Chapter 248: 131. Feudal Lord Jenald -2 (Part Two)
Translated by: A Passing Wanderer
Edited by: RED
**
“This is totally nuts.”
I shook my head while walking down the residence’s corridor.
In the past, Jenald, the Count of Ronia, had been chased off to this northern region for tax evasion. However, it was later revealed that he had been framed and the Holy Emperor ordered the count’s former territory returned to him. But then, he had requested that he be allowed to remain in Ronia, instead.
‘To think that his reason for doing so was for something like this…
‘Besides, what the heck was up with his attitude earlier? It was like staring at a religious zealot, wasn’t it?’
He was so utterly lost in his beliefs that not a shred of fear existed in his heart. Yeah, totally like a religious nutcase, who rushed along at top speed without applying any brakes whatsoever.
Although not hostile towards me, he still unhesitantly went and did something that could potentially endanger me!
“What Alice said was totally right.”
She had said that one of the Saints from the ancient times was capable of ‘creating’ believers. However, what we had here seemed a lot worse than the things she had told me while flying on the back of the Bone Wyvern.
At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to control the situation. The Imperial Family would have to keep both of its eyes on this matter and remain wary at all times.
“Hang on a sec, it’s not just this place, now is it?”
I rubbed my chin while walking down the corridor.
The slaves held by the Black Order back in Aslan had to be affected to some degree. Princess Tina was capable of wielding divinity, so it should be more or less the same story for them, as well!
Also, the refugees I saved back in Lome kingdom, too…
“Wow. There are so many…”
My head was pounding now.
I didn’t hold back on divinity when saving people before now, but to think that my own power would be this troublesome to control.
I had always believed that I knew all there was to know about my own skills. I had been far too conceited about this matter.
While thinking about this and that, I continued to walk down the corridor before shifting my gaze outside the windows.
On a spot a bit removed from the residence were the rows of convicts marching about in an orderly fashion. Since they were all carrying shovels, I figured they were ordered to remove snow from the fields or something.
It was right then that this one dude caught my attention.
“…Brother?”
It was Ruppel.
No, hang on a sec; Harman told me that Ruppel got himself a new identity with the help of Count Jenald, didn’t he?
What was his new name again?
[Name: Shuppel
Age: 27
Attributes: Has turned over a new leaf, excellent spearmanship, excellent physique, powerful divinity, attributes of a wise king.
+ Only the atonement for my sins matters. I must set myself a goal, and save people on the way.]
I used [Mind’s Eye] and stared at Shuppel’s distant back. His attributes had changed.
“…Wow, turning over a new leaf was real after all.”
I studied his attributes with a bit of a shocked face. Even his name had changed as well; was this what happens if you decide to change your name for good?
Just as I stood there thinking about that, Hans came walking down from the other side of the corridor, holding a gourd-shaped bottle. “Huh? Your Highness! What good timing this is!”
I turned my head to look at him as he quickly ran towards me.
That gourd seemed to be the one that he requested I pour some holy water into. You know, the one containing the sap of the carnivorous plant from Titalos.
Hans lightly shook the bottle around before pushing it towards me. “Please drink this!”
“…What the heck is this?”
I took over the gourd and popped open the cork, only for an amazingly disgusting stench to quickly fill up the corridor.
Servants and maids some distance away from us furrowed their brows deeply and glanced in our direction.
I too crumpled my expression at this terrible smell. “Holy cow, this is way more disgusting than the stench of rotting corpses!”
“You think so too?” Hans covered his nose and grinned in a deeply proud manner. “Please drink it!”
“Hey, you. Are you trying to get revenge on me for putting you through a wringer?”
I shot a glare at him, and he quickly waved his hands in denial. “Of course not! That’s actually a wonder drug that’s definitely good for your body!”
“…A wonder drug, is it?”
“It’ll help with recovering from fatigue as well as boosting one’s natural healing factor. Also, it should aid with one’s rate of growth, as well. Ah, of course it might not be much of a help to you, Your Highness. You’re already ridiculously powerful, after all…”
“Rate of growth?” I repeated, tilting my head.
Hans replied with a nod, “You know, Priests sometimes do this, don’t they? To boost their rate of growth, they drink holy water and train themselves… Although, it doesn’t have much of an effect on high-ranking Priests.”
Sure, that did happen. However, that holy water was too expensive and the method itself wasn’t all that effective to begin with, so most Priests were unwilling to rely on it.
“This liquid should be at least twice as effective as that method.”
“What about clinical trials, though?”
“Just who am I, sir? Aren’t I a certifiable genius?” Hans straightened his back and pounded his chest confidently. “If I say it’s fine, it will be fine for sure, sir!”
“…Why don’t you drink it first, then?” I pushed the gourd back to him and he began frowning deeply.
However, he still took the bottle back. “Seriously, sir. How many years have we known each other? To think that you’d still suspect me like this.”
“It hasn’t been all that long since we met, though.”
“Now watch closely, sir. Look how wondrous this medicine is…”
Hans took a mouthful of the liquid in the bottle. He then sloshed it around in his mouth before gulping it down.
And then…
“Woooo-wuphk!”
He hurriedly covered his mouth.
Hans’s face suddenly resembled that of a man who was about to throw up. He hurriedly opened the window and leaned his head outside as if he was about to empty his stomach there.
However, he tried his absolute best to hold it in and covered his mouth with both of his hands.
“…I thought it was a valuable medicine? Is it okay to puke it out like that?”
“I-it is just too disgusting, that’s why… Besides, sir. I haven’t puked it out. You’re indeed correct that this medicine is too valuable, and it will be very difficult find more of it in this world.”
Hans leaned against the wall, having lost a lot of energy.
I summoned a maidservant and had her help him up. Then I shook my head at Hans’s current condition. “I don’t need it, though. Besides, you said it won’t have much of an effect on me, anyway.”
Hans, helped up to his feet by the maidservant, replied with some difficulty, as cold sweat dripped down his face. “W-well, yes. That’s true. However, I was thinking more along the line of gifting it to an acquaintance of yours, sir.”
“…You want people to curse me for life?”
I took the bottle back from Hans and shook it lightly. While doing that, I glanced outside the window.
I couldn’t see my older brother anymore. He probably had gone away somewhere to do his job.
Since the task of removing the corpses of the undead was in full swing, he was most likely dispatched there as extra manpower.
I pondered that for a bit, before asking Hans something else, “You said this medicine is good for alleviating one’s fatigue, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir. I did. However, its taste is too painfully disgusting, that’s all.”
A mischievous grin floated up on my face.
I figured that it’d be fun to pull a prank or two on my brother. It had been a while, after all.
**
(TL: In 3rd person POV.)
The sun was setting below the horizon.
As the darkness came to visit the land once more, the convicts busy cleaning out the undead corpses outside Ronia began trickling back inside the castle’s walls.
“Oiii, mister gravekeeper over there! Things get dangerous during the night! Wrap it up and get back inside!” one of the convicts called out to Shuppel.
Even then, Shuppel continued placing the corpses on the wagon and tried to finish his job.
“I’ll join you inside a little while later.”
Sweating profusely, Shuppel still replied in a calm tone of voice. Other convicts stared at him before exchanging glances with one another, then shrugged their shoulders.
“That fool’s gone insane.”
“He’s like someone possessed, isn’t he? Doing nothing but work, and then he does more work afterwards.”
“From what I hear, he committed a huge crime before being sent here. Not sure what kinda crime it is, but he’s working his butt off to repent for that, apparently.”
The convicts returned inside the castle one by one.
The sun had completely set in the meantime. Now that night had fully descended, Shuppel pulled the wagon and also headed back toward Ronia. Even for him, being outside the castle at night would still be too dangerous to handle.
Right then he flinched in surprise, and his whole body tensed up. He let go of the wagon and quickly unsheathed the sword at his hip.
“Who’s there?” He glared at the darkness in front of him.
A person was walking out of the dense darkness; it was a Priest wearing a white robe, and a bird-beak mask. He was also holding a gourd-shaped bottle.
“Who am I, you ask?” the man under the bird-beak mask spoke while lowering his voice. He cocked his head to the side and shook the gourd bottle lightly. “Just an extra Priest passing by!”
Allen grinned mischievously under the mask.
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