Secret Room (1)
As time passed, Seifert Village gradually regained its original appearance.
Sounds of laughter from the residents could be heard as usual, and scenes of village children playing together once again unfolded.
The only lingering disturbance was the corpse of the advanced-rank monster still present.
Aside from that, the village was just like always.
Thanks to the monster's corpse, the number of people visiting the village had increased noticeably.
Because it was the corpse of an advanced-rank monster, every magitech scholar and merchant was scrambling to get a look at it, their eyes practically ablaze.
Those who visited the village could investigate the corpse with permission from the lord, Kelian.
Most of them conducted their research to the extent that it didn't harm the village, so they were treated as respectable guests by the residents.
With the monster's body attracting many visitors, the village economy was revitalized, and the guests, in turn, profited from examining the corpse.
It was truly a win-win situation, like catching a crayfish while dredging a stream.
"Hey, lady! Why aren't you giving us our food?!"
Of course, not all the guests were good.
With so many people flocking in, there were all sorts among them.
"We're customers here! So why are you serving food to them first over there?!"
People clad in armor shouted boisterously inside the village eatery.
"Do you know who we are? We're guests! Weren't you taught how to treat guests when you meet them?"
"How do you run a business without even knowing that?"
They, too, were visitors to the domain, drawn by the monster's corpse.
However, unlike the other guests, their attitude was atrocious, lacking any sort of manners, unlike the scholars or seasoned merchants.
"Have you forgotten thanks to whom the village economy is flourishing?"
"It's all because of us! So treating us like kings is only right, don't you think?"
They were still guests, so there was no real way to oppose them.
But all they knew how to do was abuse the 'guest' status to throw their weight around.
"I'm sorry, but those people are also guests, and we served in order. I hope you'll understand."
The restaurant owner tried to persuade them as politely as possible.
It was the kind of tone that would make even the most troublesome customers behave, but not for these people.
"Are you done talking? You're discriminating against us right now, huh?"
"We came here to work for this village, just like those bastards! So why are we being treated like this?"
The knights, showing nothing but dissatisfaction, abruptly stood up from their seats.
They then drew their swords toward another guest.
"Get out, you bastard!"
"What are you waiting for, guys? Get up, all of you!"
The other armored knights in the restaurant stood up together.
Unfortunately, they were the only ones who looked capable of force inside the establishment, so no one dared to resist.
"What a lousy place. You think you'll have plenty of customers without us, huh?"
"This won't do. Since your customer service is so terrible, you owe us compensation."
"What kind of nonsense...!"
The restaurant owner was flustered, but the knights ignored his protests and continued their bullying.
"We're here with the lord's permission to deal with the monster's corpse."
"Do you have any idea how much the lord is paying to employ us?"
"So even if this place gets wrecked, it's not our responsibility."
The knights began to wrap their swords in aura.
When the customers and staff witnessed that, they were terrified.
"If you don't want to see your shop smashed to pieces, then... Huh?"
A young girl was now standing in front of the knight who seemed to be their leader.
The sudden appearance of the little girl caught the knights off guard.
"What's your business here?"
"Are you saying the lord hired you with money?"
Normally, a child could just be brushed aside, but the reason they hesitated was clear.
The girl's ears were pointed.
"I'm sure you were hired. After all, cleaning up a monster's body would require a lot of manpower."
"What're you even talking about?"
"But did you know? That there are visitors who use that as an excuse to act important and harass our villagers."
The knights' faces twisted into scowls, but the elf girl paid no attention and continued.
"Just like you, sirs."
"You little brat...!"
"As an aspiring knight, I can't just let people like you go unchecked."
The elf girl, Merry, reached out her hand as she spoke.
"Spirit of wind."
A great gust exploded from her hand and blasted the knights away.
"Aaagh!"
The knights caught up in the wind current were thrown right out of the restaurant.
Ejected by force, they glared at Merry, their faces flushed red.
"That brat! Does she even know who we are?!"
Weren't they the ones reviving the economy of this village?
Is there no proper education for brats in this place?
Their heads were filled only with those thoughts.
"That's it. Call everyone!"
"Boss, just to deal with one kid..."
"It's not just the kid—I'll trash the whole shop. Now hurry!"
Merry, overhearing their conversation, let out a sigh.
"Was there a group of knights who called each other 'boss'?"
"Shut up! You'd better prepare to die soon!"
Their behavior and speech were so unlike a knight, even the young Merry could see through their true identities.
"Pitiful people."
She didn't mean they were pitiful because they were acting like guests in a place like this.
It was because the fate awaiting them was going to be miserable.
"Why aren't those guys here yet?!"
"Are you talking about these guys, perhaps?"
Just then, a boy's voice rang out, and the knights turned their heads.
The moment they looked over, the faces of the worked-up knights froze.
"Tada~"
There lay their fellow knights, piled up like a mountain, and on top of them, Louis stood, flashing a double V sign with his fingers, excited.
"No way..."
"How did..."
"They kept causing trouble in the village, so I taught them a lesson. Also, when I sniffed these guys, the same smell was around here."
Louis was able to track down the thugs rampaging in the village that way.
Right before getting beaten by Louis, they all said the same thing.
"They all kept yammering about how indispensable they were for our village's development, but as for actually helping? Not a single thing."
Most had gathered as supposed experts to study the monster's corpse, but these people didn't even possess that expertise.
They were just pretending to be experts and showing off, nothing but bullies.
"Don't make me laugh! We have every right to—"
Crack!―
The moment the knights tried to make excuses, something smashed into the ground at their feet.
A pebble Louis threw shot into the ground like a bullet, making the knights flinch.
"Do you want to get beaten up and leave, or just leave?"
"Eep!"
At that intense threat, the knights shuddered in fear and suddenly sensed a presence behind them.
Perhaps since they were aura users, their senses were somewhat trained.
The thugs quickly took Merry, who was behind them, hostage.
"Don't move!"
"Do you not care what happens to this brat?!"
It was a savage method, but there was no better way to restrain the opponent.
Indeed, Louis stood still and did not make a move.
Of course, it wasn't because the situation had become dangerous.
"Older brother Louis. Can't I just kill these people?"
"No. If you get blood on your face, that nun from your orphanage will yell at me."
"But since I'm planning to become a knight anyway, wouldn't it be good to bloody my hands early?"
Look at her, huh?
Louis was impressed by the vocabulary of a kid barely thirteen years old.
And since she was this calm even now, it was clear she'd become a big deal one day.
"Alright then, Merry. Take care of them—but don't kill them."
"Don't kill, got it?"
"Yeah."
Merry nodded at that request.
"What are you idiots chatting about?"
Just then, the knights spoke.
"Wind Blade."
The moment Merry murmured those words,
"Argh!!"
"Kuhhuk!!"
The two knights holding her hostage suddenly screamed as they were slashed by something.
Invisible wind coiled around them.
They fell, bleeding, as if cut up by a sword.
The spirit of wind, following Merry's commands, could easily become a deadly weapon.
Tearing a human apart was child's play.
"You snuck out without Elder sister Silia's permission again, didn't you?"
"Ugh..."
Silia was very strict about managing the children, never letting them go outside recklessly.
They were only allowed out during predetermined times, but now was not such a time.
It was the season when many guests visited the village.
"These days, all sorts of experts are coming to the village. And among them, there are plenty curious about elves. That's why that elder sister's kept you under tighter control."
"But with these guys soiling the village so often, how could I just stay put?"
The security officers always tried to solve things with talk, so they weren't much help.
Against people like these, actions worked far better than words.
"They didn't actually help at all, yet went around boasting about doing good and demanding payment. Just like my mom and dad."
"..."
The parents of Merry and the other elf children.
They, too, met a grim end after committing similar misdeeds.
It was only because of the special task force's mercy that Merry and the other children survived among them.
"It's ridiculous to claim you're necessary when you're not needed at all, isn't it?"
"The adult elves were all like that. But you're different. I have no intention of blaming you kids for your parents' mistakes."
Louis had been through a similar ordeal.
Once, when his father, a lord, was framed for embezzling Imperial Court property, even Louis had been punished as a child and dragged into the 7th Legion.
"The concept of guilt by association is absolute crap."
Because Louis knew that all too well, he chose to save the children.
"So don't give any thought to what your parents did. Just act like it never happened."
"Yes...."
"You shouldn't say crap like that in front of a kid, you know?"
At that moment, Silia appeared and scolded Louis.
Merry gasped in surprise at Silia's sudden arrival.
"Uh, big sis...!"
"Merry! Didn't I tell you to stay quietly in the orphanage?"
"But these people...."
"Huh?"
Silia glanced at the knights piled on the floor.
She seemed unsure what to make of them until she realized what had happened, and then smiled in admiration.
"Aha~ So that's how it went?"
She even stepped on one of the knights who had been felled by the wind spirit and laughed.
"You should have just killed him."
"Hey, big sis, weren't you the one who told me not to say crap like that?"
"Is this the same as that?"
"..."
Apparently, Silia wasn't quite in her right mind, either.
Where did the common-sense version of her go from before?
Could it be she'd regained her true nature after leaving the 7th Legion?
She used to be a wild child, after all.
"Y-You bastards... you think you'll get away with this...?"
At that moment, one of the fallen knights muttered as he tried to resist.
"We're still knights of a noble house. Our duke's family will never let this—."
"Oh, right, Louis! I have a message for you."
But Silia cut him off completely.
"His Majesty has invited you to the Imperial Court."
"Huh?"
The knights could hardly believe their ears when they heard that.
His Majesty? Did we mishear just now?
"Why all of a sudden?"
"He wants to talk to you personally."
'Big Bro'? Is that something you say to His Majesty?
"Anyway, there's a carriage waiting at the village entrance. Go ahead and get on."
"What could he want to talk about this time?"
"He says he's finished unlocking the barrier in the Imperial Court's underground."
Previously, the Emperor had obtained information from Eramon through interrogation.
He had thrown himself into uncovering the secret room hidden within the Imperial Court from that moment on.
"That was faster than I expected."
"Inside, there should be detailed accounts of the five heroes who once fought the Chaos Dragon."
What are they talking about now?
The knights held that question as they asked,
"You... just what is your relationship with His Majesty?!"
Louis laughed and answered,
"We're friends."