preparation
“···Why does it look like this?”
As I entered the room to report, the captain opened his round, fleshy eyes and asked.
“Ah, the monsters have appeared. Over there in the field.”
“To the field? So?”
“I went out and caught it.”
The captain’s round eyes narrowed at my answer.
He started to lose weight and looked like an old caterpillar.
“···You went out and caught it?”
“yes.”
I was already tired, so I nodded, clicking my tongue as I asked him more questions.
“It wasn’t a wolf, it was a monster, and you went to kill it?! Just you guys?! Without even reporting it? Without permission?!”
The captain seemed excited as he spoke and jumped up from his seat.
The captain’s hideous fashion caught his eye.
‘This kid is only wearing this on top of his armor.’
The top was iron armor, but below it were baggy trousers that looked like something one might wear at home.
“These kids?! Without even asking me?!”
The captain came walking towards me, making a loud noise.
And when he tried to put his hand on my shoulder, I lowered my knees to match his height.
“Very- good job! As expected from Team Leader Aaron. I told you, Team Leader Aaron is the one I trust the most? Know- how- fast! A proactive team leader! If only all team leaders were like Aaron, I would have no wish! A wish!”
The captain grinned like a pig that had eaten honey, and spit kept flying out of his mouth.
I couldn’t help but laugh along because it was so funny, and the crew members behind me also giggled.
The captain changed his expression and coughed loudly, as if he felt embarrassed.
“Anyway! Group 4! They cause the most accidents, but they also do the most work! Group 4 is awesome!”
The captain walked around excitedly, patting the kids on the shoulders.
Finally, he tapped the weasel on the shoulder, and the weasel shouted, ‘I pledge my life to Castle Cassadick! I will be loyal to you!’
The captain, whose face became irritated, replied, ‘There’s no need to do that. Do it properly. Do it properly.’
“I would like to give you a vacation right now, but I don’t have the authority to do so, so I will give you applause instead. Group 4! Very good! Now- everyone, applause!”
There was a moment of silence after the captain’s words, and when I clapped first, the guys behind me followed suit.
“Yeah, yeah. Everyone worked hard. Go inside and get some rest-.”
The excited captain brought out the lower armor and put it on, saying:
I wanted to kick her squirming butt, but I barely held myself back and left the room.
***
“Isn’t that too much? Buy me a drink or something. Anyway, you bastard.”
“It’s noisy, Kel. We’re still in headquarters.”
“What are you saying? Berman, you’re a security guard too. Why do you keep pretending that you’ve never touched a woman?”
“···I touched it.”
“when?”
“Ahem.”
“Both of you are noisy. I’ll buy it, so everyone wash up and come to Hae-na’s.”
Kel and Berman, who had been growling until just now, shouted ‘Understood-‘ at the same time.
“Ah, captain. I am that···.”
Brick, his face red, scratched the back of his head and trailed off.
“Captain, I saw it earlier. Brick secretly ate the goblin dust.”
Snake Eyes said, pointing to Brick with his chin.
“I didn’t eat it secretly… I was just curious about the taste….”
“Hey, are you going to see Brother Brick?”
“What is that?”
“This is it. This.”
In response to Brick’s question, the weasel clapped his left fist against his right palm, making a clacking sound.
“No, I’m just going to help out because there’s a group reservation at the restaurant today.”
‘A group reservation at that cursed place?’
If only I had gone to see Charlotte, it would have been more suspicious.
“Okay. Do as you wish. If you want to drink, drink it in my name.”
“Where is the captain going?”
“uh.”
Kel scratched his head nervously at my question.
“I’m going to meet a great kid.”
I didn’t want to go, but it wasn’t something I could just let go of.
***
The synagogue was still busy.
The monks still had deathly expressions on their faces, and the white synagogue building looked as if it had just been built.
As I prepared myself mentally for a moment in front of it, the lush trees next to the synagogue began to sway slightly.
‘···The Inquisitor?’
When he looked up, he saw the Inquisitor crouching on top of the tree.
The heretic inquisitor looked down with a wary look in his eyes, holding the cake in his hand.
Then our eyes met, and the inquisitor frowned. Then he reached out, pointed to my forehead, and nodded.
It seemed like the blessing was omitted depending on the situation.
I don’t know why I was up there, but I didn’t want to get involved, so I slowly backed away.
Linger-.
The trees trembled and green leaves fell.
‘The kids here are really…’
An inquisitor whose thoughts are unpredictable, a priest who commissions the murder of the abbot, and an abbot who is uselessly upright and innocent.
It was a combination that made me nod my head.
I entered the synagogue through the wide open doors, and suddenly there was a shout from inside.
“···How could you not know that!”
The voice was clearly Brighton’s, which made me feel slightly dizzy.
However, I was curious as to what had made the polite gentleman so angry, so I sneaked inside.
The place where the screaming was heard was the room where I had previously purchased the potion.
I popped my head out to check and saw that the guy I had hated was constantly nodding to Brighton.
I had planned on beating him up a few times when I met him outside, but it felt quite satisfying to see him get completely robbed.
“That··· That’s because there are so many imports and exports···.”
“Is that a valid excuse! And why are the ledgers so sloppily written! How can the person in charge of the potion called the Blood of the Gods be so shabby!”
‘Wow, your voice is really amazing.’
A smile naturally appeared on my face as I felt like all the things that had piled up today were being lifted away at once.
Originally, watching other people get ripped off was the most fun.
Even if the target is someone you’ll beat up someday, the fun is doubled.
“Get out! Get out now! Starting today, I’ll be in charge of the potions! I’ll go out and sweep the yard!”
“Ha··· but··· Abbot···.”
“Didn’t you hear me telling you to get out!”
“Yes··· Yes!”
I made eye contact with the thick-skinned guy who was rushing out of the room.
As I faced him and smiled, showing my teeth, the guy passed me by with a scrunched up face.
Then he hit my shoulder as if he wanted to lose his temper, but I was no match for him in the first place.
“Eww!”
The bastard fell to the ground in a nice way, and I looked down at him, the corners of my mouth turning up again.
The guy, red as if he was going to burst, got up out of breath and ran outside.
‘If I meet you outside, I’ll have to beat up two of you.’
“Ah, you’re here.”
Brighton, who had already crossed over and sat down, greeted me, wondering if he was sincere when he said he would take care of the potions.
‘So are all the guys sweeping the yard the ones who got kicked out?’
A sudden thought occurred to me and I burst out laughing.
“Yes, I came because I have something to tell you.”
“Have you read the Bible at all?”
I forgot about it for a moment.
This little shit is a great guy without a piano.
“Oh, I haven’t been able to read it yet because I’m busy. I had a lot of work to do today···.”
“I said it last time, but saying I was busy is just an excuse. When I looked at it when I entered, it seemed like I would have time to read the Bible even during the security check···.”
“Oh, I have something important to tell you.”
I quickly cut off Brighton’s words because I felt like my ears would bleed if I left him alone.
The Abbot of Brighton nodded, seemingly unconcerned at being cut off.
“Today, the peasants were attacked by monsters, and traces of a warlock were found among the monsters.”
“Evidence of the blasphemous has been found?”
Brighton asked calmly, his eyes sinking deeper than before.
“Yes. I was able to recognize her because I confronted the warlock during the kidnapping incident last time.”
“Oh, I read it in the report. I see. They are impious… Then what happened to the tenant farmers?”
“Four people were killed by orcs.”
“I’ve recently heard that there have been monsters roaming around Castle Cassadic. Has anything been done about the tenant farmers?”
Brighton’s sharp eyes furrowed slightly.
“yes.”
“I see. Thanks for telling me.”
Brighton jumped up from his seat and passed me. His strides were so long that I could tell he was really angry.
“Please look after this place for a moment. I will send Monk Ains out on my way out.”
I nodded, not knowing where I was going.
“Oh, and have you seen the Inquisitor by any chance? I’ve been looking for him for a while now, but I can’t find him.”
Brighton turned around and asked as he was about to leave the room.
I thought of the inquisitor squatting on the tree.
‘Were you hiding to avoid him?’
I hesitated for a moment whether to tell him where it was, then shook my head.
I couldn’t betray someone who was suffering together with me.
“Okay, I see. I don’t know where it went. Tsk.”
Brighton nodded and left the room.
Left alone, I quietly crossed to the other side.
Next to it, there were a lot of those precious potions on display.
‘That thick-skinned guy is in charge now, right?’
Suddenly, I remembered the guy breaking down earlier and the ticking I heard from him before.
I picked up a potion nearby.
I took a sip of the potion, smelling its distinctive medicinal scent.
‘I was a little tired today. It turned out well.’
I emptied the potion in one go.
The potion heading to my stomach sent a warm feeling throughout my body, and I patted my stomach in satisfaction.
I felt a strong sense of energy being restored.
And as I sat still, I felt bored so I drank another potion.
‘It’s a disgusting taste. Are strawberries not tasty?’
After drinking two, not only did I feel more energetic, my eyes became wide open.
“Ah! Honorary Monk Aaron!”
After drinking about three bottles and feeling like I needed to pee, Monk Eins arrived.
So I snuck a bottle in and went outside.
***
[Yes… How can you! Not knowing gratitude…]
Knock knock.
As soon as I woke up, I looked for a sword.
Only after seeing that it was a familiar room did I put down my sword and wash my face.
‘··· That great dog.’
It was obvious who the guy at the door was.
I grabbed my sword and armor and went outside.
I exchanged a quick greeting with the man reading the Bible with a serious expression on his face.
I walked around the vacant lot and the guy was reciting a prayer.
Even as he swung his sword, he still recited a prayer.
‘Can I push myself a little harder since there are medical staff behind me?’
I pushed myself harder than usual, thinking that if I couldn’t avoid it, I might as well use it. I didn’t stop even when I reached my limit.
So the pick fell forward.
Then Brighton came and treated him and his health improved.
After finishing him off, Brighton turned around without any hesitation and the mini fridge came running over and handed him a beer.
‘Not bad, right?’
Drinking a cold beer made me feel a little more organized.
Since there was someone who treated me, I was able to do the exercise that I had been doing moderately while thinking about my future work, to the extreme.
The prayer was a bit loud, but I could get over it to some extent because I thought of it as gym music.
Of course, if there were a gym that played music like that, it would have gone out of business a long time ago.
At that moment, the mini fridge opened its palm and shouted, “Ta-da!”
A frozen dice was floating in his small palm.
The sight gave me a headache for a moment.
‘Why did you combine those two?’
However, he hid his true feelings and applauded and praised.
The corners of his lips twitched at that.
He seemed to enjoy the compliments.
When I went inside and washed up, Hannah was sitting on the table with a meat bun on it.
“Ah! Aaron.”
“uh.”
I sat down and picked up the meat bread, giving a vague answer to Hannah who was smiling brightly.
It definitely tasted good, perhaps because my skills had improved compared to before.
“When do you think the carriage driver will be back to normal? Lately, Cops and other regulars keep asking me.”
“Probably, I’ll clean it up soon. It should be done within a week.”
The fat from the meat soaked the bread, making the dry bread much more edible.
“A week… But this isn’t so bad! Being this cozy with Aaron-.”
When Hannah smiled brightly, she moved her hands awkwardly. Who on earth taught her that gesture?
“Is it okay if I can’t do business?”
I quickly changed the subject.
“Well, I got a big share of the previous executions, so it’s okay. No! Money is a bit tight, so could you help me with this?”
Hannah smiled again, making awkward gestures.
“Take this.”
“Huh? It’s gold, gold?! Oh… 43 coppers at a time… 1 gold… Aaron! T… That much?! No! My arm will break!”
Hannah, who had been muttering to herself, became lost in thought, shook her head and held out a gold coin. However, judging from the corners of her lips going up, she seemed to be completely absorbed in the joke.
“It’s a deposit. The remaining accommodation fee and other miscellaneous items.”
“Hey- What the. For one gold coin, I could live here for the rest of my life! Oh my- For the rest of my life?”
Hannah playfully put the gold coin near her chest and made a fuss.
‘This kid can’t wear a heart protector.’
I wiped the oil from my hands on the cloth on the table and got up.
“Have a good day today too, Aaron!”
“Have a nice day.”
I went outside, greeted by Kanna, who had a strong scent of a weasel.
The damp smell of dawn mixed with the faint smell of a rotten smell, making for a wonderful medieval morning.
***
A simple funeral was held for Prane.
The abbot himself took charge of what was originally a priest’s job and supervised him.
Since the abbot took charge of the funeral, the lord had no choice but to participate, and as a result, a grand funeral was held that did not suit the status of a tenant farmer.
‘I’m already dead, so what does a funeral have to do with it?’
In front of a corpse wrapped in cloth, two small children were looking around with their eyes wide open.
These were the kids I had seen when I went to play in Prane.
He clicked his tongue and headed towards the gate.
Since the lord had forbidden the tenant farmers to go out until the cleaning was finished, there was less work to do than usual.
He had a feeling that the abbot had visited the lord at that late hour yesterday.
Even though he was the abbot, it was impressive in a way that he went to see the lord at that late hour.
Thanks to that, the cleaning was pushed back to tomorrow.
“I said, look at this. I ate this just yesterday! Kiya- This is just- just! Jump! I won’t die! Keep jumping! Jump!”
A weasel climbed up to the stand and preached about goblin dust, waving his hands repeatedly.
The men, who had been wondering how well the explanation and gestures fit together, looked up with bewildered eyes.
“Come on- it’s not a loss! It’s precious, so there’s not much to it! I’m just sharing this good stuff, not trying to make money. Hey! Don’t cut in! I’m only going to sell one spoonful per person anyway.”
Even though there was clearly no one in line yet, the weasel waved its hand naturally.
I’ve felt this way before, but there’s something about the weasel’s words that makes me feel sick when I listen to them.
“There’s not much left! If you’re late, it’s over! Over!”
As the weasel shouted firmly, the men hurriedly lined up. In response, the weasel poured powder into the men’s mouths with a wooden stick that looked like a spoon.
The powder was sold out quickly and I gave a small portion of the proceeds to the weasel. Hehe- Judging by the way he was smiling, the weasel seemed satisfied.
‘As expected, demons make money.’
He nodded, patting his pockets which had become even fuller.
“But Father… No, Brother, does this really work?”
It was funny that the guy who had been screaming like that before was now asking about the effect.
“You’ll feel more confident.”
“···Is that so? I think what you said is right, hyung. After all, isn’t the most important thing for a man confidence?”
After that, I was continuing the boring search and rescue with the weasel when Nova came looking for me.
“Aaron.”
Nova’s eyes were filled with annoyance, her hair tied up tightly.
“An orange with feet.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Come this way.”
Nova called out to me with a pretended serious expression.
“Sister-in-law… No, because it’s father- Mom?”
The muttering weasel quickly closed its mouth at Nova’s glare and stared straight ahead, pretending to be watching the inspection intently.
I couldn’t help but cough in disbelief at that absurd statement.
“What is that?”
“weasel.”
“What? Okay. What you were talking about back then. The story about the demon having traces of a warlock. Are you sure about that?”
“No, I’m not sure.”
“···I’m serious, so don’t joke around.”
“I’m serious too.”
“Huh… So anyway, that means there’s a high possibility that the warlock is after Youngae?”
“maybe.”
Nova glared at me, her eyes narrowed.
“I don’t know exactly either.”
He shrugged and answered.
“Yes. Young-ae won’t be going with us for the cleaning. The Lord made the decision before I suggested it.”
‘The Flying Baron is a smart guy.’
The cleanup around the Castle of Cassadic could have resulted in both knights being assigned to the eldest son of the Fener family.
It was a good move to naturally have Knight Ben remain at the Castle of Cassady, leaving Young-ae out.
“Of course, I was going to suggest that too. But in a way, it’s obvious. What kind of crazy guy would take a pretty girl with him to fight a monster?”
Nova glared at me with sharp eyes, emphasizing ‘Aritaun’.
“I guess so.”
“Whew… I’ll stop talking. Anyway, if it’s like you said, the black magician is behind the demon and is after Young-ae, wouldn’t they have known about it?”
Nova asked, shaking off her innocent hands.
“In the meantime, we might be able to raid the castle.”
“That’s right. Or maybe the warlock just released the monster he was experimenting with. I looked into it and found that there are some cases like that.”
Nova then answered by bringing up a number of different scenarios, some of which seemed quite plausible.
That was right.
It was difficult to identify the warlocks accurately because they were all somewhat shady.
“If there’s an attack, the most vulnerable side is the outer wall. The inner wall has at least one knight left, but the outer wall only has guards.”
Nova said, tapping my cheek with her finger.
“I see.”
“I see–no, that’s not it. I’ve already told the people in the religious order, so support will be sent to the outer city. The new abbot is quite articulate. Support, including the heresy inquisitors, will be added to the outer city.”
Nova explained that it was to prepare for one of the possible cases, but there was already a lot of work to be done.
“It’s better to prepare in advance and take the risk that comes when you’re not, than to get fooled and regret it later. No, if you get fooled, won’t you regret it?”
Nova answered in an annoyed voice as if she had read my gaze, then the corners of her lips turned up.
“Anyway, I’ve already secured the inner wall, so just worry about the outer wall. Don’t run around and break the wall again!”
Although I felt a little wronged, I nodded at those sharp eyes.
As I watched Nova nodding in satisfaction, my mouth suddenly felt itchy.
“Are you here to warn me because you’re worried? You thoughtful orange with legs.”
“···What the hell.”
Nova, who had been swearing softly, quickly turned around and left.
The boat was faster than the walking speed it was at.
‘A raid… What will this guy give me this time?’
I found myself salivating without realizing it.
‘There are fire-breathing sticks and sharp swords. This time…’
“Brother… no, Father. If it gets dangerous, I will abandon this son….”
I hit the back of the head of the muttering weasel next to me and silenced it.
***
Phew-.
A soldier armed with solid iron armor slowly moved forward, accompanied by the sound of a horn.
Everyone was riding horses, so it was quite lively.
At the very front was the eldest son of the Fener family.
The man had a sword at his waist and a long spear in his hand.
A rather unlucky and handsome guy shouted something and the rest of the soldiers responded.
Behind him, the knight Adela was also holding a long spear.
“Isn’t that a fucking sack? The foreman has caught it, but it’s incredibly heavy.”
Berman asked in a small voice from the side.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Chief, the oak doesn’t dry as well as I thought. Maybe it’s because it’s so big.”
“Brother Full. In my hometown, that is···.”
“Brick, did you give me a taste of goblin yesterday?”
“Oh, Kel. I brought you the leftover fish bread from yesterday…”
“It’s the devil! It’s the devil!”
“Everyone, be quiet.”
So the vassal, the knights, the soldiers of the Fener family, the soldiers of the Polputs family, and a few of the inner guards left the castle.
The number was over thirty, which was quite a large number for a castle in such a remote area to go out and clean up the surrounding area.
‘I guess they might come here to really raid the empty castle.’
Above all, since Young-ae was still in the castle, if the men were aiming for Young-ae, they would definitely come and raid the empty castle.
‘I guess I won’t be able to drink for a few days.’
He sat down with Berman in front of the bar and ordered some wine to drink in advance.
The captain ordered us to wait to see if the capture of the monster was effective.
What waiting meant here was, hang out at a suitable bar and come back to report at the end of the day.
While I was drinking like that, a familiar face came to me.
“Ah, Aaron! You’re here.”
“Hmm. Ben?”
Young-ae’s escort was knight Ben.
The guy was wearing black armor again.
“It’s been a while.”
“I haven’t had time lately. Wasn’t there a lot of chaos? Because of that, Young-ae couldn’t come out, so I couldn’t come out either. Oh-.”
“Would you like a drink?”
Ben, who had whetted his appetite, quickly took the wine and drank it in one go.
“You can sit down.”
Ben gestured to Berman, who was standing there awkwardly.
Berman glanced at me and came behind me.
Ben talked about this and that.
Most of the stories were about swordsmanship. I listened to him and added some appropriate comments based on what I knew.
Originally, I thought that a sword was just about stabbing and cutting faster than the opponent, but when I put it into words, it was quite fun.
It was funny that I, a mere security guard, was talking about swordsmanship to Ben, a knight, but Ben nodded and listened to me seriously.
He was a knightly man without being knightly.
“But where did you leave Young-ae?”
“Haha! You left it with Yeong-ae! It’s really funny what you say. Yeong-ae is with the heretic inquisitor. Recently, the heretic inquisitor suddenly said he would help Yeong-ae with her Bible studies.”
‘Did you get caught hiding in the tree?’
But, since it is a Bible study with the help of a heretic inquisitor…
It was scary just hearing it, but I wondered if it was okay since she was a noble young lady.
“Have you heard? There might be an attack on the castle.”
Ben bowed down and whispered quietly, as if it was truly valuable information.
When I acted surprised at him, Ben nodded with a satisfied smile.
“You too, be careful. This time, I won’t let my guard down like before, so don’t worry. Even though I say it myself, I’m actually one of the strongest knights.”
Ben smiled confidently, but I didn’t trust him at all. Of course, just by looking at his demeanor and the look in his eyes, I could tell he was a great knight…
‘Both times it wasn’t very useful.’
When I first met the tenant, and when I confronted the warlock brother, he was lying on the floor bleeding.
Of course, both times I did something, but I wasn’t very impressed.
“Please take good care of me, Knight Ben.”
Still, I nodded because he was a good guy.
“Just trust me, my friend.”
Ben gave himself a pretty cool smile, pointing with his thumb, but it was still disappointing.
***
At night, my main job was to keep a watchful eye on anyone approaching without opening the gate, so I closed the gate and watched from the top of the castle.
“Well, just because the sun has set doesn’t mean He is gone. Even in the darkest night, His warmth remains in the world···.”
‘A great kid with no sense.’
I wanted to dig out my own ears because of the constant muttering next to me.
“Hmm···.”
The inquisitor next to me also had a pale face and was drooling.
I cheered inwardly as I saw the Inquisitor’s hand on the hilt of his mace.
Please, may the Inquisitor draw that mace and crush the head of that great gentleman.
However, it seemed as if he was trying to swallow it with some sanity left.
“Emeritus Aaron. Since you haven’t read the Bible again, I will read it to you myself. In the beginning, the sun…”
This time I touched the hilt of my sword, and the Inquisitor looked at me with eyes filled with a strange heat.
I could barely hold back, and this time the Inquisitor made a regretful expression.
In this way, I tested the limits of my patience by taking turns with the inquisitors.
‘Oh, I wonder if some devil bastard will show up.’
I was desperately looking for a demon, a demon servant, or a warlock.
Whoever the opponent is, please show up first…
At that moment, things were seen approaching the castle from a distance.
Its body is twisted and hideous, and it lacks even a single spark of life.
“Wow!! It’s the devil!”
I laughed out loud without realizing it.
“···and!”
The inquisitor beside him shouted along in a small voice.
She, whose expression remained unchanged, was smiling for a rare moment.
