“I wonder if this is really the right thing to do.”
As he walked back, Glenn muttered to himself without realizing.
He thought he should at least tell her something, so he did…
The technique he’d just taught Eredin—Offense Parry—was among the more dangerous skills.
In truth, Parry itself was already rather risky.
If you used it clumsily, it was the perfect way to get yourself gravely injured.
Offense Parry was even trickier than that, so in reality, it wasn’t the kind of skill you’d normally recommend to someone else.
“Besides, right now, its reputation probably isn’t that good, either…”
Parry was mostly a technique used by wandering knights.
It had its roots among the Northern Tribes and Southern nomads.
Among those circles, it was also called ‘Slack’, but ordinary knights didn’t acknowledge it as a proper skill.
That’s because it was treated as a lowly, flashy trick for show-offs.
With such a reputation, not to mention how difficult and dangerous it was to master.
Honestly, it was a strange thing to learn in the first place.
“But surprisingly, it’s pretty useful against orcs.”
In the first place, it was Eredin of his previous life who taught Glenn this technique—she had come to master it naturally in her battles with orcs.
The harsh environment, full of death at every turn, relentlessly demanded her growth.
An orc’s tough neck couldn’t be cut easily—unless you used aura.
But at the time, Eredin wasn’t at the level where she could draw out aura like a master.
That’s why she used this Offense Parry.
In a way, it was the most efficient method for a non-master knight to use aura.
And since she already knew how to Parry, it wasn’t a particularly difficult skill for her.
Of course—that was simply because Eredin was a genius in swordsmanship.
“I barely managed to learn it myself.”
To survive, he’d had to endure all sorts of harsh training from Eredin to pick up the skill.
As for himself—later on, he applied it in blood magic as well, but honestly, it wasn’t something he could recommend to others easily.
***
“Why can’t you even manage something this simple?”
“…Maybe because Eredin Knight is the only one who thinks it’s simple.”
“Pfft, a man who only has a way with words…”
“Hey—It’s not like you even taught me properly. Why are you scolding me?”
“I never taught you? I showed you on purpose every single time during battle, didn’t I? If you have eyes, you should’ve seen it.”
“That counts as teaching?”
“Isn’t that enough? You kept going on about being a genius as a kid, so I expected more. Sheesh.”
“When did I ever say that?”
“Enough talk, just do it again. I can’t die because of you, Young Lord.”
“You may know swordsmanship, but you’re no teacher.”
“You sure talk a lot.”
***
Remembering his previous life, he couldn’t help but feel oddly emotional.
“Well—she’ll figure it out.”
After all, wasn’t it a technique she had taught him?
She really did use it often at the time, too.
By the time she was learning Parry, she probably figured it out on her own anyway.
Whether it ends up useful or not… that’s up to her.
For now, he’d taught her.
That was enough.
Thinking such things, he moved his tired feet along.
Come to think of it—
“It should be about time for Brunel to return.”
***
When morning broke and it was around noon, Brunel and his group came back.
“So, did you manage to gather any information?”
Glenn had previously asked Brunel and his men to gather intelligence.
That was because he needed information about Red Hood’s hideout.
That was, after all, why he’d brought them along in the first place.
“Yes, word got out around here more than I expected, so it was surprisingly easy to collect information.”
“Good, then right away… No, we should gather everyone first rather than talk here.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m calling a meeting. We’ll go over everything there in detail.”
Are you saying I should participate too?
Seeing the look on Brunel’s face, Glenn only grinned in reply.
***
Once everyone had gathered, they all entered the meeting room.
With a stern look, Brunel opened his mouth and the meeting began.
Rumors from the area, information the Northshine Family had investigated, merchant testimonies—various methods were used to collect the information, which was laid out one by one.
Based on that, the final target location was decided—
“So, the specific location is here, the Toldran Abandoned Mine in the northwest mountains.”
“The northwest from here… That would be at the edge of the High Arc Mountains.”
“That’s correct.”
Glenn glanced at the tense-faced Brunel and let out a quiet chuckle.
Well, of course he’d never have attended something like this before.
“Did you find out anything else?”
“Quite a few merchants pass through the mountain paths. There’s been a noticeable uptick in ambushes lately, so now merchants travel in large groups of three to six with heavy escorts.
From what I’ve found, it’s not just merchants—small villages nearby have also been attacked. I’ve even seen some villagers fleeing to escape the raids.”
“…Good grief.”
As Brunel continued, the Count of Northshine let out a sigh.
That was only natural, since the region mentioned was part of his domain.
Eredin, watching him, spoke up.
“We’ve received similar reports from the east. That’s why the Count has already dispatched most of the Northern Shine Knights and his forces. He’s done all he can.”
“Are the reported bandits in large numbers, then?”
Ever since his first day arriving at Sharn Castle, Glenn had felt that the number of people stationed there was small.
He could guess that about half the forces had been sent out to subjugate the bandits—a considerable number.
Weren’t both the eldest and second son, along with the knights’ main force, taken too?
“Putting all the reports together, it seems at least several hundred bandits are running rampant.”
“Don’t tell me all those numbers are moving together?”
“No. The damage ranges from the eastern plains to the lower Lems River and even the Arian Border. The numbers are estimates based on combined incidents in a wide area. There are even rumors that the bandit groups fight each other—so they’re all separate groups.”
“Because of the civil war.”
Eredin nodded as well.
Bandit groups were plaguing the entire duchy.
The reason for their sudden increase was simple. The prolonged imperial civil war.
Defeated soldiers from every battle, refugees fleeing the fighting, lowlife mercenaries—they were all pouring into the north.
This problem wasn’t unique to Northshine; even in Lepent City, the same things were happening.
His own father, Duke Lepent, was busy dealing with various troubles cropping up in his own territory.
If there was any consolation, it was that at least the monsters had quieted down a little lately.
“To be honest, our family can’t dispatch any more large forces. We have to keep a minimum garrison.”
“I figured as much. What about supplies—do you have any to spare?”
“Thankfully, we have reserves. How much do you need?”
“With thirty Northern Shine Knights, about…”
Eredin calmly discussed details with Glenn.
Strangely, the two seemed to be getting along better than before.
From the seat of honor, the Count watched them with a renewed gaze.
Their recent duel had been shocking, even to him.
He’d expected his daughter, with her strong competitive spirit, would take at least a week to get over it.
But not even a day had passed before she seemed fine.
She was even acting natural around the very person who’d defeated her.
It was admirable, but she was acting differently from the daughter he thought he knew.
“Count? You’re not thinking of withdrawing the garrison, are you?”
She looked at her father, a suspicious expression on her face.
“…Me? No, of course not.”
Then, carefully, he looked at Glenn.
“This much, I’m sorry about, Young Lord Glenn.”
“No, I understand completely. How many can you spare?”
When Glenn waved his hand as if it were nothing, Eredin replied in his stead.
“We can send three platoons of infantry and one or two knights to command them.”
Three platoons—thirty-six men.
Considering Glenn’s own escort group was about thirty strong, it wasn’t much.
But he didn’t really mind.
“That’s plenty. I intended to handle it with just the Northern Shine Knights anyway, so don’t worry too much, Count. May I at least ask for some supplies?”
“Of course, that much I’ll certainly provide. It’s bandits on our land, after all.”
As the Count agreed, Glenn nodded.
Eredin, meanwhile, felt a strange sense of discomfort from the scene.
“Will you be going yourself, Young Lord?”
She looked between Glenn and her father as she asked.
A quiet sigh could be heard.
“I tried to stop him, but…”
“There’s a saying about tying the bell—if I started this, I have to finish it myself.”
“…Isn’t it dangerous?”
“If I worried about that, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”
He waved his hand dismissively, as if he would not accept any objections.
Seeing this, Eredin bit her lip slightly.
“In that case… I’ll go as well.”
“Hmm? Why would you?”
“What?”
Both the Count and Glenn looked at her in surprise, but her eyes were fixed solely on her father.
“Count, this concerns the honor of our family. We can’t rely on another house to resolve a problem that arose in our own domain.”
“Even so, there’s no need for you to go personally.”
“Why not?”
“Are you really asking? You’re the eldest daughter of this family.”
“Lord Glenn is in a similar position. If he goes, I have no reason not to, Count.”
“Even so…”
“I’m also a knight, and a member of this house. The family’s honor is my honor. Please remember that.”
At her stubborn reply, the Count sighed deeply.
A moment’s hesitation.
Meeting her gaze again, he saw his daughter’s eyes burning with resolve.
And when he turned slightly, he caught the confused face of Young Lord Glenn.
The Count looked back and forth between the two, feeling a strange emotion.
Could it be…? he wondered, but quickly put the thought aside.
Instead, he threw a question at Glenn.
“Will my daughter be of any help?”
“…Hmm.”
Glenn hesitated, wondering whether to refuse or accept.
Then, for a moment, he met Eredin’s eyes.
Those slightly trembling blue eyes.
Lips twitching, as if she wanted to say something.
…If he didn’t take her along now, she’d probably sneak off and follow anyway.
Glenn let out a short sigh and answered.
“She’d be more than enough help.”
“…Then please take good care of my daughter.”
Something about the Count’s reply gave him an odd feeling, but he nodded.
At the same time, Eredin’s expression brightened noticeably.
And so, with the meeting wrapped up, the day passed.
The Operation to suppress Red Hood had begun.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.