episode_0167

thud!

Coo!

“…Ugh.”

Siron spat sour spit over the corpse of the demon beast he had just defeated.

How many demonic beasts did he cut down? I didn’t count the number, but it seemed like the number of demons I had cut down since Igor returned was well over three figures.

It’s a story about being bored and sick of it.

Fortunately, the guy I just defeated was different from before in size, strength, and speed, so I was able to become a decent opponent.

[Hero, I can no longer feel the energy of the demonic beast around here. How about taking a break?]

‘okay? ‘I was thinking that too.’

Siron, who responded to Latera, began collecting the corpses of the demon beasts he had defeated so far. The corpses of the demonic beasts piled up one by one and soon formed a mountain, taller than the tallest tree nearby.

Siron, who had built a very majestic tower, climbed to the top and sat down.

‘From what I remember, I think it was around here.’

Siron took out a map and a telescope from his pocket and compared them with the surrounding scenery.

The nest of [Heat Dragon Demodoras] was located at the edge of the Macal Mountains, near a steep black cliff. When I tried to check on him, the surrounding scenery was difficult to see because sleet was falling.

Siron swallowed his regret and took out a tin box from his arms. The box safely delivered snacks and letters from family members from Lien to the expeditionary force station here.

Siron took out a cookie with chocolate chips and held it in the air. With a crunching sound, the cookie gradually disappeared in the air.

I could have materialized Latera and fed her snacks, but there were a lot of priests here and some bad guys, even if I had selected them.

Siron, who had very strong divine powers and did not want attention to be drawn to her with the appearance of a child, fed Latera snacks in a special way.

[…Is today also a waste of time?]

Latera, who was enjoying the sweetness filling her mouth, carefully asked Siron, who had a sullen expression.

“It’s a bit hard to call it a waste… Let’s say it was going well so far, but at the end, luck wasn’t on its side.”

[Of course, it’s been snowing a lot lately. Even though it is not winter seasonally.]

“Anyway, it’s so uncomfortable to try to run with your feet.”

Siron swallowed his regret and came down from the mountain of corpses, shaking off the crumbs. Normally, I would have arrived quickly by following the arrows displayed on the screen, but… I didn’t know that I would have a hard time due to the weather.

‘That’s strange. It was definitely around here.’

Siron returned to the construction site, adjusting his fluffy fur coat. The unit members were busy installing the railway, ignoring the news.

Any other supervisor would have thought it was ignoring them and issued an unpleasant order, but Siron had strictly warned them not to play their hands.

Geek-

Therefore, the fact that the crew’s hands stopped now was an unexpected situation.

Rattling- rattling-

The metallic sound heard through the connected railway soon became an earth-shattering sound and got closer to where the crew was. And from afar, the shadow of an iron horse spouting black smoke got closer.

As always, the noble Crown Prince has arrived.

After seeing the flowing blonde hair at the forefront, the crew put down their tools and bowed down on the ground.

Siron no longer killed his unit members. Instead, the unit members felt fearful of Victor, who was carrying out the execution.

Siron watched the scene with a satisfied expression.

“How did you come here? His Majesty the Crown Prince. Hasn’t it been less than two days since you left for headquarters?”

“…Keuhum. A new official letter just arrived from Lien.”

Viktor was momentarily taken aback by Siron’s unusually polite attitude, but she came to her senses when she saw the members lying prostrate on the cold floor.

“This is His Majesty’s command. The extension of the front line will stop from today.”

“…Stop?”

Siron tilted his head and stared at Viktor. If you stop construction, do you really mean to leave unexplored areas behind?

While I was thinking about that, Victor knocked on the train’s iron door. After a while, armed knights got off, carrying a large chest.

The knights, who roughly lowered the chest to the ground, stood up towards their unit members with a restrained movement.

Siron looked embarrassed as he saw the situation that happened in an instant. Although he was aware that he was being rude to the crown prince, he approached his ear and spoke quietly.

“Has His Majesty given an order to kill everyone?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Well, suddenly an order came down to stop construction in Lien, and didn’t armed knights come down carrying some kind of coffin?”

“…What?”

“No! Isn’t this just a trick of His Majesty the frugal Emperor to get rid of useless prisoners after they are all used up?”

“What do you mean?”

At Siron’s next words, Victor made a dumbfounded expression.

“…No?”

“This is alcohol and meat given by His Majesty the Emperor. So… don’t be scared and raise your head.”

Victor, who noticed that the shoulders of those who were bowing their heads were shaking, quickly tried to resolve their misunderstanding.

Following Victor’s words, the knights opened the lid of the chest. Instead of the oat porridge and black wheat bread I usually ate, it was filled with meat and alcohol that were incomparable.

“They did a great job in a place where it was difficult to breathe. Even though your origins are unsound, you are allowed to drink alcohol for today, when you have achieved a tangible goal, so rest in peace.”

Victor delivered words of praise from His Majesty the Emperor to those who had prostrated themselves on the ground, and praised them for their achievements so far.

It had been a long time since it had been made and it was all cold, but soft white bread, well-seasoned ham, and wine were distributed. The faces of the unit members receiving their rations had bright smiles on their faces.

‘It’s not cheap… but it’s not that tasty of a drink.’

Siron, who also received his ration, scanned his mouth and casually assessed the taste of the drink.

It was a drink with a bitter taste. Now that Siron has tasted Yeo Myeong-seong’s miju, which boasts a strong yet clean mouthfeel and rich aroma, he has no choice but to compare all the alcohol in the world to it.

Because of this, Siron could not enjoy the untimely dinner. Instead, he decided to approach the ‘scar woman’ who was quietly sipping a drink in the corner.

Natalia.

Although she was not the only black soldier in the Corps of Engineers, Natalia had a hard time getting along with other prisoners, perhaps because of her crime.

The crime she committed was a serious crime that would destroy three generations if she was wrongly involved. Because of that, no male prisoners were friendly towards her, and prisoners of the same gender were very reluctant to her.

“Natalia.”

“…Fairy?”

“Do you remember what you want to say?”

Siron sat down in front of her. Natalia pondered Siron’s words a few times and tilted her head.

“Was now the time when you could afford it?”

“Luckily, I guess I remembered.”

“…Even though I look like this, I am a person who can read and do calculations.”

Natalia said and poured the remaining meat and alcohol into her mouth in one go. Combined with the scars on his face, he has a tough look.

“Kuh…”

“You drink well. Drink mine too.”

“Oh my. Thank you for this.”

Natalia’s words were lighter, perhaps because she was moderately intoxicated. To the point where I can’t see the line that separates what is okay and what isn’t to say between people.

“The damn emperor gave me good wine. So I think it goes in better.”

“Is that so? I don’t think I can feel that.”

“Of course, it may not be a big deal for the noble fairy Nauri. But most of the unit members would not think that way.”

“Is that so? Then, can I get another drink?”

Siron took out the liquor he had secretly taken from his pocket and poured it into Natalia’s glass. Natalia, who had developed a lot of trust in Siron over the years, accepted it without any doubt.

“…big.”

“So, why did you have something to say, so you asked for such a grand request to meet with me?”

“Ah… That’s what I mean.”

Natalia looked at Siron with slightly relaxed eyes. Black hair and black eyes. It looks similar to the people of Sileia. Even though she was drunk, she remembered what she should say to Siron.

“Now… it doesn’t matter.”

“Why?”

“Because I found out that the fairy is a better person than I thought.”

Natalia was hostile toward Siron when they first met. Siron, remembering Latera’s words, made a puzzled expression.

“Well, were you planning on calling me separately and killing me?”

“…Even if I say no, will you kill me?”

“Do not kill. I also realized that you are better people than I thought.”

“…”

Natalia’s face began to relax, as if there had been a change in her state of mind at Siron’s words.

Were you really planning on assassinating me? Even so, it would have ended up as a misfire for Siron, who was protected by divine protection, but it was an eerie story.

“Yo… Jeong is Prien.”

Meanwhile, Natalia was fidgeting with her empty glass. There were already several bottles of alcohol lying around next to Natalia.

“Okay, but I never told you your names?”

“How do you not know? Is there any other great man who can single-handedly cut into pieces a huge, iron-armored beast? Prien is the only one in the empire.”

[The hostility has almost disappeared. But, strangely enough, your curiosity remains the same, right?]

Shiron ignored Latera’s words and gently encouraged her to keep the conversation from breaking up.

“Isn’t it the only empire on the continent? I know that there is no great man who can match the reputation of my uncle, Sir Hugo.”

“I saw it.”

“…”

“In front of your eyes. A person who can single-handedly wipe out magical beasts like a fairy. It’s just that he is not a citizen of the empire.”

The conversation between the two continued like that for a while. Although she didn’t say it out loud, Natalia revealed a lot of information about herself to Siron.

However, I was not aware of it or conscious of it. Because he was drunk, and because he felt relieved that he owed his life to Siron many times in crisis situations, he considered Siron to be half an ally.

Natalia felt a bit restless and looked for a place to sleep.

Normally, I wouldn’t have even thought about sleeping comfortably because of the night watch, but today I hugged the blanket with a comfortable feeling, thinking that the knights would be on watch for me.

Natalia finally found a suitable spot.

In a place with dry grass and shade, where the light of the campfire did not shine, the energy of the demonic beasts was not felt.

You can sleep in peace here. Because of the alcohol, I wanted to fall asleep right away.

“Oh…… Is this a train?”

A familiar voice was heard beyond my eyelids.

It was a voice that wasn’t supposed to be here.

So I couldn’t sleep.

Natalia came to her senses and her vision became clearer.

It was an unsuitable outfit for the harsh cold weather. Red clothes that make you worry that it might be cold. Black leather coat. The figure is wielding several swords.

black hair.

black eye.

After checking him out, Natalia muttered as she felt cold sweat running down her spine.

“……Princess?”

“Yes.”

The princess of Sileia, Yoru, raised the corners of her mouth towards Natalia, as if she had not missed the small muttering.

“Natalia, I’m here to save you.”