The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 94

"Uun…… it's a really weird feeling. It's like, something that had been deep inside my head is suddenly gone……"

Balzard is scratching and tilting his head.

It seems that the Demonist or the Shadow Demon itself had been affecting his consciousness without him being aware of it.

After that, the Sight Demon that is a Shadow Demon detector for the War Tribe has stopped reacting to him. Eh, could this possibly be applicable to me as well?

Let's secretly cast [Curse Break] on myself some time later.

"......Fuu."

"What?"

"Aah, no, it's nothing. Elder, this is delicious."

"Fumu……"

Me brooding causes Leid to turn a suspicious gaze upon me.

I hurriedly praise the sweets that Old Man Kolbel had shared with with us.

"It's fruit of rutsu preserved in sugar. Though it is too humble a thing to offer to Demon G.o.d-sama, I am glad it suits your taste."

These brown-colored lumps don't look that good, but I like that they've got the springiness of figs and are almost sweet enough to numb the tongue. This region is dry and the sunlight is very strong, so I can see why they would need high-calorie snacks.

"...... So, are we really going to bring these people to Filsand?"

So asks Agbeil after grimacing from a bite of rutsu fruit.

"That is indeed the intention. As for the method of transportation, I have just the perfect spell for it, so there is no need for worry."

"That's not what I was asking though……"

This will be my first time using it in this world, but [Forced March] seems just right for this situation. I replied with confidence, but Agbeil shakes his head with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"He's right, the most important thing now is to get all of them inside Filsand to make sure they're safe."

"Hah~"

The younger brother sighs in response to my and Balzard's words.

"Listen closely, Margils-dono. What I am going to say, I will say because I don't want to make an enemy out of you."

"...... Umu?"

From his crouched position, Agbeil looks up at me with dark eyes, then continues.

"Firstly, you and Nii-san do not fully grasp the depth of the enmity between Filsand and the Shulz."

"That's……"

"Nii-san, what did you see at their base? Not everyone is a good person like you, alright?"

"......uu……"

Balzard is struck speechless before Agbeil's sharp and irritated reproach. His sad face indicates implicit admission of his younger brother's words.

"Take a better look at the eyes of the bunch collapsed over there. The feelings of having been oppressed single-sidedly this entire time…… is something that Nii-san doesn't fully understand, right?"

"......"

Balzard is silent. So am I.

Indeed, I cannot possible claim to truly understand the Shulz's pain and bitterness.

I look at the exhausted refugees in the distance.

Dianu is incessantly trying to cheer them up, but their expressions are still dark. I had chalked it all up to the run for their lives while being chased by a Legion, but…… I had not given consideration to the deep hatred that must be swirling inside their chests.

"I'm sure there are those who would be willing to yield to Filsand if it means being safe. However, I'm also sure that there are some who would act on their resentment the moment they get inside Filsand, resolved to discard their lives for that single bit of rerevenge. Am I right?"

Agbeil looks not to his elder brother for confirmation, but to the previous previous Tribe Chief of the Shulz tribe.

"...... Yes you're right. A lot of them have had family members killed or kidnapped and sold into slavery by you Feldians, after all. It is only natural for those who think that way to be present."

Kolbel sighs deeply while replying. Even in his voice, I hear bitterness that he tried to suppress but failed to. In the first place, during his generation, the Shulz had still been living inside Filsand, and one of his daughters had even been seized by the Duke of Filsand.

"And on our side too, there are those with this thought of killing to avenge the deaths of their own loved ones."

So admits Agbeil instead of criticizing Kolbel.

"...... However, I intend to stop that. I cannot let the Shulz tribe be eradicated. My son also knew that when he went to the General."

Indeed, it seems at least the current Shulz Tribe Chief Raslas, this Kolbel, and Dianu will all be trying to keep the refugees in line. That's why I requested the Duke of Filsand to offer protection to these people.

However, what Agbeil says next exceeds what Balzard and I could have imagined.

"Father is not a virtuous person who would simply accept that. He would probably use a few operatives to set off some bombs, then use that as pretext to kill everyone. And that way, even Margils-dono would have an excuse."

"Wh-, what……"

"...... So that guy really was thinking something like that……"

I've lost all words as the second son matter-of-factly deduces his father's evil plan.

"Of course, the aim is not just for revenge. More like, I'm sure my father doesn't care at all about the whole revenge thing. His aim is the 'Garden of the G.o.ds' that would be empty after getting rid of all the Shulz. Since the Shulz had developed that place so much that it's now even able to produce fruits like this."

I'm sure Agbeil's words are spot on.

For me, the worst part about the Duke of Filsand's personality is this cool-headedness. If he is a 'true villain' who simply enjoys ma.s.sacring the Shulz, then I think I would have already defeated him. However, all he is is someone who doesn't choose his methods in pursuit of a goal.

If I defeat him here, then from now on, I would need to defeat every single feudal lord in this entire world.

"But…… then what should we do? I will convince fa-...... no, that's impossible. How about keeping me together with the Shulz, as a hostage?"

Balzard's face has grown pale and he is desperately spinning his mind, but I continue giving Agbeil my attention.

He had said that he 'didn't want to be [my] enemy.' I don't think he simply meant exposing his father's plot.

"Which is why what we should do now is eliminate the Filsand operatives currently among the Shulz."

There are already operatives here?

In that case, then they are not newly deployed, but must have been buried within the Shulz for a long time already.

"Actually, I know the faces of the operatives. The reason why father had me accompany Margils-dono is so that I can contact those operatives…… or maybe he foresaw that I would do something like this. I don't know which."

"...... In other words, you are cooperating to forestall the possibility of a pretext for attacking the Shulz?"

"That is what I'd intended ever since I brought this up. No matter how I look at it, you are far more frightening than my father."

…… I am grateful for his cooperation, as he is familiar with the Duke's modus operandi.

I'm sorry for saying earlier that I have no interest in you.

There is no mistaking that he is indeed a villain who tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate his own sister in order to protect himself. But at the very least, he possesses what I've overlooked so far — the perspective of the weak.

"I have one more important thing to say. The best way to make people forget their bitterness is to show them 'hope.' It doesn't matter how ridiculous it is. If it's Margils-dono, I'm sure that it can be done."

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Chapter 94: The Younger Brother's Warning

Volume 4

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