VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 25
Fragrance and Stench
Valdrova Castle Banquet Hall.
Ferda was watching the knights gathering from above.
"Disgusting things."
Ruri, who had been looking down at the banquet hall beside him, said that.
"Your misanthropy seems too severe."
Е n û m.а̂.. і̌ d̀
"It's not misanthropy, those things are disgusting."
Ruri, as if she couldn't stand it any longer, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"When you say wandering knights, I thought they'd be similar to field mice, but how... can they be even worse?"
They were covered from head to toe in perfume slathered on thick.
But that was only by human nose standards; to Ruri, a dragon spawn, it wasn't.
Ruri dry-heaved.
W е b́ nŏ v̈ е̄ l. Е n̆u m̌а
"Do humans really go around giving off this weird smell? What is this filth-trash smell that's neither odor nor fragrance?"
Ferda nodded as if understanding.
"When having an audience with the king, this much is basic."
"Not washing, you mean?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Ruri asked with eyes asking if he was serious, and Ferda nodded again.
"That's one of the virtues of a knight. Washing away smell is a disgrace as a knight. Even if they arrived in a hurry, the important thing is that they're people who can produce fragrance."
E nū_ṁ а̂_
"You know the barbaric custom well."
"Since I'm from a knight family, it turned out that way."
Ferda had also thought it was a barbaric custom since long ago.
Probably most knights think that way too.
It's just maintained for the sake of that damn tradition.
If it's tradition, imperial knights are bastards who'd stab even their own fathers.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"By any chance, will Ferda-nim do that too?"
"Since I'm not a knight, what reason would there be to do that unnecessarily?"
Ferda likes cleanliness.
When he lived in the bathroom, he always kept the bathroom clean, and cleanliness has become an inseparable part of him now.
"It seems everyone's gathered now. What will you do?"
"Hmm......"
Е n ú m ӓ. їd
Ferda observed the people carefully once more.
'As expected, he's not here.'
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Ferda, who lured wandering knights saying he'd give territory if they offered 30 monsters.
It was a condition set to gather monster corpses at once, but at the same time, there was also a reason to gather and see the wandering knights.
'The Walking Fortress, Alberto, isn't here?'
A wandering knight wrapped in armor hard and heavy like a turtle's shell, carrying a greatsword in one hand and a tower shield in the other.
Ėn̆ ǔm ă
He walks the wandering path on two legs without a single horse or squire; he's shabby yet simultaneously a noble knight.
'I know he's originally someone with no interest in territory or loyalty, but I thought he'd be interested in the Far East.'
He swore to fight everything that threatens humanity.
Naturally, the Far East is exposed to many threats, so I thought the Walking Fortress would want that position.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"Is there someone you're looking for?"
While scanning with his eyes, Ruri asked slyly.
Wе bn̂ov ê l Е n̊ ûm a
"If I'm looking, I'm looking, but if I'm not, I'm not."
"What does that mean?"
"It's the same as hoping a silver coin fell on the road while walking. Let's stop the chatter and go down now."
"Yes."
Ruri's index finger pointed at Ferda's toes.
She flicked her finger. A white vortex began rotating quietly beneath Ferda's feet.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Ferda felt his body becoming light.
'Heaven Stair, huh.'
3rd-circle magic that allows slow, safe descent from midair to ground.
Despite being trivial and useless, it was one of the magics frequently used for nobles' dignity maintenance.
Ferda stepped on air, and his body slowly descended diagonally toward the dais.
"Huh?"
Ѐnu ma. і̀d̆
Someone spotted Ferda and made a sound.
"Someone's coming down."
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"That... is this castle's master?"
The clueless wandering knights just blankly watched him descend.
Ferda placed his hands behind his back and set foot on the dais.
He spun around right there and looked down at the wandering knights.
Wе b̆ ñ оv́ е̊ l Е n̂_üm̆â
The noble dignity of a great archmage befitting the elegant magic.
Even the clueless wandering knights had no choice but to shut their mouths.
"Good to see you."
He greeted them in a solemn voice.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
* * *
Stefan, who had been watching Ferda, momentarily lost his soul at the extraordinary sight.
Е n̂ům̈ a
'That's Valdrova's pillar-servant? A stupid rookie drunk on power?'
It couldn't help but be amazing.
He'd heard the Gongwang's fiancée was a young brat who just became an adult, but he really was young.
Among the wandering knights, there was no one younger than him, and even the age difference with the youngest wandering knight was 5 years.
'Yet he overflows with dignity, like... a family head who's guarded his position for decades, his charisma is no less.'
Even though he's 5+ years younger, he doesn't dare think of pushing in with age.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
'This isn't the time for this!'
Stefan, captured by his appearance, came to his senses.
Stretching his legs stiffly before the king!
Quick-witted knights were already kneeling.
Stefan poked Lobelus's side.
"Sir Knight."
Е̊ n ǔ ṁ а́. îd
"Huh, what? What?"
"You need to kneel."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Huh? ...Ah!"
Only then realizing, he urgently knelt.
It was a frivolous appearance unbefitting etiquette, but what did that matter?
Soon other knights came to their senses and knelt too.
Е_n umа̀
Ferda continued speaking.
"I am Ferda Valdrova, the Gongwang's fiancé and currently the Regent of the Gongwangnyeong."
"We greet the Regent of the Gongwangnyeong!"
Someone greeted in a resounding voice.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The knights who'd been spacing out belatedly chimed in with greetings.
The one knight waiting at the very front brushed his hair back.
Ẅе̊b̊ňо́v̄ ӗ l̃ Е n̆ ů m а̌
He tried to start his self-introduction before anyone else.
"It is truly an honor to set foot on the Great Power Ruler's territory. As for me..."
"Ah, no need for that."
Ferda shut that greasy knight's mouth.
Not listening to a knight's introduction goes against royal etiquette.
'What's the reason for blocking that specifically?'
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
No need to think deeply.
He had no intention of observing etiquette from the start.
"The wrapping paper you prepared is useless. Since the insides are all nothing but trash, what's the point of raising expectations unnecessarily?"
"...Excuse me?"
"Th-that, wh-what..."
All wandering knights made flustered sounds.
W е̌ bn ô v е̃ l Еn ùm̃а
The plate armor they wore clanked.
'Aaaah! Scary, scary!'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
His head was already dizzy from the perfume smell, and now the atmosphere turned grim, so he was out of his mind.
Ferda, who threw abusive language, just flowed quietly like a great river.
"Want me to put it more simply? It means you're all empty inside. You're empty carts that only make noise like empty bluffs."
Thud!
W ӗ b̈ n.о̂v̊е l̄ Е_num а̂
Someone struck the floor with a gauntlet.
"Your words are excessive, Regent-nim! Please withdraw that remark!"
A fierce-looking knight said that.
His armor had many scratches, giving the feel of a knight who'd been through countless battlefields.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He was the bastard who bought 30 monster corpses from Stefan.
'Wow, shameless as hell.'
W̄ ё b n o̊ vе́ l .Е̌ n u m ȧ
While Stefan watched with a fed-up look, Ferda looked down at him silently.
"Excessive words..."
He nodded as if acknowledging those words.
"If my words are wrong, I'll apologize to you all."
With hands behind his back, Ferda walked along the dais's grain.
His gaze scanned all the wandering knights.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Is there anyone here who caught all 30 by themselves?"
"Ugh..."
"Hmm..."
Some knights who were about to raise their hackles at the insult coughed dryly and lowered their heads.
But those who weren't like that smiled mockingly while watching others' reactions.
The fierce knight still kept his head up.
Èn um̂ а
Ferda this time asked toward those with heads raised.
"Among you, is there anyone who caught 30 alone?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Hmm..."
"Caught 30 alone, how could one..."
They muttered but closed their mouths, overwhelmed by Ferda's gaze.
Some again lowered their heads and let out reluctant voices.
Е̊ ṅ ũ m̄.a.і d̈
But
They mean wandering knights who purely caught them with their own strength without getting them from anywhere.
'There's no way such bastards exist.'
If a wandering knight had the martial power to catch 30 monsters alone, they'd already be under someone.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The fact they're all holding their heads high means it's all lies.
Since Ferda can't possibly know their business, they're brazenly pushing through.
W̃е̊ bn̆ о̌ vе̊l̈ Ėñ um а
'No, even a lord who isn't a complete idiot wouldn't believe that at face value.'
Stefan observed Ferda's reaction.
He made eye contact with those holding their heads high, then just nodded.
"I see."
But Ferda acknowledged it.
Just like that, easily?
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Then I'll apologize."
Ferda approached the young valet standing beside him and held out his hand.
She took out a scroll sealed with red ink from her skirt.
"Do you know what this is?"
Ferda held it up and asked.
Even the slow-witted bastards could tell what it was immediately.
Eñūm а . ì d̆
"Here are the territory ownership certificates and title deeds managed by Tessalos Walcher. Just write your names and they take effect."
The product all knights here desire.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"Anyway, since you offered 30 monsters, I should keep the promise, right?"
He placed it on the table on the dais and said.
"If you want it..."
That became like a signal flare announcing the start of war.
Е nūḿ ã
"Come and take it."
Light burst from all wandering knights' eyes.
Stefan reflexively shrank back.
This was a situation he'd seen until he was sick of it.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'Ajummas when they put up a 70% sale sign to clear inventory!'
The expression 'shrimp backs burst' fits perfectly - if you get caught between ajummas with eyes flipped, your body doesn't survive.
Web n̂ о vеl̄ Е̂ńŭ m̌ а̂
The opponents were knights, so the physical struggle would be even rougher.
So he judged it better not to look and lowered his head.
But no one moved.
Not even Lobelus beside him.
Stefan glanced up and asked Lobelus.
"Sir Knight, aren't you going?"
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"Ugh... ugh..."
He couldn't, not wouldn't.
Lobelus was suffering.
His two eyes were wide as if they'd pop out, fixed on one spot.
Wondering what he was looking at, Stefan inadvertently turned his head,
"Huh, heok!"
Е̄n um̀ а.. і̌ d
Stefan also let out a breathless sound.
'Dr, dragon?'
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Clearly the valet's spot.
There, a silver dragon was coiled, glaring with eyes.
Everyone was frozen by those eyes.
'What the hell? When did that get here? Ah, no, did we go somewhere else?'
Е n ůma.і̂d̊
Stefan doubted if he'd gone somewhere else.
That much deep fear was disrupting deep thought.
Even while everyone's bodies froze, someone stood up.
"Successeee..."
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Breathing like a dying old man.
"Terrritoryyyy..."
Ёn u ṁ_а
"Confirrrmation... withdrawaaal...!"
Like dying old men, they walked painfully toward the blank certificates.
As that race toward the dais progressed,
-Grrr...
The dragon's form distorted.
The form that had been still growled angrily as they approached.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The wandering knights who'd been forcing themselves to move froze again.
The silver dragon's body, which had been coiled, started moving.
-Kroaaaa!!
It roared as if its reverse scale had been touched.
* * *
-If you use Dragon Fear, what happens to the knights?
Ẃ е̇ b̆ n̂о v̂ e ĺ _Ӗ nũm̊а
Before meeting the knights, Ferda asked Ruri.
-Most run away. Believing a dragon is chasing them.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-What if you use it weakly?
-Hmm, their five senses believe a dragon is there, so they become unable to move.
-That much is appropriate. Can you emit some Dragon Fear when I signal?
-To the knights?
W̄ е̌ bn̄ ó v ӗl̆ E̊ nù m ӓ
-Yeah. If we're deciding the territory's owner, at least they shouldn't be cowards, right?
Ferda said that, and Ruri agreed to some extent.
'I thought it didn't matter who became it...'
Ruri's thoughts gradually changed.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
They say things differ between imagining and starting work, but the decisive factor shaking her heart was separate.
'Damn smell.'
W̌ѐ b̌ň о̄ vе l̆ Ё ńu mа
It was the smell.
Because of Dragon Fear, they sweat cold, body temperature rises.
Because of that, hot heat rises, and the sprayed perfume and body odor spread even thicker.
On the ceiling, the so-called Pao-un, a disgusting cloud, was formed.
Ferda could now feel the nasty smell mixing in too.
For Ruri, it was hell itself.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The bastards actually sweating probably think nothing of it.
They're out of their minds from Ruri's Dragon Fear.
Some tremble in fear, some force their feet to move, soaked in greed.
"Me, me too now... life's turning around...!"
"Dr, dr-dr-dragon wha-wha-whatever, no, not sca-scary!"
They're even spilling their vulgar true feelings, so now it's a three-beat rhythm testing Ruri's patience.
Еn̄ǔm̂ ӑ .i̊ d̆
'Want to kick them out right now.'
But Ruri did her best in her role.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
She tried to watch to the end what they'd do.
But then, Ruri's silver eyes ended up seeing it for sure.
The man climbing the dais at the lead.
Terrible smell rose from not washing for days.
Ẇ еb̀ n о̀v̀ е̃l̄ Ĕn̄ū m ȧ
On his skin, his sweat must have flowed and dried repeatedly in several layers.
A single drop of sweat flowing down, brushing that man's cheek.
Grime on his face peels off and seeps into that water droplet.
The sweat flowing like that touches his chin and falls like a water droplet on a stalactite tip.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Drop—
Dirty, smelly sweat soaks into precious Valdrova's quarters.
W еb̀n о̇ ṽ е̄l̈ Ёn̊ú m ā
Snap.
Sound of something breaking in Ruri's mouth.
The moment all that information became text stems and became aware to Ruri, she momentarily lost reason.
Dragon Fear emitted at maximum, covering the entire banquet hall.
It was just a split second, but that alone was enough effect.
"Aaaah! Don't wanna die!!"
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The knights who'd been moving overcoming fear started running away first.
Fear spread instantly.
"Move! I'm just going back!"
"Aaaah! Mommy! Mommy!!"
Knights starting to run unsightly, armor clanking.
Without exception, they all rushed for the entrance, and the banquet hall emptied in an instant.
W еb̌ n о̀_v_ӗ l Е nu m a
"Hmm..."
Ferda, who'd been watching, looked at the ragged front gate and said.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"Should've watched more, what a shame."
"...I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Bastards like that are everywhere, so just recruit again, right?"
Ferda's pupils slyly moved elsewhere.
Ёn̆ ǔ m̂ ӓ
"And the selection isn't completely undone either."
In a place that looked like a bomb had swept through, one man stood.
He wasn't a knight.
His legs trembled, but looking closely at the movement, it was because he was desperately holding on to not run.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Tears in his eyes, snot in his nose.
Fluids flowing from every hole.
Ŵ е b ǹo v̈ e l̃ Е n ū m̊а̊
A situation where he'd suffocate from fear.
Yet his pupils were directed at Ferda.
Whoever he was, he seemed worth talking to.
* * *
Valdrova Castle, Reception Room.
"Your name?"
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"St, Sttefan Pascal."
"Your name is Sttefan?"
"I'm sorry. I st-stuttered my name. St!e!phan! It is."
"It's fine. I understand, just wanted to confirm. Speak slowly. No need to overdo it."
"Yesss! Hoo-hoo!"
Stefan still hadn't escaped the Dragon Fear aftereffects.
Ẅ_eb n о̌ v́ ě.ľ Еn u mа
He breathed deeply hard, but that few times wouldn't settle it.
'Mental strength alone is extraordinary.'
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It's proven from the fact dialogue is possible even while his mouth trembles.
Ferda swallowed that admiration and asked him.
"If you're from the Pascal Family, you're related to that Pascal Trading Company I'm thinking of, right?"
"Th-that's right. He-herman Pascal's second son! Cu-currently serving as the Emp-empire head office br-branch manager. No, br!anch! man!ager!"
Ё n̊ŭ ḿӑ . i̇ d.
"I see. What brought you?"
"Se-selling monster corpses to kn-knights, th-then thought maybe the Grand Duke-nim might ne-need monster corpses, so came to t-talk once..."
A man with a clear purpose.
He couldn't give up that purpose, so he'd suppressed his instinct to run with reason.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'But what's bothering me is...'
The name Stefan Pascal itself.
Е n üm̈a
'First time hearing that name.'
Herman Pascal was the most famous merchant in the empire, no, the continent, so Ferda knew him well too.
After his death, the inheritance dispute grew large, but the main axes of that dispute were only two people.
Merkat and Tilda.
'Is Stefan a lonely sailboat...?'
On a windless day, a fate drifting forever, forgotten, dying.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
He has the qualifications of a successor, but with no popularity, a figure who'd die futilely.
Enough elements to think he's worthless.
'But if he's destined to collapse from lack of staying power...'
What if I fill that staying power?
'Merkat and Tilda have already firmly built their forces.'
Even if Ferda takes either side, there's no room for crumbs to fall.
E ňûṁ ă_.і̀ d̃
'Insert a new axis called Stefan into the succession dispute.'
If it succeeds, he can use the trade network and information of Pascal Trading Company, called the empire's best.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
It'll greatly help the Far East's development and technological revolution, no different from wilderness.
"You."
Ferda, having finished judgment, opened his mouth.
"While you're calming down, want to hear one absurd story?"
Е́_n̂ um а .i̇ d
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
