STGB Chapter 431

Episode 431 Return of the Lion (2)

The sky is a bit depressing.

The sunlight still seeps through.

Warmth that pushed away the chill that permeated even the bones.

Here, there is no trembling cold or hunger.

“Now… I can feel it a little bit. Really… I’m back alive…”

As always, the city that went through hardships and came back gave us a peculiar sense.

I am glad that I survived, but my heart is heavy.

Because there are people who couldn’t come together.

“If only I could hold on a little longer…”

If so.

A few more people might have come along.

“Miss Marone.”

When Sven Farab, who was next to him, warned him by calling his name, Marone stopped talking to himself and gritted his teeth.

It’s not like it’s over just because you’re back in the city.

It’s still too early to be relieved. Maybe something more difficult than in the labyrinth could unfold.

But…

Kwak-.

Even the complaints and complaints that bloom inside are swallowed by force.

It wasn’t just because the place where he was now was the mansion where he had camped for a few days before entering the labyrinth, so he had to be careful with his words.

just because it shouldn’t be

No matter how high and rough the mountain must be climbed.

Because I had to leave those who fought until the end in the labyrinth just to stand here.

“Is Kaislan okay?”

“Oh, it couldn’t be better than this. But I guess I’m the last one?”

Soon after, Kaislan, who had been called by a priest who was on a business trip to an empty mansion, returned and all the members gathered in the reception room.

“Why don’t you just stay here and take a walk? Looks like today is a nice day.”

“I wish I did too.”

“Would you like that?”

“Did you see the drivers in front of the waiting room on the way?

At Aakuraba’s explanation, the wizard Marone let out a disgruntled voice.

“Ha! It’s as if we’ve done something wrong! At best, we’ve completed our mission and returned, but we’re treated like this, I’m sure it’s treated like a hero!”

“Hey Miss Marone……”

“What! Did I say something wrong?”

Sven Farab noticed me, but it wasn’t something I was particularly interested in stopping.

It would be strange not to complain like this.

I even told you to do that much in the first place.

What matters is the other part.

“Haha, first of all, our expedition corps does not belong to the military. We cannot see that the journey is over until we officially report to the upper level.”

“Still. I’m from the military too, but isn’t this too tight?”

“Come on, calm down. Aren’t we the one who accomplished the task of breaking the eye of the sky to turn the tide of the war? After all the reports are over, the next time will be the long-awaited reward.”

“Finally, is Huiyu?”

James Carla responded by blowing a whistle to Kaislan’s words.

After that, the conversation flowed naturally.

Snobbish stories such as Expecting a reward or I will tell you what to ask for.

Of course, these are the words that people outside should listen to.

The conversation we are having right now will flow into the ears of high-ranking officials.

“Anyway, Mister, he brought me something to eat right away from somewhere. Try this.”

“Ah thank you.”

As I ate the meat off the plate that Erwen had served, I looked back on what had happened so far.

If there is a mistake, you need to come up with a solution.

‘…the checkpoint guys didn’t notice.’

Upon returning to the dimension plaza, we put our backpacks in the subordinate subspace.

After all, the equipment to be shown to the royal family and the items not to be shown were well organized and stored separately.

And the arrival checkpoint.

There, I said in a loud voice that we were the special forces of the royal family and asked for the Marquis.

It was an intentional action.

‘Since there are so many explorers at the checkpoint, word about the special forces must have spread throughout the city by now.’

The checkpoint official who contacted the Marquis didn’t know what to do at first, but then he kept repeating the Marquis’ words to ‘keep them here’ and held us back.

And…….

[We will guide you from now on.]

The article of the late writer arrived less than 30 minutes ago. They escorted us to the empty mansion of the Imperial Capital where the inauguration ceremony was held.

[We will carry the burden.]

[The burden……?]

[This is the Marquis’ order. I promise on the honor of the knight that nothing will be missing.]

The backpack containing the spoils that were worth showing was also taken away in the process, and after arriving at the mansion, they were treated one by one by the priests called by the knights.

That’s how much time has passed right now.

smart.

Soon there was a knock and the door opened.

yes it was too late

Now, to some extent, the judgment of the situation is over, right?

“The Marquis wants to meet you.”

Let’s be careful from now on.

***

The driver arrived at a reception room similar to the one we were in. If there’s anything unusual about it, it’s that the table of honor is empty…

and a crystal ball is placed there.

‘It’s a message stone……’

It’s so absurd that it makes me laugh.

It wouldn’t be too far from here to the Marquis family, but it was a long-distance communication.

Well, I guess I knew it anyway.

The moment our eyes met, he committed a terrible thing against us that would have nothing to say even if his head were smashed.

[Forgive me for greeting you this way because I have an urgent business.]

“I think that could be the case.”

[Hmm, seeing that they don’t use honorifics…… I guess the crew already know this?]

A coy voice that comes from being afraid to sit on the sofa.

It wasn’t something to hide, so I coolly admitted it.

“Somehow, I got caught. I already told you that I am Bjorn Yandel. Oh, of course, to the extent that I couldn’t help it because I was working with the royal family.”

[I’m glad that’s the case.]

“Don’t you have something to say before that?”

At this point, I finished the introduction and went to the main body.

in a slightly angry voice.

“Now tell me. Why didn’t the rescue team come?”

Well, we continued to discuss what would be a natural reaction for the rest of our time.

“There’s no way you haven’t heard my voice sent to all regions. What happened?”

[……I’m trying to figure out the exact circumstances.]

“You’re still figuring it out while contacting me through the crystal ball so late?”

[First of all, it seems that there are more enemy troops than expected in Deadwood. So I tried to save it, but I had to give up.]

I thought the answer might be something like this.

However, I didn’t even expect this.

[Probably, Noark’s side noticed the existence of the rescue team as you sent communications to the wide area.]

Hey, they say that I have my responsibility here…….

How thick is this marquis’s face?

“Then, why didn’t we contact you in the first place?

[That… It seems that there was some mistake on the son’s part.]

“…A mistake?”

Like someone who heard a word they couldn’t hear, they ask back.

And…….

[I apologize for this on my behalf. Sorry—.]

He bursts into anger.

“Behel—laaaaaaa!”

Not marquises and royal families.

It was only a long term, towards the party.

“Eltora Tercerion!”

[Wait, calm down—.]

“Yes, was it all because of him! Because he was incompetent! We didn’t get in touch with us on time by mistake!”

[So that’s—.]

“Marquis! Where is that bastard? Oh, don’t tell me. I’m afraid I’ll accidentally break his head the moment I find it.”

[…]

I smashed the tabletop in front of me with my fist like a man who couldn’t win.

And he took a deep breath.

[…Have you calmed down?]

Beyond the crystal ball, a question lingered in the marquis’ eyes.

Well, it wouldn’t be me to be angry like this.

Even though I’m a little more aggressive than the average person, I always acted realistically based on gains and losses.

So…

“Compensation.”

It is at this point that he quells his anger and says:

It’s not that I haven’t been angry at all.

As if it was all because of this that I was openly angry.

“You’ll have to prepare the reward properly. Just as you wished, you’ve taken on the role of commander of the expedition and have successfully completed the mission.”

[Ah… of course. Compensation… Yes, of course.]

As soon as the Marquis’ promise fell, I moved my head and exchanged glances with the crew.

Then, some members nodded their heads as if they did well.

Originally, this is where the details matter.

[Now then, let’s postpone talking about compensation for mistakes until later……]

“…….”

[Where can I hear it? What happened there.]

Okay, now this is the part.

After taking a deep breath, I started talking about what I had prepared. It took a little longer because the Marquis interrupted and asked questions, but it didn’t take more than an hour for the story to be over.

[You’ve had a hard time because of my ugly son.]

After the story was over, the Marquis spat out a brief impression.

Because it’s hard work…….

Blood rushed to my head for some reason at the part where it ended with that one sentence, but somehow I endured it well.

[I will do my best to ensure that my son is compensated for his mistake.]

The Marquis continued.

[And… I sincerely congratulate you on your survival.]

It’s hard to say something you don’t mean to say.

[Then I’ll contact you again.]

Anyway, that’s the end of contact with the Marquis.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

Maybe our story would have worked.

Well, we’ll know with time.

***

Afterwards, we moved to our respective rooms under the guidance of the knights.

A fluffy duvet on a large bed.

Warm sunlight coming through the window.

It was an excessive room considering the time I slept naked on the ice, but the fatigue of 75 days accumulated and my body showed no sign of falling asleep easily.

Maybe that’s the case with my colleagues in the other rooms as well.

Maybe the moment you fell asleep, the knights would attack you.

“…….”

Even so, from the moment I lay down, my body, which had begun to grow tired, fell asleep before I knew it.

And…

‘The neck is still attached.’

I woke up fine the next morning.

From now on, even in the city, do I have to fall asleep with this kind of anxiety every day?

There’s a long way to go.

‘What can I do? I still have to do it.’

Anyway, the second day of my life that I greeted like that.

We got back the backpacks that were taken the day before.

At that time, the Marquis’ answer to my question, “Why did you take it away?” was truly overwhelming.

[Oops… I guess it was delivered that way. I just asked you to appraise the spoils on behalf of all of you who must be exhausted and express your intention to buy them higher than the market price. I will warn you not to misinterpret my words from now on.]

It was absurd, but the Marquis actually kept his words.

Only items that we were willing to sell were bought at a much higher price than the market price, and we did not miss this opportunity and disposed of all unnecessary items.

Hey, this will have plenty of military funding in the future.

[Oh and one more. The public’s interest in the expedition is great because you showed up at the checkpoint.]

There was also good news while listening.

During the war, a radio message called ‘The Eye of the Sky has been destroyed’ spread throughout the Dark Continent.

And the special forces of the royal family appeared in the city.

Perhaps it was thanks to the combination of these two and the rumor spread quickly.

[There will be a triumphal ceremony in two days.]

“A triumphal ceremony?”

[It’s going to be held at the royal palace, and you’ll announce your existence that you’ve kept secret in front of the kingdom’s nobles and subjects that day and congratulate them on your achievements.] Hmm, I expected it, but two days later is too soon

.

Is it possible to get things done so quickly?

I had my doubts, but I soon became convinced.

‘Ah, it must have already been prepared.’

The improvement ceremony must have been prepared long ago.

Just because there are no survivors doesn’t mean the festival can’t be held.

They must have planned to share the achievement among themselves, mourning the annihilated expedition with the achievement of destroying the Eye of the Sky.

[So, prepare it. I will send you the contents of the event and the ceremony, so please read it. Oh, of course, we will prepare all the costumes.]

“Okay. We’ll deliver that to the crew as well.”

[As I said before, the public’s interest is great. Even if it’s inconvenient, even for the sake of the successful improvement ceremony, stay here and hide away until then. If you have any other needs or needs to stay, let me know anytime.] “Ah, then I have a favor to ask of you

… ”

I asked for one thing, and time passed quickly after that.

And so.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“It’s a parade of heroes!”

The day of the triumphal ceremony dawned.