My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 71

§ 71 – Ruben of the Storm (1)

The Orcs that attacked Keppel Village were swept away in an instant.

Though there were nearly 1,000 of them, an enormous number,

Ruben’s soldiers mowed them down like autumn leaves.

These soldiers had been fighting magical beasts in the Forest of Darkness almost daily.

The frenzied magical beasts, driven mad by Over Drive, were incomparable to mere monsters.

Moreover, having recently mastered the A-rank Aura Art, all the soldiers could now use Aura [a technique to enhance physical abilities].

Combined with tremendous growth buffs, their skill level had surpassed that of trainee knights.

“Kweeek!!!”

Perhaps if they were ordinary soldiers, it would be a different story.

But even with 1,000 Orcs, they were swept away in an instant.

Thus, Keppel Village found stability.

“Thank you. Thank you so much…”

“We are indebted to you beyond repayment. Really… thank you so much.”

“Waaaaah.”

The people of Keppel Village repeatedly expressed their gratitude to Sian and Ruben’s soldiers.

Among them, one person stood out.

His name was Chico, I believe.

I heard he was from Keppel Village’s militia….

“Thank you so much! Thank you for saving the people!”

Chico bowed to Sian as if his back would break.

“It’s nothing. I didn’t do it alone.”

Sian waved his hand, feeling a bit awkward.

Nevertheless, Chico continued to bow.

“No! All the other nobles abandoned us… If it weren’t for you, Lord, we would all be dead! Thank you so much!”

He kept bending and straightening his back endlessly, as if it would truly break.

Sian shook his head and slipped away.

Then, he shouted towards Duras, who was dismantling Orc corpses in a corner.

“Duras, are you not dismantling them properly? Do you know how many corpses you’ve wasted?”

Duras flinched and replied,

“I didn’t know they were this weak…”

“Are magical beasts and monsters the same? That’s why I told you not to use Aura.”

“I got excited without realizing it…”

“Work on as many as you wasted. Ah, use Aura when you work.”

Duras made a face and picked up an Orc.

Just then.

“Lord, do you have to do this even here?”

Amelia approached Sian and asked.

Sian asked, feigning ignorance, “Huh? Should I just throw them away?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Amelia didn’t know how to answer.

“It’s all money. Since we’re in the West, it’s good to dismantle and sell them right away, right?”

“Well…”

That was true.

Since they had come to the West for trade,

If they could acquire corpses on-site and sell them, they could sell them quickly.

‘But isn’t that usually a method used when looting private homes?’

Then should I say we’re looting monsters?

Thinking about it, it seemed like that, but what nonsense!

What does it mean to loot monsters!!

I’ve been on countless trading trips, but I’ve never heard of such a thing!

I never heard of it even when I was in the Brahe family!

Amelia looked at Sian with an absurd expression.

Does this man really see everything in the world as money?

Why is someone like this a lord and not a merchant?

If he had walked the path of a merchant, wouldn’t he have beaten not only the Empire but the entire continent with money?

Ah!

Perhaps he is in that process now.

Amelia shook her head.

And then she didn’t ask about it anymore.

From her long experience with Sian,

She knew it was easier to just give up trying to understand.

Amelia sighed softly and asked Sian.

“Anyway, what’s going on?”

“Huh? What?”

At Sian’s question, Amelia pointed to one side with her finger.

None other than the people of Keppel Village.

The villagers were eating food.

And they were treating the injured with various medical supplies.

“Those supplies. You told me to give the supplies brought for trade to the villagers for free.”

“Ah, that.”

Then Sian nodded and replied.

“They went through a big ordeal. And it seems like the lord of Keppel Village ignored them. If no one is going to take care of them, we should.”

“Ah…”

Amelia let out a small exclamation.

Anyway….

Amelia smiled for no reason.

Honestly, Sian’s actions seemed like those of someone crazy about gold.

He seemed like someone who would do anything for gold.

But now.

No, not just now, but Sian, as Amelia had seen and felt all along, was not like that.

A person who is more thoughtful and warmer than anyone else.

Even all those actions obsessed with gold are ultimately for his people, not for himself.

There wasn’t much for Sian himself.

No, not much, but almost nothing.

Amelia stared at Sian quietly.

He looked different again today.

Because of that appearance, Amelia—.

“And that’s not free.”

“····················· Huh?”

Amelia’s mind blanked for a moment.

Not free…?

What does that mean?

No, does that mean he’s going to get the value of those goods?

So, does that mean he’s forcing the villagers to buy them?

They barely survived the Orcs.

Far from having the ability to pay, they were at a loss for how to make a living.

“Yo, you don’t mean you’re going to use them as slaves…!”

Amelia shouted in horror.

Then Sian looked at Amelia with strange eyes and said.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Weren’t you thinking of using people who can’t afford to pay as slaves? In a way that they pay with their bodies…”

“What are you really talking about? Are you broken again?”

Sian continued with a strange expression.

“I’m not going to get the price of the goods from those people. I’m going to get it from His Highness the Crown Prince, so give them out generously.”

“Yes, yes? His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Why is the Crown Prince suddenly coming out here?

“To be exact, I’m going to rip off the Western nobles. Anyway, it’s not free. Record the expenditure list properly. You didn’t record it, did you?”

Sian asked, widening his eyes.

Amelia waved her hand and replied.

“No. You told me to record everything, so I’ve been recording everything.”

“Then it’s okay.”

Sian nodded.

Amelia really wondered what was going on.

And just then.

“Th, th, th, this is what…!”

A strange voice was heard from somewhere.

#

Alex couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes.

Alex, the commander of the 7th Knights of the Royal Knights.

Alex could confidently say that he had done and experienced many things as a top-tier expert.

But now Alex couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes.

First of all, the annihilated Orcs.

Nearly 1,000 Orcs were truly annihilated.

Thanks to this, the damage to the villagers was not great.

No, it was almost non-existent.

Honestly, Alex didn’t believe the words that the Orcs were annihilated.

Orcs were not monsters that could be easily dealt with.

Therefore, 1,000 Orcs were not a number that could be easily handled.

At least the same number of regular soldiers.

Or about one knight order was needed to be able to subdue them without problems.

But he hadn’t heard any stories of such troops moving.

Alex rushed to Keppel Village to find out the truth.

But.

“How could this be…”

Before Alex’s eyes were the Orcs that had been completely annihilated.

What surprised Alex even more was something else.

To be exact, this sight was what surprised Alex.

“Hey, Duras. Are you almost done with the dismantling?”

“Don’t talk to me… I still have a long way to go.”

“Hahahaha! That’s what you get for slacking off.”

Crack. Thud.

Swoosh.

None other than the soldiers doing the dismantling.

The soldiers were handling the annihilated Orcs!

“······”

Alex was momentarily speechless.

Well, whatever.

Um… that could happen.

Of course, it was an unfamiliar sight to Alex, who had experienced all kinds of hardships.

But that could happen.

The corpses of monsters were used to make various equipment and had considerable value.

But the problem wasn’t that.

Something that made Alex doubt his eyes.

That was none other than the swords that the soldiers were using for the dismantling work.

The swords looked extraordinary at first glance.

Honestly, they looked better than the swords used by the Royal Knights members.

An ordinary soldier using a better sword than the knights?

Even better than the Royal Knights, who were considered the Empire’s First Knight Order?

“What…”

Alex couldn’t believe it.

Still, he could understand.

He could understand up to this point.

Was it called the territory of Ruben?

It seemed like there was a craftsman there who was so good that he was excellent.

It seemed like there were many such craftsmen who were hard to find even in ordinary territories.

So it seemed like they could arm all the soldiers and still have enough left over.

He could somehow understand up to this point.

But now the energy swirling in the soldiers’ swords.

“······ Aura?”

It was Aura.

It was definitely Aura.

Alex could bet his position as the commander of the Royal Knights that it was Aura.

That ordinary soldier over there.

Was trimming the Orcs.

It was definitely Aura!

“Th, th, th, what is that…!”

Alex couldn’t understand from here.

He couldn’t understand!

Just then.

“Are you perhaps a knight belonging to the Royal Knights?”

A voice was heard calling Alex.

He looked over there.

There stood a blonde man.

A man who looked like a noble at first glance.

However, the somewhat foolish atmosphere made him slightly doubt whether he was really a noble.

“That’s right…”

At Alex’s words, nodding his head, the man said.

“Nice to meet you. I am Sian, the lord of Ruben.”

“Sian…? If it’s Sian…”

Alex tilted his head for a moment.

He seemed to be recalling the name Sian.

“Are you perhaps talking about Sian Elandur?”

And even though the word Elandur was not there.

As expected, Alex recognized Sian.

“Why is Sian Elandur here…?”

“I didn’t come as Elandur, but as the lord of Ruben. So just call me Sian.”

Alex thought, isn’t that the same thing? But he didn’t bother to ask.

“How did the lord of Ruben come to the West?”

“I came to support because the West is said to be dangerous. His Highness the Crown Prince also asked me to.”

“The Prince’s request?”

Alex asked, widening his eyes in surprise.

It seemed like he hadn’t heard the circumstances from Conrad.

It was also because Sian moved quickly.

Sian briefly explained the circumstances of coming to the West to Alex.

Just very briefly.

He only informed him that the Crown Prince had made an individual request.

“Huh, His Highness said he would come up with an alternative soon, but I didn’t know it would be like this…”

Alex let out a small exclamation and calmly scanned the surroundings.

The annihilated 1,000 Orcs and the soldiers working with Aura.

It was still an unbelievable sight.

“Hmm…”

But Alex’s expression didn’t improve easily.

Alex tried to hide it.

Sian could see a slight feeling of ‘disappointment’ that flashed in Alex’s eyes for a moment.

And there was only one reason.

He seemed to think that Ruben’s soldiers alone were not enough to overcome the current situation in the West.

Sian asked Alex.

“Is the situation in the West very serious?”

“······ It’s very serious.”

Alex opened his mouth after a moment of thought.

“As you know from hearing from His Highness, unprecedented monsters are rampant in the West. There has never been such an outpouring like this…”

“Have you found out the reason?”

Alex shook his head slightly.

“I still don’t know.”

“What do you mean by still?”

“It would be more accurate to say that we are not even trying to find out.”

Soon Alex began a slightly long story.

To summarize briefly, he said that there was a place he could guess.

None other than the Kusla Mountains located in the West.

So Alex said that he wanted to investigate the Kusla Mountains first.

But.

“I haven’t been able to conduct an investigation so far.”

The reason was also because there were too many monsters in the Kusla Mountains.

Because of this, they were not easily approaching the situation.

However, the reason why they couldn’t investigate was not only because there were too many monsters.

“To investigate the Kusla Mountains, all 7th Knights must be deployed. We can’t easily handle that many monsters. But…”

Alex clenched his fist and said.

“If we leave, there will be no one to stop the monsters sweeping the West.”

The monsters covering the entire West.

If the Royal Knights left, there would be no one to stop them.

“Aren’t there nobles in the West?”

“If you’re talking about those who are busy taking care of only their own safety, then forget it.”

Alex gritted his teeth and spat out the words.

Sian didn’t ask about it anymore.

He felt like he knew what the situation was just by looking at Keppel Village.

In the end, to solve the current situation in the West, they had to find out the reason why the monsters were rampant.

Incidents kept happening here and there.

There was a shortage of manpower to handle them.

The situation in the West was only getting worse.

“So I want to proceed with the investigation, but I can’t move rashly.”

What about solving the incident.

He hadn’t even started yet.

“Hmm…”

Sian fell into thought for a moment.

When he heard from Conrad, it didn’t seem like it was this bad.

The situation in the West was more serious than he thought.

It seemed like Conrad didn’t know the situation in the West properly either.

If he knew it was this serious, he wouldn’t have asked Sian.

He would have dispatched more Royal Knights.

‘Could it be that the nobles of the West are covering their eyes?’

That could be the case.

The nobles of the West were all locking their doors.

Honestly, he thought only the lord of Keppel Village was like that.

But it seemed like most of the nobles in the West were like that.

And if the Crown Prince knew this fact, their position would definitely be difficult.

So it seemed like they were minimizing the situation in the West as much as possible….

Somehow it was a little strange that Alex didn’t know Sian was coming.

It was literally like covering their eyes and saying ‘aah’ [a Korean idiom for ignoring the obvious].

But the problem was that all the people of the West were bearing the brunt of the damage.

It was always like this.

The people who were sacrificed first were always determined.

The share of the powerless and weak.

“Hmm…”

At first, he didn’t have much thought.

Just selling Ruben’s goods to earn gold.

And the first step to building overwhelming justification within half a year.

Sian came to the West with a light but not entirely light heart.

But now.

It seemed like he needed to take a more serious approach.

“Please… can you help us, no, the people of the West?”

Alex asked Sian for help.

Alex had a somewhat dark expression.

Sian quickly finished thinking and said to Alex.