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“Huh? Oh.”

Upon seeing the trembling village chief, Sir Edward couldn’t help but smirk.

To think not of the honor of supporting the great knight’s journey but only of immediate profits, truly foolish beyond measure. The chief doesn’t realize that his village’s name could be immortalized in bards’ songs as part of the legendary deeds of the Altion Marquisate.

‘Indeed, these lowly ones know nothing of honor!’

However, Edward considered himself a generous knight. Thus, he rummaged through his belongings and tossed a gold coin to the chief.

“This should be more than enough.”

The chief’s eyes widened. Edward, enjoying his own generosity, stroked his chin.

‘After all, when would these ignorant villagers have ever seen a gold coin?’

He was half right. It was indeed the chief’s first time seeing a gold coin. But his expression was not one of amazement or admiration.

“Si- Sir knight, this is far from enough to cover the meal costs for the knights…….”

“What did you say?”

Edward’s eyes narrowed in a flash.

‘Is this lowlife daring to haggle with a knight?’

His disbelief quickly turned to anger.

By law, such remote villages, not officially recognized as part of any lordship and thus outside the protection of any noble, could be wiped out and plundered by knights without any legal repercussions. They had forsaken the lord’s protection, and thus, the laws of the Vasily Kingdom did not shelter them either.

To show them mercy, only for them to dare bargain?

“You wretch! Do you think that I as a noble am unaware of the market prices?”

The food he had taken from this village was of such poor quality that it was worth no more than a hundred silver coins. A gold coin was indeed a gesture of generosity.

“Yes, but, what?”

Seeing the flustered old man, Edward was convinced. This despicable elder, seeing the splendid knights, must be trying to extort them thoroughly. How dare a lowborn try to swindle a noble?

“How dare you mock a knight!”

With a burst of anger, Edward struck the old man. Not hard, of course. Even such foolish villagers were citizens of the Vasily Kingdom, after all, and could not be killed. Just enough to teach him his place.

“Oh dear dear dear!”

With a scream, the old man fell, clutching his face. Blood trickled out between his wrinkled fingers.

“Village chief!”

“Oh my, the village chief!”

Villagers who were afar rushed to support the old man.

Amidst the commotion, a handsome young man in his late twenties walked out from the hall.

“What’s the matter, Sir Edward?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Lord Stefan.”

As the young man appeared, Sir Edward was startled and bowed politely.

The young man, Stefan von Lepanto Altion, the second son of the Altion family and holder of the title from the Lepanto barony, was a noble whom he was bound to serve and also his superior as a knight. Despite his young age, he possessed remarkable swordsmanship skills, earning him the title of ‘Knight of Firmness’, and was already among the top ten warriors within the Vasily Kingdom.

Edward bowed respectfully and said,

“No, it’s just some lowly people making a fuss because they think the money I gave them wasn’t enough.”

“How much did you give them?”

Stefan was puzzled. The Sir Edward he knew was a generous knight who would not have been stingy with the reward.

“I generously gave a gold coin to those living hard in the mountains.”

“Really? That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

Wise Stefan quickly grasped the situation. To him, it sounded outrageously greedy. Anger appeared on the young man’s face.

“Huh, with what we took, one gold coin should have been more than enough. Truly despicable.”

Stefan shook his head disapprovingly and comforted his knight, who had not received thanks despite his generosity.

“This is why you shouldn’t just freely show mercy to the lowly. They try to rise above their station without knowing their place.”

“Your words are wise, my lord. I’ve made a great mistake.”

Watching the two knights converse calmly, the old man shed tears.

No! What about the transport and labor costs? In your city, one gold coin might suffice, but here, the cost of food is more than twenty times that! Plus, it’s the middle of winter, to buy food one has to risk their life going through blizzards!

But the village chief couldn’t protest. Having been struck by a thick steel gauntlet, his few remaining teeth were knocked out, spilling blood.

Eventually, the villagers took the unconscious village chief away, crying. Stefan watched them leave with an indifferent gaze before returning to the hall.

In a crudely built log hall, barren except for a shabby bed, table, and chairs, Stefan frowned. Compared to his bedroom in the capital, this was no better than a storeroom.

‘But a true knight should be able to sleep even in a mud puddle.’

Ah, to think he could sleep even in such a rubbish heap! Stefan felt proud, seeing it as a sign of becoming a true knight, conveniently ignoring that the villagers always lived in such conditions.

Inside the hall, a man in his mid-thirties, cloaked in a robe, was deep in meditation. Stefan called out to him.

“Magician Todd.”

The man opened his eyes and quickly bowed his head.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Have you found the location of the ruins yet?”

“Please wait a little longer. The mountainous terrain and winter season are disrupting the mana flows…”

Seeing Todd’s troubled look, Stefan sighed.

“Please find it quickly.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After pressing the magician further, Stefan walked to the window, leaning on the frame and gazing out at the snow-covered mountains and fields.

“This must be the place, right?”

“It is certain, my lord.”

Sir Edward, who had approached silently, replied confidently.

“This is where the great swordsman, Sir Claude von Leotus Altion, lies buried.”

* * *

Three days after leaving Chrome City, Repenhardt was walking along the central road, carrying a small backpack.

Surrounded by snow-covered fields and sparse trees, the central road cutting through the Vasily Kingdom in a cross shape was desolate in the winter, with no one else in sight.

Due to the risks of blizzards and the common fate of traders dying on the road in winter, hardly anyone dared to travel during this season.

Yet, Repenhardt was unfazed.

“This crazy body of mine does have excellent stamina, after all.”

Despite his nonchalance, he was dressed appropriately for winter travel, in a thick fur coat and a scarf, looking every part the exemplary traveler.

In truth, his current physique could easily dismiss such cold as a mere breeze, so there was no real need for such warm clothing. However, wandering around in just a shirt in the middle of winter would certainly attract unwarranted attention.

While past Kings of Strength might have flaunted their muscles by wandering around shirtless even in winter, Repenhardt, claiming to still possess a sense of humanity, preferred not to stand out.

“Still, the coat was a bit pricey.”

After spending another ten silver coins on the coat and other travel necessities, the money Gerard had given him had halved.

“But soon, money will be easy to come by.”

Repenhardt chuckled quietly to himself. In his past life, he had made a name for himself as an explorer of ruins, wandering across the continent in his youth. And all that information was still perfectly preserved in his memory.

That meant he had knowledge of all the ruins that would be discovered within the next 30 years. And not just any knowledge—he knew exactly what treasures each ruin held! In other words, he could selectively visit only the most lucrative ruins and extract their most valuable secrets!

‘What a coincidence this is.’

Scratching his cheek, Repenhardt reminisced about his past. It was about his childhood, when he was fervently learning magic in the tower of Delphia. There was a mage named ‘Todd’ who specialized in exploring ruins and was affiliated with the tower.

Todd, who was very fond of the young Repenhardt, used to share his heroic tales with him whenever he returned to the tower. Among those stories was an adventure with the Altion Marquis family near the Hattan Mountains.

‘The date just had to coincide with the day I came down from the mountains.’

Today being the 14th day of the ice moon, Todd would likely be staying in a mountain village near the Hattan Mountains. It was a long time ago, so remembering the exact date was difficult, but with the legendary skill of ‘Artificial Flashback,’ Repenhardt could always pull out and check his past memories accurately.

‘I’m sure I went on an expedition myself after hearing Todd’s story and getting older. Hmm.’

Ancient ruins are usually complex in geography, so even if they have been explored, there’s a high chance that something was missed. This was true for the Hattan Mountain ruins as well, where Repenhardt managed to find ‘real’ artifacts that Todd’s group had missed, netting a significant sum.

“I sold everything that came out and made over two thousand gold coins, so it was quite a profitable ruin. Hahaha.”

Therefore, Repenhardt deliberately chose this route.

Even if Todd’s group had already looted the ruin by the time he descended, it was no issue. The underground part of the ruin would still be unexplored. If not, he could always go to another ruin.

On the way to the Lastil Duchy, there were four more high-value ruins in Repenhardt’s memory that had yet to be unearthed. Even if the timing wasn’t right, making money was not a problem.

The reason he specifically wanted to get involved in Todd’s past was…

‘I should take this opportunity to find out about the condition of my body in this era.’

Todd was quite close to him when he was young, so he would likely have a good understanding of Repenhardt in this era. Meeting him could yield some valuable information.

As he continued walking with these plans in mind, the white mountain range beyond the horizon began to come into view. It was the snow-covered Hattan Mountains.

“The destination is coming into sight.”

Repenhardt increased his pace and then leaped into the air. With an incredible jump, he crossed the path in an instant and began rushing fiercely towards the Hattan Mountains.