Chapter 44: Prios (1)
‘Not yet.’
However, in Ruel’s view, they have yet to fly.
Then shouldn’t you help them fly as the lord?
“Cassion.”
“Yes.”
“Go to the Birds and make them swear by Mana. The condition is not to betray Setiria.”
One bird is weak, but a flock is different.
Ruel broke it from the foundation so that they wouldn’t think about anything else.
“Those who refuse are enemies. Kill them.”
“Okay.”“You too, make an oath of Mana, Dion.”
He didn’t know what the lord was thinking about releasing the birds, but he was different.
Everything needed a leash.
Trust can be gained slowly over time
Dion signed a mana’s oath with him without saying a word.
“It’s been signed.”
As soon as Cassion’s words fell, Ruel smiled with his hands folded.
“You can’t escape Setiria with this.”
“From the moment I gave up my real name, I had no intention of leaving Setiria.”
“Yes, that’s the first order. Take the birds’ oath. Cassion, follow him.”
“Okay.”
The two answered at the same time and went out of the room.
Ruel finished looking at the data while touching Leo’s ears, who was still asleep.
‘Liberan, the baron of Prios.’
I wondered if the barons could really have enough power.
Perhaps there is a powerful family from Prios in the background.
‘Should I meet him? There is no muzzle to cover the mouth, no leash.’
E/N: Means nothing is stopping him from doing so.
There was no emotional connection between Prios and Setiria.
In good words, it was normal, and in other words, they were not interested in each other.
Knock. Knock.
A knock was heard while Ruel sighed.
“Come in.”
It was Billo who opened the door and came in.
Did the Red Ash minions open their mouths?
“Greetings, Lord. Within a few days, your face became emaciated.”
“I am always emaciated. So? Did they talk?”
“It has not been opened. But I made it open.”
“Say it.”
Ruel looked through the snack basket on the table because his mouth was bored.
Sniff. Sniff.
Leo, who smelled the good food, opened his eyes.
—I want to eat in this body too! Isn’t that the sweetest thing in the world?
I thought I should teach him how to say cookies. Ruel handed over one cookie to Leo.
He put it in his mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
“He’s a Red Ash, aiming for Ruel-nim’s life.”
“And?”
The information I know came out.
Ruel listened bored and chewed on the cookies again.
“He used Flenn, who had attracted Liberan, Prios’ baron, who dominated the world behind Setiria.”
“How was it that only a baron could use Flenn in Setiria?”
“He gave Liberan a weakness of Prios.”
“What’s the weakness?”
“Prios is said to be a collateral.”
“… Ha.”
Ruel raised the corners of his mouth.
I heard an unexpected ball of luck rolling around.
“Can’t a collateral be the head of the household? It doesn’t add up.”
I touched the back of my hand.
The only thing a collateral could have was the name of a noble.
“You can fool your eyes with magic as much as you want. If your liver is out of your stomach.”
T/N : If your liver is out of your stomach it is a Korean saying used to make fun of, condemn, criticize someone who acts way too recklessly without fearing possible consequences.
“The head of Prios is someone who act recklessly.”
“That’s right. Liberan took advantage of that weakness and turned even the head of Prios into a puppet for me.”
“… Things are going interesting.”
The reason Liberan was able to reach out to Setiria even though he’s only a baron was because he had captured the head of Prios.
‘It’s going very well, three noble families are raging like this to eat Setiria, so Setiria must have been a very tasty restaurant.’
Ruel quit thinking about whether any of the remaining nobles had touched Setiria.
He was already so tired.
“I’ve caught a guy called Flenn. Check if the information matches, this time his mouth is light, so you can just sting it a little.”
“I will know for sure so as not to go against the expectations of the Lord.”
“Okay, let’s work hard.”
At Ruel’s words, Billo bowed and stood up.
He was acting as if he would go out at any moment, but he gently looked at Ruel.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“Do you get better from the illness?”
“Are there many rumors about my illness?”
“Don’t worry, this old man has fixed all the rumors circulating in the mansion.”
“Okay.”
Ruel replied calmly and smiled subtly at Billo.
“What are you curious about?”
“Excuse me a lot. I was just worried, so don’t think too hard.”
“I believe in you because of the oath in your heart.”
“I know. I crossed the line. I apologize.”
Billo bowed again and apologized to Ruel before leaving the room.
Leo tilted his head.
—That human being is nice, giving this body meat and a lot of sweet things. But why are you angry?
“Cassion is enough in making a fuss.”
Ruel inhaled the Breath.
Billo himself vowed two conditions: “I will not betray Setiria and I will keep Ruel Setiria as my master until the day I die.”
He must have acted like that out of guilt for the former lord and Ruel.
If I put more pressure on him, he might travel around the world in search of a medical doctor due to the nature of Billo, whom Ruel watched.
Ruel positioned comfortably on the bed.
He had to curl up because of the cough that followed soon.
—Ruel, are you sleeping? This body is not sleepy at all. Play with me.
“I’m just resting. Because if I overwork my body, I will have to sleep for several days.”
It wasn’t that he was in a bad condition, but there were signs of it, so Ruel decided to rest calmly.
—Then this body will move around.
Leo pressed his soft feet on Ruel’s face, and then went down under the bed with a bashful smile.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hearing the sound of Leo’s feet moving as a lullaby, Ruel closed his eyes.
Soon there was a deep breathing sound.
How long has it been?
The door opened quietly.
Now that Ganien left, there was only Cassion who could enter Ruel’s room without knocking.
—Shhh.
Leo looked at Cassion and lowered his voice.
It was desirable to sleep, but it was difficult because dinner was prepared soon.
Cassion asked.
“How long has it been since he fell asleep?”
—This body blinked hundreds of times.
“It means it hasn’t been long.”
He pondered whether or not to wake Ruel.
He ate poorly to catch Flenn and Cassion planned to put him to sleep after feeding him a late night dinner.
It’s been a while since I heard the breathing sound.
‘There’s nothing I can do.’
The prepared dinner can only be given to hungry Leo and the knights.
“Have a good dream.”
Cassion turned off the light that filled the room.
***
Munch. Munch.
Ruel swallowed the meat pie with his unopened eyes.
He was so hungry that he was going crazy whether the power of recovery, which was always moving, ate up all of his nutrients.
“Can I have breakfast?”
As soon as he opened his eyes, Cassion, who expected him to say ‘meat pie,’ handed over a pre-prepared meat pie.
He ate it up really well.
Ruel looked like he was going to live after eating seven slices of pie.
“Yeah, prepare a lot. It’s like not my stomach is possessed by some hungry ghost, but I’m still hungry.”
“A tailor will come around 10 a.m. today.”
“He’s going to whine again that my size has decreased.”
I made money, I didn’t have clothes that fit me, and I called a tailor to get my clothes tailored, but he’s already fixed and fixed my clothes several times on my body, which is decreasing day by day.
“Where does everything go when you eat? I think the beast gained weight.”
Leo, who buried his face in the special rice bowl at Cassion’s words, raised his head.
Certainly, it was a little bigger than the first time.
“Here and there.”
Ruel pointed in turn to Leo, his chest with the power of recovery.
In fact, Aris is big and Leo is big, but I was a little dissatisfied that he wast the only one who’s not big.
“Do you have any medicine to gain weight?”
“If there is, the person who prepared it must have already become a corpse after being commissioned by someone.”
“I know, I didn’t know you’d worry about this.”
He made an impression on his face while drawing a chubby stomach suffering from overtime work and party dinners.
“What are the results of the investigation?”
“Give me a little more time, as it is not an aura that comes out quickly. The gap is as narrow as the opponent has taken the lead.”
I asked Cassion to investigate Liberan, but this time it seemed a little too much.
When it’s morning, the data you get is the best.
“What about the Bird?”
“They started training with the Knights.”
“What about uncle? He said he started making something.”
Ruel inhaled the Breath.
“He says they are researching a magic device here to protect Apor.”
Tyson was researching a magic device that could be locked underground and could activate the shield in the entire Setiria area.
What I learned as a bonus was that the magic item he gave me did not have a function such as a surveillance camera.
It seemed that if he felt I was in danger, Tyson’s alarm system would be activated.
“How was the back alley?”
Now that the rats have disappeared, there must have been confusion that they would take over the rotten throne.
“As expected, there was an uproar.”
“Speak well to the nobles who control them not to harm other villages, and keep monitoring the back alleys.”
“What should we do after that?”
“Cough, cough.”
Cassion waited until Ruel’s cough stopped.
“Once the number one is decided, bring him here, there can be no other back alley anywhere.”
If you can’t get rid of it, you have to tame it.
I am going to use anything because the hands of the head of the household can never be clean.
Tap.
Ruel knocked on his thigh.
Where should I start? There is a mountain of things to do.
He inhaled the Breath and asked Cassion.
“Today is the day of the meeting, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Taxes have been lowered, the number of thieves has decreased, farming has improved, ore is pouring out of mines, there are no natural disasters, the Masu Forest is quiet, and the crime rate has decreased. What topic are they discussing?”
The more he spoke, the corners of Ruel’s lips rose.
Originally, Setiria was abundant.
It’s just that silly Carbena and Mineta ruined it.
“They’re discussing Ruel-nim’s marriage…”
“Dismissed.”
It seems that these old people are comfortable in their bodies, so their heads are also comfortable.
“What is Minart doing without stopping this?”
Being the youngest and most capable, Ruel made Minart the center of the barons.
If such a nonsensical topic had been discussed, I would have cut it off.
“Minart strongly insisted.”
“Today’s topic is warp devices. Say that.”
The land of the Leponia Kingdom was wide, and Setiria was also wide.
It took about a day by carriage to the village of Sisel, farthest from Apor, the center of Setiria, so it was too far from Ruel.
The gap should be narrowed so that it can shine in times of crisis.
“Okay.”
Cassion bent down and went outside.
“Leo.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
With a lot of meat pie on his face, Leo smiled.
“Cough, cough.”
Ruel coughed out and smiled suspiciously.
“Would you like to play with Aris?”
—Play?
Leo tilted his head.
“Whether it’s a spirit or a wizard, it’s the same nature in the end, so wouldn’t it be stronger if you play a game of attributes with each other?”
Leo’s eyes were sparkling.
—Can this body protect you better?
“Probably.”
—This body wants to protect you. I want to protect you better.
“Why?”
—It feels great to protect it. You’re my food, so it’s natural for this body to protect you.
Leo ran over his short leg and rubbed his face full of meat pie in Ruel’s arms.
Cassion would freak out if he saw it, but Ruel stroked Leo.
How can I not smile when you speak so firmly without any doubt?
—I will. This body will protect you.
“Okay.”
Maybe Aris and Leo were similar.
The eyes longing for affection that appear occasionally may be due to the environment in which they were raised.
Ruel bit Breath in his mouth, hoping they would get close to each other.
***
“Pardon? Play with Leo?”
Aris was surprised by Ruel’s sudden remark during the meal.
Leo suddenly walked over and rubbed his face on Aris’ feet.
“Yeah, are you looking forward to it too? How the spirits manipulate nature.”
“Yeah! It was very beautiful.”
Aris recalled the fight between Leo and Ganien that he saw not long ago.
How I wish I could do magic like that.
Because the current magic cannot contain both attributes at once.
“Is it fun being an adventurer, Aris?”
Ruel cut the meat into large pieces and put it in his mouth.
Aris showed signs of surprise.
“How did you know?”
“Flenn said you liked it so much that he talked about it.”
When he went to catch the rat, Flenn suggested that the most innocent Aris ask for a request, as it was quite suspicious when Cassion and Aris solved it.
Of course, with his permission.
If the enemy of the two knights was the army, Aris’s enemy was an individual.
Ruel is willing to allow it because it would have been difficult to make the fighting method similar because they were training together.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you made a good decision.”
Now that Aris was taller and better than himself, he smiled happily as if he had not become sullen.
No matter how you look at him, he resembles a golden retriever.
“In addition to my name, I also sold Ruel-nim and Cassion.”
“Good job, an adventurer is a status that can be used at any time.”
“Are you frustrated to the person who came into the mansion late yesterday?”
Cassion put down the new dishes.
“You should always be ready to move. Adventurers can go anywhere.”
Even if the opponent is a noble.
“Eat a lot.”
Cassion sighed deeply and said.
Ruel stopped picking up the meat with a fork and opened his mouth.
“It seems like your sighs have increased lately?”
“Thanks to someone, my sighs increase.”
“I’m going to rest for a while. Don’t worry.”
Cassion, who was putting the food on the table, and Aris, who was trying to put his salad in his mouth, stopped and looked at Ruel.
Bite. Bite.
I could only hear Leo eating.
Ruel raised his eyebrows when the atmosphere suddenly became quiet while chewing.
“Why?”