Chapter 162: Do Your Worst (1)
Chapter 162: Do Your Worst (1)
Originally, Patrick had intended to take on all the powerhouses of the Eastern kingdoms.
Starting with the Decator Kingdom, he planned to clear out the Yuzef Kingdom above it, and then move on to the Flame Kingdom. However…
“Even so, visiting the Yuzef Kingdom right now is a bit much, isn't it?”
“Obviously.”
“Is that even a question?”
At Patrick’s words, Isabella and Matthew answered as if it were a given.
“Tsk, I didn't expect things to get so twisted.”
The reason Patrick was so disappointed was that the situation in the Yuzef Kingdom was currently in utter chaos.
The Yuzef Kingdom had fallen into a state of extreme turmoil when Prince Sierion took over the throne.
While it was officially called a succession, anyone in the know understood that he had essentially ousted his father and usurped the crown.
Prince Sierion hadn't even been that high in the line of succession, yet he suddenly seized military control of the capital and ascended to the throne himself.
In the process, the former king was imprisoned, and his other brothers were purged.
Naturally, people emerged who refused to recognize Sierion as king.
King Sierion was currently suppressing those opposition forces with brute strength.
As a result, the Yuzef Kingdom was currently plagued by civil war.
If one were to visit and request a duel at a time like this, they might be treated like a lunatic.
Tsk, that guy looked like he was going to cause trouble ever since I saw him at Arcana, and he finally went and did it.
Patrick remembered Sierion clearly.
In fact, among the people he had seen at Arcana, Sierion had left the strongest impression on him, second only to the Sword Saint.
In Patrick’s estimation, if he hadn't been there, Sierion would most likely have won the Arcana tournament.
He didn't particularly want to get involved with that type of person.
“Well, it can't be helped. As they say, a gentleman stays away from danger.”
“What’s a gentleman?”
“Someone like me.”
“So, a bad guy.”
“……”
In an instant, 'gentleman' had become synonymous with 'bad guy.'
Regardless, Patrick adjusted his course to the west instead of the north.
Located there was the Caesar Kingdom, a place Patrick had intended to visit after finishing off the Eastern nations.
A powerful nation that occupied the north-central part of the continent and hosted the Tower of Truth within its borders.
Publicly, the kingdom boasted nine 7-Star knights alone.
Considering that the Eastern nations usually possessed only one to three 7-Star knights, it was a formidable force.
“Tsk, nine of them. I originally planned to take them all down…”
“You were actually making such a terrifying plan?”
“If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right.”
At Patrick’s words, Matthew shook his head.
A monster was truly a monster.
Even for a knight's training journey, the scale was entirely different from that of an ordinary person.
“But I felt it in the Decator Kingdom too—if I try to catch them all, people start interfering. I should just aim for a few big fish.”
With that, the first destination Patrick reached after crossing the border was here.
The great city of the Caesar Kingdom, Andmion.
* * *
Upon entering the city, Patrick looked around and marveled slightly.
“The city is quite big, isn't it?”
The central road was wide enough for eight carriages to pass simultaneously.
To the left and right, buildings of at least five stories were arranged in an orderly fashion.
Andmion was a city large enough to rival White Town, the capital of the Atronia Kingdom.
And in fact, this was no ordinary city.
“It used to be the capital of a nation, after all. This scale is only natural.”
“It was a capital?”
“You didn't know?”
“Was I supposed to?”
At Patrick’s response, Matthew let out a sigh filled with the emotion of 'What did I even expect from this guy?' and said:
“Until just twenty years ago, Andmion was the capital of the Kreutz Kingdom.”
“Ahhh… Wait, come to think of it, I think I’ve heard of this place.”
Patrick searched his memory.
Andmion, Andmion…
The name sounded familiar, but the memory was just out of reach…
“Ah, those mercenaries back then!”
[You’re quite rude for a brat. I am Georges, the Survivor of Andmion.]
After racking his brain, Patrick successfully pulled the name Andmion from his distant memories.
Back when he first met Red, during the process of dealing with that traitor, the mercenaries the other side had hired were said to be from here.
The Kreutz Kingdom, which had been destroyed in the war with the Caesar Kingdom.
The site of the fierce battle where that kingdom had resisted until the very, very end.
That was Andmion.
Even when the Kreutz Kingdom had lost all its territory and only the capital remained, they had held out and resisted here for ten long years.
“No wonder many of the buildings look strangely new…”
It had seemed odd that a city with such a long history had so many newly built structures.
But it made sense if they were rebuilding what had been destroyed in the war.
Matthew nodded at Patrick’s observation and said:
“I heard that toward the end, they ran out of stones for the catapults, so they tore down buildings and fired the debris instead.”
“That must have been desperate.”
“I imagine so. Though they lost in the end.”
The Kreutz Kingdom had been a small country, but it was once a kingdom that proudly held its name on the continent.
Such a nation had vanished completely after losing the war.
And now, this city was fully incorporated into the Caesar Kingdom.
Looking at the massive city and the people living busily within it, it was hard to believe that this place had been a battlefield just a few decades ago.
The people living on this land must have done their best to rebuild a city that had been thoroughly destroyed by war.
That certainly couldn't have been easy.
Were they not the people of a defeated nation who had lost their country?
How much sweat and tears must they have shed to raise their thoroughly destroyed home once again?
As Patrick looked upon this site of sorrowful history, he was struck by a strange sense of—
“I’m hungry. Where should we eat?”
—actually, he wasn't struck by anything.
The character of a man who was called a 'Great Hero' in his past life was exactly like this.
Matthew also replied nonchalantly.
“Since it’s a big city, there will be plenty of inns that serve food. Let’s go there.”
“Oh, sounds good. They’ll have booze, right?”
“Of course. The dark beer from this region is a high-quality product exported even to the Empire.”
“Kueeee… Then we have to drink it.”
Patrick and Matthew walked toward an inn with their arms around each other's shoulders, anticipating the dark beer.
Isabella and April followed silently behind them.
He really had corrupted these kids.
This is why you have to be careful about the friends you keep…
Gulp, gulp…
“Oh…”
After a brief pause, Patrick let out a short exclamation of admiration and resumed what he was doing.
Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp…
The rhythm of his throat was incredibly fast and precise.
The beer mug, which was larger than most people's heads, was emptied without hesitation.
Having finished the beer cleanly, Patrick slammed the mug down with a thud and spoke with total sincerity.
“Kueeeee. This is killer!”
Patrick didn't originally like beer that much.
It didn't suit his preference for strong spirits.
It was fine to drink instead of water when eating meat with soldiers, but he never sought it out when he wanted to drink. However…
“This is truly amazing.”
“The flavor is insane.”
“It really is excellent.”
“…Wow.”
Even April, who showed the least emotion, let out a small exclamation.
That was how excellent this dark beer was.
A savory and rich sensation that filled the mouth.
A cool and clean finish down the throat.
Though it wasn't an expensive, famous vintage, it was impressive that a commoner’s drink like beer could be this magnificent.
“Another round over here, please!”
When Patrick raised his hand to order more beer, a woman who appeared to be the innkeeper appeared.
With a physique more impressive than most men, she was moving nimbly, holding eight beer mugs in each hand with forearms as thick as logs.
She arrived at Patrick’s table and boisterously set down the additional beers.
“Here’s your refill!”
As soon as she set the mug down, Patrick picked it up and gulped it back.
“Kuaaa… Killer. This is truly a work of art.”
“You sure drink heartily, young man.”
“Because the booze is amazing. What exactly is this?”
“What else? It’s just ordinary dark beer.”
“Ayy, I don't think so. If this is ordinary dark beer, then all the beer I’ve had until now becomes trash, doesn't it?”
“Ahahaha! You’ve got a silver tongue. I’ll throw in some extra snacks on the house.”
“Whoa, I thought you only had good looks, ma'am, but you’ve got a generous heart too.”
“Listen to him talk. Your girlfriend next to you is going to get jealous.”
“If she does, she does.”
“Ahahaha!”
The innkeeper laughed heartily, slapping Patrick on the back with her thick hand.
Watching the scene, Matthew chuckled.
This guy, seriously…
Sometimes, he really couldn't understand him.
Though it was a minor house, the Schneider family was a landed noble family with a long lineage spanning hundreds of years, and Patrick was its sole heir.
In other words, he was a blue-blooded noble.
Furthermore, he was the fiancé of Princess Isabella and, crucially, a supreme powerhouse who had reached the 7-Star realm.
If he were to visit the Imperial Palace right now, it was certain the Emperor himself would come out to welcome him.
Yet here was Patrick, laughing and joking without any pretense with an ordinary innkeeper.
Was it because he had a good personality and character?
Not a chance.
That was definitely not it.
Matthew could swear it on all the assets of the Elvador Merchant Group. However…
He’s not exactly a bad guy either.
Now, moving past the innkeeper, Patrick was even toasting with the local middle-aged man at the next table and having a speed-drinking contest.
“Chug! Chug! Chug!”
“Chug! Chug! Chug!”
Amidst the enthusiastic cheering of the surrounding drunks, Patrick emptied his mug by a landslide and said, shaking it over his head:
“Kuhaha. No one else? Does this neighborhood not know how to drink?”
“What was that?”
“I’ll take you on!”
“Bring it!”
It was truly absurd.
How could he be like that?
After a few beers, the inn lobby had turned into a full-blown festival.
Even among those known as paragons of character among the nobility, Matthew had never seen anyone mingle so naturally and without reserve with commoners.
But how could this rascal blend in so naturally with people?
Patrick was mingling with the crowd, relentlessly challenging them to drinking bouts.
“Next, ah… wait, before that, where’s the restroom?”
“Haha! Second floor hallway, to the right.”
“Wait for me. I’ll be right back to take you on again.”
And so, Patrick went up to the second floor of the inn.
Watching Patrick go up while grumbling that this was the problem with beer, Matthew chuckled.
“He’s a truly fascinating fellow.”
Matthew smiled and sipped the dark beer in front of him.
Even with Patrick gone, the drunks, already in high spirits, were merrily pouring and drinking among themselves. But then…
“What’s this? Why is it so noisy?”
Men who felt like they would never be welcome in a friendly pub walked in.
The moment they entered, the boisterous atmosphere turned ice-cold.
The people who had been playing merrily instinctively began to watch their step, quietly sitting down and glancing at the newcomers.
From this alone, it looked like the appearance of typical local thugs.
But the problem was…
Armor? Spears?
Matthew was puzzled.
No matter how he looked at it, wasn't that the uniform of the regular army?
Unified armor and helmets, and even spears that were sharp and well-maintained.
To anyone’s eyes, these were soldiers who should be maintaining the peace of the city and protecting the citizens from enemies.
So why were the citizens, who had been having a good time, shrinking back at the appearance of these soldiers?
Matthew’s question was answered immediately.
“Hey, bring some booze. Booze!”
“Bring some snacks too. The most expensive ones.”
As the soldiers sat down heavily and ordered roughly, the innkeeper approached them.
“May I take your order?”
“Yeah. Didn't you hear? Bring dark beer and snacks.”
“Understood. Then, please wait a moment.”
She had been bright and boisterous when dealing with Patrick just a moment ago, but she was not like that at all when dealing with the soldiers.
A short while later, she brought dark beer and what looked like a roasted chicken dish.
“Here you go…”
As she left, the soldiers took off their helmets, leaned their spears against the side, and began to drink leisurely.
Judging by their attire, they were likely soldiers on duty, yet they drank without hesitation.
“Kueeee… Good.”
“This is what makes life worth living.”
Watching the soldiers getting red-faced and drunk, the people around them looked at them with ominous gazes.
The soldiers seemed to notice this, as one of them barked out a shout.
“What are you looking at! You vermin!”
The people around them hurriedly turned their heads away.
Finding that amusing, the soldier snickered, and then…
“Oho… What do we have here?”
The man stood up and approached the table where Matthew and his party were sitting. He looked at Isabella and said:
“Wow. I’ve never seen such a beauty in this town before. Are you from out of town?”
Isabella looked around, then pointed at herself.
“…Me?”
The soldier gave a greasy smile and said:
“Is there any other cutie here besides you… actually, there is.”
The soldier’s gaze shifted to April, and he looked stunned.
What kind of beauty was this? For a moment, he felt like his legs were going to give out.
“Ahem, but I’m not interested in men.”
The soldier looked back at Isabella and said:
“We are the soldiers of this territory. You don't have to worry; we aren't suspicious people.”
“…Hah?”
Isabella was dumbfounded.
Even though she was the child of a maid, she had been born and raised as a princess.
At the Academy, she was treated as an object of admiration and a top-tier squire. And yet…
Is this what they call being hit on?
She was experiencing this for the first time in her life.
She was so baffled that she wasn't even angry. When she didn't respond, the soldier grew even bolder.
“Don't drink here so boringly; come to our table. You can drink and order as many snacks as you want.”
“…I decline.”
She hesitated on how to handle this, but decided to respond with common sense first.
Even if he was drunk, if he were a human who knew manners, he would back off.
“Ooooh, how scary. Our cutie is even prettier when she’s prickly.”
What an ill-mannered piece of trash.
The man rudely reached out his hand toward Isabella’s shoulder.
Isabella’s hand moved toward her sword hilt.
The moment his hand touched her shoulder, she intended to slice his wrist clean off. But then…
CRACK!
“Gwaaaak!”
The soldier who was trying to pull a fast one collapsed with a scream as a beer mug shattered across his face.
“How dare you pieces of shit try something like that on who!?”
The other soldiers, who had been watching and snickering, jumped up from their seats with menacing expressions.
They grabbed their spears, leveled them at the opponent, and shouted:
“You dare attack a soldier?!”
“Don't move. If you resist, we’ll kill you.”
“Who are you? Identify yourself!”
Normally, the name that should have come out in response to the soldiers' question was Patrick Schneider. However…
“I am Matthew!”
I say it again.
You have to be careful about the friends you keep.