The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 37

Baron’s Family Second Son – Episode 37

“A monster obeyed? No, before that, a monster that speaks human language?”

Everyone was shocked by Laurent’s words. It was unprecedented, not just within the Terra Barrier, but throughout the entire world. While understanding a different race might be possible, a monster speaking human language was unheard of. They had always viewed monsters as creatures with animal-level intelligence, driven solely by instinct, so his words were shocking.

“Yes. Everyone heard it. I’m the only survivor now, but… it’s clear. It definitely spoke to us.”

“Tell me in detail, please!”

“Well… we were about to return to the Terra Barrier.”

With that, Laurent’s recollection began, and everyone present listened intently to his story.

#

“I wonder if this autumn expedition will be the same as the ones I’ve experienced so far.”

“I agree. Your colleague made this map, right?”

“Yes.”

“I heard he’s not even twenty yet; he’s done something really amazing.”

“With a map like this, even an autumn expedition is worthwhile.”

Among Laurent’s group, the map was undoubtedly a hot topic. The biggest difference between this expedition and previous ones was the presence or absence of a ‘map.’ In fact, there weren’t many conversations to be had during the expedition usually. So, a good topic came up, and the story continued.

‘He’s amazing.’

Compliments continued for his colleague, not himself, but he didn’t feel particularly bad or jealous. Partly because he was optimistic by nature, and partly because he thought this map deserved such praise.

Thanks to it, he had avoided several crises. It is human nature to be jealous and envious of those who are better than oneself, but to continue thinking that way even after receiving so much help was no different from having a flawed personality.

“Then let’s slowly head back. I think we’ve done enough.”

“I think that would be good. It’s more important to preserve our strength than to catch a few more here.”

The tour of the monsters’ land, fighting only in safe situations, was now over. It was true that they had stayed longer than usual, encouraged by the safety the map provided. Until now, each group had been scattered here and there to distract attention, but now that most had withdrawn, staying longer could be a fatal move.

“Then I’ll check the retreat route.”

“Do so.”

In addition to simply looking around before a battle, the map’s usefulness extended to planning routes, finding resting places, and more.

To utilize its many uses, Laurent once again poured his magic into the map. He pushed himself almost to the limit, but he wasn’t overdoing it.

There would be no more battles anyway, and if there was an emergency, one of the knights could carry him. As he searched an area of over several kilometers, Laurent rubbed his eyes.

“Wh, what is this…?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I think you should take a look at this.”

Like when Renil discovered the magic stone mine long ago, a huge magic power reaction was appearing on the map. Although it was a considerable distance away on the plain, the map had never malfunctioned so far, so it was certain that something was in the northwest direction.

“What, why is it so dark?”

The knights who looked at the map following Laurent’s words expressed bewildered questions as the magic power reaction marked on the map was dark and wide. To be precise, only a tiny point was so dark that it was close to black, and the rest was lightly wide, but even that was dark enough compared to the dark point.

“Isn’t there something buried underground like last time?”

A knight who had gone on patrol with Renil in the past and discovered a magic stone mine asked. However, Laurent shook his head without a moment’s hesitation at the question.

“That’s impossible. Unlike the map I brought this time, it has been modified to detect only the magic power reaction of living things instead of reducing magic power consumption.”

“So, are these all monsters?!”

The blue dots covering the northwest—no, the dots were gathering to create a single surface, and even though it wasn’t marked on the map, the probability of magic power reactions behind it was too high. Everyone was lost in thought for a moment at that conclusion.

“What are you going to do?”

The time to make a decision had come. If they retreated as originally planned, there would be no problem. The place where the magic power reaction was discovered was in the northwest based on their position, and their destination, the Terra Barrier, was in the south, so if they retreated as planned and reported it, they would send an investigation team or do something. But no one hastily suggested retreating.

“After confirming the identity of the magic power reaction, we return to the Terra Barrier. Does anyone disagree?”

But it would be too late by then. No matter how quickly they dispatched an investigation team, the probability of it staying in place was very low. And what if the destination of that magic power reaction was the Terra Barrier? It was an autumn expedition to prevent that, so they could never back down here.

“Let’s go. If the worst comes to the worst, we can run away like crazy, right?”

“That’s right. If it doesn’t seem to work, it won’t be too late to retreat then. Or, if we dig a hole and hide like we’re dead for a few days, won’t they scatter on their own?”

Although they had decided to investigate, the mission was not over until they arrived at the Terra Barrier. Everyone smiled slightly at the sight of them not forgetting that.

“So, we moved to confirm the identity of the huge magic power reaction. At least we need to know the identity to come up with countermeasures.”

It’s a truism. The purpose of the autumn expedition was not only to reduce the number of higher species. Identifying the variables occurring in the land of monsters was also one of the expedition’s missions. Of course, if they had known the result would be like this, they wouldn’t have done it, but no one could know the future.

“There, we faced countless monsters, and the sight of those monsters obeying one being… We couldn’t see its proper appearance because it was far away, but the presence alone was enough to freeze everyone. Big horns, huge wings, sharp scales, etc…”

As Laurent’s testimony continued, everyone’s expression gradually hardened. They had a rough idea of what Laurent was seeing and describing.

“It looked like a legendary dragon.”

“…You must be confused because you haven’t fully recovered. Take a good rest for a few days and talk again.”

“I’m not confused. I don’t have a mental disorder, and I’m calmer than ever now!”

Laurent shouted as if he was angry when those who shook their heads and concluded that Laurent was confused because he had suffered a major injury and had not fully recovered tried to cut off Laurent’s story. Looking at that reaction, he didn’t seem to have any particular problems, but what he had said so far was unbelievable, so it was impossible to know which was true.

“As soon as we confirmed that sight, we moved our steps back as if we had promised. It was natural because there were over thousands of them at a glance. But at that time, we couldn’t take our feet off until the end. Because the dragon spoke to us.”

Laurent’s words suddenly became faster, perhaps because he thought he might lose the chance to speak if he continued like this.

“No, it may have been a unilateral proclamation rather than speaking. The dragon was angry that we had invaded its territory, and soon the monsters rushed to kill us.

We had to make a decision as we struggled to move our feet that wouldn’t fall. If we continued like this, we would all become food for the monsters.

Someone has to convey what they saw to the Terra Barrier. I was chosen as that someone. I could avoid the eyes of the monsters by digging into the ground or making my body transparent. I had to let go of one of my arms in the process, but I barely managed to escape! Please believe me!”

Laurent’s words were almost a scream at the end. It had been a little over a year, but they had shared hardships and lived and died together for a month. He couldn’t bear the fact that the information he had barely survived to convey by sacrificing his colleagues was simply treated as his nonsense.

“I understand. I know how you feel when you say that. But it’s better to calm down.”

The wound had not yet healed. The virtue of a patient is absolute stability. If he got excited like this, the unhealed wound would burst again. Eventually, Ild calmed Laurent down, and he was able to rest like a patient.

“Everyone, let’s talk.”

#

“Dragon… It’s not like we’re kids.”

“I think he’s shocked by the fact that his arm was cut off, and his mind is confused.”

A conference hall where key figures from the Terra Barrier gathered. There, all sorts of words were exchanged about whether Laurent’s remarks were true or not.

That’s because the dragon is a well-established being that appears in fairy tales that even young children know.

The problem is that the existence has never been actually discovered. Drakes, wyverns, serpents, etc., are treated as subspecies of dragons, but no one has ever confirmed the existence of true dragons.

Therefore, it was not strange that most people treated Laurent’s words as nonsense. There were even opinions that he was lying because he was ashamed of abandoning his colleagues and returning alive alone.

“I didn’t get the feeling that he was lying. He explained his actions in relatively detail, and if he had abandoned his colleagues, there would be no relics of others in Laurent’s arms.”

“So, does Lord Ild believe that there is a dragon?”

“At least I mean that he didn’t unilaterally abandon his colleagues like you said.”

It was fortunate that Duke Jik was there; otherwise, there would have been quite harsh words. In fact, it was clearly absurd.

“Do you have anything to say? If you have anything to say as the map maker, you can say it.”

I also attended this meeting because Laurent testified that he had confirmed the huge magic power reaction through the map.

“When I checked, the map was already twisted and broken in many ways. I’m working hard on the restoration, but it seems difficult to achieve results.”

“Hmm…”

The meeting that had been continuing entered a lull. Everyone vaguely realized that no matter how many meetings they had, no meaningful results would come out.

“It’s an absurd story, but it’s hard to see it as a lie.”

“Your Excellency.”

“If that guy’s words are simply a lie, it doesn’t matter, but what if it’s true?”

Duke Jik was right. If it was a lie, it didn’t matter much. It’s sad to say, but the victims were already dead, and Laurent would just be a jerk, and it wouldn’t have any impact on the Terra Barrier. But what if Laurent’s words were true? What if a dragon was really leading the monsters?

“Even in the worst case, this place, the Terra Barrier, is a place that should not be overlooked. And wasn’t that the autumn expedition for that purpose? Sending an investigation team is a natural step to find out the exact truth. Does anyone disagree?”

Baron’s Family Second Son – Episode 37 – End