Russ clutched his now-bulging pocket. Taking a shaky sip from a wine he thought he'd never taste in his entire life, he let out a sigh. The wine tasted better than anything he'd had in his fifteen years. At the same time, he checked again to make sure the waterskin, now full of Vinoteca wine, was sealed tightly.

He planned to give his parents some. Thinking of how surprised they would be, a smile filled his lips.

Maybe the stories and songs weren't false after all. There is wealth in danger.

Though he thought it was because the strange foreign lord was nice, otherwise, he'd be lucky just to receive a single coin, or at all, let alone 8 primals!

At first, he only wanted to take one, but Hughie's actions made him take the same amount. The women took a bit more, but he didn't mind a bit, especially when he considered the foreign lord's words.

"Is his hair really so natural?" He snapped out of it when someone spoke to him.

Turning toward the voice, he discovered it was one of the women they'd rescued, well, more like the foreign lord had rescued.

One of the better ones in spirit, because half of them, despite being cheered by receiving some coins and wine, were still down. A few even seemed actually lifeless. He mentally sighed at that as he responded, "You mean the... the foreign lord?"

He still didn't know how to address the foreign lord. It wasn't like he was his lord, and the strange lord hadn't told him to refer to him as "lord." In fact, he was pretty casual about everything.

"He really is a foreigner?"

"How did you meet him?"

A few more joined their conversation, including Jane and her sister, who seemed far more cheerful than the rest. "Weren't you with him, sis? What's he like?" Jane smiled wryly at this. "I told you already, Jan, he's a strange lord..." She left it at that, but the audience seemed to want to hear more. "...I encountered him while being attacked by bandits. At that time..."

Jane told her story, short as it was. The few remaining audience members still listened intently. Then, after the story finished, everyone turned to Russ, the strange lord's first companion.

Russ coughed and told his story. "Well, it all began when my father and mother were buying something in town..."

The audience listened intently as Russ recounted how the foreign lord was kicked out of Castle June while still unconscious. He explained how the lord's items were taken, how he ended up at Russ's home, how he came to Castle June to demand his weapon back, and finally, how he was given this task in exchange for his belongings.

When they realized the true reason for their rescue, they were a little disappointed. However, the clinking of coins in their pockets and the stored wine in the waterskins they'd grabbed from the bandits brought smiles to their faces nonetheless.

"I knew House June couldn't be trusted..."

"Sshh, your not allowed to say that"

"Tsk..."

"Do you think he accepts servants? He's alone in a strange land, surely he could use attendants..." one of them asked, turning to Russ.

Russ smiled wryly. "Honestly," he said, "I don't know. Even if he had servants, I don't think he'd treat them badly, though..."

He looked towards where the strange lord was. Somehow, the lord was already on the roof, sitting and gazing at the stars while sipping wine. Then, the strange lord noticed their gazes turn towards them, he raised his cup as if in toast and nodded.

They hurriedly did the same and looked away.

'One strange lord indeed...'

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"Thank you for everything..." Jane said as she and her sister bowed deeply in gratitude.

For the fourth time and the last time today, Keegan waved dismissively, saying, "You've already offered your thanks. It's what any decent person would do."

Then Jane paused, looking like she wanted to say more before bowing once again. "I hope you regain your items, my lord. And may your fate be free as the sky."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

With that, only Keegan, Russ, and Hughie remained. Silence settled over them, feeling a little lonely as they marched back to Castle June.

Early morning, they had set out. Keegan opted to escort the women to their villages halfway. Since he had saved them, he felt it best to see them home safely. Luckily, their villages were nearby, requiring only a slight detour.

"Pirates, eh?" Keegan muttered, looking at the map in his hand. It wasn't as detailed as the one he'd seen from Lord Yur, but it covered half the southern region, which he realized was called, Saga region.

"Most likely..." Hughie answered. A barrel of Vinoteca wine tied to his back. In the end, the women had left him one barrel despite him giving it to them. Honestly, he didn't know what to do with it. Since it was too cumbersome to carry around, he planned to just sell it in town.

"From their parchments and belongings, it was clear they were preparing for sea travel. I heard a Vinoteca barrel like this can be sold for fifty or even fifty-five primals on the Searc Isles, depending on the season."

As he heard that, Keegan couldn't help but wonder about the purpose behind the Lord of House June's secret deal with the bandit camp. He'd surmised this from the fact that one of the awakened seemed to expect their arrival and from the parchment they found. He then shook his head. Whatever they were planning was honestly none of his business.

"Searc Isles... is there anything special on them? This creature..." Keegan said, gazing at the isles far south where a drawing of a sea serpent was visible.

"Ah... The sea guardian..." Hughie mumbled, taking a look at the drawing.

"Said to be a guardian beast that existed when gods still walked the land. Some sailors say they've seen this creature while sailing, but stories can't really be trusted."

To the side, Russ listened intently, excited at hearing stories from far places.

"The gods..." Keegan mumbled, his gaze fixed on the drawing. He committed the islands' location to memory.

"The islands are….. by a great lord, but half are populated by pirates," Hughie continued.

There was a word he struggled to understand but he got an idea as to what Hughie meant. "Does the great lord work with the pirates?" Keegan asked directly.

Hughie eyed him and said, "No one dares to accuse a great house."

Keegan simply nodded, nonchalant. The conversation ended, and silence took over for a few minutes before Russ spoke up.

"Do you think... House June will return your items, lord?" Russ asked.

Keegan rolled the map and sighed. "I can only hope. And I told you, don't call me lord. Sir is enough..." Then Keegan looked toward Hughie. Out of the three of them, Hughie had the most experience with lords in these lands.

Hughie smiled wryly at this. "I don't know, who knows what goes on…those lords' heads? Lord Yuri might not be as cunning and devious as his uncle, but he's still....."

“So this Lord June, in Castle Reede?” Keagan asked.

"Yes, Lord Reede's heir, previously betrothed to the daughter of the Head of House Jade, died. Nearby important lords have attended the…. along with the previous Head of House Jade. Despite the reasons, that doesn't stop lords from trying to…. favor with a high lord, I heard...."

The topic of lords and territories seemed to interest Hughie so much that he continued rambling on unknowingly. But Keegan and Russ listened gladly.

House Jade, as Russ previously told him, is one of the five high houses. These five high houses are:

House Jade ruler of the southern region also called the Saga region.

House Ruan ruler of the eastern region also called the Coron region.

House Yoxalle ruler of the southwestern region also called the Nara region

House Valora ruler of the northern region also called the Vesy region.

And the previous ruler of these four houses, the house that once control the entire continent, Eyrial, House Allista rule of the central region. Simply called Central.

These high houses boasted at least eight hundred centuries of history, dating back to after the Chaotic Era. Some even claimed lineages even older. Keegan and Russ listened intently to Hughie's explanation of the houses and territories even though there were some words and pronunciation he struggled to understand, he didn’t interrupt Hughie.

A day and a half after setting off from the fort, they reached the town.

"I'll go ahead and inform them of your mission's completion," Hughie said. Keegan, expecting this, simply nodded.

He looked towards the castle, hoping this would be over soon. Then he could find a library and learn about the letters, the lands, history, and more – things he needed to do before he could start his plan.

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Sienna watched her friend with a smirk hidden behind a fan.

After receiving a message about the foreigner's successful venture and how he basically single-handedly took over the camp, both were dumbfounded, Yuri particularly. As Sienna remembers, he looked like he'd been hit by a hammer.

However, her smirk disappeared. According to her subordinate's report, this foreigner was surprisingly powerful, even with just one hand. To single-handedly defeat two awakened beings and three dozen bandits is a rare feat.

She even considered extending an olive branch to the foreigner, but his foreign status and the matter of his stolen items complicate things.

According to her subordinate, the foreigner's brutality wasn't in question. He left no bandit alive. However, his generosity was also noteworthy. Throwing away a huge amount of coin and giving the majority to the victims? The man seemed almost like a character from the stories she'd read as a child.

The large doors of the hall opened, revealing a flash of orange that immediately caught their eyes.

Having heard of his accomplishment, Sienna couldn't help but view the foreigner in a new light, almost with admiration.

Five guards surrounded the foreigner, their expressions guarded. They weren't as relaxed as before, which was understandable. Only another awakened being could match the power of another. General Heide might be awakened, but he was in his seventies now. Of course, for a single awakened being to rampage through a castle was suicidal. But for a potentially hostile awakened being to get so close to a lord? That was dangerous indeed.

The foreigner stopped at a certain distance, the look in his eyes the same as before. Silence filled the hall, waiting...

Keegan's gaze swept the hall, lingering on the faces before him. "I want my weapons”