Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Most Expensive Meal in the World
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"Delicious!"
"Really? Hehe, I'm glad it suits your taste."
"Aren't you eating, Princess?"
"I..."
He had planned to just have a cup of tea and leave, but the tea vanished, and a full meal was served instead.
And so began the royal banquet.
Despite their claims of hardship, the long table was laden with unheard-of delicacies from who-knows-where.
If he exaggerated a bit, it was on par with a decent buffet.
"Munch munch."
"Slurp slurp."
'Eh, what should I do with these rascals.'
Fortunately, only Rosiatte and the maids serving the food were present. If nobles had been there, they would have glared at him with eyes of utter disdain.
The beastkin, who had manners worth less than a fart, were scooping food onto their plates indiscriminately.
'Anyone would think they were starved all this time. Tsk tsk.'
He clicked his tongue at the beastkin's innate eating habits and glanced at Rosiatte.
'What's got her so pleased? Why's she smiling at me like that? It's making my heart skip.'
Rosiatte, rumored to be the greatest beauty on the northern continent.
She hadn't eaten more than a few bites, yet she wore an ecstatic smile, gazing only at him.
As if looking at him alone filled her belly.
"It seems like this winter has brought more snow than usual."
"You're right. Habis Kingdom doesn't usually get much snow, but it's piled up quite a bit."
Rosiatte's soft voice.
In the warmth and fullness of the moment, her gentle tone sounded as sweet as ice cream.
"How's the kingdom faring?"
"Thanks to your concern, things are improving a lot."
"That's a relief."
'That's not what I meant...'
Truth be told, as he came here, he wanted to ask for the slaves in the prison.
But somehow, it felt embarrassing to say it outright.
So his words had gone roundabout.
'We've eaten now. Time to head back.'
Even if it wasn't him personally, he could just order Derbal to retrieve them.
"This banquet will stay with me for life. Next time, I'll invite you."
"Really? Hehe, I'll look forward to it."
Rosiatte's delighted smile at the word "invite."
It was so enchanting that for a moment, he felt like a hundred roses had bloomed.
Knock knock.
Clatter.
"Princess, urgent news!"
The door to the banquet hall burst open with the knocking.
A grave breach of etiquette.
But seeing the guard knight's face drained of color, something serious had clearly happened.
"What is it?"
"The Roen Principality bastards have crossed the border and captured Zarelon Fortress."
"What?!"
Crash.
Rosiatte jumped up from her seat in shock.
The chair she had been sitting on toppled to the floor from the impact.
"Viscount Antkain, who was in charge of the fortress, along with all the knights and soldiers, reportedly fell in heroic battle."
"Ah..."
"Gasp!"
At the word "fallen," Rosiatte clutched her head as if about to collapse.
He sprang from his seat and caught her.
"Sob..."
Once in his arms, she began weeping as if overwhelmed by sorrow.
The reporting knight's face had turned from pale to ashen white.
"How many are they?"
"Over a hundred wyverns, and about thirty thousand cavalry and infantry."
Amid the panic, he asked, and the guard knight hurriedly replied.
'A hundred wyverns and thirty thousand.'
Numbers too vast to call insignificant.
"How many wyverns and soldiers can the kingdom deploy right now?"
"That's... The only wyverns immediately available are the twenty owned by the Royal Sky Knights guarding the palace. Most soldiers are tied up suppressing rebels, so we have no deployable forces. About three thousand are guarding the capital, but pulling them away..."
'Ack? Just twenty wyverns and three thousand?'
No different from the initial forces he had commanded at Neruman.
He had brought a hundred wyverns, but turning them into combat-ready units right away was impossible.
Sky Knights weren't mass-produced like cookies from a mold.
'Improving, my ass?'
Despite her strong front, Rosiatte's governance must have been grueling.
How could a kingdom have only twenty immediately deployable wyverns?
'The rebels scattered our forces, and they struck at the opening.'
As Jamer had described Habis Kingdom's situation, it seemed the Roen Principality scum were raiding an empty house.
'They must have gotten the Raviter bastards' permission.'
He could picture it without looking.
With the nobles supporting them ousted, the Raviter Empire had used the principality to stab Habis in the back.
'What an expensive meal.'
If he hadn't heard, it would be one thing, but now that it reached his ears, he couldn't just return to his territory.
"I-It's fine. Our kingdom's matters are ours to handle..."
"Shh."
Rosiatte pulled away from his embrace, struggling to maintain composure.
He put a finger to his lips and shushed her.
"If it's tough, say it's tough. I think you and I have that kind of bond."
Tremble.
Rosiatte's eyes quivered at his words.
"Habis Kingdom's peace is closely tied to my territory's safety. Telling me to go home feels like abandoning my own lands."
A bit of forced exaggeration.
But that's what he wanted.
"You lot, eat well?"
"Eat good, Boss."
"Time for battle?"
The beastkin, with ears and eyes wide open.
At the mention of battle, their fighting spirit ignited.
"How do we find the enemy?"
He asked the frozen guard knights their position.
"Th-That is..."
The guard knights glanced at Rosiatte.
"I'll guide you."
"Gasp! Princess, that's..."
The flustered guard knight.
"Very well. Lead the way."
Staying in the palace fretting over her kingdom would be more laughable.
One responsible for a kingdom needed this resolve.
"Please wait a moment. Sir Celert, summon the Royal Sky Knights."
"Yes!"
"No need. Just the princess and us."
"..."
Rosiatte blinked at his words.
"Understood."
She nodded, meeting his eyes.
'Heh, a hundred wyverns, huh.'
After one go, she no longer feared them.
A hundred wyverns felt like nothing more than elementary school kids just starting to grow.
And he liked the number a hundred wyverns very much.
Neruman was always hungry.
Passing up a free meal would make him a heaven-sent fool.
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"Zarelon has fallen?"
"Prince Remitar of Roen led the assault personally. They're now pushing deep into Habis Kingdom."
"Kekeke. That greedy prince is moving just right."
Duke Yanobis, who had secretly obtained the emperor's order to invade Habis Kingdom.
He smirked in satisfaction at the battlefield reports coming via communication lumicar.
"What will you do? Shall we just watch the Roen bastards swallow Habis Kingdom?"
Count Dabesan of the vassal family under Duke Yanops von Bermoyan cautiously probed the duke's intentions.
"That sounds good too. We're planning to clean up the principality soon anyway. Might as well watch them do the dirty work without lifting a finger."
"Ah... I see."
Dabesan let out an admiring exclamation at the duke's scheme.
He had thought the burly, Blade Master duke's head wasn't the sharpest, but now admitted his error.
And resolved to be even more cautious.
"Is the mobilization prep going well?"
"The 3rd and 7th Legions under the Western Army are preparing as ordered. They'll move the moment the imperial command comes."
"Good."
Duke Yanobis nodded at the count's words.
His bull-like massive eyes gleamed.
Thinking of the massive continental upheaval to come...
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'We're almost there.'
Habis Kingdom's territory was only slightly larger than Neruman's.
Three hours of flying across it.
As the border neared, he spotted people fleeing.
'Tough in this cold.'
It didn't feel like someone else's problem.
If Neruman failed to repel invaders, its people would end up the same.
But this place was different.
These folk had somewhere to flee; Neruman had ocean on one side and monster-infested mountains on the others the moment they ran.
Kuuoooooo!
Bebeto, with sharper senses than his, roared toward the front.
Though unseen, it seemed he had caught the wyvern scent on the headwind.
Whoosh.
He raised his hand high.
Swoosh.
The beastkin smoothly shifted into wedge attack formation.
'As long as it's not close combat, it'll be safe.'
Always keep about a kilometer behind us, he had said.
'Patrol wyverns.'
A flock of wyverns appeared against the darkening sky.
About twenty in number.
Perfect for a snack.
'No need to drag it out. One shot.'
With the thought, he eyed the special pouch on Bebeto's torso.
Unsure when something like this might happen, he always carried dozens of vials of top-grade holy water.
Not just him—the wyverns the beastkin rode carried holy water too.
'Ready!'
Not their first hunt.
They flew straight at the wyverns approaching in formation upon spotting them.
Whoosh.
In that instant, blessed spears appeared in both hands.
The dusky sky seemed perfect for sparrow-hunting(?).
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'A gold wyvern here?'
Count Cartion, leading Roen Principality's wyvern patrol squadron.
He was baffled by the gold wyvern flying from deep within Habis Kingdom.
Though the sun had dipped to sunset, he couldn't mistake the Raviter Empire's imperial-exclusive wyverns he had seen often.
'Seven... But what's that black wyvern?'
At the lead, a black wyvern with gold stripes gleaming in the sunset, five gold wyverns, and a lagging gray one—his head spun just looking.
'Gasp! N-No way!'
Then a rumor flashed in his mind.
The tale of one man who annihilated the wyverns of Habis nobles invading Neruman.
'Count Cayer! Could it be him!'
In panic, he raised his hand to issue an attack order.
Flash.
Then he saw it.
A flash of light three kilometers ahead—too far for attack.
"Gasp!"
Before he could process the anomaly, the blast spear crossing space made Count Cartion yelp in terror.
Thud!
Kweeeeeek!
Thwack thwack!
With heavy impacts, the five lead wyverns screamed and plummeted to the ground.
"All retreat!"
Numerically superior, but already terrified at the mere thought of the enemy, Cartion shouted.
Swoosh.
Thud!
That was his last utterance in the world.
The unlucky blast spear pierced deep into his chest instead of a wyvern.
The spear tip trembling after penetrating the air plate deeply.
With that, the count's eyes saw nothing more.
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'Unbelievable...'
Rosiatte, flying behind Count Cayer and witnessing everything.
When the twenty or so enemy wyverns appeared, she had agonized over warning them despite the prohibition, unsure if she should help.
Yet suddenly, beyond range, she saw Cayer and his Sky Knights hurling spears.
As she watched in stunned disbelief at their defiance of Sky Knight norms,
Rosiatte beheld an impossible sight.
The spears crossed space at a speed incomparable to the continent-renowned blast spear velocity.
No special guidance, yet they instantly downed five wyverns.
That wasn't all.
While she gaped, they launched a second volley without bracing for counterattack.
No—Cayer even threw with both hands leisurely.
Kaaaaaaa!
Kuaaaaa!
The wyverns' successive screams echoed.
That was it.
Cayer closed to point-blank on the fleeing wyverns' parabolic path and unleashed spears.
In an instant, all twenty wyverns crashed to the ground, rolling in the snow.
Swoosh.
Then Cayer and the Sky Knights landed beside the fallen wyverns.
They hurriedly retrieved the spears embedded in the bodies, pouring holy water on the spot.
And cast magic.
'What in the world is this?'
Events unfolding in an astonishingly brief moment.
Before she knew it, Cayer had subdued twenty wyverns and was taking off with his Sky Knights.
Flying skyward as if nothing had happened.
'Cayer, what are you really?'
Only then did she recall.
The fact that 250 wyverns from Habis noble houses had been annihilated in a single battle.
Swooooo.
The cold winter wind, Kajopne, oblivious to Rosiatte's inner turmoil.
It brushed past her gazing hotly at Cayer and vanished.