Chapter 439 (2/2)

「Do you know what will happen to you if you anger my father, who is employed by Lord ―― who is the top retainer of ―― sama, the ruler of the proud Trisnia!?」

Retainer of a retainer?

If I were to use an example, they would be in the same position as the girl Leopolt keeps by his side .

Man, there’s no way they have any kind of prestige .

The men continue to inch forward slowly . There’s almost no room for the two girls to run .

I don’t feel like it at all, but I’ll help them .

「Hey . 」

I step in between the two parties .

I can see the faces of the confident men warp as their opponent changes .

「Who the f.u.c.k are you!?」

「Don’t tell me, you’re their bodyguard or something!?」

I don’t reply, rather I keep my eye on the men’s weapons .

All of their knives have short blades about 20 cm long .

I’m not in much danger even if I’m bare-handed .

「Y-you are――」

「Don’t move, stay where you are . 」

I instruct them, s.h.i.+elding them with my body .

「Hey, this is bad . He looks strong . 」

Yeah, I’m stronger than you guys, so run away . That’ll save me the ha.s.sle of fighting .

「We have five people . And from what they said before, they’re only related to an insignificant bodyguard . 」

Idiots don’t live long .

「They saw our faces anyway . We can’t do business tomorrow if we let them go . 」

What a stupid conclusion they drew .

The five of them ready their knives, partially surround me, and then reduce the distance between us .

「Fools . 」

I stand my ground and merely lower my hips .

「Shhu! Shu, shu!」

One of the men hiss nastily with every thrust of his knife .

His feints are rather obvious and so easy to avoid that I don’t have to move from my spot .

「Take that, I’m gonna stab ya! S’gonna hurt! Ora, o――」

Another man comes in from the side while spouting nonsense, and right when he was about to add a feint, I pounce without making eye contact or showing any pre-emptive movements .

I slap the hand holding the knife with my left hand, grab his head by the hair with my right hand and slam his face into the pebble-ridden ground .

He groans painfully as I bring his head back up with blood trickling down from his broken nose and a few teeth falling from his mouth .

「Well, that’s that . 」

Since these guys didn’t weren’t going to kill, I don’t have to go out of my way to take their lives .

I don’t care if they die later .

I toss the man aside and face the remaining four .

「b.a.s.t.a.r.d―― unforgivable!!」

「It’s too late even if you beg for your life! Blood was shed!!」

Two men become enraged and a.s.sault me .

「I’m definitely gonna kill you!!」

Both of them swing their knives at my face……

「You liar . 」

I see through the path of the knife and stop his arm with my right hand .

「Oww! S-such strength…… it’s gonna break!」

I mean, there’s really only two ways to kill a standing opponent with a knife .

The first is stabbing the knife in the throat and the second is plunging the knife deep into the abdomen .

It’s possible to sever the carotid artery, however, that takes a considerable amount of skill and the difficulty level would instantly be raised by several levels if the opponent was wearing a collared s.h.i.+rt, so it’s not very realistic .

Celia could easily accomplish the feat, but she’s an exception .

In other words, the moment they aimed for my face was when I realized they weren’t prepared to kill me .

I can step in rather forcefully and come out with only a minor scratch on my handsome face .

「Fortunately for you, you weren’t planning to kill anybody, so I’ll do the same . 」

I add my left hand to the arm I’m already grabbing…… and snap it in half like a twig .

「Dammit!!」

The other one lunges with his sword from the hip .

Judging by how low the strike is, he’s probably aiming for my thigh . Forgive me for what I’m about to do, it’s unavoidable .

I pretend to receive the attack head-on, only to dodge to the side at the last second and trip him .

As he tumbles, I grab his waist――and then toss him straight up into the air like I played with the little girl earlier .

The man weighs much more so he flies about 5 m, and obviously, I’m not going to catch him .

「Guubh! Gehah! Gurbh!!」

After falling on his back, the man coughs and writhes on the ground .

He shouldn’t be able to do anything other than squirm .

The next man fakes to the right with his knife, so I counter by grabbing his left sleeve and dragging him to the levee…… then I toss him into the North Teries river .

The levee was 10 m wide and 5 m tall, which made me doubt how things would turn out, but the splash let me know he reached the water .

Now there’s one person left .

「Wait, don’t move! If you move, this woman will…… huh?」

As I was busy dealing with his buddies, the last guy circled around to the mother and daughter and pointed his knife at them .

His miscalculation was that he didn’t account for me reading his actions and matching them .

In terms of speed, I had the clear advantage . I may appear sluggish, but I’m actually fast .

I go behind the man who was about to stab the daughter in the back and grab his head .

「You’re not supposed to use a woman as a hostage . How unfortunate . 」

I proceed to twist the man’s head around 180 degrees .

With a satisfying crack, his neck bone broke .

「Hiieeee!!」

The daughter’s shriek signaled the end of the fight .

The shock from what happened to the man’s head in front of her prevented her from standing for some time .

Since I saved her, I felt it was my responsibility to at least watch over her until she calmed down .

「Hey you . I guess you did well this time . 」

「Mm . 」

I casually dismiss the mother’s praise .

「From what I can see, you aren’t a low cla.s.s…… well, if you are looking for a job, I can ask my husband for you . 」

「No need . 」

Are the daughter’s legs still wobbly?

「Worried about money perhaps? Rather than a job in the city, I can――」

「Hey, what’s going on――!!?」

Finally, the guards are here .

Like fish who found water, the mother and daughter promptly stood up .

「Kinihi, you’re late! I’m going to tell my husband!」

「That’s right! Father will lower your wages for that―― eh?」

The guard captain initially looks dubiously at the two of them, however, he hastily dismounts from his horse after confirming my face .

「You guys, hurry and get off too or you’ll be beheaded!!」

The other guards ignore the squealing mother and child and kneel in front of me .

「I heard about your visit from the management officer of Trisnia, Kyuzel-sama! This incident is due to our inept.i.tude, there is no excuse――」

I hold out my hand to stop them from continuing and then pick up one of the fallen men .

「There were five armed robbers . I defeated three and killed one . The last one was thrown into the river, so I don’t know if he’s still alive . 」

「You threw him over the levee? ……the rumors of your matchless strength are true then . To attack without knowing who they were up against, these idiots were irredeemable anyways . 」

The captain lightly kicks one of the groaning men .

That was when the arrogant duo cut in .

「Kinihi! What’s the big idea, ignoring me like that!? Also, is this man an acquaintance of yours? Why don’t you tell me his name while you’re at it . 」

The man called Kinihi looks at the mother in disbelief .

「M-madam, you are not aware?」

「No, how would I know? How can a knight’s wife like me know the name of――」

Her words were interrupted by the appearance of another person .

「Are you hurt, Lord Hardlett!?」

Accompanied by his horse, was the management officer appointed by the King――whose name I forgot again .

Once he verified my safety, he breathed a sigh of relief and then went on to yell at his close aide .

「What are the people in charge of public order doing, letting a gang commit robbery in broad daylight!? This visit was announced by the Military Commissioner! If injury were to befall him…… clear the city immediately! Wipe out every last thug!」

「I chose to interfere on my own accord . No need to make a big deal out of it . 」

With that said, I choose to leave right away .

If they invite me to some banquet as an apology―― I’d rather avoid it altogether .

I’m going to drink and have fun with Mel and the others until morning .

「Lord Hardlett……? The great feudal lord of the east…… the number two ranked n.o.ble of the new n.o.ble faction…… Goldonia’s fiercest general…… demon of war…… man of 10 000 lovers…… the walking reproductive machine…… you mean that Hardlett-sama?」

The mother mutters dumbfoundedly .

I want to question where she got the t.i.tles in the latter half .

「Mother…… this is bad…… w-what should we do……」

The daughter trembles in fear .

When asked “what happened” by the Trisnia management officer, the man called Kinihi slowly distances himself from the mother and child .

Fumu, I was honestly annoyed by those two, but no matter what, it doesn’t feel good to scare women like that .

I place a hand on the mother’s shoulder .

「Are you okay?」

「H-hyaah!」

She nods timidly .

I smile as gently as possible .

「That’s good . Then let’s put what happened behind us . I’ve already forgotten about something so trivial . 」

「It was extremely rude of us…… h-how could we ever make amends……」

The daughter steps forward .

Fumu…… she’s not the prettiest, although some female charm still exists in her young body .

「In that case, there is one thing . 」

「Gmh!」

I steal the girl’s lips .

My tongue parts her lips and enters her mouth, stirring around inside for a few seconds before I separate from her .

「That’s good enough . Farewell now . 」

I make my gallant escape .

End of Flashback .

It was actually a rather nice story, but there is unfortunately more to it .

After that, the mother and daughter came by to greet me before I left the city .

They brought some tasty wine and even offered to pour it for me……then, before I knew it-

「I gobbled them up . 」

By the way, the daughter was a virgin .

It’s mysterious how despite not having an attractive face, the act of screaming “it hurts” while clinging onto me was enough to seem charming .

According to Nonna, there was news of a great turmoil caused by the wife and daughter of a knight household in Trisnia both becoming pregnant with illegitimate children at the same time .

「More importantly――」

Memories of Trisnia resurface again in my mind .

First is the harbor .

The interior and entrance of Trisnia’s harbor are wide enough to allow combat vessels to rush in .

However, the harbor is equipped with heavy chains to prevent stowaways, and tying them up on land would easily shut down the harbor’s entrance .

In other words, it’s impossible for combat vessels to infiltrate Trisnia’s harbor .

Next is the fountain .

The fountain’s water supply flows from the north to the south .

So this means that even though Trisnia appears flat at first glance, the north part is actually more elevated than the south .

Last is the levee .

The st.u.r.dy levee which was used for many years burst open due to a flood that happened two years ago .

Such a st.u.r.dy levee still broke .

Although details have not been gathered, I’m sure many levees in the vicinity were also destroyed .

Fixing them takes substantial amounts of time and labor .

They won’t be completely repaired in the near future .

I don’t think much information is known about these things .

I’ll have to tell Leopolt later .

「Guh……」

As I get lost in thought uncharacteristically, my lower half becomes numb .

「Gmmh!!」

Pamela, who is in between my legs, groans along with me .

Not good, not good . It’s rude of me to zone out while she’s servicing me .

Pamela cups her hands together and spits out the seed I released in her mouth .

Rather than liquid, it’s more solid…… it came out like an over-ripened peach .

「What is this?」

「I wonder . 」

Recently, my s.e.m.e.n has been clumping up .

It’s probably because I’m pent up . It scares me a little when I think about what the next evolution step will be .

I pat Pamela’s head softly and give her some kind advice .

「Go back home first thing tomorrow morning . 」

「Is it starting?」

I nod silently .

Protagonist: Aegir Hardlett . 25 years old . Summer .

Status: Goldonia Kingdom Margrave . Great Feudal Lord of Eastern Area . Mountain Legend .

Friend of the Dwarves . Friend of the King of Aless . Dragon Slayer Hero .

Elf Mediator . s.e.x King of White City .

Subordinates:

Myla (militia commander), Leopolt (staff officer A), Tristan (staff officer B), Celia (battalion commander)

Yakov (p.i.s.sed himself majorly), Irijina (commander), Luna (bow cavalry commander), Gido (in perfect condition♪)

Ivanna (preparing), Brynhildr (completed), Annette (princess of the 105), Sekrit (preparing)

Piris (step-sister), Harty (military prost.i.tute)

Army – Southern Goldonia

Under Protagonist

Escort Unit: 75

Infantry: 7200

Cavalry: 770

Archers: 870

Cannoneers: 430

Bow Cavalry: 7600

Independent Celia Squad: 500

Conscripts + Security Unit: 17 300

Cannons: 50, Large Cannons: 25, Dwarven Cannons: 16, Field Artillery: 20, Chariots: 50

Reinforcements / Allied Forces

Aless Soldiers: 13929

105 Army Corps: 3850

Fleet

Battles.h.i.+p Suvorov, Battles.h.i.+p Aless of Aless (?)

Large Combat s.h.i.+ps: 2, Small Combat s.h.i.+ps: 8, Transport s.h.i.+ps: 20

Ally Forces: Frontal Warfront – Royal Army: 78 000

Conscripts: 52 000

Enemy Force

Frontal Warfront – Regular Soldiers: 29 000

Conscripts: 75 000 ⇒ 80 000

Cavalry Army: 25 000 ???

West Coast of River – Regular Soldiers: 40 000

Magrado Local Army: 30 000

Meldora Fleet: annihilated, only a few small s.h.i.+ps remaining

a.s.sets: -10 000 gold

s.e.xual Partners: 785, children who have been born: 69 + 567