The best territory designer of all time - Episode 60
60fury. devil's contract (5)
The Viscount signed..
The signing was prompt..
As if I didn't have to think twice, I flicked my pen in one stroke..
From the viscount's point of view, it could have been so..
Because even the last hope was collapsed..
“Was it Lord Cournot? This can be seen from the fact that the author entered the reception room and continued to spread the truth without even bothering to stop him. It was so obvious.”
The road from the Viscounty to the Barony.
Lloyd said from the back of the saddle..
Javiel in the front seat nodded..
“It looked that way to me too.”
It certainly was..
Sir Cournot rushed into the reception room..
I jumped in and there was no time to stop it..
Still, from then on, the Viscount was able to sufficiently restrain himself..
He would have been able to control his senior knight by yelling at him or gently scolding him..
But the Viscount didn't do that..
“Perhaps he hoped that his article would create some sort of change. That must have been the last hope I had. you cut it off.”
“Of course, that's what it was..”
“uh. So how does it feel to have a new title??”
“What a new title!?”
“pee maker.”
“…….”
“That's right. You swing your sword, huh? Sir Cournot's sword was cut sharply, huh? So Sir Cournot wet his trousers and said, “Omg!”?”
“…….”
“Anyway, thanks to that dark history, Sir Cournot will not be able to raise his head for a while. He'll kick the covers off every night. If it were me, I would pack my bags and move to another estate tonight. No, I might just cross to another continent without anyone recognizing me. Anyway, good job. cool.”
“I just stopped the cowardly act of stabbing others in the back..”
“indeed! As expected, it is a pee maker..”
“…….”
“why? I don't like it?”
“I don't think there's any need to answer..”
“Can I just take this to mean that I like you deep down, then??”
“Absolutely, I don't like it.”
thump, percussion!
Javiel grabbed the reins hard..
A mischievous smile appeared on Lloyd's lips..
“Anyway, thanks to you, your swordsmanship skills are spreading everywhere..”
it was true.
Javiel cut off Sir Cournot's sword..
Cutting a sword with a sword.
it was never easy.
No, it was a matter of putting the sword on the anvil and wondering if it would be okay to strike..
Moreover, what kind of knight is Sir Cournot?.
He was a senior knight of the Viscounty..
He had a reputation for having very good swordsmanship skills..
“According to rumors, Lord Cournot's level is said to be above the intermediate level of Sword Expert. how is it? The feeling of someone who has directly clashed swords?”
“In fact, it was better than rumored. It was definitely the sword of someone who had reached the intermediate level of a sword expert..”
“You cut that person's sword to pieces..”
“Is that so.”
“uh. Thanks to this, the rumor will spread not only in the Viscounty Territory but also in nearby regions..”
“What kind of rumor will there be?.”
“Maybe it's something like this. Javiel Asrahan, the youngest knight of the Barony of Frontera in the eastern corner, defeated an intermediate knight of the neighboring fiefdom's Sort Expert with a single sword..”
“The modifier “Sword Expert Advanced” will follow..”
“I guess so.”
maybe so.
Cutting the opponent's knight's sword.
This is only possible if there is at least one level difference in skill..
In other words, from now on, the Barony of Frontera will be known as a territory with sword expert level knights..
“Thanks to this, there will be both advantages and disadvantages..”
“What do you mean by pros and cons??”
“First of all, there will be fewer people who look down on our territory. Because you now have a deadly and terrifying weapon..”
“So what are the disadvantages.”
“you.”
“……yes?”
“A lot of people are probably targeting you.”
“Who on earth is targeting me?.”
“Who is it? Numerous lords, merchants, etc. around..”
“Are you saying you're going to try to recruit me??”
“of course.”
Lloyd nodded..
“lets think. It's a Sword Expert level. Besides, he's only barely 20 years old? If you were a wealthy lord or merchant, what would you think when you heard the news??”
“……I think he wants to make me his confidant..”
“yes?”
“yes.”
“that's right. They'll probably try to make you their confidant. I'm going to pour money into growing it. because. Because I'm only twenty years old. If you really invest and raise it with care for just 10 years, you could become a sword master around the age of 30..”
30 year old sword master.
It was a great story.
This was especially true considering that most sword masters were in their 40s or older..
‘It literally feels like having a 20-year-old Guan Yu or Jo Ja-ryong, or Michael Jordan, Ronaldo, or Messi..’
If only I could get it?
It will be enough to serve not only the contemporary but also later generations of lords..
other lords.
influential merchants.
Maybe even the king of this country.
There is no way they would just leave this delicious rice cake alone..
“Maybe I'll have to deal with a bout of measles.”
Lloyd looked at Javiel in the front seat..
A guy who only sees the back of his head.
So I couldn't read the expression..
But I could feel what kind of expression he was making..
“It's measles. It doesn't matter. Because I have no intention of serving another lord..”
Yes, as expected, Haviel is this kind of guy..
Because it was like that in the original Iron Blood Knight..
I was not swayed by any temptation around me..
This was also the case during the fall of Baron Frontera in the novel..
Even if it was a fiefdom that was completely ruined, I could have just abandoned it if I wanted to..
He could choose the easy path by serving a more powerful and promising lord..
But Javiel didn't do that..
until the baron dies.
No, even after death.
He never served another lord until the end..
It was the same even after reaching the level of sword master..
Even the offers of powerful archdukes, kings, and emperors were resolutely rejected..
It was with a dignified line that his only master throughout his life was Baron Frontera..
‘Anyway, he's a huge guy.’
Actually, it's not easy to live like that..
No, realistically it's just impossible..
The guy who stubbornly kept it his whole life was Javiel, sitting in the front seat..
‘So you don't have to worry about him finding another owner..’
Instead, there is a competition to recruit Javiel..
We must prepare to ensure that the Barony does not suffer damage from that threat..
Lloyd, who was making plans for the future, suddenly burst into laughter..
This was because another knight who remained loyal to Baron Frontera came to mind in the novel, The Knight of Iron Blood..
“By the way, doesn't Lord Bayern say anything to you??”
“What do you mean by that?.”
“What do you mean? It's about the blasting you talked about every time there was construction..”
“ah.”
Javiel nodded as if he understood what was being said..
“Even so, when Lord Bavaria saw me blasting, he said something..”
“What are you saying??”
“They said it was great.”
“That's it?”
“yes.”
“There was no response like he wanted to learn, or check your swordsmanship skills, or anything like that.?”
“Ah, I said once that I was jealous. That's it.”
“It's a Bavarian challenge..”
It's definitely the same as the novel..
Lloyd recalled something that had been mentioned several times in the Iron Blood article..
It was a description of Lord Bavaria..
‘He said he has average talent, but is honest, fair, and has a simple personality without greed..’
As expected, befitting his personality, he didn't seem to feel any envy even though young Javiel's skills surpassed his own..
No, on the contrary, it seemed to welcome it..
‘They probably think that as Haviel becomes stronger, it will be of help to the territory..’
A personality that puts the development and benefit of the territory first rather than personal competition..
I definitely thought it was a good decision to entrust the management to the Corps of Engineers..
At the same time, I thought that Lord Bayern’s skills should also be improved(?) little by little..
“By the way.”
“hmm?”
“Why did you do that earlier?.”
Javiel's sharp question penetrated our thoughts..
Lloyd tilted his head..
“What did you mean earlier? what?”
“Lord Cournot's challenge to a duel.”
Javiel's voice became a bit harsh..
He said as if pointing out a mistake..
“You were a bit careless..”
“No way, I refused the duel request?”
“I think you should have given a clear reason for your refusal rather than just refusing..”
Javiel continued..
“If you refuse a duel without justification, you will be criticized. Of course, I know that Lloyd is a person who doesn't pay attention to such gossip. But Lloyd is not just an individual. He is clearly a member of the Frontera family, and thus…….”
“If you refuse a duel without any sincerity, it will damage the territory and the Baron's reputation.?”
“……yes.”
Javiel in the front seat shook his head..
The guy continued speaking.
“If you were Julien, you probably would have taken a more refined approach..”
“Julien?”
“yes.”
“Tsk, why are we talking about him here?.”
Lloyd burst out laughing..
Suddenly, another character from the novel Iron Blooded Knight came to mind..
‘Julien. He's Lloyd's younger brother..’
Julien Frontera.
Lloyd's younger brother by five years and the Baron's second son..
Unlike the drunkard Lloyd, he had a sincere and kind personality..
He was like a combination of the strengths of a baron and a baroness..
‘Thanks to this, I am studying abroad with the Baron’s great expectations. to the capital's academy.’
And in the novel, Iron Blooded Knight, it comes to a miserable end..
I'm kicked out of the academy because I can't pay tuition..
That evening, unfortunately, he meets a robber in the back alley of the capital..
Refusing to hand over the items demanded by the robber..
An old pendant given to me by my mother, the Baroness..
I got stabbed while trying to protect it..
To die such a ridiculous and meaningless death in a dark alley with no one passing by..
That was the fate that Julien Frontera faced in the original novel..
‘Of course it's a little different now.’
Since the Baron avoided his downfall, Julien will not be kicked out of the Academy either..
You won't encounter robbers while wandering around the back alleys like in the novel..
However, regardless of Lloyd's thoughts, Javiel's nagging bomber continued to drop a wide range of facts..
“……Runny Lloyd, like his younger brother Julien, needs to have a more mature self-awareness. All of Lloyd’s actions and words are not his alone. You must have a sense of responsibility that the honor and reputation of the Frontera family are at stake in all your actions..”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Of course, it cannot be denied that Lloyd has shown excellent results this time. This is something that deserves praise. Therefore, I daresay that it would be even more icing on the cake if you showed a little more noble behavior..”
“So, next time, when asked for a duel, refuse it more convincingly.?”
“yes.”
“Don't recklessly provoke your opponent like before and then show your back.?”
“yes.”
“But you are still there.”
“……yes?”
A word uttered as if passing by.
Javiel in the front seat stopped at those words..
Lloyd chuckled..
“you were next to me I believed that you would have my back no matter what situation came my way. Because you are that capable and trustworthy..”
“…….”
For some reason, Haviel had no response..
Lloyd tilted his head..
“Write it. Why is there no response? Didn’t what I just said give you goosebumps??”
“…….”
“hey?”
“…….”
“Did you really faint??”
“I didn't faint. but-”
“but?”
“I felt like my stomach was turning, so I could barely hold it in..”
“omg. I almost threw up?”
“yes.”
“Were my truth that terrible??”
“yes.”
The back of Javiel's head in the front seat nodded quietly as if it was natural..
But at that moment, a message with the exact opposite meaning appeared before Lloyd's eyes..
Ding dong.
[Javiel Asrahan is touched by the sincerity of what you said..]
[The uncomfortable suspicions that Javiel Asrahan had about you are disappearing..]
[The countless favors and considerations you have shown to Javiel Asrahan are now being reflected on and conveyed to Javiel Asrahan without misunderstanding..]
‘uh?’
A message floats against the backdrop of the back of Javiel’s silver-haired head..
Lloyd's eyes widened as he looked at that..
[Javiel Asrahan's affinity for you has increased by +14..]
[Current relationship with Javiel Asrahan : +5]
[Earned 252 RP by greatly improving relationships with key characters..]
[RP you currently own : 1607]
[The intimacy level with Javiel Asrahan has increased by 2 levels from ..]
[An additional 50 RP was obtained as a bonus for increasing the intimacy level by 2 levels..]
[RP you currently own : 1657]
‘omg.’
I lost over 300 RP in one go..
‘This is almost at the level of social achievement..’
Indeed, this guy is worth 18 RP.
Lloyd looked warmly at the back of Javiel's head as if he were looking at a piece of precious gold..
If it's okay, I would like to pat the back of that chestnut-like head..
At the same time, I was able to realize.
‘There was a reason why this guy's favorability had only risen to a tantalizing degree..’
Actually, there were quite a lot of things I gave to Haviel so far..
It solved his malignant insomnia..
Helped complete the shabby trial law that had been stalled..
I risked my life to carry him out of the ant cave..
In addition, he taught blasting, which is an advanced application of the Asurahan mind method..
There were more than one thing for him to be thankful for..
It was no wonder that favorability went through the sky..
‘But the reality was different.’
it was really different.
Strangely enough, my affinity with him did not increase well..
As much as I tried to climb, all I could do was climb little by little, the size of an ant's eyes..
I was skeptical at first.
Later I thought it was like that..
‘I thought it was just because of his cold personality..’
Now I see it wasn't.
‘He didn't believe my sincerity..’
I was literally building a wall in my heart..
So even if this side showed favor, they did not accept it as is..
‘This guy is like a bandit!’
On the other hand, I also thought that.
But on the other hand?
Let's think about it from Javiel's perspective and I understand to some extent..
‘He was saved by the Baron when he was young and raised. You must have seen all of Lloyd’s crazy behavior growing up..’
From kindergarten age until adulthood.
He was a guy who grew up seeing and experiencing Lloyd's true deeds for over a dozen years..
In other words, Lloyd's behavior and the truth that Javiel felt engraved in his bones was truly a level no different from a time-honored(?) tradition..
But I heard that this person briefly came to his senses for a few months.?
Just because he suddenly started being nice to me?
‘He's not a soft guy who lets his feelings go that easily, Javiel..’
That was Javiel's personality..
He was basically a difficult guy..
I was cautious about the favors of others..
He was a guy who showed his sincerity once he opened his heart, but did not open his heart easily..
But the door to that heart was finally opened just as slightly as a fingernail..
Lloyd grinned at the back of Javiel's head..
“hey.”
“yes.”
“Did you hate me that much?.”
“Can I be honest with you?.”
“uh.”
“I still hate it.”
“omg.”
“Do you remember the day I first held a wooden sword when I was six years old??”
“no. at all.”
“Lloyd was the one who stepped on and broke the wooden sword that my lord had given me for the first time that day..”
“……Whoa.”
“In fact, I still haven't thrown away the wooden sword that was broken back then..”
“I bet you kept it in your dorm.?”
“yes.”
“why? Is it something to reflect on my gratitude to the Baron??”
“no. I don't want to forget Lloyd's atrocities..”
“……Ugh.”
Ha, Lloyd Frontera..
What a piece of trash you really were..
I have nothing to say.
At this point, I could understand for the hundredth time why Haviel continued to treat me so harshly..
Javiel in the front row continued..
“That's why I still hate it so much. Please, I would like you to not pretend to be friendly as much as possible..”
“Oh, is that so?.”
“yes.”
Ding dong.
[Javiel Asrahan is complaining..]
[Javiel Asrahan is relieving old tension in his heart..]
[Despite his cold demeanor on the outside, Javiel Asrahan feels a bit of favor towards you for listening to him attentively..]
[Javiel Asrahan's affinity for you has increased by +1..]
[Current relationship with Javiel Asrahan : +6]
[Earned 18 RP by slightly improving relationships with key characters.]
[RP you currently own : 1675]
‘……This dishonest guy.’
Lloyd smiled bitterly..
After that, Javiel's nagging and harsh grumbling that ticked like a thorn continued..
But somehow the complaint didn't sound as cold as before..
Cruel but not cold.
As expected, Lloyd willingly accepted the guy's complaints(?).
Two people sitting back and forth on the back of a clattering horse.
We couldn't see each other's expressions.
Instead, he was drawing a similar smile.
I passed the evening sunset and returned safely to Baronyong..
Just like that, at the territory we arrived at, a small festival was being held to commemorate the completion of the water supply system..
On the other hand, new and good news was also waiting for Lloyd..
“You've arrived at the right time. Did things go well in Viscounty??”
“yes.”
The Baron was the first to come and welcome us..
“Well done. Well done indeed.”
“thank you.”
“Okay, I heard that story went well, so I'll talk about it later, but let's take a look at this first..”
The Baron took something out of his pocket..
It was a letter rolled up on parchment..
“This arrived earlier this afternoon. Do you remember what you asked me the other day??”
“A favor I did?”
“okay.”
“Oh, I asked you to find a place to dispose of the treasure you got from the Orc tribe.?”
“Yes, that's right. The reply came just before noon..”
The Baron had a smile on his face..
“The Count of Cremo, from the trading city of Cremo, sent me a message saying he was interested in purchasing all the treasure at once and asking me to bring the treasure..”
Parchment letter displayed by the Baron with a smile.
The same smile appeared on Lloyd's face when he saw that..
Finally, there was an opportunity to exchange the enormous treasure that had been lying dormant for money..
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