Ch.6060. Bankruptcy

“…Can I reattach it?”

This was what the elf Silvina muttered while stroking her broken bow inside the imperial palace where she was confined.

A bow made from a branch of the World Tree.

Now it was just a broken stick, so they hadn’t taken it away. If they had taken even this from her, Silvina would have gone mad.

A mystical weapon that transferred the tension in the bowstring directly to the arrow. It was a weapon well-suited for Silvina, whose physical abilities ranked among the highest even among elves. Of course, that was before it broke.

Even now, Silvina clung to this bow.

It wasn’t simply attachment to an exceptional weapon, but because she couldn’t forget the happiness she had experienced when this bow was intact.

Her journey with the Hero was the only enjoyable memory throughout her long life of reluctantly cooking and eating foul-smelling meat.

Of course, she too was disappointed by what the Hero showed at the end.

Especially the words he had mumbled while intoxicated before his death still felt like they were stabbing her heart.

‘Even so, there was no need to kill him so cruelly…’

Silvina closed her eyes tightly, lost in thought.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a bowl of tomato stew in front of her.

For some unknown reason, she had been served only vegetable dishes since her imprisonment, which she didn’t like. Still, she had to eat to survive. If only they had added some cow intestines to the stew…

Huh?

Strangely, today there was meat mixed in.

And it was relatively high-quality brisket, too good to be boiled in stew. The texture that melted as soon as she touched it with her spoon made her mouth water.

Silvina hesitated briefly before eagerly working her spoon.

She emptied the bowl in an instant.

It was a moment when she realized that even after losing a lover, you still get hungry if you don’t eat, and well-cooked brisket is tender.

After finishing her meal, she felt both satisfaction and a bit of self-loathing, but that didn’t last long.

An uninvited guest had arrived.

None other than Erick Wellesley.

The man who had beaten and arrested Gwon Heejin, had his wrists cut, even humiliated him in front of many people, and finally put him on the stake. The image of him nonchalantly smashing Gwon Heejin’s skull was still vivid in her mind.

‘What nerve…!’

Silvina clenched her fist.

Honestly, Silvina wasn’t passionately missing Gwon Heejin either. To be frank, he was closer to being someone she both loved and hated.

But what if it hadn’t been for Erick Wellesley? She might still be spending happy times with Gwon Heejin somewhere.

The person who took away her happiness. Yes, that’s what Erick Wellesley was.

That detestable human gave her orders with an expressionless face.

“Silvina. You bear responsibility for actively cooperating with the Hero’s false reports and their concealment. As punishment, I plan to assign you to the Lancarth Border Command. You’ll be serving in an area that suffered critical damage due to the Beast King’s participation.”

“…I’ve never belonged to the Empire. Not once.”

“But you don’t take orders from the Great Forest either, right? The elves treat you like an abandoned child anyway.”

“……”

Of course the elves would. Silvina herself knew this fact better than anyone, having stubbornly chewed on meat for over 100 years without a single companion to talk to.

However, even so, she couldn’t possibly follow this human’s orders…

“Ah, I won’t have you forcibly transported though. I’ll give you travel expenses, so make your way to the Border Command on your own.”

“…What if I desert along the way?”

“That would actually be better.”

“……?”

Erick answered indifferently, as if he actually wanted her to run away. For a very brief moment, he seemed to wear a faint smile.

He even provided equipment and some travel money as if to help her escape.

A bow of quite good quality though not as good as her original one, a mythril dagger that Gwon Heejin had given her as a gift, and jerky that made her mouth water just by looking at it, among other things.

What was this all about?

“You’ll be stationed at one of the Border Command fortresses as a scout. You’ll frequently cross the border to identify the habitats and movements of the beastmen swarming there. There won’t be any supervision then either, so you can run away if you want.”

“You want me to run away?”

“Yes. Anytime. You’re just prohibited from entering the imperial capital.”

Soon after, several guards came and escorted her outside the imperial capital. As Erick had promised, there was no surveillance or escort. They just gave her a horse.

Only then did Silvina realize.

‘He wants me to run away.’

It seemed Erick wanted to insult the dead and gone Gwon Heejin once more. If Silvina, who had been Gwon Heejin’s closest companion, suddenly deserted, it would tarnish the dead Gwon Heejin’s honor as well.

‘Cowardly human. You think I would comply with that?’

Silvina bit her lip tightly and slowly began to ride her horse.

And she started chewing on jerky in preparation for the long journey. The cut was probably rump, and it had a crispy texture like a snack, perhaps magically dried.

***

Silvina left quietly, they said.

She was the most skilled among the Hero’s party members. Moreover, she was of a different race, making her difficult to control.

That’s why I stepped in personally. I thought that Silvina, who was the only one who truly loved Gwon Heejin among the party members, would be suspicious of my kindness. She would think that if she ran away, it would tarnish Gwon Heejin’s honor (though there was none to begin with).

Of course, if she were human, there would be a high possibility of her changing her mind along the way.

But Silvina was an elf who had endured for over 100 years in the Great Forest with nothing but the joy of hunting and eating meat. Using one of the Border Command fortresses as a base and crossing the border would actually be a more stimulating life for her.

Besides, the Border Command, with its high proportion of penal units, provided good food even if other supplies were scarce.

They knew from experience that if they didn’t feed their soldiers well, they would just lie down and die.

‘Perhaps this is a happier life for Silvina. Thanks to that, I got rid of her easily.’

But there was another party member who required more complex calculations.

That was the female knight Millia.

First, her skills were too mediocre.

Although she was from the Royal Order, frankly, her abilities were at the bottom among them. When she joined, she was barely at the Expert intermediate level, but having no practical experience for a long time, any evaluation now would be meaningless.

For someone like her to survive in the Border Command, she needed strong motivation.

To provide that motivation, I thought of her family.

Even though Gwon Heejin died bearing all the world’s hatred, the Count of Neize hadn’t turned favorable.

The Cordana exchange director, the Vice Count’s nominee trading, and then Millia. It was impossible for the Count to continue governing his territory.

‘If the territory is going to be taken away anyway, it’s better to make the transition smooth.’

While examining the Empire’s map with Bingo, I soon came to a conclusion.

I found a way to hold the Count of Neize family accountable while also giving Millia motivation.

I soon went to where Millia was confined.

‘What a sight.’

A pink-haired female knight sitting with a dazed expression.

Honestly, I had no personal connection with Millia. Although she was my junior, we had never gone on territory salvation missions together, nor had we socialized.

Millia also started to say “Sen…” to me but then closed her mouth. Fortunately, she knew it wasn’t the time to talk about seniority.

I bluntly informed Millia.

“The Count of Neize family will soon be disbanded.”

“……!”

For a moment, I could see the focus disappear from her eyes.

Soon after, she tried to say something but then hung her head. She was probably imagining herself being worked to death in a penal unit while her family labored in a work camp. Maybe she was even worrying about worse.

I looked at the top of her head for a moment and then opened a way out.

“The Barony of Enekia.”

“Pardon…?”

“It’s far from the imperial capital, but with no heir, it’s essentially become a direct territory. It’s obviously a small rural territory, but it borders the sea, so it’s more valuable than inland territories. It’s also not involved in the Cordana frenzy.”

“Why there…?”

“After the Count of Neize loses his title, I’m thinking of requesting the court to send him there as an administrator. If I make the request, there’s no chance it will be rejected.”

At these words, Millia’s eyes widened. She seemed to understand what I meant.

There had been several precedents where an administrator sent to a city without an heir eventually received a title and took the lord’s position after a few years. Governing a region far from the imperial capital was annoying and troublesome even for the Emperor.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the Count of Neize would receive a title again. But.

“It depends on you. As you know, the Empire is generous to capable people.”

Millia looked at her hands with a mixture of disbelief, then nodded with a determined expression.

As if she would somehow hone her skills in the Border Command and break out of her shell. I just smiled at her, raising only the corners of my mouth.

“…Yes! I’ll definitely try.”

Millia’s face was already filled with passion for her family’s revival.

She was so encouraged that she even cautiously asked me for a sparring match. No doubt she was making this request while recalling the battle between me and Gwon Heejin.

While I understood her feelings, I politely declined. Considering Millia’s condition, there was a possibility I might unintentionally send her to join Gwon Heejin.

“Just go, Millia.”

“…Yes.”

The next day, Millia left for the Border Command after briefly meeting with her family.

Her uncle, the Vice Count of Neize, and his family also left together. While Millia was at least formally “dispatched,” the Vice Count was mercilessly sent to a penal unit.

It was reported that citizens of the imperial capital curiously watched the group, noting the unusually high number of pink-haired individuals among them.

Finally, I was going to send the magician Yuni as well, but…

“It would be better to send the magician Yuni separately after she improves her casting speed somewhat under the training of the court magicians.”

That was the officials’ judgment. I agreed. If we sent her as she was, she would likely infuriate the Border Command soldiers and cause hair loss and digestive disorders.

‘I guess this wraps things up somewhat.’

How these people who had invested their lives in Gwon Heejin with different motivations, only to go bankrupt and hit rock bottom, would live from now on was entirely up to them.

***

After the disposition of the Hero’s party members was decided.

The imperial court, which assisted the Emperor’s rule, concluded that nearly twenty territories had already progressed to undead transformation.

This conclusion was reached after filtering the reports submitted by lords and conducting direct field investigations.

“Unless a mine is suddenly discovered in the territory, or a senile dragon appears, gives all its horns and teeth, and doesn’t leave, catastrophe is unavoidable.”

The problem was that due to the decline of these territories, there was a setback in investigating the collective disappearance (or escape) of prostitutes that had occurred recently.

It wasn’t deliberate defiance, but because they had reduced their private soldiers and retainers, they couldn’t comply with the imperial palace’s order to cooperate with the investigation. If they had cooperated and caught even one succubus hiding its identity, it would have been a great help.

“…That’s not the only problem. There are lords who neglect their territories while hanging around the exchange, unable even to pay their servants’ wages.”

At these words, a young vice-minister was about to say “Surely not,” but then closed his mouth.

Because now, nothing was impossible in the imperial capital.