Chapter 39: Things you can obtain in someone else’s territory (2)

 

It’s been a few days since we left King’s Landing and Aintorian Castle was finally in sight. It feels great to return home from the battlefield.

“That’s Aintorian castle.”

Zint stared ahead as he pointed to the castle in front of him. He’s a quiet guy, so I can’t blame him, but it’s been a silent journey. I had arranged for Yusen and Givens to bring their families with them, so they will come later. When we reached the gates of Aintorian, the tiresome journey finally came to an end.

“My Lord!”

“My Lord!”

Haddin and the chamberlain led a group of soldiers to greet us.

“The castle is already abuzz with tales of your heroism. I’m so proud of you, my lord!”

Haddin said with a proud look on his face as he kneeled.

“Stories about me?“

“The rumors have spread to the entire kingdom, it’s not just Aintorian!”

Have the rumors spread that far already while I’ve been spending time in King’s Landing?

[Aintorian territory]

[People spirit: 85]

I checked and found that the people’s spirit, which was 70, has risen to 85. Even with the tax exemption the people’s spirit remained at 70. It seems that the fame of protecting the country had a strong effect.

“Well, well, well.”

It wasn’t a bad thing, I was rather hoping for this fame. It would be a great help in gaining independence after the Lunan Kingdom falls.

“We’ll go to the castle first.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The city was bustling with activity, like Haddin had said it would be, since the citizens gathered to celebrate my return. It was as if my former reputation as a rogue lord had disappeared.

I arrived at the lord’s castle; of course, I had no intention of resting. Even though I was tired, I had things to do. Compared to the time when I first became a lord, I’ve gained a lot of strength through various experiences.

“I want you both to follow me to the office, Zint, you too.”

First, I was going to tell the chamberlain and Haddin about Zint, and then pick up Mirine from the border town right away. I considered stopping by on my way back to Aintorian but I wanted to be prepared for anything, so I changed my mind.

“Don’t worry, Zint. I’ll just give them instructions and we’ll be on our way.”

Narja Kingdom, a town on the border of Centrite territory, to be honest, it was pretty close to Aintorian.

“Really?”

At these words, Zint finally relaxed his expression.

“What’s the use of lying?”

I could see that he stopped talking because he was anxious. Our deal was that I would go with him to take Mirine away from the border town and bring her to my territory so that they could be happy together.

“You two are probably wondering who this guy is.”

I looked at Haddin and the chamberlain in the office. Haddin nodded quickly at my question.

“Yes, sir! Who is he?”

Haddin asked with an expression as if he’d just been poked in the eye.

“This is my new vassal. He is stronger than Randall, the warlord who attacked us before.”

“More powerful than that Randall?”

Haddin looked at Zint surprised.

“Not only that, but he also had a good match with the famous Lord Elheat.”

“My God! Even Lord Elheat?”

When I mentioned the name of the first warlord of the Lunan Kingdom, who was known to all Aintorian nobles, Haddin couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Zint, say hello. This is Baron Haddin, commander of the Aintorian Territorial Army.”

At these words, Zint gently bowed his head toward Haddin.

“And now I’m going to the border town of Narja to take out his girl.”

“Oh, come on, a border town?”

“I made a promise on the battlefield. Besides, promises are always meant to be kept.”

At the very least, Haddin and the chamberlain should be aware of Zint’s situation. The chamberlain will take care of Zint and Mirine from now on. Because of her situation, I’m going to let her sleep in the lord’s castle for the time being after I bring her here. Haddin is the commander of the army, he should also know. After explaining the long story as briefly as possible, Haddin patted Zint back with an impressed look on his face.

“I didn’t know you were in that situation. You’re a wonderful man!”

Well, Haddin is such a character. He’s a man who was locked up for a year because of a corrupt lord, but instead of resenting him, his loyalty never changed.

“I’ll go with you then. Thank you, Your Excellency, for going directly to…….”

However, the problem is that he always gets too far ahead of himself.

“I’m not going to be happy unless we go directly. You’ve got to get rid of the idea that anything could go wrong. Don’t you trust me?”

“No, of course not”

“So that’s it. Chamberlain prepare two sets of clothes for the lords. Poor clothes, please.”

“Very well.”

There was no need to stand out. I couldn’t wear a military uniform, much less noble clothes. The best thing to do is to sneak her out. We can’t just lead an army into the city, can we?

It’s not hard to take over a territory as large as Centrite, but the king of Narja won’t keep quiet after his territory is taken. He’ll probably try to retaliate by saying that he wants to take back his territory. If that happens, there will be another war. It’s best to be as quiet as possible.

“By the way, how is the fixing of the barrier going?”

When Fran sent a decoy unit to Aintorian the barrier that collapsed in an earthquake could not be used. So, since we had enough money, I instructed them to repair it before I left.

“We’re working on it; I expect it to be ready by winter.”

“I see. It’s a big job; make sure to pay the workers well.”

“Of course, sir!”

Anyway, I’ll be in charge of the territory after I return from the border town.

* * *

It was still early afternoon. We watched the construction of the barrier for a while before leaving. After passing through the barrier, we came to a flat road. If we continue on that road, we would reach the Narja barrier. Before this war, merchants used to come and go, but now it is tightly closed.

In order to cross that barrier, we would have to go to war. So Zint and I traveled over the mountains to the Narja Kingdom. It wasn’t too difficult for the two of us.

Of course, once we get over the mountain, problems will start. There are watchtowers all around the base of the mountain and many patrols as well. It was something I had expected anyway, so, of course I had a plan.

“Let’s hurry up and get to the town!”

They must have spotted us from the watchtower; smoke was rising in the sky. We needed to move faster.

“Mirine and I used to rest on that hill after working in the fields.”

“I see.”

In the middle of this, Zint pointed to a field and a hill, the field was quite small though. I could clearly see the traces of the hard work that had gone into cultivating it.

“I also ate the porridge that Mirine made for us there. It was really good.”

Zint looked at the hill for a while as he was immersed in memories, then he pointed to the town in the distance.

“There, that’s the town!”

Zint hurried his horse further towards the small town he could see over the hill. The border town was a place where people had to risk their lives because they would be the first to be hit by another country’s invasion. It was also the last refuge for those who had lost everything.

Zint stopped in front of a crumbling abandoned house on the outskirts of the town.

“Mirine!”

I could hear his earnest voice.

“Mirine!”

The voice repeated itself once more. At that moment, I had a bad feeling. There was a growing sense of urgency in the voice. If nothing had happened, the voice calling her should have been oozing with joy. 　Sure enough, Zint’s face was pale as he came out of the abandoned house. He continued to scream like a madman after he came outside.

“Mirine!”

Speaking of which, the whole town was very quiet. It was as if no one lived here.

“Mirine!”

Zint began to search not only his own house but also the surrounding area.

“Who’s the one making all the noise?”

An old man came walking out of the house next door. I let Zint run around like a horse released from the reins and approached the old man.

“Excuse me, but do you know a woman named Mirine who lives next door?”

“Of course I know her. That’s Zint, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So he made it back alive. Everyone said that if you were drafted, you were as good as dead.”

The old man muttered with a curious look on his face.

“Where is Mirine?”

“She’s gone to work. She’s helping out in the fields in the next town, and also doing some sewing.”

“I see.”

Thank God. My heart thumped for a moment, but I felt relieved. It seemed that it was because of the conscription that the place looked so lonely. I guess that’s what happens when the only people left are old men and women.

“Zint!”

I walked to Zint then I suddenly hit him in the face. Since I was not using any of my perks, my martial force was much lower than his. Even so, my fist struck him with a light sound. Normally, Zint would have been able to avoid it easily, but that’s how distracted he was.

“Get a grip! I think she’s out working in the next town!”

Zint blinked at my words.

“Is that true ……?”

“Just calm down. Do you know where the next town is?”

“Of course I know where it is.”

“Then you better lead the way! We’re running out of time!”