Chapter 115:

The smugglers' hut was bustling for the first time in a while.

It was the result of not only Til and I, who stayed here often anyway, but also the entire count shadow corps, who had been out elsewhere, gathering together.

In front of the map, which was now half in tatters, Kaseph looked around at the assembly.

I was so used to seeing him that I felt nothing, but the count shadow corps held their breath at the sight of the strange man.

“The result of the investigation has revealed that their main base is here.”

Kaseph’s long finger pointed to a spot far up on the map.

Nagging him to stop using fire so the map wouldn't get ruined had paid off.

“There appears to be nothing on the map.”

“I thought so too. Report the reconnaissance results.”

A corps member standing in the back let out a cough and began his report with a trembling voice.

“It is marked as empty on the map, but in reality, that is not the case. There is an orchard.”

“Ravens hiding in an orchard. Nothing special, then.”

“It’s not quite that simple, Count. That orchard is Stetten property….”

“Are you saying it’s the Third Duke’s land?”

The reporting corps member nodded his head.

I could roughly picture the situation.

The assembly of well-being must have handed over the private property they squeezed out of Timmy to the Ravens.

If I were to invade Stetten’s private property, it would naturally create a political problem.

A big one, at that.

With all eyes already on the Stetten family, if I were to make a move, the attention of the Dukes would inevitably be drawn.

Normally, I would have approached cautiously, considering the political situation.

Like luring the Raven bastards out, or quietly taking care of them by exploiting a gap in their security.

“We don’t have time. I’ve been told that the Stetten side has already received reports of our movements.”

The informants Blaiher provided had informed me that the Stetten side had already detected the attack and had begun to respond.

The Imperial Guard’s judgment was that they would arrive in two days at the earliest, and four days at the latest.

“The ones under Stetten may be arrogant, but they are not incompetent. We need to move as quickly as possible, even today.”

“Normally, I would have said something like ‘what’s the rush,’ but today I must agree. We don’t have time to consider political issues.”

As I nodded, Til looked at Kaseph triumphantly.

She probably thought Kaseph would agree as well.

Contrary to her expectation, Kaseph shook his head.

“Rushing in hastily has a high chance of making the already unstable curse even more unstable. This is not a problem that can be solved by headbutting it as you like.”

“Oh yeah? Then what solution does our expert here have?”

“We need to at least take the minimum measures to prevent the curse from going berserk.”

“Now, let’s get the situation in order.”

Sensing the atmosphere was about to turn hostile, I forced my way in.

“Even without Stetten, we don’t have much time. We don’t know when those bastards will activate the curse. That said, charging in without any preparation would not be wise either.”

“So?”

“It means we need to take the minimum measures. At the very least, we must prevent the curse from scattering in all directions, causing the Dukes to chase us with fire in their eyes. It’s a good thing we have an expert.”

As I turned my face towards Kaseph and smiled faintly, I heard Kaseph’s short sigh.

Kaseph, who had been staring at the map for a moment, opened his mouth.

“It seems possible to change the flow of the curse by seizing a few relay stations. But I can’t do it alone.”

“How much support do you need?”

“The entire count shadow corps, and the Demons too, if possible.”

“You ask for a lot.”

“We need to secure at least four locations to even make an attempt. They won’t have been lax with their security, so we must prepare as much as possible.”

“Then won’t the force attacking the main base be weakened.”

“What does it matter? Chartra’s Weapon Demon and the Empire’s old snake are stepping up personally.”

He wasn't entirely wrong.

Sending Til alone would be more than enough to turn the orchard into a wasteland.

The problem was that it wasn't a simple matter of beating them down with force and being done with it.

“Two people are not enough to clean up the surroundings and transport prisoners.”

“That may be so. But I’m sure someone like you has a good method or two prepared.”

I rubbed my chin and gave a bitter smile.

Was this a counterattack for me having just pushed him to come up with minimum measures?

He wasn’t wrong.

I did have a card prepared, in my own way.

“We have the Imperial Guard that His Majesty the Emperor has provided.”

“Won’t that just needlessly expose what we’re doing?”

“As you said, there are security issues with mobilizing them for the relay station raids, but if it’s a matter of harassing Stetten, they will help with their sleeves rolled up.”

If it’s just tying down the knights or blocking escape routes, the risk of the Eight Council’s identity being revealed is low.

Of course, the Imperial Guard aren’t fools, so they'll notice a thing or two, but it would be difficult for them to grasp the whole picture.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Guard alone does not completely solve the problem.

“In the end, it means only you and I are going into the orchard, right?”

“Are you not confident?”

“That’s not the issue. Dealing with the dregs there is easy, but if they intentionally stall for time, we’ll have no choice but to give them an opportunity.”

It is certainly difficult for just two people to respond to unexpected situations.

It’s a problem that could be solved by taking Ede or Wilhelm, or a count shadow corps member from Chartra, but….

“As I said again, we’re stretched thin on this side too. It’s difficult to spare any personnel.”

“Just spare one person.”

“You’re not asking for just anyone, but for someone useful, and we have a more severe manpower shortage here.”

“…So petty.”

Even Til couldn’t strongly refute and just grumbled.

Kaseph’s argument was also right, since they had to hit several places simultaneously and without definite reconnaissance.

“Well, there is one backup plan. You probably won’t like it very much, though.”

“…Just say it.”

Til, her brow deeply furrowed, said cautiously as if very reluctant.

Her intuition is a sharp one.

“Getting help from Hugo….”

“No.”

“I haven’t even finished my sentence yet.”

“Absolutely not.”

Til growled, the veins on her head throbbing.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen her that angry.

No, I think this might be the first time.

“Mr. Hugo, is that the same Mr. Hugo who was in Chartra before?”

“Do you know him?”

“Uh… I suppose you could say that?”

Ede, who had been suppressing her talkativeness and just listening, opened her mouth.

Til shook her head, telling her not to speak, but it was not enough to stop Ede once her mouth was open.

“They used to be a fantastic pair that stuck together with the young lady back in the day.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“He was always with her when Lady Til was giving Lord Werner a hard time hmm, I believe he works for the Three Blades now.”

Ede, who was starting to unravel more past stories, quickly finished her words under Til’s murderous glare.

“Then isn’t that even better? We’re short on time, and here’s an ally you’re already in sync with.”

“Ede just said it, that guy is from the Three Blades, you know? He’s someone who won’t do us any good if he knows what we’re doing.”

“On the contrary, couldn’t he become a witness who can tell the Dukes that we are not the culprits?”

“Why does it have to be that bastard?”

“Because we need to make the Three Blades an accomplice as well.”

If the Eight Council acts on its own and fails, the responsibility is entirely ours.

If it becomes known that Blaiher is involved, it will be a huge scandal.

But if Hugo gets involved, the Three Blades will also have a responsibility for what happens next.

“There’s no way the Three Blades would take such a risk.”

“The Three Blades would. But there’s no one from the Three Blades around here except Hugo. And he’s a very close friend of yours. Try to sweet-talk him.”

Seeing my grinning face, Til spat out a small curse and went outside.

I could feel everyone else, except for Kaseph and me, tense up.

“You don’t have to worry. She’s the type of person who will eventually move as ordered, despite acting like that.”

“When should we begin the operation?”

Kaseph asked without paying any attention to Til who had stormed out.

“The sooner the better. This evening, if possible.”

***

The demon curse caster flicked his tail from side to side.

The time the Raven bastards had given him was almost up.

But this damn curse was still not complete.

He wasn't even sure if it could be completed in the first place.

“What should we do?”

His assistant asked cautiously.

Seeing him with bandages wrapped tightly around the area he was beaten yesterday brought back the nightmare of that moment.

“There’s no other way. We have to do it. Otherwise, we die.”

“But if we just activate the spell formula like this….”

“You think I don’t know that? Shut up and get ready!”

His voice unknowingly rose and cracked.

Regret flooded in immediately, but it couldn’t be helped.

They had a cooperative relationship with the Duke of Leitche, but those were just empty words.

The higher-ups might not know, but they were effectively no different from slaves.

“Send a signal to the relay stations. Tell them we’re starting soon.”

The assistant nodded and left the spot.

In the meantime, the demon tore at his hair.

The future he was promised was not like this.

To him, who had barely managed to make a living with a talent for something as useless as curses, the commander had promised a comfortable life.

For the first few years, that promise was definitely kept.

He didn't have to go hungry, and he didn't have to be hunted for being a demon.

But as the war between the Eslick Empire and the Vestol Assembly ended, his life went downhill again.

He had a glimmer of hope when the commander said he had found a new sponsor, but now….

“We have a big problem!”

“Can it get any worse than this?”

“Four locations are out of contact!”

“Aren’t they just not answering because they’re drunk?”

“You know they’re not. Unlike the Vestol soldiers, these Ravens are not like that.”

He was right.

These bastards never let their guard down for a moment.

Even if a few of them did, there was no way four locations would go silent at the same time.

“What should we do?”

The assistant asked with a trembling voice.

The relay stations were the core of this experiment.

If they couldn't amplify and transmit properly, there was no way the curse would be cast properly.

No, it would be a relief if the curse didn’t even activate; it could go completely berserk.

He couldn't even predict what would happen after that.

“Activate it.”

“Pardon?”

“Then what do you want me to do! Do you want to just sit around and get killed by the Raven bastards?”

The assistant, who had moved his mouth a few times without a sound, soon nodded and ran to the side of the furniture that served as a medium.

Even if the curse goes berserk, it's not like I'll die, right?

At worst, the Empire bastards will die out.

Those bastards who have nothing to do with him.

The curse caster, who had panted through several deep breaths, placed his hand on the prepared spell formula.

The neutralization curse itself was simple to a fault, so it was activated without difficulty.

“How is it?”

“Uh, it seems okay for now.”

As soon as those words were finished, a hair-raising sensation enveloped his body.

It was natural if you thought about it, but it meant it had failed.

“What do we do?”

“What do you mean, what do we do? Pack your things so we can leave as soon as the Raven bastards come.”

“Come to think of it, where did all those guys go?”

Only then did the curse caster realize that at this important moment, no one had come to this small back room.

The ones who had been yelling at him to produce results, now of all times?

“Pack your things. We need to get out of here right now.”

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