How to Live as a Wandering Knight

The assassination was over, but the surrounding area was still dark. Even though a powerful figure had been killed, the camp was quiet as if nothing had happened.

“No one’s chasing us, so you don’t have to look back.”

Kaegal said this without looking back. The soldiers flinched. They had been looking back several times while running away.

Even for experienced mercenaries, this was honestly a tense affair. If they weren’t afraid to enter the emperor’s fiefdom, that would be even stranger.

Once they were far enough away from the camp and entered the forest, Kaegal stopped.

“Pick what you want.”

“?”

“Oh, you’re such a green assassin. . . Don’t you know that we have to share equally what we took from inside?”

“Oh, I see.”

“Would you like to stay a little longer?”

“Assassins don’t stay in the palace for long. Just pick your things. Don’t look under your feet.”

Assassins were surprisingly fair in some ways. That was also the case when sharing rewards. Since they had risked their lives together, they shared them quite fairly.

Picking one at a time without looking.

“But. . .”

“Can’t you choose and talk?”

“Caenerna-gong also participated in the assassination, so shouldn’t she be able to share in the reward?”

“. . .That’s a fair point. Yes, the wizard can also choose. Now, hurry up and choose so I can choose.”

Kaegal would have liked to choose first, but that wouldn’t be fair. Kaegal pressed again.

“But what about this?”

“. . . . . .”

“The soldiers behind us also participated, so shouldn’t they be able to share in it?”

“Have you ever seen such an absurd person?”

Kaegal finally realized Johan’s intentions. He was speechless with disbelief.

If they split the reward based on numbers, Johan would be overwhelmingly in the lead.

“Where did you learn such absurd arithmetic? Do you need to be able to do such arithmetic to be good at calculations?”

“No, I was just following my master’s teachings. Please don’t misunderstand me.”

“I’m not going to misunderstand you. Take it all. You thief!”

Kaegal couldn’t argue with Johan’s words. He didn’t expect to be taken advantage of in this way, but he didn’t feel bad about it.

‘𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!’

After all, nobles were thieves, too, if you thought about it. It wasn’t a bad thing to be good at stealing after becoming a noble.

“Hmm. Should I take this, or that? This is a real dilemma.”

“. . .Can’t you hurry up and choose before I slap you in the face??”

Seeing him put his hand in the bag and do math this way and that, the happiness that had been there just a moment ago disappeared completely.

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“Your Excellency Count!!! I heard the story. You have achieved a truly great feat. No knight in the Empire can match that achievement!”

“. . .???”

Johan was surprised to see the familiar lower nobles and servants who came to meet him from the west, working as scribes under the feudal lords.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵?’

Could it be that the rumor of the emperor’s assassination had already spread this far?

In fact, assassinating the emperor was not something that would be so much in the news. He was the master of a family that had been passed down for a long time, and had many vassals under his command.

If the rumor of the assassination came out, it could build up unnecessary resentment.

‘𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

If the people here knew something that even the parties involved did not know, it was not as creepy as that. Johan asked calmly.

“What are you talking about?”

“About hunting the dragon!”

“. . .Oh. . .”

Johan nodded in understanding. As he thought about it, that was what had happened.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥.’

It was not strange that the rumors would spread at that time. The appearance of the dragon would have been a shocking story, so it was only natural that the people here would be interested.

“But I think there is a misunderstanding. I did not hunt the dragon.”

Rumors about dragons are often exaggerated, just like any other rumor. Some say the dragon has three heads, while others say it was appeased by a virgin sacrifice.

The most common rumor is that a count from the west charged at the dragon on horseback and pierced its heart.

“It’s not true?”

“Yes, I just managed to escape.”

“Oh, that explains why the dragon keeps appearing. It’s not dead after all. I thought it was its mate come to seek revenge.”

The scribe seemed to have a vivid imagination. Johan shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s rare enough to see one dragon, let alone two.”

“I was fooled by the bards’ songs. This is embarrassing.”

The scribe cleared his throat and asked.

“So, the rumor that your excellency pierced the dragon with a spear is also false?”

“I did stab it with a spear because it was chasing me.”

“Yes?! That’s true?! Then that’s the same as catching it, isn’t it?”

“How is it the same if it’s still alive?”

“Even just injuring the dragon and surviving is a great accomplishment. The elf king is very sad, you know.”

“. . .No.”

Johan was surprised to hear the elf king’s name suddenly pop out.

“. . .That I fight the dragon alone?”

“Yes. He said that you went to catch it alone because they didn’t believe in you, and the other feudal lords tried to persuade you, but you were still sad.”

“I’ll make this clear. I didn’t go to catch the dragon, I just happened to be there and met the dragon.”

“Yes?! You didn’t go to catch the dragon?!”

Johan rubbed his forehead with a look of pain on his face. He could tell from the scribe’s reaction that the reactions of others were obvious.

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The elf king’s mood improved unexpectedly, surprising Johan.

‘𝘈𝘩, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵?’

Johan realized that the reason the elf king was in a good mood was because the dragon was still alive.

Of course, he couldn’t upset Johan if he wanted to go with him later. Johan felt a chill run down his spine when he realized this.

“Your Majesty, I believe you are aware that it is almost impossible to go hunting for the dragon now.”

“Is that so?”

The elf king tilted his head with a naive expression. He looked like he didn’t understand why it couldn’t be done.

“The situation is still unstable. Going to Gashstadt Castle now. . .”

“The emperor’s army has retreated to the north, haven’t they? The feudal lords are preparing for negotiations, so at the latest, the war will be over within this year. Then, who will stop us from hunting the dragon?”

‘. . .𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳.’

Johan was slightly taken aback. With his goal in sight, the elf king was using his brain, which he usually didn’t use, to persuade him. It was a very unfamiliar sight.

The other feudal lords present were engrossed in other topics, as if they didn’t care whether the elf king was going to hunt the dragon or not.

“We must at least get this much in compensation. . .”

“Can we get it from the governor of the border region too? He didn’t participate this time.”

“Everyone knows that he provided the funds for the increase in the number of mercenaries. A merchant who works at the guild reported it. He must be held responsible.”

“We need to keep some limits, or they may not back down.”

“But will the emperor accept this proposal? Of course, a sane person would accept it, but that emperor would rather commit suicide than accept such a proposal.”

The feudal lords were preoccupied with how to extort compensation.

They knew that even the emperor would have to back down now.

And even if he didn’t back down, it didn’t matter. The south was already in their hands, for all intents and purposes.

It would be even better if the elf king was distracted by dragon hunting. Even though they had received the elf king’s help, if his influence grew, it would be an uncomfortable situation for the western feudal lords.

The elf king was satisfied with the honor of hunting the dragon and would not interfere any further. This was the best possible situation for the western lords.

“Thank you, Count. Please continue to encourage the elf king to be interested in the dragon.”

“It would be even more appreciated if you could make him go after it.”

As the conversation between the elf king and Johan came to an end, one of the lords approached Johan and said.

“By the way, Your Excellency Count. It might be a good idea to restrict visitors for a while.”

“Why is that?”

“Southern nobles are coming this way after hearing the news that the war has ended. As Your Excellency Count has a lot of influence, you will receive many requests.”

“. . .!”

The lord’s warning was not wrong. Since the news that Count Yeats had returned spread, there had been a continuous stream of visitors who said, ’𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦.’

The composition of the visitors was different, but they all had a similar purpose.

━𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐝𝐨𝐦!

A fallen noble from a family so distant that their blood would only be mixed five generations up, a shameless con artist who claims to be the child of that noble because the place looks a little similar to a few dots, and a half-rogue mercenary captain who boldly says to make him a lord if he pays a ninth of his income.

Even though the south was in a mess, even a small piece of land in the south was an enormous fortune.

Now that several southern lord families have flown away, a human crowd has begun to flock to become vassals of powerful nobles and get a little land.

“Gerdolf. You’re going to have a hard time. I’m sorry.”

Gerdolf shook his head. There was no knight like Gerdolf when it came to chasing away guests. Even those with a certain amount of courage could not argue when Gerdolf was standing in front of them.

“Can’t we go back to the fiefdom in the south with the other nobles?”

Suetlg said with a tired face.

He thought it was all over when the emperor’s army retreated like a fleeing army, but he never thought that this would happen.

“You know it’s not possible. The other nobles I brought with me can go back, but if I drop out, everyone will be surprised.”

The other lords were bound to be surprised if someone who was supposed to get a big share of the spoils just left without a word. Johan, for one, had no such intention.

He had fought, so he deserved to be rewarded.

“Yeah, I was just joking.”

Suetlg opened a map and asked. It was a map of the southern fiefdom that had lost its lord or was about to lose it.

“Which of these fiefdoms do you want?”

“To be honest. . . they’re all pretty much the same, aren’t they?”

“That’s true.”

The south was in ruins due to war and plunder. If it had been under normal circumstances, they would have compared them, but it was difficult to do so in their current state.

“If I had to choose, I’d like a fiefdom with rare resources or good transportation.”

“You also need to think about who you’re going to make your vassal. You need someone who is capable and trustworthy, especially since it’s a long way away.”

“Are you saying that the person must be familiar with the fiefdom’s administration, have good relations with the surrounding families, and be able to double the number of pigs and horses every year?”

“. . .I’m not that heartless. Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect person, but you need to choose carefully.”

Johan, looking at the map, pointed to one spot.

“This fiefdom hasn’t surrendered yet, has it?”

“He must be either clueless or unable to grasp the situation.”

Southern lords who were close to the emperor’s faction were now scrambling frantically. Those who were less involved could be appeased with gold, but those who had seized their fiefdoms with the emperor’s power had to worry about their own lives, not their fiefdoms.

“That’s good. The negotiations will take a while, so I’ll go and take it down.”

“What? No. . . why? You could just send a sub-captain.”

Suetlg was puzzled.

If there were others to help them, they might be able to hold out, but otherwise, they would probably surrender. It was obvious that if they stayed here, thousands more would come.

“Suetlg-nim, will you entertain our guests here?”

“. . .Oh, I see. If that’s the case, I’ll join you too.”

Of course, it wasn’t just for that reason.

Near the fiefdom that Johan pointed to, there was a small village that was so small that it didn’t even appear on the map.

It was Johan’s hometown.

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