Chapter 139: Chapter 139

Roxy, the former leader of the Altoan troupe, returned to Hoof Village only when the sun was setting late in the evening.

His whole body was soaked in sweat after spending the entire day helping with field work in a neighboring village.

“Haa…”

The sigh he let out while gazing at the reddish sunset was laden with deep fatigue and anxiety.

It was because his nephew, who was the most capable of hard labor among them, had fled under the cover of night not long ago.

No matter how hard he traveled around nearby villages looking for work, it was impossible for him alone to feed and support two people.

No matter how he thought about it, the only fate remaining for them now was to slowly starve to death one by one.

While he was lost in despair for a moment, Roxy’s eyes widened as he saw crimson flames soaring from the village.

Could bandits have raided the village?

“A-Ah, no!”

What came into Roxy’s sight after he hurriedly ran to the village was not a band of bandits, but soldiers lined up in orderly formation.

As if carrying out a duty without a shred of emotion, they set several houses ablaze and beat the people gathered in the square.

Screams echoed in all directions from the harsh beatings that broke bones and tore flesh.

“Argh!”

“Mercy, please, mercy!”

“I’ve been wronged!”

Just as he briefly wondered why he only saw the faces of the people who usually tormented them, Roxy quickly headed toward the cottage located on the outskirts of the village.

There stood a luxurious carriage that only high nobles might ride, a few individuals presumed to be attendants, and Pen.

Pen spotted Roxy and shouted.

“Uncle!”

“Pen? Where on earth have you been all this time… More importantly, what on earth is happening here?”

“Ah, well, you see…”

When Pen explained the situation with an embarrassed expression, Roxy immediately rushed inside the cottage upon hearing it.

The small, dirty cottage had been cleaned spotless, and it was bright thanks to mysterious objects emitting radiant light hung all over the place.

Lying on portable sheepskin beds instead of roughly piled straw, the faces of Debbie and Josue had regained their color and looked healthy.

It was a sight he had not seen for the past few years.

Realizing that Pen’s words were not a bluff, Roxy prostrated himself before Shan, who was watching over them as they were cared for nearby.

“Thank you so, so much. Truly…!”

Shan smiled awkwardly at the sight of the middle-aged man weeping loudly with tears and snot streaming down, unable to even form proper sentences.

It was literally a saving hand extended right before they fell off a cliff, so how could he not be grateful?

However, for Shan, something of this degree was an easy task to accomplish, and at the same time, something he ought to do.

After all, they were the ones who had shaped his first impression of his brethren back when he traveled with Roden.

If the Altoan bandit group he encountered during his exploration of the Demonic Realm had been the first kin he met, Shan would not have even recognized Altoans as his kin.

“I’m sorry I found out so late. It would have been nice if I could have saved the other two as well.”

“No, not at all. Even this is a grace we can never repay, so how could we dare complain?”

Meanwhile, the soldiers who had finished handling affairs over in the village gradually returned to the front of the cottage.

Because they had set fires and beaten the people, their clothes were stained with soot and blood.

“You all look like a mess. Good work.”

“It is an honor merely to serve Your Grace.”

Whatever their true feelings were, the soldiers spoke thus and bowed politely.

As long as their master, Count of Meln, had ordered them to serve the Altoan Duke in front of them with utmost care, they merely obeyed.

*

The next day, the troupe family returned to Meln in the carriage together with Shan.

Having lived in such poverty, they had very few belongings worth packing.

Since the carriage was large enough to comfortably seat all five of them with room to spare, Shan chatted with the others inside.

The one who mainly struck up a conversation with him was the butterfly lady, Debbie.

“I was really surprised to see how much you grew since we last met. When I saw you before, your head was definitely right around here.”

“It was back then. I was at the age for growing, after all.”

As Debbie playfully waved her hand beneath her nose, Shan smiled and nodded.

The other three watched this with somewhat nervous expressions.

Even though he said it was alright, it was difficult for them to accept seeing her speak so informally to His Grace the Duke as if he were a close younger brother.

In truth, Shan preferred it when someone like Debbie remembered his old self and treated him accordingly.

Though a person’s heart was not something that could be forced.

“Back then you were a complete child, but now you’ve grown so handsome that a single glance could charm all the girls. Do you happen to be dating someone?”

“Yes. She’s probably the most beautiful person in the world.”

At Debbie’s question, Shan pictured Cheryn in his mind.

As he was thinking about wanting to see her again, a soft sigh was heard from beside him.

“What a shame! If you were still single, I would have made a move on you.”

“Hey, no matter what, that’s a bit much.”

When Pen subtly scolded her from the side at Debbie’s words, Shan also snickered.

After traveling for nearly a full day and arriving in Meln, Shan allowed them to rest in one of the annexes of the lord’s castle.

Then he directly went to seek out Gillian, the lord.

“Oh, you’ve arrived. I heard you caused quite a spectacular fuss?”

“Thanks to you, it was settled well. And I’m sorry.”

Although the village where the troupe lived was not a direct domain ruled by Gillian, it was ruled by a vassal of his vassal, so strictly speaking, Shan had damaged Gillian’s property.

At Shan’s apology, Gillian shrugged his shoulders.

“Why apologize over something so minor? Still, could you at least tell me what happened? I’m personally curious, and since they belong to my faction, I should at least know why they were beaten.”

For a story about crippling dozens of people and burning down all their property, his demeanor was truly lighthearted beyond measure.

Had the people of Hoof Village heard this, they would likely have shuddered in rage.

Soon, after hearing the full story from Shan, Gillian spoke with an amused expression.

“Oho, so that was it. Duke Thousand-Slayer is a person with far more affection than I had thought.”

“Affection? Hardly…”

Shan shook his head as he said so, but to Gillian’s eyes, he looked so soft-hearted that it seemed almost overly affectionate.

Who would have thought he would undergo such trouble for commoners who had shown him kindness just once in his childhood?

This was quite a positive factor.

With a personality like that, there was naturally little worry of a rift forming with his best friend Roden, which meant the effect of the marriage alliance would also grow stronger.

‘As expected, it seems I stood in the right line.’

Compared to the relief of learning this, a few commoners under his command getting somewhat hurt was hardly a loss at all.

“At any rate, their bodies are currently weak, so it seems difficult for them to travel a long way; I’d appreciate it if you could take care of them here for the time being. Once they recover, just provide a ship so they can come to Pendia. If you let me know the expenses for that and the compensation for that village’s lord, I will pay it.”

“Forget about money. It’s mere pocket change anyway. Let’s just consider it my favor. It was an entertaining story, too.”

Gillian chuckled and patted Shan’s shoulder.

Having learned what this powerful knight’s weakness was, it was a cunning mindset to thoroughly bind him with affection.

After resolving the matter in that manner, Shan went to find Roden, who was said to be in the middle of work.

He was using one of the count’s lounges as a temporary office while handling various documents necessary for the negotiations.

Opening the office door without much thought, Shan widened his eyes in surprise upon seeing the large young man sitting together with Gillian’s sister, Venoa.

Conversing while looking down at the documents with serious expressions, the two sat so close together that their shoulders nearly touched.

“Ah!”

At Shan’s appearance, Venoa stood up in surprise, apologized for the intrusion with a flushed face, and left the room.

No matter that they had reached a tentative pseudo-engagement, she seemed embarrassed to have been caught sitting so close to a man who was still technically a stranger.

Snorting in amusement at her demeanor for a brief moment, Shan’s face stiffened as he looked at Roden, who remained seated.

“Who… are you?”

“I knew you would say that.”

Roden stroked his smooth chin with an embarrassed expression.

Having originally grown out sideburns, a mustache, and a beard to cover his face, he had shaved them all clean.

Thanks to that, the appearance of a battle-tested warrior easily looking thirty or forty years old had vanished, revealing the face of a young man suitable for his actual age.

Regrettably, it was difficult to call him handsome, but with his sharp eyes and somewhat rounded lower jaw, he looked much gentler than before.

Even Shan, who had been together with Roden for over five years, was seeing him shaved for the first time.

“Shaving your beard really makes you look completely different…”

“Lady Venoa said she was curious about how I looked shaved. No, more importantly, did the matter you went for get resolved well?”

“Yeah, well.”

When Shan related what had happened, Roden groaned softly.

Honestly, he thought that burning down houses and beating people until they were crippled was harsh, but even so, considering what Shan was like in the past, it could be called remarkable progress.

Shaking his head, Roden tapped the table lightly and spoke.

“Well, anyway, it’s a relief that Count of Meln will take care of them for the time being. It’s about time for us to leave as well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Negotiations are mostly finished, and troops obeying the King of Ruman’s orders are slowly gathering. If we don’t head back quickly, we might get surrounded by them and fail to return via the sea route.”

As for mercenaries, having carefully selected and recruited about eight hundred men over the past few days, it was a fairly decent gathering.

On top of this, having been promised about two thousand reinforcements from Gillian, a total of around three thousand men would be a sufficient reinforcing army to oppose the Kingdom of Ruman.

*

After conversing with Roden, Shan returned to the warship and informed Cheryn of the recent circumstances through the magical implement.

Thanks to him briefly sending news before departing, she also knew why Shan had been away.

And he had also mentioned the Altoan troupe in passing in the past.

[Still, I’m glad that at least four of them are safe.]

“Indeed. If only I had known sooner, I could have saved them all…”

After feeling regretful for a moment, Shan pondered what kind of support he should give them so they could settle down in Pendia.

While feeding and supporting them for the rest of his life was an easy task for him, it could hardly be seen as a wise method.

Cheryn also put her head together with him on this concern despite her busy schedule.

[If they are trustworthy people, it would be fine to give them jobs at the royal palace. Many tasks among servants’ work do not require great expertise. If keeping acquaintances under you as servants feels uncomfortable, you could support their studies so they can enter public office, or help them open even a small shop.]

“Aha.”

When thinking alone, it felt merely overwhelming, but Cheryn brought out an answer right away as expected.

In Shan’s mind, Cheryn and Roden were the smartest people in the world.

If asked who was more outstanding between the two, it felt as though their areas of expertise were somewhat different.

[Speaking of which, there’s something I was curious about.]

“Yes?”

[Is that young lady named Debbie pretty?]

Puzzled by the unexpected question, Shan answered honestly.

“She is pretty. She has butterfly wings on her back, and whenever they flutter, luminous dust scatters. When I saw her as a child, I thought she was truly like a fairy.”

Instead of answering this, the spider remained motionless on Shan’s hand as if slumping.

Shan rolled the spider with his hand as he spoke.

“Actually, I even talked about that with Ms. Debbie.”

[About what?]

“When she asked if I had a girl I was dating, I said I was dating the most beautiful person in the world.”

At Shan’s words, the spider suddenly shuddered violently as if struck by lightning.

The trembling spider slowly wrote out text.

[Please don’t say such embarrassing things.]

Of course, Cheryn had been conceptualizing a glowing fairy wing magical implement, but decided to drop it upon hearing these words.

Though it became a truth that no one knew except her.

While they shared such personal conversations for a short moment, the topic soon returned to a larger domain.

Namely, the imminent war with Ruman.

[According to the information collected so far, the King of Ruman’s army numbers around seven thousand to eight thousand men.]

“That’s a lot.”

[Of course, most of them are semi-pirates, an inadequate group to be called properly trained soldiers. You can consider the elite troops to be around two thousand to three thousand men.]

It was an excessively large number for a single lord’s army, but conversely, it was lacking for an army gathered by the king of a nation.

Looking at this alone showed how much power and authority the current King of Ruman, the Sovereign of the South Sea, had lost.

[Even so, I’m secretly negotiating behind the scenes with lords who do not follow the King of Ruman. There were more people tempted by it than expected. Thanks to that, we were able to reduce their force significantly.]

“With what kind of negotiations?”

[The dissolution of the Ruman royal house, and guaranteed independence.]

Cheryn’s proposal was to respect their strong independent traits compared to other nations, turning the Kingdom of Ruman itself into a kind of small confederation akin to a union of nobles.

For independent lords who disliked the interference of the Ruman royal house yet also disliked being subordinated to Pendia, it was quite tempting.

Especially so for several islands whose local specialties were extorted near completely.

However, this meant that the compensation Pendia could obtain after conquering Ruman would also be reduced.

Because a place that hated the king’s exploitation would be that rich of a territory.

“Are you really going to let them remain independent?”

[Anyway, once we build up our strength, we can naturally absorb them later. Rather than forcibly swallowing them and suffering indigestion, it’s better to let them mature naturally.]

While the Ruman nobles, freed from the shade of the royal house, engaged in land grabbing and power struggles among themselves, Pendia could naturally expand its influence over the entire South Sea through cooperation with Count of Meln.

As time passed and they secured population and resources through trade, by the time the nobles felt something went wrong, it would already be too late.

[Of course, we will sign a non-aggression pact with the Pendia royal house, but even there, a few caveats exist.]

For example, clauses such as cracking down on piracy in the designated region were like that.

Cheryn was convinced that the independent Ruman lords would never be able to control the pirates, thereby providing a pretext to be attacked.

To do otherwise, this archipelago nation itself had eked out an existence through piracy for far too long, turning it into a culture.

When most people did not even recognize that piracy was bad, could they cut it off at will?

“I see…”

Shan nodded in admiration at Cheryn, who looked down and planned years or even decades into the future.

Cheryn’s spider tapped Shan’s hand with its front leg and wrote text.

[Of course, there is an important caveat to all these plans. That we must decisively subdue Ruman in this war.]

That watershed moment would naturally be the battle on Richarjo Island.

Because the moment they completely crushed Ruman’s forces there, the enemy would lose the very capacity to resist.

And while Cheryn could lay the groundwork so they could win the war or devise schemes to reap maximum profit after winning, she could not personally step out onto the battlefield.

That was the duty of the kingdom’s protector, the Lord Protector.

[Naturally, the enemy army must be completely crushed, and in the process, our friendly casualties must not be large. Can you do it?]

“I’ve never disappointed you, have I?”

[That is true.]

At Shan’s confident response, Cheryn mimicked a nod by shaking the spider’s body.

As he said, her Lord Protector had truly never disappointed the Queen even once.

He would bring victory this time as well.