novelAlta Chapter 234: That damn consistent bastard
Chapter 234: That damn consistent bastard
By the time the knights returned with their loot, the area around the barricade had been cleared out.Certainly, Wigens was quite a capable man.
The fire that had been burning fiercely had all been extinguished, and the surrounding area was reduced to ashes, with the remains of the burned ghouls scattered around.
Though a wider area than expected had burned, the actual damage wasn’t significant enough to be a major concern.
Though there was soot on them and their hair had slightly burned at the tips, becoming frizzy and a mess, there wasn’t a single injury among them.
“This…”
As they looked at the charred ghouls, someone spoke up.
That small movement soon spread to everyone and became a huge cheer.
“We won!”
“We defeated them!”
“Wow! This honor goes to Lord Luce…”
Wigens, who had been cheering excitedly with his subordinates, inadvertently turned his head as a hand tapped his side.
And then he ended up locking eyes with a pair of indifferent golden eyes that were staring blankly at him.
“Heeeeek!”
As he backed away in horror, Arendt, standing there, asked disapprovingly.
“Why are you reacting like you saw a ghost?”
“Oh, no, Sir Eckhart! I am glad you returned safely…”
“Call me Arendt, I have been estranged from Count Eckhart for a long time.”
“I apologize, Sir Arendt!”
Wigens, his posture stiff with discipline, straightened his back and shouted.
Arthur, seeing that sight, whispered to Richt.
“Doesn’t that guy look like he’s having fun right now?”
“Is that even something worth saying?”
Richt nodded quietly.
Arendt was always a guy whose thoughts were unpredictable, but now they could read his behavior patterns to some extent.
Wigens, who reacted to teasing, was a type of person that Arendt quite liked.
The captain of the knights of the country estate, despite his large body wearing armor, was crouching like a mouse before a cat.
The two looked at Wigens, who was trembling, with pity, not even realizing that they themselves were in a similar situation.
After a moment of thought, Arthur came to a conclusion.
“…Let’s leave them alone.”
“That sounds good.”
Richt agreed.
He felt a little sorry for Wigens, but he absolutely had no intention of causing any unnecessary trouble.
Because everyone was tired, they decided to postpone cleaning up the burnt area for the time being.
The soldiers and knights covered in soot returned to the castle.
The Count, who had been anxious all night without being able to sleep, let out a deep sigh of relief only after confirming with his own eyes that Arendt and his knights had returned without any injuries.
“Thank goodness, I am truly grateful. Thank you for your hard work. For coming all the way to this insignificant place…”
“We’ve taken care of all the ghouls. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
The Count sighed at Richt’s answer.
“I guess I can finally get some sleep. Thank you in the name of Luce. You must be tired, so get some rest before you go. Are you going somewhere else now?”
At the Count’s words, Richt simply shook his head.
“No, it seems like things have been sorted out, so we will return to the palace. Thank you for your kindness, but we will only rest for half a day and then leave. We have a long way to go.”
“Yes… I understand and will prepare accordingly.”
The Count, who had been full of desire to treat them lavishly, was openly disappointed.
Arendt, who had been quietly watching the conversation between the two, suddenly opened his mouth.
“Oh, Count. You can file a claim for damages with the Imperial Family of the Caerleon Empire.”
“Hmm?”
The Count looked puzzled by the sudden remark.
“The field and granary burned down. And the roads you paved also burned down, so you’ll have to rebuild them. Oh, and the temple in that village collapsed too. If you ask the main temple, they’ll rebuild them for you.”
As Arendt’s innocent tone continued, the Count’s face became as blank as a sheet of paper.
“Field, field? Why the field…? That shouldn’t be close to the battlefield…? Wait a minute. A granary? Are you saying the granary burned down?”
“Well, maybe I went a bit overboard. But, you know, things like that happen in life. For now, just use this to solve the immediate issue.”
Arendt added plainly, taking the pouch he had prepared in advance out of his pocket.
“It’s my own money, but with this amount, you should be able to get the grain you need right away. As I said before, you can claim the remaining amount from the imperial family.”
“But, is it really okay for me to accept this? It’s your personal funds, Sir Arendt. After all, the damage occurred while you were helping resolve the issues of our territory.”
When the Count was at a loss as to what to do without receiving the pouch, Arendt blurted out:
“It’s okay. When I return, I plan to charge double the amount from His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…”
The soul left the innocent lord’s face.
Richt shook his head as he watched the scene.
“…We’ll just rest for a moment and then leave as soon as possible.”
It seemed that Arendt’s very presence was too stimulating for the Count, so it seemed that it would be helpful for his mind and body to quickly take Arendt and leave this place.
Arendt really put those words into practice.
As soon as he returned, he went to the Crown Prince and extorted a lot of money.
Duke Lancelot happened to be present, but Arendt paid no attention to whether the Duke was watching or not.
“That’s a proud look on your face, Sir Arendt.”
“Of course, Duke. The most useful thing in the world is money, after all.”
Arendt replied as he carefully tucked the acquired cheque into his chest pocket.
Cantares, whose pocket money was emptied in an instant, pressed his temples and asked.
“Where are Sir Arthur and Sir Richt? Weren’t you all moving together?”
“Yes. But they said they couldn’t bear to watch this, so they told me to report alone. They said that Your Highness would understand.”
“These bastards are really…”
It would have been painful to watch Arendt extort money from Cantares, but they would not have been able to stop him, so they chose to run away.
Duke Lancelot burst into laughter.
“I’m glad you seem to be getting along well.”
“Do you really think so?”
Cantares glared at Duke Lancelot with a face that said he was dying from a headache.
Arendt had some good news for the Crown Prince.
“You don’t have to feel so bad. I just heard that Captain Laius is returning.”
“What? Captain Laius was just dispatched a week ago though?”
“Yes, it seems like the work was finished quickly.”
Arendt shrugged.
“While we were outside, I’m sure he was still receiving reports, so by now, my seniors are probably getting an earful from the captain.”
“…Hey, wait a minute. Does that mean you knew Captain Laius would come back and ran here to escape?”
“Correct. The Captain’s nagging is really endless.”
“…”
This time, Cantares was at a loss for words.
Duke Lancelot also seemed to have not expected that, so he just smiled awkwardly and sipped his tea.
“Oh, of course I didn’t tell my seniors that the captain was coming back.”
The camaraderie between the knights who abandoned each other was tearfully realistic.
By now, Arthur and Richt were probably facing a storm of scolding, not only for the various incidents and accidents they’d caused while touring the territory, but also for sending Arendt alone to the Crown Prince.
The two of them used their wits to try and handle things, but in the end, it was Arendt’s perfect victory.
“…Those guys must be gnashing their teeth inside right now.”
Cantares, who had been rubbing his temples, simply changed the subject.
“Okay, go ahead and report. What else did you find?” Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
“Yes, I brought it to show you. Would you like to listen to it as well, Duke?”
Instead of Duke Lancelot, Cantares waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.
“You sit down for a moment. I think the story will be long.”
“Yes.”
Without hesitation, Arendt took a seat next to the Duke.
Jereon, who had been watching the situation, approached and offered another cup of tea.
“I’m glad you came back safely, Lord Arendt.”
“You still look well, sir.”
Jereon smiled brightly at the greeting that was returned dryly.
“It’s not something I should show while having tea, though.”
Arendt placed the two boxes he had brought on the table.
Then he took the record storage stone out of his pocket and placed it next to the box.
Duke Lancelot showed curiosity.
“What are these?”
“These are from the last territory we went to. It’s part of the ghoul’s body and its core.”
Arendt opened the large box and showed them what was inside.
As soon as the lid opened, a subtle cold air wafted from it, and soon a frozen lump of flesh was revealed.
“…”
The gruesome sight made both the Duke and Cantares hesitate for a moment.
Arendt also opened the small box next to it.
The blood-red jewel was shining brightly, containing a murderous magical power.
“Count Stadler asked me to bring it back in as good a condition as possible, so I brought it back like this… but I don’t think it’s dead yet.”
“It’s not dead?”
Arendt simply answered Cantares, who was doubting his ears..
“Yes, if you embed this jewel into its flesh, it will come back to life.”
They tried it out on the way here.
When the jewel was brought close to a part of the half-thawed main body, the main body reacted by wriggling.
In the end, he had to periodically activate the Frosty Touch to transport it safely, and even acquire a separate anti-magic box to store the gem in.
“I recorded this before I dealt with the guy. Would you like to see it now?”
The Crown Prince, who had been hesitating for a moment, soon gave up.
“…I’ll take a look at it later if you leave it here. You have one more thing to show Captain Laius, right?”
“Yes, each of my seniors have one too. Your Highness, you seem to have less courage than I thought.”
“Shut up. As I always say, you have nerves of steel.”
“It doesn’t seem like something worth looking at while having some refreshments in front of us.”
Arendt shrugged as Duke Lancelot also quietly agreed.
“If the Duke says so.”
“You little punk, can’t you even listen to what I’m saying?”
“Anyway, about this. We’ve been calling them ‘miracle soldiers’ so far, but if we were to be precise, this one would be closer to the real thing.”
Arendt, who naturally ignored Cantares’s insults, continued his explanation.
Jin called the homunculi made from spirit stones miracle soldiers.
Accordingly, the knights also began to call the higher-level entities of the ghouls that had recently begun to appear that way.
All kinds of varieties have appeared so far.
There were unidentifiable lumps spewing out ghouls like the one Arendt had killed, giants the size of three-story buildings, and even a mixture of all sorts of creatures that resembled dragons.
“What we’ve seen so far are more like living ghouls or chimeras than homunculi. But this one is different. If you analyze it, you’ll know, but it’s probably made in the shape of a spirit stone.”
Arendt stared at the blood-red jewel.
“Cheltan, the traitor of the Elven Kingdom, attempted to artificially create the spirit stone. Jin inherited his legacy and eventually succeeded. This means that Jin will be able to create something similar to a homunculus in the future.”
Before they knew it, the eyes of Cantares and Duke Lancelot had become cold.
“I guess she showed this on purpose… she wanted to test out this thing’s functions and let us know about it. But.”
The apprentice knight paused briefly.
A gloomy shadow seemed to hang over his golden eyes, which rarely showed any emotion.
Those who were watching could not help but feel nervous.
For Arendt to calm the mood meant something was not ordinary.
Arendt blurted out.
“It was sloppy, wasn’t it?”
“Phew! Cough, cough, cough!”
Duke Lancelot, who was trying to quench his thirst, ended up spitting out the tea he was drinking.