chapter 23
As expected by Abel, the attack on the Wall of Glory had a huge impact on the empire.
It wasn’t because the enemy had an overwhelming force that they couldn’t handle, or because the defense was not particularly lax.
The appearance of an object with a special ability that has never been discovered before. And the fact that it intelligently stabbed the gap.
That meant that the strategy to deal with the giants and their forces had to be thoroughly changed from the ground up.
So even after a few days, the confusion still persisted.
Abel was told that he would receive a big prize later, so he took a few days off with the other special class cadets.
It was as expected so far.
But there was something Abel never expected.
‘It’s incredibly burdensome.’
Burning red hair. Like the red beard.
Brilliant eyes and enormous muscles that can be seen even through clothes. And even a grim impression.
It was not difficult to recognize who it was because of its striking appearance.
Abel cautiously opened his mouth.
“… … It is an honor to meet you, Duke Del Kior.”
Duke of Del Kior.
He was the owner of the Duchy of Del Kior and Hena’s father.
‘Why on earth… … .’
Something Abel never expected.
It was a one-on-one meeting with the duke.
Coming to the academy itself wasn’t that strange.
Because the duke was famous for being a great daughter-in-law.
So it was quite conceivable that she came running within a month after hearing that her only daughter was about to die.
‘The problem is, why did you pick me up and ask for a private meeting?’
Abel looked at Duke Del Kior with nervous eyes.
“hmm.”
The duke stroked his beard and looked at Abel before opening his mouth.
“Did you say Abel Klein?”
“That’s right.”
“I heard that you played a big role in this work. They said that if it wasn’t for you, the damage would have been great.”
“that… … I just did the best I could under those circumstances.”
Abel stuttered for a moment, but luckily he was able to answer politely.
The Duke was silent for another moment, then suddenly took out something and placed it on the table.
“Hmm. Don’t look forward to your future activities. This is my personal gift.”
“ah… … thank you.”
Abel was taken aback by the sudden situation, but answered in time.
But even more embarrassing was what happened next.
As soon as the Duke heard Abel’s answer, he got up from his seat.
“then. I’ll see you later when I get a chance.”
Isn’t it just like opening the door and leaving?
Abel looked blankly at his back and thought.
‘Why did you call me?’
In an incomprehensible situation, it seemed that my head was frozen.
Abel scratched his cheek and thoughtlessly opened the bag on the table.
And then, an exclamation of exclamation escaped from his lips.
“woah. crazy.”
It contained a lot of gold coins.
* * *
It was surprisingly easy to understand why Duke Del Kior had asked for a private meeting and why he had suddenly given him a bag of gold coins.
It wasn’t long after the duke and he had a private meeting that Henna came to visit.
“Whoa. Didn’t Dad really say anything strange?”
“uh. But can I really just accept this?”
“what. I gave it to you, but of course you can take it. It’s fine if you don’t say anything weird.”
After Henna said that, she left, saying that she had to go catch her father.
These are the words of Hena, who suddenly came to visit after finishing her solo study.
After the Wall of Glory incident, Hena talked to the Duke about Abel’s exploits.
Hearing that, the duke showed great interest, and as soon as he arrived at the academy, he asked Abel for a private meeting.
Abel thought as he looked at the back of Hena, who was moving fast in the distance.
‘His personality is similar to that of a duke.’
They are especially similar in that they just say what they want to say and then quickly walk away.
Abel looked at the pocket in his hand and put it into his bosom first.
It was a good thing because the more money, the better.
Although he received some support from the Klein family, it was of course good that he still had a lot of money at his disposal.
‘I happened to have a place to spend my money, so that’s good.’
Abel thought so and moved slowly.
As soon as I woke up, I took a shower and slept alone with the duke, so my stomach was hungry.
He went to the cafeteria with the intention of solving the meal first, but as soon as he entered, the eyes of the cadets who were eating were focused on him.
There were many things that attracted attention before, but now it was not compared to then.
This time, the scale was different.
‘I have to get used to it.’
I didn’t mean to be embarrassed or proud of this.
Compared to what Abel had planned and set as his goal, this incident was nothing but a minor one.
“Abel!”
He put food on his plate and looked for a seat when someone called him.
I turned my head and saw Daniel waving. It seemed that he deliberately waited until the food was loaded before calling.
Sitting next to him were Charlotte and Lian.
Abel walked over to it and sat down in an empty seat.
“Are you feeling okay?”
As soon as I sat down, Daniel asked me a question.
Abel nodded.
“uh. so so.”
After the battle, Abel passed out. It was because he used all the power he had and the power he didn’t have.
It was natural for her to be worried, since she woke up only 12 hours after she collapsed like that.
Even though I received the highest level of treatment throughout, my body was so damaged that the aftereffects remained… … .
But fortunately, he was fine now. This is because he received the cure as an additional reward for the quest.
Abel asked politely as he stabbed a large piece of meat with a fork.
“you?”
“I’m fine too. It’s because my body aches from not being able to train.”
It’s not empty words, but Daniel looked fine at a glance. Even though he must have been quite overworked during the battle.
Of course, Abel knew why.
‘I’m envious.’
Daniel has tremendous vitality beyond his monstrous physical strength.
The image of being energetic even after training like crazy doesn’t just mean that it’s just a personality.
‘That’s why Daniel’s trait was also indomitable.’
It was an S-class trait that had various effects.
While Abel was thinking about that, Charlotte, who was sitting next to him, said a word.
“If you tell me to rest, you should rest. My whole body still aches.”
“that’s right… … . I think I’m going to die.”
Rian also helped out with a word from the side.
The two looked worse than Abel. He had bandages all over his body and was groaning.
If Abel had not taken the medicine separately, he would have been in a similar situation.
‘Still, I’m glad I was given a break.’
All the special class cadets at the site at the time were forced to rest until two days later.
Training is absolutely forbidden, and an order has come down to recuperate while resting unconditionally.
Daniel said that he was frustrated or something, and then looked at Abel and said,
“By the way, are you going out today?”
“uh. I want to go out for a while.”
Originally, going out was only possible on weekends, but now, due to the past incident, classes have been temporarily suspended.
It was not simply because of the cadets in the special class, but also because many of the teachers were summoned.
Many teachers retired from active duty, but most of them were active during the Great War.
In other words, it means that you have a lot of experience dealing with giants.
‘It’s not even an incident that has nothing to do with the academy.’
In any case, it gave Abel a chance to go out.
Of course, not all cadets got the right to go out freely.
Abel was credited with making it, and he only received special permission at his strong request.
While he was lost in his thoughts for a while, Daniel and others started to say a word again.
“I should have asked to go out, too. Ugh.”
“Don’t go out and make mistakes, stay in the dormitory.”
“What am I doing wrong?”
Abel quietly continued his meal among them grumbling.
He was the last to sit down, but he was the first to get up.
“I go first.”
“Uh, uh.”
After returning the tableware and being seen off, Abel left the cafeteria and headed straight out of the dormitory.
I already had everything I needed when I left in the morning, so I didn’t have to go to my room.
When I came out of the dormitory, I saw cadets walking around the school in groups of twos and threes.
“Hey, over there.”
“uh? Is that him?”
There were as many glances and voices at him as when he entered the restaurant, but Abel didn’t care and continued down the street.
The academy was so large that it took quite a while to get to the main gate.
It was a very short distance compared to where I was going to stop today.
“Are you here?”
Fortunately, it was not necessary to walk to the destination.
A carriage sent by Count Klein was waiting at the front gate.
The Count himself had sent a carriage for today’s outing.
Abel greeted the driver politely.
“yes. i look forward to.”
“I really appreciate you.”
After a brief conversation, Abel climbed into the carriage and talked about the destination.
“Then, let’s go.”
Soon after, the wagon started moving slowly.
* * *
After leaving the academy, the carriage that had traveled for a long time stopped at a rather remote place.
“Im here.”
“yes. thank you.”
Abel got off the carriage and looked around the familiar streets.
“Then I will go.”
“yes. I’ll be waiting for you here.”
After talking with the coachman, Abel walked slowly.
There was a slight distance to the destination.
It was because I deliberately asked to drop off at a place a little far from the destination.
I didn’t want to attract attention, and I wanted to walk a little.
‘It’s the same here.’
This was the street where Abel had lived all along.
The street was no different from before he left.
In fact, it was natural. If things change in just one month, how much will they change?
Even though it was midday, the streets were full of people drunk or drunk, and some were glaring at Abel with bloodshot eyes.
“Turn it off… … .”
Abel listened to the drunken moans in one ear and let them out in the other, then walked all the way inside.
If an ignorant person enters this street, nothing good will happen.
However, no one approached Abel hastily.
It was because he had deliberately maintained a sharp momentum from the moment he got off the wagon.
He knew it well because he belonged to this street not too long ago.
No matter how low life is, there is no one who risks his or her life for fun.
Kang, Caang-!
After walking for a while, I heard the sound of metal banging in the distance.
Abel grinned at the familiar sound.
As I walked to the place where I heard the sound, I saw a huge building that was incomparable to the shabby buildings around me.
I’m used to big buildings now, but my jaw dropped when I first saw that building.
Abel looked up at the studio building and recalled memories from the past.
The first time I met Vulcanus.
‘I asked why a rich man settled in a place like this.’
Vulcan’s answer to that was simple.
‘A real customer should be enough to visit a workshop in a place like this. I have no intention of accepting chaff.’
At that, Abel had an absurd expression on his face.
Abel smiled and walked to the workshop.
Cacan-!
The sound of the hammer grew louder as it got closer. The name of the studio was written above the large door.
‘Vulcan’s Workshop’
It’s such a simple name.
Abel approached the building without hesitation, opened the door, and went inside.
The first thing I saw was a wooden checkout counter and a woman standing there.
“welcome… … oh!”
She spoke in a tone full of annoyance, then opened her eyes wide when she saw Abel.
“Abel?”
“huh. Long time no see.”
“What do you mean to your sister? Say respectful words.”
The woman grumbled, but did not hide her delight.
Her name is Kaya. He is an employee of the workshop.
What I do is screen out guests. Annoy when guests come. If you’re bored, spread out and sleep on your back.
Abel wondered why she wasn’t cut, but the reason was trivially simple.
Because Kaya is the daughter of Vulcanus.
Abel smiled and said to Kaya.
“okay. I’ll try. inspiration?”
“It’s inside. Go inside.”
“Aren’t you mad at me for interfering with my work?”
“Since when did you care about that?”
“That’s right.”
Abel giggled at Kaya’s plaintive reply and nodded.
Kaya was the only person in the studio who was around the same age as him, so he was quite close with her.
Kaya said, waving to Abel as he headed inward.
“Come back alive.”
“I’ll try.”
Abel also waved his hand and went inside. As I entered the door, I could feel the heat getting stronger.
Then I heard people talking.
Vulcanus Workshop has as many people as it is large.
Inside, large men were busy running around, but one of them opened his mouth in surprise when he saw Abel.
“Oh, Abel!”
“Abel?”
Since they had been working for a long time, they waved their hands at the place where they were working and showed a happy look.
“It’s been a while, everyone!”
Abel greeted me appropriately and continued walking inward.
When I arrived at the innermost part of the studio, I finally saw a person who had come to see me.
“Inspiration.”
Kang, Kang, Caang-!
Instead of answering, a sharp noise pierced my ears.
Abel crossed his arms as he watched Vulcanus pounding with a hammer while sweating profusely.
Vulcan only raised his head after hammering for almost 10 minutes.
“You came quickly.”
Abel smiled and answered Vulcan’s question.
“Did you receive the goods well?”
“okay. If it wasn’t for that, I would have told you not to interrupt and come later.”
He also replied with a smile.
Vulcanus is an excellent craftsman. And, like all great artisans, they are obsessed with rare materials.
Abel asked to move all the Telesiums he ripped off from Kaul last time to this place.
“What the hell are you trying to make with 11 kg of Telesium?”
“Isn’t that already decided?”
Abel brought out the answer he had thought of beforehand.
“weapon. That too with a huge two-handed sword, please.”
Abel wanted certain offensive power.