How far had we ridden by carriage?

Suddenly, Neril asked,

“Isn’t it about time you told us?”

“Huh?”

“Your next little scheme.”

Though it was Neril who asked the question, Xenia also had the gleam of a curious child in her eyes.

Just as I was about to respond—

Neigh!

With a startled noise, the carriage came to a sudden stop.

Xenia and I managed to brace ourselves in time.

Thud.

Neril, on the other hand, had her face planted into the cushion on the opposite seat.

“……”

“……”

Rustle.

She rose as if nothing had happened and calmly returned to her seat.

Crossing her legs, she repeated,

“Isn’t it about time you told us? Your next little scheme.”

“Ah, r-right.”

Let’s just pretend we didn’t see that.

“Of course I’ll tell you, but first, let’s find out what made the carriage stop. I have a feeling it’s related.”

“Hmm?”

“Excuse me! What’s going on?”

I knocked on the small door leading to the driver’s seat. It slid open, and the coachman answered.

“Apologies. There’s a rather long procession coming from the other side.”

“What?”

“They look like merchants. I’ll check it out. Hey there!”

The coachman stopped one of the passing travelers and asked where they were all rushing off to.

About ten minutes later—

He returned, his face pale.

“S-sirs. My apologies, but I must turn back as well. You only need to pay half the fare—no, even a quarter will do.”

“What on earth happened?”

“There’s a war. A war.”

Everyone turned to stare at me.

I scratched my head and gave a awkward grin.

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence.”

This empire, having once unified the continent, had no external enemies besides the Demon King. In other words, it had no need for war with outsiders.

So when someone says “war” in the Empire, it refers to conflicts between the empire’s own divided forty territories—territorial wars.

We managed to convince the coachman to keep going with some additional payment.

Then, we organized the information he had given us.

“A territorial war between the Avis and Kitur territories.”

“No need to worry too much.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Xenia spoke in a casual tone.

“It’s not like the Empire has no history of territorial wars. But usually, the disputes get settled by the capital.”

“Alkahad, right?”

“Mr. Mide, you really do know everything.”

Xenia explained:

The Empire had two swords—The Holy Knights of Light and the special division, Alkahad.

The Holy Knights of Light focused on tracking and monitoring “abnormal phenomena” like the Witch of Carnage, while Alkahad handled everything involving authority and force.

“In a case like this, Alkahad’s local commander will definitely step in. The one in charge of the Avis region should be… hmm, that would be Deirt Kyle.”

“You know him?”

“Not personally. But I’ve memorized the names of all key personnel from our rival factions.”

Apparently, there was always some quiet rivalry between the Holy Knights and Alkahad.

Neril asked,

“So if they step in, what exactly do they do?”

“Word is that the lord of Avis started the war. But no one just wakes up one day and goes, ‘I want that land!’ There must have been some justification.”

“Hmph.”

“Alkahad investigates what that justification is and tries to mediate. Nine times out of ten, their intervention resolves things.”

“And the one time it doesn’t?”

“…If even Alkahad agrees the justification is valid, then nothing can be done. The safety lock comes off, so to speak.”

“And the Emperor just watches his lords fight like rabid dogs?”

Xenia replied with a shrug, not bothering to defend the system.

“This empire started as a small southern kingdom that conquered the continent by force. Initially, power was centralized, but over time, the lords gradually reclaimed their freedom.”

“So now the central authority’s powerless?”

“Not just powerless—apathetic. Unless something shakes the entire Empire, if the justification is solid, they won’t interfere. At most, they’ll clean up afterward.”

That explained most of the situation.

Neril turned her head around to face me.

“So? What exactly do you plan to do with this mess to milk fame out of it?”

“Could you put it more gracefully? Say I intend to make a name for myself.”

“You’re the famous ‘Sword master of No Killing,’ aren’t you? For any normal mercenary, war’s a golden opportunity for fame. But for you, it’s the worst setting.”

Whoever gave me that stupid title—I swear I’ll find them.

And when I do, I’ll make sure they get a nickname just as ridiculous.

Something like “Fairy of Joy.”

“I’m not going there to fight in the war.”

“Huh?”

“The fastest way to gain fame is by bringing the greatest happiness to the greatest number.”

“……”

“Think about it. Who suffers most in a territorial war? The common folk. Already struggling, and now forced onto battlefields. They’re the biggest victims.”

Neril and Xenia looked at each other.

Both seemed to realize what I was getting at.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“Yeah.”

I smiled and said,

“I’m going to stop the war.”

The territorial war between Avis and Kitur had actually happened around this time before my regression.

Back then, Alkahad failed to mediate.

Avis’s justification had been too solid.

—Those filthy Kitur bastards lost my daughter! And they’re being completely uncooperative with the investigation. They’re clearly hiding something!

That was the reason.

The lord of Avis, Count Tobira de Main, had married off his only daughter, Ariena, to the Kitur territory.

A political marriage meant to foster harmony between the two regions. The source of this content ɪs noᴠelfire.net

That much was typical.

“I looked into it briefly. That Ariena girl went missing.”

After arriving in the Avis territory, we focused first on gathering information.

That evening, at a table in a tavern that also served as an inn, Neril reported,

“Five months ago, Ariena went on a picnic with some maids. None of them returned.”

“Hm.”

“Kitur searched as much as they could, but when nothing turned up, they finally notified Count Tobira… And, well, he lost his mind.”

Of course he would. She was his only daughter, precious enough to bear any burden.

Xenia picked up the explanation.

“So he said he’d send his own forces to investigate.”

“And the Kitur territory refused, right?”

“Yes. Understandably so. The troops Count Tobira wanted to send were far too large for a mere investigation. No one wants armed men entering their land, no matter the reason.”

“So Tobira took their refusal as proof they were hiding something.”

Xenia nodded.

The picture lined up, and in fact, everything so far matched what I had known before the regression.

At that time, the war did break out and ended in Count Tobira’s victory.

Kitur territory was taken over by Avis.

[So, what now?]

‘Well… I only came here with the goal of stopping the war. But I don’t have enough information.’

[As expected, it’s time for this body to step forward.]

‘Sure, but didn’t you say last time you were going to be more humble?’

[Hearing about humility from you is like hearing a cow go “woof.”]

Anyway, the Eye of Omniscience is great and all, but there’s no need to pry into the secrets of random passersby.

“I definitely need to meet the lord.”

“Count Tobira?”

“Yeah. From what I saw on the way here, tensions are already on the verge of exploding. All the young men have been drafted—none were in the villages—and the women and elderly are drowning in sighs and tears.”

“……”

“In other words, it’s a risky situation. With things already this far along, they can’t just stop over something trivial. That’s why I need to meet the one who started all this.”

Check his face. Check his blood script.

Then find a secret heavy enough to make him abandon the war. Pressure—no, persuade him with it.

“How should we meet him? Should we ask the mercenary guild master to mediate, like we did with Lior?”

“There’s someone better.”

“Huh? Ah.”

We both turned to look at Xenia. She wrapped her arms protectively around the ID badge on her chest.

“This isn’t something meant to be used for this kind of thing!”

“I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Mr. Mide. You said the same thing last time… Do I look like someone who can be swayed by a single meal?”

“I’ll buy you two.”

“N-no matter how many times you offer—”

“Three meals.”

“…It’s not about the food. You know that, right?”

Of course I do. It’s something I’ve always heard even before the regression.

—

As expected, Xenia’s ID badge was an unbeatable weapon.

We got an audience with the lord in less than a day after making the request.

Count Tobira of Avis territory. For a man preparing such a massive war, he was shockingly obese. And vile.

—Guilty of crimes against Ariena de Main and 187 others.

The first name floating in his blood script. The sin he most wanted to hide was, incredibly, related to the very daughter who had supposedly gone missing in Kitur territory.

‘Sigh. Even without the Eye of Omniscience, I can pretty much guess the situation.’

[Yeah.]

‘Still, I should confirm it. Go ahead.’

[Alright.]

Trail soon brought up the screen.

The screen blinked black.

The first thing that appeared was a woman with curly brown hair, wearing a filthy, torn dress.

‘What’s the timestamp?’

I glanced at the top right corner. Five months ago. In other words, right when the count’s daughter had gone missing.

‘It’s obvious just from looking. That woman is Lady Ariena.’

[Probably. Geez. Look at how tightly she’s tied up. It’s pitiful.]

I nodded and kept my eyes on the screen.

Creaaak.

Soon, an old door opened and someone entered. It was dark, but that fat figure was unmistakably Count Tobira.

Ariena’s eyes shook in disbelief.

The count had his men remove her gag.

“Puhah… F-father?”

“Mhm.”

“What… What is going on? I clearly remember… I was out on a picnic when some thugs attacked me—”

The count gestured to the back. His subordinates bowed and left. Once they were alone, he dragged a chair over and spoke.

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“……”

“You’ll have to stay here for a while.”

Ariena seemed to be a sharp girl. Her eyes darted about, then suddenly, she seemed to land on a suspicion.

“What do you mean by that? No way…”

“Yes. The ones who kidnapped you from Kitur and brought you here were assassins from this territory’s guild. Needless to say, they acted under my orders.”

“You… you had me kidnapped? Your own daughter? The daughter of Count Tobira and the daughter-in-law of Kitur’s lord?!”

“I trust you know the reason. You’ve always been quick-witted.”

“N-no way…”

Count Tobira nodded.

“A year ago, a massive mana stone vein was discovered deep in the mountains of Kitur.”

“……”

“I sent you into that wretched snake of a family precisely to gain even a fraction of the unimaginable profits from that mine.”

“I… I had guessed as much.”

“But as expected, the Lord of Kitur won’t even tolerate someone placing a single spoon at his table..”

Ariena bit her lip.

“So you’re going to steal it? By kidnapping me, pinning the blame on Kitur, and using that as your reason for war?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep