CH 108

‘Mungard…’

It was a city with vampires, and not just any vampires either. Perhaps Eugene would discover other Origins in Mungard. The city aroused his curiosity since Eugene only knew two other vampires—Galfredik and Delmondo.

‘I might find myself new enemies, or perhaps new friends. Of course, the former is more likely.’

Other vampires wouldn’t act favorably toward him just because they were of the same race. Such naïve thoughts were only befitting fairy tales written for children. Even human nobles and lords waged war against each other and shed blood for a handful of land, so would members of the Dark Clan, who were rumored to be crafty, show unconditional love toward their own?

Even Delmondo referred to his own ‘territory’ when he first encountered Eugene. It went without saying that it would be similar to others who would have accumulated territory and power in one city over long years.

‘Then…’

“Is there a need for us to sneak in like bandits? Why can’t we go around and experience Brantia’s situation first-hand?” Eugene said.

“Well, that’s one way to go about it. Do you have any other plans?” Lanslo asked.

“Mungard. What if we stride in with confidence and take it over?” Eugene asked him instead.

“What?”

Everyone, including Lanslo, expressed disbelief at Eugene’s words.

“Kwuuuu… Kiek?!” Mirian’s sweet slumber was disturbed as Eugene’s hand abruptly intruded into the pocket. Although it was originally Eugene’s money pouch, it had been doubling as Mirian’s bed for a while.

Eugene continued after taking something out of the pocket. “Why don’t we make use of this? I don’t think anyone would be suspicious if we were carrying some materials from the water dragon. What do you think?” The two silver coins glinted with a greedy light when Eugene rubbed them against each other.

“With money?”

“That’s right. Are there others in the city who can afford to use tens of thousands of silver coins at any time?” Eugene asked. Although he knew that he currently possessed a lot of money, he was rather blind as to exactly how rich he was or how wealthy people in other countries were.

“It’s supposed to be a historical port city, right? Shouldn’t there be quite a few wealthy merchants?”

“Well, if it’s a few thousand, sure. But who could possibly afford to spend tens of thousands of silver coins at their leisure?”

“Hmm. I don’t know about how things have changed in Mungard after the crusade, so I can’t provide an accurate answer either.” Galfredik, Romari, and even Lanslo could not fully answer Eugene’s question.

Selena, who had been quietly listening until now, said carefully, “Excuse me, sirs. May I say something?”

Eugene gave his permission with a nod, and Selena continued, “Even on the Carls Baggins Peninsula, there are only a few lords who could spend tens of thousands of silver coins at one time. Such figures will be rare even in affluent cities.”

“Really? Oh, right. Your father is Lord Gabriel. Right,” Eugene answered. It made sense that she knew since she stemmed from the richest, most noble family out of anyone else here.

“Yes, yes,” Selena said. She had always taken great pride in her family, but she felt rather bitter knowing that her family’s status and prestige did not mean much to these people.

But she continued, “Anyway, including the peninsula and the entire kingdom, there aren’t many nobles who can afford to throw tens of thousands of silver coins at once. Even if there are, they wouldn’t have the entire amount in coins. It would also come from the various goods in their territories or from their evil lands.”

“Hmm. So?”

“I believe such people will be even rarer in Brantia since it was recently devastated by the crusade. From what I learned, Brantia… How should I say this…? It’s supposed to be a very poor, uneducated nation,” Selena finished while stealing a glance toward Lanslo and Luke. It appeared that she felt bad saying such things in front of two Brantians.

“Well, you’re not wrong. Even among the nobles, there are quite a few who are ignorant,” Lanslo responded.

“It’s also true that Brantia is quite poor, master. Not many knights are able to afford chainmail, let alone plate mail,” Luke chimed in.

The two people unexpectedly agreed with Selena's words without any hesitation. 

Eugene nodded. “Then this might work. All right, we’re heading straight to Mungard.”

***

“Huh?! L-look over there!”

People in the port of Mungard turned their heads at someone’s shouts.

“A fleet? Is it an invasion?”

“There are only five ships. What kind of invasion would that be?”

“But that one is really big, is it?”

The residents of Mungard were both nervous and curious. It was exceedingly rare for ships of such size to arrive at their port.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Soon, the bells started resounding. The guards of mercenaries rushed to the port. In addition, the ballistae and the catapults located to the sides of the port and inside the breakwater, began loading as well.

“The ships have stopped! The boats are coming down!”

The residents were finally relieved when they saw a blue flag being waved from the lighthouse located at the end of the breakwater.

“Are they foreign merchant ships?”

“They managed to make it through that many pirates? That’s amazing!”

“Or maybe that’s all that’s left of them.”

“What if they are beggars asking us to save their colleagues from the pirates?”

“Then we can simply take their remaining ships as well. What’s there to worry about? It will be hard for them to return anyway.”

While the port buzzed with all sorts of speculations, a boat lowered from the largest ship slowly approached the port.

“I-it’s a knight!”

“They’re knights from the continent!”

The people of the port became frightened when they saw Eugene standing at the front of the boat with several troops standing behind him.

“Are they dogs of the central church!?”

“They can’t be holy knights, right?”

“Then we’ll have to take care of them!”

Their curiosity quickly transformed into hostility. Although Mungard managed to escape the fires of the crusade, it was by no means favorable toward knights from the continent.

Squeak. Tap.

Eugene stepped onto the pier once the boat stopped.

“I am Sir Rocca, the guard captain of Boros Wharf, elected with the consent of the mayor and the guild leaders of Mungard. Who might you be, sir?”

Thanks to the deciphering ability he gained from consuming the red mana stone from the drake, Eugene could understand the words of any intelligent being. However, responding fluently in the same language was an entirely different manner, so Eugene glanced at Lanslo in response.

“This is Sir Jan Eugene, the lord of a territory belonging to the Carls Baggins Peninsula and an honorable knight receiving the support of Maren and Moffern,” Lanslo explained.

“Maren and Moffern? That means you are coming from a city in the Kingdom of Caylor?” The guard captain asked.

“Yes. However, Maren and Moffern do not receive any influence from the royal family. They have no connections to the central church as well,” Lanslo answered.

“Hmm.”

Sir Rocca looked over Eugene and the others with a suspicious gaze. Eugene searched his pockets and retrieved a yellow piece of parchment before handing it to Rocca.

Lanslo quickly explained, “You will see from the contents, but this is a letter from Lord Ortos Rodrick, the lord of the Rodrick Archipelago.”

“Huh?! The Rodrick Archipelago became occupied by pirates a long time ago. Could that mean…?” Rocca stuttered through his words.

“Sir Eugene liberated the Rodrick Archipelago. It is now under the rule of the new Lord Rodrick,” Lanslo said.

“That’s…” Rocca mumbled in disbelief while skimming the letter. However, the seal stamped next to the signature at the end of the letter truly belonged to the Rodrick family, if his memory served him right.

“Hmm. There aren’t any problems with the contents of the letter and the seal. However, it is entirely possible that you threatened Lord Rodrick to write such a letter. As such, I will have to take you into custody and…” Sir Rocca started to speak.

“I brought. Monster by-products. Mayor of Mungard. I prepared a present. I will sell. Pirated goods. Cheap price.” Eugene interrupted him in raw, unpolished Brantian. Although it was not perfect by any means, he was able to convey his message. Rocca was taken aback. Fortunately, Brantian was quite similar to the kingdom’s language in terms of words and grammar. It also wasn’t too difficult to learn. Moreover, Eugene possessed the ability to decipher others’ words, and as such, he could learn unfamiliar languages much faster than others.

“And I…”

Eugene continued calmly while raising his visor, “I cannot reveal my family name. I am a member of the Tribe of the Night.”

“V-vampire knight?” Rocca exclaimed with astonishment when he saw the sharp fangs jutting under Eugene’s lips.

***

The rest was history. Brantians absolutely despised the church of the continent, and as such, they warmly welcomed Eugene, who was a vampire that the church had labeled as the ‘enemy.’ In addition, the pier’s atmosphere turned frantic once the boat carrying the by-products of the water dragon arrived from the Elion.

As a port city, Mungard saw quite a bit of traffic in regards to the by-products of marine monsters, but no one had ever killed a water dragon in the past. Water dragons were comparable to drakes on land.

“Sir Eugene! We could make a fortune with this! Shall we put it up for auction?” The captain asked with his mouth agape, but Eugene shook his head. “Don’t try to make too big a profit. It will be better to sell it at a reasonable price. This isn’t the only time we will be trading in Mungard, right?”

“Ah! Of course. I understand.” The captain nodded. He quickly understood Eugene’s words. It was clear that the mayor of Maren had personally chosen the captain due to his capabilities. As such, he sold the by-products fairly at a reasonable price to those that gave the highest offers among the merchants of Mungard. Moreover, the goods that were obtained from the pirates were sold in a similar fashion, and as a result, everyone began to see Eugene and the expedition in a more favorable light.

With the current turn of events, a merchant ship from Moffern or Maren would have a much easier time in the future if they had connections with Eugene. In the end, Eugene was able to make thousands of silver coins and win over the hearts of the people only a few hours after arriving in Mungard.

“Where are you planning to spend the night, Sir Eugene?” Rocca asked. He had become much politer in the meantime.

“I don’t know too much about Mungard. Nice place. Can you show me around? Sir Rocca?” Eugene responded in broken Brantian.

“Ah! Then what about an inn that my brother operates? During my grandfather’s time, even the Starna royal family stayed there for a few days,” Rocca suggested.

“Let’s do that,” Eugene answered without hesitation. He believed that a place run by the family of the guard captain would be reliable. However, less than ten minutes after departing for the inn, Eugene started to slightly regret his decision.

***

Eugene was no longer curious to see a port city of a foreign nation.

He could be considered eye-catching in the kingdom, but it was to an entirely new level in Mungard. Eugene felt as if he was a clown.

Whisper! Whisper!

All the passersby whispered while stealing glances at him when Eugene passed by with his men. At first, he did not know why he was attracting so much attention, but he finally understood now.

“There are very few people with plate mail, let alone plate armor,” Eugene remarked.

“I told you earlier, right? Brantia is very poor. Something similar to what you are wearing, only the great nobles and royalties could possess such things in Brantia. In the first place, the skilled dwarven craftsmen would have headed to the empire or the kingdoms in the continent, not Brantia,” Lanslo answered.

“Hmm. But I thought the northern dwarves gifted these to the duchy, right? If they were that close, they must have visited Brantia quite a bit,” Eugene asked while tapping Wolfslaughter and Madarazika.

Lanslo responded with a smirk. “The northern dwarves may sell items, but they will not send anyone. Why do you think the emperors of the Roman Empire often attempted to subjugate the dwarves?”

“Is that so? Anyway, all of this feels a little burdensome,” Eugene commented.

“Haha! I don’t think Sir Galfredik shares the same sentiment.” Lanslo boisterously laughed. Eugene’s gaze headed toward Galfredik, who was following right behind Sir Rocca.

Galfredik had his head held up high like a general, and it appeared that he was enjoying the attention.

“It shouldn’t be detrimental. It will be a hot topic that three knights armed in plate armor arrived from the continent and sold rare goods on the wharf,” Lanslo commented.

“And the fact that I revealed my identity as a vampire?” Eugene asked.

“In fact, that would probably be the biggest topic,” Lanslo answered.

“Hmm. I thought they would be at least a little scared. I was a little surprised by their reaction,” Eugene said.

“That is because most members of the Dark Clan in Brantia suck blood from slaves. The poor, impoverished ones sometimes commit murder, but so do humans. The same goes for the fact that if you commit murder and are caught, you’ll receive the death penalty,” Lanslo explained.

“So, it’s not a problem even if you reveal your identity, as long as you drink blood legally?” Eugene asked.

“Yes. Customs and laws vary between regions and cities, but they don’t care too much unless you forcibly drink blood or kill others. Of course, that doesn’t mean that all vampires would reveal their identities,” Lanslo responded.

“Only those who are confident will, right?” Eugene asked.

“That’s right. After all, although vampires are stronger than humans, they are weak to silver and sunlight. Revealing one’s identity is an expression of confidence, a type of statement,” Lanslo explained.

Perhaps only Origins like Eugene had the confidence to reveal their identities.

“Anyway, since you have revealed your identity as a member of the Dark Clan, Sir Eugene. The aristocratic society of Mungard must be in a frenzy. We may be faced with a flood of invitations starting this evening,” Lanslo said.

“Well, that’s partly why I revealed my identity as well,” Eugene answered. In a world where status and power determined many things, ‘fame’ played an extremely important factor as well. However, though Eugene was quite famous in the Caylor Kingdom, he was simply a nameless foreign knight in Brantia.

Rumors were often spread by word of mouth through merchants and minstrels on the continent, but Brantia had little to no traffic from the continental merchants, and there was also no possibility of a minstrel passionate enough to cross the sea.

As such, Eugene made a plan to establish his own reputation. He would first make use of the silver coins he gained from the royalists, as well as the by-products of the water dragon. Then, he would reveal his identity as a vampire knight.

He would become known as an extremely rich, strong knight who was capable of hunting a giant sea monster. On top of that, he was also a member of the Dark Clan visiting Brantia and Mungard for the first time!

“It would be nice if the Dark Clan’s nobles invited us,” Mirian commented.

Would they find any Origins? And if so, how would they react and respond?

Eugene’s curiosity continued to simmer.