Chapter 165 : Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Just Go For It, I Guess.

When I suddenly opened my eyes, I was in Bolero’s embrace.

In a state where I couldn’t distinguish whether it was a dream or reality, or if I was still under the sorcery, my body moved on instinct.

Quite honestly.

“P-Priest Bolero—!”

……I was back.

“Kyaaaaak!”

To reality.

***

“I’ve scraped together everything I could, but as you can see, this is all that’s left.”

The lord said, bowing his head. His name was Oliver, I believe.

“I would be grateful if you would accept it as a token of our sincerity.”

My gaze slid downward.

The hollow wooden bowl was filled with things like dried grains.

‘…….’

I could see the care taken in arranging the oats, chickpeas, peas, and lentils according to their colors.

It was quite a sincere effort.

I answered in a low voice.

“Thank you.”

Only then did Oliver’s tension seem to ease as he showed a faint smile.

Meanwhile, Noser and Bolero, sitting on either side of me, grumbled in displeasure.

“There’s no meat……”

“Why are the portions different? Anyone can see that both of our portions are much smaller than Bihen’s?”

Oliver showed a troubled expression at the two’s complaints.

Noser giggled.

“Hey, Bolero. Your jaw must hurt too much to chew much, so why are you being so greedy? Just eat a moderate amount.”

“And Sir Noser, how can you whine about meat in front of these needy people instead of being grateful? You’re not a child.”

The people who were present were busy trying to read the room.

I could almost hear their eyeballs rolling.

“Please, eat comfortably.”

For some reason, I felt like I had to say this.

Only then did everyone relax and one by one, they reached for the food.

“Thank you, Sir Bihen.”

As someone else said a word, a string of thanks followed.

I refused several times, but everyone was incredibly persistent.

“I truly never thought a day like this would come……”

Oliver, sitting opposite me, trailed off.

As he bowed his head, the corners of his eyes glistened.

At that moment, words began to pour out from all sides, with needlessly exaggerated gestures and tones.

It was as if they were trying to hide their lord’s moment of weakness from the outsiders.

“I still can’t believe it. Even after seeing his head.”

“It’s the same for everyone. I’m just confused whether this is a dream or reality.”

“Deiron is dead, ha! I-Is this even possible, really?”

It seemed their excitement wouldn't easily subside.

They couldn't even distinguish reality, like a bunch of drunkards.

“...I have been sorry to you all this whole time.”

Oliver’s moist voice quieted the room.

The boisterous atmosphere subsided in an instant, and only silence lingered.

“It felt like a day like this would never come... Now that it’s actually here, to be honest, it’s baffling. Isn’t everyone else the same?”

All the villagers were gathered together in the hall.

All of them, with their own bowls and cups in front of them, were sniffling.

“The long punishment has finally ended. We can finally lay down our burden. Every single day until now was like a nightmare.”

“My lord, don’t say that. Thanks to you, our suffering was at least lessened.”

“That’s right. Who here doesn’t know that your leg became disabled because you defied Deiron, my lord.”

Even without hearing the whole long story, the three of us knew all the details.

Deiron had suddenly appeared in this area and began his tyranny.

The Lord of Tarnholt who resisted was brutally murdered, and his mansion immediately became Deiron’s residence.

He forcibly brought his old disciple and made him the temporary lord.

It was a means for easier management of the territory.

That was Oliver.

“...Thank you for thinking so.”

Deiron had said it.

That it had been over ten years since he came here.

I had already seen in Deiron’s mansion how horrific the events that had occurred in that time were.

The bond the remaining villagers had formed with Oliver was now laid bare before my eyes.

“Please, forget the rudeness we showed you before.”

Oliver bowed his head low to the three of us.

The others also lowered their eyes.

I don't know how many times they've apologized.

Anyway.

“Don’t worry about it.”

The selfishness of being okay as long as it wasn’t me or my family, and the resignation of mutually understanding and overlooking it, was their way of survival.

And that there could be many more places like this within the Kingdom…….

“I understand now.”

Whatever the case, I protected them, their lives.

Now, what’s left is for them to handle.

“Now, let’s all have a drink.”

All the villagers raised their cups above their heads.

Bolero, Noser, and I also set aside our complaints and raised our cups.

“To the great knight Sir Noser, Priest Bolero and the Heavenly Demon Bihen Benkou.”

Am I the only one who sounds weird?

There was no time to argue.

“For today, let’s just get drunk, and we’ll think again after we wake up tomorrow.”

...But there was too little alcohol for that.

After a couple of rounds, the liquor jar quickly hit the bottom.

Still, perhaps because of the atmosphere, everyone’s excitement didn’t cool down all night, as if they were dead drunk.

I went outside for some air, and Bolero followed me.

“Why did you suddenly hit me earlier? My jaw is still throbbing.”

Bolero opened and closed his mouth wide while rubbing his jaw.

There were two fortunate things.

One was that he woke up soon after fainting, and the other was that he had lost some memory of the moment he was hit.

Since the pain was also mixed in with the lost memories, I was able to avoid any hard feelings from him.

“As I said earlier, Deiron’s sorcery, no, his dark magic was incredibly vicious. If it weren’t for you, I would have never woken up.”

“Hmm, I see. It seems my divine magic was of help.”

“...Anyway, I apologize once again.”

“This is nothing. Rather, we would have lost our lives if it weren’t for you, Bihen.”

I played along appropriately.

No need to spoil the mood.

“From what I heard earlier, it seems Oliver was planning to leave the village.”

“I would have done the same. No matter how much of a figurehead lord he was, forced into the position, he would have been burning up inside, unable to show it while he remained fine and the villagers kept dying.”

“Hmm, now that I hear it, you’re right. Well, ten years is more than enough time for affection to sprout where there was none.”

“Right. So whatever choice he makes, it should be respected.”

How much pain he must have been in.

It must be to an extent that I can't even fathom.

There's a reason for everything, for living alone without starting a family.

Suddenly, I felt Bolero’s deep gaze from the side.

“...Why?”

“Brother Bihen, you may not seem like it, but you are very thoughtful.”

Bolero trembled his lips as if trying to sober up from the little alcohol he drank.

“Do you remember when we first met? You, with your body all broken, unable to move a muscle, and being misunderstood by me in all sorts of ways, yet you hid your connection to Conwell until the end. You could have made things easier with just one word, but you kept the secret until the end because of the suspicion that I might be an enemy of Lady Adeline. You even hid the fact that you were the one who executed the Blood Mage.”

He poured it all out as if this was his chance.

I didn't even have a moment to tell him to stop.

“Is that all? All the fights during the civil war were like that. It always seems like you’re just acting recklessly, but when you look back later, all your actions have a hidden consideration that others don’t easily notice.”

“That’s enough. I don’t really think about such things—”

“No, I must say it now. That deep calculation of yours is truly……”

Rustle.

We both flinched.

A presence was suddenly near.

Did we miss it because we were drunk?

No, not at all.

This was an intentional approach, with the other party concealing their presence.

“Hic—”

A silhouette staggered with a loud hiccup.

Bolero and I narrowed our eyes.

“Sir Noser?”

“Heyy, sorry. I seem to have interrupted your intimate conversation. Hic—”

I wanted to smack Bolero’s mouth right now.

Thinking back, everything the guy had just mindlessly spouted was stuff that would do no good if revealed to the people from the capital in advance.

It was now awkward to even ask how much he had heard.

It was then.

“Uh, um. Excuse me, move aside a bit.”

Noser deliberately squeezed in between the two of us sitting side by side and undid his belt.

“No, what, what are you doing right now!”

“Hehe. G-Gotta pee……”

The sound of a powerful stream continued for a good while.

Startled, Bolero and I, who had jumped to our respective sides, exchanged glances.

‘He seems dead drunk.’

‘That’s a relief.’

We nodded at the same time.

Bolero cleared his throat for no reason.

“Sir Noser, you seem to be a lighter drinker than you look. To be dead drunk after just a couple of glasses, hmm hmm.”

Noser adjusted his lower garments and snorted loudly once.

He wagged his index finger in front of Bolero’s face.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I had exactly twenty-three glasses.”

“What? Twenty-three glasses? Where did you get the alcohol at that time?”

“The southerners offer alcohol even to children. Isn’t that unimaginable in the capital? As a true noble, I taught them the proper way of drinking.”

Does he remember the number of drinks he had when he’s that drunk?

My head tilted in confusion, and Noser grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey, Bihen Benkou.”

“...?”

“...You’re doing very well.”

Noser wiped the drool from his mouth.

His eyes were half-closed.

“Still, you both must not forget that you are prisoners. Understand? Hic—”

Bolero supported Noser, sending me a look that said he should rest and come in on his own.

“Let go! D-Damn it, I’m not drunk.”

Noser shook off Bolero’s arm that was wrapped around him.

It’s in a man’s nature to not admit he’s drunk even when he is.

Furthermore, it is also a man’s physiology to get even more drunk the more he is treated like a drunkard.

‘He’s drunk.’

I let out a sigh of relief, but then Noser spoke.

“Should I tell you why I captured you guys? Hic—. Or not? Hic—.”

Bolero and I quickly exchanged glances.

Bolero said suggestively.

“Well, aren’t you just trying to build up your achievements? Attaching some ridiculous reasons to it.”

“Kik, that’s why you’ll never make it, you bastard. Your thoughts are so shallow. Tsk tsk.”

“What is it, then? Please explain. I’m already dying of resentment.”

“Alright. I’ll tell you.”

Noser took a deep breath.

A sticky sound was made as he parted his lips.

“It’s because of Zisair. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”

...This man.

‘He’s really drunk!’

We moved to a secluded place.

Bolero hurriedly carried Noser on his shoulder like a piece of luggage.

“We were too naive, Brother Bihen. There was a good method of getting him to confess by getting him drunk.”

“Indeed. I didn’t think of that either.”

Before arriving at the capital, our goal was to clearly determine whether Noser was an enemy or an ally.

This Deiron incident was too sudden, and the time to judge was ridiculously short.

However, since it took Deiron’s minions a fortnight to reach Marcus’s house, we could gauge to some extent in that time.

‘He didn’t seem like a bad person.’

It was just this much, but it was enough for me to use my intuition.

‘Noser is a knight with deep loyalty to the king. Although his conduct is frivolous and flippant.’

We were looking for a quiet place, but there was nowhere suitable to go.

Only then did I belatedly remember.

That we had been thoroughly despised by the people and cooped up in Marcus’s house all this time.

“For now, we have no choice but to go to Marcus’s place. Let’s hurry. It seems like he’ll spill everything now.”

It was the moment I was urging Bolero on. He, who was following behind, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s no good.”

My brow furrowed on its own.

“What do you mean by that?”

“This man... he pissed himself.”

Bolero muttered through gritted teeth.

A golden liquid flowed down between his legs.

Steam rose waftingly from the puddle that had formed at his feet.

“To piss this much again after just going. How much did he drink, for crying out loud.”

Behind Bolero’s torrent of curses, snores echoed.

It was the peaceful sound of breathing, as if he didn't have a single care in the world.

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