040. Unexpected Uninvited Guest 1
Was it a single loach muddying the waters? The unexpected arrival of this figure silenced the murmurs around him.
“……”
A massive frame with a protruding belly. A giant sword at his waist. Some shrank back in fear at the mere sight of Emma Grander. The serfs, overwhelmed by his bulk, exchanged cautious glances. The three candidates fixed their eyes on him, but Emma paid them no mind. He was too busy guzzling from a large barrel of liquor.
Hic.
Hic.
Codic frowned at the sight of Emma's bloodshot, drunken eyes.
'Whoa... what did those bones ever do to deserve propping up that slab of meat...'
As Codic said, it was a marvel that bones could support such flesh. He looked like he could match ten grown men combined.
Emma scanned his surroundings with a flushed face, letting out a sigh of admiration.
“Kyahaha, great view and even better booze.”
He still ignored the stares around him. Bin watched, furrowing his brow.
'Emma Grander, all the way here. For the family's honor?'
Emma Grander. Deputy head of the Grander family, one of the Super Novas, and perpetually drunk wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Hic.
Another hiccup echoed. Ignoring the knights, Emma staggered toward the three candidates.
Thud. Thud.
His wobbly gait. Seeing him thoroughly intoxicated, the knights drew their spears to block his path.
Cling!
A spear thrust out before Emma's chest.
“You can't go any further.”
“One more step, and you'll forfeit your life.”
The knights thought to themselves: even if he was the Grander deputy head, in his drunken state, they could take him.
Yet Emma's expression didn't flicker, even with multiple knights brandishing spears.
“What's this?”
He swatted at the air, brushing the spears aside like cobwebs. The knights stood there, dumbfounded for a moment.
“……!”
The spears yielded without resistance. It gave them a sense of the deputy head's power.
Emma strode forward with a calm face.
Thud. Thud.
But they couldn't just let him pass. Regaining their wits, the knights thrust spears at his legs.
Shhk.
Then something unbelievable happened.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The spears bounced off Emma's legs.
“……!!”
'Th-the spears are bouncing off...'
'Wh-why...!'
It didn't feel like piercing flesh. More like stabbing solid rock.
The knights began speculating in confusion.
'Something must be hidden under that uniform...'
They aimed for his neck, uncovered by the red uniform. But the result was the same.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
One by one, the knights' faces went slack in disbelief.
'Wh-why...!'
'N-no way...'
The stunned knights froze in place. In stark contrast, Emma remained utterly nonchalant. He didn't spare them a glance, just kept hiccuping as if nothing had happened.
Hic.
Hic.
As the knights who attacked him stiffened, the watching serfs' eyes widened too.
“No way... human skin can do that...?”
'Can't believe it...'
Thud. Thud.
Emma drew closer to the three candidates. The knights tried blades and even clung to his legs, but it was futile. Emma treated them like bugs.
Hic.
He shook off the knights clinging to him like swatting mosquitoes.
Thwack! Thwack!
Dozens of knights flew off.
“Urgh...!!”
Reaching the three candidates, Emma looked at them with bleary eyes and spoke.
“Throwing a feast to celebrate sticking it to the Grander Duchy?”
It sounded casual, but there was bite to it. Clearly referencing the Gangble incident. Emma wasn't upset over brotherly bonds—he was irked that someone had touched his family.
Herion stroked his white beard, biting his lip at the man's attitude.
'The Granders...'
It was troubling. They could overwhelm him with numbers, deputy head or not. But there was one issue: the Gana Empire.
Bin had recently roughed up Gangble Grander, a Grander scion