chapter 4
Episode 4.
I approached Jacob and the chief of Chaka who were talking.
The village chief of Chaka, who found me, bowed his head and greeted me. Then he tapped Jacob on the side.
“Jacob, hello. He is the son of Count Caldert.”
Upon hearing my true identity, Jacob was startled and bowed his head at me.
“hello. My name is Jacob.”
I reached out and shook Jacob’s hand.
“nice to meet you. It’s called Suhar Caldert. This one… .”
“My name is Dale, a knight of Count Caldert.”
Dale put on a stern expression. There was a reason for Dale’s behavior.
‘Because for children, knights exist in envy.’
As if to prove this, Jacob showed a bit of fear to me, but gave Dale a look of envy.
“wow! It’s the first time I’ve seen a knight up close like this.”
Dale smiled softly at Jacob’s words. Unknowingly, I got a little jealous.
But I know it can’t be helped. A noble’s self-control is infinitely difficult for commoners, but a knight is a being of envy.
“So Jacob, where have you been?”
The one who answered my question was not Jacob, but the village chief Chaka.
“Recently, Jacob got some good hides and sold them to the city. And he told me to enjoy the festival too.”
“is it… .”
It was just as Jacob had told him. I looked at Jacob, thinking about my original purpose. He looked young and naive.
‘indeed… .’
I wondered if taking Jacob would be the right choice. Maybe I wasn’t thinking of Jacob, I was thinking only of myself.
Originally, Jacob was destined to lose his parents and come to the county with the help of my father. But I changed that fate. Jacob did not have to lose his parents.
I remembered the regret Jacob had told me.
– Lastly, I want to be with my family.
If I go with Jacob, Jacob will agree unconditionally. What kind of commoner boy would refuse to be chosen by an aristocrat?
but… .
“Jacob, I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, ask me anything.”
“Do you like your parents?”
Jacob said without hesitation.
“yes! I like you very much.”
It was Jacob’s bright smile that I had never seen before. I organized my thoughts on my own. There was no need to take Jacob with him now. I think it’s enough to bring them after letting them spend more time with their families.
I gently patted Jacob on the shoulder.
“Jacob, be filial to your parents.”
“yes!”
***
Worried that there would be some lingering feelings, I and Dale left town as soon as possible.
“Dale, did you do well with my request?”
“of course.”
Before leaving town, I asked Dale to gather the town’s youth. And Dale asked the young men to wipe out the monsters near the village.
Dale fulfilled the request faithfully.
“thank god.”
“Then why did you give such an order?”
“Kuhmm, it’s not an order, it’s a request… .”
“Oh right. Why did you ask for that?”
In the past, there was a large-scale monster sweep operation after the incident had already occurred. But now it was a little different. What was supposed to happen didn’t happen.
Therefore, a large-scale sweep operation will not proceed. In any case, the remaining monsters might invade again.
“I’m just a little worried.”
“… … .”
Dale just nodded.
***
A few days before Dale and Suhar left the village, Dale gathered the villagers to carry out Suhar’s orders. In the hands of the villagers, spears showing traces of time were clutched.
“hmm… .”
The villagers with spears looked very sloppy. It was to the extent that he could not be taken to the sweeping operation in this state.
Dale called out to the youth.
“I will quickly teach you the basics. Stay focused!”
Dale took the spear from the young man in front of him. Dale explained everything from how to catch to how to stab.
Thanks to that, the attitude of the villagers has improved a lot.
“Okay then, let’s go now.”
Dale started climbing the mountain with the villagers. I met a monster on the way up. Dale thought about the safety of the villagers as much as possible and made the villagers catch the monsters themselves.
A day passed, two days passed, and the villagers were quite good.
“As you all know, there was an incident where goblins invaded in the middle of the night. Even recently.”
The villagers said nothing. As usual, they might have been killed by the goblins. For the reason that he came from a noble family, he lived thanks to Suhar’s mention of guarding diligently.
No, if it wasn’t for Dale and Suhar, even if they found the goblins, they might have been busy running away without being able to fight back.
“That’s why our young master said to teach you how to fight at least a little bit.”
This was Dale’s guess. Suhar was just worried about the future, and asked to wipe out nearby monsters. It was just a matter of Suhar Dale catching nearby monsters well.
“So I taught you, and now you’re good enough to defend the village.”
At Dale’s words, the villagers cheered.
“And one tip: scout the nearby mountains at least once a month.”
After speaking, Dale turned around and headed for the inn. On the way home, Dale thought.
‘To think of the safety of the village even before leaving, Bocchan is truly a model of a true nobility.’
***
The entrance to the Caldert family caught my eye. It was a long trip. I have never traveled like this in my life. I led my tired body and entered the Caldert family.
I cheered with open arms.
“You’re finally back!”
“I am glad you arrived safely. I will go to Count Caldert.”
Dale went straight to visit my father, while I went somewhere else to check. I warned you, but just in case.
Due to the succession competition that had taken place around this time, the count’s family was noisy.
The competition for the successor of the Caldert family was simple and clear. The difficulty level was set for the mission, and it was to show off one’s ability by completing as many missions as possible.
“Brother Dave!”
In the midst of the clutter, there was Dave. Dave’s brother found me and approached me.
“I heard the news. Are you going to the academy?”
“huh. By the way, where is your brother going?”
I know where Dave is going, but out of courtesy, I asked.
“I heard that there was a colony of monsters in the mountains near the Count’s house, so I’m going to subdue them.”
Before returning, Dave’s brother lost his life in this subjugation. It was because of Milia’s trap. However, since I warned Milia-sama, nothing will happen.
I looked over Dave’s body. Then my gaze stopped near Dave’s neck. Dave had a necklace he had seen somewhere hanging around his neck. In my eyes, Dave also headed for his necklace.
“Oh, this? Millia gave it to me. A necklace that brings good luck.”
I tried to be as calm as possible, but I just couldn’t stay calm. I took the necklace off my brother’s neck as if to snatch it away. Embarrassed, Dave tried to say something to me, but he soon shut his mouth.
Dave seemed to notice that I was very angry.
“Hyung, where is Sister Millia now?”
“If it’s Milia… .”
Following Dave hyung’s explanation, I headed to where Milia’s sister was. As Dave hyung said, Milia was in the garden. My sister Milia was sipping tea at the garden table.
I strode toward Sister Millia and shouted in a loud voice.
“Hey, you crazy b*tch!”
At my words, not only Sister Milia, but even the attendants around me looked at me in amazement.
Everyone in the garden stopped at my cry. In particular, sister Milia’s expression was more than absurd, as if she had lost her senses.
Milia-sama looked around and pointed at her chest.
“Suhar, did you tell me that you are crazy?”
Seeing Milia’s face as if nothing had been stabbed, it seemed that her fist would go first.
But I tried to hold back my anger and keep my cool. I showed the necklace I took from Dave to Milia.
“Don’t you know this?”
Sister Milia hesitated for a moment, but answered calmly.
“Why? I gave it to Dave, why is it with you?”
Anger rose to the top of his head. I remembered the last appearance of Milia-sama before returning. Sister Millia’s expression at the time she said she regretted it was hard to believe that it was a lie.
However, he tried to do the same thing even though he gave the current sister Millia a chance so that she would not regret it.
“I must have written it in a letter. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Milia’s expression suddenly changed at the word letter.
“It was you, that threatening letter.”
“after… .”
I don’t know what to do with Milia. I wondered why he missed the opportunity I gave him.
“As expected, people don’t rewrite… . No, isn’t this case a rewrite?”
Sister Millia’s end was not a lie, he thought. If that’s not the case, maybe people feel guilty only when they commit sins.
Dave, who had followed me, also arrived. Dave quietly intervened between the two of us, perhaps sensing an unusual atmosphere between me and Milia.
“Suhar, tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Hyung, I don’t call luck on this necklace. Rather call monsters.”
At my words, Dave looked surprised. Milia-sama also looked a bit surprised. Milia-sama was flustered and stuttered as she spoke to me.
“Muh, on what grounds is it that it summons monsters?”
“sister… You are really stupid. Don’t you know why I told you not to do sh*t to your sister? It was because I knew what this necklace was.”
Milia tried to refute my words, but Dave stopped her.
“Suhar, keep talking.”
“At first glance, the jewels used in this necklace look like red jewels.”
I brought the jewel from my necklace to Dave’s face.
“But if you look here, you can see a lot of black dots.”
“Yes, I can clearly see it with my own eyes.”
A red gem with small black dots on it is called this.
“This is a jewel called Medlock.”
“Medlock? It’s the first jewel I’ve heard of.”
Every time I spoke, Milia’s face turned pale. You may be wondering how I know the details.
“It’s a gem that our kingdom doesn’t handle. Because it is dangerous.”
“What is dangerous?”
“Not much has been revealed about this gem, but one of the things that has been revealed is causing the monsters to go berserk. The monsters are becoming more ferocious.”
Before I could finish my words, Dave slapped Milia on the cheek.