novelraw Chapter 92 : Calm Before the Storm (3)
Chapter 92 : Calm Before the Storm (3)
Calm Before the Storm (3)
More than twenty adventurers gripped their weapons and glared at me.
Still, there was one fortunate thing.
The space was so cramped that I would only have to face about ten at a time.
Maybe that was why.
It might sound arrogant, but I thought, 'I can handle this.'
No, it was more than just manageable.
'I don't think I'll lose.'
Of course, without the strength buff, this would've been just a dream,
But I decided to enjoy it all the same.
"If you can't understand with words, you'll have to learn the hard way! You lowly medieval bastards."
Immediately, three blades came at me from the front.
A scimitar aimed for my shin,
A spear went for my torso,
And a chakram went towards my chest and neck.
All three appeared to be mana users, 1st-ranks.
Their timing did not miss a single beat.
They attacked perfectly in unison.
'A combined attack befitting third-rate thug adventurers.'
In Belkhazium, low-rank adventurer guilds served a role no different from private investigators.
They were thuggish types who'd do anything as long as it made money,
So they were probably used to fights like this, pushing forward with numbers.
However,
'This sort of dogpile only works up to the 1st or 2nd rank.'
Someone like me, a 3rd-rank, could arm themselves with Sword Energy and gain resistance to coordinated attacks.
Like this.
*CLANG!*
With a Flowing Sword imbued with Sword Energy, I broke the scimitar first.
At the same time, I twisted my shoulder to dodge the spear,
Dove inside, and slashed at the chakram with the kitchen knife in my other hand.
*SLASH!*
The chakram split, and the severed wrist flew through the air,
And as I continued my movement, I almost thrust the kitchen knife into the face of the guy trying to retrieve his spear—
...*THUD.*
I just struck his jaw with the hilt and knocked him out.
'Seriously. They're so weak it feels wrong to kill them.'
Indeed, the difference between a 3rd-rank and a 1st-rank was like that between a man with a gun and one with a knife.
As I reflected on this,
*CLINK CLANK!*
I twisted my body 180 degrees and parried the oncoming blades.
"?!"
This genuinely surprised me for a moment.
I had parried attacks coming from my blind spot.
'I blocked it instinctively, without thinking.'
I had sensed the threat and responded without being aware.
I felt I had clearly grown stronger than before, but it left me uneasy.
Because,
'I learned this from Jeros.'
That madman had sometimes really tried to kill me during our sparring sessions.
My survival instinct must have recognized his killing intent and responded.
"H-he blocked all that?"
"Hey, shut up and get in there!"
"You bastard!"
Next, I broke the sword swinging for my face, knocked its owner out with an elbow strike,
Jumped to dodge a guy swinging an axe sideways and kicked him as I soared,
Then, upon landing, used Quick Sword to slice at adventurers' ankles, knocking them down.
*Slash, slash, slash!*
"My foot!"
"Ugh!"
As my stance dropped lower, several medium-range spears and scythes came at me at once,
But I swept them all away in a single arc with Strong Sword imbued with Sword Energy.
*CRACK!*
Then I uppercut with the kitchen knife-gripped fist,
Dodged a whirling axe, and followed up with three spinning kicks.
*Thud, thud, crack!*
One by one, they fell.
"Ugggh."
Before I knew it, more than a dozen adventurers were sprawled on the floor groaning or unconscious.
"H-help me. I can't walk."
"N-no way. We can't win."
"Damn it. Why is he so strong?"
The ones still unscathed started to inch backward away from me.
Their faces, pale with terror, were quite the sight.
"Argh! What are you idiots doing getting beaten up by one guy!!"
At last, Derek, unable to contain himself, shouted, but it was laughable.
I decided to settle the pecking order properly, pointing my kitchen knife at Derek as I spoke.
"Everyone but Derek, move aside. Unless you want to die."
They scattered in an instant.
Leaving only Derek, the others pressed themselves against the walls.
"Y-you're not going to k-kill me, are you?"
Derek exclaimed, his face blank with despair.
"No! You can't kill me! You know my father, the Blade Emperor! Hahaha."
The guy tried to look nonchalant,
But it was obvious he was trembling with fear, so I replied.
"Well. I'm an outsider, you see. I don't know what the Scarlet Sand Blade is, nor do I know the Blade Emperor."
"L-lies! Your face earlier looked like you knew exactly who I was!!"
"Nope. I don't know."
I steadied my breath, thickening my aura with Strong Sword,
"W-wait! S-spare meeee!!"
With Derek's screams as background music, I sent a blast of Sword Energy flying at him.
*Whoosh!*
*Crash!* The Sword Energy struck the wall just to Derek's right, carving a straight gash in it.
'Hmph. It's improved since before, but still weak.'
The Sword Energy blast was unsatisfactory in output,
But it sure left a deep fear in these thug adventurers.
"The outsider—he fired Sword Energy?"
Breaking the heavy silence, someone muttered.
Then—*dribble*—Derek wet himself and collapsed into a heap.
"The outsider... was a 4th-rank."
I saw no reason to correct a misunderstanding that worked in my favor, so I held my tongue.
I felt strength leaving my body—the strength buff was ending at the perfect time.
'I've shown enough. They won't try anything else.'
Just then, I spotted Evan trying to slip out of the room.
I quickly strode over and kicked him hard right in the middle of his rear.
"Gahh!!"
He clutched his groin and rolled from side to side.
I might've accidentally kicked his fire eggs. Clara would be pleased.
"Don't move."
"Hic!!"
Evan knelt in front of me, tears in his eyes, suppressing pain.
I crouched down in front of him and asked,
"Let me ask again. Did I try to kill you, or did I save your life when you almost died?"
"Y-you saved me...! You saved me. Thank y-you... really!!"
Evan nodded frantically as if he'd lost his mind,
And I smiled brightly at Derek.
"See? Told you so."
At last, Derek tipped over and closed his eyes.
"... Fine, just get out."
He went limp, seemingly fainting on the spot.
I stood, laughing at the anticlimactic ending,
Flinch!
The traumatized adventurers jumped as a group, making me chuckle.
"No one's dead, right?"
"..."
"If you're dead, raise your hand."
I figured I wouldn't have to call the guards about any fatalities,
"Um..."
Someone spoke up timidly.
He was holding his arm up high, blood streaming from his severed wrist.
"Huh? Are you dead?"
"No. That's not it."
"Then?"
"My hand got cut off."
Ah, it must've been the guy swinging the chakram at the start.
I was impressed by his courage,
And to reward him, I approached the unconscious Derek.
"Oh, here. This will work."
Pop. I pulled off the hook attached to Derek's wrist and tossed it to him.
"That's yours."
"Thank you."
"And you. Zbaum, was it? The one explaining things earlier."
"M-me?"
"Yeah. Come with me, I want to see your ledger for myself."
I couldn't rule out the possibility these adventurer thugs had lied.
*
"Here it is."
The ugly big guy handed me the ledger.
"This is everything?"
"Most of our profits are from the gambling and the red-light district, so there aren't many delivery cases."
I eyed him suspiciously,
But his innocent look made me decide to trust him and I opened the ledger.
From November, imperial Year 294.
-[Sender: Jeros Dagnes]
-[Destination: Kaisrad, duchy capital, Dagnes Orphanage]
-[Amount: 13 shillings]
.
.
.
He'd sent a lot, month after month.
The latest was last month, year 297 February, when he sent 60 shillings to the same orphanage.
'Disgusted, yet strange.'
I never knew where Jeros spent the money I earned for him,
Now, hearing it went to the orphanage, it felt like I'd donated by proxy.
'I've never donated even in Korea.'
As that random thought passed by, I examined the ledger more closely.
The amount Derek claimed was "skimmed off" was,
'Here—May, june, july 295.'
A total of 45 shillings.
"This, right? The reason Jeros snapped."
"Yes. That's right."
Even the sum of those three months was less than last month's amount. Unbelievable.
Ugh, my hard-earned money.
'But money is money.'
I scratched my chin, thinking of Jeros.
Jeros, the apprentice knight who'd infiltrated Granfen.
He should have been keeping his strength hidden,
But, instead, he killed the adventurer guild's officers after his money was stolen.
If it were the money-crazed Jeros I knew, it was plausible.
'For him, money always came first.'
But something didn't sit right. Why?
As I reconsidered Jeros,
"... Huh?"
The suspicious past behavior of Jeros I'd forgotten due to all the busyness came to mind.
When I returned from Grey Fortress,
'He told me to delay opening the shop as long as possible.'
That advice ran counter to Jeros's principles.
Therefore, at the time, I figured my delaying the business would make this bastard more money,
Or—
'I judged that he had some purpose even more important than money.'
Back then, I couldn't fathom what that "purpose more important than money" was.
But now I knew.
As an apprentice knight of the White Fang,
'The knight order's commands and intentions should take precedence over money.'
Moreover, Schutmann also visited, ate bear meat radish soup, and made cryptic comments.
As I recalled that moment, a chilling thought crept over me.
'White Fang found out about my food and wanted me to delay opening the shop. That aligned with their own interests.'
That meant,
'White Fang wanted to hinder or interfere with Granfen's growth!!'
So Jeros, going against his principles, told me to delay opening shop.
That must have been what White Fang wanted.
Wait, come to think of it.
'No matter how money-crazed Jeros was, would he really massacre adventurers over money?'
It was just a hunch, but I couldn't help questioning it.
Even if Jeros was obsessed with money, he wasn't the kind of psychopath who'd kill people without hesitation.
That's right. He never showed it, but he always kept his boundaries.
'He was, in short, a tsundere type.'
I replayed my memories.
After the adventurer massacre, Jeros did not keep his strength hidden,
But he never rendered people irredeemable or killed them.
Usually it ended with a rough beating or a show of force.
'In his entire time in Granfen, this was the only time he killed someone privately.'
This meant,
Jeros's massacre of adventurers could be seen as a deviation from his "principles".
So, then, this too—
'Jeros killed the adventurer officers at White Fang's behest.'
As the puzzle pieces fit together in my head, lightning struck.
I hurriedly asked,
"Hey, Zbaum! Do you have a list of the officers Jeros killed in that incident?"
"Hmm. There's no list, but why do you ask?"
Damn.
Too bad, but nothing could be done.
I had to hope he had a good memory.
"Not the ones Jeros killed on the spot, but the ones he hunted down afterwards—anything in common about them?"
"Oh. That—I remember vividly."
Without realizing it, I swallowed dryly.
"What is it?"
"Every officer who had ever touched Jeros's money was killed."
Damn. I knew it.
To outsiders it seemed like Jeros only sent money to the orphanage,
'But he definitely sent something else beside money!'
Most likely, almost certainly,
'There was something in the money pouch that a "third party" couldn't be allowed to see!'
Now it all made sense.
Jeros, who had infiltrated Granfen hiding his strength,
Had killed the adventurers because of a broken rule—it fit.
'But didn't the adventurers check the amount when sending the money?'
I wondered, but quickly found an answer.
Even Granfen prevented information leaks with codes.
They must have used some method cryptic enough an ordinary person wouldn't understand.
'So Jeros killed anyone who might have seen what was in the pouch—not for money, but for what was inside.'
To prevent even the slightest risk!
As I came to this conclusion and sorted out the information,
I began to understand why Jeros had deliberately let himself get caught as Heroni's informant.
...*Grind.*
"What's wrong, big brother?"
Zbaum asked, glancing over as I ground my teeth unconsciously.
Normally, I'd snark, "Who are you calling 'big brother'?"
But right now, there was no spare space in my brain for that.
"Hang in there."
I got up from my seat and left the adventurer guild.
Maybe because it was right before dawn, the air was bitterly cold,
But it was perfect for cooling my overheated head.
As my mind cleared, I went over what I'd learned today and made my decision.
'I have to tell the battalion commander as soon as possible.'
If my deduction was right,
White Fang was definitely the enemy of us, of Granfen.