Episode 143 Iberica – Knights, and
after proclaiming the brothers’ victory and the founding of the Iberian Brotherhood.
Crocs decided to mass-provision, slaughter livestock and hold a grand festival spanning several days across the country.
I wondered if it was okay to do this because even though the war was over, all military supplies were likely to be used up, but Crocs’ answer was simple.
-Food can be bought or grown again, but a day like this will never come again!
As exciting as this is, it’s like an orc that lives only for today…
Well, the trade route maintained by Christine is alive and well, and it looks like Franzia’s output last year was quite good, so something will work out.
One way or another, it is the first unified country established on the Iberica Peninsula. Even so, since it is a country with a diverse ethnic composition, it would be true that there is a need to sympathize with the public and reassure the residents.
I was leisurely walking through the downtown area of Porto Port, where a festival was in full swing.
Even though it is night, laughter can be heard from the festival street, which is lit up as if it were daylight, and the streets where the festival flames do not reach are dark.
Walking somewhere between light and darkness gave me a subtle sense of peace, so I turned to Gaston, who had been following me silently, and spoke to him.
“In the end, the mission here somehow ended safely.”
“Yes, Your Excellency Marquis.”
He always follows me quietly and only answers briefly when asked.
As a general of the revolutionary army, he has experienced all kinds of hardships and has earned a reputation that is worthy of his reputation, but Gaston always remains the same.
His attitude doesn’t seem to have changed much from the days when he was confined to the estate and worked as my bodyguard after defeating me in the knighthood.
I heard that the Blue Knight was a model knight when he was young, but he has changed just like that.
“We had a really hard time. We have left the Marquis de Lafayette and have now reached the southern end of the Empire of Francia Germania and even Iberica.”
“It was an honor to follow His Excellency the Marquis here.”
Gaston answered as if he really meant it. That’s really stupid.
“Is this because you followed me around and almost died twice, once by imperial assassins and once by a magic storm?”
I can’t tell him, but even before his return, he died fighting for me, who wasn’t even a very respectable person.
…Perhaps not for me, but for the chivalry he dreamed of.
“For a knight, it is honor to overcome danger with his lord.”
In response to the unwavering response, I turned around and faced the gas cylinder.
No, no.
The attitude may be similar, but what was in his eyes was very different from how he looked at the Marquis back then and how he looked at me before his return.
Gaston’s bright eyes showed obvious pride, so I said with a wry smile.
“I am a lord who is far from chivalrous. “He does not hesitate to do dishonorable things when necessary, and he once lost his senses and massacred members of the National Assembly and, perhaps, those who were merely his minions in the middle of the city.”
Christine would be willing to love a country like this.
But Gaston believes in chivalry itself.
“There is no law in chivalry that imposes justice on your lord, Marquis.”
I smiled bitterly.
Yes, it’s just something the king and nobles made up for their own convenience, telling them to be loyal and honorable.
While I was thinking so, Gaston spoke with confidence.
“But I consider myself honored to be able to follow His Excellency the Marquis’s path at every moment. “No matter what you think, His Excellency the Marquis, the path you took protected your country and saved many people.”
“…It just happened to be like that.”
My top priority is still Christine and the people I have to protect.
If I had to be specific, that includes Eris, so I just want to comply with the Queen’s wishes to protect the people of Francia as much as possible.
Gaston, who had been listening quietly, asked a question.
“But, Your Excellency. After all, if your path is protecting and saving many people, who would dare say that it is not honorable?”
When I heard that, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hahahaha… Feudalism has long since disappeared, and my relationship with you is nothing more than that of a military superior and subordinate. Still, am I a lord worthy of you as a knight?”
“Yes, Your Excellency the Marquis. “It has always been that way and it always will be that way.”
I smiled and answered the driver who answered without any hesitation.
“Then I will tell you too. Sir Lan Gaston. “You said you admired the knights in the story and wanted to become one.”
To a knight who was born as the son of a mercenary, followed his childhood dreams his entire life, and even after becoming a general, he followed that path without wavering.
“I speak as the last remaining nobleman in an age when knights and nobles are coming to an end, and you are braver than any knight in the story and more loyal than any knight. “You will remain as the last and best knight and be talked about for a long time.”
Gaston’s eyes widened as if he didn’t expect me to say such a thing, and then he knelt down on one knee and showed respect.
“It is an honor, Your Excellency the Marquis!”
“Okay then.”
A knight who has endured hardships until now, but will now face the greatest challenge upon returning home as he must face the powerful enemy known as the Kingdom of Krafte.
“You have proven your bravery and honor enough, but the story would be too boring if that were all you had.”
“yes?”
I smiled at Gaston, who had a puzzled look on his face, and pointed behind him with my finger.
“Are you interrupted by the story?”
Shandra was smiling awkwardly from a little distance away, so I smiled back.
“No, you came at the right time. My stubborn knight is the type of person who has no intention of missing dance time unless the lady directly asks him to. “Take me with you.”
“Ahaha, thank you, Marquis! Then, I will borrow some articles~!”
“As you wish.”
“Uh, uh… Then, I will leave, Your Excellency the Marquis!”
Shandra, a hot pagan warrior, is a bit far from the lady of chivalric tales, but that kind of thing is delicious.
I watched from afar as people began to dance around the bonfire to the exciting sound of drums and percussion instruments, which were different from Frangia’s elegant melody.
Shandra is holding Gaston’s hand and leading him there.
…If I had come with Christine, would I have been there too?
As Christine, who looked like a noble lady, was wondering whether she would be suitable for such a position, a huge figure that was difficult to hide approached.
“The festival is in full swing, but is it okay for the main character to be absent?”
After hearing what I said, Crocs responded with a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha, wouldn’t it be considerate for a high-ranking person to get out of the way quickly! “You look like you’re free, so let’s borrow some time, bro!”
I laughed.
This is Crocs after the gas tank.
Since Christine isn’t there, there’s just a lot of men’s clothing.
* * *
Porto is a very old and huge trading city.
As usual in such cities, there is a brilliant and prosperous center, but there is also a lot of misery and darkness.
Crocs walked around Porto’s slums and back alleys, as dizzy as a spider’s web, as if he already knew them all.
Originally, there would have been residents here, but thanks to Crocs declaring a festival for everyone, there are very few people left in this dirty, narrow alley.
“Does this road seem quite familiar?”
“Places like this usually don’t change, brother. The person who lived dies soon, and another person born among them lives and dies without achieving anything. “Those who have the will or ability to change something are trying to get out of this place, not trying to change it.”
I see.
To be honest, it felt quite unfamiliar to me, who was raised as a nobleman from birth and had never been to a place like this before.
Even in this prosperous city, such a miserable space coexists.
I thought that maybe there was a place like this in Lumiere that I didn’t even know existed.
I have received reports that Eris travels from slum to slum providing relief to them. Is it possible for people to live in a place like this? There is a serious gap between the experience of seeing the streets you want with your own eyes.
After walking for a while, Crocs stopped in front of a fairly large building in this alley.
Crocs strode into a building whose door was completely shattered and muttered in a low voice instead of his usual booming voice.
“You’re finally back.”
“You’re back?”
Crocs grinned and led me into a space filled with cut-off shackles on the floor.
Judging from the looks of it, it appears to have been one of the places where my men liberated slaves.
“I was born and raised here. “My mother was a slave here, and I don’t know who my father is.”
“…I see.”
When I was amazed by Crocs’ strangely familiar knowledge of humans, I remember him telling me that he grew up with humans.
But I never thought that that would mean being born and raised as a slave in a slum like this.
“Shandra and Hassan were the children of employees who worked at the top. “They thought it was amazing that I, a slave, was diligent and had a thirst for knowledge, so they taught me many things.”
As I was thinking about what to say and choosing my words, Crocs looked at me and said.
“I’m sorry I only told you now. I call myself a king, but my lineage is low. “For you, who were born an aristocrat, it may seem rude for me to call you a brother.”
“…What’s new? I am the commander of the revolutionary army that rose up to deny the caste system. No matter where you come from. “The feat you have accomplished is so great.”
Crocs responded with a grin.
“Yes, you did. “I thought about whether we could be helpful to you rather than about us being barbarians.”
“Because I realized that status is just an unintended starting point.”
Race and status are not something a being can choose from the beginning.
How unfair it is to judge its existence simply because it was given.
Even though Christine comes from a family that bought titles with money, she is more noble and wiser than the so-called high-ranking nobles.
Even though Eris was not a princess, she possessed a noble character that would have warranted her being called a saint.
Gaston was born as the son of a mercenary, but he is more knightly and honorable than those noble knights.
There is also Giselle Darby, who, despite being a commoner and a woman, joins the military and stands out with her abilities.
“From what I have seen, you are nothing short of worthy of calling yourself the king of Iberica. Likewise, no matter what your beginnings were, I take pride in being called a brother by someone like you.”
“Hahahaha!”
Crocs laughed out loud and looked relieved.
“I didn’t like it because I kept calling you my brother but hiding it, so I told you, but I think I did a good job.”
“I am so happy. As the king of a country, revealing his secrets is not an easy decision to make. “I think I gave you that much trust.”
Crocs grinned and started walking again.
After following him for a while, we were able to get out of the edge of the slum and see a hill.
Below the hill lies the still dark night sea.
“It’s the only place in this gutter that allows me to open my heart.”
“Yeah, I see.”
When he was a slave, did he dream of looking down at the vast sea here?
“I’m saying this now, but your revolution was a kind of hope for us.”
“Is that so?”
“Hahaha, it injected something completely new into my mind, which had always thought about living as a slave and having to stubbornly escape this place somehow.”
“iced coffee. Right.”
After seeing a revolution break out in Francia and drive out the old system, Crocs got the idea to establish a unified country in Iberica and drive out Porto and the devils behind it.
“It wasn’t a very romantic revolution.”
I said that and smiled bitterly.
Now, due to various coincidences brought about by my actions, the Iberian Brotherhood has been established, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to do that before the return.
Two years from now, when the revolutionary army, which was rampaging into madness, finally won victory over the old regime and I was executed.
Since the development process of the revolution itself took so long, it is unclear what would have happened to Crocs, who had been a slave until then.
“Hahaha! Yes, I know because I heard it from you and Shandra! But isn’t that what happens in the world? What appears on the outside and what is on the inside are different! “Our country has just been founded, so the future will be even more difficult.”
I laughed.
Yes, fortunately, I know well that this exciting orc is not just a brain and muscle.
“But still, you were our goal and hope! That’s why I reached out to you first, despite opposition.”
Oh so.
Was that the cause of the king’s strange behavior of appearing alone at the gate of the southern mountain range and requesting a meeting in person?
Crocs grinned, showing his fangs.
“And then I met you and came this far. With that alone, I can say with confidence. “Your revolution was truly our hope and led us to this point.”
I smiled softly.
“I’m glad about that.”
Perhaps they would have remained a nameless nation of barbarians who perished while fighting against demons and the port of Porto.
but now.
“I swear here, brother. You not only repaid the trust we gave you, but also showed us a great favor. “These brothers of Crocs and Iberica will be with you no matter what happens until the day when you repay all your kindness.”
An oath made by the legendary Orc hero who started from slaves and founded a unified kingdom that went beyond simply a diplomatic promise between nations.
I answered him with a smile.
“I am truly grateful. For holding your hand and showing me that my decision to fight for you was the right one. … It was an honor to be a part of the myth you wrote.”
Crocs, who heard what I said, laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder.
“The history of the two countries that you and I started from now on!”
“Haha…I guess that’s true too.”
I slowly turned my gaze and saw a faint light coming from the distant horizon.
It’s starting now.
Now then.
Has the minimum weight to stand against that ‘Great King’ now been met?
