Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian - Chapter 638
Episode 638: Politics (2)
I never lived a shameful life.
Of course, this does not mean that he always finds the right answer and overcomes all adversity like the hero in the story.
I always did my best, but there was always something to regret.
I am an ordinary person who is lacking and imperfect.
And I am absolutely not ashamed of being that person.
But…
“Haa…”
Today, I feel ashamed of myself.
Why did several faces come to mind at the same time after hearing Hoeju’s suggestion?
‘Am I really crazy?’
I don’t understand myself either.
So I stayed under the blanket for a while and thought about it.
‘Misha Karlstein.’
Well, I think it’s natural that this one comes to mind.
He was the first person I shared affection with when I came to this world and couldn’t overcome the wall and approach anyone.
‘Erwen Fornacci di Tercia.’
However, Erwen’s case is a little different from Misha.
I always feel sorry in a corner of my heart, but that feeling is clearly different from that between a man and a woman.
Just because I know the feelings he has for me, there is a high possibility that it came to mind when the topic of ‘marriage’ came up.
Why aren’t there people like that sometimes?
I prefer people who like me rather than people I like.
‘Amelia Lane Wales.’
Ironically, Amelia, whom I first met as an enemy during her days as a raider, is the most trustworthy person of all the people I know.
I felt confident and dependable in any situation.
To be honest, on that subject, there is also a cute side to it.
But the problem is…
‘Why isn’t it the end for these three?’
Raven Hyeonbyeol is Ragna.
And Einar—.
‘No, he’s just a friend.’
It was much shorter than the previous three, but to be honest, these also passed through my mind for a while.
Like an adolescent boy who can even imagine the names of his grandchildren when they smile kindly, he painted his married life with each of them like an abstract painting.
Surprisingly, I felt like a happy life would be waiting for me no matter who I connected with.
‘…Is he crazy or really?’
I don’t even understand myself.
Well, I don’t want to join them all.
It’s not institutionally impossible because I’m a noble, but I don’t want to do that myself.
But why did several faces come to mind at the same time?
After pondering for a long time, I found an answer that seemed closest to the correct answer.
‘…It might have been natural.’
I’m not sure about anyone yet. After what happened with Misha, I suppressed and buried these feelings as much as possible.
In such a situation, when the topic of marriage is suddenly brought up, it is very natural to think of the people around you first.
When it comes to women around me, these are all they are, right?
‘I’m not strange.’
If you look at it through someone else’s eyes, it may be nothing more than a rationalization, but once I came to that conclusion, I felt at ease.
So….
Grumble! Grumble!
I fell asleep without realizing it and woke up the next morning.
Without anyone noticing, he sneaked out of the building (newly built) where the tribal leader’s tent was.
“It’s been busy since early morning.”
Uh…
“Haha, I thought I’d take a walk…”
Amelia let out a laugh as she smiled awkwardly and glanced around.
“Don’t worry. Because there are no other kids nearby. “I convinced them that I would wait for you and sent them all away.”
“Uh… Is that so…?”
“You will have to give a proper answer someday. “Because everyone is wondering what decision you will make.”
Amelia coolly turned her back as soon as she finished speaking, as if she had been waiting to say that.
Oh, isn’t that cool?
“And… I don’t know where you’re going today, but come back before it’s too late. “If you plan to stay out overnight, please contact me in advance.”
Even though she is walking around in a chic way, she stops for a moment and says something like that, like a nagging mother.
Well, this might be one of his charms.
‘Ah… you just happened to bring up the topic of marriage at the dinner table…’
This is why people should always be careful about what they say.
The fact that you can repay a thousand debts with just one word means that the opposite is also possible.
“He is the tribal leader!!”
“The tribal leader is going to the city!!”
“Open the door!!”
I thought I would just go for a walk, but when I arrived at the castle gate, it opened and I moved to area 7.
District 7 is practically a ruin because reconstruction work has not yet begun in earnest.
Residents who were lying like vagabonds in front of their collapsed houses, covered with blankets, looked at me and stood up.
“giant…! “It’s a giant!”
“what? “The Baron is here?”
“Baron Yandel…!!”
Is it because of his reputation as a hero?
The residents, who would rush to avoid the place out of fear if it were an ordinary nobleman’s visit, show a different attitude towards me.
Of course, it wasn’t all that good.
It’s good to just pass by and say thank you or a blessing, but that’s not all.
“Please! Please help our family! “All the stores are destroyed, and if this continues, next year’s taxes will be due…!”
It’s better to beg or ask for sympathy.
“Baron! Baron! What will happen to our District 7 in the future? Biffron! “What happened to that Biffron!”
“There are rumors that the royal family is going to abandon District 7! Is that true!”
Asking questions in a questioning manner.
“Please say something!!”
There were many people who thought it was natural for me to answer, as if they were looking for something they had left behind.
‘…It’s not that I don’t understand, though.’
These people are also having a hard time every day because their circumstances are not good, and in the meantime, they are not able to hear any proper news, so it must be frustrating.
“Baron!”
“Don’t believe rumors. “Reconstruction work will soon begin in District 7.”
“Baron!”
“Once you receive this, hold on for a little while. “I will do my best to ensure that more relief supplies arrive.”
“Baron!”
“Biffron’s barrier? What’s so scary about that? Don’t worry everyone! “This city will never fall!”
Rather than getting angry at them, go out and give them words of encouragement and the answers they may have been hoping for.
And how much longer did I walk?
‘…Do you want to stay?’
While I was here, I also visited the Magic Tower.
There have already been several letters to the Holy Land.
After this expedition, the royal family gave me a long special vacation, so I am continuing my personal research in the Magic Tower’s laboratory. The letters were asking me to visit as soon as possible…
‘What is impregnable?’
Soon I arrived at the Magic Tower and burst out laughing.
They say it has never been conquered by invaders during its long history, but that record has been broken twice in the past few years.
Me once.
And this time Noark.
‘Actually, rather than being impregnable, I guess it’s just that I was good at politics.’
Well, I heard that despite the disastrous appearance starting from the entrance, the damage inside was not that great.
As soon as the invasion began, they bought time with a barrier, took all the data and research facilities, and then left the area in a teleportation magic circle along with high-ranking local officials from District 7?
‘They said it was fine except that the teleportation magic circle was shattered…’ I
heard that Noark knew that he had taken everything and left, so he only destroyed the magic circle so that the royal family could not use it, and did not touch it any more.
“Why are you doing that at the door? “If you come, just go inside and wait.”
At that time, Raven appeared behind me as I arrived at the lab.
“Just pretend to be popular.”
“…what.”
“Uh huh, what’s the point of saying that to the Baron? “He’s also short.”
“Why do you start a fight as soon as you see it? “Did anything annoying happen on the way here?”
“….”
“What really happened?”
“There was none.”
It wasn’t really a lie.
Rather than being annoyed, it was more like I was physically and mentally tired because of the residents who were paying attention to me.
***
“Come in first. “Let’s talk inside.”
“But where have you been? “It was so busy that I thought he would be inside.”
“I didn’t go far, but I went to borrow something from someone I know for a while.”
“What?”
“It’s an experiment tool. Can you tell me more?”
“No, it’s okay.”
As soon as I entered the lab and sat down, I saw that Raven’s lab had changed a lot from before.
“It’s a mess, right? The entire Mage Tower is in a state of panic because of this incident. “Master took everything with me while I was away, but if you look for it, quite a few things are missing.”
“Right.”
“Well, when I first took this and that to the lab in Karnon, there wasn’t much left. Would you like me to give you something to drink? “But you’re a baron.”
“Give it water.”
Afterwards, we drank water from Raven’s lab flask (1.8L) and chatted about the current situation.
That’s because a long time had already passed since I left the first basement floor, and something major had happened in that time.
“Mr. Yandel, how can something like that happen right after you come back?”
When I briefly explained what I had experienced upon returning to the city, Raven listened with interest and then laughed as if it was absurd.
“If you look closely, it seems like you are always involved in all the incidents and accidents that happen in this world?”
It’s a sad thing to say, but I couldn’t refute it.
Honestly, since I know almost everything I’ve been through, I don’t think I’ll be convinced by my denial.
‘Why do I feel like the whole world is bothering me?’
Is there really a magic spell in the name Hansoo?
It was a time when I was seriously thinking about that issue.
“Anyway… it’s very disappointing.”
Raven continued with a voice dripping with sincerity.
“Why did you give away all the essences obtained during the exploration of the first underground floor to ordinary explorers? “If we had just studied them, we could have monopolized this year’s academic award for at least a few years.”
“Oh, that…”
“I’m saying this out of fear of misunderstanding, but I didn’t mean to blame Mr. Yandel or anything like that. To be honest, when I heard that decision, I thought it was very Mr. Yandel.”
“…huh? “Are you saying it’s me?”
For a moment, I thought I had figured out the truth of the incident with just this information, but that wasn’t the case.
“Mr. Yandel, you made that decision to save the city and its people, right? I can never say I’m wise, but no matter what anyone says, I…”
Raven looked up at me, looking sideways as if she was embarrassed.
“Well… personally… I think it’s cool.”
It was the type of look in Raven’s eyes that I had never experienced before while we were together.
Should I say that I can feel something similar to respect in their eyes?
“Uh… Is that so?”
“yes.”
“But… you know that.”
“…?”
Raven had such a serious expression on her face that I couldn’t even think of teasing her like I usually did and immediately corrected the information.
“Well… don’t be too sad.”
“yes. That’s how it should be. It’s for the greater good. “It may seem a little pathetic from Mr. Yandel’s perspective to feel that way just to satisfy his own self-interest.”
“No, no, that’s not it…”
How should I say this?
Looking at Raven waiting for me to continue speaking, I just confessed like a man.
“Actually…”
“Yes, actually?”
“I’ve already prepared everything that could be useful.”
“……yes?”
The question came back after a while.
“You… took care of it? “What do you mean by that?”
“That’s literally it. “If you just spray purified water, even the royal family won’t be able to take stock properly.”
No matter how you think about it, it was a very clever plan.
As I was praising myself like that, Raven opened her mouth in a halting tone, like someone denying reality.
“…You touched the royal family’s loot?”
“however?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
I know this is a situation where I can hear these words quite often, but even so, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden? “This isn’t even the first time.”
We already have the experience of being in our back pockets on the first basement floor.
Okay, so…
“You even liked it back then, didn’t you? “They even gave it a wonderful name, ‘Wreath of Agony.’”
“Well, that’s different from this…! Why are you telling me everything honestly after doing such a thing in the first place!!”
Uh huh, where are you going to step out?
This attitude was a little disappointing, but fortunately I knew how to deal with wizards well.
“Well, I don’t want to hide something from you.”
“That doesn’t work anymore!”
“…Is that so?”
Maybe it’s because he’s a kid who studies a lot, so he learns quickly.
“Anyway, don’t say too much. “Wouldn’t it be the same if you get caught anyway and be executed?”
“no! No! “It would be over if we just kept our mouths shut, but this is too big!”
Well…that’s definitely true.
“But that’s why.”
“…?”
“Aren’t you going to do research?”
“That’s…!”
Raven, who didn’t know what to do like a puppy facing a snack, soon lowered her head and answered in a voice that sounded like an ant crawling.
“…I have to do it.”
Yeah, I thought so.