31
Estio Volume 2
- Episode 6
"This is the road to Hei's estate."
"Oh, hey."
The small eyes of the old portal manager gleamed like eagles foraging for food.
"Even less are the travelers to the land of the dead."
At that gloomy answer, Parker trembled, ready to be buried under his wings.
"Why does Hei call the estate the land of the dead?"
"Why? The Emperor wouldn't want to keep his talented cousin close. How would he care about a relative who was young and strong, handsome and even clever."
Many people don't know, and the old man's coughing voice that followed was gradually colored with ridicule.
"Can you see this cave? It's the only stronghold connected to Hei's estate, but no one knows what's inside."
"Mo, don't you know? What is that?"
"It's free to pass, but safety cannot be guaranteed. It's like no one knows if you're bitten on the nape of the neck and die."
"Are there any monsters?!"
Parker shouted in embarrassment, and the old man answered in a serious tone.
"You're talking natural. The territory the emperor granted to the new duke was a land of death covered with monsters from the beginning."
"......!"
"In short, the coward was afraid of his cousin. Giggles."
With the old portal manager in front of him laughing like a madman, Parker secretly hid behind Estio. Even though he was chained to his side, Neju, who had a large body, was with him, so he felt more at ease.
The old woman who looked up at Estio, who was standing there with no expression on her face, even though he had despised the emperor and was terrified of the territory by Hei, her white eyebrows twitched slightly.
'Look at this guy?'
It was normal to be surprised like Parker, treated like a madman, and offended. He dared to point at the old woman who insulted the leader of the empire.
However, this kid named Estio was different.
'No, no. This is not a baby boy.'
As if the old woman knew everything, the dark blue eyes staring straight at her without shaking were annoying. The old man who found the black shadow lurking inside trembled. The chill that ran down his spine was revealing the identity of the opponent.
'The bowl is too big for the human mind to handle... It's a monster.'
shit.
A feeling of excitement that could not be concealed along with the cough twitched on his lips.
The old portal manager raised his wrinkled hand and stabbed Estio in the chest.
"You better be careful too."
"......"
"Please don't fall into the eyes of that cowardly lord."
The old woman's black eyes gleamed with a cold. Facing the light, Estio nodded his head. And he turned towards the cave.
"Unless you want to be swallowed with the shell before it even breaks out of the egg."
"...Please tell the Duke."
As Estio began to move, Parker hurriedly followed after.
food duck.
His voice rumbled against the walls of the cave, beyond the sight of the white winged feathers scattering.
"The welcome will be sweetly received."
"Huh?"
"At that time, I want you to talk comfortably without having to hide."
The old woman firmly shut her mouth with a curious expression. And when the figure of Estio and his party disappeared and disappeared, he grabbed his stomach and began to shake.
"Ah, ah ha ha. ha ha ha ha!"
A clear laugh that could not have come from the old man came out. The sound of boiling phlegm, and the muffled saliva, stopped like a lie. The bent waist was straightened and the droopy limbs began to move with vitality.
Boouk!
With his twisted hands, he tore his skin together with the portal manager costume he was wearing. Then, the old man's wrinkled skin tore and fell to the floor. His gray hair, which was black and white, was also flowing and disappearing.
It wasn't the old portal manager who eventually appeared, but a strong young man with dark hair and black eyes.
He straightened his posture and flicked away the pieces of fake skin from his hands.
"Hmm, 'Let's talk comfortably without needing to hide'."
When he thought of Estio, who had already seen through his own identity, a laughter erupted from the young man's mouth as if he was pretending to be an old woman.
"This would be fun."
"Oh, your Majesty the Duke, it's really okay to do this..."
At that moment, the real portal manager crouched down in the corner of a cave and crawled out with a frightened face. The real portal administrator wasn't even an old man, and he wasn't a giggling woman. He was a chubby middle-aged man with a handsome beard.
The young man grinned at the real manager who was pressing and releasing his numb leg from hiding.
"Eh. It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to worry about it, and focus on managing the portal."
Well, there will be no other guests for a while. He added a little, whistled and stretched out for a long time.
"Huh. Algan?"
"Yes!"
"Then let's go ahead and prepare a welcome greeting. The portal is working."
Moobin R. Hey.
At the young age of 26, a swordsmanship genius who has already taken the position of one of the three great dukes of the Lubarjan Empire. He is the emperor's maternal cousin, but he is a wacky nobleman who can't find any resemblance from his head to his toes.
It was the name of the young man who conquered Heiga, the land of death, and set the imperial flag on a huge territory.
* * *
Fortunately, the inside of the cave was not as gloomy as it looked from the outside. Only after realizing that fact, Parker, who followed Estio nervously, was able to relax a little.
The cave was rather pleasant to Estio.
The magic ball hanging from the ceiling lit up as if in broad daylight, and they even made the road wide enough for people to pass through. So, even Neju, who was relatively large, was able to walk comfortably without hesitation.
"By the way, Leader."
"Yes."
"Why are you going through the cave directly without using the portal?"
Estio heard Parker's trembling voice and glanced back at him. And instead of answering the question, I apologized first.
"I didn't know you had a phobia of underground spaces. I'm sorry."
"Eh. How... Oh, did you just read my mind?"
"I'm sorry if I was rude."
"No! You can read as much as you like. You are the leader."
Parker shook his hand and smiled awkwardly.
"Actually, I'm not even a phobia, because this is a racial trait."
"A racial trait?"
"Because the Join-in people are originally from a clan that lives in the highlands. They tend to be a little uneasy in the basement where all directions are blocked like this. They can't fly because it's too small."
It was a racial trait, so there was nothing more to say. Estio nodded, recalled the directions written on his request paper, and explained about it.
"I heard that this cave is directly connected to Hei's estate. Because the main road runs in a straight line, it is said that if you walk non-stop, it will be over in half a day."
"Ah."
"The portal has a daily usage limit, so you'll have to wait another full day to use it again. I figured it would be much faster to go through the cave directly than that."
After listening to the detailed explanation, Parker nodded with a satisfied face.
"I think it would be a lot more efficient that way."
"Still, it was my mistake to move arbitrarily without seeking the consent of the party."
"Ugh, no, no. Don't do that. You don't have to worry about being rude or making a mistake. The leader just needs to give an order."
Estio, who was moving forward without hesitation, slowed down a little.
"Command......."
"Yes! It's a command. Hehe. I'm the leader's subordinate, right?"
He didn't look back at the white-winged Joiners who responded bravely. Instead, he asked in a slightly sharp voice.
"Does that mean that you will only follow my will, not yours?"
"Well?"
It sounded plausible at first glance. The command of the superior within the guild is absolute. A 'leader', directly appointed by the guild master, is one level lower than the sub-guild master. In other words, he belonged to the guild executive.
'After all, it's no different from controlling the mind and controlling it.'
Somehow, I lost strength in my body. Seeing the disappointing Estio in his heart, Parker simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, it's not that I don't have a will. I'm moving with the will to follow the leader."
"Are you willing to follow?"
"Yeah. Leader is my boss, but he's also the one who saved my life."
You could even call it a will. Estio thought blankly. And he shook his head.
"At that time, I was in the same danger. To say I saved it."
"Still, if it wasn't for the leader, I would have died. I am grateful."
Thank you was a greeting I often heard while working in the guild. Giving thanks to others by using his own powers gave Estio a strange feeling every time.
He turned to Parker as he walked. Now, his subordinates, the joiners, had their white wings folded and a mysterious expression on their face.
"And I have to say that the leader has something to follow..."
"?"
"I don't know, anyway."
Parker finished his explanation clumsily, scratching the back of his head. Just as he was about to add more, Neju suddenly revealed his fangs.
"Kreung."
"Heh, I'm surprised. Why is this friend suddenly like this?"
Estio stopped walking and drew closer to Neju, leaving the Jo-in people fluttering and making a fuss.
"Yes."
At his call, Neju rolled his red eyes and looked at him. As their eyes met, Estio asked calmly.
"Are you a monster?"
"To several."
Parker, who belatedly realized that the reason the white-haired monkey, who had been following him around with a gentle face, suddenly growled, was because it detected a monster, asked.
"How many ...?"
"A lot of it. And it's very fast."
"Kek."
Neju, who was born as a beast, wasn't quite as good as Neju, but even the JOINs, who were born with the characteristics of birds, had better hearing than ordinary people. Parker listened intently to the white-haired monkey's warning, but there was no sound of footsteps.
"Well, where are they now?"
Confused, Neju blinked once at the question. It was Parker's inadvertent thought that she was huge, but that she looked pretty cute.
"Under our feet."
"?!"
Woodduck.
The ground shook like an earthquake. What appeared through the hard cave floor was a monster that looked so disgusting that it was hard to recognize its shape.
The four-pronged snout gleamed with teeth as dense as saw blades. The tongue, which writhes incessantly between them, and the torso, which are wet and squishy, are visually disgusting.
"Bird, bird, bird..."
Next to Parker, whose lips were quivering, Estio stood still and muttered.
"A giant earthworm?"
"It's Sandworm!"
It was an unfamiliar name to Estio, who had never studied monster names or characteristics in their lives.
31
Estio Volume 2
- Episode 6
"This is the road to Hei's estate."
"Oh, hey."
The small eyes of the old portal manager gleamed like eagles foraging for food.
"Even less are the travelers to the land of the dead."
At that gloomy answer, Parker trembled, ready to be buried under his wings.
"Why does Hei call the estate the land of the dead?"
"Why? The Emperor wouldn't want to keep his talented cousin close. How would he care about a relative who was young and strong, handsome and even clever."
Many people don't know, and the old man's coughing voice that followed was gradually colored with ridicule.
"Can you see this cave? It's the only stronghold connected to Hei's estate, but no one knows what's inside."
"Mo, don't you know? What is that?"
"It's free to pass, but safety cannot be guaranteed. It's like no one knows if you're bitten on the nape of the neck and die."
"Are there any monsters?!"
Parker shouted in embarrassment, and the old man answered in a serious tone.
"You're talking natural. The territory the emperor granted to the new duke was a land of death covered with monsters from the beginning."
"......!"
"In short, the coward was afraid of his cousin. Giggles."
With the old portal manager in front of him laughing like a madman, Parker secretly hid behind Estio. Even though he was chained to his side, Neju, who had a large body, was with him, so he felt more at ease.
The old woman who looked up at Estio, who was standing there with no expression on her face, even though he had despised the emperor and was terrified of the territory by Hei, her white eyebrows twitched slightly.
'Look at this guy?'
It was normal to be surprised like Parker, treated like a madman, and offended. He dared to point at the old woman who insulted the leader of the empire.
However, this kid named Estio was different.
'No, no. This is not a baby boy.'
As if the old woman knew everything, the dark blue eyes staring straight at her without shaking were annoying. The old man who found the black shadow lurking inside trembled. The chill that ran down his spine was revealing the identity of the opponent.
'The bowl is too big for the human mind to handle... It's a monster.'
shit.
A feeling of excitement that could not be concealed along with the cough twitched on his lips.
The old portal manager raised his wrinkled hand and stabbed Estio in the chest.
"You better be careful too."
"......"
"Please don't fall into the eyes of that cowardly lord."
The old woman's black eyes gleamed with a cold. Facing the light, Estio nodded his head. And he turned towards the cave.
"Unless you want to be swallowed with the shell before it even breaks out of the egg."
"...Please tell the Duke."
As Estio began to move, Parker hurriedly followed after.
food duck.
His voice rumbled against the walls of the cave, beyond the sight of the white winged feathers scattering.
"The welcome will be sweetly received."
"Huh?"
"At that time, I want you to talk comfortably without having to hide."
The old woman firmly shut her mouth with a curious expression. And when the figure of Estio and his party disappeared and disappeared, he grabbed his stomach and began to shake.
"Ah, ah ha ha. ha ha ha ha!"
A clear laugh that could not have come from the old man came out. The sound of boiling phlegm, and the muffled saliva, stopped like a lie. The bent waist was straightened and the droopy limbs began to move with vitality.
Boouk!
With his twisted hands, he tore his skin together with the portal manager costume he was wearing. Then, the old man's wrinkled skin tore and fell to the floor. His gray hair, which was black and white, was also flowing and disappearing.
It wasn't the old portal manager who eventually appeared, but a strong young man with dark hair and black eyes.
He straightened his posture and flicked away the pieces of fake skin from his hands.
"Hmm, 'Let's talk comfortably without needing to hide'."
When he thought of Estio, who had already seen through his own identity, a laughter erupted from the young man's mouth as if he was pretending to be an old woman.
"This would be fun."
"Oh, your Majesty the Duke, it's really okay to do this..."
At that moment, the real portal manager crouched down in the corner of a cave and crawled out with a frightened face. The real portal administrator wasn't even an old man, and he wasn't a giggling woman. He was a chubby middle-aged man with a handsome beard.
The young man grinned at the real manager who was pressing and releasing his numb leg from hiding.
"Eh. It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to worry about it, and focus on managing the portal."
Well, there will be no other guests for a while. He added a little, whistled and stretched out for a long time.
"Huh. Algan?"
"Yes!"
"Then let's go ahead and prepare a welcome greeting. The portal is working."
Moobin R. Hey.
At the young age of 26, a swordsmanship genius who has already taken the position of one of the three great dukes of the Lubarjan Empire. He is the emperor's maternal cousin, but he is a wacky nobleman who can't find any resemblance from his head to his toes.
It was the name of the young man who conquered Heiga, the land of death, and set the imperial flag on a huge territory.
* * *
Fortunately, the inside of the cave was not as gloomy as it looked from the outside. Only after realizing that fact, Parker, who followed Estio nervously, was able to relax a little.
The cave was rather pleasant to Estio.
The magic ball hanging from the ceiling lit up as if in broad daylight, and they even made the road wide enough for people to pass through. So, even Neju, who was relatively large, was able to walk comfortably without hesitation.
"By the way, Leader."
"Yes."
"Why are you going through the cave directly without using the portal?"
Estio heard Parker's trembling voice and glanced back at him. And instead of answering the question, I apologized first.
"I didn't know you had a phobia of underground spaces. I'm sorry."
"Eh. How... Oh, did you just read my mind?"
"I'm sorry if I was rude."
"No! You can read as much as you like. You are the leader."
Parker shook his hand and smiled awkwardly.
"Actually, I'm not even a phobia, because this is a racial trait."
"A racial trait?"
"Because the Join-in people are originally from a clan that lives in the highlands. They tend to be a little uneasy in the basement where all directions are blocked like this. They can't fly because it's too small."
It was a racial trait, so there was nothing more to say. Estio nodded, recalled the directions written on his request paper, and explained about it.
"I heard that this cave is directly connected to Hei's estate. Because the main road runs in a straight line, it is said that if you walk non-stop, it will be over in half a day."
"Ah."
"The portal has a daily usage limit, so you'll have to wait another full day to use it again. I figured it would be much faster to go through the cave directly than that."
After listening to the detailed explanation, Parker nodded with a satisfied face.
"I think it would be a lot more efficient that way."
"Still, it was my mistake to move arbitrarily without seeking the consent of the party."
"Ugh, no, no. Don't do that. You don't have to worry about being rude or making a mistake. The leader just needs to give an order."
Estio, who was moving forward without hesitation, slowed down a little.
"Command......."
"Yes! It's a command. Hehe. I'm the leader's subordinate, right?"
He didn't look back at the white-winged Joiners who responded bravely. Instead, he asked in a slightly sharp voice.
"Does that mean that you will only follow my will, not yours?"
"Well?"
It sounded plausible at first glance. The command of the superior within the guild is absolute. A 'leader', directly appointed by the guild master, is one level lower than the sub-guild master. In other words, he belonged to the guild executive.
'After all, it's no different from controlling the mind and controlling it.'
Somehow, I lost strength in my body. Seeing the disappointing Estio in his heart, Parker simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, it's not that I don't have a will. I'm moving with the will to follow the leader."
"Are you willing to follow?"
"Yeah. Leader is my boss, but he's also the one who saved my life."
You could even call it a will. Estio thought blankly. And he shook his head.
"At that time, I was in the same danger. To say I saved it."
"Still, if it wasn't for the leader, I would have died. I am grateful."
Thank you was a greeting I often heard while working in the guild. Giving thanks to others by using his own powers gave Estio a strange feeling every time.
He turned to Parker as he walked. Now, his subordinates, the joiners, had their white wings folded and a mysterious expression on their face.
"And I have to say that the leader has something to follow..."
"?"
"I don't know, anyway."
Parker finished his explanation clumsily, scratching the back of his head. Just as he was about to add more, Neju suddenly revealed his fangs.
"Kreung."
"Heh, I'm surprised. Why is this friend suddenly like this?"
Estio stopped walking and drew closer to Neju, leaving the Jo-in people fluttering and making a fuss.
"Yes."
At his call, Neju rolled his red eyes and looked at him. As their eyes met, Estio asked calmly.
"Are you a monster?"
"To several."
Parker, who belatedly realized that the reason the white-haired monkey, who had been following him around with a gentle face, suddenly growled, was because it detected a monster, asked.
"How many ...?"
"A lot of it. And it's very fast."
"Kek."
Neju, who was born as a beast, wasn't quite as good as Neju, but even the JOINs, who were born with the characteristics of birds, had better hearing than ordinary people. Parker listened intently to the white-haired monkey's warning, but there was no sound of footsteps.
"Well, where are they now?"
Confused, Neju blinked once at the question. It was Parker's inadvertent thought that she was huge, but that she looked pretty cute.
"Under our feet."
"?!"
Woodduck.
The ground shook like an earthquake. What appeared through the hard cave floor was a monster that looked so disgusting that it was hard to recognize its shape.
The four-pronged snout gleamed with teeth as dense as saw blades. The tongue, which writhes incessantly between them, and the torso, which are wet and squishy, are visually disgusting.
"Bird, bird, bird..."
Next to Parker, whose lips were quivering, Estio stood still and muttered.
"A giant earthworm?"
"It's Sandworm!"
It was an unfamiliar name to Estio, who had never studied monster names or characteristics in their lives.
