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𝐄𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐃𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 (1)
Johan was at a loss for words after being hit hard for the first time in a long while. He didn’t expect to be rendered speechless in front of the elf knights.
Iselia, who was next to him, came to his defense as his spouse.
“Johan is a brave knight. He always charges first into the enemy lines with the knights and is the last to retreat. He never backs down from a duel. However, he never abuses his power.”
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. . .’
Isn’t that abuse of power already?
In any case, Iselia continued speaking.
“He has the courage of a lion in his chest, but the cunning of a fox in his head. Hmm hmm.”
“Didn’t His Excellency tear off and rip apart the arm of a troll?”
“. . . . . .”
At a loss for words, Iselia looked at Johan. Johan looked away.
“Yes. Still, isn’t this going too far?”
“Jumping into that danger and grasping glory, isn’t that the mission and duty of a knight? His Excellency must surely know this, right?”
‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.’
Iselia was somehow moved and nodded as if in agreement. I wanted to hit her on the back of the head.
“No matter what, isn’t this too much? Aren’t there many evil enemies in the kingdom as well?”
“Of course there’s a reason. This is a secret of the kingdom, but I can trust and tell His Excellency.”
“. . .?”
It shouldn’t matter if there’s honor or not, right?
The nobles’ sense of security amazed Johan from time to time. Of course, this was largely due to the customs of the kingdom and the Empire.
Although they serve the king as their lord and devote their loyalty and duty, this is not absolute loyalty, but loyalty akin to a contract.
Right now the nobles are like feudal lords to their own fiefdoms, and the king’s orders are often refused if deemed unreasonable. This was the same not only in the Holy Empire, but also in the Elven Kingdom.
From that position, even if it was called a secret of the kingdom, they did not protect it with absolute loyalty. They readily told those they deemed acceptable by their standards.
“I’m grateful you trust me.”
Of course Johan had no intention of refusing. If the other person told him secrets, he should gratefully listen.
“Our young king, Angoldolph III, intends to stand against the fallen emperor of the corrupted Empire for glory.”
“. . .I’m really surprised!”
Johan made an effort to pretend to be surprised. Of course he had already obtained information in advance from the Empire envoys, but he couldn’t make things awkward.
Lauren nodded and continued speaking.
“It’s surprising, but if you think about it, it’s reasonable. In fact, His Majesty is an unfortunate person. Unlike the blessed, honored His Excellency born with a fate where he can gain honor, His Majesty was not born with such a fate.”
‘. . .𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘥.’
Of course there was no malice from the elf’s point of view, but Johan felt bad. If given a choice, why would one be born as a mediocre knight instead of the Elf King?
However, he roughly understood the other person’s meaning. What a young new monarch does is the same whether it’s a kingdom or a fiefdom.
Build one’s own new authority to cover the authority of one’s parents.
In the fiefdom lurked retainers loyal to the previous lord and potential political enemies coveting his position. To rule through that web, the young lord needed an achievement to shine light on him.
Although the current Elf King sat on the co-monarch’s seat with the dowager, the old king was seriously ill, so the acting king was Angoldolph.
For the young king, the turbulent situation in the chaotic Empire seemed well suited for raising his authority and building achievements.
‘𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵. . .’
“But what does His Majesty personally taking to the field have to do with you guys being here?”
“When His Majesty draws his sword and fights evil, how can a knight like me just sit still? I intend to rip out and offer up the heart of a basilisk. For the other bedridden King.”
“. . .!”
The old ill king could not be cured by any wizard or priest. Obviously every possible method had been tried since he was in the king’s seat.
At this time some wizards said this. To loosen his stone-like body, the heart of a basilisk was needed.
Hearing this, the elf knights bravely stepped forward.
“I see. So that’s what happened.”
Only then did Johan understand.
Johan would have done the same. A young king who had just ascended the throne. This was a once in a lifetime great opportunity in his eyes. Would he not be able to sit in the empty retainers’ seats?
‘𝘐 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’
Of course, regardless of Johan’s thoughts, the elf knights were not making such political calculations.
In the midst of the Elf King firing up their blood, the basilisk story came out so they just flooded in.
And in fact, considering stability alone, following the Elf King on the campaign was better.
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Johan exchanged greetings with the elf knights in turn. They were the Empire knights who used to ignore him, but they were courteous to Johan. It was because they respected his achievements.
‘𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨.’
Johan was surprised. He thought the knights here didn’t have fiefdoms. But unexpectedly, some knights who participated in the hunt had fiefdoms.
Among them, the one with the highest status was Count Puakonyu. It was hard to guess the age of an elf, but he was close to three times Johan’s age. Naturally, he took on the role of leading this group.
“I’ve heard a lot of rumors. I didn’t expect to meet you here like this.”
“I’m just embarrassed because the rumors seem to be exaggerated.”
Johan glanced at the armor Puakonyu was wearing. Surprisingly, the shape of the armor was familiar to his eyes.
‘𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘧. . .?’
Amazingly, the shape of that armor resembled the one Sir Karamaf wore. It felt a little lacking and worn out, but the shape was plausible.
So is that the dwarf-made plate armor from the ancient Empire era?
“Oh. Are you curious about this armor?”
The count pointed at his armor and smiled proudly.
“It’s a family treasure that’s been passed down for generations. It’s a treasure that’s been passed down since the days of the old Empire. Although the neck and leg parts are damaged, it’s still great armor.”
Even if it could not cover the neck and legs, the armor of the ancient Empire was worth wearing. Johan, who had dealt with it directly, could tell.
Where else could he find lighter yet tougher armor?
“It’s really great armor.”
“I appreciate the compliment. I’m glad a count knight like you said that.”
Count Puakonyu was a little excited to receive a compliment about his family’s treasure. Compliments about the family treasure were always nice to hear.
“So are we going to chase the basilisk like this?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. But I’m a little worried because basilisks are sensitive and violent monsters.”
“?”
Johan wondered what he meant, then nodded as he saw where Count Puakonyu was pointing.
“The mercenaries seem to be trapped on the high ground. Do you know them?”
“. . .They are people who fought under the banner of the Order with me.”
Johan wanted to pretend he didn’t know, but he couldn’t. Count Puakonyu looked at Johan with a serious expression, seemingly worried about him.
“It might be better not to get involved with such profligate fellows. You never know when they might drag you down.”
Basically, elves looked down on the Holy Empire. There was a long-standing grudge between the two.
As such, they were unlikely to react positively to seeing Holy Empire knights being humiliated.
“There’s an old saying in my hometown. On the battlefield, elves are the only comrades you can trust.”
‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯. . .’
Honestly, the elves didn’t look much different to Johan. If the elves were gone, it was highly likely that elves would be trapped there.
“Anyway, it would be fortunate if the Count rescued them. We’ll be able to chase the basilisk without any disturbances.”
“Count Puakonyu, Your Excellency, may I help you for a moment?”
At Lauren’s words, the other elf knights spoke up as well.
“My friend. I must go wherever you go. Let us stand shoulder to shoulder and wield our swords together!”
“Truly beautiful! If you act for the sake of honor, how could this old count stop you?”
Before Johan could even speak, the elves ended the conversation themselves. Johan looked at them incredulously.
I haven’t even given permission yet. . .?
But before he could open his mouth, the situation began to change abruptly. Screams and thick smoke began to rise in the distance.
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“Let those running away be! I have no intention of seeing useless blood!”
The dwarves shouted in coarse voices. Mercenaries gathered in small groups and fled in all directions. Starving, thirsty, and with smoke rising, they started running away.
“Foolish people. To not even be able to control your subordinates!”
The young dwarves ridiculed them when they saw that spectacle. The nobles looked pathetic to them.
“The situation seems to be much worse than I thought.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There is only one reason why they are not capturing and executing those running away. It might cause a rebellion in this situation.”
The nobles were not completely oblivious. If they acted too violently in this tense situation, it could trigger riots.
“Send an envoy once more.”
“Should we not just let them starve to death?”
“Foolish talk. There is nothing good about creating bad ties with those outside the mountain range.”
Unlike the hot-blooded young dwarves, the old dwarves were very experienced.
The mountain range was not invincible. From the past, countless warriors had led armies into this mountain range, and some of them were truly threatening enemies.
Aside from that danger, fighting with the outside was not good. The inside of the mountain range was barren and lacked many things, and the goods from the outside obtained through trade were significant. Also, were dwarf mercenaries not employed by feudal lords outside?
“Be honored, dwarves! His Excellency Count Yeats wishes to meet with you!”
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
The dwarves were dumbfounded at the sight of the elf knights who appeared below them, riding horses.
While they kept some decorum, their words provoked the temperament of the dwarves. As the young dwarves tried to take out their crossbows, the old dwarves stopped them.
“Calm down. Save your crossbow bolts for later.”
“That damn elf isn’t even getting off his horse!”
“Get off that horse right now!”
Shouts flew among the dwarves, but the elf knight did not even pretend to listen.
“I came as a messenger and so will not get off my horse. I only dismount when received as a guest! Will you receive me as a guest?”
“Hey! Get him off that horse!”
“Everyone, calm down. Count Yeats is a count whose household the Balpa clan owes.”
“Oh! Is that so?”
“Yes. Call the keeper of favors.”
In the offices of Empire and Kingdom nobles, there were heralds who managed family banners and crests, organizing the banners and crests of other families.
The dwarves had something similar. Though instead of crests, they tended to record favors and grudges. The dwarf tasked with the office of keeper of favors, blessed with good memory, nodded his head and said,
“Captain Mackald and Captain Volandrunt owe him their lives too.”
“Hmm. In that case. . .”
“He cannot be completely ignored.”
Adding and subtracting these favors and grudges, the dwarves decided how to treat the other party.
“Very well! Prepare to receive them!”
“How long do you plan to keep me waiting!”
“Shut your mouth, elf! Be grateful we do not drag you off that horse!”
“These dwarves have no honor! Come out at once!”
As the young dwarves quarreled with the elf knight, the old dwarf shook his head.
“Quiet everyone down.”
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“Why are you so anxious?”
“Um. It’s a bit awkward to say this now, but. . .”
Suetlg spoke carefully.
“Sending the elves as messengers may have been a mistake.”
“Isn’t it better than sending the ones here?”
If he had sent the knights Johan brought, or the dwarves Johan hired, it could have been misunderstood as a provocation. Sending neutral parties as messengers to convey intent was the priority.
“Right. The elves’ unique customs and attitudes could anger the dwarves.”
“The knights would know that much. Besides, would they dare provoke while alone in enemy territory?”
“Well, you have a point there. Oh. The dwarves are coming. It’s fortunate that things seem to have worked out.”