“You received the gold coin you were so eagerly waiting for, but why do you have that expression? Was the amount too small?”
“The price was okay.”
“Then why?”
This goes back a few hours. Just as the adjutant was giving a brief explanation and getting into the carriage, another customer came into Judith's shop.
It was Smith and the Luhmann brothers. They had come to collect interest from other creditors in the square.
They stopped by Judith's shop to buy some medicine, and just then they saw the aide handing over a box of gold coins.
“Oh, is that the interest and principal for this month?”
“This is what His Majesty sent...”
“It’s interest and principal.”
Smith said he would take it while he was there and took the box of gold coins with him. Judith had the box of gold coins taken from her lap 30 minutes later.
It was bound to happen that way anyway.
But it was so empty because it was taken away as soon as she received it. Even though she received it, it didn't feel like she had received it.
“The interest is so high that there is no point in pouring water into a bottomless pit.”
“Pouring water into a bottomless pit?”
It was the first time she heard this expression, but it was truly an appropriate expression.
“If you want to raise money, you have no choice but to quickly catch the main group of Followers.”
So Judith urged him to hurry and tell her what he had learned from the purple-feathered medium.
“The boy who summoned snakes was their leader.”
“I heard that story from my aide.”
“He came and talked nonsense. Anyway, look how much that little kid is spending.”
“Is it a luxury?”
A young boy is living a life of luxury? And that too while hiding from pursuit?
For Judith, the embodiment of frugality, this was quite incomprehensible information.
“They say he has a cruel personality. No, they say he has become cruel.”
It is said that the priestly candidates are educated by the eight elders. The purple-feathered medium also taught the priestly candidates, and it is said that at that time, he was a child who loved his own people and was well-mannered.
But at some point, after becoming a priest, he became a completely different person.
“He's tasted power.”
“I guess he felt like he was something because the adults looked up to him and said he was a priest at a young age.”
After all, nothing changes people as much as power.
“They say it was that young priest who experimented on me.”
That's why the purple-feathered medium wanted to see Erne.
To be exact, he wanted to see Erne who was broken somewhere.
Because he hoped that the priest's abilities would not be outstanding enough to make the experiment successful.
Because of the ban, he couldn't tell him what the ultimate goal of the experiment was, but he did say that it was an experiment conducted directly by the priest.
“But now he’s not interested in me, that little brat.”
"Why?"
“To save up money for luxury.”
It may sound like a joke when he says it like this, but the purple-feathered medium said it with a blood-curdling heart.
“Tsk tsk, the kid is already getting a taste for luxury. See, this is why I said economic education is important.”
“There are problems with your economic education, but the education you give doesn’t seem all that good either. Kids these days are all glaring at each other when it comes to saving up pocket money.”
Kaya, who was a romantic child, is currently completely absorbed in the fun of saving pocket money. It would be nice to enjoy it in moderation, but she is very enthusiastic.
“At least our children won’t live in poverty.”
Judith was pleased. Erne shook his head.
“Oh, but does the priest really summon snakes?”
Judith suddenly remembered the testimony of the conmen and asked.
“They say he can’t command it as he wishes, but he can train it.”
The purple-feathered medium spoke thus:
“That time, that gang of swindlers died from snake bites? The priest probably made the snakes recognize their scent as food. Then, they would come looking for them from a distance.”
After hearing Erne's explanation, Judith asked with a puzzled look.
“So the priest is in the capital city now?”
“He said he didn’t know his recent whereabouts. Well, it’s strange that he knows about him, considering he kept running away and getting caught.”
Then Erne took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket.
"What is it?"
“How to break the gold ban.”
The original written by the purple-feathered medium was in Gelard's possession. Erne then asked Gelard to copy one page.
“I was going to copy this to the old man, ha...”
Erne sighed, trailing off. The old man must have gotten grumpy as he got older because he kept making a fuss about not giving it to him even though he said he would just copy it down.
“Please show me.”
“Ask me more politely, you punk.”
“Why would I do that when y'all can just take it by force?”
“I’ll go and tell your wife.”
“Do you think I’m some kind of idiot who trembles in fear when you tell my wife? This is ridiculous, really.”
Gelard threatened to tell Erne's behavior to Judith, saying that she was some kind of magic spell.
It should have been a threat that wouldn't even make sense... but unfortunately, it wasn't.
“Just once, show me, Commander of the 1st Division.”
“Old. You’re really stuck with your wife. That’s better for you.”
Erne gritted his teeth and muttered. Gelard didn't even hide his expression of satisfaction. That was the valuable information he had obtained.
“But why does the captain hate Erne so much?”
“I think it’s because I’m so outstanding.”
"...Yes?"
“On my first day after being assigned to the 1st Division, he told me to spar with the vice-captain.”
Erne gave it his all and won coolly.
“And?”
“And then he told me to come out next.”
Who would come next after the vice-captain? Of course, it would be the captain. Of course, there were often fights among the knights regardless of their distribution.
At such times, it was always chivalrous for the junior to politely ask, "Please teach me a trick." However, Erne only said one word. "Next."
So how much of a sprout must have appeared in the eyes of the old knight who believed in honor? Judith fully understood Gelard's feelings, but she pretended not to understand in front of Erne.
“That was several years ago, and yet it’s still like this.”
Erne roughly ran his hands through his hair, feeling irritated just thinking about it.
“Anyway, the purple-feathered medium or whatever it was was thinking.”
“How?”
“I made a deal with the condition that he would teach me how to solve the ban problem, so let him tell me how to solve it.”
At first glance, it seemed extremely complicated.
“This is a method that only a long-trained medium can attempt.”
Unless one is a powerful medium with abundant spiritual power and has studied deeply, the gold ban set by the purple-feathered medium cannot be broken.
The purple-feathered medium wanted to kill the priest, but he had no intention of fully cooperating with the imperial people, who were no different from his enemies.
From the beginning, he set that as a condition because he knew that even if he told them how to unlock the ban, the imperial family and his knights wouldn't be able to make good use of it.
“But for us.”
“The godmother is here.”
That's right. The current Empress is a Shartin, but she is not a medium. She has psychic powers, but she lacks study.
But Erne had a godmother. A godmother who knew more about the magic of the Shartin tribe than anyone else.
Some people lack study skills but are rich in spiritual power, and even Illuor who has studied magic for a long time. Above all, these are people who are definitely not Followers.
The royal family will now recruit powerful mediums, but it will be difficult to find someone as trustworthy as the godmother.
“But don’t we have to cooperate with the royal family anyway?”
“The more information we know, the better. Even if we investigate together with the royal family.”
Erne was certain that if they ever caught a Followers who had been banned, they would be the first to learn the most information from him.
A two-story house that can't be called a mansion, but isn't small either.
The exterior, covered with ivy, was plain and a little shabby.
The interior was a little better. The lobby, which seemed to be a space, was not luxurious, but it was spotless. However, the spacious diner room that you enter through the lobby reminds you of a wealthy merchant's house.
“The glass is empty, Tia.”
In the middle of the marble table, a boy who had not yet reached adulthood shook a wine glass.
Small stature, copper-colored skin, and unusually bright yellow eyes.
With his narrow eyes, sharp jawline, and youthful appearance, as well as the way he sipped his drink, he was just like a mature adult man.
“...”
As the boy's eyes, reminiscent of a poisonous snake within his narrow eyes, shone brightly, the woman called Tiara approached him and filled his glass.
The girl, who was about the same size as the boy, or maybe a year or two older, bit her lips in hurt pride.
Judging by her attire and the way others looked at her, Tia was not someone who would serve drinks.
“No, if you’re here, why don’t you eat or wait in the reception room? Why are you making people uncomfortable?”
There was still a hint of discontent in the boy's voice. Nevertheless, he cut the steak that was in front of him neatly.
“If you’re not going to eat, why don’t you have a drink? Tia, what are you doing? Why don’t you go and pour me a drink?”
The boy looked at the five elders sitting on either side of him. Tia trembled with her wine bottle in her hand, her pride hurt.
One of the elders, who could not stand to see such a girl, expressed his intention to refuse, saying that alcohol was enough.
“I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to drink, I’m bored. Okay, then say what you want to say.”
The boy threw down his knife and fork nervously.
“We must capture Erne Rhineland.”
“That noise again? No, I’m just curious, but is there anyone here who can fight Erne and win?”
“The price was okay.”
“Then why?”
This goes back a few hours. Just as the adjutant was giving a brief explanation and getting into the carriage, another customer came into Judith's shop.
It was Smith and the Luhmann brothers. They had come to collect interest from other creditors in the square.
They stopped by Judith's shop to buy some medicine, and just then they saw the aide handing over a box of gold coins.
“Oh, is that the interest and principal for this month?”
“This is what His Majesty sent...”
“It’s interest and principal.”
Smith said he would take it while he was there and took the box of gold coins with him. Judith had the box of gold coins taken from her lap 30 minutes later.
It was bound to happen that way anyway.
But it was so empty because it was taken away as soon as she received it. Even though she received it, it didn't feel like she had received it.
“The interest is so high that there is no point in pouring water into a bottomless pit.”
“Pouring water into a bottomless pit?”
It was the first time she heard this expression, but it was truly an appropriate expression.
“If you want to raise money, you have no choice but to quickly catch the main group of Followers.”
So Judith urged him to hurry and tell her what he had learned from the purple-feathered medium.
“The boy who summoned snakes was their leader.”
“I heard that story from my aide.”
“He came and talked nonsense. Anyway, look how much that little kid is spending.”
“Is it a luxury?”
A young boy is living a life of luxury? And that too while hiding from pursuit?
For Judith, the embodiment of frugality, this was quite incomprehensible information.
“They say he has a cruel personality. No, they say he has become cruel.”
It is said that the priestly candidates are educated by the eight elders. The purple-feathered medium also taught the priestly candidates, and it is said that at that time, he was a child who loved his own people and was well-mannered.
But at some point, after becoming a priest, he became a completely different person.
“He's tasted power.”
“I guess he felt like he was something because the adults looked up to him and said he was a priest at a young age.”
After all, nothing changes people as much as power.
“They say it was that young priest who experimented on me.”
That's why the purple-feathered medium wanted to see Erne.
To be exact, he wanted to see Erne who was broken somewhere.
Because he hoped that the priest's abilities would not be outstanding enough to make the experiment successful.
Because of the ban, he couldn't tell him what the ultimate goal of the experiment was, but he did say that it was an experiment conducted directly by the priest.
“But now he’s not interested in me, that little brat.”
"Why?"
“To save up money for luxury.”
It may sound like a joke when he says it like this, but the purple-feathered medium said it with a blood-curdling heart.
“Tsk tsk, the kid is already getting a taste for luxury. See, this is why I said economic education is important.”
“There are problems with your economic education, but the education you give doesn’t seem all that good either. Kids these days are all glaring at each other when it comes to saving up pocket money.”
Kaya, who was a romantic child, is currently completely absorbed in the fun of saving pocket money. It would be nice to enjoy it in moderation, but she is very enthusiastic.
“At least our children won’t live in poverty.”
Judith was pleased. Erne shook his head.
“Oh, but does the priest really summon snakes?”
Judith suddenly remembered the testimony of the conmen and asked.
“They say he can’t command it as he wishes, but he can train it.”
The purple-feathered medium spoke thus:
“That time, that gang of swindlers died from snake bites? The priest probably made the snakes recognize their scent as food. Then, they would come looking for them from a distance.”
After hearing Erne's explanation, Judith asked with a puzzled look.
“So the priest is in the capital city now?”
“He said he didn’t know his recent whereabouts. Well, it’s strange that he knows about him, considering he kept running away and getting caught.”
Then Erne took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket.
"What is it?"
“How to break the gold ban.”
The original written by the purple-feathered medium was in Gelard's possession. Erne then asked Gelard to copy one page.
“I was going to copy this to the old man, ha...”
Erne sighed, trailing off. The old man must have gotten grumpy as he got older because he kept making a fuss about not giving it to him even though he said he would just copy it down.
“Please show me.”
“Ask me more politely, you punk.”
“Why would I do that when y'all can just take it by force?”
“I’ll go and tell your wife.”
“Do you think I’m some kind of idiot who trembles in fear when you tell my wife? This is ridiculous, really.”
Gelard threatened to tell Erne's behavior to Judith, saying that she was some kind of magic spell.
It should have been a threat that wouldn't even make sense... but unfortunately, it wasn't.
“Just once, show me, Commander of the 1st Division.”
“Old. You’re really stuck with your wife. That’s better for you.”
Erne gritted his teeth and muttered. Gelard didn't even hide his expression of satisfaction. That was the valuable information he had obtained.
“But why does the captain hate Erne so much?”
“I think it’s because I’m so outstanding.”
"...Yes?"
“On my first day after being assigned to the 1st Division, he told me to spar with the vice-captain.”
Erne gave it his all and won coolly.
“And?”
“And then he told me to come out next.”
Who would come next after the vice-captain? Of course, it would be the captain. Of course, there were often fights among the knights regardless of their distribution.
At such times, it was always chivalrous for the junior to politely ask, "Please teach me a trick." However, Erne only said one word. "Next."
So how much of a sprout must have appeared in the eyes of the old knight who believed in honor? Judith fully understood Gelard's feelings, but she pretended not to understand in front of Erne.
“That was several years ago, and yet it’s still like this.”
Erne roughly ran his hands through his hair, feeling irritated just thinking about it.
“Anyway, the purple-feathered medium or whatever it was was thinking.”
“How?”
“I made a deal with the condition that he would teach me how to solve the ban problem, so let him tell me how to solve it.”
At first glance, it seemed extremely complicated.
“This is a method that only a long-trained medium can attempt.”
Unless one is a powerful medium with abundant spiritual power and has studied deeply, the gold ban set by the purple-feathered medium cannot be broken.
The purple-feathered medium wanted to kill the priest, but he had no intention of fully cooperating with the imperial people, who were no different from his enemies.
From the beginning, he set that as a condition because he knew that even if he told them how to unlock the ban, the imperial family and his knights wouldn't be able to make good use of it.
“But for us.”
“The godmother is here.”
That's right. The current Empress is a Shartin, but she is not a medium. She has psychic powers, but she lacks study.
But Erne had a godmother. A godmother who knew more about the magic of the Shartin tribe than anyone else.
Some people lack study skills but are rich in spiritual power, and even Illuor who has studied magic for a long time. Above all, these are people who are definitely not Followers.
The royal family will now recruit powerful mediums, but it will be difficult to find someone as trustworthy as the godmother.
“But don’t we have to cooperate with the royal family anyway?”
“The more information we know, the better. Even if we investigate together with the royal family.”
Erne was certain that if they ever caught a Followers who had been banned, they would be the first to learn the most information from him.
***
A two-story house that can't be called a mansion, but isn't small either.
The exterior, covered with ivy, was plain and a little shabby.
The interior was a little better. The lobby, which seemed to be a space, was not luxurious, but it was spotless. However, the spacious diner room that you enter through the lobby reminds you of a wealthy merchant's house.
“The glass is empty, Tia.”
In the middle of the marble table, a boy who had not yet reached adulthood shook a wine glass.
Small stature, copper-colored skin, and unusually bright yellow eyes.
With his narrow eyes, sharp jawline, and youthful appearance, as well as the way he sipped his drink, he was just like a mature adult man.
“...”
As the boy's eyes, reminiscent of a poisonous snake within his narrow eyes, shone brightly, the woman called Tiara approached him and filled his glass.
The girl, who was about the same size as the boy, or maybe a year or two older, bit her lips in hurt pride.
Judging by her attire and the way others looked at her, Tia was not someone who would serve drinks.
“No, if you’re here, why don’t you eat or wait in the reception room? Why are you making people uncomfortable?”
There was still a hint of discontent in the boy's voice. Nevertheless, he cut the steak that was in front of him neatly.
“If you’re not going to eat, why don’t you have a drink? Tia, what are you doing? Why don’t you go and pour me a drink?”
The boy looked at the five elders sitting on either side of him. Tia trembled with her wine bottle in her hand, her pride hurt.
One of the elders, who could not stand to see such a girl, expressed his intention to refuse, saying that alcohol was enough.
“I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to drink, I’m bored. Okay, then say what you want to say.”
The boy threw down his knife and fork nervously.
“We must capture Erne Rhineland.”
“That noise again? No, I’m just curious, but is there anyone here who can fight Erne and win?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment