Goblin Knight - Chapter 308



Only Noblemtl

EP.308 Tin Heart (16)

‘Gilan?’

Blanc suddenly glanced at his watch, realizing that a familiar voice was mixed in with the commotion coming from outside.

A time when you can have dinner a little early.

There were no windows inside the healing room, so it was impossible to see outside right away, but considering the season, there was plenty of time for the sun to set.

Gilan’s words, “Let’s meet again at the treatment center around sunset,” were kept faithfully… … .

‘Something’s wrong. Did you get caught by some street thugs?’

It wasn’t a completely unreliable guess.

Blanc has traveled through many cities and seen villains who live in the shadows of the cities. They may be simple bandits, but sometimes they are knights.

If such people caught the wealthy merchant Gilan walking around defenselessly, it wouldn’t be surprising if they immediately targeted him as prey.

Especially in this city, where people seem strangely uninspired… … .

“I’m sorry I was talking to you. Something came up, so I have to go right away.”

“Oh, yes. Although I couldn’t be of much help, I sincerely hope that Miss Annelie gets well soon. Please take care of it!”

Blanc carefully picked up the fallen Annelie, then said goodbye to the healer and left.

Blanc, who had already grown to a suitable size and was now nimbly mounted on Trasha, began to head towards the center of the commotion.

It wasn’t that far away, as far as Trasha could perceive by simple hearing.

After turning a few alleys and climbing up the wall onto the rooftops, Blanc was able to find Gilan with his back to the wall and a crowd of dozens of people surrounding him, huddled in the shadows of the street.

Gilan’s monocles were crooked, as if he had already been hit in the face.

Judging from the men with fierce expressions standing in front, each of them was carrying an old weapon like a sword or an axe, and it looked like the situation was imminent.

The only good thing is that they haven’t found Blanc yet.

Fortunately, it hadn’t reached the point of no return yet, and Blanc prepared to leap forward to immediately subdue the first attacker.

but.

“Finally, finally I got you… this… fucking… piece of trash… … !”

“You son of a bitch who ruined our lives and our city!!”

The words of those who attacked Gilan with their weapons drawn stopped Blanc in his tracks.

What are you saying now?

“This is it. You suddenly came running at me with weapons in your hands, so I thought you wanted something… It seems like you’ve misunderstood something.”

“Misunderstanding? Misunderstanding!?”

“What are you talking about with that dirty mouth!!”

Blanc hesitated for a moment as the situation unfolded differently than he had expected. What should he do? Should he just wait and see how things turn out a little longer… … .

But right after, a man who seemed truly enraged by Gilan’s words tried to stab him with a spear, so Blanc had no choice but to throw himself down after telling Trasha to protect Anneli.

Phew! Blanc, who had turned into an iron-colored afterimage, stomped on the center of the spear and slammed into the alley.

“Whoaaah!?”

“oh my!!”

As the spear crashed into the ground and shattered, a shock wave and a gust of dust swept through the area.

The crowd surrounding Gilan cowered in panic, then cautiously opened their eyes to see the source of the destruction that had suddenly appeared.

The knight, a weapon that had trained for more than half of its life only to kill, clad in a vicious armor, was glaring at them coldly… … .

… … At least, that’s what Blanc felt they thought of him.

‘Aren’t you guys used to fighting?’

At the appearance of the knight, more than half of the crowd appeared not simply frightened, but despairing to the point of losing their will to fight.

Those who were not accustomed to iron and blood. This meant that the majority were simply engaged in everyday life in the city.

But why on earth are those people… … .

While Blanc was confused, Gilan spoke to him from behind, looking a little surprised.

“Wow. I knew you would show up in such an extraordinary way, even though I was in dire need of help. I guess your reputation was not in vain, Sir Blanc.”

“Gilan… … .”

“Anyway, thank you for your help. It looks like Miss Annelie’s treatment is over, so now go back and clean up those thugs-”

“Hey, where, where are you going!!”

One of the crowd that had retreated at Blanc’s appearance stepped forward, interrupting Gilan’s words.

The one who had been holding out a cooking knife to him until just before… and who still hasn’t put it away.

That advance did not mean that Blanc was not afraid. The steps he took, the arm holding the sword, and even the eyes looking at them were shaking as if they would collapse at any moment.

Still.

“Wow, you sold our lives, our land, this whole city… …! Do you think you’ll be able to come back unharmed, you money-mad bastard!!”

“Oh, that’s right! What’s wrong with being a knight!? Even if we survive, we’re not living! What’s the point of living if we’re just going to die helplessly!”

“You were hired for that bastard’s dirty money anyway, right!? If you’re going to kill us, go ahead and kill us, you knight! I’m not even scared of dying anymore!!”

“Even if you go, let’s drag the baby to eat together !!”

The despairing crowd gathered again and began to burn with hostility towards Blanc and Gilan.

Blanc, who was bewildered as this was his first experience, looked at Gilan with eyes demanding an explanation.

“… … What the hell is going on, Gilan? What the hell did you do to these guys?”

“Well, well, I-”

“I wish I could explain it better. Honestly… considering the current situation, if I hadn’t owed you a favor, I don’t think I would have pointed my sword at them.”

Gilan, who was about to continue speaking in a calm voice, stopped.

The crowd, sensing that the atmosphere between them was not normal, also calmed down for a moment and began to observe the situation.

After a while, Gilan opened his mouth and adjusted his crooked monocle.

“… … Even if you call it an explanation, I guess the only thing I can say to Sir Blanc is ‘I’m not sure.’ I really don’t know what great sin I committed against them.”

“what!?”

“How dare you say you have a pierced mouth-”

“quietly.”

Blanc urged Gilan on, instantly suppressing the crowd’s anger that was about to boil over again.

“Even if it wasn’t a crime, did you do something?”

“Yes.”

“Does that have anything to do with what they were accusing you of, ‘selling out their lives, and this entire city’?”

“Should I say it’s related? What should I say?”

Gilan said in a normal voice.

“That’s exactly what it says, so I don’t have anything more to add.”

“……what?”

Blanc had to doubt his ears.

The first reason was that I couldn’t figure out what it meant at first… … .

Another reason was that Gilan’s voice sounded like it meant, ‘I have no idea why that would be a sin.’

“That… What does that mean? So, what they’re saying isn’t some kind of metaphor or something-”

“Yes. Literally, I sold this entire city to the Empire a while ago. It was a fair deal. It was also to raise funds for the development of the Rising Lands.”

“… … How, what? Are you saying that you engaged in human trafficking!? Kidnapping lords and citizens and selling them to the empire for ransom, or something as heinous as that-”

Gilan looked at Blanc as if he had heard something he really couldn’t understand.

Rather than saying that this is a reaction to the sheer horror of Blanc’s idea… … .

“That’s ridiculous. Why should I risk breaking the law and do something so inefficient? If I do that, I’ll only get paid once.”

“what?”

“That’s not how you make money, sir. Even if you squeeze a rag, no matter how dry and twisted it is, a drop or two of water will fall out… That’s the basics of business, getting to the limit.”

“I… what the hell are you talking about… … .”

“Well. I think you are asking how one could ‘possess ownership of a city’. I would say it is an application of debt. I think you are not familiar with the principles of commerce, so let me explain it as simply as possible… … .”

As if for the sake of Blanc, who was having a hard time keeping up with the situation, Gilan began to kindly list all the things he had done to the city.

In the past, when the East was untouched by the Empire, this was just one of the ordinary cities that had cooperative relationships with the nearby wizards.

A normal city where people don’t live that well, but they don’t live that poorly either…

However, after the war, the empire focused its investment on this area along with Lemen for full-scale development of the East, and the city received enormous wealth.

The immense wealth dazzles people. Outsiders come to the city with dreams of success, while the original residents themselves aspire to a life of luxury that is far beyond their means.

It was Gilan who appeared at this time.

“I satisfied their needs. I provided housing for outsiders and luxury and pleasure for the citizens. At a ‘reasonable price.’”

“A reasonable price… …?”

“Well, I won’t deny that it was a bit expensive compared to the cost of living… but at the time, no one cared about that. Money was something you could save up by closing your eyes and opening them for just one day.”

Even if it seemed a little expensive at the time, the city’s rapidly rising wealth could quickly make up for the loss.

Because of this, no one was wary of consumption.

If there was something they wanted, they had no hesitation in borrowing money from moneylenders to buy it. From newcomers to the nobility… even wizards.

But there was one thing they didn’t know, or in fact, they didn’t even care about.

The truth is that the one who lent all that money was Gilan, who changed her name and behavior slightly each time she went through the name change process.

“And bubbles tend to burst.”

Gilan smiled broadly, as if recalling those sweet harvest times.

It was a creepily benevolent smile.