Chapter 406 Why Are All The Good Men Taken?
News of Otto City surviving the Dungeon Outbreak spread like wildfire.
The reinforcements from the Noble Houses who bordered the city arrived at the scene three days after the calamity ended.
The reason why they were late to arrive was due to the fact that the Nobles didn’t want to lose too much of their private armies, trying to protect the city.
They delayed dispatching their troops with the excuse of “they needed time to prepare”.
The Earls and Viscounts who bordered Otto City didn’t believe that the City would survive.
Because of this, they all came to a tacit understanding to arrive a few days late, when the city would have already been destroyed, and their troops would not have to worry about fighting the Monster Army.
So the Captains who led these armies were surprised when they only saw monster corpses littering the streets of the city.
All the Beast Cores had already been harvested from their bodies and gifted to Nicole and Ethan, who had already left Otto City to meet up with Samantha and Lady Johanna, who were in a town half a day away from Otto City.
Mayor Otto wanted them to stay a bit longer, but the two declined his offer.
After getting the Beast Cores and selecting two Magical Artifacts of their choice, they bid their goodbyes and left.
Nicole had also asked her uncle to tell everyone that she was one of the Defenders who protected the city from the Dungeon Outbreak.
This was to ensure that the Patriarch of the Asta Family would recognize her accomplishment, allowing her to take part in the second trial of the Heir Wars.
Mayor Otto was more than happy to grant this request. As her Uncle, he only wanted the best for Nicole. And since the young lady had helped him, he would surely return the favor tenfold.
Terence and Luca, who had retreated to a town not far from the city, were surprised when news of Otto City’s survival against the Dungeon Outbreak reached their ears.
Both of them thought that the city was done for, which was why they had decided to escape while they still could.
“I guess Nicole will get a medal from the King after this news reaches the capital,” Luca muttered. “She might even get the privilege of jumping directly to the Third Trial for the fame the Asta Family will gain from this incident.”
The Asta Family was one of the strongest supporters of the Royal Family.
If one of their members did a great service for the Kingdom, they would be generously rewarded, as befitting of their Noble Title and Rank.
‘But how did she do it?’ Luca thought.
He knew that Nicole was a talented Magic Knight, but she alone couldn’t have possibly held off such a massive Monster Army.
Even the two Monsters of the Asta Family, whom everyone had labeled prodigies, would not be able to accomplish what she had done, which begged the question, how did she do it?
‘I guess I’ll do a bit of digging,’ Luca mused. ‘It’s unwise to put all your eggs into a single basket after all.’
After making up his mind, Luca hired a coachman and asked him to take him to Otto City so that he could conduct a better investigation.
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Meanwhile, somewhere in Eastshire…
“I shouldn’t have left,” Samantha pouted. “I shouldn’t have let myself be convinced to flee while the two of you fought. If I was there, I would also be rich now! It’s so unfair! Both of you got hundreds of Beast Cores and even two Magical Artifacts.
“As for me? What do I get? Just a little over thirty Beast Cores for my trouble! Why did I leave? I could also just fly away when things are really becoming too dangerous for me! Aaaaaaaaaah!”
The young lady whined and complained as the three of them made their way back to Brynhildr Academy.
“It’s okay. I’ll give you 50 Beast Cores, happy?” Ethan said as he looked at the pouting girl, who was flying beside him.
“Thanks, Ethan!” Samantha suddenly became peppy after realizing that she would get fifty more Beast Cores without too much effort. “You’re a good friend!”
The shameless beauty then gave Nicole sidelong glances, making the latter shake her head helplessly.
“Fine. I’ll give you thirty Beast Cores,” Nicole relented. “Happy?”
“Very happy!” Samantha nodded. “Make sure to invite me again when you are off to another Trial. I’ll definitely be there, I swear!”
Nicole and Ethan gave each other a knowing glance before smiling bitterly.
Of course, they didn’t mind sharing their spoils with Samantha. After all, they were the ones that forced her to leave.
The reason why they were feeling bitter was due to the fact that the girl had been whining and pouting for more than a day until they decided to share a bit of their spoils in order to make her happy.
“Still, how did you manage to defend against a Dungeon Outbreak?” Samantha asked. “You only vaguely explained it to me. I can understand that you purposely spoke like that because Lady Johanna was with us. Now that it’s just the three of us, can you explain how you did it?”
Nicole glanced at Ethan, and the latter nodded his head.
“Do you remember that time when Ethan fought against Cedric?” Nicole inquired.
“How could I possibly forget that?” Samantha smiled mischievously before shifting her gaze to Ethan. “This handsome guy fought topless and seduced nearly all the ladies watching that duel.”
“Well, basically, that was how we dealt with the Dungeon Outbreak,” Nicole explained. “Mayor Otto and the Wizards and Witches in Otto City worked together to conjure a thunderstorm. Ethan did the rest and used the Heavy Rain to his advantage.”
“… You did what?” Samantha looked at the young man flying beside her in disbelief. “You used a Thunderstorm to wipe out the Dungeon Outbreak? Wow! That’s amazing!”
“I know, right?” Ethan replied in a teasing tone, which made Samantha look at him with a solemn expression on her face.
It was as if she was contemplating asking Ethan if he would like to take a detour with her to her Family’s Residence so that she could introduce him as her fiance.
But when she remembered how many girls the handsome young man was dating, she decided that it wasn’t worth it and sighed loudly instead.
‘Why are all the good men taken?’ Samantha pondered. ‘I guess I’ll start looking at the eligible bachelors in the academy. Maybe there is a rough gem among them that only needs polishing.’
Samantha had set a high standard for her potential partner due to Ethan, which would cause her family a lot of trouble later on, trying to find the right man that would meet their daughter's high standards in men.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺