90
Opening ceremony
“Can I come in?”
Ben glanced back and asked.
I nodded to him.
There was no need to ask since he had the seal of a nobleman, but seeing him check separately, he was quite a peculiar person.
“Then see you later.”
Ben, who spoke briefly, confidently passed through the gate.
I didn’t have high expectations since he was the type of guy who would say the cliche, “Next time will be different,” but he seemed to be swinging his sword with some effort.
I raised my head slightly and watched the carriage passing by.
Inside was the eldest son of the Fener family, whom I had seen before.
His complexion was worse than before, as if he had stayed up for several nights.
‘That normal-looking guy has a really big head… ummm…’
He will inherit the title as the eldest son and he is also quite handsome, so his future looks bright…
A little bit of compassion came up.
There were six soldiers behind the carriage, and one of them had a familiar face.
“Geluru?”
Even though he must have heard my voice, he never turned his head and followed the carriage into the castle.
“Captain, did you speak to the knight?”
I used to speak to Ben more politely when there were others, but lately I’ve been dealing with a lot of news, so I’ve been speaking more casually.
‘It’s not like it’s the land of courtesy in the East… so it’ll be okay.’
I nodded, lightly touching my neck.
“But what does ‘kkasyeotsida’ mean?”
“Are you comfortable talking?”
“Okay.”
As I waved my hand, the carriage drivers and visitors who had moved aside stood in line again.
Yeong-ae’s birthday was always a big deal.
Since Youngae was called the ‘Flower of the East’, many people visited Cassadick to see her beautiful face.
Such a birthday of Yeong-ae was a big event for the incentive guards.
There was a reason why Yeong-ae was so popular among the residents. Of course, Yeong-ae’s personality of acting cheerfully regardless of social status also played a part.
‘The kid is good. He’s good, but···.’
Even though the intelligence was such that he would want to chew on honey even if we only had a short conversation, he was definitely a good kid.
The number of vampires had decreased and Young-ae’s birthday was approaching, so the quarantine rules were relaxed. There was no way vampires could enter a place where nobles and knights gathered without being possessed by vampires.
I left the inspection to Kel and glared at the coachman from behind. The scar worked very well for the ‘tradition between the coachman and the guard’.
Sure, the silver coins were a lot of pocket change to me, but they had their own kind of fun.
“So you have to find Rosa. I told you, things are no joke these days.”
It was complicated to watch Kel grabbing visitors and encouraging them to his lover. To put it simply, he was a great boyfriend who helped his lover, but his job was a bit…
‘If both of them are okay with it, that’s fine.’
I didn’t bother to understand the uncivilized medieval guy. Of course, I didn’t respect him either.
Since many dignitaries are expected to arrive, carriage inspections have been made more stringent than usual.
Although he didn’t tear off the soles as if he was threatening, he checked the contents one by one. Of course, it didn’t really matter because Kel did it.
“You stink.”
“Boy, that guy has a bunch of goat carcasses inside…”
“chlorine?!”
At Kel’s grumbling, I hurriedly grabbed the carriage driver and inspected the contents again.
“Why… why are you doing that?”
Fortunately, unlike my brother’s time, it was goat meat that had been cleaned and trimmed cleanly. So I let him in with peace of mind.
“What happened?”
“Just. The next guest is here. Go, Kel!”
“Like you’re calling out to an animal… This time, the leader should go and see for himself. Didn’t I see it all?”
“If you tease me, I’ll encourage you.”
“Ah!”
Kel grumbled and headed towards the next carriage driver.
I crossed my arms again and glared, and the coachman who saw me was startled and took out a silver coin.
It was a very efficient division of labor.
At that moment, a carriage approached from afar at a very fast speed.
It was a carriage with red drawings on a black background, and at first glance it looked unusual.
In that corner was the seal of the Charlotte family.
‘Charlotte?’
It was unexpected, as it was a family that had never had any contact with the Cassadics until now.
While I was wondering whether I should stop him and search him, the carriage stopped first.
‘Since it stopped first, I guess it wasn’t a promise.’
“I came from Byzantium.”
A large, blunt-nosed knight on horseback looked down and spoke. I brushed off the cocky tone and quickly checked the guy out.
‘Greatsword, your arms are incredibly short compared to your size. Is it Tyrannosaurus style?’
The Tyranno Knight’s bluster was a bit irritating, but I couldn’t stop him since he had revealed that he was a noble. I bowed my head and stepped aside.
‘There are two knights who came together. Since he brought all the knights from Byzantine Castle, it seems that Viscount Bonita himself came.’
I glanced at the carriage procession.
Countess Bonita of the House of Charlotte.
The strange story was famous.
The second daughter of the upper house of Gyarot married the son of the Viscount Charlotte. There were rumors that a large amount of gold coins were exchanged, but the details are unknown.
The problem arose after marriage.
From the Viscount Charlotte to the eldest and second sons.
They all died within two years of contracting some kind of illness.
If this had been any other time, the sole surviving woman would have been immediately branded a witch and burned at the stake.
‘···There was a lot of money. A lot.’
She had given a lot of money to the residents and the synagogue, so she didn’t have to be hung up on. In fact, there were even songs written about her that expressed pity for her. I couldn’t even guess how much it was.
Usually the title is inherited by a relative, but Charlotte’s lineage is ambiguous, so I heard that after various trials, Bonita received the title.
That was five years ago.
‘If you look at the recent news, you must be regretting not hanging up at that time.’
The Byzantine Empire was constantly groaning under the sudden increase in taxes, and despite the recent vampire commotion, they refused to lower the rates.
Just then, a carriage passed right in front of me. I glanced up and made eye contact with the woman inside the carriage.
‘Poisonous spider.’
I quickly lowered my gaze at the cheap feeling.
As the carriage passed and I raised my head, Kel was staring at the gate with a strange expression.
“Captain, don’t you know that I have a really good eye for women?”
“okay.”
Kel was quite good at guessing women’s personalities and circumstances just by looking at their faces. Berman said it was an ability he had acquired from frequenting prostitutes’ houses.
“That woman is a bit different from what the rumors say. She looks pitiful.”
“It’s not just because it’s pretty?”
“···hmm.”
At my question, Kel trailed off and furrowed his eyebrows.
He usually gave high marks to beauties.
“But Rosa is prettier. Her breasts are bigger too.”
“Okay. Go and call a carriage driver.”
I waved my hand at Kel’s continued words.
***
When I came out of headquarters after the security check, Ben was waiting for me.
A proud face and trembling arms. It seemed as if he wanted to spar right away and show off his improved skills.
He lost to a non-knight, but instead of getting angry, he thought about trying again. He really wasn’t a knight.
‘Even so, he’s still not a human being.’
The sight of the large tree still stretching out was vivid in my mind.
“Would you like to go to a bar?”
“Good. You must have a lot to talk about.”
Ben smiled coolly and nodded at my question.
We headed to Ben and Hannah’s bar.
Since Young-ae closed down her safe deposit box business, the bar was quieter than before.
Since a branch was about to open, there was nothing but a washing machine in the bar. Judging from the abundance of items in the hall, it seemed like they weren’t doing business at all.
I ordered some food and beer from the washer and sat down. Ben set his sword aside as I unpacked it and placed it beside me.
Ben drank his beer and rambled on about what had happened at Bolt Castle. After returning to the manor, Ben said he had sparred with a different knight every day.
“At first, the knights wouldn’t accept my training. How could someone who never swings his sword a day be considered a knight? That’s when I thought of you.”
“···I?”
It wasn’t a pleasant thing to hear from a man, so I clenched my fist and waited for a response.
“Yes! Your drive and ignorance! I just grabbed another knight’s head! And then you jumped up and took up your sword?”
Ben said, clapping his hands.
‘You’re going to spar with me by hitting me in the head? Why is that my way?’
I was so shocked that I coughed in vain.
“Anyway, we were able to train like that every day. Later on, everyone got excited and started training first without even having to hit each other. Originally, knights were all passionate about swords at one point.”
“Really? The articles I’ve read aren’t like that.”
“If there had been no passion, how could the Empire… well, it wouldn’t have been able to endure. The moment you drop from the Imperial Knights, everyone lets you go. You’ll be branded a failure.”
Ben tapped his beer glass with his finger, smiling bitterly.
“That’s definitely true.”
When I nodded, Ben’s eyes widened, then he smiled slightly.
“You are still the same.”
“There is a saying that when a person changes, he dies. Ah, thank you. Delmont.”
The washing machine brought fried meat.
I quickly picked him up and ate him because of the fragrant smell.
“···You’re dying?! Is that true?”
Ben asked, astonished.
‘Oh, I forgot that I was an uncivilized medieval person.’
“I’m joking.”
Ben took a deep breath and nodded at my short answer.
“Anyway, the fire that had died down after my duel with you has been rekindled. We clashed swords every day until we vomited.”
Ben smiled confidently.
That’s understandable, because it took a lot of effort to build up those thick arms.
‘Hmm···.’
I nodded to him and repeated the guy’s habit.
‘I stepped forward with my left foot before stabbing… Now the distance must be shorter than mine.’
I played out the battle in my head, but there was no way I could lose. No matter how thick his arms got, there was no way he could crush me.
“But the old man’s complexion doesn’t look good.”
“Ah, you mean Levilian. He hasn’t been out of his room much lately. He used to ask for sparring often before going to the capital. Oh, but don’t call him that in front of other people. Even though he hasn’t been given a title yet, it might make you feel a little uncomfortable.”
“That’s right. But is it true that the Vault Castle suffered little damage from vampires?”
“There wasn’t much. I only recently found out about the vampire chaos. I was so absorbed in sparring that I didn’t come out to the inner sanctum.”
‘That’s strange.’
All the surrounding castles were suffering from vampires, but only Bolt Castle was unharmed. Unless the residents of Bolt Castle enjoyed eating garlic like Koreans…
‘There might be a connection. For now, it doesn’t seem to be this one.’
I looked at Ben and collected my thoughts.
‘In the first place, since I’m a knight, I can’t get involved with the devil.’
The knight was a being who could not coexist with the devil because of his duty.
“Well, since we talked to some extent···.”
Ben put down his empty beer mug and picked up the sword next to him.
It seemed like he had gained some weight, but no matter how you look at it, he looked really excited about working out.
“Okay.”
I emptied the remaining beer and caught twenty-goal.
I really liked the comfortable grip.
***
‘Phew···.’
Ben stared straight ahead, his breathing steady.
There stood a giant covered in iron.
‘It looks like you’ve gotten bigger.’
I felt a needless sense of intimidation due to the instinctive pressure.
‘How can he have such a presence even though he’s not a knight…’
It was clear that if he cowered before even starting, he wouldn’t be able to show his full power. Ben shook his head to shake off the thought.
“Before we begin, let me make one thing clear.”
Aaron spoke in a deep voice.
“What?”
“I’m not responsible if something breaks or gets cut during the fight.”
‘What is that···.’
Ben hesitated for a moment at Aaron’s words, then nodded.
To begin with, during rough training, there were many instances where swords would lose their edge or armor would crack.
It was the individual’s responsibility, not the other party’s to compensate.
Even if it meant losing one’s life, one could not hold the other person responsible.
I don’t know if he uses Aura, but if you compare him to swordsmanship, he was clearly inferior to Aaron.
I had to admit what needed to be admitted in order to move forward.
Now, I was weaker than him.
“Then I will go first.”
Ben said with a forced smile.
“okay.”
Aaron answered, drawing a long sword from his back.
Because of the scars on his face, it was difficult to tell what kind of expression he was making.
‘It’s a long road.’
A long sword painted black caught Ben’s attention.
It was a strange sword that naturally drew him in. Ben thought about holding it just once, but then quickly shook his head.
To covet one’s friend’s belongings was something only the devil would do.
I calmed my agitated mind and looked at him again. The long, black sword suited Aaron very well.
However, it was black and overall colorful···.
Ben, who had already experienced it, was not taken aback by its ridiculousness.
Aaron shook his sword slightly and fiddled with it.
It was a low-level appearance, almost like a gangster’s, but Ben realized that the movement did not measure the exact distance and exclaimed in admiration.
‘also.’
Unlike the knights who brag and talk about things, Aaron somehow managed to hide what was his.
And he was a clever man who used him as a weapon at crucial moments.
‘I have to finish it at once.’
Ben hopped a little, tapping the ground.
I deliberately bent my arms slightly to blur the distance between me and my opponent, and then thrust forward.
The sword grew longer in an instant, leaving a small dot.
After his defeat by Aaron, Ben had a shocking realization.
That humans can be strong even without an aura.
It was a fact I had forgotten from the moment I had Aura.
After his defeat by Aaron, Ben realized that he had been relying solely on Aurors.
Aaron presented Ben with a new possibility.
The potential for strength as a human being itself.
Ben followed Aaron’s ignorant training routine, which he had seen before.
I practiced stabbing against a thick iron every day.
Aaron continued to stab as if he was swinging his sword.
Recently, it has become possible to penetrate thin iron, but…
‘Is it possible to penetrate that thick iron? No…, it can be done.’
Ben shook off his thoughts and focused.
The stabbing movements that I had practiced countless times unfolded like flowing water.
As he thrust his sword, Aaron’s eyes, which were usually emotionless, widened slightly.
‘It worked!’
Ben secretly cheered at Aaron’s reaction.
It was a stabbing that I practiced every day.
If you didn’t expect it from the beginning, it would be hard to stop it.
Crunch.
I hear a cool sound.
Ben froze in his stabbing position.
“It was clearly agreed upon before we started.”
Aaron hid his sword behind his back.
‘···how?’
Ben looked back at the truncated Ray Pier and thought about the situation.
The stab just now was the most he could do.
It was so surprising that he himself was surprised.
But Aaron reacted as if he knew him.
The shattered ends of the ray pier rolled across the floor.
‘···You know my habits.’
Ben nodded in agreement with the conclusion.
Otherwise, such a quick reaction could not be explained.
‘But how can you cut a sword without even asking for it…’
Ben smiled bitterly, looking at the blunted end of the Ray Pier.
I think this is why we talked about ‘responsibility’ before we started.
Aaron’s face was still hidden by his scars, but Ben felt that Aaron seemed sorry.
“That’s a really nice sword. What’s its name?”
Ben asked with a smile instead.
“Um… twenty-gol.”
“Twenty-gol? … That’s a good name.”
It wasn’t a very good name, but Ben nodded.
“Really? I think so too.”
‘You’re smiling this time.’
Ben nodded and picked up the fallen pieces of Ray Pier, even though his laughter made him feel a little uneasy.
‘Next time will be different.’
Ben was rather relieved.
There are still places to go.
***
Brown, firm skin.
Shafers looked down at himself, his hands shaking slightly.
‘no···.’
Shafers only ate emotions, he never thought he would express them.
And I never imagined that feeling would be ‘fear’.
Because Shaffers, who showed the most desired appearance to his opponents, always had the upper hand no matter what owner he met.
This situation was unfamiliar.
“You were here.”
Low voice.
A face full of scars.
Shafers, dragged out by a vicious hand, rolled on the ground.
There was no pain, but having my throat pulled and my body bursting every day wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
No, it seemed painful.
A man walks into the darkness, his head held high by his bloody hands.
[Eat this.]
In front of the shattered Chaperus, garbage with a foul smell was strewn about.
They were just the dregs, remnants of a nightmare…
Shafers had no choice but to eat that.
***
‘I feel refreshed these days.’
I swung my arms around.
Since I recently got the magic sword, my sleep quality has improved.
Of course, it still felt gross when I woke up, but it felt a little less gross.
‘You uncivilized medieval bastards. The magic sword is this and that… The fortune teller is this and that… Such a good sword.’
Tsk. I clicked my tongue and gently stroked the sword.
Brrrr-.
The sword seemed to tremble slightly.
It wasn’t called Ishigol for nothing.
The sword also improves the quality of sleep.
At this level, it was a five-star magic sword.
“Thanks to Brick going around the neighborhood, the canine teeth are selling better than expected. There’s still some left, though…”
At that time, Poole informed me of the progress of the canine I had entrusted to him.
Since he was the smartest at calculations among the guys I know, I entrusted him with selling the fangs like last time.
“okay?”
“But does that really work? Brick said it was really great…”
“Do you know which is the greatest of faith, hope, and murder?”
“······yes?”
In response to my question, Poole opened his eyes wide and asked back.
“It’s faith. You have to believe to get the flamenco effect.”
“Pra… Are you talking about Mengo?”
“Flameong. Anyway, there is something like that. Believe it. If you don’t believe it, it’s useless.”
The pool nodded, mumbling ‘Flamenco’ over and over again.
I cleaned my precious twenty-bone sword once and put it back on my back.
“Flamenco… Ah, boss. I heard that you’re opening today.”
“Oh, the opening ceremony is tonight. You come later too. With the kids.”
Today was the grand opening day of the ‘Awesome Aaron Rabbit’ bar. Usually, this place takes the grand opening lightly, but this kind of thing is usually the first day that counts.
Anyway, my name was on it and I had a stake in it, so the more successful the bar was, the better it was for me. It felt like automatic hunting.
I was planning to have a proper opening ceremony.
Of course, it was my first time actually having an opening ceremony, but I had seen it on a drama a long time ago.
‘What is needed for an opening ceremony… a pig, a shaman, a corrupt official, a number of people… that’s all.’
I mentally organized the things I would need for the opening ceremony.
“You go on patrol first.”
“yes.”
I tapped Grass on the shoulder and took a step forward.
Since the closest place was a synagogue, I headed there first.
Around the synagogue, monks with gloomy complexions, as usual, were crouching and pulling out weeds.
I watched him for a while and then entered the synagogue.
“Ah, Honorary Monk Aaron.”
“Monk Ains.”
Unlike the others, Ains, who was very smart, welcomed me. I invited Ains to the opening ceremony in District 4 that evening.
“···Are you talking about the opening ceremony of a bar?”
When I nodded to the question, Ains thought for a moment and then answered that he understood.
After that, I headed inside the synagogue to find the abbot, and from somewhere I heard the sound of drums being beaten.
It was a sound heard from beyond a door in a corner.
When I opened the door, I saw someone cornered and swinging his fists vigorously. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a Parsi inquisitor.
The old man who saw me nodded his head vigorously with a stern expression. I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
“Okay… Wait… I made a mistake! I made a mistake….”
Parsi screamed in a fit of rage, and Lunggyup swung his fist again.
‘You were in the middle of training your successors. You’re like a guard or an inquisitor.’
I nodded and headed to the abbot’s room.
The abbot was cleaning the windows in the hallway.
“What is it that has made you… finally feel like worshipping? It has been serious for a while. The foundation of a priest is worship and prayer, but you, a monk, don’t do either of those things, even though it is honorable. If you do that, you will be in big trouble.”
I thought about just going back because of the nagging that came out in dialect as soon as I saw her, but a shaman was absolutely necessary for the opening ceremony.
“That’s not it. I came to invite you to the bar’s opening ceremony today.”
“So you’re inviting me, the abbot, to the opening ceremony of your bar?”
“Yes, wouldn’t it be good to come and say a congratulatory prayer or a blessing?”
“You, the abbot, are you aware that you are a priest?”
“Yes, we produce alcohol in monasteries. You can think of it as post-processing.”
“···Okay, I understand. Instead, you will attend the service as well.”
“Come to think of it, do we really need an abbot? I am an honorary monk, so I will do it.”
“I am now the abbot, but I have also blessed imperial facilities before. There were even lines waiting to receive my blessing.”
“Come to think of it, would it be okay for a monk to dislike worship? I’d rather just do a worship service once. I’ve been feeling itchy all day because I’ve been missing worship services lately.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, you said District 4? I’ll go when the sun sets.”
“Oh, but since it would be good to worship together, wouldn’t it be good for Inquisitor Joanna Ethan to participate too?”
“That’s right. The more people there are in worship, the better. The more people receive blessings. And Inquisitor Joanna Ethan hasn’t been seen at all these days.”
After making a deal with the abbot, he stepped back.
Before leaving the synagogue, I stopped by the assistant who was training my successor and told him to come because I would prepare a cake for the opening ceremony later. Then I left the synagogue.
‘Next up… a corrupt civil servant.’
I don’t know if any indoor NPCs will come to the opening ceremony, but it would definitely be a great help if they were to attend, as they are characters who became corrupt officials at a young age.
***
‘Baroness Charlotte is coming. What’s her intention?’
Nova chewed the tip of her quill pen as she looked at the spread of papers in front of her.
A family that had not been invited ended up attending without notice.
‘They say the Byzantine Empire is in a mess…’
I heard that this place was hit hard by vampires, along with high taxes. I don’t know for sure since they haven’t brought it up yet, but it’s likely that they came here looking for help.
‘Charlotte, go… It was the top of Garrot.’
Charlotte’s poisoned apple… no, it was a gold bar covered in poison. Knock knock. Nova thought as she tapped her chest with her fingers. As she listened, the sound of it made her feel at ease, so it was a habit she had recently developed.
‘···It’s bigger than I thought.’
Vivian’s birthday party was attended by nobles from far and wide. Even Count Behart himself wished to attend, so it was clear that there would be discussions about the situation in the East.
Now Vivian’s birthday was just a fancy excuse to get together.
Knock-knock-.
Nova jumped up in surprise, then hurriedly sat back down.
‘Because you knock weirdly!’
Nova hardened her expression, straining her face and relaxing her neck for a moment.
“Come in.”
Nova flinched slightly at the door that opened as soon as she finished speaking, but tried to hold it in and pretended to look at the paper.
“Read Orange.”
“···what.”
Nova bit her lip slightly at the sight of her making such a strange sound. She didn’t want to laugh because she felt like she was losing.
“Orange, do you have time this evening?”
‘···?’
Nova tilted her head, not understanding what she had just heard. The brilliant mind that had helped her get to this point despite being a commoner creaked as if it were clouded.
‘Later. Dinner. Time.’
Hmm… that was quite an interesting combination of words.
A socially acceptable sentence in which three words are not very meaningful when viewed separately, but their meaning changes when mixed together.
‘Later. Dinner. Time.’
‘Later’ means after work is over, during private time.
‘Evening’ After the sun had set, it was a very impure time.
‘Do you have time?’ Can you give him to me?
When the three are combined, it is clear that ‘after work, can you give yourself some private and impure time?’
Nova bowed her head in slight admiration for the excellent conclusion. For some reason, her face felt heavy and she couldn’t raise her head.
“You seem busy. Anyway, when you have time, go to District 4…”
‘Later, dinner, time.’
Nova continued muttering for a long time after Aaron left.
Dude. I slapped him on the cheek because he just wouldn’t come back, and he calmed down a little.
Nova thought she had a line drawn with everyone. It was a bit complicated and blurry, but there was definitely that line with Aaron.
But Aaron immediately crossed the line without a care.
I was very embarrassed.
I had no idea how to deal with it.
‘······But there is time.’
Nova forced herself to control the corners of her lips and exhaled deeply.
After chewing over it a few times, a strange sense of victory began to build up in me. Nova was always dragged around by Aaron and was always cleaning up after him.
This time it was clear that the odds were in his favor.
The sun appeared to be past mid-day.
There is not much time left.
“Blossom-!!”
Nova hurriedly called over a maid she knew who had a lot of experience with men.
***
‘The shaman and corrupt officials were called, and the pigs and the number of people were left?’
I mentally compared the lists and recalled what was left.
Because it was an opening ceremony, there was quite a bit to prepare.
