Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Professional Charlatan_1

White bread, stewed meat, roasted chicken, mixed vegetables, and a platter of berries.

Even so, for Lance, who was accustomed to a variety of modern foods, these dishes tasted bland and uninspiring.

Their cooking method was essentially just throwing everything into a pot to boil. There was no concept of ”culinary arts,” as spices, almost as valuable as gold, were unaffordable even for farm owners.

The salt was coarse and tasted bitter rather than salty. Using too much could make your throat raw.

However, for the others, merely having a full stomach was quite good. Walter, who had been starving for days, was certainly very satisfied with his meal.

With Walter in charge, Lance felt reassured, relying on Walter’s abilities and familiarity with such matters. He swiftly returned to the town by evening.

The carriage no longer held the solemnity of this morning. Instead, there was a sense of relaxation. The wooden planks of the windows were open, revealing the lush green wheat fields alongside the road.

When the evening breeze blew, tiny waves rippled through them, releasing a unique aroma of plants and earth, rich with the essence of the countryside.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lance’s anxious heart finally settled down a bit, and he stopped thinking about the town’s matters for a moment to relax.

”My Lord, have you perhaps forgotten something?”

Balistan’s words instantly drew Lance’s attention back. His mind quickly realized what Balistan was referring to; if Balistan hadn’t reminded him, he would have indeed forgotten.

But as a shrewd lord—at least that’s the persona I’m displaying—I certainly can’t admit that.

”I have not forgotten. I am merely protecting you.” Lance adopted a somber expression. ”You do not know what we are about to face, nor the price we may pay.”

To give him credit, Lance did have a knack for playing the mystic. With just a few words, he steered the ambiance towards gravity. As Lance spoke, Dismas, who was driving the carriage, grew serious. Recalling his own reaction when he first heard such things, he couldn’t help but advise, ”Brother, sometimes knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing.”

Instead of backing down from their words, Balistan grew more curious.

Whether it was the secret technique that had saved me from the brink of death or the magical power that made corpses vanish, coupled with these two enigmatic figures...

”Are you sure you want to know?” Lance asked repeatedly. Only after Balistan nodded in agreement did Lance slowly begin to recount the story.

”This story is a long one. It begins with...”

Compared with his first impromptu fabrication, Lance now had experience and told the story with the dramatic flair of a heroic epic, filled with tragedy and sacrifice.

I know well that the more one talks, the more mistakes one can make, so I’ll keep the story to the macro level, avoiding details.

In truth, I’m doing this to craft an identity for myself while also extracting myself from it. That way, if any issues from old ancestral affairs arise in the future, I can just pin them on the evil cult or the Butler. After all, I’m the immaculate savior.

When the story reached the point where his entire family had been sacrificed, and Lance, having received Divine Revelation, resolutely took on the responsibility, even Balistan was moved.

”My Lord, please allow me to express my utmost respect to you.”

”Some matters require someone to stand up,” Lance said with a slight smile, appearing very open-minded. He didn’t forget to mention the other two. ”Besides, I am not alone. Dismas and Reynard didn’t hesitate to join when they learned about it. Without their help, my efforts would have been in vain.”

At this, Dismas also felt an inexplicable touch of emotion and eagerly spoke up.

”It was you, My Lord, who gave my life meaning. Otherwise, I’d still be wasting my life like a useless person.”

”HAHAHA!” Lance laughed heartily. ”At first, I was scared too, but then I thought that since we’re going to die anyway, we might as well show that Evil God our human courage. Before we die, we’re going to shoot him and tell him we’re not to be trifled with.”

”Exactly! Let that guy taste my power.” Dismas was highly enthusiastic, still spirited even after a busy day.

”Your courage makes the Holy Light shine even brighter!” Reynard, who sat embracing his sword, joined in the conversation. ”Each step we take purifies this profane Curse.”

I considered myself accustomed to life and death, but even I feel the weight of their readiness to face death behind their laughter and chatter.

”My Lord, please allow me to join,” Balistan said with a very serious attitude, interrupting Lance’s boastful talk.

Hearing this, Lance shook his head. ”I saved you because you saved my people. You don’t need to feel any burden for that. Besides, you’ve already done me a great service by rescuing the town from those people. There’s no need for such words.”

”Is it because you think I am too old, My Lord?”

”No, if that were true, I wouldn’t have had you fight the leader of the mercenaries. I know you’re a strong soldier. It’s just that the existence of the Evil God must not be known by more people. Therefore, our actions have no honor, no praise, only sacrifice and death.”

”I’ve shouldered enough burdens. Only death can free me.”

Balistan’s words carried a firm tone. He had come here seeking battle with bandits because only by keeping himself busy, on the edge of life and death, could he stop the phantoms in his mind from haunting him.

For this reason, he had chosen to walk the world’s bloodiest and most brutal battlefields. Now, it seemed there was nothing more interesting than dying in a fight against evil.

”I respect a warrior’s choice.” Lance put on a very serious expression. ”Dismas, stop the carriage.”

The carriage stopped on the road. There, amidst the rural fields and with the others as witnesses, Balistan made his oath to Lance.

In fact, the world no longer widely practiced the old rituals of a Lord Knight’s oath. The tide of modernization had already appeared in large cities and was spreading to the surrounding areas.

Actually, Lance wasn’t fond of those things either, so this oath was more about their common goal—to bring down the old relic.

This secret oath was not widely known, but a team of volunteers ready to challenge the Evil God was growing.

The farm was about five kilometers in a straight line from the town, and the steady, horse-drawn carriage soon brought them there.

”Alright, everyone’s had a long day. Go rest.”

Lance pulled out three shares of money from his pocket and handed it to them. Balistan was still a bit slow to react at this moment.

”Take it. I can’t let you just risk your lives for nothing,” Lance said with a laugh as he patted the old soldier. ”Besides, a man should always have some money on him.”

Dismas was used to Lance’s ways, immediately pulling Balistan and Reynard along.

”Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”