Chapter 65

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: An Unforeseen Connection
-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Riel, are you okay?"

Surprised, I approached the child. Redius, after a quick scan of the surroundings for anything suspicious, walked ahead of me.

The scattered obstacles in the room were cleared away, and Riel looked up at me, wheezing.

"I'm..."

If I said I was Croire Argenta here, the child would have a fit.

"A friend of this uncle."

I answered vaguely. I could feel Redius turn to look at me.

*Shhh.*

I mouthed the word and turned my attention to the child.

"Did you eat anything from today's supply delivery?"

"That..."

The child barely managed to nod.

"I ate some a while ago, and now, my breathing, it feels strange."

I saw her clutch her stomach, saying it hurt too.

"Just a moment, hold on."

I took the child's hand.

Facing a patient, I felt a renewed sense of tension. *Could I do this?*

*No, I have to.*

I focused on the water, the blood, within the child's body.

*I'll drive the toxins from her blood.*

The poison that was tormenting her.

—*Vmmm!*

As I closed my eyes, my mana began to flow into the child's body.

Was it because the child was small, or was my ability stronger than I thought?

Her body, with the blood circulating within, became as clear as if I were looking right inside.

It was only after using my ability that I realized something.

I could access her blood like this because I was touching her and she felt no resistance toward me. No matter how powerful my Alloje ability was, controlling someone's blood from a distance would be difficult.

"Just a little longer."

I patted the back of her hand and concentrated.

—*Shhhhh...*

I tried to recall the sensation of purging the poison from my own body a while back.

I focused on the energy spreading powerfully around her heart, riding a current that felt like a gentle stream of water.

The flow, which had resisted my control, gradually began to respond to my mana.

Finally, as if a blocked passage had been cleared, my mana circulated through the child's body in a swift current.

And with that, it slowly began to purge the poison from her system.

My mana acted as a fine sieve, filtering out the impurities.

"..."

The child's breathing seemed to ease a little.

The impurities would be drawn out through her fingertips.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Redius wiping the child's fingertips with a handkerchief.

"It's that poison."

Redius said quietly. I had successfully removed it.

"...Ah. It doesn't, it doesn't hurt anymore."

The child's eyes widened.

Perhaps from using my power with such precision, a little sweat had beaded on my forehead.

"That's a relief. Where are the things that came on this carriage?"

"They're in the warehouse over there... Why?"

"Because some bad people put something nasty in there."

At my words, the child's eyes widened again.

"Don't tell me, poison?"

She looked to be about six, but she seemed surprisingly familiar with the word poison.

"Yes. Do you happen to know where the warehouse is?"

At my question, the child scampered over and pulled a rope on one side of the room.

—*Clatter.*

Then came the sound of something opening outside the room.

It was clearly connected in a similar way to the mechanism that opened the main gate of the house.

*This doesn't seem like an ordinary house.*

Tilting my head, I headed for the warehouse.

* * *

Only after clearing out the warehouse goods and leaving untainted food did we leave the house.

"Uncle Redius, pretty lady! See you again!"

Riel waved. I waved back at the child and mounted my horse.

We then departed, seen off by the villagers.

"Thank you!"

"That was a close call!"

Gazes filled with relief and gratitude were directed at me.

Lingering there would only make the people uncomfortable, so I quickly headed for the manor.

Once we were some distance from the village, I had the maids help me fix my hair ornament again.

As they did, I looked back at Sir Redius.

"I didn't realize you knew the villagers so well."

I knew he was particularly close with the manor's servants.

But to know the villagers one by one...

But at my words, Redius shook his head as if to correct a misunderstanding.

"I only know Riel's family well. The sisters in that house have had a hard time since their father died."

Sisters? Was there another daughter besides Riel?

"But their burdens have lightened."

"What about the other daughter?"

"She works at the manor."

Redius answered my question immediately.

*She's a servant at the manor?*

*Who could it be?* As I wondered, I suddenly recalled the complex devices inside the house.

"Don't tell me all the devices in that house were..."

"Yes, the first daughter made them."

Redius smiled.

I tilted my head, then suddenly remembered the clearing I saw when leaving the house.

A place connected to several devices, where the ground was packed with footprints.

It didn't take long to realize that the spot, with its marks of someone repeatedly treading in one place, resembled the knights' training grounds.

"The clearing there, then."

"Riel and many of the young people in that village train there."

Redius explained.

"I thought the northwest village was a place where the families of Argenta members who lost their lives or were severely injured in battle gathered."

"Yes. And they are also people who wish to be used as military forces in times of emergency."

I knew that as well, but.

"Do even the children think that way?"

I could understand those who had just lost family to monsters taking up the sword in Argenta's name.

But it was unexpected for even the children, who would be somewhat removed from the pain of that loss, to wish to become Argenta.

"Yes. Because they know how important the power to protect themselves is."

My eyes met Redius's.

"Then..."

I looked back at the village. Riel would probably resume her training at that ground once she recovered.

"That place will need supplies, then."

"Fresh supplies will have already arrived. It may be a small amount, but they'll be able to hold out for a while."

Redius said, as if to reassure me.

But I shook my head.

"Not food. The items those people need."

The Shadow Supply. Something for those who had dedicated themselves to Argenta.

I had found Argenta's Shadow Supply very impressive.

Because I knew how difficult it was in this world of social statuses to treat people with faith and humanity.

But Argenta had never neglected the Shadow Supply, no matter how difficult the times.

In turn, those who received the supply pledged their loyalty to Argenta once more.

But it shouldn't end there.

I believed we had to repay the loyalty they offered in return.

That was why I had been reading the Shadow Supply documents in my spare time.

I wanted to let the people who pledged their loyalty know that Diello and I fully recognized them.

I wanted to show them that their loyalty reached us not as mere numbers, but as a bond between people.

To do that.

"I'd like to have a small training ground built in that village. It would also be good to let knights who need leave and are willing to take on the task of training the people there."

At my words, Redius's eyes widened.

I said to him.

"Giving people what they truly need. I believe that's the real meaning of the Shadow Supply. What do you think?"

Redius's mouth fell slightly open.

Then, he slowly bowed his head.

"You are right, my lady."

After a moment of silence, he continued.

"My lady, you are wise and strong, but more than anything..."

*Huh? Is it suddenly praise time?*

As I blushed in embarrassment, Redius spoke with a moved expression.

"You are a warm person. No matter what anyone says, you are a true Argenta."

In truth, I had only done what was natural.

I wasn't one of them, and I had to prove my worth during my stay here.

But why did this recognition feel so warm right now?

I felt his gaze had become even softer than before.

Just like when he looked at the villagers. Or at Diello.

Redius gave a silent bow, his face filled with even deeper loyalty.

"I will give the order to prepare it."

* * *

"If these had been distributed as they were, everyone would have suffered."

This incident was, in a word, a malicious prank. I narrowed my eyes.

The Argenta member burning the food supplies in front of me looked relieved.

"I figured there was a reason they bothered to leave the supplies behind."

It must have been a plan to divert the attention of the military forces by making the families of the frontline Argenta members slightly ill.

The Argenta member handling the goods looked at me with renewed respect.

"The smoke is drifting. It would be best if you kept more of a distance."

"This poison isn't toxic when burned without water anyway."

Still, the Argenta member treated me with even greater deference, suggesting I should step back.

"So it wasn't the work of bandits after all."

I had it investigated just in case, but they said the poison wasn't found in the supplies of other caravans that had bought the same groceries from the same store.

It was only in our carriage. Meaning, they stuffed it in and ran.

And the intelligence department found a clue while tracing the poison's route of entry.

I heard the news that evening.

It was while I was handling duties in place of Diello, who was busy with work and hadn't yet returned.

The one who organized the informant's report and handed it to me was Pielle.

"This is..."

"The poison's entry route always included a river or a body of water. It seems they handed it off to the bandits quickly and left."

A body of water. If so, there was only one answer.

The culprits were people who could move quickly on water.

Cartiel could also make boats move quickly by conjuring wind, but not as fast as Alloje.

More importantly, Cartiel didn't have the capacity to be causing trouble right now.

"It's Alloje."

At my words, Pielle seemed to be observing me quietly.

I looked up at her.

"Yes. However..."

After a moment's hesitation, she asked.

"I heard that you visited the northwest village today."

I blinked at her words.

"That's right. A child named Riel was poisoned."

Pielle was silent for a moment. Then she asked cautiously.

"...Is the child all right now?"

I looked up at Pielle at that.

Her eyes, always cool, were the same now.

But Pielle wasn't one to ask her master such a question.

*Is she concerned about the child?*

*Or...*

I suddenly pictured the child, Riel.

The way she smiled so prettily. The corners of her eyes that lifted coyly like a cat's whenever she smiled...

"...Ah."

I looked up at Pielle.

*She looks just like Pielle, doesn't she?*