Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25 - Green Poppy Request ( Part 1 )
Kingdom of Seraiya had not enjoyed any peaceful day during the past three days.
The peace that was truly deserved by it.
Despite the fact that people lived their ordinary lives, the kingdom remained uneasy.
Like a shadow under the water.
Invisible.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Because three days ago...
The part of the mountain had completely disappeared.
---
No one knew exactly what had happened.
That was the problem.
If there was any dragon attack or demon invasion or monstrous creatures appearing...
At least, people could do something.
But when it came to the disappearance of the whole mountain part due to the golden pillar...
They started imagining the causes of such a phenomenon.
And imagination is more terrible than the actual thing itself.
---
Facts spread among people like the fire.
In taverns, merchants speculated about the possible explanations of the event.
In noble estates, scholars discussed ancient writings.
In churches, priests prayed to their gods for the guidance.
Each and every explanation grew wilder with the passage of time.
---
"It was a dragon."
"No, it was Demon King who awoke."
"A god descended to the earth."
"And my cousin’s brother’s friend’s uncle has seen a giant made out of lightning."
"What?"
"He was drunk."
"Yeah..."
---
Rumors spread.
Developed.
Mutated.
When they reached the capital, some of the people sincerely believed that the war between celestial dragon and demon emperor happened over the mountains.
---
Inside the royal palace...
The situation was not much better.
The royal court investigated the incident for three full days already.
The results of their research were absolutely nothing.
---
King Aldric sat at his desk.
The pile of documents covered the surface of it.
Each and every document told about something different.
Each and every explanation contradicted the other one.
The man had a headache.
---
"A dragon."
The king threw a document on the floor.
---
"A demon."
He took another report in his hands. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
---
"A magical disaster."
---
"A divine punishment due to excessive taxations."
The king stared at the document.
Then slowly turned towards the official who presented this information.
---
"...What?"
The man immediately lowered his head.
---
The king sighed.
The royal court was hopeless.
---
Meanwhile...
The real culprit was carrying a silver tray along the palace corridors.
---
Jennie Queens moved through the palace hallways quietly.
Sunlight was pouring through the crystal windows.
The golden decorations were reflecting on the polished floors.
Servants surrounded her.
Knights stood straight.
Everything seemed to be all right.
Peaceful.
Civilized.
---
A black dragon-shaped hairpin lied in her white hair.
Simple.
Elegant.
Ordinary.
Well, at least for others.
---
Inside the woman’s mind, Excalibur spoke.
"Master, I continue to believe that the destruction of the mountain was unnecessary."
Jennie couldn’t help but rolling her eyes.
"You have destroyed the mountain."
"We have destroyed it."
"I touched the sword."
"Our partnership work."
---
Jennie sighed.
After awakening, the sword had become extremely talkative.
And, unfortunately...
It had a very polite nature.
---
A dangerous combination.
---
She continued moving.
Listening.
Observing.
The palace was a place filled with the information.
And people loved talking.
Especially servants.
---
Currently two maids were discussing something near the stairs.
Jennie slightly slowed her pace.
Just by coincidence, of course.
---
"They say a dragon did it."
"No."
The second maid shook her head.
"It was demons."
---
"Why demons?"
---
"Because dragons cannot explode mountains."
---
The first maid thought it over.
---
"...I guess it’s fair."
---
And Jennie quickly walked away from this conversation.
---
Excalibur kept silent for some time.
Then—
"In fairness, dragons can destroy mountains."
---
"Shut up."
---
The sword immediately apologized.
---
The former Sword King suddenly realized why people were tired of Princess Lilia.
---
There were such kinds of personalities.
---
In the late afternoon, Jennie found herself dusting the bookshelves in one of the palace libraries.
The library was huge.
The endless rows of ancient wooden shelves were filled with thousands of books.
The smell of parchment and ink hung in the air.
The sunlight was streaming through the stained glass windows.
It was peaceful.
The place which any scholar dreamed about.
---
Jennie disliked dust.
---
Not because of the difficulty of cleaning it.
Because dust was persistent.
No matter how many times she cleaned the surface.
It returned.
The worthy opponent.
---
During the cleaning process, she overheard some knights talking nearby.
Her attention was instantly attracted to the conversation.
---
"If the situation will aggravate, the Hunter Association will investigate."
---
Hunter Association?
---
Jennie’s ears immediately perked up.
---
It was fascinating.
Far more interesting than dust.
---
The conversation of knights continued.
---
"The investigation of our kingdom hasn’t found anything."
---
"No wonder."
---
"Hunters are more suitable when it comes to monsters."
---
The conversation slowly drifted somewhere.
But Jennie became interested.
---
And in the evening she started asking questions.
And much to her surprise...
She received the answer that was absolutely fascinating.
---
The Hunter Association was the organization which worked outside of individual kingdoms.
Independent.
Influential.
Powerful.
Their aim was simple.
To hunt monsters.
Explore dangerous regions.
Investigate magical disasters.
To protect trade routes.
To accept missions.
Sometimes to save entire countries.
---
When knights protected the kingdoms...
Hunters were protecting civilization itself.
---
Some of them hunted dragons.
Some others explored the ancient ruins.
Some were specialized in magical beasts.
And others were searching for the forgotten relics buried somewhere beneath the earth.
---
Jennie’s interest increased.
---
Travel.
Fight.
Explore.
Danger.
New territories.
Mysteries.
---
Compared to all that...
Cleaning the silverware seemed to be not so exciting anymore.
---
Inside the woman’s mind, Excalibur spoke.
"Master seems excited."
---
"I am."
---
"More excited than when polishing furniture?"
---
Jennie stared ahead.
---
"Excalibur."
---
"Yes, Master?"
---
"If you will ask me such stupid questions once again, I will throw you into the lake."
---
The sword kept silent.
---
For thirty seconds.
---
Then—
"A very deep lake?"
---
Jennie regretted everything.
---
As the sun was slowly descending beyond the walls of the palace, a single thought stayed in her mind.
Hunter Association.
The world beyond Seraiya.
Adventures awaiting beyond the horizon.
---
For the first time after her reincarnation...
She felt restlessness.
Not unhappy.
Not dissatisfied.
Just excited.
---
Because somewhere beyond the kingdom borders...
There were swordsmen.
Monsters.
Opponents.
---
And Jennie Queens wanted to fight each and every one of them.
Despite the fact that she should survive Martha Morius first.
Which was becoming harder task.
Because at least monsters just tried to kill you.
Martha expected proper manners on the table.
