Chapter 22:

"Was that necessary?"

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"I will have to build proper rapport with them sooner or later…after all I am the baroness of this land.", Eleanor shrugged.

"How methodic...", Francis rubbed his chin.

"I will take that as a compliment, thank you", Eleanor rolled her eyes.

"I jest, I jest my lady…well what are you here for?", Francis raised his hands, as if surrendering a figurative arrest.

"This.", Eleanor gave the cure report to Francis.

"Hm? Oh this…I was making a joke back then…I never thought you would actually give me the report…"

"I want 70 percent of the royalty"

"Huh?"

"70%"

Francis looked through the cure methods, and remembering something, guiding Eleanor to take a seat.

"This method to cure the disease will simply not do my lady…a dragon's scale is a big you know…"

"Francis…the dragon's scale isn't actually a necessary part of the cure…"

Francis suddenly opened his mouth trying to say something. But, Eleanor raised her hands at him-

"It is used in the cure as a way to increase the chances of the survival of the patient…well after more than two weeks of infection; it becomes a necessary part of cure…"

"I see…so that was the reason why you required the dragon's scale…"

"Yes…"

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"Now, what are you going to do?"

"I need to be seen in a better light within the village…so, well…"

"I see, although they show that they hate you, they don't…they just need someone to put the blame on, and that scapegoat became you…I…I'm sorry for-"

"No, I have failed as a baroness…I couldn't protect my people"

"No. Don't blame yourself my lady…It's those punk, the so called extended family of yours…they have paid off all the abled bodied people in the town to not act, or well clean up the forest from the monsters...they even paid off the town hall to give extra for small scale mission completion, ugh those bastards"

"…its fine Francis, everyone needs to live somehow…"

"But, still those fuckers don't know, selling themselves, their dignity as a human, their loyalty towards their home for a percentage increase in missions and what? A bit of money…if I could I would've kicked them off this town…"

"Well, they are not really out concerns, they seem to be laying on their tracks for now, I need a way to seem better towards the townsfolk, my alter ego as Elin does help my case a bit, but it's not enough…"

"Yes, I suppose beating them or kicking them off this town will do you no good. So, my lady what is your plan?"

"Hm…I don't know yet…"

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"I couldn't distribute the gold I got from you, something like a donation?"

"Buying rapport is not a good idea my lady, besides I can bet that there are some good-for-nothing whistle blowers among those showoffs anyways, if those bastards find out, they will definitely increase the taxes again, even higher…"

"Yes…then, what else can I do?"

"While dealing with the showoffs isn't really easy, or even profitable…maybe we can somehow exploit them?"

"…exploit?..."

"Yes, exploit…"

"Oh, I get what you mean…but will it even work?"

"I don't know if it will, but if all the towns people can do is shift blame, it's better to shift the blame towards the people partially to those responsible"

"I suppose so, well…'Elin' must return faster though. Can 'he' do that?"

"Yes, read the report…and I never got to ask, didn't you say you did not want attention to this town? Why did you spread that demon thing then?"

"Well, I know I said I didn't want unnecessary attention, but my lady, it was for you…"

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"What do you mean?"

"Soon, the capital will find out along with the dark mages, and this will bring attention to this barony…when that time comes all you have to do is show the injustice being committed towards you…the knights while not having the highest political power do answer to the court, and words of mouth travel very fast and can be very lethal…besides the empire might be very eager to move large amounts of cavalry southwards, what a better reason than to have a threat of demons be subsided?"

"I see, but won't it be a bit annoying too"

"No, because a rising tension's down south, they will definitely send knights here as backup refuge force, and there will also be compensation, due to the attention, well…let's say the smell of money will surely attract-"

"-merchants. I like the sound of that, but I still think the risk is not worth the profits…"

"My lady, you have suffered enough, let this uncle handle a bit of your burden…"

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"…ugh, sure", Eleanor made a disgusted face, and Francis acted as if he was hurt the chain of events.

"Hahaaha, I like this version of my lady much more than the stoic one…I wish I could protect you longer so that it didn't have to be this way…", he looked…a bit regretful.

"…"

Francis laughed a bit more, but it was bitter. He looked at Eleanor once more; countless memories seem to pass by those eyes.

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"Francis, where is Mr. Roselle?"

"Ah? The mayor, he left to get the appeal for the taxes and the injustice being executed towards the real heir of the Russel clan to the court…prompted by me of course…"

"I-I see…"

"Yes, he also signed the appeal sent by your extended family which gave them extra pay for small shit…but, that contract upfront is actually quite profitable, it's the hidden agreement of corruption that is the issue…"

"I see…those bastards…I will make them pay someday", Eleanor vowed again.

"My lady, please don't have those hate in your eyes, they don't suit your face", Francis said with a lighter expression, figuratively petting her head.

"I-…hm…don't underestimate me…", Eleanor shook off the figurative hand which landed on her head.

"I am not though; there is likely no one in this who understands your abilities more than me, hahaaha", he laughed again looking at Eleanor's dumbfounded expression to being called 'cute' inadvertently.

"Well, my lady…please rest up…I know you're trained today too, but please…"

"I…will"

-Saying that Eleanor stood up to leave the inn.

"You know my lady; you have caused quite the commotion between the contractors of yours…hahaaah, looking at their faces makes me laugh…"

"WH-Oh…well…I had no choice, it was a necessary lie…"

"Necessary or not, my lady. Don't dig yourself in a ditch so big, it becomes your grave.", he laughed as he opened up a bottle of booze.

 Eleanor left the building, as soon as she did, she noticed someone who had been following her.

Eleanor did not make action; she waited for that someone to be closer instead. Eleanor made her way towards the [Morning Morsels], where she was warmly welcomed and bought some syrup balls, and bread. Then she made her way her way towards the [Midday Bistro] to get some food packaged for dinner.

She was also warmly welcomed in the shop; however the cook and owner, Reynold, seemed somewhat out of his element. She was made to sit in a hidden corner of the restaurant, as she would be stared at by the other customer. Eleanor noticed that the person stealthily spying on her did not try to enter the building, it seemed they were waiting outside.

Eleanor took the food, thanking the owner Reynold, who seemed to want something from her,, but when Eleanor asked he just replied with-

"Nothing, my lady…please…have a good day"

"Hm, it seems Reynold really regrets what he said to me yesterday…", Eleanor thought as she made her way towards the manor.

She walked.

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She walked.

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She walked.

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Nothing.

The spy never tried to do anything to her. They followed her at quite the distance to avoid being detected, but still, what would the spy achieve by just…spying. The spying wouldn't even be profitable nor have any value.

"How…intriguing…", Eleanor told herself, as she got back home.

***

A few days passed by.

Each day, the traveler would look over the completion of the cure, and teach Alex alchemy and finances in the evening.

Alex would train in the morning, which seemed more grueling than before, mostly because of Elin's hidden jealousy, but Alex didn't mind, he learned more and more techniques, he learnt new ways to 'feel'; Elin would be more and more amazed at Alex's growth, he was like a completely dehydrated sponge which kept and kept soaking all the knowledge he was taught, it was ecstasy whenever it was time to teach Alex something new.

Eleanor now had the least to do, she did not exactly have a set role; she would look over others, and ensure the proper growth of Alex.

In five days, the cure was complete. It was time for 'Elin' to return.

Well over the past few days, Eleanor got a few letters from Francis addressing the current situation in the town. The town had now been divided into two factions; one believed the baron family did no wrong and the ones to blame were those who were betraying the town by "accepting the hand of the devil", essentially the ones who were getting paid by the extended baron family.

Well, the other faction were those who were the ones getting paid by the extended baron's family, they seemed to loathe the baron's family as of late, and were generally getting very aggressive. Their main argument was that the baron's family failed to protect them, so they had done what they needed to survive…it was quite hypocritical to follow those responsible for all the wrong-doings, but they just might not have known. They were also led by a particular man, Kinsen. They will probably be very hostile towards Elin.

But that hostility would be the basis of Eleanor and Francis' whole plan so, it wasn't that bad.

In any case, today was the day was for step one for redemption. 

Sheryl 'Elin' would be staying at the manor to teach Alex, who was learning at an extra ordinary pace. When Eleanor was about to leave, the traveler gave her three potion; the first one was a reminiscent of a familiar red color, the others were blue and yellowish golden color respectively.

As always, Eleanor dug up a familiar ground, which did not have much indications of tampering and brought out the wig. The wig was a bit dirty, Eleanor shook off the most that she could; but she did not have much choice. She wore the wig and chanted the spell.

[Armor]

The armor wrapped around her body, the helmet covering her face.

"It has been a while…", Elin spoke up.

The claymore and short sword attached to his waist, along with the potions. He wore a cloak over the silver armor. He had the cure inside a black suitcase.

***

[Brookshire town]

As soon as Elin entered, all the eyes now looked at him.

The first thing he needed to do before they provoked him was to get the cure to Miss Violet. He needed to be quick.

Elin quickened his pace, and suddenly two showoffs stood in front of him.

"What's the hurry demon-slayer? Scared?", "Want to have a word, scared pussy?"

This caused some people to look at the ensuing commotion. They seemed uncomfortable at the commotion, but they remained silent.

"Ugh- this is more annoying than expected…", Elin thought, as he tried to side step them.

But, they instead sidestepped, and the one of them put their hand on Elin's shoulder.

"Come on, don't leave, and let's have a chit-chat right?"

The one who was off to the side, tried to grab the suitcase, but Elin slightly rotated his body to keep the suitcase away from them.

"Leave.", he said in the deepest voice he could make.

"Leave? Leave where? We know exactly where are supposed to be.", "Looky here, what's this?"

One of them laid hands on the suitcase. Elin was holding onto a string of patience, which was on the verge of breaking. The one who laid hands on the suitcase tried to pull on the suitcase.

"I give you 5 whole seconds, leave…then you won't be harmed"

"What? Harmed? Man, you think everyone is like Asher, that weakling?"

"5"

"OOoooo~~ someone is mad. Hey everyone look here. Mr. Demon slayer is angry."

More people looked at the commotion. More and more people were interested, since they did not know the real abilities of Elin, after all slaying the demon was just a rumor.

"4"

"…", they did not leave, nor did they put away their hand from the suitcase.

"3"

"H-hey…Walter, should we…", "Shut up, Gunner", they whispered to each other, but they did not do as Elin said

"2"

"HAHAHAHAHA, you think you can win?!", "H-Hey", they doubled down

"1. That's it…"

BAM! BAM!

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BOOM!

As soon as the countdown ended, the two of them flew off the ground. They slid across the ground, skidding on the floor towards the town square.

That was the end of the entire situation. They both had broken noses, and went unconscious.

Everyone watching had their mouths open, if it wasn't for their jaw, their chin would probably hit the floor.

Elin stood up straight and quickened his pace towards the [Midday bistro] restaurant.

***

"Reynold…you should at least take a break, I'll take care of Violet and the restaurant today, so…you can go home to rest, please", Rosalind spoke up looking at her older brother whose dark circles created crescents under his eyes.

He had been working more vigorously after the incident with Elin, and especially more since Elin left. He wanted to atone for the incident by earning more profits.

"R-Rosalind…I-I'll be fine, checkup on violet for me, I'll finish soon…get going"

"Reynold…please"

Rosalind tried to speak up, but it seemed he was dead set on his somewhat irrational actions.

"Working all day, and all night won't atone much you know, hurting yourself will only bring your loved ones pain", a voice came from the door to the kitchen, it was rough and deep; it had sarcastic undertones, and seemed to provoke Reynold a bit.

"Mr. Francis, please knock some sense into my brother, he-I think he-he's gonna die at this rate", Rosalind said extremely worried.

"Oh…you…you're here…"

"What?! Can't have a customer? Or, is it that you're hallucinating working 10 hours a day?"

"Shut up? What'd you want? The money will be ready soon", Reynold shrugged, as he cooked some dish and hastily platted it.

His hands seemed to slip, but he caught it last second. Francis looked at his movements, and his surroundings.

The kitchen was quite large, which showed its popularity even in these trying times. The restaurant was bustling with people from within town, who found cooking their foods, or those who found buying their own ingredients too expensive, along with passing by mercenaries who were covered in the stench of monster blood who probably killed a few goblins along the way, trying to get to Vivaldi.

The kitchen was kind of messy, but all the equipment was haphazardly kept at one place near the sink. The sink was filled with dirty dishes, and it seemed Rosalind was helping keeping them in check. The food was being delivered at extra-ordinary speeds by a quite competent waiter. It seemed a few broken plates were shoved on the far corner of the restaurant.

"How irrational, and stubborn, this guy!", Francis thought to himself.

Although the current financial circumstances were very alleviated by Francis himself, who in charge of trade in the district made sure all exports were more expensive, while the imports were cheap, he made sure those who came to him for raw materials within the district got them at a 'special' discount. It was of course a big hit to his own finances, but like he told Eleanor, he wasn't hurting on cash. Still many people while still able to 'live', couldn't afford the tax.

Currently, it was 20 silver a month for normal people, which was 20% of their entire year's profits.

"Money? You jest, hahaaha! Like I said, I'm a customer", Francis gave a very uncomfortable smile, if someone could they would probably punch him in the face.

"Ugh, yea whatever, what'd you want to order. Also, use the counter next time, you dumbass", Reynold looked at Francis, his eyes half open unable to fully concentrate on Francis.

"M-Mr. Francis, I asked you to help me not-"

BOOM!

"What the-", Rosalind quickly reacted to the loud sound that seem to come out from outside the building.

Although muffled, it was still loud.

"What was that?", Reynold reacted to bit slow, but he seemed more awake now.

"You-Ugh, see Mr. Francis, look at this, this guy…Reynold", she seemed unable to properly articulate her thought.

"Hahaaha, I guess it started", Francis thought to himself as he rubbed his chin.

"Well Miss Rosalind, call me a magician granting wishes-", Francis did a little dance as he spun around, one hand held his head as he looked towards the door, pointing at the direction he was looking.

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Nothing.

Nothing happened.

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"…what…"

"…"

Rosalind and Reynold looked at the crazy old uncle, who looked at them with a sheepish grin.

"In a few seconds, call me a magician-"

Ting~Ring~

Elin entered the restaurant.

Both Reynold and Rosalind looked at the door simultaneously. Suddenly the dark eyes of the two siblings seemed to be filled with light; they both quickly ran towards Elin leaving Francis.

"Gotta let her know about comedic timings next time, hahaaha", Francis laughed as he made his way towards the door.

By the time he reached there, both the siblings and Elin had already gone out leaving the customers in shock.

"Well, shop's closed everybody, leave the money on my hands, chop chop~ quickly now", he stood in front of the door, not letting anyone leave without paying."