A Grandly Stirring Fight
“Um, Lord Byeonbangbaek. What am I supposed to do?”
Shrakhim, who had been standing stock-still in front of the carriage, asked the question.
“What else? You need to keep a good eye on these animals. Make sure nothing goes wrong. You know what I mean, right?”
“Understood. I shall watch over them well until you return.”
Ho-yeong gave him a subtle warning.
“No, no. Our guards can take care of the carriage and the animals, so why don’t you take a break, sir knight? Boys, take the horses and cattle to the stable and feed them well.”
Unaware of the situation, Eos was trying to be courteous.
For him, it was no big deal to simply give orders, but for the guards who actually had to do the work, it was a headache.
“If we bring in horses and cattle that big, the stable roof will collapse. And what are we supposed to do about that giant eagle, Mayor?”
“Uh… well?”
Ho-yeong stepped in and rescued the flustered mayor.
“They’re a little temperamental. If they’re around someone they don’t know, they might start kicking. We appreciate the offer, but we’ll handle them ourselves.”
“I see, I see. If that’s easier for you, then by all means.”
“Then please wait just a moment. I need to give the driver a few instructions.”
Using Remote Command, he cautioned the minocentaurs.
Listen up, you lot. If any stranger tries to come near you, throw a tantrum and act wild, all right? Stay put and listen to Shrakhim.
The minocentaurs’ forms as cattle and horses were not true Polymorph transformations, only illusion magic used as a temporary measure. If anyone even touched them, they would immediately sense something was off.
“But are you really planning to go alone, Lord Byeonbangbaek? I was hoping to escort you.”
Shrakhim, suddenly stuck with the job of driver, asked glumly.
“Well, I appreciate the thought, but I can manage a body or two on my own. This isn’t some den of bandits or monsters.”
Instead of snapping back at him for worrying about the wrong thing, Ho-yeong declined with politeness.
“Leaving Lord Byeonbangbaek aside, someone ought to escort those young ladies, shouldn’t they? We do get pickpockets now and then, and there are scoundrels who’ll try to bully any woman who looks easy to push around.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought of that. Sir Shrakhim, you’re unexpectedly sharp today. In that case, Goblin 10, you follow Meyril and Peach and keep them safe.”
Taking Shrakhim’s advice, he decided to make a goblin the girls’ bodyguard.
“Gremlin No. 1, you stay with Shrakhim and watch the carriage.”
The clever gremlin was given the duty of guarding the tribute.
Since traveling with monsters would attract too much attention, the goblin and gremlin were also polymorphed into suitable animals. The fluffy, long-armed gremlin became a meerkat, and the goblin a monkey.
- Gopgop~ I was bored being trapped inside the carriage, so this works out, gop~
- Gremlin! Yes!
“Hey, don’t make noises like that. Right now you’re not monsters, you’re animals. You should make animal sounds. What kind of nonsense is monster noises?”
Ho-yeong was appalled and immediately scolded them.
- Gurrrl. Kyaak! Yes, we’ll be careful!
- Ukiiik! Got it!
Peach frowned, but Meyril found the monsters adorable and accepted them warmly.
“Still, Sir Shrakhim, you seem to know this area well? You look like you’re acquainted with the guards here too.”
“It would be an exaggeration to say I know it well, but I have come here often enough. Whenever the territory folk came to Rainpa, the dispatch guards came along as well, you see.”
“Come to think of it, I heard people saying that the dispatch guard captain didn’t care about protection at all and only checked whether there was anything he could pocket. They even said he confiscated the sugar candies the children bought for themselves.”
“…Hrrm. From now on, I shall devote myself to taking proper care of people.”
“Good. Do better from here on out. Anyway, come here for a second.”
Ho-yeong tapped Shrakhim on the shoulder and activated Communion.
“Maybe you’ve got some useful information for me? About Mayor Eos, I mean. Anything that could help our territory is fine. Even something about the city guards would do.”
Thanks to how much his skill level had risen, he could now use Communion not only on monsters but on other races as well. It still had a restriction—he could only use it on allies with a high degree of edification—but it was more than worth the inconvenience.
“Hmm… something useful, you say. Now that I think of it, I did hear something. Apparently, they’ve been buying up huge quantities of imported ingredients lately? And another thing some adventurer told me….”
Even when someone like Shrakhim wasn’t especially good at explaining things, there was no inconvenience, because Ho-yeong could receive memories as images or footage. After all, Shrakhim was human, so his thought process was higher than that of low-tier monsters like goblins.
“Oh? Is that so? This could be useful.”
The information he received turned out to be surprisingly valuable.
“Then, Shrakhim, I’ll leave the carriage in your care. Remlin, if anything happens, make sure to tell me right away by telepathy.”
Only after giving him strict instructions did Ho-yeong set off with the mayor.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mayor.”
“Think nothing of it. This way, please. Even if the autumn wind is pleasant, prolonged exposure can leave one feeling under the weather, so why don’t we warm you up with a hot drink?”
The mayor’s attitude was exceedingly polite.
The city hall building looked quite grand, a fitting display of Rainpa’s prosperity.
Thinking of the Tamer territory’s old city hall—the one that had been battered to pieces and was still barely managed with desperate repairs—Ho-yeong felt a bitter taste rise in his mouth.
“If you’re feeling tired, might I recommend Taliallian coffee or Maliad cocoa? One cup and your fatigue will disappear.”
Both coffee beans and cacao were luxury goods dependent entirely on imports, a reliable source of income for merchants.
“Coffee would be great, thanks.”
The aroma was quite good.
Looks like they use decent beans. Though there’s a slight sourness, so maybe they’re old? Still, they’re a lot better than the stale coffee beans they handed out as supplies to the Purple Flag Company. Then again, maybe it’s because of that sour note? Damn, I really want some mix coffee.
As the chill in his body faded, the taste of home suddenly came back to him.
“Please have some refreshments as well.”
The tray brought in by a servant was piled high with oddly shaped cookies and dried fruits. None of them were things Ho-yeong had ever seen before, whether in real life or in the original novel or webtoon.
“Now this is a true trade city. I’d heard the place was full of all kinds of foodstuffs, and it really is. I hear you even buy sausages made in the Abel Principality directly? Next time, I’d like to go sightseeing through the market with Peach.”
“Hoho. Splendid. You would be most welcome.”
Apparently pleased by the compliment, Eos chuckled heartily.
“I’ve also heard much of the accomplishments of the Byeonbangbaek. I imagine that’s why Her Majesty summoned you to the capital, is it not?”
He seemed unaware of the events unfolding in the capital.
“Ah, come to think of it, what exactly did Her Majesty order you to do, Mayor?”
“There was nothing particularly special. Only that I should spare no effort in helping Lord Tamer make use of the highway while passing through Rainpa.”
Ho-yeong had been worried that he might be under orders to escort him as a prisoner.
So Queen Noona didn’t give this guy any special orders after all. It’s just as she said—treat me well?
Reassured, he decided to continue the meeting.
“By the way, Mayor, this coffee. Has it been stored for a while?”
“Ah! Is it not to your taste?”
“No, not at all. Someone as kind as you wouldn’t be using stale beans to slight me.”
“Ah, of course not, of course not.”
Eos looked flustered.
If they had fresh beans, they’d have brewed coffee with those. So why use old ones? The answer’s simple: because only the old stock is left. More importantly, this old man is the type who dodges the question instead of answering it straight.
Ho-yeong quickly caught on.
“I heard you’ve recently been importing large quantities of foodstuffs. Is that because of this?”
“Oh? And where did you hear that?”
“That’s not important. What matters is why, don’t you think?”
He refused to be led around by Eos, who kept trying to blur the issue, and pressed on.
“It takes a long time to bring coffee beans harvested in Thalia all the way here, but I’ve heard you don’t usually buy them in bulk like that. The longer unsold stock sits around, the more the flavor declines, and both retailers and buyers will be dissatisfied. So even if the cost is higher, you’d normally import only as much as needed in small quantities.”
“Well now, you are well informed. I had heard you were formerly a knight, but to think you also know the distribution trade so thoroughly….”
“But lately, you’ve been buying in bulk despite all that. What does that mean?”
Eos jerked in surprise.
“Doesn’t it mean imports will become harder and harder from here on out? To put it more precisely, merchants no longer want to travel this far because monsters are swarming all over the country and blocking the roads.”
Based on his experience handling fresh-food transport at a logistics company, and adding in the information Shrakhim had provided, Ho-yeong reached that conclusion.
“…You saw right through everything. That’s correct.”
As if resigned, Eos gulped down the coffee.
“There’s no point hiding it now. There are hardly any transporters left who want to cross the border.”
Like a blocked channel finally breaking open, he began pouring out his words.
“Even as recently as ten years ago, there were still fools who crossed the wasteland instead of taking the Podwor Highway. Why would they do such a thing when the highway is so much faster?”
“Well, why indeed?”
“Because the inspections at every post station were bothersome, and because they didn’t want to pay the expensive tolls.”
Ho-yeong nodded, thinking of toll booths.
High Pass is convenient, but it’ll cost you a fair bit. Freight checkpoint inspections are a pain too.
“Huh?”
“Ah, nothing. Please continue.”
“Y-yes. In any case, there are no longer any transporters traveling through the wilderness. They never know when they might become monster food. This isn’t a matter of tolls or what have you anymore; they have no choice but to use the highway. But now they’re saying monsters are appearing even on the highway….”
Eos let out a heavy sigh.
“And that isn’t the only problem. Even the smaller towns and lesser territories in the western plains have become terribly quiet.”
“It’s already hard enough to cross the rough wasteland where no highway has even been laid, and on top of that, monsters keep coming and going from the uncharted lands, right?”
“You understand as well, my lord? Well, there’s already been news that even in the Tamer territory, a pack of hopgoblins and hogriphons has appeared.”
Wrinkles deepened further on the mayor’s brow.
“You must have a great deal on your mind, Mayor. A trade city with neither merchants nor customers coming through is no different from a field with neither fertilizer nor water.”
“You see right through me. That is exactly how I feel right now. Khrrk.”
The coffee was cooling, and its flavor had grown bitter.
“Don’t worry, Mayor. I’ll help you.”
Ho-yeong stood up, crunching a lump of rock sugar between his teeth.
“You will help me? How, exactly?”
“We can’t move the field, so let’s bring the fertilizer and water to it.”
While the lord was grilling the mayor, Meyril, Peach, and Goblin 10 had been touring the market.
“U-um. Meyril…-nim? No, Miss Meyril? Ms. Meyril? Ah, damn. The title is awkward.”
Peach was struggling to decide what to call Meyril.
“Ah! You can just call me casually, y-yes? I’m from Malia, and I’m not a noble like Lord Pierre, nor do I have a title like Commander Sicoop, so… I’m seventeen, and Miss Peach is nineteen, so you can treat me like a younger sister if you want.”
“R-really? All right, then, Meyril.”
The two girls shared one thing in common: neither had an official title. Realizing that, Peach became much more relaxed around Meyril.
“I mean, we’re in the same boat. We’ve got nowhere to go, and we don’t have families either. So let’s get along….”
“Wh-what? What do you mean by that?”
Meyril cut Peach off in alarm.
“I may be a foreigner, but I do have a hometown, a house, and a family to go back to.”
“Ah. R-right? Sorry. I thought you didn’t have your parents.”
“…W-what did you just say?!”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant… I thought everyone had already passed away….”
“Why are you making our perfectly alive family into dead people? That’s awful! I even put up with the way you kept glaring at me all this time, and this is what you were thinking?!”
Meyril burst into tears.
“That’s because you kept making it confusing! You’re always sniffling in front of the lord, whining about how lonely you are. It’s your fault! If you’d come to talk to me first even once, none of this misunderstanding would’ve happened!”
Having accidentally said something that sounded like a curse against her parents, Peach panicked and then went completely off the rails.
“…Unnie Peach.”
Meyril looked Peach straight in the eye, narrowing her usually round gaze to slits.
“What’s with that look?”
“You don’t like me, do you?”
Even the ends of her words had grown short and sharp.
“…Whaaaat?”
By contrast, Peach drew out every syllable of her response.
- Uh… ukiiik. Ukk. Please don’t fight, make up, make up. Fighting is bad, bad.
Caught between the surging aura and the swelling magical power, Goblin 10 desperately tried to mediate.
“You shut up!”
“Don’t interfere.”
- Squeak.
Under their terrifying glares, he could only let out a tiny squeak and go silent.
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