DYPIOOP Chapter 20

What Lies Beneath The Surface

When she opened her tightly shut eyes, the first thing she saw was Carvel's back blocking her view. A sharp blade she hadn't seen him draw was in his hand. Hum—the well-honed edge sang as it met the air. The training grounds' already cool atmosphere grew heavier. Dedd's back also came into view, pressed close beside Carvel. He must have moved to block the fragment with him.

"Beon. Sider."

At Carvel's call, the training grounds seemed to freeze. Though his voice wasn't particularly loud, it resonated weightily. It was a harsh tone she'd never heard before. At his summons, the two knights who'd been sparring stepped forward and bowed their heads. Standing before them, Carvel said coldly, "A knight who can't properly maintain his sword has no place in House Haelton."

"We apologize, Your Grace."

Though the broken sword hadn't been intentional, the reprimanded knights offered no excuses. Heavy silence flowed, and he spoke again.

"So wooden swords aren't swords, is that it."

"No, sir."

Even swallowing felt conspicuous to Elonia, who found herself watching others' reactions. The sound going down her throat felt unnecessarily loud. Not a single breath could be heard. This solemn atmosphere felt awkward. Someone who'd slipped closer handed Dedd the fragment they'd retrieved from somewhere. The fragment's cross-section, cut by Carvel's sharp blade, was cleanly sliced. Dedd checked the inside and held it out to him.

"The interior is rotted through. It wouldn't have been distinguishable from the outside."

"Even so, that doesn't erase the carelessness. Elonia was present. Could you say the same if there had been injuries?"

At his coldly cutting words, the two knights simply bowed their heads silently. Elonia blinked at the unexpectedly concerned tone.

'Would it be troublesome if I got injured before the tea party with Countess Fellan?'

She gazed at his broad back, invisible from the front. He'd always been incomparably more robust than her, but somehow that back seemed particularly wide. Gnome, who'd watched this from the beginning, sat companionably with the Nymph and pointed at them with a bright voice.

[Wow, brutal. Is that the terrifying human Nymph mentioned?]

At his question, the Nymph nodded slightly. Gnome blinked and turned to Elonia.

[Sure you don't want a potato? They're perfect for watching fights!]

At this point, she was almost curious about spirit-recommended potato flavors. But in this throat-choking atmosphere, she could only carefully shake her head. Her nerves weren't strong enough to eat potatoes in this situation. Understanding her refusal, Gnome didn't press further. Carvel scanned the surroundings and said, "Cull them."

"Pardon?"

"Cull them all. Dispose of everything if you must."

However Dedd understood those instructions, he shouted loudly enough to reach the far end of the training grounds.

"Collect all wooden swords!"

Before the words finished falling, even unused reserves were dragged out. The pile of collected wooden swords was substantial. They all looked uniformly identical to the eye. Carvel approached Dedd, who was glancing around in apparent difficulty. He looked down at Elonia impassively and said, "The training grounds are dangerous with so many knights. I'll come to you from now on, so it's better to summon me through Paol."

Unlike the flustered knights at the sudden sword collection, he remained composed. Elonia peeked behind him and asked, "Are you planning to throw away all the wooden swords?"

"I can't trust them, so yes."

It might have been just one among many. But he'd declared he would discard them all. The knights were following the order without complaint. Gnome, sitting with legs stretched out beside the Nymph, surveyed the knights and pointed to a spot.

[They won't be able to tell from the outside.]

In the direction Gnome indicated, breathless knights were collecting wooden swords one by one. Nothing seemed particularly different to the eye. But Gnome commented on each sword as they piled up.

[That one's fine. The next is rotten.]

His fresh voice clashed with the grim atmosphere. When all the swords were collected, few remained in the training grounds. Elonia recalled the fragment that had flown so threateningly. Certainly, in a training ground full of rough movement, wooden swords that could break at any moment posed a high risk. Thinking about it that way, total disposal was a sure method of preventing other damage at the source. If you couldn't sort out the rotten wood, that is. The knight Gnome pointed to also set down his wooden sword. Elonia pointed at it and said, "That wooden sword is rotten."

The knight setting it down froze mid-motion. Simultaneously, the knight's gaze reached Carvel. He seemed to be waiting for Carvel's decision. After pausing briefly, Carvel spoke.

"Elonia."

It wasn't a reproachful tone. But the quiet voice's meaning was clear. If she happened to be wrong. Her credibility would crumble before the household knights. Especially problematic when she'd been publicly declared a spirit mage. Particularly for a fake spirit mage. But since Gnome had pointed it out, such concerns were useless. Elonia smiled brightly and answered kindly, "Don't worry. I know a bit about wood."

Dedd, listening from the side, seemed to have a realization and supported her claim.

"Ah, come to think of it. Madam stood up just before it broke."

Carvel's narrowed gaze briefly swept over her. He raised one hand lightly in permission. Dedd immediately used the knight's wooden sword as a lever and stomped on it. After the large-framed man stomped several times, the sword broke and revealed its interior. The inside was rotten, blackened with decay. At this, Gnome clapped his hands vigorously in delight.

[Got it right!]

His pride was visible in his expression. After that, it wasn't difficult. Every one Gnome pointed to that Elonia selected was invariably rotten inside. Each time one was confirmed, the knights unconsciously exclaimed and applauded. After checking all the swords, Dedd asked in amazement, "They're all rotten inside! How did you know?"

"Trade secret."

Gnome raised his hand high from the side, making his own claim, but Elonia pressed her index finger to her lips. Shh. Gnome and the Nymph followed her example and pressed their lips shut.

Perhaps because she'd called it a secret, no one looked at her strangely. He asked in an excited voice, "Were you interested in swords?"

"I'm thinking of taking an interest from now on."

Though she wouldn't actually use one herself. Elonia twisted her body slightly, feigning embarrassment, and added, "Carvel handles swords, so I should pay attention too."

For just a moment. Carvel's back seemed to stiffen. Before her answer finished, Dedd's face turned ashen. He stammered and asked, "W-will our lord teach you?"

Carvel responded immediately.

"This is the first I'm hearing of it."

She hadn't planned to learn, but Dedd's reaction was remarkable. Curiosity piqued, Elonia asked casually, "Why? Can't I learn from Carvel?"

"No! He's excellent."

Contrary to his words, Dedd's eyes trembled faintly. Anyone could see this was the look of someone who'd survived hellish training and returned. Just how brutal was it if all the knights bowed their heads at Dedd's shaking voice?

"But I heard no one in the Empire can match Carvel with a sword."

"Yes, that's correct. No one can match him! Nobody can keep up, haha!"

Dedd laughed heartily and glanced at Carvel. He was already watching Dedd with a faint smile, looking gentle. At this, Dedd quickly changed the subject and reported, "R-recently there was major flooding in the region where they grow trees for wooden sword production! That's probably why they're in this condition."

His characteristically vigorous tone made the content sound trivial. But it didn't work on Carvel.

"The merchant guild master."

An ordinary question followed by a mild smile. Only the situation wasn't ordinary. The knights watching all thought the same thing.

'The trading partner is about to change.'

He was merciless as always. Even among employees, countless had left the estate after a single mistake. This merchant guild would follow the same path. Though he couldn't possibly not know this, Dedd asked, "Haven't they been trading since the previous Duke's time?"

"And?"

The slowly observing gaze created a strange pressure. Sensing danger in the kind inquiry, Dedd straightened sharply and answered vigorously, "I'll summon them now!"

The merchant guild masters were a middle-aged couple of considerable age. It was apparently a family business passed down through generations, and they'd traded steadily with House Haelton throughout those long years.

'I thought it would be a really famous merchant guild...'

It wasn't among the prominent names she'd heard about in the capital. But they had many steady long-term clients, making them financially solid. The merchant couple already seemed to have heard everything, their heads bowed deeply. In front of them, Gnome raised his hand high in greeting.

[Hello!]

Since no one could see him, no answer came. Watching this, Nyx dangled from Elonia's shoulder and said as if looking at something strange, [What's he doing when no one but her can see?]

[Just in case!]

Gnome grinned mischievously and raised his hand high in front of Carvel too. Elonia tensed her jaw and shook her head at him with her eyes. Gnome sat dejectedly beside Elonia. She rolled her eyes searching for the Nymph, who'd disappeared at some point. Noticing, Gnome helpfully informed her.

[Nymph went to pick wild strawberries.]

'Suddenly?'

[The spirit mage said no to potatoes. Do you like wild strawberries?]

Elonia was quite flustered but couldn't show it. The reception room held only Carvel, her, and the merchant couple in suffocating silence. On the table lay only the inspection documents the couple had produced. Carvel was the first to speak.

"The person in charge of inspection."

"A long-time employee made a mistake. We dismissed him immediately upon confirmation."

They bowed their heads to the inspection documents in deflated voices. Trusting him too much because he'd worked so long was the problem. He'd been a boy who'd never made a mistake until now, which made it worse. They'd disposed of most of the flood-damaged timber. Some had been sold cheaply to other places. They'd definitely selected and set aside the timber to be processed into Haelton swords separately. How it got mixed up was impossible to know.