Chapter 15: Rebellion
"Count, it seems a rebellion has broken out! The Knights have managed to suppress it, but the damage is significant..."
"Understood! We will head there immediately! My apologies to Mars-kun, but we are returning to Granzam!"
Six knights had desperately rushed into the Granzam 【Dungeon】 to report this, so I decided to return to the city at once.
They were Blair's subordinates, members of the Lyle Squad, which consisted of twenty men.
On the way back, Blair and his men fought the goblins to clear a path.
Seeing them fight, I realized once again just how abnormal those two children were.
The ten knights, including Blair, were by no means weak.
Blair was undoubtedly D-Rank adventurer class... No, if Blair focused solely on defense, even a C-Rank adventurer would find it difficult to break through his guard.
The other knights, even if not quite D-Rank, were at least upper E-Rank.
Yet, they were taking damage from the goblins.
The combination of Hobgoblins and Goblin Mages seemed quite troublesome for them; while they were held up by the Hobgoblins, they would get hit by 《Earth Bullet》 from the Goblin Mages.
Since they had to advance while healing with 【Potions】, their progress was slow.
They would clear one room, then take a short break, repeating this process.
"I am terribly sorry, Count Beetle. If only we were stronger..."
"Say no more. It is those two who are abnormal. Besides, as knights, your job is not solely to become strong. You are doing very well. I am proud of you all."
Touched by his words, the ten knights bowed their heads.
I don't know how many hours it took, but we finally reached the first floor and psyched ourselves up.
"We've made it to the first floor! Proceed to the exit cautiously and swiftly!"
I encouraged the knights, but the ten men I had brought with me wore expressions of clear exhaustion.
"Are you men still able to fight?"
I asked the six knights of the Lyle Squad who had come to report.
"Please let us rest a little longer. Then we will be able to fight."
"I see. Don't push yourselves. Let me know when you are ready."
After taking several short breaks, we finally neared the entrance of the 【Dungeon】 and took one last rest.
During the break, Blair asked the six members of the Lyle Squad:
"Come to think of it, where is the rest of the Lyle Squad? Did only you six come?"
"Yes, it was just us six. The captain and the other squad members are dealing with the rebels."
"Wasn't it difficult for just six of you to make it down to the second floor?"
As Blair said this, he began walking around the perimeter of the six knights.
"It was difficult. We sustained injuries and used up all the 【Potions】 we had on hand..."
The knights who had been with Blair also began to circle the six men.
Then, one of the six spoke up.
"W-What is the meaning of this all of a sudden? Did we do something?"
"Let us end this charade, shall we? It is tiring for us to play the incompetent fools forever. You have been tailing us ever since we entered the 【Dungeon】, haven't you?"
As soon as Blair said that, the ten knights tackled and subdued the six members of the Lyle Squad all at once.
"Tch! What the hell is going on?! This isn't what we were told!"
"From whom did you hear what, exactly?"
Blair questioned the restrained men.
However, the six men did not answer.
"Hmm. Won't talk, I see. It can't be helped. Shall I have the entirety of your D-Rank party, the 【Barkers】, along with your families, arrested for treason..."
"Wha—How do you know about us?"
"As the Lord, I keep a close watch on the Barker family. Besides, even without surveillance, your Barker family is infamous. Various reports find their way to me. Including the fact that you bribed an appraiser to become D-Rank adventurers. Now then, since you seem ready to talk, answer me again. What is your objective?"
"Fine. I'll answer you once we get out of this 【Dungeon】."
The men still thought they had a chance of winning.
By now, two hundred spies should have suppressed the Knights Order.
After all, the Knights were said to lack equipment due to the recent Stampede.
Even against knights, if they are unarmed, armed F-Rank adventurers could likely defeat them.
However, once they exited the 【Dungeon】, the sight that greeted their eyes was unbelievable.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Those damnable wretches!
Over two months have passed since that nobody named Mars arrived.
An unexpected Stampede occurred, but it was quelled while I was unconscious.
The townspeople are calling the brat a "Sword Saint" or whatever, but the truth is, my sword was the special one.
It was a Mythril Silver sword, so defeating a hundred goblins or so would be a piece of cake for anyone.
That brat Clarice is unforgivable, too.
Ignoring my noble self to prioritize casting 《Heal》 on those lowly commoners.
Why can't they understand that while residents are replaceable, there is no substitute for me?
And the one I can't forgive the most is Beetle!
Becoming a high-ranking Count just because he got lucky.
He probably just excelled at sucking up to people.
But my patience only needs to last a little longer.
It has been years since I ingratiated myself with Margrave Dixon.
And the day Count Beetle enters the 【Dungeon】 with those brats is the day of execution.
The residents are rejoicing that the population has increased since the Stampede ended, but those are all spies sent by Margrave Dixon.
They are apparently vicious criminals that were uncontrollable, so if Margrave Dixon promises them a pardon, they would throw away their lives even against the Knights.
The Beetle Knights are also obnoxious.
After all, they didn't listen to my orders.
Once I rule this city, I'll work them to the bone, just they wait.
The plan is proceeding smoothly. As per Margrave Dixon's instructions, I bought up all the 【Potions】 and weapons at the item and weapon shops.
I'll hand over the purchased weapons and 【Potions】 to the spies.
For the coup d'état, of course.
Beetle is an idiot. He doesn't seem to have noticed my actions at all.
It's a wonder how such an incompetent fool became a Count.
When I dispose of Beetle, maybe I should ask him how he got the title.
Perhaps he has dirt on a member of the royal family.
Even so, the request for supplies from Margrave Dixon is far larger than planned.
Since there are two hundred spies, I thought I only needed supplies for two hundred, but he told me to gather five hundred sets of weapons and 【Potions】—more than double.
Naturally, it would be bad if I gathered them all myself, so I used several spies to buy them up.
See, it's because my mind works like this that Beetle doesn't notice my treachery.
It's not so much that Beetle is incompetent, but that I, Baron Dameze Barker, am simply too capable.
Margrave Dixon contacted me through a spy saying he would repay double the cost later, so I threw the Barker family’s personal fortune into gathering everything.
And today is the day of the operation.
I had been watching Count Beetle since morning.
Together with the spies, of course.
Thirty minutes have passed since the Count entered the 【Dungeon】.
It is time to execute the plan.
In another hour, I will be the hero of this city, and I'll become a Viscount too.
Here is the strategy:
First, two hundred spies will attack and suppress the Knights.
Even if they are knights, they still lack equipment from the previous Stampede, so they should lose the will to fight when faced with armed, vicious criminals.
All the goods lining the weapon shop shelves lately have been bought up by us.
The same goes for the 【Potions】. We are overwhelmingly at an advantage.
A few sacrifices can't be helped.
After that, once we dispose of the Count when he emerges from the 【Dungeon】, victory is ours.
Well, I've sent the skilled 【Barkers】 to handle the Count.
The 【Barkers】 share my excellent blood, so they are all D-Rank adventurers.
Perhaps the Count has already met with an unfortunate accident inside the 【Dungeon】, but if so, then so be it.
The residents must also think it better to be ruled by the capable Lord Dameze than the incompetent Beetle.
Since I plan to become a Count later, perhaps I should have the residents call me "Your Excellency" starting now.
Oops, while I was thinking about that, the spies had already attacked the Knights' station.
However, the number of spies seems awfully low...
Ah, that's right! I told them the attack time should be thirty minutes after the Count enters the 【Dungeon】, assuming he would enter at 8:00. Meaning the original plan was for 8:30.
But the Count entering the 【Dungeon】 an hour early at 7:00 was a miscalculation.
Did this cause a split between those attacking at 7:30 and those attacking at 8:30...?
Which one is the correct move? Well, a genius like me would attack at the intermediate time of 8:00.
However, the station that the spies are supposed to be attacking went quiet immediately.
It wouldn't be strange to hear the sounds of swordplay, angry shouts, or screams...
Did the Knights give up because they lack decent equipment? To offer no resistance just because they lack gear... what pathetic weaklings.
They must be suppressed by now. I headed toward the station to see the knights being captured in disgrace.
As I passed through the gate to peek inside, the gate suddenly slammed shut.
"Good work, Dameze Barker."
For some reason, a knight spoke to me in a casual, disrespectful tone.
Distracted by why he would speak to me like that, the question of why a knight—who should have been suppressed by spies—was standing there completely blew out of my mind.
"Hey, watch your tongue. I will have you punished for lèse-majesté."
"Right. Starting tomorrow, you will be neither a noble nor a commoner, but a slave. You are the one who needs to watch your tongue."
"W-What are you saying?"
"Normally it would be the death penalty, but we have a labor shortage. It has been decided that you all will be demoted to slaves."
As he said that, other knights restrained me.
What is wrong with these people? Have they gone mad?
Perhaps they are just nervous being in the presence of my noble self.
"If you stop now, I will reduce your sentence slightly. Instead of death, I will forgive you with just a whipping."
"This 'Dame-idiot' really has lost his mind. He doesn't seem to understand the situation. It's pointless talking to him."
When one of the knights said that, they all laughed as if to insult me.
Even someone as magnanimous as myself got angry at this.
"Hey, where are the spies? Why aren't they here?"
"That's practically a confession. We've already captured them. I don't think your nonexistent brain can understand, so I'll spell it out for you: many of our operatives had infiltrated the spies. Didn't you think it was strange to gather weapons and 【Potions】 for five hundred people? Most of that equipment flowed right to us, the Knights. The second wave is coming in thirty minutes, right? We're already prepared to capture them."
Those stupid spies! Making me waste my money!
For thirty minutes, I was showered with insults and abuse.
And thirty minutes later, the new group of spies was bound and brought in.
I heard the sounds of a brief struggle, but it ended quickly.
"Now then, Dameze. You come over here."
Told to do so, I ended up being forced to sit on my heels seiza-style in front of the 【Dungeon】 until Count Beetle arrived.
If you bring me here, you fools will just be suppressed by the 【Barkers】 coming out of the 【Dungeon】.
These people are incompetent after all.
The Count must be captured by the 【Barkers】 by now.
I can't help but laugh imagining the faces of these incompetents when the door opens.
However, no matter how long I wait, the 【Barkers】 do not come.
How many hours have passed? My legs are so numb I couldn't stand even if told to.
And finally, the moment I had been waiting for arrived. The door to the 【Dungeon】 opened.
Yes! The 【Barkers】 have emerged.
As expected of a D-Rank party.
"Well done! 【Barkers】! I shall praise you! Hurry up and untie these ropes!"
It didn't take long for me to notice that there were ropes around the wrists of the 【Barkers】 as well.
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