Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Six: Softhearted 2
Karen tilted her head slightly and addressed the group of merchants:
“If you don’t have any means to protect yourselves, you shouldn’t leave town until you’ve prepared some. Can you fight?”
“W-Well… no…”
“If you can’t fight, have you hired escorts? And are those escorts strong enough to approach an uncleared dungeon that keeps triggering Great Collapses?”
“That’s… well…”
The merchants exchanged glances. It seemed they either hadn’t hired escorts at all or the ones they had hired weren’t nearly strong enough.
Uncleared dungeons caused Great Collapses. They unleashed monsters into the world, then fell silent again, only to unleash more monsters in time. Walking unprotected up to a monster production factory—of course, that ended in death.
“B-But we were camping where the Earl’s people directed us, and that’s why the monsters got to us—!”
“It’s only natural for people to die when they enter a dungeon beyond their ability to handle. Yes, there are parts of dungeons where you’re less likely to run into monsters, and people who’ll tell you where those are. But if you go in, encounter a monster, get attacked, and die—you can’t blame anyone else for that. That’s on you. Going near the Enchanted Forest is the same thing, isn’t it?”
At Karen’s words, one of the men twisted his face in anger and shot to his feet.
“What would a little girl like you know—!”
“I think Little Karen’s right, though.”
Sepl, who had been standing beside Karen, leaned out from behind her shoulder and spoke. The man, who had been about to thrust his fist at Karen, flinched and froze.
“If you can’t fight, isn’t it your own fault for coming somewhere like this?”
Sepl said it plainly, and Urte, who had drawn closer, nodded in agreement.
“Why are people who’d die without someone protecting them even here? If you’d hired guards, that’d be one thing—but if you didn’t, were you planning to pin it on someone else? …If so, then dying was only natural.”
Urte looked down at the merchants who had been kneeling in appeal and spat the words out with undisguised contempt. The men flushed scarlet and fell silent—apparently, she had hit the mark. Karen turned and looked up at Helfried.
“This is a pretty typical opinion among us commoners, Lord Helfried. So please, don’t let it trouble you.”
“That’s less a commoner’s opinion and more an adventurer’s, I’d say.”
Helfried’s expression carried a trace of exasperation, but the exhaustion in it seemed somehow lighter than before. Karen, Sepl, and Urte looked at one another—he had a point.
There were those who entered dungeons assuming someone would rescue them, inevitably found themselves in a desperate situation, and then hurled their resentment at whoever hadn’t saved them. Adventurers had nothing but contempt for that kind of weakness. Julius, who had once saved Therese, had simply been far too kind to people like that.
After sending the merchants off, Karen and everyone left the tent where the dead had been laid. When they returned to the front of the tent, Helfried let out a long sigh.
“You have my thanks, Karen. That helped.”
“You were right to hold firm, Lord Helfried. We don’t even know if those men were truly the victim’s family. They could have been thieves after the dead merchant’s belongings—investigating their identities properly afterward was absolutely the right call.”
“If that’s what they were, it was a convincing performance.”
The sight of them not fearing to protest before a noble had indeed been remarkably persuasive. If it had been an act, they might have known that Helfried placed great importance on family bonds. Watching from the side, Karen also thought that someone like Helfried, who understood love for family, might be swayed even by commoners. Someone who knew him that well had to be behind it.
Who else could possibly know such a thing? It was true that the sacrifice Helfried had made for Sieg was widely known, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to read it as mere attachment to a powerful heir. Just as Winfried had once been.
—If those men had been acting, who would know Helfried’s character well enough to orchestrate it?
Karen had sunk into the depths of that thought when Helfried said, as though it were nothing of particular note, "Speaking of which—”
“It seems Julius intends to clear an unexplored dungeon within the next two weeks.”
Helfried said it with a grin. Karen’s eyes went wide.
“What?! Is it Julius who’s been clearing that dungeon—the one that nearly caused a Great Collapse?! He’s in a place that dangerous—!”
Karen was stunned. This time it was Helfried’s turn to smile with easy composure.
“Julius will be fine. Anyone else would’ve required organizing a rescue party—but a B-rank adventurer can clear a dungeon solo up to the fifteenth floor. Didn’t you know?”
“I do know that, but…”
“Then you understand there’s nothing to worry about, surely? Julius said he wanted to win at any cost—for your sake. And if he clears a dungeon, no one else can possibly beat him. You’d do well to prepare yourself to be crowned Queen of the hunting festival, Karen.”
Even with the teasing note in his voice, Karen didn’t fluster the way she usually would.
“Is there no chance it’s someone other than Mr. Julius clearing the dungeon?”
“Everyone else has been accounted for. Julius is the only one we haven’t been able to reach.”
The means of communication would be magical tools. Which meant the only person unreachable was someone inside a dungeon, where magical tools couldn’t communicate with the outside. The magical power Karen had channeled into the earring had most likely not reached him either. She sighed.
“I know perfectly well that Mr. Julius is strong… so why am I this worried?”
Karen tilted her head, muttering to herself. Helfried smiled at her gently.
“When Julius comes back, tell him how you feel.”
This time, there was no teasing in Helfried’s voice, and Karen blushed before hurriedly saying, “I’ll keep an eye on the knights over there, so don’t worry!” and quickly leaving the scene.
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