Jeanne and the others had been kidnapped.
Those words threw the entire venue into an uproar.
The Neutral Faction nobles were the most worked up — some of them looked ready to bolt out the door at any moment.
"Duke Sanga. If the ones who kidnapped Jeanne and the others turn out to be nobles, and I end up injuring or even killing those nobles for whatever reason, what kind of punishment would Jeanne and me — their master — face?"
At my question, Duke Sanga thought for a moment before answering.
"First of all, if this incident was truly the doing of nobles, it depends on their rank, but depending on the severity of the injuries, you might not get off completely free. In that case, you could face some form of punishment too, Tenma, but it would most likely end with a light fine. Of course, if the perpetrators were low-ranking nobles or didn't hold titles at all, it would probably be ruled as justifiable self-defense, but... do you intend to kill them?"
At Duke Sanga's words, everyone nearby turned to look at me all at once.
But the Duke had it wrong. The ones most likely to end up killing someone weren't me...
"That's true too, but it's more likely that Jeanne and the others might accidentally kill someone. Of course, it wouldn't be Jeanne and the others doing it directly — it would be the Golems I gave them as guards."
"Just how powerful are these Golems of yours?"
In response to that question, I called the Golems to mind...
"In purely combat terms, each one is on par with Shiromaru. And there are two of them."
In terms of magic or speed, the scorpion-type Golems designed for guard duty wouldn't come close to Shiromaru, but with bodies made almost entirely of metal and no sense of pain, even if their bodies were half-destroyed, they would keep fighting to annihilate the enemy as long as the core serving as their heart wasn't destroyed.
I didn't think Jeanne and the others would order them to go that far, but if such an extreme command was issued by accident, the resulting damage could be on par with an Earth Dragon on a rampage.
Come to think of it, maybe next time I could use an Earth Dragon's magical core to create an Earth Dragon-type Golem...
"Tenma, I know you're cooking up something weird again, but now's not the time for that..."
Namitarou seemed to read my thoughts and interjected with an exasperated retort.
"Sorry, Namitarou. First things first — give me a brief rundown of the situation with Jeanne and the others' kidnapping."
"Right, so here's the thing..."
According to Namitarou, while he was dozing in the mansion's garden basking in the sun, Lina came running in to report that Jeanne and the others had been kidnapped.
Lina said that while she was wandering around town with Garat and the others, she spotted Jeanne and the others in the distance. When she was about to call out to them, the two were suddenly grabbed and dragged into a carriage that came rushing out.
Since it happened in a spot where there happened to be no one around, it was likely the work of seasoned criminals.
However, they couldn't determine whether the kidnapping was specifically targeting Jeanne and the others.
"So then, Garat and Menace went chasing after the carriage, and Lina came running to the mansion to let us know! Lina said that if I hadn't been here at the mansion, she was planning to run all the way to the Royal Castle."
Apparently, she had intended to catch up with the carriage herself, but since Namitarou was at the mansion, she delegated the rest to him and collapsed on the spot.
"Got it. Thank you for coming to tell us, Namitarou. I'm heading over right now."
With that, I lifted myself into the air with magic.
"Tenma, I'm coming too!"
Grandpa was coming along as well. At the venue, Duke Sanga and the others were issuing some kind of instructions to those around them.
"Tenma, I'll help too!"
Lion was shouting from below. His offer was appreciated, but there was no time to wait.
Perhaps he understood that, as Namitarou said he would lead the way.
"Tenma, we'll follow behind, so go on ahead! Namitarou, we're counting on you to guide us!"
Albert said this, then together with Lion and Cain, he followed after Namitarou and the three of them ran out from the party venue.
"Grandpa, shall we go? Jeanne and the others seem to be in this direction!"
I expanded my search and picked up Jeanne's signal.
Grandpa seemed puzzled that I knew where Jeanne and the others were, but when I told him I had set it up so I could locate the Golems serving as their bodyguards, he seemed to understand.
According to the map displayed in my mind, Jeanne and the others' signals were at the edge of the Royal Capital. They appeared to be together, and surrounding them were roughly a hundred other signals.
Even flying from the Royal Castle at full speed, it was about ten minutes away. When I told Grandpa this, he said he might hold me up, so I should leave him behind if that happened. Well, even if I went on ahead, he'd probably catch up in a few minutes.
While flying at high speed through the sky, I used Explore to check on Jeanne and the others.
The number displayed by Explore was gradually increasing—what had started at roughly a hundred had now grown to around a hundred thirty.
And when I'd passed the halfway point to my destination, there was movement on the map in my head.
Ten of the signals that had been surrounding Jeanne and the others made contact with them.
A few seconds after those ten signals made contact, they were scattered by two signals that appeared suddenly. Jeanne and the others, along with the two newly appeared signals—the Golem bodyguards—all began moving outward together.
The moment Jeanne and the others started moving, the signals outside rushed toward them, but Jeanne and the others didn't slow down at all.
On the contrary, whenever the enemy signals made contact with the lead signal of Jeanne's group, they went flying in every direction.
Some of the signals were being flung an estimated twenty to thirty meters—it was truly a case of being swept aside with the slightest touch.
I just hoped they weren't ending up minced to bits like those Orcs had a while back...
While I was thinking that, a large mansion—likely where Jeanne and the others were—came into view.
The grounds of the mansion were roughly the same size as our own, but the building itself was more than twice as large. From the outside it looked like four stories, quite tall, and it seemed to have a basement as well, so the number of rooms had to be at least double ours.
Then, suddenly, the ground-floor section at the far end of that enormous mansion collapsed.
As if triggered by that, the second floor and above began crumbling as well.
Through the cloud of dust kicked up by the collapse, poorly-built men—likely allies of whoever had kidnapped Jeanne and the others—came scrambling out.
Once they'd escaped the dust cloud, they turned and raised their weapons toward it.
And the moment the dust cleared, two massive scorpions revealed themselves. Perched on the scorpions' backs were Jeanne and Aura, covered in dust and sand.
Jeanne and Aura seemed to have noticed me floating behind the men, and they started waving in my direction.
Their reaction tipped off the men to my presence behind them. The men immediately tried to flee, but they were already within range of my magic.
"I'll hold back on the power, but don't hold it against me if you die! Thunder Wall!"
Thunder Wall was a high-powered area-of-effect lightning spell, originally designed for dealing with Monsters that came in swarms. I hadn't intended to use it against humans.
After all, it's a spell that's difficult to calibrate, so while it's fine against Monsters who are generally sturdier than humans, using it carelessly on people can effortlessly cause mass casualties in an instant.
Well, it's not like I need to think of these guys as humans anyway, but I'll need some of them alive and able to talk for the interrogation later, so I've been holding back on the power. One or two of them should survive. They've got faces that look tough when it comes to
vitality,
at least — let's just go with that.
Thunder Wall is a spell where several pillars of lightning spread out from in front of me in a fan shape toward the enemy, with electricity flowing between the pillars, continuously electrocuting the men they pass by.
Some of them appear to have died on the spot, but there are more who are still alive, so for now, I'd call the mission a success.
When I scouted ahead, about fifty had fallen right in front of us, and ultimately around sixty more had been caught in the debris of the collapsed mansion.
As for the remaining twenty or so, they had been trying to flee from the back of the mansion.
"Jeanne, Aura! Grandpa's almost here, so let him know I'm leaving this spot to you. I'm going after the rest of the enemies!"
I shouted the instructions at the two of them while flying through the air, and they nodded before settling back onto the scorpion's back.
Once I confirmed they were on it, I headed to the rear of the mansion, where I found Podro surrounded by about twenty men, trying to make his escape. And right beside him was a familiar little rat.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I landed in front of Podro and his men, cutting off their path.
From my perspective, Slarin in his Emperor form was on the left, Shiromaru on the right, and Solomon overhead — together they had the men surrounded. The back was deliberately left open because Grandpa and the scorpion-type Golem were back there, and reinforcements from the Royal Capital should be arriving from that direction.
"Oh, and let me also tell you — your crimes have already reached the ears of the nobles who attended the party at the Royal Castle... There is no place for you in this country."
I threw out the threat with a bit of dramatic flair. As if on cue, Slarin and the others closed in a little closer on the men.
"Don't get cocky, you little brat! Hey, you guys — take him down!"
Despite Podro's bravado, the men around him were shrinking back, looking like they'd bolt at any moment.
I pulled a sword from my bag and slung it over my shoulder.
"So — which one of you wants to die first?"
When I said that with a cheerful grin, every man in the vicinity — except for Podro and the five clustered right beside him — turned tail and fled toward the rear in an instant.
But —
"RAAAAAHHH! Go to hell!"
They were sent scattering by the weapons of three men who came galloping in on horseback. Those three were Albert and his companions, and the one shouting a war cry utterly unbecoming of a noble was Lion.
Their weapons of choice were as follows: Albert wielded a one-handed sword, Cain carried a bow and arrows, and Lion bore a glaive.
The three of them neutralized fifteen men in the blink of an eye. The only ones still alive were the four Albert had engaged; Cain had dispatched four with headshots, and Lion had taken down seven with a single swing each.
"Looks like your buddies are nearly wiped out. The only ones left are Geece — that self-proclaimed noble brigand, now an enslaved criminal — and his crew, whom I beat to a bloody pulp. So… what's your move?"
Now that was a familiarly stupid face. But what were these guys doing here?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a woman standing behind Geece loosed an arrow at me.
Fired with barely any motion, the arrow was aimed squarely to pierce my skull — but I caught it out of the air.
Liquid dripped from the iron arrowhead. It was almost certainly some kind of poison.
They'd even gone to the trouble of carving grooves into the arrowhead so the toxin would cling better, and jagged notches along its edges.
"I'll return it."
I snapped the arrow in half mid-shaft and hurled the broken piece back at her underhand, the way you'd throw a knife.
The snapped arrow struck the woman's shoulder, punched through her armor, and sank into the flesh beneath.
She frantically pulled a small vial from her bag and tried to drink from it, but the instant she fumbled with the cap, one of Slarin's extended tentacles snatched it away.
"G-Give it back —"
The woman collapsed, hand still outstretched, foam spewing from her mouth.
She didn't seem to be dead yet, but that was only a matter of time.
"You're gonna pay for that!"
Gees drew his sword in a rage... but—
"There were more of you here?!?!"
Riding in on horseback,
crashing through—
Lion mercilessly trampled them all.
Maybe Lion realized the prisoner count had dropped after cutting down seven earlier, because this time she left every single one of them alive.
"It was just getting to the good part..."
Having my moment stolen, I grumbled while making the woman drink the contents of the small bottle Slarin had taken.
The woman did appear to swallow the liquid, but if this still wasn't enough to save her, then she simply had no luck to speak of.
"Tenma, is that all of them?"
Now calm since the enemies were gone, Lion seemed somewhat unsatisfied.
"You go and steal my prey, and you have the nerve to say that... Well, whatever. More importantly, Lion. Help me tie these guys up. And don't forget the gags."
I decided right then that I'd stop using polite language with Lion from now on. Something told me that if I kept being so formal with her, I'd end up at a disadvantage.
Lion herself didn't seem to care about my change in tone one bit, and was enthusiastically tying up Gees and the rest.
"I'll help too!"
While I was tying up Podro, Cain came over looking oddly cheerful.
And Cain proceeded to tie them up incredibly fast and with perfect technique... the women in turtle-shell bondage...
Marquis Samons... your son is quite the weirdo...
Having no way of knowing my feelings, Cain was already tying up the second person. Of course it was a woman. And of course it was turtle-shell bondage.
Even Lion was taken aback by that.
"What kind of binding is that supposed to be...?"
Albert, who had arrived late, groaned at the sight of Cain's handiwork.
"Well, I thought Lion might enjoy it... Though honestly, I just wanted to try it once!"
Cain's excuse was promptly retracted under Lion's withering glare — Lion was still irritable after the battle.
No one asked why Cain knew that particular binding technique.
Because nobody wanted to know...
As they finished tying everyone up and lining them in a row, Albert noticed Geese among them and scowled hard.
Well, when you've got the son of your former father's subordinate sitting in front of you — a guy who caused no end of trouble and then tried to tarnish the name of Duke Sanga — you'd have some feelings about it, sure enough.
"Lion... why didn't you kill this guy... Like you always do, you could've just ignored the atmosphere and split him clean in half..."
"If you'd wanted that, *I'd* have been the one catching heat for it!"
Lion dutifully fired back at Albert's frustration.
"Want me to take his head right now?"
I asked while pressing my blade to Geese's neck. Albert let out a sigh and shook his head.
"I can't do that... A grunt is one thing, but this idiot is likely at the core of this whole incident. If I did something like that, I'd be the one getting chewed out by His Majesty."
"If you understand that, then give it up."
When Cain said that, Albert backed away from Geese.
He seemed eager to put even a little distance between them — anything to get Geese out of his sight.
Just as they were debating how to transport Podro and the others, a rustling sound came from the direction of the estate.
"Tenma~! A whole bunch of nobles showed up!"
"Lord Tenma~! Merlin is calling for you~!"
The source of that sound was Jeanne and Aura riding atop a scorpion-type Golem.
Albert and the others were shocked when they saw the scorpion-type Golem, and the horses tried to bolt from the scene.
"Both of you, dismount before coming over! The horses will panic and run!"
The two quickly got off the scorpion-type Golem and came running toward us.
Lion was staring intently at Aura's chest as she ran over, but Aura didn't seem to notice.
"Hey, hey, miss maid. You'd better watch out — there's a wild beast aiming for your chest, you know."
Cain tipped Aura off about Lion's gaze. Lion quickly looked away, but he was a little too late. Aura clutched her chest with both hands to hide it and ducked behind me.
"Lord Tenma! What's the deal with that man?! He's staring at my chest! Is he an enemy?! Is he a pervert?!"
Behind me, Aura was squawking up a storm.
Being called a pervert left Lion looking crestfallen, while Cain was doubled over laughing.
"You know, Aura. This might be hard to believe, but that man is a noble. And not just any noble — one from a highly prestigious family..."
When Jeanne said that, Aura looked toward my face.
When I nodded to confirm Jeanne's words, Aura's face turned pale.
"I don't think you need to worry about it that much? It's true that Lion was staring at your chest, but still—"
"That's right. It was all Lion's fault. But you really had a sharp eye — to figure out that
he
came from a prestigious family..."
When Cain and Albert showed their concern, Aura seemed relieved. But things could have gone badly wrong, so I'd need to sit her down for a talk together with Aina later.
And, just as Albert pointed out, Jeanne had spotted the dejected Lion over there and correctly deduced he was from a prestigious noble house — that was quite impressive.
According to Jeanne, she'd figured it out from his clothing and the crest on the decorations of his Brave. Even so, I thought it was remarkable. If it were me, I might have been able to tell that Lion was a noble, but I never would have guessed he was from a prestigious house.
"Let's transport these guys for now."
I pulled Tanikaze and a large cart out of my bag, linked them together, and loaded Podro and the others aboard.
This was the same setup I'd used when transporting Geese and the others before.
"Alright then, let's move out."
I climbed onto Tanikaze, while Jeanne and Aura rode atop Shiromaru.
Keeping watch around us as we circled to the front of the mansion, we found Grandpa and Jin there.
Jin and the others were sorting through and processing the electrocuted bodies, while Grandpa was yelling at some noble.
Only one person was getting the worst of it, and though the other nobles were startled by Grandpa's ferocity, none of them seemed inclined to step in.
"Tenma, too fast!"
Amour came up with his cheeks puffed out in protest. Apparently he'd wanted to wreak havoc alongside me, but since I'd flown ahead first and there were no horses to be had, he'd ended up in the third wave — and by the time he arrived, it was already over. For the record, the first wave was me and Grandpa, the second was Albert and the others, and the third was Amour, Jin, Branca, and the nobles.
On top of that, the knight order was apparently arriving after them — probably to handle the cleanup.
"Setting that aside, Tenma — we've got trouble."
In the direction Branca pointed, Grandpa was gripping a noble by the front of his outfit and holding him up with one hand.
"It's pretty rare for Grandpa to get that angry... Who is that guy?"
"Baron Henkel von Braun."
Albert answered from behind me, as if responding to my unspoken question. Then he added,
"Tenma's mother, Lady Celia's—
former—
male cousin. He's a noble who's fallen on hard times."
Albert's explanation made it clear why Grandpa was so angry.
Anyway…
"He was probably trying to use some claim about being related to Tenma to mooch off us, and that's what set Merlin off. The common assessment of that baron is that he's not incompetent, but well below average."
Cain said it like he was mocking Henkel, but I had to agree.
Since being reborn, I'd never once met or even heard of the guy, so there was no way I'd consider him a relative. Besides, Mom and Dad had already cut ties with that side of the family, so he had no grounds to claim kinship. That was recognized by the Royal Family too.
"Yeah, but… if nobody stops Merlin soon, that baron's going to die."
Lion pointed at Henkel, whose face had turned deathly pale from being manhandled by Grandpa.
I figured it probably wouldn't be great to have a noble killed right here, so I went over to stop Grandpa.
"Grandpa, let's put him down for now. If he dies it might not be a big deal… actually, but it'd be a pain, so."
When I stepped in, Grandpa reluctantly tossed Henkel aside.
Henkel went flying about two meters, landed on his rear, and rolled across the floor.
He stopped moving where he landed, which meant he'd probably hit his head and passed out.
"So what did he do?"
I'd already jumped to the conclusion that Henkel had done something, and judging by the reactions of the surrounding nobles, I was probably right.
After all, they were all glaring at Henkel or looking at him with open disgust.
"Mm, I was handling the cleanup over there with Jin and the others, and these fine nobles had come rushing over to help. I was thanking them and going over the follow-up arrangements, when this one showed up from behind and started declaring he'd take over and run things in my place. And on top of that, he had the audacity to suggest that Tenma should marry some female relative of his."
That was how the story went.
No wonder the other nobles were furious—they'd been treated as though they'd only gathered there for Henkel's benefit.
"Well, let's put that idiot aside for now. What about these people?"
About twenty nobles had gathered here, with some fifty knights standing behind them.
I recognized a few faces from the party venue, but I had no idea why so many of them had shown up.
If they'd gathered here to do me a favor, then even if they were nobles, I couldn't imagine Grandpa going out of his way to thank them and ask for their cooperation.
"Oh, right, that was it. These are nobles from the Neutral Faction. Apparently, they all received help from Jeanne's father at some point, and when they heard his daughter had been kidnapped, they rushed straight here from the venue."
So that was the story. That made sense to me, and as I was about to express my gratitude as well, one middle-aged noble stepped forward after Grandpa had finished speaking.
"I have a favor to ask of you regarding this matter, Lord Tenma. I am Andalcian von Mustang, Baron Mustang. I look forward to working with you."
Baron Mustang before me had already entered middle age, but he was far from past his prime — or rather, he carried himself with the physique and commanding aura of a top-class warrior even now, his sharp gaze fixed on me.
"What's the favor? You're not going to ask me to hand over Jeanne, are you?"
Without so much as reacting to my quip, Baron Mustang spoke his request aloud.
"Please — don't abandon those children. If you're forced to let them go, I want you to contact me first. If I can't help, then reach out to the Neutral Faction nobles here."
The nobles standing behind Baron Mustang bowed their heads in unison, following his lead.
It was an unexpected request, and I was a bit taken aback, but Baron Mustang noticed and offered an explanation.
According to Baron Mustang, every noble here had received help from Viscount Armeria — Jeanne's father — and they all regretted being unable to do anything when Jeanne's family fell from grace.
However, rather than being helped by the Viscount, Baron Mustang had actually been more of a mentor figure to —
Viscount Armeria —
he was like an elder brother to him, so to speak.
"On the day the Viscount Armeria family fell, I was nearby. I had heard from an acquaintance — a merchant — that there was unrest in the Armeria domain. I didn't know how much I could do, but I felt I had to go and speak with them, so I headed out with a small retinue... But that was a mistake. Even a small force was still a military unit, and the bureaucratic procedures for passing through other nobles' territories bogged me down. I couldn't make it in time."
It seems Baron Mustang learned that the Viscount Armeria family had been destroyed by the rebellion when he was only two or three days from the domain.
Still hoping for a miracle, Baron Mustang pressed on to the domain — but what he found was the burned-out mansion, the desolate gardens, and
rampant
rebel forces running amok throughout.
Furious, Baron Mustang charged into the overconfident rebel forces with his meager retinue, decimated half their ranks, and took the head of the man who appeared to be their leader.
Many of the rebels appeared to be mercenaries, making up over half their numbers. This told him it wasn't just a simple rebellion, so he investigated further, but all he managed to obtain was vague information suggesting Podro might be involved.
"Honestly, I would have liked to be the one to take Podro's head myself... but since he's been captured, there's nothing more I can do. Still, after pulling off something like this, his execution — the first in several decades — is all but guaranteed."
By staging the kidnapping incident during a party hosted by the royal family, Podro had not only given the impression that he harbored hostility toward the royals, but had also humiliated them. Moreover, the fact that he had secretly amassed this much military power within the Royal Capital suggested he had been plotting a coup d'état.
As such,
his execution was all but certain.
The reason it was "all but" certain was that Podro might commit suicide,
or someone
might assassinate him.
"In any case, if Lord Tenma agrees to the request I made earlier, then I shall become your ally... not as a member of the Neutral Faction, but as an individual."
The key point was that he wasn't committing as a noble, but even so, it was a deal that wouldn't leave me at a disadvantage.
I already regarded Jeanne and the others
as family,
so Baron Mustang's concerns were nothing new.
Besides, from what I could see, Baron Mustang seemed quite capable, and the nobles standing behind him appeared to be competent people as well.
Even if it had come about rather informally, I was already being seen as a member of the Royalist Faction,
and connections
on that front would likely be necessary going forward.
Just as I was thinking this and about to shake hands with Baron Mustang, Henkel regained consciousness.