CH 14

One day in the afternoon.

Several knights from several villages returned to Clausel, a city far from the village where Ren lives.

They came straight to the baron’s mansion and lined up in front of Weiss, who welcomed them.

“What’s the matter? Report to me.”

Weiss, however, looked at his men, who were all refusing to speak, and tilted his head slightly.

“Why are you silent? Explain to me why you’ve returned.”

“I’ll speak first.”

“Oh, You’re the one who went to the Ashtons’ aid, are you not?”

“Ha!”

The man takes a step forward and appears to be at a loss for words.

But he speaks, still not quite organized.

“I’d like to report to you. We have confirmed the defeat of Thief Wolfen!”

“Oh! That’s good news! Mm? Then why are you hesitant to say anything? I’m guessing that he was defeated shortly after your arrival. …… No, wait. You said you just confirmed it, didn’t you?”

“Ha—-“

“Then who killed it? Roy-dono?”

“No……”

“Then was it some adventurer who happened to be in the area?”

The man shook his head again.

If that is the case, I doubt that there are any monsters that are superior to Thief Wolfen.

But then, Weiss was even more puzzled, thinking that there was no way his men would have just returned.

“No way.”

Therefore, his next words were by no means words of expectation.

It was just a confirmation, so to speak, just to be sure.

“You don’t mean that boy…. took it down, do you?”

But his subordinate nodded his head.

Weiss looked up to the heavens, realizing that this was why everyone was so puzzled.

“I’ll hear the details inside. But first, let me make sure that the others are still in their respective areas of responsibility?”

“We have returned one by one to contact you!”

“Well, then that’s good.”

Weiss begins to walk toward the mansion and his men follow him.

The group entered the mansion and went straight to the baron, who was in his office to report the defeat of Thief Wolfen. The baron, who was hard at work at his desk against the window, heard the report and, like Weiss, was momentarily speechless.

“It’s hard to believe. Even if he was the boy Weiss had been talking about.”

“But my lord…”

“I understand. It’s obvious who did it, considering the boy who was lying on the ground beside him, confirming his defeat. I’m not going to let the knights take the boy’s credit.”

It’s just that it was an out-of-the-ordinary act and they were puzzled.

Everyone was immersed in the same feeling.

“But first we must hear the report —- continue.”

“—- ha!”

The man who returned reported in detail what had happened since he arrived at Ren’s place.

This went on for more than ten minutes.

The baron spoke at the end of his report and dismissed everyone except Weiss.

“We must prepare a reward for the Ashtons.”

“Perhaps we could exempt them from this year’s taxes. Perhaps the Lord himself could go to the house at a suitable time to encourage them.”

“Then that will be the reward—-Goodness gracious. But we still have to continue to search for other nobles’ intervention. I still have my doubts.”

“That’s right. A monster as large as Thief Wolfen is a one that wouldn’t normally appear in that area.”

The baron, seeing Weiss who nodded his head, tapped on the desk.

“Hmm… It must be the work of the heroic faction or the royal faction!”

The baron stood up and opened the window to look down on the town.

Heroic faction and royal faction.

He didn’t say much about what these two words meant and likewise Weiss did not say much either, but had a grim expression on his face.

“…… Weiss. I’ll have you go to the Ashton family village once more in the near future.”

“Ha! You’d like me to ask Roy and the others if they’ve noticed anything unusual in the village?”

“Yes. I would like to entrust this job to you, who I trust more than anyone else.”

“—-I  understand.”

……Weiss replied and left the office shortly after.

After leaving the office, he was still surprised and had mixed feelings, feeling apprehensive about the content of the conversation he had just had with the baron.

“Oh?”

Weiss walked down the corridor and saw Lithia leaning her back against the wall a short distance past.

She was there with a graceful appearance that lived up to the call of a saint.

She looks up at Weiss as she approaches and opens her mouth.

“Is it true?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about a kid my age who took down a D-ranked monster— Thief Wolfen.”

Perhaps Lithia heard from those who left the room earlier.

I’d say that’s what got her interested.

“It’s true. It’s possible that the boy is a gem, enough to make me think this way.”

“So, is he really stronger than me?”

Weiss answered immediately.

“Without a doubt.”

“Then let me witness it.”

Lithia, who also said without a pause, took a step forward.

“I, as someone who has the ‘white saint,’ don’t want to lose to a child my age.”

“….. Huh. You know that you are asking too much, young lady.”

“Yes, I know I’m asking for the impossible.”

“If you’re aware of it, I’ll answer you too. It’s impossible. It’ll take a long time to get to the Ashtons’ residence and with the current situation with Thief Wolfen, we cannot be too careful.”

“…………”

“Of course, as you know, Miss, there’ll be no problem if we escort you. However, we cannot bring you along just because you want to be present.”

“Hmmm…… I see.”

Weiss thought for a moment that Lithia had given up on this.

But she quickly looked up. The expression she showed Weiss was dainty, winning and secretly gloating.

“Then, I should have a reason, shouldn’t I?”

“………… Miss?”

“It’s about —- my father and you. Your reward to the Ashtons is tax exemptions and encouragement from my father, right? But since my father is so busy, don’t you think it would be better if I went instead?”

Weiss couldn’t hide his surprise…… that she had even been able to discern the contents of the reward.

At this point, he cursed his own choice of words.

And remembering that Lithia is a brilliant student, not only with her natural skill with the sword, but also with her good memory and tireless efforts in her studies. He put his hand on his forehead as he let out a sigh.

“Fufu. I have to go see my father.”

Lithia said and walked away from the wall, turning her back to Weiss.

Of course, Weiss followed her.

“I beg you not to argue with the master today.”

“I’m not going to argue with my father. I’m just going to consult with him.”

The young lady turned around with a graceful appearance and still had a pretty smile on her face.

*****************************

Some more days passed.

It has already been almost two months since the Thief Wolfen riot and the season has just begun to turn to autumn.

The Baron Clausel’s villages were beginning to prepare for winter, and Ren’s village was no exception.

In the midst of all this

“—-Oh”

Ren had not been to Tsurugi rock in a long time.

He found some jewelry that had fallen on the top of the rock and his cheeks relaxed with joy.

“I knew it was there —- a rare drop.”

Whenever you defeat a Thief Wolfen that appears in Legend of the Seven Heroes, you will obtain a rare item. They can be expensive cash items or equipment that cannot be bought in stores.

“Okay. Now I can wear the bracelet without having to hide it.”

For Ren, cash items are better than equipment.

The money would benefit the village and he could forge the bracelets that would accompany the summoning of the magic sword.

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Ren stood tall at the top of Tsurugi rock, basking in the morning sun, and went down with the ivy created by the wooden magic sword.

Walking over the tree roots and across the lake, he heard the sound of hoof beats coming from a distance.

“—-.”

Hearing the sound, Ren hurriedly hid the wooden magic sword.

Not more than a few minutes later, a knight on horseback appears.

“Ren-dono! Didn’t we tell you to call out to us when entering the forest?”

“I’m sorry ……. I thought it was okay.”

“It has only been a short time since that night, so please don’t overdo it.”

(……hasn’t it been two months since then?)

That night, Ren, who was victorious over Thief Wolfen but got seriously wounded, had his life saved. Fortunately, reinforcements from the baron, who arrived ahead of schedule, saved his life.

His wounds were so deep that it took several weeks for him to recover.

However, the wounds had reached the internal organs, albeit only slightly.

So how could he have recovered so well in such a short period of time? To be honest, Ren didn’t have much understanding of the situation.

But in addition to the medicines the knights had brought with them, Ren considered it as his body having strong vitality —-.

Incidentally, it was only the day before yesterday that he was able to come to the forest.

After a short period of rehabilitation, it was confirmed that he is able to fight as before, which is why he was able to go on this excursion today.

“So, why did you go to Tsurugi rock?”

The reason why the knights are still in the villages is related to the fact that it has been a short period of time since the recent uproar.

This was because the baron had decided to station a knight in each village for a while.

“Actually, I was looking for something.”

Ren answered in this way, showing off the rare drop that he had just seen.

“Oh! Is that —-?”

“As you can see, these are the treasures that Thief Wolfen had hidden away. I’d like to sell these and use them for this village, is that okay? For …… taxes and all that.”

“I think there is no problem. Treasures obtained by defeating monsters become the property of the person who defeats them. Usualy, there should be a tax…..”

In this case, however, it has been decided that no tax will be collected from Ren’s village this year as a reward for defeating Thief Wolfen.

Other gifts and other items were also scheduled to arrive.

“So, the same is true for the Thief Wolfen material that you were asked to sell. That one will be purchased by the lord, but I hear that he will pay a little more than the market price.”

“Really? I have a feeling I’ll get quite a lot of money for it.”

“I think so. The material of Thief wolfen is not suitable for equipment, but it is valuable because it can be used as a material for medicine. Therefore, the wealth will be sustainable for the next decade or so.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

“Roy-sama won’t be able to move for a while, and I wonder if Ren-dono will be more comfortable with this kind of leeway.”

Yes, the tax exemption was partly due to this.

“He said he could move now, but when I poked him in the upper half of his body, he fainted in agony.”

“Oh, you’re being very hard on him again.”

“It’s okay like this. Otherwise my father will say he’s completely cured.”

The knight laughed when he heard Ren’s words.

“The heir to the Ashton family is a dependable person. Now then, let’s go back to the village. We’ve already done the hunting for today, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”