episode_0553

『Release has reached level 49!』

『Release has reached level 50!』

⁎⁎⁎

Several days have passed since the graduation ceremony of the Luminor Academy, which was attended by much commotion.

If things had gone as planned, I would have followed Lilia to the Northeast Plains as soon as the graduation party was over, but because of the incident, it was a bit difficult to move right away.

It was an incident where a Demon King’s Army officer entered the academy, and not just any other guy. What’s more, depending on the person he was dealing with, he was able to successfully summon subordinates who were stronger than some of the Four Heavenly Kings.

If we only look at the results, it would have been pointless for Harold and Delond to have remained, but if even one of them had left the Academy, Oberus might have truly reclaimed the Isle of Knowledge.

Naturally, the Academy had no choice but to be on high alert, and it took about a week to find and purge the Demon King’s subordinates who had summoned Richie Oberus to the Academy after blocking the bridge.

“I, I really don’t know…! I, I just moved it because they asked me to move it while giving me money… !! Aaaah …

-Denggeong.

… Well, it seems like there were some merchants and mercenaries among them who weren’t specifically under the Demon King’s command.

This is why you shouldn’t rashly get involved in something you don’t know much about just because you’re going to make some money. Even in the real world, there are often cases where people get arrested as drug criminals for asking someone to move something for them at the airport. How much worse must it be in this world?

Of course, Ethan and I, the warrior party, and the August siblings and Lilia, etc., contributed greatly to the subjugation of the undead cadres, so we were given considerable rewards accordingly.

The warrior subjugation party includes gold coins and medals, as well as magical tools imbued with Benari’s spiritual power and reinforced equipment made from Kelton’s bones.

The Auguste Company will be granted a 50% reduction in trade taxes for three years and the right to lease one building owned by the Imperial Family on one side of the Imperial Capital for five years.

And the Blackwood family absorbed the territories ruled by several nobles in the central eastern part of the country who were involved in this incident, and thus received the privilege of territory expansion.

To be honest, it may be a bit excessive compensation, but it was because Ethan and I played such important roles in this battle.

… I never thought that the thing that was there because of Ethan’s cheap prank would be used in that way, but if there had been no means of receiving that signal, the battle would have been several times longer. As a result, there would have been more casualties and destruction of facilities.

Of course, even if we exclude that part, we can say that the Auguste and Blackwood families benefited considerably, but that also includes the value of transferring monster materials to the warrior party.

You can think of it as receiving additional compensation for transferring the byproducts of a boss-level monster that should have originally been jointly owned to future heroes.

‘Considering that he has already dealt with Richioverus, it seems that he definitely has the ability. Even if it was a battle that was close to a shortcut… .’

This may also be because Harold and Delon, who had already left and disappeared in the original work, remained at the Academy.

In Harold’s case, he is killed by the warrior party at the end of Part 2, and Dean Delond is killed by Machart’s surprise attack at the end of Part 3. However, with Ethan’s rehabilitation and Machart’s early departure, both incidents are considered to have never happened in this world.

Actually, I also think it’s a good idea to use the resources that are available to you as much as possible. In the original, they were characters that seemed like they would break the balance too much, so they were sent off with an appropriate narrative, but in this world that has become reality, they weren’t sent off like that, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to receive help if it helps in subduing the Demon King’s army.

Although they are people with high social standing and cannot act as a ‘hero party’, it was a great decision to bring in the Demon King’s army officers and kill them in a society where such people exist.

I don’t know if that guy, Jo Se-gi, intentionally created this situation, or if he somehow ended up in the Island of Knowledge where Oberus had to improvise to resolve the issue, since we didn’t really talk to each other.

By the way, the work I’ve done over the past week includes punishment for the mean things I did to Ethan and me.

-Whoa!

“Ugh, huff, huff… !!! Huh, huff… … !!”

“… What if you’re already out of breath, Ethan? This is only the 9th time.”

“Ugh, lee, release… . I, I was wrong… . Th, so please, phew, stop… .”

-licking.

“I guess it’s because I did it continuously, but now it barely comes out. If it comes out this much next time, I won’t count it.”

“… … What, what?”

“I initially planned to do it about 40 times, but I reduced it by half, so Edan should show that much sincerity. I have complied with all of Edan’s shameful and unreasonable demands, but do you plan to ignore my demands as your wife?”

“… … Yeah, okay, uh… .”

“Before moving on to the next number… First, drink this up.”

“… What is this, Release?”

“This is a herbal medicine made with dried mandrake from the Witch’s Forest. It is said to be effective in restoring stamina, so if you drink it, you will be able to fill the remaining doses, right? ”

“… … .”

After Ethan was roughly punished in that manner, the shame from the graduation ceremony was completely washed away. As a side effect, Ethan had to lie in bed for almost a whole day with muscle pain all over his body.

From then on, we made a firm promise not to treat each other like toys. If we really wanted to play that way, we would do it only after we had clearly agreed to it.

By the way, when asked by Jo Se-gi about how Edan and I communicated with each other, I just made up an excuse that ‘a married couple is always one in body and mind’ and brushed it off. If the story about how Edan and I communicated with each other had spread to even one other person… then it would have been so embarrassing that I would have seriously considered cutting off all ties and starting a life of exile again.

After dealing with all sorts of things, it was the seventh day before Ethan, Isabel, and Iris drove the Blackwood carriage to the northeastern territory.

Originally, Isabel, who was now able to drive the carriage, was supposed to take us to the Northeastern Plains, but at the moment, there was an unexpected guest among ‘us’.

“… It was Eris, right?”

“Yeah! Iris!”

“… I saw you before, right? Do you remember? ”

“… Huh? What is it?”

“I saw you last year. In front of the Academy auditorium, with other kids… .”

“I only saw Eris briefly when she was a baby, Miss Agnes. Even if our Eris is an unrivaled genius who transcends her time, do you remember Agnes’ face when you saw her as a child?”

“… I was just asking.”

Normally, it would have been me, Ethan, and Iris riding in the carriage, but today, for some reason, there were four people, including Agnes.

Even behind them, the Aurelia chariot carrying Saint Cerista is following, and the imperial carriage carrying Princess Seraphine and Prince Antonio is following behind.

… Yeah, if you look at the lineup, you can see that it’s that combination again. Ethan in the warrior party. But with the Auguste family added to it.

‘I just want to stop getting involved now. Why do you keep clinging to me like this?’

No, well. I guess the Geumgangjosaegi have their own reasons for moving in the same direction as us.

To be honest, I couldn’t blame him for not moving as he did in the original. I was the one who changed the original story the most in order to survive, and because of that, the places where the hero had to move had to change as well.

I don’t know why it had to be the northeastern grasslands at this time, but… Anyway, since the direction is the same, Agnes found the carriage over there uncomfortable and fled here.

The only person Agnes can be comfortable with in a party of warriors is Seraphine, but she always seems to fight with Silena over the warriors.

In that sense, it seemed that the carriage with me, my best friend, Edan, who I had become acquainted with through various encounters, and the young child Eris seemed to be much more stable.

“Follow me. Ah, that, yes, s.”

“Ah,kyu,na,s.”

“No, ah, that, yes, s.”

“Ah, your, s?”

“Yeah, say it with that.”

“Agunas!”

“… … .”

“Don’t be too excited about Iris, Agnes. Honestly, at her age, it’s amazing that she can walk and talk.”

“… I’ve stopped talking by this time too.”

“What are you going to do by competing with Agnes and Iris?”

“Agyunas!”

“… I said Agnes. You can pronounce it correctly, so are you doing it on purpose? You can pronounce Lilith, Ethan, and Isabel correctly. Agnes is a name that doesn’t have a final consonant or a connecting sound, so I don’t understand why you can’t say it properly. ”

“… … ?”

“… … .”

Looking at the fact that Agnes is secretly interested in Iris, it seems that she also has some kind of maternal instinct.

With those thoughts in mind, Ethan and I followed the carriage procession that was longer than originally planned.