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Chapter 111: Miroslav Sauzar ④
“For now, this should be enough for Iria.”
Miroslav muttered to herself as she returned to her room and let out a small breath.
It was no coincidence that she went to the bathroom that Iria and the three siblings were using. Miroslav had originally planned to nail Iria down early on, and had been waiting for an opportunity.
She had heard from Sora that Iria was aware of the truth behind the dismantling of the “Falcon Sword”.
She didn’t think that Iria, who was infected with the Hydra’s poison, would go against Sora, who had the formula for the antidote, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that Iria, who was impulsive, would explode with emotion at some point.
She might even tell Larz about the situation on a whim. If that happened, the hostility that Miroslav had worked hard to remove from Larz towards Sora would reignite.
That was why she felt the need to restrain Iria for that reason, but she had to be careful not to let anyone else hear about it, because of the nature of the story.
Outside the house was out of the question. But that didn’t mean it was safe inside the house. The children, Priestess Sarah, Suzume, or Ciel might hear it.
That’s why she chose the bathroom as the place. There, she thought, no one else would accidentally come in. She waited for the children to get out of the bath and went there.
Miroslav recalled the conversation she had with Iria earlier.
If she said it so clearly, there would be no chance of Iria leaking the situation to Larz from her mouth. Miroslav didn’t want Iria to ruin the hard work she had put her life on the line for, so she was finally relieved.
She also subtly mentioned Iria’s own position.
Miroslav declared to Iria, “We are at the mercy of Sora.” She then told her that Sora had little hostility towards Larz.
In other words, she warned her that Sora’s hostility towards Iria was neither weak nor mild.
Miroslav thought that the reason why Sora had not retaliated against Iria yet was partly because of the Hydra’s poison, but more importantly, because of the presence of Iria’s mother, Priestess Sarah.
It was obvious to anyone that Sora had a deep affection for Priestess Sarah. If Iria had not been Priestess Sarah’s daughter, Sora would have done something to Iria a long time ago.
If Iria continued to spend her time casually, it was clear that her mother would take the place of her daughter. Whether it would be by force or by consent, Iria would surely want to avoid such a situation.
What should she do to avoid that? Miroslav intended to prod Iria in that direction and encourage her to take action on her own. This was not something that Sora had ordered her to do, but Miroslav’s own judgment.
She would satisfy Sora’s appetite with prey.
Lunamaria was excellent in her mental abilities, but she was ignorant in this area. She also had a personality constraint. Even if she came up with a way to trap someone else, she would not be able to execute it.
In that respect, Miroslav is different. She actually drove the “Falcon Sword” to the brink of dissolution as a hidden dagger among the group, and four and a half years ago, she spread the infamy of “Parasite” to tear apart the relationship between Sora and Lunamaria. She is good at this kind of covert activity.
“…It’s nothing to be proud of, though.”
Unknowingly, a self-deprecating smile spilled out.
Today’s action against Iria was, to put it bluntly, a score-earning for Sora. Miroslav is a “supplier” like Lunamaria and Ciel, but Sora’s interest in her is thin compared to the two. If she displeased him, she would be mercilessly discarded.
She still hasn’t told Sora about the “Parasite” incident. She hasn’t told him because it’s clear that Sora would be furious if she did.
This also motivated Miroslav’s actions. She was desperately trying to make Sora think that she was a necessary existence, in her own way.
――And Miroslav’s covert activities were also carried out against people other than Iria.
“Master, may I have a little of your time, if you don’t mind?”
That day, when Sora had some free time after returning from the Titis Forest, Miroslav approached him with a modest voice.
Sora frowned suspiciously, noticing that the tone of her voice was different from usual.
“I don’t mind, but–judging by your face, it doesn’t seem like something you can talk about openly.”
“You are right about that.”
“Then let’s go to my room. The kids are glued to Clau Soras, so they won’t suddenly barge in.”
“Thank you very much.”
Miroslav, who bowed her head deeply, then told Sora about the adventurer’s guild in his room.
To be precise, it was about the guild master, Elgart, and the receptionist, Lidelle, the two of them.
“Actually, I was asked by Lidelle to deliver a message to you, Master. She wants to meet you secretly and talk to you.”
“…Lidelle wants to talk to me? And meet secretly, does that mean she’s a spy for the guild?”
“No, it’s a personal matter for Lidelle. Of course, it’s not completely unrelated to the guild.”
“You’re very assertive in your speech. Have you heard the details?”
“Yes. I can’t relay the message to you, Master, without knowing the content, so I have a rough idea of what it is. Besides, I myself am a little bit involved in the story.”
“Hmm, I don’t quite understand, but let’s hear it for now.”
“Understood.”
Prompted by Sora, Miroslav began to explain.
To put it bluntly, Lidelle’s request was “to stop the retaliation against the adventurer’s guild”.
The retaliation here refers to the content that she talked to Iria in the bathroom earlier.
“The Master intends to make the incident with the Lord of the Flies public and have us publicly apologize.”
“By doing so, you want to reveal that the guild’s judgment was wrong.”
Lidelle had requested that they abandon the final stage of Sora’s devised “peaceful way to pick a fight with the guild,”
Miroslav continued, “Do you recall my mentioning that Sir Sergey, who is in charge of the adventurer’s guild in the capital, had requested a meeting with the Guild Master? At that time, it seemed that his intention was to bring the Guild Master to his side and then remove Sir Elgart from his position. However, the Guild Master refused, and Sir Sergey’s plan fell through…”
“Did it flare up again because of this incident?”
“Yes. Stampede, Hydra, poison. They are loudly blaming Lord Elgart’s lack of strategy for causing Ishka’s confusion. They have already sent a messenger to the guild headquarters in the Holy Kingdom. Lidelle-san was worried that if this continues, Lord Sergey’s claim might be accepted unilaterally, as Lord Elgart and Lidelle-san are too busy to deal with Lord Sergey’s situation.”
Sergey was good at accumulating wealth and had deep connections with the upper echelons of the guild. Also, there were not a few guilds in various places that were financially helped by Sergey.
If it was a fight with swords, Elgart’s victory would be unshakable, but if it was a fight with money, the possibility of defeat would also emerge.
“If the Dragon Slayer, the Master of the Alliance, openly denounces the Ishka Guild for their wrongdoing in such a situation, Lord Elgart’s position will become even more difficult. In the worst case scenario, he will be sent to the gallows for failing to prevent the situation.”
Elgart had done his best in this incident, but the fact that Ishka had suffered a great deal of damage did not disappear.
If this had been an ordinary city, a mere guild master would not have been held accountable.
But Ishka was an adventure city. It had a history of favoring adventurers as a city policy, and the guild had benefited from it. As a public official – the leader of the adventurer’s guild, Elgart was in a position where he had to take responsibility.
“Ms. Lidelle is also aware of that. However, she is not willing to accept that Lord Elgart, who did his best in a critical situation, will be punished.”
“If Sergey’s personal grudge is added to that crime, it makes it even worse. That’s why she told me not to do anything unnecessary. Well, I guess it’s easy to understand.”
But Sora crossed his arms in thought.
He had a question.
Certainly, he was planning to retaliate against the guild, and as part of that plan, he had devised a way to “peacefully pick a fight with the guild” and was gradually putting it into action.
To be honest, though, Sora had almost forgotten about that plan since defeating Hydra. Right now, his top priority is to polish his Phantom Blade Style with Claira. He didn’t want to show Suzume, Priestess Sarah, or the children how he was being high-handed by blaming the guild while ignoring the devastation of the city.
For one, Sora never publicly announced his plan. So who told Lidelle about it?
Besides, wasn’t it the Adventurer’s Guild that doubted Sora’s achievement as a “Dragon Slayer” and spread the derogatory nickname “Fake Dragon Slayer”? It’s too convenient for them to ask for Sora’s help now.
There is no reason for Sora to accept Lidelle’s offer. Rather than accepting it, he feels like laughing at their hardships. If Lidelle insists, he might listen to their story, but he wouldn’t even consider sitting down at the negotiation table unless they offered everything as compensation.
When he had thought that far, Sora’s right eyebrow twitched. He felt that there was something he sensed in his current line of thought.
Sora gazed intently into Miroslav’s eyes in front of him. Miroslav also stared back at Sora’s eyes.
How long had they been staring at each other like that? In Sora’s field of vision, Miroslav’s mouth slowly opened.
“Lidelle has feelings for Lord Elgart that go beyond respect. If it is for Lord Elgart’s sake, she will probably accept most requests. You can use it as a poison to ambush the guild, or draw it out and use it for the Blood Spraying Sword, or use it as food for the night. It may differ from the initial plan of the Master, but I believe that satisfactory results can still be obtained even taking that into account.”