The Tale of the Brave King
After news of the ancient ruins spread, it traveled like wildfire in every direction. To verify the rumor’s authenticity, all sorts of people flocked to Trajan Village. After all, this was the revelation of ruins hiding the secrets of monsters. Even those who had never cared about ancient ruins before were now deeply interested. Thanks to that, Trajan Village was bustling, but there were no major problems. Unlike the Central region, where manners were often an afterthought, the North was full of gentlemen and ladies who understood etiquette.
With former Gold-class adventurer Werner at the center, the village hunters managed crowd control, so public order was maintained without any major incidents. The shortage of lodging was solved with tents brought in by the guild. The exploration of the ruins, led by scholars and their staff who had set up a base camp near the village, proceeded smoothly.
In the meantime, I gave a situation report to Arthur and Vergo, who had come to the village.
“So what you’re saying is, you went back to your hometown after a long time, happened to find a new type of monster tormenting the village, went looking for it, and discovered ancient ruins?”
“Yes. Isn’t it amazing, even from Your Grace’s perspective?”
Arthur, who had been preparing a surprise in Edenberg County only to receive this ultra-special news, examined the materials I handed over and let out a small gasp of admiration. After hearing the shocking hidden story, he wondered if such a thing was even possible. The odds were so absurd that a hollow laugh escaped him, but what could he do? The fact that the young adventurers before him had discovered the ruins was undeniable.
Having heard the shocking truth, Arthur looked at me with a proud expression. When someone accomplishes something, a reward must follow. Since promising young people had distinguished themselves, it was only right that he, as the Grand Duke of the North, reward their achievements.
“It’s only natural that a suitable reward be given to the young heroes who discovered something like this. If there’s anything you want, just say the word. In the name of the Grand Duke, I can grant almost anything.”
“What if I asked for a territory?”
“If you did, I’d be the one thanking you. I’d have to check how many territories are still left in the North without owners. Since you’ve built up plenty of merit already, I’d carve one out for you without being stingy.”
I had only said it as a joke, but Arthur actually looked pleased. When I saw him ready to start searching for ownerless land in the North right then and there, I shook my head.
“It’s fine. I don’t need a territory right now.”
“Wouldn’t it be good to have one?”
“Managing it would be a hassle. For now, traveling the world sounds better. If I had a territory, I’d be tied down.”
“Krr, so you’ve already realized that.”
At my words, Vergo, who was standing beside Arthur, gave me a proud look. Having half-retired from being an adventurer and holding no position except branch manager, Vergo only handled guild branch duties and spent the rest of his time enjoying his freedom. Arthur, who knew this well, looked at Vergo with envy.
“How about you become a noble too while we’re at it? I’ll specially raise you to Count.”
“No thanks. I’m perfectly satisfied as branch manager.”
“Most heads of houses are out on the front lines anyway. Just appoint a capable proxy or a trustworthy regent like Count Edenberg.”
“Even so, the duties of a head of house don’t disappear. Just looking at Your Grace, I can see my future clearly.”
“...I have no rebuttal.”
The North was a place where even nobles died frequently. If a head of house had no children or their direct bloodline was wiped out and they lost their successor, the territory would naturally revert to the Libertas Grand Duchy. To fill the sudden vacuum left by a missing noble, the Grand Duke and his administrators had to work themselves to the bone. Every few months, for each territory, they had to fight massive battles against monsters with the fate of the land—commonly called “territory bread”—on the line. The more territories one managed, the more the workload increased exponentially. That was why nobles actively encouraged the adventurer guild’s activities.
Arthur, standing at the pinnacle of such nobles, licked his lips as he looked at me, the Ruin siblings, and Vergo.
“If you become a noble now, I’ll give you an extra territory. You won’t get an opportunity like this anywhere else, you know?”
I never dreamed I’d see a 1+1 event here. Faced with Arthur’s blatant attempt to drag us into a hell of paperwork, we quietly averted our eyes in response. Arthur let out a regretful sigh at our reaction, decided to wait for the next chance, and moved on to the main topic. After all, investigating the newly acquired information was the top priority.
“Let’s put that aside for later. For now, all the materials you discovered will be sent to the Ancient Civilization Excavation Team.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. Are the people on the excavation team doing well? The last time I saw them was in the West, so my memory’s a bit fuzzy.”
“They joined the excavation team because they love ancient civilizations, so of course they’re doing well. From what I hear, ruins are being discovered so frequently in the North that they’re moving their main base of operations here.”
They’re really doing it. At Arthur’s words, I unconsciously clicked my tongue. I knew they were energetic, but I hadn’t expected them to uproot their entire foundation and relocate to the North. I had thought they might split their personnel and send some, but to change their primary base of operations? The North was going to be noisy for a while.
I took back the video orb Arthur handed me, stored it in my inventory, and said,
“That’s all the information I can provide. The rest will be uncovered through the scholars’ investigation.”
“Good. You’ve done more than enough. If you need anything later, just tell me.”
“Nothing comes to mind right now. Just please take good care of Trajan Village.”
I looked out the window cut into the tent at Trajan Village. Scholars were moving busily. Whether they were interpreting the materials excavated from the ruins through some mysterious method, their serious faces as they conversed with guild staff strangely tickled my chest. I hadn’t intended to, but I felt a sense of pride for having helped make the village famous.
It was fascinating to see a place filled with precious memories become well-known and spoken of by so many people. In exchange, Werner, who had been quietly living in seclusion, was now busily running around. That was unfortunate, but still. I felt a sense of satisfaction at the sight of the lively village.
Of course, the expressions on Arthur and Vergo’s faces, who now had to manage the ruins we had discovered, were not so pleasant.
“With this, the surprise is completely ruined.”
“Handling the ruins is more important. By the way, what kind of surprise were you preparing? You kept it a secret from me too.”
“It wasn’t anything special. I was going to let you experience being a Northern adventurer.”
“We had Silver-class monsters of various types prepared.”
I looked at the two of them with an incredulous expression. Silver-class monsters weren’t some neighbor’s dog’s name. If you told someone from the Central region to hunt a Silver-class monster, ninety-nine out of a hundred would fail. Not because of a difference in talent, but because the gap in basic physical ability and experience was simply too vast.
“Don’t worry about failure. We were planning to hire reliable safety personnel.”
“With Neon, the North’s greatest black mage, he could draw the monsters’ attention no matter the situation.”
“With Neon around, we could definitely handle any dangerous situations.”
I immediately understood what the two were saying. Up until now, the number of battles where Neon had used his black magic to pull off a super save easily exceeded ten. Considering how monsters hated—no, loathed—black magic, it was a plan that could never fail.
As I nodded at the perfect safety measure, I suddenly thought about the correlation between black magic and monsters. Come to think of it, perhaps the reason monsters reacted so sensitively to black magic was because they had been created by human hands. If black magic had a bad reputation even in ancient times, the ancients who designed the monsters would have naturally instilled a rejection response to it.
When I shared that thought with the two, both Arthur and Vergo looked like they found it plausible.
“It’s true that the monsters’ aversion to black magic is abnormal.”
“Maybe, just as you said, that’s why they’re so sensitive to it.”
Watching them mutter that they should keep that point in mind while investigating the ruins, I shrugged. I had done more than enough. The rest was the job of the scholars and those in charge, so I decided to quietly step back since I wouldn’t be of any help. If I stayed here any longer, I might get dragged into some annoying business.
Since I had finally come home, I couldn’t spend the whole time working and then leave. Before departing, I headed to the last place I wanted to visit. It was the decisive reason I had decided to come to this village after listening to the Ruin siblings’ suggestion, and it was also a place I wouldn’t return to for the next two years.
“I’m here.”
After passing through the chaotic streets and arriving at the orphanage, I naturally opened the door. As soon as I stepped inside, the children who had been playing rushed over all at once.
“Argo hyung! Tell us again about how you discovered the ancient ruins!”
“It’s all because of Argo hyung that so many people came to our village, right?”
“I heard the adults talking—the Grand Duke and the Blue Fanged Wolf came too!”
“You’re the best! Hyung is seriously the coolest!”
At the children’s pure, admiring gazes, I smiled lightly and patted their heads. Trajan Village was a remote countryside place. The children, finding it amazing that so many people had gathered in the village, jumped around in excitement. After dealing with them appropriately, I headed for the stairs leading to the second floor, only to run into Werner, who had been waiting at the entrance.
“You’re leaving?”
“If I stay like this, I’ll get caught by His Grace and Mr. Werner and fall into a paperwork hell.”
As if he had known I would come here, he waved his hand leisurely in greeting. Since we had spent many years together, I had thought Werner might predict my behavior and move ahead to meet me, but I hadn’t expected to actually run into him. Feeling a pleasant miscalculation, I smiled faintly.
Werner, seeing my expression, grumbled softly.
“You sneaky bastard. Thanks to you, I’ve been busy day and night.”
“You’ve rested plenty until now. With the subjugation war in two years, you need to start rehabilitation.”
“Only speaking the cold truth, huh.”
“Train hard. In two years, you need to show your disciple a cool sight.”
“I’ll do my best.”
We conversed in a warm atmosphere. Since both of us would be busy with the subjugation in two years, we talked to our hearts’ content. When we ran out of things to say, we fell into a quiet silence. Both of us enjoyed silence. There were times when not speaking still felt comfortable. This moment was one of those times for us.
After enjoying the silence for a while, Werner checked the time and handed me a box he had placed on the stairs.
“I’ve roughly heard the rumors about you. I felt something was off ever since the animals started following you. I expected you might look for items related to the ancient civilization among the things your parents left behind, so I brought it in advance.”
“Thanks to you, I’ve saved time searching through the attic storage.”
“I remember the locations of all the items left by the parents of the children living in the orphanage. I don’t know what’s inside, so you’ll have to find it yourself.”
“There’s no need.”
I received the box, opened it on the spot, and took out an old picture book. I gently stroked the book titled The Tale of the Brave King with a nostalgic expression.
“This book is enough. The rest are just ordinary items.”
I closed the box and handed it back to Werner. He scratched his head, then placed the box back on the stairs. Meanwhile, I examined the book’s condition. It was somewhat crude, the material was rough, and the content felt condensed and simplistic. It was hard to give it a good evaluation as a picture book for children. But it couldn’t be helped. This picture book had been passed down in our family since our ancestors’ time.
Since it was a story no one outside the family knew, there was no way to obtain it elsewhere. That was why my parents had handmade this book. I carefully opened the picture book, checked its contents, and said,
“I read it a lot when I was young. Back then I thought it was just an ordinary picture book, but as time passed, I realized it contained hidden secrets.”
“The Tale of the Brave King, huh. Is it what I’m thinking?”
“Your guess is probably correct.”
“...Good heavens.”
At my words, Werner let out a hollow laugh. Considering the information we had found in the ruins this time, he could guess who the Brave King was. Werner couldn’t take his eyes off the picture book with its childish drawings.
“This book contains everything—how the Brave King dealt with the wicked monsters, how the wise dragons who received the king’s request operated, and who turned the land where the heroes disappeared into a land of abundance after the king’s plan succeeded. Though the explanations are only rough outlines, so we’ll need experts’ help to verify the facts.”
“I never dreamed such an enormous secret was hidden in this village. And to think that information was right here in the orphanage where I live.”
“No one could have predicted it. Who would have thought such incredible information would be contained in a mere picture book meant for young children?”
I shrugged lightly, put the picture book into my inventory, and stepped out of the orphanage.
“You’ll hear some incredible news soon. Please watch your disciple succeed brilliantly.”
“Alright. I’ll wait with joy.”
Leaving behind Werner, who laughed playfully, I stepped outside and rejoined my party who had been waiting at the orphanage entrance. Since I had already told them why I was entering the orphanage, Neon looked at me, whose mood had slightly sunk, and asked carefully.
“Did you find the memento you wanted?”
“Yeah. Just as expected, everything was contained in the picture book that had been passed down through the generations.”
“I never dreamed something like that would be in such an obvious place.”
“Tell me about it. If I had known, I should have come sooner.”
Having properly experienced the saying that it is darkest under the lamp, I clicked my tongue. Of course, even if I had come earlier, I probably wouldn’t have thought to open the box containing my parents’ mementos.
I glanced back at the gradually receding orphanage and muttered,
“I’ll come back for my parents’ mementos after subjugating the Mountain Dragon.”
I voiced a determination that might have been meant for someone or no one, shaking off the heaviness trying to settle in my heart. I couldn’t ruin my companions’ mood on such a good day.
Returning to my usual bright expression, I climbed onto Ikelos and headed back to Edenberg. There was still a lot of work left to do.