Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41 A city without a single knight, let alone a noble?
The city walls, which had looked so dependable just moments ago, now seemed like a sandcastle destined to crumble at a single breath from an invader. In truth, a city in this world that lacked the protection of a mage was no different from such a fragile thing.
"Um, have you come from another city to save us?"
Desperation and a silent plea were etched onto the policeman's face as he asked the question cautiously. However, Turan shook his head, denying those expectations.
"No. As I said before, I am merely a passing traveler."
At the honest answer, the policeman's face contorted with frustration, but he did not dare to protest. How could a mere commoner talk back to a mage?
Gazing at that face, Turan let out a faint sigh.
"But I'll look into what's happening for now. Is the City Hall still functioning?"
"Yes! There should be at least a few people left!"
Turan's intention to look into the city's circumstances wasn't because he wanted to seize a masterless city, nor was it because he found their plight unbearable. While masterless sheep were a pitiful sight, such people were hardly rare in this world. If one were to help every miserable person they encountered, even the centuries-long lifespan of a noble would be too short.
Turan simply wanted to verify the truth behind the threatening rumors—an army of another race powerful enough to bring down an entire family.
Even though he hadn't promised to solve the problem—only that he would look into the situation—the policeman's face brightened instantly.
After learning the location of the City Hall, Turan stepped into the streets of Kalamap. Contrary to his expectation of chaos, the interior of the city was eerily silent.
The atmosphere is... heavy. Incredibly so.
A quiet city wasn't particularly unusual. He had felt that Murei, which he had visited in the past, was quite bustling at the time, but looking back, it had been a tranquil place befitting a small town of a thousand people.
However, the reason this city felt particularly special was the pervasive aura of resignation hanging everywhere. The people wandering the streets with hollow, soulless eyes were mostly either very old or very young, and their clothing was shabby even by commoner standards.
The buildings that looked like shops were all closed, and some had broken doors as if they had been looted, yet no one seemed to care. Looking at this city, Turan was reminded of a sheepdog he had raised as a child—a creature so old it couldn't even lift its head, lying limp and waiting for its breath to stop.
This city gave off the same vibe as that aging beast.
The young and able-bodied must have taken their families and fled... leaving only the weak who lack even the energy to do so.
His appearance, dressed in thin traveler's clothes with a Golden Eagle perched on him, was still eye-catching, but the citizens of Kalamap didn't show much interest, unlike the policeman at the gate. It seemed they lacked the energy to even look around, burdened as they were by the misfortune laid out before them.
The Kalamap City Hall, which he reached a short while later, was just as silent. Those who appeared to be civil servants were leafing through documents, but their movements were sluggish and devoid of enthusiasm.
Just then, a civil servant who had accidentally poked a hole in a piece of parchment and was swearing under his breath glanced up and saw Turan. Staring at his attire, the official seemed to reach the same conclusion as the policeman earlier and shouted with wide eyes.
"C-could it be... are you one who has inherited the bloodline of the gods?"
When Turan nodded at the question implying he was a mage, every single official's face lit up with joy. An older woman asked hesitantly.
"Um, I ask this at the risk of being extremely rude, but may I inquire if you are one who has established a house with noble blood, or...?"
Seeing her ask so awkwardly whether he was a noble or a knight, it seemed they rarely had dealings with mages. Or perhaps the noble family of this city had been so excessively authoritarian that such interactions were never permitted.
"Turan. I am a wandering noble. Is there someone here in charge of this city?"
At his blunt, authoritative tone, the officials finally looked as if they had been saved. They looked like sheep that had been wandering the wilderness alone only to find a shepherd. Some were so moved they even shed tears.
*
A short while later, a plump old man who introduced himself as the temporary person in charge led Turan to the top room of the City Hall.
His name was Daruk. He said he hadn't originally held a very high rank, but he had become the representative because he was the oldest and most experienced among the remaining city officials.
"It is truly regrettable to host such an honorable person in such a humble place. Please forgive this insolence—"
"I'd prefer it if you skipped the flattery and spoke concisely. I don't know if this is the local culture, but it's uncomfortable."
Small towns often tended to treat nobles with excessive difficulty, but these people were extreme even by those standards. If he listened to every single word they said, the entire day would likely pass by.
The old man, Daruk, caught Turan's annoyed expression and replied softly, treading carefully.
"I-I understand."
"I heard on my way here that the nobles and knights of this city were slaughtered by Dark Elves."
"To be honest, we don't know the full details ourselves."
Daruk began to explain the situation.
About three weeks ago, several peddlers discovered the corpses of monster hunters on a path to the west of the city. Even their iron weapons had been sliced clean through. Since it was clearly the work of a magical beast—and a powerful one at that—they immediately ran to the city and informed the City Hall.
A minor beast might be one thing, but a beast descended from a predator was more than a match for ordinary monster hunters. Furthermore, since it was only a day's journey from the city, two of Kalamap's knights set out to eliminate it, but they did not return even after three days.
If two weren't enough, more forces were needed. The head of the family that ruled this city sent his younger brother and son along with ten knights to subjugate the threat.
This situation reminds me of when we were hunting that monkey beast.
The composition of the force was even roughly similar, except for the fact that Turan wasn't with them.
"And? What happened next?"
"Well, none of them returned either..."
The disappearance of two nobles was a loss of a magnitude that a small family could hardly withstand. The family head, abandoning even the defense of the city, took every remaining knight—excluding those too old or too young to serve—and headed west. A few days later, only one battered knight returned alive.
He said everyone was dead. When asked who had killed them, he left behind a single word—wraith—before drawing his last breath.
"A wraith."
"Coincidentally, rumors are rampant that countless humans are being slaughtered and eaten by Dark Elves to the west. A scholar said that if they are commanding wraiths, it must be the Dark Elves..."
Consequently, rumors spread that a Dark Elf army would soon swarm the city and devour all the humans. After many citizens fled, the city was left in its current state.
"What about reinforcements from nearby cities?"
"Well, we sent messengers several times, but we were rejected by all of them. They said they didn't want to disperse their forces in these times."
He added that even families related by blood to the deceased lord expressed reluctance. They said they would send people once the situation settled down a bit. It was an answer that was essentially a refusal.
"They're scared."
Indeed, even if one were to gain a city for free, what would be the point if they died? In a situation where rumors placed a Dark Elf army nearby, even a single knight would be too precious to spare.
Turan tilted his head and let out a small sigh.
"I understand the situation. But it seems this matter is more than I can handle—"
The moment he began to voice his refusal, Daruk, who had been sitting across from him, stood up and prostrated himself on the floor.
"I beg of you! Please become the master of this city!"
Even so, it was not something Turan could accept. Becoming the master here meant being tied to the city. A family head was not supposed to leave their main residence unless there was a war with another family or a major event of similar magnitude. This was because one never knew when a powerful enemy might invade and devastate the city.
Turan recalled his memories of being on the Blue Marlin. The pressure he felt back then, having to protect the lives of dozens of sailors on a single ship...
Becoming the lord of this city meant taking responsibility for the lives of over ten thousand people—or several thousand, even accounting for those who had fled. He did not want to say he would take responsibility for something he couldn't. Because that wouldn't be right.
As he was about to convey this intention, Daruk, with tears streaming down his wrinkled face, brought up something unexpected.
"These weak sheep need a shepherd. Please, show us mercy!"
Comparing nobles to shepherds and commoners to sheep. To think that the story he had heard from his mother as a child—something deeply embedded in a corner of his consciousness, yet never heard once during his travels to all sorts of places—would come up here.
Turan struggled not to show his agitation as he asked.
"That metaphor... is it a common saying here?"
"U-um, which one do you mean...?"
"That nobles are shepherds and commoners are sheep."
"I've lived here my whole life, so I don't know what it's like in other regions, but it's a common metaphor in the Gray Zone. The noble is the shepherd, the knight is the sheepdog, and the commoners are the sheep. The sheep shall graze in obedience and follow where the sheepdog leads, and the sheepdog shall obey the shepherd and protect the sheep..."
He explained that because the Gray Zone was a place with many rocky mountains, as its name suggested, it wasn't suitable for farming, so many people raised sheep on the sparsely grown pastures. As a result, the comparison had naturally come about at some point.
Hearing that much, he could be reasonably certain. Turan's mother was either from this region or had at least visited and stayed here. This was an expression he had never heard around Hisaril Hill where he grew up, nor during his several interactions with the nomads of the Enril Desert, who raised many sheep.
"Then, have you ever seen a person like this? Her name is Bije. It might not be her real name. About twenty years ago, she would have been in her late teens or early twenties."
Turan took out the portrait of his mother that he carried in his bag and asked, but Daruk looked at it intently before shaking his head.
"I'm not sure. I'm sorry. But if you wish, we can distribute copies of this drawing throughout the city to check."
As he said this, the old man looked up at Turan with moist, wrinkled eyes. The meaning behind that gaze was clear. To do what he wanted, this city had to at least remain standing...
Turan hesitated before letting out a sigh.
"As I said before, I cannot become the master of this city. However, I can be something of a guardian."
"A guardian, you say?"
"I will stay here temporarily and protect this city. Only until the threat to the west is gone, or until a suitable master for the city is found."
*
"A savior has come to our city! We are saved!"
"The noble descendant of the gods is with us, so let no one be afraid!"
In less than an hour, an announcement went out in the city of Kalamap that a new noble had come to protect them. The ambiguous nuance of a 'savior' rather than a 'lord' was intended to reassure the citizens by not informing them that this measure was merely 'temporary.'
A welcoming ceremony was even held in the plaza in front of the City Hall. Despite the lack of time and resources, it was quite a respectable affair, suggesting the officials had prepared it desperately.
In the midst of this, no one dared to investigate whether Turan was truly a noble, or if he was, how much power he possessed. Not only was there no way to judge, but they also believed that even attempting to verify his skills would offend him.
However, the perspective of the citizens watching from afar was bound to be a bit different.
"Is it... really true?"
"He doesn't look much different on the outside."
"He's handsome, like the Frea gods."
"What's the point of that? Do magical beasts run away just from looking at a face?"
At the makeshift welcoming ceremony, Turan felt the gazes of the citizens looking at him with skepticism. Perhaps thinking they wouldn't be heard because of the distance, some of them openly spat out cynical remarks.
Contrary to those cold words, their eyes held anxiety and a defensive instinct. The citizens didn't want to be disappointed anymore. With the lord who had protected them already dead, they would feel twice the despair if this unknown young man turned out to be a fraud or died as well.
"H-hey! Why is everyone so quiet!"
Beside him, Daruk and the other officials were fidgeting and needlessly scolding the citizens, but that didn't make the cheering any louder.
Watching this, Turan suddenly recalled the massive lightning storm the head of the Arabion family had shown in the past. At the time, he had thought it was impressive but somewhat pointless, but now he saw that it was actually a very meaningful event. To directly feel why a noble was a noble and how powerful their protector was—he realized how important that was.
Should I try it too? Since there isn't a single mage here...
Turan recalled the knight actors he had seen in the theater while staying with the Berk family. Even with mana that was like a speck of dust compared to a noble's, they had acted like powerful mages by creating brilliant flames.
How had they made that possible?
As flames erupted from his hand, the area around the plaza instantly fell silent. Some were afraid, thinking the noble had become angry at hearing the gossip and was about to use magic, while others were overjoyed to know that the young man truly had the power to protect them.
But the performance Turan intended to show was only just beginning.
The first thing he had to do was lower the temperature of the fire. If he lowered it too much, the fire would become invisible, so it was important to maintain the right balance. Since he had practiced this before, he passed this stage without difficulty.
The next thing he did was expand those low-temperature flames upward. Flames with a temperature so low they were inferior to the torches lit by commoners—flames that even a knight would laugh at and ignore.
However, since there were no mages among the citizens attending the welcoming ceremony, no one knew that fact.
"Ah..."
"O-ohhhhhhh!"
"The fire, the fire!"
Turan's mana was now at a level that would place him in the front ranks even among all nobles combined. The result of focusing that power not on the quality of these faint flames, but solely on increasing their quantity, was truly staggering.
Piercing through the bleak, swirling blizzard, the sky hundreds of meters above the plaza burned a brilliant, defiant red.
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