Chapter 26.1: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐๐)
Chapter 26.1: ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐ (๐๐)
Having skills in technology or cooking, or any talent for that matter, was always beneficial. Even a good physique could land someone a role as a guard or soldier. Sir Gessen also recruited several soldiers this way. Although life-threatening, for a slave, it presented an opportunity to earn freedom through meritorious service.
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โBut does such a person exist in this town?โ
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He wondered if there were skilled slaves in this town. A slave with exceptional skills would be expensive and unlikely to be sold in such a town. . .
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โWhatโs he doing?โ
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โHeโs a merchant by origin, very knowledgeable due to his travels across the continent. Sir Knight, he can answer any question you ask.โ
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โ!โ
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Johan was surprised by the seemingly favorable conditions. To him, a slave with such extensive knowledge was useful. But why would they want to give him away?
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โWhy are they offering him?โ
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If the slave was truly useful, it wouldnโt make sense to give him up. Johan cautiously asked a question.
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โIs he of no use to the town?โ
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โOf course, he is useful! But to atone for our debts to Sir Knight, we must offer something of value.โ
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It was a lie. In truth, a knowledgeable slave wasnโt very useful in the town.
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The knowledge needed in the town involved identifying herbs, predicting rain and snow, not facts like โ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ตโ๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ขโ. Such knowledge only served to fill the young men of the town with unrealistic dreams.
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โHeโs not unruly or rebellious, is he?โ
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โNot at all! Heโs nothing like that.โ
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โ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ,โ ๐๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต.
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Yet, the offer was tempting. Whether useful or not, Johan liked the idea of having someone accompany him.
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โ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ.โ
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Despite Johanโs noble origin, evidenced by his armor, accent, and demeanor, he couldnโt hide one thing: his financial struggles.
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Even if you are a wandering knight without a fiefdom, there are relatively wealthy wandering knights who lead dozens of people, and there are poor wandering knights who wander alone without even proper armor.
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People naturally respected the former more.
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To gain respect, one must look the part. Merchants and commoners were enough for now, but not for higher status.
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โFine. Iโll see and decide.โ
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As Johan prepared to leave, the worried mercenaries tried to stop him.
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โSir Knight. Be careful. It could be a trap.โ
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โYou canโt expect honor from these town folks.โ
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The experienced mercenaries were concerned about a trap.
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The people of such towns could resort to anything if provoked. Regardless of honor, they might kill and bury mercenaries to protect their wealth. And if Johan went out alone. . .
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However, Johan remained calm.
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โIf it comes to that, Iโll find a way out, so no need to worry.โ
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Despite how absurd it sounded, Johanโs confidence momentarily convinced the mercenaries.
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They believed that he could indeed fend off a dozen town folks and escape.
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๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
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โThe limbs are intact.โ
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Johan highly rated the fact that his limbs were intact. The man was wearing old, tattered cloth clothes, and around his neck, a brass necklace symbolizing a slave. The solid necklace, inscribed with his name, crime, and master, was so tightly soldered without any gaps that it couldnโt be removed without tools.
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โHas Atanka-nim arrived?!โ
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โYes. Geoffrey. Fortunately, this honorable Sir Knight has said he will take you with him.โ
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โYes?โ
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Slave Geoffrey was startled by the village chiefโs words. He had to follow a knight he had never seen before.
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Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?
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After all, it wasnโt something he could decide.
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โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ.โ
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The life of a slave is to follow their master.
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A village slave would probably spend his life plowing fields and cleaning up horse dung until death, but a nobleโs slave could live lavishly, enviable by commoners, if lucky.
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And a knight was a status at the lower end of nobility. Moreover, the knight in front of him seemed quite presentable. He wasnโt a wandering knight without any equipment.
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The problem is. . .
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โ๐๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด?โ
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Geoffrey feared being trapped in a goblinโs den or dying a horrible death while following the knight. Knights were often considered madmen, seeking places to die.
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โGeoffrey. What are you doing? Greet him.โ
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โAh. Yes! Thank you very much! Iโm honored that you think highly of me! Iโm not sure if Iโm worthy of Sir Knightโs attention, but I will do my best. Iโm not good with weapons and my limbs are weak, but Iโll do whatever Iโm told. . .โ
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Geoffrey hurriedly greeted upon the village chiefโs call, subtly mentioning his weaknesses. If the knight was not satisfied and didnโt take him, it would be better for him, avoiding a tough life.
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Atanka frowned.
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โIn a situation where itโs an understatement to say heโs robust.โ
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โTurn your neck.โ
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Geoffrey turned his head, revealing the writing on the necklace.
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โHuh. Can Sir Knight read?โ
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While there were knights with high learning, they were as rare as dumb orcs. Most knights preferred to hire someone to read for them. It was considered beneath the dignity of someone of high status to read themselves.
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The knights who could read were usually those from churches or monastic orders.
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โ๐๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ค ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ. . .โ
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โGold smuggling?โ
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โY-Yes. Iโm sorry. Iโm reflecting on it now. . .โ
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โHow did you survive?โ