How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 318

𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 (6)

Even if he was pathetic and unbelievable, Ulrike was not the kind of person to let Johan’s matters slide.

As she settled in and began to explain to Leibkehit the things that had happened to him, Leibkehit listened with great joy.

“Indeed. . .! So that’s what happened. I heard rumors that it had been violently torn out.”

“How could that be possible? The paladins of the monastery were there as well. The sword was infused with holy light. The sword burned the troll’s foul blood and tore through its muscles.”

“. . .?”

Johan, who had been listening with gratitude, gradually changed his expression as the story became more heated.

Ulrike’s story was beginning to drift a bit. . . towards the exaggerated side.

‘𝘕𝘰?’

As the story went from trolls to various monsters and even to the anecdote of the dragon hunt, Johan felt the need to intervene. Johan asked quietly.

“Gong. The dragon hunting is completely a wild rumor, right?”

“Huh?”

Ulrike looked at Johan as if to ask what he was talking about.

Right now, with many nobles listening with interest, the more nicely the story of Johan was wrapped up, the better it was. The story of Johan skillfully throwing a spear at the enraged dragon and escaping was not very interesting. Rather, it was more interesting that Johan threw the spear while singing the wrath and blessing of God, and the dragon fled in fear.

“But still. . .”

“Be quiet. Why are you acting like this when you asked me to do this?”

“. . .Yes. I’ll leave it to you.”

As Johan seemed distressed, Ulrike, who had been speaking without much thought, suddenly seemed to find it funny. There were more than one or two rumors about the duke by the bards. She could say as much as she wanted.

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“Aren’t you talking nonsense!”

“Calm down. There are many people listening.”

“No matter what, you’re always spouting such absurd remarks!”

Among the pagan tribe leaders who came here, the leader of the green-scaled tribe, who was the most hot-tempered, expressed his dissatisfaction.

The reason why they took the risk to come here was not simply to drink and be entertained.

What kind of person was the pagan duke who showed a miracle? Will he treat them properly? Not only the duke, but also the other lords around him?

Although he showed a miracle, they were not so reckless as to move their entire tribe just because of that. They could not do that until they confirmed it with their own eyes.

But he called them here and kept talking nonsense. They could not guess his intentions. They didn’t think of him as a fool. . .

“He’s making fun of us. He’s making fun of us for listening to such nonsense without saying anything.”

“You’re thinking too much. The duke is popular, so it’s not strange to have such praise.”

“Why do you think he’s giving such ridiculous praise at a place like this?”

“Then let’s test it out.”

The leader of the turtle tribe, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth to mediate. The leader of the snake tribe looked around as if he was puzzled.

“How do you test the duke, and in someone else’s camp?”

“I guess I spoke too presumptuously. Um. . . In the land of our tribe, before fishing for fish in the river, we throw stones to measure it. Even if an evil monster is hiding in the water, it will rush out as soon as you throw a stone. But sometimes, clever and strong ones notice the stone and don’t come out.”

“. . . . . .”

The leader of the green-scaled tribe was already fidgeting. He wanted to urge him right away, but he was holding back. The snake tribe leader spoke to sum it up instead.

“So you’re saying that you want to throw something like a stone to measure the duke’s capacity?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

The chieftain nodded as if he agreed.

“Among my men, there is one called the ‘troll hunter.’ He is an outstanding man who even received a reward from the Sultan. . .”

“You mean Marza?”

“Marza?”

The other lords recognized him right away. The green-scaled man seemed a little dissatisfied that the others recognized him so quickly.

“. . .Yes. Sir Marza. He is such a great knight that he even went to Vynashchtym to hunt trolls. If such a knight asks for teachings, the duke won’t be able to refuse. After letting him into the tent, if you ask him a question. . .”

“Isn’t that a little dangerous? If the duke feels insulted, things will get bigger.”

“A noble who has shown miracles won’t be so narrow-minded. At worst, he’ll just get angry.”

The pagan lords expected the knight called the troll hunter to exploit the duke’s weak point.

In fact, it was not wrong for a noble of some status to talk big. To maintain that face, one had to tell some lies.

A noble who went hunting could not return empty-handed because he had not caught any game, and a noble who went to war could not return without killing a single enemy.

The lords here knew that much.

However, the lords wanted to test it out. Since he had talked so much in the place where he was, couldn’t he also gauge what kind of person the duke was?

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Marza was a giant-blooded tribe knight who was rumored to be a giant hybrid. He had an overwhelming presence as if he was carrying four swords and three bows to hunt trolls, as rumored.

“Are you telling me to ask a question to his highness?”

“Yes.”

Marza, who had not been afraid to face even the rumors of a ferocious troll, showed a slight hesitation this time.

It was not only because his opponent was a grand lord.

“According to rumors, Your Highness has a contract with a demon. . .”

“That’s just a wild rumor, you fool! Do you still believe in rumors that have spread wrong?”

The chieftain was bewildered.

Of course, the chieftain also knew that such rumors were circulating, but very few people believed them.

Think about it. How could a duke who was rumored to have a contract with a demon receive so much support? Even the crown of the Holy Land chose the duke.

No matter how much he thought about it, it was clear that the rumor was spread by frightened soldiers.

“Oh. . . Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Marza’s face brightened. He was not afraid of trolls, but he was afraid of the demons that appeared in legends. If it was not a demon, there was nothing to be afraid of.

“Of course, even if he does not have a contract with a demon, the duke is not someone to be taken lightly. Never act recklessly.”

“Yes. I will risk my life.”

“Good! I trust you.”

Marza waited anxiously outside the tent for contact.

He had heard many rumors about the duke, but this was the first time he had met him in person.

‘𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.’

From what he had heard, the duke was clearly a great knight and warrior. Some of the stories about monsters must have been true to some extent.

However, Marza was the one who was called to find the flaw in the story. He had to listen carefully to the story and very carefully touch the duke’s sore spot.

“Come in.”

━𝐆𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝.

Marza calmly stepped inside. At a glance, anyone could tell who Duke Yeats was. Marza was shocked as if he had been struck by lightning when he met the duke’s eyes.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴. . . 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. . .!’

The hunters who had caught many monsters became sensitive to the unique presence emitted by those monsters. Just as excellent swordsmen could gauge their skills just by looking at the way they held their swords, they could tell how strong their opponent was just by looking at the presence they exuded.

Marza had hunted trolls, starting from the newborn troll to the troll that had been tormenting the surroundings for nearly a hundred years. . .

But Duke Yeats was beyond imagination.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳?!’

At the overwhelming presence, Marza’s arms and legs trembled. The voices of people chattering beside him sounded like they were coming from afar.

Johan asked with a puzzled look.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Haha. Isn’t it because he’s surprised by Your Highness’s appearance?”

One of the nobles next to him joked. Of course, no one thought that was true. The green-scaled man, who was dressed well, whispered in a flustered voice.

“What are you doing? Pull yourself together!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Seeing that Marza seemed too nervous, Johan stepped forward.

“So you said you wanted to learn from me? I hear you’ve hunted more trolls than I have, so I don’t know if I have anything to teach you.”

“What are you talking about, Your Highness? At best, I’m a knight who has only hunted one troll. How much is there for me to learn from Your Highness?”

Johan noticed something subtle in the way the pagan chieftain spoke. Ulrike also noticed it and gently touched his foot.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Perhaps he’s a little offended because they called him here and only praised the duke. . .”

Ulrike accurately noticed the inner feelings of the chieftains. The pride and vanity of the nobles did not differ much, whether it was the West or the East.

“I made a mistake. I should have watched their expressions a little.”

“You don’t have to blame yourself for something I asked you to do. Then why did he come here?”

“Perhaps. . . I think they came to point out His Highness the Duke’s story.”

“. . .The flaw in my story?”

Johan paused for a moment and then fell into thought. Most of the stories were true, but. . .

“No. That’s why I told you to do the dragon story properly, didn’t I?”

“I said I was sorry. . . And the dragon story is fine. No one here has ever seen a dragon.”

Ulrike was right. Johan stopped talking to Ulrike for a moment, kindly called Marza closer, and poured him a drink.

If the pagan chieftains were heartbroken, it was Johan’s job to heal them.

“Ugh. . . uh. . .”

“. . .??”

When Marza received the drink with his hands trembling, Johan was puzzled. His hands were shaking so much that the drink overflowed the glass and spilled.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴?’

The pagan lords also looked quite embarrassed. Why was the bold Marza acting like that?

If Johan had not led the conversation, the atmosphere would have become strange. Johan slowly asked Marza questions. Where did he catch what kind of troll, and what methods did he use?

Marza gradually regained his composure as he answered.

“Once, I was chasing a troll and almost died when I met a manticore. It was a really vicious b*stard. . .”

“Oh. Was that it? Was it in Vynashchtym? Maybe the one I met was the same one Sir met.”

Johan vividly described his appearance. An ugly human face, a huge beast’s torso, and a demon’s wings on its back. Even if the general appearance was similar, Marza was surprised when he described the manticore’s face too specifically.

“That’s right! How do you know that, Your Highness?”

“When I went to Vynashchtym, I caught him with the St. Guntsalva Knights. He was quite a formidable b*stard. I wouldn’t have caught him without the help of the wizards.”

“Wow. . .!”

Marza was speechless for a while at the story of catching the manticore, and then came to his senses and began to ask questions. The chieftain glared at him as if he was going to kill him, but Marza did not notice.

Rather, it was Johan who was worried.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?’

“But weren’t you going to ask me about the trolls?”

“Oh. . . no. Your Highness. After hearing Your Highness’s words, I thought it was rude of me to even ask you a question.”

“Well. . .”

Leibkehit, who was listening from the side, spoke in a pleasantly intoxicated voice.

“Isn’t this knight a knight who truly knows honor, Your Highness?”

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥.’

He had tried to make the chieftains feel good by letting this knight go, but the knight dastard seemed to have eaten something wrong, and he was flustered because he was trembling and trying to go back after just listening to the story.

“Don’t worry too much. The reaction is not bad.”

“. . .!”

As Ulrike said, the chieftains did not get angry or anything in the current situation. Rather, they were closer to being impressed. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but it was clear that things were going well.

‘𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.’

“Your Highness.”

As the chieftain spoke with a serious expression while they were chatting happily, Johan had a hunch that his opponent was finally going to get to the main point.

What on earth did they come for?

“The reason we came here is because we heard rumors that Your Highness received the crown from the forest of the Holy Land.”

“. . .”

Johan was at a loss for words.

Don’t tell me Jyanina’s opinion was right. . .

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