Chapter 221

Unravelling a Piece of the Conspiracy

I returned to the inn soon after extracting all the information I needed . There, I found the old governor, with whom I discussed my findings . It turned out that the “merchant” was in fact a secret agent sent by some n.o.ble f.u.c.kwad that wanted to see the hero’s seat vacant .

He admitted to being responsible for luring the horde and timing the attack such that it would land immediately following our arrival . His method was to smear himself in a putrid substance, enter their homes, and wreak all sorts of havoc . Once he was sure he had their attention, he took a straight line back to town to ensure that they would remain on his trail .

His plan was one that was meant to produce a large number of casualties, casualties he could leverage to accuse her of worthlessness . He intended to argue that her presence had little to no impact on the number of soldiers that fell in battle . But, much to his dismay, none of her allies had even been scratched . She had, to his knowledge, single handedly overwhelmed the incoming force and coerced the horde into a retreat . His plans went to s.h.i.+t . The miscalculation drove the entire scheme off course . He had no choice but to drop his meticulously crafted scheme and make up a much flimsier argument on the spot . Serves you right, a.s.shole .

The name of the n.o.ble behind the plot was apparently Argus Ladorio . His intention was to degrade Nell’s reputation even further in order to ensure she would be dismissed . The agent had not been made privy to the remainder of the plan’s details, but they likely entailed putting a minion on the hero’s pedestal, as doing so would provide Argus a yes-man in a position of power, which would in turn deepen his influence over both the church and the central government .

That’s some sketchy s.h.i.+t right there . Alright, total side note, man, I knew coming along was a good idea . Who knows what would’ve happened if Nell was here all by herself . They coulda started pulling all sorts of s.h.i.+t . Not that they haven’t already .

Their first attempt at striking her down had failed . But that did not, by any means, guarantee that they were going to stop hara.s.sing her . If anything, they were only going to ramp up their efforts .

Nell was my polar opposite . While I would only get involved in events that served my own interests, she would act on behalf of countless people whose names and faces remained unknown to her . She was a sweet girl with a good heart . And she deserved much better than to be treated like a tool and used for political gain . And yet, many of the men who ran this country failed to see her as anything beyond a “hero . ” They were incapable of recognizing her as the girl who continued to stand firm and do her best at fulfilling her duty despite a severe lack of confidence . They were too blind to understand how desperately she was trying to play the part of her people’s protector . And that angered me . It angered me to the point of bloodl.u.s.t . You motherf.u.c.kers have got b.a.l.l.s . I’ll give you that much . But that’ll change . I’ll make sure of it .

I had already decided that any who wished to see her crushed for their own convenience would feel my wrath . I would do unto them as they attempted unto her and use everything at my disposal to grind them to bone dust . I’ve already f.u.c.ked up once back in the demon realm . And I’ve learned from it . This time, I’ll be much more thorough .

“Hmmmm…” The old governor raised a hand to his chin as he pondered the information I’d divulged . “And what has become of the agent?”

Oh . Right . Almost forgot I was talking to him . The question pulled my head back down from the clouds and refocused me on the conversation at hand .

“Honestly? Dunno . He might live if he’s lucky, but I wouldn’t count on it,” I said with a shrug . I mean, I didn’t do toooooo much to him . Just, you know, chopped off all four of his limbs and dumped him in a group of ogres . They might not have eaten him . Might .

“I… won’t ask . ” Raylow paused for a moment to allow his expression to switch from an off put grimace to a stern frown . “I highly doubt Argus to be the sole conspirator . I’m almost certain that he is working under a greater power . ”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Rumours of Argus’ nefarious deeds are practically unending . He is widely known as a proficient schemer, but he isn’t anywhere near influential enough to place a mole within an organisation as stable and far reaching as the church . ”

“So, logically, that means he’s gotta be working for someone that influential?”

“The way I see it, he most likely is,” said the governor with a nod . “I’ll have someone look into him as soon as we reach the capital . I’m sure we’ll at least be able to find ourselves a fair set of clues . Naturally, I’ll have anything I uncover relayed to you immediately . ”

“No problem,” said Raylow . “Any nasty plot that endangers the hero is one that endangers the rest of humanity . Working with you to resolve it is only natural . ” He paused for a moment to clasp his hands in what almost seemed like nervousness . “But there is one thing I must ask you . What are you planning to do once you reach the capital?”

That’s a pretty d.a.m.n good question . My original plan was just to grab Nell’s boss and the king for a quick conversation about her future . I hadn’t originally planned to do much else . Now that I knew about Argus and his friends, however, that had all changed . The first thing on my list was now to uncover and eliminate all hostiles . Talking to people is going to have to wait . Errr… wait a second . I’m stupid . There’s literally nothing stopping me from doing both kinda at the same time, so I guess I might as well do that . h.e.l.l, that could work even better .

News of Nell’s engagement was sure to serve as high quality bait . I had no doubts that the mastermind would attempt to take advantage of it and use it as an excuse to try to harm her . Hanging around the capital’s probably going to be more than enough to lure our enemies into the open, especially if I start killing my way up the chain of command .

“I’m going to end up doing whatever I feel like doing,” I answered, honestly . “And since they’ve already made their first move, I’mma say that means I’m probably going to end up making mine . ”

“…Could you please refrain from harming the citizens, if possible?”

“Wasn’t planning to . Having her man going around randomly killing people is only going to hurt Nell’s reputation . I’ll make sure I act with prudence . ”

The answer led the governor to exhale with visible relief . …So why exactly does he take me for some sort of bloodthirsty maniac? I swear I’m not .

“Thank you,” he said . “Pardon the concern, it comes from knowing the extent of your power . It terrifies me to think that we would never be able to stop you should you decide to bring about the tides of the apocalypse and paint Als.h.i.+r’s streets with its people’s blood . ”

If there was one thing I wasn’t, it would be almighty . I was trying my best to ensure that I would eventually grow enough to stand by Lefi’s side, but I wasn’t anywhere near close . Unlike her, I had to practice everyday because I wasn’t exactly what I called capable of wielding a sword . Moreover, my fighting style was roundabout and almost gamey in the sense that it revolved around targeting down my enemies’ weaknesses . I made liberal use of gimmicks and traps in order to catch my foes off guard . Poisonous bogs, stone spike pits, magical bombs, landmines, iron maidens, and many, many other niche items had all become a part of my dungeon master’s tool kit .

At first, I had purchased every trap I used, but I eventually learned to make them with magic instead . Though the crafted varieties were much more cost efficient, they weren’t anywhere near as potent . That said, I knew that I could eventually master them so long as I kept at it, as that exactly what had happened with my water dragon spell . I was sure to one day grow proficient enough to plop down a whole slew of deadly traps right by my target’s feet without breaking a sweat .

Even with all the tools at my disposal, I found myself unable to confront all of the Wicked Forest’s beasts . Many were simply too far beyond me . When my pets and I encountered something we couldn’t handle, we would always nope the f.u.c.k out and run for our lives . Not even the monsters we thought we were capable of taking down would always behave as expected . The occasional specimen would manage to slip out of our grasps . And that’s exactly why no one’s ever really bothered claiming the place, I guess . It’s just too f.u.c.king hostile .

Though my pets and I often chose to flee, it wasn’t as if we never pushed ourselves to fight more powerful foes . The safety net provided by our ability to return to the dungeon at a moment’s notice had provided us plenty of opportunities to push our limits as opposed to just safely grinding it out .

“I highly doubt that to be the case anywhere outside of the abnormally dangerous woodland you’ve made your home…” said the governor with a sigh .

“Yeah, maybe, but the point is that the world’s a pretty big place . I’m not unstoppable, by any means, and I’m sure there are plenty of people and monsters out there far stronger than me,” I said . “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask, does this incident change our plans at all? ‘Cause I kinda doubt we’re still going to be able to leave today . ”

“It does,” replied the balding feudal lord . “The men need half a day to get everything back in order . It is possible for us to leave in the afternoon, but I’ve postponed our departure to tomorrow morning instead . There’s no sense in arriving in Als.h.i.+r in the dead of the night . I know that the sun is already out, and that it may be rather hard to sleep in the middle of the day, but I suggest you take this as an opportunity to rest . Powerful as you are, I’m sure that even you likely find yourself exhausted after such a long day . ”

“Yeah, good idea . Some shuteye is sounding pretty good right about now . ” I glanced around the inn’s lobby as I spoke . “Oh yeah, where’s Nell? Is she already back in the room?”

It was still extremely early in the morning, but last night’s incident had left basically everyone awake . All sorts of people were up and about, but Nell didn’t quite seem to be one of them . Many of the governor’s soldiers were present, but the hero herself was nowhere to be seen .

“She left to help the city’s guards clean up after the battle . They called it a day once they made a fair bit of progress and dragged her off to a bar . It seemed she wanted to wait for you to finish your investigations before joining them, but was unable to turn down their fervent requests . ”

“Yeah, she’s always been the type to cave in under pressure,” I said .

I smiled a bit as I imagined her getting dragged off .

“I had some of my men go with her to ensure that nothing inappropriate would occur,” said the governor remorsefully . “But I do apologize for not putting a stop to the event altogether . Allowing a group of men to take a woman soon to be wed to a place where she would be put under the influence of alcohol was not my wisest decision . ”

“I mean, sure, Nell’s not great when people are being pushy, but she’s not dumb, or the type to fool around . She’s able to say no when it counts . Don’t worry about it,” I chuckled . “So where is this bar anyway?”

“It’ll be the bar near the ramparts . The party that ensued was… wild to say the least, so you should be able to find it without much difficulty . I believe that all you’ll need to do is look for a large group of men pa.s.sed out in the streets . ”

“Alright, thanks . I’mma go pick her up . ”

I gave the governor a casual wave and walked out the door .