Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 181. Was It You? (2)

The royal palace of the Kaisar Kingdom.

Its monarch, King Georgia, shot up from his throne upon receiving a report from his retainer.

“He’s out?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

King Georgia gritted his teeth and said.

“Where is his current location? We must mobilize the full power of the kingdom and hunt him down to kill him!”

Bloodshot eyes appeared in the shouting King Georgia’s eyes.

How could they not?

As a result of formally mobilizing the army to capture Patrick, the Kaisar Kingdom had suffered enormous losses.

They lost thousands of soldiers, and the knightly order also suffered a great loss.

The most severe loss was the death of the 7-star knights, Marquis Andrea Ruide and Count Martin Tonius.

Including the previously deceased Count Calvin Spike, a total of three 7-star knights had died.

All because of one man, Patrick Schneider.

This was an irreversible and great loss for the kingdom.

To King Georgia, Patrick Schneider was now nothing less than a sworn enemy.

If he could just capture him alive, he wanted to personally tear him to shreds in the great hall of the royal palace.

However….

“Your Majesty, the Tower of Truth has requested that we refrain from revenge regarding the… misunderstanding that occurred previously.”

“Misunderstanding? What a damn misunderstanding!”

Unable to contain his anger, the King roared and threw the royal scepter he was holding.

The reporting retainer, unable to dodge it, was struck and bled from his forehead.

He prostrated himself and said.

“I am deeply sorry. However, as long as the Tower of Truth is protecting the Double Dragon, I believe it is dangerous to touch him carelessly.”

The King knew that too.

But was he supposed to give up on revenge against Patrick for that reason?

That was impossible.

If he caused such a great national loss and failed to even take revenge, the King’s political standing would be greatly shaken.

Even for a king, his authority was not always absolute.

Didn’t even the emperor of the Roman Empire lose his head as the price for the failure of the Great Forest expedition?

‘The Double Dragon must die in our country.’

The King acted strong to protect his authority.

“We can act secretly. We will finish the job before the Tower of Truth can intervene.”

“However….”

“What is it? What’s the problem?”

At the King’s questioning, the retainer squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

“It is said that Riman Ciera, a magic swordsman from the Tower of Truth, is accompanying the Double Dragon.”

“Damn it….”

King Georgia looked as if he had been punched in the gut.

He had planned to deal with Patrick somehow as soon as he left the Tower of Truth.

But it seemed the Tower of Truth had already grasped his intentions.

Riman Ciera.

A talent evaluated as someone who might one day rise to the position of a Guardian in the Tower of Truth.

As long as Riman Ciera was with him, it was impossible to target Patrick without clashing with the Tower of Truth.

“Damn it….”

King Georgia plopped down on his throne.

Drained of strength, he clutched his forehead with one hand as if his head ached and said.

“Where is he now? What is he doing?”

“That is….”

“Report in detail. Where is he?”

Under the King’s pressure, the retainer squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.

“The Double Dragon is currently in the Touban fiefdom, having moved north from the Tower of Truth. And there, he is… holding a festival.”

“What?”

“……”

At the retainer’s inability to answer, the King said with a dumbfounded expression.

“He is brazenly moving through my territory and holding a festival?”

“So it is said.”

“What kind of festival?”

“Ahem… It is said to be a festival celebrating victory.”

Right.

So that’s it.

He’s holding a festival inside our country, celebrating a victory against our country.

King Georgia, who now understood the whole situation….

“…Hk… K… Keeeeeeuk….”

He clutched the back of his neck and began to fall backward.

“Your Majesty!”

“Call the royal physician!”

The retainers hurriedly rushed to support the King.

And King Georgia….

“I’ll curse you. Patrick Schneideeeeeer!”

He let out a resentful scream, foamed at the mouth, and finally passed out.

* * *

“Huh? I think someone just cursed me.”

Patrick said, cleaning his ear.

Matthew, who was next to him, replied nonchalantly.

“There are tons of people who would curse you.”

“Hey… where else would you find someone as nice as me?”

“Really? Then what’s that over there?”

Where Matthew pointed, a man with a haggard expression was staring blankly into space, lost in thought.

This man, once a promising magic swordsman but now resembling a dried-up fish zombie, was named Riman Ciera.

The reason he had become like this was….

“Sir Double Dragon! What are you doing? Aren’t you going to drink more?”

“Hey, no way. Come on, let’s drink up!”

Patrick raised his glass high with some village uncles whose names he didn’t know and shouted.

“Come on, everyone, let’s drink. Today’s drinks are all on the Tower of Truth!”

“Oooooooh!”

“This is the life!”

“Hahahahahaha.”

This was why.

* * *

Magic swordsmen from the Tower of Truth did not carry cash when conducting external activities.

This was because, as long as they could securely verify their identity, the Tower of Truth would pay for them on credit.

Of course, to prevent people from exploiting this by impersonating them, a means of proof was necessary.

That was the magical tool issued by the Tower of Truth, the Capital Card.

The principle was simple.

After using the Capital Card to pay, if the seller and buyer signed the card’s form, the usage history would be transmitted to the Tower of Truth.

Then, the Tower of Truth would pay the amount in a short time.

It was a very simple, convenient, and even secure method.

Because of this, people from the Tower of Truth did not inconveniently carry cash around during external activities.

Of course, Riman Ciera was no exception.

He, too, had received a Capital Card for his external activities.

And it was even a Gold-grade one.

The card grades were Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Black, and just with Gold, one could spend an amount that could comfortably manage a decent fiefdom for several years.

And Riman Ciera’s biggest mistake was naively telling all this information to Patrick Schneider.

[Hooooo. Is that soooooo?]

Tsk tsk tsk.

Well, and so….

“Hahahaha. Pour it, drink it!”

“Ooooh! He’s on fire.”

“I don’t know who that young man is, but he can really drink.”

“Guests, we’re out of alcohol.”

“Really? Then let’s move to the place next door! We won’t leave a single drop of alcohol in this city today! Warriors, follow me!”

“Woooooooh!”

“We will follow you for life.”

“Let’s goooooo!”

This is what happened.

“The Sages… The Sages are going to kill me.”

Riman tore at his hair, blaming himself.

They had been holding festivals like this in every village they visited since leaving the Tower of Truth.

The amount of money already spent was far more than the total amount Riman had spent in his entire life.

As Riman Ciera, feeling a serious sense of crisis, muttered to himself, Matthew approached and said.

“Why did you even tell him such things?”

“Logically, I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, what can you do? It’s already irreversible…. Cheer up.”

Riman looked at Matthew, who was at least comforting him, with tears welling in his eyes… huh?

“Mr. Matthew, what is that in your hand?”

“Ah… this?”

In Matthew’s hand was a rather expensive-looking women’s hat.

Matthew said with an awkward expression.

“They said it’s a local specialty here. A hat made from the feathers of a bird called a Harp-tail.”

“……”

“Hahaha. I thought it would be a good gift for my sister. Thank you for this.”

He was just like the other one.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, April and Isabella were also busily moving about.

“Please arrange for a bulk shipment to the Schneider Barony in the Kingdom of Atronia.”

“The shipping fee will also be paid by the Tower of Truth.”

Riman Ciera.

The flower that had grown in the greenhouse called the Tower of Truth was harshly accumulating worldly experience.

* * *

Peaceful days continued.

A routine of eating and drinking on someone else’s dime, being generous to people, and continuing the journey smoothly without anyone picking a fight.

“Phew…. I wish I could live like this forever.”

“I know, right.”

“I love spending other people’s money.”

“I bought a lot of presents for the Lord and the Madam.”

“…Logically, I wish you all were dead.”

It was a situation where four were satisfied and one despaired, but according to the principle of majority rule, this was indeed a peaceful routine.

However….

“Are you the Double Dragon?”

A middle-aged knight in neat attire appeared, blocking the path of Patrick and his group.

As if he had been waiting for the four of them to pass this way, he asked his question, to which Patrick replied indifferently.

“I am, but… who are you?”

At Patrick’s question, the middle-aged knight bowed his head respectfully and said.

“My master wishes to see you for a moment. Could you please spare some time?”

“Hmmmm….”

Matthew smirked.

This had happened many times before.

Messengers from nameless nobles who wanted to invite Patrick to get acquainted and create a connection were common.

In fact, considering Patrick’s fame, it was a natural occurrence.

‘Separate from his personality, that is.’

Patrick had never met these people one by one until now.

Except when there was something to gain, that is.

He thought Patrick would just send him away this time as well.

But….

“Who is your master?”

Surprisingly, Patrick didn’t refuse immediately and showed interest.

While Matthew was unexpectedly surprised, the other party spoke.

“You will know when you come and see for yourself.”

“So, you’re telling me to go just because someone who won’t even reveal their identity tells me to come.”

“That is correct.”

“Hmmmm….”

This time, surely this twisted human would refuse with a cocky attitude.

So predicted Matthew, who was well-versed in Patrick-ology.

However….

“Well, alright. It’s not far, is it?”

“He is in a nearby location.”

“Good.”

Surprisingly, Patrick readily agreed to follow.

At that, Matthew said with a dumbfounded expression.

“Hey, did you eat something bad this morning?”

“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, it’s just that seeing you act so obediently like a normal person for once is hard to understand.”

“Is that so strange?”

“Yeah. Are you worried about something? Or are you sick somewhere?”

His eyes were filled with genuine concern.

“Tell me. We’re friends, right?”

“I want to hit you. My friend.”

Patrick let out a deep sigh.

Past life and present, why are all the things called my friends like this?

Patrick said to Matthew.

“Stew. Hey, Stew.”

“What?”

“A person should at least have the sense to tell if someone is a big shot or not just by looking, don’t you think?”

“That knight is a big shot? Hmm….”

Matthew looked at the knight walking ahead of him.

The armor he wore and his weapon were all ordinary.

He didn’t sense any element (money) that would interest Patrick.

Just then, April spoke.

“That knight is strong.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Matthew see it.

April was staring intently at the back of the middle-aged knight with an unusually wary gaze.

Seeing April like that, Matthew frowned and thought.

‘To the extent that April would react like this?’

Matthew knew April’s skill.

Wasn’t she the one who had taken the head of that 7-star knight, Count Martin Tonius?

Although it was publicly known that Patrick had done it, Matthew was one of the witnesses who knew the truth.

That same April…

‘Is this wary?’

For April to be this wary meant he was at least at the 7-star level or higher.

And a knight of 7-star level or higher at this point in time would be….

“Don’t tell me, from the Kaisar Kingdom….”

“I doubt it. He doesn’t match the descriptions of the 7-star knights of the Kaisar Kingdom.”

“Then who on earth….”

“How would I know? I’m going to find out because I don’t know.”

Patrick said bluntly.

From experience, an unseen enemy is more dangerous than a strong one.

It was better to check unknown variables when you can, rather than leaving them be.

That was why he was readily complying with the middle-aged knight’s invitation.

The place the group moved to was….

“You’ve come.”

A table prepared in the shade of a tree.

At that table, a man was waiting, sitting with an empty chair across from him.

There were a few knights in attendance nearby, but there seemed to be no particular trap.

However….

“What the? I wondered who it was.”

Surprisingly, the mastermind whom Patrick had taken the trouble to come and see was someone he already knew.

“Was it you?”

The moment Patrick spoke bluntly.

Fwoosh.

The surrounding knights radiated a surging killing intent towards Patrick.

Even knowing that their opponent was the Double Dragon, they genuinely directed their undisguised killing intent at Patrick.

However, the target himself smiled and said.

“It’s alright. Leave him be.”

“But Your Highness….”

“I said it’s alright.”

“Understood.”

The killing intent vanished as if it had been washed away.