The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 240 "Folklorist" Mogers (10) - New Options As the two stepped inside the cave, cold air and a strange fishy smell stung their noses. "Hmm, curious." Said Mogers, running his gloved hand along the cave wall. "The mechanism at the entrance is clearly artificial... but the cave itself looks natural. Did they artificially modify an existing cave? Even so, working in this harsh cold environment would have required considerable time and labor." "Doctor. Shall we go straight inside?" Morana said, cutting off Mogers' reasoning. Now was not the time to display academic curiosity. Mogers also seemed to agree, stopping his examination of the cave's outer wall and speaking. "Yes, we should. We'll need to meet them first before we can talk or do anything else." "It could be dangerous. I'll take the scouting role, so how about you wait here for now?" "Morana. Let me tell you something very important. Usually in situations like this, when people act separately, problems always arise. Still, I'm glad you're worried about me." "...I'll lead the way." As she quickened her pace, Morana suddenly thought her actions were foolish. If she was going to stop him saying it was dangerous, she shouldn't have come this far with him in the first place. What was all this fuss now but showing off? That was also why Mogers' words of gratitude felt strangely embarrassing and awkward. '...This is strange.' The old her would never have done such unnecessary actions. When she was with Mogers, she somehow ended up acting strangely impulsive. If someone with rich life experience had seen Morana now, they would have evaluated it as 'her tension relaxed because someone she felt comfortable with was by her side,' but unfortunately Morana didn't know this. How long had they walked through the cave interior as if trying to hide the awkwardness? Seeing the place that appeared as the cave passage suddenly widened, Morana unconsciously let out an exclamation. "Ah...." It was an oval space that looked as if the interior of a giant egg had been carved out. Where the two stood was a high area about halfway up the egg, and like the tiered seating of a circular arena, various stone buildings were arranged throughout the downward sloping areas. "A village, perhaps. The scale itself isn't that large, but it's beautiful." It was just as Mogers evaluated. Standing at the high edge, you could see the entire village at a glance, so the village's scale itself couldn't be called that large. However, the scene created as light seeping through the cavern ceiling touched the buildings glowing bluish-white as if half-frozen looked like a work of art. "You, who are you!? How did you get here...!! Huh? Morana?" It was then that an urgent voice was heard. Bluish silver hair and eyes. A young man who appeared to be Belastok discovered the two and pointed at them. Morana quickly tried to enter combat stance with the polearm in her hand, but Mogers stopped her. If combat had been their purpose from the start, they wouldn't have entered so boldly like this or been admiring the surrounding scenery. "We came because we have something we want to discuss with you. Could you perhaps call your leadership?" When Mogers raised both hands to show he had no intention of fighting, confusion appeared on the young man's face. "T-talk?" Perhaps noticing the commotion the young man had caused, people sporadically emerged from surrounding buildings and widened their eyes upon seeing Morana and Mogers. Among them were those who hurriedly returned to their houses to grab weapons and come back out, which was in many ways a belated response. 'Seeing as there wasn't a single guard watching the passage, it seems they never thought this place would be discovered in the first place.' Since their numbers themselves didn't seem large, there might be unavoidable aspects to some degree, but it was still hard to escape the assessment that it was sloppy. But at the same time, it was also natural. If young people bound together only by hot blood and rebelliousness suddenly transformed into military experts who were quick and thorough in everything, wouldn't that be even stranger? Among the Belastok here, there would be those from military backgrounds, but Ostern's army was hardly a place to emulate, not even in empty words. "What's this, what's happening?" "How did outsiders!!" "This place has been discovered!?" The number of people gathering amid the commotion gradually increased, and among them was Vanya as well. "You... surely you didn't track us here?" Armed with a bow, she seemed to imagine the worst case scenario as her complexion hardened. Those who appeared to have acted with Vanya had similar reactions, and to prevent them from running wild assuming the worst case, Mogers opened his mouth. "It's true we tracked you. But the castle town didn't notice your crimes and send us. The soldiers are probably rolling around in glee right now, having caught what they think is the culprit in the wolf carcass you left behind." "How can we believe that?!" "Let me ask in return, are those soldiers diligent enough to move a pursuit team through blizzards to this distant place?" "......" The young people's mouths snapped shut. They knew better than anyone, in a sense, just how terrible Ostern's soldiers were. "Then what are you? Morana, why are you here?" Morana's eyes glanced toward Mogers. Mogers nodded as if to say she could do as she pleased. "Before that, I want to confirm one thing. Vanya. Do you... intend to overthrow the castle town by force?" Among the Belastok youth, glances were quickly exchanged. It was Vanya who spoke. "Yes. I don't know if those like you who live in compliance are satisfied with the current situation, but we're not. We're sick and tired of it now." At those words filled with contempt and anger, Morana didn't bother to argue back. The comment about living in compliance was an accurate observation even by her own assessment. But she had to say what needed to be said. "If you fail, not only you but all other Belastok will be dragged into it. Perhaps this time the entire race might be exterminated." Extermination. At the weight and coldness of that word, some of the youth flinched and trembled. As if rebelling against that, Vanya raised her voice. "Then what, we should continue living while enduring this terrible treatment? Isn't that more cruel? The Belastok population keeps decreasing. Rather than gradually rushing toward destruction, it's better to at least fight back!" "I'm not trying to deny fighting itself. I'm just asking whether it's right to decide their fate through your actions alone, without the consent of the Belastok living in the castle town." "That's..." Vanya trailed off. But that was only momentary. Soon she spoke with sharp eyes. "I was planning to recruit them one by one anyway. This time was just an urgent move because the children were in too dangerous a situation." "What will you do if someone refuses?" "I'll have to silence them. They might block us out of unnecessary fear, or perhaps even betray us." There was a chilling murderous intent in Vanya's words. Morana couldn't bring herself to ask the question of whether it would matter even if that person were her father. Whatever answer came back, she instinctively knew the question itself would wound Vanya. As if considering Morana's silence her victory, Vanya continued speaking with vigor. "In the first place, we don't need to consider defeat. We have enough power. With this ability granted by the Winter Goddess, we can devour all those weak and lazy fools in the castle town." "That's right!! As if we'd lose to pigs who just drink alcohol all day!!" "Morana! You decide! Will you join us, or will you live like a dog wagging its tail at them!!" It was when the youth were each raising their voices. "─Hmm. In that case, what if there was a way to gain freedom without fighting?" At the words Mogers spoke, silence fell over the gathering. Vanya frowned. "What kind of nonsense is that?" "I've confirmed many times while staying here that the treatment you're receiving is unfair. In that sense, I'll make a proposal - have you all considered migrating together?" "Migration?" At a proposal they'd never considered, murmuring arose among the youth. Not missing that opportunity, Mogers continued speaking. "Isn't the fundamental problem of this situation that you're bound to the castle town? It seems it would be resolved if you moved to a better place to live, somewhere you wouldn't be entangled with the castle town." "Do you think that makes sense?" Vanya said as if dumbfounded. "Such convenient and suitable land wouldn't be easily obtainable, and even if it existed, the castle town wouldn't easily let us go." "That's because there's not enough money." "What?" Mogers continued with a nonchalant attitude. "The owner of the castle town is the Count Palatine. And from the Count Palatine's perspective, frankly speaking, you're beings whose presence or absence doesn't matter much. Field workers like soldiers and hunters would be happy if you did dangerous work for them, but how much does the Count Palatine really benefit from your presence? Reduced rebellion from residents who feel there's a lower class beneath them? The previous generation's teachings? If he were the type to care about such things, he wouldn't have run his territory this poorly in the first place." At that brutally frank statement, the youth each gaped with blank expressions. "Though I may not look it, I have quite a lot of money. So if I go to the Count Palatine and offer a bribe saying I'll take you away, there's a high possibility it would work. As for land, well, surely there's some good land for you to live on in this vast continent. Your population doesn't even reach four digits. I wouldn't even need to buy a territory - just buying one or two decent villages would be more than enough. An island wouldn't be bad either." "Ha, don't talk nonsense. How can we believe that?" "Of course, I'd purchase the land first. Some of you could go check it out, and if there are no problems, it wouldn't be too late to start migrating then. How about it? Isn't it much simpler than a struggle where you don't know if you'll succeed, and if you fail, death on an ethnic scale awaits?" Murmur murmur. The murmuring among the youth grew louder. Expectations that it might actually work and suspicions that it was just nonsense became completely tangled together. And the very fact that there were those who were tempted in such a way seemed to be bewildering to Vanya. When she couldn't speak properly and was hesitating, a group of about five or six people stepped forward from among the youth. They all emitted intense gleams in their eyes, and confidence showed in every minor movement and attitude. Among them, the young man who appeared to be the leader patted Vanya's shoulder. "Step aside. I'll handle this." "Raslro." Vanya bit her lips and stepped aside, and in her place, the young man called Raslro confronted the two. Suddenly, Morana caught a strange smell from Raslro and his group. "Get lost, outsider. We don't need your charity." ─It was the bloody smell of beasts.