Chapter 228 – 222 – Return to Borvais
“If you understand, get out of there. Wow. Refreshing, refreshing.”
Thena bit her lip and smiled. I turned my head away in embarrassment.
We are walking side by side on the mountain path of Borvais, where Baron Borvais disappeared.
“I didn’t know this at all when I was young, but you also had a gangly charm?”
“If you don’t want to have to use your hands, it would be better to act like a bully. Luckily, bullies understand when you speak their language.”
“I could have put him in a more difficult situation. If I formally report him, the Armatam Hero Task Force could come directly.”
“I don’t want Vvor Borvet to pay his fair share. A second chance is too much of a luxury for some people.”
Additionally, if you are in the legal world of prison, you can still bother us through the estate’s agents. As the person who gave his name to Borvet’s various interest businesses.
It would be better to leave him wandering the wilderness, plagued by visions of Rod like he is now. When I explained that part, Thena stuck out her tongue.
“He’s smart. He’s also scary. I guess the immature little boy who used to push my swing is no more.”
“The one next to you is still that clumsy kid. He’s just learned a little bit to be smart and scared of people who cross his side.”
The Baron’s disappearance simplified many procedures. The Armattam Empire generously allowed us, two people who were public servants, to become temporary managers of the territory and various businesses in the Borvais region.
However, it seemed difficult to restore our hometown as we had hoped. Our hometown, a village on the hillside of Borvais, had been transformed into a huge wine aging factory.
It would not be impossible to tear it all down and rebuild farms and residences. Because I was able to vaguely remember what was where through the remaining ruins.
But that doesn’t mean all those who left will return. If each person has already dispersed and found their own way to live, it is impossible to ask them to abandon their livelihood and come back a long way.
So, in a sense, expelling Vvor Borvais was just a very personal revenge. However, we cannot compensate for the lost time of childhood.
However, the positive point is that it prevented people from various villages within the Borvet territory from being evicted in the same way as the disappeared mountain village.
And one more thing.
“···What are you guys? Why aren’t you blocking the road and getting out of the way?”
I’m glad those kids don’t have to see blood.
Two young adventurers, barely equipped with basic equipment, become nervous when they see Thena and I are appearing out of nowhere.
Judging by the size of the backpack, there is one girl who appears to be a porter.
And there was a boy who looked like a warrior, raised his sword in a pose that seemed appropriate, and covered the girl with his body as if he were protecting her.
At most, we were both probably fifteen years old. Tena’s eyes turned sad as if she was remembering our childhood.
While standing in front so that Tena could not be seen, I spoke gently to the two children.
“Eradication of the New Rock that covered Borvais?”
“···Did you also receive the same request?”
“That can’t be right. I came to tell you that your mission has been cancelled.”
“What are you?”
“Lord Borvais.”
“Bullshit. He’s overweight and pot-bellied. He doesn’t have a well-maintained body like yours.”
“It’s a well-maintained body. Did you hear that, Tena?”
I turned around and pretended to strengthen my arms. Tena tried to hold back her laughter but failed.
Perhaps because he thought he had been ignored, the boy suddenly got angry.
“Hey, why don’t you stop telling such ridiculous lies and get out of the way? I can report you to the party federation for picking a fight to take away the achievements of kids like us!”
“Go back? Two little kids who can’t even hold a weapon or a backpack properly, so deep into Newtrock’s territory?”
“What do you mean? I’ve been smelling something burning for the past few days, and I haven’t even seen a rat head or a nose!”
Well, first, Tena and I took care of almost everything today.
The giant colony’s guards were blown away like paper dolls by Thena with her despair trap, and the rest hiding in her tunnels were strangled with the sulfur mixture I had packed in my backpack.
We are the ones who peeled off the shell of a demon god in an unknown corner of the universe. It was as if a disaster had befallen the New Rocks that they could not fight against.
And secondly… You were lured.
Neutrak, which is weak to the strong and strong to the weak, often hides its presence or pretends to run away even when dealing with the weak, just as it would with the strong. It creates the illusion that you are afraid of them.
In this way, they are dragged into the depths of their territory… And treated terribly as guests. This is why you should not just ignore them as low-level monsters.
These guys probably don’t even know what danger they are out of. If you had enough experience to know that, you would have run straight to the village as soon as you smelled the burning smell of my sulfur fire.
It’s clear that you don’t know. The boy tried to hide his fear and screamed at me.
“Are you really going to deal with us? Are you just trying to rob us of something small like eliminating Newtrock?”
This cannot be called a pointless misunderstanding, but it happens more often than you might think. There must be one or two crazy people in this rough world.
So, I need to teach you more properly.
“If you really think the other person is feeling that way, you should never say such things out loud. You have so much to learn.”
Contrary to his intentions, the boy seemed to sense some kind of confidence in my words. He glanced back at the pale girl and ran towards her, yelling.
“Run away, Aine!”
“···It’s okay, Tena. I’ll do it.”
Thena, who was about to take a step forward, nodded and stepped back.
And the next moment, the boy lost sight of her sword and flipped upside down. With my ankles dangling from a tree.
This is a simple self-defense technique taught by Eshen. In the first place, it was I who came to a corner of the universe with Thena to fight against the dregs of demon gods for a year. After experiencing such a blood-curdling adventure, it would be very embarrassing to die by the sword of a fifteen-year-old novice warrior.
When I pulled on the other end of the rope, the boy groaned and tried to hold on to her ankle.
I picked up the knife the boy had missed.
“Don’t touch that! It’s a warrior’s sword!”
“You can tell at a glance that this is not meteorite steel. No matter how much you decorate it, there is no way that a sword you bought at a local blacksmith shop can become a warrior’s sword. We were overpowered, and our weapons were taken away. They even gave us justification through a preemptive strike.”
I glanced to the side. The girl flinched. The boy screamed.
“I told you to run away, Aine! You idiot!”
“I’m not so stupid that I can’t run away, but I’m trying to save you somehow. After all, if the opponent is an experienced adventurer, the chances of either side getting their way are slim.”
Aine, the porter, seemed at a loss as her true feelings were revealed, and didn’t know what to do.
“···Well, I… We were wrong. Please let Luca go! I will never accept a request from Borvais again!”
“Is this kid’s name Luca? The quick apology may be a little shameless, but it was the best decision you made today. Aine, Luca. Do you know why the client sent you here?”
“Yes?”
“The deaths of the spirited youngsters will make a good story. It will strengthen the image of producing in remote areas despite taking risks, contributing to an increase in wine sales prices for a while.”
“What do you mean by that…”
“Did you think it would be of any help in defeating thousands of Newtrocks? I heard you only needed to catch about four or five of them. If you did your best, you might have been able to kill about fifty. But that’s what the client wanted. No. Vvor Borvet just wanted you to be crushed by a mountain of Nutrock to gain publicity for the brand.”
It’s a shame that we live in a world where that kind of thing works. This is the dark side of the pioneering era, when risk comes with a price tag.
Ruka and Aine’s mouths dropped open. I sighed in bitterness.
“···Is it true?”
“You’re the one who threw the territory’s residents in front of Newtrock’s blade to make some money. It didn’t happen once or twice, and if you hadn’t been kicked out, it would have happened again in the future. Why didn’t you make it an open request, but put the condition of secrecy on you? I guess it was?”
Bloody grapes. It was Baron Beauvais’ money line. Even the expression that he is a terrible human being is an understatement.
I let go of the rope I was holding. As the bridge came loose, Luca fell to the ground.
I gave the sword back to Luca, who was suffering and receiving help from Aine.
“You are young. You are young enough to not even know how the world is trying to prey on you.”
“···Don’t say that.”
“So quit being an adventurer. Go back to where you came from.”
“···There’s nowhere to go. We are.”
Luca bit his lip once.
“Aine is an orphan. My family is being chased by debt collectors. Unless we go to the workhouse together, this is the only way to make a living.”
“When I look back as an adult, I don’t know why I ever thought living in limbo was better than a workhouse.”
I grumbled and helped Luca up.
“The workhouse isn’t that bad. They even send you to school, right?”
“···If the legendary Thena Everlight and Tan Bantai had entered the Mitra Orphanage somewhere, would they have become the heroes they are today?”
Luca pouted as he brushed the leaves off his body. And Aine opened her mouth.
When Aine patted her shoulder and whispered as if she was making a fuss, Luca responded by pretending to be in pain.
“···That person looks like him? What does that mean?”
Aine hit Luca’s back really hard. As if she had come to her senses, Luca stood up in a huff.
Then, she looked alternately at Tena, who was shyly looking into the distance, and at me, who proudly raised her head.
“Tena Everlight? Are you really the Blue and Gold Hero?”
“···Yes.”
Luca continued to praise her, saying that he respected her and that she was amazing. And she found out that Thena was very shy about her face.
Still shaking his feet with excitement, he turned his head to me.
“Tan Bantai? Are you Tena Everlight’s porter?”
“Yes, boy.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. There’s something my father said…”
I shrugged my shoulders in anticipation. And soon it sank.
“You were a disgrace to all men in the world.”
“···Um, so?”
Luca said as he touched her throbbing ankle. It looks like I have some leftover residue. He seems like a cocky kid.
“He said things like dressing up as a woman in front of people and asking if they would believe him if he took off his pants. In the end, he said that he blackmailed him because he was crazy about women, and that everything he said about being the hero of the times was a fraud…”
“… Thank you so much for listening to my father’s opinion. I didn’t really want to hear those words.”
