I learned the circumstances around evening.
After I’d thrown Galed over my shoulder, scuffled with the two knights who came charging in after him, and somehow managed to beat them back, Erika came to find me.
Including Noel and Mina, who had shown up as if they’d known by some uncanny instinct, I was able to hear the whole story.
“The beginning of it was, as expected, research into a new type of biological weapon.”
Erika, who usually spoke in a brisk, spirited tone, began carefully.
“You may not know this, Aizen, but the Argent Empire is starting to show signs of invading this side again, and this country, which is certainly small compared to the Empire, has begun to feel the strain of fighting. So they started researching new weapons in order to break through the situation.”
“And the first to draw attention was the House of Count Avatus, right?”
When I asked quietly, Erika nodded.
“I don’t know about barons, but nearly every house of count rank or higher is a family of meritorious retainers. They’re families that have been maintained since the kingdom was founded.”
“The House of Count Avatus was one of those meritorious families as well. The magic they handled was related to life. So the weapons they created were in a field related to monsters.”
Turning monsters into weapons, huh.
“It’s efficient if you call it efficient, but I don’t know how good that efficiency really is. Seems like they’d be hard to manage.”
“Even so, the kingdom liked the idea. Not only the Empire, but the threat of monsters had always been a headache, and now they could capture those monsters and turn them into military forces. On top of that, perhaps because of their nature, once the biological weapons of the House of Count Avatus were stationed somewhere, monsters stopped recklessly attacking that place.”
In other words, whether they were weapons or not, they were still living creatures, so monsters sensed the danger and stayed away.
For nobles who managed territories, expenditures for territorial defense were inevitable, so if those could be greatly reduced, it did count as an advantage.
If they were easy to manage, that is.
“Those knights earlier were saying something about a weapons experiment, weren’t they?”
“Yes. Naturally, the House of Count Phoenix was also very interested in those weapons, and they received a test model from the House of Count Avatus and raised it.”
At first, Erika added, it had been quite good.
“News of monsters, which used to come in once a week, stopped, and when a battle happened by chance, all they had to do was release it and it would tear the enemy apart on its own. But…”
At some point, the biological weapon gradually stopped obeying.
Whether dissatisfied with its meals, it tried to lunge at servants, and when released to fight, it gradually began dragging allies into the chaos as well.
Even so, overall control continued to hold, and when they inquired with the House of Count Avatus, measures were taken so that they could keep using it.
But countless small incidents continued to occur.
Then a major incident broke out.
“They discovered Imperial spies and were chasing them with the knights when they released it. And then, everyone died.”
The biological weapon, which had been charging toward the Imperial spies, suddenly turned and attacked the knights.
In the end, one spy escaped, and fourteen knights died subjugating the biological weapon.
If they had been wearing anti-great-beast equipment, the sacrifices might have been reduced somewhat, but because they had been prepared to face spies, they had gone lightly equipped, and that had been their undoing.
Naturally, the Margrave of Phoenix held the House of Count Avatus responsible, and the count’s house provided compensation, but.
No method could bring back the lives that had been lost.
“The incident ended there, and the matter was settled with compensation for the damages.”
Erika said that, but there must have been more hidden beneath it.
If it had simply ended there, that knight named Galed wouldn’t have accused me of thinking so lightly of lives.
Still, from my perspective, it was honestly a story that made me frown.
“So in the end, all that means is they used me as a target to vent their anger on.”
I understood that there were unfortunate circumstances and a story behind it, but there was nothing I could resolve for them.
There was, however, one thing I could guess.
“The House of Count Avatus must have more power than I expected.”
The most important thing in this story wasn’t the tragic deaths suffered by Count Phoenix’s knights.
It was the attitude of the people who had been keeping this story quiet until now.
Noel hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“The current queen is from the House of Count Avatus.”
“So they were royal in-laws.”
No wonder so many people had been watching their step.
I had thought Noel, Count Phoenix, and Professor Reina—people who wouldn’t bow their heads anywhere—were being excessively cautious, but if the other party was the family that had produced the queen, then it was only natural to be cautious.
‘And here I thought Prince Gilford had been rampaging a little too much. So there was this kind of background as well.’
At the time, I had only thought that he must have disliked me that much, but now that it had come this far, I could understand.
That count’s house had likely been behind those people who could be called the anti-Aizen faction back then.
It made sense that, although he was a prince, he had been able to push so hard with authority and suffer no serious blow, and that his faction had gathered far too quickly.
“As Noel said, the side that was openly visible really wasn’t much at all.”
Only after things had come this far could I properly guess at that count’s house’s machinations.
They were no ordinary troublesome bastards.
“From their perspective, the Cyclops must be a danger among dangers. Just as they were trying to form ties with the royal family and expand their influence into the military, Aizen’s golem blocked their path.”
“Father also said that even though the royal palace knew about the accident that happened at the House of Count Phoenix, the reason they could only provide Aizen with minimal support was probably because of them. He seemed to be hesitating over whether to tell you.”
Even that support had only amounted to sending me to the academy.
I personally had no complaints, but considering that I had achievements like the Caterpillar Golem and that was still all I received, there was no need to say how severe the restrictions caused by that family must have been.
Judging by how far they were going, it seemed likely that if a competitor looked like they might appear, they would stomp them down at the outset.
The only reason they couldn’t was…
“I really did appear like a comet, didn’t I?”
Some guy who suddenly appeared from a rural territory abruptly produced results, so I must have gotten onto the board before they could interfere.
From the royal palace’s perspective, it may have been a fresh shock as well.
“That’s one accurate way to put it.”
“You need to be careful, Lord Aizen. They’re a house that’s formed ties with the royal family, so they can’t be dealt with through power.”
“Well, I’ll have to prove myself with results.”
There was no other way.
Honestly, dealing with them was annoying, too.
Rather than waste my strength dealing with people I couldn’t do anything about, it would be better to modify the Cyclops or design the next unit.
“Aren’t you frustrated? You could have gotten more support.”
“More support means more shares get taken away, and I have enough support as it is.”
I answered Mina’s cautious words honestly.
There was the serious problem that my naming rights had been taken away, but if my patron was at that level, I couldn’t ask for a more ideal supporter.
And.
“Honestly, there are a lot of valuable things at the academy, so this much support is enough.”
“I suppose so. But stop taking things first with the thought that you can compensate for them later.”
Startled by the voice that came from behind me, I turned to look, and Professor Reina was looking down at me.
Her eyes seemed to be making a silent protest, staring as if to ask what I had to say for myself.
For about two seconds, I considered how to respond.
Then I carefully opened my mouth and answered.
“…That wasn’t what I meant.”
Naturally, Professor Reina’s eyes did not look as though she believed me.
****
“So, what did he say himself?”
“He said he understands the circumstances, but that he will point out that the fault lies on our side.”
At Erika’s words, Count Phoenix smiled slightly.
In truth, he had been extremely flustered inside, so he had just been feeling a little relieved.
The fact that his vassal knights had gone off on their own to lynch Aizen was, just as Aizen had pointed out, an act of disregarding the count’s authority.
Naturally, it was a situation where he had to severely reprimand Sir Galed and apologize to Aizen, so honestly, he had been somewhat at a loss.
If there was one thing that was a little unexpected…
“Tell me again how Aizen attacked Sir Galed and his group.”
“He crushed Sir Galed’s gauntlet, threw him over his shoulder, then kicked Sir Kontart, who came rushing in next, in the knee and stomped on his head as he went down. Then he headbutted Sir Fix, who charged from behind, struck him in the head, kicked his head with his knee and sent him flying backward, then threw him on top of Sir Galed as he was getting up.”
‘Is he even human?’
Even hearing it again, it was truly an absurd account of a fight.
Erika probably wasn’t lying, so it must have really happened.
And if he truly beat them like that, by the kingdom’s standards, there was room to say that Aizen had overreacted.
In any case, Aizen was a guest far lower in status than the count, and one who did not even yet possess a title, while the knights were the margrave’s vassals, and among them were even those with titles.
Putting other things aside for a moment, it was a situation where someone without a title had beaten up the margrave’s vassals.
In that sense, there was room to see Aizen as having insulted the count as well.
At the very least, if he had known and feared the count’s position, the correct answer in that situation would have been to quietly let it pass for the time being.
‘He is an interesting fellow.’
The count had clearly noticed something he had heard in passing while probing Reina and Noel: the part about Aizen showing a strange disconnect when it came to common sense.
Should he say that Aizen couldn’t immediately recognize that what he considered natural did not always align with the standards of this place?
He seemed not to care, yet he acted according to the common sense ingrained in him. But the count could not quite guess what that common sense was.
‘In any case, I had planned to discuss it quietly, pretend it never happened, and settle things by giving him a gift, but…’
However one looked at it, he was a rather interesting fellow.
Normally, in a situation like this, one would downplay their own fault, blame the knights, and try to wring something more out of the count, but Aizen had said he would only point it out and had taken no further action.
In one way, he was rude.
In another, he was bold.
‘Reina’s assessment was the most accurate.’
If he grew while being guided just a little differently, he was a young man with a very bright future.
Whether it was the physical ability to deal with knights barehanded, or the fact that, while saying he had forgotten, he had twisted a section of the castle wall with considerable skill and then restored it to its original state.
Those were points that showed Aizen had outstanding talent, whether in body or in magic.
And yet all of that talent was being poured into golems.
In a sense, he was a pioneer who had thrown himself into a path no one had developed, but pioneers, by nature, were beings whose names would not even remain if luck did not follow them.
Perhaps if Aizen had taken even one wrong step, he would have been forgotten as an unknown talent. But he had challenged it and produced results.
‘I want him.’
He was far better in many ways than nauseating people like the House of Count Avatus.
The royal palace and the House of Duke Nexia must be watching him as well.
But as the Margrave of Phoenix, he did not wish to yield him to them.
‘What should I do?’
In truth, he had decided what to do from the moment he resolved to compensate Aizen for this matter.
Thinking that perhaps he had merely been searching for a suitable excuse, the count looked at his daughter.
“Erika.”
“Yes, Father?”
“Tomorrow morning, go to the smithy supported by our family and retrieve that.”
Erika thought for a moment.
Then she soon realized and bowed her head.
“You mean the item that was originally to be bestowed upon Sir Galed, correct?”
“He caused trouble, so he must be held responsible. Sir Galed is a knight who has served our family for a long time, but for that very reason, I cannot simply let this matter pass. Acting against someone I favor on one’s own judgment has ample room to be seen as insubordination, and loyalty cannot justify breaking discipline. Considering the merits he has accumulated thus far, I will spare him any severe punishment, but tell him that the item originally meant to be bestowed upon him will be sent as a sign of apology to Aizen.”
Whatever the case, this matter had been a discourtesy on the part of the House of Count Phoenix.
Considering the position of his vassals, as the count, this was the most reasonable line he could draw.
In truth, given his position as a great noble, this was nearly the same as bowing his head, so it might even cause scandal, but the count did not care.
Because he strongly felt that it was worth it, he did not care.
“I’ll let him know in advance.”
“Do that.”
He remembered Reina saying that Aizen liked minerals.
To be precise, whenever he saw materials that could be used for golems, he would first try to take them away and research them.
That was why he was curious as well.
“Let’s see how he handles this.”
The count briefly drew his own sword and flowed mana into it.
A rare mana metal produced only in the Phoenix County, in other words, one of the rare metals.
Looking at his sword, which glowed red and emitted heat, the count smiled faintly.