The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law Chapter 10

10. Ordinary Tom

“Eating is important. Especially when you’re growing like me. Eat as much as you can and grow tall.”

Galahad soon regretted his words.

Damien changed tables five times while sitting down. It was so funny that Captain Hook, who had been timid, smiled brightly at Galahad.

“Is this your first time eating rice since you were born?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten here.”

“Yes, eat as much as you want. No, eat only half of your heart.”

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly and looked around the tavern. It was bustling.

“I don’t have it!”

“I told you my head is heavier! Switch seats, damn it-.”

The men called by Captain Hook were carrying away the unconscious and dead as if they were luggage. They were troublemakers, I heard. They had to pay a silver coin for cleaning up the bodies.

At that moment, the bar door opened roughly. Gilbert came in, shaking the snow off his shoulder.

Gilbert’s eyebrows furrowed in the red-tinted bar. Annoyance filled his face.

The people who were moving the corpse became tense at the sudden appearance of the article. No matter how chaotic the situation was, they seemed to be paying attention to the article.

At that moment, Captain Hook, the tavern owner, ran to Gilbert.

“Sir! That’s what they did! They just cut people up and ate food without permission! They’re really bad guys!”

“No, didn’t you pay the price?”

“Shut up! You dirty wizard!”

Galahad clicked his tongue in disbelief. Captain Hook, who had been paid for food and even for removing the corpse, reported this to Gilverton.

“What kind of accident did you have again?”

Gilbutton asked, pressing my temple.

“What an accident. We were just standing there, and those guys were swinging knives at us. We almost died. Thank goodness Damien saved us! Right? Damien?”

“Ah! Pretty node!”

“Chew and speak what’s in your mouth. Won’t it all come out?”

Damien nodded vigorously.

“······Sir?”

Captain Hook blinked. Gilverton tried to look away.

“Yeah, so you’re saying I didn’t pay?”

“······yes yes?!”

“Then the silver in your pocket must have been stolen from me! Sir Gilbert! Catch him!”

“Eek! I was wrong! Your Majesty! I was wrong!”

Captain Hook fell to the ground, red blood splattering beneath him that he hadn’t been able to wipe away.

“Sir Gilbert, search his pockets. He has stolen my silver! Cut off his other arm to make it even!”

Captain Hook, startled by Gilbert’s sigh, took out a silver coin and held it out to him. Gilbert accepted the coin with a very bewildered expression.

“So where is the other one you said you’d bring?”

“He died of a cold.”

“Hmm- that’s too bad. I need to get another one. Captain Hook! Is there anyone around here that you can use?”

“It was there, but-.”

“Why is it in the past tense? Did you die of a cold too?”

Instead of answering, Captain Hook pointed to the floor with his eyes.

The men dragging the cross-eyed corpse smiled awkwardly. Oh, he just died.

“He’s not that great. He’s missing one eye. The eyes are the window to the soul, so they’re very important. Captain Hook! Have you ever caught a demon?”

“There isn’t any!!”

Captain Hook, startled, disappeared inside as if running away.

At that moment, a rough cough was heard. In the far corner, a man was curled up like a bean worm.

It was so secretive that it might not have been noticed if it had not been for the careful Galahad.

‘Both arms are attached, legs are attached, and the face is intact-.’

pass.

Galahad slowly rose from his seat.

***

Tom, as his name suggests, was a very ordinary northern man. He was of average height and appearance, and he was so ordinary that people said he was hard to remember no matter how many times they saw him.

His nickname was also ‘ordinary’ Tom.

Tom’s platoon has been in trouble recently and has had to be moved. Because of that, Tom has been waiting at the castle.

Tom was sitting in the bar, thinking about the orders he was going to receive tomorrow. Where would he be sent? Will the people there be okay?

Trouble broke out when a man who looked like a nobleman to anyone and a boy who was slightly younger than him entered the bar.

There was a scuffle and the boy jumped up. The man’s neck went up in the air. Tom banged his head on the table.

When I opened my eyes again, the bar had become a red stew filled with garnish.

Tom was rolling up his body to make himself as small as possible. It was Tom’s specialty. He had even survived several battles using this secret technique.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Galahad, Captain of the Special Forces.”

Before I knew it, a man had arrived right in front of me and reached out his hand.

Tom grabbed her hand urgently. The man’s hand was as cold as ice. It was startling.

“Private! Tom!”

“Why are you waiting here? Are you hurt?”

There was a strange power in the man’s voice. When I listened to it, I felt a strange tingle and comfort.

“No! I was just waiting for a moment while my platoon changed. I’ll be posted tomorrow!”

“Oh, you’re waiting. You, do you want to fight?”

“I can’t!”

“I see, congratulations! Starting today, you will be a member of the special forces.”

“······yes?”

Tom blinked several times. Was he hearing correctly? The flow of the conversation was so strange that he couldn’t follow it.

“Pack your bags. The demons are calling us.”

“No… I think you misunderstood something. I’m just an ordinary private.”

“I know. Mana is also extremely ordinary.”

“Huh? What is that···. But why···.”

“After picking them out, I noticed that they all have very distinct personalities. I need one more person who is ordinary like me.”

Tom blinked at the man who said he was ordinary.

Tom was more disgusted by this man than by the boy covered in blood and eating meat. There was a sense of distance that seemed unbridgeable.

“We are one head short.”

Somehow I had a feeling that the words behind it were the real reason.

“Welcome, Tom.”

However, Tom had no choice.

“Private! Tom! Thank you!”

Tom swallowed his tears.

“Okay, let me talk to the guys.”

Tom swallowed hard as he sat down at the table as if he was being dragged there.

Sitting at the same table as the hero of the front, Sir Gilbert. Next to him was a boy eating raw meat with blood on his body.

And at the center of it all sat the son-in-law of the most famous archduke in the castle these days.

It was a combination that didn’t suit the average Tom at all.

“This is Tom. Tom, you came in last, so you are the youngest.”

“Why do you hire ordinary soldiers? They’ll die in no time.”

“······Am I going to die?”

“Tom, humans die someday. What matters more is how valuable that death is. Isn’t that right?”

“···I’m dying?!”

“Don’t worry. Since you’ve joined the Special Forces, your death will be wonderful and worthwhile.”

Tom screamed softly. He was going to die! Tom wanted to live a long life.

“I think there’s some misunderstanding. I’m just an ordinary private. I’m not the type of person who would fit into a special forces unit.”

“Don’t worry, there are some former maids in our special forces.”

“···Are you talking about the maid?”

“A maid who can’t clean or wash dishes properly. She’s your senior.”

Tom was speechless. He had never been able to communicate with this man, but he was strangely convinced. Wouldn’t it be okay if there was a maid?

“So what is the mission of the special forces?”

“I’m telling you this especially because it’s you guys. Keep it to yourself.”

Tom swallowed hard at Galahad’s sudden seriousness.

The Grand Duke himself personally established this unit. It was obviously an extraordinary unit. Even the name itself was a special mission unit.

What a tremendous mission…

“Our mission is to prevent the destruction of the continent.”

‘···It’s so incredible!’

Tom’s eyes widened as if they were going to tear apart.

A moment of silence fell at Galahad’s calm words. Even Damian, who was eating meat, stopped.

“Are you kidding me again?”

Gilbutton belatedly got annoyed.

However, Tom couldn’t laugh.

For the first time, Galahad’s eyes became serious as he spoke.

“Oh, I’m going to the bathroom. Gilbert, why are you up? I have a woman to marry. Sit down.”

Gilverton, who was about to get up to follow Galahad, sat back down with a frown on his face.

“Come on, order as much as you want! I have plenty of money!”

Galahad spoke curiously and left the tavern.

“Order more. Let that guy eat some of my money.”

Gilbert waved his hand and said, Damien raised his hand in response. The table was filled again.

‘You’re eating this again?’

Damien ate like crazy. It was amazing how food fit into his small body.

Gilbert sipped his wine while looking at the door, while Tom, caught between them, sat quietly, unable to do anything.

At the table, the only sound was Damien’s gnawing on meat. Tom, who was watching him, made various jokes, but there was no answer.

When Tom closed his mouth, silence fell over the table.

It’s like this because one Galahad is missing.

Tom waited eagerly for Galahad.

the problem is······.

No matter how much time passed, Galahad did not return.

“That calculation·········.”

The bar owner approached us hesitantly and asked while keeping an eye on us.

“This f*cking human-.”

Gilbert’s face crumpled into a grim expression.

Tom desperately rolled over to make himself smaller.

***

‘It’s around here.’

Galahad stared straight ahead, squinting his eyes.

The Empire’s intelligence agency was spread all over the continent. It wasn’t for nothing that they said they could move the continent.

Galahad knew the locations of all the intelligence agencies across the continent. It was information he had worked hard to obtain.

The Information Agency did not change An Ga’s position easily. This was due to their confidence that they had no opponents and their rusty indolence.

‘Here it is.’

Galahad took a deep sip of mana tobacco.

It was on the outskirts of the castle where I was staying. It was a place where the wind was unusually strong, as if there was a hole right next to it.

There were traces of houses around, but they were all collapsed. It didn’t seem like a place where people lived.

There was a small house in between. It was in such an exquisite location that you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely, as the houses on both sides had collapsed and were completely covered by it.

There was a thick layer of snow in front of the door. Galahad examined the door.

The door had a shabby appearance, as if it would fall down if shaken. There was a small groove in the center. It looked like a simple dent, but it was actually a high-level security device.

In order for the Information Bureau’s safe room to open, you had to bring the appropriate magical tool to each door.

It was a method that utilized the difference in mana speed according to the difference in concentration.

If you force the door open, an alarm will sound inside and everything will be incinerated.

This is currently the best security method, as it is virtually impossible to calculate the mana required for a given magical tool.

‘It’s still the same.’

It was exactly the way Galahad had suggested during his entrance exam for the Intelligence Service.

He presented only the basic theory, and the intelligence agency took it and developed it. Of course, Galahad’s name was not credited with the achievement.

‘Those guys are like evil professors.’

He let go of her hand, muttering softly.

There was one very small problem with this security method.

If the wizard knew the mana concentration of the magical tool and could match it, it would be easily pierced.

However, the mana concentration was a top secret, and it was impossible to memorize it in the first place, and even if one knew it, it was rare for a magician to be able to adjust the mana concentration without a magic tool.

Of course, Galahad was a very uncommon wizard.

‘Here is Mana······.’

Galahad placed his hand on the home and concentrated for a moment. Mana flowed through his hand.

If Galahad’s memory was wrong, or if the Empire had changed Anga’s magic tools, then things could have been a disaster.

The Information Agency would send in the Inspector General’s guys. They were horrible guys. Things were going to get pretty messy.

However, Galahad’s memory could not have been wrong, and the Empire could not have been diligent enough to change its position.

‘also.’

Click. The door opened slowly with a pleasant sound.

“Who······Who are you?”

The stupid-looking man asked, blinking.

Galahad’s expression hardened as if he had gone out to inspect Anga.

“who are you-?”

“······yes?”

“Are you asking me who I am just now?”

“that···,”

When I asked him roughly, the man trailed off. It must be confusing. I had no plans to visit, but Galahad opened the door and came in.

“You didn’t receive the report, did you? It must have been sent at dawn.”

Galahad narrowed his eyes and scolded the man.

Galahad suggested one hypothesis to the man. It’s not that you didn’t receive the report because you didn’t do your work.

The man would be indecisive. It was rare for a man to have such unwavering confidence in himself.

“Ah… No! I forgot! I’ve been busy lately! No! Rose must have received it. She’s been busy lately! Please go inside. She’ll be waiting for you.”

“rose?”

“Oh, my boss. I haven’t been here for long either. I’ve been busy organizing things lately, so I’ve been busy doing them all. Haha-.”

The man went inside, mumbling excuses. Galahad followed him after glancing around.

smart.

“Miss Rose, we have a guest from headquarters.”

Before he knew it, Galahad had become a guest. The door creaked open.

There was a woman sitting in the center of a study room filled with books and documents.

She was an impressive woman with crimson hair and red eyes.

‘Rose-. That’s interesting.’

The corners of Galahad’s mouth twitched subtly.

“customer?”

The woman looked up at Galahad.

Galahad studied the woman carefully. There were no calluses on her long, outstretched hands. There were no dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was shiny.

The management is very good. Just like the nobles of the capital.

“You are that Galahad-?”

The woman spoke in a nasal voice.

“That’s right, I’m Galahad. But Rose—is that your real name? Your name is as pretty as your face.”

Galahad sat down across from the woman and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Oh, thank you, but that’s an agent’s name.”

The woman twisted my hair with her fingers and laughed heartily.

Galahad smiled slightly and searched through his pockets.

“Oh, can I open the cigarette case?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Really? Thanks.”

Galahad swallowed thick saliva and put the mana tobacco in his mouth. With a snap, his finger caught fire. Beyond the fire, he saw a woman with her lips raised.

Galahad adjusted his mana while looking at the woman. The fire on his finger grew and shrank. It adjusted to its original size. The beginning of the fire was lit.

‘It’s just right.’

Then I took a deep sip of the incense. My lungs were full. My mana spun around as if responding. My head was clear. My mana swelled up and down like my heart was beating.

It was as reverent as a knight putting on his armor.

“Can you please throw this away?”

“yes yes!”

Knock knock, Galahad gave the man the finished tobacco and put the new mana tobacco in his mouth.

‘I guess this will do.’

Galahad took a deep breath of smoke.

“How long have you been here?”

“Has it been about a year now-?”

“It hasn’t been that long. It must be hard, coming from the capital to a cold and uncivilized place like this.”

“It’s all for the empire.”

“Really? You married the Empire too?”

“Marriage doesn’t suit my constitution.”

“I see. I’ve had similar thoughts to you recently.”

The woman burst into laughter. The sight of her covering her mouth was so seductive that it almost felt like a tickle. Oh, Galahad muttered softly.

There was a moment of silence. The woman was humming softly, as if in a good mood, and the man was putting the butt he had received into his pocket.

Galahad knocked the tobacco down. The unpleasant smell was dispelled by the scent of lemon.

“okay-.”

After finishing his calculations, Galahad spoke calmly.

The woman’s and the man’s eyes were fixed on each other at the same time.

“Where is the real Rose?”

The man tilted his head at Galahad’s question.

“Aren’t you in front?”

“It’s a secret, but agents are given names that are least suitable for them. It’s to make them hard to remember.”

Galahad pointed to the woman’s red hair and eyes. The corners of her mouth hardened.

Thump, the fire was lit again. The warmth drew mana.

“Second, it’s rare for someone from the North to be assigned to the first region. They go through another region and then come back. But you came straight from the capital, that’s very strange. Yes, that could be true.”

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but Galahad raised his hand to stop her.

“Would you mind listening a little longer? Thank you. Now, thirdly, you knew that I was from the Intelligence Service. If you had only known that I was Galahad, who would become Adrianna’s husband, you wouldn’t have reacted so calmly, since the family was exposed to civilians.”

Phew-. A small puff of smoke rose from Galahad’s mouth. The woman’s eyebrows furrowed.

“The Intelligence Service knows about me. There’s no way the higher-ups would tell. Even so, I’m a pretty useful agent. I get special treatment.”

“Are you very confident?”

“It’s not about confidence, it’s about an objective assessment. Please, would you shut your mouth? It’s an important part. Yes, these days, the intelligence agency is acting like a fool, so they might know who I am. The problem is what happens next.”

The woman twirled her finger as if to tell him to try more. The concentration of mana became thicker. Galahad’s eyes lit up with interest.

“You know me, and you laugh at me even when you see me in the dark—. This is the most ridiculous. It’s normal to cry and beg for your life. Or you attack first—. And you?”

Galahad coughed softly. The smoke came out in a puff.

“It’s fun.”

The corners of the woman’s mouth rose deeply again.

“I’m not having fun. It’s overtime without pay. Okay, let me ask you again. Who are you?”

The woman chuckled at the casual question. In an instant, her face split as if her mask had shattered. Sharp thorns shot out through the gap.

‘This is the worst.’

Galahad clicked his tongue and crossed his fingers.

Taang! A sharp sound echoed through the air, sparks flew. Crack! The ugly face of a woman split in half flashed orange.

A long, snake-like tongue flickered between her vertically parted lips.

“It was a demon tribe.”

“Oh my, I got caught?”

The woman spoke in a serious voice mixed with a hint of laughter.

“You’re smart. Your brain must be really tasty.”

The woman’s tongue, split into two, moved elegantly as if teasing.

The concentration of mana increased rapidly. It felt sticky on my skin.

In an atmosphere where even the slightest movement seemed like it would explode-.

“You! Weren’t you Rose?!”

The man shouted stupidly.

This is driving me crazy.

Galahad chuckled and snapped his fingers.

It was overtime work.

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Fantasy, Fusion,