Chapter 53
A Event In Prince"s Study
“s.h.i.+t! G.o.d f.u.c.king d.a.m.n it!”
Ryuit Glorrio Allysia smashed his desk and profanities flew from his mouth, one after another .
The report that’d just entered his ears had ignited in him an irrepressible fury . One of his recent initiatives, the Wicked Forest Expedition, had more than just ended in failure . Its outcome was the absolute worst possible . The entire expedition force had basically been annihilated . The only unit that survived was the one that’d turned tail and fled from the enemy . Every other soldier and mercenary they"d sent had failed to return . They"d been completely destroyed .
Naturally, the man in charge of the unit that had survived was judged a coward . He was immediately removed from his post and permanently blacklisted from Allysian knight order .
"f.u.c.king d.a.m.n it!" The prince gave his table one last smack as he thought through the consequences of his failure . He had promised his investors profit . He told them that they were sure to benefit so long as they trusted him with their funds and believed in him . But he failed . He had nothing to show to those that had supported him . And that wasn"t even the end of it . Ryuit understood that the blunder had taken a toll on his reputation . He knew that he had turned many off from investing in his future exploits, and that the expedition had become a blatant black stain on his record .
To make matters worse, the Wicked Forest Expedition was something he’d put together without the king’s permission . He ignored the bureaucracy and acted entirely of his own accord . If he’d succeeded, he would have been able to brush off the resulting criticism by emphasizing his newfound achievements . But he did not . And so, he was p.r.o.ne to blame and punishment . His crime was so grave that he would have been court martialed had he not been a prince . Fortunately, his status allowed him to escape conviction, but that didn"t mean he was scott free . Some sort of punishment was inevitable if his actions and their consequences were ever brought to light .
Ryuit had no choice but to somehow make up for his failure . If he didn’t, his name would remain sullied, and his reputation smeared with mud . The n.o.bles wouldn’t obey him, not even after he inherited his father’s throne .
"What now, my lord?" The only other individual in the prince"s office raised his voice . "The expedition"s failure was likely due to a lack of personnel . We"ll need to send an even larger group if we wish to succeed, but it doesn"t look like we can . His Majesty will likely catch wind of our actions if we do . "
"I f.u.c.king know already G.o.dd.a.m.nit! I don"t need you reminding me . " The prince"s immediate reaction was to shout, but he realized that losing his temper wouldn"t be to his benefit, so he took a deep breath and calmed himself before continuing . "If quant.i.ty isn"t an option, then we"ll have to resort to using quality instead . Why don"t we employ that one group of orihalc.u.m cla.s.s adventurers?"
"With all due respect, Your Highness, that isn"t possible . They"ve already been placed on another task . I doubt any adventurers weaker than them will work either, seeing as how our foe was capable of crus.h.i.+ng an entire army . "
"d.a.m.n it . " The prince clicked his tongue . "Fine, then let"s use that . "
"That, your majesty?"
"I"m talking about the thing the church"s been boasting about lately . "
"You mean to say the hero? I believe it hasn"t finished its training yet . The church is likely willing to lend it to us regardless, but I"m sure it"ll demand quite the amount of compensation in return . "
"Feh," scoffed the prince . "Those greedy misers . They call themselves "G.o.d"s va.s.sals," but they"re as hungry for gold as the most avaricious of merchants . Fine . We"ll reel them in by flas.h.i.+ng them a cut of the profits . "
"If that is your will, then so it shall be, Your Highness . "
***
"Ugh…Why am I here again?"
The hero sighed as she pushed herself to continue moving through the undergrowth .
Her name was Nell . She was a young girl that"d formerly lived in a village out in the boonies . She"d always thought of herself as an average girl, but one fateful day, that"d all changed . A man claiming to be one of the church"s priests had showed up at her doorstep and informed her that she held all of the qualifications necessary for her to become a hero .
Nell"s excitement shot through the roof in an instant . Her mother had always told her tales of heroes, of how they used their blessed powers to rid the world of evil and calamity . The many folk and fairy tales she heard about them had led her to develop a deep admiration of their craft . Becoming a hero would not only let her help people, but also make things easier on her mother . She had no father, so Nell"s mother had slaved away, overworking herself day in and day out in order to raise her .
The combination of her circ.u.mstances and her respect for heroes had led her to be enthralled by the priest’s words . She immediately accepted his offer and took up the hero"s mantle . The days that followed were filled with naught but h.e.l.lish, grueling training . She would train with the knight order until she was utterly exhausted before moving on to listening to an old court mage ramble on and on about magic . His lectures were so "fascinating" that they threatened to almost magically force her into the land of dreams . It took everything she had to resist the urge and continue listening .
Nell was confident that the relentless training she"d been put through had toughened her up, and that the church was finally sending her out on a mission because they recognized her abilities . Frankly, she was happy . She was glad that all her hard work had finally been acknowledged .
The mission was for her to eliminate a man-slaying demon that lived within the depths of a forest . It was her first job, so she was pumped, especially since the church had provided her a full set of equipment .
"Gegyaagyaaaa!"
"W-what was that!?"
Nell took up a stance and brandished her with a practiced blade as a large bird took to the skies somewhere nearby . Her training had clearly paid off; the action was entirely unconscious . But that said, Nell wasn"t exactly what one could call composed . In fact, she was exactly the opposite .
Her voice had clearly indicated that she was on the verge of breaking into tears . She lacked the mental fort.i.tude to deal with her current situation . Nell had been named a hero, but the truth of the matter was that she was still just an ordinary girl at heart .