110. Unexpected
The Indomitable Hero.
He was someone officially backed by the Great Hero of Insight, while rumors also said that, unofficially, he had ties with the Great Hero of Salvation.
Naturally, to the nobles, he was nothing but a thorn in their side.
The Great Hero of Insight's support seems more like a way to keep an eye on him... but everyone else seems to think differently.
Even the duke who had approached our family said that the Imperial Faction had gone mad and was trying to bring someone who possessed the power of Madness into their ranks.
Judging by that, it wasn't difficult to guess that most of the Noble Faction probably thought the same way.
As for the exact reason...
A sickly woman like me had no way of knowing.
Still, from the Noble Faction's point of view, they couldn't understand what the Imperial Faction was thinking.
That was probably why they approached our fallen family—one that no longer truly belonged to either side—in order to stop whatever the Imperial Faction was planning.
"Your condition certainly isn't very good."
"I spent much of my youth wandering battlefields. It seems the body breaks down rather easily when you do that."
...Back then, I had thought my husband was a perfectly normal man too.
Never in my dreams did I imagine he was already a man with two children.
No.
There was no reason to think about the past.
Remembering it wouldn't change who I was now.
I would simply bury it in my heart.
I wouldn't forget it, but there was no need to dwell on it either.
Right now, I needed to decide what to do about the man sitting before me.
He couldn't quite meet my eyes, yet he kept carefully studying me.
It's true that my husband is easy to manipulate, but even so... for them to try controlling him this easily means there must be something behind it.
"Indomitable Hero, what did you think of this village? We rarely meet outsiders here, so I would very much like to hear the opinion of someone who is both a Hero and a foreigner."
The way someone viewed the world revealed what kind of person they were.
A good example was my husband.
When he first saw this half-collapsed countryside, he had called it an excellent forward base.
Even now, he still couldn't properly face reality.
...If only he could come to his senses, he really was a good man.
If he regained his position as Count and was able to live a stable life again, then surely he would return to the intelligent and wise man he once was.
"...It's impressive."
"Hahaha! So you think so too? This place isn't very far from the capital, and—"
He was already wary of me.
Most people who saw me simply saw a weak, sickly old woman.
They rarely guarded themselves so carefully.
But this man...
Words alone would not be enough to deceive him.
Perhaps if Aien helped, it might be possible.
But judging by how easily that child—who always kept a proper distance from others—had allowed him to stay beside her, even that seemed difficult.
He had somehow managed to win over that stubborn child who had spent her whole youth focusing on physical training and books.
She once said she'd never meet a man like her father... Well, I suppose this man is about as impressive as my husband was in his prime.
He looked fierce, but his way of speaking was fairly polite.
He was highly cautious toward unknown enemies, and his abilities were clearly outstanding.
If I had to marry my daughter off anyway...
I would much rather send her to a man who had already achieved success like him than to the useless son of Count Conte.
But simply taking the Hero's hand here wasn't possible either.
It would be disrespectful toward the duke who had done so much for our family.
More importantly, once we did that...
The duke would undoubtedly try to kill us.
I don't know whether the Hero can oppose the duke, but he's a foreigner. Perhaps he has some method we don't know about.
He might be able to save Aien.
For that alone, I was grateful.
But he couldn't save the rest of us.
After secretly getting Aien away...
What would happen to the family left behind?
To me.
To my husband.
And to our remaining four children?
"My husband says that, but I don't see it that way."
"Is that so?"
Until just moments ago, this man had been happily chatting with my husband as though he were some friendly, easygoing person.
But the instant I appeared, he spoke less, chose his words carefully, and even controlled his expression.
...Was he accustomed to situations like this despite being a foreigner?
What kind of life had he lived?
Was that why he was able to become a Hero?
Perhaps only someone who had lived through such things could become one.
...I hoped Aien would never walk the same path.
Though even if I told her that, she probably wouldn't listen.
"The soil here is terribly barren. There's no river nearby, and the territory is nothing but exposed plains. The villagers have no ambition in life either. They're lazy people who are satisfied as long as they work enough today to eat today."
"H-Hey! They're only like that because they don't have a goal right now! Once I become a pillar of this Empire again and develop this land properly, they'll surely regain their motivation!"
For a brief moment, the Hero's expression changed.
His gaze became frighteningly sharp as he assessed my husband.
He reacted instantly to every word my husband spoke, as though he were silently assigning him a score.
...And if the score wasn't satisfactory?
What would happen then?
"Do you have a concrete plan for restoring this territory?"
"It's true that the land here is barren, but we're positioned right between Iil and Nesam! Monsters sometimes appear around here, so people from both cities take a long detour instead. But if I build a road here and assign enough people to maintain it, countless goods will pass through this territory!"
...At least say something realistic.
Did he think the Empire's officials hadn't already considered that?
There was one reason they hadn't done it.
It would cost an absurd amount of money.
And more importantly...
Who would maintain the road?
The monsters appearing here were not weak.
Whenever monster season came, high-ranking adventurers arrived and helped defend this territory in exchange for being allowed to take the monster corpses.
Which meant that if we built a road and hired people capable of protecting it from monsters, we would need to pay roughly the same amount required to hire those adventurers.
And who exactly was going to pay for that?
...I could have sworn that when we first arrived here, my husband had proposed slightly more realistic plans.
Was his growing desperation slowly breaking him?
This was troublesome.
If things continued like this, then accepting the duke's proposal would have been meaningless.
I had staked my daughter's future on it.
I had thrown away our honor and placed ourselves beneath the duke.
It couldn't have all been for nothing.
Especially since...
I didn't have much time left either.
"So basically, all you need is people, right? You're short on manpower. That's it, isn't it?"
What?
Just what did the Hero possess?
Where did that confident expression come from?
And why did Aien look so horrified after hearing his words?
Could it be that the Indomitable Hero truly possessed something hidden—something significant enough to make even a Great Hero watch him closely?
"I might be able to supply manpower. Maybe even resources."
"P-People... and resources too?!"
"What... do you want in return?"
A chilling smile appeared on his face.
It was impossible to see what lay behind it.
Was that smile meant to drag us into ruin?
Or...
Could there be another reason?
Why would a Hero watched by a Great Hero of the Imperial Faction help us, when we were people belonging to a duke of the Noble Faction?
He didn't seem ignorant of the circumstances.
If anything, that gave him even less reason to help us.
What was his goal?
"Hmm~ For about half a year, would you mind managing a place I'm responsible for?"
"Managing? But aren't you neither a noble nor a landowner, Hero?"
"I do have a place. The reports coming from there are basically like this: one attacks one and kills it, then two appear. Two attack two and kill them, then three appear. Ten attack three and kill them, then twenty show up. Basically, unless you're someone on the level of a Great Hero, it's the kind of place where you can't even sleep."
That's—
That means you're trying to kill us!
What kind of nonsense was this?!
And how could he say something like that with such a straight face?!
"Of course, I guarantee your safety. You're our kid's family, so I can't treat you carelessly. I'm the type who makes sure to protect my people. And I make sure they're properly rewarded too."
"Mister, what are you even talking about?! What place are you managing? I've never heard anything about this!"
"Well, you came here before I even had a chance to tell you. How exactly was I supposed to explain it? You were trying to go home without telling me anything either, yet you have the nerve to complain? What, am I not allowed to have even one secret? It's not like I was trying to hide it."
"You had plenty of chances to tell me! You didn't 'not get the chance,' you forgot! How many times has something like this happened?! What did you do this time?! And what are you plotting with the Village Chief again?!"
"Hey! Why are your instincts so annoyingly good?! That's enough!"
BANG!
The Hero suddenly shot to his feet.
The moment he heard footsteps coming from outside the door, he stretched out his hand.
Chains instantly wrapped around the door, sealing it shut.
I could hear my eldest daughter shouting from outside.
But then a woman emerged from the Hero's shadow.
With a simple wave of her hand, darkness swallowed the entire room.
The sounds outside vanished.
W-What...? Who in the world is that woman?!
The woman was dressed completely in black, as though death itself surrounded her.
And the power radiating from her...
It was even greater than the Hero standing before me.
She had appeared out of nowhere.
"People misunderstand me all the time, so I tried making us a private space. Pretty smart, right?"
"This makes you look even more suspicious! What are you doing?! Lucy! Why are you helping him do something like this?!"
"Wouldn't it be better for you if we ended this peacefully before his patience runs out?"
"What the hell do you people think I am?! I really was trying to have a comfortable conversation! This entire mansion is being watched from every direction! How am I supposed to talk openly when I can't trust anything around here?!"
The moment the Hero finished speaking, something began walking out of the pitch-black wall.
It was enormous.
