Chapter 22 : Chapter 22
Chapter 22. The Wandering Duke Aselheit (1)
"How about removing the tent on the wagon and moving? Sir Edwin? This large centipede will surely receive great interest from people."
"Would that be alright? But if we do that, people will flock to us..."
"Hahaha. Although the escorting soldiers will have a hard time, we can just compensate them accordingly, right? Wouldn't it be worth enduring that much?"
"Thank you. Count Neudorf."
As soon as Isellin's condition improved, the Tolome family and the Neudorf family sent an investigation team toward the White Claw, where Blanc was said to have brought the Moonlit Grass.
From Neudorf, Count Berger, who was anxious for the Moonlit Grass, stepped forward himself, and from Tolome, Edwin, who wanted to check his disciple's achievement, stepped forward as the person in charge.
-Man! If you roam around outside like that, who will protect me. Is that how an escort knight should be!
When Edwin said he wanted to check the centipede Blanc defeated as the person in charge of the investigation team, Bartomyu made a bitter remark, but both knew it was a remark made in jest.
Edwin's age was also fifty-six this year.
Once this year, of which not much remained, passed, he would be fifty-seven.
It was the point where he, who was called the Knight of Godspeed, had to slowly retire from active duty.
Edwin had lived a life without shame spending his whole life as a knight, but there was only one thing weighing on his mind, which was that he had no disciple to pass on his swordsmanship to.
"Then I will open the tent. Count."
"Since the voices praising Baron Blanc are already high, if this is seen as well, his popularity will know no end."
"Hahaha! Still, he is just a fledgling who has much to learn."
"With an excellent teacher by his side, a knight representing the Felix Kingdom will emerge before long."
However, thanks to the boy he met in his later years, that last worry had long disappeared.
When the soldiers opened the wagon's tent at Berger's instruction, a black, gigantic centipede revealed its majesty inside.
Because of its body being too large, it had to be quartered and loaded onto wagons, but it was worth the trouble.
There would be no one who would just pass by after seeing a monster boasting such overwhelming majesty.
Likely, many people would see this centipede, and at the same time, rumors about Blanc who caught the hideous and vicious-looking centipede would spread.
"This hard carapace is magnificent even looking at it again. Armor craftsmen of Baltimere would drool if they saw it."
"Certainly, the carapace possessed by insect-type monsters is popular among craftsmen. Since it is hard and light, many knights seek it."
The hard carapace of insect-type monsters, a material that was hard yet light, was a material in high demand.
Due to the characteristics of the material, it was impossible to repair when damaged, but there were advantages that offset such disadvantages and more.
"The carapace is the carapace, but perhaps within that centipede, an essence the centipede has gathered over time might be sleeping. If it is a centipede of that size, it is a plausible story."
"One cannot be certain, but I also think the possibility is high."
Sometimes, monsters that lived for a long time formed an essence in their bosom.
Depending on the usage, the essence of monsters, which could strengthen a knight's aura or make the body healthy, was truly worth whatever price was asked.
This huge centipede also looked old and extraordinary on the outside, so there was a possibility it kept an essence in its bosom.
It was just regrettable that they couldn't dismantle the centipede right now to find the essence because it had a hard carapace.
They would probably have to return to the Tolome family to conduct proper dismantling work.
"It is unbelievable even looking at it again. How did a boy of merely fourteen pierce the hard carapace and drive a sword in?"
"Ahem, hem."
Edwin coughed in vain and looked elsewhere, but Baron Berger did not miss the corners of the old knight's mouth curling up before his eyes.
More than the centipede's carapace or the essence that might be inside, what made Edwin's heart swell with pride was the arming sword embedded between the centipede's brows.
To be precise, the trace created by that sword.
Although clumsy, that trace was clearly the trace of the Meteor Shower, the signature technique of the Knight of Godspeed, Edwin.
"This centipede is a centipede, but it will not be as valuable as the discovery you made, Lord Berger."
"They are just dried-up seeds. I question if this is alive."
Although Edwin was proud looking at the centipede his disciple defeated, it would not compare to the joy of Count Berger riding side by side next to him.
While Edwin retrieved the centipede on the cliff, Berger entered the cave where the Moonlit Grass was to investigate.
The dried-up seeds discovered there.
Seeing that they were placed where the Moonlit Grass was, Berger thought they might be seeds of the Moonlit Grass. Berger thought the possibility was high since there were no other plants nearby except the Moonlit Grass.
And if the seeds Berger was holding right now were truly seeds of the Moonlit Grass, it could be called the discovery of the century.
Because he would have discovered the seeds of a flower that only appeared in legends.
Moreover, if he succeeded in germinating these seeds?
This would be an event that would surprise the entire continent beyond the Felix Kingdom.
"I am only grateful to Lord Bartomyu for handing over the rights to these seeds."
"They found their owner. No matter how precious a treasure is, wouldn't it be meaningless if it cannot be used?"
Of course, it would be most efficient for Berger of the Alchemy School to take them, but the Tolome family had plenty of ways to handle the seeds of the Moonlit Grass.
They could hire an alchemist directly in the family, or if worse came to worst, just sell them at a high price.
However, they handed the seeds over to Count Berger, giving up all profits that could be obtained from the Moonlit Grass seeds.
"Even so, it is an item no different from a treasure..."
"Hahaha! If it weighs on your mind that much, wouldn't it be fine if Count Neudorf also handed over a cherished treasure? To Baron Blanc, the original owner of the Moonlit Grass, that is."
Handing over the Moonlit Grass seeds to the Neudorf family wasn't simply because they could handle the seeds better. This was a silent pressure given by Bartomyu.
"Indeed, the future of the young man named Blanc is expected. I also want to watch how far he will grow from close by if possible. Hahaha."
Even if Bartomyu handled the Moonlit Grass seeds, which could be called Blanc's, as he pleased, there was no reason for Blanc to be dissatisfied. Consequently, Bartomyu drew a favorable result for Blanc using the Moonlit Grass seeds.
Although he spoke in a roundabout way, Edwin felt good hearing a positive answer regarding Blanc's marriage.
"What is the matter?"
"Sir Edwin, there is an old man blocking the front of the procession."
However, that good mood did not last long.
Because the shouts of soldiers were heard from the front of the procession.
Indeed, as per the report of the soldier who came, an old man holding a wooden staff was blocking the front of the procession.
"What bastard dares to block the path of the Tolome and Neudorf families?"
Flags bearing the crests of the Tolome family and the Neudorf family were planted at the front and end of this procession.
There was no one who would not recognize the crests of the Tolome and Neudorf families, high-ranking families of the Felix Kingdom, here not far from the capital.
Then there must be a reason for blocking the procession even knowing that.
"So? If it is just one old man, can't you guys handle it yourselves?"
It was a procession that even removed the tents deliberately to publicize Blanc's feat. If possible, it was better to resolve this without any unsavory incidents.
However, despite Edwin's instruction mixed with rebuke, the soldier was at a loss and could not move.
"What are you doing right now? Can you not hear me?"
"That is... the soldiers who rushed in to remove the old man have all been subdued."
"What?"
It was an investigation team selected from only those who could be called elites among the private soldiers of the Tolome family. Yet such high-quality personnel were subdued by a single old man?
"And... claiming he must see Sir Edwin directly, he is not moving a single step."
"Me?"
An unidentified old man subduing soldiers and looking for him.
Hearing that a master capable of subduing soldiers was looking for him, Edwin felt it was an unusual situation.
"I will be back for a moment."
"Please do."
Feeling that the situation was unusual, Edwin drove his horse and advanced to the front of the procession.
Indeed, upon arrival, he saw soldiers subdued by the old man sprawled on the ground. Roughly estimating, there were about 20 people.
'Who is it?'
Even if they were soldiers who could not handle aura, they were personnel who prided themselves on their skill. Yet he subdued these personnel alone?
Moreover, even while dealing with 20 people, not a single person died.
It is more difficult to subdue than to simply kill. The old man blocking the investigation team was clearly a master.
Edwin quickly drew his sword and walked toward the old man who had pulled a hood up to the top of his head.
"Reveal your identity. Old man!"
Since his eyes were covered, his features could not be confirmed, but seeing the wrinkled skin, it was certainly right to report him as an old man.
"Knight of Godspeed. Edwin. It has been a truly long time."
An old man withered like an old tree.
However, Edwin felt that the spirit exuding from him was extraordinary compared to his shabby appearance.
He instinctively brought his hand to his scabbard and prepared to strike down a Meteor Shower at any time.
"Who are you to call my name so carelessly?"
Intuiting that the old man blocking the procession was a master, Edwin struggled to find an opening in the opponent.
'I can't see an opening.'
Even in the appearance of naturally hanging his arms like a giant tree firmly rooted in the ground, an opening to thrust a sword into could not be seen.
Seeing Edwin, who had drawn his sword but could not bear to strike and was only sweating profusely, the old man spoke as if he pitied him.
"Do not struggle too much."
"...Who are you."
From behind, Berger, who also felt the situation was unusual, took out a reagent from his bosom and was forming a hand seal while chanting a spell.
Although Edwin noticed that the opponent's skill exceeded his own just by confronting him, he was burning with fighting spirit, thinking he could handle him together with Berger behind him.
"Wait a moment. Since I will show you my face."
A tense atmosphere like a taut bowstring.
It was truly a touch-and-go situation.
Even in such a situation, seeing the old man calmly taking off his hood, Edwin was looking for an opportunity, but after confirming the face of the old man who took off the hood, he soon made an expression of disbelief and lowered his sword.
"My god... Wandering Duke... Lord Aselheit..."
"I must not have come out to the world for too long. Since now the only person who recognizes my face is an old knight like you."
Time flows, and heroes representing the era are forgotten.
However, some heroes become legends and transcend even time.
Wandering Duke Aselheit.
He was a swordsman who had become a legend.