Ch.231Chapter 231 – Those Guys Are Here Too?

“It’s the countryside.”

The moment I saw the Delucio estate, these were the first words that unconsciously escaped my lips.

Countryside.

Truly, this one word expresses everything.

Oxen pulling carts loaded with straw bundles, and farmers watching them with satisfied smiles.

People sweating as they harvest crops, and women hurriedly preparing snacks for the workers.

Boys swinging wooden sticks as if they were legendary swords, and girls watching them.

Even the smell of… not exactly rich, but somewhat less intense manure wafting through the air.

“The countryside scenery isn’t much different whether it’s there or here.”

“Is that so?”

Well, countryside is countryside everywhere. After all, both places survive by farming.

If there’s any difference, it would be in the clothing styles.

The Eastern Continent has attire closer to Northeast Asian style, while this side has a medieval European atmosphere.

Besides that, there would be differences in food.

Here they eat bread that’s almost like a rock, while over there they eat noodles or rice.

As I was looking around appreciating the scenery, I spotted a guard rushing toward us from a distance, clearly in a hurry.

“Huff, huff. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

The guard spoke while catching his breath.

The guard panting in front of me now was the same man who had greeted us at the entrance to the estate.

He had said he would go deliver news to Count Lucio, the lord of this estate, and judging by how quickly he returned, he must have been running the whole way.

“Take a moment to catch your breath before speaking.”

“Huff, huff… thank you.”

I gave the guard some time to recover.

After a moment, when his breathing had stabilized enough, the guard cleared his throat a couple of times.

“Count Lucio welcomes Count Severio’s visit. I have been tasked with guiding you, so I will escort you to the mansion where the Count resides.”

“Please do.”

Cheonhyeryeong and I followed the guard toward the Lucio family mansion.

As we walked, there were several people watching us, but when the guard stepped forward and announced, ‘This is Count Severio, the Demon Sword Destroyer,’ they all bowed their heads respectfully in greeting.

If I were still new to this world, I might have told them to raise their heads, but I don’t do that anymore.

Letting them show their respect ensures they won’t be disrespectful to other nobles.

If they’re allowed to show respect to some but not others, people would inevitably get confused.

So it’s better to let them show their respect to avoid confusion.

“Hmm. In this continent too, people bow their heads to show respect to those of higher status.”

It seems that’s the case not just here but in the Eastern Continent as well.

Though separated by distance, is it still one world after all?

“We have arrived. This is the mansion where Count and Countess Lucio reside.”

Lost in thought as I walked, I suddenly realized we had reached Count Lucio’s residence.

Though they called it a mansion… it looked almost identical to the building where the servants stay at Glesius Academy.

To put it kindly, that would mean Glesius Academy treats its servants very well.

To put it less kindly, it would mean the Lucio family’s finances aren’t particularly good, hence the modest mansion.

“My lord. I have brought Count Patos Severio and his fiancée.”

The guard approached the large door connected to the entrance of the mansion, knocked a few times, and called out loudly.

“Please enter.”

A man who appeared to be a servant opened the door, bowed his head, and opened it wide for me and Cheonhyeryeong to enter.

The interior of the mansion revealed through the open door couldn’t be described as nice even out of politeness.

The magical lamps hanging from the ceiling emitted dim light, and there were hardly any decorations inside.

However, judging by the relatively healthy-looking faces of the servants working in the mansion, it seemed the Count and Countess took good care of their staff, which was reassuring.

The servants lined up from the entrance to welcome us, and at the end stood a couple.

“It is an honor to meet the renowned Demon Sword Destroyer, Count Patos Severio. I am Count Caen Lucio, the owner of this mansion and lord of this estate.”

“I am the Demon Sword Destroyer, Count Patos Severio. Pleased to meet you, Count.”

I walked up to Count Lucio, took his extended hand, and shook it lightly.

He seemed to have trouble believing that I had really come to visit his estate.

“Excuse me, but are you truly the Demon Sword Destroyer, Count Patos Severio?”

“Indeed I am. I’ve cured baldness and Prezmerine disease, and recently resolved Duke Tramante’s concerns as well.”

“Ah…”

When I mentioned Duke Tramante, Count Lucio finally showed an expression of relief.

The same was true for his wife, the Countess Lucio.

“Could you please guide us to something like a reception room? I don’t think this is a conversation we should have with so many people around.”

“Oh my, I didn’t think of that. This way, please. Some light refreshments have been prepared in the reception room.”

Following Count and Countess Lucio, Cheonhyeryeong and I moved to the reception room.

True to his word, simple refreshments had been prepared.

Well, by refreshments, I mean just common black tea and sugar-baked biscuits.

But for a rural estate like this, I suppose this level of hospitality is more than sufficient.

“After Duke Tramante’s visit, I received hundreds of letters.”

“H-hundreds of letters?”

“Yes. And among them, the one that caught my attention and remained strongly in my memory was your story, Count.”

“M-my story…?”

Count Lucio was embarrassed and didn’t know how to react upon hearing that his story had left a strong impression on me.

“Actually, at Duke Tramante’s suggestion, I sent the letter with the mindset of ‘might as well try whether it works or not’… I hope my poor writing skills didn’t trouble you.”

“Not at all.”

Count Lucio’s writing seemed to plainly state his situation, but combined with the content about his family’s continuation, it clearly conveyed his extreme emotional restraint.

That’s why I decided to visit Count Lucio first.

“The treatment for you and your wife won’t take long. As you know, my ability works by striking the target with a hammer three times, and that’s it.”

“Even in a rural area like Delucio Estate, Count Severio’s abilities are well known. I’m actually glad it won’t take long. That way, you can help more people, can’t you?”

At Count Lucio’s words, I felt a tightness in my chest.

Despite his own difficulties, he was thinking about others who might be going through similar hardships. That heart was truly beautiful.

I don’t know why such terrible things happened to someone with such a kind heart…

‘People with kind hearts should live long and have many children.’

If the Count and Countess were jerks, I wouldn’t bother helping them, but these two seem like genuinely good people.

First of all, even their servants look healthy.

And the people of the estate all seemed to be doing well without signs of hardship.

So someone like Count Lucio would likely raise children well if he had them.

“Count and Countess. I will use my ability to cure both of you.”

“If you would do that, we would be truly grateful. What would you like in return?”

“When you have children, please ensure they grow up to be people of excellent character like yourself, Count.”

I had no intention of taking anything from a rural estate like this anyway.

I can extract payment from those who have plenty, but I have absolutely no desire to squeeze something from those who don’t.

“Before I treat you both, there’s one thing I’d like to ask…”

“What is it?”

“How did you come to have this accident?”

What I was curious about was the cause of the accident that befell the Count and Countess.

No matter how severe the accident, they shouldn’t have been injured so badly that they couldn’t have children.

If they were injured that badly… wouldn’t they essentially be dead?

“At first I thought it was a simple mistake… but later I found out it was an accident intentionally caused by minions of the Demon Cult trying to swallow up this estate.”

I was speechless at the words that came from Count Lucio’s mouth.

Those guys are here too?

The Demon Cult bastards.

They’re truly insufferable.