19 – Episode 19
# 19
“This is convenient.”
“What is?”
Laying next to Ian on the wagon, Lucy casually remarked.
“The fact that you’re pretending to be my lover. Dealing with these cretins one by one was bothersome. But with you it’s all been taken care of.”
Lucy had effortlessly called the top henchmen ‘cretins’. In the context of this era, such behavior wasn’t odd.
She was a noblewoman, and the henchmen were lowly creatures that couldn’t even step on her shadow.
Up until now, she had to keep quiet while being forced into labor. But since she had hired Ian as a bodyguard, her confidence had returned, and she would express her snobby attitude from time to time.
From a modern perspective, it looked extremely arrogant.
“But don’t get the wrong idea, magician. I am only pretending to be your lover, not actually dating you!”
“…”
“If you want to become the son-in-law of the Talien family, I can introduce you to someone from now on…”
Lucy kept talking nonstop. Her mouth never seemed to rest.
Ian wanted to cover his ears.
He didn’t understand her. How could he? She must be so thrilled to finally meet someone who would be on her side, after being chased all her life.
Just let her enjoy~ It must be so exciting~
But that was one thing, and this was another.
Since he couldn’t cover his own ears, he had to cover Lucy’s mouth.
“Could you please shut up? You’re making so much noise.”
At Ian’s words, Lucy burst into laughter.
“Oh! You were like a wizard just now!”
“…f*ck.”
No matter what he said, it was useless. It seemed cursing was considered a wizard’s virtue.
But if he got serious and got angry, he would look like a fool.
Since Lucy was being loud anyway, he should try to get some useful information out of her.
“So, what’s your plan from now on?”
If she was planning to randomly run away with no plan at all, he would leave her behind right here. Ian made up his mind. Even though they were on a journey, time was not infinite. Wasting time without value was nauseating.
“After passing a few villages, we’ll arrive at the territory ruled by my uncle.”
“Your uncle?”
“Katina Viscount is my uncle.”
Lucy’s plan was like this.
For her, the person who could provide the fastest and most reliable help was Katina Viscount. If she revealed the fact of her parents’ murder and accused the poisonous human being, Katina Viscount would certainly lend her soldiers… that’s what Lucy thought.
“Hmm.”
Ian tilted his head. Not a wretched plan, but neither was it perfect.
“I have a few questions. Did the Count of Katina, your mom, get on well?”
“It wasn’t bad?”
A vague response.
If the Count of Katina had a close relationship with Lucy’s mother in their youth, the count, enraged at the death of the Barona, would have wielded his sword.
But if not?
It’s a cruel thing to say, but in this era, married women were often treated like strangers, like other men.
To put it bluntly, the death of the Baron and Baroness of Talian was no more than the death of someone else’s family. It wasn’t something to stain your hands with blood over.
‘I have a bad feeling…’
If the Count of Katina lends his troops to Lucy, it would be ominous in its own way.
On the surface, the Count of Katina’s mobilization poses no problem.
A perfect picture of an uncle raising an army for his niece who lost her parents.
As the reason is so greatly justified, other local lords wouldn’t dare to interfere.
However, if the count wants more than just returning the territory to Lucy. The story gets strange.
What if the count stays in Lucy’s territory? What if he tries to swallow up the territory?
No one can stop the count…!
Once the baron (Jin) is out of the picture, only the Count of Katina and Lucy will remain in the territory.
Whether the count supports or opposes Lucy, how would outsiders know about it?
“Why don’t you ask for help from another noble?”
“Another noble? Who?”
Lucy glared at Ian with smoldering eyes.
“Someone more reliable than my uncle to deal with…”
“Who in the world is more trustworthy than my uncle?”
“…”
“Are you doubting my uncle now, Ian Eredis Raven? No matter if you are the disciple of a renowned magician! I won’t stand for such an insult!”
Ian shrugged his shoulders. If Lucy herself spoke so adamantly about it.
Ian didn’t know who this Count Katina was at all. On the other hand, Lucy had met the count a few times in her childhood.
Lucy knew the count better than Ian. There was no choice but to trust Lucy.
“Just be careful. The piece of steak in your hands is pretty big.”
“… I’m not thinking of getting the estate back entirely. I’ll have to give my uncle his share. But still, my uncle is better than some noble I don’t know at all. The other guys… they’ll try to marry me.”
Lucy snuck a glance at Ian as she spoke.
“But… if you, Ian, propose marriage… it would be okay…”
‘There she goes again.’
Ian clicked his tongue. Since their contract agreement, Lucy kept asking him what he would think about marrying her.
It felt like a proposal born from a desperate desire to keep a magician in her territory.
The real value of a magician was worth even throwing oneself at, so it wasn’t that Lucy’s actions were incomprehensible.
However, if someone proposes to you just because of your job, it’s hard to accept it straightforwardly.
At least it was for Ian, who was equipped with a modern mindset.
In a marriage, there should at least be some love.
And for Ian, who wanted to study the magic of the world, marriage was still a long way off.
“Our agreement ends when we meet Count Katrina.”
“Isn’t that too much, Ian? He’s a nobleman inviting us to live with him!”
“There are plenty of women other than you anyway.”
That was a fact.
Would Ian, a wizard, fail to secure a single wife? Considering a wizard’s worth, it was more than possible for him to marry the daughter of a noble household.
People generally get hurt by facts, because it’s impossible to deny them.
Lies can be guarded against by denial, but facts cannot be guarded. They are double-edged swords.
That’s why Lucy was deeply hurt.
“… This is the worst!”
With her reddened face, she stormed off ahead.
Rick quietly came up and spoke.
“Aren’t women such bothersome creatures?”
“Are you talking about your wife?”
“hahahaha! Yes, that’s what our lady boss is like!”
“I’m not interested, so shut up.”
“hahahahaha! Of course, that’s the way it should be!”
Ian’s curses didn’t bother Rick at all. In fact, the more Ian cursed, the more Rick seemed to enjoy it, which was only fueling Ian’s increasing agitation.
#
A thousand years ago, the world was ruled by a massive ancient empire known as the ‘Golden Empire.’
The Golden Empire was an ’empire’ unique in its success in unifying the entire world based on amazing technology, an outstanding military, and powerful central authority.
The empire’s name stood high, and under its fair reign, its citizens enjoyed peaceful and happy daily lives (of course, only the citizens. Since the slaves weren’t citizens, it’s not exactly a lie).
However, nothing in this world lasts forever.
The empire was named after the eternal symbol of ‘Gold’, but its ambitions paled, corroded by decadence and hedonism.
The word ‘Gold’ ceased being a symbol of immortality, instead becoming synonymous with corruption.
Greed-infested officials squeezed the people dry, and with the fall of the middle class, only the affluent and the poor remained.
With no more soldiers to serve, the empire couldn’t keep its vast bulk and fragmented.
It was the end of the golden age.
When the giant fell, all sorts of vermin began to fester to feed off its corpse.
Descendants of those vermin strategically raised their voices in mockery of humans; they are today’s nobility.
From Noble mtl dot com
And, of course…
The vermin have no understanding of what humans have created…!
“Sir Rick, is there no other way?”
“Huh? Another way?”
“Like a road where carriages travel…”
Rick smirked at Ian’s question.
Rick, a peddler, knew what ‘road’ Ian was referring to.
“Ah. If you’re after an ancient road, there’s one to the north of River Ville!”
“…”
Shockingly, this world lacked the concept of a ‘road’.
More precisely, it lacked the concept of building a road.
Well, after all, only the ancients were able to build roads…!
So what happens to routes that have heavy traffic? The answer is ‘the traffic does not increase’.
Other than the ancient road, the inconvenience of the other pathways meant that traffic on them couldn’t increase.
“Why don’t they just build a new road?” There’s nobody who has enough money to do that. And nobody has built a road for such a long time, there’s no technician skilled enough to build a road as good as the ancients’. So, they just… stopped building roads. They just use the ancient roads instead! As a result, this medieval fantasy world still uses the roads the Empire built a thousand years ago. An advanced ancient civilization that’s suspiciously advanced. People living like rabble after its downfall. Artifacts from the ancient world that are suspiciously valuable…
Doesn’t that sound familiar?
Yes, it’s a post-apocalyptic genre. The medieval fantasy was actually… post-apocalyptic!
“Let’s just go.”
“Okay!”
I didn’t realize when I was with Elysidus, but now I definitely know. This age is a time when interchange between domains is almost impossible. There’s no road in the first place, so how can there be exchange?
It suddenly dawns on me how insane it is to sling things around like rabbit foot merchants and go around trading. After passing through a field where grass grows like green zombies and a plain where wild horses run freely, Ian and his party moved towards River Bill. Soon a river appeared, and River Bill revealed itself as they walked along the river. As its name implied, River Bill was a village built around a large river.
“It’s not like a country village, right?”
Ian marveled at the well-crafted wooden fence. River Bill was surrounded by a high wooden fence without a gap, and unless you passed through the gate guarded by the watch, you couldn’t enter inside. If you looked at the scale, it seemed to exceed twice the size of the Heyhill village where Ian was born and raised.
“Halt!”
As they approached the Rabbitfoot traders, a guard came forward and shouted. He looked incredibly reliable with his taut expression.
“Oh! Greetings there!” Rick threw in a casual greeting, offering a present. From a modern perspective, it could be seen as a bribe, but it wasn’t really such a bad thing. Rick and the guard were meeting for the first time today.
Regardless of past experiences with the Rabbitfoot traders, a brief introduction was still a must. They could easily pass a small gift onto everyone. So, the guard calmly accepted the liquor that Rick handed over.
“We’re the Rabbitfoot traders, we’ve done business here before!”
“Mm, I see. But is this everyone?” The guard seemed puzzled as he counted the numbers.
For a traveling party of this size, it was natural to have armed personnel. But he saw no one carrying a weapon.
“Oh. We originally had mercenaries… but they all died during an assault.”
“You’ve got good luck then.” The absurdity of the dialogue between the two struck Ian. Rick mentioning the death of all the mercenaries so casually, and the guard commenting that it was good luck…
Really, it was a conversation that couldn’t be more fitting in a post-apocalyptic age. The guard allowed the traders to pass without any particular inspection. Armed mercenaries and dangerous beings were a threat, but unarmed traders posed no risk. Rather, they were a welcome presence, as they sold necessary goods to the townsfolk.
“Mr. Wizard, what’s your plan now?”
Ian had joined the Rabbitfoot traders because he intended to cross the Earth Dragon Mountains. After various events (much omitted), they safely arrived in the next village. Ian had to decide on their next course of action.
“We are going to visit the Lord now… Do you want to come with us?”
Upon arrival in a village, they must meet the ruler first to avoid any complications later. Rick naturally suggested that Ian accompanies them. If they were accompanied by a wizard, no Lord would dare to misbehave – that was his calculation.
Ian also thought it was a good idea to meet the Lord. If he revealed that he was a wizard and requested for accommodation, the Lord would surely provide comfortable amenities and food. But there was one problem to Ian; he had one piece of baggage.
“Ian…”
It was Lucy.
The young lord would never dare lay a hand on Lucy… unless he went mad. But the spread of rumors about a ‘beautiful girl accompanying a wizard’ was unwelcome.
And who knew if the young lord might go mad and touch Lucy?
It was better to be wary of all possibilities.
“We’ll rest here before we depart.”
“Understood. It was an honor to serve the wizard!”
Rick neatly said his goodbye and set off on his own way. Even just by being saved by a wizard, he was incredibly lucky.
“So…”
“Let’s head to the inn for now.”
After parting with the top brass, to get over the aftermath, Ian and Lucy headed off towards the inn.