Star-Embracing Swordmaster - Chapter 276

Quijano Side Story – The Frausen Family’s Bastard (2)

Consuegra.

An ordinary village that can be found anywhere in the Barony of Turlek.

Still, even in this ordinary town, there was at least one special sight: windmills lined up on a hill in the distance.

“…Ugh.”

On the hills where spring had arrived, flocks of sheep roamed around to graze, spreading out like white clouds.

Plus, there are colorful flowers that have just begun to bloom.

It was a peaceful scene that looked like a painting from afar, but the girl standing there now had a frowning expression on her face.

“Why is the wind so fierce these days?”

The fact that there is a windmill in the village means that it is a windy area.

However, compared to previous years, the wind blew so sharply that the girl had no choice but to hold on to the hat she was wearing with all her might.

“huh?”

After the strong wind passed, the hills of Consuegra became quiet again.

Only then did the girl open her closed eyes and begin to look closely at the windmill in front of her, as if she had discovered something.

“What is that?”

There was a light shining like a candle through the small window of the tall windmill.

An unidentifiable light blinking faintly as if asking me to look here.

However, when the girl recognized the light, a strong wind was blowing up the hill again.

※※※※

“No, is this the path you were made to walk now?”

There was a group of people walking along a path carved in the forest.

He held on to the reins of the old horse and the small donkey he had been riding just a moment ago and led them.

The name of the man walking away whining like that is Quihano Frausen.

Quijano, who had black bruises all over his face as if he had been hit by someone, was trying to drag his horse out of the mud.

“really! Understanding! I’m not going! “This is a road and they collect toll tax?”

Is it because the weather is spring?

There was a warm feeling in the blowing wind, but the road was completely muddy due to the weather.

In other words, it has become a very difficult situation for travelers to move around.

“Damn dragons. “They only know how to talk about it from above, but they don’t even think about looking into this.”

“Mr. Quihano. “What are you going to do if someone hears it?”

When Kihano, who was clearly intoxicated, cursed at the dragons was heard from his mouth, Yan began to look around in surprise.

“In the past, there was a person in our village who was dragged away for cursing.”

“…….”

“Is it true?”

Quijano frowned as he looked at Jan making a fuss as if he was truly surprised.

Well, it was a world like this.

The era of dragons, where you can’t carelessly curse at them even if it’s an empty forest path.

The only way to get through such times without trouble is to keep walking quietly, like now.

“Anyway, I’m not saying I hope the road will be clearer. If it were me, I would build a big road to the north, south, east, and west, centering on the capital like this…”

This world ruled by dragons is already perfect.

Expressing discontent in such a world means rebelling against the dragons.

However, it was also true that Quijano, a young man of this era, could clearly see a better picture than now.

“You bastard! “I got kicked out of the family because I said such nonsense.”

However, drawing a better future was something only dragons, not humans, could do.

Therefore, the picture Quijano was drawing now was nothing more than a delusion that could not come true.

“If you still have the energy to say such things, think about getting to the village as soon as possible! Anyway, young people these days. Tsk tsk.”

Quihano sighed at the words of the frog fluttering above Jan’s head.

The ideal I dreamed of was high, but now I am just pulling the reins of an old horse in the mud.

In order to avoid sinking into the mud of reality like the old horse you see in front of you, you had no choice but to adapt to the world created by dragons.

“…Still, the scenery isn’t bad.”

At the bottom of the hill we climbed up like that, the cool pastures of Consuegra were spread out.

A green wave that makes you feel refreshed just by looking at it.

Kihano took a deep breath as he looked at the sight that seemed to soothe his heaving heart just a moment ago.

※※※※

“Name.”

“…Kihano.”

“age.”

“twenty.”

“What brings you here?”

I thought it was an insignificant village, but the attitude of the guards in front was quite strict.

“It’s written there. “You came here because your lord sent you?”

Even though I showed them the orders with the lord’s seal, the guards’ attitude still remained unresolved.

With no answer at all, Quijano couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“I heard there’s a witch here these days. “I came to catch that.”

The sight of a lot of mud splattered here and there wasn’t very trustworthy, but the lord’s orders he brought with him were real.

In addition, he was quite a knight and even carried a squire with him, so it seemed like the guards had no reason to catch him anymore.

Although the frog he was carrying around as a pet looked very suspicious.

“……Welcome to Consuegra. Sir Quijano.”

“Then can I come in now? “You guys.”

“yes. “Let’s go in.”

When the window blocking the front was lifted, the fence leading to Consuegra began to appear.

However, Kihano stopped for a moment when he heard the sounds of the guards coming from behind him again.

“Once you enter the village, please report it to the collector immediately?”

“…Collector? “Not the village chief?”

Normally in a village like this, the village chief would handle major and minor issues, but suddenly he was the collector.

Quijano’s eyes began to turn strange when he realized that there was an official sent directly by the lord to this small village.

“yes. And if possible, silence in the village…”

“Oh my. It’s a very expensive town. “It’s hard to get in and it’s hard to move around.”

With those words, Quijano turned around and started smiling meaningfully at the guards.

“Do you really think there is such a thing as a witch here?”

Witch.

Unlike magicians who deal with mysteries, people who perform miracles through all kinds of unholy methods.

Quijano had an expression of interest on his face as he thought that they, whom he had only ever heard of, might really be here.

※※※※

“Hey, Mr. Kihano? “It’s not here.”

Yan’s voice clinging to me from behind as if he couldn’t stop me was pitiful.

“The guards told me to go straight to the collector…”

“I know.”

Because the place they were standing now was not where the collector was staying, but rather, strangely enough, in front of a bar.

However, seeing Quijano walking so naturally as if this was the right path, Yan, a beginner, could only stamp his feet.

“Jan, it’s because you don’t know what. “Before meeting the person in charge, it would be polite to dust off your body and drink some alcohol before visiting.”

“……Really?”

“Or what will you do? “You should just follow me in.”

Yan frowned as if he was suspicious of something, but Quijano had already opened the door and entered the bar.

“Hmm. “It’s pretty good.”

At first glance, it was a typical village bar.

A bar that sells alcohol and food on the first floor and doubles as an inn on the second floor.

Quijano, who can tell the level of a place just by the smell of food, could tell at a glance that this bar was a decent place.

“It’s an order.”

“What sells best here?”

“I only have one thing to sell anyway.”

“Then take that and a beer.”

“Kihano-sama….”

“Two of those and a beer, please.”

After ordering from a woman who seemed to be the inn’s hostess, Quijano glanced around and started talking to Jan.

“There are a lot of people.”

“Iknow, right. The food here looks really delicious. “There weren’t many people in the bars in our village.”

It may be a city with many people, but this was a village.

It was also a small village on the outskirts of the territory.

However, there were quite a few villagers hanging around the bar right now, so it was enough to pique Quijano’s curiosity.

“…How on earth is it so delicious that everyone stays at the bar even when work is in full swing?”

I looked up and counted about 30 people.

It was a current bar full of men of that age who had to work a long time.

“Here you go.”

“oh. “It’s fast.”

“Stew is always boiling.”

The stew came out not long after I ordered it.

Yan’s face began to brighten as he saw warm food for the first time in a long time as he looked at the mixed stew, whether it was meat stew or vegetable stew.

“thank you. Mr. Quihano!”

“huh. Eat a lot. “Anyway, that’s all added to the 20 gold you owe.”

“……yes.”

Jan, who was depressed, lowered his head helplessly, but Quijano seemed to not care and just spooned stew into his mouth.

“hmm. “It’s delicious.”

The inn’s stew is thick because it has been boiled for a long time and has all kinds of things added to it.

Quijano’s expression began to brighten at the taste that could only be felt in a rural village.

“…But I don’t think it’s to the extent of people flocking like this.”

However, the taste was not so great that people flocked to it.

It’s not like you’re rushing around, even abandoning what you have to do.

-……Our sheep was very egg-laden. At first, I didn’t even know it was a sheep.

-These days, at night, the kids get into fights because they’re scared.

-This is the witch’s work. If not, then what on earth is it?

“…….”

A village bar that I deliberately stopped by before executing the lord’s request.

Quijano was slowly muttering while listening to the vivid sounds that could only be heard there.

※※※※

“There is a precious person in this shabby place…”

A city where the sunset is already fading.

The city hall of Henares, the city closest to Consuegra, was filled with a heavy sense of tension.

“If you had called us in advance, we would have come to meet you.”

“…….”

The sight of the mayor bowing his head deeply towards someone looked quite pitiful.

That was because he couldn’t breathe properly because he was squeezing his stomach, which couldn’t be folded.

“I came after receiving a report from the wizards. “They said the research will soon reach its end.”

“That’s right! “They told me that too!”

However, he just continued to rub his hands and speak to the man in front of him, as if breathing was not important.

“I will do my best to help and treat the wizards I sent in case they experience any inconvenience… “I put in a lot of effort in the hope that I could be of some help in reaching the desired goal!”

In some ways, it seems servile.

It wasn’t something a mayor in charge of a city would look like, but the reason he did his best to bow his head was because the man in front of him was naturally in a position to do so.

“……Good work.”

The hair of the man standing by the window with his back to me was shining.

She had gorgeous blonde hair that didn’t lose its color even in the increasingly red sunset.

“If this succeeds, I will remember your name.”

The eyes of the man who turned around like that were a cold blue.

The mayor of Henares bowed his head with all his might, looking into the eyes that only pureblood perfection could express.

“Thank you! Sarnus!”

The name of the man who turned around with the sunset was Sarnus Dragulia.

A young dragon who has just begun to stand out in his family.

He was smiling quietly as he looked at the mayor who bowed his head towards him.