Chapter 31 – Handmaiden Horde
“… Princess?”
As before, old memories that he wanted to forget came to Horde’s mind after seeing Grindella.
Horde’s parents worked as servants in the palace, so Horde, who grew up under such parents, also worked as a servant in the palace.
Of course, in Horde, where her status was low, she was a low-ranking officer who ran simple errands for maids and soldiers, but she did not have the opportunity to see a nobleman like Grindella at all.
Every time there was a special event like the National Foundation Day, there was a chance to see the faces of the royal family, and every time, seeing Grindella and other nobles was one of the few pleasures of the Horde.
‘… Several years have passed since that day, but the old look remains.’
On the day the royal palace burned down, several nobles, including Grindella, left the palace with some of the knights.
It was a natural thing to do because the royal blood should not be cut off, but to Horde, a commoner, such things did not enter her head.
The only thing that came into his mind was the reality that the royal family and knights had abandoned him and fled.
The feeling of disgust after seeing the article at the airship landing was the origin of this.
“…”
But for some reason, even when I looked at the face of Grindella, a member of the royal family who would have always hated me, I didn’t feel the same hatred as before.
‘Was it love… ?’
Hod thought the feeling he felt as a child was simple admiration, but Horde, who learned what love was through experience, doubted whether his feelings were really admiration.
Even though he must have hated and hated him so much, his anger faded the moment he saw his face.
If Lina had been here and noticed Horde’s thoughts, wouldn’t she have encouraged it as love?
Grindella wouldn’t even remember Horde, let alone know it existed, but if so, she was Grindella Horde’s first love.
“Ugh… !!”
A moan escaped Horde’s mouth as Marta’s rough-healed back ached.
Hearing that sound, the warrior who was talking to Grindella while shaking hands said.
“I want to discuss this tomorrow, since our group seems to have not gone through the aftereffects of their healing yet, is that okay?”
“Yes! This side is a body that has received grace, so of course I can wait for that much!”
“Thank you. Then…”
The hero let go of Grindella’s hand and approached Horde, who collapsed on her floor and groaned.
‘Do not come…’
Horde shouted inwardly, “Please don’t come,” Thinking that Horde’s sense of inferiority and misery would soar through his head.
However, no matter how brave he is, can he read other people’s minds?
Not knowing Horde’s feelings, the hero helped Horde and headed for Horde’s room.
“…”
Perhaps because of what happened earlier, the hero didn’t say a word while arriving at Horde’s room.
Upon arriving at Horde’s room, the hero put Horde down on the bed and left the room without a word.
The hero had listened to Lina’s advice and acted accordingly, but she thought of Yuria as Horde’s lover, but Horde clicked his tongue inside her when he saw her without a word of apology.
‘A shameless hypocrite.’
*****
The next morning, as the sun rose, Hero and Grindella’s party gathered at the restaurant.
The seat was an enclosed seat used for such discussions, and was specially assigned after explaining the situation to the captain.
The hero was accompanied by Lina, who was bright in this matter, and Grindella sat down with the gray-haired old knight.
Looking at his profound aspect, he probably looked like a knight who served Grindella from the old days.
“Then, first of all, about the reward we receive from this request…”
The quests that Grindella and the others received were transporting some cargo to Elysium and escorting the airship.
The pay was decent, but to be honest, money wasn’t all that exciting for Hero and the others.
First of all, all the other party members except Horde had outstanding abilities, so they could earn as much money as they wanted, and since they were regularly receiving subsidies, there was nothing lacking in life.
That’s why the hero wanted to end it in the form of taking care of the circumstances of Grindella, who needed a lot of money, even if it was just a penny.
Recognizing the hero’s thoughts, Lina proceeded to negotiate as her hero wanted.
And during the negotiations, the conditions presented by Nogisa and Lina were as follows.
First, the Azul Revival Adventure Team provides Yoa Party with 1/10 of this reward.
Second, in return, Yoa’s party accepts cargo delivery requests until they reach Elysium.
Thirdly, when a battle takes place, they move under their own judgment.
Since I received money to go to Elysium anyway, these conditions came out because I wanted to help until the end.
As the negotiations seemed to end with the above conditions, the old knight sitting next to Grindella spoke.
“Then would you be okay with this?”
“Huh. Would a hero be okay with this?”
When the hero nodded, Grindel also nodded, and the negotiations were concluded.
When the negotiations were concluded, Grindella spoke to the hero who was about to stand up.
“Yoah ball. Thank you for your convenience on this side.”
When Grindella lowered her head and said, the hero saw Grindella like that and waved her hand.
“No! I’m not particularly interested in money, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Hearing the hero’s words, Grindella put on a puzzled expression.
It was an open secret that everyone knew that an adventurer was an adventurer, but in fact, it was a job that was no different from a mercenary exclusively for monsters.
When such an adventurer said that he was not interested in money, he could have put on a puzzled expression.
However, thinking that it would be rude to openly ask why she is not interested in money, Grindella said slightly round the corner.
“… By the way, Lord Yoa, would it be okay if I ask what you are doing to Elysium?”
“Yes? Why is that…”
“No, I don’t mean anything. It just seemed like there was only one wizard, and it was strange to go all the way to the wizard’s city.”
Elysium was famous for being safe as there were few monsters around the city as many wizards gathered there.
That meant that there were few quests for adventurers to receive, except for transportation or gathering.
For adventurers, it wouldn’t be a profitable place to go even by taking an airship.
“I go to Elysium to receive magic training. Actually, I am also a wizard.”
“Wizard… ? You mean Lord Yoa?!”
Yesterday, Grindella, who saw Yoa’s near feat, had a hard time believing what the hero said.
It was surprising that he had learned so much swordsmanship at an age similar to his own, but to learn magic as well. Isn’t it like a hero in a legend?
Even if the level of magic wasn’t that great, just learning it was surprising.
‘Then, is the reason why the dragon ball goes on adventures to become stronger?’
As she thought about that, Grindella, who was naturally interested in the hero’s strength, asked the hero even though he knew it was rude.
“Yoah ball! If the time is all right from now on, would it be all right if I ask you a favor?”
“Princess… Anyway, that’s…”
The old knight next to him stopped it, but the hero raised his hand as if he was okay with the old knight and said to Grindella.
“Yes, that’s fine. There’s another one of my teammates who uses a sword. Shall I call that friend too?”
“You are the one who uses that great sword! Yes Please call him too!!”
“… Then I’ll go and get him.”
So Lina left to call Mirian, and the hero and Grindella’s party headed to the deck.
When I went up to the deck, unlike yesterday, there was no one on the deck other than the adventurers of the Azul Revival Adventure Corps, perhaps because of the harpy attack last night.
The adventurers on the deck were on alert in preparation for the return of the Flying Demon Beast, but they looked more like knights than adventurers.
When Grindella climbed up, the adventurers turned around and saluted Grindella and the old knight, then turned around and returned to the lookout as if nothing had happened.
The hero admired the orderly appearance and said.
“It’s a really well-disciplined party. It feels like watching the Knights, not the Adventure Team.”
“Originally, everyone was a knight or his son. New adventurers are also proud to be more disciplined than other parties because they give priority to knights.”
“Okay…”
“But, Lord Yoa. Comparing that colleague and Yoa-gong, which one is stronger?”
“I am stronger.”
That was the case, so if Mirian were here, he wouldn’t have complained too much.
Although he was a warrior who was pushed back by Yuria after learning magic not long ago, the sword was superior to Mirian because he had been learning it since childhood.
Grindella, who heard the hero’s words and saw Mirian’s skills last night, heard that and spoke even more excitedly.
“Recently, the only opponent I have is my uncle, so I’m really looking forward to it!!”
“Are you uncle?”
When the warrior asked if he wanted someone, the Nogisa next to him silently nodded.
It seemed that it was not just a knight he had served, but a relationship between his uncle and his nephew.
After waiting on the deck for a while, I heard dull footsteps coming from the door of the airship.
“I made you wait.”
With those words, Mirian, who climbed onto the deck, looked like a human weapon.
He wore silver armor that covered his entire body, and on his back was a huge greatsword that had recently been sharpened and had a very sharp edge.
In addition to the greatsword worn on his back, two swords were worn around his waist, and several throwing daggers were hanging on the other side, probably bought at a store before boarding the airship.
Unlike the hero, who thought it was a light fight, the hero saw Mirian’s life-threatening appearance and said to Lina behind Mirian.
“Reena… ! What did you explain?”
“No matter what I said, I just told you what I heard. I will step on Mirian first before the battle with the dragon…”
“What are you talking about?! You never said anything like that?!”
“Isn’t it roughly the same?”
“Ah, it’s different, and you can say that it’s different better!!”
“How about it~ That princess looks like Mirian better.”
When she heard that, she turned to Grindella, who grinned and drew her sword.
“Mirian! The deck can’t break, so don’t use the greatsword!”
“Hmm… I get it. It’s not really for personal use in the first place.”
Saying that, Mirian picked up the greatsword from his back and threw it at the hero, who casually caught the greatsword flying at him.
-Sureureung!
Mirian drew the sword from his waist, and Grindella, who had drawn the sword beforehand, approached Mirian, pointing the sword forward.
‘Should I call Martha?’
While the hero was thinking that, a sparring between the two began with sparks from swords clashing.
