158 let’s go
It’s a long way from Dicoquaria to Chania and back to the capital.
Levin and his fellow clown took the route that was known to be as safe as possible.
Now I am out of the city and walking on a desolate dirt road.
The situation in Cania was different from Dicoquaria, which was ruled by a foreign country. Not all territories were engulfed in war, but local wars broke out in many places and then stopped for a while.
Farmers who ran away from the territory were not nonexistent, but there were few.
Prices rose sharply and many people starved to death, but security was maintained to some extent in large cities.
However, things change a lot when you go to a remote area or a small village. There were many areas where bandits appeared, and there were not a few cases where mercenaries hired by nobles plundered remote areas.
Omnibuses are still in operation, but many do not operate in areas where fighting is taking place.
In that case, I had no choice but to walk. So I am still walking.
There were spies from the empire in Cania, but they weren’t able to get help at every corner. Sometimes I had to get help, and sometimes I had to solve everything with a colleague.
When it encounters mercenaries or bandits, it literally runs away with its hands becoming its legs.
But it wasn’t really that difficult.
The hardest part was finding food to eat.
Previously, the cost of lodging a day was about 3 liri per room and about 6 liri for meals and drinks.
Even though the meals served at the inn were stew, bread, and cheap beer. It was not a price that ordinary people could afford.
Even worse, there are places where you receive up to ten times.
Food was hard to come by, so there were even places that didn’t serve meals at all.
The inn is like that, so finding food in a small town is as difficult as picking stars in the sky. Sometimes I could go through the day without eating anything.
“This way, maybe there will be something left to eat until His Majesty comes.”
As Levin muttered, the fellow jester pondered and blurted out:
“Then shall we leave a mark?”
“What sign?”
“So that I know where there are places with adequate food left over.”
“Well, that’s a good idea, but how do we know that?”
The clown grinned at Levin’s words.
“If there are many inns that don’t serve meals, the city is short of food. But, no matter how many times you pay, the places where meals are served are still good, aren’t they?”
The clown picks up some stones and throws them around. I threw one, threw two, threw three, and received the first stone, but when I woke up, there were six stones. Every time I see it, I can’t figure out how to draw it.
Hum, hum, the clown continued while humming.
“It doesn’t seem like much, but just by leaving a simple marker like that, Your Majesty will know whether it’s better to stay in this city or go to the next one. How is it?”
“That’s a good idea.”
It was the moment Levin nodded.
The clown naturally twisted his body and threw the stone he was holding.
Six stones flew through the air one after another and hit the toad on the pile of stones. The toad was completely crushed. Thick liquid and ruptured intestines flowed between the stones.
“Huh? What is it? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
To Levin’s surprise, the clown moved close to the toad and pressed it again with his foot, distorting its shape.
“This guy has been following me ever since. I’ve never seen a toad move so fast. He’s the witch’s messenger.”
At the clown’s words, Levin looked down at the crushed toad.
If it’s a clown, then so be it. But it’s really strange. How could a toad or something like that follow people and get some information?
Levin had previously teamed up with others to travel together. But this is the first time I met this person.
The chamberlain said that this clown was an expert on witches.
It was this person who discovered that Kania’s mistress was a witch.
“But how does Toad know that we are spies?”
“well.”
The clown frowned.
“That’s kind of odd. Maybe it’s not because he’s a spy, but because of something else.”
But I don’t know what it is, muttered the clown. He glanced at Levin and tilted his head.
“Maybe it’s because you’re so pretty. Since ancient times, witches tend to prefer beautiful things.”
I kind of hate that.
“How can a toad know a person’s tail?”
The clown laughed at Levin’s words. He is not very big, but the clown has a big voice. My ears rang as I laughed right next to it.
“It’s not this guy who’s actually seeing it, it’s the witch. But since witches are in the royal capital, they probably haven’t noticed us yet.”
It depends on the ability of the witch, but it is usually said that even a witch cannot communicate with the animals or insects she commands from such a long distance.
“The Witch of the West is said to be able to see it as a crow even from very far away?”
“That’s a very special case. I know of only one witch who can do that, the Witch of the West.”
The clown shrugged and started walking again.
Levin followed suit.
I heard that clowns possess magical powers. It is said that there is some royal blood in it. I don’t know why such a person would act like a clown.
‘What must happen to make a royal become a clown?’
Perhaps he has experienced something far worse than the likes of himself.
When I was young, I thought that suffering because of my appearance was the greatest misfortune than anyone else. Because of her beautiful appearance, she almost suffered many hardships.
When he met Rudy, he even thought of using the child as a shield, so his humanity must be a piece of trash not much different from those who tried to violate him.
Even after that, the beautiful appearance was the part that Levin hated the most.
What changed was a word from Boris.
Boris taught both Rudy and Levin how to seduce or make love to women.
It was the right age for Levin, but Rudy was too young. Still, the reason I taught him was probably because I had the intention of making him emperor from then on.
Levin continued to be educated by Boris, but in Rudy’s case, he stopped after learning only the basics.
Rudy, who was perfect in every respect, was, according to Boris, a complete failure at seduction.
[If you teach him, he will follow suit, but his eyes are far from temptation no matter how hard he tries. That’s the predator’s eye. Not to seduce, but to frighten the opponent. Opponents are not tempted, they just succumb.]
s*xual attraction is sufficient, but it cannot be raised to any higher level. That was the only thing Rudy, who could teach him anything and do it perfectly, couldn’t do it. Instinctively, Rudy resisted temptation.
On the other hand, it was said that the more Levin learned, the more he surpassed Boris.
If you put your mind to it, you can seduce both men and women with a single word. I couldn’t be intimidated by anyone anymore. It was only after that that her appearance, which was barely hateful, became her strength.
Rudy seems worried that he has been forced to live this way, but Levin likes being able to seduce someone and get his way. Each time, little by little, the spine straightened. I also thought that I was trash.
‘But what, is it okay if I become trash for His Majesty’s sake?’
Rudy is the right person. It is most suitable to walk in the sun and walk in the sun. He knew that there was shade and could use it, but he couldn’t live in the shade eating damp moss.
If you live in the damp shade, you’ll probably wither away from the inside, just as Boris and the chamberlain said. It slowly withers away without being able to accept the dirty dirty water.
His Majesty need not come close to the shadows. I wish I could live looking straight ahead in a sunny place where the warm sun shines. That was the wish of the chamberlain, Boris, and himself.
‘Because I’ll do all the dirty work.’
Levin grinned.
Rudy, for some reason, tends to think of Levine as a bit of an idiot. It seems clumsy somehow.
But in Levin’s view, it was the other way around. As a monarch, sometimes you have to coolly abandon your aides, but Rudy probably won’t be able to do that. It is the weakness of a person on the good side.
When something like that happens, it’s Levin’s job to handle it without Rudy’s knowledge and help from the side. That’s how I learned and I’m still learning.
The smell of blood wafted from somewhere. I heard that this area is an area with bandits. There may be a group of peddlers who have been attacked somewhere.
“Brother! Brother!”
When Levin called for the clown, he stopped and looked back.
“It smells like blood. There might be bandits. Let’s be careful.”
“…I don’t know, but you smell really good.”
“hahahaha.”
Levin laughed softly.
It’s thanks to Boris’s training.
It’s a secret from Rudy, but Levin is also learning how to use the aphrodisiac. Because such products often contain fragrance, my nose became sensitive.
The two of them went back a little further away from the smell of blood so as not to run into the bandit.
Going that way, it took longer than expected to reach the capital of Chania.
The letter of introduction that Levin and the clown have is to the conductor of the court orchestra.
The conductor asked for money, ignoring the letter of introduction.
I decided to pay a silver coin for the introduction fee, and give additional money later when I earn some money at the palace.
The conductor said that we had to wait for a while until he was called. And two days later, Levin and the clown were able to enter the palace of Chania.
***
The border between Dicoquaria and Cania is divided by flimsy walls and gateways. For a while, there were refugees crossing over from Dicoquaria, so the number of soldiers increased somewhat, but the building was not repaired at all.
Until the Imperial Army reached the border with Cania, the situation in Cania was completely unaware.
Even the Kania soldiers looked bewildered and asked to see their pass, asking whose reinforcements they were. It seems that he thought he had come to support one of the factions.
One of Rudy’s lieutenants came out through the gate and shouted.
“The King of Chania is currently imprisoned by the rebels. We are the Imperial Army who came to rescue the King of Chania at his request! If you do not intend to become an enemy, open the gate immediately! I will give you 10 minutes. The gate will not open within that time. If not, I will consider you a rebel and attack!”
The adjutant repeated the same content one more time before reentering the ranks of the Imperial Army.
Hearing the adjutant’s cry, the Kania army became very upset.
Although he was surprised by the sudden invasion of the imperial army, he seemed shocked by the fact that the king was imprisoned. Occasionally, shouts were heard that the imperial army was lying.
The adjutant who was measuring the time approached Rudi.
“It’s been 10 minutes.”
Rudy glanced at the gateway. The door still did not open. The soldiers were confused and did not know what to do.
“Five warning shots.”
At Rudy’s words, the magicians who were preparing mortars prepared to fire.
A few Cania soldiers looked this way. But they don’t seem to know what’s going on. I pointed my finger at this place and shouted something, and several soldiers gathered around me and looked at the mortar.
“launch!”
As the adjutant’s cry fell, the mortar’s body began to heat up.
Moments later, the mortars fired all at once.
Kwak-kwak-kwak, the fireball flew over the gate with a sound. An energy ball containing fire landed in an empty lot.
The ground is hollowed out and stones are flying everywhere. The dust thickened. The fire that fell to the ground spread to the side, burning the ground black. A nearby tree was quickly engulfed in flames.
A nearby soldier was hit by the embers. screaming and rolling on the floor A nearby soldier tried to save him, but instead caught fire.
The gateway became a mayhem.
A soldier running away, a soldier lying on the spot and trembling.
There were people who looked like captains, but no one tried to stand up to the imperial army.
Likewise, no one opens the gateway.
“Destroy the gateway.”
As Rudy speaks, the mortars fire again. The flimsy wall collapsed with a loud sound.
On both sides of the main army of the Empire, the lord’s army is stationed.
Originally, each county moves at a distance, so there is no case where they are so close together. However, in order to show the power of the mortar, this time, some lords were placed in front.
Rudy watched the lord’s army from his horse.
This side was just as confused as Kania. Voices of admiration or fear flowed from the lord, seeing the mortar for the first time.
Suddenly, not a single Kania soldier remained at the gate.
“let’s go.”
As Rudy rode forward, the soldiers followed.
Slowly, the footsteps of the Imperial army cross the border and resonate in the land of Cania. The banner of the Imperial army flew forward in the land of Cania.
