Chapter 187: City of Blacksmiths (1)
qQoThe mayor’s office in Soara was filled with silence.nXV
oz4HEBmRutiger, who was sitting calmly in the mayor’s seat, listened to the report a moment ago and burst into laughter as if he were stunned.8bu
AktTRC“They just let the dwarves go? Without any promise?”lDIW7F7
2SMm“I’m sorry, Lord Rutiger.”jWU9UH
borRAnyone could see that Rutiger had an attractive appearance, but the intense energy in his black eyes was something he was born with.a5i
5McoefTThe mayor of Soara lowered his head because he dared not meet those eyes.gK1IuqT
XZygwB“I did my best to retain them, but…”s5s3
kfSbF“But?”EhZfB
xyg267The dwarves who had worked so hard to bring them back were dismissed without being able to do anything.2Ndw08S
43D8TAlthough the report went beyond incompetence and bordered on irresponsibility, the mayor also had something to say.SoMlGs
6o4k7s“They insisted on speaking only with Lord Vlad or Lord Joseph, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”3U6
EsmAll the dwarves had a determined side, perhaps because they were born with the temperament of artisans.uaJ
59AtDespite the mayor’s pleas to wait, they simply turned their heads and said they couldn’t have any conversation without the two of them.dDTG
NV2XH“Besides, it was difficult to ask them to wait any longer because ice was beginning to form on the river. I’m sorry, Lord Rutiger.”xtVbx
B6wIEu“…I understand. You may leave.”UNWQF
P50CsHe could definitely be called incompetent, but even if he said that, he couldn’t help it now.ovEH7
YErym1Rutiger, who had no intention of reprimanding him, dismissed the mayor and looked at the scarred man sitting at the guest table.QAmQI
Zzw“The Count wants to capture the dwarves somehow.”RYUNwza
xYfuWnK“I know.”3LPEnWV
JtjETBut Marcus didn’t look Rutiger in the eye.MmeAW
7ZoxaHe simply held the teacup and said what he had to say.UHPN
GG66“Have you by any chance persuaded Lord Vlad?”rrRO5P
BeAmiqN“…No, not yet.”5L7o
P4nN“That’s problematic.”O9P
xdJzgThe black raven sitting across from Rutiger was a messenger, and everything it said came from the head of the Peter family.Q1i0l
PLq0Z1“You must hurry. Even now, many are trying to recruit Lord Vlad.”xJWUQy
09OK7oE“I’ll keep that in mind.”NuktUe
gll4After hearing Marcus’s words, Rutiger quietly rose from his seat and began to gaze at the landscape of Soara outside the window.EmdQ
nQNqlA city he didn’t have much connection with.xIlVh
wBDHowever, for someone born in this city, it might be a place that couldn’t be easily abandoned.MZutdzf
8fq6a8T“What about the matter with Baron Alicia?”0pSfan
INnzT“It seems our little lady managed to protect him.”a9CgQvB
bRRQ9“That’s good.”9A1uc
yNbvc7dAt Rutiger’s words, Marcus calmly set down his teacup.6JeFax2
a1Z6“Not entirely.”4pFX
X9CPJSRutger, who had been looking out the window, turned with a puzzled expression at Marcus’s words.qGBL35D
iAIlrm5“What do you mean?”COi
PX2q“She said she won’t accept anything anymore.”JOn
hOhYMYZemina, the woman who had offered Bayezid’s goodwill to bind Vlad.lMpXM
LsPaqgl“She said she won’t accept anything related to Lord Vlad. It seems she has understood the meaning of our offer.”agu5Nri
Sd6rC“…Really?”loBZD
LVJBut she was saying she didn’t want to be the shackles that bound Vlad.Q9uot7b
jDAGShe didn’t want to be the chain that tied Vlad down. If she had known the intention from the beginning, she wouldn’t have accepted anything.3Qd
pUy“It seems that everything involving Joseph here doesn’t go well.”A2cV4
qvFAGetting an ownerless knight was harder than it seemed.5vsD5
aSsIEH8A city that didn’t listen to either the mayor or the next head of the family.HQtRntK
RtXb8Rutiger could only smile bitterly as he contemplated the scenery outside the window.G9QBLY
qJV8***2iAO
DysAHj9Neigh-cI7
nDdyA stable specially designed for a single horse at the inn.stz
O3ZThere, Noir was with his eyes closed, enjoying Zemina’s touch, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.eAaGHw
G4u“I don’t understand why everyone finds it difficult to deal with him. He listens so well.”u9bDvMk
b2Bgk“…Really?”SCP8sbz
Zkmf8VVlad and Goethe watched in amazement as Noir showed no complaints about Zemina’s clumsy care.MihJm
IUKNoir’s eyes were tightly closed, as if he were enjoying the touch, and it didn’t seem like they would open easily.2mg9sC
SfKy“…That guy isn’t usually like that.”s09cS
xJ2h“I guess they’re compatible.”XGAo
xWLaLqGoethe, who was also the stable boy, scratched his head at the strange scene.7N6VRk
EluUH8AAlthough Goethe was proud to be able to handle Noir, that pride always seemed to diminish in front of Zemina.vmr
Uga1u“Is your mother okay?”NIg3z
bmTmP“Not only my mom, but also my younger brother and sister are fine too. Although it’s colder than where we were before.”aMDnZT
DQPFloHGoethe, who had taken refuge with his mother to avoid the consequences of the war, had now settled in Soara.aJn
6m3QAlthough the former mayor who had hired him as a stable caretaker was gone, Goethe could still work as a stable caretaker at the town hall, perhaps because of the value of Vlad’s name.AyWn
mPWj“Is it true that the dwarves took the forge oven?”zfMs
aNhNbJv“Yes, they said they took it as if it were a very precious treasure.”CRn
4ovrAlthough he had a steady job, Goethe hadn’t changed his curious nature and was always snooping around.r4ixjG
uwCO17This applied both in his work at the town hall and in the back alleys of The Rose’s Smile.6jojHZ
Ntp“They begged Madame so much for that oven that, even though they were told that only the blacksmith could decide, they kept asking. Madame had no choice but to give it to them because they were important customers.”KbN0te6
LvocIYO“Really?”00PG
7UXLpAlthough he couldn’t see it in person, Goethe was gathering all kinds of rumors with ears that could hear and telling the detailed story of what had happened in Soara.bJX
dHt4841“And it seems that Mr. Joseph’s health has worsened. They say the countess is looking for doctors everywhere.”gOo0
7tqf“…”TqmOa
vyTUpon hearing Goethe mention Joseph’s health status, Vlad’s expression turned serious.e5H4v1
BFNUR8“I heard he’s not doing very well?”NqQDK1D
Lh3txAF“I don’t know. He’s always been frail.”SVX6ia
Vm5Rq2lDespite failing in the competition for the head of the family, the trust Vlad had built with Joseph remained intact.5inJ
E9J5OVlad thought he still owed something morally to Joseph, so he couldn’t be pleased with the bad rumors about Joseph.dFH
VRW2q“Goethe, can you change the water in the bucket?”upA7TXw
GiMN9“Eh? It looks clean.”wL28NQ8
GUTB“It doesn’t to me.”BrglF
gYi0GJZemina, hands on hips, looked at Goethe while Noir showed his gums in a gesture of disapproval.luDDdB
l8bVKx“What do you prefer, that I do it?”NaxK
Im6“No, ma’am, you shouldn’t do that kind of work.”cQGpG
v8USAlthough Zemina was a childhood friend to Vlad, for Goethe she was a powerful figure from the back alleys. Making her carry a bucket of water was unthinkable for Goth.u9fmm
roAx“In fact, I was waiting for you to call me.”dq9AEz1
r3BaF9Goethe was not at all dissatisfied with Zemina’s instructions.iwrkb
lu4MHe simply hurried with a friendly smile.P8n
Aj9cpzSThis was because he knew very well that he needed Zemina’s permission to stay close to Vlad, who had now risen to the rank of noble.8xu
rNO“Why did you send Goethe away?”pAzI
Mip“Because I have something to tell you only.”UyKM
u1fGmWhen Goethe went to fetch water, only a horse and two people remained in front of the stable.pB5jXBi
7rSDmnVlad noticed that Zemina had deliberately taken Goth aside and was curious.RZX6
l4Ig“What do you want to tell me?”WSjbHE
Vpxx1“A message from the dwarves. You’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to tell you.”4Lin
j0wq1F1With those words, Zemina took a coin from her pocket and handed it to Vlad.rMSaVYb
aDISShe looked around to see if anyone was watching, and somehow seemed to be enjoying the situation.IOR1v1
d39O28f“This is…”16Oan
f1OZi“They asked me to give it to you.”Whv
x6iQeuqAlthough the dwarves had left without making any promises to the mayor of Shoara, they had left a message for Zemina to contact them.u95T5oz
v9z“See you in Nassau. You can contact us at the tavern where we first met.”zPI3
yG6“…The tavern where we first met.”dQxYK
QXGkOWAnd Zemina delivered her message to Vlad as the dwarves expected.UAiy
aMYj3OJ“This coin seems familiar to me.”2vxSnV
i2SOgHowever, Vlad was more interested in the coin given to him by the dwarves than in the message that he would see them in Nassau.F9png
9IbX“Eh? Did you have another one like it?”6VGL6Uj
N3W5Se“…Don’t they seem identical to you?”IeqnPB
03uhZ5After checking the coins that were said to have been handed over by the dwarves, Vlad took out two coins he had kept, one from Ramund and the other from August.ZlFtw
t1uyVlad’s eyes began to narrow as he compared them to the dwarves’ coins.RdhJ7zP
Ygt8Coins that were so rusty they seemed to have no apparent value.H1w
2ejAlthough the places where they were received were different, the three coins looked the same when placed in the palm of the hand.RjZn8n0
oaF4fTU***dTcLw
RNGEveryone in the north shivered in fear from the bone-chilling cold, but the residents of Deirmar were different.iJTzDQ
JQmpGreen grass could still be seen in various places in Deirmar, indicating warmth in the air.anDiS
ZWsTjDSome elders, seeing Deirmar warmer than ever, reminisced about old times and gave thanks to the lemon tree on the hill.cA1Nt4
H5gD7This gratitude, said to be something only the elderly did when they were children, was a rare sight when the Vatican Church lay in ruins.47k
Wmj6Dy“…It grows bigger every day.”ntS9nP
335JBaradis, the leader of the rangers, was looking at the Hainal tree on the hill, trying to estimate the height of the upper branches.RAp4y
rx7“It’s only been less than half a year.”EXwD
R5W3zZmThe Hainal tree seemed to be twice as large as when I first saw it.yoW
3Z4cGAxIt was a growth rate difficult to understand even with the common sense of elves who knew plants well.Y8rLgZ
3NR4qWAnd not only was the size of the tree incomprehensible.dWI2SCm
ZwQMnj“Lord Baradis, it seems there’s another child who can see spirits.”lXLB
gng“Is this the fourth person?”2MQb
M6L6H9“…Yes, we’ve confirmed that they can see the young spirits.”B0x3i
CpF2dAs of today, it was the fourth person.wAb2db
zmGhvThe number of children who recognize spirits.Yl3Z0tE
Z0hvGAfter hearing the report, Baradis silently began to draw a five-pointed star on his left eye.ZhwWRE
eLdHr0VThen, the world of spirits began to become clearly visible.X2xmF
2eVJ“Is all this because of this spirit?”qFzm
MWMIn the world seen through the eyes of the elves, there was a white serpent coiled around the branches.nawnBd1
IBzx74An ancient spirit said to have originated from the Mother Tree of the World, not from the World Tree of Ausurin.eprblb
T9oK0Although it seemed to be taking a nap, small spirits playing around the white serpent could be seen.4aPp
UbC“Lord Baradis, a messenger is coming from Ausurin.”inAZqOP
hf5OQvu“A messenger?”8LieDqu
nmgm5jBaradis had already seen the white serpent stretching its neck towards the sky. With half-closed eyes, as if just waking up, the serpent looked towards a falcon found only in Ausurin.bE8DmoM
tHpn“Very well, good boy.”jhpkj
RuEUmCCoo-oo-ooaC0z4ly
jAdNThe falcon, rolling its eyes, flew from afar and landed softly on Baradis’s wrist as if exhausted.jPWdcB
cu8H8As he stroked the falcon that had flown from its distant home, Baradis felt the gaze of the white serpent watching the messenger intently.LY7Qb
Walk1t3It seemed as if it was asking them to take a look together, Baradis deliberately unfolded the message.DRI
hnrT“…It’s a revelation.”K1UnztV
N15AiLThe letter that came from Ausurin had a stigma engraved that only the elders could use.QlrKa
vdu5lKyAnd behind the stigma was a twisted drawing that made it clear who had drawn it.ZeNLCe
l8onlF8“In the blue sea… a silver dragon.”TEH
g26kWEaIt was a drawing that seemed to have been drawn by a child, but there was something about it that made it feel even more clearly conveyed.MxSl
ZxtA small boat floating on bright blue paint that seemed to have spilled into the sea.GC1El
OrcoZBAnd in the sent revelation, a silver dragon was depicted swooping down towards the boat.QvukF
r8Jj“…Prepare everything. We move immediately.”lyAX
mWr2E7However, Baradis was able to find a small, strange point even in the completely blue painting.1krF
33LA small boat floating on the sea.Gazsa4Q
6oR“Where are we going?”jiVMIF
4pcq“We’re heading…”jsq
BxRIAqFor the one who receives a revelation, it comes as intuition.E3eXA
RiVGAlthough it was only a small point, Baradis was sure it represented Vlad.BePk2
uDuS“To the north.”IqIN1Li
sxTLBaradis wasn’t sure where Vlad was, but he soon determined his direction by seeing the huge shadow projected.UQfZ
jFASThe white serpent seemed to be indicating the way with a nod of its head.aCgQX
VZNpX“It must probably be Soara.”Yvq
OSwNPOrIndeed, as Baradis said, the place the white serpent was pointing to was in the direction of Soara.RxpIyg
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