A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

145 – Be on My Side (6)

There are many ways to ride a drake.

In most cases, people ride on the back of a drake, like putting on a saddle when riding a horse.

It is said that this began when Geo Nostrum, the progenitor of Nostrum, rode on the back of a gold dragon.

But sometimes you ride it in a different way.

If the dragon has sharp thorns on its back, a device such as a wooden support or palanquin, rather than a saddle, may be attached to the drake.

It is true that it is riding on the back, but in that case, the concept of standing on the back would be closer.

In a similar way, there are cases where the animal stands on its back while holding the reins around its mouth and chin.

The further you go, the more dangerous and extreme it becomes, and even the skilled dragoons find it easy to say, ‘Oh, this is a bit much’.

One of the most dangerous methods.

Right now.

This is how I held Nidhogg’s ankles with my hands.

“Kyaaa!!”

Astasia screams.

Since the direction of her flight she is against her, she scream disappears with the wind in the direction from which we flew.

“You’re crazy, you’re crazy!” What are we going to do now!”

“Thrill.”

I turned her head and whispered so softly that Astasia could barely hear.

“Isn’t it fun?”

“It’s not fun, ugh… !”

“It’s too sticky to say it’s not fun?”

“!!”

Astasia is hugging me tightly.

She doesn’t just give a hug, she puts one of her hands over her shoulder and tries not to let it go.

Approximately 150m high above the ground.

Considering the average altitude of a drake, it is not that high, but if a person falls from this height, he or she will die.

“Rest assured, we will never let go of this guy.”

“Well, that’s…!”

“It’s clear that he doesn’t like being carried on his back, but he doesn’t hate flying in the sky.”

Purr.

Nidhogg flaps his wings loudly, making a pleasant sound.

“Huh, since when did you start raising flying dragons?!”

“Starting today.”

“Yes?!”

“This is the guy I met for the first time today. …Don’t look at me like that.”

A little shocking.

Astasia made a grim expression that was difficult to put into words.

“I’m sorry for not telling you in advance, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to show it.”

“Good opportunity?”

“I have the blessing of nature that allows me to communicate with drakes.”

I lightly touched my forehead to Astasia.

“It is possible to communicate to a certain extent with the drake without speaking. You can also receive help from mana.”

“Rather than the power of mana or the blessings of nature…”

Astasia glanced up at Nidhogg’s ankle that I was holding.

“Aren’t you using force to pressure me?”

“Astacia.”

So small that Nidhogg can’t hear.

“Even humans tend to do things recklessly if they appear to be weaker than they are, but what about animals?”

“…”

“I instinctively knew that it was a strong animal fit to be the owner, so I grabbed its ankles as soon as I met it like this. Otherwise, I would have pecked its beak and swung its claws before it could fly.”

Even good words cannot say you have a good personality.

“Strong and weak. It is the law of nature before it is the logic of beasts.”

But even such a personality softens in the presence of the strong.

“It is reckless and reckless to act recklessly against someone who may threaten one’s life, but wouldn’t recognize that strength and acting accordingly be considered the wisdom of life?”

“…Hmph.”

Astasia clung more deeply.

From noble mtl dot come

“Wouldn’t this only get you into more trouble?”

“You may be in trouble, but you should learn how to enjoy things on your birthday.”

“So, like kidnapping a birthday present, you take it away without letting me sleep properly?”

“Of course. I wanted to show you.”

Slowly, we arrived at our destination.

“This is Gibraltar.”

“…Wow.”

Dark night.

It is late, about 2 a.M., But in the territory of Gibraltar, the unique light of magic stone streetlights created through magic engineering is softly twinkling.

“Even just four years ago…”

“It wasn’t to this extent. It wasn’t as advanced as the system, but it was developed as any other count family in the empire.”

4 years.

“After you left, my father became more and more eager to adopt the imperial culture.”

Although the gate to the canyon was not opened, my father followed my request and laid the ‘foundation’ of the entire county.

“The road was maintained and equipped with facilities until the canyon gate was opened, outlets were created, and exchanges gradually took place.”

“And you installed these facilities using workers as soon as the door opened?”

“Yes. Using magic.”

“It must have been very expensive.”

“So, the family hired several magicians dedicated to construction.”

Every time we do construction, it is cheaper to hire a wizard than to call someone to the magic tower, even if it costs more than a billion won.

“Wasn’t it very expensive?”

“It was okay. There are people who were persuaded by Caroline, there are people who received help from my father in the past, there are people who are very interested in imperial magic engineering, and there are people who want to make a lot of money and move to the empire.”

“Uh, um…”

“The important thing is that they used magic much more actively than the conservative people in the royal magic tower, and this is the result they achieved.”

Pass by the Imperial Castle and the nearby modern Western-style mansion, where all redevelopment took place, and head towards ‘there’.

“Hey, can you see it?”

“…There are more buildings?”

“As exchanges with the empire increased, we also had to increase our manpower.”

Angel’s Canyon.

Gibraltar Orphanage.

A place that previously could accommodate about 100 people has now become a large-scale childcare facility that can easily accommodate nearly 500 people.

“Just in time, I’m waiting.”

“Who…Ah.”

Rooftop of the orphanage.

“Oh my god, no way?”

“That is true.”

A woman with her green hair flying and her single-edged sword resting on the floor in her scabbard was looking up at us.

“Nidhogg. Landing.”

At my words, Nidhogg slowly folded his wings and lowered his altitude.

Just as a small airship lands on a ‘helipad’ on the rooftops of various buildings in the island, Nidhogg slowly descended in an elegant manner and dropped us off on the rooftop of the orphanage.

“Thank you.”

As soon as my feet touched the floor, I let go of his ankle and tapped it lightly.

“Don’t go over to the Empire, but take a look at the canyon.”

Purr.

Before I could say anything, Nidhogg’s eyes were looking at the high canyon ahead.

“When can you come? When I send this signal.”

When I lightly pressed my hand to her forehead, Nid Hogg nodded her head briefly and she flew up into the sky.

“Uh…Over there.”

Astasia looked towards the green-haired woman who was at eye level with her, and bowed her head as if she felt awkward.

“…Nice to meet you?”

“This is my first time seeing you as Viscount Rift.”

Own lift.

“It’s been a while since I saw you, Granddaughter Hwang.”

Lord Mente bowed her head in courtesy.

“I knew you were coming because it was your birthday, but I never thought you would.”

“Uh, um…”

“Master. If you don’t mind-“

“If you want to show off your skills like that, why not do it with me?”

I lightly lifted the cane hanging around my waist.

“Don’t think of the Sword Master bragging about his strength against the weak Astasia.”

“So… About?”

Lord Mente frowned as he continued to look Astasia up and down her.

“Fragile.”

I hugged Astasia tightly.

“She is such a fragile princess that I have to always protect her.”

“…”

Astasia nodded her head calmly and fell into my arms.

“Ha.”

Sir Mente clicked her tongue as if it was absurd.

“He says the same thing as his father, but his intentions are darker than that. Young master?”

“…”

“Countess Charlotte was really weak enough for the Margrave to protect, says the granddaughter of Astasia-“

“Weak.”

I held Astasia’s hand and held it out.

“Look at these thin wrists that don’t seem to have any muscles. Sir. How can they persecute a girl who is so weak that she can’t even kill an ant baby?”

“…Ugh. I really am, tsk.”

Sir Mente was truly irritated.

“I will guide you. Please come down to the basement.”

* * *

[March 31, 6 a.M., Orosol Academy Imperial Student Dormitory 1st floor lobby.]

“We are all dead.”

Room 201, the international students sighed deeply at Blonde’s words.

“Do you really mean that no one knows where Granddaughter Hwang has gone?”

“…”

“Granddaughter Hwang has gone missing. Isn’t everyone aware of the situation now?”

Unlike the blonde who usually showed a calm demeanor.

“We are all dead!”

He started to get angry with his fever rising to the point where even his ears turned red.

“The Hwanggranddaughter disappeared without telling us? That’s not important! What’s important is…!”

“No one knew that our granddaughter Hwang had disappeared.”

The granddaughter disappeared.

The object of the escort disappeared without any warning.

“We are ruined. The moment this is reported, we will all die.”

“Well, well, over there. Wouldn’t Scarlett know?”

“What?”

“If Scarlett had received any hint-“

“Even if you receive a hint, you should follow at least one person! Even if it’s Scarlett who is the one responsible! That Scarlett is now-“

“Here it is.”

Rattling.

Scarlett came down from the elevator and came out to the lobby wearing a maid uniform.

“Scarlett! Did the granddaughter leave a note or something?!”

“No, nothing. “This is no different from someone kidnapping me.”

“Ah…!”

The international students became meditative in an instant.

“What should I do? Should I report it or should I run away?”

“Where? Morgania? Even if you go in there, you can hide your identity for about a year, but it will soon be revealed.”

“Would it be better to go to Gibraltar? If you go there, just be careful on the days when the party is held…”

“I have already reported this to the crown prince.”

Silence fell upon Scarlett’s words

“Are you speaking directly to the Crown Prince?”

“To be exact, the Crown Prince contacted me directly.”

“!!”

For Shadow, contact with the crown prince is a symbol of power.

“Well, is that really true? What did he say?”

“Everyone dies.”

“…I see. That’s right. They should die. The trash that failed their mission-“

“Anyone who tries to interfere with my birthday date should die.”

“…?”

“The Crown Prince said that today is Gray Gibraltar’s birthday.”

“Uh…”

The shadows began to exchange glances with each other.

“Officially today, Granddaughter Hwang is resting in a private room on the 4th floor due to her illness.”

Scarlett glanced at the shadows and spoke calmly.

“Do you understand? The title is…”

“Wait a minute.”

Number 202 raised its hand.

“That day hasn’t come yet…What is it? Why is everyone looking at it that way? Is there any other justification than that?”

“…Just say it hurts and that’s fine.”

Everyone looked at Room 202 with eyes full of contempt.

“What, what?! That’s right! Besides that, what else can an Academy student do to take a day off? And isn’t that what you should be curious about in the first place? ‘How’ did the granddaughter disappear!”

“The Crown Prince said.”

Scarlett said her words with a look of genuine disgust.

“No matter what Granddaughter Huang does in seducing Gray Gibraltar, she told me not to interfere and to leave her alone.”

“…”

“I can’t help you. No, the only way to help is to stay still.”

* * *

Heading.

To the basement.

“This is not the old orphanage…”

“This is the basement of the newly built nursery.”

Angel’s Canyon, a place where security is strictly enforced.

“To the public, this is a magic herb production factory.”

“…”

“Even the Empire knows that.”

In the fairly large basement, there are many orphans from orphanages-

No.

Employees of the Gibraltar Magic Industrial Complex wear gray work clothes and work hard at dawn to purify somnus flowers and mix them with magical herbs.

“Did you know that? There is a separate late-night allowance.”

“It’s okay because it’s a day and night shift. And this is a kingdom.”

“Wow… “

“These are children whose days and nights have changed. They are children who work hard and send their wages home.”

That’s not why you send your child to an orphanage, but Gibraltar doesn’t just do charity work.

“They receive a small monthly salary and allowances. Later, when they become adults, some independence support funds will also be provided.”

“That’s a story from the future.”

“Yes.”

“…Grey.”

Unlike usual, Astasia called me by my name and whispered in my ear.

“If war breaks out, what are you going to do then?”

“It’s war.”

I wrote letters on Astasia’s body with my hand on her waist her.

[Even if something happens, they will receive fair compensation.]

[Isn’t it too expensive to do that?]

[The money is already prepared.]

[?]

To be exact, it is a ‘magic stone’.

“Let me introduce you.”

In front of us, Lord Mente walked through the basement and pointed ahead.

“A secret space that less than 5 people know about.”

Rattling, rattling.

As soon as I got on the platform, the floating magic worked and the platform started to go down.

“I would like to introduce our secret base in Gibraltar, or more precisely, the ‘Secret Alliance’.”

Rattling.

As soon as the scaffolding stopped, a huge cavity appeared in front.

“This is…? Wait a minute. Is this a coal mine…?”

“It’s not a coal mine.”

There is a wooden rail in the middle, and on top of it there is a cart made entirely of wood.

“It is not only a passageway for transporting goods, but also an emergency passageway for emergency escape.”

“…Where does this end?”

“Elven Forest.”

Like creating a secret passage between the director’s office and the dormitory.

“Let me introduce you.”

We worked hard to create a passage.

“An absolute secret that not even Morgania knows about.”

Beyond the passage.

“Gibraltar’s secret alliance, ‘Friends of Nature.'”

“I heard a noise and wondered if someone had come.”

One by one, women with pickaxes on their shoulders began walking toward us.

“Uh, uh… “

Astasia immediately blushed and then-

“Look, you can’t look at it!”

I covered my eyes.

“…”

It wasn’t naked.

Jeollara.

“Where in the world are there elves who dig the ground wearing only their underwear!!”

Here.

‘But they made me wear underwear.’