Although Zich had been helping Steelwall catch the Bellids, he hadn't been going out of his way to prevent Steelwall’s fall. All he had done was participate in the destruction of the Bellid temples and treat Greig. If Steelwall was threatened or attacked by another country or estate because of the suspicions they attracted, he had no plans of intervening. Yet, the story changed if the attacker was Glen Zenard.
Fortunately for Count Steelwall, Zich had a better image of him as compared to Glen Zenard. No, to be more specific, there was no existence that Zich hated more than Glen Zenard, except Zich Brave. It was evident to Zich that the Steelwall Estate had been swallowed up into some kind of gigantic scheme, and he had been wondering if he should involve himself more deeply. Now, with Glen Zenard’s appearance, there was no need for him to wonder anymore.
‘Of course, I have to intervene,’ Zich thought, pondering on why Glen was aiming for the Steelwall Estate. He thought of one possible reason. ‘Is it because it’s my birth place?’
There could be other reasons too, but Zich felt a strong sense of certainty that his guess was right. Then, he began to wonder exactly how much interest Glen had in him; at this point, it clearly looked like an obsession.
This was all meaningless, anyway. Whether Glen was obsessed with him, loathed him, or was enraged by his existence, the most important thing was Zich’s own feelings.
‘How should I crush him this time?’
Unlike others, who moved heavily because of the serious atmosphere, Zich’s footsteps appeared to be very light.
* * *
“Did you say Glen Zenard?” Lyla asked in surprise.
“Yeah. There’s a very high possibility it’s him. Nah, I’m sure it’s him.”
“It’s him again.” Lyla clicked her tongue. “But why is he aiming for the Steelwall Estate? Is it because it’s your birthplace?”
As expected, Lyla had reached the same conclusion as Zich.
“Wouldn’t that be the most likely explanation?”
“My god! Is that guy actually in love with you or something?”
“Don’t say something so terrifying.” Zich’s body shuddered.
“Well, I don’t want my love rival to be that guy either.”
“That is one of the top three horrifying things I’ve ever heard in my life.” If Hans or Snoc had said such words instead of Lyla, Zich would have tormented them and wouldn’t have let them get proper sleep for at least a year.
“Do you have any proof of your hypothesis?”
“Of course. Everything makes sense if Glen Zenard is involved.” Then, Zich began to explain things one by one. “One of the biggest reasons why the Steelwall Estate is being suspected is because they are revealing the Count’s knights as Bellid followers.”
“It’s not just the knights though.” Not just the knights, but plenty of vassals, regular servants, and so on were being revealed as Bellid followers inside the estate.
“People are suspicious whether or not the Count really didn’t notice anything when the Bellids had so deeply seeped into the estate. I can understand their sentiments too.”
“Yeah, I mean it’s not like whoever the Bellids interact with becomes a Bellid follower. If they had such an ability, the whole world would be in their hands. Some people must have refused the conversion for sure. No, considering the ratio, there probably should have been more people who resisted. Then, naturally, the Count should have noticed what was going on, and the knights who refused the conversion would have also reported to the Count. Upon hearing that the Bellids were laying their roots inside his place, the Count should’ve flipped his estate upside down to massacre or chase away all the Bellids like he’s doing now.”
The fact that the Count hadn’t realized that the Bellids were spreading so much influence within his estate meant that the Bellids never failed in their conversion or that the Count had purposefully helped the Bellids.
“It really does look suspicious.”
“Yes. Anybody can see that the latter has a higher possibility than the former. No, in terms of possibilities, the former would seem practically impossible.”
“You think the former has the higher possibility, right?”
“Yes, since the county’s enemy probably has the great hero bastard by their side,” Zich said cynically in a voice without a hint of admiration. “You can see how Glen is connected to the Bellids just by the Pyramid of Vengeful Souls. If that guy is involved, I can accept the unbelievable 100% conversion rate.”
“Yes, because he would have some contacts who would be able to convert people into Bellid followers with his regression ability.”
“That’s not all. Even a person who would never convert could be corrupted with knowledge from the future. I am the greatest example of such a case.” Then, unlike his usual self, Zich hesitated and spat out carefully, “You know… since I used to be…what do you call it…? A considerably just guy.”
“You mean hero Zich Brave, right?”
“Ah, damn it!” Zich’s body shuddered at Lyla’s voice with a hint of laughter. These words gave him goosebumps and caused his skin to crawl every time he heard them.
“Yeah, hero Zich Brave! They managed to change even a guy like that, so converting people to be Bellu followers would not be that difficult.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy either.” If they considered how many Bellid followers and structures they found, they could clearly see how much effort and time their enemies had placed into this scheme.
Then, Lyla asked, “So is that guy planning to use the Karuwimans to cause Steelwall’s fall?”
“That’s probably not the case.” Zich recalled the time before the regression. “Before my regression, Steelwall was completely wiped off. Not even the family members of the servants who worked there survived. Even if the Karuwimans tend to respond to the Bellids with utmost thoroughness, they don’t go that far. I’m sure the Karuwimans attacked Steelwall, but there must be another group who attacked Steelwall then.”
“You must have a suspect in mind. Who is it?”
“My mother’s family.”
Lyla recalled the information she heard about Zich recently. “The Flaud Estate?”
“Yeah. Those guys came here recently, right? They came with the ridiculous reason that they were worried about me. I thought that it was because they wanted to try making me the next successor and use their influence through me, but it might have been to judge the Steelwall Estate’s current condition.”
“Wait, so you’re telling me that the Flaud family is the one causing this chaos?”
“Probably.” If Zich’s words were true, it would cause a large commotion.
“Then, that must mean the Flaud family is connected to the Bellids in some way…”
“Yeah. So we have to find evidence for that. If a war breaks out, it’ll be pretty fun, since both Steelwall and Flaud will accuse each other of being Bellid followers and fight each other.” Zich chuckled.
“Are you seriously laughing about the fact that your father’s family and your mother’s family might be on the brink of war?”
“Whether it’s my father’s side or my mother’s side, I detest both sides. Well, at least my father’s side is a bit better, so I guess I’ll side with them. No, since that hero idiot is clearly on the Flaud family’s side, it’s meaningless to talk about which side is better.” If Glen had sided with Steelwall, Zich would have sided with Flaud with zero hesitation.
Zich continued, “Anyway, if it’s true that the Flaud family collaborated with the Bellids and caused this whole commotion, it’s obvious what their goal is. First, they’re going to make it seem as if the Steelwall family is connected to the Bellids and completely isolate them. If they’re related to the Bellids, even the Cronon King can’t easily help them out. When the Steelwall Estate is thoroughly isolated, the Flaud family will declare a war against them by saying that they can’t forgive the Steelwall family for being Bellid supporters.”
“So they plan to act like a salvation army.”
“Yeah, an extremely dirty and corrupt salvation army.”
“Even then, will the Cronon King and the surrounding estates standby when an estate from a foreign country brings their army and invades an estate from their kingdom?”
“That’s when the great and noble Sir Glen Zenard will come in.”
“Ah, I guess they’ll force their way in as Karuwiman collaborators.”
“Yeah. No matter how great the Karuwimans are, it would be too much pressure for them to fight against the Steelwall Estate by themselves. So, Glen Zenard would step in and connect the Flaud Estate and the Karuwimans. Then, his plan will be complete. Since the Flaud Estate is invading the Steelwall Estate for a perfect reason and the Karuwimans are on their side, even the Cronon Kingdom can’t easily step in. The Flaud estate would be able to eat up the Steelwall Estate, the Karuwimans would be able to raid the Bellids’ base, and Glen Zenard would be able to destroy my hometown. It’s really a perfect plan that they would all be happy about,” Zich said with mockery mixed in with his voice.
Slam! Dirt flew into the air and fell down on a pile of dirt. Since he had already dug a great amount of dirt, the pile was extremely high. Zich strongly pushed the shovel into the ground. Under Zich’s hand, the shovel all-too-easily pierced into the tough earth. Another clump of dirt flew into the air. The place where Zich and Lyla were conversing was the area that Windur had pointed at in the past. It was the location of Clowon’s ruins, and Zich was currently working hard to find the ruin.
“If Snoc was here, it would have been easier,” Lyla said as she sat next to the large and deep hole that Zich had made.
“It can’t be helped, since that punk is too busy going out and playing with Elena these days.”
“What? You’re surprisingly easygoing about him playing around.”
“No matter how much of a piece of trash I am, I’m not so trashy that I’d force a young guy to work when he’s trying to date someone.”
“A young guy? You talk like a grandpa.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. Even if I add up my age before my regression, I’m still not that old. If I want to hear that I’m old, I should at least be as old as you…”
Lyla shot out a small lightning bolt while Zich quickly swung his shovel and blocked it.
“Stop saying nonsense.”
When Lyla shook her fist, Zich let out a big laugh and began shoveling again.
“Is it okay to start digging already? Don’t we have to go to the ruin after you finish treating your brother?”
“I already got permission.”
“The treatment isn’t over yet, right?”
“No, but the Count can’t refuse any of my requests now.” Evidence of Steelwall’s connection with the Bellids were popping up all over the estate. While this was happening, Zich’s existence was the same as rain in a drought to them. To be more exact, Zich’s status as a Karuwiman Honorary Knight was extremely helpful to them. “After I told him that I’ll continue helping as a Karuwiman Honorary Knight, he immediately gave his permission.”
“The Count must be extremely desperate right now.”
“Yeah, he sure is.” Since his estate was on the brink of ruin and the Steelwall family might collapse with one wrong move, there was no way he wouldn’t be desperate.
“You must be in a hurry because of the tree, right?”
“Yeah. If a war breaks out, I need more power.” No matter how intense the war got, if Zich regained all of his mana, the chances of him losing would be slim, since he would literally be the commander of a one-man army. “I’m not sure if the tree would be here.”
Lyla nodded her head in agreement. “I also think the same.”
The only tree left was the original World Tree. If the World Tree was here, there was a high possibility that the Brushel System was here. However, the Brushel System was also probably controlled by the mastermind.
“No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem like the place where the mastermind would be. Well, it’s fine.” Zich stopped overthinking. “I’ll check with my own eyes.”
A metal door appeared beneath the dirt that Zich was standing on.