Chapter 312.
Upon reaching the border, I immediately made an official doc.u.ment with Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y"s seal and changed our train ticket to first-cla.s.s to accommodate our party size. It was made on the spot, but it wasn’t exactly a forgery since the real third commander’s seal had been embedded in it.
"Is it okay to make official doc.u.ments on your own like this?” Leisha noona asked anxiously.
I smiled, saying that she was worried for nothing. "It doesn"t matter if the commander himself is here." But in truth, even without Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y, there would be no problem because I had a copy of his seal.
"Okay, let"s get on the train." Under my guidance, the party boarded the train.
"Oh! The train has improved a lot. In the past, it was much more like sc.r.a.p metal and slower than I was,” my father said admiringly.
I added in response, "It’s still slower than Father."
"Hmm, is that so?" My father seemed a little disappointed.
That being said, although it depended on the environment, if the people in my hometown ran at full power, few people would be slower than trains. However, there were only a few people who could maintain that speed.
"But more than anything, you can travel comfortably on the train, right?"
It was much better to travel while enjoying soft first-cla.s.s chairs and savoring constantly provided snacks than to travel by running hard.
However, it was regrettable that there was no entertainment for the train coming from the border we were on now. There were no civilian crew members, since the declaration of war hadn’t been formally withdrawn yet.
I asked Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y and Brother Mac, who were sitting comfortably as if they were lying down, "How are you two doing?"
"I"m fine now.”
"Me too."
My uncle really did look better, but Mac hyung seemed to still be dizzy. He was doing okay because my father had gotten rid of the aftermath of the curse, but Mac hyung had really suffered for a few days.
"Den, when will we arrive at the capital?” Leisha noona asked.
I took out the train route map and said, "I think we"ll arrive tomorrow morning? Oh, don"t lose the train tickets I gave out, because you can use them for rooms with beds and various other things."
"Really? Let"s go and see!" Leisha noona took the party and went to see the inside of the train together. Fourth Sister also invited me, but I refused.
The rowdiness made it feel like a family trip. Wait, was this actually a family trip?
Someone sat next to me while I was thinking about these small things and said, "It"s been a while. War hero-nim, who has been named a genius tactician."
"I didn"t even call you. What"s going on?" I asked. The person who pretended to know me wasn’t a very welcome face, but she was also my cousin.
"Oh, my. Am I someone who has to come and go when you call me? That"s quite insulting. Huhu." Milpia still had her usual sly smile.
At that time, my father, who had been looking around the train, saw Milpia sitting next to me and talking. He looked at me with interest and asked, "Oh, who"s the friend sitting next to you? Girlfriend?” Milpia’s and my expressions distorted in response to my father"s insidious smile.
"Why, you can just say it out loud. There"s no need to make such expressions.” My father looked slightly down as if he were hurt.
I smiled lightly and said as if it were natural, "You"re not supposed to do that with your family. Let me introduce you. This is Milpia Blade, adopted by Aunt, Father."
"Father?!" Milpia stood up, surprised by the introduction. "Th, then! He’s the chief-nim of the Crow tribe?"
I looked pitifully at her excessive nervousness, but then realized that my father was wearing recognition interfering magic all over his body.
“She adopted a daughter? That Hysteria?” My father seemed to have a hard time believing it himself. I could see in his eyes that he was full of distrust as to whether Aunt Talaria could properly take care of a child.
Speaking of my experiences as my father"s son, I thought my father was also quite bad at taking care of a child, but I decided to move on.
"Nice to meet you. I am Milpia, the director of Big Mama Information Agency headquarters. It"s an honor to meet you,” Milpia greeted.
My father nodded, seemingly dumbfounded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you. If you’re the head of the Big Mama Information Agency headquarters, you must be the head of the village information department."
"Yes. All the information from Big Mama Information Agency goes to the Crow tribe."
I hadn"t known that, but it wasn"t strange, since it had looked like a family-run operation when I looked at the top management of Big Mama Information Agency.
"So why did you come all the way here? We’re on the way to the capital anyway,” I asked.
Milpia shrugged and handed over an envelope. "This is the information related to the last of the three requests.”
Finally, the last of the three requests I had decided to grant in return for hiding my location and information had arrived. But I had already been caught by my father. So, did I have to listen to it?
Milpia smirked as if she had guessed what I was thinking. "Read it first and decide. The third request is in there." I was very reluctant upon seeing her confidence.
After handing over the envelope, Milpia politely said goodbye to my father. "Then I will withdraw. If you need anything, please tell your son and he will arrange it with us.”
She then opened the window of the running train and jumped out. Before hitting the ground, she magically flew up and disappeared into the distance.
"She’s a more cheerful kid than I would have thought,” my father said. Milpia’s actions just now seemed to have made him view her more favorably.
But where was the director of the headquarters located in the capital going by jumping off the train heading to the capital?
Well, it was none of my business.
* * *
-This train will soon enter the East Capital Station, the final station. As you get off, please check again to see if you’ve forgotten anything before getting off. Once again...
When the train arrived at the capital, I stretched and got off.
"Ootcha! It"s been a while." Likewise, my father got off the train, seemingly reminiscing while looking at the view of the capital from the train station. "The capital hasn"t changed much after twenty-eight years.”
I was surprised and asked, "Father, have you ever been to the capital?"
My father nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I stayed here for quite a while in the past. It would be quite fun to visit the people I owe from that time.”
If my father had ever caused trouble in the capital, there was no way it wouldn’t be in the history books, but as far as I knew, there was no such record. That meant my father hadn’t caused any trouble in the capital! That was surprising.
"Do you want me to guide you? Despite how I look, I"m a high ranking civil servant, so I can contact the district office and read the details of resident registration records,” I said.
Thanks to the special promotion before the war broke out, I was now a rank 4 civil servant. I’d thought I would probably be promoted again for my service in this war, but I had been caught by my father, and so it was about time to quit my job as a civil servant.
If I became strong enough to overcome my father and carry out my will, that’d be a different story, but it would be too difficult until I crossed the wall and exceeded my limits.
"If they still live in the capital, I can at least find their location,” I added. It would be better to take advantage of whatever I could before finis.h.i.+ng up my civil servant life. If I still couldn’t find them, then although it’d take time, it wouldn’t be hard to find them using the Big Mama Information Agency.
My father messed up my hair. "That"s a very attractive suggestion. I"ll ask you later. I"m thinking of going to the boarding house you said you’re staying in now."
"Then I"ll guide you. What are you going to do, Uncle?" I asked.
Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y scratched the back of his head. "Me? I"ll have to go to the imperial palace first and meet the emperor. In fact, you’re supposed to go with me, but Arcanta and I will take care of that."
"To be exact, I’m sure the prime minister will be doing it alone,” I said.
As always, it was clear that the moment the prime minister knew that I was a.s.sisting my father, he would prevent the n.o.bles from attempting any political attacks on me at all. Because I had piled up so many merits, it was obvious that the n.o.bles would attack me and try to disperse some of the rewards.
Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y laughed pleasantly. "Ahahaha! That"s true. But I wonder when we’ll be going up to the Demon’s Territory.”
I calculated a little in my head. "It might take about a week to go up to the Demon’s Territory, because there will be the award ceremony and other things. After all, the Black Water Buffalo Knights also need to go up."
"Is that so? Then I"ll go first. Hyung-nim, if you don"t have a place to sleep, come to my mansion!" Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y said.
"All right,” my father replied with a nod.
Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y jumped down the railing and headed straight to the imperial palace.
"Uh...? What should I do?" Lisbon, nominally Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y"s escort, was fl.u.s.tered when my uncle went at a speed he couldn’t follow.
I patted Lisbon on the shoulder and said, "It"s not possible to enter the palace without Uncle anyway, so let"s just go home."
Even if Lisbon went to the third command headquarters he was a.s.sociated with, the people who could receive a return report were still at Sh.e.l.len Fortress.
"Then, shall we?" I said, gesturing to the stairs before my father jumped down like Uncle b.l.o.o.d.y.
"Then let"s go."
It had been a long time since I’d been to the boarding house.
* * *
"Welcome back, Paladin Vibrio,” greeted Paladin Malive of the Great Temple.
Vibrio saluted with a calm expression. "Thank you for welcoming me, Paladin Malive. I"m sorry that I left on my own for an ascetic trip."
Malive smiled and shook his head. "No. Cardo and I also thought you needed time to rest. How was your ascetic trip? Looking at your expression, you must have found the G.o.ddess"s guidance.”
Just as Malive said, Vibrio looked nothing like her struggling past self.
"Yes. Everything is as the will of the Great One." Vibrio smiled while drawing the sign of the cross.
Malive felt something different about her smile, but he thought it was the smile of a person who had overcome an ordeal and moved on.
"I heard Cardo Fernando was freed from the curse. How is he doing?" Vibrio asked.
Malive smiled brightly. "He had a hard time right after the curse was lifted, but fortunately, he has fully recovered now.”
"I see. That"s a relief. And I"m sorry. I should have stood by him while he was going through a difficult time,” Vibrio said.
Malive laughed cheerfully and patted her shoulders. "Ahahaha! No! Didn"t you have a hard time, too? You don"t have to worry, and Cardo also agreed."
Mario was a close friend to Malive, but he was Vibrio’s lover. He thought Vibrio"s sense of loss was inevitable.
"I see. I"m just thankful." Vibrio smiled.
Malive nodded and said, "Now that you"re back, let"s go say h.e.l.lo to Cardo Fernando first."
As Malive took the lead, Vibrio’s smile disappeared as she followed behind him.