Little Hero (4)
The knight clenched his teeth.
He wanted to tear down this man, who almost seemed to be making fun of the king.
But the opponent was a mage.
A mage who had risen to the position of a Tower Master, not an ordinary mage.
They were beings full of secrets, and it wouldn't be strange for them to burst bodies apart with just a flick of their finger.
So, the knight sheathed his sword.
"We're retreating."
He led the soldiers and returned to Cohen with the empty carriage.
'At least for now, this conflict is over.'
Since Reed had intervened and forcibly bought the carrots, they wouldn't bother the farmhouse anymore.
The middle-aged man knelt down, bowed his head, and opened his mouth.
"I apologize, Tower Master!"
"What are you apologizing for?"
"I was rude because I didn't know you were a noble. Please forgive my rudeness."
That rudeness was undoubtedly the conversation they had while eating.
He looked so polite, it was hard to believe he was the same man who had confronted the knight just before.
Reed was flustered but looked down at him calmly and said,
"Raise your head. I didn't reveal my identity, so wouldn't you also not know that I am a noble?"
"I was prepared to give up my life... but I never thought a noble would step in to save this fly-like life."
Reed looked down at him expressionlessly and praised him.
"Not bending your beliefs even at the risk of your life, that's the true spirit of a knight. We, the nobles, must also uphold that spirit."
"You are too kind. I was just a rebel who opposed the royal decree."
"The one who saved your life is saying so. You can be honest with yourself."
"Th-thank you!"
Looking at Reed, the middle-aged man was filled with overwhelming emotions.
Not only the middle-aged man but also the residents who had been oppressed by the royal tyranny expressed their gratitude to Reed.
"Thank you for saving our village, Tower Master!"
"Thank you, mage!"
Reed did not react to their gratitude and glanced at the pile of carrots.
There were a lot of carrots worth 1,000 UPs.
As he was considering how to deal with them, he told the farmers,
"I will take all the carrots soon. Keep them well for now."
"Yes, understood."
Reed did not say anymore and flipped up his hood.
He left the village with Rosaria and returned to the tower.
* * *
"Did you hear the news?"
"Yeah, I heard the Tower Master interfered with the soldiers trying to collect taxes from a small village."
The news spread quickly.
In just a day, everyone in the Silence Tower knew what Reed, the Tower Master, had done.
"If it's the Huper Kingdom, it's a small kingdom, but still, if they were provoked, they won't avoid creating trouble."
"They're already busy praising the wise king, would they leave our tower alone?"
"It's still quiet, but it's worrying... What if the empire is also keeping an eye on this incident?"
Reed's actions could turn into a disaster.
"Let's not think about the worst-case scenario. Are we not trusting the Tower Master, and what are we supposed to do?"
"Still... How can we not worry? Haven't you ever thought that the trouble might affect you too?"
"What can we do? Can the tower family not trust the Tower Master?"
"Right, nothing has been properly revealed yet, and we'll only look worse if we get flustered."
While there were those who showed absolute trust, the majority still seemed to be skeptical about Reed.
He had the bold drive to change to magical engineering and fire over 50 people, but it was still difficult to judge whether he actually had the ability.
So, everything depended on the outcome.
The situation has become such that the Tower Master's support will be determined by how the results turn out.
* * *
"A letter has arrived from the Huper Kingdom!"
Phoebe entered, making a fuss.
In her hand was a rectangular piece of paper.
'Has it arrived?'
Reed stopped his work and took the letter from her.
Reed took the politely offered letter, tore the seal, and opened it.
The letter read:
- I will visit you soon.
It was hard to believe that this was a letter sent by the royal family, as it contained only one sentence.
Normally, a scribe would have written a lengthy introduction.
Reed wondered if it was a prank someone was risking their life for, but seeing the signature and seal at the bottom dispelled that suspicion.
"Let's think about it differently."
Reed broadened his perspective and re-read the content of the letter sent by Morgan Huper.
"Not using a scribe means they couldn't use one. That means there must be a reason why they had to write it themselves."
It meant that he wrote it himself to minimize the number of ears that heard it.
It was no different from a desperate plea not to make a big deal out of this matter.
"It may not be friendly, but it probably means they don't want to be hostile either."
Although the information was uncertain, combining it led to one conclusion.
"Morgan Huper is trying not to tarnish his reputation despite my outrageous behavior."
Even if it meant breaking the rule of non-interference between the kingdom and the magic tower, he was trying not to leave a stain on himself.
Reed put the letter down and looked out the window.
"How despicable."
Is this the world of the nobles?
Reed couldn't understand why they would focus on such things when everything would be meaningless once they died.
It would be less trouble to remain an ordinary king rather than wearing such a mask.
"Abusing power over a small village just to save a few hundred UPs..."
Of course, it wouldn't just be that one village.
There would be dozens of medium and small-sized villages spread across the Huper Kingdom, and they would have issued promissory notes to buy food and materials just the same.
But how much of a percentage of the national treasury would they save by doing that?
"What's the situation in the Huper Kingdom?"
"It seems they're confused by the Tower Master's actions, sir. It seems like they're trying to keep things hushed up?"
"Are they trying to pretend that this interference never happened?"
"Yes."
There must be more to it.
Something more than just trying to save money.
However, Reed felt frustrated because he couldn't know what that something was.
'But just knowing that is a huge piece of information.'
He would be able to thoroughly investigate what the Huper King was trying to do before he died.
"Um, Tower Master, how should we respond to the letter?"
"Thank them for sending the letter and tell them I got the message. Please pass it on."
"Yes."
Phoebe politely greeted and stepped back.
'If we meet in person, I might be able to learn a little more.'
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