Chapter 506: The Situation Surrounding the Itsuki Margrave Lands

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A man stood on the roof just ahead of us.

"I can’t let you go any further."

He blocked our path, then continued, "Who are you? What business do you have here?"

The moment we stopped, people appeared on the surrounding roofs one after another. We’d been spotted after all. They’d probably been watching our destination and deciding when to stop us.

The man studied us carefully.

"Oh? The larger one is Zhu Biao? Quite a difficult name. A Warrior, and an exceptionally strong one at that. And you are..."

He was clearly trying to use Appraisal on me.

"Hmm... I can’t see anything. Not even your name. What troublesome people. Two individuals whose identities are completely unknown—what business brings you here? Who do you intend to meet further ahead? I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to pass."

His words were extremely polite, yet he held a drawn dagger. Everyone surrounding us had also drawn their weapons. Killing intent surged. They clearly intended to kill us. We were still unarmed.

"This isn’t exactly a friendly welcome, but we didn’t come here to harm Lord Itsuki Margrave. We’re part of a certain margrave’s party that happens to be nearby."

I tried speaking cheerfully, but he wasn’t having it.

"Even if you say that, do you have anything that can prove your identity?"

Words alone weren’t going to be enough. I drew a sword from my mana bag.

The moment the sword appeared, tension rippled through the people surrounding us.

"The pommel has the crest of a certain margrave family carved into it. If you take a look, I think you’ll be convinced."

When I’d had this sword sharpened in the Eisleben lands, they’d carved the Eisleben family crest onto the pommel as proof of the work. The original crest of the Duke Under family, who had given me the sword, was already there, and the Eisleben crest had been added beside it. Showing it was fine, but I wondered if anyone here would even recognize the Eisleben crest.

"May I see that sword?"

He asked with a face that clearly expected me to refuse.

"Here."

I used "Divine Legs" and appeared right in front of him, holding the pommel up to his nose.

"A bit dark? ’Light.’"

A beat later, voices rose from those surrounding us.

"Geh!?" "Wah!?" "How!?"

The man in front of me was visibly shaken. The sword in his hand twitched, but with me standing directly in front of him, he couldn’t move even if he wanted to. His eyes flicked between my face and the pommel. His hand trembled. He looked like he was debating whether or not to try cutting me down.

After staring at the pommel for a while, he let out a breath.

"You’re right. There’s no mistake—it’s the crest of a certain margrave. And beside it is a crest that resembles that of a duke from a neighboring country. That’s enough. You may put it away."

I returned to my original position and stored the sword in my mana bag.

"Please refrain from such childish stunts. No number of lives would be enough."

He spoke in a tone that sounded almost like a lament.

"Well, I am a child, as you can see. Please just laugh it off as something a kid would do. That said, I didn’t want to be looked down on too much, so I thought I’d show a small glimpse of what I can do."

I said it seriously, but Zhu Biao burst out laughing beside me. He’d probably been on the receiving end of something similar before and understood the feeling.

Once it was clear we weren’t enemies, the atmosphere among those surrounding us softened slightly.

"I’ll ask again. What business does the messenger of that certain margrave have here?"

The man speaking to us kept his polite tone, but there was an irritated edge to it now.

"As you can see, I’m just a kid’s messenger. The messengers we sent during the day weren’t able to meet any of Lord Itsuki Margrave’s subordinates, and they weren’t even told the reason why. So we decided to try an unofficial approach to learn why a meeting wasn’t possible."

The people around us stirred.

"You came during the day, then..."

"Yes. We sent messengers twice. Both times they were kept waiting and turned away without explanation. My master decided that doing things the proper way wouldn’t get us anywhere, so I was ordered to investigate. That’s why I’m here."

Silence fell for a moment after I finished.

Then the man spoke.

"What I’m about to say is only my personal view. Please understand that. There will likely be an official announcement soon, and something will probably be announced in the Royal Capital as well. That said... are you aware that a neighboring territory is currently invading ours?"

"Yes. I’ve heard rumors."

"I see. This battle is not simply a conflict between margraves. It looks like it will become something much larger. Therefore, I recommend that the margrave you serve return to his territory as soon as possible and prepare so that he can respond immediately if His Majesty the King issues a call to arms. If you don’t hurry, you may find yourselves caught up in the fighting."

He spoke without emotion.

Something larger than a fight between margraves? Did that mean the Empire was going to invade the Mainz Kingdom? If it turned into a blitzkrieg—there was no electricity in this world, so what else could I call it?—the unprepared Mainz Kingdom might lose the Royal Capital in no time. Like how Paris fell so quickly in World War II. If that happened, what would become of the embassy? Lily? Konoka? Worry hit me all at once.

"It seems you’ve understood. I hope things don’t reach the worst possible outcome, but those in positions of power should act while preparing for the worst. Please convey what I’ve said."

He bowed his head.

"Thank you for the valuable information. There’s one thing I’d like to ask."

He looked slightly irritated.

"There’s more?"

"Who exactly are you, the one sharing this information?"

There was a brief pause.

"You haven’t introduced yourself, so I have no obligation to do so either. I am someone who works behind the scenes in the Itsuki Margrave lands. Please understand it that way."

Pressing further wouldn’t get me anything. And even if we went deeper into the city, I doubted we’d learn more than this.

"Then we’ll be going. Thank you for the information."

I gave a short bow.

"Please give my regards to your master. I’ll say it again—I believe it would be best to return home quickly."

"Understood."

When we turned to leave, the circle of people opened only in the direction we needed to go.

Once we were clear, we began jumping across the roofs again.

"Zhu Biao," I said while leaping.

"What is it?"

"They called you Zhu Biao."

"That’s how it’s always sounded to me."

The language conversion function really was excellent.