Chapter 59

"I am Russel Nabilov, formally appointed as Your Grace's escort from today. I look forward to working with you all."

With Russel's arrival, a pink wind blew through the castle.

A kind, diligent, dependable, and handsome blonde knight - these were keywords that would steal the hearts of maidens anywhere.

Thanks to him, the castle maids would talk excitedly about him whenever they gathered.

'The Golden Knight'.

This was the nickname recently given to Russel.

Arndt pouted while talking about it.

"The work efficiency has gone down because of that."

"It's not that serious, is it? If it were, you would have taken measures already."

While looking at the grumbling Arndt, he casually added.

"Since you're now the head servant."

As soon as there was some leeway after Russel accepted the escort knight position, he had appointed Arndt as head servant.

Perhaps because Arndt had been supervising all kinds of castle duties from the beginning, there wasn't much opposition among the employees.

It was fortunate, since he had worried due to Arndt's young age.

Arndt twitched the corner of his mouth at his words but then calmed down and took away an armful of documents.

"Even if you say that, I can't reduce your work any further."

"With you taking care of the castle affairs, it's very comfortable for me."

"Now that things have turned out this way, it would be good if Your Grace became more accustomed to it too."

"I'm already accustomed to it. I'll handle external affairs."

It was so good not having to check each small detail of how much was spent on trivial matters, what needed repair, or how wages were paid.

Arndt said he would come back later with the final review and left the office.

Then Russel, who had been waiting outside, entered and greeted energetically.

"Your Grace, Nabilov reporting. Sir Leandros has instructed me to guard the interior."

"Yes. Thank you."

Nabilov took his position beside his desk.

The way he stood firmly on guard made him look like a drug detection dog just put into active duty.

An expression mixing determination to do well and anxiety about making mistakes.

He wondered what Russel might be thinking if he could read the narration now.

"How are things with Leandros?"

"Thanks to Your Grace's concern, I'm getting along well."

"He's not bullying you? Even during the adaptation period?"

"No, he's treating me well! He's been giving me thorough training too!"

"What kind of training?"

"Basic strength building. Running 50 laps around the castle, or doing 400 push-ups."

...Isn't that bullying?

Russel was currently entrusted to Leandros.

Since Leandros was clearly senior as an escort knight, he had the duty to guide Russel.

Though he was slightly uneasy, he still trusted Leandros and didn't interfere.

"Is the training manageable?"

"Yes! It's very good. The air is clean and refreshing, so I think the training is more effective. I feel like my muscles are gradually increasing."

"Oh. How much have they grown?"

"I'm not sure... Would you like to feel them? My muscles."

"No. I don't want to."

Russel immediately became dejected.

The illusion of drooping ears and tail appeared again.

Damn.

"...You mean your arm muscles, right?"

"Yes!"

"Show me."

Russel excitedly began rolling up his sleeves.

The well-defined muscles on his arms really did seem to have grown thicker in just a few days.

Just as he reached his hand toward that arm, there was a knock.

"Your Grace, it's Leandros."

"Come in."

Leandros was expressionless as always.

His gaze was dry as he looked at Russel with rolled-up sleeves and at him.

He opened his mouth.

"Sir Russel Nabilov."

"Y-Yes!"

"Is the Duke your close friend?"

"No, he's not!"

"I told you to stand guard, and you're rolling up your sleeves to show him what?"

"I will correct it!"

"Down on the ground."

"Yes!"

Russel, who had answered vigorously, immediately got down and did a push-up position on the spot.

While his pupils shook violently at the sight, Leandros reported as if nothing unusual was happening.

"The cleanup of Vormi near the castle is almost complete. We found a Vormi nest at the location you ordered previously."

"Did you handle it?"

"Yes."

"It seems like the number won't increase anymore. The Aisling Merchant Group wants to start setting up their settlement and installing what they need."

"That should be entirely possible."

If Leandros said so, it meant that the remaining number of specimens was truly minimal.

"Good work, I'll also request the cleaning of the surroundings. Let's make sure we collect the Vormi byproducts separately. Take servants with you to gather them."

"Yes."

Leandros bowed and left the office.

As soon as the door closed, Russel, who had been in the push-up position, sprang up.

"Did you clear out the Vormi, Your Grace?"

"It was necessary. You seem to have a lot of interest in demonic beasts?"

"Yes! When you asked for cleanup earlier, did you mean to eliminate the remaining stragglers in the area?"

"Something like that."

"Then could I go along with Sir Leandros?"

Russel asked while fidgeting with his fingers.

Watching that, he nodded.

"Ask Leandros. I've entrusted this matter to him."

"I'll ask him during training later! I think I need to catch demonic beasts myself to build my skills as quickly as possible. Have you seen Sir Leandros use a real sword, Your Grace?"

"I've seen it many times."

Especially when he died in this iteration.

Russel excitedly kept chattering.

"He uses wooden swords when sparring with me, but when I see him maintaining his sword sometimes, I can only admire how meticulously he cares for it. That sword is like a sleeping beast in an old scabbard."

"Is it that old?"

"Doesn't it look that way to you?"

It seems Leandros' equipment did look worn to others too.

It didn't seem right for the protagonist to use a shabby sword. Perhaps he should gift him a new weapon someday.

But he wondered if there were famous swords in this world too.

He would have to look into it later.

* * *

In the end, Russel couldn't contribute even a fingernail's worth to the demonic beast cleanup.

After Russel asked if he could go too, Leandros declared that he would "firmly imprint in his head what the position of escort knight meant" and began to thoroughly drill him.

As someone who had decided not to interfere, all he could do was watch with sympathetic eyes.

Well, regardless of what happened internally, the Aisling Merchant Group was able to proceed with setting up their camp while Leandros was cleaning up the stragglers.

He went to the site himself to check the location, and the scale was larger than he had thought.

Located about a ten-minute horse ride from Hartmann's empty manor and adjacent to the mountain range.

There seemed to be over a hundred people running around everywhere, and tents were being set up on the flat ground.

As he was looking around among the energetic people, someone approached.

"Hello, are you perhaps related to this project?"

She was a woman who looked like she wasn't even thirty yet.

Her whitish, almost silver hair was tied up casually, suggesting she prioritized mobility.

With sleeves rolled up and loose, durable pants, she was clearly a field staff member.

"I am Arenheit Hartmann."

"Ah, Your Grace! You've come here personally, I've heard a lot about you. I am Yvonne from the Aisling Merchant Group, the site manager. I have no surname as I'm a commoner, so please call me comfortably."

Yvonne, who had greeted him in a friendly manner, immediately began to inform him about the camp installation status.

The Aisling Merchant Group's goals were to distribute sturdy weapons processed from demonic beast byproducts and to conduct additional research on demonic beasts.

Not just distributing weapons, but also examining if there were any other ways to extract value from demonic beasts.

Since they had an abundance of samples anyway, he had no reason to refuse.

And they had agreed to share the results of the group's research conditionally.

"So, as for the residential area, we're planning to borrow part of the manor as discussed with Mr. Aiden."

"It's all empty, so use it comfortably. Just don't demolish it. And I heard that you'll be processing demonic beast byproducts on-site when hunting them."

"Yes, that's right. It would take an excessive amount of time to commission an artisan from the east."

"Then wouldn't you need a special crafting environment?"

Demonic beast byproducts couldn't be refined in ordinary ways.

This was because they far exceeded ordinary metals in terms of hardness and various other aspects.

When he said this, Yvonne's eyes lit up brightly.

Not just a sparkle, but a flash.

"Your Grace seems to know a lot about this! Demonic beast byproducts require a lot of effort and materials even for initial processing. That's why many artisans bring their entire workshops here. But!"

Yvonne pointed at herself with her thumb.

"Because I, Yvonne, am a true! Artisan who competes with real! Skill, I don't need such things!"

"Are you perhaps a magic craftsman?"

"Your Grace has a high eye for talent! A genius magic craftsman known throughout the east! A master among masters! With me here, you don't need to worry about processing byproducts!"

Yvonne.

Actually, there was no mention of her in the original work.

But since Aisling wouldn't send nobodies for important business, most of what she claimed was probably true.

It might seem a bit out of place for the site manager to be a magic craftsman, but thinking about it, there was probably no one more suitable than her.

Someone with knowledge about demonic beasts, who understood the crafting process, and who had enough reputation not to be disregarded by others.

Aiden Aisling had essentially set up a massive workshop in the Dikenter Mountains.

"What kind of weapons do you mainly make?"

"Befitting my reputation as a genius artisan, I can make anything."

...Seeing her overflowing self-confidence, she must really have extraordinary skills.

"Then do you accept personal commissions?"

"Oh? A personal commission from Your Grace? Of course I do, but it's difficult right now. That's because as soon as the forward base is completed, we plan to deploy mercenaries immediately."

"When will the camp be completed?"

"Supply wagons keep coming, so it should take at most four days. By then, the hired mercenaries should also arrive."

Four days. Four days.

That would be just enough time to tinker with materials before finishing.

Suppressing his disappointment, he said to Yvonne.

"Then there's no choice. If you happen to have time later..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Someone came running to them in a hurry.

It was a worker setting up the camp.

"Ms. Yvonne! It's a disaster. The supply convoy was attacked by d-demonic beasts on the way!"

"What? Weren't they supposed to be sent with escorts since it's near the mountains?"

"That's right, but the demonic beasts that came down from the mountains were medium-sized or larger, and they were so ferocious."

The worker swallowed once.

"N-not many people survived... A few wagons arrived, but they dropped many items, and among the survivors, some are injured."

Yvonne pressed her forehead at those words.

This incident didn't simply mean that supplies wouldn't arrive.

It meant they had to abandon that route entirely and find another path.

Of course, that other path wouldn't be as efficient or quick as the route they had chosen now.

At this rate, they would have no choice but to idle away their time in a half-built camp until supplies arrived.

He asked instead of Yvonne, who had lost her words while thinking.

"Is there any description of what it looked like?"

"Other than it being extremely large and resembling a hairy human, I haven't heard anything."

There was only one demonic beast that came to mind when thinking of a hairy human.

And if it was described as extremely large, there was only one creature he could think of.

"Yvonne."

"Y-Yes?"

"This matter will be resolved by the ducal residence."

It was clearly the mutated Vormi, his first death flag.