章節 23: Chapter 23

"What is this?"

"This is a magical stamp. No, not the slavery kind, but rather a safety feature. It will let me notify anyone I stamp to know when I'm in danger. My companions have the same stamp on their hands. They are my bodyguards, and I also want you as mine."

"So you want to hire me?"

"Yup. As a bodyguard."

"But you defeat me. I'm weaker than you."

Before I can say more, Gavaya walks forward and says.

"Just take it, you tomboy princess. The boss did not want you to feel like a freeloader. He is just like that. He likes to think of his people's feelings."

Hazuki looks at me in shock, and I can only sigh and nod.

"I see. I still have a lot of things to learn. Very well. Please stamp my hand and let me be your bodyguard."

"Of course."

I stamp her and let the connection settle before removing it from her hand. Another point, get! I think this counts as recruiting 108 Stars of Destiny, right? I will check it later.

"There you go."

"Great! Thank you for letting me come with your group."

"It is not a problem. The more the merrier."

"Anyway, I know this is late, but what kind of group is this? Are you gathering a fighter to join a tournament or something? I hear there is a tournament happening in Stormfist."

"No. I'm a merchant, and they are my bodyguards. Gavaya is not lying, you know? I'm a merchant, and he is one of my bodyguards."

"He is truly your bodyguard, huh?"

"Well, he is calling me teacher after I taught him a little bit of common sense, and now he is calling me boss."

"I see."

She looks at Gavaya for a few seconds before saying.

"Anyway, I will come with you for a moment while searching for someone."

"Oh?! Does the tomboy princess fall in love and search for a husband?! Let me teach you a few things. One–"

Before Gavaya can say more, Hazuki punches him hard. She releases a sigh and says.

"Please ignore him. Anyway, I want to search for someone called Belcoot. He is the first person who can defeat me in a fight and break my arrogance into pieces. He is the person who keeps me going and keeps improving."

"Belcoot? A brown-haired man, as tall as Gerrald and using a longsword. He is also using fencing as a fighting style, right?"

Nikea suddenly walks forward and asks Hazuki these questions. The said woman looks at Nikea in confusion and says.

"Yes. That is him. Did you meet him?"

Nikea looks at me, and I can only sigh. I look at Nikea and say.

"We know him. We even helped him once with a problem. The last time I heard, he was going east. I don't know where, but it is around that area. If you want, I can make sure to hear about his location from my rumor hunting."

Hazuki bows at me and says.

"Thank you!"

"It is not a problem. Anyway, should we get into that restaurant? I'm hungry."

~Fifteen days later~

"Urgh. Finally, we are here."

I say after we get out of the dead forest. It has been fifteen days since the day I recruited Hazuki, and yesterday, I decided to go back to Lordlake and deliver another batch of food and water. Just like the first time I got them food and water, they decided to have a party, and this time, Hazuki was with us.

Speaking of Hazuki, I successfully captured her and got another six points. However, it did not stop there. I also finished recruiting ten points before the main character could and got five points. Now I have thirty-two points I can use. I decided to hold it for now and only use it when I need it.

"Why do they come when we are leaving from Lordlake? Just like before, we also need to fight for our life after we need to leave Lordlake."

Nikea complains, and I can see the others nodding their heads in agreement. I also agree with her statement. When we are coming to Lordlake, there is nothing. It is empty, without any interference from monsters.

However, when we left that city, the monsters started to swarm us like we were honey, and they were bees. I have a feeling it is the curse from the Sun Rune.

"Oh, lad! You are back!"

I look at Anteka and give him a tired smile before saying.

"Yeah. We are back. Can we get back to Raftfleet now? I'm too tired."

"Sure. I already eat. Go ahead and sleep in the room while I prepare the boat."

"Nah, I think I will enjoy the breeze."

"Well, do what you like."

I ask the others what they want to do, and they say they want to lie in their room. I let them be while I sat near Anteka, who was preparing the boat. While he is preparing the boat, I look at him and say.

"I'm about to ask you this, but there is this rumor about the prince rebelling against the throne."

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah. There is a rumor of the prince rebelling against his sister, and he is now taking protection in Rainfall City. However, the people of Raftfleet already know that the Godwins are lying, and they are the ones rebelling. That is why I ask you to hurry up because I'm afraid the Godwins will arrest us for helping Lordlake."

"I see."

I wonder how the prince is doing. The Main storyline is going, and now he is on the run.

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|3rd POV|

Prince Freyjadour, now known as only Frejadour as he is now declared a criminal, looks at the woman in front of him. The woman in front of him is a great tactician who helps in fighting against the invading New Armes Kingdom.

Her name is Lucretia Merces. Lucretia has golden hair with a hint of green on the front. She has chocolate skin and beautiful brown eyes that shine in intelligence. She looks at her current master, the prince, and says.

"We have a problem, my prince. While we are here, the Godwins decide to attack Raftfleet."

"What? Are you sure?"

Frejadour asks Lucretia with a serious expression.

"Yes. My little bird is singing about Admiral Bahram Luger, who leads this army fleet."

"What should we do? We did not have enough army and ships!"

Lord Salum Barrow shouts in a panic because he knows that his city will be attacked after Godwin captures Raftfleet.

"Lucky for us, the wind is on our side. They are blowing north, and the fleet will only come when the wind is on their side or at least until they are calming down."

After hearing that, Lord Salum Barrow releases a huge sigh and says,

"So what should we do now?"

"We will equip our army with weapons and armor and also buy ships to help us."

"That will cost us a lot of money! I cannot even get that much money!"

"And we will not only use your money, Lord Salum Barrow."

Lucretia looks at Freyjadour and says.

"There is this mysterious merchant that knows how to gather a large amount of money in a short period."

"Who is this?"

"I don't know what kind of person he is, but I know his name. His name is Gerrald. What I know is that he has four bodyguards. Three women and one man. I know that one of his bodyguards is a martial artist. He is last seen in Raftfleet."

Frejadour blinks for a few seconds and says.

"Gerrald? I know him."