The whole story of the silver spoon incident
‘It’s overtime. No, it’s a side job.’
I looked at the faces of the guys surrounding me.
They were soldiers of the Fener family.
First, I examined their weapons.
Judging from the fact that the scabbard was the same, it seemed like he was using a standard sword.
At that level, it would be impossible to penetrate my iron without using an aura.
Since my body was a bit sore, it seemed like a good time to stretch.
“Go that way.”
I pointed to a small alley next door.
It was an alley that was just wide enough for two people to walk through, but not wide enough for three.
I thought they would be reluctant to do something so blatant since there were a lot of eyes watching them, so I made the suggestion as if nothing had happened.
“···What? Hah! Look at this guy. He doesn’t want to get beaten up in front of others!”
“You still look stiff. Do you trust my size?”
I was skeptical about the guys’ reactions.
Usually, people tend to be a bit intimidated when they see me, but these guys were poking me around like I wasn’t even worth fighting against.
“Yes! He’s going to die soon, so I’ll grant him one wish.”
Among them, the one with a particularly thick chin nodded.
As if worried that I would escape, they moved in a formation surrounding me.
And the shape naturally split into front and back as it entered the narrow alley.
I slowly released my hands and measured the distance between me and the guys in front and behind me.
It was within arm’s reach – it was enough.
“Why did you come to the alley? To borrow something?”
“I guess even my guards were embarrassed to be outside.”
Kelkel- I laughed along with the guy who was laughing like a goblin.
They were truly stupid.
bang-!
I used as much force as I could, turned my body half a turn, grabbed the faces of the guys in front and behind me, and pinned them against the wall.
Just punching him in the face would be enough, but this tastes better…
‘Did you really taste it?’
I looked at the small broken wall and shook my head slightly as if I heard Nova’s voice.
The guy in front was pinned against the wall, and the guy who had been grumbling until just now had his eyes widened to the size of fists.
The guy hurriedly threw his fist, but I slightly shook my head to dodge it, then kicked my foot.
The guy with his foot stuck in the boat just sat there, spilling out yellow soup.
“Um···um···.”
The guy who was suddenly alone was unable to finish his words and stammered as he grabbed the handle of his sword.
However, the worries took a little longer.
I grabbed the face of the man whose arms were down because he was drawing his sword and pinned him to the wall.
It was a moderate amount of warm-up.
I nodded, looking at the four people rolling on the floor.
At that moment, I made eye contact with a man who was hesitating and not coming into the end of the alley.
It was a face I had seen before. It was the guy who had rushed at me and bothered me several times during the security checkpoint.
“This way.”
“Hmm···.”
I wiggled my fingers and the guy approached me while avoiding eye contact. It looked like he wasn’t calling me, but was actually trying to pass by.
“Did you say Geluru?”
“···It’s Gelheim.”
“Yeah, Gelharu. Are these guys your friends?”
When I asked, pointing to the guys rolling around on the floor, Gelharu nodded after a moment of thoughtful groaning.
“hmm···.”
I held out my hand without saying anything.
Gelharu bit his lips tightly and placed two silver coins in my hand.
It was not a bad harvest for a quick warm-up.
The moment I was about to be satisfied with that, Gelharu started searching for his fallen comrades.
“I’ll do it soon… I’ll do it soon! Just wait a moment!”
It was quite natural for me to mutter urgently and search my colleague’s arms as if I was threatening him with a knife.
I leaned against the wall and watched him do the gelharu thing.
Then I remembered what I had forgotten.
‘Oh, a silver spoon! I forgot because of that crazy talk.’
I had forgotten about it because the shock I received from the goblin horse was so great.
‘I should go there again.’
I couldn’t leave a case that put my honor at stake unsolved.
Gelharu took out about ten silver coins from his colleague’s bosom, approached him, and handed him five silver coins.
‘He’s a great guy.’
Five was enough, so I patted the guy on the shoulder to say he did a good job.
The corners of his lips slightly rose, but soon his face turned tearful.
Looking at his face, it seemed like his thoughts were complicated.
‘Then shall we go and wrap up the silver spoon theft case?’
He left the room, stroking his beard.
***
Gelheim looked at his fallen comrades, relieved that he had not fallen into that situation, but then suddenly felt a sense of self-loathing and scratched his head.
Clearly, in the Bolt Castle, it would have been our world if there were no knights, but how did it end up like this…
‘Why is a guy like that doing something like leading a foreign security operation?’
I didn’t understand it at all.
Looking at the extortion of money, it seems that they are not without greed for money, but they are using such force to do things like encourage foreign security···.
“Ugh… what happened….”
The colleagues who had fainted began to slowly wake up.
It seemed as if he had no idea what had happened after being hit with just one move.
“Ah! What a cowardly surprise attack…!”
“Damn it. You took advantage of my carelessness to strike me!”
Soon, the men who had come to their senses realized the situation and exploded in anger.
‘Isn’t one-on-many cowardly in the first place?’
I didn’t bother to say my thoughts out loud.
“Is everyone awake? Let’s go and have a beer. I’ll buy it today.”
Since I had taken some Gelheim while searching through my belongings earlier, I still had money left over even if I bought beer.
“Beer…? How can you say beer in a situation like this?! I was unexpectedly struck by a coward! That guy is a devil who doesn’t know a thing about honor!”
“If it hadn’t been a surprise attack, I wouldn’t have been in this situation! Damn it! That quick-witted guy would have acted first···.”
The guys who had been throwing tantrums one after another soon went back to him and suggested that they give him a proper beating this time.
‘What thick-skinned guys.’
After muttering softly, Gelheim coughed in vain as his face heated up as he remembered his former self.
“No, it won’t work even if we try again. You may not have seen it, but I have. He’s not on our level.”
The one who was watching the situation from the back muttered while shivering.
A moment of silence fell on the serious atmosphere.
The truth that I had tried hard to ignore came back to me again.
They were defeated miserably.
“That… does that mean we can just let it go like this?! Starting tomorrow, rumors will spread that we’ve been taken over by that guy! How are we going to show our face!”
The man who had shouted first raised his voice again.
If the rumor spread like the man said, everyone would surely laugh at him.
Four soldiers were defeated so badly by one guard captain… If word had reached Bolt Castle, he could have lost his job.
Everyone swallowed their silence at that.
“We can’t just let this go. This is a matter of our future! Five lost to one! We have to stop it before the rumor spreads!”
The rest nodded with somber faces at his words.
Gelheim couldn’t just laugh at the men because his own story was also included.
“···then?”
“Let’s go to Sir Ben. Tell him to shut his mouth before he opens his mouth. Sir Ben may be a sharp man, but we are of the same family. Some of us have been instructed by Sir Ben. It is also connected to the honor of House Fener, so I am sure he will help us.”
The guy’s next words were a suggestion that made even the indifferent Gelheim’s eyes light up.
No matter how long and strong he was, if he faced a knight, he would be like a strong child.
Others chimed in, adding their own opinions. Among them were Ben Sir’s favorite items, such as food, which raised the possibility of the plan.
‘But… I don’t think that guy and Sir Ben know each other. That’s ridiculous. How could a mere security chief and a knight…’
Gelheim shook his head, thinking it was a pointless worry, but he still scratched his neck because of the anxiety that did not go away.
***
[Huh? Ah~ A silver spoon! I found it in the corner of the house! It was mixed in with the straw. Oh my- This is embarrassing!]
I shook my head and tried to mumble the words I had heard.
‘The culprit was the silver mirror buck-toothed woman. The clue was the different texture of the corners of the silver mirror. The woman, who regarded the silver mirror as her life, accepted the lacking parts of the silver mirror as the emptiness of her soul, and in order to fill that void, she stole the silver spoon from the house next door and secretly melted it down…’
It was a satisfactory deduction.
My honor would not have been tarnished like that.
“here.”
The mini fridge carefully held out a beer mug.
But his expression was subtly different from usual.
It was the kind of face you would make when showing your painstaking homework to your teacher.
I looked at the beer mug he offered me and soon noticed that the ice shape was different than usual.
The ice was shaped like a flower, unlike its usual rough and haphazard form.
A flower-shaped ice sculpture so detailed that it looks like someone put a lot of effort into carving it.
‘···Why are you doing such useless things?’
However, I exclaimed in admiration, ‘Oh…’ at the sight of the guy’s purple eyes sparkling as if he was expecting my reaction.
The guy with the corners of his lips slightly raised took out something with a serious face. It was a set of dice used in gambling.
‘Whew···’ The guy let out a small breath and placed the dice on his palm.
The guy frowned as if concentrating, and after a moment the dice slowly rose to the surface.
Soon the dice began to spin slowly, as if they were being juggled.
‘What are you doing?’
The expression on the mini fridge’s face was extremely serious.
Then I racked my brain to figure out what was going on.
The guy who had been spinning the dice 3cm above his palm slowly put the dice down.
“I tried···.”
The guy muttered, looking up at me with sparkling eyes like a puppy carrying a bone.
It was only after hearing what the guy had to say that I understood the situation.
‘So you try too.’
A quick conversation I had with the guy before.
It seemed like I had left some color on the guy’s drawing paper without realizing it.
‘But I think the direction of my efforts is wrong?’
Looking at the delicacy of the ice or the levitating dice, it was clear that effort had been put in… but if the direction was wrong, it was seriously wrong.
Ice is cool, so it’s a hit, and I’m not going to show this thing off in front of people like a monkey and get paid for it, so levitating the dice wasn’t really useful.
However, I couldn’t say anything else to the child who was expecting it.
Even the normally expressionless guy twitched the corners of his mouth in anticipation of praise, which was really cute, so I lightly patted his head and praised him.
“Well done. You tried hard. A lot.”
Even though it was a lame compliment, the guy seemed pleased because one corner of his mouth went up.
It seemed like his expressions had become more varied since we first met. It was a good sign.
Still, the wrong direction had to be corrected quickly.
If we leave it like this, what kind of efforts will we make next time···.
‘I have to hurry Jackson and bring him the magic book quickly.’
At that time, the guy couldn’t take his eyes off something.
Following her gaze, I saw that it was the white bracelet I had brought as a souvenir earlier.
‘Do you like this?’
It was a really shabby old bracelet, and I received it without any burden, like a cake from a woman with buck teeth···.
At him, I waved my left arm slightly.
Then the boy started shaking his head back and forth like a cat looking at a toy.
‘I guess you like it.’
He took off the bracelet and handed it to the guy.
“···!”
The boy with wide eyes hesitated for a moment, then quickly hugged the bracelet carefully to his chest.
‘That bracelet had something to it. He’s a nicer guy than he looks.’
I scratched my head at the careful attitude, as if handling a treasure.
I promised myself that I would give something to that kind of guy who gave me such a souvenir next time.
‘Do you like fish bread?’
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the boy holding the bracelet and looking so happy like a child.
‘···But is that how magic works?’
I tilted my head at the sight of him developing it on his own, and then I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw him rolling the dice again.
***
The lord judged it a waste to feed bread to the escapees, so he ordered mass executions.
He went to pick up Dalus, and the boy showed an unusual amount of excitement.
I thought for a long time about how to react as I watched Dalus talking in an unusually high tone, saying that if there were eleven, it would definitely be the highest record in the eastern part of the empire, and that it was an ‘execution that would go down in legend’.
Then he said, “When you go to hell, you’ll sit in the first row,” and Dalus retorted, “When you come as a customer next time, I’ll make sure to treat you properly.”
Then the little boy next to me raised his hand and shouted, ‘Aaron will be my customer! Dad!’ and I couldn’t hold back my swearing because I was so touched by the sight of that warm-hearted rich man.
As Dalus said, a lot of people gathered for the ‘legendary execution’, but the lord’s side was nowhere to be seen, perhaps because of the Flying Baron incident last time.
Since Poole was still hospitalized, he decided to join hands with Hannah this time.
I suggested the red wine and red spice strategy to Hannah again, and she followed my advice, even though she was horrified.
So I found a good spot and set up Hannah’s stall.
Since there were a lot of new entrants, there were quite a few women and children who were making a fuss about the stalls, so I had to help them out a few times, and I was able to make a decent amount of extra income.
Hannah shouted, “42 Cooper!” and tried to ignore it.
This time, the strategy worked and I was able to make quite a bit of money. Even after sharing it with Hannah, my pockets were still full.
Something like a festival had passed, but the problem was that the aftereffects of the festival were on display at the gate and I was working underneath it.
Twelve new mascots of Cassidy Castle greeted visitors with their tongues sticking out from above the castle gates.
The mascot also has the function of preventing new visitors from causing even minor accidents.
“Oh, this really sucks.”
I held my nose and swore at the rotten smell I was not used to.
“Hey, it’s not that bad, is it?”
Brick tilted his head and asked.
They hung 12 human necks right above the city gate, but it didn’t smell bad…
‘Well, he’s been eating fish bread since he was little.’
Brick Nome may have no sense of smell or taste left.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Captain?”
“what.”
“Didn’t you just look at me with such pitiful eyes?”
I waved my hand because I was too lazy to answer.
“But Captain, haven’t those soldiers changed a bit?”
“It has changed.”
I just glossed over it, but just like Brick said, the soldiers were standing at a distance from us.
As expected, they didn’t tell anyone anywhere.
No, it would be more accurate to say that it cannot be told.
Where would you go and tell someone that four soldiers got beat up by one guy?
If I said anything, I would lose my job immediately. Who would hire four people who would get beaten up by one guy unless they were crazy?
The two soldiers stood far away, and it was quite amusing to see them flinch whenever I moved slightly.
Whenever he got bored, he would sneak towards the guys and check them as usual.
“But, Captain, aren’t you doing that anymore?”
As I returned from inspecting one of the carriage drivers, Brick tilted his head and asked.
“That’s it?”
“뒤통수 갈기는 거 있지 않습니까. 조장이 좋아하던 거.”
“좋아하지 않았다. 그냥 그게 제일 효율적이니까 했을 뿐이지.”
“왜 지금은 안 합니까? 심지어 치안관도 명하지 않았습니까?”
브릭의 물음에 쯧- 하고 혀를 찼다.
“이미 소문 퍼질 대로 퍼졌는데, 지금 해봤자 그냥 서로 힘 빼고 감정만 상할 뿐이다.”
이미 열두 개의 목을 성문에 걸어둔 상태였다.
상대가 어디 산골짜기에 있던 놈이 아닌 이상, 여기로 오는 길에 소문으로 들었을 게 분명했다.
캐서딕 성에서는 검문할 때, 뒤통수를 쥐어팬다. 거기에 발끈하여 쇠붙이를 꺼내면 잡혀가서 성문에 전시된다- 라고.
쓸모있는 날것의 반응이 나왔던 것은 예상치 못한 상황에서 뒤통수를 맞아서 그랬던 것이지, 이미 알고 있는 놈의 뒤통수를 후려친다고 유용한 반응이 나올 리 없었다.
“흠··· 진짜로 조장이 그렇게 깊게 생각했습니까?”
“뭐냐, 그 눈빛은.”
내가 지적하자 묘하게 거슬리는 눈빛을 짓던 브릭이 어색하게 웃으며 고개를 저었다.
그때, 저 멀리서 큼지막한 마차가 다가왔다.
큼지막하게 새겨진 페네르 가의 문양과 무장하고 말을 탄 병사들.
누가 타고 있을지 추측할 수 있었다.
‘켈럽이 말했던 페네르 가의 장남이군.’
그에 나는 재빨리 브릭의 옆구리를 찌르고 고개를 숙였다.
옆을 보니, 같이 검문을 보던 페네르 가의 병사들은 땅에 머리까지 박고 있었다.
‘무슨 황제도 아니고.’
저렇게까지 할 필요는 없었다.
슬쩍 시선만 돌리자, 마차에 탄 사내가 보였다.
귀족이란 말이 어울리는 재수 없게 생긴 놈이었다.
마차는 속도를 줄이지 않고 그대로 성안으로 직행했다. 성안에서 들리는 비명을 보니, 안쪽에서도 속도를 안 줄인 듯했다.
‘주변 청소한다는 말이 사실이군.’
어중이떠중이가 아닌 제대로 된 병사들을 데리고 왔다. 곧 주변 청소를 나갈 듯했다.
“그래서 샤롯이랑은 어떻게 됐냐.”
“하하··· 그게···.”
쑥스러워하는 꼴이 마음에 들지 않아 머리를 한 대 쥐어박았는데, 브릭은 더 크게 입꼬리를 씰룩였다.
그에 오히려 내 기분만 상했다.
“하긴 생선 빵 만드는 것까지 도와줄 정도면···.”
“샤롯이 생선 빵을 무척 좋아합니다. 이렇게 맛있는 게 있는 줄 처음 알았다고 했습니다.”
브릭이 뿌듯한 표정을 대놓고 드러내면서, 누가 물어주길 기다린 것처럼 샤롯에 대한 이야기를 주구장창 늘여놨다.
그녀가 얼마나 이쁜지, 또 생선 빵을 얼마나 잘 먹는지 신나서 이야기했다.
그 꼴이 참 신난 것 같아 뭐라 하려다가, 정말 기뻐하는 것 같아서 쯧- 하고 혀를 차며 들어줬다.
잘 어울리는 한 쌍이었다.
나는 운명을 믿지 않았지만, 저 둘은 운명일 수도 있겠다는 생각이 들었다.
생선 빵 식당 아들과 그 지독한 생선 빵을 처음부터 맛있다고 하는 여자. 운명이 아니라면 설명하기 어려웠다.
“···예?”
“그러니까 하고 나면 꼭 잘 씻으라고.”
“예에?!”
브릭의 둥그런 눈동자가 두 배 이상 커졌다.
“아니, 이걸 어떻게 말하지···. 그··· 시발. 왔다갔다···.”
때아닌 성교육에 말이 자꾸 헛나왔지만, 최선을 다해 녀석이 지켜야 할 것들 알려줬다.
여기 놈들은 즐길 줄만 알지, 그에 대해 굉장히 무지했기 때문에, 알려줘야 할 것들이 한둘이 아니었다.
처음에는 긴가민가했던 브릭도 점차 내 이야기에 집중했고, 후에는 이런저런 질문도 했다.
그렇게 때아닌 성교육을 하고 있을 때, 저 멀리 큼지막한 마차가 하나 더 다가왔다. 마차에는 처음 보는 문양이 큼지막하게 붙어 있었다.
그에 브릭에게 물었지만, 녀석도 모르는 눈치였다.
나는 손을 들어 마차를 세웠고 마차는 천천히 우리 앞쪽에 멈췄다.
“안녕하신가.”
제비처럼 끝쪽이 뾰족 나온 양복을 입은 마부가 고개를 숙이며 멋들어지게 인사했다.
“어디서 오셨습니까?”
그에 마주 고개를 숙이며 물었다.
“현상범의 수급을 받으러 도시 카르잔에서 왔습니다.”
‘아, 카르잔의 문양이었군.’
어쩐지 세련된 느낌이 물씬 풍긴다 했더니, 도시 사람이라 그런 듯했다.
“안에 있는 분은?”
그에 고개를 까닥거리고, 마차를 손짓했다.
“아, 이번 담당으로 배정되신 3급 관리인 쇼네 씨입니다.”
마부가 정중한 태도를 고수하며 대답했다.
‘3급 관리인이라. 꽤 높은 놈이 왔네.’
생각보다 높지만 또 애매한 직위에 고민하고 있을 때, 문이 열렸다.
“안녕하십니까. 3급 관리인 쇼네입니다.”
마차에서 내린 것은 앳된 얼굴이 남아 있는 어딘지 유약하게 생긴 청년이었다.
‘생각보다 젊군.’
직위에 어울리지 않는 겸손한 태도와 외모에 놀랐다.
“외성 경비대 4조 조장 아론이라고 합니다.”
마주 고개를 숙이며 인사했다.
“예, 아론. 혹시 절차가 더 남아 있습니까?”
공손하지만, 확실한 태도에 고개를 저었다.
“예. 그럼.”
작게 고개를 숙인 청년이 다시 마차로 들어갔고, 이내 마차가 옆으로 지나갔다.
“어째 오늘 큰 마차가 많이 들어오는 것 같습니다.”
브릭이 어딘지 불편한 기색으로 중얼거렸다.
브릭의 말이 신호탄이라도 된 걸까.
큰 마차가 하나 더 다가왔다.
단출한 흰색에 수놓아진 금색.
교단의 마차였다.
나는 재빨리 어깨에 두른 케이프를 고쳐 매며 복장을 다듬었다.
교단 측의 마차라 세울 필요가 없었지만, 마차가 먼저 멈췄다.
수도사 복장인 마부가 조심스럽게 마차 문을 열자 장신의 사내가 내렸다.
케이프에 그려진 4개의 검은 줄, 그때 수도사가 말했던 수도원장인 듯했다.
그런데 사내의 인상이···.
‘참 깐깐하게 생겼군.’
당장 기도문의 토씨 하나만 틀려도 윽박지를 것 같은 인상이었다.
그에 나는 칭찬 자판기 블리안 사제의 앞날을 걱정했다.
“태양이 그대를 비추기를.”
낮은 목소리로 선명하게 말하는 사내를 보며, 재빨리 오른손을 이마에 가져다 댔다.
내 어깨에 두른 케이프를 본 사내의 눈에 이채가 돌았다.
“그대가 아론 명예 수도사인가 보군.”
“예.”
“거기서 오른쪽 팔꿈치를 좀 더 높이 들어야 하네.”
나를 훑어본 사내가 직접 오른팔을 들어 시범을 보였다. 정말 미세한 차이였지만, 나는 고개를 끄덕이고 각도를 바꿨다.
“정말 보고처럼 믿음이 강건할 거 같군. 다음에 깊은 이야기를 나누도록 하지.”
그에 사내가 고개를 끄덕이고 다시 마차에 올랐다. 마차가 부드럽게 움직여 성으로 들어갔다.
‘다음에 깊은 이야기라···.’
습과적으로 턱을 긁었다.
“조장, 뭔가 일이 많아질 것 같습니다.”
Brick said, touching his neck for no reason.
I nodded to him.
It was as if some kind of party was being held in a small castle with all sorts of big guys gathered there.
If this were to happen, something would inevitably happen.
After that, only carriage drivers passed by.
As I was collecting the change, Nova and the young man from before came out from inside.
It was my first time seeing Nova outdoors, so it felt different.
It feels like indoor NPCs are walking around outside.
Nova’s face was scrunched up, as if she was annoyed at being out of range.
“Aaron.”
“Oh, Nova.”
I answered obediently, seeing that it looked like it would burst and spit out juice if touched.
“That one and that one. And give me that one.”
Nova pointed out a few mascots as if he was choosing among oysters at a market.
‘You only picked the ones that were full of eggs.’
He swallowed his laughter and turned to the side to climb up the castle. As he got closer, a rotten smell filled his stomach.
‘At least treat it with salt and hang it up···.’
He grumbled and approached the head Nova had pointed at.
“this?”
“Oh! And the one next to it too.”
He released the heads that Nova had pointed out one by one and grabbed the rope. There were three heads that Nova had pointed out in total.
One was a problem solver and two were vicious looking guys.
‘This isn’t… picking fruit or anything.’
Let’s take it down, the manager, Shona, came over looking quite frightened.
‘Is this your first time seeing something with only a head?’
As I briefly pulled out the bundle of hair, the guy fell backwards with a small scream of ‘Eww… Eww!’
“Hey, don’t joke around. I’m busy.”
Nova frowned at him and a blushing Shona got up and checked her hair.
“Ugh- Uweeek- Ma··· That’s right. There’s a bounty on it··· Uweeek-!”
The guy smelled something rotten, then turned his head and retched repeatedly as he spoke.
Next to him, Nova clicked her tongue and looked at him with a displeased look.
“So the contract is signed?”
“Yes, that’s right… Ueeeek-.”
It was nauseating, and quite strange to see him talking, but it wasn’t a pretty sight.
“Aaron, please pack this for that guy’s carriage.”
“Okay. Oranges out of the orchard.”
“···what?”
He shrugged at Nova’s sharp gaze.
Then Nova turned around with the corners of her lips twitching slightly.
“Where should I put it?”
“There’s a box on the carriage… Ueeeeeek-.”
“Hey, you really are a weak-willed gentleman.”
When I patted his back, he flinched violently and vomited even louder.
“You… too hard… woooooooo-!! Stop… woooooo!”
I kept knocking because I found it strangely amusing to see her vomit immediately every time I knocked.
After pounding on it for a while, the guy stopped vomiting and made a strange sound effect, ‘Honey-‘.
“Phew… Thank you. This way.”
The guy who came back just like when I first saw him turned around and walked away.
‘I guess I should ask the people related to Kanna.’
I thought as I followed the guy, holding his bundle of hair.
The direction was strange, but the kid tried, so I had to try as well, as I promised.
‘Hmm, I’m on a business trip to the city…’
He muttered softly.
The texture wasn’t that bad.
