I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 43

 #I returned home and found my family ruined (44)

“It’s in the village of Gerond. It takes about half a day by carriage.”

He had never heard of the village, but judging from the presence of a trading post, he guessed that it must be quite large.

“I’ll be back.”

“Yes.”

Ethan, dressed in a black robe, got into the carriage.

After half a day of driving, the carriage arrived at the village.

Gerond Village was different in size from the small villages he had seen so far. If you divided villages into large, medium, and small, this one would definitely be classified as “large.”

It was said to be a village that was smaller than a city but had everything you needed.

The moment he stepped out of the carriage.

“Your Highness!”

Tailon, the village administrator, rushed out and greeted Ethan.

He began with the fact that the Grand Duke had occupied the Romenton barony and that he would be visiting here today.

He had already received a message from the Grand Duke’s advisor.

It was hot news that had arrived less than a day after the baron had been captured.

“It’s a good thing I received the news first.”

If he had heard the news through word of mouth instead of a messenger,

it would have taken at least two more days to receive the news.

Even on horseback, it would take at least half a day to get there.

Tailon bowed his head respectfully.

After all, he was visiting the de facto ruler of the Romenton Barony.

Ethan took a book from his pocket.

“Mimiron Trading Company, was it?”

At those words, Tailon’s eyes widened.

“The Book of the Dragon Clan! This is bad!”

It was one of the items secretly distributed by the guild.

It was one of the books that mercenaries visiting the city couldn’t live without.

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Of course, the authorities knew that the book was being distributed here. Since Viscount Zifron had turned a blind eye, he had also turned a blind eye to its distribution until now.

But who was the Grand Duke?

He was the eldest son of the great hero family that had stood against the dragon tribe.

There was no way he would just smile and let it go, knowing that a book praising the dragon tribe was circulating in the territory that his ancestors had protected with their lives.

“Damn it!”

If he got mixed up in this, he would be the next to lose his head.

Administrator Tailon hurriedly knelt down.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ve committed a capital offense! Grand Duke! I knew about the distribution of these malicious books, but I couldn’t stop it!”

Tailon’s eyes welled up with tears. He was begging for his life.

Ethan nodded and said.

“Even the baron turned a blind eye to it, so how could you, a mere administrator, do anything about it?”

Was he alive?

Tailon was about to cheer up at the Grand Duke’s more positive-than-expected response.

“However.”

“……”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you condoned it. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… yes, it is!”

“Take him to the Mimiron Merchant Guild. Your life depends on how you act today.”

“The… guild is over there! I’ll show you the way!”

Tailon hurriedly got up from his seat and began to run ahead.

Right now, it was most important to follow the Grand Duke’s intentions.

Ethan followed behind him.

The same was true for the soldiers Tailon had brought with him.

The commercial district of the village.

The official arrived at Section 3 and shouted, panting for breath.

“This… is the place!”

There was a three-story building where he was pointing.

[Mimiron Upper Floor]

Even though it was close to evening, light was still shining from inside the building. That meant there were still people working.

Ethan opened the door without hesitation.

“Who are you…”

The upper floor employee greeted him, but then his eyes widened.

He thought nothing of the nobleman dressed in old-fashioned clothes who entered.

However, he couldn’t take the bureaucrat and soldiers who followed him so lightly.

Something was definitely wrong.

“You.”

“Yes!”

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“Do you know this book?”

Ethan took a book out of his pocket.

The employee rolled his eyes when he saw the title.

The Book of the Dragon Clan.

It was a title that was impossible to ignore. It was one of the books distributed by the upper echelons.

Seeing the employee hesitate, the manager flew into a rage.

“You idiot! Do you know who you’re talking to? This is none other than Duke Ardan, the Grand Duke of the Duchy! If you want to live, you’d better answer immediately!”

The employee’s face turned pale.

“I… I know! It was brought here by the head of the merchant guild himself!”

“Where is the head of the merchant guild?”

“Probably on the third floor…”

“Everyone, wait here.”

“Yes!”

The bureaucrats and soldiers answered loudly.

Ethan immediately moved forward. Just as he was about to go up to the third floor, past the second floor…

“What the hell! We made a reservation first!”

A hoarse voice came from somewhere. Ethan turned around with an expressionless face.

A fierce appearance.

His face was covered in scars, and throwing weapons hung from his body.

They were mercenaries.

“Reservation?”

The mercenaries flinched at his cold tone. Only then did they notice the people trying to go upstairs.

They were clearly nobles.

And when they saw the huge broadswords on their backs,

“Are they knights?”

The swords were clearly old-fashioned.

They looked like skilled knights. It would be a sure loss to fight them just to get ahead in line.

Mercenaries are strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, his fierce demeanor disappeared.

One of the mercenaries hesitated and said timidly.

“That is… Sir Knight, please go first. We can go next time…”

“What do you mean, ‘go first’?”

“…Didn’t you hear the rumor too, sir?”

“What rumor?”

“Rumors that the book given here contains the method of breathing mana.”

“Is it a well-known rumor?”

“Well… I think everyone who knows would know. I think so…”

The mercenary scratched his head.

White dandruff fell from his head.

“Let me ask you one more thing.”

“…What is it?”

“Do you know anything else about this place? If you do, I’ll give you this.”

Ethan took a gold coin out of his pocket. The mercenaries’ eyes widened at the sight.

For a moment, greed flashed through their eyes.

But they quickly put their greed aside. The knight’s demeanor was too relaxed.

Even though he had no mana, he had experienced countless battles.

It wasn’t a good idea to provoke a knight in the village just for some money.

Especially a knight who looked like he was up to something.

There was a moment of silence.

A mercenary with a shiny bald head raised his hand.

“I think I’ve heard of it. However, it’s just a rumor, so I can’t say for sure… Is that okay?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I heard that books like this are circulating in some fiefdoms in the west… I’ve also heard that books like this are circulating in the Dekun family.”

The De Kun family.

It was one of the ten branches of the family.

“One of Chayman’s factions.”

Ethan nodded and threw a gold coin.

“Azah! Thank you, sir!”

“In return for the information, let me give you some advice.”

“…?”

“It would be better if you didn’t learn the breathing technique you are trying to learn. You won’t live long.”

Ethan finished speaking and climbed the stairs.

“You won’t live long?”

The mercenaries’ eyes lit up.

Knights are beings who have mastered the art of breathing.

It was highly unlikely that he was talking nonsense. The bald mercenary stood up.

“I’m not learning it. I’ve felt uneasy about it from the start. How can such precious knowledge as mana breathing be freely shared with people like us?”

“Hey. Didn’t you hear? Kerun learned it and defeated a 2-star knight!”

“That’s that. But isn’t it strange that there are no side effects to a breathing technique that is being taught so openly?”

“……”

“Anyway, I’m leaving.”

The bald mercenary descended to the first floor without hesitation.

He had earned some unexpected gold coins, so he planned to drink himself silly today.

Just as he descended,

his eyes widened.

The village administrator, Tailon, and even the soldiers were all lined up on the first floor.

“……Is something going on?”

“You! Don’t tell me you were rude to the Grand Duke?”

“……What?”

“Never mind. Get out of here.”

Tailon waved his hand as if chasing a fly.

The bald mercenary cursed under his breath and left the building.

It was about an hour later that he realized the knight he had just met was actually the Grand Duke.

* *

Bang!

Ethan arrived on the third floor and opened the door that looked like an office.

A man who appeared to be the head of the guild was sitting in the seat of honor. He wasn’t alone in the office.

Several mercenaries were sitting on chairs.

“What… what is this?”

They looked startled for a moment.

But when they saw Ethan, their fighting spirit quickly faded.

“Are you the head of the guild?”

“…Who are you?”

“I heard you’re distributing interesting books.”

Ethan took a step forward.

One of the mercenaries frowned fiercely.

Even though he looked like a knight, just a moment ago, they were the ones talking to the head of the guild.

“You should follow the order…”

Bang!

The fist slammed into the abdomen of the man who had spoken.

In an instant, the mercenary flew high into the air and crashed into the wall, his body trembling. The mercenaries who saw the scene turned pale.

“Get out.”

The mercenaries trembled at the growling words.

The momentum emanating from that knight was tremendous.

“…Hiiik!”

Just a moment ago.

It was impossible to even see how that knight had acted.

Even with their eyes, which had seen countless battles, they couldn’t see the fist that had been thrown with such speed.

“He’s a high-ranking knight!”

He must be someone with such extraordinary skills that one must be prepared to die in a head-on collision.

The quick-witted ones quickly picked up their comrades who were pinned to the wall.

Everyone hurriedly escaped, leaving only Ethan and the head of the caravan.

“Where did you get that book?”

The head of the caravan clamped his mouth shut.

He couldn’t say it.

It was the item that had saved the guild from ruin and put it back on top.

Seeing Ethan, he shouted urgently.

“If we cause a commotion in the village, do you think Tailon will just stand by and do nothing?”

“I think he will.”

Ethan replied in an emotionless tone and grabbed the merchant’s shoulder.

Ugh!

“Aaaah!”

In an instant, the merchant’s bones were crushed, and he screamed in pain.

“Where did you get that?”

“Aaah!”

“You’ll only come to your senses when your whole body is broken.”

The head merchant trembled at Ethan’s words.

He was an administrator, but if he kept his mouth shut now, he would end up a cripple.

He couldn’t hide it anymore.

“I’ll talk… I’ll talk! Please let go of me!”

Grit!

“Aaah!”

“You piece of trash, who gave you the right to give orders?”

His voice was low but filled with burning anger.

The head clerk cried out desperately.

“There’s a printing house!”

“Where?”

“In the village… not too far away…! It’s deep in the mountains! It’s hard to give you the exact location! I… I know the exact location! I’ll guide you there, so please spare my life!”

“Guide us there immediately.”

“Ugh…”

Only then did the knight’s hand leave his shoulder. The merchant took a deep breath and looked at Ethan.

“It’s not difficult to guide you there, but…”

“What?”

“It’s just that… that printing house is full of vicious criminals and even people who were sent there by the sect itself! If you go there alone, you will surely die! At least send some reinforcements…”

People sent there by the sect itself. It seemed that the printing house was a more important location than he had thought.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to deploy such a large defense force.

“All right. Lead the way.”

“…”

The merchant, who had been rolling his eyes, slowly moved forward.

When they reached the first floor,

the merchant’s eyes widened.

Starting with the administrative officer Tailon, all the soldiers

Everyone was waiting in formation.

For a moment, hope filled his heart.

Yes, now that they had provoked him, there was no way they would let the knight in front of them go.

“I didn’t bribe the administrator.”

Still, hadn’t the baron himself turned a blind eye to this place?

He still didn’t know that Viscount Zippron was imprisoned.

It was when the head of the guild looked at the administrator and said,

“Ad… Administrator! That man!”

“This bastard! Where are you looking with those eyes?”

The administrator shouted urgently and slapped the head of the guild hard across the cheek.

“Ugh!”

“Your Highness! I swear I didn’t take anything from this guy! It’s the truth! The former baron turned a blind eye, so I had no choice but to do the same!”

His Highness?

The head merchant’s eyes widened.

He was finally beginning to understand the situation.

Meanwhile.

Ethan looked at Tailon.

‘This guy is one of the cleaner ones in the viscount’s domain.

He didn’t take any bribes and only collected the taxes he was supposed to. Even among the corrupt officials of the viscount’s domain, he was considered relatively clean.

Ethan looked at Tailon and said,

“I will forget the past.”

“Thank you! I will work hard! I will work until my bones break!”

“Don’t forget that. I’ll be on my way.”

“Thank you! May the Grand Duke always be blessed!”

Tailon shouted energetically.

With that, the merchant and Ethan climbed into the carriage.

Not a single soldier from the village was brought along.

The merchant’s heart felt heavy as if he were heading toward his execution.

“Where are we going?”

“…Erankel Mountain. If we keep going straight ahead, you’ll see it.”

He couldn’t help but answer.

The carriage began to race toward the mountain.