Chapter 154 : Chapter 154
Chapter 154. The Sleepwalking Incident
“Watch your head there!”
“Materials over there! Waste over there!”
Construction began in the Lizardmen’s temporary residential area. They would remain in Raviedel in the form of mercenaries employed by the territory.
Until now, they had stayed in houses where they could barely sleep, but now they were building homes meant for proper living.
Lando Chau, who had been the acting chieftain, became the official chieftain. Through Ishan Rau, he had already obtained the Great Chieftain’s approval for the mercenary contract.
The Lizardmen, now working officially, were brimming with energy.
The news spread throughout the territory as well.
The territory’s boys voiced their amazement while training.
“It’s something we never could have imagined before, right?”
“Yeah. Becoming close with Lizardmen and all.”
They were boys training their bodies while learning physical combat under Pirenzo’s guidance. At first, they had not even known how to clench their fists, but now they had grown enough to swing swords.
When break time came, they chattered excitedly.
“I think our lord is amazing.”
“Isn’t that obvious? He’s a prince!”
“Haven’t you been to other territories? Have you ever seen a territory that uses Lizardmen as mercenaries? It’s not just because he’s a prince. He’s amazing, period!”
“Then that means our lord is better than other lords!”
At that moment, someone cut in.
“You finished a thousand thrusts before playing, right?”
“Gah, Instructor!”
The one who sent the excited kids back to their spots was Pirenzo.
Since he had taken charge of training not only the village youths but also the boys at Radel’s request, he had become truly busy.
He even found himself missing the days when he taught general courses at the academy at a comfortable pace.
This territory never seemed to run out of work no matter how much he did, but watching the small, insignificant land change little by little gave him a certain sense of pride.
“Strength in the shoulders. How many times have I told you to relax them?”
Pirenzo walked among the boys, correcting their stances.
“I am not telling you to relax all your strength. I am telling you to remove unnecessary strength.”
The academy was a magic education institution, so it had been enough to focus on raising students’ basic physical fitness.
But this place was crawling with monsters. No matter how young they were, the children needed to know how to protect themselves.
‘Though there are some really tiny ones too.’
There were children who looked barely five years old, swinging branches in the training ground. When people heard that an academy professor would teach them directly, territory residents sent their children in droves.
As long as a child could walk and run, they were sent to the training ground. As a result, whenever Pirenzo finished fieldwork and returned, the training ground was swarming with kids.
That was not all.
In the afternoon, he had to teach the youths as well.
Since coming to Raviedel, he had lost track of how each day passed.
“Instructor! This stance doesn’t work!”
“Instructor, please look here!”
“Instructor!”
If Pirenzo could split his body in two, he gladly would have.
Just then, an unwelcome visitor arrived.
The man snorted when he saw Pirenzo being pestered by the boys.
“So after playing academy professor for a while, childcare really got into your bones, huh.”
It was Armandy, his always irritating colleague from the Ability Management Bureau.
***
Thanks to the visitor’s arrival, training ended early today.
“Instructor! We’ll head back now!”
“Thank you for today, Instructor!”
Pirenzo waved lazily at the children.
He looked so peaceful that his past as an assassin felt distant.
Watching him, Armandy narrowed his eyes.
That guy isn’t forgetting that he’s an Ability Management Bureau agent, is he……?
Every time Pirenzo acted like a real educator, Armandy felt chills.
After confirming the boys had left the training ground, Pirenzo approached Armandy.
Armandy sneered at him.
“You’ve got it easy. Some people live like machines that cast magic all day.”
Armandy’s eyes were sunken, as if he had been harassed by territory residents before coming here. But the same was true for Pirenzo.
Pirenzo glared at him and spoke.
“Does this look like playing to you? Why don’t you try watching kids for a single day?”
“Unlike you, I’m high-level manpower. I don’t have time for that.”
“Oh? Too busy clearing blocked wells and finding runaway goats?”
Pirenzo knew exactly how Armandy had been spending his days. The territory was small, and the kids he taught loved to chatter.
Today the mage came to our house and fixed something. The mage used magic to bring down a puppy stuck on the roof…….
It was truly the behavior of a hopeless mage.
Hearing Pirenzo’s mocking words, fire lit up in Armandy’s eyes.
“And whose fault is all this! If you hadn’t interfered in the Black Fang incident!”
“Whose fault? Yours! Who was it that secretly colluded with the 8th Prince?”
The two glared at each other, breathing hard.
In truth, both of them knew. Once they got entangled with the 8th Prince, there was no point blaming anyone…….
Caught by a man worse than a demon, even proud Lizardmen ended up being used as labor in the territory.
Armandy ran a hand through his hair.
“Ha…… fine. This is a mission anyway. Three members of the imperial family gathering in one territory is a rare event, and what we need to do is obvious.”
At Armandy’s words, Pirenzo regained his composure. Though they were working like slaves to the 8th Prince, opportunities like this were rare.
If they could monitor the imperial family well here and build up achievements…… maybe they could find a way out of the 8th Prince’s grasp.
Pirenzo bit his lip and spoke.
“I hate to admit it, but you’re right. This isn’t the time for us to bicker. We need to join forces and get out of this situation as soon as possible.”
Armandy and Pirenzo nodded at the same time. It was the moment their temporary alliance was formed.
As soon as it was formed, Armandy held out his palm toward Pirenzo.
“Hand it over now. I need to check something.”
“That?”
“The agent notebook.”
Of course.
Pirenzo looked at Armandy with pity. The Ability Management Bureau agent notebook that the 8th Prince had was, unsurprisingly, Armandy’s.
“You really are something.”
“Enough talk. Hand it over.”
Armandy flipped open the very last page of the notebook he received.
“Reveal.”
As he spoke the activation phrase, dots floated around Armandy and Pirenzo.
The green dot was Pirenzo, the owner of the notebook, and the red dot was Armandy. There were also other red dots glowing nearby.
Pirenzo cursed himself for not thinking to check the notebook earlier, but he had been far too busy to spare the time.
“As expected, other agents were undercover too.”
“Isn’t that obvious? How many imperial family members are here?”
The two could newly grasp just how much attention Radel’s presence was drawing.
In any case, this meant building achievements would become even harder. It also meant their slave life would be prolonged.
Armandy and Pirenzo’s expressions darkened.
***
Radel was receiving Chariot’s report at the Lord’s Castle.
“Since the road opened, the number of people visiting Raviedel has increased.”
It was the news Radel had been hoping for.
According to Shartea, rumors about Raviedel had already spread to nearby cities. Stories of Lizardmen casually walking around and the Apprentice Holy Knight Order training.
People who heard those rumors were likely coming out of curiosity.
“The newly opened road has been paved with stone from the mine. We have increased the number of shops in the market, and we have arranged guidance so people can visit the artisans’ village at any time. The response has already been quite positive.”
With skilled artisans, word of mouth was inevitable once accessibility improved.
The sight of hunters and Lizardmen hunting monsters at sea was also said to be an appealing spectacle.
All that remained now was Ravidel Lake.
Coincidentally, the 3rd Imperial Consort’s villa was planned to be built on a hill with a good view of the lake. Not too close and not too far, it would look like a painting once completed.
Radel asked Chariot,
“How is the 3rd Imperial Consort’s villa coming along?”
“Construction began the other day. However, Your Highness, there is something I must tell you regarding the villa.”
“What is it?”
Chariot lowered his voice, glancing at Inette nearby.
“……While working, the laborers seem to have heard strange sounds.”
“Strange sounds. What kind, exactly?”
Despite Chariot’s effort, Inette had already been listening closely since the villa was mentioned.
“They say it sounds like an evil spirit whispering.”
An evil spirit whispering?
Inette’s face turned pale.
“They say it whispers, asking why no one comes to find it. It seems to come from the direction of the lake, though it’s not certain.”
“If that’s true, we should ask the Apprentice Holy Knight Order to investigate.”
Inette felt a little reassured by Radel’s words.
Thinking about it, even if it was an evil spirit, the Apprentice Holy Knight Order could deal with it quickly.
Still, of all times, for such sounds to be heard while building her mother’s villa.
‘It’s not a real ghost, is it.’
Inette tried to convince herself it was nothing.
But contrary to her hopes, something did happen.
***
It was deep dawn, when everyone was asleep.
Why do you not come to find me?
A whispering voice echoed from somewhere.
It passed through locked doors and seeped into houses through the gaps in windows.
Why do you not come to find me?
The voice wandered through the houses after slipping in through the windows. Finding a small room, it slid through the crack of the door.
Soon, the voice found what it had been searching for.
Come and find me.
The voice whispered at an ear.
And then, something strange occurred in the territory.
“Honey! Wake up, quickly!”
“What is it?”
The first to sense something wrong were parents with children. Discovering their children were not in bed, they searched the entire house.
But the children had already been gone for some time.
Some parents did find their children.
They grabbed children who were heading somewhere as if sleepwalking.
“Henry! Where are you going at this hour?”
“……I have to go. It’s calling me.”
“What?”
“I have to go to the lake.”
The territory was thrown into chaos.
Several children had already been found on the paths leading to the lake. Perhaps those not yet found had already reached it.
Radel and the others ran to the lake.
“There they are!”
Some children were already half-submerged, while others had just stepped into the water. Seeing the children, as if possessed, trying to keep entering the lake, Radel rushed into the water.
SPLASH!
Pirenzo frantically pulled children out of the lake as well. They were all children he taught at the training ground.
Some had already swallowed water and lost consciousness.
“Who would do something like this……!”
Inette ground her teeth and looked around.
At that moment, a sinister voice rose from within the lake.
Who dares interfere with my work?