104
Settlement amount
‘Hmm… not bad?’
I rummaged through Kuabarou’s pockets and took out various things.
As expected from someone who had a hard time catching it, the items it dropped were quite good.
‘This is a magic book… and this is…’
I roughly categorized the things that came out.
He handed the magic book to Kanna, who was shining a light on it from the side.
Kanna smiled brightly, but her face was still dark, so only a faint hint of a smile was visible.
Even though I washed it with the alcohol in the water bottle, I got it again because I rubbed it. I clicked my tongue and went back to farming.
‘What is this?’
From deep inside his pockets he pulled out a pouch filled with strange drawings.
An unusual appearance and a material that makes your hands tremble just by touching it.
‘···This is a great item.’
I swallowed hard and opened my pocket.
The inside was dark and could not be seen.
The implications were clear.
‘A pocket with a space-expanding magic? … Crazy.’
It was an object so precious that it could not be compared to jewels or gold. Even if you had money, you could not obtain it.
A pouch that handles the best of several magical tools, which is cited as the reason why the Empire recognizes wizards rather than kills them.
‘You were a good guy, weren’t you?’
I couldn’t help but admire the ambition of Kuo Bao Rou, who readily offered such a great thing as a settlement fee.
The guy’s remorse for his mistake was palpable.
‘Yes, people can make mistakes.’
I roughly wiped the sweat off Guobarou’s forehead, which was already ugly, but had become even more unsightly as he writhe in pain.
The bastard’s face seemed to have become even more wrinkled, but that was none of my concern.
As I slowly put my hand into the black pocket, I felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.
‘Is this a cane? This is···.’
Among them, I took out the object with the most familiar texture.
It was a beautiful gold coin.
I put the gold coin into the mouth of the suffering man.
“Aaron, what are you doing?”
Youngae, still naked, suddenly stuck her face out.
I roughly took off the robe from the giant’s robe and handed it to Yeong-ae.
Yeong-ae, who received him, opened her eyes wide.
“It’s a birthday present.”
Any medieval idiot with any sense of propriety would acknowledge my ownership of Kuabarou’s things, but it never hurts to be careful.
I put the robe into Youngae’s hesitant hands.
Youngae was surprised and flinched, then caught him.
‘Now you are an accomplice.’
I looked at him and raised the corners of my mouth.
Yeong-ae hesitated for a moment and wrapped her robe around herself.
When Kkwobarou wore it, it looked like a giant turtleneck, but when Yeong-ae wore it, it looked like something special.
‘Is that a magic tool too? The robe shape is expensive…’
I felt bad for no reason, but seeing that my accomplice Young-ae liked it, I felt like taking it back.
‘Is there nothing more?’
I searched the Kua Ba Rou again, my appetite returning.
I took everything off just in case, but apart from some junk, nothing really came out.
I threw seemingly useless things to Youngae and Kanna in turns.
It made me happy to see my accomplices enjoying it.
‘I guess the important thing is in your pocket.’
Because there were so many eyes watching, I postponed checking my pockets.
Now what needs to be resolved is:
‘···What should I do with this kid?’
He let out a sigh as he watched Young-ae writhing around, holding Kanna’s hand.
There was a bit of a risk factor because it showed an aura···.
‘I guess you could just say he’s a retired military officer.’
Even though the knights were rare, there were quite a few retired knights.
In Karzan, there was also a guy who was under the gangsters.
“Aaron, that’s it? Right? That’s it?”
At that moment, Young-ae asked with sparkling eyes.
“What is that?”
The head of the pak, who had been watching the situation with exaggeration, approached slightly.
Since the distance was quite close, I habitually readjusted my grip on my sword.
“···It’s a secret article!”
I thought I spoke quietly, but I must have gotten really excited because my voice got louder towards the end.
Kanna, who was swinging her cane upside down like a club next to me, turned her head with shining eyes.
That posture turned out pretty well because I pointed it out to him several times.
‘Imperial Secret Knight?’
It was a word I heard for the first time.
“I read it in a book! The Empire secretly sends knights to the provinces! To spy on the local nobles!”
Pak-dae-ga-ri covered his mouth with his index finger in an exaggerated manner.
‘···Does this kid know how to read?’
I was momentarily stunned by the shocking fact.
Of course, she was a noble lady, but this stupid fool could read and write…
‘Baron Fullfoot is more amazing than I thought.’
Teaching language to a dumbass.
I truly admire Baron Fullfoot’s great achievements.
“I heard that keeping secrets is really important! It’s okay! My mouth is really heavy! That’s why I keep leaning forward!”
I was surprised again when I saw Young-ae covering her mouth with her hand with a serious expression.
‘He knows how to write?’
It was a world with such a high illiteracy rate that even Nova, a commoner, worked for a lord because he could read and write.
But this stubborn girl knows how to write…
‘Yeah, because the kid is good.’
I nodded while looking at Youngae.
“Then do you also know that if the secret is leaked, the area in charge will be classified as a rebel force?”
“Eek! Really?!”
“You didn’t know. After all, if the identity of a secret knight is revealed, it would be a big problem···.”
I made a gesture of cutting my throat with my thumb with a serious face.
Then, Kanna, who was next to him, quickly followed suit and cut his neck with her thumb.
Since the posture was a bit awkward, I adjusted the angle of the wrist.
When Yeong-ae saw him, she was startled and grabbed her mouth and rolled her eyes. She seemed worried that if she missed, her mouth might move on its own.
“You little shits!! Not my money!”
Then the weasel suddenly got up and made a strange noise.
The weasel stood up and thrust his dagger forward.
The weasel that made eye contact with me took out its dagger and approached me with a big smile.
“Purple! Brother! I knew you would win! The bastard used magic in a cowardly manner, but your fist is the righteous anger of justice. The fist of the people… Huh? Isn’t this the young lady? Then you are demanding a ransom? Leave it to me….”
I threw my shoe at Kuobarou and covered the weasel’s mouth.
The weasel, whose face had been hit by a shoe, hesitated for a moment before picking him up. Then, comparing it to his own foot, he giggled and put the shoe back on.
“Hahaha! That’s a funny joke! Hello!”
Yeong-ae smiled awkwardly for a moment, then smiled brightly and waved her hand.
By that time, the weasel was taking off Kuabarou’s other shoe.
“Huh? This guy’s still alive?”
When the weasel noticed that Kuabarou was breathing and was about to stab him with his dagger, Youngae hurriedly stopped him.
“Ah! I’m not killing you! Why is everyone trying to kill you first!”
The weasel blinked at me as she watched Young-ae throw her body to block Kkwobarou.
It seemed to ask, ‘Do you feel it?’
I shook my head at him.
There was no need to end his suffering.
The weasel licked the dagger with his tongue as if he was sorry.
Then the weasel started to search around the already-shaved Kuabarou like a hyena.
“Ugh···.”
Kuobarou twisted his body, groaning in pain.
“Hee… Cheer up! You can do it! Swallows!”
Yeong-ae was seriously suffering from skeleton syndrome, and she was rooting for the kidnapper with a sincere expression.
Kanna asks the weasel something.
The weasel grinned and swung his dagger in the air.
Kanna follows him, swinging her club.
In this situation of total chaos, I looked at Kua Ba Rou while touching the pocket I had received as a settlement money.
***
It was after some time had passed that Kua Ba Rou happened.
By then, Kanna was swinging her ice dagger in a pretty decent pose.
The weasel shouted in joy, “Boradongi is truly a genius!”
Yeong-ae, who had been cheering for Kkwobarou, seemed tired in the middle of the game and fell asleep while lying on the mat.
No matter how tired he was, he slept like that in this situation… It was a head that made me admire him once again.
I tied Young-ae’s robe back up, which had come undone while she was scratching her stomach, and looked down at Kua Bao Rou.
Kuobarou slowly opened his eyes, his breathing becoming very shallow.
Deep-set eyes and drastically increased wrinkles.
Compared to before, he looked at least twenty years older.
The guy looked at me with eyes that seemed to have been hollowed out or relieved, and took a moment to catch his breath.
I readjusted my sword and waited for the bastard to say something.
“I killed my parents.”
First of all, the first words piqued my interest.
I pushed the sword away slightly to hear more.
“···There used to be something called a wizard training school. It was a time when research on wizards was very active. There were a lot more wizards back then than there are now.”
The man took a deep breath as if he was burdened and continued speaking.
“I was born into a family of ordinary serfs. I was the child of a serf who worked the farms of nobles, but mostly lived off what was left over.”
“Somehow, it looks like you’re good at farming.”
The guy frowned slightly and opened his mouth again.
“···Anyway, then I heard about the wizard training school. I applied right away. There were signs of a bad harvest. When a bad harvest comes, you get beaten, and I was small, so I didn’t think I could withstand it. But funny enough, the wizard training school was even bigger. At that time, there was a rumor going around that if you got beaten a lot, you could become a wizard.”
“You must have been hit a lot.”
I said, looking at the scars all over his bare body.
Is this an appeal to sympathy?
It’ll be useless.
The guy’s face was pale.
“There were forty children who went in with me, and thirty-eight of them were killed. John, Hannah, Gettle… Anyway, I was the only one who survived. Of course, they were glad that two of them came out.”
“Two out of forty is a good yield.”
“···.”
“Just kidding.”
I laughed bitterly as I looked at the guy who had less of a sense of humor than I thought.
“No, that’s what they said. That’s what I thought too. Anyway, being a wizard changed the way I was treated. It was the first time I felt like I was living like a human. It was strange that the stew didn’t taste like dirt.”
The man sat up awkwardly, grimacing as if in pain.
“I don’t know how many days I was lost in that taste. When I came to my senses and returned home.”
The guy closed his eyes for a moment.
“It was terrible. There was an epidemic. They say it was caused by tree trunks that people ate because they were hungry. My parents and siblings were in terrible pain. I killed them all.”
The guy nodded, looking down at his hands.
It was a terrible and pitiful past, but it was not an unusual story for the Middle Ages.
If it didn’t rain, there were places where the blood of the most beautiful girl in the village was sprinkled on the ground. If it still didn’t rain, the girl would become a promiscuous woman or a witch.
And so they sprinkled the virgin’s blood until it rained.
Like a broken clock, one day it rained.
The Middle Ages were a time when people would marvel at their own wisdom while getting rained on.
“Your parents were good people. They were the kind of people who fed their children even when they were starving themselves. My symbol… Yes, my symbol. But on the way back, I was invited by a nobleman. Do you know how nobles eat?”
I nodded.
The guy continued talking.
“The table was full of fruits, meats, breads, and even ornamental food. Ornamental food, I mean. Heh heh···.”
The guy laughed in vain and patted my stomach.
Unlike other magic tower wizards I’ve seen, his stomach was thin and sunken in.
“The world is unequal. It’s so unequal that it can’t even be expressed with the word inequality. I don’t think I’m wrong. However, ··· Yes, I was too simplistic, just like you said. After all, wizards are people too. Even if they succeeded ··· Yes, someone else would just gain power. The empire would change to wizards.”
The guy who had been looking at Kanna for a moment nodded and stretched out his neck.
I wonder if he wanted to write a memoir in the end.
After I finished speaking, I looked at the guy sticking his neck out without saying anything and thought for a moment.
He was a guy who had already paid a large sum in settlement money.
He’s also a useful guy.
“Make some water before you go. I’m thirsty.”
I put the empty water bottle down in front of him.
The man who had been impressed by him for a moment grabbed the water bottle and put his hand on it.
and.
“Kkiyaaaaah!!”
A loud scream erupted, completely out of place with the solemn and solemn atmosphere just now.
The pain contained in that scream was so intense that it made me feel uneasy just listening to it.
‘I guess urinary stones are real.’
I roughly inferred this from the story I heard, but judging from the reactions, it seemed similar.
Along with the hefty settlement fee, the guy’s lightning magic kept flashing.
The tingling sensation seemed like it would be good for a massage after exercise.
Since he’s a muscleless guy, it’s okay to keep him as Kanna’s magic teacher…
“Wait a minute! No! Don’t kill them recklessly! They’re human! They did make mistakes, but they failed in the end! They just fell into a stupid belief! It seems like they’re reflecting again!”
Yeong-ae, who jumped in front of me, spoke quickly with an urgent face.
“If you take her away anyway, the lord will kill her.”
I asked, scratching the ball.
“Ah…! Don’t worry about that! Originally, Levilian! He was kidnapped by that bad guy! But then he was kidnapped again and was eventually rescued safely?!”
‘So that’s what happened.’
I looked into Youngae’s clear eyes, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.
“Kuobarou, did I do something wrong?”
Generous deposit, electric massage function.
It was also difficult to find a magic teacher in the remote area.
In addition, the risk of developing kidney stones was low.
It wasn’t a bad idea to give the guilty a chance to atone for their mistakes without pay.
Kuobarou looked down at my body for a moment, then looked back and forth between Yeong-ae and me.
In the place where his eyes landed, there was the item that Kuo Bao Rou had paid as a settlement fee.
The guy who had been gaping as if something was coming up closed his eyes with an even more aloof expression.
“···No need. Just kill me.”
‘It’s difficult. It’s still of no use···.’
When I tasted that blandness.
“Kill me! You said something about a cause, but it was all a lie?! It’s so easy to give up! It was a stupid cause!”
Youngae screamed.
That voice was so annoying that even I, who was listening from the side, got angry.
“What do you know about what you’re talking about?!”
The guy who jumped up and shouted rolled backwards at Young-ae’s light gesture.
“Huh? Ah! Power…! So why are you startling me!”
The guy who rolled for a while stopped and made a ‘creak···’ sound.
The man who got up trembling quickly waved his hand.
“Kkieeeeet!”
He screamed again and shook his body.
“Oh my? I didn’t hit you that hard···.”
Yeong-ae looked down at her fist in embarrassment and muttered quietly.
The one who had been going crazy for a while was holding onto the cloth that barely covered his vital parts and whining.
The tears streaming down her wrinkled eyes did not seem to be due to pain.
“Are you crying? You got hit once… And you hit me really hard! Don’t cry! How old are you? You got hit once….”
Yeong-ae, crouching down next to him, muttered something ambiguous that seemed to either appease him or tease him.
The more he did that, the louder his ‘woof woof’ sound became.
‘It will be dawn soon.’
I stood up after looking at the cave entrance for a moment.
It was time to go back.
I gained a lot from a short field trip.
‘It was too easy.’
He muttered while stroking Kanna’s head that was stuck to his leg.
“Ugh···ugh···.”
The muffled sobbing sound of Kuobarou continued.
***
‘Where did Aaron go?’
Nova looked out the window, chewing her lip nervously.
Outside, heavy rain was still pouring down.
“Why didn’t you take me?! Is it because I can’t use Auras?! I’m clearly the pride of Cassidy, the winner of the dueling tournament···.”
Adela screamed next to him.
Why can’t I keep up on a day when heavy rain is pouring down?
‘Why are you telling me what Fullfoot arranged? I don’t have the authority to do that in the first place.’
Although he had many questions, Nova suppressed his anger and opened his mouth because he was still a knight.
Adela, on the other hand, had an easy-to-handle personality.
“I don’t know what your lordship thinks, but I think you placed Adela in Cassadic because you valued her the most. After all, protecting the castle is of the utmost importance.”
“Ahem… Is that so? That’s true.”
Nova sighed as she looked at Adela, whose expression quickly improved.
“Haven’t Auror returned yet?”
“Yes. I feel it a little bit… but I think I still need some more time.”
Adela clenched her fists and answered.
‘The aurora is blocked.’
Auror was the backbone of the empire.
The unprecedented situation of blocking the aura happened in Cassidy.
‘No, this wouldn’t be the first time the Aura was blocked. It’s just that the rumors didn’t spread.’
However, it was not possible to predict what kind of repercussions this incident would have.
Then Baron Pulpouts led the knights and went directly to Bolt Castle.
‘Because I have to turn the arrow.’
Conclusions reached through the meeting.
Cassidy had to remain a thorough victim.
That was the reason why Pulpouts led a large force to Bolt Castle, emptying the inner castle.
‘But where the hell did Aaron go?’
With Aaron gone, Nova couldn’t concentrate at all.
Of course, I’m not worried about what might have happened to Aaron…
‘You won’t have another accident, right?’
Nova brought a piece of raw garlic to her mouth in anxiety.
Aghjak.
A spicy taste that will bring tears to your eyes.
It has a calming effect when eaten when you feel anxious.
‘It’s delicious even if you just eat it, so why hold a garlic contest?’
As he continued eating, Nova opened his eyes to the raw garlic. Nova put the pieces of garlic mixed with the walnuts back into his mouth.
“Eek! What the… isn’t that garlic! How could such a cursed thing…! What a scary woman!”
Adela, who had let out a cute cough that didn’t suit her, left the room in disgust.
‘It also has the effect of chasing away annoying people.’
Nova kept chewing the garlic, his mouth still agape.
I turned my gaze back to the window.
Still heavy rain.
In the meantime, the sun was rising and the world was gradually becoming brighter.
‘I don’t think it will be too much.’
Baron Pulpouts, a nobleman but not a nobleman, was a man who knew the line.
He seemed a little excited because Vivian was involved, but it was clear that he would return without any problems.
There was a plan we had discussed from the beginning. All we had to do was show some rough behavior that would turn the arrows.
Ododok-.
‘···Spicy.’
Nova stuck out her tongue, took a breath, and gulped down the water.
At that moment, the door opened roughly and a lightly armed man came in.
Nova quickly hardened her expression and straightened her posture.
“Two big things have happened!!”
Nova’s brow furrowed at the man’s shout.
‘···two?’
“What did you say?”
Nova asked back at the very intuitive report.
“Ah, first of all… Captain Aaron has returned!”
At that report, Nova sat up without realizing it.
However, Nova tilted her head at the subtle nuance.
‘You came back? Why is it past tense?’
“···You came back?”
“Yes! I ran into a messenger on the way here and quickly stole a carriage… no, borrowed one and set off for Bolt Castle! Oh! Lady Vivian was with me too!”
‘There was? Why is it past tense again···.’
“What are you saying now···.”
“Ah, so…. Captain Aaron came back, encountered a messenger at the gate, stole a carriage, and set off for Bolt Castle! Oh! Lady Vivian was with them too!”
Nova was momentarily speechless, as it was the first time she had heard something she didn’t understand even after hearing it twice.
‘···Aaron with Vivian? Did Aaron kidnap her? No, there’s no way Aaron would do that. Is there? No, there’s no way.’
Nova racked her brain trying to make sense of the situation.
First, I broke down the sentences and understood them step by step from the beginning.
‘Aaron is back. But Vivian is with him. Aaron met the messenger at the gate, snatched the carriage, and quickly set off for the Bolt Castle. Aha! That’s it!’
Nova clapped her hands in approval, but then frowned again.
“But you’re a messenger?”
“Ah, Baron Pulpouts has declared war on Baron Fener! He is currently besieging Castle Bolt! He has requested additional troops, saying he will be advancing soon!”
This time too, it took me quite a while to understand.
‘You started a war for territory? And you’re advancing?’
It was a completely different move than planned.
Fullfoot was a cold-hearted man.
He was not a man who would simply get angry and mess things up. Moreover, the Territory War was a gamble that involved the entire Cassadic.
Nova quickly shook his head, habitually putting another clove of garlic in his mouth.
The reason why Fullfoot made a somewhat radical choice that was different from what was discussed was…
‘···It was a completely different outcome if Vivian wasn’t kidnapped by the Fener family or if they held a wedding.’
The reaction of the Fener family seemed different from what was expected.
It was clear that he was in such a hurry to launch a siege without any siege equipment.
Then Aaron turned towards it…
‘Among those who went to Bolt Castle, there were Aaron’s crew members. That’s why they moved right away. No, no matter what, they talked to me… But why did Vivian go with them?’
Nova felt strangely offended.
“Did Aaron say anything?”
Nova asked.
“Um… Ah! I heard you said something I didn’t understand!”
It was strange that he was so polite to Aaron, even though he was clearly a soldier. No, I thought I knew because of the bruise on his left eyelid.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t stand the front yard multi!” he said.
Nova’s brow furrowed further at the man’s answer.
‘What the hell are you talking about.’
It sounded even more like Aaron’s words because it was nonsense that was hard to understand.
‘···Still, the siege equipment is gone.’
Nova smiled slightly as she thought of Aaron happily breaking down the wall.
Nova put another garlic clove in her mouth and stood up.
‘The nobles who are currently remaining in the castle···.’
Since everyone was moving, he had to do what he could here.
***
“Can we move among ourselves without any guidance?”
Berman muttered, shaking the moisture off his gauntlets.
“It’s an order. If you’re going to do it, do it.”
Snake Eye Grass pointed to the distant captain and said.
The captain, who usually fell behind whenever something like this happened, was shouting with a pale face as he was hit by the heavy rain.
It was clear that it was a situation that could not be avoided.
“How dare you kidnap a woman… even a beautiful young lady! I can’t forgive you. You piece of trash…”
Kel, whose face was very sunken, readjusted his grip on his sword and spat out harsh words.
Berman frowned and looked away at Kel’s anger, whose intentions were not very apparent.
There were a lot of people holding shields standing in front.
Then four knights.
There was no room for complaint, for an armed lord stood behind the knights.
The plan was explained directly by the lord earlier.
They approach the gate while blocking with shields, and the knights break down the gate and break through.
It was a simple plan, if we just broke through the gates, the knights would sort things out.
‘···It’s so well defended.’
Berman clicked his tongue as he looked at the crossbowmen lined up on the walls.
There were shield-bearing soldiers and knights in front, as well as a lord, but Berman remembered the back of another man.
‘Captain Aaron needs to come quickly.’
Funnily enough, Aaron Jojang’s back was more solid than the others.
Phew-!!
The sound of a horn can be heard amidst the heavy rain.
‘Everyone was laughing in the morning because it was Yeong-ae’s birthday, but in the evening, they were being hit by arrows… You never know what will happen to people.’
Berman hardened his expression and raised the shield he had been given.
“Advance!! Hold on to your shields! You don’t have to do anything! Just hold on to your shields!! Wake up, you punks! Hold on to your shields!! Everyone, stick close!!”
We slowly advanced along with the voice of the evil-possessed captain.
