What should I do if I distribute metamorphic stones in the meantime?”
“But I can’t help it.”
Can’t help it?
“If we assume the duke is involved in this, he might get suspicious if we leave the mansion too long. Then they might disappear before we even investigate.”
“Um…”
In that case, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“Then, shall we go back to the mansion?”
“Yes, I would prefer that.”
“Okay, then…”
As I was about to climb over the roof, I turned my head slightly. I heard the gangsters coming out again. But they weren’t the only ones out there.
“Estel, that…”
“…Ha, Duke Bathory. You are much bolder than I thought.”
The strangers they brought out. They were shackled around their necks, ankles and wrists, and all were dressed in shabby clothes.
I looked at it and frowned.
“…Are you a slave?”
“Yes, I see…”
I know that the world in this novel I possess is a fantasy set in the Middle Ages. So, of course, there must be slaves.
But I have never seen slaves in this country. What can be inferred from that is…
“Slaves in the Kingdom of Vesta, not in another country. Even Duke Batory would not allow this in the kingdom.”
…The Kingdom of Vesta must be abolishing slavery. Estelle told her story, as I guessed, and I asked her.
“Does Vesta not have slavery?”
“It is not found in the kingdom of Minerva or the kingdom of Apollo. On the Gaia continent, only three countries have abolished slavery. Among them, the Kingdom of Vesta is a country with a particularly strong resistance to slavery, so if you get caught, it would be a really big problem…”
“Why is that?”
“Because the founding father of the Kingdom of Vesta was a former war slave of the Mars Empire.”
“Ah.”
Unlike now, it was said that the Mars Empire enjoyed its heyday in the past. Was the kingdom of Vesta established by slaves of the empire at that time…
“But why would a duke condone the slave trade even at such a risk? Honestly, that’s too risky.”
No matter how much we assume that the duke is a power-crazy man, he’s rather power-mad, so he’ll try to avoid anything that’s too dangerous for him.
From Estelle’s nuance, it seemed that the slave trade was a more serious crime than the metamorphosis stone trade. That power is so precious that the author who tried to sell out even her daughter condones something that could bring her downfall in an instant?
“Do slaves make that much money?”
“Money is good. However…No matter how big the profit is, the risk is too great, as Abel said.”
Estelle muttered as she stared at the people being dragged away.
“…Maybe not a slave.”
“Yes?”
So…You’re saying you’re doing that by catching commoners?
“For now, let’s finish here. I feel sorry for them, but…”
“Are you not looking for those people?”
“Abel, if you touch them now, the chance that the duke will notice them increases. Make sure to bring down the duke, so there won’t be any more victims like that. I can also help the hero Elfriede and Princess Elena that you wish for.”
…Then leave it as it is?
“Think of it as a springboard for that.”
“…Are you saying we need to sacrifice a few for the bigger picture?”
“They are not going to die, Abel.”
“…I heard you might not be a slave. And even slaves shouldn’t exist in this kingdom in the first place.”
Estelle came out quietly and met her eyes. Then she sighed and she said.
“Be patient, Abel. In order not to mess things up, you also have to learn to be patient. Perhaps they will never die.”
“They said that a warrior must save someone. He can save the many but not the few….”
“Be patient to save properly.”
“…Yes?”
Estel scolded me in a serious voice.
“You have to save it properly. Even if you try to find it awkwardly, the same thing will only happen again. That’s not something a warrior would do. To get things right and to be sure to save these people, be patient.”
“…….”
“Stop going back to the mansion. And we seek advice from Hero Elfriede and Princess Elena.”
“…Yes?”
“To use this method, of course, they need their consent and cooperation. You might object to the ousting of your father, the Duke of Bathory. If you object, even if the duke is punished for our accusations, his power will not be eradicated. We need the consent of the two princesses to root out that power and completely overthrow the duke.”
Estelle said she said that and she said in a way that she was sorry for me.
“You may feel guilty, but listen to me. Feel free to pass the responsibility on to me. Because I told you to.”
“…I don’t do that.”
I eventually agreed with Estelle’s words. As she said, it was to oust Duke Bathory, the most powerful person in the Kingdom of Vesta, not a merchant.
You need to be careful.
#
The next day, I went to the training ground early in the morning. Of course, it was because of Elfriede’s swordsmanship instruction. In addition to receiving swordsmanship instruction, I was thinking of meeting Elfriede and discussing yesterday’s incident.
Today I am not alone, Estelle came with me. Estelle looked at me with a slightly worried look.
“Are you still not feeling well?”
“Yes?…No. Are you okay. I got it too.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
Estelle walked silently for a while, then she gave me a cheeky eye smile and said,
“I was going to comfort you if you were still sullen like a steamed-up girl♡”
“…Heh heh.”
I haven’t heard that word in a long time. I stroked Estelle’s hair once and said.
“I’m really fine.”
“…Okay. After today’s swordsmanship instruction and talking with the princesses, let’s investigate in earnest.”
“Yes, I am.”
As we talked, we were already approaching the gymnasium. I was about to greet Elfriede as usual, but I noticed something strange and hesitated.
“Abel, did you have a good day yesterday? Today, I am with Saint Estelle.”
“Elfriede, that cheek…”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind.”
The cheeks of Elfriede, who was waiting for me at the gymnasium, were red and swollen. As if something hit her hard.