Episode 15
‘What on earth is going on?’
Before leaving the Baronial Territory of Nurhya, a rumor stirred up a commotion in the market place.
-The Knights of Zailson have been defeated by the Orc horde!
The Knights of the Order of the Viscount Zielson were so powerful that it was difficult to find rivals in this area.
Although the Orcs are said to be natural warriors, their bravery is an old story that is only recorded in history books. This was because the Orc kingdom collapsed when the Kingdom of Zenon was established. The Orcs that survived hid in places where there were few people, and formed small villages of about 50 or so Orcs at most.
‘There must be a Sir Ambrose in the House of Jailson? Wasn’t he absent from the battle?’
Sir Ambrose was a knight also known to Louis de Braiot.
He was the younger brother of Viscount Zielson, and was an unfit man for the Viscount’s household. The Duke of Braiot even considered recruiting Ambrod.
‘The orc has a mark on his forehead… …?’
It was something to be suspicious of.
I decided to look into it in more detail.
I requested an investigation at the top of the serpent.
* * *
On the tenth day, the head of the Serpens Company came to see me.
He brought two wagons and a hundred slaves lined up in a row, and the guard alone numbered fifty men.
“I was surprised. The goblin seed had dried up.”
The top lord of Serpens seemed to be half-believing what I said.
That’s what I liked about it. It would only cause harm if I joined hands with an innocent merchant.
The upper lord brought the slaves. The hundred slaves lined up in the training ground were half-conscious.
“Did you give him medicine?”
“Yes, for management purposes, I fed them a small amount of Baemincho.”
It was some kind of drug.
Although it was not addictive, it was a dangerous drug that could ruin the mind if taken in excess. Although Baemincho was prohibited by law, its use on slaves was permitted.
“Is Baron Hebron busy?”
“My father entrusted me with the affairs of the land.”
As proof, I have a family seal ring on my index finger.
The expression on the top of the serpent’s face didn’t change. It was a reaction that he had expected.
My father has been busy since I returned from the Baronial Territory of Nukha.
I have been keeping myself shut in, making clothes in the latest fashions of the capital that I have been teaching you.
The two stayed together all night long, as their mother served as a model for their father.
I asked the top lord of serpents.
“I guess you have something to tell me?”
“I couldn’t find out all the details because the time was short, but the pattern you told me was exactly the same as the mark found on the orc’s forehead. How did you know that pattern, my lord?”
It was as expected.
It was clear that the stigma had driven the monster wild and wild.
“One of the goblins we caught in the eastern forest had that tattoo on its forehead.”
“Huh? A goblin?”
“It was harder to kill than the others. I barely managed to kill it.”
“What happened to that guy now?”
The voice of the serpent’s superior trembled faintly. He came close enough to see his Adam’s apple and blinked.
A strong herbal smell came from the 48-year-old middle-aged man.
“That’s a strange question. As I said, I killed the goblin a long time ago.”
“What did you do with the goblin’s body?”
“The goblin corpses were gathered in one place and burned. The remains were buried in the ground. That way, the disease would not spread.”
“ah……!”
Serpens’s expression was clearly one of regret.
“The body of the branded man was dissected and stored by body part. Herbs were used to prevent decay as much as possible. Why? Are you interested?”
“There are! No, there are many! Where are those, those bodies?”
“Calm down. Explain to me calmly why the merchant is interested in a useless monster corpse.”
“I moved our merchants to confirm the information you asked. I sent them to the Jayleson Viscounty with the pattern you drew, and there they met a wizard from the Jayleson Viscounty.”
The merchant asked the wizard of the House of Jayles to confirm the shape of the brand. During the process, the wizard questioned the merchant as to how he knew the shape of the brand, and the merchant said that he was only there to run an errand.
Then the wizard said that he would reward anyone who knew the secret of this pattern, so he asked them to please tell him.
‘Well, they say that wizards have to know even things like this to be satisfied.’
I also couldn’t figure out what the brand was.
It wasn’t a magic circle, nor was it witchcraft.
I just assumed it had something to do with the trickster.
“I don’t have anything else to look into anyway, so it would be better to just give me the goblin corpse.”
“Oh! Can I take a look?”
“Follow me.”
I guided the top of the serpentine column to my laboratory.
Even if it was called a laboratory, it was nothing more than a place to recall existing knowledge or experiment with spirit magic and spiritual techniques. The furniture was limited to a desk, chair, and bookshelf.
In one corner was a cask of wine, and when I opened the lid of the cask, a goblin corpse looked up with its eyes wide open.
The top lord of Serpens was terrified when he saw that.
“How much do you think the wizard of Zailson would pay for this body?”
“Choi, at least 200 gold.”
“Even though it is in such good condition? What if I also hand over the results of my own diligent dissection and research?”
I handed over the research notes I had written myself to the head of the serpent. I recorded in detail the situation at the time of the battle and the condition of the corpse.
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“I will receive at least 400 gold.”
“Try it hard. 20% is yours.”
The fact that the mark was the trickster’s symbol was kept a secret.
That was something to look into further.
‘There are almost no records left anyway. Trickster is a forgotten god.’
I read all of the extensive books of the Duke of Braio, but only two books mentioned the Trickster. Both were ancient books. One was the
In
He was sealed by the good and evil gods because he brought chaos to the world. From the perspective of the gods who wanted the world to be divided into good and evil, a neutral trickster would be an exception that clouds their judgment.
“Shall we move on to the story of the ancient magic circle?”
The serpentine top came closer to me.
I could feel his breathing.
The lord of the Serpens was a wealthy merchant, but he was thin. He didn’t seem to have any swordsmanship skills, but he seemed to have trained his stamina from time to time.
I took a funnel out of the drawer.
It was a shape with the tip of a hood cut off, and was made by carving wood so it was semi-permanent.
Air came out through the large hole in the funnel.
On a cool day like today, I could feel the chill.
“Catch this.”
Serpens accepted the funnel in a stiff posture.
Phew.
The wind was as cool as ever. Serpens looked around the inside of the funnel as the wind blew. Then he saw an ancient magic circle carved inside.
In ancient times, there were records of overcoming the heat in this way. Unfortunately, in the ancient books I read, this was the only feasible magic circle.
Other magic circles were also found, but for some reason they did not work. This was confirmed directly by the Grand Mage of the Magic Tower.
The archmage ignored the wind magic circle. He didn’t even think that it could be used to check magical talent. They had precise methods of checking, and they also had magic that could create strong winds instead of just a mild wind.
Although inaccurate, the ancient wind magic circle served its purpose well in determining magical talent.
“I guess you have no magical talent.”
“Does this mean you’ve confirmed my talent?”
Serpens looked at me with a dubious expression.
“Let’s find out later. You probably already figured it out anyway. No, it wouldn’t be a waste to check each slave’s magical talents one by one, so maybe I should include one or two talented ones? Anyway, keep an eye out.”
A hundred slaves were standing in the training ground. Soon, the people of the territory came rushing in and started to gossip. In the dull and unchanging Hebron, the hundred slaves led by the merchants were a great spectacle.
Among the crowd were the Baron and his wife of Hebron.
The Baron of Hebron was full of worries. Perhaps the murmurings around him were affecting him.
The barony was less disciplined and less regulated.
The people of the estates were as poorly educated as the nobles. While the people of Breio gathered periodically in the square to learn the rules of the estate, Hebron did not even have such basic education.
“My son, Hebron does not accept slaves.”
The Baroness interrupted her husband.
“Yes, son. Listen to your father. Send all those poor people back.”
The parents referred to the slaves as ‘poor ones’.
That was an incorrect title. They were legitimate goods that paid taxes to the royal family of Zeno and traded. There was no need for an emotional evaluation such as pity.
If there was anything to worry about, it was only the money the Baron of Hebron would pay.
“You don’t have to worry about money.”
“My son, it is not a question of money. Hebron has never had slaves since its wealthy days.”
“Then we must change that custom from now on. Hebron will grow only with them.”
“Louis… … !”
My father seemed shocked. It couldn’t be helped.
Hebron declined day by day.
Someone had to break the flow.
“Follow my advice, and I will change Hebron.”
“Will that make you happy?”
My father’s question was far from what I expected.
That strange question struck my heart, not my head.
“Yes, father.”
Father closed his eyes.
He exhaled deeply as if chanting Aura.
Father opened his eyes.
As if eons had passed, my father suddenly looked old.
“I trust you. Since I was little, you have never let me down.”
I had a vivid memory of Louis de Hebron. Louis de Hebron’s behavior was a mess. If he had been born into the Breiot family, he would have been expelled before he was five years old.
But my father said he had never once been disappointed in that life.
‘I’m sorry. From now on, I might disappoint your father and mother.’
Braio and Hebron had different values. I realized the reason why the Duke of Braio laughed at the Baron of Hebron after becoming a member of Hebron.
It was weak. Not only the lord, but even the lord’s thoughts were weak. In a world where the weak prey on the weak, Hebron was destined to be eaten by the strong.
Father kept his mouth shut.
As he stepped back, everyone’s attention turned to me.
“Suffering.”
The lord of the serpent ordered his guard to bring him a funnel. He handed it to the slave.
The slave held the funnel until I said it was ready, then passed it to the person next to me.
I doused three slaves with red ink.
“Those guys covered in red ink. You worked hard. You have three slaves with uncommon magical talents. Even though their talents are nothing special, I guess they sell them for 20 gold?”
Serpens looked back at the merchant beside him. It was the man who acted as his secretary. When he nodded, Serpens’s face brightened.
“It’s amazing. Not only can it create wind, it can also detect magical talents!”
“They say that in ancient times, this was used to dispel the heat… … . Even so, it was only a gentle breeze. If someone with magical talent were to touch it, the wind would become stronger like before.”
“It’s amazing.”
