Omote Bakery

“Oh man, is it that late already …”

Eustace was a man who worked for a trading company.

He worked there dealing in household goods and the like.

The appearance of Noacurio’s army had created a boom in demand for the company.

That was fine, but just because there was suddenly more work to be done did not mean that they could suddenly hire more people.

The workload, which was more than usual, was pouring in.

Eustace came home late that day.

The sun had already set and there were few people around. Relying on the light from his magic lamp, Eustace hurried home.

Even though he was used to living in this town, he was afraid at night. He did not know where he would be pursued by a thief.

However, what he encountered was even worse than a thief.

As he entered a side street from the main street, Eustace stopped when he thought he heard a strange voice.

A voice that sounded like the whistling of the wind, like a broken whistle, accompanied by a horrifying reverberation.

“…Oooooooooooooooooo…”

Something was clearly audible.

Eustace stopped in his tracks.

He wanted to run home as quickly as possible, and he had a feeling that if he did so, he would be safe.

However, he felt as if his whole body was bound by the fear that if he moved even one finger, someone would jump out of the shadows and sink their fangs into him at that very moment.

Then, a light floated in front of Eustace.

A sudden magic light increasing?

No, no. A light of something much more terrifying.

There was a man there, vague, vague in outline, seemingly dissolving in mid-air.

“Hee… hee…!”

Eustace could only let out a stifled shriek.

It was a ghost.

The ghost of a man was floating in the air.

The ghost was staring resentfully at the heavens as though it did not see Eustace, who was standing very close by.

“I… only rescued my son who was about to be killed by … Noacurio’s soldiers… But the Marquis fabricated my crime to appease… Noacurio’s army… I was betrayed by the Marquis…!”

The ghost wailed.

Eustace knew what to expect when he heard this much.

The incident that caused such a stir in the city. A knight got into a dispute with a Noacurio soldier, killed him, and was executed in less than 10 days after the incident.

He thought that the too swift handling of the incident was, after all, something that the Marquis had done in consideration of the relationship with Noacurio, but…

–Then is this the knight who was executed that way? Is this the truth of the case…?

“I… I hate you…! I… I hate you…!!”

A resentful shout, and then the ghost vanished.

Only the sound of the wind remained behind. As though the ghost was still howling somewhere.

Eustace did not notice the girl running away in the darkness.

＊ ＊ ＊

Tracy, on the other hand.

“Hey, it’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you’re both okay.”

“How kind of you.”

At an adventurer’s bar in town, he met a muscular Fighter.

＊ ＊ ＊

“I saw a very suspicious old lady. If she’s working for the Marquis now, do you know anything about her?”

“I’d probably call her suspicious. But I don’t know her well. I mean, nobody seems to know anything about that old hag.”

On a street corner in the late afternoon, he met a slender Fighter with a long mohawk hanging down one side of his face.

＊ ＊ ＊

“How did someone so obscure end up in the army?”

“I heard that she was taken in by the central army, not by the feudal lords’ army.”

At the general store, he met with ordinary soldiers of Noacurio.

＊ ＊ ＊

“What is her actual position?”

“She is a technical officer who was kicked out of the Moon Eaters. She belongs to the royal army but is loaned out to the general. I heard that she is a countermeasure against the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”…”

In an elegant restaurant, he was meeting with a low-ranking knight of Noacurio.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Then people don’t really know much about her, but she’s highly valued?”

“Only the general knows the details. But she can’t even use magic very well, and yet she’s handling holy beasts.”

In a fashionable bar, he met a knight of Noacurio.

＊ ＊ ＊

“I guess she’s not strong enough.”

“But you know, rumor has it that she, … that old hag, has a technique for transferring the wounds sustained by her to holy beasts.”

He was meeting with Noacurio’s mercenaries in a betting hall with a mysterious atmosphere.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Speaking of which, did you hear about the incident where a Noacurio soldier was killed by a knight belonging to the Marquis?”

“Of course I heard about it. Everyone knows about it because the whole town was in an uproar.”

He was meeting with a party of new adventurers at the Adventurers’ Guild.

＊ ＊ ＊

“The truth is that the soldier who was killed was at fault. I heard that the Noacurio army, fearing a backlash, pressured the Marquis to unilaterally demonize the knight who was acting in self-defense.”

“Seriously? I had heard rumors that the executed knight had turned out to be the one responsible.”

He met with an acquaintance, the owner of a weapons store in town.

＊ ＊ ＊

“This is really just between us, okay? Don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret that the bigwigs are keeping to themselves, and it would be bad if they knew I told you.”

“Don’t worry. I’m famous for my tight-lippedness.”

At the church, he was meeting with a Priestess, with a light-hearted atmosphere.

＊ ＊ ＊

Rumors about the ‘truth’ of the incident were spreading like wildfire in the city of Terra Kaine.

As yet, no one had come forward to publicly accuse the Noacurio army or the lord of this incident.

However, just as a glass of water will one day overflow if you keep pouring it into it, it will erupt if it crossed a threshold somewhere. It was like having a bomb in your hand.

“I don’t think it’s my jurisdiction. The holy beasts don’t react at all. Even if the “ghost” is a high-ranking Wraith, the magical barrier does not last forever. In addition, the execution site was cleansed by priests, the corpse was burned with holy oil, and the disappearance of the soul was confirmed by spiritual vision, right? It’s not natural for a person to become undead. This must be the work of some human.”

Morgana, who had been summoned by Marks and Patrick, stated her opinion.

Patrick furrowed his brow in irritation.

“…Illusion?”

“It’s natural to think so, isn’t it?”

Someone had created the illusion of Yuin, manipulated it as if it were a ghost, and showed it to the people of the city.

“Who would do such a thing…? No, there are people who would do it.”

“The West.”

“If so, they were very quick to do it…”

Marks planned to restructure the state system (and to make himself a central figure in it) with Ghislain and Noacurio at the helm.

He declared his support for Ghislain at a forced Council of Lords, and Marks took the fight to the opposing lords to the fullest extent.

It was not surprising that the other side would take steps to discourage Marks’ intentions.

“It’s not good to interfere with God. But it’s hard to find a servant with a holy beast. It’s up to you. Find them quickly, give them a taste of living hell, and then drop them in a real hell.”

“Can’t we rely on holy beasts…”

“We have no choice, let’s mobilize our troops and put them on night watch. You filthy rat, I’ll grab you by the tail.”

＊ ＊ ＊

Marks’ order was given and night security was increased in areas where the “ghost” had been sighted.

But just then. As if to ridicule the night patrols, the “ghost” suddenly ceased to appear.

Rumors had already spread throughout the city, and there was no need to cause any more commotion.

The reason it said it was the Marquis and not Viscount McGregor was to direct the citizens’ suspicions not only to the Noacurio forces but also to the Marquis, making it easier for future operations to proceed.

… This was a coincidental statement of fact, but Panilla (René) did not learn of it until after Tracy had obtained the information.

Under the cold shining moon.

Sitting on the roof of a nearby building, Panilla (René) looked down at the knights and guards who were patrolling the area and laughed.

Even where there was no fire, there would be smoke, but there would still be a bigger smoke if there was a proper spark.

The trouble the Noacurio soldiers were causing, the real witnesses, Yuin’s son who was present during the incident…

There was no shortage of material to bolster the cries of the “ghost”. Truths that should have been buried by information manipulation were being dug up.

Although it had not caused a major uproar so far, René had inflicted an invisible wound on the city.

The wounds would eventually bleed.

Below her, a soldier standing on the street shivered and yawned.

“Thank you for your work. Stay there and get some sleep.”

Panilla (René) turned around and disappeared into the night.