Episode 183
A week has passed since I lived in the south.
A week that was either short or long was enough time to become friendly with the knights, rangers, butlers, and maids that I was unfamiliar with.
As I got to know them, I learned a lot.
Contrary to their appearance and behavior, they were surprisingly naive, and there were times when they were caught and scolded by executives for telling them things they should not have told them.
What surprised me the most as I learned about Easton was that everyone in Easton was a combat force that could be instantly mobilized.
Butlers, maids, and even seemingly fragile children knew how to basically memorize.
It wasn’t just a few swings, it was all high-level skill.
This is impossible without practicing again and again for a long time.
I am often surprised when I see children playing with each other and swinging daggers.
A child of about 10 years old was not only handling a real sword, but he also rushed at his friend, threatening to kill him.
At first, I blocked them without realizing it.
Because situations have been created that seem dangerous at a glance.
And later, after listening to Lanos’ explanation, I learned why children use real swords.
Easton was on display 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
We had to live in anxiety, not knowing when the barbarians would attack, and we were actually attacked a few times.
And some people were kidnapped during the raid.
‘Educate everyone to prepare for kidnapping by rote and to commit suicide immediately when the situation is not favorable.’
This was decided through a meeting with executives.
Mandate that everyone living in Easton have at least one weapon and be trained to kill themselves if they are kidnapped.
This cannot happen in the center.
Each person is precious, and you are asking them to commit suicide.
However, considering the habits of barbarians, it was not something that could not be completely understood.
Among the barbarians there are cannibals.
eating humans.
Even if they were not necessarily cannibals, barbarians had a ritual of eating alive the heads of prisoners they had captured in battle.
A prisoner whose throat is torn out feels as if he will die, but he does not die.
In such pain, he is dragged away by cannibals and feels the pain of having his limbs cut off and his internal organs pulled out.
If you’re going to feel something like that, it’s better to commit suicide.
‘This is why it’s Easton. ‘That’s why I’ve held on until now.’
Just because it was a wartime situation, it didn’t mean she couldn’t have children.
In fact, there were times when it was difficult to receive help from the country, so we had to create our own troops.
So Easton was a bit more open than other places.
It was often difficult for a child raised between knights and maids to distinguish between his father and his father.
And when the child grows up to a certain extent and can move, he or she receives training to use weapons, and when he or she becomes an adult, he or she becomes a soldier.
Those who had talent and realized Aurors became knights, and those who did not have talent and could not awaken Aurors became rangers.
However, that did not mean that there were no Auror users among the Rangers.
Because I was able to move to the unit I wanted.
If other people had seen them, the knights dispatched from the kingdom would have thought them barbaric.
The inspectors I brought in looked at Easton’s soldiers with disdain.
But what can you do?
That’s how they found it.
That’s their way of survival.
Rather, it is not enough to praise and treat them as they live and protect the kingdom.
If they hadn’t even had the will to do so, the South would have been breached long ago.
“I hope you are still alive today.”
The maid who met me on my way to the well smiled brightly and spoke to me.
Her greeting was something that someone hearing it for the first time could say was ominous.
But after spending a few days here, you realize that that greeting is the best they can do.
In the South, you never know when you might die. You could die fighting the barbarians, or you could meet the elves and be killed.
In addition, lives were put at risk due to things like monsters and poisonous insects.
Fortunately, the chance of dying was reduced by making peace with the elves this time, but it was still a fact that every day was dangerous.
That’s why they tell you to stay alive when you meet them.
I also smiled at her and said,
“I hope you are alive too.”
She smiles and nods her head.
“Are you going to the well?”
“yes. “I think I need to wash up.”
“Well, it looks like you were pretty intense this time.”
“I wanted to do it in moderation, but other people wouldn’t let me go that easily.”
I’m referring to the sparring between me and the knights just moments ago.
My day begins with sparring with the knights.
I feel like I have started my day by crossing swords with them.
“Sir Raymond must be very strong. And isn’t Sir Raymond pointing out the knights’ mistakes?”
I gained a lot from sparring with knights.
But since I couldn’t just take it forever, I sparred with them and pointed out the loopholes and mistakes I saw.
It may have been difficult at first because I was unfamiliar with their swordsmanship, but now I can clearly see their swordsmanship.
So much so that if you ask me to demonstrate Eastern swordsmanship, I can demonstrate it right away.
I improve my swordsmanship and they make up for their own shortcomings.
Both parties can benefit.
“Because there is a lot we can both gain. “As they become stronger, my skills will also improve.”
“You look great. “Other drivers often don’t speak properly because they don’t want to share their vision.”
I shrugged my shoulders at her words.
Then he took off his upper clothes and began to wash himself with water drawn from the well.
The second thing that surprised me when I came here was that the soldiers did not differentiate between men and women.
Among the knights and rangers, there were also women.
But instead of paying attention to that, he takes off his clothes and washes them in the well.
They say that they are family and that it is strange to distinguish between men and women in comradeship.
And even if they see eye to eye, they say it doesn’t matter because they can have a child.
It was embarrassing at first, but after spending about a week with them, I got used to it.
“Hmm…”
I was in the middle of rinsing off my sweat with water, but she, who should have left to do her own thing by now, was still watching me.
I stopped washing and looked at her to see if she had anything more to say to me, and I noticed a light blush on her cheeks.
I felt a bit ominous.
I spoke to her with the feeling that it might not be what I thought.
“Is there anything left to do?”
“I have some time left tonight…”
Why are ominous premonitions never wrong?
I cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
“Oh, I forgot I had work to do. “Then I will go.”
“Ah…”
She licked her lips as if she was disappointed by my words.
I left the place, rubbing my goosebumps on my forearms.
As I dried myself off with a dry towel and got dressed, something flew and hit my head.
-Human, I’m not sick anymore!
The hatchling is now completely healthy.
I visited the World Tree every day for a week.
After removing the bloodstone, I brought water from the World Tree every day and soaked the hatchlings.
It seemed like it was getting better little by little, but it seemed like it was completely better today.
“But it seems like he’s gotten a little bigger than before…”
He grabbed the hatchling by the back of his neck.
When I hit my head, I felt that my body was 1.5 times bigger and heavier than before.
In the past, I could easily lift it with one hand, but now it has become so heavy that it is a bit difficult to lift with one hand.
-Human, but where are you going?
“uh.”
As I put down the hatchling, it flapped its wings and chased after me.
“Oh Sir Raymond! “I was grateful in the morning!”
“Can you spar with me tomorrow?”
“Sir Raymond this time…!”
People who saw me smiled and approached me.
I could say that it had become much brighter compared to when I first came here.
To that extent, peace with the Elves had a great impact on Easton.
“They still have no reaction?”
“yes. Although they are encamped not far away, that is a common occurrence. “In fact, it’s so quiet that it makes me feel uneasy.”
The knights followed me to the walls.
As I climbed up the castle wall, I saw tents in the distance, just as he said.
And among them, Kairos tribesmen occasionally appeared.
“I guess the elves are strong. “If you look at those who are crazy about fighting, they don’t come in hastily.”
“Thanks to you, we were able to rest well for the past few days.”
The sound of laughter can be heard from the guards watching the Kairos tribe from the castle walls.
“thank god. “Then I have some work to do so I’ll go.”
“Oh, we held on to a busy person for too long.”
“May God bless Sir Raymond.”
I left the castle after seeing them off.
The guard guarding the side door gives me the password and tells me to be careful.
Perhaps because I went out once a day, I became quite friendly with the guards.
-Where are humans going?
“Oh, this is your first time going. “I’ll find out when I get there.”
-I get it. I feel good!
The hatchling said it wasn’t that curious and flew around me.
It seems he was frustrated because he was sick and couldn’t move around properly for quite a while.
‘I don’t know what caused the pain, but…’
No, it was a little predictable.
The reason why hatchling suddenly got sick.
On the fourth day after being immersed in the water of the World Tree, there was a change in the hatchling’s body.
The scales began to dry and fall off the body, pattering onto the ground.
The hatchling sheds its skin like a snake sheds its skin.
It cannot be said that dragons are the same as reptiles, but seeing as they grew in size just by shedding their skin, the only solution was to shed their skin.
“It’s okay if you get better.”
It’s okay if you get better.
I was satisfied enough with that because I didn’t have to worry about dragons attacking me.
And as the hatchlings grew, it benefited me as well.
It meant that I became stronger, and my stability also increased that much.
-Humans are strange here.
When I arrived at the elf forest and was about to enter, strangely enough, the hatchling hesitated to follow me in.
He looked at the hatchling in puzzlement.
-The forest is alive. How is this possible?
Ah, was it strange that the tree got out of the way on its own?
At first, I had the same reaction as the hatchling, so it was no wonder that the hatchling was wary.
He reached out to the hatchling and covered his head.
“It’s okay, don’t be too scared.”
-I’m not scared!
“Aren’t you shaking too much for something like that?”
-I am a great dragon! I have nothing to be afraid of!
I tried to laugh at the hatchling who got angry and shouted at my words.
-I am not afraid…. I
burst into laughter without knowing how the hatchling was hesitating to enter the forest even though it was hesitating.