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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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In other words, from their perspective, this was a highly dangerous mission where I had a high probability of dying.
And yet, they were trying to throw me into an ant nest without any special support, as if it was nothing.
“…Then at least lend me some of the people from the territory.”
“The people of the territory?”
“Even if we succeed in exterminating them, the quantity is too much for us to move by ourselves.”
This was true.
Moreover, the location of the ant nest wasn’t very favorable, so there would be some clashes with monsters during the moving process, and in that process, there was a high possibility of some people dying.
Even after explaining that, the lord spoke as if it was nothing.
“I can lend you as many as you want for that. I’ll give you the right to mobilize the people of the territory. You can even mobilize some for combat.”
‘Disgusting.’
It wasn’t new.
Well, this was normally how it is.
I had seen plenty of selfish humans.
Nobles had no reason to be less, only more.
‘They treated me well because I was useful, but now is not the time to quibble about such things.’
“It’s a dangerous task, but considering what I’ve received so far, I can’t refuse. I understand. I will accept the request.”
Of course, it was lip service.
If I had refused, he probably would have persuaded me in another way.
Emphasizing the crisis of the territory, appealing what he had done for me so far, enticing me by saying he would appoint me as a knight in the future.
If that still didn’t work, he would have likely used forceful methods in the end.
So I just acted out the role the other party wanted.
‘In the end, I’m the final winner anyway.’
“You made a good choice. I’ll provide you with anything you need.”
“I have sufficient equipment, so it’s fine.”
Judging by the situation, even if I asked, they would probably make excuses and not give most of it.
I didn’t expect it from the beginning.
When the moment of crisis came, their true nature just came out, so I decided to think of it comfortably.
‘Well, it’s true that they’ve done things for me so far.’
At least they didn’t rip me off.
I decided to just think that they were better than most nobles.
Well, when they were about to lose everything due to someone else’s scheme, they could bet the life of an honorary soldier who had just settled in from outside as much as they wanted for their own benefit.
Whether it was a regretful sound or a forceful method, they forced the other party to take a loss for their own benefit.
It just happened to be my life, but in fact, it was a common occurrence.
‘Well, it’s not actually very dangerous anyway.’
“I won’t forget your contributions to the territory.”
I had heard those words before.
This was the result.
“Depending on the results, I will consider promoting you to a knight.”
I thought it was something he would say, and he finally said it.
“Ah, right. If you have the chance, I’d also like to ask you to hunt some beasts. It’s fine if it’s a small amount. There won’t be many people to eat it.”
It seemed he didn’t want to eat monster meat himself.
“If I have the leeway, I will do so.”
With those words, I left the lord’s office.
As I was returning to my companions and thinking about which ant nest would be the most feasible, I heard a familiar voice before leaving the residence.
When I turned my head in that direction, a man was looking at me with a surprised expression.
“Isn’t it Sir Rikinri?”
The identity of the man was Rikinri, one of Rankbink’s two attendants.
Now he was the only attendant, as I had heard that the other attendant, Canbus, had died.
‘He said he lost one arm…’
Fortunately, it wasn’t his right arm.
I approached him and spoke.
“It’s been a while, Sir Rikinri.”
“…It has been a while, Sir Jimnis.”
There was a deep shadow on his face.
“…I’m glad you’re alive.”
“I don’t know if I should call this being fortunate.”
Rikinri said, grabbing his now empty left arm.
“Still, aren’t you the one who saved Sir Rankbink? You have made a great contribution to the territory.”
“Yes, that’s true. It is indeed.”
Even while agreeing with my words, Rikinri’s face still had a deep shadow.
“I wanted to see you sooner, but I ended up meeting you like this. How is your condition?”
“It’s fine, except for my arm. My teacher, Sir Rankbink, is also recovering quickly.”
If there was a proper priest in the territory, he would have recovered long ago.
“By the way, what brings you to the lord’s residence, Sir Jimnis?”
“I received a new order.”
“What kind of…?”
“It was an order to solve the food situation in the territory, which isn’t very good.”
“How can an individual solve that?”
“Among monsters, there are some that can be eaten.”
“…I’ve heard of that. Hah. Are you saying our territory has reached the point of having to eat monsters now? Damn those merchant bastards… May I ask what monster is the target?”
He was Rankbink’s attendant.
He was practically part of the upper class in the territory, so I didn’t feel the need to hide it.
“Giant Ants.”
“…Giant Ants? Do you have any support personnel?”
“I have two companions. I plan to do it with them. I did receive the right to mobilize the people of the territory, but I plan to use them only when we succeed in extermination. As porters, I mean.”
“What kind of dangerous…!”
“Given the situation, it can’t be helped. I have to do my best. Still, I know quite a bit about Giant Ants, so it’s not impossible.”
“…Damn it. To feel powerless in a place like this…”
Rikinri sighed again.
“But you don’t look well.”
“Hah… How can I look well? …I don’t know if I should say this, but…”
Rikinri hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
“To be honest, our chances of winning are slim. Even if Sir Rankbink fully recovers, I have doubts about whether we can achieve victory.”
“…Is it that unfavorable?”
“Even including the mercenary group contracted with Sir Kuman, our chances of winning are just over 30 percent.”
‘Even though I killed some of them…’
He must have heard about that too.
It had been quite a while since he came.
“And that’s assuming Sir Rankbink fully recovers. His body is recovering quickly, but he said he can’t use mana as naturally as before.”
It was rare but not unheard of.
In this case, recovery usually takes several months, and in the worst case, it doesn’t recover and one just adapts to that body again.
Of course, in the latter case, the skill level inevitably drops slightly compared to the past.
Growth also becomes several times more difficult, so if the aftereffects remain, the level often stagnates.
If the situation was like that, it essentially meant that the outcome was almost determined.
“Of course, I have no intention of giving up… but with this body, I don’t know how much help I can be…”
Rikinri and I were silent for a moment.
“Ah, come to think of it, I haven’t thanked you. I heard that you slaughtered some of the enemies and brought the Young Master and the dwarf alive into the territory. Thank you. Thanks to you, our actions weren’t in vain. Canbus must be smiling in the afterlife too.”
“I just did what I had to do. I’m the one who should thank you for coming back alive.”
After a short exchange of gratitude, we parted ways, wishing for each other’s safety.
When I told my companions about the new request, Athena frowned and said,
“They’re really too much. They’re basically telling you to die.”
“With our skills, it’s sufficiently possible.”
“But, Teacher. You know. The lord doesn’t know our exact skills. This is just telling us to secure food even at the cost of losing personnel. They won’t even take responsibility if we die.”
“Nobles are always like that. Most of them are. It’s rare to find ones who aren’t. The higher up you go, the worse it gets. That’s the reality. What can we do about it? If you’re upset, become stronger.”
“Damn it…”
Athena bit her lip as if she was resentful.
When their conversation stopped, I immediately said,
“Anyway, it’s work, so we have to do it. I’m thinking of targeting the ant nest near Evergreen Forest Village.”
“Evergreen Forest Village, the place we went to?”
“Yeah. It’s not the area we scouted, but there’s an ant nest in that region.”
“Isn’t there also one near the orc village we annihilated? In terms of distance, that one would be closer…”
“Looking at the surrounding forces, I estimate that one to be a bit small. If we mess with a place that’s too small, we might have to do the work twice.”
I planned to choose a large place at once, deal with it, and just ignore it while preparing for the monster wave.
“But what if we really lose the war and the territory collapses?”
“We’ll have to run away.”
“Where to? The territory is under blockade.”
“I have a map of the monster territory in the area.”
I had a map of the area around the outside residence that Nenson had started and I had made, and I roughly knew the monster distribution around Evergreen Forest Village.
There was also the area we had scouted deeper in.
“The blockade of the territory isn’t an easy task. As time passes, it’s bound to be lifted, and when there’s a gap, we can escape to another region. If the territory collapses, there will be no reason to maintain the blockade, so if we endure for just a month, it will naturally be lifted.”
Enduring that time wasn’t a difficult task.
‘Of course, that won’t happen.’
If that happened, there was a possibility of us getting caught up in the monster wave, which could occur at any time.
Even I couldn’t survive in the middle of a monster wave.
If such a thing really happened, it would be better to take my companions and escape through the secret passage, fleeing towards another territory, not the Siglen County.
We might get caught by the guys hired by the merchant union bastards, but it was better than being in the middle of a monster wave.
Well, the territory wouldn’t collapse that easily in the first place.
Even if they lost the battle, the wooden fence of the castle still remained.
‘The monster wave will occur before it completely collapses.’
So it could be said to be a needless worry.
“Is that so? I see.”
Athena showed a relieved expression upon learning that I had thought that far.
Once she realized that there was an alternative even in case of an emergency, Athena actively participated in the meeting again.
She asked why a nearby location wasn’t suitable and what the basis was for the small number of Giant Ants there.
I cited the distribution of surrounding monsters and the small territory of the Giant Ants as the basis.
Athena countered that, conversely, considering the strong forces around, the fact that they were holding out with that much territory could mean that the scale might not be small, but Athena was convinced by my explanation that, given the nature of Giant Ants, which had an advantage in defense, it was the same for all monsters to not recklessly mess with them even if they were small.
Athena’s words also had a point.
However, it was better to go with the higher probability.
“Then our destination is Evergreen Forest.”
Of course, there was a possibility that the ant nest in Evergreen Forest was also smaller than expected.
Still, it was concluded to be better than the one near the small-scale orc tribe.
We would have to leave Thea behind, but since it was inside the castle, Athena didn’t seem too worried.
Rather, Thea seemed more worried when we said we had to go hunt the ant nest.
“Do you really have to go?”
“It’s a request from the lord.”
“…I wish I had strength too.”
“What are you saying?”
Athena was startled by Thea’s words.
“I’m tired of being left alone, Sis. I want to go with you.”
“Absolutely not. And if you mishandle mana, it could be disastrous for your body.”
Due to the influence of the previous curse, there was a possibility of contamination if she awakened mana.
At Athena’s words, Thea’s head finally dropped.
Thea also knew.
It was nearly impossible for a woman’s body to become strong without mana.
Especially in Thea’s case, her body wasn’t originally in good condition, so if she wanted to become strong, mana was essential for her.
“Come back safely. Don’t get hurt…”
“I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll be back soon, so wait patiently.”
Perhaps because of Thea’s words, Athena became a bit anxious and spoke to Thea with emphasis, and Thea obediently answered, thinking she had made Athena anxious with unnecessary words.
Even while leaving the castle, Athena looked back at the castle several times with an uneasy expression.
“Are you worried?”
“Of course I am. I don’t want Thea to fight, but…”
“A certain level of force may be necessary.”
It was such a dangerous world.
Especially in frontier regions, powerless beings had no choice but to be in danger.
“Are you telling me to let my sister get involved in dangerous things?”
“You can’t stick with her forever. If you really don’t like it, at least attach someone you can trust to her.”
“I’ll stick with her for life. I won’t give my sister to anyone.”
“Thea seems to think differently.”
“…She’ll be lonely. Damn that lord. Giving us an unnecessary request…”
After thinking for a moment, Athena said to me…
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