Building My Guild With A Blank Scroll
Chapter 66: Getting In

Chapter 66: Getting In

The pathway had been cleared, and the dead horses were buried away. The slain knights were loaded into a makeshift wagon and covered with plants, as they deserved a proper burial. Some had families and would have to be compensated, as they had sworn their blades in service of the Noble House. With their horses also retrieved since they were short on them currently, the journey back to the mansion had begun.

Led by Vans with Kaleb following behind, his face down and swollen up. Lo-an and Mia rode side by side, both munching on apples, Alicia being fast asleep in her grandpa’s arms.

Coming up with the marching knights already seeming exhausted, before the journey began.

Diz could be seen, his helmet off, with a few cuts decorating his face from its brutal shattering from earlier. Holding on to the reins of the horse beside him, Carl had been slung over the horse’s back. The others wondered why an unconscious person had to be getting a horse— though the answer to that would have been in the future when Carl went on a smashing rampage in the camp.

Mostly, being in silence with a few chattering and others among the marching knights. Their party speed would cause them to reach the mansion’s walls by noon time, which was almost near.

*ZZZZT!

*ZZZZT!

*BONK!

Another sizeable stone on the pathway could be seen coming up when—

*BONK!

*CRASH!

*ZZZZT!

The red-haired figure couldn’t be seen to be affected in the slightest, as the stones his head kept smashing into were at a loss instead.

Snoring like a Panda as he was dragged away on the ground, the others who had left him behind. After failing to snap him out of hibernation, had at least left him with a horse.

However, it wasn’t much of a free ride as the reins of the horse had been tied to his leg. And upon possibly waking up, he would face the torture of trying to free himself from a galloping horse.

Even with that, there came two choices, first to untie the reins and lose the mount which would definitely speed away. The second wasn’t much of an easy thing either, as that would mean trying to get at the back of a horse which needed a speeding ticket.

Still, both options seemed to be useless here since there was honestly a third one. Thus, Ral was quite busy on it unknowingly and that was to sleep through the journey. After all, the mount was headed right towards the mansion. Having been raised and trained there, a natural fact for it to easily track its way back.

*ZZZZT!

*BONK!

*CRASH!

*ZZZZT!

"Zlatan?!" A young feminine voice said to the other, her voice not above a whisper.

"What?!" The fat 30-year-old snapped at his younger sister, his voice also low.

"What are we even doing here?" Belle questioned, her eyes sleepy as she could be seen in red pyjamas just like Zlatan.

"I need to check something, you are to take out the guard in front of the door for me." He informed, his head popping out a bit to check on the knight in armour prostrate and still a distance away.

"But—" She was about to protest when Zlatan’s hand moved to his back, a shining straightened-up metal tray being seen.

"Fine, hmph." She took the tray, pouting as she did yet her sulkiness being the last thing he could care about now.

’Could it be true?’ Zlatan thought, his mind drifting back to a few days ago when the Lord Regent had returned with the others.

**************

"All preparations should be done as I’ve said, again for the knights it’s your day off, with the exemption of the Entrance Units. The others are excused, rest and prepare accordingly!"

"Yes, Lord Regent!" The knights, worn out from the journey and now scorching sun responded with the excitement in their voices evident.

"Kaleb?"Vans drew closer to his younger brother. "I’d once again advise you apologize to Master Lo-an before father comes to hear of this."

Standing beside the horse he’d just dismounted, he pressed tightly on the reins before releasing his grip. "The only way father will find out..." Kaleb turned to him, his swollen face a bit better than before. "...is when you tell him. I bet it would make you feel good that I’m the villain and unfilial son here."

"Kaleb—"

"Shut it, one day I’d surely be having your life in my hands. Then you’d know how it feels like to be me." He stormed off after being done with his threatening words.

’Did he even hear a single thing I said?’ Vans shook his head at his thought, knowing the answer from the behaviour he’d portrayed seconds ago.

"Darling?" He felt a hand grab onto his arm, one warm and always pleasing to the touch. "I was just talking about the thing we’d taken from Master’s Mansion."

"The cottage you mean." He corrected.

"When will you get it, better not say that in front of him," Mia warned, both turning towards Lo-an who stood a few meters away. Alicia, was still asleep in his arms, while a maid stood behind him holding the basket.

About an hour earlier__

*HUFF!

*HUFF!

"I’m... not running... again. It’s too much... for me." Zlatan managed to say between subsequent gasps, trying to catch his breath. He’d successfully escaped from his clingy sister, having to finish another set of meat— though it was good, it slowly turned into torture.

’Was I this obese back then— how did the muscles emerge?’ He could now feel the weight the body had, seemingly getting used to it.

Raising his head to get a look at his surroundings, Zlatan’s eyes widened in amazement.

"Wowwww!" That was the only word he could use to describe the view before him. "So beautiful!" The forestland which stretched so wide, the mountain scape afar and the grassland around it were priceless. He nature in its graceful gown of green, captivating and pleasant to the eye.

*GALLOP– GALLOP!

*GALLOP– GALLOP!

The incoming party towards the entrance caught his eyes as he could recognize a few of them. "Uncle, Aunty." His face lit up bright, the excitement disappearing to who knew where in the next second, his brows furrowing.

’Father.’

"Wait, isn’t that person..." Zlatan took a step forward only to lose balance, the new weight he’d felt now being unexpected, foreign and insanely heavy. For with that step alone, he found himself coming down towards the floor, unable to brace himself as his hands even felt like an ancient rock.

*THUD!

Zlatan fell face flat, the weight of his head and impact on the floor which left a miniature dent on it. As though there was no cut or damage to his skull, the lights had been knocked out of him.

"Master Lo-an, we’d like to inform you about something," Mia said as they now stood close to Lo-an. "It’s in relation to this. Van please." Vans raised his hand, angled towards the ground on the favourable space bet them. When suddenly emerging out of his storage ring onto the ground was a brown casket.

’What, why is this here?’ Lo-an thought, gasping with the shock evident on his face.

"I know we should have asked before borrowing your casket," Mia stated.

’It sounds as if I’m dead when she says it like that.’

"But I promise it was put to good use, I can have a new one done for you in a few days as a replacement— do rest assured."

’Rest Assured?!’

"It’s ok Mia, you can have it. I wouldn’t be using it anytime soon anyways." Lo-an stated.

"Really?"

"Of course, I don’t see myself dying any time soon."

"Yeah, that could be true— probably. Thank You Master.’

’Probably?! Hah!’

"I presume you kept Karen in there." Lo-an inquired.

"No, we couldn’t have done that. What if you took it back?"

The old man froze, with his jaw dropped unable to believe what he’d just heard. ’If so where was she?’ He thought, only to be shocked beyond what he’d first felt. As Mia opened up the casket which was empty and once again, something emerged from Vans’s storage ring.

"Who keeps a person in a storage ring? Dead or Alive?" Lo-an protested, keeping his voice down in order not to awaken Alicia.

"We made sure to use as many scrolls to preserve her," Mia said as she unwrapped the white sheet around the body while Vans stared at the ring. ’You can keep a living thing in a storage ring— really?’

"Wait, where did you get those scrolls from?" Lo-an inquired curiously.

"Um–" Her eyes darted around as if searching for the words on the ground beneath her. "Your Mansion."

"Cottage she meant to s—" Vans paused in his words, realizing what he’d just said as he smiled awkwardly at them, slowly backing off. ’Oh ow, my bad.’

"Phew, I’m finally here, great." Exhausted, Zlatan dropped on the bed only to jump off it the next second, forgetting how heavy he was now.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Finding himself standing near the guardrail, he could see people down below. However, what was seemingly going on as one was likely being pounced on or whatever didn’t draw his attention. Rather, it was the casket he was staring right at, the face he could see down there.

"Ya– Yannah?"