Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Twenty-Fourth Fragment, Carpediem
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The lord tidied up his desk. The two knights looked baffled. What kind of guest could make Chapelrin Piercen, who had been so cold toward them, move about with such a bright expression?
There wasn't much mess, so he finished quickly. He pushed back his chair and stood.
"I assume we're done talking. Aren't you leaving?"
"I have one question. May I ask?"
"As long as it's not going to hold me up for long, ask away."
Piercen looked at Ea, who had posed the question. Her face was stiff, as if harboring some dissatisfaction.
"Who exactly is this guest coming that's got you looking so pleased?"
She had given them, that damned blue lance knight bitch and him, looks like she was looking down on them. They were guests too, but the treatment was worlds apart. That was her grievance.
"Curious about that?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. How should I put it? Yes, you could call him the young hero who eased the anxieties felt by my territory's people."
Young hero? Hero is hero—what wordplay was this "young hero"?
Seeing Ea's expression, Piercen let out a chuckle.
"I'd love to explain, but I can't keep my guest waiting. Come along and see for yourself. Then you'll understand what I mean."
The two knightesses followed behind Piercen as he led the way out of the office. They shot each other sidelong glares but said nothing.
As Ea walked down the corridor, she happened to glance outside from the window side. Two maids from the castle were waiting out front. Soon after, a four-horse carriage entered through the wide-open gates of the lord's castle.
The luxurious carriage pulled by four white horses was unmistakably the lord's personal one. In the world, to send the lord's own carriage to fetch someone—how important could this person be?
The carriage pulled in smoothly and stopped. One of the waiting maids approached, courteously opened the door, and bowed her head.
'Just who the hell is this hero?'
But contrary to her expectations, a boy who looked extremely young stepped out. Her anticipation crumbled.
"It's a kid."
Ea scowled and halted her steps. Hearing her voice, the blue lance knight Jeanne also looked out the window. Stepping out of the carriage were a black-haired boy, a pretty beastkin woman, and a sturdy, veteran-looking white-haired man—three in total. They seemed a far cry from what one would call heroes.
"Oh. They're here even sooner than I thought. Hurry along."
Piercen quickened his previously leisurely pace, looking delighted. His descent down the stairs genuinely seemed like welcoming them. Jeanne followed without any apparent displeasure, while Ea bit her lip in frustration at the sight.
+ + +
"You're here."
Kaseun said as he took in the surroundings. Judah, not knowing much, simply replied, "Is that so?" He had no reason to ever come to the northern avenue where the lord's castle stood, so he had no idea of the distance between his home and the castle. Yet after just twenty minutes or so in the carriage, they had arrived. At this point, they didn't need to send a carriage.
Of course, riding in the lord's ornate, massive four-horse carriage was a novel experience, but the castle residents waving hands thinking he was the lord made peeking out the window awkward. Inside the carriage, he stared blankly at Tia sitting across from him.
In that short time, she had nodded off. Beside her, Kaseun lounged with his arm on the window sill, leisurely enjoying the view outside.
Soon the carriage stopped, and through the window, he saw two women in maid uniforms waiting with their hands neatly clasped. One of them opened the carriage door.
Judah was by the door, so he got out first. Then Tia and Kaseun followed from across the seat. Judah let out a gasp of admiration at the fortress-like lord's castle.
He had always seen it from afar, but entering the walls made it look completely different. Serenia Castle had a unique structure.
One wall encircled the lord's castle, with double walls on the east, west, south, and north, allowing for first and second defensive lines. Including the lord's castle made it a third, but if the second line fell, the third held little meaning. It would be the last bastion, but by then, surrender was only a matter of time.
The walls around the lord's castle were originally built when people first gathered here, so now they served more as a symbol than for defense. Like a tourist, Judah circled around, marveling at it. Tia, watching him, giggled as if finding it cute.
"Has the lord not come out yet?"
As Kaseun lightly scanned the surroundings and spoke, the nearby maid bowed and relayed the message.
"The lord is currently in an important discussion with guests, so he asked to escort you straight to the dining hall. He said he'll be right there, so please wait just a moment. If you'll follow me this way..."
"No, hold on."
Interrupting the maid, Kaseun turned his head, smiled, and nodded. He was looking at a closed door.
"No need to go ahead. Looks like they're coming down right now. Let's go together."
No sooner had he spoken than the door flew open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang. It was noise enough to draw all eyes. Tia and Judah, who had been casually admiring the castle view, startled and looked over. A middle-aged man strode out with a beaming smile, followed by two knightesses—one with red hair, one with blue.
Judah's eyes met those of the blue-haired knightess behind the man he presumed was the lord.
'It's Jeanne.'
It was her, from just before last week's Black Wolf hunt. Jeanne Artroar, the blue lance knight—Judah had no idea why she was here. Their eyes met, and as if recalling him, Jeanne's widened in surprise.
Judah naturally shifted his gaze to the red-haired woman beside her. If the blue lance knight Jeanne was here, and there was a woman of opposing colors next to her, she had to be the gladiator 'Ea.'
And that guess was spot on.
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「Status Window」
[Name: Ea]
[Title: None]
[True Name: Arrogant Rose]
[Level: 18]
[Job: Gladiator (B)]
[Race: Human]
[Strength: 33 (D) / Potential A]
[Stamina: 28 (D) / Potential B]
[Agility: 34 (D) / Potential S]
[Mana: 46 (D) / Potential A]
[Magic Resistance: 41 (C) / Potential A]
[Charm: 55 (C) / Potential A] ◀ Special
[Knowledge: 25 (D) / Potential C] ◀ Special
[Luck: 62 (C) / Potential B] ◀ Special
[Favorability: -30 (Dislikes)]
[Trust: -35 (Wary)]
「Traits 4/5」
[Thorns of the Rose] - Rank: A
[Mind Unbowed by Oppression] - Rank: A
[Unceasing Assault] - Rank: B
[Apprentice Gladiator] - Rank: D
「Skills 3/5」
[Combat Stance] - Rank: B
[Counter Preparation] - B
[Imperial Swordsmanship - Gladiator] - Rank: B
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As expected.
Just as the blue lance knight was here, he figured the gladiator would be too—and his hunch was right. With this, the conditions for the hidden quest were as good as met.
Gladiators were Baekje Empire's elite knight order, just as the blue lance knights were Byron Empire's. They wielded twin swords in both hands, dispatching foes with overwhelming offensive power. Their evasion was extraordinarily high, dodging most attacks just by seeing them. Like the blue lance knights, recruiting one early made the rest of the journey far smoother.
Byron Empire's blue lance knights.
Baekje Empire's gladiators.
The two orders were polar opposites in values, temperament, and combat style.
Since the founding of the two empires, these knight orders had clashed countless times.
If the blue lance knights were an impenetrable shield, the gladiators were a spear that pierced anything—and as if to prove which was superior, they always collided in wars.
The spear pierced the shield, and the shield broke the spear.
While mutually acknowledging each other, they were trained to view encounters as battles to the death. Of course, when meeting in other nations, they generally avoided duels unless honor was at stake... but these two were different.
They would fight later. That was the hidden quest.
The blue lance knight and gladiator, pursuing the fragment, would cross paths at a specific location and stake their lives in combat. Saving the loser at that point allowed recruitment as a companion. Being a hidden quest, additional conditions followed even after saving, but they weren't too hard.
As Judah quietly eyed Ea's status window, he saw numbers that made him doubt his eyes.
'Why are favorability and trust... in the negatives?'
This was an unexpected snag. Judah felt troubled. They had just met today, yet favorability and trust were already chipped away this much—it signaled a problem.
Some of her backstory came to mind.
「...She holds pride and dignity as a noble. But she is cold and harsh toward non-nobles. She looks down on mercenaries and adventurers, seeing them as tools to be used for money. However...」
Had that setting carried over intact?
'Troublesome.'
Starting with negative favorability and trust was no small hurdle. This left naturally choosing the blue lance knight as a companion. As he tried to check her stats, skills, and traits further, his eyes met the lord's. Seeing the beaming man approach, Judah closed his status window. He lightly bowed at the waist in greeting.
"Oh, welcome. Young hero, and beautiful..."
"Lord!"
Just as he was about to greet them warmly, Ea shouted from behind. Judah saw the lord, mid-smile, freeze. The bright expression slowly hardened. The pleasant smile vanished cleanly.
No matter how enchanting the voice—even a demon's charm—if laced with irritation or anger, it was worse than a pig's squeal. Unless someone had peculiar tastes, no one would want to hear it. Fortunately, no exceptions here.
Seeing the lord's stiffening face, Judah thought he might need to pray silently for the gladiator. Whether due to the guests present or his position as lord, the man seemed to be enduring. Judah was right.
Chapelrin Piercen felt his good mood sour at Ea's voice interrupting his welcoming of the guests. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to quell the boiling emotions.
"Fine. Do you still have more to say?"
"Yes. A lot, actually."
Being lord meant dealing with this often. She's young and green, doesn't know manners yet. But a noble—shouldn't this be basic etiquette? Even the utterly clueless know not to interrupt others and read the room.
Piercen clicked his tongue. He turned to face Ea.
"Speak. Why did you call me? If it's just a goodbye on your way out, then farewell. It was nice meeting you."
So get lost already. Of course, he didn't say the last part aloud. But Ea wasn't foolish enough to miss it. Quite sharp, in fact—she got the full implication. Knowing it was rude, but feeling dismissed, she gritted her teeth audibly.
"I can't understand this! Not at all. We're carrying a letter with the emperor's personal seal—not from some kingdom, an empire—and you're treating us like this? This is outright insulting the empire! Rude!"
"......"
"And us. Are we lesser than that little kid? We're not asking for meals or anything. I don't know what's in the letter, but even refusing it is fine. It's just a request, right? But if that kid's a guest, so are we. We just want proper courtesy, respect."
"......"
"Proper! Courtesy! I'm baffled. What hero is that kid supposed to be? For territory folk to do something for their lord is obvious. Praising to boost morale, keep spirits up—that's wise, sure—"
"Enough."
Piercen cut Ea off. He shifted his gaze from her to the side. Jeanne, meeting his eyes, didn't look away.
"You said Jeanne, right? Do you think the same?"