Chapter 45. The First Hero (39)
Kosdal, completely unaware that Thornjer's hostility gauge toward him had reached ninety-nine percent, spoke.
"Do you know about the rumors?"
Depending on Thornjer's answer, Kosdal intended to cut off his arm.
I don't care.
As long as I don't kill him.
If Father gets angry, I'll accept the punishment.
Suppressing his killing intent already required effort.
Kosdal possessed the A-rank skill Killing Intent Release.
Whenever he saw someone he believed deserved death, killing intent burst out on its own.
That made it difficult for him to think clearly.
So he needed reasons not to attack.
If he pretends not to know, I cut him.
If he says the Rice Ball Guild Master acted alone, I cut him.
The only reason Kosdal could create these little conditions was because he possessed another skill.
A-rank Ally Designation.
If Kosdal designated Thornjer as an ally, he would begin recognizing him as one and rapidly suppress the killing intent produced by Killing Intent Release.
He's thinking about cutting me.
Count Thornjer could read Kosdal's thoughts through See the Other's Plan.
A moment later, Kosdal invented yet another reason to cut him.
He really is only thinking about how to cut me.
He keeps creating excuses without realizing they're meaningless.
It didn't matter what Kosdal thought.
Nothing Thornjer intended to say could be found inside Kosdal's assumptions.
To overturn the disadvantage, Thornjer shifted the conversation toward Haiman.
"Wild Pigs have been harassing the villages, haven't they?"
He looked toward the King.
"I discovered Fear Mana Stones inside some of them."
"That's serious."
Haiman frowned.
Kosdal's expression changed.
He looked annoyed with himself.
He hadn't thought of that angle.
Thornjer smoothly moved away from Kosdal and into a conversation with Haiman.
"And that's not all."
"If Fear Mana Stones are involved, then demons are behind it."
Haiman's eyes narrowed.
"There's more?"
"Yes."
Count Thornjer smiled.
"I forced my way through demon territory and secured large amounts of food from surrounding kingdoms."
Haiman did not smile.
Thornjer's own smile quickly faded.
"I was trying to lighten the mood."
He gave a faint laugh.
"Apparently I failed."
"A great deal has happened."
Haiman used to laugh at Thornjer's jokes.
That had been when he trusted him.
He failed to manage the Rice Ball Guild and soldiers properly.
Nothing in the written reports had technically been false.
But Haiman had recently learned just how severe the conflict between the soldiers and Rice Ball Guild had become.
That created a strong sense of betrayal.
Thornjer sensed it.
He maintained a trustworthy smile.
"It appears this will become a heavy subject."
He spoke gently.
"I suspect there is some misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?"
"Yes."
Count Thornjer bowed slightly.
"In order to approach the demons, I had no choice but to create certain circumstances."
Haiman's eyes sharpened.
"What do you mean by creating this situation?"
"The situation Your Majesty is currently imagining."
"Are you saying you can see my thoughts?"
Count Thornjer immediately bowed deeply.
"My apologies. I misspoke."
He straightened slightly.
"Then I will explain everything I did."
"Speak."
"I placed the Rice Ball Guild under Pien's management."
He continued.
"And I instructed Peuten to investigate ways of helping the people of the Terk Kingdom feel safe even from the Wild Pigs."
"Both are capable people, so I entrusted those duties to them."
"Meanwhile, I reached out to several kingdoms to secure food."
His voice became heavier.
"But repeated demon attacks caused me to lose those supplies."
"I thought deeply about how to stop losing them."
"To prevent further losses, I needed to persuade the demons."
"What did they want?"
"To learn that, I had to act."
"I needed to approach them."
"So I used every method available to build a relationship with them."
"And eventually, I discovered what they wanted."
Count Thornjer described the reasons he had supposedly needed to approach demons.
He described his efforts.
He described everything he'd done for the Terk Kingdom.
Then he allowed a hint of hurt into his voice.
After all, he had returned with results.
Yet Haiman was looking at him with hostility.
It's dropping.
Everyone's hostility value except Kosdal's began decreasing.
Haiman's sharp tone softened slightly.
"What did you discover?"
"The Black Flame Egg."
The Black Flame Egg possessed enormous heat.
It couldn't be handled casually.
By using mana circuits to convert that heat into mana, the Terk Kingdom currently used it to supply warm water to residents.
"Do you know what they want it for?"
Haiman asked.
"There must be a reason they desire it."
Haiman himself didn't know the Black Flame Egg's true purpose.
It was called an egg because of its shape.
But it was more like a stone containing black flame.
If left alone, the black fire would spread and consume everything nearby.
So the kingdom had trapped it underground behind several layers of mana barriers.
"I don't know the exact purpose."
Thornjer answered.
"But I confirmed they are extremely interested in it."
He continued.
"They seemed ready to attack the moment their injuries healed."
"I see."
Haiman nodded.
"You did well gathering information."
"It was nothing."
Count Thornjer bowed.
"After calling Peuten and Pien and checking the current situation, I will correct the problems inside the Rice Ball Guild."
"Correct them."
Haiman nodded.
"Approximately when do you believe Lord Vantart will attack?"
"One of his two horns has completely recovered."
Thornjer answered calmly.
"Judging by the recovery rate of the remaining horn, I expect an attack within one month."
