Volume 01 – Chapter 07

Chapter 7: Ren’s Entanglement with the Empire’s Faction War

 

After Liscia’s departure, Ren got back to his daily routine. Although it was a bit later than usual, he was enjoying the fresh morning air, but────

“What’s that?”

He saw something happening far across the fields near the bridge that led to the forest. When he looked closely, he realized that a few birds usually seen in this area were perched on a nearby tree. They seemed to be chirping to threaten each other and were fighting over something.

Ren cocked his head in puzzlement and summoned the Thief magic sword without thinking much. He used the sword’s ability on a bird holding something in its mouth.

「Pipiiii────!」

The bird he targeted flew away in surprise, causing the other birds to panic and fly away as well.

In return, the thing the birds were fighting over appeared in his hand.

It was a parchment that appeared to be crumbled quite roughly. Looking at its texture and tanning made it clear that it was of high quality.

Feeling curious, Ren unfolded the parchment and read the elegant sentences written on it.

“……A love letter?”

He could feel the intense passion of the writer behind each and every word.

However, he couldn’t understand why they would write something like this on a parchment of such high quality. He was confused at first, but when he read the rest of the letter, he noticed that the writer was talking about inviting someone to Claussell.

The letter also mentioned swordsmanship, so he could guess who wrote this letter for whom.

(Is it her?)

Did Liscia Claussell write this letter for me? he thought.

Although he couldn’t understand why it had fallen so far away, he couldn’t just throw it away, so he decided to put it in his pockets for now.

 

Right when he did that, sounds of horseshoes coming from a distance reached him.

“D-Don’t tell me, is that tomboy saint coming back────?!!”

Ren unconsciously put his guard up. However, it wasn’t Liscia, but a group of around ten unfamiliar knights who appeared in front of him on horses. The crest on their armor was not that of the Claussell house.

“────C-Can I help you with something?” he asked in surprise because he was suddenly surrounded by the group and they were looking down at him in an intimidating manner.

Eventually, one of the knights asked in an arrogant tone, “Are you from the village that is looked after by the Ashtons?”

That knight appeared to be the leader of the group. His behavior was so aggressive that it looked like he would draw his sword if Ren didn’t answer quickly.

“That’s right…… May I know who you people are?”

Although Ren gave a polite reply, it seemed to have no effect on the knight who was still acting arrogant.

“We are here on Viscount Givenne’s order to deliver his message to the Ashtons. Therefore, guide us to their residence.”

As Ren had expected, the group of knights didn’t belong to Baron Claussell, but to a viscount, who had a higher court rank.

(If I’m not wrong, Viscount Givenne was────)

Unlike Baron Claussell, who resided in a city east of Ren’s village, Viscount Givenne’s territory was located northeast. Therefore, the Viscount shouldn’t have anything to do with the Ashtons. However, Ren couldn’t just ignore the knights.

“Understood. I’ll guide you to my house.”

“Hm? Your house?”

“That is correct. Sorry for the late introduction. I am Ren Ashton, the only son of Roy Ashton, the current head of the Ashton family.”

When he heard Ren’s introduction, the leader exchanged looks with the rest of the knights. They nodded to each other, and the leader spoke to Ren once again.

“Rejoice. Viscount Givenne has a message for you as well,” he said in a calm tone, contrary to his earlier arrogance. It seemed as if the air around the rest of the knights had also softened a little.

However, Ren couldn’t understand why the Viscount would have something to say to him, since he was not the lord the Ashton family served.

“A message……for me?”

“Yes. The viscount insists on appointing you as his servant. I will explain the details at your residence.”

After saying that, he started moving his horse together with the knights. On the other hand, Ren’s expression contorted out of their sight.

(I don’t know what’s going on anymore.)

Too many events had occurred since yesterday.

With heavy steps, he started walking on the path between the fields that lead to his home as the villagers all turned their heads to look at that scene.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

When Ren arrived at his house with the group, the knights of Claussell that were stationed in the village greeted them with surprised expressions.

Likewise, Roy and Mireille were also surprised, just like the day before.

However, the two of them feigned calmness and invited the representative of that group to the room Roy was recuperating in.

 

Ren chose to stay outside with Claussell’s knights. Although they were currently in the yard outside his house, they had a serious air about them, so Ren decided to ask the reason for that.

“Why do you all seem angry?”

“W-Well, that’s……”

One of the knights looked hesitant to give an answer, but a different knight came to his aid.

“Hey, I think it won’t be a problem if we tell him.”

“But……”

“Depending on what happens, we can’t say that Ren-dono will stay unrelated. Even Weiss-sama won’t reprimand us if we explain the situation to him.”

‘Not be able to stay unrelated’. When Ren heard those words, it reminded him of what the Viscount’s knight had told him.

That knight had said that the Viscount wanted to appoint Ren as his servant.

(Even so, aren’t they being too angry?)

However, Ren soon found the answer to that when the Viscount’s messenger appeared from the house, having finished his business quickly.

“So you were here, Ren Ashton.”

The one who said that was the knight who had commanded Ren to guide their group to the Ashton residence.

When he approached Ren, Claussell’s knights put their guards up.

The Viscount’s knight scoffed after seeing that and said, “Hmph…… Well, I have already talked to Roy-dono, but there is something I wish to tell you as well. As I mentioned in the forest, the Viscount highly values your abilities. He insists on appointing you to his household.”

When they heard that, Claussell’s knights quickly stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, but Ren-dono has already received an invitation from our Lord.”

To be precise, it was his daughter Liscia who had invited him, but there was no need to correct the knight.

“If I’m not wrong, you people are from the Claussell house. You say that the Baron has invited Ren-dono, but he has yet to give a reply, right? So I don’t think there is a problem if we invite him to the Givenne house as well.”

“That’s not it. The problem is that this village is a part of Baron Claussell’s territory.”

“Oh? Would you people have said the same thing to those who wish to serve His imperial majesty? I am sure you are aware that a lot of knights serving in the capital were not born there.”

“That’s not the issue. If you want to invite Ren-dono, you should have talked to us first.”

Ren was listening closely to the conversation that was starting to get heated.

“Even if our Lords have different court ranks and belong to different factions, isn’t it a matter of courtesy to inform us beforehand? If you are a retainer of the esteemed Viscount Givenne, I believe you can understand that.”

“Hmph… I understand. Let’s come back another time,” said the knight as if he was not bothered at all and started walking away. The rest of his companions who had left the mansion a while later followed after him.

They climbed their horses and the leader looked at Ren and said, “We will be back”. And with that, they departed from the village.

Once their figures could no longer be seen, one of Claussell’s knights said, “Ren-dono, we would like to talk about the current situation. I’ll explain in detail……but let’s head inside the house so that Roy-dono can listen as well.”

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

When Ren reached Roy’s room together with Claussell’s knights, he was greeted by his father who said, “I was waiting for you.”

Mireille was next to him as well, and both of their expressions seemed somewhat grim.

“Hey, has something troublesome happened without us knowing?”

“I’m really sorry. It was not something we could let the general public know much about, so we could not tell you about it,” said one of the knights apologetically in response to Roy’s question.

“That’s what I thought. And it’s related to Viscount Givenne, isn’t it?”

“────Yes, you are right.”

Ren and the knights sat down on a sofa present in the room.

“Ren. Before we continue, take a look at the letter those guys brought with them.”

Since Roy couldn’t move properly yet, Mireille handed over the letter to Ren.

He opened the envelope which was already unsealed, took out the parchment inside, and unfolded it.

(……Oh.)

The parchment stated that in addition to the recent disturbance, Viscount Givenne was concerned about the impoverished state of the village. However, given that he also had many subjects to care for, he could not extend assistance. He wanted to apologize for that and make two suggestions.

 

1. The village Ren lived in will be incorporated into Vicount Givenne’s territory and he will have many knights stationed in the village at all times to make up for the lack of manpower.

2. Ren Ashton will be appointed as a servant in the Givenne House and be promised plenty of rewards.

 

According to Claussell’s knights, villages getting incorporated into a different territory was nothing new. But for that to happen, all the concerned parties must offer their approval.

“Good grief…… Except for the Thief Wolfen incident which can be called an anomaly, there has never been a case where the Ashton family lacked the manpower to protect this village.”

“In other words, there was no problem with Lord Claussell’s governance, right?”

“You’re right. Let me also say this, but before Ren was born, a D-rank monster had appeared once……”

Upon hearing that, a knight spoke as if he had remembered something. “We are also aware of that. At the time, Roy-dono was the one who subjugated it,” he said.

“Yeah. But let me tell you, it was a lot easier to defeat than the Thief Wolfen. Even if both of them had the same rank, it wasn’t a unique monster like the Thief Wolfen.”

Roy stated once again that it was not the Baron’s fault.

“Now then, let’s get back to the main topic.”

He directed a gaze as sharp as a blade toward the knights, and his voice was more powerful than before.

“Did the flames of the faction war finally reach a remote region like this?”

“……It is as you say.”

“That’s what I thought. No wonder that viscount reached out to us.”

“Many have sought to bring the Claussell house on their side for quite some time now. However, our lord does not belong to any faction and respects the imperial family and the seven great noble houses. Therefore, we also find the present situation regrettable.”

Ren, who was seated next to the knight, nodded to himself in response to those words. He had an inkling about what the knight was talking about.

(The faction war in the Leomel Empire was definitely between……)

There were three factions, and every noble family belonged to at least one of them.

 

The first one was the Imperial faction.

It consisted of people who had a strong respect for the imperial family and also revered the Lion King who founded Leomel. They believed that the imperial family should be the one to guide the empire in the future.

 

The second one was the Hero faction.

The noble families belonging to this faction were led by the seven great noble houses which were founded by the seven heroes.

Although this faction was not considering overthrowing the imperial family, they argued that the Leomel Empire should be more free and democratic.

In the empire, there were many poor villages like Ren’s, while there were also wealthy individuals who could save dozens of those poor villages on their own. The Hero faction advocated that the wealth gap should be reduced and there were even some who argued that the authoritarianism of the imperial family should be restrained.

 

And finally, the third one was the Neutral faction.

This faction was made up of noble families who respected the ideologies of both the Imperial faction and the Hero faction but didn’t belong to either of them.

……There were some who didn’t wish for innovative changes

……While there were others who didn’t want the noble houses to be divided into factions and hoped for peace.

They wished for the empire to stay united without fighting over differences in ideology, just like when the demon lord had appeared. This thought was shared between all noble houses in the Neutral faction.

(Baron Claussell belongs to the Neutral faction.)

And since Viscount Givenne was part of the Hero faction, the faction war wasn’t unrelated to the current situation.

“I know it is hard for you to talk about it. After all, this is a matter that shouldn’t be made public. And it’s even more difficult when the one you’re talking to is just a knight from a small village in a remote region.”

“Dear. Watch your phrasing.”

“────! Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t say that out of spite! I was just talking about, you know……!”

Mireille reproached Roy who was making an uncomfortable face and apologized to the knight while lightly pinching her husband’s cheek.

“So, why did the flames of the faction war reach all the way here? This village is in the most remote region you can imagine, you know?”

“……I believe you must already be aware of this, but around the time when Ren-dono was born, coincidently, the seven great noble houses also saw the birth of their own heirs────that is, all of them.”

“…………”

“Dad? Why are you staying quiet?”

“Well, that’s because it’s my first time hearing this. You know such information doesn’t reach this remote village, don’t you? We are just small-time knights who don’t even receive invitations for parties, and I’ll have you know that the only time I’ve ever left the village was to greet the previous Baron.”

(I wonder why his words feel so convincing.)

“But well, even I was aware of the faction war.”

The quantity and freshness of information depended on the flow of people in a place, and since Ren’s village extremely lacked that, information was often delayed compared to cities and towns.

The knight made a wry smile hearing Roy’s words but continued with a slightly apologetic tone.

“Since all the seven great noble houses saw the birth of their heirs at the same time, the Hero faction is now more united than ever. They are all claiming that it is the rebirth of the seven heroes.”

“Ha! How absurd!”

Unlike Roy, who dismissed it outright, Ren cast his eyes downwards in thought. What the knight had said was definitely not absurd. The main characters of The Legend of the Seven Heroes were extolled as the second coming of the heroes who had defeated the demon lord.

“In the first place, aren’t there only six great noble houses left? It’s been over a hundred years since Hero Ruine’s family lineage came to an end. And yet, a second coming? Don’t you think it’s disrespectful to the hero?”

Hero Ruine────He was the one who dealt the final blow to the demon lord.

However, people say that his descendants no longer exist.

The reason was that those who carried his bloodline were not really blessed with children. That became increasingly prominent as the generations passed, and eventually, they perished without bearing a single heir.

Nowadays, people believe that it was due to the demon lord’s curse.

“But Dad, isn’t it also possible that his bloodline was carried on without anyone knowing?”

“……Ren?”

“If the six heirs who were born at the same time are really the second coming of the seven heroes, then someone with the blood of Hero Ruine must also exist! This is no coincidence! It is all according to the will of the chief god Erfen! ────It won’t be strange for the nobles in the Hero faction to think that and start taking action.”

In fact, right now the descendant of Hero Ruine—who was the protagonist of The Legend of the Seven Heroes—should be living in a place far away from Ren’s village.”

“I’m surprised. Roy-dono, the current situation of the Hero faction is exactly as Ren-dono said. A lot of the nobles in that faction think that Hero Ruine’s descendants still exist somewhere.”

Ren secretly frowned when he heard that.

(Yeah…… It seems really troublesome now that I’m on this side.)

In The Legend of the Seven Heroes, the main characters went through many hardships within the Leomel Empire. That included getting into small clashes with the Imperial faction and the Neutral faction.

To be honest, there were times when Ren was annoyed by the remarks and behavior of the nobles in those two factions, but he didn’t expect to feel the same towards the Hero faction now that he was in a different position.

“────Even still,” muttered Ren.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, well…… I was just curious…… A lot of time has passed since the heirs were born, so I think it is weird for the Hero faction to make a fuss now……”

The knights fell silent once more when they saw Ren deep in thought.

 

And then, a few minutes later.

“Dad,” said Ren while directing a strong gaze toward Roy, making him feel slightly overwhelmed. “Do you remember how long ago did you defeat the D-rank monster?”

“A-Ah yeah! If I’m not wrong, it was around a year before you were born!”

“……Then it means that it is possible that the faction war had already reached this region back then.”

At first, the knights were surprised when they heard that, but then they soon started praising Ren.

“You’re truly intelligent, Ren-dono. Our lord also reached the conclusion that Viscount Givenne was after this region from around that time.”

“So, do you think that this time’s Thief Wolfen incident is also related to that?”

It was natural to think that. As Roy had said, a Thief Wolfen appearing in this region was definitely strange.

“That’s what we have been told. It seems like────”

“They became impatient because Baron Claussell was granted a territory near the capital. Or at least that’s how it feels like.”

“────?!!”

The knights, along with Roy and Mireille were surprised. However, only Ren remained calm.

(Weiss-sama had said that the Claussell house was granted that territory last year.)

That resulted in the Hero faction becoming wary of the Claussell house.

They feared that the Claussell house—in which the saint was born—would switch over to the Imperial faction after receiving a territory near the capital. And since Baron Claussell was also an excellent noble, the Imperial faction would get stronger if he joined them.

(To summarize, the first incident with the monster happened when────)

All of the seven great noble houses saw the birth of their heirs, causing the Hero faction to become active. This made the faction war more heated, and it happened before Ren was born.

(And then, the second was when────)

The Claussell house was granted territory near the imperial capital.

It was also certain that Saint Liscia’s influence played a part in that. Baron Claussell himself was a talented nobleman, so it would be best if the Hero faction managed to pull the entire Claussell house over to their side.

Furthermore, Viscount Givenne couldn’t be ignored.

There was no evidence that he had done something, but looking at the forceful action he had taken soon after the Thief Wolfen incident indicated that he was somehow related.

(Having said that, I don’t know what he would gain by targeting this village…… Ah, didn’t Weiss-sama say that it was a Feudal Lord’s duty to protect their territory?)

If monsters caused havoc within a territory, it was up to the Feudal Lord to decide on the manpower which would be dispatched to take care of the problem. However, if that judgment was incorrect multiple times, it wouldn’t be strange for the Lord to get punished.

If that’s what Viscount Givenne was aiming for, Baron Claussell could get punished because of the damage Ren’s and the surrounding villages suffered from the Thief Wolfen.

(But if Viscount Givenne manages to get Baron Claussell punished…… Then I guess he would bring the Claussell house over to the Hero faction.)

For instance, Viscount Givenne could stand up for Baron Claussell if the Baron gets impeached and earn his favor. The Claussell house would then have to join the Hero faction, even if it is done under the guise of coercion.

(But that’s only if Viscount Givenne is really related to the two incidents.)

All of this was just speculation since he had no evidence.

At any rate, it didn’t change the fact that they had to be really cautious.

“We are also thinking about contacting the Lord soon,” said one of the knights. “Even if there is no evidence that Viscount Givenne has done something, we still have to be really careful.”

“I see. So does that mean the knights will extend the time they’ll stay in all villages?” 

“Yes. That’s what we plan on suggesting to the Lord.”

While listening to the conversation between the knight and Roy, Ren sighed, feeling that something troublesome was about to happen.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After the serious discussion came to an end, Ren went back to his room to change his clothes.

At that time, he took out the letter that he had obtained from using his magic sword on a bird earlier this morning and placed it on the desk, wondering what to do with it.

“I should return it to that girl the next time she comes to this village……but I don’t know if it really is a good idea.”

Giving it back to her would be the same as saying that he had read it. If that happened, she would surely ask for a response.

It was an event Ren wanted to avoid since he had no intention to leave the village and get into a relationship with Liscia.

“Should I throw it away……but then I would feel bad.”

He didn’t want to throw away the letter Liscia had so earnestly written. It would be a really cold thing to do and he would feel sorry for her.

Although he had no idea what the letter was doing all the way near the forest, he didn’t want to just discard it.

That’s why Ren picked up a wooden accessory box with carvings on it from the desk and put Liscia’s letter inside it.

He closed the box and placed it in the corner of his desk.

Since he couldn’t even throw it away, burning the letter was out of the question. That’s why he decided to store it in the box for the time being.

 

“────Alright,” he said and turned his gaze over to the Azure Orb of Seraccia which was also placed on the desk. “It really is beautiful……”

But it only looked beautiful and Ren was troubled with what to do with it due to its dangerous nature.

With a sigh, he reached out to the orb and touched it.

“Hm?”

At first, he touched it with just his index finger. But when he pushed his entire palm against it, he strangely felt the orb shake.

Ren tilted his head in puzzlement and tried to touch it again. But this time, nothing happened.

“……I must have imagined it.”

After saying that, he let out a yawn and started heading toward the bathroom to wash away his sweat.

 

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