43 – #10. Fortress of the North (4)

About two weeks have passed since the sword master, the owner of this territory and the Margrave of Carta Kingdom, held the ceremony.

In the meantime, Mea has been very busy, but during that time, it was difficult to move properly due to the sword master residing in the city, so she seemed to be preparing something while meeting people here and there, saying that it was just fine.

Probably because he was abroad, he guessed that he was contacting the people who had established the existing information network and figuring out the details of the empire and the castle, but since he himself was silent, it was literally only speculation.

Both about the empire and about myself.

She doesn’t say anything. He had done so splendidly in the Holy Land, but the Baja Empire couldn’t have known about it, and it wasn’t strange if he put some pressure on Mea, who didn’t return home.

“Mister?”

“Huh? No. Just some sorry.”

From nob le mt l dot com

During her conversation with Lenny, she turned her attention back to her girl, slightly apologizing for being distracted for a moment.

If she won’t say anything, that’s fine.

She didn’t seem to be able to solve her problems anyway, just because I was involved, and if she didn’t want me to interfere, she’s a problem that should also be respected.

But the problem she is facing right now started with me intertwining.

Even if Mea’s curse of fascination was lifted, would it be right for me to turn my eyes away from the problems that were entangled in the aftermath?

“What shall we do?”

After thinking about it for a while, I scratched my cheek slightly at Lenny’s question.

“…… Sorry, what were you talking about?”

“This time, it is an event prepared by the city for Victory Day. My uncle said…….”

Ah, that.

These days, my head is complicated, so I completely forgot about it.

Lately, Mea has been away from this mansion often, and there are days when she doesn’t come back at all. As such days were repeated, I also seemed to be paying attention to that side.

“It’s a festival. It seems that most of the people in this city participate, but we don’t know.”

In fact, even if it was a festival commemorating victory, it was held almost every month, so it seemed right to see it as a kind of culture that actually encouraged some kind of economic activity.

In addition, they traded the by-products of the demon tribe that the subjugation party brought in, and in the process, it was a day when you could see the remains of a giant demon beast that you would not normally see.

If it were something else, I would have taken Lenny along with me, but I didn’t feel the need to participate in the victory day, which was crowded with people.

“Are you interested?”

“Oh, no. That kind of thing…….”

The girl shook her head, albeit slightly.

After the war.

That heat and shouts, maybe madness.

The act of risking one’s life to kill something doesn’t just stop there. The excitement that wraps around my body becomes a vine, and if it’s not enough, it will spread out around me.

Even if it is a gathering of warriors who have contributed to humanity, it will be no different.

It must have been a happy place to celebrate a victory, but it didn’t feel like it would be a good experience to bring a young girl, especially a girl who had trouble moving because she was blind.

“Anyway, it was right after everyone worked hard. It might get a little rough.”

“Yes. I know that. I’m more worried about Mea unnie than that….”

Meah?

If that was the case, I was worried too, but did it have anything to do with Jeon Seung-il?

“That, Mea unnie always worried about the sword master. She didn’t say anything, but I heard her talking to her brother Jack the other day and that she put markings around this mansion.”

Oh no, not careful.

There’s nothing good about having a little girl listen to that. What’s worse than that is that I didn’t know about it.

Mea is also Mea, but Jack is also a problem.

If there was such a thing, I wish you would at least say something to me…….

“…… Brother?”

“Yes?”

“No, no no no. Are you Lenny? That, you know?”

At that moment, I felt as if a thin string imaginable in my head had been pulled taut. You could call it patience.

“That’s Lennie. May I ask why this man is a man and Jack is a brother?”

This was a very important issue for me.

Of course, I didn’t want to be called “Oppa” By this girl, but at least if I were a man, wouldn’t it be right for Jack to be called a man, or a higher title than that?

Jack seemed to be in his mid to late thirties.

Compared to that, I’m just in my late twenties.

“Because you are a man.”

“…… Okay?”

My heart hurts.

Perhaps my mood or voice makes me look old. I hadn’t really thought about it, but thinking about being compared to Jack like this made me very sad.

“Still, Jack is this guy… How much older are you?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. That’s why Jack is also an uncle…….”

But Lenny shook his head and said firmly.

“But you are the only one.”

A cool answer that makes me feel so proud.

Thanks to you, I think it will be a sad day with only scars left in my heart. There is no romance in the word oppa, but if I were to ask which one, wouldn’t it be that the older brother is happier than the old man?

“That, so? Aha, hahahahaha…….”

I laughed out of desperation.

Maybe from the way I speak, I feel like a man.

“Oh, that’s a useless question and answer.”

“…… Jack?”

I was about to grab my chest for a moment and take a deep breath when I heard a voice right behind me. The man I didn’t want to meet the most right now, and the man who was like my benefactor.

He was looking at us with an unusually serious expression.

“What happened?”

“It was interesting to hear that I am old, but it is urgent now.”

Emergency?

I wondered if there was anything more to the situation, but Jack had a serious expression on his face, which was rare. He was a man who usually laughed and evoked the atmosphere with nonsense that was not suitable for his age, so he couldn’t help but be more nervous about that reaction.

“Really? Lenny, excuse me for a moment.”

“…… Yes.”

The girl nodded her head weakly, but I couldn’t let the girl get involved in this matter. This child was still old enough to be taken care of, not old enough to be involved in such complicated matters.

So I left Lenny behind and went inside with Jack.

I knew that the child had good ears, so I deliberately entered the private room inside the mansion and closed the door before finally preparing an environment where we could talk to each other.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know how to explain this.”

His cool attitude was his strength, but his reaction was lukewarm, not like a man.

He frowned slightly and thought about something, then slowly opened his mouth.

“…… The Marquis has been defeated.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s talk about the facts first. I also heard that the subjugation party led by the sword master was defeated about five days ago.”

I heard that Sword Master is definitely a man called a hero.

His strength was such that even Mea acknowledged it, and in fact, Mea recalled what he had said about him as a strong man who could deal with a group of demons.

“No, in that case, it wouldn’t be strange if there was a commotion all over the city already.”

“The count said it himself.”

“Meaga?”

Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to see Mea lately.

She seemed to be trying to do something based on this city when she didn’t have her change bag.

“I don’t know the details either. However, the fact that the margrave was defeated was not yet known in this city, and to be honest, even the Countess did not know what they were defeated by.”

Even the forces that participated in the subjugation party accounted for more than half of the city.

It was an expedition in which the sword master himself, who is also the hero of the city and the pillar of the country, had the greatest strength, and was defeated there…….

“I don’t know what happened to the perimeter guarding the Precipice of Mourning, but it’s clear that things are complicated right now.”

“Aren’t they all dead?”

“First of all, I know that the marquess and some of them are alive and retreating, but there is no way to know the detailed scale.”

…… The Marquis’ defeat does not end with his own defeat.

It’s no different from the fact that the alliance between the sword master, the biggest force protecting this city, the standing army, mercenaries, and adventurers, the bulk of the city’s fighting power, was broken at the same time.

I don’t know what defeated it, but what if it came to this city?

“Then we….”

“Run away.”

“…… Uh?”

I lost my words for a moment and stared blankly at him.

I can’t understand the true meaning.

Under the present circumstances, the entire city could be destroyed. If the main force was defeated in the outskirts right away, wouldn’t it be time for the remaining men to gather around the walls and defend?

“No information has been released within the city yet. Like the Countess, our children are also purchasing supplies in preparation for long-distance travel while arranging transportation separately.”

“…… Jack.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but there’s no other way.”

Wouldn’t it be better to announce the defeat?

No, then it would rather cause chaos throughout the city. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel a little repulsive at the words of running away like this.

I know the truth.

We have nothing to do with this city, and I can’t do anything alone.

In such an urgent situation, it would be great if she could help with all her might, but I had no right to force her to sacrifice in the city where she had no relatives.

“Tsk, I tried to give my body a little rest, but then this happened.”

Jack got up from his seat while saying bitterly.

“I was going to finish running away from there.”

“…… Wouldn’t it be difficult to figure out the situation while waiting?”

“It seems that the count has already decided. I don’t know the details, but it’s an incident in which the margrave and the elite troops were all destroyed outside.”

She chose certain safety rather than betting on uncertain hope.

Objectively, she was right about that.

Most of the power in this city was defeated in a subjugation battle, so how can you hold on in this city, knowing what awaits you ahead?

“First of all, you should wait while tidying up the inside of the mansion. I’ll go outside with my kids and check if we need anything.”

Jack left only those words and stood up first.

He said with a bitter expression that he was trying to finish running away.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t want to run away either.

My life has always been a series of escapes and avoidances. Because I turned my eyes away from things I didn’t like, and ran away with excuses for things I couldn’t handle.

I was going to quit that kind of life, but right after that, something I couldn’t handle broke out.

If you don’t have the strength, saying that you can handle it is nothing more than a luxury.

If you don’t have anything, it’s not easy to say that you’re responsible for someone, and unless you’re strong, it’s hard to express your opinion.

“…… What do you say to Lenny?”

She was quite happy with her life here.

In many ways, this is not a very pleasant situation.

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