Chapter 832 – 832. Frontier Darkness (4)
In front of the campfire, Cha Han-seong and Ju-hong ate a total of 5 ramen noodles.
It was an absolutely impossible amount alone, but for some reason, it was because of the scarlet.
It was easy to eat the noodles as well as the soup.
Perhaps it was because of the large amount of momentum in the original body, not only Cha Han-seong but also Ju-hong ate the ramen without much difficulty.
“Ha… Compared to what I ate on Earth, it’s a little subtly different… Still, I really like it…”
Ju-hong laid down on the floor with a mat and put on a satisfied expression.
After lying down for a while, I rolled over on the mat with the intention of washing the dishes later, and glanced at Cha Han-seong.
After arranging the bowl of ramen he had eaten, he read the papers with the bonfire as the light.
“See what?”
“Ah, the case report? Something like that.”
“That’s it, right? A mission originally planned for members of the Heilangdan?”
“That’s right.”
To be precise, it was an order issued by the duke’s family to the information guild Heilangdan.
“But I was curious, why did you dare to do it? That’s exactly what the duke’s family gave to Black Wand.”
“… Isn’t it a bit late to ask a question?”
“Oh, what does that matter? It came to my mind late. Talk quickly.”
Ju-hong urged the story with a plain expression.
Cha Han-seong, who smiled bitterly at his reckless attitude, answered her question.
“Just… I needed some performance.”
“Performance?”
“Somehow, you know that I became a noble of the kingdom of Pernias, right?”
“Then. You told me.”
Juhong nodded his head.
Because he is from the same district and has similar values and thoughts, the conversation was quite good.
Of course, one of the topics of conversation was what kind of life they had lived in this world while chatting in detail.
And also that he currently belongs to the Artia Knights of the Kingdom of Pernias, and is holding the position of external auditor.
‘Is it something like a secret word?’
When he heard Cha Han-seong’s explanation, this was the word that came to Ju-hong’s mind immediately.
Ju-Hong was curiously interested in the fact that she was carrying out a mysterious position, such as a secret investigator belonging to the Knights.
“Because I wanted to build a track record by solving the case.”
“And you want to get ahead?”
“What is it?”
Now, Cha Hanseong is only a nobleman in pattern, but in reality, he has nothing.
He didn’t have tremendous wealth that other nobles or people couldn’t ignore, and he didn’t have powerful swordsmanship or weapons like Riod.
Financial power is almost nonexistent, and military power is excellent, but if you compare it to people like Riod and Eunhyeon around you, even that is mediocre.
In fact, even within the Knights, Cha Han-seong was a fast-growing prospect, but he was still evaluated as lacking.
The only thing I could hope for was that there were connections that could exert a strong political influence, such as Riod and Eun-hyeon, but this also meant that if Cha Han-seong himself did not grow into a person with values worthy of them, he would be only that much of a man. It’s like proving yourself.
The only thing Cha Hanseong properly possessed was the honorable title of a knight chosen by Durandal, the holy sword that was the kingdom’s national treasure.
So, performance was required.
To prove one’s worth to the kingdom and to establish one’s place within it.
“I am surprised. I didn’t know you were so thirsty for success.”
Ju-hong did not know that Cha Han-sung had such a goal.
He thought that the Cha Hanseong he knew would be more suitable for an adventurer who could work freely rather than a position that belonged to somewhere like a knight.
“… Because I have a goal.”
“Target? What is that?”
“There is. Something like that.”
Cha Hanseong smiled wryly and evaded it.
It was a goal that was a bit cheesy for him to speak of himself.
The reason he was trying to get ahead was to prove that he was a suitable man for Eira.
He wanted to prove his worth to the kingdom of Pernias, more precisely to a man named Riod Olivion.
It was a bit embarrassing to say that goal directly.
“Huh. Okay. What.”
At the ambiguous answer, Ju-hong narrowed his eyes and glanced at him, but soon withdrew his suspicious gaze.
He said he didn’t want to talk, but he wasn’t so reckless as to force himself to ask.
“So? What kind of mission is it?”
“Hmm… Let’s keep it simple.”
Cha Hanseong briefly explained what was written in the order.
The story begins with the contents of a certain report that arrived in the dukedom.
The content of the report is a numerical summary of the ecology around the dukedom.
Although it is said that the internal and internal affairs of the territory are operated as stably as possible using solid finances, the operation of the territory was not solved only by stable internal affairs.
It was unknown what kind of threat could come from the outside, and considering the recent situation on the continent, it was natural to be vigilant and prepared.
So, Eleanor and Eunhyeon were constantly checking both the inside and outside risk factors of the territory.
Calculate the number of requests and resolutions that occur in the adventurer’s guild, or the frequency and hierarchy of monsters that appear.
Also, what channels are merchants and visitors mainly entering and exiting, etc.
I regularly quantified and checked everything to make sure that even small changes were not missed.
Originally, the officials who were in charge of the internal affairs of the territory were pushed to death by the excessive workload that poured out as soon as Eleanor assumed the position of lord, and I wondered if this kind of work was really necessary.
The officials were able to find something strange in the trembling workload.
“The population inflow from the south is overwhelmingly small? What does that mean? Why?”
Ju-hong, who did not understand well, couldn’t help but tilt his head at Cha Han-seong’s explanation.
“Well, that’s it… You must have been to the Duchy, but various people from all over the kingdom come to visit, don’t they?”
Representatively, merchants who buy and sell various items, adventurers, and nobles who come to visit.
However, the number of people visiting the inner territory through the south gate of the duchy has decreased dramatically compared to before.
If it was a temporary phenomenon, I wouldn’t have paid much attention, but as a result of checking the statistics for the last three months, the number of visitors to the south gate continues to decrease.
The officials who organized the records and wrote the report felt strange and reported it to the lord, the duke’s family.
“Is that such a big deal? It’s just that the number of visitors has decreased.”
“The cause must have been bothering you.”
In fact, there are no other territories except dukedoms that meticulously check the number of visitors to the territories one by one.
The lords put an emphasis on blocking the presence of criminals or smugglers who may enter the territory and maintaining public order, as long as they do not disturb the internal security, no matter what they do from the outside, except for special cases didn’t care much
It might be more accurate to say that I’m busy, but I don’t have time to care.
Still, the dukedom’s manor officials couldn’t just ignore these figures while investigating them.
What does this mean?
In particular, since the entire continent is in a heinous time when the nation is destroyed due to undead or catastrophic events, it may be that he was worried about something trivial for unknown reasons.
“Actually, looking at the contents of the report, the number of adventurers, merchants, and noble visitors from the south has decreased too much. The most notable of these… They are merchants.”
Cha Han-seong doesn’t know much about the economy, but looking at the contents of the report, he could tell that something unusual was happening.
Three months ago, there were about 500 merchants and merchants heading south.
And the number of merchants who visited the duchy again was about 300.
The number of merchants who visited the dukedom again and again was about 150.
As time passed, that number was gradually decreasing.
The number of adventurers and other visitors was also on the decline, albeit insignificant.
At Cha Han-seong’s words, which briefly explained the contents of the report, Ju-hong put on a reluctant expression.
“… What. That? Like… Do you think people are disappearing?”
“Perhaps the officials of the lord who investigated the statistics felt the same way as you.”
So that must have been a concern.
The flow of money, the flow of people who move that money, is very sensitive and does not change like this without any reason.
There must be some cause for this phenomenon, but it is worrisome because the cause cannot be identified.
Abros, who felt something strange, immediately summoned the Heilangdan to find out what was going on in the south, and this was how Hanseong got this order.
“Isn’t it just a simple whim? Merchants sell anything for money and go anywhere. If you have moved your business to a place where you can make more money…”
“If that’s the case, I’d rather be happy. However… Merchants also prefer things that are stable.”
The items handled in the Duchy of Armitas are really diverse.
It provides the highest quality equipment to adventurers, sells high-quality and large quantities of fresh food to the locals, and daily necessities are also attractive products.
In addition, the roads to the outside are neatly maintained, so it is very convenient to move by land.
There are so many guaranteed benefits as trading with the Duchy of Armitas, but what other place could be so attractive that one could give up this sure profit?
It could not be denied that there was none.
There are also countless foolish adventurers who jump to death in the hope of getting rich quickly.
There’s no law telling merchants not to do that.
But the odds were too low.
It was the opportunity to take charge of the investigation by simply thinking about the performance, but after reading the contents of the order, Han-seong Cha could not erase the feeling of reluctance.
“Please, I hope nothing happens…”
He sighed, hoping his intuition was wrong.
“Um, I haven’t checked it myself yet. Let’s not worry too much already.”
“… Okay.”
Cha Hanseong nodded slightly.
As Juhong said, it was just how he felt.
“You’re full, shall we stop sleeping now?”
“Sleep first. I’ll stand guard first.”
“Eh? Did I bring this?”
Ju-hong took out an item from his bag and showed it to Cha Han-seong.
“That… Alert artifact?”
It was an artifact that immediately sounded an alarm when magic power was detected from the outside of the barrier covered at a certain distance from the place where it was installed.
It was an artifact installed throughout the training grounds where Heilang members were trained.
“When did you bring it…”
“Anyway, the training ground there will be cleaned up soon and we will leave. I don’t think there will be much of a problem just because the spare one is gone. They just gave it to me when I asked for it?”
That was probably because Ju-hong was Eun-hyeon’s younger sister, so she must have passed it off with the expression, ‘If it’s black, black.’
“I didn’t want to stand on a sentry because I was tired, but it’s okay if I have this. Let’s get some good sleep. Okay?”
“…”
Cha Han-seong agreed if he could sleep comfortably, but Cha Han-seong was a little taken aback by Ju-hong’s attitude of inviting him first.
“Are you really okay? There is only one tent… ?”
“Why? Are you trying to do something weird?”
“Am I crazy?”
Cha Han-seong was frightened and answered.
She was afraid of what kind of retaliation Eun-hyeon would face if he mistreated her.
“Then stop thinking about useless things and go to sleep. I’m full and sleepy, so I go in first.”
Ju-hong yawned and confidently entered the tent.
Embarrassed, Cha Hanseong put on a dazed expression for a moment, then sighed and went inside the tent.
“… Good night.”
“Yeah, you too.”
After she had already crawled into the sleeping bag and smiled and greeted her, Cha Han-seong also put himself into the sleeping bag.
‘Eunhyeon-nim… You shouldn’t know this…’
Her worries when Eun-hyeon found out that she slept in the same tent as Ju-hong took precedence over her worries about what was going on in her south.
However, that worry did not last long, and Cha Han-seong fell asleep.
