My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 7

§ 7 – Try P2W!(2)

Hans’s wide eyes didn’t narrow easily; he was truly astonished.

His expression was twisted with disbelief, as if he had witnessed something impossible.

“What’s with that face? Did you see a ghost on the way here?”

“Th-that is…”

*I’m seeing it right in front of me.*

Hans forcibly swallowed the words that threatened to spill out.

He looked around, dazed.

A pile of goblins, stacked high.

Blood gurgled and poured from some of the corpses, indicating they hadn’t been dead for long.

A thick, bloody stench permeated the air.

“Wh-what is this…”

Hans struggled to believe what he saw.

Considering the circumstances, it seemed clear that Cillian had created this scene.

All alone.

But that’s…

Does that even make sense?

There were dozens of them.

Not ordinary goblins, but magical beasts dwelling in the Dark Forest – dozens of them.

These were the goblins Cillian had lured to save him.

Hans was certain.

Even he would find that number difficult to handle.

Maybe if he were younger…

It was quite a daunting number for him now.

Yet, those dozens of goblins were neatly severed and collapsed.

“Ah.”

Could this be a dream?

Hans’s thoughts began to wander.

Or was he already going senile?

There was no other possible explanation.

Or perhaps…

“…Am I dead?”

Hans even wondered if he had already died.

Cillian had lured the goblin horde for him,

But he ultimately failed to deal with the remaining goblins.

Was he now hovering between life and death?

And was this situation a dream reflecting his desperate wish? All these things were like a fleeting panorama before death—bullshit!

“What on earth is going on?!”

Hans shouted.

“Haha… I surprised you a little?”

Cillian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Hans shouted, sounding angry.

“A little, you say? How can you say ‘a little’ after seeing this? How on earth could this… No, more importantly, your body! Is your body alright?!”

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

Cillian pounded his chest as if there was nothing wrong.

Instead of the sound of flesh hitting flesh, a dull metallic sound echoed from Cillian’s chest.

A metallic sound?

Only then did Hans properly take in Cillian’s appearance.

A sword and armor that looked extraordinary.

“That is…?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Cillian showed off his sword.

And just then…

*Bbam-ba-ra-bbam!*

Suddenly, a cheerful fanfare erupted from Cillian’s chest.

“Huh?”

Cillian took out his smartphone and checked.

An alert window popped up on the screen.

《Tutorial Quest Cleared!》

It was an alert that the tutorial quest had been cleared.

A quest to defeat the goblin horde threatening the Ruben estate.

“Oh, it’s cleared.”

“…Excuse me? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Just a moment, Hans.”

Cillian left Hans’s question hanging and carefully checked the alert window that had popped up.

*Click.*

『[Tutorial Quest] – ‘This is my estate…?’ (Cleared!)

→You have magnificently defeated the monsters that attacked the estate!

Bba-shya! Bba-shya!

As expected of the Lord of Ruben!

Your dignity and charisma as a lord are overflowing!

Do you hear it!

The cheers for you!

Surely the estate residents will be happy to hear this news!

Huh?

Are there even any residents in Ruben?

Um… Maybe?』

.

.

“…What is it?”

Cillian felt a moment of mental blankness.

Because of the content that appeared on the screen.

It was quite flamboyant.

To be precise, it was frivolous.

“Could it really be an artifact left by Arnaise?”

*Doesn’t seem like it…*

Cillian couldn’t easily nod.

*Ting!*

《Tutorial Quest Successful!》

《Opening the estate management system!》

Soon, a cheerful notification sound rang, and a new alert window popped up.

《System syncing…》

《Collecting the causality of the Ruben estate.》

《This process may take some time.》

.

.

《Loading… 7%》

And then the numbers started to increase little by little.

It seemed that it would only open when it reached 100%.

He didn’t know what the estate management system was, but it seemed like it would take time.

Cillian put his smartphone back into his chest.

“Lo-Lord…?”

Then came Hans’s question.

Hans’s expression was full of questions.

*Hmm…*

“Let’s talk as we return to the estate.”

Cillian slowly started walking.

#

On the way back to the Ruben estate.

“So, that… that is an artifact left by Arnaise?”

Hans stopped abruptly.

Hans’s expression was even more distorted with astonishment than before.

Cillian shrugged and replied.

“To be exact, it could be.”

“H-how could such a thing…!”

Hans’s astonishment surpassed astonishment.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe Cillian’s words.

Even magic tools were worth enough to buy a small castle.

Of course, it varied greatly depending on performance,

Nevertheless, they were not easy to obtain.

And an Artifact…

It was the ultimate, top-tier among such magic tools.

Artifacts were infinitely valuable, enough to buy a small kingdom.

Numerous mages and wizards had attempted to reproduce artifacts, but it was impossible.

Only remnants of artifacts lost a thousand years ago remained.

Therefore, even the fact that it was an artifact was surprising,

Even more so, it was presumed to be left by Arnaise?

It didn’t make sense.

Arnaise were heroes of myth who were active a thousand years ago.

Literally ‘mythical’ heroes.

They were beings who only appeared in fairy tales told to children.

It was true that they existed,

Nevertheless, it was a story that was too far removed from reality.

That was only a story in ‘myth’.

“Perhaps when you fell in the cave, you hurt your head…?”

Even for Cillian’s words, it was the kind of thing that was not easy to believe.

“I hurt my head too…”

“So your mind was somehow…”

“That’s not it. Look at this.”

Cillian showed the sword he was holding.

A sword that looked extraordinary at first glance.

“How could I have dealt with so many goblins?”

“…”

Hans pressed his lips tightly.

Honestly… that was true.

Hans knew Cillian’s miserable talent.

That’s why just now.

He knew better than anyone how absurd the goblin situation was.

In order for it to make sense…

“It would only make sense if it were an artifact left by Arnaise.”

“…That’s true, but why do I feel strange?”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Hans replied nonchalantly.

But the surprise in his expression still hadn’t disappeared.

Even if he said that.

He still didn’t seem to believe it.

‘Well, I still don’t fully believe it either.’

Cillian chuckled inwardly.

And if…

If this was an artifact left by Arnaise.

Cillian had to hide that fact thoroughly.

Arnaise’s artifact.

That was not enough to be called the treasure of the century.

Nevertheless, the reason Cillian told Hans honestly was simple.

To Cillian, Hans was a butler and servant,

A friend and a kind grandfather.

And he was the most trustworthy person.

There was no need to go far.

Hans volunteered to sacrifice himself to save Cillian.

That alone showed how much Hans cared for Cillian.

In the first place, whether he was hitting Cillian in the back of the head,

Or sucking his blood.

It was a situation where he should have done it a hundred times over.

He should have betrayed him long ago.

Above all, Cillian was a bastard and illegitimate child of the Marquis family.

Cillian was treated coldly in the family.

In short, there was nothing to stick to.

Nevertheless, Hans had stayed by Cillian’s side until now.

“Let’s go back to the estate quickly.”

Cillian strode forward.

Hans followed Cillian as he moved away.

How long had they walked like that?

“But don’t you think there are too few magical beasts for the Dark Forest?”

Cillian broke the silence and blurted out.

Hans replied with an expression as if asking what he was talking about.

“Have you already forgotten that you were being chased by a goblin horde until just now?”

“There’s nothing else besides that. Rumor has it that the Dark Forest is teeming with magical beasts… but it doesn’t seem like it.”

“That’s true, but…”

Hans slowly nodded.

Like Cillian said, it was true that there were few magical beasts for the Dark Forest.

“So isn’t that a good thing?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Cillian shrugged and said.

“There are too few. I wonder if any bandits will show up?”

“…What crazy bandit would show up in the Dark Forest? But didn’t you say the same thing before?”

Hans looked at Cillian with a dumbfounded expression.

“I’m just saying. I’m about to die of boredom before I die to a monster.”

“…Are you saying that again?”

Hans shook his head and continued.

“Mages say that there is also something called the Spirit Word (言靈) magic [Kotodama in Japanese, the belief that words have power]. What are you going to do if a monster really appears? No, hasn’t it really appeared?”

“Spirit Word magic was lost a thousand years ago. It only exists in words, and no one has been able to do it for a thousand years. And if a monster appears this time…”

“You’ll die without being able to do anything.”

“…What?”

“Isn’t that true? Ah, now that you have equipment, you might be able to resist a little.”

“…”

Cillian pressed his lips tightly.

That wasn’t wrong…

“…Anyway, if you can’t speak well.”

“So don’t pretend to be strong.”

Cillian stretched and said.

“I’m too bored.”

“The situation you’re in is a mess, but what’s the problem with being bored?”

“What’s the problem with it not being a problem?”

“…”

Hans was momentarily at a loss for words.

“So Hans, tell me something fun.”

*What on earth are you thinking…?*

Hans sighed deeply and slowly opened his mouth.

“…Have I ever told you the story of the old woman?”

“Old woman? Hans, were you married?”

Cillian tilted his head.

In Cillian’s memory, Hans was always alone.

Hans was the one who had been with Cillian since his childhood.

Hans, who was a skilled mercenary.

The reason why Hans settled in Elandur was shortly after Cillian was born.

He heard that he owed a great debt to Cillian’s mother, Cecil…

Because he didn’t talk about himself very much, Cillian didn’t know what that debt was.

Even if he asked Cecil, she would just smile.

No one would tell him.

At first, he was quite curious,

But at some point, Cillian didn’t care much.

“It’s an old story. It was before I met Cecil.”

Cecil was none other than Cillian’s mother.

In short, it meant that Hans had separated from his wife for some reason before Cillian was born.

“I don’t want to hear a sad ending. As Hans said, the situation is terrible, so I feel like I’ll have a sad ending too.”

“It’s a happy ending. I don’t know how good it is not to have to look at that bad old woman’s face.”

“Really?”

If that was the case, it was a different story.

Suddenly, his interest was piqued.

“What happened?”

“That’s…”

Just then.

The scenery ahead suddenly began to clear.

“Um, it seems like we’ve arrived at the estate.”

“I guess so.”

Cillian nodded roughly.

Then he looked at Hans as if telling him to continue.

But Hans’s face was stiff.

“I sense… people.”

“People? No way. Who would be here? It must be your imagination.”

“I’ll go quickly and check.”

“No. You can go slowly. What’s the rush?”

Hans opened his mouth with a dubious expression.

“Um, something seems strange. Lord, please wait here for a moment.”

“No, Hans! You have to tell me the story! Hans!”

But Hans didn’t stop walking, as if ignoring Cillian’s words.

*This damn old man.*

*I’m not even a lord anymore.*

Cillian clicked his tongue and quickly followed Hans.

#

Cillian followed Hans into the Ruben estate.

And Cillian found people gathered in the center of the estate.

Of course, the estate was so ruined that he wondered if it was right to call it the center.

Frankly, the word ruin was more appropriate than estate…

Well, anyway.

Dozens of men and a slightly smaller number of women.

Occasionally, there were also those who appeared to be elderly and children.

It seemed that they were the residents of Ruben.

The residents were huddled together and talking about something.

“Here, goblins are dead.”

“Wh-what?”

“Wh-what on earth is going on…?”

Listening to them, it seemed that they were talking about the goblin horde that Cillian and Hans had dealt with.

Cillian and Hans exchanged a glance.

Then they slowly moved towards the residents.

When they got close enough.

The residents discovered Cillian’s appearance.