Chapter 41
Chapter 41: A woman named Caria
The fragrance of alcohol . She must’ve become accustomed to the bitter taste of the ale from the local Guild . Caria took the drink to her private room . She drank from the bottle slowly .
「True . It looks like we have a rainy sky today . You were right about that, huh . 」
Caria’s words were softer than usual . She described the weather as she drank from the ale . Her expression was serene and her smile was gentle . Both of us sat on rusty chairs that made some noisy cracks as we moved back and forth . This scene reminded me of a pleasant dream . An everlasting feeling . Caria shook her silver hair in a gracious manner . Or so I thought .
At first glance, her voice was cheerful and her words were gentle . But, it was too good to be true . We were talking about Caria after all .
「What a mistake . You went on your own and set up the terms as you wished . Then, you came back and brought gunpowder . Hey, Lugis . What should I make of this situation? Should I give you a different name? Perhaps, a pet name? Since you always do as you please . 」
Suddenly, the mood became bad like the changeable weather .
The silver-haired girl abruptly stood up from her chair . She spoke with anger towards me . It was such a nasty scene . She had the habit of stabbing people with her tongue .
I knew why she was angry with me . But, I always knew this side of hers . Actually, that was obvious . I was the one that understood her the most . In the past, most of Caria’s rage was directly towards me alone . She treated me like her enemy .
Still, the reason for that anger was vague . However, everything changed on this present timeline . I had no knowledge back then . I was naive and foolish… But not now .
「Keep it down . There’s no need to get mad like that . You’ll just dry up your throat . You know what . I had to make a deal . I had to do something to avoid getting tangled by that woman’s threats . 」
Caria suppressed her temper and took a sip from the ale . Then, she just sighed in frustration . This woman still had long ways to go with her hasty behavior . But, of course, the current situation was much better than before . At least no violence was involved on this timeline .
The eyes of the silver-haired girl winked nervously . I stared fixedly at her . Soon, her rage and mockery disappeared, and were replaced by snobbishness .
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Her gaze made me feel somewhat idiotic .
「I had no other choice but to swallow the other party’s conditions . Therefore, accepting a cooperation with the Heraldic people was the wisest thing to do . In addition, that girl became involved in this somehow . 」
Caria thought the following . “That girl . He probably meant Filaret La Volgograd . I feel like I have a mix of stupid expressions on my face . I didn’t think that they were that close . At least, they weren’t, based on what I saw during our last expedition . ”
「And, I think that you’re overreacting a little bit . I don’t think those people are the worst of their kind . 」
Caria moved her shoulders while I spoke to her . She looked at me with a suspicious gaze . Then, I toned down my voice to convince her .
「Besides, it’s just a cooperation . I just need to do my part and be done with it . 」
I scratched my eyelid while I spoke to Caria . I did my best to soften the mood .
That’s right . Actually, I wasn’t sure if cooperating with the Heraldic people and Largud Ann was a good idea . They probably didn’t trust me, and neither did I trust them . Having a great sixth sense would’ve been perfect for this type of situation . However, I only had the knowledge from the past . Who would trust such shabby people? Well, I didn’t grow up with the word “trust” to be honest . I got along with dishonest people throughout my whole life . I used to trade with them . To learn from their evil deeds . But, these people were different . What could I do to move unsuspiciously among them? What was needed in order to gain their trust?
Based on the exchange between both parties at the underground temple, I thought that I’d be useful . At least for a short time . That’s right, useful until the fall of Garoua Maria . That Saint woman won’t discard me until she gets what she wants .
It happened, then there’s nothing I could have done to avoid this fate . Yes, it was what it was . The bitterness of the strong ale passed through the throat . Soon, my throat ached as if it were about to vomit the whole fluids .
「…If they want to use me, fine . I’ll use them too . That’s the reason why I won’t back down from this . 」
I placed the bottle of ale on the table without making a noise . It stood between Caria and me .
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「The plan is to invade the walled city and capture their beloved Maria . That will be our crucial point too . If their plan is successful, we’ll have to be ready for an eventual crisis . We’ll have to go up against them if necessary . 」
I narrowed my eyes while pressing my fists .
There’s no choice, but to do this now . Still, the battlefield was the most convenient place for an ordinary person to gain recognition . Luckily for me, I was taking part in their vital plan . Therefore, I should use this situation to my advantage . Even though my brain was still processing it all .
Great . It was great conditions after all . I shall take this opportunity and use it well . I’ll just fiddle on the balance of the pendulum* with my own fingers . I wouldn’t mind stepping into danger for Ariene’s sake . Yes, I’d risk everything for her .
「Huh, I see . And, what about that woman . Why did you put Filaret on this “evil carpet”? Do you need a woman to give you the emotional support you need?」
Don’t be stupid . Emotional support? Just thinking about touching Filaret gave me the shivers . I almost thrown up . The ale that I drank came to my throat and almost spilled from my mouth . It came back and forth several times just because of this nauseating talk . Bitterness filled my whole mouth again . It made me feel gross .
I coughed badly . Then, I slowly opened my lips to respond to Caria’s silly question . She lost her composure once again, and stared at me from across the table with hatred . The mood became sour again . Strangely, my throat trembled slightly .
「Filaret is someone with undeniable talent . Just like you . 」
As soon as I spoke those words, Caria’s eyebrows lifted quickly . I see . This was the best approach to take in order to appease this woman’s feelings .
「I don’t know if she feels okay about all of this . But, her role in the cooperation is relevant . Because of her family name and experience with artifacts, she was put in charge of collecting Heraldic crests at low prices . 」
After that, Caria spoke as if she was talking about a betting opportunity .
「All right . This might turn out to be a good bet for both parties . We shall take 50 percent of these earnings . Filaret really has to do this . And, we have to make sure of it…」
That’s right . If there’s an “extra hand”, we had to take it to our benefit . After all, using the excellent comrades we had for this cooperation plan wouldn’t be a bad idea . There would be more pros than cons . Caria let a big sigh while grinning at me . Then, she shook her silver hair from behind her shoulders .
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「And then, what do you want to tell me? You must have something you want me to do . 」
I touched my chin . Well, of course I did .
I called a house cleaner and asked her to bring us another bottle of ale .
「I would like you to go to the ministry of self-defense of the city-state . I want to know everything about that organization . If possible, I would like you to create a bond with them, so that we could use them for our purpose . That’s something only you can do, not me . 」
The house cleaner brought another bottle of ale . However, the bitter taste remained the same . Caria drank immediately from the bottle to moisture her lips .
There was a self-defense ministry in the city-state of Garoua Maria . This organization defended the nation from external threats and brought internal protection . Unlike other countries where the nobles and knights were the chosen classes to held high positions in the military and political sphere, Garoua Maria had a very different system . The citizens held the power of its defense mechanism .
Any citizen could belong to that organization . Yes, everyone could become a shield that protected the city-state . Unlike ordinary nations, the citizens of Garoua Maria replaced the knights and nobles to become national defenders . Therefore, the public voice was very strong in Garoua Maria .
Therefore, it was fundamental to make a connection with this organization . The people of the self-defense ministry were very strong in the sense of fellowship and compatriotism . Even though they were citizens, they weren’t ordinary citizens per se . I wouldn’t be accepted to meddle with them . After all, it was quite visible that I was a mere rat . They would kick me out from there immediately . That was a fact that I knew too well .
But, Caria was different . Caria was a former knight . Moreover, a knight from the traditionalist Gharast Kingdom .
Even though the self-defense ministry deny it, its members took three things seriously up to their hearts . Tradition, history and dignity .
This was an obstacle for those who wanted to enter the self-defense ministry even though this organization officially recruited citizens as members .
Members with prestigious families and origins were the only ones that brought dignity and tradition to the organization . However, the foundation of the self-defense ministry were the citizens . If word were to spread about their true colors, the foundation would likely collapse . It felt like the organization was made of mud that could fall at any time . Even so, they regarded this prestigious aspect a necessary part of their motto . Therefore, they must’ve yearned to have the existence of a knight on their inner circles before .
Aside from her pedigree, Caria was certainly someone beautiful . If they knew that she was a former knight, and if she used her words well, the self-defense groups will definitely accept her .
They might not even care if she had strategical experience or not . Just the fact that she was a knight from a prestigious family would give her an easy access for the ministry .
Yes . That’s the reason why I told Caria to do this and made Filaret do something else .
It was fine for Filaret to accept such a task because of my future goals . But, Caria was different from her . That’s why I had to explain everything for her . I truly believed that she could do this type of job without a hassle .
My throat ached the moment I finished talking . Caria looked serious as if she was immersed on her own thoughts . She was probably thinking to herself either to accept it or not .
“…I refuse it . Was he misunderstanding something here? I was not a pawn to be used for his convenience, or did he forget that?”
Caria’s thoughts were cold, somewhere emboldened with anger . I finally understood what she had on her thoughts when she bit her lip .
Caria’s expression . Her silvery eyes stared at me with a strong gaze . Her pale lips showed a slight smile . Yes, that ironic smile of hers . But, this time was different .
This was the second time I saw this particular expression . She was once like this when I rebelled against her words during the journey of salvation .
To see this expression again made me so terrified and confused than what I used to feel before . The shivering didn’t stop . It was as if it crawled from the tip of my feet to the depth of my spine . This awful and terrible feeling spread throughout my body . It climbed to my head . This expression didn’t just frightened people, but also attracted people somehow . Yes, something attracted me to this nasty woman . Maybe it was because of her beauty .
Now that I thought about it, I felt rather strange this time around .
Surely, I was feeling it correctly . What happened with that girl, Filaret, was too good to be true . My plan went far better than I expected, and that was something that I wouldn’t have accomplished in my past timeline . But, I made a mistake . I thought everything was going according to plan, but my assumptions were wrong .
But, I felt hits of betraying feeling that went against all of my assumptions and thoughts . Yes, I felt this feeling coming from the silver-haired woman that smiled ironically at me .