In some ways, the marquis' mentality was similar to that of a person visiting a zoo. These people looked at the wild beasts locked in cages and called them cute and pitiful. However, it didn't take a genius to recognize that this was arrogance. The only thing those iron bars needed was to disappear. The moment the division between them faded, the humans began to see the true nature of the beast, just as the marquis was doing right now.
Of course, the marquis was different from ordinary people. Despite my aggressive, yet sincere, statement, he only shuddered slightly and quickly regained his composure. It wasn't as if the steel bars had disappeared. He couldn't kill the marquis, and he knew it better than anyone.
«Is that enough answer?» As if my statement were a mere answer to his question, I ended our confrontation with indifference. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see the marquis' proud mask crack. For now, I had no choice but to settle for this.
«Don't worry», replied the marquis. «I understood perfectly what you were trying to convey».
«I'm glad».
This was a warning. He was willing to accept a mutually beneficial relationship, but if he ever crossed the line, he was prepared to break through these bars and charge at him at any moment.
«If I have satisfied your curiosity, now I want to hear the second condition».
«Ah, about that. This is the second condition». The marquis looked at the dragonian woman next to him and then said: «Help Miss Ravien kill the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos».
«The Dragon Slayer...?».
«That's a different reaction than I expected. Did I hear from Mrs. Ravien that you hated that man?»
I mean yes, but this request is really unexpected... I guess you know what happened between the Dragon Slayer and me thanks to that lady?
That made me suddenly wonder: what kind of relationship did the marquis and that dragonian woman have? Since killing the Dragon Slayer was his second condition, that meant that he definitely had some kind of close connection with her. Was it a business relationship?
«Now, will you give me an answer?»
Curiosity arose in me, but it was time to give him my verdict first. After asking one more thing, at least. «Did you make me wait until tomorrow just for this?»
«Mrs. Ravien was not home at the time. I thought it was fair to have this conversation with her present».
Hmm, if you say so.
«Well, I was already planning to kill that bastard with my bare hands someday, anyway.»
«That's all, then.»
«Although I have not yet reached a satisfactory agreement with you on this», I said as I held out my wrist to him.
The marquis laughed. «Let's leave it here for today and meet again tomorrow morning. These days, I have such a hard time the next day if I skip bedtime, even a little».
«...Okay.»
When the conversation came to an end, the marquis got up from his chair and turned around. The dragonian woman placed the chair back in the subspace with the air of someone very familiar with this song and this dance.
«Baronet Yandel, don't be too reckless», the guard warned me in a low voice.
Is it revenge for what I said before?
That was the first thing I thought, but it didn't take me long to realize that wasn't the case.
«If you die again, my sister will be sad».
«Sister? Ah, are you...?»
The dragonian woman neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply turned around and followed the marquis, but that was enough of an answer.
Huh, no wonder his features looked familiar. Penetasaur.
Pen was the dragon shaman and the daughter of the ancient elder dragon, also known as Dragon Kid for short. So this was his older sister, the woman who could have become my teammate.
***
When Eltora Tercerion, the marquis' only daughter, came to, the first thing she saw was her father.
«Are you awake?»
«...I'm sorry». Eltora didn't ask any questions about what had happened. Instead, the first thing he did was apologize.
The response he received in return was cold. «Do you think I waited by your bed all night to hear that? Tell me what happened, down to the last detail».
At her father's words, memories slowly returned to the foreground of Eltora's mind and she gave a brief summary of what happened at midnight. It was not a big deal. He had broken into that man's room following his father's instructions and they immediately grabbed him by the neck and beat him so hard that he fainted before he could even explain himself. That was all.
«Pathetic fool».
Eltora swallowed her humiliation and said nothing. This time, there really was no room for excuses. Then a question occurred to him. «But why did you choose to do it that way? If you wanted to confirm whether it was an evil spirit or not, there must be a safer way...»
At first, he thought it was simply because his father had not wanted to offend Baron Yandel. After all, he saw man as a useful tool. But when he thought about it, the method he had followed was a little strange. No, there had to be another reason.
«Can't you even figure something out for yourself?»
«...Please teach me».
When Eltora bowed her head submissively, the marquis frowned, but answered her question. «The enemy's weakness can only have real value for us if he does not know that we possess it».
«Because we hide weaknesses that have not yet been exposed, but we work hard to fix those that have already been exposed».
«I'm glad you seem to understand that, at least. Then go. I must think».
«Yes, father...» Eltora was limping towards the door, about to follow her father's orders to leave, when she stopped. Suddenly another question came to mind. «Um... Father?»
«If you have something to say, say it quickly».
«You mentioned the enemy's weakness before... Does that mean you have identified Baronet Yandel as your enemy?». It seemed like his father had perhaps revealed his hand by accident.
However, Eltora could not confirm his theory. «That's none of your business. You can leave».
«Yes, father...» When Eltora left her father's office, she went to her bedroom. However, as he did so, his mind made noise.
Baron Yandel is an enemy of the marchioness...
What kind of dark plan was the marchioness hatching? As she contemplated this, Eltora's feet soon stopped in front of her destiny.
Tremor.
For some reason, his fingers were shaking around his key. Although this room was not the same one he had opened before, but the room he had been living in for several years, he had a feeling that the moment he opened this door, he would find a beast sleeping inside. I could even hear her.
«Eltora Tercerion ».
It was a deep, rumbling voice that sent shivers through the listener, along with eyes that seemed to look at you with contempt.
«...I hope you came prepared to die».
He had the strange feeling that if that man wanted to catch him, he wouldn't be able to escape from him no matter what he did. The unpleasant feeling of déjà vu made Eltora instinctively think of another man.
Although it could never be him.
«The first time I came to this community was twenty-two years ago».
Bjorn Yandel wasn't even born then.
«Even Duende would laugh at me if he ever found out about these delusions».
Eltora giggled and shook her head. Then he inserted the key and opened the door.
Clic.
It was the typical nobleman's room decorated with armor, a long sword, and a stuffed deer head on the wall. As always, it was not to his taste at all.
***
The next morning, I met the marquis for breakfast. When I arrived, there were only two people in the dining room where the food was served: the marquis, who was sitting, and the guard of the dragon tribe, behind him.
«Your son?»
«Today he will rest».
Don't those guys usually invite their kids to attend events like this?
The question came to mind, but having fewer people around was better for me anyway. Was he being considered?
«Let's eat».
We started eating and the conversation continued naturally. There was something I had to finish discussing with myself today, the agreement mentioned yesterday.
«If there is anything you want as compensation for our mistake, tell me».
«Before that, I want to check something».
«Forward.»
«How long will it take to get my name back?»
«I think about three months. We have to do it perfectly».
Three months, huh? At first it sounded long, but he was sure the marquis couldn't do much about it. He would have to forge an impeccable paper trail showing that Bjorn Yandel had been given a real mission to infiltrate Noark for two years from start to finish.
«Until then, you have important work to do. If your identity spreads before we are ready, others will become suspicious and initiate their own independent investigations into you.»
«Marquis, can't you stop it?»
«If things come to that, I will do everything I can to prevent something from happening, but I cannot guarantee that the information will not leak. This is the palace. No person is in complete control».
Simply put, unless you were the king and ruler of this country, it was impossible to have complete control over the institutions of the State. It was strange to hear this coming from the man who had the bad reputation of turning the king into a puppet, but it was not out of the question. In reality, the prime minister was nominally the kingdom's second-in-command, but that didn't mean he had no rivals.
A good example was Duke Kealunus. Theirs was a large noble family with a branch of their lineage that controlled the Magic Tower. Historically, they had been actively involved in labyrinth-related businesses and had secured a strong influence over large clans. In fact, the duke's family had much more diverse and broad areas of influence than the marquis' family, whose only influence was the position of prime minister.
«If you understand why it's likely to take so long, I'd like to hear your request now.».
«I want to meet with the shaman of the barbarian tribe.»
«Your reason?»
Why do you ask such an obvious question? Don't you know since you're not a barbarian? There is only one reason for a warrior to meet a shaman.
«To obtain a Spiritual Impression».
For various reasons, my Spiritual Impression had stagnated at stage six. I even bought the supplies needed to get to phase seven, but I couldn't get it before I was suddenly dragged back in time. Luckily, Raven had kept Soul of the Dead as part of her inheritance, so as long as she solved the identity problem, she could receive the imprint.
«As I said before, it will be problematic if your identity is leaked before the preparations are complete...».
I interrupted the marquis. «That's why I ask you to take care of it. So I don't have to worry about it».
«So this is the compensation you want».
«Yeah, I don't know what's going to happen in the maze in the near future, and three months is too long.».
The marquis closed his eyes for a moment and contemplated my request. I figured I had come to the conclusion that increasing my combat power wasn't a bad idea, considering I wanted him to participate in a war. «Okay. I will do what I can to get you a meeting with the shaman in a month».
«That's good». I didn't bother to ask him how he was going to summon the shaman or convince him. The marquis must have been worried about that. Judging by how good he was at doing things, he was sure he would manage.
Grifo.
When we reached an agreement, we had already finished eating. We left the empty plates where they were and continued talking. After all, we still had a lot to talk about.
«You mentioned that you are forming a unit with me at the center. Do you already have something in mind?»
«I am going to form a unit of thirty people».
«So there will be five teams in total. Have you decided who will fill the positions?».
«No, but I have identified some candidates».
The marquis proceeded to list the names of the possible members, and as I listened silently, I was quite surprised. There were many names that even I, someone who was not up to date with the latest news, recognized. A member of the Mighty Seven, an ace of a great clan, a renowned paladin, a promising soldier... Was the marquis trying to form some kind of dream team?
«But will those people really join the unit?».
«They will. Most. Because I plan to promise you a great reward in return».
«...If you say so.» I was wondering if that was really feasible, but seeing as I was so sure, that had to mean it was within the realm of possibility. And so we discussed what would follow.
«Baronet Yandel, you will be in charge of one of the five teams. Among the members of his team will be Mrs. Ravien».
«Then there is room for four more people besides me.»
«You plan to bring those two with you, correct?» It was obvious who he was referring to: Erwen and Amelia.
So he knows about Amelia too. But you don't know he's from Noark, do you?
Although that worried me, I nodded. «I plan to do it».
«So there are only two places left. If you don't have anyone in particular in mind, tell me who you want from the names I mentioned before. I'll be sure to offer you the best deal possible if it means I can get them for you».
Additional members, huh?
The first person that came to mind was Raven. We would need a magician on the team and she lacked neither skills nor reliability. But what about our navigator? I definitely couldn't fill the remaining position with that guy. Should I leave him in the basement until the war was over?
I'll have to discuss it with Amelia later. And I'll have to ask Raven if she's willing to join before mentioning it to the marquis.
After taking a moment to think, I said: «I'll tell you after thinking about it a little more».
«Clear». This is how our conversation today concluded. Or so I thought. Just as I was about to get up, the marquis spoke. «Ah, I have to tell you one more thing. I am not going to set this unit on my own».
«What does that mean?»
«Simply put, that means the interests of many different factions are at stake here. The only thing in my power is to make sure you can command one of the five teams.»
«AND? Where do you want to go?»
«The commander in chief has not yet decided».
In other words, the position of party leader was vacant. «Because?»
The marquis met my gaze head-on. «These are not the type of people who obediently follow orders just because they have come down from above. And even if they do, that doesn't mean their supporters will accept them».
So it was politics. If even the marquis had little to say, I assumed that there were quite a few influential people involved in the creation of this unit. However, it was good news for me. I was beginning to understand what the marquis meant.
«Anyway... We have decided that, once the thirty people have been gathered and the team leaders have been chosen, we will have the candidates who wish to compete to choose the right person. If this unit achieves great things in war, then the person who sponsors the commander in chief will also share many of those achievements.» The marquis stopped for a moment to study my expression. «What do you think, is it feasible?».
This direct question made his intentions very clear. I found myself chuckling. Because it was foolish of him to ask if it was feasible.
«There's no reason it shouldn't be, as long as there are guaranteed rewards».
To be honest, the people you mentioned before were all great ... but I don't think any of them could beat me.