The Golden Knight (2)
Aureo.
It is said that the surname, which perfectly matches the color of Vlad’s hair, was thought of by the Pope himself while looking at the golden tree perched on top of the ruins.
“It will be a very precious castle that I hope will remain in the North for a long time. Even if you look through the history of the empire, there are only a few castles that were bestowed directly by the Pope.”
“I also feel honored.”
Vlad quietly looked at Timur, who was pouring alcohol into his teacup.
Although his hair had turned white with age, the muscles writhed around his neck.
His size, which was about a head taller than Vlad, made people who saw him feel intimidated.
If Peter Bayezid had the aura of a sharply forged sword, Timur the Steelmaster had the aura of a hard ax that could break anything.
“Well, even if that were the case, the imperial family wouldn’t recognize it.”
Timur, who had shaken off the bottle of alcohol, made eye contact with Vlad and began to smile.
“It may be a precious and precious honor to you, but in the end, it is only peripheral.”
“……Is that so.”
Vlad had some understanding of what Timur was trying to say.
Since it was not given directly by the emperor, it would not be included in the imperial register, and since it was a surname given by the Antipope, it would not be recognized by the Vatican.
“But at least here in the North, it will be a noble name.”
But even so, the value of the name Aureo will not be diminished here in the north.
“Drink.”
Timur pushed the teacup filled with alcohol with his fingertip towards Vlad, who was still lost in thought.
A drinking cup personally served by the noble duke, one of only four in the empire.
The young nobleman sitting at the end of his glass did not yet know what this action meant.
“Please come to the upcoming Northern Conference. “Even though you won’t be able to sit next to the lords, I will prepare at least a chair for you.”
“…Thank you for your consideration.”
A man born in the North, raised by Bayezid, and recognized as precious by the Orthodox Church. Vlad.
Timur, who said he would support him through the glass he handed him, was looking at Vlad’s small flag slung behind the black horse.
‘You’ve saved a lot of money.’
A small flag fluttering in the wind.
The flag, which had the seals of various families in keeping with old traditions, still seemed to have room to engrave at least one sentence.
※※※※
“Hmm.”
Vlad came out of Timur’s tent and looked at the man hesitantly approaching him.
“Maxim! “You were here?”
“Hehe. “It just so happened.”
A man with an impressive long scar on his half-shaven head.
The man smiling smugly now was Maxim, the knight who protected Rose’s smile in front of the soldiers of the Holy See.
“Anyway, I don’t even dare to call you my junior anymore. Should I call you Vlad?”
“Just call me Vlad. “I don’t really have anything.”
Although he was a nobleman who had been given a castle, the current Vlad did not even have a manor, let alone a fiefdom.
I spent all the money I had saved on buying a boat in Haven, and the only place I invested in was the smile of the rose in Shoara.
However, being qualified to hold something, even with two empty hands, is probably the greatest honor and reward a knight can have.
“Still, you are a noble person by name, so can you call me by your name carelessly?”
“Call it whatever you want. then.”
As Maxim, who sensed the relaxed atmosphere, laughed heartily, Bayezid’s knights began to flock to their side.
“Oh my gosh, the nobleman will be better. For some reason, I thought he was good at running around since Death Worm. I am.”
“Even if everything goes well later, you must remember me. “Didn’t I teach you the deadly greatsword destruction technique that can defeat that guy Istvan a long time ago?”
“Wouldn’t it be a loss if I remembered the beatings I received while teaching that?”
Vlad laughed in bewilderment as he watched the senior knights rubbing their palms in exaggerated gestures.
It was a smile that Vlad, who had been depressed over Justia’s death, had smiled for the first time in a long time.
“I was born in Shoara in the first place! “I’m from a pure-blooded Bayezid!”
“This is different from other families that recruit prospects from outside. “We grow it ourselves!”
However, contrary to Vlad’s intentions, the voice grew louder.
Although the actions of the knights shouting on the street were fierce, they did not do this without any thought.
Since the Bayezid family had been criticized for failing to change generations, there would be few opportunities to publicize Bayezid’s health as many as now, with so many knights from the seven families gathered together.
[Don’t mess around here, go quickly and catch that guy first. As the old saying goes, a useful cat is very valuable.]
‘I understand.’
Vlad, who had tried to ignore his seniors, began to become busier.
As the knights are still talking about, Vlad, who had become the pride of Bayezid, had many things to prepare for.
※※※※
It was difficult to find something worth treating in the ruined city.
So now, all that is in front of Vlad and Nibelun is a glass of water in a slightly cracked wooden glass.
But that alone was enough to start a conversation between the two.
“Are you going already?”
“Because I’ve finished my job.”
Vlad looked at Nibelun’s backpack placed in a corner of the room and stuck his tongue out in disappointment.
I really wanted to catch him, but like a wanderer, Nibelun’s actions seemed to have no problem at all.
“Where are you going?”
“There is no place to go, but aren’t there many places you can reach?”
When Nibelun said that there was nowhere else to go, Vlad quietly nodded.
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Beastman wizards who wander their whole lives chasing mysteries.
Vlad, who had already heard about their hard life from Quijano, put down the glass of water he was holding and said.
“Are you looking for a mystery? “Something strange and incomprehensible.”
“That’s right. “The interpretation of the mysteries is not only for my personal improvement, but also for the aspiration of the entire race.”
“……okay?”
Vlad’s eyes lit up after hearing Nibelun’s answer.
Jorge said:
The most important thing in negotiation is to know what the other party wants.
“Then how about something like this? “A ship without sails or something.”
“yes?”
And now Vlad knew very well what Nibelun wanted.
“There’s no sail, but it’s moving. They say that if you boil the water, it will move forward on its own.”
Cats are naturally curious animals.
If you add the word wizard to it, there will be no need to explain it any further.
Nibelun began to prick his ears as if he was interested in Vlad’s hand gestures describing the wheels on the ship.
“I think I’ll be invited to the dwarves’ island soon. Did you know that the place where dwarves gather is still unknown? “It’s the island that Gaidar couldn’t find even though he searched so desperately.”
“Oh oh.”
Vlad, who was about to propose a contract to Nibelun, tried to recall the memories of that time as much as possible.
Josef, who shook me, knew what I wanted and even held the secret I tried to hide.
Although he couldn’t capture the weight that Josef had, the back alley ways he was born and raised in began to flow out of Vlad’s mouth.
“I wasn’t going to say this, but I actually know some elves. “I also exchange letters with the elders there.”
“Oooh.”
An island of dwarves whose location is unknown until now and the existence of a ship that I have never heard of before.
And even the mysterious forest of elves that rejects all visitors.
For Nibelun, where even the human cities were difficult to enter, they were places that could only be seen in dreams.
“If I introduce you, we can go in together. Are you looking for a mystery? “Isn’t this place full of mystery?”
“sure. “That’s right.”
Nibelun’s eyes were sparkling as he watched Vlad talk about unexplored lands.
For a wizard seeking mysteries, they were delicious bait that could not be ignored.
“Well, wizards are valuable, but if you’re good enough, there’s no reason you can’t be introduced to them. Still, I thought it would be easier to do it with someone who has worked together before.”
Vlad, leaning back deeply as if he had said everything he wanted to say, seemed relaxed despite his inner feelings.
The trickery and false composure of the gangsters in the back alleys made even Quijano hold his tongue.
“I think we can give each other what we want. what do you think about it?”
Next to Peter is advisor Ragmus.
Next to Rutger is the wizard Dorothea.
Even Josef, who was underpowered, somehow managed to find a wizard and keep him by his side.
And now it was time for Vlad to have at least one wizard with him.
“…Are you really going to let me in?”
“of course.”
“Elf and Dwarf…”
“Is that all? Land of the barbarian Orthodox northern nobles.”
Seeing Nibelun leaning heavily, Vlad delivered a solid blow.
“I said everything is done. “If only you would be my wizard for a while.”
“I’ll do it. Please let me do it.”
Looking at Vlad who was smiling brightly, Nibelun nodded his head without realizing it.
A nobleman and knight who can wander from place to place because he has no land yet.
However, Vlad, who had a clear reputation, was definitely a person that Nibelune found difficult to reject.
Knock knock.
“Come on in!”
“This isn’t your room.”
“I said it for you. “I will take care of this kind of work from now on.”
Nibelun was once again calling out for the owner to come in, but Vlad didn’t particularly reprimand him.
Because I could tell from their attitude just now that their contract had been concluded.
“long time no see. “Vlad Aureo.”
The man who entered with Nibelun’s permission was a knight who looked somewhat familiar.
“iced coffee. We were back then…”
“Do you remember me? This is Vastro, a knight of the Hainal family. “Vlad and I once fought together with the Gaidar army.”
Standing in the doorway with a polite posture, he was one of the few knights belonging to the Hainal family.
“I guess Hainal was here too.”
“We are now a northern family too. “I had a duty to respond to the summons.”
The knight who introduced himself as Vastro could not hide his flushed face as he looked at Vlad, who was now a nobleman.
“Congratulations on receiving your last name from the Pope. “I’m sure Alicia will be happy to know this.”
“I still have a lot to pay back to him. “I need to visit you sometime.”
Seeing Vlad say that his relationship with Hainal is still strong even though his standing position has changed, Bastro smiled cautiously and opened his mouth.
“In that sense, if possible… would you be able to lead (escort) our baron to the northern meeting to be held this time?”
“hmm?”
Vlad was taken aback when he saw Bastro suddenly lowering his head.
“Why should I ask Alicia, a proud noblewoman…”
“The world of the North is a world of rough knights. But as you know, Vlad…”
Bastro laughs awkwardly.
The knight, who talked about the family he belonged to and his own shortcomings, laughed as if he was embarrassed and cleared his throat loudly.
“We need Lady Alicia’s articles more than ever. “Vlad.”
“…….”
Among the seven families that will enter the Northern Conference, Hainal will inevitably have the least weight.
Although we were just beginning to interact with the elves, Hainal was a place with no business or articles worth mentioning.
“Alicia will probably have reached Shoara by now.”
[Baron Alicia is a shoara…… This is somehow unsettling.]
Just as Quijano said, Vlad, who felt a bit uneasy, began to rummage around in his arms without even realizing it.
Two handkerchiefs tucked deep in my arms.
Vlad, feeling the texture of the handkerchiefs still attached, began to think deeply.
※※※※
“It looks like it’s here.”
It wasn’t even evening yet, but there was a woman standing in the back alley of Shoara.
An elegant appearance that does not match the sloppiness of the back alley.
The woman standing under the guard of the old knight looked up at the building standing right in front of her, her eyes wide open as if in wonder.
“Even though it’s in such a remote place, they’ve built up as many as four stories.”
“Shoara is a city that is practically the center of northern logistics. “Everything will be big.”
Unlike the quiet Deermar, Alicia’s expression began to become subtle as she looked at Shoara, where everything was lively.
The pride she had as the owner of a territory was gradually irritating her.
“Would you like to go back now? “This is not a place fit for a noble lady.”
“is it so?”
Old knight Duncan was looking at Alicia with somewhat tense eyes.
It was a look in his eyes that made Alicia want to leave right away, if possible.
However, contrary to what Duncan said, the building in front of Alicia was more old-fashioned and great than any other place around.
“Still, I’d like to see it sometime. “They say it’s the same place as Lord Vlad’s hometown.”
“……Is that so.”
If you were to pass by Shoara anyway, there was a place you definitely wanted to see.
The smile of the rose is said to be the place that knight Vlad cherishes most.
Alicia’s eyes began to sparkle as she tried to catch a glimpse of Vlad’s old memories.
Kkeikeik-
But now the owner of this place is not Vlad, but another lady.
The Rose Inn slowly began to open to welcome the noble guests standing at the door.
“Welcome to our inn, Baron Alicia.”
A woman slowly comes down the stairs towards Alicia standing in the front door.
The owner of this place, unlike Alicia, was a woman with fiery red hair.
