Episode 1166. Are you saying you’re here to find the Celestial Star?
Entering the Duchy of Lorraine did not mean the end of the journey.
Aurorai, which appeared in an ancient poem, is Fiesta, a coastal area at the eastern end of the Duchy of Loren.
After traveling for five more days from the inland border to the sea, Elio and his party were able to reach their destination, Fiestra.
Even so, since the Duchy of Lorraine stretched vertically, it would have taken five days or ten days, if not like the other principalities.
Duchy of Lorraine.
Fiestra, the estate of Count Bellanus.
Early moning.
The waves crashed incessantly against the rocks on the shore! slam! bumped into
On the rock, three men stood straight toward the sea like lighthouses.
Elio Viscount Lagoa, Count Larva Omar, and Baron Fabian Cloud.
After staring at the horizon for a while, Elio spoke to Fabian.
“Make a plan for Fabian.”
“yes? What plan are you talking about? Are you sleeping here? Or do you go to the city and get an inn? What are you talking about?”
“No, there is no need for the three of us to swarm around to find the Celestial Star. If the three of us move separately, the search will be three times faster.”
“Are you saying you want to go alone?”
“I want to know what it is like. why? Do you think it would be better if we went together?”
“It is not. As the Viscount said, it is faster to find them scattered.”
“So, make a plan of what to do in detail. When you were in Hirhera, you did a lot of planning for unit management.”
Fabian served as Elio’s advisor and made plans for the operation of the unit on his behalf.
Elio recalled the memory of that time and asked him to come up with a plan.
“Ah… how about this? The Viscount is to investigate the northern sea and the Count is to investigate the southern sea from here. In the meantime, I will collect information on the Celestial Castle from the land and secure a base.”
“Hmm, I think I’m fine, but how about the Count?”
“I am fine too. It looks solid for an impromptu plan.”
Count Larva Omar looked at Baron Fabian with new eyes.
Even if you think about it, it seems that it will be difficult to come up with a plan that goes beyond that.
‘I thought it was a joke because he’s a genius, but he knows how to use his brain.’
It wasn’t easy to come up with a plan like that on the spot during a conversation.
After completing their roles, the three promised to meet again at the port at 6:00 PM and dispersed.
***
Central Fiestra.
Count Belanus.
Around noon, a young knight riding a horse stopped at the entrance to the fortress.
Soon after, the knight dismounted and approached the guards.
“I am Gamble, an apprentice knight in charge of the Western Checkpoint. I came to see Baron Seles.”
The guards saw Gamble’s face and immediately stepped aside.
Once inside, Gamble went straight to the butler, Baron Cadel Seles.
“You said you were from the western checkpoint?”
Baron Seles, the butler of Count Bellanus, looked at the apprentice knight, Gamble, with puzzled eyes.
It was because the apprentice knight at the western checkpoint couldn’t come up with anything that would come to the castle.
War broke out between the Empire and the Southern Kingdom, but the Kingdom of Lorraine was far away from being involved.
One corps was sent to the southern border, but even that was a far cry from Fiesta.
Although the territory is small, it is because it was excluded for the reason that it had to protect the port.
Of course, the port is so small that the enemy warships cannot even dock, but it is a secret that the superiors do not even think about it.
“This morning nobles from the north passed through the western checkpoint.”
“Nobles of the North?”
“Yes, the Count and the Viscount Baron.”
“Looks like the count is out of town. however?”
Baron Seles stared at Gamble.
Wouldn’t it be unknown if the visitor was an imperial count?
It didn’t make sense to make a fuss about only three northern nobles.
“When I asked for identification at the checkpoint, they took out the ‘Mark of Invincibility’ of Count Paganus and showed it to me.”
“The pendant that His Majesty the Emperor gave to Count Cardinal Paganus of the Principality of Aragon?”
“That’s right.”
“Did Count Paganus accompany you?”
“It didn’t seem like it. Those three were all in the carriage.”
“The authenticity of the pendant…could not be confirmed.”
“yes. Because no one has seen the real thing.”
The ‘Mark of Immortality’ was widely known for its appearance as it was registered in the Imperial Yearbook.
However, very few people have seen the real thing, so it was not easy to determine the authenticity.
Of course, no crazy person would dare to use a fake ‘Mark of Immortality’ in the Empire.
“So where did they go?”
“He said he was going to Hades.”
For a moment, Baron Seles frowned.
All in all, Hades at this time?
Hades has Fiestra’s only port.
It was nominal, but Hades Port was an important place to the extent that it was not included in the conscription.
“Good work. I’ll take care of it, so let’s go back.”
“yes!”
The apprentice knight Gamble bowed down to Baron Seles and turned around and left.
Concerned, Baron Seles met Viscount Camilo Kusman, the commander of the knights, before going to Count Belanus.
Boris Knights.
Baron Seles told the story of Gamble to the knight commander and asked for advice.
“…I’m suspicious of his motives for going to Hades at a time like this. Of course, warships can’t dock in Hades’s port… but I don’t know that it’s a human thing. What do you think, Viscount?”
“It’s unfortunate. Have there been any visits from the kingdom’s nobles this year?”
“Not a single thing. For the past three years, the kingdom nobles have not come.”
Hades Port is the oldest port in the Central Continent and is often visited by tourists.
However, since it was the port of the empire, the nobles of the kingdom were infrequent.
“Hmm! First of all, I will ask the Knights to find out the purpose of their visit.”
“All right. By the way, should I also raise the word to the lord?
“Since the great northern nobility has appeared, I have to tell you. Tell them that the knights are investigating, and that when a certain outline is revealed, I will visit the lord myself.”
“Yes, I will.”
After a while, when Baron Seles returned, the knight commander selected the knights and sent them to Hades.
***
The port city of Hades.
After Fabian made his home in Hades, he met people.
As the oldest port city in the central region, there were many ghost stories about the sky.
“Among the wizards and knights who went out to sea, less than half of them returned alive. They were enchanted by the sea and killed each other, and those who returned alive never went out to sea again.”
“If you sail from Hades for about a day, you will come to the Sea of Demons. Ships do not sink in the Sea of Magic. It just goes missing.”
“If ten ships enter the Sea of Demons, three of them disappear.”
“Even in the sea of Emas, there are safe sea routes. However, if you go down that road, you will find the starting point, not the destination.”
“Siren live in the sea of Emas, and if you hear their song, everyone will die. If a person who is lucky enough to come back alive after hearing the song goes out to sea again, he will surely die.”
“The Siren are those who have committed crimes and been banished from the sky.”
“Sirens, longing for their hometown, hid the location of the Celestial Castle in a song. But he will die before he knows the location of the Celestial Star.”
around 4pm.
Fabian, who was meeting people, collapsed under the shade of a large tree.
Although it was autumn, the daytime sun was still warm.
“Wow! tired. I’d rather say I’m going out to sea.”
I walked around without stopping for a moment, and my whole body was wet with sweat.
However, the income was higher than expected.
The people I met at Hades Port knew as much as the Mage Tower wizards.
Thanks to this, I realized the importance of the field.
I never dreamed that such things would happen in the sea of demons.
In particular, the story of wizards and knights killing each other at sea was terrifying the more I thought about it.
‘By the way, is it true that the sirens were the inhabitants of the Celestial Castle?’
If it’s real, it seems that the location of the heavenly castle may have been hidden in the song.
It’s time he was going through the information he collected at the port one by one.
About a dozen knights appeared with regular footsteps.
Fabian hurriedly looked around to see what had happened nearby.
But the streets were quiet.
‘Could it be that he came looking for me?’
As Fabian tilted his head, a knight approached him.
“I am Benzel, Horseman of the Knights of Boris. Are you a nobleman from the north?”
Fabian didn’t get up and raised his head to look up at Benzel.
Unexpectedly, Fabian’s eyes softened when he saw the fair-haired female knight.
“Rider. Didn’t you get the title?”
“I am still a trainee. Have you been given a title?”
“It’s a baron. What is it?”
Benzel was not very surprised, as he had some knowledge of the titles of northern nobles.
“Since the current situation is the current situation, I have been ordered by the Knight Commander to find out what happened to Fiestra. We would appreciate your cooperation.”
Benzel tried to say ‘investigation’, but it seemed to go too hard, so he refined it to ‘come to know’.
“The Viscount of Lagoa I serve has a lot of interest in myths and legends. We came here to find the Celestial Star.”
“Are you saying you came to find the Celestial Star, not for sightseeing?”
Benzel looked at the young baron with bewildered eyes.
Did you come to find the Celestial Star, which is now just a legend?
I don’t know if he’s serious or just saying that.
“Yes.”
For a moment, Benzel thought the other person was telling an obvious lie.
“You said you were the baron, but do you have anything to prove your identity?”
Fabian silently took out the now tattered certificate of title and showed it.
Benzel, who confirmed the title certificate, said with a sullen face.
“I heard that there is another party. Please also tell us their titles and names.”
“These are Count Larva Omar of the Kingdom of Baylem and Viscount Elio Lagoa of the Kingdom of Escatos.”
Benzel took out a piece of paper from his bosom, wrote down the titles and names of nobles, and then spoke with a little bit of personal emotion.
“Don’t stay in port for long unless you are going to sail.”
“I found lodgings in Hades.”
“…”
Benzel glared at Baron Cloud.
I told them not to stay at the port for a long time, so I got a lodging.
It was just about living in the port.
“During wartime, foreigners are restricted from entering the port. It would be better to move accommodation.”
Fabian stared intently at the apprentice knight.
I thought it was a notice, but is it a recommendation?
There was a high possibility that the apprentice knight in front of him was speaking on his own.
There is no way to control a place like this where there is not even the slightest risk of war.
‘Why do you act crookedly?’
The baron himself politely answered all the questions, but I don’t know why.
“I have to go out by boat every day, so where should I move it?”
“Is there any reason to depart from Hades Port? Is that every day?”
“Didn’t you say you were looking for the Sky Star?”
“Is this the same exhibition as now? Do you think that excuse will work?”
“Damn it. It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth. The reason we came all the way from the north without resting for a day was to find the sky.”
“I will report it to the knight commander, but if it were me, I would find another plausible excuse. I’ll leave for today. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”
Benzel nodded at Baron Cloud and then turned around.