Chapter 271
Chapter 271
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.60 – The Knight's Way of Treating the Beasts (6)
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“?”
The old grandfather who used to look after Louise back in the day had praised her for reminding him of a pink pearl, and now those rosy-red eyes of his were wide open, blinking nonstop.
The still very young child was clearly struggling to adapt to the drastically changed environment overnight, looking utterly bewildered at every turn.
“Th-this isn't my room, is it?”
“No, miss. This is indeed your room from today onward. And please speak casually. You are our master now, Miss Louise.”
“??”
Just a few days ago, her room hadn't been like this. The walls were made of dilapidated wooden planks, and her bedding—which doubled as her bed—was nothing more than smelly straw scavenged from the stables.
But now...
“I-is this a room? It's bigger than the courtyard...”
It was spacious. Incredibly so.
It was filled with pink hues matching the color of the child's eyes, adorned with lavish decorations. The bed was plush and smelled wonderful, big enough for a foal to roll around in.
The floor was soft too. Much softer than a straw bed.
At this point, she could probably sleep on the floor instead of that intimidating bed?
And when she actually tried sleeping on the floor like that, it felt so warm and nice. But the very next morning...
“Oh dear, miss!”
“We're sorry! We're so sorry! Pl-please spare us!”
“Pl-please sleep in the bed, we beg you...!”
“????”
Louise had to tilt her head in confusion once more.
Still, despite her puzzlement, she obediently followed the maids' requests.
These big sisters are so kind!
They were the same maids who had secretly given her soft bread or fresh cherries behind the nasty head maid's back, so Louise happily complied.
Moreover...
I like these big sisters!
Louise, who had always bathed in cold water, was now bathed by these maids in warm water. They dried her body meticulously with soft, warm towels, gave her something called cocoa that was warm and sweet, and even fed her cherries and soft bread by hand.
Louise couldn't help but love these maids.
In this way, Louise had undergone many changes over the past few days.
Getting a grand room and kind maids was nice, but the biggest change was probably...
All the mean people are gone?
The mean people.
In other words, all the aunts and uncles who had always tormented her had vanished.
The ones who made her shrink just by looking at her, who yelled at her and tripped her, were gone.
Louise was overjoyed that they were gone.
...But it did bother her a little.
Where had they gone?
“Big sisters, where did the mean aunts and uncles go?”
She couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked...
“Eek!”
“S-sorry! We're sorry! Pl-please spare us...!!”
“...Don't mind them. They're just dealing with some severe trauma.”
“??”
“And those people... well, they're getting scolded by Sir Santa right now. That's all you need to know.”
“I see!”
The moment Louise heard the name of her precious 'friend,' she understood immediately.
Santa's strong, so he's scolding the mean people!
Santa had even scolded the nasty head maid, so of course he could handle the other mean ones too!
As Louise was feeling this joy...
“Lord Louise of the Border Barony! Pl-please! J-just once! Meet with me just once! Forgive me...! Please forgive me, m-my lord...!!!”
...Another weirdo had shown up today.
Yes, over the past few days, while her room and people had changed, what Louise found even stranger was that odd people kept showing up every day.
Every time they came, they said things like 'Please forgive me!' or 'Sh-show mercy!' or 'I'll give you everything I have!' And Louise just couldn't understand it.
Why are these grown-ups asking me for forgiveness?
She'd never even seen them before.
To Louise, it didn't make sense, and those adults felt burdensome and a bit scary.
But the reason she didn't feel anxious was...
Thwack-!
“Waaah!”
...because every time one of those scary, burdensome people showed up, her friend would send them flying far away.
“Santa!”
Louise ran toward her friend in delight, and he gently hugged her.
“Miss—no, my lord. You can't just run up like that. It's dangerous.”
“Hehe, Santa's super strong, so it's fine.”
“Good grief. Being this rough, how will you ever get married, my lord?”
“What's marriage?”
“Hmm, it's a thing. ...There's a lot to teach you.”
“Huh?”
“...Never mind. For now, just run around and do what you want. Playing is the best for kids.”
“Okay!”
Louise answered energetically, and whenever she did, Santa would always pat her head.
And every time...
“Hehe!”
It felt warm and cozy.
Even more than drinking cocoa.
Santa really seems like a wizard!
Like the wizards from the fairy tales her grandfather read to her.
The ones who could make anything and give fantastical gifts.
So...
“Santa seems like a wizard!”
Louise voiced her honest feelings.
But...
“......Where did you learn to curse like that?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, no. Forget it.”
“??”
Santa looked like he'd received some massive shock, and seeing her friend like that, Louise blinked, wondering if she'd done something wrong.
Innocently.
“-As expected of noble blood. To think he'd insult Sir Lee Han like that. Quite the sharp tongue.”
“I don't think that's what she meant.”
“Then what did she mean?”
“It's the kind of intent someone who's lost a child's innocence wouldn't understand.”
“A child's innocence? Hmm... I was pretty much the same as I am now even as a kid.”
“......”
The secretary suddenly grew curious about Simon's childhood but couldn't bring herself to ask.
And understandably so.
“Secretary ma'am! We're short on manpower!”
“Here too!”
“Please send reinforcements, we beg you...!”
“Haa...”
She was far too busy right now to hear anyone's life story.
......She still couldn't understand why someone who hunted vampires had conquered Modred and caused this mess.
One week ago.
Thus began what was now dubbed the [War of Welsh Unification], a truly sudden seven-day journey.
- ...What kind of nonsense is this?
A messenger from Modred's territory, Wales—famous for its isolationist stance—came charging at Simon like a bullet. Simon and the entire guild spent about 30 minutes in stunned silence.
[Establish a guild in Wales. We'll cover all the funds.]
It wasn't that they didn't understand the words; it just took time to process the meaning.
It was that bewildering.
But whether they were bewildered or not...
[If you dawdle, we might partner with the Merchant Alliance instead.]
The Orod family had been wiped out just a day later, and when the next messenger arrived, the guild had to forcibly pull itself together.
They weren't willing to cede profits to the Merchant Alliance anywhere else.
- Why yield anything to those money-grubbing merchants!
- Those rotten bastards only deserve filthy ditchwater!
Advancing into Wales was like a long-cherished dream for the guild and Merchant Alliance operating in the south.
Rumors spoke of its abundant natural resources, plentiful food, and large population.
The only issue was that its closed-off nature had prevented guilds or merchant groups from taking root.
Thus, Simon decided to trust this provocative—no, gamble of a messenger and invest.
Success meant a windfall.
- Let's bet our lives on it!
Simon staked his life on the gamble.
The other executives opposed fiercely, but it felt like a venture that would work.
With great resolve, Simon hired countless mercenaries and personnel and headed to Wales...
- Roughly 30% cleaned up. The remaining 70%... Honestly, I don't know what to do with them yet. Got any ideas?
- ...???
...He wondered if he was even needed.
He knew the knight was strong.
But single-handedly subduing a great noble family's forces in Wales? He hadn't even imagined it.
Who would think a single person could take on a great noble house?
Simon felt like he was dreaming.
- Great noble? Without direct lineage or elite knights, what great noble is that? It's just a cat in tiger skin. What's hard about cleaning up trash like that?
- ......
- You know Blood Hawk? Met them a few days ago—they're on a whole other level now. They've even mastered sky-walking, making them trickier, and vicious to boot. If Modred's elite knights were that good, I couldn't have done this either.
- ...How am I supposed to respond when you use one of the top five knight orders in the capital as an example?
- ......
The man claimed it was easy without elites, but Wales's forces weren't weak by any means.
Even if called branch or vassal families, they had long supported Modred, and their reserves weren't to be taken lightly.
In other words...
- This guy's combat rating needs to go to 8. No, 9.
The guild's combat scale ran from 1 to 12.
For reference, 5 and 6 were for prestigious house knight commanders or champions.
But 9 was several steps higher...
A rank for legendary heroes or monsters.
...Essentially, not human. Simon swallowed dryly.
This knight connected to him might turn out far more incredible than he'd imagined.
So...
- Buy low, that's investing.
Simon resolved to invest everything once more.
His gut told him it could return tens, hundreds of times over in the future.
And now...
“...Am I seriously gonna die like this?”
A week after the unification war ended, another week.
Simon, who had only slept a total of 4 hours in that entire week, was on the verge of madness.
And rightly so...
“Sir Simon, ‘that thing’ appeared again!”
“...Again?”
“Yes! This time there were ten witnesses.”
“......Fuck.”
Simon clutched his head.
Screw investing—he should've stuck to what he was doing...!!
What's with the ghost, damn it!!
Simon finally understood why real estate developers curse nonstop when ghosts haunt properties.