Chapter 72

Chapter 72 - Northern Debut (4)

When they reached a hill close to the water source, the scouts sent in advance were waiting. It means there is no better rest base than here.

Eugene placed his palm on his chest to praise their hard work, then raised his right hand.

"Halt! We camp here today!"

At the heavy shout, everyone stopped simultaneously. Not only Eugene's army, but even Baron Jones's army.

'These guys, without even a small hesitation...'

The knights of the Jones family were flustered at the appearance of the soldiers obeying naturally.

The two armies are together, but they are strictly like ant colonies of different clusters.

However, the troops of the Jones family followed Eugene's orders as if they had changed the pheromones they had used all their lives.

Just one battle. The divine might like a god of war shown there had seized even the souls of the soldiers.

"Prepare the accommodation where the two of them will rest over there."

The tribe warriors set up a large tent in the best spot and decorated the inside with a carpet of brilliant patterns.

"It's my first time seeing something like this."

"It's quite different from the Roman style, right?"

Baron Jones entered with completely sparkling eyes into the tent set up in the nomad's way.

As drinks went back and forth one by one in a comfortable atmosphere, one could tell why the Baron welcomed Eugene so much.

"Huu. To think I broke the vassal covenant that had continued for a long time with my own hands."

"Wasn't it the previous liege lord who broke the faith first by turning to the Emperor's Faction? Please do not blame yourself."

The family head died suddenly of a heart disease. Suddenly becoming a lord and being out of his mind, the whole neighborhood became enemies.

While holding a funeral, he distributed a statement supporting the Nobles' Faction, and lined up to a great noble to find a new liege lord.

As part of that activity, he went on an expedition, was ambushed, and tasted a battlefield full of the stench of blood.

Since he was saved in a situation where he felt 'It's over now,' as an inexperienced lord, his emotions inevitably exploded.

"It's true that God prepares hardship and salvation at the same time. To think He sent you to me."

A knight with almost no age difference, no connections in the North, and who has built up tremendous fame in a short period!

Baron Jones felt both a sense of kinship and admiration for the lord before his eyes.

"Sir Eugene. According to rumors, they say there are also castles the pirates captured."

"It's not a strange thing when they say there are regions swarming with hundreds to at most thousands."

Not all lords live in sturdy stone castles. Shabby wooden castles that are embarrassing to even call castles don't even need siege weapons.

There are also methods such as mobilizing several warhorses to kick and break down the gate, or setting fire to make the besieged personnel pop out.

"What happened to the lord's families in the captured places?"

"I heard they were escorted to the capital and stripped of their nobility titles."

"Their lives as nobles are over."

"Yes. There are as many people aiming for empty seats around the Emperor as a swarm of bees. They must be dreaming of a life of living extravagantly by obtaining even a small territory."

This is the secret behind how the Emperor's Faction mobilized an army that far exceeds their financial conditions. Because they can provide lord seats to those burning with the desire for success.

The Emperor's infamy must also skyrocket due to his tyranny of ignoring the long-standing rights of the nobles. However, if he had cared about such things, he wouldn't have claimed the title of Emperor in the first place.

* * *

The villages they encountered after entering the Baron Est territory were tightly filled with tension.

Not only pirates, but there was more than one village uprooted by mercenaries running wild taking advantage of the chaos.

- Please, please take us in! I'll do whatever dirty work it is!

A situation where refugees who lost their homes were coming in from everywhere.

- Father-in-law...

- Daddyyyy! Waaah.

There are also families where a daughter sent to marry in a neighboring village came back with her husband looking like beggars.

With the situation like this, Hind and the mercenaries, who went in to buy supplies, received anxious gazes.

"I refused because the village chief tried to offer tribute."

"You did well. There's no need to give a bad impression to Baron Est."

Whether they were afraid that the army in front of them might suddenly turn into robbers, there were also villages trying to offer their accumulated wealth.

"Sir Knight. Since we came as a relief army, it's fine to receive this much by custom."

Rex, who wanted to collect even just tribute since he couldn't plunder, regretted it.

"It's not even that big an amount of money anyway, is it?"

"The amount is not the problem. Isn't the taste of hands thrilling?"

Unlike Eugene, who has the sentiments of settled people, for Rex, who is of a nomadic people, extracting something itself was the greatest amusement.

It was a mindset that even if grudges form, they can just leave for another place.

"They already look destitute, and to put my spoon in too, I hate that."

Because the surrounding circumstances were so bleak, the faces of the villagers were generally haggard.

"They are people we won't see again once we pass by anyway."

"But they'll remain in my memory."

"..."

Rex desperately swallowed the words, 'I guess you don't remember the dozens of pirates whose heads you smashed, Knight?'

"I forget the sight of dying bastards who were robbing when I sleep and wake up. But crying children holding empty bowls are hard to forget."

"I-I didn't say anything, sir."

Rex, whose true feelings were seen through, felt joy along with bewilderment.

Because seeing through the hearts of subordinates is also a leader's capability. Piercing through the enemy's deception and blocking the betrayal of allies.

"Sir Knight, sometimes you seem like a mercenary and sometimes like a priest."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Of course it's a compliment. It means you can switch the masks of good and evil whenever necessary."

'It seems like a curse no matter how I think about it...'

Right then, scouts who had gone out quite far returned and reported. They said not a single pirate could be seen nearby.

"I must be thankful to Bruce."

"Exactly, sir. To think he gathered the bugs and spoils cleanly to make it easy to clean up."

Rex looked back properly admirably at the Emperor's Knight who was tied up tightly and loaded on a cart.

Thanks to rounding up all the pirates Bruce painstakingly scraped together, they could advance straight ahead without a single battle.

* * *

"Welcome, everyone! Righteous neighbors!"

Baron Est popped out as soon as the relief army arrived in front of the castle.

It was a few days ago when he saw from atop the castle walls a massively rallied swarm of pirates running west.

He had been trembling, but was touched by the lords who came to help with speed and scale exceeding expectations.

"Did you say you subjugated those wild dog-like bastards completely without leaving a single one behind?!"

Baron Est even had tears in his eyes at the news that the pirates were swept out.

"Originally, it would have been a headache chasing guys scattered here and there. It's all thanks to Baron Jones tying them down."

"W-What do you mean by that."

At Eugene's compliment that wasn't exactly a compliment, Baron Jones smiled awkwardly. Because he was in a position where he barely survived after becoming a target.

If Eugene hadn't arrived precisely on time, the one tied up completely on the cart right now wouldn't have been Bruce, but himself.

"Please take care of the wounded."

"Of course! Aren't you the brave warriors who came to help our territory?"

When Baron Est thumped his chest, Baron Jones bowed his head. All the dead and wounded from the battle were troops he had brought.

"I will definitely convey the righteousness of your Honors to Duke Ismar. Hey! Are you writing it down?"

"Yes! Lord."

Behind Baron Est was a scribe working his quill pen diligently.

The whole story was that neighboring lords who heard the rescue request came and subjugated the pirates.

Although it wasn't a complicated situation, what in the world was there to write so much about that the scribe's pen didn't even think of stopping.

'He is a lord faithful to reactions.'

Baron Est was in the middle of performing a kind of show.

It's a talent that pleases the opponent without spending money, but it's an area nobles are surprisingly vulnerable in. Because even the lowest lord rules in his own land without envy of a king.

"His Highness the Duke always treated his vassals well, there's just no leeway right now due to this civil war. He will clean up the surroundings soon and return the North to what it was."

Baron Est dedicates unchanging loyalty to Duke Ismar. There seemed to be no resentment for not being able to help in a dangerous situation.

To put it backwards, it means he has ruled his vassals with such excellent character.

Clench.

Baron Jones clenched his fists tightly. It was a sight of him vowing to definitely catch the Duke's eye this time and become his vassal.

* * *

Baron Est opened his storehouse and hosted a grand banquet.

"We prepared a banquet for the great heroes."

Nobles are a race that holds banquets even during war.

The pirate threat hasn't been eradicated, but with the war merit of annihilating a major force in the region, it's more than worthy of holding a banquet.

The major figures of the castle had their tension over external threats released, so they were excessively drinking and eating to celebrate the victory, as were the guests.

"I am curious about the story of you beating up those man-eating bear-like knights of Gord."

"Ay! Let's listen to the trial by combat later and hear the story of catching magical beasts first! Since olden times, isn't a knight's heroic tale monster hunting?"

Eugene's cup had no chance to empty.

"Your deceased father was an excellent lord. Honoring his rest!"

"Duke Ismar will truly fathom your sincerity. We will testify to the Baron's honor."

Baron Jones, sitting apart, also constantly had alcohol poured into his cup.

Entertaining between nobles is such that even when coming without business, the custom is to eat and drink like starving demons.

Not to mention those who brought a great victory as a relief army.

For reference, there was someone else who received the most cups of alcohol at this seat, neither Eugene nor Jones, but Valda.

As a magician, her true fame was famous throughout Roman.

"To think the highly reputable Magician of the Emerald Forest would have also come."

Trickle, trickle.

"I truly envy Sir Eugene for having such a wise individual stay by his side as an advisor, hahaha!"

Trickle trickle again.

"Noble Lady of the Forest. I pondered throughout the banquet about a word to modify that radiance. However, standing in front of you, everything seems colorless. You are beautiful. I truly don't know what else to use besides that expression."

Trickle, trickle once again.

Valda's face without her hood on, which was rare, was the most sweet side dish at this banquet.

Both her hair that seemed to be spun from melting gold, and her golden eyes that put all the high-quality candles in the banquet hall to shame.

"I wondered why always wore a hood even during normal banquets, and this was the reason."

"Because I don't particularly like alcohol."

From the breath of Valda sitting next to Eugene, the sweet smell of wine drifted richly.

To collapse while drinking at a noble's reception is one thing, but to decline is cutting down the opponent's face.

Moreover, the beauty, whom would be difficult to see twice in a lifetime, drank well without a sign of getting drunk, so everyone liked her to death.

"You possess an incredible alcohol tolerance. You seem to have drunk as much as I have, yet you are completely fine."

"Elves possess strong resistance to diseases and poison."

However, she just had an excellent detoxification ability, but didn't actually have a large physical capacity.

"Still, you are all too much. She went to the restroom twice already, yet they keep offering her alcohol incessantly."

"... You are the one who is too much. You shouldn't talk about restrooms to a lady."

Despite drinking a lot, her white face turned slightly red. Especially her ears.

"The taste of the alcohol seems to be alright. Since those picky guys are also drinking well."

Eugene pointed to where the tribe warriors were. It's the middle of Rex trying to continuously feed Hind alcohol.

"It's not as good as our family's traditional alcohol, but it is somewhat drinkable in its own way. You try drinking it too."

"I'm telling you I'm fine."

"Don't be like that, and just try one cup."

To Dark Elves whose daily lives are plundering and wandering, what's as important as combat power was business acumen.

Hind, who plays an active role in trading and logistics with a practical personality fitting his origin from a merchant family. This rare knight gave a good impression to the Dark Elves.

Gulp gulp

"Pahaa-!"

"Uuhahaha! This squire is far better than you!"

"Squire! Please accept a cup of my alcohol as well!"

"This is a real knight! Why don't you be the squire instead, Hind?"

At the sight of Homi emptying her cup heartily and offering it again, the tribe warriors clapped.

In status, she was nothing more than a squire, but no one in Eugene's camp dared to treat her lowly.

It is a result combining her outstanding combat power, the incredible senses shown in scouting, and the point that she is Eugene's closest aide.

Valda, who was looking at that sight warmly, stiffened her complexion at approaching footsteps again.

"You are like a flower brewed from gathering all the beauty of the forest. Please, allow me to offer you a cup."

Since everyone was heavily drunk, their comments were also exceptionally cheesy.

As Valda's cup was filled with alcohol for the umpteenth time, her golden eyes blinked with a sickened look.

"Leave it to me."

Eugene slyly swapped his half-empty cup with Valda's.

"I'm grateful for the consideration, but you don't have to do this much."

She said so, but she was grateful. Because aside from getting drunk, a feeling of discomfort at the smell of alcohol was slowly coming up.

"It's the Dark Knight."

"Dark Knight?"

"It means protecting a noble lady when she's in a crisis at a banquet not with a sword, but with one's mouth."

Valda covered her mouth and laughed elegantly.

"What an interesting culture. Your stories are always new."

The knight before her eyes always brings out fascinating tales. From unique customs like just now, to educational fables, and even the embarrassing, messy folklore of gods.

"It is beyond compare to the advice and dedication Valda gives me."

"No. We are in a sufficiently reciprocal relationship, so don't say such things."

An era severely lacking amusement. The bundles of stories Eugene unwraps and his unique philosophy always presented Valda with interest and laughter.

"This short period I spent together with you is more enjoyable than all the time I wandered Roman alone in the past."

"It seems you are slightly drunk."

"... Perhaps."

Although Eugene, speaking with a smile, didn't seem to notice it himself.

While Eugene briefly left his seat, some people also asked about Valda's future schedule.

The business was whether she thought of seeing the monarch they served. Among them was also Baron Est.

Trickle, trickle.

"Duke Ismar often praised the Magician of the Emerald Forest."

The Baron said while politely pouring wine into Valda's cup.

"That is an honor."

"By any chance, if your contract with Sir Eugene ends, do you have any thoughts of meeting him?"

Unlike knights, magicians do not have the concept of a liege lord. There are only patrons. The more outstanding the magician, the more so.

A knight who only has one village wouldn't be able to keep the Magician of the Emerald Forest by his side for long.

The anticipation of giving a wonderful present to his liege lord welled up on Baron Est's face.

"I am thankful for the sentiment, but even I cannot know when I will leave Sir Eugene's side."

"Pardon? What do you mean..."

"There is no contract bound by gold coins between him and me. I don't even know when this bizarre companionship will end. My feet don't hurt yet, you see."

Valda, who lightly emptied her cup, smiled brightly.

"Thanks for the drink. He will return soon."

Valda placed her hand on her white, long fairy ears. A dizzying smile along with the sweet scent drifting from her breath.

To stay mesmerized by that figure, it clearly contained the meaning of an eviction order.

The Baron couldn't even dare to ask what she meant, bowed his head, and backed away. Even though he was the master of this banquet hall.