novelraw Chapter 41 : The Vigilantes of Messen (1)
Chapter 41 : The Vigilantes of Messen (1)
Chapter 41: The Vigilantes of Messen (1)
There comes a time in everyone's life when storms that should've unfolded over years hit you all at once in a few short days.
For Enrico, Remtana's Consul, that time was right fucking now.
"......"
As he toured the underground fortress, Enrico found himself completely speechless. The mere fact that such a massive fortress had been hidden right under his jurisdiction was already the stuff of fiction.
But then, reality hit him harder than any fiction could have.
He learnt that this underground fortress had been breeding the monsters the Mage Tower captured during the subjugation campaign. He learnt that they'd hatched a plan to turn those monsters into an army. He learnt that they'd dispatched Ymir as an Advisor to actually execute this plan. And finally, he learnt that they'd sacrificed countless people to create this monster army, and that this unstoppable barbarian had then slaughtered the entire monster army single-handedly.
"Good lord..."
Even fiction makes more sense than this.
The Twin Gorge incident and that business with the Archpaladin had already been enough to give him a splitting headache. But he now has this shit piled on top of everything else. It was so ridiculous he half-wondered if the barbarian was bullshitting him just to mess with his head.
But the state of the fortress proved the barbarian's words were anything but lies.
They'd crossed through narrow passages littered with torn-apart monster corpses. The thick stench of blood and decay assaulted his senses, making his olfactory nerves scream in protest. In one room, he'd found the messengers and scribes he'd sent all gathered together in various states of decomposition. Enrico felt like he was going to puke, and his head felt like it was going to explode.
After touring all the way to the depths where the Ogre had fallen, they finally got out of the fortress. Outside was just as much of a shitshow. Burnt harpies and goblin corpses were scattered everywhere. He hurried away from the carnage and found some shade near a rock.
Only after resting in a place free of the metallic scent of blood did his head feel somewhat cooler. After organizing his thoughts for nearly an hour, Enrico cleared his throat and spoke.
"First off... thank you for seeing this through. This turned into something way bigger than what I asked for. I thought we'd just need to deal with Ymir, but I never imagined the Mage Tower would be pulling this kind of atrocities right in Remtana's front yard..."
"......"
"People in the Empire think the Mage Tower protects the entire Alliance, but the reality's a bit different. The Mage Tower's only true ally is the Vestana Council. They pretend to be friends with the rest of us, but they're always watching our backs. It's hard enough fighting the Empire together, but to think they were killing innocents and building an army to attack other cities... It's just pathetic.”
Kadim couldn't care less about Alliance politics. He sat there looking bored, scratching his chin before changing the subject.
"So, can you spin this whole thing properly, Consul?"
Enrico's expression snapped back to business mode as he nodded.
"Won't be difficult. The Archpaladin's and Ymir's deaths can go according to the original plan. We'll frame it as Ymir intercepting an Archpaladin who illegally crossed the border. But this fortress business needs to be treated as a separate incident that came to light after Ymir's death. Otherwise, we might end up legitimizing the Paladin's border crossing..."
"......"
"Either way, I'll do everything I can to erase any trace of you, so don't worry. Just do me one favor, burn Ymir’s body with Divine Power later. The body's already a mess, but we still need evidence that the paladin killed him."
Kadim nodded readily enough. He had his doubts about whether this clusterfuck could really be covered up properly, but for now, this was the best they had. From here on out, he'd just have to trust in the Consul's abilities.
While Enrico sank back into thought, Kadim pulled out the spoils he'd claimed from the fortress. The Soul-Binding Chains that could extract human consciousness, and fragments of the black stone he'd dug out of Ymir's heart.
The chains were a magic tool that required Mana to use, which made them useless to Kadim. When he asked if Enrico wanted to buy them, the man readily agreed, saying they'd make excellent evidence to pressure the Mage Tower.
"I'll give you 100,000 Luden for it. How's that sound?"
"200,000 Luden."
"......200,000 Luden is a bit steep. How about 120,000?"
"200,000 Luden."
"I could go up to 125,000..."
"200,000."
"130,000..."
"Killing all those monsters really did a number on my shoulders. They're getting stiff."
"...Fine. 200,000 Luden it is."
A simple negotiation with a generous outcome. After that, Kadim picked up the broken stone fragments.
"Do you know what this is, Consul?"
"That's... looks like fragments of a 'magic stone.' Was it inside Ymir's heart?"
"Yeah, that's right. You told me before that mages don't make contracts with demons. But this stone definitely has demonic energy mixed into it. Any idea how that's possible?"
"...!"
Enrico sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes widened before his face showed complete confusion. Then gradually, his expression turned grave.
"The manufacturing process for magic stones is one of the Mage Tower's most closely guarded secrets. When a mage dies, their magic stone is destroyed, making proper analysis impossible. I had no idea there was demonic energy mixed in. But how in the world did you figure that out?"
"It has a fishy smell. And I can sense a sinister presence."
"...To be able to tell just from that, your senses are superhuman too. Anyway, if magic stones really do contain demonic energy, this is no small matter. Even if they haven't made contracts with demons, the Order of Elga won't sit still if they find out about this."
"......"
"No, wait, but how could this have gone unnoticed all this time...? Priests are sensitive to demonic energy too... Are they ignoring it on purpose...? Ugh, I have no idea what's going on..."
Enrico rubbed his face in frustration. He clearly didn't know anything else, so Kadim figured he’d have to go find the answers himself.
The Mage Tower.
A place founded by Melissa to teach mages, but one that now seemed to have gone completely rotten.
Kadim stuffed the magic stone fragments into his pocket and stood up.
"Let's head back to Remtana and settle the payment. I'll leave the rest of the cleanup to you."
"Hm? You're planning to leave Remtana right away?"
"Yeah, I'll head to the Mage Tower first. If you find a way for me to access those records, come let me know. If you can't, I'll track you down later."
"......"
Enrico swallowed hard.
He'd been so caught up in everything that he'd momentarily forgotten. Honestly, promising to help with the records was just something he made up on the spot to hook Kadim. But if he wanted to keep his life, he'd have to start searching every possible avenue for a solution.
Still, this was far from a losing deal.
This man had proven his abilities through superhuman feats. If the Emperor saw a warrior like him, he'd gladly grant titles and lands. If a wealthy merchant from a major city saw him, they'd offer a fortune. If a northern warlord saw him, they'd lay out legendary dwarven relics. And Enrico had formed a connection with him with barely any effort.
Once Enrico got lucky, he didn't let go easily.
"Of course I'll keep my promise. But would you be up for one more job?”
"......"
"It won't be anything as difficult as this time, I swear. You'd just need to escort me while heading in the direction you were already going. I realized I probably need to visit the Delutana Council myself to clean up this mess properly.”
"......"
"I'll leave as soon as I finish organizing things here. We'll travel together to the Golden Road, then I'll go to Delutana, and you'll go to Vestana. I’ll pay you whatever you want, plus I’ll cover your horse and travel expenses. What do you say?"
What came back was an emotionless stare that was hard to read. Enrico steadied his nerves and waited for an answer. After stroking his chin in thought for a moment, Kadim finally spoke.
"You said you're going to Delutana?"
"...That's right."
"Then you probably won't mind if one more person tags along.”
Leaving the puzzled Consul behind, Kadim hurried off without bothering to explain anything.
***
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The sound of metal being hammered rang out from beyond the iron door. The bitter smell of metal shavings still hung in the air, but unlike before, the door wasn't locked. When he pushed open the creaking door, the heat from the blazing forge rushed out like someone had dumped hot water on his face.
"Welcome... Hm? Oh, it’s the mercenary! What brings you here?”
Kadim chuckled quietly.
His messy hair and white beard were trimmed short. He was wearing clean work clothes with no holes. His voice, which used to be full of complaints and irritation, now sounded loud and confident. Except for his limp, everything about him had changed.
Old Man ‘IronHammer’ Gulak looked like a completely different person.
"You're looking brighter, old man. Way better than when I first saw you."
“It's because I’m working again! I honestly don't know how I lived like a bum doing nothing for so long. As soon as I finished your job, orders started flooding in. I’ve been busy non-stop!”
"Good to hear. You’ll be rich enough to gold-plate your anvil soon.”
"Bwahahaha... It's all thanks to the Consul and you. But I doubt you came just to check in on me. What brings you here? Is there a problem with the weapon?"
"No, the weapon's fine. Those daggers work beautifully."
"Ah, then don't tell me you can't forget the taste of that drink from last time..."
"If you bring that piss-water around again, I'll make sure you're eating soft foods for the rest of your life."
"...Damn uneducated barbarian."
Kadim and Gulak both cracked up laughing. It wasn't awkward like last time. After making the weapon, the warrior and the blacksmith had formed a weird bond.
Gulak set down his hammer for a moment. The two sat facing each other across a small table. The moment Kadim's ass hit the seat, he pulled out a heavy pouch. The wrinkles on Gulak's forehead deepened with confusion.
"......What's this? I remember already getting paid."
"After using the daggers and realized it's better than I thought. The pittance I gave you last time doesn't feel like enough. If you make something good, you should get proper compensation."
Gulak pulled out a gold coin from the pouch to examine it. His cloudy irises trembled faintly. But slowly, he shook his head and pushed the pouch back.
"No need, you don't have to give me this. Just getting the strength to start working again was a gift enough for me. And what would this old man do with that much money anyway? It's not like I'm going to gold-plate my anvil like you said..."
"You could use it to move to the big city and settle down near your family.”
Gulak's white eyebrows shot up. A bitter smile spread across the old man's cracked lips.
"...Did the Consul tell you about me?"
Kadim didn't say yes or no. He just kept talking.
"The Consul has business in Delutana. So I agreed to escort him to the Golden Road. Since I'm going that way anyway, I figured one more person wouldn't hurt, so I told him you're coming with us.”
“What? R-really?”
"We leave once the Consul finishes his business in Remtana. Don't know exactly when, so you should start wrapping things up around here. Only pack what you absolutely need."
"B-but I can't... with my bad leg, I can't travel that far..."
"The Consul promised to give you a horse. Luckily, the horse doesn't have a limp.”
Gulak's eyes quivered violently.
Tears welled up in his eyes, filling a heart that had been dry and cracked for years. He bit his lip and stared at the floor, then looked up and asked with a choked voice.
"Why are you being so kind to me? I... I... I don't deserve this much kindness... I wasn't even good to you..."
Why?
There was no reason.
Getting separated from family, getting crippled, and losing everything were just normal in this world. Making a few good weapons didn't make this old man any more special than the other miserable people out there.
But Kadim has a peculiar principle.
To survive, you crawl through bloody mud and drink filth if you have to. But if you aren't gonna die, you give your bread to the guy who's hungrier than you.
This last principle is what kept him from becoming a heartless demon.
So while he still could, he decided to help the people around him who were stuck in hell.
"...There's no reason. Just think of it as fate's whim."
Gulak looked blank for a second, then let out a raspy laugh. He rubbed his red, watery eyes with his arm.
"Dammit, my cataracts are acting up at a time like this... Been staring at the forge fire too much lately..."
"......"
"Anyway... thank you. I can't explain how much this means to me. It might not be much, but I promise I’ll make a masterpiece just for you before I die... If you ever get the chance, come by Delutana.”
Kadim stood without answering.
He didn't even know when he'd reach the Mage Tower, let alone anything beyond that. Best to let empty promises like that go in one ear and out the other. Whether he'd be able to visit or not, fate would decide that.
But just as he was about to leave the smithy, Kadim spotted something on the workbench.
"......?"
A familiar olive-green gleam. He grimaced like he'd seen something hideous, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Why the hell is that here? What are you making, old man?"
"Ah, the Consul's soldiers all asked me to attach these to their armor. From what I heard, they got them as spoils from hunting some terrifying monster... I've got about a dozen more of these to make. Phew, I better hurry if I want to finish before leaving Remtana."
"......"
Kadim shook his head.
He glanced at the armor covered in dangling Hydra scales one last time before chuckling in disbelief and walking out of the smithy.