Episode 19
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Time passed like that, and night came.
When we first met, the atmosphere became a little awkward because I teased her a little, but it was only for a moment.
Mercenaries aren’t stupid, and I’m not the type of person who leaves a lasting impression on others, so I just quietly buried what happened last night.
The atmosphere that had been so depressed gradually rose and eventually, this is what happened.
“I realize once again that rumors are just rumors.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“It’s just… … you don’t seem like your average noble.”
“So what?”
The furry man says, scratching the back of his head.
“Don’t nobles hate getting their hands wet? But you wash the dishes yourself… … You’re unique in many ways.”
First of all, the chefs, who were considered veterans as John Doe said, had excellent cooking skills.
Sorry to say this to Jane Arbeloa, but there was even a beef pie that was even better than the famous apple pie I had yesterday, and a dish called Toad in the Hole, which is a Yorkshire pudding with sausage added.
I honestly would hire him as my personal chef without exaggeration.
Oh, come to think of it, I feel a little sorry for Ron too.
Anyway, we ate like that, and even though I was an employee, I did the dishes in return for letting them taste better food than I expected.
So that’s what Malcolm said to me.
Well, where in the world would that exist?
A nobleman who washes dishes.
It was only natural that Malcolm was different from other nobles.
After the cleanup was done, the mercenaries and I sat down around the campfire.
There were even sleeping bags laid out around the area, but of course I didn’t sleep in a sleeping bag.
The place where I sleep is inside the carriage.
It had a fluffy blanket inside, and even a pillow that Jane had personally prepared for us. Well, I feel bad for the mercenaries, but this is a privilege that only the hired hands can enjoy.
Opened his mouth.
“You said you were going to keep watch?”
“We’ll decide by drawing lots. Would you like to join us, employer?”
“Hey, Furry, a kid like me needs to go to bed early to grow tall.”
“… … .”
“If I don’t grow taller, will you take responsibility for it? Sure, sir.”
Malcolm chuckled and turned his head.
In this strangely warm atmosphere, I was the first to speak this time too.
“A lottery is a lottery, and you’re not going to sleep right after it’s over, right?”
“That’s true.”
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It’s strange to set a night watch and go straight to sleep when it hasn’t been that long since you ate.
“I think I’ll just nitpick this and that, let’s nitpick together.”
“Really, you are so different from the average noble.”
“What else?”
Now I look at the furry man who started talking with a tired expression, and he answers.
“Isn’t the word ‘Nogari’, or ‘to crack something down on’, something that nobles don’t usually use?”
“Aren’t nobles people? If you cut off their arms, do they bleed blue? They’re all the same people, but they’re different.”
At my words, the atmosphere among the mercenaries began to become slightly more cheerful.
“Then, should I speak first?”
I had no intention of talking about my personal history or personal worries, things that kids my age might talk about.
I’m not really a brat, I opened my mouth with the corners of my mouth twitching.
“How many dragons are there in this world?”
The furry one tilts its head.
“If it’s a dragon… … didn’t that gentleman, the founding king, kill them all and make them extinct? Hundreds of years ago?”
As the furry one said.
If we erase all the miscellaneous nonsense from the long story of the founding myth, it can be summarized like this.
The founding king, Julius Teslan, along with two unknown assistants, exterminated all the dragons that ruled the western continent and established the Teslan Empire, the predecessor of the current Teslan Kingdom.
There is only one thing that is important in this part.
The name Tesla has quite a bit of symbolism.
A nation founded by exterminating dragons? It’s so splendid that it’s almost overly grandiose.
Although time has passed and the Teslan Empire has become the Teslan Kingdom and has become a vassal state completely pushed aside by the empire called Tulkan, that does not mean that its history known to the world has been erased.
Anyway, this is the ‘truth known to all’ known to the world.
And from now on, I’m going to tell the real truth that no one knows.
“Let’s see, there are two Lord Dragons in the Black Sea. And one baby dragon in the Tulkan Imperial Palace. Five in the Forest of Demons, and eight more that I know of wandering the world in a polymorph state. So there are at least 16 dragons on the continent.”
“… … .”
Everyone was speechless.
That’s because dragons were already something that only existed in legends, and even if it were possible hundreds of years ago, no one has actually seen one now.
Even the Tulcan royal family did not believe that dragons actually existed in this world until they discovered the baby dragon.
The reason was simple.
“Dragons cannot interfere with human affairs. They are bound by oaths and laws that threaten their very lives and existence.”
“… … So, does that mean that the founding king Julius didn’t actually kill the dragon?”
I burst out laughing.
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“Julius, I actually have a lot to say about that bastard. Without going into detail, that cowardly bastard didn’t exterminate the dragons, he just created a place to negotiate with them. No, strictly speaking, he barely did anything. Everything was done by his two unnamed helpers.”
The silence was long.
And the one who broke the silence was John Doe, who had been quiet until then.
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“So what are those dragons doing now?”
I answered as if I had been waiting.
“Actually, the continent you know is not the whole world. To put it simply, this continent is the ‘Western Continent’, and the ‘Eastern Continent’ exists across the Black Sea. Skipping the baby dragons, the ‘Lord’ dragons have one duty. It is to guard the border in the Black Sea.”
“Border?”
“It’s a barrier that separates the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent, but I don’t know its origins. It’s a barrier that was created thousands of years ago, and the Dragon Lords have inherited the duty of protecting that barrier on a large scale. Honestly, I’m curious too. What’s on the Eastern Continent?”
“… … .”
“Let’s just skip over the other dragons since it would make the story too long.”
John Doe looks at me, speechless.
It was the same for John Doe and other mercenaries.
There was a brief silence like that.
“Pfft… … Phew.”
Starting with the laughter of the furry one, all the mercenaries except John Do and me burst into laughter.
“Wow, you’re quite the talker.”
I guess he doesn’t believe it.
I just chuckled and bit into the jerky in my hand.
The mercenaries who were looking at me like that laughed loudly once again.
“I wonder if Confucius read too many fairy tales.”
fairytale?
“Do I look like Peter Pan?”
“little?”
Once again laughter erupts from all sides.
Peter Pan.
The main character lives forever as a child in a fairy tale world called Neverland without ever growing up.
It’s a fairy tale I read when I was young, and the story is more brutal than I thought, so it’s a story that has stayed in my memory to this day.
“Oh, really. When I first heard the request from the branch manager, I was hesitant, but looking back, I guess he really needed someone to talk to. Hahahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”
I shrugged, chatted with the mercenaries a bit, and then went into the carriage.
I unfolded the foldable part and lay down, using the backpack as a pillow.
As I close my eyes, the scene just before appears in my mind.
Even now, the noisy mercenaries do not take my story to heart.
Honestly, I don’t really care whether you accept it as truth or not.
Aren’t you bragging too much?
But why is that?
Can’t I tell you?
The protagonist who hides his power… … .
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That’s just bullshit.
I have no intention of hiding my power, nor do I intend to conceal the truth.
And that’s not what I care about right now.
John Doe.
Even he, who had maintained a cool demeanor throughout, clearly burst into laughter at the end.
I’m sure you’ve never heard a single story I told.
‘I thought he was someone sent from Tulkan to check on the situation in the kingdom, but it’s a bit ambiguous. The branch manager is also a bit suspicious.’
When I thought about it, this situation was like a puzzle that didn’t fit together.
I asked to be introduced to a mercenary, but an 8th circle mana user who had hidden his name showed up and said he was a mercenary?
Oh, really.
It’s circle 8.
A whopping 8 circles.
Marquis Valantie is a 7th circle, Ron is a 9th circle, and the leader of the Iron-Blooded Knights, he will raise his level to a 9th circle in the near future, but strictly speaking, he is an 8th circle for now.
In other words, a talented person who would be welcomed with open arms by any territory has appeared as the leader of a mercenary group called Fire Ant or something.
When I came here and overheard the conversation, it seemed like all the people here were members of the Fire Ant Mercenary Corps, which made it even more suspicious.
Very, very suspicious.
Honestly, this is the first time I’ve heard of the name Fire Ant Mercenaries.
The leader of a small mercenary group whose name I have never heard of.
However, a talent with 8 mana circles.
hmm.
‘Should I see him as a mercenary with his own circumstances?’
I stopped thinking for a moment and closed my eyes.
Then, naturally, the two circles in my heart began to spin.
An invisible energy that surrounds the body and moves quickly as if cleaning the blood vessels.
Fatigue disappears and your whole body becomes energized.
The aftereffects of the spell I had used were recovered from a good night’s sleep and time spent on the carriage, and now, I was certain.
My body is normal.
My closed eyes quietly open.
Even though I tried to let it go, I couldn’t help but feel concerned.
I did think about finding out slowly, but unfortunately, the place I was going to was where my teacher was.
I don’t feel like bringing someone suspected of being a spy of the Tulcan Empire to such a sacred(?) place.
So, let’s go direct and simple.
I grabbed the sword that was rolling around next to me and got out of the carriage.
Not much time had passed before I came out again and the mercenaries looked at me with a puzzled expression.
