Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord

The temporary base I built—the wooden block container house—had collapsed.

In such a case, what are the usual causes?

The first possibility is an initial defect in the product itself. If that’s the case, all I can do is apologize. The second is an assembly error. But I can’t imagine the adventurers cutting corners when setting up their camping base.

The last, third possibility is if the base was dismantled from the inside after it was built. This would require at least two people inside the container lifting the ceiling. In other words, it would have to be a deliberate act to dismantle it—an accident like this couldn’t happen unintentionally.

The plausible causes are either the first or the third, but either way, it’s a serious problem. If it’s the first, Van-kun’s credibility will be ruined. It will undoubtedly have a huge impact on Seato Village’s specialty products. If it’s the third, it means there’s a hostile faction trying to frame me. And inevitably, that faction would be the nobles. Strange. How could anyone see someone as adorable as me as an enemy...?

As I thought this, a certain face suddenly came to mind.

Jarpa. It’s possible that nearby nobles are jealous of my success and are sabotaging me, but the one who would most celebrate my failure is probably Jarpa. No, I can’t imagine Jarpa directly using his knight order to do something reckless. If that’s the case, it’s better to think other nobles are involved as well.

“This might become troublesome,” I muttered to myself, weary of how much my imagination seemed to match reality. Right now, His Majesty and the others have returned to the base, and I’m waiting with all the adventurers inside the carriage. Even if I say unnecessary things, the only ones listening are Til and Arte, who are riding along.

“Lord Van! Ort has arrived!” came Kamushin’s voice. Peeking out of the carriage, I saw Ort and others approaching in a single line alongside the knights.

“Hey!”

I waved and called out. Ort smiled and raised his hand.

“Lord Van!”

Because Ort and the others were running toward me, I got off the carriage. Pluriel and Kusala were with Ort as well. About ten adventurers had gathered altogether.

“I heard the news! The base I built collapsed... I’m sorry, everyone worked so hard on it.”

I apologized immediately. Since the adventurers had cooperated so much, I felt I must do that without fail.

But then Ort and the others panicked.

“N-no! It’s not Lord Van’s fault!”

“Exactly!”

“We don’t think your container is bad either!”

The adventurers all spoke up to defend me. I was truly grateful.

“Thank you. That really helps. By the way, why did the container break, even though it was supposed to be sturdy?”

When I asked, Ort showed an unusual anger.

“Someone must have broken the finished container. We don’t know who, though...”

“Listen! The container didn’t just collapse on its own because a part broke! When we reassembled the collapsed container, it didn’t fall again and is still standing!”

“That’s right! If it collapsed on its own, some part must’ve broken! Since we didn’t assemble it ourselves, we probably don’t understand that part!”

The adventurers, furious, agreed with Ort and complained. I understood their feelings well, but this wasn’t the right place. Complaining near His Majesty’s resting base meant their words would reach the ears of the main nobles directly.

If we wrongly accused someone, the worst could happen.

“E-everyone... I get it, please be quiet here...”

I gestured for silence. But it was too late.

“What did you just say?”

Turning to the voice, I saw Jarpa and Venturi. Two other nobles were there as well.

This could no longer be ignored.

“Did I mishear? I thought I just heard adventurers criticizing nobles.”

Venturi crossed his arms and glared at us. The adventurers fell silent, unable to speak. But perhaps out of defiance, they didn’t kneel on the spot. Normally, when facing nobles of much higher rank, one would kneel and show respect, but their pride got in the way, and they just stood silently.