How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 207

Living as the Third Son of a Trash Novel – Chapter 208

Chapter 51. The Azure Sky Knights

After finishing my meeting with Kerwyn, I immediately headed to the Sky Fortress located in the Azure Mountains.

Despite it being spring, a time of rebirth, the Azure Mountains remained cold and desolate.

Of course, that didn’t bother me anymore. I had the cloak I’d picked up from Kerwyn’s residence.

‘It’s warm.’

I adjusted my collar and walked slowly, feeling as if I were in a greenhouse.

Perhaps because I wasn’t affected by the weather, I felt less tired and quickly traversed the mountain range.

As the sun began to set, I arrived near the Sky Fortress and noticed something unusual.

“All the guys attached to you are here! Drag them away quickly!”

Four or five figures in white camouflage were being chased by a dozen ice trolls.

At first, I thought they were guards in danger and tried to help, but I soon stopped. It seemed like they were deliberately luring the trolls.

‘What’s this?’

Curious, I slowly followed them and soon saw nearly a hundred troll and yeti corpses scattered across a wide basin.

The state of the corpses suggested they hadn’t been dead for long. Blood flowed over the layers of snow, forming a red river, and crows swarmed around it, drawn by hunger.

And in the middle of those corpses stood a figure.

“We’re here! Drop them off and let’s get out of here!”

“Be careful not to get caught up in it!”

The guards lured the trolls they had dragged along to the man standing in the middle of the basin and quickly left the area.

The trolls, having lost their prey, naturally turned their anger towards the lone figure.

Kroak! Kroak!

The trolls roared and raised their clubs high. It seemed obvious that the man’s head would be crushed when they swung down.

However, the situation changed as the man, who had been standing still, raised his head.

His eyes were burning red. No, red energy was dripping down.

Of course, that sight was vividly etched in my memory. It was the power the Red Knights had shown during their duel with Ruth at the Red Castle.

‘To see that kind of power here now…….’

That meant his identity was Redran.

Koo-oong!

Redran caught the troll’s club with one hand as it came down. Considering that even a knight couldn’t underestimate a troll’s strength, it was truly an incredible feat of strength.

“……”

Then, the sword in Redran’s right hand burst into flames. From a distance, I couldn’t tell how many times it was swung in that short moment.

All that was certain was that the trolls were chopped into dozens of pieces, scattered beyond regeneration.

Koo-wook! Koo-uh-wook!

The trolls, who had charged in with such vigor, began to flee, and Redran relentlessly pursued them.

“Whew……”

“I still can’t get used to it every time I see it.”

“What is that monstrous power, anyway?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s what happens when you manipulate mana strangely.”

The guards who had lured the trolls admired Redran.

I quietly approached them and spoke.

“Hey.”

“Uh, uh! Who are you!”

Who else but your boss.

“This place isn’t accessible to outsiders.”

“Wait, that face looks familiar…… Lord, could it be Lord Cain?”

At the words of one of the guards who recognized me, the faces of the others began to fill with surprise.

“I, it’s really Lord Cain!”

“No way! Why is Lord here without any notice…….”

I frowned at the guards’ flustered words.

“Do I need a special reason to come to my own home?”

“N, of course not!”

The guards quickly stood at attention, and I pointed my chin at Redran.

“I’d like an explanation of what’s going on.”

The most senior-looking guard hesitated before speaking.

“Isn’t it spring after winter? It’s the time when monster activity increases, so we came out to subjugate them.”

“Yeah. I saw you catching trolls. But I’ve never seen it done this way before? Isn’t that Redran?”

“It is Baron Redran.”

“But.”

I felt uncomfortable, and a blunt tone slipped out.

Even though I sent Redran into exile at the Sky Fortress, that didn’t mean I wanted the soldiers to exploit him.

Meanwhile, the guard, sensing that the situation was getting strange, quickly waved his hand.

“W, we didn’t force him to do it! We have our own subjugation methods, but Baron Redran and Lady Ilia insisted, so we had no choice…….”

“Insisted? More than that, Redran, I understand, but Ilia?”

“This subjugation was originally Lady Ilia’s plan.”

“So, Ilia forced Redran to do this?”

“It’s a bit complicated. Lady Ilia first devised a plan to have the guards lure the monsters and then deal with them all at once, and she took the initiative herself.”

“But.”

“Baron Redran, who was watching her, suddenly…….”

“Copied her?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

Looking at his face, he didn’t seem to be lying. So, Redran really volunteered to do it?

I glanced at Redran.

Redran, who had finished off a dozen trolls in just a few minutes, sheathed his sword and took a breath.

In the meantime, he met my eyes, and Redran tilted his head.

At that sight, I sighed softly.

‘What the hell is going on at the Sky Fortress?’

* * *

The atmosphere of the Sky Fortress was the same as ever. The only difference was that spring had arrived, and people’s faces were starting to brighten.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing right now.

I immediately entered the Sky Fortress’s main castle and summoned Alphonse Riegl, the aide who had been acting as my proxy.

“Lord, you should have given us some notice before coming.”

“I have many questions to ask.”

“What is it that you’re concerned about…….”

“I saw Baron Redran on the way here.”

“Baron Redran?”

“Yes. He seemed to be doing quite well.”

Alphonse sighed deeply at my words.

“Don’t even mention it. He’s been causing us trouble.”

“Tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out.”

At my stern tone, Alphonse straightened his posture and began to speak.

So, when I finished the war in the East and headed to Wind Nest, Redran and Ilia, along with their people, had arrived at the Sky Fortress one step ahead of me.

After that, they adapted quickly.

The heavy cavalrymen who had been selected to become knights quickly integrated into the Sky Fortress under the command of Loven Wonders, and Redran and his subordinate knights were quiet at first, knowing their situation.

Then, one day, a problem arose, Alphonse said.

“To be precise, it’s Baron Redran’s problem.”

“What did he do?”

“You could say he’s been chasing Lady Ilia around constantly. Anyway, that’s it.”

“What do you mean by chasing her around?”

“For example, he constantly asks for duels or asks her to show him how she trains. Those kinds of purposes were obvious.”

“So, what did Ilia do?”

“Lady Ilia refused outright. She said her job was to stabilize the Sky Fortress.”

Of course, Ilia would do that. But what does that have to do with Redran acting like this now?

……Ah, is that it?

“Is it because Ilia’s work needs to be finished quickly so he can get what he wants, or something like that?”

“Perhaps that’s the case. Whatever Lady Ilia does, Baron Redran is actively trying to solve it.”

“Unbelievable.”

What a funny guy. Does he still suspect Ilia of being a demon?

At that moment.

The door burst open, and Loven, his face flushed and tanned from being exposed to too much ultraviolet light, appeared.

“Who is this! Isn’t it our Lord!”

“Commander Loven.”

“You should have said something before coming!”

“……You seem to be in a very good mood.”

“Good. Very good. I feel like I’m going to die of happiness thanks to our great Lord.”

“Is there a problem?”

At my question, Loven glared as hard as he could.

“Listen, what am I supposed to do if you only send me people who can’t use mana to create a knight order? Besides, I heard they’re all failures who lack talent and couldn’t become knights?”

“Well, that’s right.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Is that why you entrusted me with the position of knight commander?”

Just as I was getting a headache from Redran’s affairs and Loven’s barrage of questions, Ilia entered through the open door this time.

“Lord Cain!”

“You’re independent now, so don’t call me Lord anymore, Ilia.”

“……Cain!”

Why does Ilia’s words, calling me by my name without any honorifics, feel so eerie?

“Have you been well?”

“I haven’t been well.”

My expectations were correct. Ilia, who rarely frowned, glared at me, making me feel a pang of guilt.

“I think I know why you haven’t been well…….”

It must be because of Redran, who sticks to her like glue. As problems suddenly poured in all at once, I raised my hand.

“One at a time.”

At my words, Alphonse, Ilia, and Loven’s gazes converged.

“First of all, Alphonse, I will meet with Redran and resolve the issue myself. More than that, how are the subordinate knights who came with Redran doing?”

“Was it Lord Vsek? For now, we’re assigning them to guard the castle to replace the insufficient manpower.”

“Are they definitely under control?”

“The knights dispatched to the Sky Fortress are Wind Knights who have been trained through countless battles. Besides, we have Lady Ilia and Commander Loven, don’t we?”

That’s true. Even though the Sky Fortress is small, the quality of the troops stationed there far exceeds the power of most minor nobles.

“Good. Then let’s move on to the next problem.”

“Then tell me now. What are you going to do with those failures!”

At Loven’s disgruntled words, I pouted.

“They’re not failures. They’re talents that I carefully selected from hundreds of candidates.”

“Talents? Did you eat something wrong?”

“I didn’t eat anything wrong. I will prove why they are talents soon.”

“……If you can’t, know that you won’t have the position of commander or anything else!”

“Ah, yes.”

I ignored Loven’s threat and looked at Ilia last.

“Ilia, I have a job for you.”

“What kind of job…….”

“I’ll designate a certain area in the Azure Mountains, so thoroughly understand and familiarize yourself with that area. You can take skilled guards with you.”

“……I understand.”

Ilia accepted my sudden request without asking for details.

“And prepare travel supplies in advance. It will take a considerable amount of time, so there shouldn’t be any shortages. There may not be any places to resupply in the middle.”

“Should I prepare supplies for just me and Cain?”

“No, one more person is going. Prepare for three people.”

“One more person is going…… could it be?”

I nodded at Ilia’s hopeful words.

“Yes. Redran will go with you.”