Swordmaster of the Red Light District

Curse (2)

42

Ray closed the book with a groaning sound, then slowly reached out again.

Waiting for the count was boring at times, and since it was the first sensual novel I had read after reincarnation, I was a little interested.

‘After all, my mental age is an adult.’

After rationalization, Ray opened the second half of the book.

I don’t know what happened in the middle.

Anastasia, the protagonist of the novel, was walking on all fours through the moonlit corridors of the lord’s castle while wearing a dog’s leash.

[Is it because the cold night wind awakened reason?

Anastasia’s flushed face was belatedly filled with fear.

“Lee, Leonhardt. Let’s go back now. Nu, what are you going to do when you see someone?”

“miss.”

Leonhard’s gray eyes gleamed eerily in the moonlight.

Anastasia later realized her mistake and wobbled the tail ornament on her hip.

Leonhardt pulled the leash in his hand roughly with a mean smile.

“Isn’t it okay for an animal to speak to a human?”]

“Oh…”

Ray turned to the next chapter in a very interesting mood.

But before I could read the next chapter properly, I heard the maid’s voice with a knock.

“The Count is coming.”

Ray closed the book and got up.

The Count entered the drawing room with Mohammed.

Rey knelt down on one knee and bowed, and the Count nodded and sat down on his chair.

“You too, sit down.”

“thank you.”

“Did Alessia come and go?”

The Count looked at [The Demon Knight and the Villain Young Ae] and asked.

Rey decided to postpone the announcement of Alesia’s departure for a while.

I have a lot to talk about from now on, but if I start with this, the atmosphere would be a mess.

“I’ve been away for a while.”

“Alesia really likes you. These days, you live with your name on your lips.”

“You don’t have to worry too much. How long will the passion of a 10-year-old child last?”

The Count burst into laughter.

“It’s not going to come out of your mouth.”

“I do, though.”

Ray smiled.

After a few more light chatter, the Count took a sip of tea and took out the main agent.

“Ray, we subjugated the Locust.”

“Yeah, what…”

Seeing Rey nodding his head trembling, the Count raised his voice a little more.

“I’ll be honest. This is a far greater feat than you think. Soon the whole of the Empire will be buzzing about this topic.”

Rey briefly recalled the battle with the Locust.

Even though there were only two graduates and eleven experts rushed, they were pushed back.

If you were going to subdue the Locust using the Orthodox method, you would need at least twenty-four expert-class and four-graduate.

‘If even the Locust’s minions had joined the Locust… twice that would have been necessary.’

Thinking about it, it definitely struck me.

Although the Locust did not reach the level of the rod, the expression that it was close to the level of the rod was not an exaggeration to the extent that it was a strong force.

“I think I was really lucky. I subjugated the Locust without much damage.”

“Your contribution is great.”

“It’s a pity that David-nim died.”

“…”

The count, who touched the teacup handle, smiled lightly.

“It’s not difficult to deal with David’s case. It’s just a story that David, who coveted the knowledge of the Locust, volunteered for the subjugation operation.”

“Still, several traces … the same must remain. The tower will send someone to investigate the death of a high-ranking wizard, are you okay?”

“Ray, again. We’ve done a great job. We’re not in a guilty position. It’s impossible for any power to rudely harass us at this point.”

“Ah… I see what you mean.”

“If only financial compensation for David’s death was paid properly, the horse tower wouldn’t even try to be picky and pretend to be the count.”

“I see. Thank you, Count.”

The Count said it was no big deal, but it was a matter that Ray could not solve by himself.

The Count immediately changed the subject, waving his hand to Rey, who expressed his gratitude.

“But the number of people you killed in Dinar was quite a bit higher than I thought.”

“…it was necessary.”

“I’m not going to smack you.”

Many of those Ray killed were directly or indirectly cooperating with the Locust’s treason.

It was a felony in which even parents and children were completely annihilated if the affairs were handled according to the imperial law.

“I will only announce to the people of the realm that many people have been sacrificed because of the dark magic of the Warlock.”

The Count took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Rey.

“A summary of the report to be presented to the imperial family.”

In the report, an overview of the events up to the Locust subjugation was listed in chronological order.

As Ray read it closely, there were many things that were different from the truth.

It is said that the traces of the warlock were discovered by chance during a power struggle between the gangs, and most of Rey’s achievements were attributed to Jimmy, Matthew, and Seria.

Of course, it was a measure to protect Rey.

“Thank you for caring me.”

“For the time being, the Dinar area is likely to be managed by me.”

“For a while…”

“Until Ult returns. If Ult doesn’t return, it could be returned to the Phillips estate at all.”

“Can I congratulate you?”

“I hope Ult returns safely.”

The conversation continued for a while.

The Count did not hide the fact that the imperial family would give the Count a huge reward for the Locust subjugation.

Rather than fool Rey into debt, it was an attitude she could take because she wanted Rey to trust her.

Rei bowed her head with sincerity.

“I will never forget this grace, Count.”

“Thank you for thinking so.”

“But, Count, is my aunt okay?”

“You mean Seria. She did something problematic.”

After Seria attacked the labyrinth, she headed home without any report to the Duke of Altstein.

Although the Duke of Altstein had killed Seria a long time ago, it was an act that would be highly criticized anyway.

Seeing Rey with a worried face, the Count burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry.”

“The Count?”

“Think carefully. Would people really believe that knights from poor families on the edge of the Empire risked their lives to fight the Locust?”

The Count shook his head.

“Everyone will think so.”

The countess just put a spoon on it.

There is no other true hero who subjugated the Locust.

Seria, a genius knight who succeeded in returning after conquering Valerius’ labyrinth after 10 years.

She is the true hero who defeated the Locust.

“People are more likely to think that David and Seria defeated the Locust alone. We’d think we were watching from afar.”

“Uh, um…”

It wasn’t good enough to respond.

After all, it was said that Count Phillips and his knights would be ignored by others.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t care. In any case, her name will rise and fall across the Empire in the next few years. Considering the prestige Seria will gain, the Duke will hold a reception without much reproach.”

“okay.”

“Of course, the artifacts obtained from the labyrinth should be given away, but it is better not to be greedy. The forces involved are so complex.”

“I’d rather be lucky. If I carried around with artifacts like I do now, someone would have targeted me.”

Rey leaned back on the chair.

Most of the things I was worried about had been sorted out, so I felt relaxed.

“Any more questions?”

Ray nodded. There was only one more left.

“Why is Titi still in the nursery?”

“Because it’s suitable to hide her.”

“The Count…”

It’s not that he doesn’t know the Count’s intentions.

If the elves were brought into the lord’s castle to protect them, they would be safe for now, but they could win the attention of others.

That’s why I want to live in an orphanage.

It was hard to say no because I had received something, but Ray spoke out frankly.

“I don’t want the nursery to be in danger.”

“I’ll put two knights on rotation at the nursery. If you fight with several knights, you will also be able to achieve a lot of progress.”

“Haha, okay. Just tell me the reason. Resina’s blood… Why are humans protecting them?”

You need to know the background to be able to deal with any contingency.

The Count, who looked at Rey for a long time, spoke with difficulty.

“Do you know what Genesis is?”

“Isn’t that the weapon that Reshina used? It was made from the roots of the World Tree.”

“That’s right. It was originally a defense weapon to protect the World Tree, and it was a weapon that was forbidden to be used outside of the elves’ realm.”

“…Resina broke the rules.”

“Yes. The World Tree was furious, and cursed Resina’s blood and flesh.”

The count told the work of the ancestors as calmly as possible.

“Our ancestors could not turn away from the cursed blood of Reshina. Because of that, we destroyed records related to the curse and made our descendants take on the duty of protection.”

“If it’s your duty to protect…”

“You can interpret it literally. Resina’s blood and blood, who was cursed and kicked out by her own people, was taken into consideration so that she could spend the rest of her life comfortably.

“Is Titi the last of Resina’s blood?”

The Count nodded his head.

Rey remembered Titi’s appearance and asked, wondering.

“Aren’t you still a young elf? It seems like you’ll live a long time.”

“Due to the curse left by the World Tree, Titi will not last more than 20 years at most. Her body will degenerate, her memory will be lost, her intelligence will be lost, and her soul will eventually crumble and die.”

After a moment’s silence, Rey opened her mouth.

“I will ask you one more time, Count.”

“what?”

“Is Titi the ‘blood’ of Resina?”

The eyes of the Count and Rey collided in the air.

The Count sighed.

“Stop leaving.”

“Okay. Oh, and Count.”

Rey pointed to the book on the table.

“Let’s read that one.”

“…?”

“From now on, check the contents of the book properly.”

“What?”

The Count was puzzled and opened the bookshelf.

About 3 days after that.

Alesia was locked in her room and had to bang on the door and blame the Count.

*

It has been two weeks since you subjugated the Locust.

Ray, who got up from bed at night, did a light stretch.

A few days ago, my joints ached and I had trouble sleeping at night, but now most of the pain has subsided.

It was thanks to the generous pouring of divine power and potions under the support of the Count.

Rey took a sword and went outside.

It was perfect to get caught by the guards if I drew my sword in front of a residential area, so I headed to the nursery with a large playground.

‘Let’s just relax and enter.’

Even though the wound wasn’t healed, he didn’t intend to damage his body by swinging his sword ignorantly.

I thought I was just rehabilitating, and I was going to check my swordsmanship slowly.

surung

Rey arrived at the playground and drew his sword.

It was a moonlit day. The smooth blade shone softly in the moonlight.

Slowly swing the sword along the sword path engraved on his head.

Rey’s body perfectly reproduced the swordsmanship that Harcia had created, but Rey’s head could not properly follow Harsia’s enlightenment in the sword.

It was the reason that Ray always complained that he lacked his own talent.

I was able to feel it more clearly when I broke each movement and unfolded it.

Ray was just pretending.

Rei couldn’t understand even the slightest bit of a realm that an undisputed genius called Harcia had reached.

“Whew…”

Rey, who had unfolded the most basic swordsmanship left by Harsia, took a deep breath.

A little girl who was watching Rey from a distance opened her mouth.

“You are using the same swordsmanship as Harsia.”

“…”

Ray wiped his sweat-soaked hair and faced Titty.

In the moonlight, she looked a little stronger and a little sad compared to her usual stupid impression.

Ray knelt down on one knee.

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

A hero who saved the world 600 years ago, but fell under the curse of the World Tree.

“Lesina-sama .”