Chapter 114 – 114. Spartal (2)

The bewildered faces of the Spartal soldiers.

And apparently the guardian deity of the frontier territory.

And is he not even aware that he has done something crazy to the daughter of the Duke of Pantalone?

We’ve been living like this, so why are we giving a shit about this? A face called.

Count Carlos said he hated it the most, but he seems to have a lot of disgust for Spartal’s methods as well.

Is it because he can at least destroy this place with his own strength?

Even if you feel unpleasant, the key is whether or not you can crush it.

Her return as the hero of the expedition and the hero of Phrygia.

Naturally, she came out in front of her, and at the same time, the lord of the city of Spartal came out and greeted Elizabeth.

As a bonus, Dick is here too.

Above all else, knowing that Dick was here, I decided to go with a stack of tension.

To be honest, the fact that this crazy guy was here was the first thing I had to be nervous about.

-I’m going too.

-? Why?

-…

Should I say that the way he looks at Machina is like her husband running away from his wife. That awkward look while looking at Machina. And the way she looked at Dick as if she was going to eat him and also glared at me.

…

Fortunately, it helps with engineering questions and evaluating prototypes.

Of course, the inclusion of harsh words is a bonus.

The circumstances of those two are not too deeply involved.

Nothing has changed.

…

All I do is remain vigilant and create a dagger behind my back.

Now, only Dick, Elizabeth, and I have come here at the invitation of the Lord of Spartal Castle.

It is already known to the public that Gawain has died in battle, and she hides herself and does not show herself because it would not be good for her to show herself.

Eris also took Gawain with her and hid in the darkness of this city.

At the same time, people have been saying that they sense something unpleasantly dark here.

-There is an unpleasant darkness lurking in this city. A feeling as unpleasant as those pursuing us. Take care, Clark. Gawain and I will investigate the darkness here.

-Don’t touch anything and stay hidden until I leave.

-…As long as it doesn’t touch us. You know that’s impossible, right?

– Well, Clark, you’ve been a walking troublemaker for a long time.

-That’s correct, Gawain. This guy is a trouble maker.

-No, why are you hitting me, Dick?

Naturally, Dick and Gawain’s passionate camaraderie… No, was it just muscle comrades joining forces?

They even held their hands together and gave each other a high five.

Those damn good-looking people are having fun together.

Anyway, the only ones who officially returned were me and Elizabeth, and when Leonidas, the lord of Spartal, saw me and Elizabeth, he treated me with great hospitality.

Dick, who seemed to be used to this type of situation and had been grumpy just a moment ago, was wearing the black coat he usually wore and even had his hair neatly combed.

Dick’s gentle appearance makes Elizabeth wonder if this is the same person.

He’s basically like this.

He said he had been doing this for quite a long time in the past.

It must have been released recently.

I wanted to be that free.

First of all, as a result of Shogus checking the car brought by Spartal Seongju.

-No poison.

He was talking lazily.

Of course, if harm is done to Elizabeth and me externally, this gentleman’s reputation will fall to the ground.

That’s right, because he is the hero of Phrygia.

There she is, the Princess of Pantalone.

And Elizabeth was still very displeased with the taste of shit that was the same as before, and she said it was the same as it was 7 years ago.

It was a disappointment to see this city with no change.

“…Whether it was then or now, this place is full of really rude people. Even though they are civilized people, why are they being more barbaric than barbarians? Spartals.”

“…That is-“

“It’s okay. There’s no need to make excuses. It’s not like you’re asking me for help anyway, and right now I’m on my way to my father in the capital, and I don’t plan on taking undue responsibility.”

Elizabeth takes a sip of tea.

Is the taste not that good, or is it not as tasty as the one Anna makes?

Let me try it too. As expected, it tastes worse than the tea Anna gave me.

Tsk.

Well, I don’t expect everyone to have the same level of tea ceremony skills as Anna.

I just have to do something like that.

“The soldiers’ behavior will not be good for your opinion, Leonidas. I have urgent business to pass through this route, but remember why merchants do not pass through the Thermopylaes Gorge. Those who are supposed to enforce the law are the ones who enforce the law. If it is not enforced, the damage will only be suffered by the people.”

“…I know. But-“

“I’m not here to hear excuses. The point is, you only have one answer.”

“What is that?”

“No matter how those who fight die, we will tolerate it.”

“…That-“

“You have been doing well so far, Leonidas. It’s not like you can turn a blind eye to the things that are in control of this city, and they’ve been searching for their own agents. You knew about this, but you pretended not to know, right?”

“But they in this city-“

“How long are you going to let the authority of the central government fall to the ground, Leonidas? What on earth are we going to do if it’s the same now as it was 7 years ago?”

I just look at Leonidas, who drinks tasteless tea and listens to Elizabeth’s reprimand.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to do it.

He must be her central official, and he knows that Elizabeth treats her like the margrave, princess of Pantalonena, and hero of Phrygia, seeing as he has been so eager to see her as soon as she arrives. He’s in his corner of the house so he’s probably disappointed by this and upset that it’s the same now as it was 7 years ago.

Just changing your house is going to be hard, but making a fuss around here is also annoying.

As the Margrave, he is not only responsible for the border, but as the ruler of Pantalone in the future, he also has many things to worry about regarding the military authority of Phrygia.

Of course I have a lot to say about this.

What I heard now.

Because it’s the same situation as the old story Dick told me.

-The company commander is disappointed in you.

-What kind of bullshit is this all of a sudden?

-The company commander is especially disappointed every day. I wonder if these bastards, Captain Jjamchi, are so proud of themselves that they are disappointed in the troops and go to sleep. Still, I don’t know if I get along well with the non-commissioned officers.

The organization of each military unit is different in many ways.

Captain of tens, commander of hundreds, commander of thousands,

Or, as Dick said, starting with a private, a sergeant, a sergeant, a sergeant, a second lieutenant, Dick calls it a mandarin fish (although I honestly don’t understand why they name it a fish), and above that, a lieutenant or captain takes on the role of company commander.

-The soldier is stuck there, and the noncommissioned officer above him is the same. NCOs manage troops and manage facilities. That’s how close he is to the soldiers, and at the same time…The camaraderie among the non-commissioned officers is deep.

-Then it must be difficult in many ways for the officers who crawled in from outside.

-Why do you think that’s the case?

-Isn’t that just territoriality?

-You’re only half right.

-Half?

Well, I think the military is the one that pays the soldiers, so those who are capable are selected and made to work as soldiers.

Isn’t that always the case for those who make money?

They say they do it because it makes money.

-Is there really no such thing as patriotism there?

-…You know that patriotism and all that doesn’t suit me, right? Aren’t most people doing it for money?

-Yes, just because you say it will be like that, don’t judge that other people will be like that too.

Anyway, Dick said after correcting himself once about that.

-Is there anyone who doesn’t love the place where they live? In the end, it’s people like me who wear out people like that. There are people like you who completely hate me. But the funny thing is, when people like you say that Magia is being attacked, you get really angry and try to destroy those who attacked Magia.

-Fuck you.

I fight for Magia. What a shitty story.

-Yeah, whatever. In any case, his patriotism was guaranteed as he voluntarily joined the army. That is, the country must be in good order to receive my money, and with that, I can help my family live in good condition, but first of all, the country has to be in good condition. It is said that patriotism arises only when one’s children and home are in good condition. Let’s keep talking.

-Well, anyway, they sell their patriotism to make money, and that’s the same for officers, right? So there are suspiciously many idiots among the officers.

-?

-Why is that face like that? Hey, how much of the world have young people in their early 20s seen and experienced? And most fucking officers are different from their soldiers. Different from non-commissioned officers! I am the commander of this unit! These idiots just put this education on their heads from the beginning and send them off.

-…Ah.

So, they are blatantly instilling the ideology of the chosen people.

Selecting officers is also more difficult.

Of course, it is clearly instilled in them that they have been chosen.

Of course, Dick corrected it afterwards.

-Well, in the end, we make them aware that they have to cooperate with the sergeants and non-commissioned officers somehow, but the treatment is clearly different in the first place, so how can such thoughts not arise?

If you look at things like this and see how he communicates with Elizabeth, he must have been a very high-ranking general among these bastard officers.

They’re talking about things, and there’s even a plan to give Frisia some time.

A letter had already been sent to the Duke of Pantalone in some way, and it was Dick’s plan to attack the Canps who were hiding in Frisia and turn their target to us.

There are three warriors alive in the party, and I need to show them what will happen if I mess with this party, which is filled with super-powerful players.

Of course, due to my handicap, I can’t use magic at the moment, so I can’t show the anger of a magician on a wide scale… So they secretly spread a rumor.

Since it was the Dark Elves who spread it, it will probably spread quickly.

Why-

Is there anything special?

As much as I saved Elizabeth, I also found magical powers, but now that I have suffered internal injuries, I have difficulty using magic.

Dick said, when people secretly say they want to try something, they usually jump at it even though they know it probably won’t work.

Anyway, I coordinate this with Elizabeth so that she doesn’t crave Leonidas too much.

“Is there any reason not to?”

“…That-“

“Clarke, even if you look at me kindly, I’m a person who hasn’t done anything right for seven years. To a person like that-“

“You know what? Wouldn’t something like this happen unless there was some kind of problem between the soldiers and executives, and between the castle lord and the organization under him? Just looking at it, the castle lord is different from other Spartals.”

From my point of view, there is nothing more foolish than those involved in the military showing off their bravery(?) By carrying only a spear and shield while wearing underwear and exposing their bare skin.

In the first place, Elizabeth didn’t use her magical weapons and didn’t even wear her armor.

Nevertheless, as they were all new recruits, they must have swept the battlefield boasting destructive power equal to that of Gawain, armed with all kinds of weapons, and even considering that it was difficult to supply iron weapons and weapons, they even told the soldiers to walk around in their pants on this cold day.

The problem is that all commanders are like that.

It’s not like they just tell the soldiers to do it and don’t do it themselves.

If you were to ask what the driving force was for that, it was that she somehow used magical power to warm her body like a knight and hold on.

This means that other knights, commonly referred to as warriors, and other Spartal commanders do not wear swords or spear tips, but soldiers also use magic to heat their bodies to survive.

But really.

“What is it? This is what I felt on the way here, but it looks like they are in conflict with the central Frisian government to preserve their traditions, right?”

Spartal.

This eastern city. Thermopylos Gorge.

A natural fortress that was subjugated by Alkeides the Great and a city that was subordinated to Phrygia.

Naturally, someone dispatched from the central government.

And members under his command who are at odds with the central government.

There must be conflict between them.

“No one who is not a warrior may enter here. If you are a warrior, show your will with your strength and body, and the Spartals will accept you.”

The story of Spartal, an ancient city-state.

And after talking about it, I was able to infer that there was someone who wanted to go back to the past.

Words that are full of romance and stimulate a man’s fighting spirit.

Therefore, it is said that ancient Spartal was a sacred place for warriors, and the descendants of warriors settled there, but what is shown here now is a city like a pufferfish, forcibly inflating itself to make itself appear larger.

What is it.

Anyway, isn’t it a bit over the top to make people stick to wearing pants this winter?

Human bones piled up in the Thermopilas Canyon.

Among them, the sight of those who have just died, those who have been abandoned, and those with deformed skeletons who have been abandoned and left to die shows the Spartal spirit that the weak are not worthy of survival.

Well.

Do all the weak really deserve to die?

Nothing and not discovering your own inner worth?

At least one thing is certain: no one should die like that.

And there is someone who promotes it.

And it is accelerating amid the friction between the central and local governments, and our enemies will be involved in it.

“So who is it? Who wants to return to the past?”

“…That!”

“There will be people who want to achieve independence. There will also be people who encourage it. And you will be unable to do anything about it.”

“…Puh-ha-“

And Dick, who was listening next to him, chuckled at that.

Naturally, I was tapped on the shoulder and told that I had figured it out correctly.

There are those who block the Thermopylos Gorge leading to Spartal, force them to follow their own traditions, isolate the castle lords dispatched from the center, and act as they please.

Of course, what Leonidas can do about this will be limited.

So, you can’t stop it.

If you were an ordinary person with your hands and feet cut off in the first place, how would you change that?

Without being able to do this or that, it is reduced to a stamping machine.

“Is that what this little boy said, Sir Leonidas?”

“…Before that, who are you?”

Leonidas asks, looking at Dick.

Dick looked at me with wary eyes, asking who you were and what you were here for, but Dick had no intention of answering that question in the first place – and he didn’t answer.

Dick just followed the plan, and he just followed us according to the plan.

“Let’s put aside the fact that I am an Easterner and this kid has dark skin. Strictly speaking, Elizabeth, one of the central officials, cannot punish you, but depending on whether or not we can resolve the matter here, your future political life and life may be affected. “It’s going to have an impact. You’re going to have a family too, right?”

“What do you want to say?”

Leonidas speaks to Dick with great caution.

Did the words to behave well because their family was at stake increase their vigilance?

If we knew what we had to do, we wouldn’t be in a situation where our entire family would be caught and killed, so we are giving them one last chance.

He looks like he’s going to get up and attack at any moment.

Of course, since you mentioned family.

Of course Dick is relaxed.

Naturally, since the Canfs are operating in secret in Vergina, there will be an impact here as well. Depending on the current situation, there is a high possibility that Elven Haim’s Canfs are residing here as well.

The purpose itself is to lure the Canps and kill them like the Pied Piper, and since I, the only(?) Maximizing power of the party, can’t use magic properly due to an injury, I feel like it’s worth a try.

Of course, I have a sister, but…

If these guys weren’t idiots, they wouldn’t be targeting my sister.

How bad would it be to try to avoid it by taking the cranes from Elvenheim?

To the extent that he openly begged(?) For his sister to give him money so that he can kill me, his sister’s existence is nothing short of fear to the elves, and what’s more, he is the one who put a curse on the elves.

Of course, the outside world knows that I did it, and somehow the elves’ justification for killing me was to get themselves cursed.

So, they will come after me like crazy.

If you say you’re targeting your older sister, well…

…

If those idiots have any intelligence, I hope they target me.

Because dying to me would be a less horrible death.

If you were to say that your soul was raped and sucked into an energy stick to death, could there be anything more terrible than that?

Of course I wouldn’t express any sympathy for that, of course I would laugh at their stupidity and my sister would enjoy the dinner.

“Nothing. Elizabeth here is upset, and the kid and I want to help. But I still don’t know whose side you’re on.”

And Dick quietly drinks the tea in his hand.

I frown slightly as if it still doesn’t taste good.

“The time to help is limited. And the time to choose is also limited. A single choice can turn the tide of the war or lead to irreversible results. We will stay here for one to three days. Then we will leave. “It’s up to you how you do it over time.”

And put down the glass.

“Well, that’s the end of what I’m going to say. I gave you a justification, so it’s up to you to decide what to do with that justification. The bastards who did that were already scolded in front of Margrave Elizabeth Pantalone. I look forward to seeing what you will choose. Summer solstice.”

“…Lord Leonidas, when you have come to your senses, please send someone to where we are staying.”

After saying that, we stand up.

Leonidas probably won’t be able to give an answer right now anyway, and since we’ve been staying overnight for a week, we also want to rest now.

When things happen, there is no time to rest even if you want to.

Following the guidance of the servants, we left Spartal’s government building and were on our way to the lodgings we had obtained through Elizabeth’s connections in Spartal.

Elizabeth asks Dick.

“Are you planning on helping these idiots?”

Elizabeth still seems to have a strong distrust of Leonidas for not being able to clear out her existing warlords who are stuck here, but as a result, with such a brazen castle lord, we are now able to openly aggro.

Using that as a basis, Dick tells Elizabeth.

“Do you have any good opinions? At least if you have a better opinion than this, I’d like to hear it.”

“…If this happens, Clark becomes the target.”

“Not really. After all, I specialize in turning off aggro. Plus, I made up my mind thinking that I was helping your family from the beginning.”

“Clarke…!”

Losing my home is enough for me.

King Gong of Magia drove his father to death because of the Elder Gods’ tricks, and at the same time, the country was in shambles.

Even though he took advantage of her twisted mind, the damage she suffered was caused by it.

Dawn Bringer was destroyed and now only my sister and I are left.

Of course, if you look for it, there are collaterals as well.

Dawn Bringer’s collateral.

There may be distant relatives, but I would not call them Dawn Bringers, and I have no intention of calling them Dawn Bringers.

My father really hated them, and I hated them too.

The only actual Dawn Bringers left were my sister and I, and they would have been subject to the same purge.

I don’t care if he’s alive or dead, since I have no intention of rebuilding Dunbringer in Magia anyway, I’m not interested.

And in the end, even though I could have become Magia’s consul after leaving Magia, I gave up all my attachments to Magia and left.

And likewise, looking at Phrygia, which had become a mess while she was away, Elizabeth must have been even more miserable than me, and this was clearly revealed in her words to the lord of Leonidas.

Elvenheim’s ambition.

She has been openly reaching out to her Phrygia with the ambition to somehow destroy it.

In addition, Sylphid shuddered at the dark and sticky gaze felt in this city, inside the city, and appeared next to me.

-Ugh, what on earth!? Why are there such terrible vibes here?

-Hmm, I think you’d better be careful, Clark. I can’t tell you what’s in your path according to the [Rules], So all I can say is be careful.

Sylphide, and Mortus.

These two appear behind my back and say that.

In many ways, things will happen in this city that catches your eye from the first impression.

And even the pursuers.

And at the same time, someone came towards us as if they had been waiting for us as we came out of the government building.

No,

That’s exactly what it said as it came towards me.

“You make a good impression. Do you have any high-ranking ancestors?”

“…”

“Fuha!”

And when Dick heard that, he held his stomach on the spot and burst out laughing, and at the same time, Mortus and Sylphid, who were behind him, said, “Oh?” He said as he looked at a woman in her 40s or 50s wearing a robe right in front of him with curious eyes.

-Wow, is it a tongs?

-No, no, hehe- No, this is just a work comment. This is a work comment!

And these two words are words that only I can hear.

And the shoggus writhing in my robes-

-Discomfort. These have an unpleasant vibe. Owner – Be careful.

That’s how it was told to me.

I can’t believe you said that Shogus is unpleasant.

What on earth are these?

Previously, it was marked on the outside of the robe, but now it was telling me from the inside by touching my body and writing, and I spoke to it.

To begin with, I don’t really like missionary activities like this.

Either an elder god, or a god hidden deep underground.

Or maybe it exists in the abyss.

Well, if you think about how they burned everything they tried to kidnap, saying they were sacrifices to the abyss just because their skin was dark, these are just social evils that should be eliminated.

“By any chance, is your ancestor a hermaphrodite?”

“Huh? What- more than that, I came to say good things-“

And when I asked him that, he immediately ignored me and tried to say something of his own.

Well.

“No matter how you look at it, unless you have an odd number of ancestors and are a hermaphrodite, there is no way someone like you could be born. By any chance, did your parents give birth alone?”

Just looking at cancer, I wonder if the bastards who do things like this really have an odd number of parents.

I said this because I had such a question, and of course the lady’s face turned red when she heard that. Well, anyone who hears a pad lip will have this reaction.

Well, of course.

But, apart from that, getting involved in missionary activities like this is really shitty.

So you shouldn’t do it.

Take out the hammer.

Amplification of the magic circuit there.

I can turn a person into a blood clot with a brightly shining hammer, and I said this to the woman in front of me, a cultist who worships a god I don’t even know who she is.

“So, do you want me to send you to your ancestors, or do you want to go away?”