The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 6: Council of Nobles (4)

“The saintess visited the mansion again.”

“I can’t believe the princess… , No, are you trying to win over the duke?”

“I would have welcomed it in the past, but I don’t like it now. Of course, in a situation where he is confronting Her Highness, isn’t it sparking fire at the Duke for no reason….”

“That’s what I mean. He is someone who suddenly inherited the title and needs to calm himself down…….”

I sat in a corner of a restaurant and listened to the conversation at the table next to me.

And they weren’t the only ones thinking that way. When I had been walking around Roswell for the past few days and heard the stories of the people, most of them were of the same opinion.

Worries and advocates for Iris. And the anxiety that the saintess might not attract Iris.

The former was a bit disgusting, but the latter was quite impressive.

People who believe in the goddess Etoire openly express their dissatisfaction with her saintess. Just by looking at this, you can see how much her status as a saint has fallen.

And I decided to add a little more flesh to it.

“Did you know about the wizard who came to the mansion ahead of time today?”

I implicitly leaked the information I found out through Mina a while ago.

Naturally, this kind of stranger doesn’t fit into the story, but the people sitting at the table next to me immediately turned to me and asked.

“What do you mean? I heard that the saintess brought only paladins….”

“Before that, he teleported to the front gate of the mansion early in the morning. I saw him He was a male wizard with a black hat and black robes.”

“If it’s a black robe… ….”

“Yes. It must be the magician of the Noir Tower.”

When the story of the Noir Magic Tower came out, the faces of the people sitting at the next table hardened.

For wizards, it is a prestigious magic tower next to the Blanc Magic Tower, but from the eyes of the general public, the Noir Magic Tower is an evil magic tower that deals with black magic.

In fact, there were so many accidents, and several times the Etoile Church criticized the Noir Tower, which made its image even worse.

So when I joined hands with that noir magic tower in Etoile, people were puzzled.

“But the important thing is that this is just the beginning. Why did the magician of the Noir Mage Tower go to see the Duke?”

“The Etoile Church also hired a magician from the Noir Magic Tower to protect the Great Sanctuary, so didn’t the Duke go there to protect it too?”

“Yes. But here comes the problem. Will you protect the Duke for free in the Noir Magic Tower? There will be a price for that.”

“However, it could be that the Etoile Church requested the duke to protect it when dealing with the Noir Magic Tower…….”

The man who tried to refute my words realized the meaning of my words belatedly.

“… That, too, will come at a cost.”

“No way… ….”

“You can ask for money, or worse, you can use this as an excuse to swear allegiance to Etoile. It will be even easier, especially since we have known each other in the past.”

“I can’t believe it… ….”

People at the table next to each other look devastated. My voice was so loud that other people in the restaurant were listening to our conversation.

“But… Wouldn’t it be nice if the Duke was safe?”

A young man at another table asked this time. I shook my head.

“Isn’t Her Highness already worried about the duke’s safety and dispatches the imperial guard? But what would happen if Her Highness heard that the duke hired a magician from the Noir Mage Tower? If you make a mistake, you may call in the imperial guards.”

“… ….”

“Which do you prefer, the magician of Noir Magic Tower or the Imperial Guard?”

The answer came right away. The inside of the restaurant became quiet again.

“I’m sure the duke will make a wise choice. Let’s trust our duke.”

This time someone else said it. Others responded in agreement with this.

“I believe I will too.”

I think this is enough. I agreed with him, left my tip on the table, and stood up.

The people gathered around me made a way for me.

Just before I left the restaurant, I said this one word and left.

“So keep that in mind. If, by any chance, that cunning wizard roams the interior of Roswell. What if the duke suddenly supported the saintess? That means the saintess threatened the duke.”

***

In this way, today I have traveled all over Roswell and planted a resentment against Etoileism in the hearts of the people of Roswell.

I didn’t just say that I was trying to blackmail Iris. Elsewhere, after criticizing the Noir Tower, they also criticized the duplicity of the saint who held her hand, and the church’s actions that called for money as indulgences.

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Of course, there were people who sometimes objected to this, but they soon closed their mouths.

‘… So how many people have I talked to?’

I briefly calculated today’s performance.

I went around like that, but in fact, there were only about a hundred people who listened to my story properly.

But rumors are scary. Especially for people in another world who don’t have much to enjoy, there is no better material than this kind of gossip.

And the embers planted in this way will explode everywhere the moment Iris really speaks in support of her saintess.

In fact, already on the way back to the hideout, I could hear people talking about Etoileism.

‘I’ll stop here for today.’

All that remains is to wait.

Now that this has happened, I’m thinking about spreading the story to a city other than Roswell tomorrow.

So on the way back to the hideout, I stopped at the sound of a song coming from the street.

I turned to the street and saw children holding hands and singing in a circle on the street.

Seeing that, I suddenly had a good idea.

As usual, while talking about the saint today, there was a feeling of discomfort in one side of my heart.

The people of Roswell believe in Iris like stone. He cared about her and somehow defended her as if she were her own princess.

But maybe, in this way, the illusion of Iris can be broken.

In the Middle Ages, the influence of children’s songs could not be ignored.

And just in time, I knew a suitable song.

I started running right away. First of all, I bought things that children would like, such as candy or toys, and then gave them to the children to win their favor.

“Guys, can I tell you a new song? It’s a good song to sing when holding hands and making circles like this.”

And I taught the children to sing.

“Ring around the rosies”

(Let’s go around the rose)

Pocket full of positions

(Pouch full of flowers)

Ashes! Ashes!

(Ashes! Ashes!)

We all fell down!

(We all fell)”

Right now, I taught the lyrics of the original song.

The lyrics seem normal except for the strangely eerie thing. In particular, since the rose is the family crest of the Rossier family, it was a song that could have been sung already in Roswell.

The children also laughed and sang along.

For the time being, it might be good to teach singing in this way.

Then, if this song becomes widespread in Roswell, then I’m thinking of slightly altering the song’s lyrics. To aim more explicitly at Iris.

Of course, if Iris were extremely sensitive, she might think that even the lyrics of the song were aimed at her.

***

That night. I talked with Rafaela and Mina in preparation for tomorrow’s noble meeting.

“Rafaela, give Iris another nightmare tonight.”

“Of course. She’ll ruin her condition properly.”

At my instruction, Raphaella smiled brightly. That look looked scary at times, but I just let it go.

“And Mina. You’re doing really well so far. I will ask you again tomorrow.”

“I want to talk about that.”

“… Did something happen?”

“As I said earlier, the wizard of the Noir Magic Tower eventually entered the Roswell Mansion. And he knows my weakness in shadow magic. I managed to get out of here today.”

This is something I was concerned about. However, I still think that Mina’s skills are one step higher than the magic tower’s wizard, but I wonder if she’s not good enough either.

“I might not want to reveal that I was holding hands with the saintess to other nobles. Maybe the wizard won’t come into the conference room.”

“I am not saying that I will not go. Just in case, you need to come up with a plan B. And what comes to mind right now is… All you have to do is sneak in.”

“… I know what you mean.”

I thought about it for a while.

Absolutely, even with a mask, it’s hard for me to listen to their conversation without getting caught.

It was okay to just play the strange passer-by 1 in the city, but in the mansion, if it’s even a little awkward, it could raise suspicion.

But in the end, it was something that had to be done someday.

It didn’t take long to make a decision.