“Damn it!”
“Hey! I said I like you!”
“Let’s just talk!”
The knights were initially overwhelmed by the Britannikers’ aura, but when they saw that Skevin and the Devil’s Corps weren’t attacked even when they rushed in, they all charged forward.
In an instant, the training grounds became a pandemonium, and from then on, a fierce competition to claim a Britanniker began.
Arthur watched the scene for a moment before heading off to see Aild.
***
At that moment.
Aild was waiting for the results of an experiment he had been working on for several days and nights.
His anticipation was particularly high because this experiment was conducted based on the magic book he received from Arthur.
A reaction began to occur in the beaker on the lab bench.
The earth-colored liquid began to boil, and its color gradually lightened.
About ten minutes passed.
The liquid turned clear.
‘For now, the color is just as the book described.’
With a very flushed expression, Aild decided to proceed to the final step.
He tilted a fist-sized golden bottle over the beaker.
A minuscule amount, the size of a teardrop, fell.
A gentle ripple spread, like a single stone dropped into a lake.
If people knew the identity of the liquid in the golden bottle, they would be astonished.
It was an Elixir.
Aild hadn’t given it all to Millerf, saving about a tenth of it for his experiment.
This was the first experiment to use the legendary potion, the Elixir.
‘Please!’
Aild clasped his hands tightly, praying earnestly for success.
The clear liquid’s color gradually tinged a light green, shining like an emerald.
“It worked!”
It looked exactly like the picture he had seen in the magic book.
All that was left was to confirm if it was truly effective.
Aild took a small knife from his pocket and, without hesitation, cut his index finger.
It stung, and blood flowed out.
With a tense face, he dipped his injured finger into the liquid in the beaker.
“Oh!”
As soon as it touched the liquid, the wound healed instantly.
Just as Aild’s eyes widened,
Knock, knock.
A knock was heard at the door.
“Come back later!”
Aild pulled his finger out of the beaker and stared at it intently.
Click.
The door opened and Arthur walked in.
“What! Didn’t you hear me?”
Aild shouted, turning his head.
However, as soon as he confirmed the person who entered was Arthur, his scowling face brightened.
“Oh, it was you.”
“Should I leave?”
As Arthur pointed to the door with his finger, Aild shook his head and waved his hand.
“Hurry, come here!”
“What is it?”
It was the first time he had seen him this excited, so he became slightly curious.
As Arthur approached, Aild cut his finger with the knife again.
“What are you doing?”
Arthur looked puzzled.
“Just watch.”
Aild dipped his injured finger into the liquid again.
Just as expected.
The wound was healed cleanly.
Arthur’s eyes widened at the sight.
“What is that?”
“It’s something I just made. If you spray it on a wound, not only will it heal, but it will also be very effective against psychological shock.”
“You’ve modified a potion.”
“That’s right. Plus, you only need to spray it on the injured area, so you don't have to use much, and I've shortened the recovery time.”
“Everyone will be happy to hear that.”
Arthur smiled and looked towards a curtained-off area.
Behind the curtain were Porshe and Ramni.
They had seemed fine after regaining consciousness at first, but they lost it again and hadn’t woken up since.
They had torture wounds on their heads, and there was a high possibility that their captors had inflicted psychological trauma to extract information.
It was a situation that even Millerf’s healing magic couldn't cure.
“Can you treat them?”
“Just a moment.”
Aild filled a dropper with the liquid and walked towards the curtain.
When he pulled the curtain aside, Porshe and Ramni were lying there.
Externally, all their injuries had been healed.
He had considered giving them the remaining Elixir, but he couldn't let go of his lingering desire for research.
The Elixir was a priceless treasure, and for him, it was the key to success.
If the experiment using the Elixir succeeded, not only could he cure the two, but it would also be a great help when magic healing was ineffective.
So, he used that as his justification and proceeded with the experiment.
“They should be able to wake up now.”
Aild dropped a single drop of the liquid from the dropper onto Porshe and Ramni’s foreheads and lips.
A faint green light emanated from their foreheads and lips before gradually fading.
“Ugh…”
“Uhn…”
Porshe and Ramni simultaneously regained consciousness with a groan.
Aild and Arthur watched silently until the two were fully awake.
After a few seconds passed,
Porshe frowned and opened his eyes.
“Wh-Where…?”
Arthur approached him.
“You’re home.”
“C-Captain…”
Porshe’s face crumpled as tears welled up in his eyes.
“You’ve been through a lot. Don’t worry about anything and just focus on recovering.”
“What happened to them?”
“It’s all over.”
“I-I see… *Sob, sob*.”
Porshe sobbed and closed his eyes.
A wave of guilt washed over him for losing the entire reconnaissance team and letting his younger comrades get hurt.
He couldn't bring himself to look at Arthur’s face.
“*Sob*, I’m sorry.”
“Captain…”
Ramni also woke up, crying.
Arthur held his hand tightly and said,
“You’ve been through a lot, too.”
“What about Peri?”
“He’s fine, so recover quickly and come out.”
“I’m sorry, and thank you.”
Ramni cried, gripping Arthur’s hand tightly.
As his hand trembled, Arthur’s heart grew heavy.
Those who survived after losing their comrades felt an indescribable guilt.
He fully understood that feeling.
There was no special medicine to cure it.
One had to overcome it on their own.
The only thing he could do for the two of them was to wait patiently.
“No one blames you.”
Arthur turned his head to Aild.
“Please take care of them.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll be on their feet soon.”
“Thanks.”
Arthur gave Aild’s shoulder a firm squeeze, then left the room and went outside the castle.
***
“Please! Just calm down!”
Hee-hee-hee-hing—!
“This is driving me crazy!”
The training grounds were still bustling with noise.
In contrast, Arthur’s heart was endlessly heavy.
It was when he felt he needed a change of pace.
He caught sight of Khan approaching.
Arthur grinned and asked,
“You want to be with me?”
Hee-hing~.
Khan seemed to smile with its eyes as it nodded.
“Then shall we go for an exciting ride?”
Khan lowered its posture as if in agreement, and Arthur quickly mounted its back.
At the same time, Khan shot out of the castle like an arrow.
Arthur gripped the red mane tightly and galloped across the plains.
As he rode, feeling the wind against his entire body, he could hear the sound of it parting before him.
His heavy heart felt much lighter, and his mind went blank.
He was simply enjoying this moment.
Khan was so fast it felt just like riding his beloved ‘Dodge Tomahawk’.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this.”
The corners of Arthur’s mouth lifted.
After crossing the vast plains, he entered the village that had been burned down in the territorial war.
Many people were bustling about, working to rebuild the village.
“Hmm.”
Arthur quickly left before the people could spot him.
It wasn't just this time; the estate had been devastated by goblins and orcs several times before.
They would shudder at the mere mention of monsters.
Therefore, he had no intention of ruining the atmosphere by startling them with an encounter with Khan.
Arthur observed the village by circling its outskirts to avoid being seen by the residents.
He had evacuated the residents to the castle before the enemy attacked, so there were no casualties.
However, all the buildings were burned, the livestock and crops were all dead, and the damage was immense.
The damage to the estate was far more severe than he had anticipated.
If the village had even a minimal security system, it wouldn't have gotten this bad.
A sense of regret lingered until he had finished looking around the damaged village.
“Haaah…”
Arthur let out a deep sigh.
The war had only just begun, so the probability of the estate being invaded by enemies was now very high.
This wasn't an issue that could be solved just by increasing the Knight Order and hiring mercenaries.
He had to fix the fundamental problem.
‘I need to reorganize the security system.’
Arthur’s gaze deepened as he became lost in thought.
Deploying the Knight Order or mercenaries for the village’s security and policing couldn’t be considered an effective method.
He needed people who knew the estate's geography well enough to carry out scouting missions and could act as a 5-minute standby force when enemies or monsters appeared.
“Where can I find such people…!”
Suddenly, that guy came to mind.
He met all the conditions Arthur was thinking of.
Moreover, unlike his appearance, he had a heart for the estate, making him the perfect candidate.
“I should go see him.”
Arthur immediately headed to where he was.
***
A short while later.
He arrived at Kenlak’s hideout.
He was thinking of Kenlak as the person to lead the estate’s militia.
As the ruler of the back alleys of Grada Estate, he had enough manpower, and his members were born in Grada Estate.
Thus, their attachment to their homeland was a given; they were the type to step up for the sake of the estate.
A few men were smoking in front of the hideout.
“This is fucked.”
“I know, right? They say we won the territorial war, but half the estate is in ruins.”
“Damn it! In the end, we’re the ones who suffer.”
One of them grimaced and turned his head to the side.
“Gasp!”
He suddenly flinched in shock and stepped back.
“What’s wrong?”
His companions tilted their heads in confusion and looked where he was staring.
In the distance, a massive horse was trudging towards them.
“Wh-What is that?”
“A m-monster?”
“Someone’s riding it…?”
“Huh? It’s… it’s the Scoundrel!”
The man who recognized Arthur quickly ran inside the building.
Arthur, having arrived in front of the hideout, asked the men who were trembling in fear.
“He’s inside, isn’t he?”
The men swallowed hard and nodded.
Arthur looked at the wide-open door and waited for him to come out.
After a short while, Kenlak, wearing a black eyepatch over his left eye, appeared.
His eyes wavered the moment he saw the enormous Khan.
“Th-That’s…”
It was the legendary steed he had only heard about, a Britanniker.
“Care to have a chat with me?”
“I have nothing to say.”
“I do. Get on your horse and follow me.”
Arthur started moving somewhere.
If it were the old Kenlak, he would have scoffed and ignored him, but since Arthur had become a completely different person, he followed on his horse without a second word.
The place Arthur arrived at was a mountainside about ten minutes from the hideout.
Kenlak stopped at a distance and watched.
His horse was too terrified of the Britanniker to go any closer, and he himself had no desire to get near Arthur or the Britanniker either.
As if reading his mind, Arthur grinned and spoke to Khan.
“Make him come closer.”
Hee-hing~.
Khan nodded and turned around.
Then, it glared at Kenlak’s horse.
Startled, the horse’s eyes went wide, and it quickly approached.
Standing next to Khan, the horse trembled like a leaf before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
“What’s wrong with this bastard?”
Kenlak, also flustered, quickly dismounted.
Arthur looked down at the rebuilding village below the hill and began to speak.
“As of today, you will disband your gang.”
“What did you say?”
Kenlak was shocked.
He couldn’t understand why Arthur was saying this now after leaving them alone for over a decade.
“Young Master, you know as well as I do. We promised not to interfere in each other’s territories.”
“You’re not ignorant of the reason the Count’s family leaves you alone, are you?”
“It’s because I’m useful, isn’t it? As you know, I’m in charge of the security within the estate.”
“That’s right. You were a necessary evil in the estate. But when something loses its value, it has to be cleaned up, right?”
As Arthur’s voice turned cold, Kenlak’s expression hardened.
‘Son of a bitch!’
Arthur looked at Kenlak and continued.
“Raise your value. Then, I might just acknowledge you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
For a moment, Kenlak’s eyes flashed.
“A recruitment notice for a militia will be posted in the village.”
Arthur met Kenlak’s gaze and said,
“A guy like you should have already figured out what I’m thinking.”
“What happens if I refuse?”
“Live quietly like a dead mouse. However, anyone who causes trouble will be exiled from the estate.”
“...!”
Kenlak’s face contorted.
Arthur pulled on the mane, and Khan turned around. Before heading down the hill, he added one more thing.
“This is your chance to become a hero.”