part0044

I awoke to my whole body feeling like it was being pulled by a dozen horses all in opposite directions. I panicked when I realized I was stuck in a bag with my hands and feet bound tightly. Suddenly, the force went away, and I felt a falling sensation before I impacted with a hard surface. I groaned in pain.

I lay still, just breathing heavily as I waited for the pain to subside. A few moments later, a hand grabbed the bag and yanked it open. I looked out and saw the multieyed face of Regan’s subordinate, Puppet. He reached in, sliced the gag free, and helped to undo the bindings on my wrists and ankles. I rubbed the sore areas as I stood up and looked at the destruction around me. As far as I could see had been torn up by some disaster. The ground was pulled apart, I couldn’t see any trees within a couple hundred meters, and most of the other vegetation was missing.

“What . . . what happened?” I asked, almost speechless.

“Father got angry,” Puppet answered.

“Ha-ha, how could an entity be this powerful? I don’t even know of a spell that could do this much damage,” I muttered under my breath.

“Take it from me, Father has a lot more weapons that he can unleash on this world. It would be best to keep him an ally,” Puppet said as he grabbed my shoulder in what felt like an attempt at comfort.

I nodded and saw Regan walking over. He looked over and checked each of his children before he looked at me. “Miss Baroness, I hope that wasn’t too exciting for you,” he started with his usual teasing label for me. It actually managed to bring a smile to my face.

“Thank you for the rescue,” I said, bowing my head.

“Let’s not make a habit of it,” he said, patting me on the shoulder with his working hand. I noticed that his main hand was mangled and seemed to be quite damaged. He chuckled when he noticed the direction of my gaze. “It’s fine.”

I nodded, and the party started making its way back to the dungeon. It was morning, and the rested parties would have to sweep the valley to make sure we destroyed all the undead we could find. It wouldn’t do for a nest to form now that they weren’t under necromancer control.

“We’re pretty sure that we’ve managed to eradicate all the undead in the valley, though I recommend you take that with a grain of salt. Undead are the worst about popping back up,” Cassie said as she laid a document down on the desk in front of her.

“All the same, let’s keep the quest up for a month or two just to be safe,” I said after hearing the report.

“Lady Louella, I’m glad that the issue has been handled without a tremendous loss of life. Often other towns tend to suffer when attacked by necromancers,” Lord Val said from next to me. “I apologize for not being more helpful, but the forces on the airship were more suited to air combat, and we had little time to prepare.”

“I can say that without you and your party it would have been much worse, Lord Val. An airship or not, you were a tremendous help!” I said, nodding to him.

“Still, I believe that I should give a reward for the amazing job that you are doing for the kingdom, building this valley into a town and, of course, keeping the dungeon in line,” Lord Val said seriously.

“Lord Val, I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“Nonsense, I use the power vested in me by the king to raise your rank to viscount. You are no longer a bought noble. That means all parties will have to observe proper etiquette when in your presence.”

“Shouldn’t . . . shouldn’t there be more ceremony?” I asked, a little surprised by the suddenness.

“If you want, we can go all the way to the capital, wait for about two months for the king to have an opening, and enjoy the noble subterfuge that most nobles are known for. Not to mention, staying that whole time in an inn.” Lord Val shrugged.

“No, no, that’s quite alright,” I said, waving my hands in front of me.

“At least this will allow you to recruit a small standing force beyond security forces,” he said, then looked over to Ezal. “I really wanted to give you rank as well, but people may have an issue with that, considering my . . . affection,” he said with sadness in his expression.

“No, my lord. The time I got to spend with you was more than enough,” Ezal said, blushing.

I glanced at Avina, who was quietly grinding her teeth. The marquis and Ezal had spent the day before together, and she hadn’t come home until in the morning. I could only assume that . . . activities had transpired, as Ezal had a unique glow when she returned. Well, as long as both parties were willing, no one really cared.

We continued discussing the situation in the town for a bit before there was a knock on the door. Uvena got up to check who it was. She came back with Regan in tow. He had his usual nonchalant smile, though it seemed to me that his avatars were slowly getting more . . . mechanical, I think was the term he had used a while ago.

“Greetings, lords and ladies,” he announced with a small bow to everyone present. Somehow he made it feel really sarcastic. “I have something I would like to tell you, as I heard you would be leaving soon,” he said to Lord Val.

“That would be correct, Lord Host,” Lord Val answered.

“Ah, just call me Regan,” Regan said with a wave of his hand.

“I thought you seemed familiar,” Lord Val said with a laugh.

“Anyway, I have gathered from a reliable source,” Regan paused, most likely for effect, “the necromancers plan to destroy one of the capitals. I have no way to know which one, but my main point is that the information says ‘destroy’ not ‘attack,’” Regan continued with a grimace, which looked quite scary on his metal face.

I gulped at the information. If the necromancers managed to destroy a capital, where on this continent would truly be safe?

Lord Val’s eye grew wide, and he jerked up from his seat. “How sure are you?!” he demanded loudly.

“In certainty, one hundred percent. In time frame, within six months,” Regan answered as one of his metallic fingers tapped on his chin.

Lord Val considered for a long moment. “Lady Louella, I’m afraid I have to cut my visit a few days short.” He moved over to Ezal and cupped her face. “I will miss you, and my offer still stands, though it might not be as safe as before,” he said with conviction.

“I know, thank you,” Ezal replied as she held Lord Val’s hand to her cheek and tears started to fall.

I had heard that Lord Val had offered to take her with him, but she had declined, saying her place was here. I hoped that it wasn’t out of some sense of duty to protect me, but how was I supposed to bring that up?

“Regan, I know mortals aren’t supposed to influence a dungeon, but in desperate times . . . I want to ask if you could more actively protect this valley?” Lord Val asked as he turned to Regan, who was leaning on his staff and somewhat enjoying our show.

“Hmm, I don’t mind.” Regan’s answer seemed halfhearted.

“Well, that will have to do . . . Let’s go, we need to leave now!” Lord Val said. As he made to leave, he planted a small kiss on Ezal’s cheek.

Everyone left the room to see the marquis out, except for Regan and me. He seemed to be studying me. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, so I just let him think. After what felt like an hour, he finally spoke. “How . . . how do you feel about this attack?”

“This attack? I felt that I needed to be stronger! I felt so powerless. I had to depend on Lord Val, on the adventurers, and on you.” I grimaced at my lack of power.

“I felt that way once. It is best to prevent it from growing worse.” He tapped his staff on the ground. “And I plan on helping you. Whether I like it or not, my main core is bound to this valley. I would prefer a neighbor who is willing to work with me rather than enslave me, and I would prefer to still have neighbors.”

“How . . . how are you going to help?” I asked with curiosity.

“First, I’m going to build a library that will help the people understand their elements better. Much like how you broke through when you made the connection, others will be able to break through, which will raise the tiers of the adventurers and people who can fight the undead,” Regan explained, tapping his staff methodically.

“Really?! I thought that stone you made was already such a boon,” I said with excitement in my voice.

“That’s another thing. I will now require people to pay in mana rather than gold. I have no use for the stuff anyway.” Regan shrugged.

“I understand. Now that the town knows that you helped them, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind,” I said after I’d thought it over.

“I will still make the casino, as it involves some testing I want to conduct. Plus it will help you make connections when nobles start coming to visit,” Regan added.

“Understood. I am a viscount now, so I have to find a decent commander and recruit some forces. I can have a standing army of a hundred soldiers now,” I commented, thinking of the path to take from here.

We talked for a while longer, discussing the plan for the future. When Cassie came back, we excused ourselves from the office. We were about to go our separate ways when Regan seemed to remember something.

“Oh! That’s right. Congratulations, Miss Viscountess. Hmm, doesn’t seem to roll off the tongue as well as Miss Baroness did.” Regan grinned.

“Very funny. Just call me Louella,” I said with a sarcastic smile.

He swept into a deep bow. “As you so command, My Lady Louella,” he replied before we broke into laughter.