Chapter 204 – 9. Hormia’s Dictator, Countess’s Insidious Task

I’m-pain-! He finally raised his hand, unable to bear the heavy pain that tapped his shoulder.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but that’s okay. First of all, I would like to ask you what happened at the fortress to report to the Countess.”

“Oh, yes! I’m sorry. It was because I was so glad you came when I really wanted to fuck this up. Haha!”

I told him that the knight was screwed. I suppressed a laugh at the grumpy talk and asked him with a clear look in my eyes that I would listen to the knight stroking his neat mustache.

“So, you mean that a wyvern suddenly appeared from over the mountain range?”

“Whoa, that’s right. Well- as you all know, we were ordered by our lord to guard this place for a month. During that time, we couldn’t get supplies or support, but thanks to the countess’s grace, we were able to defend it well for 15 days.”

“This place isn’t particularly important, and it doesn’t seem necessary to protect it… “

Facing each other is a mountain range standing side by side with the Holy Kingdom. A neutral country that mediates between the Empire and all kingdoms, that was the Holy Nation.

“Huuu- Your lord must have sent us because he had an idea. Well, I protected it for the past 15 days without any problems, but just yesterday, the knight commander of the fortress, Romian-gyeong, was killed by the Wyverns.”

When I turned my head in the direction the gauntlet was pointing at, I saw the bell tower with clear claw marks, a pile of collapsed stones, and even the sticky bloodstains underneath.

“Still, he who is the commander of the knights… Did it happen too suddenly?”

“Ha ha, ha ha… I have to tell the countess everything without filtering, so I’ll have to tell her. Lord Romian took off his armor and was heading out of the fort for a horseback ride. In fact, for 15 days, we didn’t do anything at all. There was no invasion, and there was no raid, so there was no choice but to relax.”

This… Article? The knight’s answer was too honest, but the behavior of that knight, Romian, was really incomprehensible. Thinking that the bereaved family members who were still weeping in the estate would not collapse in disgrace if they knew his cause of death, I remembered carefully and asked.

“Then Romi Glasses is a warrior… And that-“

He hadn’t heard the name, so he waved his hand lightly and beckoned the knight in front of him to speak for himself. The knight who read my signal answered Mild, and I immediately continued the conversation.

“Sir Mild inherited the position of knight commander and is now guarding the fortress. You said that the fortress was partially destroyed during the Wyvern attack yesterday and that there were other abnormal signs.”

“Yes, since the appearance of the wyvern, goblins, hobgoblins, and kobolds have been crawling out of the mountains since this morning. It’s rare for those who live deep in the mountains to come down.”

Mild, who answered all of them by shaking his head, stroked his mustache and began talking in earnest with a deep sigh.

“Well, when you report, please tell me about the hard work of the remaining soldiers and knights-“

“Of course. Lord Mild worked hard with the other knights, so the fortress must have suffered this much damage.”

It was sincere. It was really pitiful to see the commander of the knights go out to enjoy horseback riding and be crushed to death by a magic tool that allowed him to keep in touch with the countess at all times. On the other hand, Mild, who was trying to respond to the Wyverns by subjugating the goblins that came down with soldiers and knights right after the incident, was truly a fairy.

“Thank you so much for saying that. Whoa, looks like her head is going to break.”

Seeing Mild press his temple with his thumb to see if his head was pounding, I took a step closer to him to ask what I was curious about.

“By the way, can’t all knights strengthen their bodies by generating mana?”

Unlike Earth, there were no such names as sword experts or sword users. I only dealt with mana and used the technique of longevity and swordsmanship, but when I reached the state, I was called a sword master, so I thought something was clumsy.

“… Romy glasses were a little clumsy at using mana. In fact, isn’t that a skill that only sword masters can do smoothly? Haha-! Now, let’s stop talking about it and introduce the members of the Templars. They are all Count Findel’s trustworthy and loyal knights.”

As if it was difficult for him to continue talking, Mild, who patted me on the back, led me to the center of the fort. Talking loudly- Mild, who was talking happily while spitting, ah-! He spoke while pointing forward with exclamation.

“Here comes the center of our Knights and the trustworthy successor!”

The wind that lingered in the fort shook her hair, and her long orange hair that covered her hips fluttered like sunlight. Gathering them neatly together and tying them up with her string, strides – the woman who came closer to me and Mild called out – her wave-like blue eyes wide open, and she jumps and jumps -! She came towards me with faster and faster steps.

“Sir Sonia-“

Before Chuck-Mild could finish his words, Sonia, who was completely opposite Chuck-Me, took a huh-huh-heh-heavy breath and looked at me with her hateful eyes. The eyes she had turned away from when she chose her childhood escape, not wanting to run away from responsibility and be bound by her love, were looking at me right now.

With thick hatred, Mild, um, turned his head to look at me, but I talked to Mild before handing Sonia her greetings.

“After greeting this person, I will report to the Countess first, so don’t worry, Sir Mild.”

“Ah, then I see. I also- I thought I’d watch it, but then I’ll have to go.”

Mild nodded his head in agreement, glanced at Sonia’s angry face, and walked back to his comrades with a confident step. I asked her, laughing bitterly at her puffy Sonia’s breastplate.

“How are you?”

“Good job-“

“Looks like you haven’t been. The look in her eyes has changed a lot.”

How many years? After counting her fingers inwardly for an unpredictable amount of time, I looked at Sonia’s eyes, which had been hardened and sharpened by her harsh waves, and said,

“Seeing you, I really wanted to pay the price for harassing people, but the situation is also a situation and it looks like you are a VIP, so I have to move on.”

Her eyes were still shining for a person who said he would pass over calmly. I answered with a shrug of my shoulders at the questioning eyes colored with hatred.

“I also want to share with Sonia-nim the stories that have accumulated countless times during the encounter, but I can’t. I also have to report to the countess about the fort.”

“… Please come to the back of the bell tower tonight.”

Iron Greuk – Sonia, who delivered her last greeting, turned her steps back without any regrets, but her steps towards the tent spread out under the fortress wall were clinging to her, and her steps were sluggish. Am I not going to die today after watching that scene? I broke into a cold sweat at the thought of this, but first I had to report it to the Countess.

Chin- Leaning against the stairs under the castle wall, I opened the paper I kept in my bosom after confirming that no one was looking at me for the last time. When I opened the finely folded paper, pink cotton candy-like petals that looked as if they were going to fly away at any moment were rolling over.

Seruk- Seruk- Seruk- Evil-

The petals that flew around as if stroking the paper were entangled and tangled one by one, and then the petals came together one by one as if folding paper to form a small bird shape. Twitching the corners of my mouth at the magic gin drawn on the outside of the paper, I focused on the fluttering beak of the bird.

[Ah, ah- I finally arrived. Am I incompetent or honest?]

It rose high like a chirping bird. I heard the Countess’s voice in my ears, swallowing a spontaneous sigh.

“It’s amazing that it’s magic.”

[Whoops, are you dissatisfied? If you have something like this, why didn’t you use it? Do you see me as a real dog? Is this how it feels?]

Cook-cook-said the countess, swallowing her laugh and throwing jokes, in a low, subdued voice.

[It’s not wrong, because you’re the one who received it in return for helping Miss Perisha, who couldn’t even pay for me and didn’t need me to care for her]

The low voice and the demeaning words that looked down on me desperately, but I didn’t care much because they were words that came out of the beak of a small pink bird.

“Then would it be all right if I gave you a report about the fort? It’s quite a story, so I hope you understand.”

[… Huhu, I gave this to Romi Angyeong, but seeing that the bird I gave you bloomed, it seems that the fortress was attacked. Yes, take a look.]

I cleared my throat and told Mild everything I had heard. At the story that Romian was crushed to death by the rubble of the fortress while riding a horse, the sound of the little bird’s beak hitting the desk spread, but the fact that the knights took care of it well and kept it without damage her voice brightened again.

[I’m really dumbfounded. To eat my favor and die like that, you trash man. Also-]

Again, the story behind it was cut off, but the countess’s anger was clearly revealed. I pouted her feathers and stroked the head of the chirping bird with my thumb, then stopped at the countess’s hum.

[What are you doing now?]

“Ah, the bird was cute and I was petting it.”

[… My familiar is cute, you can continue. Heheu- He was a man with good eyes to see]

Suu-seuuu- As he stroked the soft petals with his thumb, the petal bird quivered and opened its beak wide.

[Okay – Now that we’ve delivered all the news about the fortress, shall we start the second task in earnest?]

Hearing the knocking on the desk beyond my beak, I listened closely and looked at the petal bird.

[Since you went as a messenger and reinforcements, the messenger work is over. As reinforcements, defend the fortress for the remaining 15 days without any problems. That’s my second assignment]

“All right.”

I couldn’t even protest here. The Countess, excited even after committing an obvious pun, spoke to me with a deep laugh.

[Earl Findel and I will be in trouble if that fortress collapses. You will defend the fortress and bring all the remaining knights to the territory, ah! I don’t need an article saying he won’t come]

Under slightly changed conditions, I pressed down the petal bird’s beak and gently stroked it.

“But they are all Knights of Count Findel, so will they follow?”

[Huh-huh, that’s something to look at in 15 days. Supply will be sent to the fortress in a few days, so tell the knight commander. Don’t throw away the paper, cover it and keep it.]

At the nagging tone about recycling, I swallowed a laugh and replied that I knew it.

Pass- As the petals fell one by one and the bird made of petals collapsed, a strange voice was heard from the collapsing beak.

[Still, it’s useful in many ways. I will expect. K.S.NO.]

With the sound of flapping wings, I tightly wrapped the fallen petals in paper, put them in my bosom and shook my body.