novelraw Chapter 55 : Chapter 55
Chapter 55 : Chapter 55
Chapter 55. The Invasion of the Lombard Kingdom (1)
‘It’s later than I expected.’
It had already been four days since Anonymous left.
A day to get to the royal palace.
Half a day to go from the entrance of the ruins to the lowest level and back.
A day to return.
She should have been back in two and a half days.
‘Did something happen on the way? At this point, there shouldn’t be anyone who can defeat her.’
Could Primus have appeared?
A cold sweat ran down my back without me realizing.
As I was pondering this.
I felt a powerful magical energy rapidly approaching.
I went outside without looking back and saw Anonymous landing gracefully.
“You’re late.”
“I apologize, Master.”
“You……”
Not only was a significant portion of her clothes torn off.
But there were also scratches all over her body, making me doubt if she was the person I knew.
This was, in all likelihood, a sign of having fought with someone.
I asked with a face full of concern.
“What happened?”
“It’s not really something worth mentioning. First, I must apologize.”
She suddenly bowed her head to me.
And then she said these words.
“I lost the gold ingot you gave me on the way. I’m truly sorry.”
Huh? She lost the gold ingot I gave her? The queen of the dragons made a mistake like this? When I made a dumbfounded expression, she finally confessed what had happened.
“I lost the gold ingot while trying to get through Mammon’s traps. I got so angry that I had a small quarrel with Mammon.”
“A quarrel?”
“To be more precise, I was the one who beat him up one-sidedly, but anyway, he’s fine. I adjusted my strength appropriately.”
Anonymous spoke lightly, as if a bully had beaten up a loser.
A bitter smile formed on my face.
Anyway, it was a relief that Mammon was safe.
“I should have given you a little more warning about the traps. It’s my fault.”
Anonymous had expected me to scold her, but when I instead blamed myself, she waved her hands and strongly denied it.
“No, Master. I deserve to die a hundred times for disobeying your orders. I will never make such a mistake again.”
She repeatedly apologized, saying she was too ashamed to face me.
Losing the gold ingot was a shame, but I could just gather more.
If I acted too stingy, it would be difficult to gather allies around me.
I told her to be careful next time and handed her a new gold ingot.
I also added two regular potions as a bonus.
“This is?”
“I want you to take one and give the other to Mammon. This should be enough for light bruises.”
Even a regular potion was a more effective remedy than anything else for most wounds.
It was just that high potions and elixirs showed absurd performance.
I didn’t know how badly Mammon was hurt, but wouldn’t this be enough to soothe his feelings?
‘The price of a single regular potion is a whopping three hundred gold coins. As the demon of greed, he would know the value of potions better than anyone.’
Of course, this alone would not be enough.
I ordered Anonymous to sincerely apologize to Mammon.
Perhaps because she had her own sin, this time Anonymous nodded without complaint.
“Be careful on your way.”
Anonymous left for the royal palace again as soon as she got home.
I felt sorry for using the strongest being in the world like an errand boy, but what could I do.
There was no one who could move as fast as her.
***
Not long after Anonymous left.
I started dinner with my family.
With Rude, who had gotten a taste for training the dragons, not returning from the dragon’s paradise.
It naturally became a gathering for just our family.
The topic of conversation was mainly about training the dragons.
“At this rate, we won’t have any problems even if the enemies invade.”
“I agree with my sister. They have good comprehension and abundant innate magical power, so they adapted to their human bodies quickly.”
“That’s a relief. You two have contributed greatly.”
“Not at all. What you want to do is my job, Dad.”
Noemi smiled brightly.
Cute was cute, but the sauce smeared all around her lips bothered me.
I wiped Noemi’s mouth with a napkin.
At that, Noemi exclaimed with a happy face.
“Heehee. Now I feel a little more at ease.”
And then she added the following words.
“Lately, I felt like Master Anonymous had stolen you from me, Dad.”
“That can’t be. She is nothing more than a maid.”
“But you’re together 24/7, right? Even for night service……”
“Ahem, you’re still young, don’t say such things. Besides, we sleep separately at night.”
Noemi shook her head firmly and said resolutely.
“I’m an adult too! Other friends my age are all at the age to get married.”
That was true, but for me, an adult was still someone over twenty, and I couldn't help it.
But what was this?
Even Adel joined in on Noemi’s opinion and started pressuring me.
“I’m saying this because Master isn’t here, but it’s true that I was uncomfortable too. The way Master looks at you, Father, is suspicious no matter how you look at it.”
“Isn’t that because she drank the Magic Potion? There won’t be any problems.”
“No. If even I, who am dull, feel that way, others will see it even more so. You need to be careful.”
I slowly nodded my head.
“I will be careful from now on. I will warn Anonymous once again as well.”
“Yes, please do.”
Fortunately, there was no more talk about her after that.
We just talked about how our bodies were recently.
And how the domain seemed to have come to life with the construction of the dragon’s paradise, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
‘Now it feels like a family. How great would it have been if Iris were here too?’
I stared intently at the empty seat and swallowed my disappointment.
Don't you always pay the most attention to the child that gives you the most trouble?
They say that among children, the one who causes the most trouble catches your eye the most and that was exactly right.
‘I hope she’s healthy.’
Today, Iris' empty seat felt even larger.
***
‘Is someone talking about me?’
Iris scratched her ears and tilted her head.
For some reason, her ears felt itchy today.
But then suddenly, someone snatched her wrist, put it back to its original state, and started scratching her ears for her.
“Wh-What?”
“Stay still. It is not desirable for the master to move their own hands.”
Iris almost screamed.
This was the first time someone else had touched her ears.
But because the other person was Number 1, she blushed but did not refuse his touch.
“Tsk. You’re overstepping your bounds.”
“If you don’t like it, say so. Then I won’t do it.”
“Hmph. If you’re going to do it, do it properly. It’s a little lower than that that’s itchy.”
At that very moment.
Number 1 quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.
“What? Why did you suddenly stop?”
“Something is approaching.”
“What?”
Iris jumped up from her seat and went out to the balcony.
Then she saw a pure white dot gradually approaching from a distance.
“What is that?”
But as the dot grew larger.
A black shape could be seen on top of the pure white dot.
Number 1 slowly opened his mouth.
“It appears to be Number 3. He is coming on a Pegasus.”
“A Pegasus? Isn’t that a means of transportation only for kings? No, wait. Why is Number 3 here?”
Before long, Number 3, who had landed on the ground, came up to where she and Number 1 were at a high speed.
“What on earth is going on?”
“There is much to say. But before that, I will give you this first.”
Number 3 took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to her.
“What is this?”
“It’s a letter written by Frank.”
At the name Frank, Iris' face froze.
Then, Iris stepped back with an attitude as if she were looking at something disgusting.
“Why did you, who should be in the Lombard Kingdom, come here with something like that?”
“Read that letter first.”
Number 3 was suspiciously obsessed with the letter.
As if his master was not her, but Frank.
Iris frowned, took the letter from his hand, and tore open the seal.
Soon, an unexpected phrase came into view.
Iris' hands trembled, and she dropped the letter paper from her hand.
“D-Did that man really write this?”
“It is true.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I watched him with my own two eyes.”
At Number 3’s words, Iris felt her vision turn white.
‘That man wrote such a kind letter to me? Does that make sense?’
He even added a postscript telling her to rely on Number 1 in his stead.
Was her reaction that unexpected?
Number 1 silently picked up the letter paper that had fallen on the floor and examined it closely.
For a fleeting moment, a smile crossed Number 1’s face, which had always been emotionless.
“Hmph. I can feel the sincerity in the writing.”
Iris raised her voice, saying that was absolutely not the case.
“Absolutely not! There must be some conspiracy hidden in it!”
“No. The man I saw named Frank was not that kind of man. His affection for you is dripping from the letter.”
Number 3 also agreed with those words.
“He even used a high potion to save my life. He didn’t seem like a person who would play around.”
At the mention of a high potion, Number 1 showed a surprised reaction.
“He used something very precious. Does that mean your life was in great danger, Number 3?”
“That is correct. Now that the master has read the letter, I will tell you the story of what I experienced.”
Number 3 revealed the story of what he had experienced in the Lombard Kingdom with a heavy face.
But the sound did not enter Iris' ears well.
‘They said he had changed, is it really true?’
To think that a terrible man who had only considered his children as tools could do something so considerate for others.
Iris stared blankly at Frank’s letter held in Number 1’s hand with a dazed expression.
‘To my dear second daughter, Iris’.
\It felt like she was dreaming.
***
Before long, Anonymous returned to the mansion.
When I asked about the matter with Mammon, she said it was resolved, but her stiff expression bothered me.
When I get a chance next time, it would be better for me to go there myself and have a talk with Mammon.
As I was thinking that, another person visited the mansion.
Alvarez banged on the door and said this.
“The Lombard Kingdom’s army is approaching! We need to prepare for defense urgently!”
Damn it. It’s one thing after another.
Anyway, incidents just keep happening without a break.
I want to take a break with my daughters too.
In the original version, not only did incidents happen, but there were also episodes where you could take a break,
but perhaps because this is a DLC, such time is rarely given.
The invasion of the Lombard Kingdom.
This was the second episode that occurred after the invasion of the remnants of the old Demon Tribe in the original version.
‘If I can just resolve this matter well, I’ll have some time to rest for a bit.’
The third episode was a slice-of-life part about going on vacation with the daughters.
I sincerely hoped and prayed that at least that would remain the same in the DLC.
Of course, that would be after safely passing the second episode.
‘Let’s put the vacation plans aside for a moment. Right now, defense is the top priority.’
I hastily convened an emergency meeting and raised the village’s security to the highest level.