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

26. Invitation

“Hahaha-“

Mark burst out laughing instead of getting angry.

Galahad laughed along with him.

Soon, their laughter died down. Galahad laughed a little longer.

“You want me to join you under the Special Forces?”

Mark’s speech grew curt. His tone was irritable.

In contrast, Galahad continued to laugh leisurely.

“I’ll let you in. But on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“The Dark Magic Society is trying to destroy the front line.”

“Why?”

His question ended abruptly.

It was a reasonable question. They were the ones who stuck close to the legion, accepted the blood of the demons, and accumulated wealth by mining magic stones.

How could one expect such people to want to destroy the front line?

However, the nature of magicians was that they always moved in unexpected ways.

“There are also traces of beast tamers.”

Mark held his breath for a moment at the following words. Mark’s expression soon returned, and he blinked as if asking him to continue.

“I’ll take care of that part.”

“That part?”

“The magic stone quarry and the Dark Magic Society. You can’t give up the magic stone quarry anyway, can you?”

Mark’s eyes narrowed. His gaze seemed to be trying to grasp the truth.

Galahad took a deep breath of his cigarette, feeling a strange tension. Mana circulated quickly.

“How are you going to take care of it?”

“Aren’t Corthorn and I alumni?”

“You didn’t seem that close.”

Galahad laughed instead of answering.

“Alumni of the academy are quite close. We did favors for each other. He won’t cause any trouble for the time being. That’s my favor.”

Galahad took out the magic stone he had prepared. It was the best quality magic stone among the gifts he had received from Corthorn.

Mark, who saw it, let out a small gasp.

“It’s true.”

“I don’t lie.”

“What favor did Corthorn ask of you?”

“·······It’s a secret.”

Galahad coughed lightly and replied.

Doubt grew in Mark’s eyes, but he could not reveal the identity of the favor.

“Are you volunteering to be a spy?”

“Something like that.”

“What do you want?”

“Didn’t I say it? Come under me.”

“You weren’t joking?”

“I have a great sense of humor. If I was joking, you would have known.”

Thud, Mark’s fingers stopped. Mark’s shoulders moved ever so slightly. The table stretched out long-.

Galahad flicked his fingers on both hands right away. A translucent barrier rose in front of Galahad.

Before he knew it, Mark had a spear in his hand. It was a sharp spear with ornate engravings.

Mark’s spear lightly tore through Galahad’s barrier. It was a good spear.

“Is it a tradition in the North to start with weapons right away?”

Galahad clicked his tongue, looking at the spear that had stopped right in front of him.

“I’ve never seen magic like this before.”

Mark exclaimed in admiration as he looked at the sharp ice spike pointed at my neck.

The result would have been the same, but Mark’s spear was a bit faster.

It was only because Galahad had cast an ice spike with his left hand and a defensive barrier with his right hand at the same time.

‘I should give him a little more distance.’

It was a distance that he gave because he was sure Mark wouldn’t stab him.

However, Mark’s skill was genuine.

It was also unexpected that his weapon was a spear.

‘As expected of a leader.’

It’s funny, Galahad’s lips curled up.

“I can kill all of them right now.”

Mark’s tone of voice became formal again. Galahad nodded with a small smile.

“However, they’re hiding quite well. They’ll run away before you can kill them all.”

“Of course. They’re like bugs.”

Mark’s spear disappeared in an instant. Mark tapped his fingers on the table as if he had never done it.

It was a ghostly skill. Galahad silently thanked Mark for showing him his true strength.

Thanks to that, Mark’s spear would never threaten Galahad again.

“Very well. However, it’s not right to go down there. The difference in scale is too great, so it will look strange.”

“That’s reasonable.”

“Let’s make an alliance.”

What a sly fox. Galahad stuck out his tongue.

Asking for an alliance meant tying himself to him. So that he wouldn’t betray him.

It wasn’t bad.

In the first place, Galahad was aiming for an alliance.

Just as his problems would become Galahad’s, Galahad’s problems would become his.

Mark didn’t know, but Galahad’s problems were so big that they were hard to compare to Mark’s.

It was a profitable deal.

“I’m going to come in someday, but wouldn’t it be better to come in sooner? If you come in now, you’ll be the first guest, so I’ll treat you better.”

“That’s fine.”

Mark flatly refused and held out his hand. It was a rough, called hand that didn’t match his appearance.

Galahad lightly clasped it.

“Your hands are rough. Did you use a sword?”

“I did a lot of things.”

I tried to put in mana, but it was useless.

I couldn’t figure it out with the flowing mana.

Just then, the door opened roughly. Lumiere, who came in hurriedly, stopped at the two holding hands.

They let go of each other’s hands. Galahad rubbed his hands on his coat and lit a cigarette.

“What’s going on?”

At Mark’s question, Lumiere glanced at Galahad. Galahad waved his hand leisurely.

“Don’t worry. We’re allies.”

“······An alliance, you say?”

“Speak freely.”

Mark nodded, and after a moment of hesitation, Lumian opened her mouth.

“The 4th Platoon has vanished.”

The platoon has vanished? Not that they had been attacked, but they had vanished?

“Tell me in detail.”

When Galahad asked, Lumian glanced at Mark with a questioning look.

“Tell him.”

“We lost contact with them while they were returning after finishing their patrol duties.”

‘The branch director was absent.’

She had a feeling that the missing platoon and the branch director, who was absent from his post, were related.

“Dispatch all personnel except the minimum required for search operations. What about the deputy commander?”

“He is on standby downstairs. Oh, there’s a possibility that he slipped out under the pretense of training.”

“We’ll deal with his punishment after we find them. For now, find them. Tell the deputy commander to lead the search personally.”

Mark gave out orders swiftly.

Galahad raised his hand.

“We’ll help too. This is what being allies is all about.”

“······Lumian, let the deputy commander know.”

Lumian’s eyes widened as she looked at Mark.

Mark nodded slightly.

“Oh, and clear out a space. Make it ready for immediate use.”

When Galahad left, Lumian asked Mark as she looked at him.

“Clear out a space? What does that mean?”

“Oh, I’ve decided to give the 3rd floor to the special forces.”

“······Excuse me? Have you been drinking?”

“I quit drinking long ago.”

“Then why would you do something so reckless?”

Mark clicked his tongue at Lumian’s harsh question.

Galahad’s offer was reasonable, but it wasn’t necessarily something they needed.

Even without it, Mark could have overcome it.

And yet, the reason he accepted the offer was-.

“He was laughing.”

Even though a spear was pointed at his neck, Galahad was laughing.

There was only one person who had ever laughed while facing Mark’s spear.

[You’re pointing a spear at the Grand Duke’s neck. How amusing.]

“Come to think of it, you’re the Grand Duke’s son-in-law. I should’ve gone inside. He said he’d treat me well.”

“Captain Mark!”

****

Gilbert did not like Damian very much. It was because he did not approve of his attitude towards the sword.

He dragged around a sword dripping with blood without even sheathing it, scraping it along the ground. To Gilbert, a knight, it was like a nightmare.

“I’ll wipe it first,” said Gilbert, who was frustrated with him.

“Wipe the sword? Why?”

“If the blade gets dull, it will lose its sharpness. A sword is like a lover. Do you like a dirty lover?”

“But you said that Gilbert is dirty.”

Gilbert coughed shortly. That human said useless things to his beloved.

“Look carefully. I’ll show you.”

Gilbert slowly wiped Damian’s sword. It wasn’t easy because there was a lot of blood on it.

“Gwen, can I have some fire?”

“Yes! Fire, fire, fire!”

The impurities on the sword fell off with Gwen’s fire. Gilbert slowly sharpened the sword on the grindstone.

“When sharpening a sword, don’t try to sharpen it all at once. Sharpen it slowly, dividing it into sections. Balanced and relaxed.”

As the dirty things fell off, the blade gradually revealed itself. Gilbert’s body was steaming.

Every time he saw it, he felt refreshed as the dirty things fell away.

‘It’s a good sword.’

It looked rustic, but the blade was very sharp.

It was in good condition even though it hadn’t been maintained. It was too good a sword for a soldier to have.

“It’s a good sword. Where did you get it?”

“I found it. Should I give it to you?”

He didn’t like the way he said he’d give it to him.

“Didn’t I say that a sword is your lover? You should never give it to someone else or lend it to them.”

“I don’t have a lover, so I don’t know. Do you have one?”

Gilbert continued to sharpen the sword silently.

Soon, the finished sword was as sharp as a beast’s claws.

Gilbert knew that it would definitely be dragged on the floor again, so he wrapped the sword in cloth.

“You’re kind.”

“I just can’t stand to see a sword being treated like this. I didn’t do it for you.”

Gilbert said firmly.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

At that moment, there was a loud noise and a commotion.

When he lifted the barracks cloth, there were many torches running around in the dark night.

Something must have happened. Gilbert turned the sword to a position where it would be easy to draw.

“What’s going on?”

Before he knew it, the armed Tom asked in a tense voice.

“It seems that Sadar has risen. It doesn’t seem like an ambush.”

Gilbert realized that Galahad hadn’t returned yet.

“Where’s the captain?”

“He hasn’t come back yet.”

Tom made a prickly expression. It was an expression that was somehow unsettling.

Galahad disappeared and suddenly the alarm rang.

“Did lightning strike the captain of the 5th Battalion?”

“······What do you mean.”

Gilbert was serious. After Herman, Galahad said he would strike with lightning if the other party was a little arrogant.

Galahad wasn’t the kind of person who would lose to the captain.

Gilbert checked to see if the soldiers were calling out Galahad’s name.

Ding ding ding ding!

The noisy bell rang out again.

At that moment, Galahad appeared in the distance.

Galahad was as relaxed as usual. He walked with a cigarette in his mouth and long legs.

“Oh, you were up.”

“Did you get fried?”

“What do you mean, fried.”

“Then what is that.”

Gilbert asked, pointing to the noisy outside.

“Oh, I heard a squadron went missing. It’s perfect timing, let’s leave right away.”

“Where?”

Galahad pointed behind him, flicking his cigarette.

“A squadron from the allied forces disappeared, so of course we have to help, right?”

“Allied forces? Do we have allies?”

“Oh, we formed an alliance with the 5th Battalion.”

Gilbert rolled his eyes and muttered the sentence quietly.

An alliance with the 5th Battalion? The 5th Battalion was a battalion that did not belong to any faction. It didn’t make sense that such a 5th Battalion would form an alliance with a five-person special forces unit.

In the North, an alliance was not such a simple relationship. An alliance meant that they would be together until the end.

However, the Galahad that Gilbert saw was not lying.

“Why all of a sudden an alliance-. You threatened to fry me with lightning?”

“What do you keep saying fried. I just pointed an ice pick at you. Get ready. I’ll tell you the details when we get there.”

Galahad’s voice was friendly, but there was no room for it.

Gwen nodded, packing Tom and Damian, who had been taken care of.

‘But if it’s an awl, isn’t that a threat?’

Anyway, it seemed fortunate that the result was good.

****

The nights in the North were unusually dark. Underneath it, the snow was thickly spread, so it was easy to get lost.

Moreover, it was so cold that every time the wind blew, my body felt a little frozen. Fortunately, I had the coat that Tom had made for me.

If it hadn’t been for that, I would have had to use a lot of mana to warm my body.

‘Missing-.’

Galahad muttered quietly, looking at the soldiers in front of him.

There seemed to be a connection between the missing branch manager and the disappearance of the squadron that had occurred nearby.

At that moment, a figure that appeared to be a knight approached from among the soldiers. He was almost as large as an orc, with a coat over his armor.

The man had two large axes around his waist. It seemed like he used an ax.

“I am Henry, the captain of the 7th Squadron.”

The man who introduced himself as Henry nodded his head.

“Greetings, Sir Gilbert! It’s an honor to meet you like this!”

Henry, having spotted Gilbert, extended his hand with a loud voice. It was an attitude one would have when meeting a celebrity. After that, soldiers and knights continued to approach Gilbert.

Gilbert was quite popular.

“I am from the 1st Battalion.”

“Yes, I know.”

Galahad chuckled and glanced at his head-on.

Although it was a snowy field at night, the pursuit speed was considerable.

How long had they been going on like this?

“Something’s coming.”

Damian said as he unrolled the cloth wrapped around his sword.

Galahad flicked his finger, pointing at the sky.

A bright light went up and exploded like a firecracker. The dazzling light filled the surroundings.

Red-eyed wolves appeared through the dense trees. They were smaller in size than before. They seemed to be somewhere between beasts and demons.

“Do monsters appear this often?”

“This is often?”

Gilbert’s question made Galahad click his tongue.

Just what kind of place is the North?

At that moment, another light rose.

It was Gwen.

“You’ve gotten good at it without me telling you.”

“Hehe.”

Gwen, who had a halo above her head, laughed awkwardly.

Their numbers were large enough to be quite threatening.

“Tonight’s dinner is wolf meat!”

Henry exclaimed loudly, brandishing the ax in both hands. A long breath escaped his bearded mouth.

Henry charged forward with a yell. Thud, thud! Snowflakes flew violently with each step. Henry stomped on the ground.

With a heavy thud, a huge figure soared into the air. Its waist bent like a bow, its muscles taut.

The axe struck the wolf’s head. Red blood splattered everywhere. Henry opened his mouth and drank the splattering blood.

“Dinnertime—!”

The other soldiers also drew their weapons and rushed forward with cheers.

A fierce battle began, hard to distinguish whether it was hunting or combat.

Gilbert, drawing his sword, joined the fray. Gilbert’s sword was filled with a brilliant aura.

Gilbert’s sword lightly sliced through the wolf. Blood gushed out like a fountain from the gash. The white snow began to turn red.

The soldiers of the North fought with incredible savagery.

Some rode on the monsters’ backs and strangled them, while others shoved their axes into their mouths up to their shoulders.

There was even one who laughed as he cut down a wolf with a single sword stroke—ah, that’s Gilbert.

“Sir Gilbert seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Shall I fight too?”

At Damian’s question, Galahad surveyed the battle situation.

“As expected, it’s Sir Gilbert!”

“Follow me.”

Gilbert blended perfectly among the northern barbarians.

He seemed to not need help.

“Good, it seems Sir Gilbert will do our share as well.”

Damian wrapped the sword in cloth. Gwen rolled up her sleeves, saying she’d do it because he was doing it sloppily. She couldn’t stand it.

In the end, Tom wrapped the sword.

Galahad tore into the jerky that Tom had made.

“This jerky tastes great.”

“·······This is the first time I’ve eaten such delicious jerky.”

“Give me more.”

“Damian, eat in moderation. Aren’t you working?”

Damian’s appetite was whetted. Gwen slyly gave Damian her share of jerky. Damian didn’t refuse and swallowed it in one bite.

The battle was overwhelming. It was more appropriate to call it a hunt.

Gilbert was the best among them.

If it were a beast, it would have run away, but since it was a monster, it didn’t run away until the end and got tangled up.

Gilbert dragged a corpse over. Gilbert’s bloodstained face was stiff.

Gilbert placed the corpse in front of Galahad.

As expected, something was carved into the monster’s stomach.

However, its contents were different from what Galahad had expected.

‘Interesting.’

It was shaped like a magic circle, but it wasn’t a magic circle.

“Is it a monster tamer’s magic circle?”

“This is a letter. A letter to me.”

“A letter?”

Gilbert squinted his eyes as if it was absurd.

“What does it say?”

“If you want to save your troops, come alone.”

Galahad put a cigarette in his mouth. Gwen quickly lit it. It smelled of lemon. His head cleared up.

At that moment, the cheers of soldiers celebrating their victory erupted from behind. They were bloodstained northern warriors.

They weren’t the kind of guys who would obediently follow if threatened. To lure such guys out-. How on earth did he do it? Magic? Is there such magic? A deep curiosity arose.

Above all-.

‘They’re after me.’

The letter was clearly targeting Galahad.

How did they know?

The demonic tribe of the Intelligence Agency came to mind. The demonic tribe knew Galahad of the Intelligence Agency.

Galahad’s name wasn’t light enough to be heard in the northern Anga. It was clear that the Intelligence Agency headquarters had handed over Galahad’s information.

The only one who could do this to him…

‘There are many.’

Because he did his job well, he had many enemies.

I had no choice but to check.

Galahad stood up from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

“Since I received an invitation, shouldn’t I go?”

“···An invitation? It’s a trap.”

“Of course, you’re serious about the obvious.”

Gilbert wonced at Galahad’s sarcasm.

“Why are you going if you know it’s a trap?”

Galahad took a deep drag of his cigarette before answering.

“Because it’s a trap.”

Gilbert didn’t understand the short answer.

Then Galahad added.

“Hunters are always around traps.”

Gilbert’s eyes narrowed as he understood the meaning.

“Are you saying that you’ll throw yourself into the trap to catch the hunter?”

Galahad’s lips curled up as if it were the right answer.

“You’re crazy.”

“You’ve become curt in your speech.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Gilbert said, adjusting his sword.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but aren’t you Gilbert? You’ve been alone for a long time, but if I take you with me, you won’t escape.”

Galahad was overly rational.

When his own life was at stake, he tended to shrink or flinch, but Galahad was as calm and composed as ever.

I felt a strange sense of distance.

“Then do you plan to go alone?”

“No, I plan to go with Damian. Damian looks like a boy, so they’ll let him pass. Damian, will you help me?”

“Yes, hyung.”

Damian stood up, holding his sword awkwardly.

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to go?”

“It’s okay, Sir Gilbert. You can just relax here. You seemed close earlier.”

Gilbert had no choice but to back down at Galahad’s sunken eyes.

“I’ll take the sword.”

“Don’t call it a lover.”

“That’s Sir Gilbert’s personal preference.”

As the two disappeared into the darkness, chatting away, Gilbert felt a strange sense of disappointment.