## Chapter 1034 – The Curious One

ㅡ껄껄껄껄껄껄!!!

He laughed like that for a good while before releasing his shoulder.

Was this what a reunion laugh felt like? Seeing Copson’s mug after so long made me feel incredibly good. Yeah, this bastard with nothing but good hair was alive and kicking.

Actually, he wasn’t the type to just kick the bucket anywhere, so it was only natural. Either way, it was a very good thing.

“This punk… how can you laugh when a knight is lying there like that? Huh?”
“Didn’t you do it!”

Even though his eyes were swollen shut, his overall appearance was that of a veteran adventurer. He was equipped with decent gear, and from a quick glance, it seemed like life had been treating him pretty well.

How did he solve his gambling and alcohol addictions?

That was what I was most curious about.

“Cough, cough. Anyway.”

Copson, who had been chuckling, coughed and asked me about my recent activities.

“What the hell happened in the meantime that allowed you to trash a knight so easily? Honestly, it’s hard to imagine. For a monster like that knight to get beaten like a three-year-old is just amazing.”
“A lot happened.”

A considerable amount of things had happened.

“I’ve been playing on a larger scale than an adventurer, dealing with demon bastards, heretics, and monsters. I killed a lot, like, a whole lot. As I kept fighting, my strength kept increasing.”

When I left Isvant, I honestly thought I was pretty damn strong, but looking back now, the Kim Kat of that time was a total pushover.

“That’s how I became a ridiculously strong paladin… I can take on almost anyone in the capital now. And I even received a title from King Karga because of it, damn it.”
“You even met King Karga!!!”
“Yeah.”

Copson jumped up in surprise at that part.

“Hoo… to think a barbarian would succeed so greatly… Well, from what I hear, you haven’t changed a bit, still engaging in professional serial killing and destruction. How can you not change at all? You’re still a cruel and violent barbarian… Get out of this civilized world! No one welcomes such violence!!”
“Hehehe, you’re such a pain in the ass. When will that crazy barbarian prejudice disappear?”
“Probably not until we die.”

Suddenly, Copson looked up at the sky, struck a pose, and said.

“These discriminatory and prejudiced views will never disappear. Perhaps our descendants, the descendants of our descendants, will need to receive proper character education for that to be possible…”

His melancholic eyes seemed to sparkle. If it were night, it wouldn’t be strange for starlight to pour down from the night sky, that’s how cheesy his statement was.

“And you know that?”
“Well, that’s not important. Anyway, that barbarian strength, it was the power of mana, wasn’t it? You’ve been training it like crazy?”
“Something like that. Look.”

ㅡWhoosh.

As soon as I manifested the sword flame, Vugal’s blade blazed with a clear light.

“See that?”
“Holy shit!!! What the hell is that!!!”
“It’s the next level of sword energy. In short, I’ve become ridiculously strong. Guys like that knight can’t even meet my eyes, you idiot.”
“Ugh, uaaaaaaah!!”

Copson screamed, threw off his helmet, and tore at his hair.

“I feel like I’m going to die from envy!!! Please save me, barbarian bastard!!!”
“Are you jealous of your friend’s success?”
“I think this is something you can honestly admit, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I admit it. I’m damn jealous.”
“You’re like a totally insane barbarian! Kkhahaha!!!”
“Hahahaha!!!”

Copson, who had been laughing, took a breath.

“Haa… but it’s also a bit of a relief. That crazy knight violated the contract and tried to drive us into a death trap. If it weren’t for you, barbarian, we would have been beaten to the brink of death and thrown to the demons as food. Thank you so much.”

A knight like that would never see adventurers as people. Even if there were casualties, he would consider it his own achievement if he defeated the demons. After all, the lives of adventurers are really not that important.

“What’s with the awkward gratitude between us? Hey, is it okay to say that in front of him?”
“Kekeke, what’s the problem? Our Baron Paladin Barbarian is my close friend!!!”

Copson grabbed my wrist and lifted it up.

“Did you hear that!!! This handsome nobleman is my friend!!! He’s even a paladin of the Bronze Celestial Order!!! Remember that clearly!!!”

At those words, the soldiers and adventurers nearby began to buzz.

“Oh… it’s Copson after all.”
“If it’s that friend, for sure…”
“He’s always been a friend with a wide network.”

Looking at the atmosphere among the adventurers, it seemed like they all knew Copson.

“What kind of declaration is that?”
“It’s bragging about connections!”
“This guy. Hey, what about the demons that appeared?”

That kept bothering me.

“Ah… a herald we encountered along the way said that lesser demons and imp hordes were gathering far away. I don’t know if there’s a high demon, but when the knight heard that, he went berserk and said we had to go and exterminate them all.”

He added that it was in a completely different direction from where they were originally going.

“Honestly, even if there’s no high demon, we have to risk our lives. Imps are one thing, but those lesser demons are very strong. They’re tough opponents unless you gang up on them. Of course, they’re easy opponents for the knight, but he’s not doing it all alone.”

That was a reasonable thought.

“I deliberately registered for a cheap escort mission to reduce the risk, but I got a huge betrayal. It’s not like they’re giving us more money, it’s just a scheme to build their own merit at a cheap price. For a noble knight to not know the importance of a contract…”

“That bastard.”

But in reality, it’s not that they don’t know the importance, it’s that they generally think there’s no need to keep contracts with people of lower status than themselves. Those crazy knights always keep contracts with similar nobles.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go complain to that bastard’s superior.”
“Kekeke, why are you so reliable, Barbarian! You’re so cool!”
“Hehehe, stop it.”

Whatever the case, since he assaulted my friend, I had to go and complain to his superior. If those superiors had thoroughly managed their subordinates in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Anyway. I’m very happy to see you after so long. But you haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”
“What promise?”
“Haa! You crazy barbarian! You clearly said you’d treat me well if you succeeded!”
“Oh, you bastard. Please stop talking nonsense.”

Treat him well my ass.

“You coward! Just because you’ve become a noble, are you really going to abandon me!”
“Hehehe, please stop with the nonsense. But still. I’m willing to treat you to not just one, but two or three rounds. I’ve succeeded greatly too, you see…”
“I know a good bar! We must go when we return to the city!”
“Is it really a good place?”

There’s no way a place this guy knows is good.

Anyway, as we were talking, I started to get bothered by the demon story from earlier.

“Hey. So there’s a demon squad over there? Should we go take a look?”
“What, what did you say? Take a look? It’s dangerous, why don’t you just stay here?”
“Hey. That’s all small fry. I can wipe them all out in 5 seconds alone.”
“No! No matter what, I can’t help you! It’s recklessness! Recklessness!”
“I’m telling you, they’re small fry.”

Copson, who hadn’t yet escaped the adventurer mindset, seemed worried about the limits of an individual.

“Besides that. What about your escort mission for this supply train?”
“Hmm… that’s true. We have to keep going…”

Copson looked back at the trashed knight.

“But the sponsor is in that state. Honestly, it’s good that he’s alive, but I don’t know how we’re going to get paid, and I’m a bit worried about our reputation. And with him like that, it’ll be difficult to escort the supply train.”

Well, that was true. No matter what his personality was like, the stability of the supply train would be higher with a knight like that. Since he wouldn’t be able to move for a while, it would be difficult to continue the escort.

“How far is it to the supply base?”
“We can get there if we move until night…”

Night would be fine.

“Then let’s go kill the demons and go with me. I have to complain to that guy’s superior anyway.”
“No, are you really sure!!!”
“What’s so difficult about it. It’s small fry to me.”
“Is this what the honor of a noble is! It’s so dazzling!!”

After that, Copson started making requests, like asking for a position as a squad leader in the army or city guard if I ever became a lord.

“Hoo! This is so wonderful! Let me say it again, thank you so much for saving me, Barbarian bastard! If it weren’t for you, Barbarian, I would have been in real trouble!”
“Knowing is enough.”

Wasn’t this much possible?

“But are you really sure? No matter how much of a baron and paladin the Barbarian is, if you’ve not only treated a knight like that badly but even trashed him, it won’t be politically good at all. Even if I don’t know much, wouldn’t that be the case?”
“Well, I guess there’ll be some problems.”

I didn’t care at all.

“That’s nothing. And you idiot, would I just stand by while my friend is getting beaten?”

Hitting my friend is the same as hitting me.

“Heok!”

Copson, who heard those words, opened his mouth wide and said in great surprise.

“If I saw the Barbarian getting beaten up by some strong being, I’d run away without looking back, whether he was trashed or not!”
“Hehehe, you bastard.”

But I won’t forget that he saved me when I fought that Alraune bastard.

“Keuheuh, I’m just kidding.”
“You’re like a crazy joker.”