Chapter 104
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The One Who Carries Magentano (2)
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[Your earnest wish awakens a specific praise in your possession.]
[Praise, [The One Who Carries Magentano], begins exerting strong influence on King Alicia.]
'What the?'
Lloyd froze.
The message floating before his eyes.
Its content was unexpected.
Was this what it felt like when reinforcements arrived like a beacon of hope from out of nowhere?
Ding-dong.
[The One Who Carries Magentano]
[Praise Rank: Kingdom Anecdote]
You came running before anyone else.
You drew out the deadly poison that coveted my heart.
You plunged it fearlessly into your own chest.
You gasped for breath in place of my respiration.
You staggered in place of my gaze.
You even smiled as you took death upon yourself in my stead.
Thus, you bore even my flesh upon your back.
You protected me, turning me into a truly indomitable being.
Brave Frontera.
How could I not know?
How could I forget?
As long as my breath continues.
As long as your heart beats steadily.
You shall forever be my benefactor.
[Praise Effect: As the lifesaver of King Alicia Termina Magentano, you earn her absolute trust. Your opinions and advice toward King Alicia will generally receive highly positive responses. Additionally, for the duration of her reign, you will face no suspicions of treason or rebellion.]
[Praise Region: Magentano Kingdom]
[Praise Duration: Matches King Alicia's reign]
“…….”
The message lit up his vision.
After reading it all, Lloyd subtly lifted his head.
He checked King Alicia's expression.
The king's face, deep in thought.
That face gradually relaxed.
The furrow between her brows smoothed out.
Her furrowed eyebrows slowly eased.
The corners of her tightly pressed lips began to rise.
Soon, a faint smile.
Positive eyes directed his way.
Was it his imagination, or did those eyes hold a hint of wry amusement?
“Lloyd Frontera. You are truly insolent and utterly reckless.”
“Your Majesty is too kind.”
“......Too kind? How do you know what I was about to say?”
“I believe Your Majesty will accept the request I made.”
“Hah. Such arrogance.”
“Please consider it not arrogance, but an understanding of Your Majesty's heart.”
“Your words flow like clear spring water.”
“Your Majesty is too kind once more.”
“But what if your assumption is wrong? What if I refuse your request?”
“Then, as expected, please scold me sternly.”
“Tch. You don't yield an inch.”
King Alicia let out a small chuckle.
And finally, she gave the answer he'd been waiting for.
“Very well. I accept your request.”
“Your Majesty is too kind.”
“Enough with the flattery.”
“…….”
“I've carefully weighed your proposal. It's truly cunning. I can feel how much thought you put into dragging me into this.”
Her smile turned mocking.
“Following your advice leaves me with no losses whatsoever. If a monster disaster unfolds in the east as you predict, my foresight and authority in responding preemptively will only grow. And even if your prediction proves wrong—”
“Your Majesty will suffer no losses at all.”
“Exactly. We can just call it routine military training. That alone will divert the eyes of the chaotic capital's politics—still unsettled from the regicide attempt—for a time.”
“Then, what scale of support do you envision?”
“I'll send five hundred of my direct troops.”
“Five hundred... Do you mean the White Lancers?”
“Indeed. Is that insufficient?”
“Not at all.”
And he truly meant it.
The White Lancers, a direct unit under the king herself.
Not the absolute best, but at minimum, the elite of the elite.
Far better aid than several thousand mediocre rabble.
Afterward, Lloyd ironed out a few more details with the king.
Command of the reinforcements.
Timing, supplies, and such.
Of course, the process didn't drag on.
Time was of the essence.
With the king's promise of support secured, Lloyd withdrew.
He headed straight back to his lodgings.
He hurried preparations to return to the barony.
The first thing he did was wake Haviel and Julian.
“......Is that true?”
“It is. Why else would I be making this fuss?”
He summarized the information he'd shared with the king and relayed it to them.
The faces of the two, still groggy from sleep, hardened instantly.
“Understood. Then we must depart immediately.”
Haviel sprang from bed at once.
He began packing for the journey with haste.
Julian followed suit.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“What do you think you're doing right now?”
Julian started packing his own bag, mimicking Haviel.
Lloyd grabbed the fumbling boy.
The kid replied as if it were obvious.
“Packing.”
“Why?”
“Why? I have to go too.”
“You mean home?”
“Yeah.”
Julian nodded firmly.
The kid stated it plainly.
“It's our home and territory. You said it's in danger. So I'm going too. We'll protect it together.”
“Tch. No way.”
Thwack!
He snatched the bag from the kid's arms.
Julian flinched in surprise.
Before the boy could protest, Lloyd spoke quickly.
“What if we all go and die together like good buddies? Then what?”
“......What?”
“Think about it. We all rush back to the barony like this. What if the plan fails? What if we can't defend it and all die there? Who carries on the family line?”
“…….”
Julian seemed to finally grasp his point.
Lloyd drove it home.
“So you have to stay here, at least. We need one person guaranteed safe. Right?”
“W-Wait, but......”
“Listen to me, Julian.”
He crouched slightly.
Met the kid's eyes.
Stared steadily into them.
“This is our roles. I handle the dirty, dangerous work. You? You stay put. Cheer from the back. That's enough. If I fall? Then you step up. That's why you save your strength. Got it?”
“......Bro.”
“What.”
“Don't try to set the mood like that. It doesn't suit you.”
“......Damn it.”
He felt awkward.
He ruffled the kid's soft hair with his palm.
Just then, Haviel's voice called out.
“Lord Lloyd, I'm ready.”
A Swordmaster indeed.
With superhuman efficiency, he'd already packed for both of them.
Lloyd straightened up.
He grinned down at Julian.
“Then I'm off.”
He shouldered his bag.
Turned coolly.
And inwardly sighed in relief.
'Phew. Operation Minimize Cleanup Crew: Success.'
He'd worried the kid might stubbornly insist on coming.
So he'd carefully prepared lines to leave him in the capital.
Thankfully, it worked.
'Once we get back to the barony, there might not be any room to watch out for others.'
Forget room—he might have to risk his life.
Dragging Julian, who couldn't even protect himself yet?
The kid would be in danger, of course.
And everyone around him too.
Better to leave him in the capital for now.
With that weight off his chest, he stepped out of the lodgings.
Outside, the king's promised mounts awaited.
Two warhorses.
Enchanted with galloping magic, no less.
“Whew.”
He whistled involuntarily.
Top-tier galloping magic, poured in by court mages.
A translucent silver aura swirled around the horses' legs.
“Then let's go.”
He mounted up immediately.
Glanced at Julian, who'd rushed out after him.
“See you later.”
Thud!
He spurred the horse's flank.
In that instant, it bolted.
“......!”
Insane speed.
Julian shrank into the distance in seconds.
The scenery rushed forward in a blur.
'What is this, a supercar doing zero-to-hundred in three seconds?'
Lloyd gritted his teeth and gripped the reins.
Flattened himself against the horse's back.
Thank goodness he'd learned to ride from Haviel before.
Plus, these warhorses were smart.
They dodged or leaped obstacles on their own, even considering the rider's comfort to some degree.
So despite the ferocious speed, the ride wasn't too jarring.
Lloyd glanced sideways.
“Hey, you good?”
“Yes, of course.”
Haviel's mount kept pace effortlessly.
No—Haviel adapted even better, far more skillfully.
“Then let's go.”
“Yes.”
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
Lloyd and Haviel.
Their warhorses streaked through the capital's dawn streets, trailing silver afterimages.
Julian waved silently at their receding backs.
Gradually, his waving hand slowed.
Then stopped.
Slowly, his fist clenched.
“…….”
Julian's face was set.
He bit his lower lip without realizing.
'Am I still no help to Bro?'
His brother had sweet-talked him.
Told him to stay here.
Said at least one of them needed to be safe.
That way, someone could carry on the family.
He understood his brother's heart.
But he also sensed what his brother hadn't said.
'I'm a burden.'
He wasn't stupid.
Even unspoken.
Even hidden away.
Some feelings came through.
Like just now, when his brother stopped him from going back together.
'He does worry about me, but he sees me as baggage too.'
Clench.
His fist trembled.
Out of anger?
No.
'I'm so ashamed and sorry.'
What had he even done with his life so far?
Haviel, his peer, was already a Swordmaster.
Even without comparing to a genius like that, he'd had plenty of time to build some useful skill.
'I want to help Bro too.'
To do that, he needed to grow stronger.
Find something he could do.
With that resolve, Julian looked up.
Toward where Lloyd and Haviel had vanished, even their footprints gone.
He etched his vow into his heart.
'Just wait a bit, Bro. I'll work hard too. I'll become someone who can help you. So please wait just a little.'
When that day came.
Like his brother and Haviel, he'd race to the barony.
Shoulder to shoulder, facing adversity together.
Under the deepening late-summer dawn sky.
Julian pressed his lips tight.
♣
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Hooves pounded the earth.
Falling leaves began to swirl.
Caught in the storm of their gallop, they scattered.
Amid it, Lloyd and Haviel pressed on without rest.
The court mage's galloping magic was incredible.
The warhorses showed no sign of tiring.
Cruising at seventy percent of top speed kept their stamina steady all day.
And still faster than a normal horse at full sprint.
Lloyd and Haviel focused solely on riding.
Meals and rests minimized.
Thanks to their Triple Circle Asrahan Heart Method.
That made it barely possible.
Thus, the two raced eastward without even chit-chat.
Toward the rising sun and moon.
Toward the endangered barony.
Gripping reins, spurring relentlessly.
In just five days, they reached the barony's border.
“…….”
Exhaling wearily, he surveyed the familiar land.
Thankfully, the barony looked just as he remembered.
Green waves of fields coloring the Marez Reclaimed Land.
Straight paved roads starting from there.
Villages linked along the roads, three or four spots.
The lord's manor.
The central district beyond.
Paved roads continuing onward.
All the way to the bitumen coal mines at the eastern mountains' base.
Lloyd's gaze didn't stop.
It pushed further east.
Up along the mountain foothills.
Past the mid-slopes, over the peaks, to the sky above.
Morning.
The sun should have risen beyond the mountains.
But no sun.
Storm clouds?
No.
Something far blacker, more alien.
A writhing colossal black mass blotting out the sun.
Emitting grotesque shrieks beyond any thunderhead.
Bzzzzt! Whooooooosh—!
Wings of thousands, tens of thousands.
Growing louder in real time. Approaching. Expanding.
Soon, it blanketed the entire eastern sky over the mountains.
A massive locust swarm, countless beyond numbering.
“......This is what you meant, Lord Lloyd.”
Even Haviel's voice, beside him, shook faintly.
Awestruck terror at the sight.
And him?
Of course.
“You're shaking?”
“A little. Do you have a plan?”
“Of course.”
He'd prepared one.
It was all he'd thought about on the way here.
The five hundred White Lancers advancing rapidly behind them.
Just buy time until they arrived.
Now, it was time to defend the territory as planned.
'I have to protect this place if I want to slack off luxuriously for life!'
If he failed?
Even escaping alive to the capital, he'd end up as the king's summon-beast, slaving till death.
He wanted no part of that future.
Clank!
He drew his steel shovel from the saddle.
Turned to Haviel.
Exchanged a look.
“You'll follow?”
“Of course.”
“Then I'll explain on the move. Let's go. Hya!”
He spurred the warhorse.
Sliced through the wind down the hill.
Charged unhesitatingly into the Marez Reclaimed Land.
Before the sudden locust swarm disaster.
Toward the panicking settlers, he bellowed the first essential of his pre-planned scheme.
“Pot lids! The biggest ones you got!”