Reincarnated into a Game As the Hero’s Friend

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I heard about the recent situation of the capital from the Iron Hammer party. They also told me about all sorts of rumors in the capital. After that, the Iron Hammer party left the mansion, saying that they wanted to go somewhere else. Then, I proceeded to check things that the Iron Hammer party had brought for me.

First, I checked the new spear from Mazell. It was a bit heavier than my usual spear, but I could feel that it was stronger and more durable. It was certainly a good spear, although I would need some time to get used to it. I was getting tired of my old spear, so this was perfect.

I would have to train a bit to get used to this new spear before the war.

I put down the spear and checked the rest of the supplies and noticed a small bag. I took the bag and opened it to find a letter, a handkerchief, and a painting inside. Did Lily send these?

The Zeavert family crest and flowers were embroidered on the handkerchief. Did Lily embroider it? The design of the embroidery was superb. Perhaps because Lily was good at drawing, she was also at designing. Lily’s embroidery was at a level where you could sell it in my previous life.

The content of the painting was the vase that decorated my room with roses inside of it. The painting wasn’t that large. It used a high-quality frame and colors which were most likely prepared by either Father or Mother.

The size of the painting was too small to be displayed in the parlor, but I could display it in my room. To be honest, I didn’t think flowers suit me, but I was impressed by the quality of the painting.

The content of Lily’s letter was her meeting with Mazel and the recent news of the capital. Oh? She became friends with the female knight who had escorted her before. Other than that, she also mentioned that she was worried about me. There were no mentions of bad rumors about me which had spread in the capital. Ah, she was really considerate. If she knew what I was planning to do here, her letter might be filled with more worry.

I wondered if there was anything that I could buy in this town for Lily. I remembered this town used to import silverware from Triot. Although Triot had already been destroyed, there might be some silverware from Triot in the market. Let’s look for them later.

After I finished reading Lily’s letter, I read Mazell’s letter. I see… So the first Heavenly King was the same as the game’s first Heavenly King. I guess the future flow of events would be the same as in the game. I’d like to know if the map of the first Heavenly King’s dungeon was the same as the map in the game too, but you couldn’t ask for too much. Mazell also said he was thankful to me for taking care of his family, but I just skimmed through that. I mean, I did nothing that Mazell needed to be thankful for.

The letter did contain a bit of information that I wanted, but it wasn’t enough. I still wanted to meet Mazell to get more information, but that would be difficult for now.

…Wait a minute. If the future flow of events would be the same as the game’s flow of events, would that mean the last Heavenly Kings would attack the capital from the west, just like in the game? If that were true, we could focus our military power on the west side of the capital. I think at least setting traps in the west side of the capital would be a good idea. I needed to check if this was possible later.

The number of things that I wanted to do in the capital just kept increasing. I had to finish my work here fast and return to the capital. Urgh… my stomach hurt.

After I had finished reading the letter, I called Schunzel and Neurath. Together, we went to the underground prison. The bandits’ leaders had already been executed, the rest of the bandits had been sent to forced labor, and the noble ladies who tried to sneak into my bedroom had also been returned to their families after they paid the fine, so the underground prison was quite empty.

Neurath and Schunzel followed me with uncomfortable expressions on their faces. To be honest, I also felt uncomfortable. I stopped my track in front of a certain prison. When the prisoner inside saw my face, he looked surprised.

“To think it was you, sir.”

“I also never thought I would see your unpleasant face again. How are you feeling, Rafed?”

Compared to when I first saw him outside of Lestlatga, Rafed seemed to have lost some weight. Served him right. It seemed like he still didn’t understand why I was here. With a scrutinizing look, he asked, “Are you the person who ordered the execution?”

“That’s right and I can do the same thing to you if I want to, but unfortunately, I won’t, since I have another use for you.”

Rafed blinked, and I also could sense Neurath and Schunzel’s anger behind me. I needed you both to be patient.

“I’ll be blunt. I don’t trust you.”

“Yes. Your attitude has made that very clear.”

“Oh, and if you refuse, I will execute you.”

The sitting Rafed looked up at me. The chains on his body rattled as he did so. If anything, I hoped to be looked at by a beautiful girl, not this middle-aged geezer.

“This place is at the border of Triot, so there’s a high chance that demons will attack us. If you don’t cooperate with me, I will kill you. Other than that, if I got defeated by the demon army, this town would be overrun by demons and you would also die.”

Rafed replied, “Well, I guess it is true that you cannot negotiate with the demon army, and even if I tried to negotiate, I would most likely become the demons’ meal instead.”

“The public order outside of this town is also bad, so there’s no guarantee that you will be safe if you try to escape outside.”

“I see. So the only way for me to live is to cooperate with you.”

Rafed let out a sigh. I could sense that his ‘worried’ expression was a kind of fake, but that was fine. As someone who was entrusted to be a spy of another country, Rafed must have enough brain to know that he had no other choice but to help me.

After all, he had no place to return. It would be difficult for Rafed to even return to Lestlatga because he was a member of the second prince faction while the first prince faction was currently in power. Even if he didn’t want to help me, he would still help me for the sake of securing a temporary safe place.

Rafed silently thought for a while, then he finally opened his mouth.

“Viscount-sama… If I help you, will you spare my life?”

“Yes. As long as you don’t become hostile to me after the matter is over, I guarantee your survival.”

What I said here was the truth.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Before that, there is something I want to confirm. I heard despite being a merchant you have knowledge of poison, is that true?”

“Yes. It is true.”

Good then. His knowledge would be useful to me. As Takeda Shingen had said, ‘don’t use the people but use their knowledge.’ I would work you to the bone, Rafed.

“I want you to work as a civil official and handle some calculations. I also want to make use of your knowledge. First…”

When I explained my plan to him, at first he looked skeptical, but as I continued my explanation, his face gradually became grim. I knew my plan wasn’t exactly an honest way of fighting, but against demons, I planned to throw the so-called ‘honest way’ out of the window.

“So the upcoming war will be fierce to the point that you are willing to do something like that.”

“Yeah. I’ll cover your living expenses and all other necessary expenses. I won’t restrict your movements, but I’ll place a person to monitor you.”

I would take action if he tried to escape. But since he was smart, he would at least gather some information about the town and Anheim region after he got out of this prison, so he would most likely stay put for a while.

My itinerary after this would be to introduce Rafed to everyone and train with Neurath and Schunzel, so I could get used to my new spear while relieving some stress. It wouldn’t be funny if I made a mistake on the actual battlefield just because I wasn’t used to my new spear.

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