Chapter 391: (The Duke) Former Thief Who Doesn't Want to Be King 1
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This side story doesn't end in one chapter.
"............Hmm."
Sbos slowly opened his eyes.
What spread out before his eyes was the pale blue morning sky.
What he felt on his cheeks was the cool, moist air, slightly chilly.
"Nn... nn..."
Sbos slowly moved his neck, checking his surroundings.
What reached his ears was the sound of people's voices, chattering, from a distance.
He could also hear the clinking of dishes... and the delicious aroma of soup wafted over.
But he couldn't see them.
Because he was in a small, partitioned-off space, like a square room, surrounded by curtains.
It seems he's lying on a stretcher, placed in this section.
Grrr...
His stomach growled.
"First... I have to get up..."
Sbos muttered, and tried to throw off the thin blanket covering him from the chest down.
But he couldn't.
His hands and feet, hidden under the blanket, seemed to be tightly bound by something like ropes.
And on top of that...
"...Tired..."
Sbos realized that he was feeling an intense fatigue, heavy and clinging to him like mud.
...He's not the type of person who enjoys exercising.
And even though he's trying to look young, he's old.
And yet, even though it was with the help of Last Dream's power, he rampaged around.
There's no way he wouldn't be tired.
"............"
He gave up on trying to get up, and just stared at the pale blue sky, which was gradually brightening.
"Hmm? Oh... Shishishi, you're awake."
Some time later.
A voice called out to Sbos, who was in a daze.
It's a young... rough voice... a man's voice.
Simultaneously, the sound of curtains rustling.
The clanking of armor.
It seems like several people entered the section where Sbos was lying.
"Who...?"
Sbos, too tired to even speak or move, just tilted his head slightly, turning only his eyes towards the voice.
And then...
He was surprised.
His eyes widened, his mouth agape.
...He let out a silent scream.
Because the slender man standing there... leading knights and soldiers...
"Nidero... brother... !?"
Yes.
The man standing there... no matter how you look at it...
...Looked exactly like his cousin... the infamous tyrant, the previous king, La Nidero Ashgo, in his younger days.
"So... this is... the afterlife...?"
"Shishishi... Don't be silly... The violent, gluttonous brat priest from the Holy Goddess religion I know, said, 'There's no such thing'. You're alive, and so am I."
The young, slender man said to the confused Sbos, scratching his head and chuckling wryly, and then sighed.
"Anyway, my name isn't Nidero. It seems that's my... grandfather's name."
"What... !?"
Old memories came flooding back to Sbos!
The tyrant Nidero's two good-for-nothing sons.
One tried to escape across the sea, and his ship sank.
He was confirmed dead at the time.
But the other fled east by land and disappeared.
So this man...
This young man, the spitting image of the tyrant Nidero...
"I'm... a former thief, now a scout. But I'm not just any scout... I was the scout of a hero's party. I was proud of that, and I still wish to be... "
The young man started to introduce himself, staring at Sbos, whose eyes were wide with surprise.
His face, casting a shadow in the morning sun, looked somewhat lonely.
"Your Highness."
The serious-looking female knight with glasses next to him, coughed.
Hearing that, the young man stopped talking... and chuckled.
And then...
"But! I was begged, tearfully, by Old Man Bokji and the others, and I couldn't refuse! So from today, this 'Dawn Day', for a limited time, I'll be the figurehead king of this country!"
The man puffed out his chest, put on a big smile, showing no trace of the loneliness from before, and announced his name!
"La Zydeo Ashgo! That's my name now... Nice to meet you!!"
Question: "What's that 'La' that Sbos and Zydeo put before their names?"
Answer: "I don't know."
...Probably something that people with the royal bloodline of Ashgo use.
TL Note: From here on, I am starting to transition to author's original line spacing in chapters. Feel free to leave any comments if people prefer the system I used for the past 100 chapters instead.