Chapter 19
Tepe and Gorgo’s expressions immediately hardened at the Count’s confident words.
“Count Moro.”
“Of course, everyone here knows that Your Grace is a hero worthy of admiration.”
As he spoke, the Count looked around at the people watching him.
He was clearly enjoying all the attention.
“Gasp!”
“H-How could you speak to the Hero Duke like that…”
Even some of the nobles saying those words wore faint smiles behind their hands.
It was another familiar scene.
It happens sometimes.
A hero isn’t always loved by everyone.
Because everyone admires a hero, there are always people who want to see that hero fall.
Or people who desperately look for even the smallest flaw.
Count Moro, with malice written all over his face, looked exactly like that type of person.
Besides, monsters rarely appeared near this checkpoint.
He probably believed Edward’s work wasn’t anything special.
The Count slowly shook his head.
“But as the lord of this land, I cannot send my people somewhere dangerous.”
Even as he spoke so smoothly, he quietly suppressed the irritation rising inside him.
Hmph. So what if he’s the Dragon Incarnation?
Edward hunting monsters was simply his duty.
The Count didn’t feel grateful at all.
What annoyed him was that Edward had given orders directly to his soldiers.
This is my territory, officially granted by His Majesty the Emperor!
Truthfully, Count Moro had little interest in his territory beyond the income the checkpoint brought him.
But opportunities to challenge Edward of House Tesseron didn’t come often.
Besides… I heard my cousin was humiliated not long ago.
“Haha! Your Grace! Thanks to you, our business has been thriving…”
“Business? More like fraud.”
“Wh-What?!”
“Monster materials don’t cure baldness or grant eternal youth.”
“……”
“If you want to keep talking nonsense, go ahead.”
His cousin had simply bought monster materials from Edward cheaply, then made up stories to sell them for a high price.
Yet Edward had called him a fraud, and his business had collapsed.
He had even planned to share some of his profits with Edward.
His cousin had been furious.
Edward’s terrible personality was already famous.
Many nobles had suffered because of it.
But this is revenge!
Using his cousin’s humiliation as an excuse, Count Moro wasn’t about to miss this chance to defeat the famous Hero.
“A silver mine? Even if it’s abandoned now, how could I possibly evacuate my people to such a dangerous place?”
“……”
“It’s already narrow, and there’s only one exit. If monsters caused the tunnel to collapse, everyone inside would die.”
Some of the nobles found the Count’s argument convincing.
“…That’s true.”
“Why would Your Grace give such an order?”
Their reactions made the Count even more confident.
Proudly patting his chest, he continued,
“If we’re talking about evacuation, surely the proper choice is the Academy or the Temple.”
“……”
“They’re much larger, more comfortable, and much easier to care for the people.”
In other words…
He couldn’t obey Edward’s order.
The Count smiled confidently.
Anyone would think his logic made perfect sense.
The nobles around the checkpoint whispered among themselves while looking back and forth between the two men.
Some even looked at the Count with newfound respect.
“Was Count Moro always this knowledgeable?”
“He suddenly seems much smarter…”
“Maybe some of the Hero’s greatness rubbed off on him.”
Whether it was praise or an insult was hard to tell.
Still…
The Count proudly continued.
“Of course, I know Your Grace is busy saving the world as a hero, but surely something this simple is just common sense.”
“…What did you just say to His Grace?”
Clench.
The moment the Count mentioned common sense, Tepe’s hand instinctively moved toward his sword.
Gorgo also stared coldly at the Count.
Just then—
“C-Count! No, Your Grace! No… Count…!”
A soldier ran into the inn’s courtyard, his face completely pale, unsure whom he should address first.
The Count glared at him.
“What is it?! How dare you interrupt while your superiors are speaking!”
“T-The Academy! The Academy we used as the shelter!”
“What about it?!”
“I-It collapsed!”
The nobles gasped.
“What?! How did that happen?”
“It… it was fine until earlier, but the monsters must have cracked one of the pillars while rampaging…!”
“……!”
“Most people were rescued from the rubble, but… there were still casualties…”
“No…!”
“And… instead of staying inside, many people came outside to watch Your Grace fight… so many of them were hit by the falling debris!”
Even Count Moro’s face turned pale.
Then Edward spoke calmly.
“Monsters have poor eyesight.”
“……”
“They dislike places like mine tunnels, where they can’t see well.”
“……”
“On the other hand…”
“……”
“A huge building standing in the middle of a city.”
“……”
“That’s a perfect thing to trample.”
“……”
“If you had sent them underground from the beginning… they wouldn’t have come outside just to watch me.”
His voice simply stated the facts.
That made the Count feel even more ashamed.
“So?”
“……”
“How does it feel…”
“To be the one who got your precious people hurt?”
The Count and the surrounding nobles turned completely pale.
“Take responsibility! Take responsibility!”
A crowd suddenly rushed into the inn’s courtyard.
They were the residents who had evacuated to the Academy.
Their family members had been injured…
Or killed.
Everyone was clearly overwhelmed with emotion.
They didn’t even care whether the people standing before them were nobles or the Hero himself.
“You told us to evacuate! The building we were in was attacked!”
“What were all of you doing?!”
“My son… my son is going to be crippled…!”
“You insolent fools!”
Count Moro ordered his soldiers to drive them away.
But many of those soldiers had family and friends among the crowd.
None of them wanted to move.
Especially since…
This had been the Count’s mistake.
Everyone quietly pretended not to notice his situation.
Then—
“This is your fault!”
“……”
“If you had killed the monsters sooner…!”
“Hey! Calm down!”
“Then the building wouldn’t have collapsed!”
Suddenly…
The blame shifted toward Edward.
The middle-aged woman crying for her son beat her chest as she poured all her resentment onto him.
People hurriedly tried to stop her.
But a few of them looked at Edward with the same expression.
If only you had been a little faster.
You’re the Dragon Incarnation.
You’re supposed to protect us.
Tepe and Gorgo immediately understood the mood.
Once again, they gritted their teeth.
Edward simply looked at them calmly.
The innkeeper and the people who still had their senses quickly rushed over to stop the woman.
“P-Please forgive her, Your Grace! She’s not thinking clearly right now!”
“Please show mercy!”
“O Hero! O Dragon! Please have mercy!”
Edward could clearly read the thoughts behind those pleas as well.
Surely a Hero wouldn’t punish an ordinary woman who had lost her reason because her child was hurt.
Surely the Dragon Incarnation, who stayed in the human world because he loved mankind…
Would forgive something like this with kindness.
A few nobles who had witnessed Edward’s sharp tongue earlier watched him with curious expressions.
But Edward remained silent.
He wasn’t even angry.
How tiresome.
It was the same thing…
Every single time.
He already knew why they blamed him instead of the Count.
Partly because they didn’t know he had originally planned to send everyone to the mine.
But more importantly…
Count Moro was the lord they had to live under for the rest of their lives.
If they offended him, they could easily be driven out of his territory.
Edward, on the other hand, was a Hero who traveled across the continent whenever monsters appeared.
He often scolded nobles…
But he had never harmed or punished ordinary people without reason.
It was easy…
To place the blame on a Hero who would simply leave once everything was over.
“……”
Clench.
Edward heard Tepe and Gorgo tightly clenching their fists.
Their faces were red as they struggled to hold back their anger.
Edward, however, wasn’t thinking about any of it.
He was only wondering whether the little mouse he had left behind was sleeping well.
Just then—
“…Did you leave something with him?!”
A small figure dressed in white suddenly came running out.
Pointing straight at the crowd with her finger.
