Chapter 77

Chapter 77 - Advent (1)

"It's home!"

When the nostalgic river of Northfork came into view, the mercenaries shouted without differentiating who first.

It's said that affection makes a hometown, but it seems they formed a deep attachment during the few months of winter.

With good weather, diverse food, and fishing and hunting allowed on limited days, it is indeed a heaven-like place for mercenaries.

On the balcony behind the lord's office, 3 reclining chairs were installed. They are the seats for Eugene, Homi, and Valda.

- I don't want to become an oblivious person, so I'll decline. I will gratefully accept your sentiment.

Originally, they intended to place 4 chairs, but Marbas declined with a hearty laugh.

Homi liked lying there and receiving the spring breeze blowing from the river.

Scratch scratch.

Twitch twitch.

With the sound of Eugene in the office checking and signing various documents with a quill pen as background noise.

When his political affairs as a lord ended, the knight and squire often went hunting together. Without escorts or beaters, just like they did in Kingdom End in the past.

The difference from back then is that both are equipped with excellent warhorses and gear, monopolizing the wide hunting ground for the lord.

Finding prey was easy.

"Isn't it dangerous?"

Shake shake.

Sometimes Homi stood straight up on the horse's back and surveyed the surroundings with a wide field of vision.

Sandy also seemed accustomed to it, minimizing shaking while walking when her owner got up. Even considering that, it's a ridiculous sense of balance though.

Sniff sniff.

Homi's sense of smell, which surpasses a hunting dog, didn't miss scents even on horseback. A beast that carelessly relieved itself nearby had to be served on the lord's residence's dining table that day.

Pururuk!

Might also seemed pleased to run together with Sandy.

"I am always thankful to you."

When Eugene stroked its mane, the guy half-closed its eyes and liked it.

Most Barcian warhorses are like that, but Might was especially smart. Being with Eugene, it perfectly embodied the range of the flail and maintained an optimal distance.

So that enemies' attacks couldn't reach, but Eugene could hit unilaterally from the tip.

"You must stay healthy. I can't even imagine how much I'd have to teach another horse for it to do as much as you do."

The saying that a horse is a knight's companion wasn't just born from romance.

Valda arranged dozens of flower pots in the office.

"It's a design I've never seen before."

"Of course. Since Elves made it."

"Such precious things?"

Elf-made crafts are rare commodities that money cannot buy. Because they are a group displaying extreme exclusivity. Numerous merchant groups tried to break through for trade, but most of them failed.

"I have connections with the Elf society in the forest region north of the inland sea. I contacted them and received it. It seems they arrived while we went on the expedition."

The plants that received the Elves' flower pots, magic, and touch transformed the office into another space.

A feeling of sitting in the middle of a forest full of freshness and peacefulness. Visiting guests could not hold back their admiration.

"The tea will get cold."

"Ah, yes! Yes!"

Everyone was so focused on savoring the air deeply into their lungs that they even forgot to drink the tea served.

Worries of the mind and fatigue from journeys. Foreign substances stuck to muscles, lungs, and souls. All of that was washed away by the breaths of the plants.

"It has changed completely from when I visited before."

"Did you hire a new gardener? Please do introduce them to me. I've never seen such skill in any great lord family before."

"..."

When it became dark, the three man and women sat side by side on the balcony chairs and watched the night river.

The sight of a small number of boats floating for night fishing and the guards patrolling the village with lit lanterns is boundlessly affectionate.

A feeling that the smell of blood and filth smeared on their hands has completely faded.

Swoosh swoosh.

When Homi occasionally fell asleep, Eugene picked her up in his arms. Valda would roll up her long tail and place it on her chest so it wouldn't drag on the ground.

"Have good dreams."

"You too."

After moving Homi to her room, he waved hands with Valda and parted ways, and another peaceful day ended.

* * *

Unfortunately, the vacation didn't last long.

Because the lords of the North, who had settled the chaos, planned a festival after even driving out the pirates.

Naturally, an invitation also came to Eugene, and it bore Duke Ismar's seal.

"They say they will hold a grand banquet to commemorate driving out the threats of the North."

"It's probably not just for socializing or promoting friendship. It must be to gather those who will become the sword of the North when it's time to fight the Emperor's Faction again."

"A banquet right following that big war. The Duke's financial power is indeed tremendous."

"Because he owns several lucrative cities bordering the inland sea."

Eugene felt it even more after becoming a lord, but cultivating honestly and raising livestock is not very meaningful.

One had to squeeze out spoils and ransoms from wars or jump into trade across the sea to touch big money.

Baron Est owned 4 villages, but the total of his income wasn't even double Eugene's.

Considering the cost of separately managing and protecting the scattered villages, there was virtually no big difference in income.

"It seems free knights are also going up a lot."

Every time on the ships departing from Northfork port, there were knights who had come up from here and there on board.

"You plan to accept the invitation, right?"

"Of course. This wasn't ghostwritten by a scribe, but a handwritten letter from the Duke himself."

There was worth in saving his vassal Baron Est and the Lasta Monastery supported by the Duke.

"When do you plan to set off?"

"There's no reason to hesitate, so I plan to go up immediately."

Whether it's a battlefield or a banquet, those who arrive early are bound to get a little more of something.

If it were a battlefield, they would have priority in the distribution of spoils and honor; and if it were a banquet, they would receive the host's attention and gratitude.

While preparing to head out like that, a gift arrived from the Blackhand Tribe.

"Sir Knight. It's the bow I mentioned last time."

Rex presented the bow he received.

"It looks bizarre?"

Two bow staves larger than other composite bows are overlapped in an X shape. It is also a form where 2 bowstrings meet and twist in the center.

"It looks cool, but isn't it structurally inefficient? There must be a reason why others don't make it like this for no reason."

"You are correct. There's a waste of power at the joints between the bow staves and the double string. It becomes heavier and the string is prone to shaking as well."

Rex shrugged his shoulders.

"But don't you have god-given monstrous strength, Sir Knight? Trying to make a structure where you can lift it on horseback and use that power without leaving any behind resulted in this structure."

Twang!

Indeed, when Eugene pulled the string and released it, the very sound was different.

"If you shoot with that, the arrow will pass cleanly right through most boars or deer."

"Thanks. I will use it well."

Two days later, Eugene led a small number of elite troops and boarded a ship.

Just like during the Dark Elf festival, they could travel comfortably through the waterways. That's a good point about the North.

* * *

"It's a grand spectacle."

Rostock, which they arrived at smoothly, is Duke Ismar's stronghold and a logistics hub facing the inland sea.

It has a large flowing population even usually, but with the festival overlapping, it was no joke.

The coastline consists of bedrock without a sandy beach. Beyond that, dozens of huge ships come in and go out.

"So that's the sea."

"Oh my God! I thought it was a joke that there's a horizon, but it was true."

The mercenaries who had only encountered lakes or rivers at most opened their mouths wide seeing the inland sea. They couldn't even imagine that so much water was gathered.

"Strictly speaking, that isn't the sea. It is a giant lake."

"Pardon? Everyone called it a sea though?"

The mercenaries looked at their employer, calm as always.

"The real sea is at the southern and western ends of the continent. Even the smell is different from river water."

"I have heard stories that it's salty water."

Whenever he had time, Eugene gathered information from travelers or merchants who came from distant regions.

As a result, he became certain that although it's a world where monsters and magic exist, the elements constituting nature have no big difference from Eugene's knowledge.

"If you go out to the distant sea, its depth reaches thousands of meters, and the fish species caught are completely different."

"Thousands of meters? If it's that much, isn't it much deeper than the southern mountains?"

Everyone perked up their ears. There were many interesting things in the stories their employer unwrapped from time to time on a whim.

Lewd jokes or funny fables that made even seasoned mercenaries drop their jaws, even concerning faraway worlds.

"You guys like shrimp, right?"

"Of course. We don't eat it because there isn't any, not because we don't."

Freshwater shrimp and crabs caught in the wide river of Northfork are delicacies the mercenaries like.

However, when he first offered it, they were all horrified.

- Try it. It's really delicious, you know?

- T, this is a bug, isn't it?

- Boss! The boss should properly eat good food first.

- These punks...

When Eugene personally peeled the shell, salted it, and put it in the mercenary captain's mouth, his eyes went wide.

Since then, crustaceans became one of the reasons the mercenaries missed Northfork during the expedition.

"In the real sea, crabs and shrimp several times larger than what you folks eat are caught. Being big, the savoriness and texture are also phenomenal."

"As expected, the world is wide."

"Smack. It's probably a delicacy folks like us won't be able to taste our entire lives."

The mercenaries smacked their lips and laughed as if just imagining it was enjoyable in its own way.

"Do not jump to conclusions. Someday we might go to the real sea."

"If you say that, doesn't it make us look forward to it?"

Whether the day will come to go to the real sea is unknown.

However, there is one thing that is certain. So far while leading the troop, their employer had never eaten or drunk good things alone.

* * *

"Is there anything you know about Duke Ismar?"

Eugene sought Valda's advice ahead of his audience with the Duke.

"He's a young man in his late 20s. He became a monarch suddenly when his older brother with quite an age gap died without children."

"He's similar to the current Emperor."

"He is a monarch incomparable in popularity."

"Seeing Baron Est's attitude, I figured as much."

A liege lord who couldn't help while they were being attacked by an unmanageable scale of pirates. Yet giving unchanging loyalty must have a reason.

"Because he utilizes the characteristic of the North being connected by waterways extremely well. When famine strikes a territory, there is no lord who hasn't received relief goods from the Duke."

"As expected, generosity comes from the storehouse."

"And he is also a monarch you can rely on during wartime."

Currently in Roman, the only place holding a festival of this scale is the North.

- The opportunity is when the Emperor is supporting the West and South.

This is because Duke Ismar quickly rallied forces and forced an all-out war early in the civil war.

Because that speed was so fast, the Emperor's Faction in the North is in a state of annihilation without even receiving particular support.

As the Emperor's influence disappeared, the North quickly found stability. Having laid down one worry, there was room to reorganize.

As soon as Spring came, the atmosphere was different from other regions tense with new wars.

"The Duke calls for you."

At the butler's words, Valda once again checked Eugene's attire.

* * *

A spacious office. A pretty-looking young man is sitting on a chair reading numerous letters.

"Welcome. Sir Eugene of the Meyer family."

Duke Ismar gave the impression that he would fly away if blown on.

A face that feels joy from forgiving someone rather than killing them. Thin fingers seem carved just to hold a brush or a musical instrument.

"When a big event is ahead, truly a lot of letters fly in. Things like letters of introduction for knights that nobles send individually. Most are fraught with exaggeration and lies."

He pointed to 4 letters laid aside with his palm.

"But the letters about you were the opposite. I felt the restraint and fear from the ones moving the pen. I wonder if they were worried they might look like bluffers to me?"

Duke Ismar let out a small laugh.

"It is nice to meet you. And thank you once again. The salvation of the Est Barony and Lasta Monastery. Setting aside political interests, it was a matter connected to many lives."

"I only fulfilled my duty as a knight of the North."

"The lords of Northfork were excellent generation after generation. You don't share their blood, but an heir inheriting their soul has come, so your predecessors can comfortably close their eyes."

Eugene grasped the hand the Duke reached out after coming close.

"The Baron and the Abbot were also sending unchanging trust to Your Grace the Duke."

"Thus, isn't it an even more heartbreaking matter? Bestowing priorities upon those who love and trust me is something I can never get used to."

The Duke touched Eugene's back and guided him to a balcony next to the office.

"The reasons for wanting a competent knight differ for everyone, but for me it is to lessen that pain. Please keep this a secret. It's a reason that looks weak."

Swaaah.

Like Eugene's balcony, a chessboard was set up in a spot with a good view showing the massive inland sea.

"Do you know how to play chess? If you don't know, I will teach you."

"I know how to play. I'm learning every day from a good teacher."

It's the moment the lessons he received from Valda all this time bore fruit.

"I received the gift well. I will value it highly. It will be helpful in denouncing the Emperor's evil deeds."

The gift the Duke spoke of is Knight Bruce, who was leading the pirates.

That the Emperor requested pirates to attack the North, and that the Emperor's knight directly guided the pirates and even supported them with supplies.

Just as the words vary slightly on how one says it, this had a big political difference. Bruce was very politically useful to the Nobles' Faction.

"Your skill is not bad. Who did you learn from?"

"It is the Magician of the Emerald Forest, Lady Valda."

"You have two teachers whom one couldn't call even with vast wealth and a king's power."

The Duke showed signs of genuinely envying Eugene.

"Those who work sweating. Those who want peace. The North is completely open to all of them. To protect them, a lot of excellent knights are needed. Though it would be a wish like a joke in this chaotic world."

Seeing the Duke laughing self-deprecatingly, it didn't feel like he was meeting a great noble.

It was like sharing a cup of alcohol at a small table with an older brother from the neighborhood he was close with. Even though the night deepened, feeling like he didn't want to leave.