Heavenly Castle

Chapter 93 Introduction

Chastised by Leticia the man became completely docile. Him looking frightened and dripping in a cold sweat is probably just my imagination.

「So, how many radical extremists targeting nobles are there?」

When asked, the man glanced at Leticia a couple of times, as if to get some kind of affirmation, and then said.

「E-eighty……No, I meant, there are eighty, miss……」

Leticia donned a satisfied smile when the man corrected himself. This gives me chills for some reason.

「So the number is less than a hundred. Quarreling with nobles is simply reckless then.」

The man glared in anger at Aifa when he made such a comment.

「……We are a gathering of former slaves and their families. Eighty is the number of those that can fight, if we add cooperators then it would reach two hundred.」

「Eighty or two hundred, no difference. With that, you would only get smashed and that’s it.」

「What would you know……?! Unless we promptly take action, the treatment of slaves won’t change……」

The man was about to get agitated, but with a single glare from Leticia, all that passion disappeared.

Snorting at that sight, Aifa then looked my way.

「……What is Taiki-sama’s view on this?」

When Aifa asked, everyone’s eyes turned to me. Since he threw the ball to me out of the blue I panicked a little but made an effort and pretending to be calm nodded.

「……Well, this would be difficult. And the end goal also seems ambiguous. If you have a revenge target and you want to do something to them, that can work, I guess, but doing something with all nobility or changing the position of the slaves…… That’s a bit too much out there. I think the objective should be established more properly.」

「Too much out there?」

As Ayla tilted her head quizzically, I answer with a vague smile.

「Well, look. For example, if your aim is to take revenge on a noble, you can narrow your aim, and then study their daily life. Like the time they leave home, that sort of stuff.」

「Certainly, that’s correct. As I heard, information gathering, timing, and choice of location are the basics of assassination.」

For some reason Yuri agreed, looking quite convinced, but the contents of her words were all about the assassination. But, since it was too scary, I decided not to retort and continued my talk.

「……Then there is a matter of slave treatment, Were some ex-slaves to kill a noble, that on the contrary would make such bad nobles hate slaves. So you should think about other measures. For example, changing the law or reducing the number of non-criminal slaves. There should be a lot of options.」

When I hummed after saying that, the man looked at me with round eyes.

「A-Are you really thinking of us?…… As humans?…」

「Well, a slave is still a person, aren’t they? And going in reverse, be it noble or be it a king, they are still only humans. It’s only a question of your birth, were you born as royalty you would’ve studied the way of kingship and the best disciplines your country has to offer. Then you also would’ve learned swordsmanship, horsemanship and in addition the proper bearing for royalty.」

I arrogantly kept blabbering my own opinion, but the man kept listening quietly, from time to time muttering under his nose, repeating my words.

「…Kings, aristocrats, slaves, all of them are humans like me…」

Seeing him mutter, I wondered if I screwed up.

In such hierarchical societies where your position is decided upon birth, information can become a hindrance.

With royalty at the very top, the more blindly devoted their retainers, the more loyal they would seem. And ideally, those at the base of that structure should just keep sweating for the benefit of those on top, without getting any doubts about that inequality.

So looking at this from the feudal perspective, I’m giving unnecessary ideas to a being of the lowest class, a slave. In the worst-case scenario, a portion of the thoughts that I voiced might resonate with some and create a cue for a rebellion against the nobility.

As proof of my suspicions, hearing my words Leticia, Yuri and even Ayla stood seized by surprise. Aifa didn’t seem much surprised though. being one of the elves, the folk of the forests, he might be less accustomed to the world of aristocracy.

If my words became a cause for a large-scale revolt, regardless of merit, a lot of people would die. It would be terrible if it came to that.

As I, trembling with fear, continued to observe, the man kept muttering something to himself, looking downwards.

The man kept rumination on my words for a while, but then suddenly raised his head and spoke up.

「……It’s my first time seeing a person like you, no, a person like Taiki-sama. If it’s you, perhaps you will lend your strength to us…… If it’s fine with you, would you meet my comrades?」

Saying that, the man looked at me, pleading.

Eh, meet the resistance?

Or is it partisans?

No, it doesn’t matter, I just tried to resolve the misunderstanding, but things took a dubious turn.

「……By the way, where are your comrades?」

Trying to divert the conversation somehow, I asked the only question I could muster.

「Ooh! So you will cooperate! We have headquarters in the depths of back alleys of the black market! It seems they don’t think that runaway slaves might hide in the slave market. A well hidden and little known place. There is an escape path nearby, so we actually can easily go outside the capital. A part of the stone wall is made to be removable, you would never notice it under normal circumstances. Ah, right. My name is Richt. Please treat me well, Taiki-sama!」

I only asked one question and Richt blurted out a piece of top-secret information.

It made me want to facepalm, but I resisted that impulse and replied.

「I didn’t say that I will cooperate yet, why are revealing everything so readily……」

I asked, almost in a groan, but Richt replied with a cheerful expression.

「I fell in love with the caliber of Taiki-sama’s character! I can put my trust in you, the one who treats us as fellow humans!」

Don’t just declare such a thing.

「……Huuh. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. In any case, it’s also a fact that I already had my concerns about the treatment of the slaves.」

With a deep, deep sigh, I muttered so.