*Tap, tap.*
“…Not bad at all.”
A suitably sized yard, neither too wide nor too narrow. Lush grass and insects. A moss-covered wooden cabin, overgrown with vines.
It almost seemed like a place where ghosts would appear, yet, he was rather grateful. After all, he had managed to find such a cheap place in an area famously known for its expensive land—namely, the academy.
Although…
‘Sure, there are rumors of ghosts, a few murder incidents, and whispers of it being a hideout for criminals, but that’s no big deal.’
Despite the ominous rumors surrounding the cabin, Lee Han didn’t really care.
If ghosts show up, he’d just smack them.
If a murderer comes knocking, he’d smack them too.
And criminals? Smack, smack, smack!
That’s all there is to it.
So, for Lee Han, this home was incredibly valuable.
Above all,
“The cliff behind the mountain… is this heaven?”
He could go cliff climbing!
Just that thought alone made Lee Han feel exhilarated, and he was practically beaming with happiness.
It had to be a successful ‘move.’
* * *
Suddenly, he found himself relocating after three years.
It was unavoidable.
Getting a job as an instructor meant he had to commute to the Royal Academy instead of the Knight Order.
Even if he wanted to keep commuting from his original residence, moving was a must due to the 25km distance.
…Sure, he could run as exercise if he set his mind to it.
But really?
‘It’s just much better to move.’
Of course, aside from a move, there were trains and carts as means of transportation.
As I’ve mentioned before, though this medieval fantasy world hasn’t undergone an industrial revolution, it has plenty of oddly developed systems.
However, transportation in this world is astoundingly expensive.
Would a commoner even survive a month of train rides without going bankrupt?
So, moving becomes the more economical choice.
Of course, it was a hassle to scout for a house during the one-week course adjustment period, which felt more like a vacation for an instructor, but having found a home that suited him so well made all that effort worthwhile.
*Thud.*
“Phew, is this it?”
“Sir Knight, where should I put this?”
“Just throw it anywhere. I’ll organize it later.”
“Understood!”
Excluding fragile items, she carefully moved everything without making a mistake.
Though she was rather clumsy and could fall over at any moment, fortunately, Leira was quite healthy and strong.
‘…Can a wardrobe really be lifted that easily?’
Her impressive feat of carrying something that should have required both of them.
Now that he thought about it, the gods were fairly reasonable.
They granted her beauty and health but made sure her intelligence was woefully low.
“…She’d be popular at a construction site.”
Especially among the team leaders.
There’s no better laborer than her.
Of course, there’d be concerns about getting cheated out of payment if he took her along.
*Thud!*
“Wow, Sir Knight! You’re incredibly strong! You’re pulling trees out like they’re nothing!”
“I’m not pulling them out; I’m just breaking them.”
“But why break perfectly fine trees?”
“This tree is already dead, so if I leave it, bugs will swarm it.”
“Oh, I see! But can you really break trees with your bare hands?”
“Anyone can do it with training.”
“Wow! Could I do it too?”
“If you stick with me for half a year, or maybe a year…”
Looking at her natural strength, he thought that if he trained her for a year, she could rival the Knight Order’s backbenchers.
‘She’d be perfect as a knight!’
At that moment, as his ambition swelled like a boxing coach who discovered a talent capable of dominating the world of women’s boxing, someone interrupted their off-the-wall conversation.
“—What nonsense are you spouting? Just have a normal conversation, for heaven’s sake.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here, you crazy person.”
“…Why start a fight the moment I see you?”
“You’re the one who provokes me.”
“??”
“…Whatever, why am I talking to a half-troll anyway?”
“Who’s a half-troll?!”
…This guy has a surprisingly good sense for these things.
Jake Parment.
Lee Han’s only friend was shaking his head with a sigh.
* * *
Unfortunately, the warm housewarming culture to celebrate a friend’s move didn’t exist in the Pandragon Kingdom.
Instead, when you moved, did you really think someone would just go visit the temple church to ask for a congratulatory speech while making a donation?
Here is the continuation:
The horror of seeing “people going bankrupt” just from making donations was indescribable.
Thus, Lee Han became an atheist in this life just as he had been in his previous one. He didn’t want to go bankrupt.
“That’s an extreme example. The offerings at the shrine are merely acts of goodwill. It’s a hope to reach Avalon when you leave this world someday.”
“Enough! Don’t come here preaching.”
“…You heretic.”
Jake, holding a cross symbolizing the kingdom’s only religion, “The Light of Radiance,” recited a few verses from the Bible.
“O Almighty Light of Radiance, Oh Seven Archangels who follow the light, please forgive this unholy sinner and bestow your blessings. Amen.”
“Are you calling me an unholy sinner?”
“Who else could it be?”
“…Thanks, I guess?”
His words were half-joking, yet half-sincere. How often do you find a friend reading the Bible for your sake after moving?
What a considerate friend.
“If you’re truly grateful, buy this cross.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I’d like to just give it away, but I’ve heard that if you give too freely, misfortune will come knocking.”
“……”
Forget it, gratitude my foot. He sounded like those shady vendors at the subway station trying to peddle talismans.
Despite Lee Han’s grumbling, he eventually flipped two silver coins. He was not being scammed; trading the silver-plated cross at the church could get him discounted divine healing later.
In item terms, it was a cross that could be classified as rare.
“This is a cross given by an intermediate priest, so you might get a 30% discount.”
“Enough. Just hand over what you brought.”
“You’re in a rush, aren’t you?”
Even while complaining about not receiving a cup of black tea, Jake handed over the letters he had meticulously gathered.
Information that was commissioned through the Information Guild.
Lee Han could have purchased it directly, but he had opted for a proxy transaction just in case.
“Because information about the Grand Duke is being kept tightly under wraps, we couldn’t figure out much. It’s the same with the Duke. What’s written is just what others know.”
“That’s enough.”
He didn’t desire extensive details. He merely wanted to check if there was anything of interest within what everyone else knew.
“…Just as I expected.”
Fortunately, it seemed that the money spent wouldn’t go to waste.
Not too much, not too little; the information was worth exactly what he paid.
After reading it, Lee Han didn’t hesitate for a moment.
*Flick.*
“…A gold coin goes up in flames.”
“Be quiet.”
Using the letter as kindling, Lee Han crossed his arms in a laid-back manner.
“There are quite a few crazy people around.”
“Unholy people.”
“Unholy, my foot.”
They were all psychopaths, it seemed.
* * *
Duke Galahad.
Ever since losing his wife, he had developed madness, which made him obsessed with torturing and killing criminals—an incredibly dangerous person.
Particularly, he had inherited the demon sword passed down through the Galahad lineage, which was said to have the highest compatibility with the sword among the previous Dukes.
In conclusion, he was a deranged, perilous killer.
Next was Grand Duke Lionel.
Due to the family lineage, he had many wives.
Like a pride of lions, he formed a Pride.
He was also the bearer of a “mystery” passed down through the generations, and due to its side effects, he tended to pursue women indiscriminately, even going so far as to bother maids.
Furthermore, it was said that he did not take responsibility for the children born from those encounters.
In conclusion, he was a rapist who couldn’t manage his lower half and a negligent parent.
“But they’re all incredibly handsome, making them popular among noblewomen… Ha! So it seems that having a handsome face is enough to get away with murder and rape?”
*Cough.*
“Well, I guess having power allows for some leniency.”
That’s the romance specialty.
Being handsome and wealthy means you can commit any crime and still get a not guilty verdict.
…Wasn’t it a bit similar in his past life?
“Seriously, this filthy obsession with looks.”
“I think you’re handsome too, Sir Knight!”
“…Thank you, Maid. You’re beautiful too.”
“Hehe, I hear that a lot.”
“But what about me, Maid?”
“…Huh? Who are you?”
“……”
Jake wore a genuinely hurt expression as Leira blinked in stunned confusion, oblivious to Jake’s presence.
Not knowing that it was actually more hurtful.
Nevertheless, Lee Han, oblivious to their tangled male-female relationship, fell into contemplation.
The reason he sought information on the Duke and Grand Duke was due to something else.
To kill a general, one must first strike at the horse’s neck.
Lee Han was a dutiful adult who took the words of ancient sages to heart, and before approaching Roen and Irene, he was gathering information about the people around them. However, the results of his investigation were more serious than he anticipated.
Of course, if this world was truly a romance fantasy, it would be understandable. After all, the protagonists in a romance fantasy world tend to be somewhat broken individuals.
‘Their children probably aren’t normal either, right?’
Parents are mirrors of their children. This saying holds true here as well, and Lee Han began to understand why Isis had even made a “request” to him.
‘If I were in her shoes, I would find it annoying to have the offspring of such people hanging around my front yard.’
Unintentionally, Lee Han found himself empathizing with Isis’s feelings.
* * *
“If you need help later, just let me know. And… it’s best to stay away from the powerful. I’m saying this not as a knight or noble, but as a friend who worries about you.”
Well, that was unexpected.
Perhaps he had just come from watching a play, or maybe it was because of Leira, but Jake struck a striking pose before turning away with a flourish.
Alas.
“Sir Knight, that person seems a bit strange. Maybe they’re feeling unwell?”
“…No, that’s not it.”
To Leira, he could only be perceived as someone sick.
But still.
“He may be strange, but he seems to be a good person. I could see he was worried about you, Sir Knight!”
“He’s a decent guy.”
Despite having fallen from grace, Jake had decent lineage, belonging to a historically significant family.
He had claimed that his family had fallen due to unfair circumstances.
Yet, even so, he never forgot his loyalty to the royal family and had been seen joining the knight order to carry on his family’s legacy.
Unlike Lee Han, who was a delinquent, Jake was the model student of a noble family.
Yet here was this guy advising him to distance himself from the powerful—advising to steer clear of the royal family.
In a way, it felt like he was suppressing his own loyalty for Lee Han’s sake.
He valued loyalty more than allegiance.
…How peculiar.
In his previous life, he had only been bullied for being an orphan, and those he thought of as friends were busy stabbing him in the back.
In this life, he had met someone who genuinely cared for him.
“I guess I’m living well in this life.”
“Huh?”
“Such is the case. By the way, Maid, shouldn’t we start returning to the royal castle? It’s getting late for dinner.”
If it were anyone else, they would have recognized that Lee Han was trying to change the subject, but Leira had no such awareness.
Being the kind of girl who took people’s words at face value.
…Still, it made him a bit anxious to think she would be so naive as to fall for a scam.
And with her signature child-like bright smile, she said,
“I’m not going!”
“…?”
“I’m going to live with you, Sir Knight. The princess also told me to take good care of you, hehe.”
“…Isn’t that a bit much?”
Did she not understand what it meant for a woman and a man to live under one roof?
However, she wasn’t that naïve.
“Sir Knight is safe! The princess said so! What did she say? Ah! ‘He’s a man who can’t fulfill his duties, so there’s nothing to worry about!’”
“……”
“But what does it mean to fulfill one’s duties?”
“…You don’t need to know.”
How brutal, to scratch his pride in such a manner?!
‘Damn that woman, just wait until next time.’
As Lee Han ground his teeth, vowing revenge,
Thud thud.
“Oh, a guest has arrived.”
“Please step aside for a moment.”
An unfamiliar scent wafted in.
The faint fragrance of Cornelian cherry.
As Lee Han’s unusually keen sense, which remembered the unique body odor of people like a ghost, felt a sense of unfamiliarity, he slowly opened the door.
Even with bare hands, he possessed enough confidence to potentially rip a spine out.
“Ah, hello. I just moved in next door and was bringing over some firm Polenta. …Oh? Aren’t you Instructor Lee Han?”
“……”
“Isn’t it such a coincidence to meet you like this?”
“Um…”
It wasn’t about anything else, but this girl.
‘She’s terrible at acting.’
Lee Han looked at her.
Irene Windler.
There she was, looking suspicious while wandering around the yard—target number two.
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