The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (41)

Just as I was about to turn and leave, Avenger rushed out.

His two arms blocked me again.

“You may not go!”

“Avenger, I…”

“Absolutely not!”

This kid is stubborn, this fellow.

There was nothing to be done.

I placed my hand on my waist.

And I stood my ground.

“I have to go, Avenger.”

“I promised the lord! I vowed to protect the young master no matter what. I’ve broken that promise many times. I’ve left the young master until your nose bled buckets!”

“I’m a full-grown adult. Protected, neglected… where does that make sense? I did as I pleased and you only helped me with my affairs. I’m the one who should be grateful.”

‘Right. You may not know it, but there’s no one I’m more grateful to than you!’

Avenger is the Steward.

As the administrator of Denabi Castle, he has the duty to control my actions.

But Avenger actually helped me instead.

It wasn’t exactly because of the Status Window or trust rating.

He’d been helping me even before he became a Regular contracted talent.

After that he even took on the role of financial advisor on my behalf.

He was genuinely surprised after his trip to Limone.

‘He’d done the work far better than I did. If you’d been born in modern Korea, you’d have been a CFO at some big company.’

In the meantime, Denabi Castle’s internal affairs had been neglected.

That’s right.

Because of what I’d been doing.

Whether it was the liquor business or whatever… the castle’s Administrators had no time for their actual duties because of me!

But Avenger cleaned all that up.

During those few days he took on as financial advisor.

‘No wonder he’s an A-…!’

I wondered why we hadn’t put him here sooner.

Is that all?

He fetched whatever I asked for,

He did what I asked him to do,

And recently he even drove a horse for me.

I had no license, after all.

Isn’t that what a Steward does?

I thought so until now.

But it’s not that simple.

Being a ‘Steward’ isn’t simply leading the servants.

When the Lord is absent, the Steward acts in his stead, handling the castle’s administration and physical management.

They also serve as the Lord’s advisor.

In short, it’s a position with considerable authority.

They’re not just someone who does my chores.

‘For someone like that to do their job and still clean up after me — I owe them a hundred bows in thanks.’

I received his favor, and favors must be repaid.

Avenger spoke.

“Still, I must insist on doing something a little bit grudging for the young master. At least this time. This time I truly cannot let you go!”

“I’m only helping people a bit with magic anyway. I’m not going to take up a sword and fight…”

“Young master!”

He let go of his spear.

His two hands grasped my shoulders.

The spear clattered to the floor.

But that sound was swallowed by the surrounding commotion.

Only the two of us watched each other.

“The young master’s magic is strong. Even if it’s replication, you detonated a massive troll at once.”

“So I’m saying you’ll use that to help people a bit.”

“Such powerful magic wouldn’t have been given to the young master without any cost.”

I flinched.

Avenger continued.

“Surely the young master is paying some price. You may have already paid it.”

“…Isn’t that just a guess as well?”

‘It’s a correct guess, though.’

As if he’d sensed that, Avenger’s hands gripped my shoulders even tighter.

He’s stronger than he looks, this fellow.

“Didn’t you say Miss Ronari and her plan are perfect? Casualties will surely be few. The young master doesn’t need to step in. The great victory is already set!”

Right. I had said that.

I nodded.

Even so…

“Where in the world is anything perfect?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m not saying Ronari’s operation has flaws. The plan will proceed as intended.”

“Then what is the problem that requires the young master to intervene…?”

“Even if only 10 out of 400 die, that doesn’t make it not a death.”

“…!”

Avenger’s pupils trembled.

I continued.

“I’ll be honest. I’m afraid. I’m terrified that someone will die because of the war I started.”

It’s only natural to be afraid.

I came from modern South Korea.

I’ve never had those hard‑boiled experiences like people dying in war.

“We’ll win a decisive victory. Denabi will be in a festive mood. We’ll drink and party all night. But… but you see…”

I gently removed his hands from my shoulders.

“On that night of celebration, some households will receive the cold body of their head of household.”

I pictured that scene.

The only silence within the festival.

“I’m afraid of that.”

Avenger’s mouth opened slightly.

But he shook his head.

“We must endure it.”

He said.

“Sacrifices in war are inevitable.”

“I suppose so.”

I consented meekly.

“Still, if I have to face the families of those victims, I should at least make this much effort so I can face them with some measure of honor.”

Avenger’s face twisted.

He lowered his head.

And he let out a crushed cry.

“…Damn it!”

He suddenly shouted.

“Stay right here and don’t move! Absolutely do not move!”

“No, I’m going…”

“I’ll bring a horse!”

“?”

“Are you the only one who’s going to try to save face for the young master?! We can’t leave it like that. I must also retain some face before the lord! If no matter how much I stop you you’re going anyway, at least let me stay by your side!”

Avenger hurried up the entrance stairs.

But he called back as he turned.

“You must stay right there!”

“Uh… alright…”

Just as I was about to answer, the Status Window blocked my view.

[Human resource information update]

[Avenger Colono]

[Trust: 116 147]

Oh…

That’s a hefty increase.

It’s been a while since I heard good news.

I’d only been dropping it until now.

Soon Avenger led a horse down the stairs.

This corridor is one where titans like trolls or manticore-level creatures pass.

One horse wouldn’t hinder troop movement.

Still, a horse indoors is hardly a good combination.

All eyes were drawn to the suddenly appearing horse.

But Avenger wasn’t the sort to care about that.

“Now, mount!”

He reached out his hand to me.

I grabbed his hand.

And I leapt onto the horse’s back.

Our destination was already decided.

“Depart for Room [4, -2]!”

“Understood…! Giddy up!”

Avenger drove the horse toward the east gate without hesitation.

“Young master!?”

I thought I heard Ronari’s surprised voice behind me.

“See you later!”

I waved cheerfully.

The staff looked incredulous.

But what could they do!

They didn’t have time to worry about us!

They were surrounded once more by the incoming signal officers.

And we vanished beyond the gate.

We passed through several rooms and moved to Room [4, -2].

As expected, a battle was raging in the room.

The number of enemies seemed large.

Monsters appeared to be pouring out of at least two doors.

The shield formation was holding, but barely.

There were several titans among the enemies.

I reached out toward them.

“Distance, confirmed. Position, confirmed. Target acquire…”

When I came to this world, the second gift I received was the Status Window.

So what was the first gift?

What else but ‘optimization’.

Even now, this world is optimized for me.

The world’s language, script, even currency and units of measure all of it.

Is adjusted to be easy for me to understand.

It’s being translated.

And that applies not only to input but to output as well.

What does that mean?

‘The things I hear are translated, but what I say is translated so these people can understand as well.’

At first I didn’t think much of it.

Possession-type stories are all like that.

It’s natural they’d optimize the language at least.

That’s how I thought about it.

But upon encountering magic, my way of thinking changed.

Magic is composed in a different linguistic system from the common tongue here.

Mages must chant spells formed from the language of the fey.

They must know the meaning of the spells they memorize and maintain precise pronunciation.

But I don’t need to do that.

Because the world is optimized for me.

I can understand spells in words I know, and I can pronounce them in my own words.

Considering that the world’s mages devote their whole lives to that task…

‘It’s no exaggeration to say I have an overwhelming advantage.’

That’s why I could learn this magic in a short time.

Shane’s mother, Beatrice’s vision.

A magic she created that only she could use.

“[Mana phase shift: Signal - Coagulation].”

The Mana crystal on my right arm glowed.

“Trigger.”

From the tips of my index and middle fingers, a faint wave of mana was emitted.

It pierced the air in an instant and struck the target’s body.

• KRAAASH!

“!”

The same thing that happened on the surface yesterday occurred.

The titan pushing against the formation exploded.

Chunks of monster flesh and shards of Mana crystal rained in all directions.

The soldiers’ eyes widened at the sudden explosion.

The monsters were the same.

But the fight had to continue.

I shouted.

“For Denabi! For Limone! Charge!”

Ah. I should’ve learned to ride earlier.

This should’ve been a cool scene, but sitting behind Avenger and shouting orders looked a bit ridiculous.

Still, the effect was clear.

The soldiers snapped back to attention in an instant.

The troops poured into the space left by the fallen titan.

Their blades slaughtered the monsters.

“Nice!”

I patted Avenger on the shoulder.

“Alright, let’s go! To [3, -3]! Then to [-4, 2]! Speed it up!”

“…Understood!”

Avenger’s feet dug into the horse’s flanks.

We supported the southeast units in the same manner.

The allied forces split into north and east contingents.

Naturally, the northwest and southeast were short on manpower.

Dungeon assaults are a race of speed.

And because it’s a speed battle, it’s one of endurance.

You must fight without rest to locate and eliminate the original in a short time.

If you take it easy, the original will spawn terrifying copies at great speed.

Therefore, the soldiers’ burden mustn’t grow.

‘I have to fill that gap…!’

Suddenly, blood trickled from my nose.

I silently wiped it away.

It was fortunate Avenger was focused on steering the horse and couldn’t look at me.

With my blood‑stained hand I aimed at the target.

“…Trigger.”

• KRAAASH!

The titan fell.

It was probably the eighth cast.

Behind the exploded titan’s form appeared Izack’s back.

I hurriedly tapped Avenger on the shoulder.

We had to leave before Izack saw me.

“Let’s go, Avenger. Move.”

“Giddy up!”

I felt dizzy.

The motion sickness that had been nudging my body suddenly hit me hard.

My vision blurred.

I rested my head on Avenger’s shoulder.

“Young master…!”

I slid off the horse.

Darkness wrapped me.