Episode 542 To the Kingdom of Heron (8)
Thanks to running without stopping to avoid any danger, the carriage reached the border of Heron in just two days.
When Gide handed over the hand, the escort who politely received it spoke to the border soldiers.
“You worked hard.”
“Countess Sylvester. Has confirmed.”
The castle gate opened with the soldier’s hand gesture.
We finally arrived at Heron Kingdom.
Unlike Sylveria, who was tired from the long journey, Ray, who looked fine, stuck his head out of the carriage.
Then, in front of my eyes, there was a gate that was astonishingly huge beyond its grandeur.
“Wow.”
As he admired it, Sylveria crossed her arms triumphantly and said,
“Heron Kingdom has had many wars since the past. If it hadn’t been for a wall like this, it would have perished earlier.”
“Incredible.”
Not empty words, it was really great.
A wall of this size would not be able to be captured easily, let alone by the enemy, even if a necromancer came with a large army.
If we can’t destroy it in one fell swoop, all of our troops will probably die while crossing the wall.
Ray shifted his gaze to the spire behind it.
There are rows of beautiful brown-gray towers with distinctive red roofs.
There seemed to be no private houses around the border, except for the sparsely visible spiers, only tall trees, but even those had their own taste, so I didn’t get bored while riding in the carriage.
As the windows were left open, cold air filled the carriage.
As a fresh breeze blows into the wagon, which had been smelling musty after not washing for several days, Silveria also looked around and took a breath, perhaps feeling better.
“…There is a long tradition in the kingdom of Heron.”
Why is the sudden succession?
Did the atmosphere get burned just by ventilating once?
He is looking out the window with wet eyes.
Ray sat a little away from her and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
‘I’m curious about it, so please explain quickly.’ The words continued from Sylveria’s mouth, as if she had understood it enough.
“It seems that God has been protecting Heron Kingdom since the past. However, it is said that the god turned his back on the kingdom after the demonic beast was born, and wars became more frequent after that.”
“A demonic beast?”
“yes. According to legend, it has the arms of an ogre, the legs of a troll, and the wings and tail of a wyvern.”
Did such a chimera exist in the world?
no wait
“chimera?”
A person’s face appeared in his mind and then was quickly erased.
Even a famous warlock cannot easily make a chimera.
But what about a lich named No Life King?
What if he confessed with his own mouth that he had conducted countless experiments in the past?
Perhaps he had completely forgotten about the subject of creating the Chimera and commanded Proxia.
No, it definitely will.
If it was a chimera with only two races mixed, it would be impossible to make a chimera with three or more races mixed unless it was a lich.
As Ray seemed to know, Sylveria’s expression hardened in an instant.
“Do you know the demonic beast?”
I do not know.
I didn’t even want to know.
As long as I knew one thing, I needed to deal with it somehow.
‘It feels like things are increasing one by one.’
Ray let out a sigh.
“Where does that demonic beast come from?”
“Ugh. It’s not certain because it’s a legendary story… but they say they live hiding in a dirty and dark place.”
It can’t be a really difficult explanation.
But what can I do?
The clue is that the legendary story is everything.
While listening to the story of the Heron Kingdom, they arrived in Sylvester Territory shortly thereafter.
In the first place, it was located not far from the border and the territory itself was a vast place, so it arrived quickly, but there is still a way to go.
The sun hadn’t even set, so they stopped at a nearby village to buy food and immediately started the wagon.
Even though he had entered the territory, he could not be relieved.
As long as he knew that the royal family of Heron was a beast, he couldn’t relax until he arrived at the mansion completely.
No one objected to Gide’s will to repeat the forced march, as if everyone in the group had the same idea.
* * *
It wasn’t until dusk that the group arrived at Count Sylvester’s house.
As the wagon with its wheels half out came crashing, the soldiers pointed their spears at them vigilantly.
“Who are you! I don’t remember hearing someone come on a night like this! Get out of here!”
The luxurious wagon has already become a rag after several bumps.
The excellent horses that had been overworked for several days even though they were wounded by the black man’s sword were replaced by the market stalls.
The escort, who got off the coachman’s seat, waved his hand at the soldier.
“Down the window. grow.”
“How does your poor bastard know me? When I say nice things, go away, you bastard.”
The man who had turned from an escort knight to a beggar in an instant hardened his complexion.
His beard was shaggy because he hadn’t washed it, and he was soaked in soup, but even the soldiers in his family couldn’t recognize him.
Gide laughed and held out a card from his chest.
“Will you recognize us then?”
“Recognize what to recognize…”
The soldier, who was about to scold one more time, froze in an instant when he recognized the identity indicated by the plaque.
He dropped the spear he was aiming at as if throwing it to the ground and bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
As if he finally recognized it, the man let out a rough snort.
“What about beggars?”
“I have committed a mortal sin!”
“When the day is bright, come to the gymnasium. I’ll make it clear to you so you don’t forget your face again.”
At his words, the soldier’s complexion turned blue.
Gide restrained him with a raised hand.
“After all, it’s our fault that we didn’t wash our clothes, so let’s stop at that point.”
The man frowned, but quietly backed away.
“…All right.”
He didn’t seem to like it, but he doesn’t seem to have any intention of punishing him even while ignoring his attendant’s orders.
However, he did not forget to give the soldier a glare.
Perhaps that soldier will never forget the escort’s face from now on.
* * *
As soon as Sylveria arrived, she quickly went to her room, and the escorts also said goodbye early to relieve fatigue and then left.
When it was just the two of them left, Gide’s tone returned to that of politeness.
“I am sorry that I could not serve you comfortably, my saint.”
Ray looked around as he spoke.
“Never mind. More than that, a count’s family…”
It’s shabby.
There was a corner so old that I wondered if this was a nobleman’s mansion.
Even if you look at the mansions of quite a few merchants, they are plastered with various jewels and gold, but how can the houses of nobles who become counts be so empty?
Gide laughed awkwardly, as if he had no face.
“Things that could make money were blocked from the royal family. Besides, since the mana disappeared, I had no choice but to sell the guild because I couldn’t pay taxes.”
“Then the alcohol you got from Dragon Rare is…”
“Yes. It’s like stealing the last remaining funds to attend the saint.”
her.
Aren’t you so stupid that you can’t even speak?
Ray, who was a bit dazed, opened his mouth.
“What would have happened if I had said I wouldn’t come?”
“When the opportunity to hit the jackpot comes, so does the side dish. That’s when you’re kicking the side.”
If it’s good, it’s a big man with the temperament of a winner. If it’s bad, it’s an optimistic gambler who doesn’t worry about the future.
Ray saw him as the latter.
“Why do you have such guts when you don’t even have money to pay taxes?”
“ha ha ha. How would my personality do something like this? Rather, I would like to introduce you to the Holy Son. Are you okay?”
At his words, Ray thought for a moment.
He came to the kingdom because of his invitation.
It would be perfect if he could completely hide his identity as a saint, but even so, hiding it even from the head of the count’s family would be inconvenient in many ways.
Having made up his mind, Ray nodded.
“great. But your identity is known.”
“I know. I will bury it as a secret between my father and myself.”
Guided by the horse, Gide entered the mansion.
Count Sylvester’s family had a rather strange structure.
After passing through the first front door, there is a large garden, and when you enter it, there is something like a corridor.
I don’t know where it leads, but there is a wooden corridor in the nice garden, so it was obvious that it was noticeable.
Gide stopped and pointed to the left.
“The building over there is a private room. It’s a shabby private room for a count, so I’m ashamed to serve the saint.”
At that, Ray looked at the direction he pointed.
It wasn’t shabby to be there, but there was a building that looked strangely old.
However, Ray, who considered it the best place to sleep if he could avoid monsters in a dungeon, didn’t care much.
“It was enough to avoid obesity.”
“ha ha ha. Don’t worry, it won’t leak.”
He’s trying to get away with it with a joke, but looking at his reddened face, he seems to be ashamed of himself.
Gide did not serve as an attendant and guided me to the front of the private room on his own.
“I will give you water to wash in no time. When the time comes, I will send a lady-in-waiting to ask for guidance, so feel free to come.”
“thank you.”
After saying that, Gide withdrew.
Left alone, Ray took a look around the inside of the private room.
The VIP room was so frugal that it didn’t even have a single decoration hanging on it.
However, there was no way that the count’s family was without funds at all.
Nevertheless, the fact that the mansion looks like this must mean that Count Sylvester is saving money.
“Since we sold the top, it deserves to be saved.”
Since you have the royal family as your enemy, the future will not be smooth.
Knowing this better than anyone else, it was clear that Count Sylvester had a slush fund.
The problem is that the royal family also knows about it.
Although it is a family with high prestige as a knight, even that good swordsmanship cannot be left to future generations until the funds run out.
“If we don’t secure funds first, it won’t be a problem for the count family to disappear.”
Ray sat down at the table and thought for a while.
