Ten days after leaving Dmitry, Roman arrived at the starting point of the Southern Front.
There were no lords in that land, and a little village was made up by people who wished to trade with soldiers heading into the battlefield.
They entered an inn to rest their weary bodies before proceeding to the training center.
“We’ll spend the day here today before heading to the training center at sunrise tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
Everyone was bright. Actually, they didn’t expect to have such good accommodations. Usually, nobles gave shabby places to their soldiers, but Roman had rented a large and neat inn for them to rest. It was a situation in which showing loyalty was inevitable.
The soldiers moved inside quickly, excited.
Roman also went in to unpack. He then read a letter he had received a month earlier while seated in the chair.
[I heard that you are heading to perform military duty. If you say you are mine, I will solve the problem right away. Still, I will not stop you as I know you want to devote yourself to the nation. Nevertheless, I cannot let anyone who might become mine get hurt in such a barren place. I have used my connections at the Southern Front. Always bear in mind that the Benedict family will always be there for you if you ever need assistance.]
Last few months, Roman was persistently courted by Marquis Benedict. As the head of the nobility, he wanted to take Roman away and use him to fight the Royal Knights and take over the entire kingdom of Cairo. He valued the Youngest Ranker in the Cairo Kingdom. Roman had already rejected Marquis Benedict, but he still wanted to use affection to win him over.
Even Roman being deployed to the Southern Front was done thanks to the connections of Marquis Benedict.
As he said, compared to the Western Front, which directly confronted the Kronos Empire, the Southern Front was peaceful. Still, according to the information Roman learned till now, the truth was different. McKean of Valhalla said the Southern Front was a ticking time bomb that could explode soon. Roman didn’t know that he would be deployed to the Southern Front at that time, but he still ordered Lucas to find the truth behind it.
‘In the end, I must go and see it myself.’
The information was true. And as he wasn’t assigned a desk job, so considering he would be busy soon, Roman took a break.
Nevertheless, Roman couldn’t close his eyes for long.
Thud!
He could hear the sound of men yelling and fighting right below where he was staying. So, he went down to confirm and saw that a fight was indeed happening.
Kwang!
“You fucking bastards. Do you know who I am? I am Henry Albert, the second son of the Albert Family! The descendant of the Cairo Kingdom’s famous family wants to use this inn, but you fucking idiots whose origin isn’t even known are saying that you will be staying here, and I need to endure this?”
The situation was obvious at a single glance. It was a fight that was started by some other noble. Still, he had to confirm the facts, so Roman went to Chris.
“What is going on?”
“My liege!”
Chris was stunned. He, who had just been on the verge of explosion, reported all that had happened.
“That…”
The situation went like this: Thanks to Roman’s consideration, the soldiers were just about to rest, but just then, the second son of the Albert family came in with his troops and then screamed for everyone to get out. This was the largest and cleanest inn in the area, so it was fine if he intended to use it, but there was no reason for everyone to leave.
Furthermore,
‘This isn’t even a place to call ourselves the famous Albert family.’
It wasn’t a nameless family.
It was once a family that had a reputation for producing outstanding talents, but then it was crushed down by the other families that kept them in check when they were recklessly trying to expand their power. They were people who lived in the glory of the past.
Still, it was a powerful enough force when compared to those in the North-East, but Roman’s reaction wouldn’t have been much different even if it was a famous family.
“Why do we have to go out?”
When he came forward, Henry’s ferocious gaze turned toward Roman.
“Are you their master?”
“Yes.”
“Then please understand the situation. I don’t know where you came from, but I, Henry Albert, will be using this inn. If you are in a position in which you will be going to the Southern Training Centre, nothing good will come from getting into a fight with me. I will give you 10 minutes to get all of this trash out of my eyes.”
He was brave. It must have been because he was seeing the emblem of the Dmitry Family for the first time. Henry Albert judged the opponent to be worthy and decided to behave himself a bit.
‘Is this the reality of Dmitry?’
It was like a frog in the well. Dmitry was an absolute powerhouse only recognized in the North-East. Naturally, the families in other regions did not recognize Dmitry, and there was no reason to treat an unknown family on par with other noble families.
Most of the families deployed at the Southern Front were classified as powerful in the Cairo Kingdom, so it was wise if one retreated without creating trouble.
Nevertheless, Roman found Henry’s eyes annoying.
“I have no intention of emptying the inn. Anyway, there is an easy way to solve this situation.”
He changed his attitude. And as soon as he finished those words, he unsheathed his sword.
“Pull out your sword. If you defeat me, I will gladly empty the inn.”
It was a provocative statement.
How dare a mere noble below me act like this? This cannot be forgiven.
Just when Henry was about to unsheathe his sword, the knight next to him turned to Henry with a pale face and stopped him.
“Lord, you need to stop right now. Your opponent is Roman Dmitry! He’s the youngest swordsman to ever get into the Rankings.”
As soon as he heard those words, Henry went stiff.
Is this what it feels like to get goosebumps?
Henry’s eyes looked troubled as he was about to draw the sword.
’…That guy is Roman Dmitry?’
Cairo’s Youngest Ranker?
There was no noble who didn’t know about it. Since he was from a family that lived on the outskirts, it was natural that he didn’t recognize the symbol of Dmitry, but the reputation of Roman was undoubtedly high. The fact that he was an unofficial ranker didn’t even matter. As Valhalla themselves recognized Roman, there was no way the rumors could be false.
“Pull your sword out.” Roman urged him.
Henry gulped at the sight of Roman waiting for him.
‘The moment I draw my sword, he will cut my head off.’
Among the rumors of Roman, there was also the mention of his involvement in Lawrence’s war with Barco. Roman Dmitry, who had put his opponent into the corner, went over to the estate of Barco and killed his eldest son right before him. That incident had become quite famous. From then onward, he was known as a demon without blood and tears.
Along with the rumors of him being the Youngest Ranker, the rumors showing how terrifying Roman was weren’t left out. Those were the reasons Henry looked wary. Even though his pride was hurt, and even though he had never bowed to anyone in his life because of being from the Albert family, he had no choice but to swallow his pride in the situation in which his head would fly off the moment he drew his sword.
If his opponent was truly Roman Dmitry, he had to avoid this confrontation no matter what his pride told him to do.
He finally understood his arrogance wouldn’t work here. Thus, Henry took a step back and said, “Ah, I forgot I had some plans. I will take this as an apology and let this go. I think you are quite lucky. Y-you, who dared to ignore the Albert family—Ack!”
Tak!
Just when Roman took a step forward, Henry panicked and ran out. Seeing the soldiers rushing out toward their master, who ran away, Roman laughed.
‘Is this the reality of the Southern Front?’
The Southern Front was kind of a resort for the children of nobles. He now saw the reality with his own eyes.
The case of Henry wasn’t a one-time thing. That day itself, three similar incidents happened, but they all ran away when they heard the name “Roman Dmitry.” Seeing that situation, the innkeeper commented, “This is quite common here. Unlike the Western Front, which is constantly threatened by the Kronos Empire, the Southern Front has a peaceful relationship with the Hector Kingdom. So there is no danger here, and the sons of nobles who want to avoid actual military duty often come here. Maybe you can even call it a vacation for the nobles? The training is generous, and there is nothing like risking their lives when they head out. It is quite perfect for carrying out military duty in the name only.”
The Western Front and the Southern Front—Even though they both were in the same nation, the situations were quite different. If the troops on the Western Front were those who risked their lives every day, those on the Southern Front didn’t do much.
As a result, there was turmoil when they were staying at the inn. Just like Henry, every noble who came to the Southern Front had lived their lives without any issues, so they thought they could act recklessly even if someone else had booked the inn in advance.
It was funny. Despite not entering the training center yet, Roman already got to know about the reality of the Southern Front.
Roman opened up a map. It had information related to the Southern Front, and each area was divided and detailed with information Lucas and the information guild had collected till now.
‘48 days ago, the recon troops of Hector Kingdom crossed the border. They checked the dynamics of the Southern Front and went back, but after that, they came back and checked again 3 times. It is not clear what their intention is yet. However, based on the bits of information I found, the Southern Front isn’t as safe as it is said to be.’
There were the signs of war, such as the warning from Valhalla and the Hector Kingdom scouting out the Southern Front. It didn’t mean that there would definitely be a war, but it didn’t mean there was no possibility of it either.
Just for that reason, Roman trained his soldiers even more intensely. He would pass the time in peace if a war didn’t break out in the 2 years he had to stay here, but he had to be prepared for the worst possibility nonetheless.
Most of the people at the Southern Front weren’t prepared for war, neither mentally nor physically. Unlike the rest of the army, who weren’t prepared, Roman and his men had trained hellishly for the past few months. If a war really broke out, they had no intention of trusting the scum relaxing on the Southern Front. They would survive and lay the groundwork for the future themselves.
“War…”
The tip of Roman’s nose suddenly felt a familiar smell of blood.
Editor’s Thoughts: This is so good. We have finally entered the war arc! It seems we will see Roman doing another massacre soon.
