How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 288: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 (6)

“No. . . No, that’s not true.”

“Weren’t you a duke? I heard you were a duke?”

“M-Me acting so presumptuously? That’s a misunderstanding.”

The gazes from the other paladins and priests were even hotter than Johan’s. It was the first time they had heard that Halzedel had called himself the duke during the rebellion.

“Is that so? I guess I misheard.”

It was fortunate for Halzedel. Johan was not very interested in Halzedel.

If it had been another Grand Duke, they would have been offended just by sitting in the same place as someone who had acted so presumptuously, but Johan did not care much about what other people called themselves.

He wouldn’t have cared even if Halzedel had claimed the title of emperor.

“I’m sure you’ve had a hard time, too.”

Halzedel gave a model answer. The paladins next to him nodded in satisfaction, but strangely, the duke’s eyes seemed to have cooled slightly.

‘𝘞-𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?’

Halzedel was a little flustered. The duke’s expression had already returned to normal, so he couldn’t tell, but he felt like he had made a mistake.

That would have been an answer that a devout duke would have definitely liked. . .?

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘣*𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥.’

Johan did not hate devout people, but having devout people around him always gave Johan a headache.

He wondered if it was because he saw the paladins and pilgrims together, but it was as he had expected.

Of course, he was a guy who had participated in the rebellion caused by the saint, so it would have been stranger if he wasn’t a fanatic.

“The hospitality is poor, but please take a break. Let’s talk again after we finish cleaning up the fortress.”

“Y-Yes!”

Halzedel heaved a sigh of relief. He had saved his life for the time being, but it was still too early to let his guard down. He never knew when an accusation against Halzedel might come in.

If someone who knew him well told the duke, ‘𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦,’ he could lose his head with just a word. Fortunately, the people here were paladins and pilgrims. . .

“You’re really lucky.”

“I know. Here. Take this.”

Bolts received what Halzedel fumbled to take out and handed it to him, looking puzzled.

“What is this. . .?”

“It’s a prayer book. Let’s kneel down and pray together.”

Already, some of the pilgrims were settling down in a corner of the fortress and preparing to pray. Halzedel and Bolts sat down and began to pray together.

He didn’t know how effective this would be, but it was better than doing nothing.

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Sub-Captain Bars searched the fortress thoroughly. Starting from the basement of the warehouse to the secret space where the leader of the rogues lived.

“There’s a silver necklace here!”

“Are you going to offer that now? Keep looking!”

Of course, something like a silver necklace was a huge income for the slave soldiers, but Bars was not looking for such spoils of war right now.

He was looking for something to offer to His Highness the Duke.

‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

“It seems like they’re also searching over there?”

Bars’ eyes flashed with sparks as he saw Alanka searching another building. They could tell what each other was thinking.

“Keep looking!”

“But Bars. It doesn’t come out just because you’re looking for it.”

“How about these books?”

“Will those books be worth anything! You idiots!”

At Bars’ scolding, his subordinates looked away as if embarrassed. Still, some of them packed the books, thinking that they should take them at least. They had been ordered to scrape up as much as possible and offer it.

“Bars. There’s someone here?”

Bars went inside the room after hearing his subordinate’s words. There were several members of the vampire race like Bars. They all had frightened expressions, but they were trying their best not to tremble.

“They’re not tied up, so they must be servants, not hostages.”

“Could they be hostages?”

One of the subordinates said with regret. If they were hostages, they could get a high ransom. Bars clicked his tongue at those words and said.

“Where are the hostages wearing such shabby clothes? Expensive hostages are treated well even if they are captured.”

“Is that so?”

“Drag them out.”

After that, Bars continued to search diligently with his subordinates. However, nothing special came out.

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“You’ve had a hard time.”

“No, Master! I apologize for not finding anything proper.”

“The purpose was to occupy the fortress, not to loot it. It doesn’t have to be that much.”

Johan had to work hard to calm the slave soldiers. There was a bit of a fanatical aspect to it as he tried to get Johan’s attention every time he did something.

“Are those the new hostages?”

“They seem to be the servants of the fortress.”

“Is that so? That’s strange. Bring them over for a moment.”

At Johan’s words, Bars brought the newly found servants with a puzzled look. Johan looked them up and down and said.

“Their fingertips are too soft and clean to be servants. Aren’t they hostages?”

“. . . . . .”

Bars’ face turned red with shame and guilt. Johan said hurriedly.

“Who found those guys?”

“Me and my men. . .”

“That’s right. Isn’t that your achievement? It’s okay to be proud. Here.”

Johan handed Bars one of the decent swords he got from the fortress. Bars was moved and said, trembling.

“I will cherish it for the rest of my life!”

“. . .Keep in mind that a sword can easily be ruined if it’s not handled properly.”

Johan calmed Bars and his men and sent them away. As Suetlg said, the slave soldiers did not have much dissatisfaction. Rather, it was the opposite, and it was embarrassing.

“What is your status?”

“. . . . . .”

“I already confirmed earlier that you’re not deaf. I wish you would answer.”

Even at Johan’s words, the captured people remained silent. He asked in Eastern, so it’s not like they couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“If you hand them over to me, I’ll make them talk right away.”

“They seem to be of a noble status, so that’s a bit. . .”

Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be servants and slaves of nobles. It was clear that some of them had not done any hard work, as their fingertips were soft and clean.

There is a reason why people of noble status do not wear fancy clothes and hide themselves.

“I wonder if they might have tried to hide themselves in reverse because they were of high status.”

“That sounds plausible.”

Suetlg nodded as if he thought Johan’s words made sense. There is always a reason when customs differ from usual.

Since there was a possibility that they were expensive, Johan wanted to talk without shedding blood if possible, but the other party did not cooperate. The captains from the republic insisted firmly.

“There is a way to make them talk without shedding blood. . .”

“That’s just a play on words.”

“How about calling Vaytar and having him talk to them?”

“Who is Vaytar? Is he a slave soldier?”

“. . .He’s the son of Yeheyman and a nobleman from the East.”

The republican captains, who hated the Easterners, sympathized with Vaytar for the first time this time. No matter what, he must have been upset that the duke didn’t even remember his name.

“Ah. . . right. That’s a plausible suggestion. Call Vaytar.”

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Vaytar was sure that his skills were needed when he was summoned.

Giving a captive a blade and letting him go on a dangerous mission could be considered an abuse, but it was possible given the relationship of mutual respect they shared.

“But master, isn’t the battle over?”

“The duke probably intends to continue to the other fortresses atop the mountain.”

The slave overseer sensed something was amiss, and his premonition was on point.

“Ah, you came.”

“What. . . did you call me for?”

“I have a hostage here who won’t open their mouths, so I called you here thinking you might be able to make them open up since you’re from an eastern noble family.”

“. . .”

Vaytar’s face turned gloomy. The slave overseer wanted to say, ’𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶,’ but stopped. His master was in a serious funk.

“You call me to open the mouth of a mere merchant! Even a mercenary could do. . .”

The slave overseer grew anxious as Vaytar muttered and grumbled. The duke knew eastern languages, so acting like that was dangerous.

Fortunately, the duke simply watched without saying anything. It was a difference in degree.

“. . .”

“Why aren’t you doing anything?”

Johan was puzzled when Vaytar froze after looking at the hostage. The republican captain standing next to him cracked a joke.

“Is it his mother?”

“That’s right!”

“. . .W-What?! Really?!”

The republican captain was shocked by Vaytar’s response. Vaytar spoke as if he was annoyed.

“No, you imbeciles! She’s one of the sultan’s harem. The Valide Sultan! Do you not know what the Valide Sultan is?”

One of the captains fumbled to recall.

“The Valide Sultan, that’s. . . it’s a title for a concubine who has borne a child to the sultan, Your Highness.”

“Oh, that’s a pretty high position, isn’t it?”

“It varies, actually.”

The captain trailed off subtly. Among the western countries, the republic was one of the few that was well-informed about the affairs of the Eastern Empire. Naturally, the captain was somewhat knowledgeable about the Eastern Empire as well.

The harem where the sultan’s concubines lived was a treasure trove of information, and republican merchants often bribed their way in to deliver goods.

Having a child by the sultan would seem like an extremely high position, but it depended on the situation and circumstance.

How many children did the sultan have? What was the concubine’s own family background? Did the sultan favor the concubine? And so on.

“I hear the sultan has over a hundred children.”

“A hundred? That seems a bit excessive.”

“It’s probably an exaggeration, but he does have that many children. And if you’re a favorite, it’s hard to leave the sultan’s harem. The fact that she’s here in these mountains suggests she may have been exiled because the sultan grew tired of her.”

“I see.”

Johan nodded at the captain’s explanation. If she really had power, she wouldn’t need to hide herself in ragged clothes and would be leading troops instead.

That’s why she was in this state.

Johan spoke to Vaytar.

“Ask her why she won’t talk to me.”

Vaytar relayed the words, and the response was something Johan could understand.

“. . .T-That if I were to converse with one who has made a deal with a demon, my soul may be taken. . .”

“I’ve heard it, no need to repeat it.”

Johan wasn’t surprised at this point, but the others present glared at the sultan’s concubine in anger.

“That’s the nonsense of an ignorant pagan. Don’t mind it. Vaytar, try to convince her so she doesn’t get scared. I need to ask her about her family.”

“No. . .”

Vaytar was bewildered. He was a warrior who roamed the seas, not someone who could gently coax reason.

As if on cue, the baby the concubine was carrying began to cry. Vaytar looked at his slave overseer, unsure of what to do.

“H-Hey.”

“M-Master, I’ve served you loyally all my life, but you know I’m not cut out for looking after babies.”

The two easterners were in a bind, and the captains behind them were awkwardly taken aback by the untimely crying.

Johan clicked his tongue and pushed them aside.

“Move, I’ll do it myself. You’re both useless.”

“. . .”

Vaytar felt wronged, but he had nothing to say.

Johan took out a silver and gold coin and simply opened and closed his hand. The coins instantly disappeared.

It was a simple magic trick.

He had seen assassins conceal much larger weaponry than this, so it wasn’t much of a feat.

However, it was apparently impressive enough for the baby. It stopped crying and clapped its hands.

“A-Ah. . . the magic of a demon?”

“. . .If a demon were to work magic, it would be something far more horrifying than this. Milady.”