I changed my clothes or rather, I was forced to change clothes. I was being rocked inside the carriage with Marius and Camilo. I still have that indignant look though. Thankfully I was not seen by Samia and Rike in this appearance.

“Don’t get angry. Don’t you want to see the “fake” one?”

Camilo intervenes.

“I told you I don’t want to see it..”

The heirloom which is bestowed by King would be nothing more than that, but if asked if I’m interested, of course, I would be.

“This is my request. I’ve involved you guys so I want you two to know what the result is.”

Marius said so. I have no objection to that.

“So why did I have to wear this outfit?”

That’s the only thing I’m stuck on.

“I can’t let them know that there’s a blacksmith present in such place so I need to cover it up. I think it’s silly but I still dressed you up as a noble.”

Marius replied.

“Well, Eizou is supposed to be my guest from the North. It seems that Karel will bring some people with him too so it shouldn’t be a problem to bring guests with me. Knowing Karel, it would be convenient for him if he could declare the reclamation of the sword in the presence of a third party. The same is true for Camilo. He’s expecting that the event will spread on the peddler’s information network. Otherwise, Karel wouldn’t allow himself to be in the same presence with a “peddler” you see.”

“I see..”

That “peddler” is probably Karel’s term, not Marius’. Marius is supposed to be the next Count, but for a nobleman, he is “progressive”. Since he was once a guard in the town, he could see various people, did that experience take effect on him? To say that it’s better to be a merchant and that blacksmiths are no good, is not something that you can’t understand considering the spread of information.

“You mean, that’s where it’ll all backfire?”

“It’s like that”

Being seen by me, a third party and by Camilo, a peddler with an information network would only result in spreading Karel’s failure. Karel bringing in friends and acquaintances has the same effect. I hope he will accept it easily. I couldn’t help thinking about it.

Eventually, we arrived at a large mansion.?Is this the residence of the Count Eimurl?

“This is Lord Menzel’s villa.”

Marius informs me, but it’s a name I’m not familiar with.

“Lord Menzel is the Marquis of this city.”

Camilo followed up.?Is a Marquis one level higher than a Count?

“Heh-, then I came to a great place huh.”

“My father was an old acquaintance of Lord Menzel. He was younger than my father, but he was friendly. That’s why he was also entrusted with the ruling on this matter.”

It was Marius who spoke. So that’s how it is huh. If it’s the Marquis, he might be able to report to the king directly.

We get off the carriage once we’re inside the mansion. Perhaps he’s a servant here, a polite young man guides us and take us to a large room. When we came in, no one else was in the room yet. Marius sat down and we sit down besides him. I’m not sure about the seating order, but it doesn’t seem to be much different from my previous world. The “real” heirloom sword is wrapped in a cloth and placed beside Marius.

After a little while, three men came in. One of them has a fearless smile. He somehow resembles Marius. So that’s Karel huh? He’s not particularly villain looking. I wonder if he just happened to be blinded by greed.. The other two are probably people with a certain position. Karel and his companions sit down facing us.

Until Karel arrived, Marius was chatting with us in a whisper, but as soon as he came in, he shut his mouth and remained silent.

Some more time after that, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes came in. He has a strong build with his mustache and hair trimmed neatly. He should be Marquis Menzel.

We all stand up at once. After the Marquis sat in the seat of honor, he urged us to sit down.

“Well then, regarding the matter about the heirloom sword stolen from the Eimurl family, Karel was able to get it back, is that right?”

The Marquis asks Karel and his companions. It’s a low and deep voice that is no different from the image you’ll feel seeing his strong build. It makes me think that most human beings will tremble if yelled at by such voice.

“Yes. It was the work of a thief near the border, but I managed to get it back yesterday.”

Karel has a higher but calm voice. He put out a long item, wrapped in cloth. It was the sword. As Marius said, it sheathed in a simple scabbard with little ornate decoration. The same is true for the patterns on the sword guard, it can be seen that they are made by the hands of a good craftsman.

“So what do you want me to do? There shouldn’t be a problem if you get back what you’ve lost, right? Isn’t it all settled if Marius over there succeeds Count Eimurl?”

The Marquis replied back to Karel. The Marquis doesn’t seem to have a very good impression on Karel, or, is he originally like this?

“No, I don’t think that someone who has had the heirloom stolen under his nose and just stand by and do nothing is suitable to be the head of the Count family.”

Karel argues while taking a glimpse at Marius. Has it started? Hearing such words, the Marquis began to ponder.

I can understand what Karel is saying. If a person, who just stand by and does nothing even if something important was stolen in his house, was to be deemed suitable as the head of a decent or higher-ranked house, that in itself would be suspicious. The higher ranked the family is, the more people are involved. The lives of the people of the territory, of course, depend on the patriarch. The patriarch needs to have the ability to solve these difficulties, and Marius couldn’t show it this time.

Of course, it’s only true if the heirloom was really stolen, it’s a different story if they collude with the thieves. But it is impossible for us to prove otherwise. I think it’s possible that Karel killed the thieves he brought in. In that case, Karel’s story that “The heirloom was stolen, so I searched for the whereabouts of the thieves, killed them, and recovered them” is seemingly consistent, and above all, it’s “not a lie”.

But we also have a trump card. This is a tightrope walk here, but this is a trump card that Karel wouldn’t expect.

Marius opens his mouth.

“Can I say something?”

“I don’t mind. Say it.”

The Marquis urged.

“I seemed to be leisurely because that heirloom was a fake. I had the real thing at hand so I thought I should slowly hunt down the thieves. Though I’m reflecting if it seems that I was just standing by and doing nothing, but please be aware of the difference between cleaning up quickly and slowly cornering them then capturing them at once.”

“Ho-oh?”

The Marquis raised an eyebrow at Marius’ counterattack. There was a clattering noise, and when I looked at it, Karel stood up unexpectedly.

“Here is the “real” one.”

Marius unwrapped the cloth he put beside him and revealed a sword sheathed in a scabbard. The “real” sword that I forged.