Episode 571 Variable (1)
Ray took the people who were caught alive and headed to the village.
I feel uncomfortable when I see them who used to fall on flat ground because they couldn’t even walk properly.
“Hey there…”
The half-elf, who had been chattering, called out.
“Why… us…?”
I wonder why he was saved.
Perhaps he was afraid that he would be taken alive by other bandits.
Ray took off his robe and smiled at him.
“Don’t worry. The place you will arrive is a safe place.”
“Yes…”
Even so, they couldn’t be relieved easily.
How could he believe a single word he had heard for the first time when he had been in the wild?
I felt that the eyes filled with doubt and anxiety were carefully examining me.
The female orcs did the same.
The women obeyed him well, but when he spoke, he would be surprised.
‘I’m surprised every time I hear your voice.’
At this level, it is definitely post-traumatic stress disorder.
Thinking about treatment, Ray shook his head.
Even a small stress will feel like a big event for them.
Just as burnt skin is easily damaged by weak stimuli.
There were people who were more suited to their treatment than he was.
Normally, there is a way to readjust the imbalance of brain function through the regulation of neurotransmitters and hormones, but it would be better for them to treat slowly and naturally over time.
‘It would be better to combine supportive therapy and cognitive therapy in a comfortable environment.’
Thinking of them, Ray chose the wide path rather than going down the mountain slope.
It took a little while, but by the time dawn broke, we were able to reach the village.
The villagers, who had been trembling with anxiety for fear that bandits would come, welcomed Ray when they saw him.
“You have returned safely! We only knew that you would be defeated!”
At that, Ray laughed.
“It’s not to the point of being beaten by bandits.”
“But what about these people…?”
At first glance, they waved their hands at the villagers watching them as if they were wary.
“These are the people who were caught alive. And this.”
Ray, who was talking, opened a large bag.
Then, gold coins, silver coins, and various jewels poured down steadily.
These are the things I took while harvesting wild vegetables.
Although it was not possible to take all the money and goods, even if it was this much, it would not be a problem for the village to live.
Ray said with a friendly smile.
“take it. Since the bandits ripped off something in the meantime, let’s pretend I’m getting it back.”
The villagers’ eyes widened.
I thought I would solve the bandits, but now I didn’t expect to give out gold and silver treasures.
The villagers looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I can’t take it. If a person is shameless, how can he receive help and even covet his benefactor’s gold?”
“That’s right. Let the adventurer reap these treasures.”
“Don’t do this with an outstretched hand. If you don’t take it, I’ll throw it all into the sea.”
Saying so sternly made them feel embarrassed.
It is said that it is thrown into the sea, but it is impossible not to receive it, and it seems that it is not a little bit as a person to accept it casually.
As they were thinking about it, Ray had no choice but to suggest something.
“Then do this. I’ll buy all the horses and carriages in this town. That price is worth it.”
As I spoke and tapped the gold and silver treasures, the villagers groaned and then nodded.
“…All right.”
“Please prepare the horse and carriage immediately.”
“Are you thinking of leaving right away?”
“If you don’t go back soon, there are people who will suspect you.”
At the incomprehensible sound, the villagers tilted their heads.
After the village chief died, the old man, who became the eldest in the village, shouted to the villagers.
“How long are you going to be dumb? Everyone move! Prepare the best carriage and horse for the benefactor!”
At those words, the villagers started to move.
“yes!”
“yes!”
Preparing horses and wagons made the village a little more noisy than before.
The women who were held alive by him were startled.
Ray did not miss any of their movements.
What part are you surprised by?
What sounds are you most startled by?
What is the level of stress you are under?
Ray, who was carefully examining them, let out a small sigh.
‘It’s serious.’
It didn’t seem like everyday life would be possible until I fixed my post-traumatic stress disorder.
It seemed like it would be better to hurry up and send them to Celia Kingdom.
* * *
Marquis Garen was starting to get impatient.
“Why aren’t you coming?”
At his words, Viscount Mays was equally puzzled.
The time has come slowly.
Even if you stop by the village in the middle and lose your eye, it should be normal time when you arrive.
He pretended to be resolute while hiding his intentions.
“Wait a little longer. Hasn’t it been too much time yet? It will surely arrive today or tomorrow.”
“What if the count leaves at this rate? How will the nobles of the royal capital view us?”
“Even if his personality is a bit angular, he is not a person who will break the contract. It seems like a trivial quarrel broke out in the village.”
Despite repeated attempts by Viscount Mace to reassure him, Marquis Garen’s expression still did not improve.
Rather, he muttered with a more serious face.
“no. Something is wrong.”
“What are you talking about?”
“viscount. Didn’t you tell me to look for the knights before?”
“It was.”
Viscount Mace readily agreed.
Then, Marquis Garen said with a slightly firmer face.
“I obviously sent the knights to scare the count’s soldiers a little. But these guys just disappeared. I didn’t take it seriously, but now that I think about it, something is definitely going wrong. Doesn’t it seem that things that harm the count are disappearing one after another?”
At those words, Viscount Mace also thought.
First, the knights sent with the intention of suppressing the count’s soldiers.
The second was the financial danger that befell the Count.
By the third time, Deron, the sword of destruction, had disappeared.
The first can be dismissed as purely coincidental, but if it happens two or three times in a row, it is by no means a coincidence.
The complexion of Viscount Mace, who grasped the situation, also darkened like the Marquis.
“That means…”
“…yes. It means that there is a force escorting the count in the dark.”
They knew one, and the other didn’t.
It would be natural.
How could anyone think that one person would have solved all the dangers facing the Count?
The two thought that there must be some kind of force.
Then who is it?
Who the hell is the force that saved Count Sylvester from danger and, if that wasn’t enough, laid the foundation for a reversal?
Viscount Mace opened his mouth again.
“…There are traitors among the central nobility, or there are forces that the previous king raised in the dark. I can only think of those two right now.”
“Umm…”
Marquis Garen drooled.
Neither of them can be underestimated.
If it was a force enough to revive Count Sylvester.
The traitor of the central nobility would be a person with more than one’s own title, and if it were a force secretly cultivated by the previous king, it would have considerable prestige.
What’s more, the fact that he was raised in cancer is even more frightening.
Since there is no known information, we cannot respond.
He had just tried to reassure Marquis Garen, but now he has changed his mind.
“Now it doesn’t matter whether Count Sylvester goes to the capital alive or dead. If we don’t find out what forces are escorting the Count in the dark, there is a risk that the central nobility will collapse in a big way.”
“Know. But isn’t there a way?”
“no. There is any way they will look.”
At Viscount Mace’s words, the Marquis of Garen looked at him as if wondering.
“How can you see the forces moving in hiding?”
“Think carefully. Haven’t we had three chances to know of their existence so far?”
At his words, the Marquis of Garen also nodded, saying ‘Ah’, as if he had thought of something.
“That means… the more you drive Count Sylvester into a corner, the more the forces from the shadows will inevitably emerge, right?”
“Exactly that.”
Certainly it is.
If Count Sylvester is in danger, he has no choice but to show himself as a force to protect him.
If we learn about their existence little by little, we will come up with a method.
Viscount Mace suddenly said with a serious face.
“But you have to be extra careful. We still don’t know how much power they have, and we don’t know where they might be hiding. This can be dangerous if you do it wrong.”
“Cluck. They’re the ones who use dragons for the count, but that’s all there is to it. If you can reveal your identity, the central aristocrats won’t leave you alone.”
If they were a force that threatened them, they would definitely want to get rid of it.
Whether it was an organization that the previous king set up in the dark or a traitor to the central nobility.
“Anyway, it would be better to make a plan before Count Sylvester reaches the royal capital.”
“Why don’t you lightly poison the food? I need to know how far that force can go. It would be great if the count died in the process. cluck cluck.”
“It probably won’t end that easily. But it looks like it might be worth experimenting with. Hehehe.”
Viscount Mays laughed sullenly.
No matter how secretive it may be, it will show itself if the count continues to face danger.
If you simply compare the forces, their landslide victory.
No matter what anyone says, they are a force that has a large number of central nobles.
‘Heh heh. count. It’s a pity. After all, you are destined to die.’
Viscount Mace raised the teacup.
He predicted their victory.
But in the end, there was something he didn’t know.
In other words, one person was actually doing what they thought was some kind of force.
