I Became a Crazy Swordsmanship Instructor in the Game

Chapter 75:

“Is the report you just received true, Your Grace?”

Marquis Veronche was the owner of the city of Sorondo. Sorondo played the role of a bridge between the southern and central regions, possessing a strong fortress and an excellent army that was not inferior to other cities in the central region.

This meant that Marquis Veronche was practically the ruler of this area. He had a somewhat fiery temperament due to his youthful exploits on the battlefield, but now that he became forty-four years old this year, his disposition had mellowed considerably, and he was considered a fairly competent lord.

His aide, Valboer Sethian, replied with a polite tone, “Yes, Your Grace. I apologize for delivering this unfortunate report.”

Upon hearing his report, the Marquis let out a bitter laugh.

“Living long enough to see all sorts of things happen. Even if they are esteemed merchants from the continent, is it reasonable for them to deceive nobles?”

“If Sir Philip Oswald hadn’t been present, I would have had to arrest them without hesitation.”

More precisely, if Castler Morrela hadn’t vouched for Philip, they would have been subdued by force, but he didn’t need to mention that.

“More surprising than that is the fact that Oswald is acquainted with talents like Castler Morrela.”

“Morrela’s youngest daughter is currently in her third year at the academy. It seems he once saved the young lady’s life in an incident at the academy.”

“The Morrela Family is known for choosing their acquaintances carefully. Saving the young lady’s life doesn’t align with their usual methods of personally vouching for someone’s status. Perhaps that scoundrel felt something while teaching the young ones. Did that Calber fellow confess?”

In response to the Marquis’s question, Sethian nodded.

“Yes, Your Grace. He confessed to receiving a bribe from Deluan Joseph. The evidence points in that direction, and his testimony confirms it. It’s clear that Deluan Joseph lured us into the succession competition.”

The Marquis raised the corner of his mouth.

“I see it that way too. Sethian, I am very angry right now. As you know, my youth was far from peaceful. But as time passed, I naturally came to realize that getting angry and brandishing a sword doesn’t contribute much to managing a territory.”

The Marquis sighed softly and looked at Sethian as he asked, “If something like this had happened in my youth, what would I have done?”

Sethian answered without much hesitation, “You would have taken your soldiers and gone directly to the Sorondo branch of the Joseph Association. And you would have personally put Deluan Joseph on the gallows for insulting the nobles.”

The Marquis nodded in understanding.

“Yes, that’s probably what I would have done.”

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The Marquis’s aide looked surprised and gazed at his lord.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of doing that, can you?”

“It’s only natural for merchants to take advantage of foolish nobles. That’s their nature. If that Deluan Joseph woman had cheated me out of a thousand gold coins, I would have been angry with her, but I wouldn’t have gone so far as to hang her. I would have let it go as being swindled by a cursed woman. But that woman tried to use my dignity and power.”

Upon hearing this, Sethian was certain that the Marquis would not forgive Deluan Joseph. However, it was also his duty to offer the least bit of advice to his lord.

“The Joseph Association has deep roots in the continent’s economy. Acting this way could potentially lead to problems in future territory management.”

The Marquis chuckled and replied, “I’m well aware of that. Sethian, you need not worry. You will lead a detachment of soldiers near the Elphenia Forest, and when Philip Oswald and Lisriel Joseph come out, bring them to me. One must pay the price for daring to involve nobles in the succession dispute.”

“… Yes, Your Grace.”

As Sethian, the aide, left the office, the Marquis picked up an object within reach.

“Did that cursed merchant woman dare to mock me?”

Of all things, it was an ink bottle. Trembling with anger, the Marquis hurled it. The ink bottle made a loud noise as it struck a bookshelf, shattering and spilling its contents over the books.

—

After making preparations to leave the Elphenia Forest, Philip was detained by Castler Morrela.

It seemed as though Morrela had resolved to treat Philip as a benefactor. His attitude towards Philip had changed from respect to reverence, making him a rather burdensome figure who tormented Philip.

“Instructor, I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”

“You don’t have to repay it.”

“How can I not? If I were born as a human, how could I not feel this way? If you knew how profound an insight I gained, even you, Instructor, wouldn’t say that. You’ve changed my world.”

Philip pressed his temples as a headache assaulted him.

“It’s not as if I conveyed something extraordinary. I merely spoke a little beyond the concept that the magicians held about certain phenomena. But wasn’t it solely your ability, Castler, that made it your own?”

Moved by Philip’s words, Castler Morrela nodded with a touched expression.

“You truly are an exceptional instructor.”

‘… I’m getting really tired of this.’

At that moment, Lisriel, who had disappeared to discuss the next trade with the elves, returned. She dragged a large bundle along, which contained mostly liquor infused with world tree fruit and high-quality spirit stones.

“What’s all this?”

“The Elder of the Elves wanted to give this to you and the mage. He’s grateful for helping resolve the spirit problem.”

Lisriel’s muscles had tensed up and her shoulders ached. She grimaced as she extended the bundle toward Philip. The bundle was filled with spirit stones of mid to high quality.

“I should probably thank you too.”

“They understand that you had pressing matters and couldn’t come to greet them. Anyway, we should start heading out soon. We need to stop by Sorondo to handle matters related to my sister.”

Philip nodded at Lisriel’s words.

“That’s right. The sooner we clear things up for your sister, the better. Based on this incident, it’s clear that she isn’t afraid to shed blood.”

“People will do anything for their own gain. Actually, in this case, we’re already fighting a battle we’ve essentially won, so it doesn’t matter. But if you weren’t here, I would have fallen victim to the trap.”

Trying to frame them for elf hunting was quite a creative trap. The truth would have come out soon, and most likely the Official would have been executed as an expendable pawn. But delaying the promise with the elves would itself be a significant mistake.

Lisriel would have to take responsibility, and the right to trade with the elves in the Elphenia Forest would likely be passed to Deluan.

It would have spelled Lisriel’s downfall.

The group loaded their belongings onto the wagons. Since the trade was equivalent to buying elven mithril with upper-tier goods, there were two extra wagons available.

“We can load those mercenaries here.”

The plan was to escort the captured mercenaries to the designated campsite. They would serve as capable fighters when attacking Deluan Joseph.

“I’ll really miss you, Lua.”

“… Me too. Lurial… sniff.”

Philip gestured to her as she bid farewell to the local elf girl she had befriended. The girl was shedding tears and mucus. 

“If she begged you to stay just one more day, would you have?”

Philip gently stroked Lua’s forehead as he asked. Given the circumstances, they could have stayed a day longer, and since he didn’t particularly dislike the Elphenia Forest, it wouldn’t have been bad to enjoy the forest bath.

“But I promised Tania and Princess Camilla that I would return quickly. I can’t break promises.”

“Be good then.”

Watching her, who was determined to keep even a few casual words that could barely be called promises, Philip felt a bit weighed down. Even if she lived a bit more carefree and comfortably, Philip knew her inherent nature better than anyone.

“Let’s all set off. Our next destination is the city of Sorondo. Warm baths and refreshing ale are awaiting us, so it would be courteous to get there quickly.”

Upon Philip’s words, the group moved to the campsite where the porters and mercenaries were waiting.

The remnants of battle still lingered there. Clearing away the corpses and burying the bloodstains was a difficult task that required professionals, and it hadn’t been fully accomplished yet.

“Young master, have you arrived?”

The leader of the mercenaries, Bottom, bowed as if he had been serving Philip for a long time. Despite his injuries not fully healed, he tried to load the luggage onto the wagon.

The porters, who had their tasks taken away from them, hesitated with troubled expressions.

“There’s no need for you to do this. You’re injured, so take a rest. Since the wagons are a bit empty now, those who are injured can ride on them. As soon as we arrive in the city, we’ll find someone to tend to your wounds.”

“Thank you very much.”

Bottom was greatly moved, and even shedded tears. He had seen many nobles in his lifetime, but Phillip was the most noble-like among them.

Seeing this, Lisriel whispered into Philip’s ear.

“You don’t need to treat the mercenaries so well.”

“We owe them this much since they fought for us and got hurt. They bought us the time we needed by fighting, allowing the wagons and porters to escape unharmed. If it weren’t for them, we’d be stuck until the authorities tracked down the wagons, even after concluding the trade.”

“But we did pay them for this…”

“Facing about twenty opponents and holding out like they did is worth more than mere gold and silvers. They deserve such treatment.”

Lisriel nodded in agreement with Philip’s words.

“You’re right, as always. I underestimated things. We’ll need to find a skilled healer as soon as we reach the city.”

Loading the luggage and securing the tied up mercenaries onto the wagons was quickly completed.

Leaving the campsite, the group soon encountered Sethian who had been patrolling nearby. Armed and mounted, Sethian raised the Marquis’s banner and welcomed the group.

“In the name of Marquis Veronche, I invite you all to his estate.”

As they had brought more than fifty soldiers and knights, Lisriel looked at Philip with a slightly fearful expression. As a merchant, she lacked the ability to converse on equal footing with these knights.

“… Your Excellency?”

Philip stepped forward in her place. Sethian removed his helmet and dismounted, adopting a friendly attitude. Philip realized that Sethian’s visit was likely purely for the purpose of meeting the group. The number of troops he had brought was a sort of gesture.

Sending around fifty troops, including Sethian and knights, to escort them indicated that the matter was of great importance.