Chapter 8: Five Minutes A Day
The servants and Deia were staring at me blankly. Their expressions had frozen as if time had stopped.
The one who broke the silence was, of course, Deia.
What? You said you will solve it in an hour?
Daia said and laughed sarcastically, as if understood something, and continued her word with emphasis.
"Do you even know what the situation is right now? Instead of making jokes, why don't you properly understand the situation...!"
The immigrants crossing North Whedon must be occupying our outpost on the ridge right now.
Deia frowned at me and glared at the other servants as I cut her off and spoke.
All of them shook their heads in unison, looking at each other with questions about who gave me the information.
Of course, It was something that another one of Verdi's invisible servants had told me.
Now that Id gained momentum, it was time to strike. I recited the information Skram had given me.
"There are fewer of them than expected. However, the problem was that they brought high-quality weapons and are marching without avoiding combat."
"...."
Deia turned her gaze toward the bed. Dariuss face, lost in thought, told her that I was not just talking nonsense.
"We misunderstood their intentions. The usual immigrants flee to survive, but not this time."
It was different this time.
That woman, Finden Ai, wasn't running away.
It was true that she was trying to cross the mountain range and hide in the Kingdom of Griffin, but unlike the other immigrants, she had the audacity to enter through the front gate instead of hiding.
"The fact that these immigrants have experienced a lot of battles might be a problem, but the main issue will be their leader. A white wolf with bloodshot eyes."
I clicked my tongue.
As soon as I mentioned Finden Ai, Darius appeared to be in physical discomfort and moved restlessly in bed, causing blood to flow from his wounds.
"She is not an immigrant who fled. She is the Resistance that confronts the cruel and notorious Clark Republic head-on."
...How do you know that?
There is a way.
Normally, I would have answered bluntly that I didnt know. But I wanted to treat Deia as nicely as possible.
I wanted to be as nice to her as possible because I knew how it feels to be hurt by your family.
Of course, my answer wasnt exactly smooth, and Deia frowned.
I cant treat them like ghosts.
They didn't need a reason, they just liked to be told what they wanted to hear.
They didn't understand cause and effect the way Deia does. What does it matter if they're dead?
"Give me a bottle of warm wine and a loaf of rice cake, and a luxurious cloth to wrap it in. If you wait for just an hour, I will stop the immigrants from looting North Whedon."
Returning to the original topic, even while trapped, I showed the ability to understand the enemy's strength, and I appealed as much as I could.
The remaining decision was now up to Darius and Deia.
Nonsense.
And, of course, Deia refused.
"How can I believe that? You alone will stop the immigrants who even defeated the family head? With wine and rice cakes? Are you kidding me? Are you going to drink and have fun with them?"
....
You mustve learned how to act cool somewhere.
With a frown, Daya tried to ask the surrounding nobles for support again.
However, lying on his sickbed, Darius grabbed Deias wrist.
As the head of the family, I command you. Go and take responsibility for your words, Deus.
Have you gone insane!?
Deia screamed in agony as she shook off his hand. Until her throat cracked, she spat out the words at this foolishness.
Who cares about the title of count! Are we truly willing to sacrifice those who believe in us and refuse to leave their homeland?
"The fact that he talks like that means there's a way."
Do you have no idea who he is? Hes Deus. He's a rogue who drinks with women every day and comes in the morning and goes out at night!
"."
"Right now, you're not believing in Deus. You're just relying on a miracle that might happen! What's the difference between kneeling and seeking God when immigrants with swords and spears stand at the door?"
Deias eyes were thick and moist, and even I could see how much she cared about North Whedon and its people.
So I turned around and went to the door.
I will leave in 10 minutes. Be prepared.
I only left the servants with a short order.
Hey! Hey! Aaaah!
I heard Deias screams from behind me. What I needed to do now was not plead with her to trust me.
Deus had been too much of a scumbag for that. It was because there was no credibility in humans to simply asked for trust in words.
It had to be shown in action.
And now was the time to prove it with results.
10 minutes later:
I made eye contact with the servants waiting at the entrance of the mansion.
One of the maids carefully held a bundle wrapped in high-quality cloth.
I received it and straightened my body.
Because I had to climb a mountain, I wore a thick coat, and in my hand was a staff that was more than enough for my current magical ability.
I need to climb a mountain, so a staff would be useful.
I was more likely to use it as a walking stick rather than to use it for magic.
As I tapped the ground with the end of the staff, Deia approached me from behind with a resentful look in her eyes.
Judging by her reddened eyes, she must have cried quite a bit before this. Now, she was just breathing heavily and looked tired.
I took a step closer to her and met her gaze.
"If I don't come back within an hour, contact Tolkien and Count Herameus for support."
"You bastard! If you can't do it, just say so! Do you know what will happen if the request is an hour late?!"
I will succeed.
I was confident.
However, my answer didn't seem to satisfy her as she looked very anxious.
How should I handle this relationship?
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
...if.
I asked Deia, looking down at her.
"If I solve this problem and come back."
It might sound a little coercive, but creating an opportunity was more important.
"Five minutes a day."
So, I smiled lightly.
It wasn't easy to smile, but I had done it once when I said goodbye to my fiance, so I was satisfied with it.
"Just give me five minutes a day."
"What?"
Deia looked at me with a puzzled expression, wondering if she had heard me correctly.
Taking advantage of the moment, I reached out and carefully wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.
"If you give me just that much, it'll be enough of a reward for me."
That was all I had to say.
Turning my body towards the outside, I received the escort of the servants who were bowing deeply to me, a poor and unqualified person.
I set off towards North Whedon, where the February snow had just begun to fall with the strong wind.
***
It was a climb to the North Whedon Mountains.
Although I knew the path was well-made, I climbed the rugged mountains instead of walking along the path.
With each step, the tree branches pierced and entered my body, and the snow piled up softly reached my knees.
It was not a good look for someone whos supposed to be so confident.
[ Are you okay? ]
Skram, the ghost butler who followed me, asked.
Since I heard that he could move up to the mountains, he followed me.
Yes, Im fine.
At least I could do basic magic, so I wasnt cold because I was using magic to keep my body warm.
I could feel the burning mana throughout my body.
In fact, it was magic that was not used very often due to its extremely low efficiency, but it was impressive to see a fireball floating around.
[ Do you plan to ambush? ]
"No, I can't stop the immigrants with my skills."
[ What!? What do you mean by that...? ]
Skram was taken aback by my words, which were different from how I appeared at the mansion, but I calmly continued climbing the mountain.
Right now, I was climbing the mountains, and I could soon arrive at the outpost occupied by the immigrants.
But they were not my goal.
-Creak.
"!"
My body was throbbing. The atmosphere shook, and I could feel the surrounding landscape distorting.
The ghost, Skram, must have felt it too and looked around in amazement, but I reached out and stopped him.
"Go back to the mansion, Skram."
[ What? But... ]
"The person I will meet in the future will not want you here."
Skram had a puzzled expression, but I spoke firmly, without any intention of revoking my order, he bowed deeply and disappeared.
[I wish you a safe return, Master.]
His voice faded away.
Then.
-Creak!
A thunderous sound hit my ears.
Suddenly, I found myself frowning, but my lips curled up slightly.
"I'm glad you remembered me."
Beyond the mountain ridge.
A four-legged white tiger with sapphire-like blue eyes, different from Fidenai's bloodshot eyes...
With black stripes on white, long fangs...
...was looking down at me haughtily.
I immediately used magic to clear the snow around me and knelt down, spreading out the fine cloth Id brought with me and the wine and rice cakes.
I was glad Finden Ai hadn't come down from the mountain yet.
She was not just a soldier, but a resistance fellow with the name of a scrap metal dealer, so I was grateful for her judgment to try to recover from her fatigue.
Thanks to her still being on the mountain.
I could borrow his power.
To the extent that the count who protected the northern lands, the Verdi family, would not even dare to hold a business.
A true Lord of the mountain who had lived here for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.
I bowed my head toward him.
I humbly greet the Mountain Lord.
[TL: Expect a mass release on Monday]