Chapter 20: Irene Windler Is the New Neighbor (1)

Knock knock-!

“…Not bad.”

It was a moderately-sized yard—not too small, not too big—filled with lush grass, insects and a wooden cabin.

Though the cabin looked like a certain cabin in a horror movie, Lee Han was still satisfied by it. After all, even though the Academy was famous for having the most expensive land price, he got the house for a relatively cheap price.

Although…

Sure, rumors said that this place is haunted, a few people got murdered here, and they also said that criminals use this as their hideout, but who cares.

Those unpleasant rumors didn’t faze Lee Han at all. After all, if a ghost appeared in front of him, he’d just beat it up. If it was a murderer who’d come, he’d also beat the bastard up. Of course, he’d do the same thing to any criminals who dared to call his house their hideout.

With enough violence, all the problems could be solved.

The house was precious enough to Lee Han to warrant that anyway.

After all…

“This place even has a hill cliff nearby…! I can’t believe it… Is this place…heaven…?”

He would be able to do some cliff climbing here.

That fact alone lifted his feelings and made him feel even more delighted than before.

He genuinely didn’t believe that there would be any more successful ‘moving’ than this one.

Although it was sudden, he decided to move from his previous residence after living there for three years.

Well, it wasn’t something that he could avoid. After all, getting a job as an instructor meant that he’d need to go to the Royal Academy every day instead of the Knight Order. If he wanted to go to the Academy from his previous house, he’d need to walk around 25 km to get there, so he pretty much had to move even if he didn’t want to.

…Sure, he could try to just go through it and use it as an exercise, but…

There really wasn’t a good reason to do that.

It’s better to just move.

Of course there were other means of transportation that he could take like carriages or even trains.

As stated before, this medieval fantasy world had a lot of modern things even though they hadn’t gone through the Industrial Revolution yet. The problem was that the transportation here was extremely expensive.

It was to the point that he suspected that ordinary people would go bankrupt just by riding the train for a month.

And so, he concluded that it would be better to move.

Of course, the whole process was a hassle and he had to spend the one-week adjustment period for the new students—which was like a short vacation for instructors—to look for a house that he liked, but in the end it was all worth it because he found one that exceeded his expectations.

Bang-!

“Phew… That should be all, right?”

“Sir Knight, where should I move this?”

“Just leave it there. I’ll organize everything myself.”

“Okay!”

Lee Han told the maid to move only the items that she couldn’t break and the maid didn’t make any mistakes as she carried out his instructions. Even though she looked quite fragile—it wouldn’t be a surprise if she were to suddenly collapse midway—she still looked quite healthy after all that, which meant she was sufficiently strong.

…That’s a whole wardrobe she’s lifting. How could she do that so easily…?

In fact, she was able to lift something that would normally need two people to lift it.

Looking at her, Lee Han realized how fair God was to Their subjects. They gave her a pretty appearance and healthy body, but lowered her intelligence to make up for it.

“…I should take her to the construction site, she’d be popular over there.”

He figured that the chief would like her a lot since she could easily beat anyone in terms of strength. Of course he wouldn’t actually take her there. He didn’t want her to steal his source of income, after all.

Rumble-!

“Woaaah! Sir Knight, you’re so strong! The tree fell down when you pulled it!”

“I didn’t pull it, I broke it.”

“But, the tree looks so healthy, why did you break it?”

“It’s already dead. If I leave it alone, it will be swarmed by bugs.”

“I see! But is it really possible to break a tree with bare hands?”

“Anyone could do it if they train hard enough.”

“Wow! Does that mean I can do that too?”

“If you follow me around for half a year—no, a year, maybe…”

Given her natural tenacity, Lee Han figured that if he trained her for a year, he could make her as strong as the dregs in the Knight Order.

It would be perfect if I could raise her to be a fighter.

Though she lacked the brain and he knew it, Lee Han couldn’t help but feel an intense desire to train her, like a boxing coach who had discovered a talent who’d take over the world of women’s boxing.

“—Why can’t you guys have a normal conversation for once…?”

At that moment, someone suddenly barged into their crazy conversation.

“Ah, you’re here?”

“Yes I am, you lunatic.”

“…Why are you trying to pick a fight with me as soon as you see me?”

“Me? You were the one who started it, you know?”

“??”

“…Forget it. I should know better than to talk normally to a half-troll.”

“Who did you call a half-troll, you fuck?!”

…This guy is as sharp as always…

The man was none other than Jake Palmer.

Lee Han’s only friend, who was shaking his head at him while sighing.

The warm culture of congratulating a friend after they moved to a new home was unfortunately absent in the Pendragon Kingdom. On the contrary, when people moved, they would visit the temple’s affiliated church to ask for a congratulatory blessing and make a donation.

This suggested that the capital was still filled with ‘bankrupt people’ who made such donations and that was an indescribable horror for Lee Han. That was why he chose to become an atheist in this life, just like in his previous life.

Because he didn’t want to be broke from donations.

“That’s a little bit too extreme of an example don’t you think? Donations are just a matter of sincerity. It’s a way for people to express their wish to go to Avalon when they pass away.”

“Shut it. I don’t want to hear a preach here.”

“…You bloody heathen.”

While holding a cross that symbolized the kingdom’s one and only religion, [Light of Brilliance], Jake read a passage from the Bible.

“Oh Almighty Light of Brilliance and seven Archangels who follow thee, please forgive and bless this disrespectful sinner. Amen.”

“When you said disrespectful sinner, were you referring to me?”

“Who else could it be?”

“…I see. Thank you very much.”

Lee Han was half-thanking him and half-angry at him.

Despite what Jake had said, in retrospect, there weren’t many people who’d read the Bible for a friend who had just moved.

That was how good of a friend he was.

“If you’re really grateful, buy this cross, then.”

“You fucking cultist—!”

“I’d love to give it to you, but they said that if someone were to just give it to someone else thoughtlessly, misfortune will befall them, so…”

“…”

Hearing that, Lee Han took his gratitude back. He decided that there was no point in being thankful to this punk.

He reminded him of a peddler who’d force someone to buy a talisman while that someone was waiting at the subway station.

Well, even though he grumbled, he still ended up giving his good friend two silver coins and bought the thing. It wasn’t because he was stupid enough to believe it, though. Rather, it was because he believed that he’d be able to receive a treatment for a cheaper price if he brought the cross to the church with him.

If this thing was an item from a game, it could probably be classified as a rare-grade.

“It’s from a mid-level priest, so you probably could get a 30% discount if you bring it with you.”

“Sure, sure, give me the other thing you brought with you.”

“Jeez, what’s the hurry?”

Jake grumbled before asking for a cup of black tea. Though, he still quietly handed over the letter that he brought.

The letter was the information brought from the Information Guild. Lee Han could have got it himself, but he decided to use a middle-man, just in case.

“Any kind of information about the archduke is tightly kept, so there isn’t much they could find, the same goes for the duke. Everything written inside is just the things that others already know.”

“That’s already enough.”

It wasn’t like Lee Han needed detailed information about those two people either. He just wanted to know whether he could find out any more information about them other than those that were already known by others.

“…I expected this much anyway.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he wasted his money for this. The information was worth as much as the money he spent, no more, no less.

After reading the letter, he, without any hesitation…

Burn-!

“…That’s gold you’re burning…”

“Shut it.”

After using the letter as a kindling, Lee Han crossed his arms indifferently.

“Those two are crazy.”

“The word you’re looking for is irreverent.”

“Irreverent my ass.”

Psychopaths are more like it.

Duke Galahad. Ever since he lost his wife, he had been suffering from madness, becoming an extremely dangerous person who was obsessed with torturing and killing criminals.

He inherited the magic sword that had been passed down through the Galahad Family and it was said that he had the strongest compatibility with it among all its wielder.

To summarize, he was a rebellious, dangerous and murderous psychopath.

Next, Archduke Lionel.

Due to the nature of his bloodline, he had a lot of wives. Just like a lion, he formed his own pride. He also had inherited the ‘mystical ability’ that had been passed down through his family, just like Duke Galahad’s magic sword.

Because of that ability though, he’d touch all women around him regardless of their social status—including even the maids that served his family. Worse thing was, according to rumors, he never took responsibility for the children born to the women he touched.

To put it in another word, he was a rapist who couldn’t keep his dick in check and an irresponsible child neglecter.

“However, because they’re both extremely handsome, the noble women are still fawning over them… Fucking hell, so it’s fine to be a rapist and a murderer as long as you’re handsome? This world is going to hell.”

“Ahem.”

“Well, it’s probably also because they have so much power…”

The rofan logic was in full force here. As long as one was handsome and had a lot of money, no matter what crime they committed, people still wouldn’t treat them as criminals.

…Actually, it’s similar to how it was in my previous life…

“Anyway, this kind of lookism is disgusting.”

“But, I think you’re cool enough, Sir Knight!”

“…Thank you, Maid. I also think that you’re pretty.”

“Hehe, I’ve heard that a lot.”

“U-Um, Maid? What about me?”

“…Eh? Um… Who are you, again…?”

“…”

Hearing her answer, Jake made a genuinely hurt expression, meanwhile Leila just blinked with a clueless look. It seemed like she hadn’t realized that he was there all this time.

That last part probably was what hurt Jake more.

Though, Lee Han actually couldn’t care less about the noble women’s preferences or whatnot. The reason why he was looking for information on the duke and the archduke was because of an old saying that said, if someone wanted to kill a general, then start with his horse’s neck.

As a good adult who listened to old adages well, he went on and gathered information about people around both Roen and Irene before approaching them. It was just, the result of the investigation was much more serious than he expected.

Though, if this world was truly a rofan, this was a matter of course. After all, the main characters in rofan usually were all broken people.

I doubt that their children will be someone normal either.

As they said, children were the mirrors of their parents and this fact applied in this world as well and after seeing this, Lee Han finally began to understand why Isis ‘asked’ him to do all this for him.

Even I would be annoyed if the children of these kinds of people were wandering in my front yard.

Though he didn’t mean to, he sympathized with Isis’ feelings a little.

“If you ever need my help again, just tell me. Also, if possible… Stay away from those in power. I’m not saying this as a knight or noble, but as a friend who cares about you.”

Huh?

Maybe he had just watched a play or he just wanted to show off to Leila, Jake said such a showy remark before slowly turning around.

Unfortunately for him…

“Sir Knight, that person is a little strange. Is he probably sick in the head?”

“…No he isn’t.”

But, even though Leila treated him like a mental…

“Anyway, though he might seem strange, he seems to be a good person, Sir Knight! I could tell that he was genuinely worried about you!”

“Yeah, he’s a good guy.”

Though they had fallen from grace, Jake’s family was one with a long history. There was a great chance that the reason why his family fell from grace was due to unfair circumstances. Even so, he never forgot his loyalty to the royal family and joined the Knights Order, continuing the family tradition. He was a model student, a complete opposite from Lee Han, who could be considered as a delinquent.

Yet, that kind of guy advised Lee Han to stay away from the people in power and the royal family. In a way, it was like he was suppressing his own allegiance to show his care for Lee Han.

In other words, he valued him higher than his loyalty to the royal family.

…It’s strange.

Back in Lee Han’s previous life, he was bullied because he was an orphan while all the punks he thought were his friends were busy betraying him in every chance they got.

Yet in this life, he met a guy who truly cared for him.

“Guess I’ve lived this life well, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. More importantly, Maid, isn’t it time for you to go back to the palace? It’s already too late for dinner.”

If it were anyone else, they’d have noticed that Lee Han was trying to change the subject, but not with Leila here. Because she was a good girl who listened to people’s words at face value.

…Sometimes, I’m worried about her since she looks like someone who’d still act cheerful even if she got scammed…

But, with her signature childlike smile, Leila…

“I don’t need to return.”

“…?”

“From now on, I’m going to live with you, Sir Knight! The princess told me to take good care of you! Hehehe!”

“…Tsk, hasn’t it crossed your mind how wrong that order sounds?”

Does she not know what it means for a man and a woman to live under the same roof?

There’s no way she is that clueless, right?

“The princess said that I’ll be safe with you! Um, what did she say again? Ah, right! ‘You don’t have to worry because he’s a man who can’t act like a man’.”

“…”

“But, what did she mean by that? A man who can’t act like a man…?”

“…You don’t need to know.”

H-How dare she scratch my pride like that—!

You damned old bitch, just see what I’ll do the next time we meet—!

While Lee Han was gritting his teeth, thinking about various things he’d do the next time he met Isis…

Knock-! Knock-!

“Oh my, we have a guest!”

“Go back for a moment.”

This guest was someone with an unfamiliar smell.

They exuded the scent of cornelian cherry, it wafted gently through the house.

Since he didn’t recognize who this was, he opened the door quietly and cautiously. Even though he didn’t have any weapons in his hands, he felt confident that he’d be safe since his hands were strong enough to pull out a spine of someone’s—

“H-Hello…! I-I just moved to the house next door and I-I’m handing out some hardened polenta— Huh? Instructor…Lee Han…?”

“…”

“W-What a strange coincidence to meet you like this!”

“Hmm…”

Lee Han didn’t speak for anyone else, but…

She’s really bad at acting.

He looked at this guest of his.

Irene Windler a.k.a Surveillance Target Number 2.

No matter how anyone tried to look at her, the way she loitered around in his yard was extremely suspicious.