Chapter 172 : Finishing Up
“Are you okay?”
Katarina asked, kicking the door open as if to break it. I, who had been sleeping like the dead in bed, got up with a groaning moan.
“……Yes, except for the ringing in my head from that noise just now.”
“If you’re complaining and grumbling, you must be fine. Eat.”
A meal was served with words that were either tough or inconsiderate. It was a neat one-person meal. The appetizing smell naturally made me hungry.
“It seems the reconstruction of the family is going smoothly.”
It had been quite some time since I had started recuperating in Morheim. Unlike my initial plan to head to Brahms, I had gone through all sorts of hardships after setting foot in the city.
I wanted to leave Brahms and return to Gellerg City right away, but my body was in a mess. I hadn’t been seriously injured, but the mental and physical burden was great. Well, I had fought a series of battles with the Mad House without even resting after defeating the head of the Frederic family.
It was normal for my body to be worn out. So I had rested well in Morheim and had been served meals, and surprisingly, the menu changed every day. Not in a bad way, but in a good way.
It was a subtle change, so I thought it was just my imagination, but comparing it over such a long period of time, I could clearly see that it was improving.
“I know, right? I thought we’d have to crawl up from the very bottom, but surprisingly, the situation seems to be good.”
She dragged a chair over and sat down, starting her explanation.
“The city is in chaos. Personally, I think it’s even worse than when the atmosphere was tense due to the civil war between the families.”
The scars left by the Mad House in Brahms were gruesome. The central square of the public district was a mess, and countless knights, the main power of the city, had lost their lives.
The families, who should have cooperated in cleaning up the chaos, could not overcome their distrust of each other and moved passively. Above all, the king had passed away.
Even the Royal Knights had been disbanded. The royal family was as good as fallen. And the cause of that was, although it was the notorious Mad House, it had originated from the scheme of a single person.
Brahms was a mess in a different sense from the civil war that had been going on until now.
“It’s not a good time for other lower noble families to get greedy, taking advantage of our fall, and there’s also the perception that we’re the wronged victims. We’ve benefited from that. There are many nobles who are bowing down to us. Darian says that the family is being rewarded for the grace it has shown in the past, but that’s how I analyze it.”
It was a very cool-headed analysis. But whatever the reason, it seemed to be true that Morheim’s situation was not bad.
“I have a lot to say about how Darian is doing as the head of the family, how he will overcome the absence of the royal family, but honestly, you’re not very interested, are you?”
I nodded. Although I had been deeply involved in the affairs of the city by chance, I was essentially an outsider. The complicated post-war measures were the responsibility of the people of this city and the nobles who ruled them.
After having such a hard time this time, I probably wouldn’t even come to Brahms again. Katarina, who was in a similar position to me despite being a direct descendant of Morheim, sympathized with my feelings.
“If it’s news that you would be curious about… right, the date for the airship operation has been set.”
The reason I couldn’t return to Gellerg City right away was not only because of my physical condition, but also because of the operation of the airship. The city was in a mess due to the war, so where was the time to worry about trivial matters like the operation of the airship?
In fact, the operation of the airship in Brahms had been suspended, and I had to wait for Gellerg City to send an airship. Even so, the number of passengers had dropped drastically, and they had even been attacked near Brahms, so it was uncertain whether the regular operation would proceed as planned.
It was a situation where I might have had to decide to cross the borderland with my bare body, so it was good news like rain in a drought.
“It’s a bit uncomfortable that it’s a forced schedule, though.”
“Forced?”
“Everyone knows that you're still in this city. A contractor who killed a family head and even dealt with the Mad House… it’s awkward to touch him, but it’s also burdensome to leave him in the city. You may not want to get involved in the political structure of Brahms anymore, but how can other people trust that and let it go?”
Katarina glanced at me. In a way, I had saved the city that might have collapsed. She seemed to be concerned that they were treating me like some kind of plague after benefiting from it.
“I don’t care what their ulterior motives are for deciding to operate the airship. I wasn’t going to ask for any compensation anyway.”
It was just that the result of my personal actions had returned as a benefit to the city. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel resentful, but it was minimal.
The joy of finally being able to return to Gellerg City was greater.
“Then that’s a relief. Oh, here.”
Katarina took something out of her neatly wrapped pocket.
“It’s the fragment of the spirit’s cocoon that was seized from Frederic.”
It wasn’t the first time I had recovered a fragment of the spirit’s cocoon, but it felt new. Because of this one thing, I had done things I hadn’t planned in Brahms and had even fought the Mad House.
The feeling was different.
“And this is a gift.”
As I was touching the fragment of the spirit’s cocoon, Katarina added one more thing. It was a complete spirit’s cocoon.
“There was one more in Brahms. It was tight just to secure one, so I couldn’t even think of recovering that one, but I thought it was a good opportunity, so I smuggled it out.”
“Where was it…?”
“The royal family’s treasury.”
“……”
There, even Katarina, a direct descendant of a noble family, would not have dared. But as soon as the royal family collapsed, she had smuggled it out. It was certain that Katarina was a big shot.
She also had a personality that was not suitable for remaining as the head of a family.
“Lastly, about our Greenwood.”
She hesitated for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully, and then said.
“Now that I’ve found a druid, it’s right to introduce you to the princess right away.”
Greenwood had made it their top priority to search for a druid. I had also come to find Katarina with the desire to know the true nature of Greenwood, so a meeting with the elf princess was something I had hoped for.
“But as you said, I can’t get in touch with the princess at all right now. It seems that something really has happened. In the first place, she’s an elf princess who belongs to the highest class of Gellerg City. I was skeptical about how long she could secretly run an organization.”
“Then how about introducing me to another member?”
“Well, I don’t think it would be much different from me. But just in case, I’ll introduce you.”
Katarina told me the personal details of the members who were active in Gellerg City. A question suddenly came to mind.
“Aren’t you going back with me?”
“I’m the only direct blood relative left, so I have to do my job. I’ll just clean up the mess, and I won’t be loyal beyond that. Fortunately, the family is not in the worst situation, so that should be enough.”
Since she said so, I didn’t say anything else. In the first place, if she had been only cold-hearted, she wouldn’t have helped in the resistance, which had no chance of winning, even if it was her own family’s business.
It was a shame, but I had secured the personal details of the Greenwood members. I could just go through them to recover the rest of the spirit’s cocoons or contact the elf princess.
As I thought that I had finished all my business in Brahms, my mind naturally drifted to the scenery beyond the window. Gellerg City, although I had more memories of hardship than good ones, had I grown fond of it?
At least it seemed better than Brahms. I was also curious about how much the vegetable garden had changed in the meantime, and whether Bell had managed it well. At some point, the scenery of Brahms outside the window overlapped with the scenery of Gellerg City in my memory.
***
“Hmm.”
Bianca was in a cemetery. The fact that the civil war in Brahms was Mirei’s scheme was not revealed to the public. Although the Mad House was a group of outlaws notorious throughout the continent, this case was excessive.
The problem was that it had almost succeeded. What would have happened if Allen hadn’t intervened? Perhaps the king and the heads of the ten families would have all fallen into Mirei’s hands.
A single person had toyed with a city. It was a shame that had to be thoroughly hidden. And so, many were buried in a hastily made cemetery.
The knights of the Royal Knights, and even Mirei, the culprit who had started the civil war.
“A surprising result.”
Honestly, Bianca had bet on Mirei’s victory if Allen and Mirei were to fight. It was hard for a loser who had lost to Allen to judge, but she had highly evaluated Mirei’s preparations.
She had the royal family in her hands. In Gellerg City terms, she had a megacorp in the palm of her hand. Although Allen’s growth was great, she had judged that he would be at a disadvantage in Mirei’s prepared home ground.
But the revealed result was Mirei’s defeat. She knew that Allen’s growth was fast, but she didn’t know it was this much.
“Why did you have to be so greedy?”
Mirei’s goal and Allen’s goal did not overlap. The conflict between the two was something that Mirei could have avoided if she had wanted to.
“Well, if you weren’t a greedy person, you wouldn’t have belonged to the Mad House.”
It was just a hypothesis. Whether it was curiosity, greed, or a simple desire to win. For a member of the Mad House, there was no choice but to fight when faced with a skilled person like Allen.
“Our young lady, although she was a person I liked, I won’t take revenge. You didn’t expect it either, did you, young lady?”
It wasn’t a relationship to be so concerned about. The members of the Mad House were just sharing a roof called the Mad House, and it was a thorough business relationship. The relationship between Mirei and Bianca was also like that.
The other members would probably just say ‘oh well’ when they heard the news of Mirei. It was a relief if they didn’t mock her. So troublesome things like revenge were out of her interest.
“The other guys won’t talk about revenge either… but what about the boss?”
Recently, he had been taking a course of action that was contrary to the direction and philosophy he had run the organization with so far, which was to expand the organization’s external influence. He was definitely a similar type to them, but at some point, he had changed.
“If he talks about revenge, I’ll really have to leave.”
Bianca could shake off the title of the Mad House at any time. The other members would probably do the same. The external people who had a strange admiration for the Mad House would be disappointed, but it was originally such a mess of an organization.
So Bianca could not understand the people who acted as if the Mad House was their life’s goal and responded to the recruitment offer, and the boss who had started to expand the size of the organization explosively.
“He must have some purpose.”
Does she have to know? It wasn’t that she wasn’t curious, but there was a saying that you get hurt if you know. Bianca was satisfied as long as the Mad House did not interfere with her activities.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, she had to report Mirei’s death. She had already reported it once, so that was the end of it. She wondered if she had to tell him again, but it was a good excuse.
“I don’t have to get deeply involved, but shall I just sound him out?”
Whether the Mad House was an organization worth sticking with. Bianca slowly sank into the shadows.
***
“Hmm.”
I had finally returned to Gellerg City. Gellerg City is a city that is constantly changing. I had only been to Brahms for a short, not-so-long time, but many things had changed.
Restaurants, companies, shopping malls, offices… Even if it was familiar, if it felt somewhat unfamiliar, it had changed into a different space in the meantime. But my house, at least, would welcome me as it was.
Sage was also quite excited, and her steps were bouncy. Come to think of it, she had left for Brahms with me as soon as she came to Gellerg City. She must be feeling like she was finally returning home.
And when I turned at the familiar alley. I witnessed it.
“……”
My house, which had been turned into a mess.
(End of Chapter)