Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Mercenary King's Wrath
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Sparrows chirped in the early morning.
Pernyan dragged his weary body to a seat in the garden. Attendants brought out coffee and some light refreshments.
“Are you alright, sir?”
“I'm exhausted.”
How many nights had it been since he last slept?
“Perhaps you should get some rest?”
“I can't.”
He was aware he was pushing himself too hard, but with the foretold descent of the demon Andromalius, there was no time for leisure.
“Master Landgard often voices his complaints.”
“Complaints? That's just the grumbling of that eccentric dwarf. When he's working, the smile never leaves his eyes.”
Landgard was one of the continent's most renowned master craftsmen, who had pledged his service to the Fallenberg family.
Pernyan was currently receiving help from Landgard and the other artisans and mages of the family.
“Master Dulleo's help is immense. He catches and improves upon things I hadn't even noticed.”
It was truly convenient to have the aid of such a brilliant mage.
“Hm?”
Just then, Pernyan's senses picked up an unfamiliar presence.
It was a man he had never seen before. His towering frame stood about two meters tall. His entire body was corded with solid muscle, and fine scars were etched upon his skin.
He appeared to be a man in his mid-forties.
“He doesn't seem to be a member of the family.”
But what sent a chill down Pernyan's spine was the fact that he could feel nothing from the man.
It was one of two things.
Either there was truly nothing there, or he was a powerhouse far beyond Pernyan's ability to comprehend.
“Isn't that where the Duke's office is?”
“Is he coming from a meeting with Father?”
If so, he wasn't an enemy. Indeed, no foe of the Fallenbergs would dare enter the heart of the family estate.
*Who could meet with Father this early in the morning? His face looks somewhat familiar.*
As he was thinking this, their eyes met.
“...!”
Pernyan flinched, feeling as if he had just encountered a wild beast. An unprocessed, raw fury was seething within the man.
“What...!”
Hyde quickly stepped in front of Pernyan, blocking his view.
“I don't intend to harm him, so step aside.”
Before he knew it, the man was right in front of them.
A gentle push to the shoulder sent Hyde stumbling back, unable to resist.
Their eyes met once more.
“So it's you. The one who sent that boy there.”
The moment the growling words pierced his lungs, lightning struck inside Pernyan's mind.
The world shifted.
[“So it's you. The one who was there with that boy.”]
The man looked a little older. But his presence was just as imposing.
No, it was more menacing, more ferocious. The raw fury made one's heart tremble instinctively.
[“Yes. I'm sorry.”
“You have no need to be sorry. It was simply that the boy was weak, and I failed to teach him properly.”]
Aint bowed his head. He, too, looked much more mature than he did now.
The man calmly forgave him, but the deep-seated anger did not diminish in the slightest.
[“How was it? The boy's end?”
“...He was braver than anyone.”
“...Foolish boy. I taught him to be a mercenary, to forget justice and courage and focus only on money and his own life.”]
An empty laugh escaped him—one of futility, yet tinged with a hint of pride and regret.
[“Who was it? The one who killed him.”
“...A demon.”
“A demon?”
“...It was Andras.”
“A demon, you say. What happened to it?”
“I killed it. With Barus's help.”
“...I'd heard rumors that the Vile Breed were on the move. Still, I never thought it had much to do with me, but they've killed my disciple.”]
The man gave a self-deprecating smile.
[“Since they took Barus from me, I will ensure they never achieve what they desire.”]
[“I will spend the rest of my life hunting demons.”]
A torrent of hatred and killing intent, far beyond anything Pernyan could fathom, erupted. The moment his mind went dizzy, he was pulled back to reality.
*...Barus dies?*
Wait, then this man is...
Pernyan forced himself to ignore the headache and studied the man's face. No wonder he looked familiar; he had seen him in the register of notable figures.
“...The Mercenary King.”
A title bestowed upon mercenaries and knights.
One of the ten greatest knights.
“You've forgotten the honorific, young blood of Fallenberg.”
“...It is an honor to meet you.”
“I heard you hired Barus for a job. Why?”
“...That's.”
A sense of foreboding washed over him. Had something gone wrong?
“...Because I believed Barus was the right man for the job.”
“Yes. He is the right man. Not because he's my disciple, but because Barus is a truly exceptional mercenary.”
Heh, the Mercenary King chuckled lowly.
“I have no intention of blaming you. You didn't do it, and there's nothing wrong with hiring a mercenary.”
Besides, it was Barus's choice to accept the request.
“Nevertheless, I can't help but think that if it weren't for your request, that boy wouldn't have ended up like this.”
“...What happened to Barus?”
“Hear it from your father. And from now on, stay out of my sight as much as possible. Logically, I know it's not your fault, but my emotions say otherwise.”
Suppressing his hatred, the Mercenary King disappeared.
Once he was gone, Pernyan, freed from the oppressive pressure, gasped for breath.
“Are you alright...!”
Hyde, who had been frozen by the Mercenary King's presence, bit his lip and checked on Pernyan.
“I'm fine...!”
His head felt like it was splitting apart, but it was nothing. Nothing at all.
That wasn't what was important right now.
*Something happened to Barus!*
Which meant something must have happened to Aint, who was with him.
Surely Aint isn't dead.
*If the future I twisted made the Vile Breed more cautious, and they deployed stronger forces as a result...?*
Damn it, Pernyan ground his teeth.
It was then.
“Young Master, there you are. His Excellency summons you.”
An attendant had arrived. Pernyan headed straight for the family head's office.
“Welcome. From the look on your face, it seems you've run into Garrett.”
Garrett Schreiner. The Mercenary King's real name.
“Yes. What in the world is going on?”
“Garrett requested our help. He asked us to track down the culprit.”
The Fallenberg family's information network, which spread out like a spiderweb, was something they could boast was superior to any other on the continent.
That was why the Mercenary King had come.
“...The culprit?”
“During the Abellare subjugation, Garrett's disciple, Barus Dne, was gravely injured and has yet to regain consciousness.”
“...!”
Pernyan let out a sigh of relief.
He felt sorry for Barus, but if the Vile Breed's operation had been a success, they wouldn't have left a witness...
The fact that he was alive meant.
*Aint isn't dead.*
It meant that hope was not lost.
* * *
“What did you talk about?”
“Something serious.”
According to the original Prophecy Book, Aint endures the Vile Breed's attack alone. So why did things turn out this way, even with Barus and the Ink-Black Spear Mercenary Group there?
*There's only one explanation.*
The future Pernyan changed had caused a butterfly effect.
And that meant the future to come was also unpredictable.
*I was only going to make minimal preparations for Aint's growth, but that might not be nearly enough.*
Perhaps a demon other than Andromalius might appear, or something more horrific than students simply being infected by demonic energy and going mad could occur.
More minimal safety measures were needed.
A fail-safe to prevent the worst-case scenario, like what happened to Barus.
After finishing the letter, he placed a small gem inside the envelope along with it.
“I don't need to tell you who to send this to, do I?”
“The greedy professor at the academy, I presume.”
“And this one too.”
“Another one?”
“Send it to Ruina.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hyde took the letters.
* * *
The long winter, longer here than in other regions, finally ended, and the half-melted snow turned the earth to mud.
A silver knight galloped on a pure white steed. The thick mud was no obstacle, and as a brilliant blue sword light flashed, monsters screamed and were thrown aside.
“Follow Sir Ruina!”
“Chaaarge!”
Thirty knights charged forward in unison.
Their charge, honed sharp as an awl, split the monsters in two.
“Good work, everyone.”
There weren't many monsters, so the battle ended quickly.
Ruina flicked the blood from her sword and fed a carrot to her panting horse.
“You did well too, Sir Ruina. Things have really stabilized.”
Less than half a year had passed since she had returned to her family's domain, but it was quite different from when she had left.
The castle walls had been heavily repaired, and most of the monster nests that had sprung up across the territory since that day had been subjugated.
“His Excellency has worked very hard.”
“It's thanks to everyone's combined efforts. Let's head back. This should be sufficient.”
Since reconnaissance was the main objective, there was no need to stay longer now that they had confirmed no new nests had formed near the domain.
“Yes, milady.”
The patrol, composed purely of knights, returned to the domain.
“My Lady, His Excellency summons you.”
“Father?”
Count Bercefe was in his office. As if he had been waiting for Ruina, two cups of tea and refreshments were set on the table.
“Welcome.”
“Reporting on the patrol, we found no new monster nests near Alsen.”
“Good work. Have some tea first. There's chocolate, too, your favorite.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling a lack of sugar, Ruina unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
*...It's a little lacking.*
It was of high quality, but perhaps because she had grown so accustomed to kraken ink chocolate, it felt unsatisfying.
“Take this.”
“What's this?”
“A letter arrived for you.”
It was a letter bearing the Fallenberg seal, but it wasn't from the family head.
“Pernyan?”
“When I heard you'd become close with Pernyan and formed a pair, I honestly found it hard to believe, but it seems to be true. Seeing as you're even exchanging letters during the break.”
“...It's not really like that. Did you open it?”
“I am not so shameless a father as to carelessly open my daughter's letters. Though I must admit, I was tempted to tear it open right away.”
Ruina opened the letter.
The contents were simple.
[Vile Breed spotted.]
It was both information and a warning for Ruina. Prepare yourself, as there might be a battle with the Vile Breed after the break.
*It also seems like he's telling me to come back a little sooner.*
That's probably it.
“May I ask what it says?”
“It's nothing special.”
She couldn't tell him, as she had decided to keep the secret about Pernyan and the Vile Breed.
“If it's nothing special, then you wouldn't mind showing me.”
“Why do you want to see it?”
“The Fallenbergs are our gracious lenders, but they are also the ones who have bound us in the shackles of debt. I'm not sure if it's right for you to be so close with Pernyan Fallenberg.”
“Pernyan promised to waive the interest for three years.”
“I know. It has given us considerable breathing room.”
Even so.
“My questions remain. Why? Why would that family, so obsessed with money, make such a promise to you and keep it? The loan is so large that the interest is substantial. Why would they willingly give that up?”
“That's...”
“No matter how much I ponder it, I can only arrive at one conclusion. But I do not wish for you to be married off as if you were being sold to pay a debt.”
A faint blush rose to Ruina's cheeks.
“...It's not like that!”
“Then you can show it to me, can't you?”
“...”
“I have this feeling that the letter is from that scoundrel Pernyan, pressuring my precious daughter. I've fought the urge to open it countless times since it arrived.”
“...”
Ruina bit her lip under the Count's cool gaze. After a long hesitation, she asked.
“If I do, you must promise not to speak of its contents to anyone.”
“I will.”
“On your honor as my father?”
“I will.”
Ruina carefully handed him the letter. After staring at it for a long while, the Count stood up.
“Father?”
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going all of a sudden?”
“You'll know when we get there.”
They arrived at a deep, hidden part of the estate.
“Open the door.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The soldiers guarding the door opened it, revealing a staircase leading down into a basement.
“I have always wondered. Those who don't know any better think the North is just a hellscape overflowing with monsters, but that is not the reality.”
Monsters are close to beasts, but in the end, they are living creatures on this continent. They have their own laws and ecosystem.
“But that day was different. An unimaginable number of monsters swarmed in, and the domain fell.”
We barely held on, and I mean barely. Most of the domain was destroyed, and countless soldiers and citizens died.
If not for the help of other domains, the Empire, and the loan from the Fallenbergs, the Bercefe family would never have been able to rise again.
“It was something that should never have happened.”
So, while rebuilding the domain, I sought the cause.
“And I found it. Just a short while ago.”
“What do you mean?”
*Creeak—*
The door to the underground storeroom opened.
Inside, there was a corpse.
A corpse so filthy, so repulsive, it evoked a primal sense of disgust.
“...Don't tell me this is?”
“It is exactly what you think it is. Thanks to this, I was able to understand why.”
Why that tragedy occurred on that day.
How dozens of different monster species came down as one.
“They were not coexisting to invade us.”
They were simply driven out, having lost their territory to a stronger power.
“Demonic beasts have made a nest in the frozen north.”
“...!”
“So answer me clearly, Ruina.”
The Count met his daughter's eyes.
“What is happening at the academy?”
Ruina could not keep the secret any longer.