Don’t Run Away My Lord

19 – Salt Delivery Commotion (6)

Liana widened her eyes and swung her cane wildly.

Why is she acting like this?

But it wasn’t just Liana who was acting strangely.

The red-haired woman standing at the door had the same expression and behavior as Liana.

“Yo-you-you-you?!”

“Uh-uh-uh?”

Not knowing English, Nana and Youngju stared at each other like fools.

“How are you alive…? Ack?! You were eaten by the wyvern!”

The woman looked at me this time and spat out saliva as if she was about to faint.

Eaten by a wyvern…? Did she see us in the valley?

I suddenly remembered being pushed aside by Nana while being chased by the wyvern.

“You’re the human we encountered in the valley.”

“I’m sure I saw you enter the wyvern’s lair and run away… so why are you here?!”

“I’m alive, so I’m here.”

Youngju coughed and raised his hand.

“It’s me, Jino. Calm down and sit!”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”

The redhead woman sat on the sofa as commanded by the lord.

Even so, she wrinkled her forehead and glanced at me and Rihanna.

“This is Vice Chief Ijano of the Lord’s Court. Apparently, I was asked to report on the Wyvern incident as soon as I returned.”

“If he’s the Vice Chief, that means he’s the Acting Commander, right, Eruga-nim… So, it means he handles the dirty work…”

Rihanna whispered quietly, leaning close to my side.

“Ijano, are those people the ones who encountered the Wyvern in the valley?”

“Yes. But the man was eaten by the Wyvern… I saw it clearly up to that point.”

The lord turned to me.

“Hmm. Explain yourself. We need cross-verification.”

“Do I need to explain? I’ll tell you the location. Go there and confirm the Wyvern’s corpse. That should be enough.”

“Of course… I’ve already sent soldiers there. But we still need to know the process of how the Wyvern died. And…”

The lord placed a ruby ring on the table.

“It won’t be that simple even if it’s because of this.”

What the hell is this ring that’s causing such a commotion among these people?

“What are you curious about? Are you curious about how we killed the Wyvern, or how we found this ring?”

“I’m curious about both.”

“Depending on how I answer, it will determine whether I receive a reward or go to jail.”

The lord didn’t say anything and gave a faint smile.

What a cunning human. One must be careful with those who don’t answer straightforwardly.

“Well… we found the ring in the Wyvern’s nest. We took it from the finger of a partially devoured corpse and sold it to a jeweler.”

“Why did you do that? It’s not even yours.”

“We needed money. We’re wandering travelers who are desperate for a single coin.”

Youngju muttered, massaging his chin.

“Hmm… Wandering travelers… Where are you going and for what purpose?”

“I don’t think that’s information you need to know at this moment. We’re in a situation where we’re misunderstood as the ones who killed the owner of that ring. But if you go to the wyvern’s nest in the valley, you’ll find the body.”

“I see. Let’s assume that’s true. But you said you killed the wyvern together, did you really? How?”

I pondered for a moment on how to explain.

I couldn’t say that I, being a dragon, had enough strength to easily overpower the wyvern.

It was best not to reveal my identity to anyone other than Liana.

Who knows how the rumors would spread and reach the ears of my blood relatives who were searching for me.

Suddenly, I remembered the fact that neither the inn’s monster hunters nor the soldiers at the castle recognized the remains of the wyvern.

It was clear that ordinary people knew nothing about the wyvern’s ecology.

“While the wyvern has tough skin that is hardly pierced from the outside, its insides are vulnerable to even the slightest cut from a tiny blade, which can be fatal.”

It was a blatant lie.

The wyvern’s esophagus was made up of incredibly strong muscles, and any prey that entered there would have their bones crushed and their breath cut off, leading to their demise.

I made up the story that the woman only saw me being devoured.

“Please continue.”

“So, I purposely went into the throat. With a blade like this, I could slash the esophagus and tear off the wyvern’s neck.”

When I showed Youngju the multi-purpose knife that Baphelt had given me, he had an expression of disbelief.

“Are you saying you managed to cut off the wyvern’s head with that little toy knife?”

“That’s what the soldiers who went to see the body in the valley will testify.”

There was nothing more to explain.

We killed Wyvern in a strange way that no one knows, and found the ring in its nest.

That’s all.

Of course, beneath that, there was the truth that I am a dragon and Liana is a banished saint, but there is no need to reveal it now.

Once it is proven that we killed Wyvern, who was mistaken for a dragon and received a reward, we will leave this place.

“I see. It’s a story that is hard to believe at first.”

“But you still have to believe it, my lord. Because that’s how we can get the reward.”

Liana smiled brightly and opened her mouth.

A pleased smile appeared on the lord’s face as he looked at Liana.

Indeed, humans like pretty and cute things.

Just then, the soldiers who went to the valley came back and knocked on the door.

“What happened? Is Wyvern really there?”

“Yes. We confirmed the body of Wyvern with its throat torn apart, and another Wyvern with its chest torn apart under the nest. A total of two.”

“Two… two of them?!”

The lord and Ijano looked at me in astonishment.

“And, my lord. Just in case, I checked inside the nest…”

The soldier trailed off and handed something over.

It was a torn piece of cloth with a fancy pattern on it.

“It’s the little lord’s clothes, isn’t it…?”

Izano took a deep breath, and Youngju’s face darkened abruptly.

“Are you inside the nest?”

“Yes. It seems like you were attacked by a wyvern during transportation.”

Youngju, who had been sitting quietly for a moment, suddenly slapped Izano’s cheek.

Riana let out a low scream, and the soldiers turned their heads politely.

Izano, who had suddenly been slapped, couldn’t even scream and fell off the sofa.

Izano, who held her cheek, looked at Youngju with terrified eyes.

“Izano. If you hadn’t run away during the journey, wouldn’t you have been able to receive news of your sister faster?”

“I… I’m sorry, Lord Youngju…!”

Izano apologized, bowing her head flat on the floor.

I stared at Youngju, not knowing what the hell was going on.

This isn’t some kind of mental illness…

“Youngju. Do you know that all the people who were with this woman named Izano were killed by the wyvern?”

“I know.”

“Even if you killed that wyvern, there is a female wyvern guarding the nest. How can you enter the nest…”

Suddenly, Riana tightly grabbed my arm.

“Just bear with it, Lord Erga… It’s their own business, so don’t worry about it…”

An uncomfortable and heavy silence descended upon the room.

“You all can leave now.”

As the soldiers supported Izano and left the room, Youngju apologized to us.

“I’m sorry for what happened. I apologize for both the misunderstanding that I killed your brother and for the unpleasant scene with the guest.”

Youngju gave a kind smile.

“Jisano went to the valley to fulfill his role as the observer of the most successful mercenary unit. I was afraid he might play a prank along the way. I never expected him to perish so miserably.”

“Did you really think that a human could capture a dragon?”

“If they pay enough, there’s nothing they can’t do, right?”

With that, Youngju extended his arm proudly.

The room was filled with luxurious furniture and sculptures made of solid gold.

There were intricately crafted ceramics that were hard to believe were made by human hands and paintings in frames that created an indescribable atmosphere.

In the end, it was all for the gold coins.

For the gold coins, they wielded their swords and flocked like moths to hunt dragons and demons.

Yes, money speaks volumes.

“Well, that ‘dragon’ was actually a wyvern. Wyverns, unlike dragons, don’t attack human villages like wild animals.”

“To be honest, I never even thought about it. That there was a wyvern nest in our territory.”

“Now, please give me the reward. I don’t plan on sitting here forever.”

However, Youngju’s expression was somewhat subtle.

As soon as I saw that expression, I could immediately understand his intention.

“Are you seriously suggesting that I can’t give you a reward for killing a wyvern because it was a dragon? That’s an absurd statement, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing that, Youngju chuckled and extended his hand.

“I’ll give you the money.”

“No. Be specific. Are you saying that you will give me the reward exactly as it was for the dragon?”

“Hmm. Seems like you have a strong appetite for money.”

Yeonju’s expression hardened.

Riana grabbed my arm and whispered.

“Lord Erga… It seems like he has no intention of paying us properly…”

“Then we’ll have to make him feel like he should pay.”

Yeonju, who had been locked in a staring contest with me, suddenly broke into a warm smile and spoke.

“How about we do it like this then?”