Zich faced Count Steelwall. Although the Count’s face was usually sour when he talked to Zich, his expression was even worse than usual. His glaring eyes were moments away from spewing out intense bloodlust and his twitching mouth looked like it was about to pour out all kinds of harsh insults. The muscles in his right arm swelled as if he was going to grab his sword and destroy everything in his path. Anybody would’ve struggled to utter even a word to the Count. Yet, Zich didn’t even pay the slightest heed to the Count’s mood and said, “Seriously! Tell me where you met these new friends! Friends so close that you gave up a part of your house to them. Didn’t you ever hear that you have to carefully discern the friends you make?”
“…If you are going to make provocations, get out. I’m not in the mood to play word games with you.” The way the Count immediately lowered his voice displayed the urgency of the trouble he was in. If Zich pushed any more, he might really have a sword aiming for his head. Although Zich wasn’t afraid of that, he didn’t plan on just getting into fights rashly without thinking.
‘It’s understandable. I’m sure he knows how serious the situation is.’ The nonsensical rumors circulating around the estate that the Steelwall family was connected to the Bellids became something more than mere rumors with the discovery of the Bellid followers. Of course, although the Steelwall family wasn’t immediately labeled as the Bellids, this was a serious scandal. If the family was really accused of being Bellids and couldn’t free themselves of these claims, they would naturally come to ruins. It was understandable that the Count was so distressed.
The Count needed to understand the exact situation and find out the origin of the rumors. If this situation was the cause of someone’s schemes, he needed to tackle the root of it all.
“I heard that you dispatched an investigation team.”
“So, what if I did?”
“Are there some spaces left to join?”
The Count looked at Zich like he was a bit surprised. “Are you also planning to go?”
“I am a Karuwiman Holy Knight. I can’t stand still and do nothing after hearing that those bastards appeared.”
There had been voices calling to bring Zich into the investigation team because of his title as a holy knight. In all honesty, the Count also thought that was an enticing suggestion since if he used Zich, they would be able to free themselves of the accusations against them much more easily. Yet, the Count had hesitated to ask Zich. It wasn’t because of his pride. He wasn’t so foolish that he would clutch onto his pride in a situation where the whole Steelwall family could come to ruins. It was because he didn’t know whether or not Zich also suspected him of having ties with the Bellids. The Count thought the accusations he was under were ridiculous, but Zich might think differently as a Karuwiman Holy Knight.
“…Are you planning to spy on the investigation team?”
“Spy?” Zich asked as if he had heard a ridiculous statement.
“There are speculations that we are going there to destroy evidence.”
“The situation must be serious if rumors like that are already circulating.” Zich smirked, “But that means it’s even better for me to go. If I go with them as a Karuwiman Holy Knight, those false rumors will naturally disappear. Even if I’m from the same bloodline, they won’t be able to say that a Karuwiman Holy Knight is shielding the Bellids.”
“…You must not be suspecting me.”
“Who? You?” Zich shook his head as if he thought there was no way. “While holding up the title of being the kingdom’s Iron Wall with pride, you are the type to destroy your own estate rather than sell it to the Bellids. How could you be part of the Bellids? It’d more convincing if you told me that you are worshipping an ant that you found in a nearby garden as a god.”
“Is that so?” The Count thought over the matter. He had little time, and he had been hesitating on whether or not he should request Zich to help anyway. In reality, there was no need for him to even think about the matter.
“Okay. I will tell them that you are joining.”
“When are you going to send the team?”
“Tomorrow.”
“That’s fast.” Considering how serious the situation was, it was only natural. As Zich expected, the Count allowed Zich to participate in the investigation. Thus, Zich was about to leave the room after taking care of his business when he stopped.
“Ah, but I have one request.”
“What is it?” Due to the help Zich offered to provide, the Count planned to grant most requests. However, Zich’s next words caused the Count’s cheek to twitch.
“I am going to go with Greig.”
Zich’s plan to show his greatness as an older brother was still ongoing after all.
* * *
There weren’t many people on the investigation team: just Zich and Grieg and a couple of knights. Yet, each of the knights was a high-ranking official in the Steel Spear Order of Knights, and the leader was the Order’s vice-captain, Danny Chriss Nunn. The list of names clearly showcased how concerned the Steelwalls were about the current situation, and as soon as the day brightened, the group left the city on horses. The horses helped them reach their destination, a nearby village, quickly.
It was a normal rural village that could be seen anywhere except that it was very empty. Although it was a small village, the lack of people was most likely because of the recent discovery of a Bellid temple.
“Oh my! Please come here, sirs!” The village leader welcomed them eagerly for this reason too.
During normal times, no one would welcome a military group coming into their village. Even if the group had been permitted to enter, it didn’t change the fact that its members were moving killing machines. Worried that the knights' swords might be aimed at them , the villagers couldn’t possibly be glad to see the group's arrival. People welcomed such guests only when there was something that endangered them even more such as bandits, another country’s army, or a completely different entity.
This time, a terrifying fish-head temple posed the more dangerous threat.
Danny stepped forward and said, “We heard that there is a Bellid temple near here.”
“Yes, yes! There is! That horrifying thing really is here!” The village chief tightly closed their eyes from just mentioning the Bellid temple. No one liked the Bellids and they all gritted their teeth at the Bellids’ horrifying acts, and this was even more true for simple villagers. The villagers were extremely worried that all kinds of bad things would happen to them just by the fact that there was a Bellid temple nearby. Thus, they wished for the knights to immediately go and get rid of the temple.
“Where is it?”
“I-it’s that mountain!” The place that the village chief pointed toward was a mountain that was a short distance away from the village. It was a mountain with no special characteristics and looked like any other mountain. However, just by the knowledge that the Bellid temple might be there, the mountain looked different from other mountains. If someone were to exaggerate, it looked as if it was going to stand up by itself, expel black rocks and rotten trees, and cause havoc around its surroundings—no, the village chief believed that this would happen for sure.
Danny was going to immediately drag the soldiers and began moving, but Zich stopped him. “Sir Chriss Nunn. Please wait a bit.”
Danny asked, “Sir, what’s the matter?”
“Why don’t we stay one night near the village for just today and go up there tomorrow?”
Danny narrowed his eyes. “Won’t it be better to immediately go and destroy it if the Bellid temple is there?” He would have ignored this suggestion if it came from his underling or any other person and immediately rush towards the mountain like a wild boar, but Danny stopped himself since it came from Zich. He didn’t do so just because Zich was part of the Count’s family or used to be an ex-successor.
Even though the Steelwall family felt threatened by this sudden event, it wasn’t able to shake Steelwall to its core. On the other hand, they didn’t think lightly of this matter as well. If the matter really turned for the worst and the Count completely fell under a conspiracy, Zich’s existence was Steelwall’s last saving grace because he was a Karuwiman Honorary Knight. They needed his support, and this was a completely different emotion than feeling nostalgic and amazed by an ex-successor’s ability. Thus, Danny showed extreme respect to Zich.
Zich continued, “I want to hear what the villagers have to say and hear from them about how they found out that the Bellid temple was here, how the rumors spread here, and other information.”
“Hmm.” Zich’s words definitely made sense. Even though it was definitely an urgent matter to destroy the Bellid temple, fish tank or whatever it was on that mountain, the most important goal was to find out why this event happened in the first place.
“I understand. Then, let’s camp out for the night.”
“What? Sir, you’re not immediately going?” The village chief seemed to have hoped for the knights to immediately go and destroy the temple.
“We need to ask you a few questions first, so make sure you tell the truth!”
“Sir, please stay back,” Zich asked Danny to stay behind since the chief was shivering in fear. The chief was already overwhelmed with fear, but Danny made it worse by threatening the village chief. At this rate, the chief might forget all the information they had out of sheer fear. “It’s all right. There’s no need to be afraid. He just wants to also quickly solve this problem by finding the root of this rumor. Even though his attitude is rough, he has no ill intentions. Please calm down first, and answer my questions.”
When Zich talked softly, the village chief, who seemed as if they were going to faint any moment, began to look calmer. Zich continued to calm down the village chief while asking more questions. People looked at Zich with complete shock, Greig in particular, but Zich ignored them.
* * *
Stars appeared in the night sky. Contrary to the city, in which lights could be seen during the night, the village fell into complete silence when the sun went down. Darkness gained control of the entire area, as not even a single light could be found. Naturally, there wasn’t a single villager walking around outside, especially so considering the situation. There was no one in the village who wanted to roam outside and get captured by the Bellid devils.
However, one person calmly walked around on this terrifying night: Zich. The darkness wasn’t even an obstacle for him, and he actually wanted the Bellid bastards to ambush him. He slowly walked around and organized the information he collected today.
‘A traveler…’ According to the villagers, including the village chief, a traveler had come to the village one day. Even though they were rural inhabitants, naturally wary of foreigners, the traveler’s money and amicable personality had lowered the villager’s wariness. He had told them various stories spreading in the city, and the villagers were interested in his stories. This was also when the villagers had heard the rumors going around in the Steelwall Estate. These rumors had left an uncomfortable feeling in the villagers' minds, but they didn’t think too much about it. Rumors were just rumors, and although they were talking about a place somewhere in the area, the range was nonetheless quite wide.
Moreover, if the Bellid temple really had been here, they would have seen strangers coming and going around, but they hadn’t seen anyone like that. Thus, the villagers had thought that there wasn’t a Bellid shrine here and dismissed it as merely an ill-fated rumor and spit on the ground. However, one day, the traveler who had been traveling around with this village as his base had come back with a deathly complexion. Then, he frantically tried to pack his bags and leave. Of course, the villagers asked him what had happened. They had been worried for him, since they had gotten very close to him during the past few days.
Then, the villagers had been paralyzed by the traveler’s next words. “B-bellid! The Bellid shrine really exists!”
