The Returned Sword King Decided to Become a Tyrant Episode 56
Building a tower underwater (1)
“Damn it! Move quickly!”
A warehouse full of dust.
Every time I took a step or rummaged through things, a thick cloud of dust flew up.
Even if I held my breath, I would cough.
But the porters had no time to worry about such things.
That was when.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Hey, hey!”
Someone coughed and staggered momentarily.
It was only a momentary thing, but there was no way the man giving the orders would miss it.
“… … This kid!”
puck!
“Ugh!”
As the man kicked, the coughing worker rolled on the dusty floor.
For a moment, the attention of those moving the luggage was focused on it, but that too was only for a moment.
She instinctively began to move her body, disgusted by the man’s demonic expression.
“Can’t you do it a little faster?!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“You little snails… … Tsk!”
The man clicked his tongue and glared at the workers, then shouted loudly toward the entrance.
“Hey, you!”
“Yes, sir!”
Then, a man designated by the captain quickly approached.
The captain looked outside impatiently and then said.
“How are they? Do you see any signs of movement?”
“Not yet. It has been determined that no knights have yet left the palace.”
“… … Damn it. What the hell is this.”
The sight of the cargo being loaded onto a wagon from the warehouse was, even to him, a shabby and miserable sight.
But that wasn’t intentional. Just a few hours ago, they were just a group of mercenaries drinking in a tavern.
Perhaps if it weren’t for that contact, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.
“… … It seems like we’ve been caught, so withdraw from Esteban quickly?”
Shit!
The captain bit his lip and swore.
Even ‘they’ who left the message right away were irresponsible and did not hand over any important information.
They didn’t even tell us where, how, or by whom they were caught.
At that time, the mercenary who had reported the situation at the palace spoke cautiously.
“They may not know the details in the first place.”
“You might not know?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The only information they gave was that the top and the bottom were affected.
No, I didn’t say I was hit. I just guessed that I might have been hit.
There is a big difference between saying that you should withdraw since you were caught and saying that you ‘seem’ to have been caught.
“Haven’t we actually heard any news from those of us who are active within Esteban?”
“That’s true, but… … .”
“They probably wouldn’t even have had time to leave a trace. If they had been attacked in two places instead of just one, then security would have been tight.”
“Hmm… … .”
Come to think of it, it was so quiet considering Sejak had been caught.
So, weren’t they also drinking alcohol or doing perms while disguising themselves as mercenaries to retrieve the goods?
The mercenary continued speaking.
“We can assume that they also realized the situation because they couldn’t reach us regularly. This is literally an emergency that even they could not have anticipated.”
“… … I see. It certainly overlaps with the period of regular contact.”
If so, the situation was more serious than expected.
Since we don’t know when it happened, we can’t even guess how far the tracking has progressed.
It was something that may have reached right up to the chin.
“Damn it… …! This just makes me feel more and more anxious for no reason!”
“Don’t worry though. The only places they attacked were the Magic Tower and the upper level.”
“… … Oh my! So that doesn’t mean you’ve penetrated all the swindlers who infiltrated Esteban.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
If they had been caught in the first place, they would have already ended up in a similar situation to the top and the bottom.
It was a positive development. At least it meant that they would have a better chance of not being caught until they fled to the Federal Empire.
Moreover, it was more likely that they were unaware of their existence from the beginning, as they were only responsible for recovering the items stolen by the thieves.
The captain said with a satisfied smile.
“Okay, but just in case, don’t let your guard down.”
“All right.”
“Now we have to get out of Esteban as fast as possible.”
The destination was not the border with the Federal Empire.
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Hidden passage.
There was a secret passage in Esteban that they didn’t know about yet… … .
‘Hehehe, as long as I get back safely, that’s fine.’
If you do that, you will be able to get a huge reward from him.
I don’t know for sure, but I’m sure it’ll be enough to live off of for the rest of my life.
A look of desire crossed the captain’s face as he looked inside the dusty warehouse.
……but.
They had no way of knowing that Esteban’s pursuit was already playing out over their heads.
* * *
“Well, I found it anyway.”
George came into the office and put down the papers and said.
“The ledgers brought from above had a part that matched Cromwell’s. As expected, there was a recovery plan. Each period is different, but if you look at this part, it will be clear.”
“her…….”
For a moment, a look of shock crossed the Baron’s face in his office.
The ledger above was only about which mercenaries were hired, while Cromwell’s ledger was simply a record of how the budget was spent.
But are you saying that you found something in common between those two documents and figured out a way to recover them? How?
“I see.”
But at least that wasn’t important to me.
Because I knew better than anyone else about that astonishing insight.
I nodded as I read the documents the guy handed me.
“The guys written here are the ones who are trying to recover the Federal Empire.”
“Yes.”
“The Deplon Mercenary Corps… … .”
It was a name I had never heard before.
Perhaps he had created a new identity to operate in Esteban.
It is likely that there was a separate name used in the Federal Empire.
When the Argon Knights were informed of this fact, the knights who had been waiting attacked the Deplon mercenary group’s residence.
But the only reply I got was that it was already too late.
As expected, it seems that he left for the east at least three days ago… … That belated Hugo.
My lips were twisted upwards as I heard the answer.
‘Not bad.’
If it’s three days, it’s not too late.
No. An hour was more than enough, because I knew they wouldn’t get away alone.
The recovery team would have been moving with the materials stolen from Esteban.
“They probably haven’t gotten out of Esteban yet.”
“That’s obvious, right?”
“And it is highly likely that their behavior is that of a merchant group rather than a mercenary group.”
“Because it’s the best way to get away without being suspected.”
I nodded in agreement with George’s answer.
So, all that’s left is to track their movements. But… … it’s too late.
My gaze fell on Baron Vidor, who was blankly observing the situation.
“Contact the Argon Knights immediately and tell them to track the Deplon Mercenaries.”
“… … Ah, yes! I understand!”
“How about having the Knights of Argon barricade the border?”
It was a suggestion made by George after he confirmed that the Baron was leaving.
But when I heard those words, my head started to drop.
“There is no need for that.”
“The movement towards the Federation Empire is limited. It would be more efficient that way.”
“No, they won’t move to the border.”
“… … .”
George tilted his head in puzzlement.
At that moment, something flashed through his mind, and he soon narrowed his eyes and asked.
“There was a secret route leading to the Federation Empire.”
“okay.”
It was a question close to certainty.
In fact, if that wasn’t the case, it wouldn’t make sense. If you were to enter and exit the border area without permission, it would only be a matter of time before you would be caught by soldiers who were suspicious of the supplies.
“Well… I guess so.”
George nodded in understanding, but the problem still remained.
“But how are you going to find that secret route?”
Yeah, even if they knew we were going to move through a secret route, there was nothing they could do.
It was too late to pursue, and the only way to be sure of catching the retrieval plan that had already been put into action was to wait on its path at least.
That was the moment.
“……huh?”
George suddenly looked at me and let out a gasp.
That’s understandable… …because from the moment the secret passage was mentioned, a smile never left my face.
It’s time to discuss countermeasures for the secret passage. If we continue like this, we might lose the recovery method we’ve finally found.
Of course, there was no other reason.
‘You’re making fun of me by heading towards the secret passage without hesitation.’
Secret passage? Of course, the existence of something like that wouldn’t be a problem for me, who had memories from before the regression.
Not only the current secret passage, but also the subsequent illegal immigration methods were all stored in my head.
But what made it fun was the way he responded.
Even though he already knew that the work on the rooftop and the top had been revealed to Esteban.
It was so funny that they assumed that they wouldn’t know about the secret passage and let the recovery plan escape through there.
Otherwise, it would mean that there was no time to discuss such things.
‘4th Prince, even you didn’t have any leeway with this variable, did you?’
The smile that had spread across my lips turned into ridicule.
Well, anyway.
If you could do that, I would be grateful.
Not only did he give Esteban time by being fooled by my tricks, but now he was trying to give me power.
I stood up and nodded to George.
“Follow me.”
“yes?”
“It’s time to check out the gifts they sent.”
“Ah, no… … .”
George had his doubts, but he had no choice.
“What about my vacation?”
… … Only pitiful mutterings could be heard.
* * *
Darkness has fallen.
The carriages running endlessly through the forest looked very urgent.
But it wasn’t as dramatic as the expression on the face of the man leading the way.
‘Kuuuuu! Just a little further and you’ll be in the land of the Federal Empire.’
A forest with few people.
Beneath the hut hidden there was a magical passageway. It was a long tunnel that stretched for several kilometers.
And the only people who knew that fact were some of the federal empire’s vassals.
It meant that if we could get there, we wouldn’t have to worry about Esteban being tracked down anymore.
‘There is… no trace.’
I passed through several checkpoints to get to this forest, but in the end, contrary to my worries, there were no problems.
Of course, there was no sign of Esteban pursuing them. It was unclear whether he really did not notice their presence or failed to pursue them.
Of course, if we had used a scouting party, we could have learned more about the situation inside Esteban, but now that all the vassals had retreated, there was no need for that.
“It’s over there… … !”
Soon, a quiet cabin began to come into view of the man.
… … A hidden passage to the Federal Empire!
The corners of the man’s mouth were suddenly covered in a deep smile.
