A Stuffed Cheonma in my Head - Chapter 72



Only Noblemtl

Episode 72. Assassin Captain Joy

* * *

I opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted me.

“… … .”

I stared blankly at the whitewashed ceiling for a while.

The sight of white snow-covered mountains flashed before my eyes.

Half-asleep. The line between dream and reality was blurry.

I looked up at the white ceiling and thought.

I’ve never heard that the landscape of hell is white.

Rather, white is closer to heaven.

‘So, is this heaven?’

Suddenly, I remembered the mercenary guys’ nonsense about heaven being full of beautiful naked women.

I tried to get up… … .

“Snap!”

I fell back onto the bed in excruciating pain.

“Ugh… … .”

It was a pain that cannot be described in words.

It hurts. It hurts so bad. It feels like some bad guy has been beating me with a bat all day.

It hurt more than when I fell off the cliff. Why does it hurt so much? My whole body hurt.

“uh?”

At that moment, a sound like an exclamation was heard.

The next moment, round eyes and a dense nose and mouth came into view.

“Sir! Wake up!”

The little boy hugged me tightly.

An excruciating pain gripped me.

It was a pain like being hit by a carriage.

“Ugh… … .”

As I groaned as if my soul was dying, the little boy let go of me with a start.

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. The doctor told me to be careful. Are you in a lot of pain?”

“Ugh… … .”

I held back the tears that were about to pour out and checked the face of the guy who said that.

“… … Huh?”

For some reason, it felt familiar.

I’m not really good with kids. Why is this guy so friendly?

It wasn’t just that he was friendly. I felt special for no reason and wanted to pat his head.

What did you do to be so proud?

Now that I think about it, there was a name that came to mind.

A name meaning ‘life’.

I muttered, looking into the guy’s round eyes.

“… …Joy?”

Joy laughed heartily.

“That’s right! It’s me, Joy!”

The guy flew again and casted a body slam.

“Hey, mister!”

“Ugh!”

I was dizzy.

The curse rose to the back of my throat and pounded against the roof of my mouth, but I barely managed to swallow it.

“Let go… … you little brat… … .”

I blacked out.

* * *

I opened my eyes.

It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

A vivid memory of something painful flashed through my mind, but it was vague, like a dream.

As I was blankly blinking, a somewhat heavy voice was heard from next to me.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Oh? This voice also seems somehow familiar.

I turned my head slightly to look where the voice came from, and a familiar face caught my eye.

“… … Uncle Hans?”

Hans smiled broadly.

“This is it. I only see you when you’re hurt.”

Then I saw the worried face of the woman next to him.

“Are you feeling better? I heard that Joey attempted to assassinate us the other day while we were away.”

Hans scolded Julia.

“What if you say that to someone who just woke up? Even if it’s just a joke.”

“I said it to be funny.”

“It’s not fun, so stop.”

… … I have a strange feeling about this.

“… … Sir. I’m sorry.”

I turned my head a little further and saw Joy standing gloomily far away from the bed.

I looked at her and asked.

“Why are you so far away?”

“I tried to assassinate you, sir.”

Hans questioned Julia.

“The kid is following along. Why are you saying things like that for no reason? It’s not even funny.”

“No, they all say it’s fun, so… … .”

“Only you are having fun. Only you.”

I watched the bickering Hans and his wife for a moment, then looked at Joy.

“It’s okay. Come here.”

“… … Really?”

Meanwhile, Joy looked at her mom and dad’s expressions.

He must be confused because he saw a lump on his head that he had never seen before.

I reassured Joy, who was hesitating.

“I said it’s okay. In fact, it’s good. What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

“……yes?”

Hans and Julia also looked at me as if they were wondering what I was talking about.

“Joey tried to assassinate me, but I survived. And because of that, I’m stronger.”

“… … .”

“It’s all thanks to you. Assassin Captain Joya.”

Joey approached, tilting his head.

“… … Is that so?”

“That’s what I said.”

Assassin Captain Joey approached me hesitantly and carefully grabbed my hand.

It was a small hand, but it was warm.

Suddenly, my right arm started to itch, and when I looked, I saw several bracelets made of wild flowers woven around my wrist.

I asked Joy.

“Did you do it?”

Joy nodded.

“Yes. I made one a day while you were sleeping.”

“I see.”

I nodded without thinking… … .

“Huh? One a day?”

I quickly checked the number of wildflower bracelets tied to my right arm.

There were eight in total.

That means… … .

I looked at Hans and he nodded.

“It’s been eight days since you came here covered in wounds.”

Julia intervened.

“I was so worried that I might never wake up.”

“This guy has been real since a while ago.”

The couple started bickering again, but it didn’t bother me.

‘8 days… … .’

I was in a daze.

At the same time, I felt like I had survived.

But how? I was definitely attacked by the Knight of the Cold?

Hans said.

“The Count, who had been with you the whole time when he heard that you had woken up, left for a while due to work.”

“… … The Count?”

Who is the Count? Isn’t he that damn nobleman?

So, did I get saved by the noble? It hasn’t been that long since I killed the noble?

I burst out laughing.

They say you never know what will happen in life. And to think that not only did I kill a noble, but there came a day when I was saved by that noble…

Hans said while thinking about the transience of life.

“I sent someone to tell you the news as soon as you opened your eyes, so you should be here soon.”

As soon as he finished speaking, urgent footsteps were heard outside the door and the door flew open.

And then a middle-aged man with clean hair and a nobleman’s finery appeared.

As soon as he saw me lying there in a daze, he smiled brightly.

“Ah, finally!”

Hans and Julia naturally gave up their seats, and the man strode over to them and sat down in the chair that Hans had warmed.

“You have finally risen, Lord Ashvan.”

“……ball?”

“To be honest, I was getting worried because you didn’t wake up for a week.”

I stared at him blankly.

The face had dark lines.

He had an impression of both strength and gentleness, with strength coming from his strong jaw and gentleness coming from his kind eyes.

I am not advocating the idea of ​​good beauty, but there was something about her that gave off a noble aristocratic vibe.

It was a completely different atmosphere from the toad-like Baron of Barranquilla.

Since he was older than me and he was the one who saved me in the first place, I decided to show my gratitude and be respectful.

“I would like to stand up and say hello, but I look like this… … Please understand.”

The count opened his eyes wide at my words.

I asked, bewildered.

“… … ? Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

The count waved his hand in an uncharacteristically embarrassed manner.

I could have just let it go, but I have a personality where I can’t stand being curious, so I asked persistently.

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

The count scratched his cheek and answered bashfully.

“What should I say? I was surprised because it was softer than I thought.”

You’re surprised at how soft it is. So you thought it would be really rough?

Judging from his reaction, it seems he thought of me as some crazy guy who would wake up, pull out a knife, swear at him, and seek revenge.

… … What do you see me as?

The count asked cautiously.

“How are you feeling? The doctor said there were no major injuries other than your left arm.”

“Ah, left arm.”

It was only then that I remembered my left arm that had been pierced by the bitter cold.

I raised my head slightly and examined my left arm, and saw that the splint was wrapped tightly in white cloth.

“Ugh.”

When I tried to move even a little, pain surged through me.

The count said after seeing that.

“Your left arm will probably still be sore. It’s a pretty deep wound, so it’ll take some time to heal. But don’t worry, I said that if you rest well, it’ll heal completely.”

“Stability? How much?”

“They said that a month at the earliest, or two or three months at the most, would be sufficient.”

“hmm.”

The count asked, observing my expression.

“How about other places?”

I felt like I knew it without even having to move my body.

My whole body felt cold and hot at the same time.

It felt like muscle pain had spread throughout my body, except the pain was ten times worse.

It means that the fact that Joy got knocked out was definitely not a joke.

“My whole body hurts. I’m cold too. Can you bring me another blanket?”

The count nodded.

“I will do so. There is no external injury, but… … . It may be an internal injury that cannot be detected from the outside. I will soon call a priest who is skilled in treating internal injuries.”

“thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude honestly.

How expensive is it to summon a priest?

The count looked slightly embarrassed, then shook his head as if it was nothing.

I studied the count’s expression in detail.

Not only did you save me, you even called an expensive priest.

Of course, it won’t be free.

You want something from me.

For example, the dagger of Ophiuchus.

But… … I don’t have a dagger right now. I gave it to Shushuruta.

You probably already checked that, since you’re wearing different clothes.

So are you asking me this to find out where it is?

But why is the Hans family here out of the blue?

Things were turning out strangely.

“Joy.”

I called out to Joy, who had been quietly playing with my hand until then.

“huh?”

“Mom and Dad, go out for a moment. I have something to talk to the Count about.”

“Okay. Okay.”

Hans and Julia quickly took Joey out of the room.

Click.

The door closed, and the count and I were the only ones in the room.

I looked at the Count in silence for a moment and then asked.

“You still don’t know the Count’s name.”

“Oh, I haven’t introduced you. My name is Count Hermann Stavanger.”

I nodded slightly.

“Count Starvanger.”

“Speak.”

“The Dagger of Opposition. I don’t have it.”

The count looked at me blankly.

“I know.”

“I don’t even know where it went.”

“Is that so?”

“… … ?”

The reaction was a little strange.

What is this lukewarm reaction?

It was as if he had no interest in the dagger of Ophiuchus.

Either you’re really not interested, or you’re interested but are hiding it for some reason.

I don’t like beating around the bush, so I just got straight to it.

“Count. Thank you so much for saving me.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Can I ask why you saved me?”

The count paused for a moment and then answered.

“I didn’t know you’d ask right away. You’re hot.”

“Me a little.”

The count took a silver coin out of his bosom.

It was slightly larger than a normal silver coin.

The engraved patterns are also different.

“Do you remember?”

“no.”

“I found this in your pocket.”

“What is that?”

“… … .”

The count studied my expression for a moment and then said.

“This is a token of the Starvanger family. It is given only to those who have received great favor from the Starvanger family. This can be seen as a token of Starvanger’s great debt to you.”

“Aha. But why is that in my pocket?”

“… … Don’t you remember?”

“Yes. I tend not to keep things that aren’t that important in my head.”

“It’s not important… … .”

The count chuckled and put the token in my hand.

“He will be upset.”

Well… … Whether I was upset or not, that was none of my business.

“So, you saved me because of this sign?”

The count smiled silently and took another silver coin out of his bosom.

Oing?

“What is that?”

It was similar to the one I saw earlier, but it looked older.

“The one I just gave you back was what you had, and this was what Hans had.”

“… … Are you Uncle Hans?”

The count nodded.

“Hans brought me a token and asked me to help you. He said the royal knights were chasing him. That’s why I came forward.”

“haha…….”

This is really it. He was a man who didn’t show off his colors. I almost passed this by without noticing it.

By the way, I can’t believe you’re thinking of running into the cold just because of an old badge.

Of course, there may be other reasons involved, but it was impressive enough that he risked his life to face the bitter cold. No amount of courage could stop that monster.

I had the rare impression that he was a nobleman who knew honor.

Judging from the lack of serious injuries, it didn’t seem like they had been driven out by force.

Do nobles have their own methods?

I spoke honestly.

“thank you.”

The count shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s nothing. How can defeating the bitter cold be considered nothing?”

“……huh?”

“Honestly, I have no idea how you managed to get that monster to back down. It seemed like you couldn’t communicate with him at all.”

The count looked at me from afar and said.

“What are you talking about?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“You knocked it down, didn’t you?”

“Yes? Me?”

“… … ?”

“… … ?”

We exchanged bewildered glances, blinking.