Chapter 328: Conversation After the Storm
「…… 」
Hauron brought Khan back with him. Ah, no, it’s the other way around; Khan brought Hauron back here.
Hauron wore an expression of being exhausted, exasperated and extremely unconvinced. He staggered and collapsed on his chair before sprawling on the table.
「Good job. 」
Dinosso called out.
「… Can I bawl my eyes out? 」
Hauron mumbled without energy as he continued lying on the table.
「What happened to your heartfelt reuni — mmpf! 」
「Stop dealing that final blow, will you. 」
Retze covered my mouth again.
Why!?
「Please. 」
Butler set a fresh cup of tea in front of Hauron.
「Thanks. The information overload is simply too much for me to take. 」
Hauron’s brows were deeply furrowed as if he was trying to endure a migraine. He held the cup with one hand while clutching his head with the other.
「May we ask how you became acquainted with each other? 」
Butler sat down before asking Hauron.
「I met the King of Tirdonai twice, once when I was a young boy accompanying my father, and once after I succeeded him. It’s said that my distant ancestor came across the inhabitable land of sand while traveling in search for the secret method of teleportation. The land was already in ruins at that time, but he had made a pact to find someone who possessed a 『King’s Bough』in exchange for being allowed to study the teleportation array. 」
Hauron sat properly, then he began his story.
By the way, Khan brought a stool in front of the fireplace and encamped there. Uh, I’m about to grill the meat, so I’m leaving the turning to you.
「…. 」
Seemed like it wasn’t good for me to say anything at this point, so I quietly set up the skewered whole bird. Khan’s seat was beside the fireplace, and he would turn the handle of the metal spit round and round to grill the chickens.
I set up two layers with three chickens in each spit. Butler, Retze and I can finish half a chicken each, so Khan can have two for himself. As an experiment, I requested the spirits to prod and stab the meat when I set them aside earlier, so Half-Spirit Khan could probably taste it too.
Yeah, probably, I guess. If not, then I’ll just offer some wine to Khan and give the chicken to Dean later. The chickens should be nicely done by the time Hauron finished his tale.
「… The 『King’s Bough』 can never be taken out of a country or kingdom after being placed there and the spirits started to gather. For generations after generations, it had been our duty to assist those who seek the 『King’s Bough』. 」
Hauron sighed before moving somewhere else — then he started rotating the spit handle.
Ooh, the Grand Mage is grilling chicken, what a surreal sight. Ack, Retze, my cheek has its own human rights too, stop attacking it!! Ack!
「After the first quest to find the『King’s Bough』ended in failure, Father expressly forbid me to study the test, but I still set off to do that, so I forfeited the right to seek and obtain the 『King’s Bough』 — the thirst for knowledge seems to run in our blood, so Father probably made the same mistake. 」
Hauron shrugged.
「Even so, I never thought Emmy, the little girl I decided to adopt on a whim for three years would set off on a quest to find the 『King’s Bough』. 」
He turned to face Butler this time around.
Who is this Emmy person? He looked at Butler, so it must be Ash’s Granny?
「She even succeeded in obtaining it…it was truly unfortunate. 」
Butler averted his eyes.
「Oh my goodness! Was the Royal Family’s — no, the ducal family’s restriction lifted? Didn’t the duke order you to keep your mouth shut? She managed to get her hands on the 『King’s Bough』 only to lose it because of a family feud; now that’s a misfortune above all else. 」
「Thanks to you. 」
Butler smiled.
「So, you’ve finally wiped out the ducal family, haven’t you? I thought Emmy’s lineage would carry on, though. Well, that son of theirs was the spitting image of the duke, after all. And such a fool too. 」
Hauron commented while holding his cheek.
「The succession had already taken place, and their son is now the current duke. He and Emille-sama’s grandchild Leora-sama are living well. 」
Butler replied, but his expression wasn’t good for some reason.
Eh, so can I treat Emmy and Emille as the same person?
「Oh dear, and here I was thinking you had someone else do the deed for you, given that you couldn’t do it yourself! 」
「Hohoh. 」
Hauron awkwardly commented, while Butler awkwardly chuckled.
Ah, sparks flew, sparks flew between them. So these two weren’t chummies at all!?
「Uwaah, I thought Lady Lilith pulled some strings for the duke’s succession, but turns out it was Noth laying the foundation, huh… I’m not sure what sort of restrictions you were under, but were you tied down because of a written oath or something similar? Like, you can’t directly lay a hand on the duke or something like that?」
Retze muttered beside me.
Er, is it okay for me to think that Butler was constrained by the ducal family one way or the other, and he was dissatisfied with that? Well, I wouldn’t want to be tied down by somebody else without consent if it were me.
Maybe the fact that Noth kept on emphasizing Ash as Emille’s grandchild instead of being the current Duke’s daughter kinda suggests that he didn’t harbor any ill will towards Ash. Or, maybe Noth even adored her.
Ahh, the nobility drama is so scary! Or is it actually of nobility? I wonder.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 hours
Thanks for the treat.