Chapter 169: Summer and with it, Trouble (1)
jnsuT4Zollin’s day started off with a noisy alarm.mNPw4E4
8Gy4X-BEEP~ BABBABBO! BBIBBIBBABA BBIBIBO!0Qtzc
OykIpThe deafening noise of that megaphoned instrument, which must be taking them for a fool, woke him up as always. Covering his ears and waking up from the bed, he found his bedroom that was jam-packed with his roommates.KNs
scxs3vmLooking at the 8 people lying down on the 8-story bed less than 4 meters tall on the bunk bed next to him reminded Zollin of the fish storage of a fishing boat. Who would believe that this tiny and dark room, less than 20 square meters wide, had 24 people inside? He didn’t think it was possible until he went into one.ldWc
qIAoJ“Ugh…”V8W
4ZAf7w“Is it morning already?”Ru8
kdaJEven the occupants of the 8th floor, which was the roomiest of all the floors, couldn’t get up without hitting the ceiling, so they had to roll themselves down to the ladder and get down.YRU2ZG
tTVX9Most of the prisoners were still on their beds because there was no room for them to get up.jAUF
qe9Lining up behind the densely packed iron bars, the prisoners waited for the officers. It was so packed that they couldn’t even stand properly, and while looking around with their eyes that were hazy from a lack of sleep, they found the room of female prisoners on the other side of the corridor.xFclkU1
72K“I’m so jealous…”MO0qyx
Uw2AQ7That room only had 15 prisoners, because they couldn’t fill up the room. Thanks to that, the prisoners of Room 109 were in possession of the luxurious one-square-foot of private space for themselves.DUOs
YX9Wz7“Prisoners. We will now begin your morning roll call!”b7R
r0teFaThe officers opened the iron bars after the sonorous shout of the head officer. Hundreds of prisoners walked out in perfect order as they unhesitatingly headed to one side of the corridor.llSeKk
pk4Am-Trod! Trod! Trod! Trod!cTCAixo
0iVeiEKDespite hundreds of them moving at once, the prisoners moved in alignment like a well-trained army. They soon arrived at the training ground that was connected to the prison cells. That was where they were allowed to spend 1 hour of free time after dinner every day.zSsNLm
Ri7D“We will now begin the morning roll call!”y1MB
mOJfOf course, there was no such thing as free time in the morning.73bZ5P
E20Av“Dunareff Morning Exercise! Ready~ Begin!”bicA
uNxOne! Two! One! Two!V4e
ca25uROne! Two! One! Two!54bDN
eeK488 prisoners remained in ranks as they repeated the exercise in unison.MxtpV9
S55QNone of them made a single mistake because they were all exceptionally trained at it. It didn’t matter even if some of them made mistakes – by tomorrow, those mistakes would be gone.VbpHVYd
h1J“To the Flag of Golden Potato Flower~ Bow!”TngO
jWF7Finishing off with a bow to the Dunareff family’s flag, they headed to the public cafeteria. That was when someone called out to Zollin from behind – he was a prisoner who came a tad bit earlier than he did.pETfyhn
A1mcJX“Oi Zollin. What’s for breakfast today?”NswZ
WTtZ“Hmm… I heard it’s boiled potatoes, baked potatoes, and dried potatoes.”1dpR8RO
bFee“Potatoes again? Fucking hell. They are freaking obsessed with potatoes.”gtu2e62
cCqGrxThe moment he grumbled a complaint, an officer who was guiding the prisoners from the front suddenly turned around with a burning flicker in his eyes.u6eZ
a45A4r“What was that?!”ICVxYL
0T877“U, umm, O, Officer, what I meant to say is…!”VwG
RbYBefore he could even finish giving his excuse, an enormous wooden club struck him on the head. The prisoner fell from that single strike, but the officer did not let him go and continued kicking and bashing him without any hesitation.V12H
7PmZ“You pieces of trash are eating the potatoes! The potatoes! That the farmers! Shed buckets of sweat for! To harvest! They’re! Precious! Taxes! Of our citizens!”pPbLGO
HJf-Kaduk!iPLh
mQTOpn7In the end, the club broke before the person. It was a common sight in this prison.IRXt
7FxkH“You damn garbage of society have no idea how merciful Duke Marde and Duchess Elencia are being to you!”igJ
uzqZTxO‘…Crazy. This place is crazy.’At1u8P
QCwPZhZollin inwardly complained with a gulp but even that earned a burning gaze from the officer.iH55JO
cKgy“Oi, 4886. You got any complaints?”FfyJyA
qnzQB“N, no sir!”M5NI455
L6b“You better not.”MYm4D
i0rAfter the feeble breakfast, they headed straight away to the workplace.nTcfS
a1PuThe prison Zollin was in was connected to a notorious salt pond, that was among one of the most infamous places in the South. It was an inhumanely arduous task where they stored up seawater and dried it out under the sun to acquire salt.uYULrBR
ptynm8Of course, there were more than enough salt mines in the South. Actually, most places in the Kingdom used rock salt – those were of higher quality and were much cheaper.EqNp
4ssThe reason these salt ponds existed was not to earn profit but to fuck the prisoners up.w58Hm
aCZrk4cOnly the horrendous criminals who received a life sentence were sent to these salt ponds. They required a lot of incredibly difficult labor and the life here was so harsh that the prisoners didn’t usually last long. In a way, it was a more cruel punishment than death.b1hTnL
496RTL“Haak… Haak…!”qAw0SaE
WUNZollin repeated the difficult labor under the burning sun. He used to be an elite mage of the Tower of Mages back in the day, but he was now just a prisoner who was referred to by the number 4886.Ttx0
JVCnNDHe was supposed to be a successor of the elder of the cult, Chunsik… or rather Admelech, so how the hell did he end up like this?ebVO
Oyz8CUSIt was all because of that woman who was crazy for potatoes and that gold digger!HPL
wEJHis future was going to be ever-so bright without those bastards!A8oz
xTaOw“Just you watch… Once I pass through these dark times, trust me, I will fly back into the skies. This Professor Zollin will not fall like this…”KPB
dPJyThe Tower of Mages was strong.YwMCc
sSbCGThere was no way that they would leave them like this the whole time! He was sure that a team would be dispatched before long to save them from this hell!aaZHS
6skJKtSpero spera.JWb
B6VJThere is hope as long as you don’t give up.ALAM6
7kyWZollin was hoping for a better tomorrow when a group started making their way over to the wide salt pond. Were they new recruits? Looking at the prisoners that slipped and died on repeat every day, he had indeed been thinking about how it was time for new ones to be sent in.wRA1l9
LmZV“Huh?”6zhRk
9CLfZxuSeeing the one at the lead of the group, Zollin couldn’t help but doubt his eyes.GelOs
BkJcUS“P, Professor Ronald?”1r5hLC
kr7tWC“Professor Zollin…”D3P
cqfbYVProfessor Ronald, one of his peers who was considered to be the future elder of the Green Cult was here! Looking behind, Zollin also recognized the faces of the ones behind him! All of them were powerful high-ranked mages!r7z6x
CZwh“Professor Ronald! You’re finally here to save us all!”8J5
hO2112“…No, we were also captured just like you.”YCcCHK1
QCTLP5i“…”Ax2
tjbNHope was despair in disguise.Oaz43MF
VjYi5***YvIF
afihpA month went by in a flash after the Saintess Kidnapping Incident and the War against the Tower of Mages.TD8Lg
zI1zGOn a bright summer’s day under the warm sunlight of mid-July, more than a thousand students were gathered in one place listening to the closing words of Chairman Erin, which came to an end before long.frYhFh
Pi7abO“Fuu~. Finally summer holidays, huh.”CpiI50N
awcbeyIt was my third holiday after coming back in time. A lot of things had happened in the meantime.JOYb
Cc9J9I saved Marie, defeated the King of Iron Mountain and Fermack Daman, and was also enlightened about Marie’s fearsome background.8yg
GszEven aside from that, the hotel that I invested all my wealth into almost got ruined by a random bat, which I somehow managed to save after a stressful job; put a stop to Hua Ran’s ascension to ‘Hou’ during the festival and had a fake engagement with the Arden Household of the East.mK0B8
4jMrMany things had happened and those things had affected the continental state as well.Wls
VFofVa‘The fall of the Tower of Mages. Time for the Old Faith now.’8XUIx
70SNThere were a lot of things to do including the weeding out of the Hail Hydra bastards who were hiding inside the New Faith. I was able to befriend Estelle through this incident, so all that had to be done now was slowly persuade her into dealing with the internal traitors.hlIAPB
RqYF“Korin! Are you done packing up?”54zblgR
Ti8Gr“I don’t even need that much.”sqVkId
zt4wOne bag and two spears – that was all I had to carry with me. Unlike me, however, Marie was carrying a bag that was bigger than herself.WTAeB
42DJeA9“Why don’t you make Doggo carry it?”FRd8e
MqOUB“Nn~. It’s fine. I’m going to put it down on the Hresvelgr anyway.”GhRYx
0NQGCMy plan for the holiday was to head to the royal capital. It wasn’t for anything serious; it was to meet my parents after so long and get rewarded by the palace. We also told other members of the guild like Yuel and Kranel to come to the capital for the awarding ceremony.z4D
Prs77j“Are you okay though?”AM0j
FdJt“Nn? What do you mean?”6lvSMid
bu0GIBv“I was wondering if you didn’t have to go down to your place this holiday.”S8uB
N9GnGa“It’s okay! There’s going to be an award from the royal court! That’s an honorable event! I also have to inspect the stores in the capital! Most importantly…”YCb7
jlHMarie glanced around and after noticing that no one was looking at us, she continued after carefully grabbing my finger.mTOGuH
cmv“You are going to the capital… so I’m coming as well.”Pa8
PkSOvpi“K, kuhum…!”ssxHe
d9VB“Hehe…”fnCA
0slHow adorable was a girl in love for the first time? Just thinking how the target of that love was me made my face burn.XR15w
Ft7“Then… shall we go?”DOjFar
VUBIHk“Korin, pass me your bag. I will tell Doggo to carry it.”jep
0c8“Ah, I’m okay. This much is fine…”jn2MP
82ZJEven though Doggo was playing around way too much these days, I still didn’t want to become a father that troubled their child because of something so trivial.Kj4iAPc
JB79aRr“By the way, Korin. That thing in your bag…”Y1yr
cIuMarie hesitated with her eyes on my bag. There certainly was something that was incredibly eye-catching along with the red and silver spears.gDkd
UajP“You mean Undry?”5AdxGv
j0ghVq“Isn’t that… the Holy Grail? Is it okay for you to carry it around like that?”MdPr3
FBXpCM“It’s just a big cauldron though, right?”InS
Sdq3I“Nnn… I guess no one would find out without carefully inspecting it.”IUW1
vBHYrMagic Cauldron, Undry. It was one of the four great treasures of the Danann that I acquired after defeating Dun Scaith and was the treasure symbolizing the King of Gods Dagda’s Divinity of the Earth.1iN
6wHIt was undeniable that Undry was a tremendous treasure that was at the level of Claiomh Solais but I had no use for it right now because Undry didn’t choose me as its master.gZOXx1E
jKy6mG“What a shame… It’s a powerful item and we can’t even use it.”0SuBZ
jqVrJk3“There’s no one that can, so it can’t be helped.”Hvzc
BqJsJ3lUnlike other artifacts, the 4 treasures were picky in the sense that they chose their owners. Even in the case of Dun Scaith, it was more like he was living off of Undry like a parasite instead of making actual use of it.A7RfC
rHdThis was going exactly like the previous iteration, where we couldn’t make use of Undry despite acquiring it.l9lP
dza“Let me tell you a secret.”6dFSM
cYc8“Nn? What is it?”M8Hn
4pH6“If you boil potatoes here… they become extremely delicious.”NdxQkE
KxiNWY“Haht! Really?”2BjB2O
kpns8f“Every dish you create using this cauldron becomes the best delicacy in the world. This is the best item you could hope for when camping.”IgIiP
6g8“I, is that okay though? Treating a sacred item like that…”Y88h
1zcPrW3“Well, even the myths label it as a cauldron that infinitely spawned food, so this must be how you are supposed to use it, right?”CQpM
o4H0NAx“R, right?”wGP
I9CVkH“Let’s get going. Hua Ran and Alicia are waiting.”F3Lo7
PCb“Nn! I know a hotel in the capital. I’m sure we’ll be able to find a room there for everyone.”BssE
kfC“A hotel you know? It’s not like it’s yours again, right?”ce7l
rxFg7J“…The hotel franchise is under my sister’s name.”VQUgPTn
SD1How far-reaching was the financial empire of the Dunareff family? I became genuinely curious.GZ4h4
qeA***PHA2
qNnThe residents of the 21st street of the capital of the El Rath Kingdom, Rudene Lork and Suel Lork started yet another busy morning.ZAapqk
ZvtHThe couple ran a small restaurant, and their morning started off early where they peeled potatoes to prepare for the morning session.LwpFG
zsfq8Although they were a normal and common pair of civilians who were living a peaceful and modest life, these days, there was a slight concern in their minds.QG0Ql
rsh“Dear, did you see the letter that came this morning?”1bZ4Q
y1q“From who, the unfilial man of our family? No, I haven’t.”xTaMM
jLv“How can you call him unfilial? He’s been sending letters all the time.”bnM
MpSje“So what if he sends letters!? He is an undutiful child who doesn’t even show his face once!”h1KqBZ
A9UWLIt was because their oldest son, Korin Lork, had never shown his face even once after entering the Academy in March last year.knho
bJ3W“We raised him wrong! We really did! That little kid doesn’t even remember about his parents anymore now that he’s breathing the Academy air!”SrA4BGC
A7r“Ehew, don’t say that. He must have been busy.”3gD
CVse8y“Busy? Sure! You mean he was busy playing in the South last summer and strolling in the East last winter?”yyAFOj
SRbKE4He had been greatly concerned already that his son was entering a guardian academy that was full of risk and hazards, so it was natural for him to feel like rotting away on the inside because his son was refusing to show his face even once.CHb
eTDSuel did not console her husband, who had a visibly sullen look on his face, because she knew it wouldn’t last long. If he was that worried, why didn’t he write a letter to him?Zpa
o3BQlSeriously, the guys of this family were rather bad when it came to expressing their feelings. The same was true for her son as well as her husband.JtRL0gt
F01“But Korin seems to be doing very well these days. He got promoted into something, and ‘Guardians’ was it? He seems to have a club with his friends.”N1XNI
dKF“Are there clubs and societies in the Guardian Academy?”Zr7XyGo
v3gN2“Why not? It’s for young kids so of course there will be. Sia is also the head of a club in the Royal Academy, right? They’re both leaders wherever they go. I wonder who they took after.”Is8
Dzuw“It must be me.”vtXl
GAvYDWhere did all the complaints about the ‘undutiful child’ go?T4WD
9wsobll“Anyway, he said he’s coming to the capital this holiday.”A1UNYt
Lt5G“Really?”HGNSYi
xK5XRudene suddenly turned with a flick with a bright smile on his face. Seeing that, Suel grinned while handing over the letter that they received in the morning.wast
XUr4“Look here. He’s coming to the capital with his friends.”QILGnk5
ZBObVwu“Hmm… Hnn? Royal banquet? Is he going to the banquet?”ygj
lG6J25“The Saintess got kidnapped recently, right? I heard he did something important there.”IGNIra
HsctzSn“Hoho. That little boy must be really brave just like me.”m6h
RaLX3i“I hope he’s not putting himself at risk.”LDGdpi
p4b9kSD“Of course, a man ought to put themselves at risk for a greater future! Haha!”VmBkLX
TpKhwzvSeemingly proud of his son, Rudene couldn’t hide the smile on his face as he read through the letter several times.8EmUo
7ORfDAlthough Korin was an unfilial child who didn’t show his face for one and a half years ever since he entered the Academy, he appeared to be pioneering his own path very well from what Rudene could see through the letter.rLH
cjt“That boy. I wonder if he has a girlfriend now.”EJtNX
zPHgRG“Well, he doesn’t look bad, but probably not because he’s coming with his friends. Someone his age wouldn’t be going around with their friends when they have a girlfriend, right?”SXOG
GwqK0Gg“But what if… he’s coming with his girlfriend to introduce her to us?”zxE
hYaP“He said ‘friends’ though.”ec7
61x8QDA“Hmm… That’s true.”PZu
kxzc9RHowever, Rudene was still hopeful. Just like him and his wife, his son was tall and had a decent appearance. It was about time that he got himself ‘a’ girlfriend.qN6
lWglQIv“Hoho. We have to prepare an enormous feast.”BFSn8OS
mvQ9M“Don’t be silly.”MELt
VzdmRThe Lork couple started the day off with excitement as they waited for their son to return.6HN
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