Chapter 122: Enough with the Idle Talk
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Enough with the Idle Talk
Rune and Narupa were dragged off to a room by the Countess.
Narupa wailed, asking why she had to be scolded too, but she followed along helplessly under the Countess’s gaze, which was colder than ice.
Yarismal went with them to check on Rune’s condition in real-time, while Eris headed to the Adventurer Guild with Diane, saying she had plenty of work to catch up on after her break.
That left only me, the old man, Levantello, and Donovan in the drawing room.
“Good grief, it’s nothing but a bunch of crusty old farts in here.”
“My apologies, Bloodhound. I’m sorry to make you deal with three men when you have four wives of your own.”
Levantello seemed strangely on edge.
He was usually the most easygoing of the bunch, so seeing him snap back at my grumbling made me wonder if something was up.
“Did you leave something behind in the Duchy?”
“Ahem! Hmph!”
I took a jab at him, and it looked like I hit the mark.
He let out an uncomfortable cough and turned his body away.
“Levantello’s daughter is in the Duchy,” Donovan answered for him. “He was already in a foul mood because the Prince has been pestering her to marry him. With the Black Rose Movement going on, he’s even more high-strung.”
“Donovan, why are you bringing that up?!”
“He likely knew already.”
Actually, I didn’t.
I think I heard it from the old man once, but I forgot.
“I didn’t know.”
“See? He says he didn’t know!”
“Ho-ho-ho-ho! I knew, though!”
“Aie, you damn old geezer!”
So it was a family matter.
That explained Levantello’s restless behavior. Sadly, the one who wants something more is always the one getting dragged around.
I decided to let the man stew a bit longer. The most difficult opponent at this table was Donovan.
“You said you were a Prince-Bishop? You sure get around. Where did you come from? Aztera?”
“I was at the Aztera Church. And yes, I am a Prince-Bishop. Within the Duchy, at least.”
“Because women swarm you?”
“Hah. As I always say, I still don’t understand why women claim to like me.”
This guy and his shitty way of talking.
It’s not like he has some incredibly handsome face, but the moment he opens his mouth, women just start following him around.
What did they call it? A man’s “decadent beauty”?
The guy does nothing but ask questions and never gives answers—what kind of decadent beauty is that supposed to be?
“So, why did you come to Hus?”
“Why?! I already told you! The Duchy has made a formal request for aid regarding the Black Rose Movement and the Dungeon Backflow!”
“Old man, is it really ‘formal’ to send just two war veterans and ask for help? If it were formal, that would mean you’re a diplomatic delegation. Where’s your escort? I’m not even sure if that seal on the documents is the real deal.”
“It is real! Do you take me for a forger of official documents?!”
“Well, when a man’s family is on the line, you have to wonder. I’d do anything for my family, too. It’s because I understand that feeling that I’m even sitting here talking to you.”
I threw the same logic Rune had used in the carriage right back at Levantello.
Levantello pulled out the documents and shoved them in front of my eyes.
“Look closely. This is the seal of the Archducal family.”
“Ah, I see. So what?”
“Alto!”
“Don’t raise your voice, old man.”
For once, the old man beside me offered me a cigar.
Since it was just us men, I figured it was fine. As I put it in my mouth, the old man personally lit it for me.
I held the smoke in for a moment before exhaling, pointing the cigar at Levantello.
“You’re not asking for Hus to dispatch regular troops; you’re specifically asking for me and my party to come, aren’t you? My party is made up of my wives. That’s how adventurer parties usually are. But what kind of adventurer party in the world is composed entirely of the local power players of a region? Other than us, I mean.”
“Ho-ho-ho-ho! The world is a cold place. Once your own family is safe, everyone else’s family becomes a secondary concern.”
“The adventurer Rene’s party is my family.”
“And they are also the core pillars of our administration here in Hus,” the old man added.
The old man and I shared the cigar, taking turns puffing on it.
Seriously, whether it’s booze or cigars, he’s surprisingly good at hoarding the good stuff.
Levantello reacted actively to our conversation, but the other man didn’t.
He just stared at us quietly.
That characteristic observation of his had begun.
“Hey, Mr. Shitty-Talker. Honestly, you’re more suspicious than Levantello. You don’t seem to have a clear motive.”
“Would you believe me if I said it was to stay alive?”
“A man who only cared about philosophy suddenly has a will to live?”
“Philosophy—the meaning of life and happiness. Since I haven’t discovered the truth of those things yet, wouldn’t it be natural to develop a desire to prolong my life?”
“There you go with that shitty roundabout talking again.”
The drawing room was thick with smoke. Fearing I’d start coughing uncoolly, I opened the window myself.
“You two, and you, old man.”
The murky smoke drifted into the night sky, dotting it like stars.
“We’re all people who gathered here because we were tired of the schemes and machinations of the places we used to be. Why are we still testing each other and talking so much? Let’s be honest. If you feel like shit, just draw your swords and dance. I’ll take on whatever you throw at me.”
Originally, I planned to play dumb along with the old man and slowly needle them for information, but I started wondering what the point was.
It’s actually quite sad.
That we, former brothers-in-arms, are acting like this.
That even we are behaving just like the bastards who treated us that way.
That we, who fought together to protect our nations and families, are being swept away by the shitty storms of this world.
“I can’t just leave the Demons be.”
“I knew it! I knew you’d say that, Alto!”
“However, I trust neither the Duchy nor the Kingdom. I’m sick of them seeing us war veterans as convenient tools to keep under their heels. Besides, once it’s over, they’ll treat us like a nuisance just like they did after the Final War. We’ve already been through that. The old man and I want our own peace. The peace we’re going to build here in Hus. If anything threatens that, I won’t stand for it. Whether it’s the Demons, the Duchy, or the Kingdom—they can all go to hell for all I care.”
“…I feel the same. I am doing this for my daughter.”
“And you want to marry her off to the Prince?”
“The boy is no different from the Crown Prince of the Kingdom. No, add an inferiority complex on top of that, and you get the Prince.”
Ugh, that damn inferiority complex.
As someone who witnessed firsthand what that complex did to one man, and what it did to the devoted woman who loved him, I couldn’t feel good about it.
“Ho-ho-ho! Levantello, I understand your position, but if Hus agrees to this, there are more than a few problematic points.”
“What could be problematic? The Duchy requested it, and we responded.”
“You must be very anxious. To the point of ignoring the obvious facts and trying to force your logic on us.”
“Ahem…”
At the old man’s remark, Levantello lowered his gaze. I knew it was too much to ask him to be calm.
“Aid is indeed necessary. But it cannot be done this way.”
“What do you mean, ‘this way’?”
“Using us as errand boys as if it’s only natural. Treating us as nothing more than convenient pawns and trying to discard us like leftover chicken bones.”
“We are war veterans! We protected the nation! And we are as powerful as we are survivors! Our value is limitless!”
“Levantello, those words sound less like a statement and more like a plea to the Duchy’s leadership.”
“Old man!”
“I told you before, the only one allowed to call me ‘old man’ is Alto.”
The old man took a deep drag of the cigar. Was he seriously trying to inhale it?
A cigar?
“Furthermore, you two came straight to Hus. The Kingdom won’t just sit by and watch. Once the matter is settled, they will hold the Duchy accountable, and the Duchy will have a pretext to get rid of you.”
“The Prince wants to marry my daughter, so they won’t be able to do that easily.”
“Because the Prince wants to marry your daughter, they can do it very easily, Levantello. You’re anxious. Extremely anxious. That’s why you’re ignoring facts that even your mind could easily predict, wanting only an immediate solution to the problem at hand. But the Duchy and the Kingdom will keep throwing problems at us. Just so we can’t look elsewhere. All while they slowly prepare to finish us off from behind and from the sides.”
“My problem right now is my daughter’s safety! If I can just secure her, I’ll be able to look at the situation as coldly as you two! I’m the one standing in the middle of the fire!”
“Levantello.”
This time, Donovan called his name.
Donovan lifted his nose, savoring the scent of the cigar.
“I have always wanted to be rational. That is why I often questioned irrational decisions and thoughts.”
“Donovan, I’m not in the mood for your questions right now…”
“Shut up and listen, man.”
“Donovan?”
A strange light flickered in the old man’s eyes.
I held out the cigar I’d received from the old man to Donovan. Taking it, Donovan sniffed it again and took a puff.
“But even a man like me… is ultimately swayed by emotion when making a judgment.”
The furrow in his brow didn’t smooth out even after the smoke dispersed.
“If I had to describe my mood in one word… it’s fucking shitty.”
I let out a hollow laugh. To think I’d hear such words from this man.
“It’s shitty that I tried to help a comrade only to be abandoned and left behind by the Duchy. It’s shitty when I think of the pastor who died because of me while I was escaping here. The Kingdom is shitty, too. And it’s shitty that I couldn’t even properly deal with Krima, whom I sent to you as a gift, Alto. Everything is just fucking shitty.”
Passing the cigar to Levantello, Donovan sank deep into his chair.
“Goddammit, can’t we live with a little respect? It’s at the point where I felt safer and more comfortable playing around with those Demon bastards at my side.”
At Donovan’s words, Levantello gave a bitter smile and puffed on the cigar.
“Will Hus treat us with respect? I don’t even ask for respect. Just let us live like human beings.”
“Sounds good.”
I stood up and took the cigar back.
“Securing Levantello’s daughter and ensuring our own safety—those are the two main items on the agenda. Hey, you old geezers. It looks like you all already have something in mind?”
The old man grinned.
“I’ll write a letter filled with a bucketload of curses.”
Donovan yawned and stretched his arms.
“I’ll take that letter and head to Lukart.”
“Then…”
I looked at Levantello.
“We should get moving.”
“How, exactly?”
“The same way we always do.”
Chuckling, I cut the cigar again and struck a match for him.
“Let’s run, Levantello.”
“…I like the sound of that.”
Pitter-patter.
Raindrops began to fall against the window.