Chapter 378: Northward (1)
Haven had become the center of the kingdom’s trade ever since Eugene became its master. Every time the Moving Castle returned from overseas, merchants from across the nation gathered as if they had been waiting.
And the goods brought back this time were special compared to any previous return. A massive quantity of elven products had flooded out.
“Where did all these goods come from? Not even Lantzheim or the surrounding petty kingdoms could secure this much volume.”
“We visited not just the capital Elenost, but even the villages deep within. How could the elves lock their doors when Her Majesty the Queen, newly crowned, was leading us?”
The knights sold their goods through the trade guilds they had close ties with.
In an ordinary war, they would have sold to the campaign merchants following the army, but the greatest profits were guaranteed by selling in regions where connections had been formed.
The knights beamed as they received pouches full of silver coins. For the first time, they hadn’t been gouged by the jackal-like campaign merchants. This was why, if one was going to fight anyway, it was best to fight under Eugene’s banner.
“You even disposed of your sword! Truly generous!”
A merchant praised the knight while examining a flowing blue ceramic piece.
“Some said I was foolish to give up my sword, but their eyes wavered when they saw it later.”
“A sword is a consumable after all, isn’t it? I’ve heard that in battle, you sometimes throw it, or when it breaks, you seize the enemy’s weapon. Our guild will take responsibility and provide you with a fine sword.”
The merchant nodded in agreement, praising the brave knight’s resolve. This blue ceramic, with its distinctive patterns densely packed, was a top-grade item among elven trade goods.
“But what’s that cloak? I’ve handled quite a bit of leather, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“It’s dragon hide.”
“…?”
The merchant froze momentarily at the knight’s answer, unable to react.
“D-dragon? Did you just say dragon?”
“Haven’t the news spread yet? His Majesty the King slew a wicked dragon that was destroying the Great Elven Forest, and claimed its bones and hide. To honor the knights who participated in this glorious expedition, he had cloaks made from that hide and bestowed them.”
The knight flourished the cloak with a flourish. Even those who knew nothing of magic could sense the faint aura of the fierce supernatural creature.
Unlike other animal hides, the reptilian patterns—large patterns that proved the creature was enormous—were engraved on the item. Combined with the rare gray-white color, it exuded an aura like an albino crocodile.
“Excuse me, Sir Knight…”
“Not for sale.”
The knight shook his head as if he knew exactly what the merchant was going to say from just his expression.
“I haven’t even said anything yet!”
“I know you’re going to ask me to sell the cloak. This will be a family heirloom, so give it up.”
The merchant smacked his lips with regret. But the knight had refused so firmly that he couldn’t push the negotiation further. Though they were on familiar terms, merchant and knight had fundamentally different social standings.
Other merchants faced the same situation. The knights who had sold even their armor or horses to buy trade goods all kept their cloaks.
“I said not for sale. Not for sale!”
“This isn’t something you can buy and sell with money.”
They all declared the dragon cloaks NFS (Not For Sale).
“You?! How dare you doubt a knight’s honor?”
“Oh my! I’m not doubting, I’m just saying there’s no official certification from His Majesty…”
Some opinions were raised that perhaps it was made from another monster’s hide.
The authenticity of the dragon hide was directly tied to the king’s achievements. For this, Eugene had an event planned. He announced that the dragon bones would be displayed in Haven’s square for some time.
The dragon, shown trampling the basilisk’s remains and roaring, was revealed to the world.
“I thought His Majesty was exaggerating this time, but…”
An adventurer gazed at the dragon with an expression of wonder.
Knights held honesty as a virtue, but they were human too and lied. Especially when talking about their own achievements, they showed the essence of soul-gathering.
They would catch a goblin or orc and make noise as if they had caught a troll. After all, the skin was the same green color.
But a dragon that only appeared in legends! Even Eugene, who had built trust over time, was doubted for the first time. Though that was now in the past.
“With a knight who can slay a dragon, who would dare threaten Britainia?”
“The Gord and Barsian dogs need to see this. They’ve been quiet, but they bare their teeth whenever they get a chance.”
Painters and bards each swung their brushes, drawing the dragon’s form. Unlike others who simply watched and left, these people could convert what they saw with their eyes into money.
“Damn it. If I’d known, I would have followed His Majesty no matter what.”
“Everyone keeps showing off their cloaks.”
Knights who hadn’t participated in the expedition because they were resting after the Midgard campaign cursed their luck. When they considered the glory, adventure tales, and spoils they could have gained, they couldn’t even compare to Midgard.
*
Eugene held a banquet for the nobles at a residence where the dragon in the square was clearly visible.
Usually, only high-ranking nobles attended such events, so nameless knights couldn’t enter. But those who received special invitations or had outstanding reputations could participate exceptionally.
Naturally, the knights wearing dragon cloaks all had free passage.
“To come this far at that age. I wonder if he’ll collapse from fatigue on the way home.”
Eugene murmured as he watched an elderly white-haired northern noble being helped in. The old noble exclaimed at the sight of the dragon.
“Look at him, so happy like a child. How many more chances will he have to see something like this in his remaining years?”
Valda’s reaction was as expected. Even the great lords serving as administrators in various regions lifted their heavy hips.
“Thank you for providing such a wonderful experience today. May eternal glory follow His Majesty and Your Highness…”
“Welcome, Duke Harvester. But now, she is a queen before being a queen. Please lend your strength to maintaining good relations with the elven kingdom, our new ally.”
“I shall follow your command.”
Since all the nobles had gathered, it was also used as an opportunity to reestablish Valda’s position.
Usually, the ones holding conversations at such events were the high-ranking nobles. But today, the knights wearing dragon cloaks became the main speakers.
“The dragon used magic to create a massive storm. But His Majesty planted his sword in its head and held firm. See that spot?”
“Where, where?”
“There’s a small notch over there.”
“Oh! Really!”
It was hard to feel from a vague story of ‘fought and defeated a dragon.’ But hearing the story piece by piece through the knights who had been there, following each trace, made it feel real.
“The most threatening weapon wasn’t its teeth or claws. It was this tail.”
“What kind of tail looks like this? No matter how I look at it, it’s a hammer.”
“It actually swings it like a hammer. The giant golem summoned by the Summoner, the fiercest large monsters—every head was shattered with a single blow. But the truly terrifying thing is that it used magic with this tail.”
The knight’s attendant pushed prepared dominoes on the table. Carrot pieces cut into rectangles toppled in sequence. An attendant’s extreme job required them to be good at this kind of entertainment too.
“The dragon’s tail struck the ground, and the earth itself flipped like dominoes, trying to swallow His Majesty. Impressive as the magic was, what the dragon wielded was natural disaster itself.”
“How did His Majesty dodge that?”
“He has the treasure left by the 2nd Age.”
“The Worldcharger!”
“Exactly. Just as the dragon had its tail, the dragon feared one weapon more than His Majesty’s sword or axe—the lance.”
Both knight and attendant wore expressions as if recalling a fantastical scene.
“The sight of riding the Worldcharger, aiming the massive lance, and having a staring contest with the dragon. You should have seen it. Words can’t describe it. The one who first looked away and retreated was the dragon. Haha! In its life, it had never experienced such humiliation.”
Everyone praised the scene of facing off with lance raised. It was a clash of human strength and courage against a dragon.
“I heard the dragon also commanded an army. His Majesty personally predicted and prepared for that attack, I heard.”
“Lizardmen. Fanatics who worship the dragon as a god, far more ferocious than other monsters.”
“But they’re still just lizardmen, aren’t they? They shouldn’t be a match for the suppression army.”
“But in the chaos of nighttime combat, when the dragon attacks together, it’s a different story. The cunning dragon erased sound with some kind of magic. But it couldn’t eliminate the subtle vibrations caused by its massive body moving.”
The attendant placed a water-filled dish on the table and tapped near it. Ripples spread across the water surface.
“His Majesty placed water-filled dishes near the sentries and detected their approach. Simple, but an idea not easily thought of.”
The knights all recounted how they slaughtered the lizardmen who had entered while everyone was awake and alert. They even told of Eugene landing another blow on the dragon and driving it off.
“And so the story leads to the ancient dwarven mines.”
The nobles, who had been listening to the knights’ adventure tales, became distracted by something else midway.
“Ithril? Was there really Ithril?”
Everyone’s interest peaked at the precious metal that wasn’t even produced in the current dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dor.
“You’re right. I brought a piece.”
The answer came from Eugene. He held up the highest-purity Ithril lump at the banquet. Even without refining, its unique luster, as if holding moonlight, drew everyone’s gaze.
Every return brought various stories, but this time seemed exceptional.
The nobles and merchants more interested in political and commercial profit than battlefield achievements focused on the elves attending Valda.
Unless you lived right next to the border, the elven race was easy to regard with vague admiration. Especially in Britainia.
Noble bearing wasn’t achieved by blood alone. Lavish clothing, intricate etiquette, distinctive accent—all combined to solidify the sense of specialness. Naturally, the caliber of one’s companions was included.
Being the only nation in the world to have formed a royal alliance with the elven country. This was a tremendous刺激 to the vanity and pride of Britannian nobility.
*
As Eugene was frequently away, there were many matters to handle each time he returned.
Presiding over trials requiring the king’s authority, receiving loyalty oaths from nobles who had inherited titles due to their lord’s illness or death, and approving annual plans for the use of collected taxes and grain.
As they finished the backlog and rested the soldiers, summer arrived.
“Slowly! Slowly!”
A large ship moved gradually onto land with the help of numerous ropes and logs. It was entering the wide-open warehouse of the Moving Castle. The former smuggler Otto’s dream condensed—a sailing ship to discover unknown lands.
Behind it waited a slightly smaller ship. This was the one the Vikings, led by Sigurd, would sail.
It wasn’t newly built but a selected existing sailing ship that had been modified, so it could be prepared quickly.
“Even though we’re following the coastline, it’s still a ship crossing the ocean. Won’t it be insufficient?”
“They’re the ones who crossed the North Sea in longships or went to the Land of Ice.”
“I know. But the western ocean is another story.”
“We’ll split tasks according to ship size, so it’ll be fine. Our ship is small and we have individual combat capability, so we’ll move along the coast only.”
The plan was to explore the northern New Continent from the jungle-filled south, essentially following the coast northward, though with some differences in detail.
“If it curves too much as we go up the coast, we’ll split there.”
Otto’s large ship could handle some open-ocean crossing, so it would go straight.
Meanwhile, Sigurd’s medium ship would follow the coast northward no matter how much it curved, landing periodically to resupply water and provisions.
In the process, battles with local monsters or beasts might occur, but Sigurd’s crew, each a human weapon, could handle them easily.
Thump!
Sigurd’s broad-chested warriors pounded their sturdy armor and laughed.
“Thanks to His Majesty, we don’t have to fight half-naked like before.”
Unlike the poor Vikings who had set out to raid with only an axe, the Vargians, fully supplied by Eugene, surpassed even the knights in naval and amphibious combat capability.
“Your fighting spirit is good, but don’t rush into fights. You’re the first impression of my kingdom, you know.”
“Of course. The savage era of swinging axes first is long over. We’ve prepared gifts of various kinds, so at least one should appeal to their hearts.”
When different forces met, the best approach was always to offer food first. Various delicacies, sweets, and dried fruits were loaded onto the ships for gifting.
“But don’t be too friendly and get attacked. You never know—the entire continent might be covered with cannibals.”
“With the gods watching over the world, could such a terrible place exist?”
“That’s unknown. Our continent might have been the lucky case.”
Otto’s ship and Sigurd’s ship were loaded onto the Moving Castle, and all necessary supplies were stowed.
Soon after, a bolt of lightning shot up from Britainia. Crossing above the countless sunken sea monsters, mermaids, and storms, a massive castle descended upon the sandy beach.
Whoosh.
The sound of waves provided the backdrop as the faces of the crew, bathed in sunlight, shimmered with desire.
‘The one who discovers a new continent.’
A glory rivaling that of a dragon slayer beckoned to them beyond the horizon.