Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 96

96

If you want peace, prepare for war.

The tension that had lingered in Count Klausen’s territory eased somewhat with the intelligence regarding Nudia’s current situation.

The report indicated that Nudia’s army had not been mobilized, and there were no movements to gather food and warhorses in preparation for war.

Of course, the enemies could be using trickery to conceal all movements, but it was decided to counter that by deploying more scouts.

With the emergency alert lifted, everyone in the territory returned to their daily lives.

Knights and soldiers honed their martial skills, sharpening themselves further.

The territory’s residents devoted themselves to their work, beginning to repair the lands damaged by the sudden monster attacks.

“…”

Margrave Lichten stood by the window, gazing down at the garden for a moment.

More precisely, he was watching Zion, who was sipping tea in the garden and chatting away with his half-brother, seemingly having a great time.

‘…I should start preparing to hand over the territory to him soon.’

He was still in good health, but as the saying goes, no one can beat time.

Lately, he had been feeling heavier than before, and he occasionally suffered from headaches.

He was thinking that he should prepare everything in advance while his body was still capable.

“Count Lichten.

It’s the Knights Commander.”

Sir Ryan’s voice.

It seemed he had come to report on the night training from the previous day.

At Margrave Lichten’s invitation to enter, he carefully stepped inside and bowed, showing his lord the utmost respect he could muster.

“Is this about the report on yesterday’s night training?”

“Yes, it is.”

Combat during the day and night presents entirely different aspects; they are fundamentally different forms of battle.

Knights and soldiers alike must concentrate on the faint light to fight, requiring them to mobilize all their other senses more than ever before, making it a combat method that even skilled commanders avoid.

“Hmm?”

Margrave Lichten, who was examining the report Sir Ryan handed him, showed an intrigued reaction.

The name that had been appearing since a while ago had reached the top ranks in just a few days.

“…Sir Rishikeda is a high-ranking knight, so it’s only natural to expect it.”

“That Kim Yuhyun, who even surpasses Sir Rishikeda… His background and everything else are shrouded in mystery, but his skills alone are truly outstanding. It was so astonishing and admirable to witness.”

It was inevitable.

He was a man whom none other than ‘Rido’ had taken as a disciple.

His martial arts skills alone would be exceptional, and the fact that he had single-handedly slaughtered the intruders during the battle with Nudia and in the royal palace was proof that he possessed tremendous skills equivalent to, or even greater than, a high-ranking knight.

Margrave Lichten nodded in satisfaction, read the report a bit more, and then placed it on the table as if to say it was enough.

“The training situation isn’t bad. That’s a relief.”

“…This may be presumptuous, but Count, you don’t seem to be at ease.”

At the Knights Commander’s words, Margrave Lichten let out an awkward laugh, thinking, ‘Ah, was I found out?’

When Sir Ryan stared at him as if expecting an answer, Margrave Lichten sighed softly and spoke.

“The farmland was severely damaged by the monster attacks last time. The Knights Commander is well aware of that, isn’t he?”

“…Yes. That’s right. It’s all our fault, mine and the knights’. The stability of the territory’s residents is the future of this territory, yet we couldn’t even properly defend against those mere monster attacks and had to retreat into the castle…”

“I have no intention of blaming you. Rather, you did your best to prevent casualties, so don’t be so hard on yourselves, Knights Commander.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, because of that, the territory’s food situation is quite unstable. The land that was cultivated until last year has now been left fallow, and unfortunately, the areas that were being cultivated suffered a lot of damage.”

Margrave Lichten tapped the report with his finger, looking worried about that point.

No matter how skilled a knight he was, there was nothing Sir Ryan could do about the ruined farmland, so he just anxiously watched the Margrave’s expression.

“Count. It’s Sebastian.”

“Come in.”

The Margrave’s butler, and also another sword protecting Klausen from behind.

Sebastian, dressed in his elegant butler’s uniform as always, entered, greeted Margrave Lichten, and nodded to Sir Ryan.

Then, he explained the reason for his visit to Margrave Lichten’s office.

“Count. We have a guest in the territory.”

“A guest?”

A reaction of not understanding what he meant.

Sir Ryan felt the same way.

At that, Sebastian smiled and continued.

“To be precise, it’s a guest who has come to see Young Lord Zion. They are passing through the castle gates and heading to the lord’s castle now, but they wanted to meet with you first, Count.”

If it was a guest who had come to see Zion, they were unlikely to be suspicious.

Margrave Lichten rose from his seat and moved to greet the guest.

And a moment later, upon entering the main hall, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh my?”

“Nice to meet you, Count Lichten Klausen.”

Even though her head was bowed and not clearly visible, her extraordinary beauty shone brightly.

In addition, her voice, like a bird chirping in the forest, left the surrounding knights in a daze, and a refined aura emanated from her demure figure.

“I am Helen Hynes, the head of the Hynes Merchant Guild from the royal capital. I have come here personally to fulfill the trade agreement with Young Lord Zion.”

The Hynes Merchant Guild was known as the leading guild in the royal capital.

Although its reputation had declined due to being embroiled in an unsavory incident, it had been on the recovery since King Edgar IV himself had stepped in and promised not to hold them accountable for the royal palace attack.

And since they started supplying a unique beverage, their clientele had actually increased significantly.

‘More than that, the guild leader is really an elf, just like the rumors said. Hmph, I should be grinding my teeth at the thought that they targeted our territory, but as expected, that noble forest race is amazing.’

Margrave Lichten cleared his throat to lighten the atmosphere and opened his mouth.

“Welcome. Guild Leader Helen Hynes.”

“You can just call me Helen.”

“Alright, Helen. But you say you made a deal with my son. What does that mean? I’m hearing about this for the first time.”

“It seems Young Lord Zion didn’t mention it to you, Count.”

Helen told Margrave Lichten about what had happened in the royal capital, exaggerating and embellishing some parts, while boldly omitting unnecessary details, truly displaying the wisdom of a woman who had led a merchant guild for a long time.

Thanks to that, Margrave Lichten learned that Zion had actually provided the Hynes Merchant Guild with that interesting beverage and requested food as payment for the transaction.

“As proof of the transaction, I, the guild leader, personally brought the first shipment, and coincidentally, it seemed that many farmlands were damaged on the way here.”

“We were already worried because the wheat and barley were severely damaged. For you to arrive at just the right time amidst all of this is truly miraculous.”

“It’s a bit presumptuous to say this in front of you, Count, but it seems Young Lord Zion has foresight. Even I wondered why he insisted on receiving food as payment for the transaction.”

“Haha! I’ve been thinking that my son has been too outstanding lately. Sometimes I even wonder if he’s really my son.”

Margrave Lichten unintentionally started boasting about his son.

Helen watched him with a quiet smile, carefully listening to his words.

―

Pwetui!

“Ugh.”

Zion, who suddenly sneezed, rubbed his ear.

It was said that if a sneeze suddenly burst out and your ear tickled, someone was usually badmouthing you, and Zion was genuinely curious about which bastard was speaking ill of him.

“What’s wrong? Zion. Do you have a cold or something?”

Winnie sat next to him and asked with a worried voice.

Zion shook his head to indicate that wasn’t the case.

He had been talking with his half-brother, Aden, until just a moment ago, and Winnie was the one who greeted him when he entered the room.

Rishikeda was sleeping due to the night training from the previous day, and Lilith had gone to the training grounds earlier to have another intense match with Kim Yuhyun, with whom she had been constantly arguing, and hadn’t returned yet.

Lucia was once again clutching a magic book and groaning, seemingly quite stressed about not being able to handle the output of magic.

‘I should give Lucia a hint soon. Tell her that her talent lies elsewhere, not in using magic.’

It was important to be as careful as possible, as saying it too directly could be seen as disrespecting her efforts and time invested in magic research.

“Zion. Where did you go this morning?”

“To the ward [hospital ward].”

“The ward? Did someone get hurt?”

“There were some who were injured. Now most of them have recovered and only have to return home. They would have gone home a long time ago if it weren’t for the monster attacks.”

Jimi Faker, whom he had risked his life to save, was also almost fully recovered.

After checking this morning, there was no longer any need for him to stay in the ward.

Zion judged that the time to meet Saik and Trisha Faker was approaching.

‘Hoo. It’s not as nerve-wracking as when I first met Kim Yuhyun, but I’m still quite nervous.’

There were many crazy characters in the novel, but there were only a handful of times when Trisha, with her completely deranged eyes, had made even Kim Yuhyun speechless.

She was a unique existence among the villains, completely ignoring the protagonist and only engaging in destruction in order to fulfill her will to burn the entire world.

Thanks to her, the Hispania Kingdom was devastated by her hands, and after the massacre of the royal family, she provided the decisive cause for the collapse of the kingdom’s framework, which had barely been maintained.

Even the other Seven Wings [powerful antagonists], who possessed similar powers, were wary of her, a legendary madwoman.

He had to go meet the one whom readers had nicknamed Firestorm or Black Flame Dragon.

‘…Surely there wouldn’t be someone who was mentally deranged from the start. She became twisted after her brother died and she went through all sorts of hardships. This time, I’m saving Jimi Faker and taking him with me, so she won’t become that Black Flame Dragon plus Firestorm Trisha Faker from the novel, right?’

Still, just in case, he was planning to bring Lilith, Rishikeda, and Kim Yuhyun with him when he went to meet Trisha with Jimi Faker in a few days.

If she had already taken on the appearance of a Seven Wings from now, he had to eliminate her without hesitation.

“But Winnie.”

“Nyaong?”

“Don’t you have anything to do? You’re just relaxing in my room?”

“What are you talking about? I’m doing the most important thing right now, nyaoong?”

At Winnie’s answer, Zion looked at her as if asking what she meant, and the cat woman huffed!

She turned her head away and continued in a sulky voice.

“…As a princess of the Myoeun Clan, there is nothing more important to me than protecting you, my benefactor.”

“There’s nothing here that seems dangerous?”

“To borrow the words of humans, there’s always a ‘what if.’ I think I have to prevent even that slight possibility. Am I wrong, nyaoong?”

With that, Winnie subtly moved and sat on the bed next to the window where sunlight was streaming in.

To be precise, right next to where Zion was sitting and resting.

As the sunlight streamed in through the window and scattered, her blue hair sparkled beautifully.

The two ears that stood on top of her head were constantly twitching, reacting to Zion’s slightest movements, and her tail was gently swaying, unknowingly turning into a heart shape.

In particular, her golden eyes were so beautiful, like looking at jewels, that even Zion, who prided himself on not being particularly sentimental about ‘pretty things,’ exclaimed, ‘Wow,’ and stared blankly.

“W-what are you staring at so intently?”

“Huh? Ah. Your eyes.”

“Nyaong?”

“They’re pretty.”

“Nya, nyaooong!”

Winnie exploded at Zion’s straightforward compliment.

Her face turned bright red, and suddenly baring her fangs, she hissed, ‘Kyaaaak!’ and raised her claws, as if she thought Zion was teasing her.

“Waaak! W-why are you suddenly doing that?”

“Stop teasing me! Do you think I don’t know you’re joking?”

“I’m not joking, I’m serious, you damn cat! I said your eyes were pretty, and now you’re trying to tear your benefactor apart with your claws again!”

At those words, Winnie stared blankly at Zion, ‘Nyaang?’ before quietly closing her mouth and sitting back down on the bed.

Then, she kept glancing at Zion, with an expression full of hesitation, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to open her lips.

“…Um. Zion.”

“What.”

“I, I have something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”

“No.”

Winnie’s ears drooped at Zion’s cold response.

Sighing at the sight, Zion stared at her, as if asking what she wanted to ask.

“…Why did you leave me alone in the carriage?”

“What?”

“Humans are like that, aren’t they? They want to pounce on a defenseless member of the opposite sex in front of them.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? You’re branding all humans as potential criminals. Not all humans are such trash, you foolish cat.”

“…What exactly is that word ‘cat’ that Zion keeps saying?”

“It means cat, cat.”

“What, that kind of thing. I don’t like it. Just call me by my name.”

It was Winnie, pouting her lips as if she was sulking.

Zion nodded quickly, meaning he understood, before she really got upset and he got tired.

“…”

As silence flowed again, Winnie opened her mouth again.

“Um, Zion.”

“What again? If you have something to say, just say it all at once. Why do you keep doing that?”

“Ugh! It’s my heart! Can’t I even say what I want? Nyaoong!”

“It’s because the human answering gets annoyed, cat!”

“I told you not to call me that! Haaaaak!”

Winnie was angry, but soon she withdrew that emotion and kept glancing at Zion.

“Um, that’s it. There’s that.”

“…”

“A-are you listening?”

“I’m listening.”

“Y-yes. So, what I’m saying is. Um, um… that, that….”

Zion was seriously worried about whether the main point would come out before the sun went down.

If he urged her, she would hiss and get angry, and if he left her alone, she would act like that, so he was deeply 고민 [agonizing] about what to do.

“W-what Zion didn’t do to me in the carriage, that is.”

“…Didn’t do?”

“T-that, that’s. M-m-m… M-mating!”

“Huh?”

What did this girl just say?

What?

Mating?

Zion rubbed his ears, wondering if he had misheard, and Winnie became tearful.

“Ugh! Don’t do that because it’s not like you misheard! Nyaong!”

“Even if I listen, wouldn’t it be that you misspoke rather than I misheard?”

“Our Myoeun Clan! Has a custom of mating with the opposite sex who protected them during their heat!”

It was a nuclear bomb that suddenly exploded.

In the aftermath, Zion was just blinking at Winnie, and the cat woman, blushing bright red as if she was dying of embarrassment, but not avoiding the gaze of her benefactor and the male she had taken a liking to, drove in the wedge.

“M-me! M-mate with me! No! D-do it! Like that time, like that time… t-touch me softly! Nyaong! Nyaong! Nyaooooooong!”