Chapter 117

Harold’s wake-up call that morning was anything but pleasant. The culprit was the massive death flag that had been abruptly dropped during last night’s drinks.

Sid and Aileen were going to get married once this mission ended. Awaiting them was a literal army of monsters. The stage was perfectly set for the worst possible future.

Normally, this wouldn't have anything to do with his own survival. However, Harold was the kind of man who found himself incapable of simply washing his hands of the matter and abandoning them.

(If I were powerless, I might have been able to walk away...)

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Harold had the power to fight back against fate.

In the first place, his primary reason for coming to Burston wasn't the energy portal sleeping beneath the mine; it was because he feared the monster rampage would put countless lives at risk. If he only cared about his own life, there would be no need to court such danger.

“...Whatever.”

If he played his cards right, he could save not only the people of Burston but Sid and Aileen as well. Looking at it positively, the situation wasn't entirely hopeless—even if it was only a small blessing in the midst of suicidal misfortune.

“Boss, a guest’s here. Says they’re a representative for the town.”

Keith’s voice announced the visitor, accompanied by a lazy knock. Harold had a general idea of who it was, but they had arrived even earlier than he had expected. It seemed they had taken action with genuine desperation and speed.

“Send them in.”

“Right. Go ahead.”

After a brief pause, the door clicked open.

“...Good morning.”

“Hmph. You look like hell.”

“Regrettably, I haven't been able to sleep...”

I suppose so, Harold agreed internally, though he didn't say it aloud. If anything, he was surprised by his own thick skin for having slept so soundly given the circumstances. He felt as though his sense of danger had been numbed by everything he’d experienced.

“So, what do you want?”

“I’ve arranged for a few representatives from the town and the Knight Order to gather at the Meeting Hall in two hours. I’m here to report that.”

He had expected the Knight Order’s involvement the moment he saw Sid and the others yesterday. From the way they spoke, they likely grasped that some kind of crisis was looming over Burston.

While El had notified the Order about the monsters under Harold’s name, they were likely only sending a skeleton crew here because they were focusing their main forces on Travis. It was highly questionable whether the actual severity of the threat had been properly communicated to Sid and the men on the ground.

“I see.”

To be honest, Harold—who was loathed by almost everyone in the Knight Order—found their presence to be an utter nuisance. However, considering the manpower required for an evacuation, their participation and cooperation were indispensable.

In the worst-case scenario, he would have to drag the town and Knight Order representatives back underground to force them to look at the monsters with their own eyes.

“...”

“Is there something else?” Harold asked, finding it suspicious that Fiona remained silent, rooted to the spot even after finishing her report.

She raised her downward-cast face and stared straight into Harold’s eyes.

“This entire situation is full of things I don’t understand. The monsters, the underground facility, how to solve any of this... and you.”

It was obvious she had more to say. Sensing this, Harold remained silent and listened.

“However, I know that something extraordinary is happening. Something terrible that neither I nor the townspeople can handle on our own.”

Her confusion was likely her honest feeling. It was only natural. If a person living a peaceful life was suddenly presented with evidence that their town was on the brink of destruction by a monster horde, it was inevitable they would be stunned, not knowing why it was happening or what to do. If anything, the fact that Fiona hadn't fallen into a total panic proved her inner strength.

“That is why, despite my suspicions, I have no choice but to believe you when you say you have a way to fix this... I can trust you, right?”

Even so, her voice lacked conviction. Yesterday’s sight had clearly taken a significant toll on her.

It was exactly what he had intended, but it was still heart-wrenching. He felt a pang of pity for Fiona, who was forced to put her faith in the very man who had intentionally engineered this psychological pressure. Of course, Harold was in no position to offer her any comfort.

“I haven't the slightest interest in who or what you choose to believe. Follow your own heart and believe whatever you want.”

He wanted to encourage her, but his mouth produced the usual results. Far from being supportive, he had cut her down by telling her she didn't matter. Since her cooperation was vital for a swift evacuation, he really wanted to build a friendly relationship if possible.

(Well, if I could do that easily, I wouldn't have struggled this much.)

Facing a meeting with town representatives while carrying nothing but baggage and anxiety was going to be a nightmare. Burdened by that gloom, Harold eventually made his way to the venue.

The meeting took place in a building near the center of town that served as a Meeting Hall. By the time Harold arrived, a crowd had already gathered. As Fiona had said, there were town representatives as well as several members of the Knight Order.

One familiar face stood out. Sid’s presence suggested he had reached a respectable rank, but his face was currently clouded with anxiety. Given how his gaze kept drifting toward Harold, it was clear that Harold’s reputation within the Order remained as abysmal as expected.

“Now then, Fiona, what is the meaning of this? Why have you gathered so many people for an emergency discussion?”

“Yes. First, there is someone I would like to introduce.”

At Fiona’s prompt, Harold and Lyst—a member of the Giffelt clan—stepped forward.

While the eyes of the room bore down on him, Harold let Fiona handle the initial explanation. If anything specific needed to be said, Lyst would likely interject. For Harold, whose mouth was only capable of generating unnecessary friction, staying silent was the best strategy.

“My name is Lyst. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

Lyst bowed with ostentatious grace. The word actor came to Harold’s mind. In reality, Lyst was playing the part of an investigator from a private agency. He spoke his lines as if reading from a polished script.

“We were requested by a certain individual to conduct an investigation of the Burston mine.”

The “certain individual” was likely El. Although Harold was technically in charge, El was the one who effectively managed Frieri’s daily operations. The discovery of the monster horde was actually thanks to El; while Harold had been focused on his original story knowledge, El’s broad perspective and flexible thinking had led him to order a wider search, uncovering a threat that hadn't existed in the original game.

“On the surface, our investigation was to check the structural integrity of the mine. However, we had a secondary, true purpose.”

“And what would that be?”

A somewhat portly man, likely the Town Head, questioned Lyst.

In response to the obvious question, Lyst reached into his breast pocket and produced a palm-sized object—a thin metal plate.

Wait, what is that? Harold wondered. Everyone in the room seemed to share his confusion, their gazes fixed on Lyst’s hand. That curiosity quickly turned into shock.

“Th-This is...”

Someone gasped. Though Harold didn't speak, he felt a similar jolt of surprise.

An image had flickered to life on the metal plate. It was in vivid color, displaying a realistic scene just like a modern video screen—technology that shouldn't exist in this world.

“This is a magic item. Simply put, it is a device capable of capturing a scene of reality exactly as it is.”

There was no lie in his words; the image on the plate moved just like footage from a video camera. Magic items were rare enough as it was, but this level of performance made it feel like an out-of-place artifact. It was astonishing, but the content of the image was what truly mattered.

Though the plate was small, it clearly showed a staggering number of monsters.

“And this is a scene from deep within the Burston mine, directly beneath this town.”

As if to say that idle talk was over, Lyst thrust the heart of the matter at the councilors.

It was far too abrupt—a total bolt from the blue. They couldn't possibly accept it immediately. After a brief, stunned silence, the room erupted into dry, hollow laughter.

“I wondered what you were going to say... Hahaha, even for a joke, this is in poor taste.”

“Why would a massive army of monsters be lurking under our town? Ridiculous.”

“Exactly! Besides, there’s no proof that magic item is even real!”

As expected, the reaction to the truth was denial and mockery. It sounded too much like a tall tale. From this point on, their ability to realize the threat was real would depend entirely on how Harold’s side handled the negotiation.

“It is certainly difficult to believe based on this alone. However, what about the gentlemen from the Knight Order?”

Lyst shifted the focus to the knights, who had been glaring at Harold until now. While the councilors had been focused on the plate, the complexions of several knights, including their captain, had turned grim. The fact that they reacted this way to Lyst’s information suggested they might have already been briefed on a similar situation in Travis.

Lyst didn't miss what Harold had noticed.

“Gentlemen of the Knight Order. Under what pretext and for what purpose are you currently stationed in Burston?”

The councilors' gazes immediately swiveled toward the knights. Harold didn't know what story they’d given the town, but now that Lyst had brought certain facts to light, seeds of doubt were being sown.

That’s a clever way to poke at them, Harold thought, watching silently. If a rift formed between the councilors and the knights, they could exploit that opening to break down their resistance.

“...We received reports of a capture target we’ve been pursuing for some time. We are here to conduct a search for that individual.”

After a brief pause, the captain answered. That was likely their pre-arranged cover story. However, their arrival in Burston so soon after El had sent word under Harold’s name was far too convenient. Of course, Harold only thought so because he knew the background.

“So you are saying you have absolutely no knowledge of the information we’ve presented?”

“That’s right.”

As the captain returned to his sharp, defensive glare, Harold felt a doubt creep in.

The captain had almost certainly been told about the monster horde. Harold had assumed the knights were keeping quiet to avoid causing a panic before they had a plan, but if that were the case, they should have been eager for Lyst’s information.

Instead, the captain chose rejection. He wasn't just withholding info; he wasn't even willing to negotiate.

(Is this my fault too...?)

A hypothesis struck Harold: the captain was prioritizing his wariness over the actual danger because Harold was in the room. To the knights, Harold was a traitor and a high-profile criminal. Excluding his old friends Sid and Aileen, the Order likely despised him. It wasn't a stretch to think they viewed this entire situation as a trap orchestrated by Harold himself.

Harold pondered his next move. For better or worse, his words would sway the room. If he spoke rashly, cooperation would vanish and the meeting would fall apart. He wanted to avoid a total breakdown at all costs.

(But I can’t afford to spend days playing nice to earn their trust. Besides, with this mouth, 'playing nice' is a physical impossibility...)

He desperately wanted to leave the talking to Lyst, but the tide was turning against them.

“Furthermore, as far as we are concerned, the mere fact that this man is involved makes your claims untrustworthy.”

The captain and the other knights (minus Sid) glared at Harold with pure venom. Their impression of him was truly at rock bottom. Now, the townspeople were the ones looking confused.

“You townspeople probably don't know, but that man, Harold Stokes, is a criminal known by everyone in the capital. He once infiltrated the Knight Order as a spy, resulting in numerous deaths and catastrophic damage. He is a traitor of the highest order.”

The captain stood before the representatives, exposing Harold’s "sins" like a grand orator. Harold couldn't deny it, and even if he did, no one would believe him. That was the established truth of this world.

“Yes. And now he is working himself to the bone day and night to atone for those very sins,” Lyst added.

It was a valiant attempt at a defense, but the word of a mysterious duo didn't hold a candle to the authority of the state. No matter how impressive their magic items were, whether they were trustworthy people was a different question entirely. If they’d had more time to lay the groundwork, things might have been different, but right now, the townspeople were going to side with the Knight Order.

“So what? The fact remains that he cannot be trusted.”

“How can you be so certain? If not for him, no one would have even noticed the danger.”

“And what proof is there that this isn't Harold’s own doing?”

The argument was going in circles—or rather, it was veering away from the monsters and onto Harold. Because of the captain's accusations, the entire room was now staring at him, waiting for a response.

An atmosphere had been created where Harold was forced to speak.

“Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself, Stokes?”

Please don't throw the ball to me, Harold pleaded internally, but his silent prayer went unanswered.

He couldn't stay silent forever. Letting out a heavy sigh, Harold suppressed his irritation and tried to find the most moderate words his curse would allow.

“And if it were my doing? Do you lot actually think you could do anything about it?”

The air in the room froze. Even Lyst looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Harold felt the same way, but years of experience told him that if he stopped now, things would only get more complicated. He had to go for it. He would use his detestable mouth to its full extent and forcibly seize control of the conversation. With grim resolve, Harold opened his mouth.

“Shut up and do exactly as I say. None of you have any other choice.”