CH 35

35

Beep.

-Name: Montmort

-Age: 42

-Gender: Male

-Species: Human

-Title: The Volunteer Leader of Hines Manor, The Hines Manor Deputy Manager.

-Current condition: Extreme fatigue.

-Special comments:

A skilled swordsman.

Knight’s talent.

-Current psychology:

Confused.

Surprised.

Distrustful of the viewer.

Worried about the residents, who were kidnapped by goblins.

Worried about the increasingly drying manor.

He worries and worries.

He may only have learned an elementary education, but he has led this pitiful manor utilizing his years of experience.

He is qualified enough to be hired.

“On the way, I saw goblin traces. Is this to imply that the goblins entered the manor house?”

“Y-you are right.”

“Why was the defense broken?”

Even though there were many goblins, we had a fortress. So how did they break through? It was just a concern, not an attempt to criticize him. However, he seemed to grow awkward at my question for some reason.

“I am not criticizing you. We will solve the problems of this manor one by one in the future, based on your experiences and memories.

He was taken aback by my words. It was true for those newly named lords to assign vital roles to their loyal servants. Occasionally, there were cases like his, but, overall, it was common for those in his position to find themselves in a dangerous situation when the management changed.

“That…that is…the volunteers were tired and wounded as a result of the ongoing attack…”

“How bad is the damage?”

“Dozens of residential houses were burned. A lot of people were kidnapped…”

As he was muttering resentfully, I rubbed my chin.

“How are the manor’s internal affairs?”

The most important thing was this. I would have paid more attention to this if it hadn’t been for the goblin assaults rather than the reinforcement of the units. Any manors in jeopardy must be dealt with caution.

“That is, there is enough food to last until the end of the winter…to tell you the truth, this year’s farming was a failure…”

-Even if you don’t count all the repairs to the walls and the manor house and services, the wealth received from the royal palace will barely last two years.

Perserk grinned as soon as she realized which part I was looking for. Whoa, you have a beautiful smile. Is it possible for you to be my secretary?

-I refuse.

She laughed peacefully and laid down on my thighs in the chair.

-It is already time to go to bed…hmm…

As she dozed off, I chuckled.

“It would be better if you get them.”

Montmort stared at me as I muttered and pondered. He looked doubtful at me, as his name implied. I took small bags from my clothing and gave them to him. After I handed over three fist-sized sacks, he opened his eyes wide.

And he was once again amazed by the contents.

“Plat-platinum coins!!”

Platinum coins. It was the highest currency with the value of fifty gold coins. Although the number of coins was small, the size of the coins was much greater than that of ordinary gold.

“Sir Pallis and Sir Horton should accompany him. If you want, you can take a volunteer member. Put my name on the receipt and buy food and supplies. That way, we can buy enough food and supplies that will last for a while.”

Since there were only two hundred residents at most, it was possible.

“Your Majesty, how could you give such a….”

Not only Montmort but also the others who were here to assist me looked astonished. As far as they saw it, I wasn’t the kind of person who could afford such a large sum of money.

“Don’t ask me where I got them. Because I earned that money fairly.”

Yes, I earned them. It was the money I earned as a good thief by robbing the Information Guild.

-There is no such thing as a good thief in the first place…

‘You are too noisy.’

She had a knack for responding while she was supposedly sleeping. They must have been furious when they later discovered they had been robbed of both money and information. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now anyway. They looked perplexed as I spoke but then looked down as if their doubts had been disappeared.

“If you ask me, I will follow him.”

It was Chamberlain Bernil, who was in charge of the First Prince’s Palace. He was related to Vespers, the royal palace’s head butler, and King Crianes’ right-hand man. Their appearances were strikingly similar.

“Yes, it would be better if Chamberlain Bernil followed.”

“In three days, we will return with the items that you requested.”

At those words, I got up from my seat.

“Then, let’s sort things out right away. The faster lives are saved, the better. Summon all the remaining knights and volunteers except for the minimum number of people who will protect the manor. Amy, lead the maids to clean the manor house.”

I will be back after taking care of the outside business. They stared at me blankly for a moment as I stood up, as if I wouldn’t listen to their opinions, then followed me as they realized the situation.

* * *

As expected, they were full of distrust.

Excluding the minimum number of defense personnel, the number of volunteers in the province was only twenty. It was even surprising that there were still close to thirty volunteers in the territory where most young people had already left. There were eight knights, which was a significant strength against the goblins, but given the level of the volunteers, who were pawns of the rabble, it was similar to suicide.

There were precisely one hundred and fifty goblins to deal with. With conventional tactics, the power gap was much too large and risky.

-Hmm…you want to make life as simple as possible; however, the numbers will change. If you look at the current situation, it is more than one hundred fifty. If it reaches two hundred…

‘No, one hundred fifty goblins is right.’

I would block any goblins above them. Berserk, who was making a sleepy expression, shut her mouth as if she realized what I was saying.

-Sometimes I like you because you’re wild.

“Thank you, everyone, for gathering. Everyone is probably seeing me for the first time. I am Davey Al Rown. I was appointed as the lord of this manor.”

I stepped up on the platform and looked at them. Their information was listed before me, but no one seemed to have the same outstanding potential as Montmort.

“As you may already know, some residents were kidnapped by goblins last night.”

As I said, they were upset, and I could hear them muttering in the crowd.

“I know there are some people who may want to find them right away. Or some people may be too scared and want to hide.”

The silence continued.

“But whatever it is, it doesn’t change the fact that they will continue to attack the manor if we leave it as it is.”

Everyone was silent at my calm voice. They looked full of disbelief, but no one opened their mouth easily. I was giving them a lot of pressure in the first place.

“Although I just arrived here, I don’t think the fact that I’m a lord has changed.”

“…”

“I don’t know you, but I have no intention of tolerating intruders entering my property. I don’t have the patience to wait for those who believe they can stick their swords in my manor and walk away with their limbs intact.”

At my words, they looked troubled. They knew. Even if they want to bring back their family and avenge them, they would be in danger if they pursued. It would be difficult to find them in the forest, which was like their front yard. Even goblins held an advantage on home ground.

“B…but dealing with them with our force is like…”

“Suicide!”

Of course, I could hear the volunteers’ shouts full of disbelief at me as they thought the same thing. There were young boys and old men who seemed to be in danger just holding their swords. The age group wasn’t consistent, which hinted at a lack of people.

“So, should we let them keep invading?”

At my words, they went silent. Then, they looked into each other’s eyes.

“We do understand what the Lord is trying to say…but we are the last volunteers left in this manor…if we die, who is going to protect the manor?”

“That is right! Goblins are very hostile to their enemies! If we fail, they will attack this place again!”

“I’m going with you. Don’t worry.”

At my words, their expressions dropped. Some of them gave me scoffing looks. Of course, it was normal to think of me as a prince who lacked experience, only believing in his young blood as he acts recklessly. They didn’t have to say anything since it was visible in their status windows that appeared in front of me. I sensed the reality when they looked at each other, muttering, ‘Now we’re all dead.’

The knights tried to stop their rude behavior right away, but I restrained them with my arm.

“I know what you are worried about, but I’d like to correct one thing.”

They, who were confused by my words, stared at me.

“I am not here as a prince but as the appointed Lord of Hines manor. And you guys are my residents, whether you like it or not. Now, we have become one family. Do you think I’ll let my family be killed?”

At my words, the crowd quieted once more.

“I swear with my Stigmata. Believe and follow me. I’ll make sure that no one dies and to eradicate them.”

If I had wanted to, I could have gone alone and gotten rid of them. But I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to see their determination and skills.

“Is it hard to believe me? If so, believe in God’s mark, the Stigmata that God gave me. If you still don’t believe me, follow me as if I were a lord oppressing you.”

Everyone was silent at my words. No matter how blinded from the outside world they were, it seemed that they had understood by this point that I was the prince with the Stigmata.

“My life is the most important thing to me. And yours is important too because your job is to protect me. Don’t ever think about dying without my permission.

The room was momentarily frozen when I unleashed an overwhelming fighting spirit. People tend to misunderstand the air that pressures the whole body as charisma. They looked surprised at my decisive voice.

* * *

The massive forest near the Hines manor was originally a quiet forest where only wild animals lived. It was the forest where the residents frequently came to hunt. Although a few orcs had been found in the past, they had little interest in humans. But what happened this time was that the goblins began to be discovered more frequently, and the situation had grown worse.

As a result, hunting in the forest became impossible.

“We’ve already tracked down the goblins’ home village.”

The eldest volunteer, Corris, spoke on behalf of the volunteer leader, Montmort, bowing his head to me.

“There are a lot of goblins if we travel across this ridge in front of us.”

It was exactly as he had said. A small village started to appear not far away as we moved silently.