150
sewer expert
‘···I’m so excited.’
Around the synagogue, monks were running around, laughing and smiling as if a festival was taking place.
The figure looked like that of a freed slave, or perhaps someone released from prison.
Of course, it could be an expression of joy over the recent successful repression of heretical attacks, but···.
“Does something good happen?”
I glanced at the abbot’s head as he muttered, his hair neatly slicked back, and expressed my condolences.
“Now that the holy day is coming up soon, you might be excited about reading the Bible for him. After all, it is best to sit together and read the Bible on the anniversary day.”
The abbot nodded, seeming to like the lively atmosphere of the synagogue.
In the meantime, the monks were just smiling brightly.
The abbot, who had been watching him, straightened his clothes and turned to the smiling monk.
“Hey, is something good happening?”
The abbot asked the smiling and boisterous monk.
“Ahahaha! Kerep! I told you to stop imitating voices! Until when······.”
The monk turned his head. He was smiling brightly. He was smiling so brightly that the corners of his mouth reached his ears.
When the monk met the abbot’s eyes, he opened his eyes wide and froze. Then he shook his head slightly.
“Following voice imitation, now facial imitation···.”
Next, he became very distorted as if he was really angry.
“What are you talking about? You, I clearly told you to wash your monastic robe properly. The Bible says that if you always keep your robe clean, your mind will be at peace. I don’t know how many times I’ve said it.”
As the abbot continued to scold him, the corners of his eyes lowered. It was a dramatic change, as if someone had dragged him down.
“······Wow-! You’re alive! I was really worried! I was so worried that those evil heretics might kidnap the Abbot of Brighton! Or blow him up! Or do something bad!”
The monk greeted the abbot with an exaggerated laugh.
“I’m late because I was reading the Bible for a bit. Anyway, as I said last time······.”
The abbot grabbed the monk right there and started giving him a really long lecture.
He would check if I had read the Bible and scold me, and he would nag me at length about things like how many times I went to church that day.
As he was nagging at the entrance of the synagogue, the monks who were jumping out of the synagogue were caught one by one by the abbot.
Among them, there was one who was holding a bottle of alcohol, and he was scolded severely by the abbot and cried.
Those tears felt more like those of a prisoner being dragged back to prison rather than crying because he was being scolded.
Before we knew it, a long line of monks was standing in front of the abbot.
The abbot gave them one-on-one, personalized scolding, and these monks, who had been the faces of excited and corrupt monks, were quickly transformed into upright monks.
‘It wasn’t a festival, it was a funeral.’
I looked at him, gave him a small prayer and looked around.
I thought I’d check the lungs first.
At the time, it was very dark because of the darkness of the raccoon dog, and it seemed like no rumors had spread, so it seemed like he hadn’t seen it, but it had to be confirmed.
However, the synagogue was not around the temple and was not in the place where it was usually hidden.
The lungs were found in unexpected places.
A muddy pile of rubble sat resting where the raccoon had been fighting.
There were quite a few people moving around busily, and it seemed like restoration work was in full swing.
The expression on Lunggyup’s face was somewhat more crumpled than usual.
The great sword was covered in dirt, as if it had been dug into the ground, and there were several pits dug around it.
I looked at him for a moment, then turned my sword around so that it was easier to draw it and approached him.
“What are you doing here?”
“···!”
The snail that turned its head at my voice suddenly woke up.
As the distance suddenly shortened, my hand instinctively reached for the hilt of my knife.
The train stopped in front of me and stared at me, blinking repeatedly. Then it nodded vigorously and returned to its usual expressionless expression.
Then I scratched him because my throat felt ticklish for no reason.
The sergeant looked up at me and held out his palm. Where was the gauntlet? I saw the calloused hands of a great swordsman.
I looked at my palm and guessed what it meant.
The first thing that came to mind was…
‘I’ll keep it a secret, so give me the money?’
I tapped the handle of the knife while wondering how much I should give him.
‘2 silver?’
Since he is a person from the religious sect, it would be appropriate to give him only 1 silver so that he does not become tainted by worldly things···.
“cake.”
However, the meaning of the palm came to mind as the nuisance words that followed.
‘Ah, the devil-catching bet.’
I stared into those transparent black eyes for a moment.
The lungs blinked their eyes wide. It was the usual lungs. However, they looked a little tired.
‘Haven’t you seen it?’
Only then did I put down the knife handle.
The fourth eldest son, who was the leader of the demons, became my sustenance, and I ate most of the demons, so it was clear that I had won…
It seemed cheaper to buy him a cake than to cut off his neck.
“Let’s go buy some cake.”
Nodding. The long-limbed Lung-gyeop walked ahead, carrying a roughly discarded greatsword beside him.
The dirt on the greatsword had all fallen off, just enough to give it a slight twist. The material looked quite good.
‘Then is there only one Park head left?’
If the mini-lungs had seen it, it would have definitely shown signs of a lung disease in some way.
The idea that the cake would be cheaper than the price of the lung-lift was naturally shattered by the lung-lift’s ambition.
The reaper spread out his greatsword like a table, stacked cakes on top of it, then nodded his head vigorously at me.
‘I won, but I couldn’t catch a single one of these assholes…’
I swallowed the words that were on the tip of my tongue and paid Harrison.
“Hahahaha! As expected from Aaron!”
I never knew that Harrison could smile so coolly.
The pile of cakes piled high disappeared somewhere as it walked without a trace.
The sight was just like a cat disappearing with its mouth full of fish.
I looked at him for a moment, then headed in the opposite direction to question the next witness.
Witness interrogation cost more than expected.
***
‘It was here.’
I stood beside a mud depression in front of the inner wall, sipping wine from my flask.
‘···The aftereffects are severe.’
Even though I had been unconscious for two days, I felt excruciating pain all over my body.
It was so bad that I would curse every time I walked.
Considering that no matter how badly I got hurt, I would wake up fine after a few days of sleep, the side effects of being demonized seemed pretty severe.
‘The devil’s handprint has also grown in size···.’
The Devil’s Handprint wasn’t a very flattering tattoo, it was rather hideous, like a giant locust.
In the Middle Ages, when there was no laser treatment, the only way to remove this hardened scab was with an auror, but an auror was also the tenant’s power, so there was no way it could help.
But I couldn’t ask Barley, who had a duty to the devil.
‘Come, devil…’
Although I remembered it sporadically, the important scenes were vivid.
As the saying goes, you can’t fully understand someone until you put yourself in their shoes, demonization helped me understand my tenants.
I could immediately see why I had been so premature all this time, and why the output was not as good as the devil candy I had eaten.
‘Then come on…’
Auror was a bit of a stretch to call it a human power.
Those without an aura were bound to be absolutely weaker than those with an aura.
Of course, it cannot be said that there were no weaknesses because the one handling that aura was a human, but it was an undeniable fact that it had an absolute advantage.
But that kind of aura wasn’t something that could be achieved through effort.
Since only the empire could train knights, it could be seen as solely dependent on the empire’s choice.
It was difficult to call a power that could not be achieved through individual effort and was granted only by the choice of the empire human power.
Of course, if I think about my case, I couldn’t say that only the empire was possible.
In any case, it was an undeniable fact that such aura was one of the mainstays supporting the empire.
‘It’s clear that the tenant is imitating the other guy’s power.’
I now know that such power requires fuel.
For example, I could increase my power output with the nutrients from the devil candies I consumed.
That means that the thing that gives you the power of Aura also needs fuel, and if you think back to the time of the Kingdom of Byzant…
Kuung-.
“Eww!”
My thoughts were broken by a heavy sound coming from the side and a light shout that did not match it.
When I turned my head, I saw a woman with a thin head, crouching down and making a small ‘euh-uh-uh’ sound, even though she was covered in a cloth.
‘Did you just jump off the wall?’
I raised my head unconsciously. I saw a high wall.
Even if I were to jump, my feet would probably feel quite numb.
“···Huh? Hello!”
Park Daegari nodded. However, since his face was covered by a hood, he didn’t seem to know who I was.
I watched the stupid thing slowly and steadily walk away for a moment before opening my mouth.
“Vivian.”
He habitually called out to Park Dae-ga-ri while holding the knife handle.
The stupid back of his head, with the hood pulled back, nodded from side to side, then suddenly flapped up. He looked just like a chicken.
“Aaron! Are you okay?! I was going to give you this!”
Park Head, his eyes wide, looked up at me and shouted.
I bit my lip and grabbed the handle of the knife. The stupidity that emanated from him, more than his dizzying appearance, caught me off guard.
“When my father was in pain, he would eat raw meat like this! Then he would feel energetic! Fighting!”
Park Dae-gari gave a strange growl and thrust in a piece of meat that seemed to have been part of an animal just a moment ago.
Looking at him, I wondered if I really needed to be nervous around such an idiot, but I definitely had to do it.
“But you went to bed early!”
Park Daegari tilted his head and asked. Perhaps, the meaning of ajaja was different, but he didn’t bother to explain.
“Let’s talk about that.”
“Yes! Let’s do that!”
I was momentarily speechless at the quick and brisk answer. And the sparkling eyes.
I was very troubled about what to ask. Asking if he was the devil would be like revealing my true identity if he didn’t know.
“···Have you seen it?”
I stared into those terribly burdensome eyes and sighed.
I focused on those clear eyes so as not to miss even the smallest change.
However, Park Daegari’s reaction was more passionate than I expected. His face turned red instantly, his eyes grew wide as if they were going to burst, and the meat fell from his hands.
I habitually took the meat, then realized I had let go of the knife handle and picked it up again.
It felt weird to hold the knife handle with my bloody hands.
“I saw… I saw… I only saw a little bit! I couldn’t help it… That’s why! I saw it! I saw it!”
Park Dae-gari’s voice grew louder and louder as he spoke incoherently, as if he was flustered. I squinted my eyes at him.
Then, Park Daegari’s speech became faster and faster and his face turned red.
“No! It’s so big that you can’t help but see it! How could you not see it! And! Aaron saw mine too! Now it’s fair to both of us! Fair! No, it’s not fair?!”
It was difficult to understand the words coming out of Park Daegari’s mouth because they were all strange and did not follow the sentence structure.
However, as I listened to him carefully, I could understand what was wrong.
“Oh, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
I shook my head and corrected the misalignment.
“That?! That! Yes!? Yes!”
Park Dae-gari muttered ‘That!’ for a long time. It took him quite some time to calm down.
“Ah! Then this is what you’re talking about! This!”
Park Dae-gari, whose face soon became relieved, winked alternately with both eyes and said.
As I looked at that stupid wink that made me sigh, I wondered what the point of it all was.
“It’s okay! Just like Aaron kept it a secret! I’ll keep it a secret too!”
Park Dae-gari looked around for a moment and then lifted his chin. But that wasn’t enough, so he grabbed my arm and climbed up.
“Aaron is the devil.”
The old man who whispered in my ear winked again like an idiot.
The hand holding the sword hilt gained strength.
I kept looking at the smirking Park and assumed the worst out of habit.
If Park Dae-gari were to reveal my true identity, it would certainly be a very troublesome situation.
To prevent the worst, it would be better to eliminate the witness immediately.
‘I’m tired.’
As I looked at Park’s stupid wink from a distance where I could hear him breathing, all the accumulated fatigue came rushing back to me.
My head started to hurt as I thought about all the things I would have to do to shut this idiot up.
I nodded as I put down the hilt of the knife.
However, it was not reassuring to simply believe the promise. A good negotiation was made possible by mixing in appropriate threats.
“If you tell, I will spread rumors that I am also a pervert.”
“·········yes?!”
Park Dae-gari, who had been blinking for a moment, suddenly jumped.
When viewed from below, it looked just like a flea.
***
“···Three knights were attacked by one?”
Pulpouts’s brow furrowed at the report he heard.
“······yes.”
Adolf answered in a small voice.
Pulpouts tapped the armrest of the chair as he looked at Adela and Delfran standing behind Adolf.
That was the reason why the knights sent to find Vivian during this incident did not return.
Three knights were attacked by one···.
‘It looks like the opponent was strong.’
Although Fullfoot was a layman when it came to swordsmanship, he had some idea of the skills of the knights under him.
Adela also won the last knight contest, so there was no need to say anything.
It was clear that the opponent was too strong.
There was a hierarchy among the knights. It was something that could happen, considering how Adela had been helpless against the imperial knight Kurtan last time.
The question was why such a strong man was in Cassadic, and why he fought the knights.
“Yeah, who was that opponent?”
“······It was an old man whose name I didn’t know.”
Adolf, who had been silent for a moment, answered.
‘old man?’
Pulpouts’ face crumpled at Adolf’s cold answer. He wondered if he was teasing him, but the three of them had the typical faces of losers.
‘······Are you a grandfather of the Imperial Knights?’
Fullfoot didn’t bother to question or criticize.
Anyway, it was already in the past.
“I see. Since you’re an old man… Do you have any idea about his identity?”
Pulpouts asked Adela, who was standing behind Adolf, unlike her usual way of standing in front.
“······yes.”
A crawling answer. Pulpouts nodded, not really expecting much.
First of all, it was confirmed by the soldiers that he was no longer in the castle.
Even if you know his true identity, how can you deal with someone who can single-handedly take on the three knights who are the main force of Cassidy?
There was no clear countermeasure since three knights were affected.
It was just fortunate that they had managed to return alive, and the proud knights were content to report such a humiliating incident.
“They were all unconscious from fatal injuries, and a man named Dylan, the 4th Lieutenant of the Outer Guard, brought them to the Abbot of Brighton.”
“······Vice-Chief of the 4th Division of the Foreign Defense Corps?”
Pulpouts frowned at Adolf’s subsequent report.
‘Isn’t that where Aaron is in Group 4?’
Fullfoot also had a strange sense of unease about his connection to Aaron, and questioned whether there was a position called Vice Admiral in the Outer Guard.
‘···And Aaron.’
If all three knights had died at the same time, Cassadick would have been in great danger.
The man who saved the three knights who were in a coma was a man named Dylan from Group 4…
‘If it’s Dylan, it’s that guy. The guy who spun around naked and got beaten up by Aaron.’
He was always with Aaron and was also the deputy leader of the fourth division, so it was clear that Aaron had given the order.
Aaron, who had been wearing a strange helmet and taunting the cardinals, seemed to have been taking care of the knights as well.
‘You saved the lives of three knights… How can I compensate for this?’
If he had saved the lives of the three knights, it would have been as good as saving Cassidy’s life. He was worried about how to reward him.
‘I’ll have to discuss this with Nova.’
Pulpouts nodded slightly to shake off his thoughts. There was no need to worry about it when there were people below him.
After finishing their report, three knights were seen kneeling on one knee. Their shoulders, which were usually tense, were slumped.
‘They know their own shortcomings. There’s no reason for me to blush.’
Fullfoot knew that his articles were excellent for the money they cost.
When three such knights attacked, it was difficult to see it as their fault if they lost.
It’s just that the opponent was too strong.
In this situation, criticizing him would only serve to break their will.
“You’ve worked hard. You probably still aren’t feeling well, so everyone should get some rest.”
Fullfoot gave a short order to the guests.
The three knights raised their heads, each with a different emotion on their faces. Adela looked angry and guilty, Delphran looked depressed, and Adolf looked…
‘Is it a sense of responsibility?’
All three bowed briefly and stepped back.
Although the process was rough, all three were eventually safe.
Having experienced such a crushing defeat, it was clear that something would change.
He couldn’t tell if it was progress or regression, but it was something he couldn’t help with.
It was just that the recent good fortune that had befallen Cassidy wished to help them too.
dripping.
“Your Majesty, the sewer expert has arrived.”
Pulpouts’ thoughts were broken by Nova’s report.
“Let me in.”
With Fullfoot’s permission, Nova stepped aside. Someone came in between them······.
‘Dwarf?’
He was a bushy, dwarf man about the size of Nova’s chest.
Fullfoot’s brow furrowed at the distinct features.
Why are the dwarves that I only heard rumors about appearing here?
“Hahaha! I heard you called me. I am Dig, who has lived underground all my life.”
The dwarf laughed heartily and held out his thick, hairy hand.
‘I called a sewer expert, but why is there a dwarf…’
Fullfoot had never seen a dwarf, but he had heard many rumors about them.
Although his skills were beyond compare, there were not only good rumors about him.
The dwarf’s laughter made Pulpouts’ headache rise again.
***
“Hehehe···.”
I felt strangely annoyed by the weasel sitting across from me who kept on laughing annoyingly.
The guy laughed as if he had a hole in his lungs and kept shaking his shoulders up and down.
“What is it?”
“Ah, bro. Ahem… It’s just that my heart towards Cassidy is too hot. Hehe… The wonderful Vice-Captain Dylan! Dylan will protect Cassidy!”
The weasel let out a vile laugh that made the back of his head tickle just by looking at it.
It seemed like something good had happened, but looking at that sight, I felt strangely uneasy.
When I turned my head to him, I saw Kanna stealing some vegetables. These guys looked down on vegetables, and they only ate them when there was nothing else to eat.
Moreover, vegetable thieves were not even treated as thieves.
It felt a lot like stealing trash.
However, it seemed that that wasn’t the reason why Kanna was leaving out the vegetables.
When I made it, there was an ice cube next to Kanna with my arms outstretched, and when I craned my neck, I saw a pile of vegetables behind it.
“Eat everything.”
When I pointed this out to her, Kanna was startled and closed her eyes tightly, then put the piled up vegetables into her mouth.
“Chew it thoroughly.”
Kanna’s plump cheeks moved busily. Her expression was so grave that it looked like she was eating poison, but it was just a vegetable.
I thought it might be because he was short and didn’t eat vegetables, so I asked Hannah to do it for him.
The plump cheeks kept moving, but the contents remained the same. After chewing for a while, Kanna glanced at me.
Then, when our eyes met, he immediately started swallowing with a look of resignation on his face.
I waited for him and handed him water mixed with raspberry juice. The water didn’t taste good so I had to mix it with fruit.
Kanna, with a proud expression like a general who had just won a war, accepted the cup I offered and drank it.
I was thirsty just watching how refreshing it was.
I looked at him and then picked up the meat in front of me and ate it.
The meat was juicy and had almost no fishy smell, as if the washing machine had baked it.
‘As expected, meat is delicious.’
At that moment, Kanna suddenly popped her head out.
Then, she looked back and forth between the bowl in front of her and my bowl filled with meat, and pursed her tiny lips for a long time.
***
“···You dare to be the top in our area?”
The uppermost member of the Garrot, Gartun, smiled so brightly that his flesh-tearing fangs were visible.
‘They are really clever to show their superiors at a time like this.’
I’ve been so busy lately supporting the territorial war of Viscount Bonita that I’m a bit absent-minded. That’s why I was late in receiving the news.
They dared to presumptuously step out of their own territory… It was clear that they had lost their fear.
And the person behind him is none other than Baron Fullfoot…
Of course, since he was a noble, he wouldn’t be able to cause trouble while he was in Cassadic, but due to the nature of the upper class, he had no choice but to go outside Cassadic.
And such incidents of ascending being attacked were not a serious matter, but rather a frequent occurrence.
‘But the name is… Strong Aaron Sang-Dang?’
It was a strange name that didn’t even sound like something a child would have made up. To be at the top of one’s own territory with such a playful name…
‘I guess I looked down on you.’
Gyartoon knew the essence of the upper world.
As the nickname of the “Wagon Riding Thug” suggests, brute force was needed at the top, but that wasn’t all.
The merchants who had to travel between the castles ruled by each noble needed connections with the nobles.
The tighter the line, the more secure the upper part would be. It was impossible for him with just his connection to Baron Pulpouts.
Of course, if he had the power to back him up, then I don’t know, but what power would a top from that tiny Cassidy have?
‘I have to set an example.’
Gyartoon picked up the meat in front of him with his hand, put it in his mouth, and tore at it. The meat juice flowing between them flowed down Gyartoon’s hand like blood.
I don’t know what nerve they had to do that, but soon they will lose all their business in a tragic accident.
Later on, you will find out that the opponent is the top of Gyarot, but it happened between the top and the bottom during the ascent.
There was a time when the upper echelons would have friendly matches where they would hang items on the ground. Of course, few people know this, but there was a tradition like that.
If you ever wanted to involve a noble in such a high-level affair, there was the Viscount Bonita here.
In the end, it only made Gartun’s stomach fuller.
‘I was a little disappointed that I was supporting Count Bonita, but this is good.’
The corners of Gartun’s mouth formed an ominous line.
bang!
The door opened roughly and his men came in.
Gartun usually placed a lot of importance on mealtimes. He considered them so important that he would beat up anyone who tried to disturb him.
But it was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind, coming in with such a loud noise.
“Right now…! The upbound train to Karzan has been attacked!”
However, Gyartoon’s eyes narrowed at the guy’s report that followed.
Of course, even if it was called the top of the Garrot, it was just a large top. It wasn’t the first or second time that the upper level was attacked.
However, this time the target was the problem.
‘If it was heading to Karzan, it was supplies for the Territory War···.’
Blood burst from Gartun’s lips and flowed down the corner of his mouth.
Even though they were blood relatives, Bonita’s attitude changed after she became a noble. If that favor had been taken away, there would have been a huge backlash.
“What kind of people dare to······.”
Boom! Gyartoon’s thick fist slammed down on the table. The meat on top fell to the floor, mixing with the bones underneath, but Gyartoon wasn’t looking at him.
“It is said that on the way to Karzan, he encountered the strong Aaron Shang, and when he saw the look in his eyes, he thought he was picking a fight, so he immediately started a fight, and then he took his turn, saying that it was a fair fight······.”
Gartun’s hands trembled at the following report.
