chapter 9
Riding training because I like horses, there was nothing to teach Luke. It’s because I’ve been riding well since the beginning.
But Luke shook his head. The reason was that it was just a clumsy imitation, so I had to learn more.
“Bocchan, you can stop now.”
“no. It’s a level where you’re starting to get a feel for it.”
“It’s enough for anyone to see, so stop talking…”
“I’m lacking in learning, so I’ll ride more. This is it!”
Whenever Gaiden tried to yell for the horse back, Luke kept riding, making excuses of one kind or another.
Thanks to that, Gaiden really had to become a silent knight.
Of course, there was no need to ride a horse in the village. But at least when the pony arrives, you’ll have to get it back.
“Sir Roderick, can you ask the young master a favor for me?”
“Now that horseback riding is fun, why are you trying to break colic? Let them enjoy it.”
“…”
Even when I asked Roderick for a favor, the answer that came back was always the same. Thanks to this, Gaiden only had to pat the girl’s chest.
And a few days later, when everything to rob the village was gone, the mercenary sent back.
Gaiden’s face turned bright and he quickly approached the mercenary.
“Knight Nari. As you said, the pony…”
“this guy! Why did you bring a pony when I told you to buy an electric horse!”
“yes? No, sir, to me.”
“No matter how much you say nothing! But seeing how hard you tried, I won’t pursue you further!”
Gaiden scolded the mercenary so that he couldn’t wake up, and quickly took the pony’s reins.
Roderick, who had been listening to the conversation beside him, frowned at the pony.
“pony? Do you want to give the pony to the young master now?”
“I am frustrated too. But what if I can’t wait any longer?”
Despite Roderick’s questioning, Gaiden refrained from pretending. Even though he had his words taken away, aren’t those his original words anyway?
In addition, from the beginning, it was decided to borrow only when teaching horseback riding. You can’t take someone else’s thing and ride it while ignoring the best sincerity.
‘There was some noise in the middle, but I just need to push on.’
Roderick will be dissatisfied, but that’s enough. It was much better that way than walking without a horse like this.
Gaiden shouted at Luke, who just happened to be riding a horse and making a circle.
“Bocchan, the mercenary doesn’t have a wagon…!”
“What an ugly pony. I’d rather bite my tongue and die than ride it.”
At Luke’s words, Guyden’s mouth fell shut. I couldn’t recommend it even if I tried to recommend it because I said something like that out of the blue.
Either way, Luke continued.
“The more I look at him, the more pathetic he looks. People all over the world will laugh at you just by dragging them around. Doesn’t Sir Guyden think so?”
“Oh, no… but…”
“I’ve never seen such an ugly pony here, but it seems that he wandered in from somewhere. It’s not worth riding, but if you sell it, you’ll get a pretty good price.”
“…”
Now, it was an atmosphere where he would become a traitor if he offered to ride a pony instead. Gaiden, who opened his mouth for a moment, lowered his head.
Luke smiled at the completely sunk Guyden.
‘Where’s the superficial trickery that I can’t even compete with?’
No matter how confident he was in his trickery, he was still a young knight. He was not the opponent of Luke, who had gone through all kinds of battles before returning.
Luke rode his horse and disappeared into the distance. Roderick snorted too and followed Luke.
As the two left, the mercenary scratched his head and approached Gaiden.
“Me, a knight? What about this pony?”
“What do you know, bastard! Whether you eat it or sell it back, do as you please!”
****
Soon after the ponies arrived, Luke and the others left town. Roderick was cured and there was no carriage, so there was no reason to stay any longer.
The mercenaries also robbed everything, so they followed without any regrets.
All that was left was the villagers who had lost hope and sat down.
‘I have nothing to live on right now, so I’ll leave.’
We scraped away everything that would last until next year’s grain harvest. If you want to live, you will have no choice but to leave the village and scatter each other.
The only way to live is to go to the city and live as a poor person, or settle down as an outsider by begging in another village.
And if you become an outsider, you will be treated badly for a long time, just like Luke’s family did.
‘Cause and retribution.’
It was a village that could have been annihilated by the knight’s anger. It was cheap enough, so there was nothing to be sad about.
Luke turned his back on a town he would never visit again.
****
Guyden didn’t get his horse back until the end. Since the ponies were no longer recommended, there were only two things left.
Either Gaiden lost his horse and walked away, or Luke yielded and walked away.
Choosing the latter would have made Roderick go mad. Inevitably, Gaiden had to walk away as if he had been tricked.
‘A bloody half-bastard bastard who’s crazy about chivalry…!’
Gaiden inevitably sharpened his teeth. I never thought I would walk like mercenaries even after being appointed a knight.
A mixture of shame and rage made his face flush red as he walked.
In fact, if I were to question the cause, it was because Gaiden had plotted it first, but that fact was no longer in my head.
All that was there was the resentment of the bastard and Roderick next to him.
‘It can’t end like this.’
Now, the countess’s orders were okay. If I didn’t see that bastard cry, I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep because my stomach would explode.
Guyden secretly moved away from Luke and Roderick and called for Eric, the mercenary commander.
“Hey, mercenary commander. Come closer, I have something to tell you.”
“What else are you trying to do, knight sir?”
Eric sighed and approached Gaiden. It’s because nothing good happened when Gaiden called.
Gaiden’s eyebrows twitched at his cheeky attitude, but he fought back. Because I needed their cooperation right now.
“Nothing. Guide the party to the monster spawning area, not the way they originally intended.”
“yes? What the hell is that?”
Eric’s face twisted. Why go down the dangerous road and leave the safe road alone?
“noisy. You should know that I am doing this because I have an idea.”
“Nari, no matter how much, I don’t think this is the case. Please explain why.”
“Have you forgotten that I am your employer? If you want to get paid, shut up and do as you are told!”
‘Thanks to the young master, I earned more than the reward you promised, bastard!’
Eric held back the urge to shout. If it wasn’t for the knight, they would have pulled out an ax and parted ways.
However, the opponent was a nobleman, and there were too many means to retaliate when he held a grudge.
‘Damn it. I don’t know if I guessed right or not.’
Eric glanced at Roderick and Luke. If this article is dogmatic, just accuse it here.
However, if you match your words with another knight, it will become a headache. Finally, Eric sighed and nodded.
“All right. But I can’t go to a place that is too dangerous even if I pay a thousand gold.”
“Who told you to go to the place where you will die? The right place is enough.”
There is no need to risk it. A bastard who has not experienced combat should be at the level of being scared and trembling.
At least I felt like I would be relieved if I just broke the imitation of a nobleman like me.
****
‘I’m going to the monster haunt area.’
Luke looked in the direction the mercenaries were going and clicked his tongue. It was Luke who went back and forth for three days round trip to save the prey.
Of course, he knew very well where there were many beasts and where monsters lived.
‘Looking at the faces of the mercenaries, the money bug forced them to do it.’
His tenacity to not give up even when he fell for his own tricks and was cursed at was so great. It was hard to live without reflection like that if it wasn’t quite rotten.
Fortunately, Roderick didn’t notice it yet. If I had understood the situation, I would have run amok.
As Luke approached the mercenaries preparing for camp, Eric jumped to his feet in surprise.
“young master? What are you doing?”
Eric was more polite than before. It was thanks to Luke’s order to let them rob the village.
“As far as I know, this area is where monsters come from, are you going the right way?”
“yes!? Well, yes, but here’s a shortcut. The monsters that appear are only weak ones, so you don’t have to worry.”
Surprised to have hit the mark, Eric made excuses. Actually, it wasn’t a false statement.
In fact, only a few weak monsters popped up in this area.
It was fine as long as I didn’t take the wrong direction and go deep into the territory.
“It’s not like that. But you came at a bad time.”
“When is it bad? What’s going on?”
“A troll has made a nest here recently.”
“troll!?”
Eric was freaked out. If it’s a troll, isn’t it a monster that three knights can barely catch in a fight to the death?
Even that is when the odds of winning are minimal. The consensus was that five knights were needed to win.
“I’m not going to come down here, but I came because I thought I should tell you in case you didn’t know.”
“Go, thank you. Tell the kids to look around right now…”
-Kwoaaa!
Everyone in the camp froze at the distant roar. I could tell just by the sound of him that he was an unusual guy.
Moments later, with a thump, something huge approached the camp.
“All ready for battle!”
tight
With Eric’s shout, a huge shadow broke the tree and appeared. A mercenary who saw the scene shouted like a scream.
“T-Troll! It’s a troll!”
I heard that even a tiger will come when I say it. Luke quickly stepped back and picked up the bow and arrows he had put aside.
Most of the mercenaries were completely frozen at the sight of the troll. At least Eric, the commander, was keeping his spirits up, but that was all.
It was only Luke and Roderick who properly grasped the situation and moved their bodies.
“Sir Gaiden, draw out your sword! hurry!”
“Ah, I know! I don’t know!”
At Roderick’s urging, Gaiden drew his sword, but that was it. Gaiden, holding the sword, trembled and slowly stepped back.
He was ready to run away at any moment. Seeing that, Roderick’s forehead was welling up with blood.
“sh*t! Don’t back down and protect the young master!”
-Kuuu
The troll showed his teeth and laughed at the sudden uproar. It looked like it was enjoying watching a frightened prey.
Except for Roderick, all of them were unmoved, afraid to provoke the troll the moment they moved. And then, a small arrow flew at the troll.
nettle, puck
– Kwoaaa!
The troll groaned in pain and grabbed its eyes. Everyone’s mouths dropped and they looked in the direction the arrow had come from.
After shooting the arrow, Luke quickly took the second arrow and yelled at the mercenaries.
“What are you doing? Wake up and raise your weapon!”