Chapter 7: The Great Nation's Faction Struggles and Ren's Involvement
As Lishia left, Ren’s daily life returned to normal.
Although it was later than usual because he had seen her off, he was enjoying the fresh morning air—at least, he was, until…
"What’s that?"
After casually walking through the farm path, Ren reached the area just before the suspension bridge that led to the forest, where something unusual happened.
The small birds he often saw were perched on branches of nearby trees, chirping loudly, seemingly fighting and threatening each other as they competed for something.
Ren, who tilted his head at the sight, instinctively summoned the Thief's Magic Sword.
He noticed that one of the birds had something in its beak, and using the Thief's Magic Sword, he directed it at the bird.
“Pipii────!”
As the bird flew off in surprise, the others hurriedly took flight as well.
In their place, Ren now held what the birds had been fighting over.
It was a piece of parchment, roughly folded. From its texture and tanning, it was clear that it was high-quality parchment.
Intrigued, Ren unfolded it and saw the elegant script written on it.
"...A love letter?"
The passion seemed to surge from the very words, almost as if the emotion was pouring out of the edges of the text.
But who would write such a letter on such fine parchment? At first, Ren was puzzled, but as he read on, he realized that the writer was attempting to summon someone to Clausel.
From the mention of swordsmanship in the letter, he could guess who was being called.
(That child?)
This must be a letter written by Lishia Clausel to him, Ren thought.
He was curious about why it had fallen here, but he couldn’t just leave it behind.
As he tucked the letter into his pocket, he heard the sound of horses’ hooves pounding the earth from a distance.
“Could it be… that impetuous saintess is coming back already!?”
Ren instinctively braced himself.
However, the people who arrived were not familiar to him. A group of around a dozen riders appeared, and their armor bore no Clausel family crest.
“...U-Um?”
Surprised, Ren was quickly surrounded by the group, who looked down at him from their horses in an intimidating manner.
One of the knights, addressing the young Ren, spoke in an overbearing tone.
"Are you from the village under the Ashton family’s rule?"
The one who seemed to be leading the group spoke through his helmet.
If Ren didn’t answer quickly, it felt like they might draw their swords at any moment due to the oppressive and forceful tone.
"Yes… but who are you?"
Ren answered politely, but the man repeated his demand with a still arrogant attitude.
“We are here on the orders of Viscount Given, carrying a document that the viscount has approved. Now, guide us to the Ashton family’s mansion.”
It was clear that they weren’t from the Clausel family, but Ren was still puzzled when he heard that they were sent by a viscount with a higher rank.
(Viscount Given, that’s right...)
The Clausel family was east of the village, but Viscount Given’s domain was in the northeast. He was a noble with no connection to the Ashton family, but still someone they couldn’t simply ignore.
“I understand. I will guide you to the mansion right away.”
“Hmm? Your mansion, you say?”
“Yes. I should’ve mentioned this earlier. I am Ren Ashton, the only son of the current head, Roy Ashton.”
Upon hearing this, the members of Viscount Given’s group exchanged looks.
They nodded in agreement, and then the same knight spoke to Ren again.
“Rejoice. The viscount has also sent his regards to you.”
The tone of the knight who had been speaking harshly softened, and Ren could feel the tension in the group dissipate.
However, what could a viscount, who wasn’t even a relative, want with him…?
“Sent his regards… to me?”
“Yes. The viscount expressed a strong desire to make you his retainer. We can discuss the details at your mansion.”
The knights surrounding him began moving their horses as they responded to the command.
Meanwhile, Ren’s expression twisted when he was sure no one could see him.
(What is going on…?)
There had been far too many strange events since yesterday.
As Ren walked heavily toward the mansion, the villagers watched, tilting their heads at the unusual scene.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
When they returned to the mansion, the knights of the Clausel family stationed in the village greeted them with shocked expressions.
Similarly, Roy and Mireille were just as surprised as they had been the previous day.
However, the two of them tried to keep calm, and only one of the knights from the group was invited into Roy’s room, where he was recovering.
Ren stayed outside with the Clausel family knights.
They were in the mansion’s garden, but the knights’ demeanor seemed oddly tense, so Ren decided to ask about it.
"Why are you all so upset?"
The knight he addressed hesitated to respond, but another knight came to his aid.
“Hey, why don’t you tell him?”
“But…”
“If the situation calls for it, young Lord Ren won’t be able to stay out of it, will he? Even Lord Weiss wouldn’t reprimand him for this.”
Ren recalled the words of Viscount Given’s messenger, who had mentioned making him a retainer.
(But still, why is everyone so angry?)
The answer to his question came quickly when the group sent by Viscount Given stepped out of the mansion.
“Ren Ashton, you’re here.”
The knight who had asked Ren to guide them on the bridge spoke as he approached.
As he drew closer, the Clausel family knights instinctively tensed.
Seeing this, the knight from Viscount Given’s group smirked and then spoke.
“Heh. Well then, I’ve already spoken to Lord Roy, but there’s something I want to tell you as well. As I mentioned in the forest, the viscount highly values your abilities and would very much like to take you on as his retainer.”
Hearing this, the knights of the Clausel family stepped forward.
"We apologize. Lord Ren has already been invited by the head of our house."
To be precise, it was Clausel's daughter, Lishia, who had extended the invitation. However, this wasn’t an issue significant enough to correct.
"You are members of the Clausel family, correct? However, you are only inviting him, and he has yet to respond, am I right? If that is the case, there should be no problem with us approaching him."
"There is an issue even before that. This village is under the jurisdiction of the Clausel family, you know."
"Oh? Perhaps the members of the Clausel family would say the same to those wishing to serve the great Emperor? There are many knights serving in the Imperial Capital who were not born there."
"That is not the point. If you wish to invite Lord Ren, you should have come to us first."
While the heated conversation continued, Ren listened intently.
"Regardless of the difference in titles, or the differences in factions, that should be a matter of courtesy, shouldn’t it? I would think that someone serving the esteemed Given Viscount would understand that."
"Hmph... I understand. We’ll leave and come back another time."
With an unconcerned attitude, the knights of Given Viscount began to walk away. Behind them, their companions, who had left the mansion a little later, followed.
They mounted their horses and, before leaving, one of them said to Ren, "We’ll be back."
As their figures disappeared from sight, one of the knights of Clausel family spoke up.
"Lord Ren, we should discuss what just happened. Let’s go over the details... perhaps in the mansion, in the room where we can have Lord Roy present."
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
When Ren and the knights entered Roy's room, Roy greeted them with a casual, "I’ve been waiting."
Mireille was also present, and both their expressions were somewhat grim.
"So, has something troublesome happened that we weren’t aware of?" Roy asked.
The knights who had accompanied Ren, looking apologetic, began to speak.
"We’re terribly sorry. It was something we couldn’t make public, so we weren’t able to inform Lord Roy and the others earlier."
"I figured as much. And this involves Viscount Given, doesn’t it?"
"—Indeed, it does."
Ren and the knights sat down on the sofa in the room.
"Ren, let me show you the letter those guys left behind. Let’s talk about it after you’ve seen it."
In place of Roy, who couldn’t walk, Mireille handed the letter to Ren.
Ren opened the envelope and unfolded the parchment it contained.
"...I see."
The letter from Viscount Given mentioned that, in addition to the recent turmoil, he had been troubled by the poverty of the village. However, because he had many subjects to care for, he was unable to extend any assistance.
He apologized for this and then proposed two things:
1. He wanted to incorporate Ren’s village into the Given Viscount’s domain and to assign a few knights regularly to make up for the lack of manpower.
2. He wished to take Ren Ashton as a servant of the Given family, offering him a generous reward in return.
According to the knights of the Clausel family, it’s not uncommon for border villages to be incorporated into the territory of another noble family in this country. Therefore, as long as everyone involved agrees, it should not be an issue.
"Tch... The incident with the Sheefulfen can be considered an anomaly. Apart from that, there are no records of our village lacking military strength under the Ashton family," Roy remarked.
"So, that means the Baron’s decisions weren’t a mistake, right?" one of the knights asked.
"Exactly. By the way, there was once an incident involving a D-rank monster before Ren was born..."
At that, a knight remembered something and added, "We are aware of that as well. It’s said that Lord Roy was the one who defeated it."
"Yeah. To be honest, that was easier than dealing with the Sheefulfen. No matter how high-ranked the monster was, it wasn't anything like the special type of Sheefulfen," Roy added, emphasizing that the Clausel Baron's decisions were correct.
"Anyway, let's get to the main topic," he said, turning to the knights with a sharp gaze. His voice gained strength and intensity, becoming quite imposing.
"Has the wave of factional strife finally reached this area?" he asked.
"…As you say," the knight replied.
"I knew it. No wonder that viscount extended his hand."
"Many have wanted to bring the Clausel family into their fold. However, our head has respected both the royal family and the Seven Great Dukes, not aligning with any particular faction. For that reason, we are also regrettable about the current situation."
Ren, who had been listening nearby, nodded. The knight’s words had made him reflect.
(The factional struggles of the Leomel Empire are...)
There were three factions, and every noble belonged to one of them.
First, there was the royal faction.
This group holds great reverence for the royal family and the Lion King, the founder of the kingdom. They believe that it is the royal family who should continue to lead Leomel going forward.
Next, there was the hero faction.
The hero faction is led by the Seven Great Dukes, who were the ones who produced the Seven Heroes. This faction represents the group of protagonists in the Seven Heroes’ legend. They do not seek to usurp the throne, but instead argue that Leomel should be governed more freely and democratically. While poor villages like Ren's are increasing, there are wealthy individuals who can single-handedly save dozens of such villages. The hero faction seeks to address the inequality and argues that the royal family’s absolute power should be restrained.
The last faction is the neutral faction.
The neutral faction consists of those who do not belong to either of the two major factions and who respect both the royal family and the Seven Great Dukes’ ideals. Some of them are those who do not wish for any significant change, and others are peace-seekers who do not desire the nobles to be divided by factions. They share the belief that, just like when the Demon Lord appeared, they should unite rather than fight due to ideological differences.
(So, the Clausel Baron is from the neutral faction.)
Since the Given family is part of the hero faction, factional disputes are inevitably part of the discussion.
"It's understandable that this is difficult to talk about. After all, such matters aren’t meant to be publicized. Especially when dealing with knights from a small border village," one of the knights said.
"Your wording..." Roy began, only to be cut off.
"Ah—sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so pointed! I was just speaking from a common-sense perspective...!"
Mireille, who had been scolding Roy for his awkwardness, turned to the knights and said, "My apologies," before giving her husband a light pinch on the cheek.
"Now, why has this wave of factional strife even reached such a village? This is the very edge of the border, after all."
"...Lord Roy, I believe you’re already aware, but the year Ren was born, and the years surrounding it, coincidentally, the Seven Great Dukes also had heirs born at the same time. ...And that was across all their families."
"............"
"Father? Why are you silent?"
"Well, I’ve never heard of that. How would such information even reach a border village like this? I’m just a lowly knight who’s never even been invited to a party. The only time I’ve left the village was to pay my respects to the previous Baron," Roy explained.
(How convincing...!)
"Well, I knew there was some factional conflict, but that’s about it."
The amount and freshness of information are proportional to the flow of people. In this village, where the flow of information is particularly low, things tend to be slower compared to cities or towns.
The knight, smiling wryly at Roy’s words, continued with some slight hesitation.
"When the Seven Great Dukes all had heirs around the same time, the hero faction united more than ever. They’re proclaiming that the heirs are the reincarnations of the Seven Heroes."
"Pfft! What a ridiculous story!"
Unlike Roy, who dismissed it outright, Ren looked up at the ceiling, his gaze downcast.
That was not such a foolish idea. The protagonists of the Seven Heroes' legend were indeed heralded as the reincarnation of the heroes who defeated the Demon Lord.
"Well, it’s now the Six Great Dukes. It’s been over a hundred years since the family descended from the hero Ruin was wiped out. So how can they claim reincarnation? Doesn’t that seem disrespectful to the hero?" Roy said, dismissing the idea.
The hero Ruin, mentioned by Roy, was the man who dealt the final blow to the Demon Lord. However, his bloodline had come to an end.
The reason, it was said, was that his descendants were not blessed with children. As the generations went by, this became more apparent, and eventually, none of them could leave behind an heir, causing the family to perish. This was thought to be the Demon Lord's curse in the modern age.
"But, Father, maybe the blood of the hero was secretly passed down," Ren said.
"...Ren?"
"—The six heirs who were born nearly simultaneously. If they’re claiming that they are the reincarnations of the Seven Heroes, then surely someone must carry the blood of the hero Ruin! This cannot be a coincidence! It’s all the will of the Great God Elphen! It’s not strange that some noble of the hero faction would believe this and act on it."
In truth, somewhere far from this village, a descendant of the hero Ruin—one of the Seven Heroes—was likely living.
"I’m surprised. Lord Roy, the recent movements of the hero faction are just as Ren predicted. Among them, there are many who think exactly as Ren does," the knight said.
Listening to this, Ren frowned slightly to himself.
(Hmm... Things get complicated when you change your position.)
In the legend of the Seven Heroes, the protagonists faced many challenges within the Leomel Empire.
There were also small skirmishes with the Royalist and Neutral factions at that time.
To be honest, there were times when I could not stomach the words and actions of the nobles from those two factions, but this time, I never thought I’d feel this way about the nobles from the Hero faction.
"——That said," Ren muttered suddenly.
"Huh? What's on your mind, Ren?"
"No... it's just... something’s been bothering me. The talk just now was about the time when the Seven Great dukes noble families got their heirs, but it's strange that it's only now that it's causing a stir..."
As Ren started to think, the knights fell silent once more.
A few minutes later.
"Father," Ren said, looking at Roy with a determined gaze that momentarily caught him off guard.
"Do you remember when you defeated the D-rank monster? How long ago was that?"
"Ah, yeah! It was about a year before you were born!"
"Which means the faction struggles might have been going on since then."
The knight was momentarily surprised, then smiled and spoke with admiration.
"Lord Ren, you truly are perceptive. The head of our house also had the same conclusion. It’s possible that Viscount Given has been eyeing this area since that time."
"So, you’re saying this incident with the Sheefulfen has something to do with it?"
It was easy to think that way. After all, as Roy had said, the Sheefulfen was no ordinary situation.
"That is what we have heard. Apparently——"
"This incident is connected to Baron Clausel's anxiety after obtaining lands near the imperial capital, isn't it?"
"——!?"
The knight gasped, and both Roy and Mireille were equally shocked. Meanwhile, Ren remained calm.
(According to Lord Wiess, Baron Clausel acquired new lands last year.)
This caused the Hero faction to be on guard. The fact that Baron Clausel, with the White Saint Lishia, had received lands from the Emperor probably worried the Hero faction, fearing that the Clausel family might shift from the Neutral faction to the Royalist faction. Baron Clausel, being a capable noble, might not have tolerated the rise of the Royalist faction.
(Let's sort this out again. The first incident occurred when the heirs of the Seven Great Noble Houses were born, causing the Hero faction to become more active, thus igniting the faction struggles. That happened before I was born.)
(And the second incident occurred when Baron Clausel acquired lands near the imperial capital.)
Additionally, the influence of the Holy Maiden Lishia was certainly involved. Given that Baron Clausel was already a competent noble, it would have been ideal for the Hero faction to pull him into their ranks.
And, of course, Viscount Given could not be ignored either.
Although there was no direct evidence linking him to any wrongdoing, given his actions right after the Sheefulfen incident, it would be hard to believe he was completely unrelated.
(But what would he gain by targeting our village... Ah, Lord Wiess did say that the lord’s duty is to protect his territory.)
When monsters cause damage within a lord’s domain, the strength of the troops sent to handle it depends on the lord's discretion. However, if the lord repeatedly makes poor decisions, they can be punished.
With this in mind, it was not out of the question that Baron Clausel could be punished for the damage caused to Ren’s village and the neighboring villages.
(If Viscount Given plans to make Baron Clausel take the fall... he might be planning to bring Baron Clausel into the Hero faction after that.)
For example, Viscount Given could shield Baron Clausel when he’s about to be reprimanded, gaining favor and drawing him into the Hero faction, perhaps under duress.
(Of course, this is assuming Viscount Given is involved in both incidents.)
Since there was no proof, it was all just speculation.
In any case, it remained a matter to be cautiously watched.
"We’ll be contacting the head of our house soon," said one of the knights who had been present.
"Even though there’s no evidence linking Viscount Given to anything, it’s better to be safe than sorry."
"Perhaps. So, does this mean extending the knights’ stay in our village and others?"
"Yes. We intend to propose that."
While listening to the knights and Roy discuss, Ren couldn’t help but sigh, realizing things were about to get troublesome.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
After the tense conversation, Ren returned to his room and changed his clothes.
At that moment, he took out the letter that the little bird had been holding and placed it on his desk, wondering what to do with it.
"If that girl comes again, I could return it to her then... but would that really be the right thing to do?"
That would basically be admitting that he had read the letter.
She would no doubt expect a response.
For Ren, who had no intention of leaving the village and had no desire to deepen his ties with Lishia, that was an event he would rather avoid.
"But just throwing it away... that doesn’t sit right with me either."
He couldn't bring himself to discard a letter Lishia had likely written with all her heart.
That would be too cold, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
He still had questions about how the letter had ended up where he found it, but he couldn't shake the discomfort of simply disposing of something like this.
So, he opened the small wooden box with intricate carvings that sat on his desk, placed Lishia’s letter inside, and closed the lid.
Then, he moved the box to the corner of his desk.
Since throwing it away or burning it felt too cruel, he decided to keep it stored for now.
"——Alright."
His gaze then shifted to the Azure Jewel of Serakia resting on his desk.
"It looks beautiful, at least..."
At least in appearance.
However, its troublesome nature made it difficult to handle.
Ren let out a sigh and, without much thought, reached out and touched the Azure Jewel of Serakia.
"Hm?"
At first, he pressed his index finger against it.
Then, as he placed his palm flat on its surface, he felt a faint tremor from the orb.
Tilting his head in confusion, he pulled his hand away and tried touching it again, but this time, there was no reaction.
"...Must’ve been my imagination."
Muttering to himself, Ren let out a yawn and headed to the bath to wash off his sweat.
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