Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Reborn as the Plum Blossom Sword Master in the Count's Family
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After teasing Perses once, I took a look around the mansion under construction.
Though I'd cursed at the dwarves, objectively speaking, the construction was progressing at an incredibly fast pace.
'I want to see the completed mansion soon.'
I had designed the mansion. More precisely, I'd commissioned an architect to draw up blueprints for the place in the exact style I wanted.
The dwarves had taken one look at the unfamiliar modern blueprints, grasped them in just a few hours, and immediately begun laying the foundations.
'I need to build a dungeon some distance from the mansion, plus guest annexes... So much to do.'
Money was no issue. I'd sourced most of the building materials through the Korea Merchant Guild. Anything truly hard to find, I'd brought back from the modern world.
'Hehe... Gonna fill this huge mansion with women.'
I had zero intention of letting any other men into my mansion.
Knight or soldiers? Not needed right now. Tevra City's security was decent enough. Aside from the occasional sea monster crawling up from the ocean into the city, there weren't any real threats.
'The guards can handle that much. If Tevra grows, I can hire help then.'
I couldn't bring the Prucker Count family’s Plun Knights with me. They belonged to the Prucker Count family and were tasked with guarding the mansion.
'If I start building up forces here first thing, everyone will think I'm gearing up for war.'
Zent would almost certainly react sensitively to that, so it was better to assemble troops slowly later on.
'Rumors might spread if it's nothing but women in the mansion... but they can just dress as men. Hehe.'
I grinned, picturing the finished mansion.
???
A group of three adventurers arrived at the Prucker Count family estate. Two men and one woman. Greeting them, surprisingly, was Hent, captain of the Plun Knights.
"This way. This way. This is where the Plun Knights' quarters are."
Hent guided the adventurers along.
"Hent. Who would've thought you'd end up as knight captain."
A man with a sword at his waist muttered in disbelief. He'd grown a brown beard down to his chest and kept scanning Hent up and down. Hent was dressed in a sharp knight's uniform.
"That's rude, Nopl. Hent's more than qualified to be a knight."
The group's sole woman spoke up. Phnerin. She wore a robe and carried a staff—your classic mage. Her face peeked prettily from beneath the hood, but middle age had etched faint wrinkles here and there.
"I figured Hent would make it big. Didn't expect knight captain for the grand lord, though."
The other was an elf man with long golden hair. Pale skin, long pointed ears. Over 150 years old, but aside from faint wrinkles, he looked truly young. Beder. A spirit archer.
"Haha. You guys haven't changed a bit."
Hent laughed good-naturedly.
Mercenaries and adventurers. Not much difference in their line of work. They'd once teamed up to raid dungeons and travel the continent. That was a whopping fifteen years ago.
"But is it really okay for us to just waltz into the Prucker Count estate like this?"
Phnerin glanced around cautiously as she asked. She knew no one was nearby, but it was the grand lord's mansion—it made her feel watched anyway.
"It's fine. I already got permission from the countess for you all to come and go. Besides, things around the mansion are pretty lax these days... Plenty of leeway, you know."
"Lax? Isn't this the grand lord's place? Shouldn't it be busy as hell?"
Hent shrugged at Nopl's question.
"The Prucker Count family is a bit special. Right now, the only one in the mansion is the countess. Lord Ention and his eldest son, Young Master Zent, are living at Utren Castle."
"Huh? Doesn't the Prucker Count have three sons?"
"The third son, Young Master Yujin, got his barony about two months ago and became lord of Tevra. As for the second son, Kyle..."
Hent let out a hollow chuckle. Even now, it was absurd.
"This is one of those secrets everyone's in on but pretends not to be... but Young Master Kyle ran away from home a month ago."
"Ran away?! Why would a young master do that? What was he missing?"
"Beats me. I wasn't that close to him. Maybe he got inspired on that trip to the Hughes Snow Mountains last time."
Beder gave Hent a look of exasperation at his casual tone.
"Can a knight talk like that?"
"Young Master Kyle's not here anyway, so who cares? Come on in. This is the Plun Knights' training ground and barracks. Our own private barracks, you could say."
The three followed Hent inside.
At the entrance stood a knight squire, armored up with spear and sword, unlike his usual self. Tension was plain on his rigid face.
"Captain! You've arrived!"
The squire bellowed.
Hent nodded.
"Yeah. Good work today, as always."
After a brief exchange, Hent led his old friends into the building.
"...They seem pretty disciplined... Did they tighten up just 'cause we showed up?"
Nopl's sharp eyes had caught it.
Hent grinned like he'd heard a good joke.
'Damn, Nopl's as perceptive as ever.'
In truth, Hent had cracked down on the entire Plun Knights. Couldn't show his old pals a sloppy unit—it'd ruin his image. He wanted to impress them with his authority.
"What kind of insult is that? The Plun Knights stay on their toes at all times. You never know when we'll have to deploy. Gotta keep the body tense so the sword swings true when it counts."
"Ah... Sorry. You reminded me of the old you, and it didn't fit the new knight captain vibe."
"I get it. Sometimes I look back and can't believe I'm a knight captain myself. Come in. This is my office."
Hent showed his old friends his office. It gleamed spotless. He'd called in the squires yesterday to scrub every corner. Not a speck of dust anywhere.
"Ooooh."
His friends' admiration stroked Hent's ego. The swords mounted on the wall were a big hit especially.
"Hang on a sec. I'll brew us some tea myself."
"You? Serving tea?"
"The new me enjoys tea plenty. Pulled out something special for you guys."
Hent fetched his prepped magic kettle and teacups. Fired it up, and the water inside bubbled furiously.
As he dropped something into the cups, Phnerin tilted her head.
"Huh? What's that?"
"Oh, this? Mix coffee. Just hot water and a cup, anyone can make coffee easy."
"Coffee?"
A tea enthusiast mage, she'd never heard of it.
"Looks like black powder and white powder... That's tea?"
"It's a type of tea Young Master Yujin invented. It's all the rage in the Prucker territory lately. Even the countess enjoys it often."
Hent poured hot water from the kettle into the cups.
"...Smells pretty good, at least."
"This trendy tea...?"
"Coffee, was it? The color's awful. Like muddy water."
Coffee didn't look appealing. That deep brown resembled sludge. But the aroma was strong enough to pique their curiosity.
"Just try it. You'll see."
Hent said confidently. He'd hated coffee at first too. Never been a tea guy. But this mix coffee had a weird pull when working. Now he had one a day.
Slurp.
Hent sipped first. His old friends cautiously lifted their cups and tasted.
Their eyes went wide.
"This is..."
"Delicious! Better than black tea?!"
"Doesn't match the muddy look at all. Really good. Great aroma too. Sugar in it?"
Phnerin eyed the box on the desk. Mix coffee, huh. Tear the packet, dump in cup, add hot water. Simple. And packets were portable.
"Mix coffee, right? Where'd you get it? I'd love to buy some."
"...Not for sale yet. Young Master Yujin said it'll go official through the Korea Merchant Guild in a few months. I got a few boxes, so I'll hook you up with one later."
"For real? Thanks, Hent! I mean, Sir Hent!"
"Call me whatever. Here, try this too. Cookies Young Master Yujin invented. The knights love 'em."
"Weird shape. Cookies?"
"Yeah. This one's called Choco Pie."
???
Hent took his old friends to the training grounds.
The knights were sweating buckets, drilling hard.
"Captain! You've arrived!"
"Mm. Sir Marethin. Training hard today too, I see. Nothing to report?"
"None, sir!"
The old friends watched the knights train in hushed awe. Real knight drills weren't something you saw every day—even if staged.
"Hent. What's that stuff the knights are using?"
The elf Beder asked.
"Exercise gear Young Master Yujin made. Easier to build muscle with machines than plain workouts."
"...Young Master Yujin again. Quite the guy."
"Yeah. Quite the guy."
Hent's voice held a touch of gloom.
Since Yujin left the mansion, no more gifts. Hent just wanted the Korea Merchant Guild up and running ASAP. Then he could buy beer cans, smokes, and more.
"Those shoes? Everyone's wearing the same ones."
"Ah, those are combat boots Young Master Yujin invented. Comfy, tough, waterproof. We wear 'em when not in armor. Go on sale official? They'll fly off shelves."
"Hooh. Really?"
His adventurer friends perked up. All had shoe-blowout horror stories from travels. If as durable as claimed, they'd buy.
Come evening, Hent broke out his stashed canned beer and ramen for the old pals.
"Grrraaah! This canned beer stuff! Incredible!"
"Hahaha. Knew you'd say that, Nopl. Here, try this. Ramen. Super rare. Only 'cause it's you guys. Anyone else, wouldn't even show it."
The old friends eyed the pot-cooked ramen skeptically.
"This is supposed to be rare?"
"Just dump ingredients in boiling water. Dead simple. Doesn't look that fancy."
"Heh. Give it a shot. It'll blow your mind."
Hent slurped noodles expertly with chopsticks. They fumbled forks awkwardly.
"Mm!?"
Their eyes bulged. Salty, spicy. A bold new flavor. Not bad. Addictive, even.
"Try this too. Drink you can't get anywhere else."
"Black liquid. Ink? Bubbles too. Poison?"
"Poison? Lame joke, Beder."
Beder sipped cola warily. His handsome face scrunched... but he kept gulping.
"Whhew. This is wild too. Young Master Yujin again?"
"Yup. Total genius."
After dinner, Hent casually lit a cigarette with his lighter.
His old friends stared.
Hent grinned and offered them smokes.
"Heh. You guys give it a try too."