Chapter 296 – 11. Recognition of Prince Oberon
The morning was bright. After dozing off in my chair, I woke up one by one and heard the sound of my feet dragging the floor before I came to my senses.
“Ah… I think I will die… “
Creak, creak, all night Stelgia glared at me while screaming in agony. I turned my gaze because I had committed something, and I left the cabin altogether, leaving the women with slightly fearful eyes to Stelgia.
“Ugh, wake up. I’m here.”
“Keuheuk, heuh… “
As I deliberately approached the bandits with the sound of footsteps, the bandits with aching voices stood up one by one and started waking each other up by hitting or shaking the shoulders of the bandits next to them. I was hit so badly, but feeling the fear spreading among the bandits, I waited in silence until all the bandits got up.
“This side is ready.”
“Ah, that’s done… ?”
After enduring boredom and waiting for a while, Stelgia and the women came out of the cabin with a cheerful voice. As she turned to greet Stelgia, she looked at me with her triumphant smile, carrying a large backpack she hadn’t been able to find.
“Shall we go down right away?”
“What else are you wearing behind you?”
“Ah!”
At my question, Stelzia turned and shook her rucksack from side to side and said in a happy voice.
“They still have looted items and a little money. I almost forgot what?”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, yes. The bandits must have hidden a penny or two, but I never thought of it. Embarrassed by her unexpected income, I immediately approached her with a smile, but Stelgia turned around and looked at me with her disgusted face.
“Where are you touching me? I got it.”
“… “
At a moment of silence at the firmer-than-expected response, I quietly withdrew my hand. I’ll have to take that when I go down to Verba. Resolving inwardly, I briefly checked to make sure there was nothing spilled or left unpacked before speaking to Stelgia.
“Can you just loosen the chains on your legs?”
“Hey, aren’t you asking for something too easy?”
Just say yes, just right at my request, Stelgia snapped her fingers and gently reaped the roots entwined around the bandits’ ankles and allowed them to permeate into the ground. The bandits, whose hair was free, were delighted with the feeling of liberation that came after one night, but their faces began to turn black as if they felt that they had to die on their own feet.
“Ah, everyone.”
“Neeet!”
“Yes?!”
Before taking the bandits down the mountain range, I called the abducted women to a standstill. I heard her regret for treating Stelgia too harshly, but she didn’t show it and asked them.
“Our goal is to take the bandits to Verba, so we plan to take you all to Verba as well, is that okay?”
“No, of course.”
“You saved me, and thank you for that alone.”
“Thank you thank you.”
As per the prince’s request, they tried to take everyone to Verba if possible, but they casually asked if anyone wanted to go to the village separately, but none of them seemed to have that thought.
“Then take good care of them.”
“Then what about you?”
“I have to hold on to those bastards at least.”
I grabbed the tangled roots and the small stems in the hands of the bandits, and turned my body to face Stelgia’s cheesy question. Stelgia, admiring with a face that said she didn’t know if I knew how to play, gathered the women together without much complaint and began to descend first.
***
“Ji, it’s really Verbah!”
“Mom… Whoops!”
“I thought I was going to be sold as a slave… “
The women who discovered the large wall made of reddish-brown bricks, the numerous carriages going to and from the checkpoint, and the city of Berba, which is close to the capital, all began to cry and rejoice. But where there is light, there is also shadow.
“Sir Baal, fuck you. Fucked!”
“I was against slavery from the beginning, I was dragged around, so why do I have to die!”
“Please, Nari, please save me just once. Please!”
The stem in my hand trembled, and the bandits tied to the end twisted their bodies and talked bullshit, but I deliberately ignored it. I brought you here, so the law will take care of it. I didn’t want to lose my strength in useless places.
“Ah, you’re tired, aren’t you?”
Stellzia, who made the sound of her bones as she bent her slender waist, glanced at me and stood next to me. She did as she said, and it took her four hours just to go down the Hor Mountains, and four hours to walk from there to Verba. After walking for eight hours, and hearing the whining of women and the song of bandits going to die on their own feet, I thought I was going to die in a frenzy.
“Let’s go in quickly and take it easy. Before that, we should take over those bastards.”
“Stop!!!”
As we walked toward the checkpoint, a sharp, ear-piercing voice stopped us. The women who were walking excitedly toward Berba heard a thunderous voice, their shoulders trembling, and they stopped and looked at me and Stelgia. .
“There will be a checkup for a while. I want to hear the explanations of the people who are tied to the purpose of visiting Verba.”
“Nice to meet you. Please check the mercenary certificate first.”
He took out the mercenary certificate he had kept in her arms and handed it to the inspector who approached. The sharp voice seemed to crack her throat a little, so the warden coughed heavily, raised her helmet cover, looked at the mercenary and me, and returned the mercenary with a slightly subdued look.
“Well, not fake. Cassano, now that your identity has been confirmed, I want to hear their explanation… Are they bandits?”
“You’re right. They were bandits who used the Hor Mountains as their base, but the leader died and only the remnants were arrested and brought back.”
“Hor Mountains! Really, there will be some of the remnants whose identities can be identified, so I’ll check it out. Charles, Tom! Compare the appearances of the wanted letters and the bandits, and if there is even one identical person, hand them all over to prison!!!”
Quickly, with a loud shout, the soldiers whose names were called ran and took all the bandits arrested. With a relaxed atmosphere and a friendly gaze, I even explained without hesitation.
“And those are the victims who were kidnapped. Everyone was rescued successfully, but I think I need to meet with the client for a while before taking them to the village. May I enter the city?”
“Of course, Verba welcomes a good man like you.”
Dragging her chin and toes, the checkpoint chief Beakin smiled and pointed at the checkpoint. The moment the large log door opened with a loud sound, the women stepped into the city with wobbly steps, perhaps feeling nervous at the sight of the city revealed the moment it was completely opened.
“Suffer.”
“Hmm.”
After giving a short greeting to the checkpoint commander, I entered the city with Stelgia. Kung, watching the residents wandering around the city, fountains and plazas with gates closing immediately, then tuk, Stelgia tapped me with her elbow.
“Are you good at talking? I thought you would be annoyed.”
“Who gets annoyed with public power? I know you can’t win.”
“That’s right. You suffered.”
“Eww!”
A sweet voice broke in between us as we were chatting with Stelgia. I calmly turned my head away because I was tired of hearing her voice these days, but Stelzia, startled, raised her arms and began to be alert like a cat yawning.
“I really struggled, it must have been a nuisance, but you solved it satisfactorily.”
Someone with the hood pulled down gave us one more compliment and slowly grabbed the hood. My thin, sculpted fingers grabbed the hood and pulled it back as my golden hair gleamed and twinkled eyes stared at me.
“The women we rescued will be returned to the village by our men. They really worked hard.”
Oberon with a proud face, with gratitude that I don’t know how many times he’s emphasized it, strode towards me, patted my arm, and looked up at me with a sincere smile.
I hadn’t seen him in a few days, but his long, golden hair covered the nape of his neck. Because of that, a slightly rude thought came to Oberon, who looked like a woman, but I tried to erase it from her head and asked the prince as I waved at the women who were leaving in tears.
“It really didn’t matter. Rather, I was embarrassed because it was solved so easily.”
“Of course I should, because it was a formal test to bring you into my arms.”
“Is that so.”
“Of course, it’s not a test with the lives of the people of the empire, but it’s a job entrusted with the belief that you can easily solve it with your skills.”
“I know. You don’t have to say it a few times to feel that the prince cares about the people of the empire.”
“Is it… Whoops.”
Covering her mouth with her small hand, Oberon smiled and turned her head slightly to look at me. With her unchangingly beautiful eye color, Oberon smiled and said with moist lips. He must be a man, but why are his eyes so blinded by Oberon’s face?
“There are a lot of things I want to ask of you, so I’ll guide you to the lodging first. Let’s go together.”
Oberon, with a bright, bride-like smile, placed his hand on my arm and led me, looking at me once more.
… Is it a man