304 – The Chaser (3)
Chester and Monia woke up around noon and went out, and found the prisoners that Rex, Urgo, and Lorwan had taken overnight.
“What is it?”
They were tied up with their faces covered in bruises, as if they had knocked them unconscious by beating them in the face, and they were wearing armor patterned after the duke’s family armor that was very familiar to Chester and Monia.
Expensive-looking armor dyed blue that follows the style of the Duke’s family.
“Is this armor dyed with metal? “Raynold spends his money in strange places.”
“We have money to waste like this, you bastards~. “You can appeal to your enemies like that, right?”
“Is he like that too?”
Chester, who was touching the armor, saw the word ‘Expansion’ written on the armor in the ancient language of the Kingdom of Biend in a fancy font.
“Yes. “This is the famous Firmament Knights.”
“So these are the people who were active during the first war?”
“And now, I heard that you don’t go to the front lines often because you’re pushed out by demon knights.”
It is a waste of money spent on the Sky Knights. Loyal and powerful knights are good people who should be with you forever.
Perhaps, the duke intended that once the war was over and his rule was over, he would seal the demons again and make the Firmament Knights the main force.
I heard that there are cases where the Sky Knights sit in the territory and manage the territory after punishing the traitorous noble.
“First, let’s eat rice first.”
Chester, who was poking at the Sky Knights, said that and stood up.
“Who is on duty for dinner today?”
“It’s me!”
“Yes. I passed it on because I had a hard time last night. I’ll do it. “If you’re tired, sleep a little more.”
“Oh. Thank you. “Then I’ll sleep a little longer.”
While Chester, who was standing in the kitchen instead of Lorwan, who was on duty today, boiled the same stew as always, Rex, Urgo, and Lorwan got insufficient sleep from fighting the Firmament Knights all night long.
It was the same with Monia.
Senna was the only one left standing, watching the Sky Knights with caution.
‘Rex and Urgo fought all night?’
Sena couldn’t believe that fact. I thought that those two would defeat a group of knights in no time.
‘It even seemed like there were more wounds on my body than when I fought the demon knight.’
The Firmament Knights were knights in name only, but their armed forces were as diverse as mercenaries.
Because they were moving for something other than the battlefield, they did not just bring the minimum necessary weapons such as spears and swords, but everything.
A special crossbow that can be easily loaded with one hand.
A shield filled with an unknown liquid inside, and is said to have blocked Urgo’s ax or Rex’s throw at least once.
Armor that appears to have been made using the armor of a demon knight.
Duke Raynald, who saved money by using demon knights who could function without any resources, seemed to have invested heavily in strengthening the Sky Knights.
Even the horses he brought with him were master horses that could not even speak. As soon as Sena woke up in the morning, he felt ecstatic when he saw the horses that Urgo had tied up and lined up.
There were so many good-looking and great horses lined up as if to be chosen, so I couldn’t help but choose.
I was thinking of replacing all the horses in the carriage.
Sena looked at Chester, who had already finished cooking the stew, and said.
“What do you think?”
“What?”
“Those horses out there, each one is worth the price of a mansion. I think the equipment for these knights is also quite expensive. Does this make sense?”
“Well, considering the money I’ve hid and accumulated, it’s not impossible.”
“Oh. “Does the Duke family make that much money?”
“Because he was active from the beginning of the founding of the kingdom and received all kinds of rights. If you count the fiefdoms with taxation rights, there are probably more ducal families than the royal family, right? Well, the royal family has many ways to extort money other than taxation rights, so it is difficult to compare just taxation rights.”
“If you think about it that way, the Duke family would have made money in other ways besides collecting taxes.”
“That’s right.”
Sena closed her mouth for a moment and then spoke.
“Then you know.”
“Yes.”
“If you just rob one secret warehouse, you’ll make an unimaginable amount of money, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Hey.”
Sena was slightly impressed. She only thought that she could earn a lot by stealing a noble family’s secret warehouse, but she did not know in detail how much she could earn.
Even though he was a knight who received the title, it is natural that Sena was not a nobleman, but was close to a civil servant.
They decided to eat before the sleepers came down, and the two sat at the table and shared the stew.
“…… “It’s over there.”
Sena was about to finish half of her bowl of chowder stew when she suddenly opened her mouth.
“Huh? Why?”
“Well, I’ve always been curious, but I was too embarrassed to ask?”
“Yes.”
“…… “Is everyone doing it long and noisily like you?”
Chester, who realized what she was asking with just that one word, smiled and shook his head.
“Maybe not? “I don’t know much about other people’s s*xual intercourse.”
“Right? Umm. “I think my parents were quiet too.”
“…… Saw?”
“No. I got a younger sibling without me knowing. “When I was young, I thought it was all like that because I didn’t know anything, but as I grew older, I realized that he had been keeping quiet without me knowing.”
Chester finished his stew without saying anything and then spoke.
“It feels a bit bad to think that much about my parents’ s*xual history.”
“It’s okay. “Because sometimes I find your way of thinking unpleasant.”
Senna saw the Sky Knights. Before she knew it, the knights who had come to their senses were pretending to have fainted and eavesdropping on the story, but Chester, who had already noticed, gave her a signal, so she knew that Senna had also woken up.
“It’s just because I’m the type of person who can’t contain my curiosity. Wherever you go on the continent of Tongdan, there is only jungle, right? I came out there and became a traveler because I wanted to know more. Then she loses her comrades, gains strength…… “I became a knight because I wanted to do my best for others.”
“Yes.”
“Chester.”
“Huh?”
“If you were to decide on the purpose of your life, what would you do? Are you Chester, the hunter’s son? Is this Chester, Monia’s husband? “Other than that?”
“… ….”
Chester said after putting a new bowl of chowder stew.
“If you were to decide on the purpose of your life, what would you want to do?”
“… …. “Why are you asking?”
“Isn’t that why you brought it up to me so suddenly because it was a question you wanted to hear?”
Senna avoids her eyes.
“… ….”
“There may be joy in a life of always wandering around, but there may also be anxiety and worry. This is especially true because, while being involved with us, he experienced many major events and accidents that would normally not be possible. I understand.”
Chester continued his conversation calmly.
“Staying in a faraway country, or even a place where the entire continent is actively at war, must be deeply unsettling. However, it is difficult to return to the Matoto Continent, and even if you return to the Tongdan Continent, it will no longer be the hometown you knew before.”
After finishing his meal, Chester took out his knife and cleaned it as usual and continued his speech.
“While I was too busy working, my hometown was destroyed. My parents, the kind people from my hometown, and my friends from my hometown all died. I can’t remember the faces of my friends or people from my hometown. In fact, my parents’ faces are also a little blurry.”
“That’s a bit problematic.”
“Since I was born, I learned how to distinguish between animals of the same species rather than human faces. “Animal faces are easier to memorize than human faces.”
Chester, who looked at his own face with the knife, spoke again.
“And, I was just watching it because I thought it would end without any problems, but some idiots did something stupid and I ended up being abandoned on a floating island.”
“It’s always like that every time I hear it.”
“I regret that I should have acted more proactively. “Because the duke’s family and the royal family were involved, it was difficult for a commoner to act recklessly.”
“But why are you suddenly saying that?”
“I lost everything I wanted and was abandoned on an island, but as I lived, I somehow found a place to put my heart and a new hometown.”
Chester looked at Senna.
“If we finish our work and then return to the island, and you are left alone wondering what to do… “Just travel a little more without thinking.”
“It’s more of a trip. …… Huh. That might not be a bad thing either.”
When their story came to a close, the group, who had slept for about two hours, began to come down one by one.
The first to come down was Rex, who had a lot of stamina. Urgo came down next, Lorwan came down a little later, and Monia didn’t seem to have any intention of coming down.
“Okay then. Now, shall we talk about what to do with these guys? Let’s all talk while eating. Oh, leave Monia’s share behind.”
“Hmm. “Thank you.”
“The stew has cooled down?”
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“If you want to eat it warm, heat it yourself.”
“Hmm. Mr. Urgo, what do you want to do?”
“I want to eat something hot and filling…” ….”
“As expected, right? “What about Rex?”
“I like anything!”
“Really? Then, take Rex’s share first. “If you feel like eating something hot later, eat more.”
“Yes!”
Chester approached the Firmament Knights, who were still pretending to be stunned, then grabbed one of them and stuck a knife to his throat.
“Kuhuhuh?!”
The knight was startled by the sudden death and screamed, but the other knights suppressed their surprise and continued to pretend to faint.
“Hmm? I’m not surprised. “I was planning to startle you and wake you up.”
“Haam~. “It seems like the duke trained him well.”
“That’s right. But, you already know, but you know everything that happened? “Just a little while ago, when I killed this guy, his breathing and heart sounds changed briefly.”
When they decided that there was no point in pretending to faint, the Sky Knights all opened their eyes and looked at Chester standing in front of them.
“Okay. They’re good guys. “Shall we talk now?”
Chester smiled as he roughly wiped the blood off the knife with a cloth.