#081. Sodom City is Too Kind (2)

#081. Sodom City is Too Kind (2)

Theresa harbored a worry she couldn’t bring herself to tell Ian.

-Having ascended to the position of Grand Lord, you will face just as many adversities and new enemies. If you’re not confident in protecting the territory alone, how about reclaiming the name ‘Starsepia’? Now that an abandoned child from the main family has become a Grand Lord, they’d gladly permit you to carry on the family name.

To shamelessly reclaim the family name she had discarded with her own hands, so late in the game.

Or to completely sever ties with the family and create her own family name, sending an application to the capital.

The surname of Theresa’s family would now be decided by the answer she sent to the capital.

‘A child who grew up without a father, in an environment even worse than one without a mother. If such a child had even distant relatives, that alone might be reassuring.’

There were two issues.

Would the main family acknowledge Ian’s existence?

And could Ian accept the Starsepia Margrave’s main family, who had turned a blind eye to his mother and him dying in the back alleys?

The indignity she might suffer was not a consideration.

Compared to what Ian had done for her, she could endure anything.

Returning to the family that had abandoned them, lowering her head first, and requesting help for her son—it truly meant nothing to her.

What worried her was not the indignity she might suffer, but the indignity Ian would face.

“If you’re so worried, wouldn’t it be right to call him and discuss it directly?”

“A mother who is lacking, has difficulty talking about this. You’re a bodyguard.”

“A lot of hardship with family who can’t be honest with each other. I think it would definitely work out if you said it… But for now, I understand. I’ll ask directly.”

Gorgon accepted Theresa’s request.

Theresa watched Gorgon’s retreating figure and thought.

He was really starting to look like a knight now.

Would she have ever imagined it?

That the wretched man from before would become such an excellent and loyal knight.

Looking back on their past journeys, they weren’t the kind that any ordinary person could endure.

She also owed a debt to Gorgon, who had faithfully followed her on all those paths without complaint.

‘I should give gifts to the other clan members who worked hard too.’

Her gift would also provide considerable strength to Ian, who was recently employing adventurers to start something else.

* * *

A sprawling metropolis in the kingdom’s south.

The Beastkin Revivalists, having seized control amidst the chaos, convened an urgent council, their attention fixed on the burgeoning city of Sodom, which was eclipsing even their own prominence.

“Every adventurer in the kingdom is flocking to Sodom.”

“Rumor has it they plan to strike against us.”

“Should we not intervene?”

The Beastkin Revivalist Council was comprised of twelve members, in accordance with the ancient zodiacal tradition, but not all voices held equal weight.

Beastkin: the hybrid offspring of humans and beasts.

Unlike the docile breeds, more human than animal.

The savage breeds, more beast than human, valued a hierarchy forged through brute force.

At the apex of this hierarchy stood a hybrid of unmatched power.

The ultimate beast.

A cross between ‘Dragon’ and ‘Human’.

The Dragonkin spoke.

“Humans are as greedy as any dragon. They won’t wholeheartedly commit to a war where only losses are forced upon them, with no benefit in sight. Even if factions form, it will only be among a handful of dedicated souls. There will be no large-scale deployment. Therefore, preparations are unnecessary. We will crush only the aristocratic alliance.”

And so, the Beastkin Revivalists’ course was set.

* * *

Since Sodom’s rise from village to city.

The Sodom Adventurer’s Guild had become the heart of the Westwood region, with the Guild Alliance bowing before it.

Of course, not every other guild was submitting quietly.

Lords with private armies.

Guilds dominated by Beastkin.

Guilds under the sway of outdated nobles.

Some bided their time, waiting for an opportunity to seize power.

Most simply awaited the day the Sodom Guild would show weakness and fall from grace.

Therefore, the Sodom Guild’s excessive growth was a factor that they needed to check.

“We thought increasing the workload would cripple their operations due to incompetence, forcing them to rely on our people…”

“Unbelievably, every righteous administrator from the capital has come to work under the Sodom Guildmaster.”

The strategy of overwhelming them with paperwork had failed.

Subtle machinations that would have endangered any Guilds in the past could not penetrate the firmly entrenched Sodom Guild.

Nor could they stop the flow of Theresa’s gifts.

[By order of High Lord Theresa, members of the Theresa Clan who have contributed to the Blood Forest subjugation are hereby promoted to Rank 2.]

Theresa herself rose from Adventurer Rank 5 to Rank 7.

Gorgon, Nina, Hanyanya, Yuzu, Joseph, Dafri, and Maria.

The clan members were all promoted from Rank 4 to Rank 6.

Some might have lacked the experience to match their new rank, but their contributions were undeniably substantial.

Above all, Theresa’s popularity in Sodom was overwhelming.

To put it bluntly, tens of thousands of people had migrated to Sodom because they trusted Theresa and Ian.

And that number was rapidly increasing every month.

Which meant there was even more land to pacify as adventurers worked to build safe settlements and expand the territory under their control.

The Sodom Guild adventurers, their absolute support for Theresa transcending mere loyalty, had become a unified entity.

Should anyone dare insult Theresa, they would erupt in fury as if their own parents had been defamed, launching themselves into a collective assault.

Naturally, Ian, too, was imbued with power.

He possessed the experience of managing a high-ranking clan from within.

Although it made one’s head spin when, no sooner had he been empowered than he was urging adventurers into difficult assignments, watching him lead with the expertise of a seasoned receptionist who had done this for decades brought a fresh wave of emotion.

That a destitute street urchin who could have died as nameless boy A was procuring commissions and leading adventurers like the guild master of a major adventurer’s guild was truly impressive.

“Theresa. At this rate, Ian might just die a pathetic death!”

Theresa, reassured that everything was falling into place.

It was Cecilia’s warning, delivered with a desperate face, that sounded the alarm.

“Ian? Why?”

“He’s obsessing over the growth of the adventurers, excessively relying on brainwashing, in order to gather meaningful forces and eliminate the chaos in the south before the northern dispatch.”

“…I need to see this for myself.”

Theresa, together with Cecilia, concealed their identities and headed to Ian’s reception desk.

Just then, Ian was counseling an Amazon warrior of the forest, who had come from the wild forest far away, about a request.

“What I want is to stop the human corporations that are recklessly logging the forest and destroying the ecosystem, and a massive amount of funds to purchase the forest’s ownership. Give me the most lucrative request.”

“I understand your goal, Ms. Cream. But in order to protect the forest, what you must stop is not only indiscriminate logging, but also the upcoming monster rampage.”

“There is still plenty of time until the next harvest season. And there are few humans farming on a large scale nearby.”

“But they do in the north. The Demon King’s army, which is ‘farming humans,’ will expand its power. If the front line collapses, it will do so in the center, in other regions, and soon throughout the entire kingdom.”

“…!”

With surprising insight, Ian appropriately stimulated the Amazon’s desire to protect her homeland by focusing on the looming catastrophe.

“…That would be a problem. If the Demon King’s army, which plants corpses and produces a lot of monsters, expands its power, it will not recognize the rights of those who buy land and will invade.”

“Therefore, what the Amazon tribe should do is not just purchase the ownership of the land, but also make many comrades and join forces to eliminate the dangers of the northern front.”

“That’s something the Royal Army and the Hero’s Party are taking care of. There’s also the Holy Army of the Order. Why should a commoner like me bother with it?”

What Amazon Cream said was a story Theresa also empathized with.

Facing the great enemy of mankind, the Demon King, is too harsh for an ordinary person to handle.

Those who are not sparing support at the kingdom level to engage in that endeavor are called heroes, and wasn’t the best assistant for the hero, a hero’s party?

There is even the Royal Army and the Holy Army of the Order.

With this much manpower mobilized, it seemed that there was nothing for an individual to participate in.

“That’s how we’ve long left all the burdens to the Hero’s Party. And before we knew it, we started treating the party members who should have been the hero’s strongest companions as a kind of ‘resume’ and dispatching the children of high-ranking officials who had trained their combat skills in turn.”

“What?! If you do something like that, it will be difficult for the hero to endure!”

“That’s right. That’s why the northern front is becoming more and more precarious. To the point that the front line will inevitably collapse unless there is a large-scale adventurer dispatch. We don’t have much time.”

Cream regained her composure even in the face of the shocking news.

And calmly pointed out.

“I understand why a strong person is needed. But why are you telling me this news when I leave my hometown and move to the southern part of the continent in search of a new forest?”

“Because I believe in you. How much you value your hometown. How sincere is that heart that confronts the enemy that threatens your hometown.”

“…You’re an idiot. A hometown is just a place where people live, after all. You can change it as much as you want if things get difficult.”

“It’s okay. Even if you leave.”

“Huh? Are you serious? Even though the situation is so urgent?”

“I just wanted to give you a better opportunity than running away as if you were being chased.”

Cecilia, who had been watching Ian, said.

“Now! Now’s the time. Ian’s about to use ‘Brainwash’.”

“…!”

What brainwash would Ian inflict upon this powerhouse who had arrived in Sodom City?

What brainwash *had* he inflicted?

The answer was finally revealed before Teresa’s very eyes.

[Brainwash Activated]

[Designated Target – Krim]

[Command – Whatever decision you make, please choose that which you will not be ashamed of.]

“That’s all I ask.”

Ian had brainwashed the Amazon tribe to make a choice that wouldn’t betray their pride.

He protected them from making a decision that would shatter the tribe’s self-respect, pushed to it by the urgency of the situation, and spending their lives in regret.

Instead of forcefully binding and deceiving, he was practically giving them a nudge: “Go, follow your own path.”

“Ha. And what about *you* then?”

“I have to protect it. The place where we live. If we’re lucky, we might even be able to protect the Amazon tribe’s forest.”

“After hearing words like that, do you think I can just leave? Our forest warriors will work alongside the Sodom Guild to resolve the southern chaos and join the northern front deployment. There are no cowards, not even the size of a small boy, in our tribe!”

It was a heartwarming sight.

The sight of the boy’s sincerity winning over the heart of a powerful ally.

But ‘Brainwash’ was involved in the process.

To protect the sincerity, the pride, of another.

He risked the danger of his ability growing unstable.

“How long can Ian hold on?”

“According to the Order’s records on Brainwashers, every Brainwasher in history has overused their abilities within a year of their emergence, leading to a rampage.”

“One year…”

“How long has it been since Ian changed?”

“…It’s been.”

“Hmm?”

“Since Ian changed… it’s already been more than a year.”

“!!”

*You are the most wonderful mother anyone could ask for.*

Those days alone numbered over a year.

‘*The me that didn’t change, the me that changed too late, stole Ian’s time away from him.’*

Teresa bit her lip in guilt.

Ian was already on a considerably dangerous edge.

Today, maybe even tomorrow.

His Brainwash ability could run wild at any moment.

She owed Ian her life.

Then risking that borrowed life wasn’t just a parent’s duty.

It was a duty to be upheld as a person.

“Adventurers, you are already aware of the story that my son Ian is working hard to eliminate the dangers of the rear lines in order to worry about the kingdom’s safety for the northern expedition.”

Teresa summoned all the adventurers remaining in the city.

She resolved.

“I have fought against all injustice. Nobles, therianthropes, vampires. Next is the Southern Front.”

The future Ian desired.

To ensure brainwashing was no longer abused for the sake of peace.

For Ian to bring peace to the kingdom without using brainwashing himself.

“All honorable adventurers of Sodom, take up arms. The Grand Duke of Westwood and Lord of Sodom commands it. We embark on a war of liberation, to free the inhabitants suffering under the yoke of their unjust masters.”

“It’s a crusade with Saint Cecilia of the Revolutionary Order! Let’s go rattle some bones!”

Theresa and Cecilia declared war on the corrupt lords of the South.

Before Ian’s brainwashing could take hold, the Grand Duke commanded all with her authority.

With this, Ian’s safety could be ensured.

“Thank you. Mother.”

“…I only did what had to be done.”

“When do we depart?”

“No.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“You’re thinking of coming along, aren’t you.”

“I can be of help.”

“Those frail arms of yours can’t even lift a sword.”

“But my abilities can save many. If I can sway the hearts of the lords who have seized the castles, if I can stir the souls of the therianthropes…”

“The price will be your ability running rampant!”

Ian’s eyes widened at Theresa’s roar.

Ability going wild.

As if wondering how her mother knew about that.

“It’s alright.”

But Ian smiled.

As if she wasn’t afraid of the fate that awaited her.

As a truly noble saint would.

“Everyone has their own convictions, and their will isn’t easily swayed. There are those who won’t move unless I ask them, and there are trials only I can prevent. If humanity, if our family is to survive, then losing the chance to exchange silly jokes, losing the freedom of expression is a small price to pay.”

“…It won’t go as you think.”

Theresa clicked a pen.

Instead of a pen tip, a small voice recorder emerged.

Ian’s eyes bulged.

“Surely not…!”

“Yes. It is exactly what you suspect. I will expose this ‘self-sacrifice’ you intend to commit to all the residents of Sodom. I will provoke the cowards who are less than a boy willing to risk his life for the well-being of the territory. I will ask them, will you still not volunteer for the expedition and retreat with your tails tucked?”

“Please stop. Such cunning trickery that disrespects the free will of others should only be committed with my malice. That way, even if things go wrong, I can take responsibility…”

“Don’t be impudent.”

At Theresa’s signal, Cecilia stepped forward and flicked Ian’s forehead.

Clutching her throbbing forehead with both hands, Ian’s gaze teared up as Cecilia desperately suppressed the surge of guilt and avoided her eyes.

“The master of Westwood is not you, but me and the residents who live on this land. Just as freedom belongs to everyone, so does responsibility. You have no right to take responsibility away from us.”

The next day, Ian’s self-sacrificing conversation was spread throughout the territory.

The volunteer enlistment rate surged to 15,600% compared to the previous day, and adventurer participation in the southern expedition skyrocketed to 33,000%.