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𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 (𝟒)
“Hello, Repiata-gong.”
“Thank you for your answer last time.”
Under the sun, rather than a dark corridor, it felt all the more peculiar. The youngest of the Brduhe family seemed almost like a half-dead person.
The voice was cold and dry, and it had a different vitality from the other brothers and sisters of the family. It was like that of a half-dead person.
The escort knight next to him asked Johan.
“We have prepared some drinks as a token of our appreciation. Would you like to join us?”
“I gratefully accep. . .”
While speaking, Johan realized that Achladda had run off in the distance, chatting with Gerdolf, Marco, and Stephen.
━𝐖𝐨𝐰! 𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭?
━𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥.
To the centaurs who revered the stars, the stars of Brduhe were a source of constant dread, and for the youngest of them, this fear was even more pronounced.
‘So is that why she ran away like that?’
If she was the kind of person who would talk to knights he didn’t even get along with, then she must have been really scared.
‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.’
After all, it seemed that this young Brduhe didn’t care much either. There was no need to call others when it was just about showing gratitude to Johan.
And soon, Johan would come to regret this decision.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Repiata’s camp was unusual.
Normally, a noble’s fiefdom is organized around the tent of the highest-ranking person.
Knights and lower nobles stay inside, while those of lower status are on the outside.
Of course, only those of a certain rank should be seen inside. But. . .
“What kind of arrangement is this?”
There were knights and lower nobles, but there were too many suspicious-looking characters.
It was fine to have wandering alchemists or minstrels. But there were people who looked like thieves or swindlers rolling around. They sat in the corners of the camp with gloomy expressions.
The highlight was an orc moneylender. The knights frowned upon seeing an orc dressed more lavishly than the nobles, jingling a pouch of gold coins.
“Please do not misunderstand them.”
“Misunderstand? I don’t understand what you mean.”
Brünhilde, the knight who brought Johan to Repiata, showed a faint satisfaction on her face. She was pleased with Johan’s tact.
“Sir. I hope you won’t be surprised or startled when you meet gong inside.”
“. . .?”
Johan suddenly felt uneasy.
What’s inside the tent? A trap?
Of course not.
The inside of the tent was bleak with no decorations. Johan felt an inexplicable chill. It wasn’t because of the weather.
As he sat down, a servant poured wine into a silver cup. Johan accepted it politely.
“. . .Thank you.”
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵. . . 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.’
The silence inside the tent was heavy.
The duke’s youngest was not sociable. The knights beside him were taciturn, and the servants even more so.
Hence, the silence!
Johan regretted not bringing Achladda. He had come with a light heart, not expecting such a silent company.
Johan wasn’t talkative, but he had to initiate conversation here.
“You are staying out here like this because. . . are you participating in this expedition?”
A nod. An affirmation.
“Are other family members participating too?”
A shake of the head. A negation.
“Do you know Count Ganolwood?”
A nod. An affirmation.
“Are you moving together?”
A shake of the head. A negation.
‘𝘐’𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘧. . .’
Any other knight might have felt insulted. But Johan read the expressions of those around him.
They were also nervous about Repiata’s silence. If it wasn’t intentional, it was fine.
Besides, Johan was someone who could sit through insults if it meant gaining an advantage.
‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘉𝘳ü𝘯𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦? 𝘛𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩.’
Johan decided to pass the time without conversation. There was a Go board at the back of the tent.
“Would you like to play a game?”
Repiata nodded. Pleased, Johan picked up the Go stones.
Johan hadn’t considered Repiata’s skill to be strong.
Given his young age and the closed nature of this world where information was not shared. Here, knowledge was hoarded, not shared.
‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.’
However, the result was surprising. Repiata played Go with a calm and deep strategy, seemingly a step or two above Suetlg.
“. . .I lost.”
When Repiata conceded defeat and resigned, the waiting knights were even more surprised. It was Repiata who had defeated all the knights under the duke.
Johan knew he was a brave knight, but he didn’t expect him to be so strong on the board.
“Would you like to review the game?”
Repiata nodded again. Johan sighed in relief. It seemed they could pass the time without speaking.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
After completing the review, Johan stepped outside to find the sun setting. He suddenly thought,
‘𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. . .’
A knight, also a member of the aristocratic class. One couldn’t always just wield a sword. Such social activities were essential.
‘𝘚𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦.’
“If there are only taciturn people around, it’s unbearably painful. I fully realized that today.”
“Thank you for accepting the invitation today. Gong must have been pleased to build rapport and connections.”
“. . . . . .”
Johan harbored doubts internally. It didn’t seem like they had built any rapport. . .
But from Brünhilde’s perspective, today’s conversation was quite talkative. Compared to others, it was the epitome of closeness.
Indeed, perhaps because their interests aligned, they could communicate so well!
Though he was told to build rapport in advance for the expedition, he had not expected such extensive conversation. She bid farewell to Johan with a satisfied expression.
“May I ask you one thing?”
“Please ask, Sir Johan.”
“I noticed many peculiar people, are they your gong’s people?”
“Yes, they are loyal people serving gong.”