The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 245 Folk? Scholar? Mogers (15) - How to Deal with Clichés The steps of Mogers's group returning to the Count Palatine's domain were the very definition of swiftness. This was possible because all members were young people in their prime, plus they had Morana, who was among the best pathfinders among the Belastok. After following Raslro's footsteps for some time, at a distance where the castle walls were visible, Vanya spoke. "From here, we'll take a different path. If Belastok all swarm together and enter at once, there will definitely be trouble." Previously, the Belastok youth had killed Centurion Rusdrik inside and immediately escaped without being caught. At her words about using the secret path they had used then, Mogers shook his head. "No, it would be better to enter boldly through the main gate." "What are you saying? If we do that—" "That secret path—isn't it a place Raslro also knows about? I don't think it would still be safe there." "Ugh." Vanya was left speechless. Mogers was right. Unless Raslro was an idiot, he wouldn't have left the path unguarded when he might be pursued. "But if we go head-on and get into an argument, that will also waste time." "You can leave that to me. Just wait a moment." Mogers, who approached the main gate with a light wave of his hand, perfectly proved his words. The guard who had been maintaining a crooked posture, looking around bored for something to nitpick, immediately bent his waist in a proper stance when Mogers approached and said a few words. "...What exactly did you say?" "The taste of dirty power. Isn't it the way of the world that even mad dogs are reliable when they're our mad dogs?" "Good grief." The Belastok who safely entered the castle town immediately rushed into the residential area and turned everything upside down. "Vanya!! Where have you been for days without saying a word!!" "That's not important right now, have you seen that bastard Raslro!?" "Hey, hey, over there! Raw meat! Don't eat raw meat!!" "Anyone who received food from someone, spit it out right now!! That's dangerous!!" "No, what on earth are you all..." The residents of the residential area were confused, but since the youth rushed in with such desperate urgency, they followed the instructions even though they didn't understand what was happening. "Is it true that no one has seen Raslro between yesterday and today?" "That's right." "And you haven't eaten any raw meat either?" "We haven't. We don't eat it that often in the first place." Though the Belastok were despised by castle town residents as beasts who drank blood and ate raw meat, they hadn't particularly enjoyed eating raw food. In the snowfields, it was difficult to find firewood to cook anything, and it was hard to supplement vitamins with fruits or vegetables, so they had to substitute with vitamins found in raw meat or blood. While it was different when roaming outside for hunting, there was no reason to deliberately eat raw food inside the castle town where it wasn't too difficult to obtain fire or vegetables (though it was harder compared to castle town residents). While the youth were explaining the general situation to the residents of the residential area, Morana spoke to Mogers, who was quietly lost in thought. "Could he have fled altogether? Since I can't use my tracking skills inside the castle town rather than in snowfields, if he escaped north avoiding soldiers' checkpoints, it would be difficult to pursue him further." "That's not impossible, but... hmm." Mogers, who had been frowning as if something was suspicious, soon shook his head. "For now, it's important to widely inform the Belastok about the situation. There must be those who haven't shared the information because they went out for work or hunting." "Understood." "And I'll briefly visit the main castle." "The main castle, you mean?" "Yes. I need to discuss your relocation and give warnings about this incident." -Well, I don't know if they'll listen though. The quietly added words didn't convey much expectation. *** "You want to take those beast fellows away?" He wanted to relocate the Belastok elsewhere. At Mogers' proposal, the Count Palatine showed a lukewarm reaction. No matter how lazy he was and how much he neglected territorial management, a feudal lord was still a feudal lord. He couldn't help but show aversion to the idea of taking away commoners from his own land. Even if they were people he despised and mistreated. Originally, wasn't a corrupt feudal lord someone who would rather let grain rot in his own warehouse than give it away to someone for free? Mogers was not disappointed by this. Being reluctant to give things away for free meant that any deal was possible if sufficient profit was brought. "I'm not asking you to do it for free. Look at this." "Hmm? Ho, hohooo?" The Count Palatine's eyes widened at the contract Mogers presented—terms that offered immense wealth in exchange for relocating the residents. If such a piece of paper had been thrust at him from the beginning, he would have doubted its authenticity, but since Mogers had already proven his capabilities and financial resources through bribes, the count showed interest and greed rather than suspicion. The clause stating it was fine to send the Belastok away after receiving the money first also played a big role in making the Count Palatine trust Mogers. If Mogers had intended to commit fraud, he would have said he'd take the people first and pay later. "Good. There's no need to refuse such conditions. But... what exactly do you plan to use those fellows for?" "They're capable hunters and warriors, aren't they? There are plenty of places where they can be active." "True, they would be quite useful in lands that aren't peaceful." It was quite an ironic statement coming from the owner of what was once the most unpeaceful land on the continent. "And, this is just out of concern, but..." Mogers briefly summarized and conveyed the story related to Raslro. He concealed information about the Belastok secret base and resistance group, warning instead to be careful not to eat unidentified food ingredients since an individual named Raslro and one companion were roaming around with dangerous poison. "Raw meat? Hahaha!" The Count Palatine's reaction was ridicule. "No one in this castle eats such lowly things, so there's no need to worry about it in the first place." "Is that so? But the toxicity might remain even after cooking." "It's fine, it's fine. After all, all the food I eat goes through a purification process blessed by priests. Crude poisons or curses have no meaning whatsoever." Even after that, Mogers repeated his warnings several times, but both the Count Palatine and those around him all showed lukewarm reactions. Mogers finally bowed politely and left the castle. The wine fragrance filling the banquet hall strangely felt like the smell of blood. *** Dark night. A strange tension had spread through the residential area. Mogers informed them of the results of his negotiations with the Count Palatine and made an offer to let those who agreed leave this place. There were still many anxious and suspicious reactions, but once the testimonies of those who actually confirmed and experienced the land spread, public opinion would change then. The problem was Raslro, who had not shown himself until now. People were saying he must have given up everything and fled, but Mogers' intuition was still ringing ominous warning bells. "Being cautious is good, but isn't this too excessive?" Morana quietly spoke to Mogers, who was staying awake and keeping watch around them. "The Belastok heard the warnings and decided not to eat raw food for a while. The castle town residents don't eat raw meat in the first place. In this situation, even if Raslro tries to force something on people, would that work?" "Morana. When making judgments based on information, you must also keep in mind where that information originated from. Who was it that revealed and spread the knowledge of that 'ritual' in the first place?" Morana immediately realized what Mogers was trying to say. "...Are you saying the content of the ritual Raslro spoke of is nonsense?" "Not everything would be fake. Given that he bothered to take living sacrifices, they must be needed in some way. However, parts like it only being effective during a full moon or having to eat it as raw meat shouldn't be blindly believed." If the ritual itself is vague and halfhearted, the results wouldn't be any different. Moreover, Mogers was almost certain that what Raslro was handling wasn't something like a 'goddess's blessing'. The content recorded in the Count Palatine's memoir about the goddess's weakening. And the goddess statue from which no divinity could be felt. Finally— "Morana. I'd like to ask you something." "Please speak." Mogers' gaze turned toward Morana. "What kind of people were your parents?" "......" Morana couldn't easily answer Mogers' question. Not because Morana was reluctant to discuss that topic, but because Morana herself didn't actually know much about her parents. When she was still young and didn't even know the ways of the world. Morana's parents fled from the castle town, leaving behind their young daughter. "It wasn't such a rare occurrence. There have always been Belastok who couldn't endure the unreasonable treatment and surrounding contempt and fled from the castle town." Escaped Belastok had two main choices. One was to flee north. In this case, the natural environment was much more comfortable, but it was difficult to avoid people's eyes. Especially since the Hasht Sacred State, which could be considered the main nation, was to the north of the Count Palatine's domain, the Belastok, who were easily noticeable due to their distinctive appearance, were immediately discovered and repatriated, or in severe cases, summarily executed. The south was attractive in that they could avoid people's eyes, but they had to overcome an extremely harsh natural environment instead. No matter how resistant to cold the Belastok were, there were limits. The bitter cold wind constantly robbed them of body temperature and stamina, and the moment they failed to find proper shelter or failed even once at hunting, the only ending awaiting them was becoming corpses in the snowfield. "Whichever route they chose, a young child would have been nothing but a burden." Young Morana was left behind in the residential area and afterward grew up with the help of other neighboring adults. Mogers gently patted the shoulder of Morana, who was explaining her past in a calm voice. "Yes, thank you for telling me. And I'm sorry for making you tell such a painful story." "I don't particularly think it's painful." "Then please accept twice the gratitude instead of the apology." At Mogers' words, Morana smiled faintly. "But why did you ask about my family's story?" "It's not certain yet, but do you still want to hear it?" "Yes." "The dream you mentioned before. I thought the woman who appeared in that dream might be your mother." "...What?" At words she had never expected, Morana blinked her eyes. Toward such Morana, Mogers began explaining calmly. "Among the Belastok, 'Winter'—that is, Marzanna faith—has continued. Though the details have been forgotten and only the name remains, the fact that there is a Guardian Deity of the people itself remained. Then, it wouldn't be strange if believers in desperate situations wandered seeking a god to save them." They escaped the castle town seeking freedom. In that process, whether by beasts or pursuers, they lost their family and companions for some reason. Since they were fugitives, returning was also impossible. Wandering the ancestral homeland, a woman driven to extremes seeking a god as if hoping for a miracle—it's not such an unnatural thing. "Usually it would fail. They would just collapse and die in the snowfield. But if by any chance they succeeded. If they could truly find a place where traces of the goddess remained and make a prayer. What do you think she would have prayed for?" "...Her own happiness?" "I won't deny that possibility. But I'd like to present another possibility." Mogers said this while gazing at Morana. "Whether the woman was happy or not, we at this point cannot observe. But there is evidence we can definitely observe. Something special that's different from others." An ordinary Belastok's cold resistance is excellent, but even so there are limits. However, Morana's cold resistance is almost at immunity level. An ordinary Belastok can easily find paths in snow, but it's impossible to discern footprints covered by snow. Except for Morana. If the special constitution the Belastok possess is a characteristic they have as descendants and believers of the goddess. Then what is one who is born with that trait to an exceptionally strong and unparalleled degree? "Morana, you are—" —Awoooooooo!! Mogers' words were cut off. The high-pitched howling of a wolf. And sounds of destruction and screaming beginning to be heard from here and there. Mogers let out a sigh as if lamenting. "Clichés are truly malicious from the perspective of those experiencing them." Mogers grasped the long bandage-wrapped rod that had been leaning against the wall. Giving off the scent of iron and wood, he said. "Cutting off the conversation here feels like losing to something, so I'll skip the intermediate reasoning process and other details and just state the conclusion." Morana, he added. "—I think you are Marzanna." (E/N: ...Wow)