160
Brother
“I don’t understand.”
Choco muttered, looking down at me with a trembling look in his eyes.
Her gaze was fixed on the luxurious wooden box in my arms.
“what.”
I asked back, hiding behind him.
“······What happened in Karzan last night, wasn’t it definitely your doing? Then why are you the hero of Karzan?”
Choco asked with a look of genuine curiosity.
I thought for a moment about the hero he was talking about.
He raised prices to pay for war supplies and harassed the citizens of Karzan, but no one could touch the large, evil merchant group that had been so powerful.
I beat up thugs who act recklessly without any family tree and make them good.
In place of the mayor of Karzan, three swords were stuck in his hand. If that isn’t heroic, then what is?
Of course, since I didn’t need Choco’s understanding, I just knocked on the wooden box. It made a rattling sound. I quite liked the dull sound.
“Was he really that strong? I knew he was talented, but I didn’t know he was so talented that he could make you like that. Even if you didn’t know it then, you’re a monster now.”
The corners of my mouth froze for a moment at Choco’s muttering, then quickly rose.
That was right. I became stronger as I spit blood. No matter how much of a genius he was, he couldn’t deal with me if he didn’t have Aura.
Of course, if the bastard’s swordsmanship skills were combined with Aura, it could have been really dangerous, but that was just an assumption.
I could have subdued him and had a heated conversation with him or beaten him up to cure his puberty…
[I will cast you and everything you own into hell. I swear to the stars.]
‘Swearing to the stars.’
The moment he swore, every last possibility was closed off.
In the superstitious Middle Ages, oaths had great significance. Even in those Middle Ages, the desert people were particularly superstitious.
Choco, who was a general, became a slave without a word the moment he lost to one soul.
The most important of these was the oath to the stars. There were no conditions or penalties for the oath, but the desert people would keep their oaths to the stars.
Besides, I knew Ethan’s spirit very well. The moment he uttered his oath to the stars, there was no turning back.
Even if the guy understood what I was saying and calmed down, I couldn’t believe it anymore.
Talking more between the two of us who were completely at odds would only make our beds messy. My hand went out first at the words that said everything about me would go to hell.
I don’t know what he meant by that at all, but I wasn’t very impressed.
‘···Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue and stroked the hilt of the knife.
‘Why should I swear to the stars…’
He was stupid, but not dull.
However, he was not the type to bend rather than break.
‘···Is there something more?’
I fumbled with the pocket where I had kept the papers.
“In the end, you became the top star.”
Choco said with a small smile. I scratched my cheek at that. I felt a thick scar.
“But wasn’t the first star originally yours? Since you killed the previous first star.”
I sighed softly at Choco’s words that followed.
‘Oh, I see.’
It was a tradition in the kingdom of Byzant that whoever killed the first star would become the next first star.
Since I was the one who cut off the head of the greatest star in the entire generation, it was right for me to take that position.
Of course, the next problem was, but the desert bastards would have put me on the top star for now.
But since I was the one who started the incident and ran away, even if I had given him the top star position as promised, he might have been dissatisfied.
However, at that time, I made the best choice I could think of.
‘It’s over.’
Anyway, he was dead to me. It was over, just another leash torn off.
dripping.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
A sweet voice was heard from across the door.
“Yes, brother.”
I got up from my seat, adjusting my helmet, and the door opened, revealing a sallow-faced mayor.
There was an intimacy on his face that seemed invisible even to his own blood relatives.
“I heard that I will be leaving soon, so I stopped by for a moment. I would like to keep you by my side, but my younger brother has his own path. What can I do?”
The mayor spoke with such sincerity that he seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“It is the fate of the great soul. Just as my brother is the pillar of Karzan···.”
The mayor laughed loudly as he babbled sweet words. I expected him to say something more, but he didn’t say anything else.
It was an imperial vending machine that had already spit out enough gold coins to fill a wooden box.
“Your younger brother is running the strong Aaron Group? Don’t worry! If you’re your younger brother, you’re my younger brother too, so I’ll push you forward!”
The market was so ignorant that it seemed like it didn’t know the word square. Oh, I nodded to the guy who was explaining square at length.
It was an impromptu plan that I came up with because I thought it would arouse suspicion if I was alive while all the knights were dead, but it was surprisingly effective.
As expected of a famous line, there was a part where the mayor hugged me and burst into tears, and I even shed tears.
“Oh, oh. Did you hear anything from that guy Ethan?”
The mayor, who had been looking around, asked furtively. Choco had already left.
‘···Conversation.’
Ethan didn’t say a word.
I could understand why, because I had been in that situation myself.
I probably wouldn’t have said anything for fear of being swayed by the other person’s excuses.
‘Weak guy.’
I shook my head to shake off the thought. It was already over.
“I couldn’t understand you because you were talking so strangely.”
“Strange words? Oh, that must be the language of the uncivilized kingdom of Byzant. Hmm… I see. Oh, by any chance, would you mind keeping the story about Ethan a secret?”
The mayor looked at me with the same eyes as he looked at his younger brother and said:
‘···There’s something.’
It was an achievement to successfully block the offensive of Marquis Ethan. Judging by the fact that they were trying to hide the obvious achievement, it was clear that the Imperial Vending Machine had something going for it.
However, I was tired right now so I didn’t think deeply about it.
When I nodded, the mayor went back after talking about some other useless stuff for a while.
Then came Dante, the Weasel, and Google.
The three faces looking at me were all different.
“Aaron-.”
Dante, whose gaze was already burdensome, now gave me a gaze that was so hot it made my back tickle. Then he muttered something softly and closed his eyes, which was very irritating.
However, I still let him off because he was a good worker. He was a decent guy···
‘Why is this kid like this?’
The usually mischievous weasel was carrying a load on his back with an unusually solemn expression.
It was really disgusting to see him coughing and stroking his annoyingly grown beard.
Finally, Google···.
‘You were greedy.’
Google’s appearance was quite rough. It seemed like they had cleaned it up somehow, but the hairs that were pulled out here and there and the bruises clearly showed that they had been hit hard.
‘For some reason, Ethan didn’t come with you.’
I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“Ready to go, big brother.”
At that moment, the weasel coughed loudly and spoke arrogantly.
“What’s wrong with this kid?”
“Hehe, bro. I’m Dylan, now a knight.”
I was already tired, and hearing such a strange answer made me feel even more upset.
As soon as I tapped on the cause of his upset, his tone returned.
“Ouch! I was wrong! I was wrong···!”
Then, when I turned my head, the guy coughed again and grabbed the weight.
‘Is it time to hit?’
I mentally calculated the weasel’s cycle. It was about time for it to hit me.
When you arrive at Cassidy, we’ve added training the weasels to your to-do list.
“Take care of it.”
I looked at Dante and said before I left.
“I will accept it.”
Dante answered, uselessly setting the mood.
It was time to go back.
The market awarded a luxurious carriage to the hero who protected Karzan.
It was said to be one of the carriages the mayor had, and it was so extravagant that it could not be described as a luxury item. On one side of the carriage was painted the emblem of Beatrice, a symbol of luxury.
The carriage I rode in was quite luxurious, but it had obvious signs of having been attacked on the way there, so I was hesitant to ride it again. However, it turned out to be a good gift.
Dante said that he would repair the carriage he had previously used and send it to the upper world.
Since the number of foreign workers will increase, I assigned eight foreign workers to Dante.
The carriage that the market had brought down had a bright yellow exterior and clean windows. It was also spacious enough to ride while lying down.
I nodded, hugging the wooden box.
A wooden chest filled with gold coins and a golden carriage.
‘It’s a return to glory.’
““Waaaaaaah-!! Karzan’s hero! Ping-pong! Ping-pong!””
Cheers erupted. The faces of the citizens were shadowed, and behind them the desolate figure of Karzan, but their voices were powerful.
‘You broke a lot.’
I heard that the resistance from the Garot top and the gangsters was very fierce.
They said they set fire to the city and caused a huge uproar, but I couldn’t understand why they were destroying a perfectly good city.
Still, it was Karzan who had already been destroyed twice. It was difficult at first and easy after that, so it was clear that he would quickly make up for it.
He also provided Dante with funds and manpower for him.
As a result, Karzan’s prices stabilized and the Zan Bari gangsters disappeared. It was clear that Dante would handle things well and bring about good results.
Dante opened the carriage door and stepped aside politely, more polite than one might expect from a nobleman.
The weasel saw him, opened its eyes wide, and lay down under the carriage.
“Step on me and climb up! Big brother! I am your stepping stone······ Aaaah!!”
Even with just a slight lift of his foot, the weasel squealed and twisted its body.
‘That’s a joke.’
I clicked my tongue, kicked the bastard away, and got into the carriage. The carriage was filled with a fragrant smell.
It seemed to have an air freshener function. There was also a small table, and on and around it were things like bread and wine.
‘He’s a very nice guy.’
I sat in a sunny spot, giving my assessment of the market. Unlike the other carriages, the seats were cushioned rather than hard.
It was a carriage so magnificent that even the word luxury was not enough. I quickly took a sip of wine.
Then, with Choco and Google on board, the carriage set off. No matter how luxurious it was, there was nothing that could be done, and the ride wasn’t all that comfortable.
As I approached the gate, I saw some men saluting through the windows. Among them was the one I had hit.
The bastard’s face was engraved with beautiful bruises.
There were new mascots of Karzan, skewered like hunters showing off their prey in front of the castle gates.
The mascots were in a pretty horrible state, evidence of a fierce fight, and people were making a fool of themselves in front of them.
Even children were having fun underneath the horrific corpse, as if it were a city landmark.
I clicked my tongue at the truly medieval appearance and looked for Ethan. Ethan was not among the mascots. It seemed like he was hidden away.
‘The market seems to be feeling a little prickly.’
For some reason, the market seemed to be trying to hide the story about Ethan.
Passing through the gate like that, Karzan became distant.
I took out the paper I had kept in my bosom. I hadn’t taken it out in Karzan just in case.
The yellowed stacks of paper were some kind of report. It had been a long time since I had read a letter in Vizant, so I had to rack my memory.
On that yellow paper, which was covered with the marks of my hands and feet, my actions that day were written in detail.
[Aaron opened the gates of the Kingdom of Byzant to the Imperial Army. Those around him easily gave way to the Royal Guard uniforms. However, they moved immediately upon seeing suspicious behavior, but it was already too late.]
‘The plague of blocking…’
I was so blinded by anger at the time that I thought I might be remembering things wrong, so I looked back, but no one had stopped me.
[As the imperial army entered through the open gate, all of Byzant’s troops rushed towards the gate, and Aaron entered the palace through the gap. The first star, his wife, and the guards were all killed by Aaron.]
‘What about the escort force… They turned everything into a ban so there was no one there.’
If you look at the results alone, it seems like a correct story at first glance, but there were many parts that were wrong. Of the remaining escort troops, there were only five.
[Aaron hid the body of the first star and told the imperial knights who arrived later that the first star had escaped to the forbidden city, leading them to the forbidden city.]
I had to show some pretty realistic acting. I even got slapped in the face by an impatient royal knight for missing the most important star.
Of course, it was understandable. For them, it was the worst of a situation that was already doomed.
Anyway, I achieved my goal.
[The Imperial Army and the Imperial Knights advanced into the fort. A great battle took place there, but there is no detailed information. After a while, Aaron, who came out alone, disappeared.]
‘It was quite dazzling.’
The imperial knights were confident, but the demon of despair within them was beyond imagination.
If I hadn’t been able to get the imperial knights involved, revenge would have been so strong that I couldn’t even dream of it.
‘It seems stronger than the fourth.’
The fourth was incomparably stronger. The Imperial Knights had to rush in droves.
[Three squads of Imperial Knights entered the forbidden city, but only one squad came out. They declared that the destruction of the Kingdom of Byzant was the wrath of God, based on the death of the demon within the forbidden city.]
‘You’ve lived longer than I expected. You’ve used your brain a lot in that short time. Is that you?’
I nodded, recalling the particularly thick-skinned imperial knight in my memory. I don’t know about the others, but I felt like that guy wouldn’t die.
[However, the whereabouts of many people, including the successors, became unknown later. The last reported sighting was of Avery following him around the Forbidden City. Avery was a magician in the mercenary band that Aaron was a member of.]
My brow furrowed at the last sentence.
‘···Avery?’
There was no way. Avery had disappeared with the captain. Besides, how could you identify a missing person in the middle of a war?
I chewed my lip and forced myself to recall the memory of the ban.
For some unknown reason, the Demon of Despair played a terrible prank on me, leaving me alive. It raised the dead as low-level zombies and sent them back to me.
Because of that, I had to personally tear apart my colleagues who had become lower-level zombies.
I searched my memory.
‘The captain was there, and Elwes was there. Gorgai was so tough that he felt like a mid-level zombie… and Wayne was there. Sije was hanging on a tree on the way out… and Avery?’
Knock knock. I took off my stuffy helmet and caught my breath.
I thought about it a few times, wondering if I had mistaken it for an excited situation, but the result was the same.
‘···Avery wasn’t there.’
The pendant rose and I chewed my lips.
It was a hypothesis I couldn’t even imagine. I was sure that even if everyone else betrayed me, those in the mercenary corps would never do so.
“Eek······.”
I turned my gaze to the sound of breathing next to me. Google was looking up at me with a frightened look on its face.
I took a deep breath and shook my head.
Excitement didn’t help.
As someone once said, you should always keep a cool head.
I read the paper again from the beginning.
What would Ethan think when he saw this?
‘···I told him that the entire mercenary force was dead.’
How could I possibly guess what he was thinking? It was already over.
‘Avery.’
How much did he read, the carriage slowly came to a stop.
It was around the time I was reading the part that said, ‘A stern warning from the Empire to Marquis Ethan, who claims to be the First Star.’
A clank. My thoughts were broken by the door opening roughly.
“Big brother. The guys have arrived. The weather is nice. Why don’t we go out and eat?”
The weasel returned to its sullen demeanor, as if the solemnity did not suit it.
I stared at that vile face and shook my head.
“Don’t call me brother.”
He got out of the carriage, putting the paper he was holding deep inside.
“······yes?”
The weasel’s face, which looked like it had been slapped, quickly changed its expression.
“Then, oppa?”
The weasel snorted softly.
‘···This is crazy.’
As the weasel said, the weather was really cool. The sweat inside my armor seemed to be cooling off.
It was a typical medieval roadside where you could see nothing but grass and trees wherever you looked.
In front of the carriage, the kids I had seen back then were prostrating themselves.
I walked over and told them to listen to Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar was used to controlling them.
After watching him for a while, I sat down and bit into the pork that Shona had prepared for me. As it cooled, the fat had solidified and turned a grayish color, making it not a very pleasant sight to eat.
Still, in the Middle Ages, this was a worthy meal.
“Are you okay?”
Choco, sitting across from me, asked.
I thought for a moment about what he was asking.
Judging from the light tone of his speech, it seemed as if he was asking about the taste of the meat. The moment he was about to shake his head, Choco continued.
“Still, weren’t we pretty close?”
There was no trace of worry in his tone or facial expression as he asked.
It was a monotonous voice, as if asking if the weather was nice today.
‘Oh, that was the story about Ethan.’
I nodded vaguely and took a sip of the wine in my flask.
I’ve come too far to be sad about killing just one more person I know.
‘By the way, I’ve passed on something annoying.’
Whenever we went to the front lines together, my little brat Ethan would often shun the chores like sharpening his sword and doing other chores, saying it was a bother.
I guess I developed a bad habit, but I pushed the work through to the end.
‘Tsk.’
As I was recalling what was written on the paper, I realized that my water bottle was empty and threw it in frustration.
“Here it is! Big brother.”
The weasel next to me quickly offered me his water bottle.
That thin voice was so ridiculous that I didn’t even have the will to hit him.
“Ahh! Why are you hitting me!”
I drank the water bottle the weasel had given me.
As expected, medieval wine was not tasty.
***
‘Information is lacking.’
I knocked on the wooden box to collect my thoughts.
Google was there, but it wasn’t that great. It was sad that in a remote area, there was nothing but Google.
“That··· is there a problem···.”
Google, who had shrunk considerably, asked cautiously.
The name Google was too much for him.
“You are Yahoo now.”
“···yes?”
Yahoo opened his eyes wide and asked back. He didn’t seem to understand what I was saying, but he seemed to sense a subtle nuance and looked embarrassed.
“yahoo.”
“That··· Google is more···.”
“Okay, what happened to the pendant?”
It’s been a while since I entrusted you with the information, but I still haven’t gotten much out of it.
It would be unusual for a magic club to be so secretive, but these guys approached even the unappealing Kkwobarou.
“We’re still investigating. The nature of wizards is so secretive, it costs a lot of money and investigation itself takes time…”
I clicked my tongue at Yahoo’s excuse and opened the wooden box. In an instant, the inside of the carriage brightened.
‘It’s a red-grade request.’
Ironically, Ethan didn’t have much money in his pocket. It seemed like his finances were not good, or he had no intention of paying the commission fee in the first place.
‘I thought I paid the price by keeping it alive.’
It was fortunate that I received a lot of gold coins from the market.
“How much is it?”
I looked at Yahoo’s face as I ran my hand over the gold coins. I could feel the cool texture of the gold coins between my fingers.
Yahoo’s expression was subtle. Yahoo, who was somewhere between useful and recyclable, bit his lip. It was on the edge of being useful.
“It’s 20 gold.”
I looked at Yahoo and flicked the coins one by one. Yahoo received them while controlling his expression, but at some point the corners of his mouth relaxed.
It was around the time of 13 gold.
“I don’t have much patience. Hurry up.”
He knocked on the wooden box and smiled as kindly as he could.
Yahoo’s gaze fell on the gold coins swinging inside the wooden box.
He seemed to be wondering how he had acquired so much gold, and whether the redness on his armor was due to the dye.
“I will threaten or urge you.”
Yahoo, who had taken 13 gold, nodded without asking for more.
“Hurry up, hurry up.”
“···yes?”
“Hurry up, hurry up.”
“Ppalli… Ppalli?”
Yahoo muttered, shaking his body slightly.
It was roughly similar, so I nodded and closed my eyes.
Because it was a luxury carriage, the ride was so comfortable that I fell asleep without even realizing it.
I leaned against the window, holding the sword in my arms so that I could easily draw it.
***
‘Another nightmare.’
Acquaintances come out to greet me with their arms wide open.
It was such a horrible dream that it was hard to even call it a nightmare.
I looked at them with my eyes.
They were all familiar faces, but there were new faces.
He was a little distant, perhaps because he was shy since he had only just arrived.
“It’s Ethan. Say hello to everyone. Don’t be shy and get along well. Hey, Britsha’s son is here.”
I habitually muttered a joke, giggled, and unclenched my hands.
As expected, the first one was Udra.
***
Rattling.
When I opened my eyes, my sword was aimed at Choco.
“Arrived.”
Choco spoke calmly even though blood was flowing from his slightly pricked neck.
I took a deep breath and looked around. The terrified Yahoo and the view of Cassidy beyond.
“I’m sorry.”
I spoke briefly and put away my sword.
Choco just nodded.
A moment later, my mind suddenly snapped back to normal at the sight of Cassidy.
‘······Haven’t you been away for about four days?’
If you include the time I passed out, I was out of Cassidy for about four days.
But what does that mean?
I frowned as I looked at the huge sculptures lined up in front of the gate.
The pieces looked very familiar. Upon closer inspection, I saw that they were pieces that Kanna had created with her mana when Park’s head went berserk.
I’ve seen the pieces made by Kanna before, so it doesn’t really matter-.
‘Why in front of that castle wall···.’
The wall was shaped like a dragon opening its mouth, and the dragon statues were arranged in a long line in front of it, making for a horrifying sight.
Why would the Flying Baron approve something like that?
‘But why are there so many people?’
I frowned at the crowd of people surrounding the sculptures. There were many faces I had never seen before. They looked like tourists.
“Wow! It’s Aaron! Aaron!”
At that moment, Park Dae-gari, who was carrying the sculpture, looked at me and smiled brightly.
It was a truly disgusting sight to see him shaking the piece instead of greeting.
Next to him was the Flying Baron, who was just laughing.
That smile was just like that of a monk who had attained enlightenment.
***
“Eek··· Eek··· Why is my body so heavy?”
Geltura clicked his tongue at his subordinate’s grumbling.
When I was in that situation, I couldn’t even open my mouth, but now I’m grumbling openly…
‘The black magician’s military standard is all dead.’
But these days, it’s hard to find talented black magicians, so I couldn’t say anything.
“Of course it’s heavy. He’s the Marquis of Ethan!”
Another subordinate replied angrily.
“Oh, so this guy was the Marquis of Ethan?”
Geltura was dumbfounded by that stupid conversation. Then why did he think he was doing this now?
“But even if you are Marquis Ethan, why are you using this guy? Since you are called a Death Knight, wouldn’t it be better to use him as a knight?”
Geltura took a deep breath at the stupid question.
‘Black magicians are hard to come by. I’ll endure it. I’ll endure it.’
One of them knew, and the other two didn’t. As the guy said, originally, knight corpses were used to create death knights.
However, with the recent advancement in Death Knight research, there was no longer any need to use knight corpses. No, rather, skilled swordsmen, not knights, were more suitable.
This was because, in the case of non-knights, swordsmanship was often better than that of knights who trusted in auras and neglected their training.
Even when he was stuck in the desert, Marquis Ethan was rumored to be a very talented man.
In short, he was a man worth doing this nonsense.
“Shut up and move.”
Geltura answered in the kindest voice possible.
“Yes? Yes.”
The other two guys nodded, their mouths twitching.
It seemed like they didn’t understand, but what would those idiots know? There was no need to explain it to those dullards.
How did the black magicians who were doing so well end up stealing corpses?
Geltura sighed as she watched the men carrying Marquis Ethan, making a ‘uh-uh-uh’ sound.
‘Querentel, from the moment that idiot dragged the Death Knight out to catch Youngae, things were messed up.’
The Death Knight was made to be an anti-knight, so the cost of making one was not small. But that Querentel guy took him anyway.
‘How on earth did a guy who took a Death Knight with him fail?’
It was absurd. With the deaths of the black magicians and the black blood, the seed of the black magicians in the East dried up.
In addition, recently, Gobersan, who was a member of the Dark Alliance, almost entered the Dark Age of the Dark Magicians due to his death.
‘Thanks to the research at the Gray Tower, we got a clue.’
Although the heart of the one who is loved by Mana was not obtained as intended by Querentel, the realm of the Death Knight was expanded thanks to the research on it published by the next Lord of the Gray Tower.
“Obviously, at first, it was a well-equipped research facility and······.”
At that moment, the subordinates started grumbling again.
“Just shut up and move!”
Geltura, unable to bear it any longer, screamed.
“Who’s there!”
As the voice was loud, a voice was heard from the side. The man who appeared was a man with a bruise on his face.
An annoyed Geltura waved her hand lightly.
The shadow cast from him caught the approaching guard and blew him up.
Geltura seemed to be proud, as if he had shown some dignity.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you just move to the shadows?”
I was discouraged by the guy’s subsequent questions.
“If you don’t want to end up like that, shut up.”
Only when Geltura, unable to control his temper, growled did the bastards close their mouths and move.
‘I should have done this a long time ago.’
Geltura picked up Marquis Ethan’s face from the floor and nodded.
Unlike the other corpses, his face looked somewhat relieved. Even though it was going to be ugly anyway.
‘A legendary item will be born.’
Geltura, who had a special eye for seeing corpses, smiled sinisterly.
It was clear that a masterpiece would be born like never before.
