Chapter 79: Count Brant Khalodian’s Territory (Khaloda Village)
“The kids loved it.”
“Really? That’s good.”
“Yeah, the picture book was great.”
“I love how we can eat fresh fruit or vegetables in the winter now.”
“The idea of fertilizing the ground was something we never thought of.”
People began sharing ideas and information as the feast began to calm down. People who were going on a trade shared information about trades and other people shared any wishes or concerns they had. Soon, they began disappearing into their beds and so did Sunsook and Mayze who went to the RV for a good night’s sleep.
“One more?”
Doral approached Joonbum with a beer in his hand. It was already midnight.
“This is always good,” Joonbum commented as he saw the Bodua jerky that Doral was holding. This was one of Joonbum’s favorite snacks as the salty flavor and thick meat scent made it delicious. He drank the beer and it wiped away all the flavor from the mouth.
‘I just can’t stop.’
The jerky and beer were quickly consumed as they silently ate and drank.
“We should sleep now.”
Doral stood up and went to his tent. Joonbum also rose and climbed up to the Marauder where he had prepared a floor mat to sleep on.
*
It had been twenty days since they left town. The trip had been smooth without much trouble. They did encounter some muddied water that they needed to cover with dirt and wood, but there was nothing special other than that. They also had a lot of time on their hands, so they moved really slowly. There were about 150 of them moving, so no monsters dared to attack either.
Besides, the spring season meant an abundance of food sources, so monsters did not need to fight for food. Even during the trip, they gathered and occasionally hunted for food and it was enough. Joonbum loved all the spring vegetables they gathered from the mountains. The scent and taste were amazing.
People also loved rice. With all the gathered food, they enjoyed every type of food they ate as they were sick of eating all the dried preserved food and Basett meat. It felt like they were on going on a vacation than a business trip.
‘I would love for this to go on forever,’ Joonbum thought, but relaxing time was coming to an end.
The forest changed as the number of trees began decreasing and it changed into a grassland.
“Khaloda Village!”
Gazlow, who was leading the group, shouted. Everyone turned their sights to the front.
‘So that’s the village!’
Sunsook also took out binoculars to look at the village. The leading group stopped its advance and everyone halted in place. The village was still quite far away.
‘That’s larger than I thought.”
The village was huge. Joonbum began gathering all the information he could by examining the village through binoculars. There was fortress made by bricks and a long wall around it. There were a lot of flags hung around it as well.
“Wow, look son. They look like foreigners.”
“Huh?”
Joonbum was confused. They had been living with the Ainos for months and she was surprised by these people.
“No, I mean HUMAN foreigners.”
‘Oh, now that she mentions it…’
The Ainos had features that were different from humans. But the people they could see through the binoculars were just like people from other countries on Earth. The only difference was that they were armed with armor, swords, and they had huge beards. Joonbum passed the reigns to Doral and began suiting up.
“So it begins.”
“Yeah, I want to see them myself.”
It was time for Joonbum to become a knight from a noble family and Sunsook to become a countess.
‘I’m getting nervous.’
Joonbum let out a long breath. He practiced as Doral explained how much power nobles had in this world. People gathered as Joonbum got out of the Marauder in a cape and full-bodied armor.
“Wow, that’s cool.”
“You look good.”
“Hey, don’t forget. He’s now Joonbum Christos, second son of Count Christos and a knight of the Daehan Empire who traveled far away to this mountain range.”
“Of course!”
“I remember clearly.”
Everyone was excited to see Joonbum disguised as a noble to play the upper hand against the humans. Nite, the Galim, approached as it saw Joonbum walking out. It seemed like it was happy to play a role. Herde and Pav helped Joonbum put the horse armor on Nite. When done, Nite was like an armored beast, enough to impress anyone with its fearsome looks.
“And the gun?”
Herde found an empty spot where the rifle was usually equipped.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to let them see anything unusual at first sight.”
“Oh, right. That’s true. They’re too greedy.”
“I know! They always give us a hard time because of that.”
Both of them frowned as they spoke about their past encounters with the humans. Joonbum reassured them.
“It’s okay, it won’t end up like that this time. Don’t worry.”
“Yes!”
As Joonbum finished preparing, they began moving again. Joonbum slowly moved together alongside the Marauder. They were getting closer to the village.
‘It’s clean.’
The wall was far from clean. Moss was everywhere and damages were present all over as it showed its age, but it still retained its beauty. There were people cheering for the arrival of the Ainos at the top of the wall. Some seemed to be shocked to see the unexpected sight of Joonbum and the Marauder.
‘That’s cute.’
Even the guards who recognized it seemed busy, not knowing what to do.
*
“What?! What happened!”
Hectos, Captain of the Guards of Khaloda Village, was dozing off when the town bell rang. He woke up abruptly, not knowing what was going on.
“Captain.”
The door was opened and Jackson, his lieutenant, walked in. Hectos was confused, but he pretended he had not been sleeping.
‘Ugh, this guy fell asleep again.’
Jackson already knew what he had been up to.
“Sir, were you sleeping again?”
“No! I was just enjoying my tea after lunch.”
“It’s been two hours since lunch.”
Hectos let out a cough at the comment.
“Hmmph! So, what’s going on? What’s with the bell?”
‘Hah.’
Jackson sighed in his thoughts as Hectos quickly changed the subject.
‘I would’ve reported you if you were not my relative. Ugh.’
Hectos was his sister’s husband, so he couldn’t just report him for his bad work ethics.
‘Or should I report him and become the captain myself?’
“Look at the date! God d****t. It’s the day the Ainos come down to trade! We already have merchants gathered here from all over the country!”
Jackson frowned and explained what was going on. Hectos’ eyes opened wide with excitement.
“Oh! YES! The Ainos! It’s time to earn some money!”
His eyes were filled with greed.
“Can you stop that? You’ll be put into prison if you meddle with the trade. It’s the Donian Merchant Group we’re talking about. Just wait for something they let us take.”
‘Hah, what a chicken. You always back off like that…’
Hectos mumbled it so that Jackson could not hear.
“But…”
“Are you going to make my sister a widow?”
Hectos flinched at the comment.
‘Ugh! I want to become wife-less if that’s what you’re asking!’
Hectos did not say it out loud as he thought about his wife’s big body.
‘She was so beautiful and cute… but now after two kids… I’ve been scammed!’
“Captain!”
Hectos turned his eyes to another man who just entered.
“What!”
“Y-you should come out. There’s- there’s a noble in the group!”
Hectos was puzzled. Jackson, who realized what was going on, seemed to be shocked. Hectos asked, “A noble? Why here? Oh, I guess he’s here to buy the potions.”
‘Ugh, you clueless fool. Nobles don’t need to travel all the way here to buy a single potion!’
The soldier who came to give the report also looked very serious.
“Is it a high-ranking aristocrat?” Jackson asked.
“W-we are not sure… I think he’s from some foreign country.”
“F-foreign country? Do I have to go?”
“You are the captain. Of course.”
Hectos frowned as Jackson dragged him out of the room. When they got out of the guard post, they were able to see the parade of Ainos walking past the gate, through the village with a cart.
“Look! There!”
“What is that?”
Jackson and Hectos shouted in shock as they saw what was coming in. There were ten Durans pulling a house-sized red carriage and a white carriage connected to it.
“Wow! Is that a carriage?”
People who gathered to watch the Ainos also were shocked by the sight.
“Have you seen anything like that?”
“No. I’ve never seen such a thing.”
It seemed that people of the village heard that there was an unusual visitor mixed among the Ainos and came to take a look. Everyone seemed to be very curious about the red carriage.
“Hey! It’s a knight!”
Someone shouted at the sight of Joonbum, and everyone’s eyes gathered to gaze at him.
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