Chapter 384

“This warrior is Ha-shal-leur’s acquaintance… no, a former subordinate?”

“Looks pretty scary.”

“Ophelia, isn’t that a bit rude…?”

The group’s reactions upon meeting Ja-han were varied.

Damien seemed a bit wary, while Ophelia let out a hollow laugh and shrugged her shoulders.

Overall, the atmosphere wasn’t exactly welcoming.

It wasn’t so much that they were wary because he was from Ka`har, but Ja-han’s appearance itself was the kind that naturally evoked caution.

Regardless of his personality, his looks alone were terrifying enough to make you think he couldn’t sleep unless he killed 50 people a day.

Ja-han, on the other hand, seemed surprised that the members I introduced were all kids around my age.

Well, of course he’d be surprised. Reaching the level of a Paladin in your teens would make you a genius even in Ka`har, and here, all three of them were master-level fighters.

Including me, that makes four geniuses gathered here.

“Hmm…”

Ja-han nodded slightly, his mouth slightly open.

Perhaps impressed by the strength of the people he’d be living with from now on, he grinned and greeted Damien’s group.

“Nice meet. I Ja-han, slave of Ha-shal-leur. My master say you always kill strong. Good request ahead.”

What is this guy even saying?

“Huh…?”

“…Kill strong?”

Everyone’s faces were painted with confusion at the bizarre Imperial language that came out of Ja-han’s mouth.

Even Ja-han himself seemed to think, “This isn’t right.”

Ah, now that I think about it, the translation magic scales with the user’s knowledge of Imperial language.

Looks like he didn’t study Imperial language hard enough. It’s still a mess.

“What exactly were you trying to say?”

I asked Ja-han in Eastern language, feeling a bit exasperated.

“That was… ‘Pleased to meet you. I am Ja-han, a subordinate of Lady Ha-shal-leur. My lord often praises your martial prowess. I look forward to working with you.’ …It seems it wasn’t conveyed properly.”

It was a much more normal statement than I thought.

Though it turned into a mess after going through the translation magic.

I translated what Ja-han originally meant into Imperial language and relayed it to the group.

“Ah, so that’s what you meant. I thought you were saying something about being a slave and a master…”

Damien smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

What nonsense was this guy thinking again?

If I dug deeper, it seemed like a tragedy where the future hero would die on the spot, so I decided not to press further.

—

After finishing introductions, Ja-han and Damien’s group sat around the sofa in the reception room, engaging in casual chatter.

Well, more accurately, it was just Ja-han and Damien talking.

Ja-han seemed genuinely happy to finally meet another man after being surrounded by women for so long, and he showed great interest in Damien.

He asked all sorts of questions: when he reached his current level, what weapons he used, if he was in a relationship with the lady next to him, how he met Ha-shal-leur, and so on.

Of course, since he was speaking in Eastern language, Nigel had to translate Ja-han’s words to Damien.

Unlike Damien, the other two didn’t say a word to Ja-han.

Milia kept glancing at him, unsure how to react, while Ophelia showed no interest at all, puffing on her magic herb.

Ja-han didn’t even glance in Ophelia’s direction.

Even though he had fled to the Empire, he still seemed uncomfortable around mages, unlike his time in Aishan.

Well, it’s hard to expect them to get along right away.

At least they didn’t start fighting.

—

After chatting for a while, Ja-han and Damien, feeling a sense of camaraderie, headed to the training hall to spar.

Though, considering Damien’s mental state, it might have just been Ja-han who felt that way.

Nigel had to follow them to translate, and Milia, worried about Damien, got up and followed as well.

As a result, only me, Ophelia, Minea, and Rana remained in the reception room.

“Rana, can you take care of healing if they get hurt? I need to take Minea to the Rose Hall and will be back soon.”

“Leave it to me, sis!”

Rana clenched her small fist and smiled brightly.

Now it’s not “Lady Ha-shal-leur” but just “sis.”

“…Sis? Hmm. So that’s your relationship. No wonder you two are always together.”

Ophelia smirked and blew out a puff of white smoke.

What relationship? Not all sisters are as crazy about each other as you guys, you know?

“Stop talking nonsense… Let’s go, Minea.”

“Ah, yes!”

Minea, who had been silently bowing her head amidst the gathering of master-level fighters, quickly stood up and followed me.

“Um, am I staying at the Rose Hall instead of here?”

“Yeah. This mansion is a dedicated lodging for master-level fighters. Why, a bit disappointed?”

What can you do if you’re disappointed? If you want good treatment, you have to show your skills, and if you have the skills, you deserve the treatment.

If you’re unhappy, then become a master-level knight.

You probably can’t, but who knows? If you keep at it, you might reach that level by your late thirties or early forties.

“Ah, disappointed? Not at all! I’m actually relieved. This place is too flashy for me to relax…”

Minea looked up at the chandelier with a terrified expression.

For someone with a commoner’s sensibility, a mansion glittering with gold and jewels on all sides was more of a burden than an object of admiration.

I felt the same way once.

—

When we finally arrived at the Rose Hall, coincidentally, most of the Rose Cross Knight Order, led by Leonor, had been dispatched to subjugate monsters.

Bad timing, I guess. Only a handful of knights were left.

“When will they be back?”

“Judging by the distance, it might take about ten days.”

Ten days, huh? That’s a bit long. Nothing to be done about it.

I entrusted Minea to the knights and ordered them to train her as a squire.

Her personality is good, and her potential isn’t bad, so treat her like a junior and take good care of her.

With that said, they shouldn’t give her a hard time.

“Then, work hard here. Until you become strong enough to stand on your own as a knight. Got it?”

“Th-thank you!”

Minea bowed deeply, her face filled with gratitude and joy.

Well, going from a mere adventurer to a candidate for a marquis’s knight is a big deal. For her, it’s like hitting the jackpot in life.

After giving her a light wave, I left her there and exited the Rose Hall’s reception room.

The corridor smelled of flowers and rye bread.

…Rye bread?

Suddenly, I remembered the bad habits of the Royal Guard that Persval had told me about… Nah, it couldn’t be.

Even though Leonor is of royal descent, she wouldn’t spread the Royal Guard’s culture to her own knight order.

—

On the way back, I stopped by Asha’s workshop.

Ophelia and Ja-han were planning to order armor, so I wanted to pay for it in advance and also check on the progress of my own armor.

“Ah, Ha-shal-leur! I heard you were back. Perfect timing!”

As I entered the workshop, Asha greeted me with a bright smile, carrying a heavy bundle of clothes.

“Look at this! Your armor is just finished!”

“Really? That’s great.”

I took the bundle from Asha.

It looked quite heavy, but when I held it, it wasn’t as weighty as I expected.

The pure white fur was more lustrous than when it was alive, and I could feel a subtle warmth just by holding it.

It would be much warmer than anything Boris could provide.

“How is it?”

“As expected of Asha. It’s really good.”

The armor set included a spaulder, a breastplate, a right gauntlet, a pair of boots, a spiked skirt, and a fur cloak. The design wasn’t much different from my previous armors.

Except that the metal spikes were a bit darker and thicker.

Not just the armor, but the clothes to wear underneath were also prepared.

Though the underclothes were just a black-brown chest cover and pants.

“Is this also Suin leather?”

“Yes. It’s Ryu-rik’s leather dyed black-brown. I removed the fur and thinned it a bit for comfort. But it can still easily block a dagger.”

I thought it was from a different Suin because of the color, but it was also Ryu-rik’s leather.

So, except for the underwear, my entire body is covered in Ryu-rik’s leather.

“Winter Armor No. 1. My masterpiece! Leather with self-repairing function, combined with shape-memory alloy spikes with a higher ratio of black iron. The spiked parts can even defend against a master-level knight’s attack, and the fur parts won’t be damaged by ordinary swords or spears. It also has a warming function that generates more heat as the climate gets colder.”

I gave Asha a thumbs up.

“Perfect.”

With armor like this, I probably won’t get hurt easily.

Even the original Hersela didn’t have such defensive gear. I’m glad I became friends with her.

“Ah, and the portable purification device is also finished. Here.”

Asha handed me something from a shelf in the workshop.

“Wow, this is cool too.”

The purification device Asha made was a metal mask covering from below the nose to the cheeks and chin.

The design was inspired by beast fangs, with a metallic sheen painted in dark red.

It was the kind of design Hersela would love. I liked it too.