Chapter 327: Confirmation Before the Request
“Two, is it?” The butler tilted his head, unsure if he understood.
“No, counting from the Oath Document, it’s three, four…” Haulon corrected himself, suddenly realizing.
“Stop adding more!”
“That’s my line!!!!” I shot back at him.
“Calm down. Getting too excited isn’t good for your health, and you won’t be able to keep it up,” Dinoss said, addressing Haulon.
“Right, right. Besides, I have my own top priority… You have the King’s Branch, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Note, I’ll lend you the young lady’s picture book. If you don’t get caught up in it, help me out a bit.” The butler slightly widened his eyes, bowing in agreement.
What’s with this young lady and getting caught up?
“Balmoa, Shiva owes me a favor, right? You, her husband, should repay it.” I checked the butler’s reaction and then turned to Dinoss.
“What’s with the sudden request? I’ll do it, though.” Dinoss seemed surprised but accepted the sudden task.
And for some reason, Haulon knelt before me.
“I want you to come with me. Just for three days, no, two days is fine. In exchange, I’ll give you my Grimoire, all the treasure I’ve accumulated, and my Secret Techniques. I’ve secured safety for now. —Please, I beg you.” He bowed deeply, leaving me in a bind.
“No, I don’t need it,” I instinctively denied.
But Haulon remained with his head bowed, not moving an inch.
I glanced at Dinoss. He spread his arms upward, gesturing that he didn’t understand.
I looked at the butler. He slowly shook his head as well.
“Who’s this young lady?” I asked the butler.
“She is Lady Ash’s grandmother,” the butler replied with a smile.
Ah, this is definitely something the butler wants. Ash might want to see it too.
“What do you intend to make Gene do?” Retze’s voice came low, questioning Haulon.
“I want him to destroy the King’s Branch of the fallen kingdom. And to free the lone king trapped by it.” Haulon spoke in a pained voice, still with his face down.
“…I see the punchline coming,” Retze said, covering his forehead and squeezing out his voice after hearing the answer.
“I have a feeling too,” Dinoss said, casting a sideways glance, looking uncomfortable.
“I too… Haulon, let me tell you something good in exchange for the picture book. Let’s check the living room’s Fireplace at the rented house where we stayed last night. We can talk again after that.” The butler said cheerfully, subtly securing the picture book, which was very much in character for him.
“It would be quicker to call, but for a touching reunion, it’s better if there are fewer people around.” I could see the punchline coming too. This was a problem even before the request.
“Hey, what’s with the suddenness? Why are you looking at me with such affectionate eyes?!”
I pushed the unsatisfied Haulon outside. While we waited, we enjoyed tea in front of the warm Fireplace.
“If I accepted, it would be a desert. It might have been fine to go for about two days since it’s cold,” Dinoss said with a grin.
“If that were the case, Haulon would be in a panic meeting Karn by now. There probably aren’t many kings trapped by a branch, so it’s unlikely. Usually, the branch collapses and that’s the end of it,” Retze said, gazing into the distance.
“I finally understand why Haulon was so fixated on the King’s Branch. And why he didn’t accompany us on the final trial journey. Now that I think about it, he must have known the content of the trial, which is why he couldn’t come even if he wanted to. I wonder how long he has been seeking the King’s Branch.”
“Speaking of which, he was quite insistent with me too. By the way, this makes me want to drink in the morning,” Dinoss said.
In my hands was a sausage wrapped in dumpling skin coated with chili sauce. It was topped with cheese and baked, giving it a crispy cheese exterior. Alongside it was a bite-sized crab cream croquette.
“If you drink too much, Shiva will get mad.” It was still morning, so no.
“Still, I thought the water pipe and all had an Es-like taste, but it turns out you were acquainted with Karn, Haulon.”
“It seems so,” the butler replied, cutting the crab cream croquette in half with a knife he had pulled from who knows where. Probably from his sleeve.
“Didn’t that come up even among party members?”
“We didn’t delve too deeply into each other. Besides, we were only in a party for a very short time.”
“Is that so? I thought you had gone on a long, grand adventure. I heard it was a legendary party.”
“Though it’s been elevated to ‘legendary party’ in the streets, aside from Haulon, I’ve never teamed up with Note. I’ll let it slide since denying it is a hassle.” Dinoss said, sounding annoyed. Now that I think about it, the ages don’t match.
“It’s probably because our activity periods overlap slightly and we have connections, so we get lumped together—at least, I wish that were the case. There are many fabricated adventure tales that fit the roles too. Dean probably doesn’t talk about the episodes where he adventured together.” Retze explained.
“Ah.” I thought they were talking about the admired King Wolf and two women, but it seems I was mistaken. Apparently, they had shared some fabricated stories but excluded the created ones.
“Take rumors with a grain of salt, okay? Even stories from authoritative figures can have inaccuracies in the recorded history. Even tales from close friends can be wrong without malice.”
“Yes.” Speaking of which, Luf’s descendants had also been swapped. I should be careful.
“Retze, do you know how to gather cinnamon?” I wanted to deny this dubious information that said to steal it from the bird’s nest on the cliff!
“Oh, you mean the one about collecting special bird nests or scooping it up with a net at the source of the Es River?”
It increased!?