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𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 (7)
“Indeed, His Excellency is very merciful. As a monotheist, if you want to show compassion, wouldn’t it be enough to just cut out their tongue and gouge out their eyes?”
“. . .?”
Johan grimaced slightly at the knight next to him who spoke as if it were a matter of course. What was more ridiculous was that the other knights were nodding their heads as if it made perfect sense.
Having one’s tongue burnt and eyes gouged out while sparing their life was still considered light punishment compared to the charges.
“No. . . I have no such intentions.”
“Then could Your Excellency be considering exile instead? That wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
This time, another knight spoke up. Exile meant stripping them of all their assets and slaves before banishing them. It was practically telling them to go die outside.
Suetlg signaled Johan, asking if he could step in. Johan nodded, as if to say please do.
“Young knights. Why do you think so narrowly?”
“Suetlg-gong. What have we judged incorrectly?”
“When the Count entered the city gates, what did he declare?”
“. . .?”
The knights in the room looked at Suetlg in puzzlement.
“Did he not say he would respect the honorable surrender of the city residents and refrain from shedding the blood of innocents?”
“But they’re not innocent!”
“How can they be innocent when they harbored evil intentions?”
Once branded a sinner, it was much easier to get entangled further. Although a noble status usually helped shield against ordinary crimes, in cases like these, it only dragged them down. It was very suspicious.
“I understand what you’re saying, Suetlg-gong.”
The oldest knight among the Empire’s spoke up. Seeing that, Suetlg felt a slight relief.
“It is God who separates the sinners. You mean to say they should be executed in the presence of the Bishop to bear witness?”
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
Johan and Suetlg were at a loss for words. Absurd as it was, the knight’s argument was more logical than they had anticipated.
Unlike the priests who had deep faith and acute judgement honed by years of theological studies, the faith of knights and nobles tended to be vague and ambiguous.
For example, thinking of trial by combat, which the clergy frowned upon, as a God-given right was one such case.
What was just said followed similar logic.
First, kill them. If they are innocent, God will stop it!
Moreover, having the Bishop present would make it even more effective. Of course, the Bishop himself would be flabbergasted at being used for such a purpose. . .
‘𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’
“That’s not what it means. His Excellency the Count does not wish to see any more bloodshed.”
“But. . .”
“If we don’t kill guys like them. . .”
“When we can kill them, is there a reason not to?”
‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?’
Johan was suddenly bewildered as he listened.
To begin with, Johan was part of the anti-Emperor faction. And most of those knights were captured pro-Emperor faction knights.
Although the city nobles here weren’t that loyal, they were still closer to the pro-Emperor side first and foremost. Then shouldn’t they be trying to argue for their rescue instead of readily demanding their execution first?
‘𝘋𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. . .’
The reason was simple. Right now, they were speaking not as vassals of the Emperor’s faction but as virtuous knights.
They may have been defeated by Johan but that was an honorable defeat. To them, Johan was a respected opponent worth acknowledging as a knight. The noble leading the charge at the frontlines was an exemplar to knights.
On the other hand, the schemes concocted by the city nobles were cowardly ambushes, so it was only natural for them to immediately call for executions regardless of the balance of power.
Suetlg argued desperately with the knights, citing all sorts of old tales and monotheist virtues until they finally nodded their heads.
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The proposal to cover up the matter that would ruin several families by sacrificing assets was a proposal that was hard to expect even from a very generous noble. Any decent person gets violent when it comes to matters involving his life.
Those who were caught could not believe Johan’s proposal at first, and then hastily accepted it for fear that he might change his mind.
Adviko wanted to take this opportunity to kill them, but did not dare say it out loud.
In the meantime, Johan made efforts to handle the magical power he obtained from Beltazen.
“Is it going well?”
“It feels similar to a malevolent spirit. It should get better once tamed.”
Johan, who had unexpectedly summoned Suetlg and even Jyanina to ask for opinions.
Why did Beltazen’s power disappear and come to Johan?
After a long discussion, the three concluded that it had flowed into the one closest by because Beltazen had broken the taboo he had sworn.
“Although I shouldn’t say this in front of the believers. . . I sometimes wonder if the miracles the priests show are not the power of spirits or malevolent spirits.”
“I think so too.”
Jyanina broke into a cold sweat at the unscrupulous conversation between the two wizards. She could not believe that even the count was talking like that.
Even now, if she goes outside, the priests of the order in the city are praising Johan’s name and handing out bread and alcohol to the poor. . .
“The problem is that this malevolent spirit is a bit. . .”
“Let’s not call it a malevolent spirit.”
There was no need to offend the spirit. Johan nodded and said,
“This spirit has a weird personality.”
“In what way?”
“Just attaching a small piece of iron causes intense resistance.”
“I see. . .”
Suetlg laughed. He knew how Johan had subdued Valkalmur, so it was a laugh that came out. It was also the most chattering gossip when meeting other wizards.
Not knowing the circumstances, Jyanina asked as if it were natural.
“Isn’t it natural to adapt to the spirit’s rules when dealing with spirits?”
“. . .?”
“Jyanina is right. Originally, dealing with spirits means acting according to the rules of those spirits. In your case, it was a bit of an exceptional case. . . It seems to be a spirit that hates iron. Is that why you were wearing plain clothes?”
Johan had taken off his usual armor and was only wearing plain clothes. He wondered why, and it turned out it was to appease the spirit.
“I think you can tame it more. . . So what brings us here?”
Johan stopped taming the spirit and put on his clothes. The mystery that was going around the room disappeared as it was.
“The pursuit team I sent has returned.”
Although Beltazen died from his injuries, he kept his promise before he died. Unlike his shabby appearance, the guy was a priest of Teshuka.
It was fortunate that there were no other priests hiding in the city, but the mercenaries who were empowered by him fled quickly. There were many others besides the rogue from the Lizarek family who were enthralled by Beltazen’s power and entered into a contract. They fled towards the Empire, so catching them was virtually impossible.
“That’s fine. I didn’t expect much anyway. They’re not even in the city, and those mercenary guys won’t be able to do anything.”
The reason Johan was concerned about the remnants was because they had dabbled in magic. If they were ordinary mercenaries, they would try to flee at the prospect of fighting a count, but mercenaries who had dabbled in magic were a different story.
They would act according to the magic they had contracted with, not their own lives or profits.
’𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’
“And um. . .”
“?”
“A messenger came from the expedition to the mountain range.”
“Oh. The suppression must be over. Good.”
Johan was glad. Although the nobles on the religious order side were recklessly seeking glory without listening to words properly, it wasn’t a bad thing for them to go on an expedition to suppress the monsters in the mountains.
Thanks to being generously forgiving the city nobles, all kinds of gratitude and appreciation were already being received, and if the suppression was over, the atmosphere in the city might change completely.
“Um. . .”
“?”
As Suetlg couldn’t continue speaking, Johan was starting to get angry.
Could it be. . .
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Although He wanted to get angry after seeing the messenger with a battered body wearing ragged clothes that looked like patches, his anger disappeared. . .not completely.
‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴?’
That’s the only suspicion he has!
Of course, the messenger had no such suspicious intentions. He had to deliver the message to the Count as soon as possible, so he ran without even having time to tidy himself up.
“There are dozens of knights gathered from all over the peninsula, and more than hundreds of mercenaries skilled in the geography of the mountain range. But you’re telling me now that you need support?”
“I. . . I have nothing more to say, Your Excellency.”
The messenger didn’t dare lift his head at the anger in Johan’s voice. It was even more frightening to see the count, who was rumored to be generous, look like this.
Suetlg glared at him, meaning to calm his anger. Although it was nonsense in this situation, Johan managed to calm down.
“. . .Maybe it’s just bad luck piling up. Tell me the details.”
The expedition that entered inland after crossing the mountain range was active without hesitation. Although Johan swore at them, saying ‘𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦,’ the individual fighting power of the knights could not be ignored.
In addition, the mercenaries gathered around here had a lot of experience crossing mountains. Even if a lot of monsters gathered at once, it would be unlikely for there to be more than a few dozen, not enough to defeat the army.
As things stood, the expedition seemed to have no problems at all, until the ambush happened.
Suddenly, some tribes living in the mountains became furious and sent envoys to the expedition telling them to retreat. When that wasn’t enough, they started attacking.
The expedition was annoyed and tried to fight back, but the tribes entrenched in the mountains were no fools. They cleverly utilized the terrain to corner the expedition and cut off their path, surrounding them. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, the expedition urgently requested support.
“Your excellency, please do not abandon them!”
The bishop pleaded desperately. Not only the nobility of the religious order but also high priests like the sub-bishop participated in the expedition.
Johan swallowed a sigh and opened his mouth. Anyway, since it was something he had to do, he had to at least pretend to do it willingly.
“If I were to abandon the brothers with whom I raised my shield and sword, what meaning would there be in being a knight? Do not worry! I will rush carrying my sword myself!”
The knights who had been captured as prisoners were the first to cheer. The others present looked at the knights with bewildered eyes. Their eyes were asking why they were doing that when they were hostages. It seemed they realized late, as they sat down again with embarrassed expressions.
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“The tribes from the mountain ranges are not violent people. . .”
Suetlg murmured, and some of the dwarf mercenary captains cautiously stepped forward.
“Your Excellency. We dwarves are loyal to Your Excellency. Please allow us to stand at the very front.”
There were many dwarves among the tribes from the mountain ranges, and the dwarf clans were the ones with the closest blood ties among the races.
There would be quite a few among the dwarf tribes from the mountains who are acquainted with these dwarf mercenaries here.
“I have never doubted your loyalty. You may remain where you are.”
“. . .!”
Johan did not doubt the dwarves. Even if he did doubt them, randomly changing their positions would be a foolish thing to do. Where would you find someone who openly declares ‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’?
“What do you think, Joseph?”
“Joseph. His Excellency is asking.”
Galambos, also an Eastern Ranger like Joseph, called out to Joseph. Still not accustomed to things, Joseph awkwardly cleared his throat.
“It doesn’t seem like they charged for no reason. . . Your Excellency.”
After dealing with the nobles, Johan sent some soldiers with Joseph to the merchant house where he was in debt. Compared to the gold coins obtained from the city, Joseph’s debt was a trivial amount. The merchants were so frightened that they didn’t even want to accept the boxes of silver carried in by the Count’s men.
“But did Joseph really teach Your Excellency. . .?”
“Yes. It was a precious connection.”
“Oh my god. If the other Eastern Rangers hear about this, they will be shocked. When else in their lives would they have had the experience of teaching His Excellency the Count?”
Galambos was very surprised. Of course he had learned some hunter techniques when he met a hunter during his time as a wandering knight, but it was surprising that a knight learned techniques from a hunter, and that this connection had come full circle like this.
If it was Galambos himself, he would have chattered about it to every friend he met back in the Eastern Empire, bragging that he had taught the Count before.
Breathing uncomfortably in a very awkward and uncomfortable posture, Joseph inhaled. He was being treated too deferentially now, and it was suffocating.