Chap 38-For a New World

 

Sinking someone is not a difficult task in aristocratic society; it happens quite often.

The Thieves’ Guild receives many requests from nobles to take down rival families.

Sinking someone is easier than cutting a cake.

In other words, what am I trying to say?

Simply put, capturing Arnold is a very natural thing to do in aristocratic society.

“You’re saying that so confidently.”

Our Princess Arietta seems dissatisfied.

“Nobles are very particular about these things.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter since the instructor said I can catch him or not as I please.”

“There’s that, and I’m trying to create a noble atmosphere. As a noble, I will punish Edenberun and Erjet for tarnishing the face of the nobility! Doesn’t that sound good?”

Arietta, upon hearing my story, gaped as if I were talking nonsense.

Why is she so surprised?

Anyway, I’ve done quite a bit of noble-like things, so I’m thinking of giving it a try.

“You?”

“How rude.”

I shrugged lightly.

Since I’ve already injected Arnold with a Magical Needle, I can find his location at any time.

The Magical Needle I injected into Sera ended with just a warning to Ailia, but I also injected Arnold with a Magical Needle.

Finding him won’t be difficult.

Alright, now I’m going to catch Arnold.

That’s what I thought until this point.

Around that time, Arnold was unexpectedly as Ciel had predicted.

Yes. In fact, the atmosphere between Arnold and Clara was strange.

The reason for this was Clara’s condition.

Unlike Arnold, Clara was not a combat type.

So, Ciel’s bold attack completely overwhelmed her on the first day, and she only regained consciousness after a long time. Even then, the students spread rumors about how they had defeated her, saying that Clara’s underwear was mature.

When she questioned it again, that Bathory, who was impossible to tell if she was a noble lady, smacked her on the back of the neck, knocking her out, and threw her into the fountain.

She floated in the fountain for a while.

Even a strange elf put a lotus flower on her head while she was floating in the fountain.

Due to all that humiliation, Clara said she was depressed.

“Arnold, I’m scared to meet that woman again.”

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

Arnold pulled Clara close with one arm.

Due to their size difference, Clara, nestled in one arm, looked like a princess asking for help and a prince on a white horse, but.

Considering how Arnold was defeated by Ciel, it’s laughable.

Other nobles would probably tell him to beat Bathory before doing that, but like a herbivore in front of a predator, Arnold had no intention of winning against that abyssal demon.

“But you couldn’t do anything to that woman either. Princess Ailia seems to have some kind of weakness now too.”

According to the maid, she throws things and smashes furniture every day in anger. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

With Kailon reportedly fighting, what can we do against that Bathory?

But whatever the past may be, sweet Arnold gently stroked Clara.

“It’s okay, I won’t let her harm you anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And seeing this practice, it doesn’t seem to reflect much on the final grade, so you can just catch the goblins you see here.”

In fact, it was just a simple self-rationalization, a mental victory.

At least if they stayed here, they wouldn’t be harmed by that monster in a woman’s disguise.

Naturally, the couple who were defeated by Bathory became more closely connected in this forest.

“Arnold!”

“Clara!”

The soon-to-be-married couple, Arnold and Clara, hugged tightly, feeling a sense of camaraderie.

“Ugh. I can’t watch this.”

Asta, Arnold’s vassal, who was watching the couple’s actions, narrowed his brows as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have and grumbled as he went on patrol around the area.

The Edenberun family’s reputation was plummeting every day.

Instead of doing that, he should be thinking about how to beat that Bathory or whatever.

Does he have time to be cuddling like that?

If Edenberun falls, his position as a vassal becomes precarious.

‘Maybe it would be better to remain neutral.’

No matter how you look at it, Arnold can’t beat that Bathory.

Besides, he’s just stuck watching their date.

Does he even consider this a class?

Well, he’s fought monsters on the front lines, so this must be a joke to him.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, something caught Asta’s eye.

He saw figures breaking through the bushes in the distance.

They were covered in black from head to toe, with their faces hidden behind masks.

Intruders?

Or maybe they’re instructors. Someone must have caused an accident.

Asta thought about going to check it out, but then shook his head.

He had to protect that damned young master and his fiancée.

Somewhere in Schperen’s Forest.

Around this time, there were indeed beings who had infiltrated the forest.

The Latin Commune, a group that had previously replaced the instructors guarding this forest with their own people.

They were an anti-imperialist group secretly formed in the Latin region of central Empire.

On the surface, their cause was freedom and equality, the liberation of workers oppressed by vested interests such as nobles and the imperial family, but.

Recently, many people who were fed up with the war against the Demon King or who had suffered severely from nobles and other vested interests and were seeking revenge had joined.

The members gathered here were all captivated by that ideology and risked their lives.

The reason they were here was.

-Arietta is scheduled to participate in the next Schperen practice.

They had heard such information from a member who collected information in the slums of the capital.

Princess Arietta.

In fact, she is a princess known to have no star sign ability and mental problems, and is currently the furthest from the imperial succession.

She sounds like a pitiful existence, but.

By capturing that princess this time, they could show off their existence.

Not just as a mere anti-imperialist group, but as a legitimate belligerent force.

“What about the students we saw?”

“We knocked them all out and threw them into the east cave. We didn’t bother with those who seemed strong.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re killing everyone they see in this forest.

They’re only capturing the princess.

They want to make them realize that they could be targeted at any time.

“Good. Our goal is only the overthrow of the Paleob imperial family. We can’t waste time, so it’s better to capture only those who saw us.”

“If we’re going to capture the imperial family anyway, wouldn’t it be better to kill those nobles too?”

The man who received the order from the organization shook his head at the member’s words.

Some members in this place wanted to kill the other noble students, but there was no need to make things so big now.

Even if the abandoned princess is captured, the other nobles won’t step in, but if the next head of those nobles is attacked, then the other nobles will start to suppress the anti-imperialists.

Above all, there were commoners in Schperen.

If they overthrow the Empire in the future, they will have to get rid of all the nobles, so commoner elites are essential.

It would be troublesome if they were caught together while killing the nobles now.

“The instruction is not to be too provocative. We have to show our legitimacy, and above all, there are many commoners in Schperen.”

“So we only need to capture the princess and her subordinates.”

“Yes. Is the information accurate? Is the princess there?”

“Yes. She’s there. Her group members are the daughter of the Bathory Baron Family and the daughter of a poor noble family.”

“All women. It will be easy to deal with.”

The princess is mentally unstable and has no star sign ability.

That Bathory is a concern, but it was obvious that she couldn’t be better than them, who were fighting with their lives for the cause.

“So, are we only killing the princess?”

“If she can’t be captured, we were told to kill her instead.”

The instruction itself was to capture her if possible.

If that’s impossible, kill her. Of course, from the Latin Commune’s point of view, negotiating with the imperial family while keeping her alive was also a method.

That’s why they forcibly replaced the instructors guarding the forest with the Commune’s experts.

But if it seems impossible, they were told to kill her.

In the end, the Latin Commune’s goal is the overthrow of the monarchy, so they must kill the princess, whatever the circumstances.

“Then we can kill the people around her.”

“Yes. All of this is for our new world.”

They will do anything for a new world.

That was the Latin Commune. Overthrowing the old system of the monarchy. A group that will do anything for the sake of the cause.

So, they gathered here today to kill the princess.

They put their hands together.

“””For a new world.”””

For a new world.

The members, as if brainwashed by something, began to move with a full heart.

The Latin Commune’s seemingly great footsteps were about to begin.

We’ve been catching goblins for a while now.

There are quite a few groups.

As if they’ve been caught by something.

I’ve met a few groups, but they mainly stay in one place and wait until class is over.

But I didn’t see any groups moving around.

If they were attacked by goblins, there should be corpses or something. Or the instructors would stop them.

But there’s nothing like that.

What does this mean? At least it means there’s another threat.

There’s such a thing as a sixth sense.

I can feel an ominous energy in the forest.

Is spreading [Mana Thread] to search the area a good idea?

I need to get insurance first.

“Isn’t it a bit boring?”

“It is. It’s boring. It would be nice to have some alcohol or cigarettes.”

“What kind of noble lady drinks alcohol in a place like this?”

Arietta only treats me like a noble lady when it suits her.

There’s nothing to do here except catch goblins.

In the end, what matters is what kind of threat is coming.

If the possibility is high, it could be assassins sent by Ailia. Or maybe Kailon.

Thinking about it now, Arietta’s participation in the practice is showing our weaknesses in many ways.

If Ailia or Kailon don’t move directly and send people, this would be the opportunity to capture Princess Arietta without being detected.

Then would those shady guys just throw anyone in?

No. Since there are monsters, they might release high-level monsters.

Of course, this is only possible for people who really know the underworld. Brothers who are trying to kill their siblings might know that much.

But this is just one possibility.

If Ailia or Kailon are really involved, there are many possible inferences.

Then we need to prepare accordingly.

I tied [Mana Thread] to every tree we passed, just in case.

“Oh, there’s a river over there.”

“What are you going to do there?”

“Princess, let’s practice with mana poison and release it here. We’ll feed it to the goblins and kill them. We need to consider the possibility that the goblins went to other guys, so we need to get as much insurance as possible.”

It’s easy, right?

Arietta’s face contorted at those words.

Now is the chance while Riel is hunting goblins away from us.

On the surface, I’m saying I’m targeting goblins.

“Are you crazy? What if people die?”

“The mana poison in the river is fine. It gets diluted in the river unless you feed it directly. By the time this river reaches downstream, it will all be diluted. By then, the mana poison will be purified on its own.”

In the end, the mana poison created by human malice is purified when it flows into nature.

What can mere humans do to it, no matter what they do?