It took two days to reach the Iria Mountains in the
Principality of Soleil even by carriage.
Although it was a wasteland, the land mass was so wide that it took half a day to enter the center of the territory from the entrance.
Arriving at her principality after a long journey, Ray let out a small sigh.
“Isn’t this too much?”
My eyes were blank.
A wasteland where you can’t even find a proper house, let alone a village.
All that was there were mountains and streams and some monsters in the Iria Mountains.
Soonbok was admiring the scenery around him.
– If you build an inn, business will go well.
The landscape alone is artistic.
A moderately pleasant breeze blows and the grass sways.
Beneath the cliff-protruding Iria Mountains, there was only an empty, empty mansion that was no longer used.
The vice-captain, who was reading through the exhausted escort knights from the long march, suggested it.
“How about everyone resting today? Everyone will be tired from the journey so far.”
Mien was the first to express his consent.
“I want to wash a little.”
– I think that would be better than moving on the first day.
Rei nodded her head with difficulty as she joined the submission.
Anyway, I’m going to go to the end of the day.
“Keep the captives in an underground prison.”
“All right.”
The vice-captain moved the knights in perfect order.
While he was transporting prisoners and arranging the wagons, Ray and his party headed towards the mansion.
The mansion was so old that you could believe it was an abandoned house, judging from the spider webs and broken windows everywhere.
“It’s a shabby place to be called the residence of His Majesty the Prince.”
I agree.
Who would think that a place like this is the residence of a powerful person second only to the king!
In a good way, it is a natural environment, and in a bad way, it is like a beggar.
The state of the mansion and even the garden were all spectacle, probably because they hadn’t hired a caretaker.
Besides, it seems that something smells rotten from earlier.
As soon as I entered the front gate and passed the garden, I felt a familiar presence.
Not one.
Twenty.
thirty.
Significant numbers of signs were felt from inside the mansion.
Soonbok, who had been looking around for a moment while draining his mana, opened his two small eyes.
-I can’t believe this…
Mian also noticed it and covered her mouth with her white hand.
“Three worlds…”
Almost simultaneously with their reaction, green-skinned monsters with pig faces pop out.
Chwii profit-!
When the orc’s characteristic snort stuck in his ears, Ray seemed to lose his mind.
Why are orcs stationed in the prince’s mansion!
In addition, it seemed that they had already set up a house, and it was already full of their excrement and foreign substances here and there.
It feels like my nose is rotting just by going near it.
“My territory…” As
he looked at the orcs with a devastated expression, the orcs attacked with hatchets, whether he knew his feelings or not.
When he hit the shoulder with an ax the size of an adult man’s head, he heard a terrifying sound that was thought to have come from a human body.
TOOOOOOONG!
A muffled sound like the ringing of a huge bell.
While the ax was completely shattered, Ray’s shoulder was just fine.
Even though it didn’t take any damage to the body, looking at the pupils that were released, it seems that the damage the orcs inflicted mentally was superior.
Chwi Chwiyiik-
Orcs blew out a snort in embarrassment.
They hurriedly left the mansion, as if they knew that they were not worthy to deal with.
When dozens of orcs fell in at once, all that was left was the excrement that filled the mansion and the three of them.
“…”
Soonbok came to Ray, who was unable to say anything, and comforted him.
-…There were local residents.
Unlike the beginning, I started to worry about the future of the principality.
* * *
First day of reaching the Principality.
They couldn’t even take a break and cleaned the inside of the mansion.
Most of them were cleaned up thanks to Ray’s magic, but for some reason, there was still a feeling of discomfort, so I had to wipe them with a wet cloth.
It was only when the smell went away to some extent and the look became clean that Ray let go of the rag.
“Even if you cheat, there is a limit! It’s a princess, and this is just giving you useless land!”
-Didn’t I tell you that? My brother said that he was completely taken aback now.
Ray looked around.
Unlike yesterday, it’s pretty neat.
The cobwebs and dust that remained like thorns disappeared and all the broken windows were taken out.
As all the broken furniture used by the Orcs was moved outside, there were few usable pieces of furniture left inside the mansion.
“I’ll have to order the furniture from the Hafman Merchant.”
-We also need to hire ladies-in-waiting. Unlike the normal nobility title, since you are the king of the duchy, the Celia royal family won’t give it to you.
Ray nodded.
Without the attendants, life in the future would be inconvenient.
Besides, if there was work, I wanted to finish it all.
Ray, who was about to inadvertently ask Mien to find out where the attendants were, hesitated.
There was only one undead monster that had skin and bones that matched the rare saintess created by the Black Room.
Could it be because he spent the day cleaning the mansion?
Mien and the escort knights were visibly emaciated.
If he insisted on doing more work now, there were signs of a rebellion starting from the second day.
“I will stop here for today. Since the mansion has been tidied up, the Knights can rest in the annex and move again around noon tomorrow.”
No one objected to his words.
Even the vice-captain, who trains himself through arduous training every day, seems to like it.
“All right!”
* * *
When Ray’s name ran out, they tied their horses to the collapsed stable and headed toward the annex with light steps.
“Vice-captain, is this really the territory of the principality? How does it make sense to say that the Orcs have set up a house for His Majesty the Duke in name and reality?”
“Wasn’t the dust a joke too? I would believe it even if I left it there for fifty years.”
The knights grumbled.
As they were exhausted, the dissatisfaction accumulated against them was not the only one.
The vice-captain comforted them.
“Now that the cleaning is finished, isn’t it resolved? Let’s stretch out our feet and take a rest and try to control our mind.”
The knights who were dissatisfied with his words shut their mouths.
The thought that I could finally rest made my whole body weak and tired.
A feeling of tiredness in the body.
As long as I could lie down anywhere like this, I felt like I could fall asleep right away.
“If it’s the vice-captain, that’s it.”
“I think I can sleep like this for two days.”
At the thought of enjoying a sweet rest, smiles bloomed on the knights’ faces again.
Arriving at the quiet annex, it seems that the smell of courtesy that I have become accustomed to somehow reappears.
The so-called smell of oak dung.
No matter how fermented it is, the smell is really profound.
His nose was paralyzed and his face was frowned upon.
“You can’t believe this is the vice-captain…” When
someone spat out the words anxiously, it was as expected.
A group of orcs jumped out from inside.
“….”
“….”
Chwiiik….
The two groups looked at each other.
The knights look devastated, and the orcs look at them like that.
“ha ha ha.”
Only someone’s threadbare laughter pierced my ears desolately.
As the orcs shuddered and fled from the annex, the knights remaining in the annex picked up rags instead of swords.
“…I think it’s wrong to rest today.”
“…Have someone bring His Majesty the Prince.”
The voices of the knights sounded more pathetic today.
* * *
Rumors that Celia had placed the saint in the seat of the duke spread even to the Holy Land.
Perhaps because of that, an unexpected noble meeting was convened.
First, the high priests stood up.
“How dare you give Goddess Gaia’s representative a title at will! It’s so rude that you don’t even give us a good word!”
“King Celia said he was greedy, so it seems he decided to take this opportunity to steal the saint!”
When the high priests cheered up, the priests and lower nobles under them couldn’t even say anything.
Eucliwood, who was present as the head of the Belacroix family, quietly agreed.
“It certainly seems necessary to hold the kingdom of Celia accountable. Saints are originally the same as the blessings of the holy kingdom. It is safe to say that the act of taking it away is taking away our faith.”
Zeke, on the other hand, was of the opposite opinion.
“If it is true that you accepted the principality, this would have been what the saint wanted. It seems a little hasty for us to intervene.”
“This is not something that can only be done with the Holy Son in mind. Arbitrarily assigning a title to a saint is clearly disrespectful to our holy country. If sanctions are not imposed, there is a risk that similar things will happen in future generations. It would be better to punish them and let them know that the Holy Kingdom is still in good health.”
When the two opinions diverged, Pope Ecclei expressed some disapproval.
“It’s a little difficult to take that child. However, I am reluctant to apply massive pressure on Celia because I think the trade market will be overcrowded…”
Celia is the world’s leading brokerage trade.
If it looked wrong, the trade countries that were intermediary trade through Silia could be cut off.
No matter how strong the castle is, it is impossible to touch Celia even at a loss.
Eucliwood added a word, as if he knew her meaning.
“His Holiness, please think carefully. There will be many benefits for us by putting pressure on Celia. Even if we appropriately punish them, Celia has no choice but to notice.”
Let’s talk that far, Eclay also had a corner where he felt something.
“Hoo. I see… You mean that the Lord of Belacroix should put pressure on you by force rather than putting pressure on trade?”
“yes.”
Certainly, the power of trade is strong, but Celia, whose soldiers are weak, seems to work quite well.
Just give it a few words and it will lower its tail on its own.
“Good. Let’s follow the opinion of the head of Belacroix. High Priest Deor, send a letter to Celia Kingdom.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The pope’s name fell.
Seongguk decided to send troops to Celia to put pressure on them.
No one knew how big of a wave this action would bring in the future.
