Chapter 166
Your clothes are pretty unique. (Gekke)
Well, I dont have any choice but to wear something like this, given the current situation. (Welner)
While constantly on guard, I, Neurath, and Schunzel moved together. The night was dark, so it was easy to move undetected, but at the same time, it was also easy for a skilled person to follow us, so we must keep up our guard. This was the troublesome part of living in this world.
Our first destination was the inn Gekke-sans mercenaries stayed at. I was let in without any question or usual loud greeting. Since I was currently wearing commoner clothes, the mercenaries seemed to have understood I was here incognito. After I entered the inn, I saw some mercenaries checking if anyone was following me. As expected of Gekke-sans mercenaries, they knew their stuff.
And now, I was in the inn talking with Gekke-san.
So thats what happened. (Welner)
Viscount, you sure have a pretty eventful life. (Gekke)
Not by my choice. (Welner)
To be honest, I wanted a life of just playing around, but there was no way I could say it to Gekke-san.
Still, I kept reflexively using polite speech with him. Well, considering what I was going to ask him next it might be better for me to use polite speech though.
So, why have you come all the way here and explained the situation to me? (Gekke)
First, I hope you can train me. (Welner)
I see. Well, I guess duels can be pretty different from usual battles.
Yup. There were rules and stuff, so it was pretty different from my usual battles. Still, Gekke-san sure was a former noble. He knew exactly the rules of a duel without me saying anything. I mean, sometimes the commoner would confuse jousting with duel.
In jousting, you win after pushing your opponent off the horseback while the duel would continue until your opponent surrendered or couldnt fight anymore. It was common for duels that start with horseback fights to turn into normal fights at the end. There was a rule that forbade you from chasing your opponent, who had fallen off his horse, on a horseback, though.
That was why hand-to-hand combat techniques especially tailored for duels with armor existed. I learnt the basics of one of such techniques in the academy, but I would be at a disadvantage if I was going to a duel with just that.
But isnt it better if you ask a knight to train you instead? (Gekke)
If what I want is a slow steady training, that might be true, but I dont have much time. I just want to win the duel. (Welner)
Alright, Ill teach you then. Few days should be enough for me to teach you some tricks. Plus, your real combat experience is far better than the average noble, Viscount, so it should be easier to teach you.
There were only a few days left before the duel. Officially, these few days were for the venue preparation and the paperwork, but I was pretty sure it was actually to let the words of the duel spread to as many people as possible. That was why I needed an effective short training, not the one that started with basics like the knights training.
Besides, my opponent should be familiar with how a knight battles, while they should have little to no experience in battling against mercenaries, so learning how to battle like a mercenary would benefit me more. That was the idea behind the asymmetric warfare.
(T/N: Asymmetric warfare is a term for a war with an opponent that have a really different military power, strategy or tactics i.e: PhilippineAmerican War)
Second, I want to ask you to spread rumors about me.
Are you sure you want to ask something like that from mercenaries like us? Were not exactly known for our glib tongues.
I just want you to spread the words about what I did in a group battle while keeping the details secret.
My opponent would definitely try to find as much information as possible about me. Well, what was known about me? Group battles. But, that was all. The person who defeated the demon generals in Finnoi and Anheim was the Hero, Mazell. As long as people involved in my past battles didnt share the details I had no achievement in individual battles.
Rumors would grow wings on their own. From having no achievement in individual battles, it might become he was actually really weak in individual battles.
Using the fact that your achievements didnt spread to your own benefit, huh. Youre pretty cunning.
Im just a coward.
Playing too much of a villain might make your dear lady hate you, so you should stop soon.
Shut it!
Anyway, I hope you can start training me tomorrow.
Okay. Come here tomorrow wearing mercenary clothes.
Although I succeeded in asking for Gekke-sans help, I somehow felt dejected. Neurath, Schunzel, you two stop laughing!
***
Our next destination was Rafeds store. He immediately greeted us when we arrived, as if he had already expected our arrival.
So, you know we will come, huh.
Of course! Since the truly unbelievable rumor of Hero raping the Saintess-sama has spread, I know you will make a move.
Rape? I knew rumors would grow wings on their own, but that was just too far.
Did people actually believe that kind of rumor?
Of course not! In fact, I think if the person who spread that terrible rumor were to be found, people would beat him to death.
So, someone intentionally spread that rumor. Hmm Well, we would probably find out who spread the rumor soon.
Really, did the person who spread the rumor thought that people would believe that kind of absurdity? But, well, even in my past life, there were people who believed ridiculous news that was obviously fake. Ah, the world was truly a messy place.
I then explained the situation to Rafed.
My, this news will definitely become the talk of the town.
Well, its news regarding the hero, after all.
That is true, but there is another reason. Think of it, Sir. A beautiful princess, who fought together with the commoner born hero, was being coveted by an ugly noble. But then the heros best friend, a young brave knight, stepped forward to fight that ugly noble for the sake of his friend! Isnt that a story straight out of a fairytale?
You do know that Im also a noble, right? Im not even an official knight.
Well, people wont care about that kind of detail. They are going to just take the juicy part and then conveniently cut off the rest.
Argh I knew that, but still If I became the talk of the town just like Rafed said, there was definitely going to be a lot of trouble coming to me. Just thinking about the future made my head hurt.
Lets stop this conversation here and talk about the reason I came here.
Have you found anything about Jhering Count house?
Yes. I have found about Count Jherings blood relationship.
Blood relationship?
Count Jhering married a woman from the Coltrezis Marquis house. The Counts younger sister married into the Count Gramlich house.
Ah, another familiar name that I havent heard for a long time. Because that guys relationship with Marquis Coltrezis house was from his mothers side, I hadnt really noticed it before.
Count Gramlich, huh.
Do you know the Count?
No, I dont know the Count himself, but I know his son.
Its clear that Marquis Coltrezis house was the one that accused the Hero, but on the official document, the accusers name is Count Gramlich.
AhI see.
With this, everything fell into place. Count Gramlichs son was the guy that Mazell and I beat up in the academy before, then I pulled the string to make him become disinherited.
Since I was the person who sent the complaint about the misconduct of the Counts son via Father to the royal family, technically I was the person who made the Counts son become disinherited. But I was a noble and one must never show any opening to fellow noblemen, so the Count wanted to take revenge for what I did to his son by targeting the commoner Mazell instead.
HmmNo. Lets just focus on the Count. Rafed, I want to ask you for help.
What is it, sir?
Well then, since things had become like this, how about I spread a juicy but more believable rumor? I asked Rafed to spread the rumor. After that, Rafed suddenly changed the subject of the conversation.
Other than that, theres one thing thats bugging me.
What is it?
Sir, you know that there are several people who are capable of receiving an oracle, right?
Yeah.
Why did he ask something like that?
This is something that an acquaintance of Elrich-dono asked me to tell you. Theres a rumor that a person who has received an oracle disappeared.
What did the temple say about that rumor?
The temple kept the truth from the general public, including the fact that the woman, who has received the oracle and was rumored missing, is the recently resigned High Priests direct subordinate.
I unintentionally exchanged glances with Neurath and Schunzel.
Is it possible that the High Priest didnt actually resign out of his own volition but rather, resigned because the temple told him to take responsibility for the missing woman? (Neurath)
Hmm Maybe thats really what happened? (Schunzel)
Okay. Ill report this to the kingdom. Keep investigating this matter, but dont interfere yet. (Welner)
Understood. (Rafed)
I would tell the kingdom via Father later. Still, for a problem like this to appear when I was already busy it seemed like the fact that when someone else was making a plan, another person was also plotting something was true.
But if I tried to solve everything all at once, I might end up failing to solve anything, so lets focus on the duel first. The rest, I would handle later.
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