◈ 034. [Side Story] Don’t protect the world
“It’s spreading rumors all over the continent. The new lord of the monster frontline is from the royal family, and he’s throwing money away.”
Jupiter said with a grin.
“If word spreads, the mercenaries will come in droves.”
“Hoo… .”
I didn’t even ask for it, but for some reason I did something extraordinary.
If word spreads that the Crossroads is good for high wages and good for work, mercenaries from all over the continent will come.
In fact, even in the game, paying attention to the welfare of mercenaries had the effect of speeding up recruitment.
‘Now it’s just the salary, but gradually I have to pay attention to other parts as well.’
I can’t afford to do that right now, but maybe later.
Jupiter looked around the empty guild and shrugged.
“However, for rumors to spread far, there will be no other option for the next week.”
It is difficult to see the effect immediately. There will probably be very few new mercenaries until the next stage.
Still, in the long run, rumors will have a good effect. I nodded.
“Please take good care of me in the future, Jupiter. Spread rumors diligently and gather new recruits.”
“Please leave it to me.”
After returning to the guild, Jupiter sat down at the bar, leaned back comfortably and lit a cigarette.
“Then, today I’m going to roll around here to spread rumors~!”
“Do as you please… .”
Without saying anything more, I decided to leave Jupiter alone.
Anyway, isn’t Jupiter paying attention? Despite being a mercenary who only had to work for the amount of money he received.
I decided to receive that heart with gratitude. It’s dissatisfying to just roll around and use the guild as if it were my own home… … .
***
Round the city like that.
Returning to the mansion, I gave Ader several instructions.
In particular, he instructed to put all possible manpower and resources into repairing the wall.
“I obey the command of the lord!”
Ader immediately ran to the market.
You have to sell new magic stones, you have to buy manpower and materials, and you will be busy for a while. you suffer too
The city began to move noisily.
I felt a sense of liveliness in the appearance of people who came and went busily with energy.
“… .”
However, I didn’t feel so good even while watching the turbulent city.
This is a fortified city.
A front line built to fend off monsters.
The fact that this place is busy also means that the attack of the monsters is imminent.
The next stage was fast approaching.
***
That afternoon.
Southeast of Crossroads.
The villa and mansion of the Margrave of Cross.
“Marqueeback!”
Even though it is still early spring, it is quite hot. Is it because it is a southern region?
I was sweating profusely when I brought the new cart full of alcohol to this place. Roughly wiping my forehead with the back of my hand, I shouted again.
“Marqueeback! Are you inside?” The door of the old
mansion
slowly opened. Before long, the old man’s blunt eyes peeked out through the crack in the door.
“I am here again. I brought snacks this time.”
I showed them what I had loaded on the cart.
It was ham, cheese, and alcohol made from a pig’s hind leg.
I grinned at Margrave Cross, who gulped down his mouth.
“Let’s have a drink.”
I have to somehow roast and boil this old man and bring the Cross family’s soldiers under his command.
This is business drinking! I’m not playing!
***
A few days passed like that.
During the day I oversaw the repair of the defenses, and at night I went to the Marquis Cross’s house for drinks.
There was no conversation between me and Marshal Cross. just exchange drinks.
The defense line was steadily repaired, and my liver was also steadily overworked.
How much time did you spend pouring solo in yourself like that?
It was after three days of drinking without saying a word that Marshal Cross finally spoke.
“Do you have someone you love?”
How can you not say a word of terrible inspiration?
Marshal Cross spat out abruptly. I opened my eyes like a carp in surprise.
I was surprised that the old man suddenly said something, but the question was so out of the blue that I was momentarily dazed.
“yes?”
“I asked if you loved someone.”
“… .”
Marquess Cross laughed as I froze without answering.
“Looks like none.”
“That’s right.”
Even if there is, it’s privacy. I won’t tell you.
“Think carefully. Is there really no one?”
“Um… .”
I was lost in thought for a moment at the persistent Marquis’ question. lover?
Before the game broadcast on Earth… … I was alone.
I’ve never been loved by anyone, and I’ve never loved anyone. I just survived alone and lonely.
Then, the broadcast started, and the broadcast gradually grew and was loved by many viewers… … .
– Brother Godeok, I love you! (Little)
– How much do you pay for twerking? First of all, I put in 100,000 won ^^ 7
– The mission failed, so I take off my clothes and apologize lol Oh please hurry up
“… .”
My complexion turned pale as I recalled the chatting with the vicious perverts wearing the masks of viewers.
No no, that’s because you gave me one-sided love(?). You weren’t the one I loved.
Anyway, if you think about it, there really isn’t. I shook my head.
“No.”
“I lived a dreary life. young people.”
No, I don’t think it’s a story I’d like to hear from you who live like this!
“What do you mean by the one who is sitting alone in a corner of the house drinking?”
“ha ha ha… .”
Marquis Cross laughed bitterly. I chinned.
“So, Margrave, do you have someone you love?”
“There was.”
Marquess Cross responded promptly.
“My wife. I’ve loved all my life… … only one person.”
Contrary to appearances, he must have been a romantic.
However, I had to keep my mouth shut at the words of the Margrave immediately after.
“He is dead. three years ago.”
“… .”
“Here in the orchard, torn to shreds by monsters. We had to be buried with an empty coffin.”
Silence passed.
I was speechless while Marshal Cross emptied and refilled his glass.
After refilling his glass, the Marquis opened his mouth slowly.
“The lord of this land has a jinx passed down from generation to generation. You could call it a curse.”
“curse?”
“This city and its precious people. There will come a moment when you have to choose between the two.”
The old man’s voice was very calm. Not a cruel curse, but like a normal old fairy tale.
“There were no exceptions. From the distant lords of the past to my grandfather and father. No one escaped this curse.”
“… .”
“And that moment has come for me too.”
Marshal Cross brought the goblet to his lips with trembling hands.
“The monsters haven’t moved much in the last decade or so. The city was peaceful, but on the contrary, the revenue was reduced. The city’s finances were going bad, so I had to start a new business somehow.”
And he slowly talked about his ‘that moment’.
“Then my wife said. Let’s farm the land south of the frontline.”
“You mean outside the fort?”
“The land north of the front line is already saturated. The empty southern lands were definitely attractive. The frequency of the appearance of monsters has decreased, and there is almost no magical contamination of the land. I thought it was worth farming.”
“… .”
“So I expanded my farmland to the south. Upon hearing the rumor that the land was fertile, refugees from other lands flocked to it, and since the monsters were few in number, they were able to repel them without any problems. Things went well for a while.”
Marquis Cross swallowed hard.
“This orchard is the southernmost of those pioneering farmlands. My wife, as the wife of the lord, took the lead in transplanting trees and cultivating the land in the most dangerous places.”
Marshal Cross gazed with blurry eyes at the orchard through the window.
“I remember the grapes my wife used to put into my mouth with her soiled hands. In the first year of pioneering, the fruits grown here were unattractive, but they were sweeter than anything in the world.”
“… .”
“I held that hope for a while. Maybe I can live by cultivating the land and harvesting fruits instead of killing monsters anymore. I wonder if days like this will continue in the future.”
A sneer crept across the Marquis’ lips.
“It couldn’t have happened, but I mean.”
jump. jump.
The Marquis, who emptied his glass at once, continued the story in a subdued voice.
“It was the second year of pioneering. There was an alert that about a hundred large monsters had broken through the base and were approaching the city. I hurried back to the city. My wife tending the orchard waved at me to be careful.”
The Marquis stared down at the empty wine glass.
“It wasn’t until we reached the city that we found out that they were split into two groups. That dozens of monsters broke away from the main unit and invaded the frontier.”
“… .”
“The main force of monsters was already attacking the city and I had to choose. Will you save the wife of the frontier or protect tens of thousands of citizens inside the city?”
The margrave’s decrepit eyes stared at me.
“What do you think I would have picked?”
“You chose a city.”
“okay. Just like our family has been for generations. I chose the city based on principles and principles.”
“… .”
“I locked the castle gate and stopped the monsters. After hours of fighting, we were able to defeat them all. And when I hurriedly rode back to the frontier.”
Marquis Cross did his duty.
“The fields were destroyed and all the settlers were dead. Hundreds of people were torn to pieces by just a dozen monsters. Neither the orchard here nor my wife. same here.”
Instead, I lost the most precious thing.
“What was the problem? A frontier defense line that was lax to stop the giant monster? Unreasonable extension of the front to the south? yes it’s all my mistake But what bothers me more than anything… … At the moment of that choice, I am myself who abandoned my wife and chose the city.”
gulp. gulp.
Marshal Cross slowly filled his glass and drank. It was a mechanical repetitive motion.
“My daughter told me I was crazy. He never understood me for choosing the city over my mother. A few days later, my daughter left this place.”
“… .”
“In the end, this is the result of keeping this place all my life. My wife is dead, my daughter is gone, and I am left alone to rot.”
I just looked at the old man’s bony wrists that were trembling with complicated eyes.
“… This is just one example, new lord.”
widely.
Marshal Cross, who set the empty glass down on the table, let out a long sigh.
“You know what the wires here are called.”
“You mean the city on the grave?”
“okay. This cursed city, built by death, will ask you to make a choice too.”
Marquis Cross raised a wrinkled finger and pointed straight at me.
“There will come a moment when you have to sacrifice your most precious thing to protect this city.”
“… .”
It wasn’t a curse, it was like a prophecy.
As if it was just foretelling the inevitable consequences of cause and effect.
“My family has lived through that sacrifice. My grandfather, my father, and me too. but… No more.”
Marshal Cross closed his eyes tightly.
“I will not hand over this cursed task to my daughter.”
“… indeed.”
It seemed then that he knew.
I nodded slowly.
“Change bag. You seem to have given up your position in order not to pass on the position of lord to your daughter.”
“Yes.”
Marquess Cross readily acknowledged it.
“I want my daughter to live in peace and happiness, free from this cursed land and from this cursed task.”
SSR rank tank Evangeline Cross.
Marquis Cross was somehow trying to keep the character I was trying to recruit from the front line.
“Look, Prince. Did you ask me to help you defend the city?”
Marquis Cross muttered in a limp voice.
“I’ve already defended the city enough. Until I lost my most precious thing.”
“… .”
“I want to quit now.”
In the eyes of the margrave reflected in the glass of wine, the pride of a man who had defended the front line all his life remained.
“I want to die here in the orchard, not on the walls.”
There, only the man’s remorse for not keeping his wife’s side at the last moment was overflowing.
“This should have answered the question of why I am not trying to help. Thank you for hanging out with me, so I told you honestly.”
“… .”
“Let’s go. And I advise you, because that moment will come to you too… Decide well.”
Marquis Cross, who issued a congratulatory order, laughed bitterly as he emptied an empty wine bottle into an empty glass.
“Don’t regret like me.”
