“Hmm… this is delicious.”
The Count exclaimed in delight as he savored the meat of the Sea Deity that Kail had brought. Normally, fish lose their freshness and spoil if they’ve been dead for too long, and as Kail had mentioned, eating fish that had been dead for days in the inland regions was practically a dream.
However, Kail had Yuri by his side. The Duchess of the North and a master of ice magic. Kail asked Yuri to flash-freeze the Sea Deity’s meat, and thanks to that rapid freezing, the fish remained unspoiled and safely reached the Count’s territory.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. I never expected to eat fish here.”
“It’s expensive, you know. Fish.”
Even in a world with magic, not being able to easily enjoy fish was something this world shared with Earth.
To freeze fish with magic required hiring a Sorcerer, but even after employing one, making a profit meant transporting large quantities of fish. Freezing large amounts of fish needed a high-level Sorcerer.
Covering the cost of such a skilled Sorcerer while still turning a profit required transporting even more fish… This endless vicious cycle made it a dream-like scenario for inland Commoners to eat seafood.
“It’s fortunate that Yuri can use ice magic.”
“Father-in-law. You can casually call me daughter-in-law.”
“…Alright, I will.”
The Count let out a dry laugh as he watched Yuri aggressively woo Kail. He wondered what exactly was so charming about his son.
Well, now that he’s become a Master, there’s no lack in ability. Just looking at that, there’s no worry about livelihood for life…
Shortly after finishing the meal, the Count cautiously spoke to Kail.
“I feel bad asking you to do something during vacation… but there’s something I need you to do.”
“Huh, what is it?”
“It’s nothing special. Territory patrol.”
Kail’s eyes sparkled at the Count’s words.
* * *
While Kail was at the Academy, strange things happened in the Count’s territory. For some reason, the damage caused by Monsters increased.
It was strange, but the search for the reason didn’t last long. To help the suffering people, the Count dispatched Knights.
Then, from somewhere else, Monsters appeared again, prompting another dispatch of Knights.
Dispatch after dispatch left only the bare minimum of Knights to defend the territory. There were no reserves left.
“This is strange. Such an event is extremely rare in hundreds of years of Imperial history.”
“Then why not request support from the Empire?”
“I already did. The response was ridiculous. They said they couldn’t lend His Majesty’s troops just because we’re troubled by lowly Goblins or Orcs.”
If the Empire ruled all territories with strong centralized power, this wouldn’t have happened. But this world operated under feudalism, and the Emperor’s real power wasn’t that strong.
Unlike what modern 21st-century people might think, the Emperor wasn’t some great entity who completely conquered and ruled a nation. He was merely the strongest Noble.
And from the perspective of the strongest Noble, sending troops to weaken his own forces in this situation was something to be avoided.
“Well, it’s true… We’ve had excessive peace until now. Meanwhile, the Nobles’ powers have been stockpiling.”
The Emperor began to worry that other Nobles might eye his position if any weakness appeared in his forces.
Seizing the Celestial Throne wasn’t an easy feat, but the top is always a position feared to be coveted by someone else.
Thus, unable to rely on the Imperial Palace’s aid, the Count sought help from Kail, who happened to have free hands.
“I’d appreciate it if you could go defeat the Monsters and do a bit of reconnaissance if there’s any issue.”
“This is an easy task.”
Kail confidently assured him, volunteering to take on the job. With a Master taking charge, all of the Count’s worries washed away instantly.
What could a Master not achieve? Unless it was something like hunting legendary Dragons or toppling an Empire.
And dealing with a mere few Monsters was an overly trivial matter in the eyes of a Master.
* * *
“Are the expedition preparations complete?”
“Yes!”
In response to Kail’s question, the Knight demonstrated that the preparations were indeed complete. The lightly packed Knights immediately mounted their horses.
After confirming that the Knights were ready, Kail promptly gave the order to depart. Normally, this would be an order given by the Lord, but right now, Kail stood in as the acting Lord.
“Let’s go.”
The Knights spurred their horses simultaneously and galloped out of the territory. Since it was a location they had scouted beforehand, Kail turned the reins without hesitation.
After riding for a while, when the horses started panting dramatically as if pretending to die, Kail arrived at the village where the messenger had come from and tilted his head in puzzlement.
“What? Why is there nothing here?”
The village supposedly suffering from Monster attacks was deserted. Not a single Monster or person in sight.
Feeling something amiss, the Knights gripped their Sword Handles as arrows suddenly whizzed in from somewhere.
“Ambush!”
At the Senior Knight’s shout, the Knights drew their shields and blocked the arrows. Kail effortlessly deflected them with his sword and stared intently at their attackers.
‘Hmm… Should I just stay put?’
He could easily wipe them out in an instant if he stepped in, but he hoped the Knights of his clan would grow stronger. Deciding to intervene only in critical moments, Kail carefully observed the Knights’ actions.
* * *
The ones who shot arrows at Kail and the Knights cautiously nodded at each other.
“They are the Knights of the Meyer Clan.”
“What about that guy at the front?”
“He looks like the heir of the clan… Perfect. Let’s capture him.”
With those words, they readied more arrows and fired again. However, there was no way their arrows could bring down heavily armored Knights.
This led to a clash between cold weapons—swords and spears—but they were confident.
‘Those Meyer Clan Knights are nothing compared to us…’
Their bodies were covered in tattoos imbued with mystical meaning drawn by a Black Mage. One day, the Black Mage appeared out of nowhere, approached their family, and granted them power.
All the Black Mage wanted was one thing: to conquer other clans. And that’s what they did. Targeting the nearby Meyer Clan, they launched staged ambushes.
The sudden increase in Monsters and the dispersal of Knights were all part of their plan.
“They’re coming.”
They charged forward as they saw the Meyer Clan Knights hesitate upon being obstructed by trees while charging on horseback.
As his subordinates clashed with the Meyer Clan Knights, he spotted the heir of the Meyer Clan standing far away, staring blankly. Believing a surprise attack would succeed, he leapt towards him.
‘What a young fool!’
Just as he swung his sword to cut off the arm of the unsuspecting youth, he soon realized he was rolling on the ground instead.
‘Wha…?’
Before he could comprehend what happened, he was struck by a sword blow to the chin and knocked unconscious.
Staring down at the ambusher he defeated, Kail tilted his head.
“I meant to knock him out in one hit. He’s tougher than I thought…?”
Dismantling their armor with swift slashes of his sword, Kail frowned upon seeing the pitch-black glowing tattoos and dark magic within.
These guys weren’t ordinary foes.
Realizing this, Kail immediately spurred his horse forward. The ambushers, locked in a fierce battle with the Meyer Clan Knights, were startled to see Kail charging in.
In that brief moment, they couldn’t believe their leader had been defeated. Wasn’t their leader someone who could easily overpower most Experts?
But that thought was short-lived. In the next instant, they were swiftly subdued by Kail’s sword strikes. Looking down at the attackers whose limbs were incapacitated, Kail spoke.
“Tie them all up. Oh, and that one over there too.”
“Yes, sir!”
Watching Kail effortlessly subdue the opponents they had struggled against, the Knights gazed at him in disbelief before quickly moving to bind the attackers.
As he watched them being tied up, Kail cautiously entered a random house in the village that was supposedly attacked by Monsters.
The villagers inside had been mercilessly slaughtered. Did Monsters break in and kill them, leaving the corpses like this? No.
‘These bastards…’
They had killed everyone and left the bodies behind. Realizing this, Kail clenched his teeth in anger and vowed to uncover the mastermind behind this.
