Chapter 130 - Under his influence

“Why ask about Harold-sama?” – Erica

“I want to discuss the recent attack and our future plans with Harold, but I don’t know where he is.” -Vincent

“So, you’ve come to ask me about it?” -Erica

“Yes. I thought you might know since you have a close relationship with Harold.” -Vincent

Erica’s eyes flickered briefly in response to Vincent’s words, but she quickly composed herself and swallowed whatever emotion had risen within her.

“In truth, I do know Harold-sama’s whereabouts to some extent. However, I can’t say we have enough trust between us for me to share that information freely.” -Erica

Erica’s response was firm as she gazed directly at Vincent.

Though he felt tempted to laugh at her resolute manner, he knew that displaying such an attitude would only deepen the rift between them.

“I’ll tell you this much. I hold suspicions about the upper echelons of the Knights Order, including you.” -Erica

“…I see.” -Vincent

Vincent understood what Erica meant to convey. Five years ago, during the incident in the Bertis Forest, the leader of the expedition team in which the leader of the Knights Order at that time and Harold had participated was in favor of executing him. Given this, it was understandable that Erica harbored a sense of distrust toward the organization.

“So you believe that the upper echelons of the Knights Order, me included, hold animosity towards Harold.” -Vincent

“I’m aware that you opposed Harold-sama’s execution back then. But there’s no guarantee that it remains the same now.” -Erica

Erica probably strongly suspected or was convinced that the Knights Order as an organization had been infiltrated or influenced by some external force. In fact, the origins of the Saint Knight’s Order traced back several generations when the ancestors of the current king had employed private soldiers.

While the influence of that history was still evident, Erica seemed to imply something different. She believed that forces beyond the king’s intentions were at play, affecting the organization.

“That’s true. Let me start by sharing some information with you.” -Vincent

“Please, go ahead.” -Erica

” There is no doubt that someone with influence in the upper echelons of the Knight Order was involved. The name of that individual is Dr. Justus Freud. Harold is in opposition to him, and I believe he is the mastermind behind the attack on Travis.” -Vincent

As Vincent mentioned Justus’s name and expressed his suspicions, the atmosphere became charged. Surely, they held some information about Justus as well. Amidst all this, Erica’s expression remained unchanged.

“Is it safe to say that you too were under his influence?” -Erica

“I ‘was,’ but not anymore.” -Vincent

“What makes you so sure?” -Erica

“It’s like being brainwashed. Embarrassing as it is to admit, I too was under Freud’s control, but Harold helped me break free.” -Vincent

Vincent hesitated on how much more to reveal. If it were someone close to Harold like Erica, he might not need to hide anything, but he wondered if Harold himself would want that.

From Harold’s actions and words, Vincent sensed that he was a secretive person, perhaps even someone who carried a heavy burden alone and did not seek others’ help. It could be due to confidence in his abilities or maybe because he was involved in clearly dangerous affairs and didn’t want others to get caught up in them.

If the latter was true, revealing everything here might be disrespectful of Harold’s wishes.

” If that’s the basis, then it means the reason the Knights were deployed to Travis was that Harold-sama informed them about the upcoming attack.” -Erica

However, Erica seemed to leap beyond Vincent’s thoughts and arrived at the truth.

Certainly, considering each piece of the puzzle, one might eventually arrive at that conclusion, but being able to do so instantly indicates an impressive intellect.

“Um… What do you mean?” The red-haired boy looked puzzled, clearly struggling to keep up with the conversation.

The ponytailed girl beside him wore an equally perplexed expression.

“Liner, you do know that Harold is thwarting Justus’s scheme, right? Disabling the Captain’s brainwashing and sending the Knights to Travis are all part of his plan.” -Colette

“Well, that’s assuming we believe what he says.” -Liner

“Come on, if we start going down that road, there’ll be no end to it.” -Hugo

Given the abundance of reasons to doubt, it was only natural for opinions to differ among them.

However, Vincent couldn’t afford to waste time arguing here. He needed to gain Erica and the others’ trust. Moreover, it seemed they possessed more information about this matter than he had anticipated. Considering Harold’s connections, this might be expected.

“Almost two months ago, I received a personal warning from Harold. The contents were, ‘Allocate personnel to Travis,’ and ‘It will soon become a living hell there.’” -Vincent

“So, Harold-sama did indeed know that Travis would be attacked.” -Erica

“Yeah, that’s the most likely conclusion. And a while after that warning, I received another letter from Harold.” -Vincent

“What did that letter say?” -Erica

“He reported discovering a large number of monsters crawling beneath the town of Baston.” -Vincent

“No way…” -Hugo

The blue-haired youth couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise. Erica’s expression tensed slightly, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to grow even heavier.

“After receiving that letter, I dispatched knights to Baston as well. There, they indeed confirmed the presence of a massive horde of monsters. I wanted to discuss the information sharing and countermeasures with him as soon as possible…” -Vincent

“Wait a moment. Hasn’t the Knight’s organization already become aware of the attack in Baston?” -Erica

“What?” -Vincent

No such report had been received. While it was true that they had been busy dealing with the situation in Travis in recent days, if an attack had occurred in Baston as well, Vincent should have been informed.

(What on earth is happening…?)

The simultaneous monster attacks in Travis and Baston must undoubtedly be related. It was plausible that such events occurred simultaneously.

However, it was strange that there had been no reports.

“It seems like we’ve been caught off guard. What will the Knights do from here?” -Erica

“We need to promptly confirm the facts. Once we have the confirmation, we’ll have to dispatch personnel to the site.” -Vincent

“There’s no other option but to follow that procedure. Even if they arrive at the scene quickly, it will still take about a week.” -Erica

Erica’s assessment was likely accurate. Despite having airships at their disposal, the Knights needed to assess the situation and the extent of the damage on-site before deciding on the size and composition of the dispatched units. Of course, in emergencies, Vincent could exercise some flexibility in his judgment, but Travis was currently facing a crisis as well.

Aside from the personnel responsible for maintaining security in the capital, most of the available Knights were here in Travis. Considering the extent of the damage, it wasn’t desirable to move many of them away from Travis. Thus, it would take time to select the members who could be mobilized to Baston.

” As an organization, there’s no helping it. Nevertheless, we must do what we can.” -Vincent

“In that case, I have a suggestion. Tomorrow afternoon, a Santiya Trading Company airship, arranged by Sumeragi, will come to Travis. The cargo consists mainly of food, medical supplies, and various daily necessities.” -Erica

The Santiya Trading Company was one of the country’s leading trading companies. They frequently visited the capital and owned several large merchant ships.

With such a sizable company, they always had ample stock on hand and could promptly procure and transport any items they lacked through their own distribution channels. They would be the most capable organization to shine in a situation like this crisis.

“…With a prestigious name like Sumeragi, they probably have good connections with major trading companies. Even so, it seems overly swift.” -Vincent

“Yes, in fact, the support materials were originally secured by Sumeragi for a different purpose.” -Erica

“What do you mean?” -Vincent

Confused, Vincent asked for clarification.

“Some time ago, Sumeragi also received a letter from Harold-sama with a similar warning about Baston being under the threat of monster attacks. He requested Sumeragi to prepare for receiving the evacuated residents. Therefore, Sumeragi had already arranged many support materials in advance and now they offer them to Travis.” -Erica

In other words, Harold had warned the Knights about the attacks on Travis and Baston, and he himself had taken action in Baston to evacuate the residents while also requesting Sumeragi to be prepared to accommodate the evacuees. Thus, Sumeragi had already organized the support materials in advance and was now providing them to Travis.

If that’s the case, it’s no wonder they moved at such speed.

“We have made arrangements to board Santiya Trading Company’s airship once unloading is complete. And if you agree to our terms, we will do our best to inform you of the situation in Baston.” -Erica

Receiving the message allowed them to dispatch people to Baston in advance, so there was no doubt that they had a detailed understanding of the situation there. If Erica’s conditions were accepted, it would significantly reduce the time needed to assess the extent of the damage, which would normally take nearly a week. This would enable the Knights to act swiftly.

Engaging with this particular party required utmost caution, but standing before Vincent now was someone who had once been Harold’s fiancée and was still willing to support him.

Vincent found Harold to be a man with many mysteries, seemingly rough and arrogant on the surface. However, having exchanged words directly with him, Vincent felt that he was a man who would earnestly strive to help others and someone worthy of trust.

Furthermore, the traits that Erica displayed during this incident seemed to overlap with those of Harold in some way.

“Then I will trust you. What are your conditions?” -Vincent

“I request that you and as many members of the Knights as possible accompany us to Baston. We will depart from here the morning after tomorrow and should arrive at the foot of the mountain where the town of Baston is located in the afternoon of that day.” -Erica

“…It seems like there are no disadvantages for us in these conditions.” -Vincent

For Vincent, just receiving information about the situation in Baston would be a tremendous help. Yet, Erica went further by offering them the opportunity to board the company’s airship and get to the location as quickly as possible.

This alone would be reason enough for Vincent to bow his head and request such assistance.

“Yes, my conditions are to be fulfilled once we arrive in Baston. Yuno, come here.” -Erica

“Yes, of course~.” -Yuno

A woman with a slow, elongated tone responded to Erica’s call and approached. Likely Erica’s maid or something similar, her calm demeanor left an impression of a skillful and composed person.

Erica received something from the maid and placed it on the table. It was a small metal plate, about the size of a palm.

“What is this?” -Vincent

“It’s a magic item. Its function is to capture real-life scenes and record them as images.” -Erica

Magic items came in various forms, from plain to extraordinary. Though not well-versed in these matters, Vincent understood that if it could record real-life scenes as images, it was undoubtedly a valuable item.

And on the plate placed on the desk was a shocking scene displayed.

“This is… terrible.” -Vincent

“Yes, but this is undoubtedly the current state of Baston.” -Erica

No words could suffice, and indeed, that was the truth. The devastation in Travis was already a heart-wrenching sight, but Baston seemed to have suffered no less.

The town was now a pile of monster corpses, with the majority of houses destroyed or reduced to ashes, just like Travis. And most notably, about a third of the town’s area had either collapsed or caved in.

“Fortunately, no residents were caught in the monster attack. However, there were those who fought to buy time for the evacuation.” -Erica

“You don’t mean… he did?” -Vincent

Vincent’s inquiry was met with a small nod from Erica.

“The knights who fought alongside the residents and Harold-sama have all been reported safe. But Harold-sama, who stayed until the end, was caught in the collapse… and he’s missing.” -Erica

“…It seems I asked something painful.” -Vincent

“It’s alright… I’m fine.” -Erica

Erica faced Vincent firmly, not letting a tear well up in the corner of her eye.

The nature of what transpired between Harold and Erica was unclear, but Erica must still have genuine feelings for him. That’s why the report of his disappearance must be causing her sorrow and fear. Nevertheless, she suppressed those emotions, displaying a strength that Vincent couldn’t help but admire.

“As you can see, Baston is currently in a highly dangerous state. I’ll be straightforward about this. I’d like your cooperation in helping us search for Harold-sama, who was caught in the collapse.” -Erica

“So that’s your condition, right?” -Vincent

“Yes.” -Erica

“Understood. I’ll start preparing right away.” -Vincent

With that, Vincent conveyed his agreement and stood up from his seat.

With that, Vincent got up from his seat. As he turned on his heel, he thought he saw tears glistening in Erica’s eyes as she looked down slightly, but he chose to pretend he hadn’t seen anything.