Chapter 175: |
Chapter 175
Originally, it was Raymond who was supposed to receive the Borison estate, but this changed when he became a candidate for the lordship.
If he had received the Borison estate as originally planned, he would have been completely ruined.
‘Anyway, we have to stop mining magic stones right now!’
Raymond quickly contacted the lord of Borison Estate.
The lord of Borison Estates was the Count Trenby.
But Count Trenby reacted unexpectedly.
-Stop the mining? Don’t make me laugh.
Raymond’s instructions were refused.
Count Trenby.
He was the leading figure among the lords who rebelled against Raymond.
A character who dreams of driving out Raymond and becoming a vassal in the future.
As such, he showed strong opposition to Raymond’s instructions.
-Where is the evidence that such a toxic substance came from the magic stone mine in this territory?
“Considering various circumstances, the most likely source is the magic stone mine in your territory.”
-So, where is the evidence?
Count Trenby said ominously.
-To shut down the magic stone mine, the lifeline of this territory, without any evidence. How reckless.
There was a reason why Count Trenby was acting like this now.
First, the backlash against Raymond.
Besides that, there were also practical reasons.
‘If we close the magic stone mine, the Borison estate will be completely ruined.’
The Borison Estate is a territory with absolutely nothing except for the magic stone mine.
It wasn’t even as good as a small estate.
‘Besides, there must have been money invested to build the magic stone mining facility, so there’s no way he can back out.’
Mining magic stones isn’t just about digging up the stone with a shovel.
A large-scale magical facility was required.
Given the nature of the magic tower, it is clear that it would have cost a huge amount of money to install, so if the mining of magic stones were to stop, Count Trenby would go bankrupt.
‘…Somehow I feel a little sorry for him.’
Raymond cleared his throat.
Just imagining that he could have ended up in that situation was chilling.
‘But I still can’t leave it alone.’
If left unchecked, toxic substances will continue to pollute the Hale River.
In the worst case, the river could die completely.
‘It’s okay for now. But as time goes by, the river may not be able to recover.’
Then, the territories through which the Hale River flows would become dead lands. Considering the far downstream areas, there would be a total of six territories.
“Considering the time and location of the onset of the disease, it is highly likely that the magic stone mine is the cause. Once you stop mining magic stones…”
But Count Trenby simply replied:
– Bring evidence. I will not follow unfounded recommendations.
Raymond eventually had no choice but to speak stiffly.
“Count Trenby, I am now the royal delegate acting on His Majesty’s behalf. To disobey my orders is to disregard His Majesty’s authority”
-… … .
Count Trenby bit his lips as if he could not even ignore that threat.
-Okay, then. I’ll contact the tower.
“…What did you say?”
-I can’t trust you. I’ll formally request an inspection from the Magic Tower. If anything is found to be abnormal, the mine will be shut down.
And then the communication was cut off.
‘He wants it to get inspected at the Magic Tower?’
Raymond made a troubled face.
‘It’s going to take too long?’
At least two weeks.
It was the expected time for the magician of the magic tower to arrive.
This is because a professional wizard in the field, not a haphazard one, must come from far away.
Even if he comes really quickly, it will take more than ten days.
Raymond couldn’t just sit back and wait until then.
‘We need to find evidence before that. That the magic stone mine is the cause.’
But if Count Trenby came out like that, it would be difficult to directly investigate the magic stone mine.
‘We need to get the evidence in another way.’
Fortunately, there was a way to obtain evidence without having to investigate the magic stone mine.
Raymond looked at the map.
Kennel Mountains.
If he investigate the epidemiology around the Borison estate where the magic stone mine is located, he will be able to obtain evidence.
* * *
But there was a problem.
The Kennel Mountains is dangerous.
It wasn’t a place where people didn’t live for nothing.
People only lived around the Borison Estate where the mines were located, and the rest was a magical realm teeming with monsters.
‘What should I do if I encounter a monster while conducting an epidemiological survey?’
Raymond, being the timid person he is, was suddenly scared.
Even the people around him fueled his fear.
“You must be careful, my lord! The depths of the Kennel Mountains are a dangerous place! If my lord gets hurt, this old man’s heart will break! Oh, sob, tears!”
Mevinson shed tears as if he was looking for a place where Raymond would die.
“I will serve you with my life, my lord! I will sacrifice my life to ensure that not a single fingertip of yours is harmed!”
Elmud shouted resolutely as if he were going to a battlefield where he would die.
‘Be quiet! It’s scarier if you say it like that!’
Raymond cried out inwardly.
‘Uh… Is there no other way?’
But Christine Hanson said this.
“Sir Elmud, please take good care of our Master. I want to stop you…I don’t think you’ll listen anyway.”
“That’s right. The Master is someone who would go through hellfire for the sake of his patients. There is no other way than for Sir Elmud to protect him.”
“Master, you are a patient fool!”
These were the disciples who took it for granted without even asking Raymond.
‘No, you idiots?!’
Raymond frowned, but they prepared to explore on their own.
Elmud organized an escort squad, Christine prepared the necessary research equipment, and Hanson packed a beef lunch box to eat during the expedition.
In the meantime, Raymond found himself standing at the entrance to the Kennel Mountains.
‘…Do I really have to go up?’
Raymond swallowed hard.
The mountain range was covered with dark trees. It felt as if a monster would jump out at any moment.
‘Damn, I hate dangerous things. When will I ever stop suffering like this?’
He lets out a deep sigh and made a promise.
I will definitely become a lord and be rewarded for my hard work!
‘’They will definitely give me the best wealth and honor in return for all my hard work!’
* * *
Christine, Hanson, and Lindon decided to stay behind to treat the patients while the other disciples and knight escorts followed him.
Raymond, who had started exploring, hurried as much as possible.
‘Let’s finish the exploration as quickly as possible before we meet the monster.’
There were about 10 escort knights. There was a risk that if too many people were to accompany them, they would provoke the monsters.
Instead, he made sure to make the most of his elite force. With 10 of the most elite knights, they wouldn’t be a match for any monsters, but the cowardly Raymond was anxious just by entering the Demon Realm.
‘Let’s hurry up and do it.’
Fortunately, his stamina stat went up, so he had no trouble climbing the mountain.
Raymond looked at the stat window.
[Stats]
Stamina: 78
Sense: 70
Here, the 10 points are from the stat bonus of the Peacekeeping class, but it’s still over 70!
‘That’s good. Let’s go up and come back as fast as possible!’
“Let’s hurry as much as possible!”
He urged them with that in mind, and the knights escorting them, including Elmud, were moved.
‘As expected, my lord. You are trying to resolve the situation as quickly as possible for the sake of your people.’
‘It was true that he would jump into the fires of hell for others. Let’s protect that foolishly great man!’
Was it thanks to Raymond’s earnest(?) efforts that he was able to quickly find a clue?
The anomaly was confirmed right at the entrance to the mountain range.
“Count, what is that?”
“The wild animals are dead!”
Raymond opened his eyes wide.
There were several dead beasts lying around the valley!
‘The same disease has broken out! These toxic substances are harmful to both humans and animals.’
Raymond decided on a direction for the investigation.
“We will continue up the valley towards the dead animals.”
It was impossible to search all of this vast mountain range.
If they follow the animal corpses in reverse, thwy will find the source.
Raymond guessed that this trail would lead to the Borison estate.
As expected, the closer they followed the animal corpses, the closer they got to Borison’s territory.
The feeling hardened into conviction.
‘Let’s analyze the stream flowing under the magic stone mine. Then we’ll know for sure.’
All they had to do was check the water in the upstream and downstream valleys centered around the Magic Stone Mine.
If the upstream is clean, but the contaminants are detected from the point where it passes the magic stone mine, it will be clear evidence.
‘Let’s check quickly and go down. Ugh. It’s scary.’
Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any monsters so far, but he feels uneasy.
The tall, black trees that grew into the sky sent a chill down the back of his neck.
As he was walking, a message suddenly came to me out of nowhere.
[This is a crisis situation!]
[‘Healer’s Self-Defense’ is activated!]
Raymond’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be a monster?’
But no special monsters appeared.
‘What?’
Soon he could understand the meaning of the message.
Pfft!
There was a loud crack! It was an arrow!
“…!”
“Master, it is dangerous!”
Elmud took a quick step forward while his body froze in surprise.
Snip! He cut off the arrow with his sword.
“Count!”
“Are you okay?”
The knights of the escort drew their swords belatedly.
“Who are you?!”
“Show yourself!”
Raymond’s heart pounded at the sudden attack.
‘What? It’s not a monster, it’s an arrow? Could it be that Count Trenby is trying to attack me because he has a grudge against me?’
Maybe that could be the case.
Raymond shouted, hiding his fear.
“Count Trenby? What the hell are you doing! Show yourself!”
But a completely different voice was heard through the trees.
“Count Trenby? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You are the enemy of the clan. How dare you reveal yourself here! I will kill you!”
One by one, shadows began to appear, accompanied by a sharp voice.
‘Cat people?’
Raymond was surprised to see these people appear.
Humanoid body, cat ears, tail.
The Suin tribe, and among them, the Cat tribe!
‘Why is the Cat Tribe hee all of a sudden?’
Raymond made a face.
‘I’ve heard that there are water people living in the Kennel Mountains.’
The water people are different from monsters.
They have clear reasoning and a human-like body.
Actually, biologically they are not classified as monsters.
They were classified as a species similar to humans.
Like other races, the Suin usually lived in remote places untouched by human hands.
They rarely show up, so why are they suddenly making such a hostile attack?
‘The Cat People are relatively mild-mannered and rarely attack humans. Why do they do that?’
Then Elmud said, “My lord, the enemy’s aura is unusual. I think you should take cover.”
Elmud’s face was unusually heavy and serious.
The situation was that serious.
The number of Cat People that appeared was a whopping 50!
Considering that each individual member of the Suin tribe had strong fighting power, it was difficult to deal with them with just the force that Raymond brought.
“The enemy is numerous. We will fight them with our lives, so please take refuge.”
Elmud left his will with a solemn expression on his face.
“Although it was short, I was happy to be able to serve you. I hope to serve you even more closely in the next life of mine…”
“…You keep making me feel insecure.”