How to Live as a Wandering Knight - Chapter 283: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 (1)

It did feel rather late, though.

Johan should have received a dukedom from the order as soon as he had taken control of the southern half of the peninsula and chased away the Emperor’s forces.

Of course, nothing changed about Johan’s life simply because he was no longer a count but a duke. It wasn’t a title within the Empire, so it didn’t change his authorities within the Empire. Johan wasn’t the vassal of anyone, so he didn’t gain any new authorities either.

However, he gained prestige.

Prestige was much more valuable and eternal than gold coins or gems.

. . . That was what many nobles believed. But Johan didn’t think so.

That’s why he ended up receiving it so late. Normally, Johan should have approached the order and asked for a dukedom. However, Johan was not interested in a dukedom at all and silently continued to do his own work. . .

In the end, the bishops of the order came forward first. Whether they belonged to the Miracle faction or the Aristocracy faction, they agreed on this matter.

The bishops of the Miracle faction wanted to give a dukedom to the devout count so that he could become a more radiant shield for their faith, while the bishops of the Aristocracy faction wanted to give the count a dukedom due to political considerations. They all knew how ferocious the nobles could be when the order didn’t give them what they deserved.

“Me?”

“. . . If Your Excellency does not accept it, who else can?”

Johan raised his hand in agreement when the priest looked at him in disbelief. He had completely forgotten about it due to the war, rebellion, governance, and development.

‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦.’

Although he would have to hold a lavish ceremony, Johan was not someone who couldn’t afford it. He had no reason to reject it since the order was offering it to him.

“Your Excellency, if I may say something. . . modesty is a virtue, but excessive modesty can prevent you from receiving what you truly deserve. If you had said so earlier, this matter could have been resolved sooner.”

Johan felt somewhat embarrassed when the priest spoke earnestly. He couldn’t say, ‘𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦’ in front of the priest.

“I understand.”

“I’m glad that you understand. Please forgive my presumptuous attitude.”

“Why would I do that? . .”

Johan nodded and ordered the preparations for the award ceremony. It wasn’t splendid or extravagant, but it wasn’t plain either. He had to maintain his dignity as a duke.

After many procedures, invitations, receptions, and the arrival of envoy groups, Johan came to be known as Duke Yeats, blessed by the order and the Pope. Titles such as the Shield of the South and the Guardian of Faith were also given to him.

“Your Highness Duke, I am grateful to be able to visit you in person on this joyous day and offer my congratulations!”

“Thank you for coming.”

His vassals hastened to attend without waiting for anyone else. Johan hadn’t specifically called for them, but there weren’t many vassals who were so fearless that they wouldn’t attend a lord’s dukedom award ceremony.

Especially now that their lord’s prestige was soaring after defeating the Emperor’s forces.

Thanks to that, the award ceremony could end honorably. Along with the numerous gifts that filled the seats, Johan received more good news.

Volundrunt and the other dwarven captains had finished repairing his armor.

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“It was a mess as if it had been hit by a giant, but we did our best to fix it, Your Excellency.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Volundrunt.”

Johan spoke as calmly as possible. If there were no onlookers, he would have checked the armor without caring about his dignity.

The armor, which he was touching again after a long time, was still light and sturdy. He could feel its strong elasticity when he pressed it with his finger.

Volundrunt spoke apologetically.

“There was a lot of damage, so we couldn’t restore it to its original state.”

“That’s fine. I didn’t expect that in the first place.”

Since the damage was so severe, Johan himself didn’t ask to restore it to its original state. He had only asked them to make it usable again.

And Volundrunt had brought him a satisfactory result. Although it had changed from a full-body armor to a breastplate, its lightness and sturdiness remained. This was a satisfactory enough result.

“Is the ship ready?”

“Yes. We have prepared it while mapping out the course with the captains from the Republic.”

After the award ceremony and another winter, Johan didn’t rush to depart but prepared steadily. There was no need to rush and risk his life during the winter.

Johan waited while gathering supplies and preparing mercenaries. Meanwhile, those sent from the Republic joined one after another.

“Your Excellency. But. . .”

“?”

“The oriental noble you captured last time says he’ll guide us on the course. What should we do?”

The captain’s expression was very grim. It was understandable. Why would they trust the opinion of an eastern noble who had been captured by pagans?

However, he was a noble who was staking his honor, so they couldn’t just ignore him. That’s why he had come to ask.

“Isn’t it a simple matter?”

“Yes? Are you really going to listen to him?”

“No. Let him voice his opinion during the voyage, but you guys make the decisions. He’ll be satisfied enough if you pretend to listen to his opinion.”

“W-Would that be okay? Wouldn’t it be deceiving him?”

“It’s not deceiving him if he doesn’t notice.”

Johan was cold.

He would listen to the man’s information, but he had no intention of relying on it. Vaytar, who didn’t know this, was surprised to hear that he had been granted permission.

“Count. . . no, the duke has granted permission?”

“Yes.”

Vaytar looked at the slave overseer in bewilderment. To be honest, he thought Johan would refuse. The slave overseer spoke as if he couldn’t help it.

“The duke seems to be more generous than I thought.”

“Is this the time to praise someone else?”

“Since master brought it up. . .”

“What if I deceive him? If I deceive him, the duke will be stranded without a doubt?”

“Master, that would be a dishonorable act.”

‘𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵.’

The slave overseer didn’t say the rest of the sentence. There was no need to provoke his master for no reason. Vaytar nodded, his expression showing that he was furious after hearing the slave overseer’s words.

“You’re right. If I deceive him despite him reaching out to me like this, my honor will be tarnished! The duke is truly flawless. He must have granted permission knowing that.”

“I don’t think he thought that far. . .”

Vaytar’s commotion was just a tiny incident that happened while they were preparing for the voyage.

As the winter came to an end and the frozen river began to flow again, Johan’s fleet left the port and headed east.

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Gerdolf looked at the distant horizon with tired eyes. The sea was not a familiar place for the knights of the Empire. Rivers were the only bodies of water they would normally encounter.

Although they learned how to swim as knights, they couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by such a vast amount of water.

Gerdolf was just tired, but the nomads from the east were even more so. They tried to rest by going down to the cabins or below decks, unable to bear the sight of the sea. It wasn’t easy to overcome, even though they had trained hard before departure.

“The sea. . . The sea doesn’t seem like a place we should conquer, Your Excellency.”

“I understand, so go inside and rest.”

Johan didn’t want to bring centaurs like Achladda or Euclyia. Of course, it would be very helpful to have these quick-footed and skilled warriors, but he already knew that they hated water.

However, they thought it would be a lifelong disgrace if they didn’t participate in Johan’s expedition to the east. They couldn’t stay behind, even if it meant being tied to the deck pillars.

“Ugh. . . I’ll go inside and rest for a while.”

Even Euclyia, who had been holding on, staggered inside. Johan stood on the stern deck and looked at the distant horizon.

When he was young and living in his fiefdom, the east seemed so far and wide. The pilgrims who walked there returned aged.

However, that was an exaggerated story. Nowadays, with trade ships going back and forth, they could arrive in a few months. It wouldn’t take longer than that, even for a fleet. Although it would be slower.

“What’s all the commotion?”

Johan heard a loud noise and moved his steps curiously.

The captains of the Republic were making a fuss with serious expressions.

“Duke, that pagan b*stard is trying to bewitch the fleet with his nonsense. Let me throw him into the sea right now!”

“You dare treat my words as lies? You insolent fools!”

It seemed like Vaytar had caused trouble based on their words.

When he told the captains that a storm was coming soon and they ignored him, Vaytar insulted them. The captains were furious and were about to throw him into the sea.

The Republic’s captains were prideful, and they didn’t like the easterners in the first place. It was natural since they would either steal from or be stolen from each other when they encountered each other at sea.

So, it was understandable for them to be angry when an eastern noble disregarded their experience and insulted them.

“A typhoon on such a clear day?”

“That’s nonsense, Your Excellency. This area doesn’t have typhoons.”

“Look at my necklace! This necklace is a treasure that can detect typhoons. The spirit inside. . .”

No matter how much Vaytar babbled, the captains snorted and ignored him. However, Johan found it difficult to ignore him once magic was involved.

Vaytar’s necklace was truly endowed with magical power.

“So, you’re saying there’s a typhoon?”

“Th. . . That’s right.”

“Where should we turn the course to if we assume there’s a typhoon?”

“We should turn north. . . But that will increase the chances of encountering the easterners.”

Johan’s current course was to head east while keeping a distance from the Eastern Empire’s coastal waters. If the wind was favorable, they could reach the Island of Ikos without stopping.

The Island of Ikos and the neighboring powers were the descendants of those who had left the Holy Empire in the past. Therefore, it was easy to cooperate with them. Those who were leaving the Holy Empire this time were also planning to cooperate with them.

However, if they turned north from here, they would enter the Eastern Empire’s coastal waters.

“That’s better than a typhoon. Change the course to the north.”

Johan judged that Vaytar wasn’t lying. His demeanor and the fact that he actually had a necklace with a spirit in it convinced him.

The captains were very displeased, but they didn’t dare to disobey the duke’s authority.

A few hours later, the captains were shocked when the sky above the place they had left changed violently.

“This is ridiculous. . .!”

“What did I tell you, you seafaring fools!”

“I guess it’s not the time to be happy yet.”

“. . .?”

Vaytar turned his gaze at Johan’s words. The typhoon was approaching their course as well.

Vaytar was bewildered. They were still being chased despite changing the course.

“Shouldn’t we have held on? That b*stard is trying to drift us to the heart of the Eastern Empire somehow. . .”

“N-No! I. . .”

“Can we go up and make landfall?”

“Are you suggesting we make landfall?”

“Yes. It’s better than getting hit by a typhoon.”

The captain nodded at Johan’s words. Come to think of it, there was also an army led by the duke. Unless they were crazy b*stards, the natives wouldn’t attack just because they made landfall.

Even if the enemy called for reinforcements, once the typhoon calmed and set sail again. . .

“Give the order to make landfall!”

“We’re making landfall! Turn the ship around!”

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To those who ruled the coast, merchant ships that drifted or were wrecked were always a source of savory profit.

As a noble, it wasn’t a pious attitude to hope for a typhoon to befall travelers, but to be honest, he couldn’t help but thank God whenever a ship drifted ashore.

“Master, master!! A ship. . .! A ship!”

“What? Another ship drifted ashore? In a season without typhoons, God must really love me!”

“T-That’s not it!”

“. . .??”