Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1478 1150. Persistence
After setting a schedule to trace the source of [filth] starting tomorrow, Wuming put on the red ghost mask and prepared to leave.

Lan En looked at her back, tilted his head, raised his hand and called out.

"and many more."

Seeing Wuming stop and look back, Lan En spread his hands to her.

"Where do you live now? We have to keep in touch, right?"

At this point, Wuming scratched his head and said, "I live in the alley on the street we just passed. Remember, I stayed in a pub there for the night."

Looking at the monster hunter in front of him with somewhat silly movements, Lan En recalled a little.

The place Wuming was talking about was the most shabby place even in the not-so-big castle town of Iwamura Castle.

The so-called pub she was talking about was simply a small shop that a family opened by renovating their own house to supplement their household income.

So Lan En just crossed his arms and tilted his head to look at her: "Are you short of money?"

Wuming scratched his head more frequently: "Who in this world doesn't need money? Of course, there are more than that."

She didn't finish her words, but Lan En roughly understood.

Death, disease, fire, these things can leave "filth" in the world, and then attract monsters and evil spirits.

So what about the monster hunters who specialize in hunting monsters?

Although they must have mastered the technology to remove the "dirty" on their bodies, from the perspective of ordinary people: you are already "dirty", even if you are "cleaned" afterwards, it is better to stay away from you if it is not necessary.

To put it more bluntly: even if a bowl that has come into contact with poison is washed clean, most people will not continue to use it without any resistance.

It's natural to be disliked.

In the magical medieval world, the situation of the demon hunters is similar, so Lan En can understand it.

It can even be said that the civilians' rejection of demon hunters in the magical Middle Ages came more from ignorance, prejudice and rumors, but in this world, people's rejection of demon hunters actually has some practical significance.

After all, there really is such a thing as [filth] here.

It would really be safer to reduce contact with demon hunters.

Although Wuming was possessed by a [guardian spirit] and ordinary [filth] could not touch her at all, she obviously could not tell this to everyone she met.

Besides, the Guardian Spirit is not something that anyone can see.

Therefore, he could only live a life similar to that of an ordinary monster hunter.

"If you don't mind, would you like to live there?"

Seeing Wuming still scratching his head in embarrassment, Lan En pointed behind him with his thumb.

That direction is exactly the castle tower in Iwamura Castle.

Wuming looked Lan En up and down, and from time to time his gaze drifted from the direction of his finger to the top of the castle tower.

"You guy," her eyes didn't show any envy or jealousy, just an expression of 'not surprising', "you are really not an ordinary person, right?"

"Why? Are you a nobleman interested in exorcising ghosts?"

The demon hunter didn't comment, and even smiled with a hint of sarcasm: "I can tell from the look of it that you've never really seen any nobles."

"It's popular among the nobles here to whiten their teeth and dye them black."

Wu Ming looked at Lan En expressionlessly and snorted coldly: "Tsk."

But afterwards, he walked straight past Lan En and headed towards the castle tower.

Lan En lowered his head and spread his hands towards the ball of flannel.

The kitten shook its head and meowed, then jumped onto the roof of the house next to it and quickly disappeared.

Lan En also turned around and quickly walked to Wu Ming's side and walked with her.

The castle tower, the tallest and most luxurious building in the city, is undoubtedly the lord's residence.

But in addition to being a symbol of power, it is also a military facility with "observation and command" functions.

For a military stronghold like Iwamura Castle, the castle tower has even stronger military attributes.

On the square base made of large stones was the white wall of the main body of the castle tower.

However, the walls of the castle tower of Iwamura Castle had turned yellow and black, but they had not been repaired or painted.

It even looks a bit shabby from the outside.

However, Lan En, who had entered and met with the castle lord Ando Morie, knew that beneath the sloppy appearance, the armaments in the castle tower were very sufficient and reliable.

The building was filled not with the scent of cosmetics for enjoyment, but with the odor of oil used to grease weapons and armor.

His awareness of properly maintaining his weapons reserves alone was enough to surpass that of many Japanese daimyo of his time.

And as he walked inside, Lan En vaguely smelled a hint of gunpowder.

It can be imagined that a batch of muskets, which were probably still new weapons in Japan, had already been used in the castle tower.

Morimasu Ando of the 'Mino Three' is not a good-for-nothing after all, he has quite a few skills.

Inside the castle tower, Lan En and Wu Ming were in a rather spacious suite, both of them relaxed a lot.

Lan En's Sword of the Lady of the Lake was placed on the knife rack in a pretentious manner, and Wu Ming's alien weapon called the Naginata Scythe was also placed against the wall by the door frame.

Lighting remains a luxury without supernatural powers.

Two standing candlesticks, slightly shorter than a person kneeling, were placed beside them, adding a bit of warm light to the dim environment.

Lan En had taken off his armor and was sitting with one leg propped up against the wall. On the wall behind him was a large picture of a tiger, which seemed to represent the spirit of the Wu family.

Generally speaking, hunting pictures, battlefield pictures, pictures of samurai fighting ghosts, or pictures of ferocious beasts are all common paintings in samurai homes.

However, under Lan En's interested gaze, Wu Ming looked very curious.

From time to time she would tap on the tung oil floor beside her legs, which reflected the candlelight, or stand up and fiddle with the screen or canvas in the room.

"If you're not comfortable living in a suite with me, I can tell them and get you a private room."

"I'm not uncomfortable. I'm not a delicate princess. There are many hotels with dorm beds where I can sleep in the same room with a man."

Wuming responded nonchalantly while continuing to look at the things in the room.

She was now picking up a gauze lampshade with a camellia pattern on it from the floor and trying to put it over the standing candlestick.

"It's you, on the other hand, who seems more abnormal, right?"

"Me?" Lan En picked up the chopsticks with his big hands, accurately and easily, picked up a piece of pickled plum on the small table in front of him, took a bite, and chewed the sour taste.

After his mouth was watering, he picked up a small cup of sake and drank it with great interest.

The taste of the combination felt a bit novel to him, but it was not amazing at all.

It felt too bland for his eating habits.

In Japan at this time, even the taste of food was divided into ridiculous "high and low" categories.

The taste favored by the court nobles and the emperor was called "light and elegant", while strong and powerful tastes were naturally denounced as "vulgar and inferior tastes".

But even if he was not interested in this taste, Lan En's casual use of it, his free and easy movements, had almost become an instinctive ritual in the Emperor's Son's body, and it still influenced his every move.

The so-called "aristocratic temperament" is something that is built up and rendered by various complicated and mysterious rituals.

However, the "nobility" of the Emperor's Son will never be looked down upon because of the differences in local etiquette and culture, even if he travels across planets and between galaxies.

"You are not an ordinary person, are you? You can get such hospitality just by opening your mouth in the castle tower of Iwamura Castle."

Wuming successfully shone the lamp in his hand onto the standing candlestick, then sat cross-legged at his dining table.

He casually picked up the bowl and ate while looking at Lan En.

"And those snake eyes that glow in the dark. If we meet at night, let alone sprinkle a handful of salt, even if you hold a handful of salt in your hand, I will not let my guard down easily."

The demon hunter's eyes are more creepy at night.

But Wuming said this more as a joke.

She has a [guardian spirit] on her, and she can sense whether there is any evil or foul spirit in Lan En when they meet.

"What about you?" Lan En smiled and avoided Wu Ming's question. The other party was also smart and did not dwell on it. "You are obviously blessed by the gods and Buddhas. There are many people who want to entertain you these days. Why do you have to sleep in the open air and be short of money?"

"You mean these things?" Wuming raised the rice bowl in his hand and said indifferently while eating, "White rice, miso soup and grilled sea bream are delicious, but as long as it can kill ghosts, nothing else matters."

Lan En played with the wine glass in his hand.

He could tell that beneath Wu Ming's casual tone, which sounded like a casual chat, there was determination and hatred hidden.

The demon hunter [Chu Yeshizhong] is different from the monster hunter after all.

Demon Hunter is not only a profession, but also a race. But demon hunters can choose whether to quit.

But at the same time, this also means that people who remain in this profession after experiencing hardships and difficulties must be extremely dedicated to this profession.

Whether it is out of kindness to help others, or hatred for monsters.

Wuming, she was only curious about the castle tower and did not care about the relatively comfortable life there.

Lan could be sure of that.

"Don't worry." The demon hunter smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, tomorrow? Or in a few days? Anyway, the mayor of this city will formally treat you to a good meal."

"Eh~?"

A Japanese-style puzzled sound came out of Wuming's mouth.

She didn't understand why Lan En was so sure, and the food seemed luxurious to her.

But Lan En disagreed.

He knew why Ando Mamoru was so polite to him, and if he really wanted to find out the details and background, he needed more contact, and a dinner party was an ideal place.

But the other party did not invite him to the dinner tonight. Lan En did not show any emotion on the surface, but he already had some vague guesses in his heart.

I'm afraid Ando Mamoru is waiting for someone?

A guest at the dinner party, someone who can help him see the situation clearly.

Who else could it be?
The witcher looked at the bland drink in his hand.

Hanbei Takenaka, son-in-law of Morinari Andō, was a wise general praised as "Kongming of the present" and "Kushu of the present".

Zhuge Kongming's wisdom spread to Japan along with the story of the Three Kingdoms, and also impressed the Japanese.

Kusunoki Masashige was a famous local commander in Japanese history.

Even though Lan En felt that a person with such a reputation was exaggerated, he should have some ability.

Lan En thought that just because Ando Mamoru didn't have a banquet tonight, he had already guessed what would happen next and who he would meet.

(End of this chapter)