Former General Is Undead Knight

Volume 2, Chapter 11: Feudal Lord, Earl Mondo③

Lambert, who came to visit 『Dancing Sword』, received a warm welcome from the guild members.

The reason for this was because, without Lambert’s assistance in driving away Robin Hood, the entire party who went out to hunt the unicorn would have been annihilated.

Since most of the guild’s lineup was dispatched in that mission, 『Dancing Sword』 would have been on the verge of disbandment if not for Lambert’s interference.

Thanks to his overwhelming strongman aura, the members of 『Dancing Sword』 flinched the first time they saw Lambert. However, the atmosphere in the guild softened a lot when Fando, the large man with red hair who was also the leader of the subjugation team, called out to Lambert with 「You’ve finally come, huh. Welcome!」.

After all the members of the subjugation team went to Lambert to thank him for his help, Fando then came last.

「By the way, Eunos-sama told me to bring our savior once he visited our guild so that he can thank you in person… Will you come to meet him?」

「Eunos?」

Fando seemed to be rather surprised upon hearing Lambert’s question.

「… You don’t know him. Eunos-sama is our guild master. He’s the one who raised our guild, 『Dancing Sword』, from a weak and nameless guild to become one of the top guilds in Barreira City in just five years! Thanks to his original swordcraft, which focused on feints, and his magic, he rose through the ranks and became one of the five strongest adventurers in this city of innumerable adventurers, Barreira. Well, he might be closer to your type as a swordsman than that Battle God, Robin Hood, but… I guess you don’t want to boast your ability, huh.」

Although Fando was talking proudly about the guild master until halfway, he suddenly scratched the back of his head, smiling wryly upon recalling the scene in which Lambert repelled Robin Hood.

Fando guided Lambert into the innermost room.

『Dancing Sword』’s guild master, Eunos, was a white-haired man with slit eyes.

His figure was rather slim for a swordsman.

The man was different from the rumors. On first impression, he was rather innocuous due to his appearance and the way he moved.

Although Eunos was having a friendly chat with a female adventurer when Lambert and Co. came into the room, he told Fando and the female adventurer to leave the room for the time being, since there was something he wanted to talk with Lambert about.

「So you’re the aforementioned armored swordsman, huh. Allow me to thank you personally for saving my guild members. Though it was a cunning trap, the name of 『Dancing Sword』 would be tarnished once we failed to accomplish the commission from Earl Mondo himself. But of course, Earl Mondo already knows about you from me. He said that he’s interested in you too.」

「… Let’s talk over here.」

「When you aim for the top in this city, passion and luck alone aren’t enough. When I heard about your swordcraft, I assumed that you’d already gone through one or two hellish situations. You’ve survived unscathed all this time, right? Well, I guess not. I wanted to talk with you without that helmet covering your face. That’s why I asked them to leave us. Lost members can be easily replenished via recruitment. But the same can’t be said for the name of the guild. In this matter… We successfully accomplished a direct commission from Earl Mondo himself, a commission which is avoided by many other guilds. Now we’re one step above the other guilds. That’s why, thank you very much for your assistance at that time. We would have been in a bind if we failed that commission.」

Eunos was trying to see Lambert’s reaction as the former spoke to the latter.

Lambert thought that the man before him was a frivolous and rather weird man.

The exact opposite of the ever-serious Fando.

「The general who can’t treasure the lives of those in his army won’t survive for long. The people who used paltry tricks to get out of that kind of situation meaninglessly are bound to stumble sooner or later, and eventually fall.」

「… Including you, I think a first-rate swordsman will do the same as Robin Hood.」

Eunos’ eyes opened slightly as if examining Lambert.

Part of Eunos’ remark was mistaken.

Surely, in his long career, Lambert hadn’t emerged as the winner completely unscathed.

That was only natural when one considered the severity of the Eight Countries Unification War.

Nevertheless, Lambert decided to fight, cutting through the battlefield to protect what he wanted to protect, and for a great cause on top of that.

Eunos’ speech, which indicated that he prioritized wealth and fame over his subordinates, was the exact opposite of Lambert’s principles.

In addition, even his fellow first-rate swordsmen were divided by level to measure their real skills.

After the silence persisted for a few seconds, Eunos touched his mouth, laughing as if to gloss over the difference between their principles.

「No, it’s okay to leave it as it is. I have to say that I’m in the wrong in this case. The truth is, Earl Mondo invited us to come to his mansion. He wants to express his gratitude in person. That goes for you too. Will you accept his invitation? Earl Mondo-sama will be pleased if you do. He told me to make sure to invite you once I met you.」

「Uhm…」

But Lambert was an undead; he couldn’t eat.

On top of that, he couldn’t take off his helmet either. His identity as an undead might be exposed right there, in a place where deception wasn’t allowed.

For Lambert, who considered the possibility that 『Devil’s Piper』was aiming for this region, he had to make sure that the earl was unrelated to 『Devil’s Piper』.

「I’ll only come to give my greeting. I’m too uncouth for that kind of place.」

Naturally, as the chief vassal of Aurelia, the king who united the entire western continent, Lambert was completely accustomed to the nobles’ social life, but in this case, he simply wanted a reason to turn down the invitation.

Moreover, he didn’t lie in one way or another, since different eras had different customs and manners.

「By the way… Did you come to this place to become an adventurer? If that’s the case, I’ll be grateful if you’re willing to become our comrade. Our guild will be more than willing to accept your non-standard skills. The applications to enter our guild will increase if we use your feats as propaganda for 『Dancing Sword』. And then, becoming the top guild of this capital of adventurers won’t be a dream anymore.」

「Thank you for your invitation, but I think you already understand the unresolved difference between our principles, right? In addition, I won’t be staying in this region for a long time.」

「I see… that’s regrettable.」

Eunos replied with a wry smile on his face.

That was a rather short reply considering his fervent speech from before.

But Lambert didn’t miss the fact that such a simple reply from Eunos was the reply after desperately holding down his own emotions.

In fact, Eunos wanted to drag Lambert to join his guild no matter what.

Once it was known that his guild received help from someone for a unicorn’s subjugation and to repel Robin Hood, the impression of 『Dancing Sword』 in this case would dim a lot.

Lambert’s fame would be included in 『Dancing Sword』’s fame as long as he managed to convince Lambert to join his guild.

But Eunos forced his disappointment down in his heart without showing it on his face and simply brushed it off with a wry smile.

‘This man is rather untrustworthy. Although I’m grateful to have a connection with this guild, maybe I shouldn’t rely too much on this guild in an emergency situation.’

「Come to think of it, I’ve yet to hear your name. May you tell me your name?」

「… Ah, just call me Lambert.」

Eunos was even more confused seeing how easily Lambert had provided his name.

In the history of Regios Kingdom, Lambert of the Four Demon Generals was famous for being a scoundrel who rose through the ranks through many unscrupulous means.

His true nature as a traitor was revealed right before the end of the Eight Countries Unification War. He launched an assasination attempt on Hero Glyph, only to have the tables turned on him after a long, fierce battle.

Although it didn’t change the fact that Lambert’s ability was real, Eunos had a hard time understanding why Lambert used the name of the traitor to introduce himself.

「Haha… such an unusual idea, but I like it.」

Eunos said his real impression in order to curry favor with Lambert.