บท 43: Chapter 26.2: Super Sensory (1)
As if this was their last chance, the voice of the Seventh Lord was both indifferent and scary.
Only then did Colton realize.
He knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't get any sympathy from this monster. The best thing to do was just do what he was told, and pray that he would die a comfortable death.
"…I heard that someone had insulted my daughter, so I intended to bring him back here and make him pay for it."
The Seventh Lord said.
"Did you get all the details on why that happened?"
"…Yes."
"Tell me."
"A waiter spilled a drink on my daughter's dress, so while my daughter was educating the waiter…"
"Education. Is that what it's called when you wield violence so ruthlessly over something like a stain on your clothes?"
"…"
"She even tried to slit the wrists of the person who stopped her. If that's education, then what do you think is appropriate education for me in this situation? Here, the mayor of a border city ordered his knights to bring the Lord to him by force."
Colton flinched.
The eyes of the Seventh Lord turned to Denbri.
"Did you say that you would make me unable to walk on my two legs without me crawling between yours?
The complexion of Colton and Laika, who were lying down, became more swarthy. Did you even say such a thing?
Denbri couldn't hold back the fear and said with tears dripping down her face.
"Now, I made a mistake. Lord. Help me. Help me…"
The Seventh Lord shook his head.
"I was planning to just let you off since I didn't want to make a fuss in another Lord's territory."
"We've committed a mortal sin…"
"I still have the same thoughts. I'm too lazy to make a fuss over such a ridiculous thing."
However, at the words that followed, Colton's face turned pale.
"Since it happened in her territory, the Fifth Lord will take care of it later."
…That too was tantamount to a death sentence.
What would happen if this news reached the ears of the Fifth Lord?
It didn't matter what the relationship between the Seventh Lord and the Fifth Lord was.
It was unacceptable that the likes of a mayor dared to insult a Lord in the slightest.
Even if the Seventh Lord didn't use his hands right away, it was a predetermined future that the Fifth Lord would directly punish them herself.
The Seventh Lord rose from his seat.
As if everything he had to say was finished, he turned to the entrance of the hall.
When Baros glanced around, the knights standing around him hurriedly knelt one by one.
The Seventh Lords stopped walking for a moment and looked back.
"If you've lived trampling on others with such unreasonable power, you should have been prepared to be trampled on like this someday, don't you think?"
There was nothing Colton could answer to the words of the Seventh Lords.
The figures of the Seventh Lords and his two attendants slowly moved away from the hall toward the exit.
***
By leaving the mansion, I completely turned my attention away from the mayor.
I had no intention of punishing them or anything like that in the first place.
It's not that I was showing mercy, it's just that I felt embarrassed to have my hands stained with blood for something like this.
And anyway, even if I did nothing, if this incident reached the ears of the Fifth Lord, the mayor and Denbri would… whatever it was, it would be a terrible end.
"Hmm…"
It was late at night.
Returning to the inn, I looked at the map I received from Tair again.
Also, I compared and matched the map with the map of the Fifth Lord's territory to identify the location of the map in more detail. With the help of Baros, of course.
"There's a forest on the northwestern border of the Fifth and Fourth Lords. That seems to be the point marked on this map."
A slight detour from the path, but it didn't matter as long as the mystery could be obtained.
I stroked my chin and looked back at Tair's map.
But what is this letter?
Unknown strange characters written on one side of the map. Was it a password?
This also seemed to have something to do with the destination, but I couldn't figure out what it meant.
Oh, Tair could have known, so he should have asked. I was so distracted by the map that I couldn't even pay attention.
As I stared at the text, Baros spoke again.
"The forest, the greatest tree, when even the twilight completely subsides, it is written that lifeless branches will guide adventurers."
"…?!"
I looked back at him in amazement.
"Can you read this?"
"Yes. One of the ancient cipher characters."
I looked at him with eyes asking how he knew that, and the answer came back.
"I know a little about ancient letters because I was interested in exploring ruins while working as an adventurer in the past."
"…Right."
There's really nothing he couldn't do.
The reason he was so good at Calderic's geography was because he had such a past.
By the way… the biggest tree?
I pondered for a moment and tried to interpret the meaning of the sentence.
Was the 'biggest tree' pertaining to the biggest tree in the forest, and 'when twilight has completely subsided' meant night time?
But what was the last 'lifeless branch'?
"Do you know what the 'lifeless branch' meant?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know…"
I asked Baros again, but he seemed to not know what it meant.
As I turned my gaze to Asher, she stood there a little dazed, pretending to think quickly, then shook her head.
…I'll have to see for myself.
Then, the immediate goal was set.
Go to the forest marked on the map and find the biggest tree.
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