Chapter 94 – Reward Part 5

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

Elvin and his men began scanning the surroundings warily after hearing my words.

“I do not feel any other presence nearby…… Are some of your men really present?”

“Of course. You’re not someone who would back down from a bluff, correct?”

“That’s true. However……”

Like I thought, he’d find my words hard to believe.

“Just how long do you intend to keep talking uselessly? Hurry up and kill him!”

“……The next time you disturb the conversation between His Excellency and me, I’ll kill you. Understood?”

After Elvin’s threat, the man on observer duty trembled in fear.

“Your Excellency, if you please.”

“……Hm? What?”

“I am aware there is no need for Your Excellency to do so, but if possible, I request for some proof that your words were no mere bluff.”

Was this the last request of someone about to die? I guess I’ll just humor him.

“Very well. Hmm, let’s see…… Go ahead and throw something up into the air.”

“What do you mean by this?”

“Anything is fine. Throw something about three meters upward. ……Oh, but you can’t throw your dagger though.”

“And why is that?”

“……Sorry, but I’m thinking of bringing back your weapons as souvenirs for my Clan members.”

“Souvenirs? ……I see. Dead men need no weapons. Is that it? How about a bronze coin then?”

Elvin took out a large bronze coin from his pocket.

“That’s fine.”

Elvin flipped the coin with his fingers. The bronze coin spun around and flew upward to a height of about three meters. Elvin caught it again once it fell back down.

“………So what was the point of all that?”

“Take a look at the coin in your hand. There’s a hole where the face of a man is supposed to be, right?”

Elvin trembled as he stared at the coin with a shocked expression.

“……I-It’s exactly as you say. T-This can’t be. Just how……”

Elvin hastily threw something upward once more. His hasty actions were as if he wasn’t aware that he was about to die soon.

He apparently threw even more coins into the air. He deftly caught them when they fell and checked them one by one with an increasingly distraught expression.

“Just how did this happen……? An invisible Artifact? T-This is Your Excellency’s power……”

“No, not mine. It’s my comrade’s.”

“………It seems everything you’ve told me was true.”

“That’s what I promised, right? I’m not exactly an honest man, but none of my earlier words were lies.”

“……So this means you are able to kill us freely at the drop of a hat.”

“That’s right. I will have all of you die here. ……However, your sacrifice will not be wasted. No, I will ensure that it will not be wasted.”

“W-What are you doing!? Hurry up and kill this man already!”

The man who played the role of an observer finally realized how screwed he was and frantically urged Elvin. As for Elvin himself, he merely stared back at the guy with an icy glare.

“Do it.”

At Elvin’s instruction, his subordinate pulled out his sword and surprisingly beheaded the man who was supposed to be their observer. The man’s head rolled on the ground. He couldn’t even move a step and collapsed dead within moments.

Elvin suddenly got down on his knees. A moment later, all of his subordinates knelt with him.

“Your Excellency, Forgive my impertinence, but I would like to plead for the lives of my men. Could you please allow them to live? You can kill me in whatever way you wish.

We will absolutely not get in the way of Your Excellency in the future. Please just take my life and spare the rest. Please.”

Elvin kept bowing so much that his forehead was about to hit the ground.

I felt my current agitated emotions suddenly calm down.

Ah…… The emotion filter kicked in huh. This is my first time actually experiencing the effects of this system.

Nanom, which constantly monitors my mental state, should have activated it to reduce my mental stress that probably became too high.

In this state, it felt like I could kill anyone without any hesitation or remorse. Was it also a cybernetic system that facilitated efficient mass killing?

“……That’s impossible. You all know too much. You may not believe my words, but I truly feel this is unfortunate. ……I hope you will live more decent and fulfilling lives in your next ones……”

“P-Please wait! Please, stay your hand, Your Excellency! If you spare our lives, we all promise to work under you.”

“……I’m sorry, but I can’t bring myself to trust such words.”

“That’s more than reasonable. There is no way you would believe in men who would change their allegiance so easily. However, please believe me when I say that we have not once pledged our allegiance to this country, or even the current prime minister, Marquis Villis Burke.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Our organization was formed by the first prime minister of the Belta Kingdom when it was founded.

As time went on, the position of prime minister was passed down, and command of our organization was passed down as well.

In exchange for lending our strength to the succeeding kings and prime ministers, our village was promised to be given yearly aid and monetary support.

Since then, our village has served this kingdom for the past seven generations.

However, Marquis Villis Burke said that times have changed and unilaterally set the aid’s amount to one-third of the original.

The times may truly have changed. We may have been convinced to voluntarily give up some of our benefits if it was done through diplomatic means and reasonable discussions. However, it’s a different story for them to decide in such a one-sided manner.

To be honest, our line of work really isn’t easy. There are many hardships, and many of our family members and friends often died in the line of duty. Our ancestors may have pledged loyalty to this country, but we do not.

The only reason we’re still serving them like this is to honor the promise that our ancestors have poured their entire hearts and souls into.

We felt it was inexcusable if we broke the oath that hundreds of our ancestors have kept through their sacrifices.

In the three years that the new prime minister has taken over the position, we have been constantly searching for a new way to make a living.

If Your Excellency takes us under your employ, we will all serve you in good faith and with all sincerity.”

So they weren’t working due to a sense of duty but only for money, and now that the situation has changed, they are basically looking for a new employer who can give them better conditions than their current one huh.

“……Are you all from the same village?”

“Yes. Everyone here is from the same village. For example, the man beside me is my little brother, and the ones over there are our cousins. I am also serving as the current head of our village.”

Well, they certainly did look alike. It might be true that they really were relatives.

(What do you think, Iris?)

『According to the lie detector module, there is a 92 percent chance that he is telling the truth. Of course, it’s a different story if he’s undergone systematic espionage training.』

Was it really possible to avoid killing them here? I would like to avoid killing people for the reason that they know too much about us if I can help it.

“……Were you guys related to what happened to the former prime minister, Lord Werner Leister, and his family?”

Lord Leister, the former prime minister of this country, has already sworn an oath to serve as Cleria’s vassal. In other words, he was already one of our comrades. If these guys were involved in the murder of Lord Leister’s family, then we have nothing more to discuss.

“We were not involved with what happened to Lord Werner at all. At the time that incident happened, most of us were deployed to the Cecilio Kingdom at Lord Werner’s orders. Lord Werner can attest to my words. ……How is that person currently faring?”

“He has already pledged his allegiance to Cleria’s cause.”

“That is good. Well then, you can go ahead and check with Lord Werner. He will clear us of all involvement.”

“Why did you not attempt to rescue him from his imprisonment in the dungeon?”

“By the time we grasped the situation, Marquis Villis Burke was already appointed to the Prime Minister position. Our duty was to follow the orders of whoever has succeeded in the position of the king and prime minister. Rescuing him was an abandonment of our duty.”

I see. So they worked under whoever was in position regardless of who it was huh. What a dry and bland relationship.

“Then wouldn’t not killing me be a violation of your duty as well?”

“That’s true. However, it was the current prime minister who violated the agreement first. And if we all died here, the rest of the village people will not be able to survive for long as well. I am aware this sounds self-serving, but I’m sure our ancestors will understand since the very survival of our village is at stake.”

Well, I understand his line of thought. I’m also confident in making any compromise if it meant the survival of my comrades.

“Do you mean for us to take care of the rest of the people from your village as well?”

“Yes, if possible. I am confident we will be able to put out work that will be well worth your support.”

“…………Well now. What should I do, I wonder.”

“We attempted to kill Your Excellency and are now begging for our lives. We are willing to pay any price for our survival. Please tell us whatever you wish for us to do. We will definitely accomplish it for you.”

Hoh. So they were willing to pay a penalty or price in exchange for survival huh. I didn’t think of that. It wasn’t a bad suggestion though.

If there’s a fifty-fifty chance of the prime minister sending out his private forces after us if we killed them here, was it worth letting them live, I wonder.

If we are truly able to get these men who know this country inside and out to work under us, the merits would be considerable.