Ch.334EP.70 – Why the Knight’s Hatred Is Justified (4)

The newly joined succubus in Ihan’s fanatic-catching project.

According to the status window, with the addition of Judia, “The Poisonous Flower,” the quality of information they obtained rapidly transformed into something superior.

“I hate to say this myself, but if a succubus sets her mind to it, she can easily obtain any secret, no matter how classified it might be.”

True to her alias “Demon of Dreams,” Judia’s method of gathering information was unique.

“Let’s see, the Brass Knights, was it? Hmm, ah, here it is.”

Judia would go out collecting information every night.

That is, she obtained information in dreams. She didn’t even need to find specific individuals—she would search for dreams matching her desired [keywords], then immediately enter the target’s dream and instantly steal the information she wanted.

She acquired confidential information with such ease that even Luna de Brigitte, who was watching, couldn’t help but admire her while simultaneously feeling uncomfortable.

“Entering dreams to gather information—this is certainly a technique only possible for a succubus.”

It was literally like having your nose cut off right before your eyes.

“What a dangerous race.”

It was only natural to feel threatened by an ability that could potentially expose not just enemy secrets, but ally secrets as well.

Well, for now, they were on the same side, so they had to trust and rely on her.

“It’s not my problem what happens to her later.”

Ihan didn’t care what would become of the bewitching succubus in the future; only the present mattered.

After about four days of collecting information…

“Oh my?”

The succubus’s expression subtly changed, and they worried it might be a negative signal, but…

“Well, I found what we were looking for. It’s confirmed that members of the Brass Knights are staying in Lohengrin.”

“I knew it!”

“Screech!”

As soon as the succubus confirmed this, Galahad’s shadow prepared to launch an all-out attack.

However, as they say, one should listen to the end of what someone has to say.

“But, you know, the places where the Brass Knights… or rather, these Blood Crusaders are hiding aren’t just in one or two locations…”

“?”

“What I mean is, Lohengrin isn’t their only collaborator. At the very least…”

Judia spread all ten fingers, and they were shocked.

It was indeed shocking to learn that more than ten factions were helping them…

“Not ten, but a hundred. And this is just the number of factions I’ve confirmed right now. I’m not omnipotent, so if they’re too far away or using magic or mystical means to block my power, I can’t discover their secrets in dreams. In that sense, I think the total number of suspicious factions would be around 150.”

“……”

“Looking at people’s psychology, there are really many people who hold grudges against Pendragon and Galahad. But it’s not just grudges—many are simply following their desires. Do they want to become the new king, or do they dream of becoming the second Galahad? Ooh…”

“……”

There was no response to Judia’s continued words.

That’s how…

“Well, I need to verify this for a moment.”

It was such a shocking and unbelievable story.

Soon, Galahad’s side focused their efforts on uncovering the truth and began investigating the hundred factions Judia had mentioned.

For other factions, discovering such truths might have taken months or even half a year, but Galahad was different.

Two weeks was enough.

And with the additional help of the guild…

“Damn…”

After successfully verifying Judia’s words in just five days, Galahad lost their composure for the first time.

…Because the betrayal was real.

“—After that, Lohengrin was no longer the only problem. No, Lohengrin is still a problem, but it’s more accurate to say we can’t focus solely on them anymore.”

“……”

“Right? With so many traitors, how can we handle this by ourselves?”

“…Attacking Lohengrin would still be problematic. If we attack Lohengrin, the traitors might think their existence would be exposed and quickly go into hiding.”

“Exactly.”

“……”

“What?”

“…Nothing, I’m just surprised you don’t seem that angry.”

Derrick tilted his head, seeing that the person he thought would be most furious was unexpectedly calm.

The instructor was among the top ten people who had grudges against the fanatic group, and he had suffered alone for the past few weeks.

In a way, the situation had changed from having to deal with just Lohengrin to having to deal with a hundred traitors, yet the instructor remained remarkably calm, which raised questions.

“Hmm, why I’m not angry… probably because there’s someone who would be even more furious than me.”

“Huh?”

“There is someone who would be more upset than me. Thinking about that person makes me feel like, well, they’ll take care of it anyway.”

“??”

Faced with this vague answer, Derrick could only tilt his head in confusion.

On the other hand, Ihan…

‘…I wonder if she’s throwing things around by now?’

He smirked as he thought of a certain princess who would be furious at the news he had delivered.

He shouldn’t be thinking this, but…

‘It’s satisfying, hehe.’

It was satisfying to think of her finally getting a headache after always making her subordinates suffer.

*

*

*

“—Such an ill-mannered fellow. This kind of information should be delivered in person. Who delivers such news so rudely through a letter?”

“…Sister, why are you in my courtyard?”

“Hmph! After seeing something like this, how could I not come? Think a little, think!”

“So… why come to me specifically?”

Damn it…

Ihan was dumbfounded.

Just moments ago, he had been feeling smug thinking she would be troubled alone, but now seeing her appear out of nowhere left him bewildered.

What is this…

‘…Was summoning the princess the reward for finding a hundred traitors?’

Ihan grumbled about an annoying auntie showing up.

Smack!

And so the fan of the princess, who had apparently mastered mind-reading, shot fire toward the knight’s forehead.

…An action that would only hurt her own wrist.

* * *

“Sir Knight, here’s your black tea!”

“Ah, thank you, Miss Maid.”

“Hehe, oh, I also baked some scones. Would you like those too?”

“That would be nice.”

“Alright! I’ll bring them right away!”

The maid with a charming, innocent smile, Leira Winter, trotted off to get the scones.

On her way, she tripped and hit a rock, but no one was concerned about it.

Rather…

“Oh! This is the rock Sir Knight uses for training! Sir Knight! It’s broken!”

Just by hearing her shout, it was clear she was healthy, or rather, incredibly sturdy.

“It’s not her forehead that gets hurt, but the rock that breaks…”

As he expressed admiration at her smooth, moist, and fine forehead without even a bruise, the cold-hearted princess who didn’t care at all whether Leira Winter fell or not said:

“This is only the second time in my life I’ve been so furious. The first was when my father said he would wage a conquest war against Britain, and the second is now.”

“…You’re that angry?”

“I can’t help but be angry. I feel like raising an army and striking down all of them at once.”

“Then do it. You have the authority to raise an army.”

“I can’t.”

“?”

She refused so firmly that Ihan blinked at her, and Isis smiled bitterly.

“My adoptive brother apparently doesn’t understand how important this upcoming banquet is.”

“Isn’t it just your son’s first birthday… I mean, birthday?”

“You really don’t know.”

“…Sorry for being ignorant.”

Ihan grumbled again, and Isis’s gaze softened.

Though annoyed that he would grumble so openly in front of her, she seemed pleased to have someone with whom she could freely express her thoughts without political considerations.

However, she didn’t reveal these feelings as she continued:

“I mentioned earlier the first time I was most furious.”

“The conquest of Britain?”

“More precisely, the unification of the southern continent. In any case, I’m still extremely negative about the southern unification.”

“Why?”

“Because the losses outweigh the gains. So much so that the country could stagger…”

“……”

Isis looked exhausted just recalling that time.

Her already pale face seemed to grow even paler.

She murmured in a low voice:

“War is a monster that devours money. No, it would be fortunate if it only devoured money. It’s a demon that disrupts not only the economy but also the daily lives of the people. And conquest wars are on a different level. The economic losses and damages incurred are probably greater than anything you can imagine.”

“……”

“Yet the current king, my incompetent father, made a terrible mistake out of his desire to surpass even one of the military god’s achievements.”

“…But you did win, didn’t you?”

“Of course we had to win. No, we couldn’t lose. How could we lose a war fought with the glory of the military god’s era? We Pendragons cannot lose. But conversely, why didn’t we conquer these nations during the military god’s era? Do you know why?”

“W-well…”

“Because there would only be losses in conquering them.”

“?”

“Culture, history, language, politics, economy, values. It’s not very wise to take over a country where all these things are different. Even if you forcibly subjugate them, there will eventually be major resistance. Even if you conquer, conquest wars must be waged over a very long period. Not with force, but with the power of culture, slowly pouring in about 60 years of time—that’s what conquest enterprise requires. But having conquered with force, problems were bound to arise.”

“……”

“I haven’t mentioned it, but the Britain we conquered is experiencing dozens of riots and rebellions every day. How could anyone predict how much resentment they would feel after being absorbed by Pendragon, their lifelong enemy? …If I were in their place and Britain suddenly conquered Pendragon and told me to bow my head, I would rather choose to die with a sword in my mouth.”

“Isn’t that a bit extreme, Sister?”

“Hmm? Don’t you know? As soon as Pendragon succeeded in conquering Britain, most of the British royal family actually committed suicide with swords in their mouths.”

“……”

“That’s how much we’re like oil and water. To the extent that we would choose death rather than kneel to each other.”

“That’s…”

…Isn’t that just blind hatred for each other?

Ihan shook his head, wondering if this was like the view of a mustached dictator toward Jews.

‘I’m better than that.’

After all, his hatred for spellcasters or nobles had proper, justified reasons.

‘I am normal.’

It was a moment when he freshly realized that he was a normal person.