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< Look at this? >
A few days later, the steel carriage was out of the forest and running along the road.
It was late at night, but this was no problem for the steel carriage equipped with super-powerful LED headlights.
“Hey!”
Leaving the role of the coachman to Hawkin, the man leisurely admired the scenery outside the window.
In the sky, which was much clearer and cleaner than Earth, countless stars and a blue moon were floating as if they were pouring down.
In particular, a sharp crescent moon that seemed like it would cut your hand if you touched it caught his eye.
Just like the magic sword Shalit on his lap.
The man looked at the magic sword with a troubled expression.
‘What should I do with this…’
The Demon Sword Charlotte.
Although its name is unknown now, it was a cursed magic sword that became famous during a racial war that took place on the continent several years later.
During the war, it changed hands dozens of times, and in the meantime, it drank the blood of thousands of people.
‘Its performance is top-notch even among magic swords, but···.’
It felt a bit awkward to write it myself. It was a guy who drank blood in exchange for lending his master strength, and paralyzed his reason.
‘But it’s not like I can sell it either.’
It was something that would have caused a huge amount of bloodshed if it had been released on the market. It would have been better if I hadn’t known about it. It was obvious that my dreams would have been in tatters later.
Moreover, since it was just an ordinary longsword, it was difficult to sell it for a reasonable price.
Isn’t it impossible to shed blood to show off your performance?
It was a sword that was like a thorn in the side.
The man looked down at Charlotte and muttered to himself.
“Can’t I exchange it for something like a holy sword later?”
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but at that moment, it seemed like the magic sword was vibrating slightly.
Then Leonard, sitting across from the man, spoke.
“···Is it still far to the border?”
The old knight had a pale face.
The wounds he received from Monchi a few days ago had already been treated with a potion, but his old age and weakened physical strength were not problems that could be solved with a potion.
The man unfolded the map he had brought from Rowan Village and spoke.
“We’ll arrive at Randol this evening. If we resupply there and leave right away… we should be able to reach the border in three days at the most.”
Then Leonard’s expression darkened.
“I don’t know if I can hold out until then.”
“Leonard! Don’t say that!”
The old knight bowed his head with a bitter expression to Princess Alina, who was serious.
“I’m sorry. However, if I become a burden to you, I would rather…”
The princess cut Leonard off in a majestic voice.
“Just having you by my side gives me great strength. Don’t say such weak words ever again.”
“···Yes, Mom.”
The man looked at the sight and turned his head to the side.
The two little ones, who had eaten dinner and gone to bed early, were curled up like newborn babies, facing each other.
“Cool···.”
The blanket given to me to cover myself with while I was sleeping was strewn carelessly on the floor.
The man sighed softly.
“Now that I have two little ones, I have twice as many hands to work with.”
The man covered the two children’s bodies with a blanket, took out the 『Geomhwangbirok』 from the closet, and began to read it.
Princess Alina, who had been quietly watching the scene, said.
“What are you reading?”
The man answered without even raising his head.
“I was just bored.”
“······.”
And then an awkward silence followed.
This has been the case for several days. More precisely, since the day the Great One killed Count Monchi.
From then on, the princess and her party began to watch the emperor’s expression. And they looked at him with some kind of expectation and hope.
The man ignored the gaze even though he was aware of it.
“you···.”
It was Leonard who broke the awkward silence.
“Can I ask you one favor?”
The man spoke bluntly.
“don’t do it.”
“Why didn’t you even listen….”
The man who closed the book with a “thud” sound sighed as he looked at the two people.
“Okay, I’ll listen. Please give me the strength to reclaim the kingdom. As long as it’s not some kind of nonsense.”
““······.””
Two people who become dumb for a moment after eating honey.
At the expected reaction, the man chuckled and opened the Sword and Relics again and spoke.
“The contract ends at the Elf Forest. There, we each do our business and part ways cleanly.”
“······.”
The princess was silent.
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But Leonard didn’t give up easily.
“What if I promise you a title?”
“No need.”
“If you need money, you can do it by any means···.”
The man snorted.
“You guys don’t have any money left?”
And even if they offered me a billion dollars, I wouldn’t do it.
“Just listen to me a little more!”
To Leonard, who was trying to convince himself somehow, the man coldly spat out.
“Old man. Don’t try to pass on your work to me.”
Princess Alina also shook her head next to him.
“Leonard. Stop it.”
At that moment, the old man lowered his head. Then he muttered softly as if talking to himself.
“If only I could overcome the wall like you…”
Decades ago, Leonard was a knight rated as having the highest potential to become a Swordmaster.
In his twenties, he already had no rivals among knights his age, and he fought in several wars and achieved great success, even earning the title of ‘hero’.
But perhaps it was because he gained fame too early.
For decades he was stagnant.
The final wall to becoming a sword master did not allow him, and he repeated despair and frustration until he grew old and pathetic.
That’s why Leonard was endlessly envious of the confident young man in front of him.
‘If I had become a Sword Master, I could have protected His Majesty from those traitors…’
Now, far from being a protector, he has become old and sick and is a burden to his companions.
“···Okay.”
The old man bowed his head. The princess looked at him with pity, and the man turned his head away from him.
Then Hawkin shouted from outside the carriage.
“I can see the wall!”
I looked out the window and saw a tall castle wall in the distance.
Because it was late at night, the gates were tightly shut, and torches could be seen occasionally burning on the walls.
The last city on the way to the border was Randolph.
The man stopped the carriage.
“Stop here.”
I couldn’t confidently enter the main gate while being chased. I planned to sneak in, take care of business, and then leave.
The man shook Lily awake.
“Little one. Wake up.”
“Wow···. I want more···.”
Lily turned around, pulling the blanket up over her head.
Then the man whispered in Lily’s ear.
“I’m going to go get some snacks.”
Snap.
Lily’s ears twitched, and her closed eyes slowly opened.
Lily blinked her big eyes and turned her head to look up at the man.
“···What do you want to eat?”
The man smiled brightly and said.
“What do you want to eat?”
After a while, the three flew into the sky and went over the castle wall.
*
*
*
Bam.
The man who got down on the roof put the girls he was holding on to on the floor.
Lily landed on the floor naturally as if she was used to it, but Alina, who was experiencing flying for the first time, lost strength in her legs and sank to the floor.
dump.
“Ugh···.”
Alina trembled, wrapping her hands around her shoulders as if she had a fear of heights.
Because just a moment ago, it had been flying at an incredible speed from a dizzyingly high height.
The man said, pulling Lily’s cheek.
“Why are you driving so recklessly today?”
Lily turned her head with a pouty expression.
“Tch.”
Lily, who had been the happiest person in the world when he suggested going out for a midnight snack earlier, started to swell up the moment the man hugged Alina’s waist with his right hand.
Lily muttered, glancing at Alina.
“The seat on the right is mine.”
The reckless driving just now was a petty revenge by a girl who had her seat stolen.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The man shook his head as if he didn’t understand. He reached out his hand to Alina, who was sitting down.
“Princess. Are you okay?”
Alina, who had barely managed to get up, took a deep breath and nodded.
“···It’s okay.”
The reason why the Great Man brought Alina here was simple.
Because I don’t believe it.
Jang Yeong-shin had to be left behind because of the carriage and the iron golem, leaving only Jang Yeong-shin and the princess and her party behind.
If the princess and her party had changed their minds, Jang Yeong-shin could have been put in danger.
That’s why I brought Alina here as a hostage.
“Let’s go down first.”
The three men, wearing hoods pulled down low, came down from the building and mingled with the crowd.
Since he had been looking around the city while flying, Daein was able to get his bearings without much difficulty.
“Over there.”
They headed to the darkest and dirtiest area in the city.
As I got closer, all sorts of smells assaulted my nose, and I could hear occasional shouts and screams.
It was the slums of the city.
Alina said, covering her nose with her hand.
“What is this…? What is that smell?”
The man told the truth.
“The smell of alcohol. The smell of drugs. The smell of sewage. The smell of blood. The smell of a burnt corpse. It’s all mixed together.”
“······.”
If she hadn’t come wearing a mask full of freckles, the princess would have been caught with a pale face.
At the entrance to the slum there was a red-light district. Naked women glanced at the three men.
“Oppa. Go play. I’ll treat you well.”
“Can’t you see there’s a girl next to him?”
“With her? She looks about the same age as your daughter.”
The girls giggled and made dirty jokes.
Alina stood close to the man, and Lily tilted her head and asked him a question.
“Why are you walking around naked? Are you cold?”
“···You don’t have to know.”
The man, who hadn’t thought of this, covered Lily’s eyes and walked quickly.
As we left the red-light district, the full-blown slums came into view.
Crumbling shacks, drunken vagrants, the sick, and children lying around.
And in between, men with sinisterly shining eyes could be seen hiding.
“······.”
“······.”
As the group of people entered, everyone’s attention turned to them.
Some people showed off their blades and grinned, while others followed behind them.
Alina looked very shocked.
“How could you be in a place like this···.”
The man said with a sly smile.
“Do people live here? You don’t know because you’ve only lived in palaces, but this is also a kingdom where princesses live.”
“······.”
After a while, the three arrived in front of an old bar. The man opened the door and went in.
‘There’s bound to be one here.’
I didn’t know anything about it. It was just a feeling that came from experience.
The man did not order a drink, but placed a gold coin on the table.
Bam.
“I came to the Thieves’ Guild. I have a favor to ask and I’m looking to buy some information.”
“goldfinch···.”
In an instant, everyone in the bar’s eyes were fixed on the gold coin.
The gazes turned greedily toward the sparkling gold coins. Those gazes quickly moved to the owner of the gold coins.
Slurp.
The man heard several swords being drawn, and also felt a stealthy movement behind him.
The man smiled brightly.
“It looks like I came to the right place.”
And he winked at Lily. It was a signal he had given her before he came here.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The flames that had bloomed behind the group’s backs rose up to the ceiling.
“Oh, it’s a wizard!”
Those who had been approaching the man retreated backwards.
The atmosphere in the bar, which had been buzzing with excitement because of the gold, suddenly became cold.
It was then that the bar owner, who looked gloomy like a drug addict, approached the man.
“What did you come to ask me?”
Even though he knew he was a wizard, his speech was no different. There was no way an ordinary bar owner would have the guts to do this.
The man spoke in a lowered voice.
“Pass. And information.”
“···Please wait a moment.”
After about 10 minutes, the bar owner came back.
“Follow me.”
The group entered the passage connected to the basement of the bar. After walking along the winding passage for a while, a thick iron door soon came into view.
Inside, a balding man covered in tattoos was sitting at a table.
“Please sit there.”
The bald man grinned and rubbed his palms together. It smelled like a big customer after a long time.
“You came to make a pass? Where are you going?”
“The Kingdom of Teru. If we build it as quickly as possible, how long will it take?”
The pass the two men were talking about was a forged document made by precisely copying the lord’s seal.
Of course, it was a very expensive item.
The bald man said while looking at his opponent’s liver.
“You have to give me at least a week···.”
The man took a bag of gold coins out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
Clang.
The bald man swallowed at the heavy sound.
“Is it possible to do it in two days?”
The bald man nodded vigorously as he opened his pocket and counted the gold coins.
“Of course. I will do my best to make it. What would you like me to do for you?”
The man thought for a moment and then said.
“A wizard and five servants.”
For a moment, people glared at him from both sides, but the man maintained a calm expression.
“And I wish you could help me find some people. Even just information would be nice.”
The man took out another bag of gold coins from his bosom.
He had received some money from the princess and her party, and he had even emptied the pockets of the pursuers, so he had more than enough money.
The bald man’s eyes were completely turned by the sudden windfall.
“Just tell me who it is! I will find it on the credit of our Thieves Guild, which has branches all over the continent!”
A thief’s credit.
It was a funny story, but the man nodded.
Actually, the Thieves Guild was pretty trustworthy, so I used to use them often.
“I’m looking for a man in a goblin mask.”
“···mister?”
Lily, startled by those words, grabbed the man’s sleeve. The man patted the girl’s head to show that it was okay.
The bald man said with a hardened expression.
“···Hmm. There are so many people who use the word on this floor. Don’t you know their names? Oh, I guess they can hide their names. Then, do they have any special characteristics···.”
“I don’t know his name. He’s one-armed and probably a wizard. He might hang out with other masked guys. Orcs, I think… Right?”
Lily nodded slightly next to me.
The girl’s expression was dark, as if she was recalling old memories.
The bald man diligently wrote down the personal information he had heard from the elder on a piece of paper.
“Goblin mask. Man. One-armed. Possibly a wizard… Understood. I’ll find out as much information as I can.”
At that moment, the man saw his opponent’s hand quickly go in and out under the table.
‘Look at this?’
If you just look at it, it’s a very natural behavior.
But if you know the meaning of that action, it’s a different story.
Underneath that table, there was an emergency bell that could be pressed in case of an enemy invasion or an emergency.
The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the bald head.
‘Do you know anything about these?’
< Look at this? > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
