Fun Territory Defense Chapter 148 (Patreon)

[Another Viewpoint] Stopping the March

Xsara was the first to respond to Pluriel's words.

"No, no...I don't think we should do that. Whatever the truth is, he's probably very angry and complaining, isn't he? If Pluriel went there, it would add fuel to the fire..."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Xsara instantly drops his opinion at the look in Pluriel's eyes. Pluriel, who is in a bad mood, is the epitome of unreasonableness.

"Usually when a young woman talks to a man, he calms down a little... but with Pluriel, it's the other way around."

"Ortho, what did you say?"

"Oh, no, I didn't say anything."

I thought I said something small, but Pluriel's eyes lit up instantly. I had to stop myself from saying anything else.

With that thought in mind, he clears his throat and looks at the knight and the person who got into trouble.

"So...who do you think was talking about how the base collapsed?"

I asked again, and the men answered as they recalled.

"As I recall, about ten people were resting inside the base when there was a loud noise and the walls collapsed, something like that?"

"Yes, yes. And they managed to escape while holding up the wall. I remember he was yelling that this base was defective."

"I'm so angry now that I remember."

I listened to the men's complaints and tilted my head.

"Defective? Not just about the way the base was built, right?"

The men blinked at each other as they listened. Pluriel, who was listening to the conversation, let out a shallow sigh and looked at me.

"I think you should listen to me. If you don't want me to talk, can you ask Ortho?"

"Ask me what?"

Pluriel's eyes narrowed as he confirmed.

"The Knights and the commanders who are complaining. Maybe it will happen again. And when it does, I'm sure the same commander will be involved."

There was a quiet anger in that line. After hearing Pluriel's prediction again, I think I've arrived at the same answer.

It's just a guess. It's only a guess, but I found myself unintentionally and strongly irritated.

"...This is not a fun situation. I'm sorry, Xsara, but could you go ask them instead?"

Xsara nodded with a dry laugh.

"Heh. Well, since everyone seems to be in rage, I guess I'll go this time."

"Thank you. I'm sure you'll be able to get the information out of them calmly and without offending them."

"I'll leave it to you."

Xsara laughed, waved one hand, and headed toward the knights who were staring at him.

Perhaps it was his original personality, but Xsara was able to easily get into the hearts of anyone he came in contact with. He is well suited for this kind of mission.

As proof of this, Xsara went to the knights and immediately raised one hand to start a conversation with them. It was not a pleasant chat, but he continued the conversation without being rejected.

Pluriel shrugged her shoulders at the situation.

"Really, he's good at this kind of thing."

"In a way, maybe being an innkeeper is a calling for him."

The two of us watch Xsara's back as we talk about it.

Then, Xsara suddenly stopped moving and looked up at the face of the knight closest to him. He doesn't move for a moment, listening to the conversation, and then he suddenly slams his fist into the knight's face.

"Huh?"

"...! Xsara! You idiot!"

I couldn't believe what I had just seen, and my reaction was delayed. Leaving a stunned and frozen Pluriel behind, he runs as fast as he can.

"Say it again, you third-rate Knights! I'll beat you to death!"

An enraged Xsara shouted angrily. Xsara's voice, which had a dusky quality that I had never heard before, made me wonder if I would be able to stop him.

"What the heck, you! What are you doing? How dare you, an adventurer, lay a hand on me? Do you know what will happen to you!?"

The middle-aged knight, bleeding from both nostrils, is angry with his eyes wide open. Besides, Xsara gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Don't pull it out, Xsara!"

He shouted loudly, echoing around him, and interrupted to get in between them.

The knights were also hushed as they broke in with such vigor. I pulled Xsara, who seemed to have lost his temper, away from the knights and tried to calm him down.

"Calm down. We're dealing with a group of knights. There could even be counts and marquises up there. If he's a commander, he could be more than a Knight or a Marquis. You may not be happy about it, but at least apologize in a formal way."

"Master Ortho. That's something I can't even begin to accept. There are things I can forgive and things I can't."

"Please, Xsara, hold it together. I know how you feel. I don't know what was said, but please tell Van-sama later and ask him to at least listen to you... please restrain yourself, Xsara."

I grabbed Xsara's angry, trembling shoulders with both hands and tried desperately to persuade him. For a few seconds, they remained motionless in a staring contest, but eventually Xsara took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders.

"I understand. I'm sorry for my temper. I apologize."

"That's right... be thankful…"

I let out a sigh of relief when Xsara manages to put the matter to rest. Then, Pluriel appeared.

"It's rare that Xsara gets emotional. What did she say to you?"

Pluriel, who already had a sour expression on her face, asks this, and Xsara opens her mouth with her eyebrows in the shape of a c.

"He started off by bad-mouthing adventurers, but that's not important. Nobles and Knights make fun of adventurers anyway...but those bastards made fun of the way we built our base and called it the shallow wisdom of a child. I don't know what they presented to him that he liked, but if you think about it, there is no way His Majesty would adopt something that is a child's toy if you think about it with common sense. He went on and on about how the reason why he was kicked out of the Marquise's house was because he made nothing but this nonsense... Well, knowing Van-sama's character, I couldn't endure it... huh?"

Xsara, who was explaining to Pluriel, looked at me suspiciously. But that doesn't matter now.

I turned to the knights and yelled at them.

"You guys, say that again...! Who do you think you are fooling!?"

"Hey, hey!? Master Ortho! Pluriel, don't stop it! Whoa! She's chanting!?"

"I won't forgive you until you get down on your knees and apologize!"

Thus, halfway through the march, a loud clash broke out between some knights and a group of adventurers.

I'm telling you, it wasn't our fault.