episode_0023

23.

The whole family had lunch together for the first time in a long while at Delun Castle.

The countess ordered the chef to prepare a sumptuous lunch.

On the gorgeous table, the foods were lined up in a harmonious manner like an orchestra, each with its own delicious and savory aroma.

At the long table, Count Laurence sits at the head of the table, and on his right are the Countess, Chris, and Ray.

On his left sat Chris’s two younger brothers, Ade and Laurent.

“Wow. Looks delicious.”

Ray was holding a fork and knife in each hand and drooling on the tablecloth.

There was a small puddle of spit on Ray’s table.

“Please eat a lot, Ray. I asked the chef to prepare lunch with special care to support Ray and Chris’s activities.”

Count Laurence smiled and offered food.

Oh my.

Ray started to inhale the food as if possessed.

“This turkey is delicious and the roast beef is also delicious. I don’t know what to eat first.”

Meanwhile, Chris felt his brothers’ eyes secretly watching him.

Aide and Laurent.

Chris and his three brothers were of similar age, so they were competing with Chris for the successor position.

Aid, 16, was tall and slender with slightly reddish curly hair.

His slanted, bespectacled eyes revealed his nervous personality.

Laurent, the third son, 15 years old.

He was short but well-built, with a slightly flat, sideways face.

He had his short, straight black hair cut short and blue.

He had a slightly pockmarked face, a bulbous nose, and thick lips.

He was more greedy than his two older brothers.

Perhaps, if Laurent, the third son, had not been so greedy, it would have been difficult for him to decide to compete for the succession with his older brothers.

The two brothers thought that the next lord would be one of them, since the eldest son, Chris, was stupid and a bastard.

So, even though they were brothers, they didn’t get along well.

But after Chris was struck by lightning, he suddenly started to stand out in the Academy as if he were a different person.

His father, Count Laurence, who did not even treat Chris as his son, was so proud of him that he even spent 4,000 gold to hold a parade for him, so that goes without saying.

The two put their heads together to try to understand how Chris had suddenly changed, but to no avail.

How can you imagine that two people could have been struck by lightning and that the soul of the groom John would have entered Chris’s body?

While eating, the two brothers kept sharp eyes on Chris, trying to uncover his secret.

As the family was finishing their meal, the butler came in and whispered to Count Laurence.

“Another missing person in the foggy forest?”

“The village chief is waiting for an audience.”

Count Laurence stood up before he could finish his meal.

“What’s going on?”

The Countess asked if it was something so serious that she had to get up before she could even finish her meal.

“As you know, Madam, there have been many disappearances in the foggy forest behind the fortress. And it seems another person has gone missing. The village chief came to see me, so I can’t just sit back and eat as a lord. ”

Although he was the father of Chris Gaemangnani, Earl Laurence was a nobleman who had at least a minimal sense of responsibility as a lord.

I thought that a noble who had a duty to protect the people could not stay still.

“Can I listen to the story with you?”

Even Chris stood up.

I was feeling burdened by the jealous gazes of my younger siblings, so I became interested when I heard that an incident had occurred in the foggy forest.

The Count hesitated for a moment about whether to take Chris, then opened his mouth.

“Hmm… Okay. I think it’s time for you, Chris, to start learning about the work of the spirit world. Follow me.”

The two brothers were surprised by Count Laurence’s words.

It sounded like his father was telling him to train his son before handing over the estate.

“Father, I will go too.”

“Me too!”

His two sons stood up, but Count Laurence shook his head coldly.

“You guys don’t need to come. It’ll just make a fuss. Just finish eating.”

Then he took Chris to the audience room.

Ray also put a handful of food into his mouth and ran after Chris.

I had eaten enough, and I thought the audience room would be more fun.

#

In the audience room, the village chief of Seongha Village was waiting.

He was fidgeting and not even drinking the black tea the maid had given him, but instead kept stroking his white beard.

The village chief jumped to his feet as Count Laurence opened the door to the audience room and entered.

“Village chief. I heard a brief story from the butler. Who else is missing?”

“Yes. This time it’s the foggy forest.”

In the past month, nearly 10 people have gone missing in the foggy forest.

We sent the Knights of the Territory to search, but we were unable to find any clues.

“Who is missing?”

“My Lord, the one who went missing this time is my son.”

“What? The village chief’s son?”

“I told him not to go into the foggy forest because it was dangerous, but he went in to cut down trees, and in the end… .”

The village chief crumpled the straw hat in his hand and made a pained expression.

“I guess the Knights can’t find the missing people?”

Count Lawrence nodded at Chris’ question.

That was understandable.

The knights of the Delun Territory were of a much lower level than the knights of the Territory.

The reason is that he is the father of Count Laurence. During his time as a former lord, he participated in the vanguard of the Demon World Expeditionary Force, and almost all of the skilled knights died.

After that, they were unable to hire good knights and only old knights remained.

It was considered that there was no need to reorganize the Knights Templar as the era of peace continued without war.

It was perhaps natural that the knights, whose average age was over 50 and who complained of muscle pain when it rained, could not properly search.

“Ray, is there any way to find the missing person using the summoner’s ability?”

Ray thought about Chris’s question for a moment,

“Thunder Tiger has quite developed senses. Maybe he can figure something out.”

Originally, carnivorous animals often had excellent sight, hearing, and smell for hunting.

Thunder Tiger was a spirit-level monster among them, so its senses were especially keen.

“Father, I will summon Thunder Tiger and search for the missing people.”

“Is that true? I would appreciate your help.”

After several failed searches, Count Laurence’s trust in the Knights Templar had fallen to rock bottom.

Even if we sent the Knights back to the Foggy Forest, it didn’t seem like they would be able to find the missing people.

On the other hand, Chris had been making great contributions to the Academy with his summoning abilities, so I wanted to give him a try.

The village chief quickly stood up from his seat when he heard that Master Chris, who had been active in the academy and even participated in the parade yesterday, would be attending in person.

“Master, I will guide you through the foggy forest. I know the path my son takes to cut wood.”

I was a little worried about the village chief, who was starting to turn gray with age, but it seemed like a quicker investigation would be to start by searching the places where my missing son might have gone, as the village chief had said.

“Then, please.”

At Chris’s words, the village chief seemed to have regained his spirits and prepared to head straight to the foggy forest.

“Just in case, I’ll send two young knights from the Order to accompany you. Be careful.”

“Thank you, Father.”

#

Although Count Laurence said they were young knights, the average age of the knights was over 50.

The two knights who met in front of the main gate of the castle looked to be in their middle ages, in their 40s at best.

The belly was sticking out like a tadpole and the head was peeling off little by little.

“Don’t worry, my lord. If anything happens, we’ll protect you.”

The middle-aged knight, who seemed to be his senior, spoke brazenly, but looking at his flabby arms with no visible muscle, he didn’t seem trustworthy at all.

The four of them, Chris, Ray, and two knights, followed the village chief into the foggy forest.

“My son worked cutting down oak trees around here.”

There were many good oak trees in the foggy forest.

Because it was a humid land, it was covered in gray fog most of the year, so it was called the Fog Forest.

“The oak trees are gathered around here, so the son wouldn’t have gone far.”

At the village chief’s words, Chris summoned Thunder Tiger to find out the whereabouts of the village chief’s son.

“Summon Thunder Tiger!”

A light flashed from the summoning staff.

-Grrr!

Thunder Tiger greeted Chris with a low growl.

“Thunder Tiger, please find any traces of human blood around here.”

Chris reasoned that if the chief’s son had been attacked, there would be bloodstains.

-Grrr.

Thunder Tiger started walking around, looking around as Chris had said.

“Can Thunder Tiger find it?”

“Don’t worry. He’s a natural hunter. He’ll find something.”

After wandering around for a while, Thunder Tiger’s whiskers began to twitch.

-Grrr.

Thunder Tiger started walking, growling lowly as if telling me to follow him.

“Master. Did the summoner find some clue?”

Chris nodded to the village chief’s question.

“Let’s follow Thunder Tiger first.”