“It was because of you.”
Tobias answered as he stared at the Hero.
“What…?”
Kael frowned.
How the hell was this related to him?
He wondered in his head but then…
‘Wait…’
Seeing the change in his expression, Tobias nodded.
“He changed once he knew the Hero was coming.”
Soon, however, Kael’s frown deepened.
“But even I didn’t know I was coming to the Estwyn tow—”
Before Kael could complete, the Town Head continued.
“You were always supposed to come to Estwyn Town. Actually, you were supposed to get here a week ago.”
“How do you know that?”
Kael frowned.
Tobias knowing that he was coming wasn’t surprising. The Kingdom would make sure to inform the Town Head that they sent help. After all, it was a matter related to their public ‘image.’
But… it would only pass the information once they were certain of it.
His test wasn’t postponed at the last minute. Marshal Therian informed him about it on his second day—there was still plenty of time.
The Kingdom would never pass the wrong information, only to later go back on their words, it would affect their image.
Tobias shouldn’t be aware that his test was postponed.
But then…
“Heh.”
Tobias just laughed.
Then, he took out some documents from his Sanctuary and passed them to Kael.
“This was the first aid that was supposed to come and help our town.”
Kael read the documents. It was ten soldiers who were of the same rank as Sarah and one at a higher rank, probably the leader of the party. Honestly, with their strength, as long as they came up with a somewhat decent plan, they should have been able to deal with all the Corrupted Beasts.
Then…
What happened to them…?
“That was two months ago. The party was never dispatched. No reason given.”
Tobias spoke.
Kael frowned. The Town Head, however, didn’t stop. He passed another set of documents. This time, it was a party with somewhat similar strength but with lower numbers.
“Two weeks later, another party. Mission cancelled.”
Then, the Town Head continued to pass the documents and—
Another stack. “Cancelled.”
More documents followed, each one representing a mission that had never happened.
“Cancelled. Cancelled.”
“This one’s yours. It wasn’t cancelled. Just postponed.”
Tobias spoke as he passed the documents toward Kael. Kael was supposed to come here together with ten soldiers like Sarah and lead them.
The more he read, the deeper Kael’s frown got.
Why did the Kingdom send all these documents to Tobias…? At this point, just don’t send anything if you are going to continue canceling all the missions.
What were they trying to do?
Give them false hope so they continue to hold on?
But if this is revealed…
It would do irreparable damage to the Kingdom’s reputation. And if there is one thing Kael knew about politics, it was that reputation was extremely important to these people.
Then why would they…?
“Oh, and this one’s your current mission.”
Tobias passed the document, and the moment Kael started reading it, his expression changed.
Flip Flip Flip
He continued to flip through the pages, his eyes widening in surprise the more he read.
This…
This was the same document he received…
A document that contained all the information regarding the town, the supplies he would get, and other things…
Kael quickly checked the other documents and realized they were the same.
They were far too detailed!
Even if the Kingdom wanted to inform Estwyn Town about their arrival, they would have never given so much information.
After all, it made no sense to provide them with information about the walls and the supplies. The Town Head would probably know more about it than them, not to mention these documents also contained some sensitive information that shouldn’t be given to just anyone.
Even Sarah and the others hadn’t seen the documents.
‘These are the details of the test, everything you need to know is in here. These also contain some sensitive information, so make sure others do not see it. Always be wary of the people around you.’
This was what Marshal Therian told him when he passed those documents to him.
Then…
Why did the Kingdom send these documents to Tobias…?
“Those people gave these documents to me.”
Tobias revealed.
“It was their way of showing me just how helpless we were without their help, and…
They were correct.
Our own Kingdom didn’t stand on our side when we needed it.
To them, our town, our lives were…”
Tobias stared into Kael’s eyes and—
“It was just a test for the Hero. A playground he could play around in and learn.”
Tobias spoke, and Kael’s body shook.
Before, he could still blame Tobias…
When the Town Head said, ‘I had no other choice,’ he snorted inwardly. After all, there was always another choice.
But now…?
Any sane man would give in if they were constantly shown the reality.
The Kingdom wasn’t coming for them…
They needed to act on their own to protect themselves…
And how were they supposed to do it…? Of course, the only option was to rely on the people who stood in front of them, offering their help.
“You are a good man, Hero Kael.”
While Kael was lost in his thoughts, Tobias called out.
Kael turned toward him, and the Town Head continued.
“Back at the camp, when you said you weren’t a Hero, you were wrong.
I have seen you fight. I saw how your eyes shine. I saw your smile when the soldiers cheered in joy as you killed the Brutes together with them.
You are a True Hero—I now believe that.
But…”
Tobias looked into the Hero’s eyes and—
“Don’t trust everything they tell you without any proof.
The people who had the power to corrupt the magic beasts and had put all of Nerathis in danger because of their actions came to me and gave me these documents that supposedly contained ‘sensitive information’ like they were nothing.
Then, when they realized that you were coming here, they strengthened Laughter, as if they already knew you were strong enough to deal with the other corrupted beasts.
Hero Kael,
Those people…
They are around you…
Keeping an eye on everything you do.”
The Town Head then bowed and—
“Please be careful.
You are Nerathis’s only hope.”