I Played the Role of a Hated Hero, but for Some Reason, I'm Loved by the Last Boss and Living W

The Lord Has a Headache ◆

Translated by AmaLynne

In the lord’s mansion in the southern part of Cid, a woman let out a huge sigh from her mouth.

「Hah…what in the world is she thinking?」

Her ash-gray hair, pulled up in a bun, was slightly frayed, and her greenish eyes showed deep colorful fatigue.

Her name is【Matilda Cid】.

Here. She is the lord in charge of Leangard territory.

She was only 24 years old. However, a few strands of gray hair in her hair made her look older than she is.

It is not unusual in this country for a woman to take over the reins of a family. Neighboring countries often look at women managing a fief with a cold shoulder, but in this country, as long as a woman is the eldest child born into a family, she can take over the reins, regardless of whether she is a boy or a girl.

This is due in part to the fact that there is little difference between men and women in terms of basic abilities depending on the job, based on the idea that if there is no difference between men and women, to begin with, it would be far better to have a capable woman gain the governorship and contribute to the country, rather than have an incompetent man take over and bring down the family, thereby increasing national power. The first king of the Kingdom of Garde made this statement.

Therefore, the basic philosophy of the Kingdom of Gald is based on merit. If a person excelled in something other than his or her job, of course, he or she would be given any number of opportunities to play an active role in the country.

And this is Matilda. Although her job skills were not particularly outstanding, her administrative abilities were superior to those of her predecessors, and she was well supported by the people of her domain.

Since taking over the reins of the family, she has been working hard to manage the territory without any major problems until now…

But now, a phantom beast has appeared in her territory…and there are three of them.

Ah, my head hurts…she sigh on her office desk as she looked at the research material on phantoms at hand. Not sure how many times she’s heard that one.

There are three of them, and they appear in her territory…

She doesn’t know how many times she had wished that such wild information was just a fabrication. However, the Adventurers’ Guild in Cid had received numerous reports of sightings of phantom beasts, and merchants visiting the town whispered that they had seen a mysterious, gigantic shadow.

Of course, Matilda has placed restrictions on this information and has issued a strict order so that the residents will never know about it. The information was disclosed to the master of the Adventurers’ Guild and some higher-ranked adventurers, who were asked to secretly investigate the authenticity of the information. Even so, the leakage of information could not be completely prevented, and the number of peddlers and travelers visiting Cid is now drastically decreasing which is beginning to affect the town’s economy.

Moreover, since the appearance of the mysterious demons, the demons living in the vicinity have become more active, and they are increasingly showing themselves on the streets.

Cid is currently struggling with the shortage of supplies and the increasing number of demons, two problems that it must solve daily.

The Adventurers’ Guild is responsible for dealing with the demons, but the town has agreed to provide financial support for the activities of the guild. Specifically, Cid would put out requests for the defeat of demons, and the town would pay a fee based on the results.

As for supplies, the shortage of medicinal herbs was a particularly serious problem.

Cid is a town where agriculture thrives, so there was no urgent need for food.

Adventurers would gather medicinal herbs and sell them at the market through the guilds, or purchase them from the peddlers who visited the town.

Recently, however, more and more people have been assigned to the task of defeating demons, and there is now a shortage of manpower to gather medicinal herbs. They have managed to get people to do the gathering by increasing the purchase price of medicinal herbs, but even so, the results have not been good.

And then…The most serious problem is that the peddlers have left the town. Although they now manage to buy from a merchant association that they have become close friends with, the purchase price has more than doubled. Considering the town’s finances, she couldn’t keep her hair this way forever, and Matilda’s gray hair seemed to have increased dramatically over the past few months.

And there it was.

「Emergency mobilization of the Guard to lock down the town…in addition to that.」

Matilda looks down at another document on the desk.

On it was a sketch of a man’s face, with no particular features to speak of.

The majority of the guards currently stationed in the town were mostly assigned to the search for this man. This is all due to the voice of Sofia Ark, the youngest daughter of the Ark family and the『hero who defeat the demons』, who came from the royal capital to investigate the phantom beast.

『Please find this person as soon as possible!』, she said.

According to her, he is an important person who can lead us to a solution to the current phantom ruckus. However, she abused her power by saying that she could not reveal any details about this person at this time and only allowed us to search for him unilaterally.

She met her for the first time in this case, and her impression upon meeting her was that she was a calm and intelligent woman. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would use force in such a violent manner…

The first thing that comes to mind is that the person who is being searched for is a man who has been in the business for a long time. 

Either way, the guard’s move could cause unwanted misunderstandings amidst the uneasy days the townspeople are spending due to the increase in the number of demons.

However, Sofia is not so sure.

『Please consider the blockade of the main gate as a defense drill in case of an attack by demons. Also, the guards are looking for the suspects in the fight that broke out in the town the other day. There was indeed a fight, and, certainly, some people ran away from the fight. I’m sure the townspeople will be somewhat satisfied with that.』

The guards were not in a hurry to explain their movements to the residents.

Without time to think, Matilda followed the instructions and explained the situation to the residents, and managed to prevent any unnecessary confusion for the time being. Even so, as a measure of resistance, she decided that the blockade would remain in place until tomorrow. The blockade would prevent adventurers from going outside, and it was obvious that they would be trapped in their lives as it was.

At the very least, it was a relief that she was honest enough to listen to our request.

However, Matilda’s head was further troubled by the news that arrived just the other day.

「The dispatch of the Knights from Royal Capital…why this timing…」

Matilda recalled the contents of the urgent letter that had arrived just this morning.

The sender is Martina Saber, Commander of the Royal Capital Knights. Like Sofia, she is a hero who defeated Demiurge, the demon god. Although she is four years younger than herself, her skill in controlling the Knights can be heard even here in Cid, far away from the royal capital.

The letter she sent to her stated that she would dispatch 30 knights from Royal Capital within a week.

The letter was intended to make further progress in the investigation of the phantom…

According to the knights who have been dispatched to investigate the situation, the first thing they will do is to check the local situation, and if they find any traces of the existence of phantom beasts, they will dispatch a group of knights to conduct a large-scale investigation.

There was also talk of sending knights to calm the situation in case of confusion caused by the appearance of phantom beasts in the town, but that is not as necessary as it seems at the moment. Moreover, it was unusual to dispatch 30 knights from Royal Capital to Cid in『only one-week 』. Normally, it would take a month including the preparation period, or two weeks at the earliest.

Therefore, it is doubtful.

The existence of the phantom beast is still indeterminate information that is still a rumor, and the town is not in such dire straits that it is necessary to have the Knights go out to the town…Is it really necessary to dispatch the Knights to this town at the risk of diluting the defenses of the royal capital…?

Of course. Considering the increasing number of demons on the streets, it is hoped that the dispatch of the knights will bring relief to the residents and merchants of the town.

However, it is necessary to inform the town in advance that the knights will be staying there and to explain the reason for their presence. If it were the entire town, it would take a considerable amount of time and manpower. If the knights suddenly swarmed into the town, it would be a source of anxiety for the town’s residents.

Worst of all, it would not be surprising if some of the town’s residents were to suspect that there was『something』behind the dispatch of these knights.

Even if no one concludes that a phantom beast has appeared in the vicinity of the town, someone will likely conclude that an entity that threatens their living area has somehow appeared in the neighborhood. In the worst-case scenario, if someone were to spread a rumor in the town that would cause unrest, the previous strict orders would have been in vain.

Frankly speaking, it is highly doubtful that they will be ready to receive the knights by making a move now.

However, this has already been decided, and Matilda, a local noblewoman, cannot object to it. Matilda had no choice but to move forward with her aching stomach.

「Sofia-sama’s insane way of moving the guards…and Martina-sama’s sudden dispatch of the knights…」

Matilda speculates that there may be a connection between these two individuals who are making moves at about the same time that are questionable to common sense.

「I’d like to think not, but there is no way that『this person』had anything to do with the dispatch of the Knights…」

A portrait on a desk. A man with a blank face. If they had even moved the Knights『just for the sake of finding him』…

She thought to herself that it was a foolish imagination, but her womanly instincts could not deny it.

But if so,

「What in the world…is this man…?」

Matilda plucked up her portrait and stared at the man’s face with raised eyebrows.

「Well…so far there is no record or sighting of this man outside the gate…although I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he is found…」

Matilda exhaled thinly with a gloomy expression on her face and slammed the portrait on the desk with a thud, hoping that this man would be found quickly if at all possible.