How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 239

“Sir Knight!”

Leaning against the mast, I was dozing off when I opened my eyes at the shout.

The rocking of the waves, the intense sunlight, and the unfamiliar deck came into view.

Ah, I was on a pirate ship.

I remembered setting off towards the target sea area on the captured pirate ship with Taylor at dawn.

“Islands in sight!”

At the crew member’s repeated shout, Taylor approached me and extended his hand.

I took his hand and stood up, then approached the shouting crew member.

“Is that the place?”

“Yes. It’s the place you mentioned.”

In the direction the crew member pointed, dozens of islands were clustered together, not too far away.

The sizes varied. Some could be explored in half a day, while others would take several days.

“Where should we dock?”

At the crew member’s question, I rubbed my face to wake myself up and pointed to a large island with a high mountain peak.

“There. It would be good to get an overall view of the surroundings from a high place.”

“Understood.”

At the given order, the crew members adjusted the sails and began heading towards the island I pointed to.

Afterward, Taylor, who had approached me, looked at the island and took out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead.

“It’s hot enough to die.”

It was a short sentence, but the emotion it contained was truly sweltering and sticky.

On the sea, there was no place to escape the intense sunlight at midday. The blowing wind was full of salt, making the skin tingle.

I was better off because I had an artifact cloak that protected me from the cold and heat, but Taylor seemed to be having a hard time.

“Why don’t you take off your cloak?”

“I am not performing a mission right now. It would be difficult to reveal my identity carelessly.”

…Security in this vast ocean where no one can be seen?

“Who would see us?”

“If one acts because someone is watching and does not act because no one is watching, how can that be called a knight?”

To put it nicely, he is upright, and to put it badly, he is an inflexible and stubborn person. Well, that’s why Marquis Irfe keeps such a person by his side and values him.

But he is in the Capital, and I am in the field right now. In a place like this, it is important to make active decisions and move.

More than that, why did Fleta pair me with Taylor? It would have been a pretty enjoyable trip with Jeskal.

For some reason, I felt that the future would not be easy, so I let out a small sigh.

In the meantime, a crew member, sweating profusely like Taylor, approached.

“It seems we can hide the ship there.”

The crew member stretched out his hand and pointed to a cliff that stood tall on the coast. Below it, there was a concave space, probably due to long-term erosion.

“It looks like a perfect place to hide the ship.”

“Yes. Unless you come close, it won’t be noticeable from afar. It would be even more so if we find something useful nearby to camouflage it.”

“Please take care of the camouflage.”

“You can leave that to me… But, well, there’s something I wanted to say.”

The crew member trailed off, looking uneasy.

“Is there something to say?”

“You two knights are going, and we’re waiting here, aren’t we?”

“Yes.”

“If, if, I mean. If you knights don’t come back, what should we do…?”

It was a question of what they should do if something happened to us.

As expected, I hurriedly stopped Taylor, who was about to glare at the crew member’s words.

“The island is big. It will probably take about a day to explore it all. It’s unlikely, but if we don’t return by sunset the day after tomorrow, return to the Golden Honor on your own.”

“Ah, I understand.”

The crew member, frightened by Taylor’s force, quickly retreated.

At the sight, I turned my head and frowned at Taylor.

“Why are you scaring them?”

“Didn’t he say it as if we were going to die on this remote island?”

“They are not soldiers, pirates, or adventurers. They are just ordinary crew members. It’s natural for them to be scared if they are left alone in this dangerous place.”

“Even so…!”

“Remember, Sir Taylor, if they get scared and run away, we have no way to get off this island. This is the sea. And we have no wings.”

“…Ahem.”

Taylor cleared his throat as if he had nothing to say. At the sight, I sighed again and headed to the small rowboat on the ship.

“Let’s get this down. We need to explore the island.”

After lightly rowing and landing on the island, Taylor and I left the departing pirate ship behind and entered the forest.

The atmosphere was… I couldn’t say it was good, even as a joke. Taylor, with his rigid and aristocratic personality, and I were practically incompatible.

“We’ve walked a lot. Let’s rest for a while.”

“Can we afford to do that?”

“There’s no need to overdo it unnecessarily when we don’t know what will come out.”

“I understand.”

Taylor reluctantly nodded and sat on a tree trunk.

I took out a water bottle and quenched my thirst, then handed the water to Taylor.

An awkward silence followed. Unable to bear the embarrassment, I opened my mouth first.

“The Grant family has been loyal to the royal family for generations, right?”

When his family’s story came up, Taylor nodded with a proud expression.

“That’s right. Its history is with the Capital [the kingdom’s capital city]. It is a dedication and honor spanning hundreds of years.”

The Grant County. A deeply rooted royalist family that has been loyal since Belankas the Great established the kingdom.

In short, it means he is well-versed in the internal affairs of the Capital.
That’s why I had something to ask.

“About how high would you rank Lordain in the Capital?”

“Are you talking about that elf?”

“Yes. That elf.”

“…….”

Taylor frowned and drank more water without saying a word.

After a short period of contemplation, Taylor’s mouth finally opened.

“What I saw then probably wasn’t all of his skills.”

“Probably. He also uses spiritism.”

“…Does the Capital include the Guardians?”

The Ten Guardians. The alias of the Royal Knights Order and the sharpest swords of the royal family.

“Yes. Including the Guardians. Haven’t you fought with them?”

“Of course. As a knight belonging to the royal family, one naturally dreams of becoming a Guardian. I have naturally crossed swords with them.”

“Then it will be easier to evaluate.”

Taylor was silent for a moment at my question, then said briefly.

“…Five fingers.”

“Five fingers?”

“No, I can’t lie. He would be at least second or third.”

“The first is naturally Master Graham, and the second is the vice-captain?”

“That’s right. Damn it, where was such a monster hiding before suddenly popping out like this?”

Taylor’s loyalty to the royal family soars to the sky. If it’s his evaluation, it would be harsh, not a high evaluation.

Even so, he surpasses most of the Guardians except for Graham.

Of course, peace has been long. And unlike the era of the Great Emperor, it is not an era where talents devote themselves only to the royal family.

But even so, I feel bitter for some reason.

“He wasn’t hiding. He’s probably written in some musty record in the Capital Archives. He was active during the Tribal Wars, so it might be right to say he was forgotten.”

“…A person from the past. Is he definitely on our side?”

“Yes.”

For now, he is. I don’t know what will happen later. But there’s no need to instill a sense of crisis in Taylor.

Let’s be satisfied with just sorting out the ranks for now.

“We’ve rested enough. Let’s move again.”

* * *

It wasn’t long before Taylor and I, who were still heading towards the mountain peak, stopped again.

The reason was the wide basin that appeared far in front of us and the village built on it.

There was nothing strange about it. It was quite common for tenant farmers to flee heavy taxes and military service and settle in remote areas.

But even so, isn’t it a bit of a nonsense to run away to such a distant southern uninhabited island and set up a slash-and-burn farm?

As if he had the same thought as me, a groan flowed from Taylor’s mouth as he looked at the village.

“Is that perhaps a hideout for pirates?”

“If they were pirates who had gone mad, they might set up a hideout on such a mountain ridge. They wouldn’t even know if someone stole their ship in broad daylight.”

“That’s right. Then what is this place?”

“We’ll find out if we investigate.”

We watched from afar for quite a while, but no sign of people was felt.

Then is it a trap? But that’s ridiculous too. Who would dig such a trap knowing when and how someone would come?

I put my hand on my sword so that I could draw it at any time and approached the village.

That’s when we carefully entered the village. Taylor, who was holding his sword with a tense face next to me, tilted his head.

“It’s strange.”

“Did you feel it too, Sir Taylor?”

“That’s right.”

That’s right. It’s strange. It’s not just that the village’s form or facility structure is strange. In that respect, it was rather perfect.

On one side, even a waterway was created using a stream flowing down the mountain. Naturally, women doing laundry near it were imagined. If this is not a private house, then what is it?

“Let’s take a look around the house first.”

After that, I looked at several houses, but the impression was still the same. There was only a little dust inside, and there were no problems with the furniture or tableware.

That’s why the problem stood out more.

Yes. There are no people in this village. No, it would be right to say that people suddenly disappeared.

“People definitely lived here. The tableware is worn out.”

Chipped dishes, spoons with handprints, and even grains in a basket that are now rotten but were once intact.

“Didn’t they run away together at night?”

“What are they running away from?”

“Well, pirates raided them, or something.”

At Taylor’s words, I pointed to the clothes.

“If they had evacuated in a hurry, it would have been cluttered with packing. On the contrary, if they were attacked suddenly, there would have been traces of looting.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“I’ll have to look around more.”

Leaving the house with only mysteries left, Taylor and I slowly headed to the square that seemed to be the center of the village.

What greeted us there was a large pit dug in the center of the square. And Taylor’s eyes flashed when he saw it.

“How can they do this!”

Inside the huge pit, countless skeletons were intertwined.

And most of the skeletons were charred black. Ashes that the wind had not yet blown away were piled on top.

It was simple.

Someone gathered the people who lived in this village and pushed them into a pit. And set it on fire.

“At least they killed them before burning them. Judging from the fact that there are no traces of trying to get out of the pit.”

Unlike my calm words, Taylor gnashed his teeth as if he would chew up the culprit right away.

“Damn it! Who the hell?”

“Who else would it be?”

My head cools down.

The puzzle that I had arbitrarily put together came to mind. And the moment the puzzle approached the truth was truly unpleasant.

“No one would build a base on such a remote island. Even if there were such people, there was not a single tool for fishing in this village. It’s strange. Considering that the surroundings are the sea.”

“…….”

“But if we compare that strangeness with the information we have, we can understand it. You read the report I gave you before we set sail, right?”

At my question, Taylor’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you talking about the story that those cult members are taking innocent people and trying to experiment on them by force? Is that site right here?”

“Yes. Sadly.”

Control using magic stones, and experiments for it. The goal is to see if they can live a proper life without any side effects from control.

The village must have been built by them. The test subjects must be humans captured by piracy. Once enough experiments are done, the target is naturally disposed of.

It’s a terrible reality.

“I swear on my honor…”

In the end, Taylor, unable to suppress his emotions, gnashed his teeth.

“I will definitely find and punish those bastards.”

Tears began to flow down his cheeks. I was quite embarrassed to see that side of him. Did he have such a side?

It was then. As I watched Taylor, I suddenly remembered what Fleta had told me in Malrga [a city or region mentioned earlier in the story].

‘It’s not certain, but from what I hear, the royal family’s attitude is lukewarm compared to the current situation.’

Could it be that the royal family has begun to distrust my plan?

I can’t know that. It’s been a long time since I showed my face in the Capital. I have no way of knowing how the story is flowing inside.

Even if I did know, there’s nothing I can do to interfere with the Capital from this remote place.

‘But it’s different now. Fleta has attached Taylor to me. So that we can be alone together for a long time.’

Taylor is a person who is full of knightly spirit that values uprightness and justice. In some ways, even more than Jeskal, who seems somewhat emotionally dull.

Such a person has come to the scene where raw ugliness lives, not the desk-bound Capital. And he is right next to me right now.

From there, Fleta’s intention was obvious.

‘The royal family is lukewarm…’

It is unknown whether the royal family really has such an attitude, but I cannot just stand by and do nothing.

After finishing my thoughts, I slowly approached Sir Taylor.

“Listen carefully, Sir Taylor.”