TEB Ch 66

The dinner was quite grand. Liev, who was unfamiliar with such occasions, and the knights, who had received numerous invitations from various local lords and nobles, were all visibly nervous. Except for Renard, who showed an attitude of ‘this is your business to handle, not mine.

“Now we prepared this in the hope we could do some help. Please enjoy as much as you like, and if you need anything else, feel free to let our servants know.”  

But even just looking at what was prepared, it seemed like they could eat for a week. Liev felt his stomach drop, so he covered his mouth and turned his head. The overwhelming smell of oil triggered a physiological reaction, but his gaze met Albert’s shocked expression.  

“……?”  

Liev briefly opened his eyes, wondering what was going on, and then remembered what Renard had been talking about a few days ago. Ah. Could it be some strange misunderstanding? Flustered, Liev quickly explained.  

“Oh, no, it’s not what you’re thinking. I just don’t really like oily food.”  

At his words, Albert’s expression quickly turned relieved. [*Albert thought Liev was pregnant*]

“Oh, I see! Yes, yes, that’s a relief. Still, please eat something. Even though I didn’t prepare it, you should eat something to regain your strength for the journey.”  

“Okay.” 

The awkward conversation suddenly came to a halt, and the only sound was the clinking of cutlery. In the midst of this, Renard had a grumpy expression the whole time. He didn’t even eat properly and started nagging at Liev.  

“Why are you only eating that? There are so many different dishes, try some of them. This grilled chicken leg looks good too.”  

As he kept putting well-cooked chicken legs, pork barbecue, and beef ribs on Liev’s plate, he struggled to move the large platter closer to him. 

“I’ve already eaten enough. Stop, I can’t eat it all.”  

“How are you going to handle your future schedule with this skinny body? Liev needs to gain some weight. Like Palvin and Katrice over there.” 

As he pointed to the two people who were calmly placing the clean, well-picked bones on the plates, Liev couldn’t help but let out a laugh in disbelief. Those over there were people whose job it was to use their bodies. The knights, like Palvin and Katrice, were even more fit than most fitness trainers or professional athletes. Liev, on the other hand, was naturally not very physically fit, although he was used to carrying heavy loads. He couldn’t compete with them.  

“I can’t do that, even if I try.”

With a brief sigh, Liev rinsed his mouth with water and wiped his lips with a napkin. It was clear that he had no intention of eating anymore. In response to Liev’s reaction, Renard also seemed to lose enthusiasm, pouting and resting his chin on one hand. Although he wanted to leave the dining hall at that very moment, it was obvious that he was holding back because he feared Liev might scold him if he did.

He seems to be aware of his surroundings in his own way, but other times he just does whatever he wants. 

As Liev quietly stifled a sigh, others were also finishing their meals one by one. The real problem began after that.

“Now then, shall we go to my office and talk for a moment?”  

The Lord still had a friendly smile on his face as he looked at everyone. It was scary to think how important his hidden motive was for him to put in so much effort into smiling.  

“Yes, please, make yourself comfortable.”  

Meanwhile, Sigrid, the leader of the group, remained relatively calm. The rest of them were anxious, except for the fierce dragon, who was the only one who was calm among humans. 

***  

After a while, it was no surprise that the smiles completely disappeared from Lord’s face when he showed his true colors.  

“…….”  

“…….”  

“Did you call us here for that?”  

As Albert looked at the mountain of work with empty eyes, Palvin silently rolled up his sleeves.  

“Let’s start with this side first. We need to work diligently to finish it before we leave tomorrow.”  

“Well, complaining won’t change anything.”  

The task that the Lord asked for was a very easy and simple one. It was to clean up the rubble that had collapsed from a landslide that occurred a few weeks ago. However, the first problem was that the location was in a difficult area for ordinary people to access, and the second was that it required a lot of strength and power to carry heavy materials and clear debris.  

“Ugh, there’s no time to catch my breath.”  

In the midst of this, Renard, who was an expert in breaking and burning things, was not skilled in repairing. The reason why Renard was helpful in the Melik Canyon was because of his large size, which allowed him to carry heavy materials and fly through the sky. But in a place like this, where it was difficult for people to pass through, it was also difficult for Renard to take off from the ground, and even if he managed to fly a little, it was meaningless if there was no place to land near the site.  

However, when asked to carry material by hand like other members, he drew a sharp line and said, “That’s what you guys are supposed to do.” It was annoying, but he had no choice. Having a dragon do manual labor was no different from using gold to make farming tools, before considering pride. 

In that situation, there was another person who felt like he was sitting on a cushion, and that was Liev. Even the mage, Rowena, was using magic to shoot wind and water to clean up the ruins. Since it was originally offensive magic, it seemed like she was shouting in an ancient language to control the firepower, but… in any case, the only ones who were not helping and just watching were Renard and Liev.  

“…….”  

Was it okay to just stand here? No one was paying attention, but Liev’s conscience was starting to bother him. Even though he wasn’t the type to step up and offer help, it was still uncomfortable to just watch others suffer in this kind of situation. The only one who was sticking close to him was a dragon, that wasn’t human, so it might not be emotionally distressing for him to see his comrades suffer. After some hesitation, Liev rolled up his sleeves.  

“Shall I move from here to over there?”  

Liev pointed to the rubble that had fallen from above and asked,  

“Why did you do that, Liev? I told you to take a break.”  

The rest of the team quickly tried to dissuade Liev.  

“No, it’s fine. We can handle it ourselves.”  

“Don’t worry, just go to the bedroom first!”  

The final target of their watchful eyes was naturally Renard, but now that they all knew that Liev was someone who could handle Renard, they were all in a difficult position. Liev sighed and looked at Renard.  

“No, it’s okay. Even when I was working as a researcher, it wasn’t always easy. I’ll help as long as I don’t become a burden.”  

Renard became upset and said,  

“You don’t have to help.”  

“I’m doing it because I don’t feel comfortable.”  

Renard gave up trying to convince him and got up from his seat with a sigh.  

“Then I’ll help too. I don’t want Liev to suffer alone.”  

With that, all the members except for Sigrid had looks of surprise on their faces. When Renard started working with them, everything was done in a flash. Even without using his full strength, the tasks that required several people to move and lift heavy objects were finished in no time. And then…

“Liev, are you okay with this? Don’t overexert yourself, let’s divide the work…Ah”  

The feed bags were usually given in units of 20kg, and then 5 of those bags were packed into a larger box for shipment, making it heavier than one’s own weight.

“It’s not too difficult.”  

Albert, who had rushed down to stop Liev, fearing he might get hurt, had his pupils shake rapidly as if an earthquake had struck.