Luxury refrigerator
“What is this···”
I couldn’t help but smile at the look of amazement on the guys’ faces.
The guys were speechless when they saw the breastplates I had spread out in front of them.
It was understandable.
What leader in the world would buy a breastplate made of iron without being crazy?
“Choose one at a time.”
I waved my hand lightly as if it was nothing.
However, the guys still didn’t move, perhaps because they were still in shock.
Just then, a weasel jumped out.
“Hyeo-eo-ungnim!! You gave me such an incredible gift! A gift that I’ve never even received from my own father!! From today on, I won’t call you hyung, I’ll call you father! Father!!”
The weasel quickly chose a breastplate that seemed to fit his body perfectly. It was an orange breastplate.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him shouting “Father! Brother!” over and over again without even wiping his mouth, and putting on his breastplate in a hurry in case it was taken away.
He was a guy who took care of my rice bowl like a ghost.
“···Chief, where on earth do you get all these different colors? Brick! That’s mine!”
Kel, who had been muttering with a sour look on his face, shouted when Brick picked up the purple breastplate.
“I already picked it up.”
While Brick and Kel were arguing, Berman chose the blue breastplate and Grass chose the green breastplate.
“Thank you, Captain. I never thought I would receive such a gift in my life.”
He looked at me with moist eyes that didn’t match the snake’s eyes and expressed his gratitude. The sight was so out of place that goosebumps appeared on my neck for no reason and I waved my hand.
“Captain, I think I’m a little big.”
Berman said, shaking his breastplate slightly.
“Pull the leather belt tight, and if it’s still big, gain some weight.”
“···yes?”
“To make me gain weight.”
“Aha! Yes.”
Berman opened his eyes wide as if he realized something and nodded.
Kel and Brick argued for a long time.
Then Kel said, ‘I’ll tell you my secret sleight of hand! If you know this, a woman will…’ and Brick, his eyes widening, gave up his purple breastplate.
“Ah, yellow···.”
Brick cried out as he held the last yellow breastplate left, but no one paid any attention.
‘After all, the best souvenir is the breastplate.’
It made me happy to see them fighting each other over it.
It felt like all the hard work I put into running around in Karzan was melting away.
I wonder if this is how my father felt when he bought me a whole chicken on his way home from work.
“Captain, your expression is a bit strange.”
“what.”
“···no.”
They all took off their leather armor and put on thick breastplates, so they looked quite handsome.
“···I’m afraid of going to work tomorrow.”
Berman tapped his fingers on his breastplate.
The rest of the guys nodded at him.
“But the leader really likes colorful things.”
“As long as the armor is thick, that’s enough.”
“Anyway, thank you very much, Captain. I’ll tell Rosa about it… Argh!”
He hit Kel on the back of the head to silence him.
“Ah, Captain. I heard from the inner city, what happened in Karzan City? That the city was destroyed…”
“The guards there couldn’t do their job.”
He answered Berman’s question by scratching his cheek.
It’s closer to not doing it than not being able to do it, but while I was running around causing a fuss, I never once encountered a security guard.
‘Thanks to that, it was easy.’
“But what happened when your father went to Karzan?”
The weasel, who had been tapping his chest plate with his palm, tilted his head and muttered.
The noisy guys became quiet.
“What a coincidence. I was so embarrassed.”
Although I answered very naturally, the suspicion in their eyes did not go away easily.
Then Brick looked around the chest armor, fussing.
“What are you doing?”
“I was checking to see if there was any blood on it. Captain, is this the one you bought? Didn’t you just take it off a dead guy by chance?”
As I laughed at Brick’s question, the other guys suddenly started examining the chest armor like Brick did.
I didn’t say anything because it was funny, but pretended that something was bothering me, and the guys’ hands became even busier.
“It’s here!! Blood!”
Since it was cheap for a breastplate, it is possible that the blacksmith painted it and sold it.
It didn’t really matter.
“Well, isn’t it okay? The previous owner was so hard that he could hear a thud-thud sound.”
The weasel shrugged his shoulders and said.
The other guys nodded their heads and muttered, “That’s true.”
“···Ahem. Aaron?”
Scar, who had been quiet, called me.
“Why are you here?”
“We’re getting closer, you know. But… don’t you have anything for me?”
Scar’s round eyes sparkled, belying his size and beard.
‘I blinked.’
There was no need to show it though.
“Of course. Here, take this. It’s a dagger I specially acquired from Karzan.”
I secretly passed the dagger I had used to slaughter the goblin under the table as if it were something precious.
“Ohh··· As expected···.”
The guy awkwardly looked around and hid his dagger. He seemed quite happy about the breath he was letting out.
It was the best deal ever, since I was planning on buying a new dagger anyway and the guy who got it was happy.
“Please make some room for me-.”
At that moment, Hana came in, holding beer in both hands.
“Huh? That’s a hairband I’ve never seen before.”
“Oh, really?”
Hannah smiled brightly at Kel’s question and gently touched her golden hairband.
“Move to the side a bit.”
Hannah tapped the weasel next to her and pushed it aside, then sat down.
“How’s business?”
“The cartman is not coming in right now, so we have run out of ingredients. So we can’t do business. Now, all we have left is food for ourselves.”
“That’s right, Commander. There’s chaos in the castle right now. Even the lord’s side is collecting groceries in preparation for cleaning, so there are groans here and there.”
“I took all my pickled meat!
Hannah rolled up her sleeves and swore harshly, causing the others to cough and look away. The weasel simply pushed his chair back and went to another table.
“What are you all doing? You’re cursing the emperor in places where he’s not around. Are you scared?”
“No, that’s not it···.”
“I was scared. I was scared.”
“The lord’s fucking baby!”
“Ahahahaha!”
Kel, who had finally cursed harshly at Hannah’s urging, looked around breathlessly.
“Brother. No, Father. ···It seems like Boradongi is a genius.”
The weasel, who had returned without notice, spoke with a serious face.
“Purple?”
“yes.”
The weasel nodded in response to my question.
“Dylan calls Kanna Bora.”
Only after hearing Hannah’s explanation did I understand what the weasel was saying.
“A genius?”
“Yes, definitely! Take a look at this!”
The weasel showed me a beer mug. I let out a small moan when I saw the ice in the mug.
The ice took the shape of a very handsome man’s face, as if carved by a sculptor. It was covered in scars.
‘···The child is evolving in the wrong direction?’
It wasn’t a very nice sight to see ice cubes that looked like me floating in the beer and gradually melting.
“Isn’t that amazing? Yesterday, I rolled two dice on my head again···.”
After that, the weasel continued to praise the mini fridge for a long time.
Most of them were useless comments like, “He can eat by himself, so he’s a genius!”
However, as I continued to listen to the weasel’s words, which were like brainwashing me, my thoughts gradually began to lean toward the genius.
The weasel, who had been drinking for a long time, got very excited and brought Kanna.
Kanna, her lips curled up, froze her beer with one hand and rolled the dice with the other, and everyone applauded and cheered.
“Genius! Genius! Genius!”
The mini fridge started to look like a luxury fridge more and more because of the weasel that kept mumbling next to me.
“As expected! Boradong is a genius! Boradong is a genius!”
The weasel clapped and cheered, and the mini-fridge wiggled its lips in response.
I’ve seen wizards who can make people bleed with a gesture, and wizards who can transform into dragons, but somehow this little guy seemed more amazing than them.
‘Is this brainwashing?’
I scratched my head.
“Father, isn’t it a loss to the empire that such a genius is rotting away in the outskirts?!”
“···If you keep calling me father again.”
The weasel swallowed his words, but nodded his head fiercely as if he understood.
“Ohhhh!!”
By then, the mini-fridge had climbed onto Brick’s shoulder, opened its beer-soaked hand, and sprayed a few frozen drops of water. Everyone stood up and cheered.
‘The academy’s tuition is···.’
I was seriously worried that if I left him alone, he would turn into a huge clown.
However, since the academy was open to adults only, it was still a distant dream.
Anyway, a wizard with a washing function was going to come and teach me.
‘···But is he okay?’
Suddenly, I remembered the rabid goblin I had met on my way back and scratched my cheek.
‘But he’s a wizard, so he wouldn’t come running to me without thinking just because you put a few gold coins in his mouth.’
I put my thoughts aside and drank a cold beer with ice cubes that resembled my face floating on it.
“Genius! Genius!”
Whether it was infected by the weasel or not, everyone was cheering for the genius, and Kanna looked smug and kept spraying beer on him.
‘I don’t need the sprinkler function.’
However, the sight was so cute that I couldn’t help but applaud.
***
“Good morning, Captain.”
Berman nodded his head in greeting, his eyes dark with a hangover.
“Oh, are you on patrol today?”
He answered and put on his boots.
The fluffiness was gone and dampness took its place.
I briefly considered just buying one with my own money.
But even though my pockets were full of gold coins, I didn’t want to buy work boots with my own money.
“Yes. This is patrol.”
“Nothing happened while I was away?”
“Yes. What could be happening?”
He nodded at Berman’s words and got up.
“Oh, that’s right. When the leader wasn’t there, the sect came looking for the leader. Was it the new abbot? He was the one who came looking for the leader. He seemed really picky…”
“Something happened, kid.”
I remembered the man I had encountered during the security check. He was a terrible man who had even pointed out the angle of my elbow.
“Yes? Since the leader is an honorary monk, aren’t you looking for him?”
I lightly hit Berman on the head, who was asking questions with an innocent expression, and headed out. Berman followed me, grumbling.
“Oh, and there’s a story about a group of guys you’ve never seen before in District 6 getting together.”
“Really? I guess I should start from there.”
We headed to District 6 with Berman.
It was better than Zone 7, but worse than Zone 5. Zone 6 was a place where dirty mud would always stick to my boots whenever I walked.
“Are these guys still shitting on the street?”
“They say that the number of cases has decreased a lot these days thanks to the leader hitting people on the head and talking to them.”
“No, it smells weird. Hey! Over there! Come this way.”
I called out to the guy walking crookedly in front of me.
I’ve seen him a few times before, causing accidents while drinking.
“Aaron? …Why?”
“You bring water and sprinkle it from here to here.”
“···Yeah.”
The guy hesitated for a moment and then nodded obediently.
I walked away after seeing the guy carrying a large wooden bucket full of water.
“Oh, it’s over there, Captain.”
“uh.”
The place Berman led us to was an alleyway at the very end of District 6, connecting to District 7.
“There are always weird guys in places like this.”
“I think so too.”
As we went inside, chatting away, there were six guys who looked like they were going to do something, just like Berman had said.
They were all faces I was seeing for the first time.
However, they were thick-bodied and had angular faces, giving off the impression that they had lived a rough life.
“Do they still hit you on the back of the head these days?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to catch them these days. Everyone laughs when they get hit.”
“I guess so. Hey, guys, come this way.”
I waved my hand and called the guys over.
The guys who had been impressed by him for a moment approached him with awkward smiles.
‘He looks really evil.’
I looked at their rough faces and smiled kindly, but they flinched and backed away clearly.
“hello.”
Among the men, the one with the neatly cut hair nodded.
‘It’s ambiguous.’
After all, it was difficult to hit guys who came out bowing like this.
It would be more comfortable if we could just hang out and have honest conversations…
“What’s your name?”
“Oh, it’s Jo Ji.”
“George? That’s a shitty name.”
“···yes?”
The guy’s face, which had frozen for a moment, quickly returned to its original state.
“Haha, that’s the name my mother gave me.”
The guy continued talking with an awkward smile.
“Yeah. What. George, what brings you to Castle Cassadick? And with ugly friends?”
“···Haha. This is my mother’s hometown, so I came here with my work friends. My mother said before she died that Cassady Castle was a nice place to live.”
The others, except George, nodded with stern faces. It seemed like George was the leader.
“Really? It would be nice if some healthy guys came in. Then what do you plan on doing?”
“That… I’m still thinking about it. At first, I was thinking about opening a bar, but it seems like there are more bars than I thought.”
Since the guy kept coming out in a humble manner, there wasn’t really anything else to ask.
I scratched the ball with him and decided to finish it simply.
“Then all my friends, take off your shirts.”
“···yes?”
“Take off your top! Why don’t you take it off quickly?!”
The guys’ expressions completely crumpled as Berman shouted at them from the side.
I didn’t want to see those guys’ naked bodies either.
But considering what’s been happening lately, this was the fastest way.
It could be someone with a story behind them, like a demon’s handprint or a warlock.
“Even if they are the security guards, they are being so oppressive···.”
One of George’s friends raised his voice. He had a big acne scar on his nose.
“oh.”
“Wait a minute! I’ll explain it to you.”
As I gave a small exclamation, George quickly turned around and started squabbling with the guys.
A moment later, the guys stood in front of me with their shirts exposed. They didn’t have the Devil’s Handprint, but they had scars and tattoos here and there.
“I guess you said we worked together, but it wasn’t farming?”
“Isn’t that what life is all about? Farming requires permission and land···.”
George trailed off in response to my question and handed me two silver coins.
I fiddled with the silver coin in my hand.
Then, I accidentally slipped my hand and hit the back of his head, but he just laughed as if nothing had happened. He was a difficult guy.
‘That Scar guy is going to eat some kid.’
Judging from the scars and tattoos, it seemed like he had been a gangster, but the guys were so humble that there was no reason to arrest them. They weren’t even wearing metal bars.
“Okay. Don’t cause any trouble.”
“Yes, please come in.”
I patted the bowing guy on the shoulder and turned around.
Come on in!
The guys behind him shouted in unison.
“It smelled like silver.”
“They were better educated than I thought.”
Berman answered, putting a silver coin he had received from me into his pocket.
“I don’t see any excuse.”
“···Did the leader see something like that?”
Berman’s muttering went unnoticed.
It wasn’t a bad idea for the Scar guy to come to his senses at this opportunity. In the first place, aside from his size, he didn’t fit in with that kind of people.
After going around areas 6 and 7, I got a beer in area 5 and continued my patrol while sipping beer.
Then, as I passed the front of the castle, I saw the castle guards running around busily.
There were so many items piled up that it seemed like they were preparing to clean up.
Among them was the illegitimate child, Jace.
The guy was carrying a large bundle, sweating profusely.
“Wow- this is fucking crazy.”
It was clear that Jace could hear my voice, but he seemed to be ignoring me and didn’t react at all.
“Whoa- this is fucking awesome!”
“Fucking shit!”
At that, I raised my voice and Berman, who was next to me, awkwardly followed suit. I did that about three times before Jayce, his face reddening, came running.
“What are you talking about, commoner? It’s noisy. Get out of here.”
“Let me ask you something. Illegitimate child square. When is the cleaning due?”
It was quite amusing to see him speak intermittently like a robot, so I imitated him and Jace’s hands started shaking.
“Do you think I should tell you?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll continue.”
“···This ignorant commoner.”
“Berman.”
“Haha, I’m fine. Captain. Jace. How is your tolerance?”
“It’s three days later. Those damn foreign bastards. Always sucking up to honey…”
Jace, who was glaring at Berman and me in turn, muttered a few harsh curses.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey- Jace!! This kid, are you slacking off again!”
Just then, another guy behind him yelled, startling Jace and making him run around in shock.
“He’s having a hard time too.”
“That’s right. It’s easy to be in the outer guard. It’s a pain to go over there and buy it.”
“Oh, but I heard he’s seeing a woman too.”
“···Why are you saying that to me?”
I didn’t answer and just walked away, with Berman following me, repeating several times that he was just waiting for his fate.
“I’m going to the synagogue.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
“I’ll go and pray that you get a girlfriend. After all, I’m an honorary monk…”
“Hey, Captain! Seriously!”
Berman shouted, “Back!”
At that, I laughed out loud and ran away.
***
‘The atmosphere···.’
Around the synagogue, monks with blue eyes were running busily.
It hadn’t even been a week since my last visit, but the atmosphere was completely different.
The synagogue that once smelled like honey was now a wasteland, with monks walking around like zombies.
‘You seem to be quite picky.’
Some of the monks were wiping the walls of the synagogue with cloths.
They were mumbling something, but when I listened closely, I realized it wasn’t a prayer.
I checked my attire, shook off my gold cape, and went inside.
The inside of the synagogue was much cleaner than the last time I came.
No, it went beyond clean.
I lightly ran my finger along the windowsill, but nothing came off.
“Ah, Honorary Monk Aaron!”
A familiar face greeted me.
It was the earlobe monk, Ains.
Unlike the other monks who looked like they were about to die, the boy was as lively as ever.
“Monk Ains.”
“Father Blian, you’ve come a long way! You’ve been to the city of Karzan? Have you seen the beautiful monastery there?”
Monk Ains smiled and said.
‘Was there something like that there?’
I think it was there. I couldn’t see it clearly because I was running away with the bag of gold coins.
“Yes, it was very beautiful. But Father Blian was looking for it···?”
“Yes, Priest Blian’s condition has not been very good lately…”
It was clear that he would not be able to remain sane if he had an inquisitor and a strict abbot around him.
‘···But why are you looking for me?’
Although I felt uneasy, I nodded and followed Ains inside.
It seemed better to meet Blian before the abbot.
dripping.
“who is this!”
Ains laughed bitterly at the nervous voice.
“This is Monk Ains. Monk Emeritus Aaron has come to see you.”
“Ah! Honorary Monk Aaron! Come in! Quickly!”
“Please come in.”
Although I felt uneasy, I nodded and went inside.
The room was clean and without any decorations, unlike the last time I came.
There was only one Bible left, as if a thief had broken in.
And that too, right in the center, as if measured with a ruler.
“Honorary Monk Aaron!”
Priest Blian came running, literally barefoot.
‘···Why are you taking off your shoes?’
“Yes, Father Blian.”
“I have an urgent favor to ask of our Honorable Aaron!”
Priest Blian’s hand trembled as he held my arm, and he shouted in a voice full of sincerity.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“As expected! I thought that Honorary Monk Aaron would grant my request! Then please do it!”
I was dumbfounded at the sight of her smiling broadly without even saying what she was asking for.
“What is that request···?”
“Ah! You forgot to mention the important thing! It’s simple! After hearing all these honorable stories about my Honorary Monk Aaron, I thought it would be quickest to ask Honorary Monk Aaron! And aren’t we two on good terms?”
Blian spoke eagerly, spittle flying from his mouth.
“···Yes, well, that’s right. So, what’s your request?”
“Brighton!
I was speechless for a moment because I didn’t expect to hear someone being asked to kill someone from a priest’s mouth.
‘What honorable story is there about me that you want me to kill a man, you crazy pig priest.’
Soon, I pressed my temples in anger.
He was a pig priest who clearly kept his integrity, even though he was visiting prostitutes’ houses and eating little by little from behind, but what on earth happened…
“Who is Brighton?”
First, I asked who the target, Brighton, was.
If that guy dies, we can just capture this pig priest and put him in.
“You don’t know yet!
Blian’s eyes, which were jaundiced, shook violently from side to side.
So, is the priest asking the guard captain to kill the abbot now?
‘Is he crazy?’
I couldn’t help but cough in response to the absurd situation.
“That’s because you haven’t met him yet! How poisonous he is! That damn prayer! The Bible! The dawn prayer! I can’t breathe these days! I can’t breathe! Ahoo! Ahoo!”
Blian burst into rage, pounding his chest as if he was having trouble breathing.
‘But aren’t prayers, the Bible, and dawn prayers something that priests should do?’
However, I held back because I felt like the compliment vending machine would break if I said it out loud.
To Blian’s story, which was full of emotion, I responded by cursing without any words and shaking my fist in the air a few times.
Then, as if he had met his savior, Blian took out all the gold coins from his bosom and handed them to me.
“That… that’s right! It’s a down payment! It’s a down payment! If you just kill that guy, I’ll give you something incomparable to this!”
It was clear that he had completely lost his mind.
I didn’t refuse it and just took it.
Given the content, it was clear that I would not be able to report it even if I swallowed this gold coin.
‘No, I was a security guard in the first place, so I have no one to report it to.’
Anyway, it was pocket money.
“Isn’t Father Blian’s trouble my own trial?”
I scratched it to see if there was anything else I could find, and Blian reached inside his robes and took out another gold coin and gave it to me.
The gold coin was warm and made me feel bad, but it was gold, so I smiled brightly.
“Just trust me! I will definitely solve it.”
Priest Blian, who took my hand, smiled brightly.
I also laughed as I felt the weight of the gold coins in my pocket.
***
I pushed away Priest Blian, who was trying to put the staff of the sect in my hand, telling me to beat him with it, and headed towards the abbot’s room.
I wondered what on earth was going on that made Priest Blian act like that, and how the monks with honey dripping down their faces had turned into zombies.
It only took a very short time, about two cups of tea, for him to realize this.
“How can an honorary monk not know the prayers? Now, follow along. The sun will shine on the dark land, and many false things will retreat…”
“You say you haven’t memorized the Bible because you’re busy? I spent my days as a monk reading the Bible with my eyes wide open. Everything is an excuse. Here, take this. It’s the Bible I’ve read for a long time, but since you’re not here, I’ll give it to you as a special gift. I’ll tell you again that being busy is just an excuse. Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to check.”
“So, the start of the week… Oh, when the sun rises? Then there will be plenty of time. When the sun is just beginning to rise, come to the synagogue. Everyone prays at that time these days, so it will help your faith. What? Training? Then get up a little earlier. You can overcome sleep with willpower.”
“You may be an honorary monk, but you are also a member of the Sun Church now. This is all for your own good. If you build your faith like this, it will all be of help to you one day.”
eternally-.
I had to hold back my hand from going to the hilt of my sword while listening to the cursed low-pitched voice that repeated itself.
After a while, I started to think seriously as the abbot pointed out that my posture was too rough.
‘If the starting deposit is five gold coins, what is the success fee?’
I was deeply troubled as I looked at the abbot who had put the torn Bible in my hand.
