Ch.288Before We Meet

Faelrun.

The name of a family that has wielded enormous power for generations as the Duke of the North and the Imperial Elector of the Empire.

Though they maintain a lord-vassal relationship with the Empire only out of concern for the great invasion of Werebeasts, they were already a family with status equivalent to the king of an independent nation in the North.

The territory they ruled was even called a Duchy rather than a Duke’s domain.

The Faelrun Castle, which we finally arrived at, was a magnificent building that seemed to display such authority.

The double stone walls looked so sturdy they would withstand cannon fire, and pointed defensive towers were erected here and there.

The towers and buildings inside also appeared bleak without a single decoration, as if prioritizing function over appearance.

It looked more like a military fortress than a Duke’s residence.

Is this what the bases of frontier lords are like, just like Landenburg?

I hadn’t noticed in the game since I only gave them a cursory glance.

Perhaps because the Werebeasts had retreated but the situation was still not safe enough, soldiers wearing fur cloaks patrolled vigilantly on the walls when seen up close, and four knights were guarding the tightly closed main gate with sharp presence.

“Finally arrived… First when going to the capital, and now this. Do I always have to endure such forced marches when traveling with the young lady?”

“Well, you should ask our enemies about that, not me.”

I don’t move this recklessly when I have time to spare.

When relying on horses and carriages for travel, such murderous forced marches were inevitable to cover long distances in a short time.

In the game, there were supposed to be airships for travel developed by the Magic Tower later… but that was a completely historically inaccurate item, so I’m not sure if it will actually appear in reality.

Unless it was made by Dwarves, it didn’t seem like something humans who hadn’t even established the concept of engines could create.

—-

As we approached the main gate, one of the knights standing guard came toward us.

He was wearing a fur cloak emblazoned with the Faelrun family crest, suggesting he was a northern knight rather than an Imperial Knight.

With his bushy beard and the scar on his face, he looked more like a bandit than a knight.

The other knights gripped their sword hilts while watching us, ready to pounce at any moment, and the soldiers on the wall also aimed their bows at our carriage.

“Excuse me. Faelrun Castle is currently restricting entry to outsiders under the orders of Lady Frider van Faelrun. If you wish to enter, please identify yourselves and state your purpose.”

For someone who looked like a bandit, his tone was quite polite.

Well, that makes sense. Even the coachman appeared to be a knight of similar caliber, and the carriage itself looked quite luxurious.

Anyone would see this as the procession of a noble of some standing.

“Greetings to the hunters of the North. We are Baron Median, a friend of Lady Faelrun, her escort knight Leonore, Priest Florence of the Church of Saulite, and Rain Wigris, former member of the Rose Cross Knights. We’ve come to offer support after hearing news from the North.”

The female knight sitting in the coachman’s seat pushed back her hood and saluted him lightly.

So her name was Rain. I hadn’t even known her name until now since she never spoke. Judging by her surname, she must have been a lady from a noble family.

“Median…? Median… Ah. Could it be… the Were Eater of Aishan-Gioro…?! It’s an honor to meet you!!”

The northern knight who had been tilting his head in confusion jumped in surprise and saluted.

Were Eater? What kind of outdated nickname is that?

“I’m glad you recognize me. Then, may I assume our entry is permitted?”

“Of course! The Lady will be delighted!”

…I doubt she’ll be more delighted than you.

Looking at his appearance, he seemed like someone who could say “Haha! A woman after so long!” without any sense of incongruity, but seeing him with wide eyes and smiling like an uncle fan greeting his idol made me feel somewhat indescribable. A bit uneasy too.

—-

“Everyone, attention! The Were Eater, Baron Median has arrived!”

Sure enough, as soon as we entered the castle, this man shouted at the top of his lungs to announce my visit.

All the stationed soldiers and northern refugees turned to look at us.

Since I had pulled back the curtain and revealed my face for identification, there was no avoiding eye contact with them.

“The Were Eater…! The one who tears apart the Werebeast champions alive and drinks their blood instead of water…!?”

[That’s an accurate description.]

No, when did I ever do such a thing…?

…Oh, I did. When I was half out of my mind because of the fire.

“Such a beauty…? I heard it was a giant with twenty fangs who looked like a tiger?”

If someone had twenty fangs, would they even be human? That’s just a beast.

It seemed that rumors about me hadn’t spread very quickly to the North. Judging by the old rumors still persisting.

“That clothing, could it be Werebeast skin…!”

“Wearing clothes made of Werebeast skin? My goodness…!”

…It seems the Werebeast skin trend hasn’t reached the North yet. They’re horrified looking at my coat.

Perhaps they intentionally blocked the trend.

The North is the supply source for Werebeast skin, and if Werebeast skin products became popular even in the North itself, it would become difficult to secure supplies.

“I read in a book that Ka’har wear the skin of people they’ve killed as decorations! Does the same apply to Werebeasts?”

‘…Did they really?’

[Are you crazy? We’re not barbarians. Why would we wear such hideous and disgusting things?]

I suppose that’s true. Even the Ka’har I actually met didn’t wear human skin decorations.

That book doesn’t contain a single piece of accurate information.

Although they were momentarily shocked at seeing us—or rather, me—the domain residents’ reactions were generally favorable.

Even the soldiers who appeared to be from the Imperial Army were looking at me with expectant eyes.

“Does Baron Median’s arrival mean the civil war is over…?”

“I think he’s a Count now. That must be it, right? Perhaps reinforcements will arrive soon…!”

“I heard he defeated Margrave Valenstein… but can he defeat that monster wolf…?”

From their whispers, it seemed they hadn’t heard about the civil war situation either.

I thought they would have at least heard about the Battle of Zeren Plains. Was the situation in the North so bad that they couldn’t even receive such news?

Looking closely, there were several wounded soldiers with bandages here and there, clearly showing they had been through hardship.

—-

“Welcome to Faelrun Castle, Count Median. The Lady is waiting for you.”

After pushing through countless welcoming crowds, we finally reached the inner castle of the ducal family.

Having heard the news of my arrival, an elderly man who appeared to be a butler was already waiting in front of the main entrance.

As expected of the North. Even the butler seemed to be a former knight, with a well-trained body visible through his butler’s uniform.

After handing over the carriage to the servants, we followed the butler into the inner castle.

I couldn’t meet Frider right away; instead, we were first guided to the bathroom.

Even if we were friends, apparently one must observe minimum etiquette when meeting a Lady of the ducal family in their main castle.

“I’ve been feeling this since we entered the castle, but it’s warmer here than I expected.”

Until we reached Faelrun Castle, it was so chilly that we had to use warming scrolls even while wearing thick coats, but inside Faelrun Castle it was actually slightly warm to be wearing an overcoat indoors.

That’s why all four of us had our coats draped over our arms.

“Faelrun Castle is built over hot springs. Because of that, the temperature is higher compared to other regions. For heating and bathing, we utilize the hot spring water drawn from underground.”

Was there such a setting?

Come to think of it, I think there was a service scene in the game like “Exciting Mixed Bath Episode!” or something…

“A hot spring bath sounds nice. Though it would be a bit awkward if it’s a mixed bath.”

Not just me alone, but there are three other women here.

And one of them is even a former princess.

“That would never happen. The Lady also enjoys hot spring baths, and if they had made it a mixed bath, the Duke would have split the stonemasons’ heads in half.”

The butler burst into laughter and shook his head, as if he’d heard a ridiculous joke.

…Then what was that “Exciting Mixed Bath Episode!”?

Don’t tell me that Demian, the original protagonist, wasn’t in a mixed bath but in the women’s bath?

No wonder there were consecutive duel scenes disguised as sparring matches with Faelrun knights afterward…!

—-

…The bath was more satisfying than I had expected.

The bathtub, made of polished and joined rocks, was filled with bluish-green hot spring water that rippled and emitted steam, and through the open ceiling, the night sky, which had already begun to darken, was clearly visible.

Perhaps because it was an awkward time for bathing, we four were the only guests in the bath.

Maids did come to assist with bathing, but they had to leave.

Florence and Rain refused, saying their status didn’t warrant such service, and I also declined because bath attendants made me uncomfortable.

Leonore’s reaction was “why make such a fuss,” but since everyone else in our party had refused, she seemed reluctant to accept alone and sent the maid away as well.

So, the four of us enjoyed the bath with our bodies immersed in the warm hot spring.

Rain tried to refuse, saying how could she dare bathe with Lady Leonore… but Leonore dragged her along, saying she was just a knight now, so Rain had no choice but to bathe together.

“Ahh… It feels good to have all the fatigue melt away. Don’t you think so, miss?”

“…Indeed.”

I turned my gaze away from Leonore, who was stretching while leaning against the bathtub, and looked at the darkening sky.

…She was quite impressive when undressed. Like mother like daughter, she had a figure exactly like Isabella’s.