"I apologize for speaking out against you, Chief. It is true that Sutherland is far from the royal capital, but there is no doubt that it is an important area for Nav Kingdom. That is why it was designated as a duchy." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril's shocked expression suddenly changed to one of composure and he began explaining to the chief.
The chief on the other hand nodded deeply as if he understood everything.
"Yes, I am aware of that. I fully understand that the reason this land's value has increased is because... it's a place where Sacred Stones can be harvested." (Chief)
"What...?"
Captain Cyril muttered briefly, as if he had heard words he had never expected to hear.
The chief continued speaking with an apologetic look on his face.
"I was the one who put this stone on the market." (Chief)
"Huh?"
"About 30 years ago, when my son was getting married, I wanted to entertain as many people as possible, so I put the Sacred Stones up for sale. I knew that the Sacred Stones can only be collected from shellfish that live at the bottom of the deep sea, and that due to the depth of their habitat, it is a rare stone that can only be collected by people living on remote islands with webbed hands, but I put it up for sale without thinking too hard." (Chief)
Chief Radek looked into the distance as if recalling the past, then continued speaking.
"Even back then, I was aware of the effects of Sacred Stones. In addition to that effect, I also understood that this stone could be valued due to its rarity, which meant that it was rarely available on the market. Therefore, about 100 years ago, my family decided not to let Sacred Stones leave this land if there was a risk that it could become a source of conflict. Despite this, it was a happy occasion, so I thought that one would be okay, and brought it to the company when I went to the royal capital." (Chief)
After saying that, the chief seemed to be remembering something from that time and placed his hand on his forehead in a troubled state.
"Then I was taken to another room, a knight was called, and I was interrogated as to where I got it. I had a very difficult time. I kept repeating that I had picked it up from the sea, and somehow I was released... but I guess they were suspicious of me." (Chief)
The chief looked at Captain Cyril with a wry smile.
"A little while later, we received a notice that Sutherland, which had been under the control of the royal family for many years, would be designated as a new duchy. That's when I realized. The new duke would come looking for a way to obtain Sacred Stones, and that these stones were that valuable. If that weren't the case, there's no way that a duke family, which sits at the pinnacle of the nobility, would become the lord of a remote area far from the royal capital at this time. If the stone was that important, it would only spark conflict, so our family became more thorough than ever in making sure that if we found any Sacred Stones, we returned it to the sea." (Chief)
Captain Cyril opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words seemed to form, so he closed his mouth again. Seeing the captain like that, the chief continued speaking.
"I knew that Sacred Stones were precious stones, and that if we knew how to use it, we could make a fortune. But we have a history of being oppressed. And we have no interest in living a luxurious life. Somewhere in our hearts, we knew that if we used this stone well, there were people who could be saved, but we feared getting caught up in unnecessary conflict and being oppressed again. So, we prioritized pretending not to know." (Chief)
The chief let out a big sigh and looked at me.
"But when we saw Lady Fia... seeing her simply and honestly stick to her own sense of justice, we felt ashamed of ourselves. The lives were saved by the Great Saint, yet none of us tried to help her. Surely the Great Saint would have done everything she could to save as many lives as possible... When we realized this, we felt that we had to dedicate the Sacred Stones to Lady Fia. There's no doubt that she will use it more righteously than we could." (Chief)
"Huh, well, I'm grateful that you trust me, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to use it correctly..." (Fia)
It sounded like he trusted me too much, so I couldn't help but intervene.
Then, as if to overlap what I was saying, the chief spoke again.
"Lady Fia, if our family were to use Sacred Stones, it would be to make marbles for children." (Chief)
"Oh, yes, maybe I could put it to better use." (Fia)
As I stepped back, the chief turned to Captain Cyril and continued.
"It is as you have heard, Your Excellency. Our family has handed over all rights to this stone to Lady Fia. In addition, all animosity between us and the knights has been resolved. There is nothing to be worried about in this land anymore. There is no reason to keep our excellent Knight Captain here." (Chief)
The chief spread his arms and smiled with a relieved expression.
"Your Excellency, the knights have been very kind to us up until now. We are also grateful that you sent Captain Curtis to help us out as we were not very friendly. However, we are now able to get along with any knight. I have been watching the exchange between both Lady Fia and Captain Curtis, and I can see that Lady Fia has a lot of trust in Captain Curtis, and that Captain Curtis also treats Lady Fia appropriately." (Chief)
Then the chief looked at Captain Curtis with a friendly expression.
"...During the three years that Captain Curtis has been here, he has become familiar to us as if he were a member of the family. Thanks to that, even today, Captain Curtis has seemed to speak for us. So, although it may be a bit presumptuous, I would like to send Captain Curtis to Lady Fia as our representative." (Chief)
After hearing the whole story, Captain Cyril seemed speechless for a while. He stared at the chief in silence, but he quickly regained his composure, tightened his expression, and bowed to the chief.
"Chief Radek, I'm grateful that you have foreseen so much and yet let me off the hook until now. It's true that the reason my father became the lord of this land was because of the Sacred Stones. However, I have never once had the intention of exploiting the Sacred Stones unfairly from you people." (Cyril)
Captain Cyril raised his head and looked straight at Chief Radek.
"The existence of Sacred Stones had been confirmed for a long time, but since it was not considered important, no one knew how to obtain it. However, about 100 years ago, the usefulness of this stone was reconsidered, and since then, people have been searching for Sacred Stones all over the country. However, the Sacred Stone were never found anywhere in the country. Then, the first clue that emerged was Sutherland." (Cyril)
With a serious expression on his face, Captain Cyril looked around at the residents around him. The captain's voice echoes, as if speaking to each person individually.
"Though we came here as lords, we didn't know where in this land the Sacred Stones were harvested, or even if anyone had identified the harvesting site. However, we wanted to explain the effectiveness of this stone to everyone, so that they would understand our purpose and cooperate in making this country better. At the same time, we also thought that we could establish a technique to obtain the Sacred Stones and enrich this land with that wealth. It was expected that this land would become even more prosperous, so this land was designated a dukedom." (Cyril)
"...Yes. Now that I have come to understand you a little better, Your Excellency, I believe those words to be true." (Chief)
In response to Captain Cyril's explanation, the chief nodded vigorously as if in agreement. The captain saw this and gave a weak smile.
"Thank you, Chief. However, contrary to my wishes, the current situation is as you know. This is a very important and delicate matter, so while I was waiting for the right timing to explain it after first winning everyone's trust, an incident called Sutherland's Lament occurred, and it is no longer an environment in which we can say things like the Sacred Stones." (Cyril)
"That's true... But those are all things of the past." (Chief)
The chief smiled gently at the apologetic expression on Captain Cyril's face.
"The time for confessions is over. Now, there are no more secrets between us... Ah, I feel relieved. Somehow, our family is not very good at keeping secrets. It makes us feel like confessing everything without even realizing it. To reduce the number of people who have this unpleasant feeling, we even limited the people who collect deep-sea shellfish." (Chief)
As he spoke, the chief showed a relieved smile.
"The Great Saint's guardian knights were from the people of the remote island. We have always been proud of that fact. Therefore, together with Your Excellency, who has been entrusted with the task of protecting the Great Saint, we would like Captain Curtis, as a representative of the people of the remote island, to protect Lady Fia." (Chief)
One after another, the residents raised their voices in support of the chief.
"As the chief says! Please bring along Captain Curtis! As the one who will protect the Great Saint!"
"Captain Curtis, please take good care of the Great Saint!"
"Understood." (Curtis)
Before Captain Cyril could reply, Captain Curtis spoke up.
I looked up at Captain Curtis in surprise, and he had a look of utter satisfaction on his face.