<119. White Stone of the Exiled Land (1)>
Bloop
I took a handful of soil and threw it, and the wind blew and made the soil flutter. It was the red soil on the ground, where not even grass could grow.
Fraunmunt’s estate was a place where the word barren land fit perfectly.
“GOOOOO!”
There was a horde of monsters that flocked there from time to time.
There is a ‘Blade Mountain’, but there is no silver, gold or iron mine in this mountain.
There was no mana ore either.
The former king also used this place as an exile. If he gave this land to someone, it would be just a punishment.
This place is definitely barren. It was enough to be an exile for the lords. Since I asked for this exile land, how come the prince is not be surprised and embarrassed?
In their view, I would be half crazy. This land was full of shortcomings, but I didn’t care.
Let’s do it one by one slowly.
It was just the beginning.
“Lind.”
Lind came to my call. They ate and slept in a small tent, which was embarrassing to call it a campsite. I cleaned my sword and shield, which had been stained with green blood.
Seeing his thin cheeks, it was clear that he could not even eat enough.
Before I left Count Ludwig’s domain, I had moved Lind and his party, and I had only wanted one thing from them.
I knew what was in this land of Fraunmunt, but I did not know how many monsters there were.
I had no way of knowing how large they were, only that the Eight Gates had swept them all away.
However, seeing that it wasn’t that well documented in the history books, and that it was in a land that the surrounding territories hadn’t dared to clean up.
“The number is at least a thousand.”
Lind said.
That’s right. I thought it was just about that, somewhere between a thousand and five hundred.
“Good.”
“What’s good about it?”
Lind grunted. I like my predictions, you punk.
“I think the enemy has a clever leader.”
A pack of jumping monsters would have been no match for the three of them from the start. If monsters had just attacked them recklessly, this whole area would have been cleared out before I arrived.
The fact that they it hadn’t yet, meant that there were unpredictable problems, which Lind explained with the phrase, “The enemy has a leader”.
After hearing everything that had happened where they were and their battles, I began to picture the enemy in my mind.
“Hobgoblin? Or a unique monster?”
No matter how much the surrounding lords discarded the land, they sometimes sent troops to clean up the monster herd.
Count Ludwig would have fulfilled his duty as an adjacent lord.
In such a situation, monsters gathered in a group and survived.
If you said there was no boss, it wouldn’t make sense.
It was impossible to determine who the boss was just by hearing their actions.
“First of all, we have to clear the monsters in order to bring back the people.”
Being the lord of this land meant that I wanted to live on this land. There was no one here who did not know about this.
Moreover, none of them thought I was weird right now.
On one side were my comrades-in-arms who had survived the battlefield with me, and on the other were the people I had recruited directly from the capital.
Luis and Agatha didn’t even seem to want to engage in conversation with my activities, and Jabrien didn’t seem to mind at all.
Lind, Axe (Dokki), and Digo obeyed me. If they hadn’t trusted me from the start, they wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble here.
“Did you eat well?”
“It’s not that I can’t eat.”
Although Digo answered my words, it seems that he did not eat much. Linde, Digo, Axe, plus the people I brought with me.
Although it was the beginning of the territory, it was incredibly shabby.
“It’s not bad.
I was pretty satisfied. There are five wyze users in my territory.
What kind of estate could have such a power, if the Grand Duke or Prince knew this, they would never have let me go easily from the royal castle.
We were in the middle of discussing about how to deal with a herd of monsters.
“Awooo!”
A loud cry called me outside. I got up and went out of the tent.
I wondered when it would come. It was pumpkin’s howl.
Anyway, hearing that the howl became thicker, it must have grown a lot.
I wonder if it’s already over my waist.
Let’s go outside to see my cute wolf.
“Woof.”
“…… Pumpkin?
When I called him, he approached and rubbed my thigh-sized head against my chest.
“Uhh.”
I was helplessly pushed, but I gave strength to hold out. I raised my hand reflexively and stroked Pumpkin’s head.
“He has grown up a lot, right?”
Lind said from behind. It’s not that big of a deal.
Where did our cute little wolf go T-T ?
“Stop pushing. I’m gonna die.”
When I reached out and pushed his chest, I felt the strong muscles hidden in the fur. Looking from a little further away, I could see a wolf as big as a horse.
When I stood and looked at him, my eye level was same as him.
The golden line that started at the tip of its nose and continued to its tail was still there, but its body had completely changed.
His face became more handsome.
Even among many wolves, Pumpkin was probably the most handsome wolf.
“You’ve grown a lot.”
I said while looking at the pumpkin, and the pumpkin let out a howl in the air.
Awooo!
He was so glad that he started walking around me. I caught him and stopped because I felt dizzy. Don’t act cute like that with a heavy body that is likely to break somewhere if hit incorrectly.
“Stop.”
Stopping, the guy laid down in front of me with his stomach exposed. No, don’t do that.
It’s not something to do with that body. Dude.
“Oh, a wolf?”
Jabrien approached with interest. If I said it’s a dog, now no one will believe it.
“It’s Pumpkin.”
“Nice to meet you, Pumpkin.”
Jabrien nodded and waved at Pumpkin. As a wandering trader, the most valuable thing she could find was exactly this kind.
Something that could never be priced.
Our pumpkin is the only species in the world, so of course it would have attracted her attention.
“What did you eat to grow so much?”
When Yabrian approached Pumpkin, he began to smell her scent.
It was his habit to remember all the smells of my party. I said it while looking at it, and Linde replied.
“I don’t know. It was hard to see your face once a day without you, but you managed to come as soon as you came.”
It was only natural that Pumpkin would remember my scent.
“Huh. Anyway.”
I held my breath in front of everyone and then continued.
“Let’s eat.”
There is nothing more important than eating.
“Hmm.”
I heard Lind let out a low groan. It’s unexpected, but it’s probably not just my illusion that he looks happy. No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like you’ve been eating well.
As in the past, I got a stone plate, wiped it with water, lit a fire, and took out the raw meat I got on the way here from the estate.
“I’ll do it.”
Agatha saw it and stepped out. She looked familiar.
“Lady, please let go.”
Lind stopped her. He knew that doing it with his own hands was much better than doing it with someone else’s.
Compared to the chefs I’ve met in the palace, I’m probably an okay chef, but when it comes to cooking in the field, it’s rare to find a chef as good as me.
The herbs on the ground were my spices, and the way I cooked the meat was near perfect thanks to my countless experiences.
Pssss.
I sprinkled salt flower and three spices I had purchased from the royal palace on top of it.
“When a little herb powder and pepper meet, a fantastic scent spreads.”
Paaat.
I didn’t actually hear such a sound, but it seemed to spread over the meat. Soon, the savory and sweet aroma spread quickly.
“Let’s eat.”
I roasted the thick meat over low heat for a long time, then peeled off the charred surface with a knife.
Let’s cut the flesh that came out after that.
I’m touched. It’s dripping.
The well-cooked pork spilled juices. The sight of it made my mouth drool and made me forget to blink.
“No way. This is heavenly taste.”
Jabrien was about to shed tears after eating a piece of it. Other people’s reactions were not very different.
Axe (Dokki) ate silently, and Agatha blinked and looked at me and said.
“You’re good at cooking, too.”
Agatha said with a blush on her face. I smiled and threw a big chunk of meat back.
Sneak! Swoosh!
Pumpkin jumped lightly so that not even a speck of dust came out of its large body, and grabbed the lump of meat and ate it.
The cooked meat is just a delicacy for Pumpkin, and now he take care of the meal on his own. Still, if I don’t give him a chunk to eat, I’m sure he’ll get sulky. Moreover, he was also going to guard us all tonight.
After that, it was a party for us.
To eat, drink, and get drunk. Did you think I would really come empty-handed from the royal palace?
“It’s a wine made of grapes from the far-off Farnon region, it costs a whopping one gold coin per bottle.”
I said, taking out some purple bottles.
Well, the amount was not important.
“Here’s the cup.”
Agatha took out a crude wooden cup. She said she had been living a hectic life, and even as she left the Central Shed, she brought some of her household items with her.
“I thought it could be useful to fetch some water.”
Feeling embarrassed, she added, and regardless of that, Axe quickly received the cup and held it out to me.
Oh, I’ll pour it.
Pouring(Sound).
Although it was an expensive wine for one gold coin, it was nothing more or less than alcohol for them.
“It’s been a while.”
Digo said, gulping down his drink.
Although they didn’t drink to the point to get drunk, it was enough to enjoy a pleasant time.
Note: It’s a Machine Translation with some fixes. So mistakes are expected.
