Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: One of Me is Enough (2)
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Iriel was exactly as she had always been.
From a young age, she had been incredibly violent.
Her stubbornness was unmatched, and her temper was foul beyond measure. I had more bad memories from dealing with her than I could count.
Just thinking back to the times she came to the palace to play with Lucian gave me chills even from those hazy recollections.
Back then, not knowing I would die young, I had thought I would spend my life with her, and it filled me with despair...
Seeing Iriel's face now brought all those old emotions flooding back.
To think that I, even in my previous life, had lived under the thumb of a mere child like a rat.
Pathetic beyond words.
Something that could never happen with who I was now.
"You came from headquarters?"
Iriel said.
We had just followed her into a neatly organized room and sat down.
The furniture and items in the room suggested it was used as an office.
I handed her the letter Lucian had given me.
She said,
"I'll read it first."
"Make yourself comfortable."
As she tore open the envelope, she looked up with a sullen expression.
"By any chance, do you know me?"
"No way."
"Then why are you talking down to me from the start?"
Allen looked at me with curious eyes too.
What reason did I need for speaking casually?
If I added up my lives, I had lived a full sixty years. I had no desire to show respect to these kids.
Beyond that, in my previous life I had been the crown prince, and after reincarnation, a beggar.
Once born noble, once without learning—it made casual speech comfortable in every way.
I answered curtly.
"I never learned how to speak politely."
"......"
She stared at me blankly before turning back to the letter.
I could see from her expression that she didn't like me, but she didn't yet know exactly why I was here.
That was probably written in the letter. She read on, seeking the answer.
"Sorry for the late introduction. I'm Iriel."
After finishing the letter, Iriel formally introduced herself.
Until now, she likely hadn't figured out if we were here on merchant group business or independence army matters.
"I'm Jeneth."
"I'm Allen."
Even after hearing my name, she showed no particular reaction and continued the conversation naturally.
"Do you know the situation at the branch?"
At her question, Allen and I exchanged glances.
Meaning, do you know?
We knew nothing.
Seeing me stand there blankly, Iriel said,
"You seem to not know much."
Her tone was sharp as a needle.
"Jeneth really doesn't know a lot of things, that's true."
Allen replied. He was looking at Iriel with admiration.
His eyes said, how did you know?
Just guesswork.
Holding back my itchy hands, I said,
"They told me to come and hear it."
"I see. But before I explain, I do have a question. This isn't something a few people can resolve."
"Simply put, trust the one who wrote the letter."
Iriel nodded lightly at my words.
"Fair enough. Then let me explain the situation."
She proceeded calmly.
To sum up what I heard:
The Palette Merchant Group's Cray Branch was conducting business transporting various goods beyond the plains called Midkrei.
But crossing Midkrei, which took over a month just to traverse, required an enormous toll.
Because of the bandits who claimed ownership of the plains.
The bandits had been a headache in Midkrei for over twenty years already.
Yet they couldn't be subjugated, only endured, because they moved in multiple tribes and lived nomadic lives without fixed homes.
Moreover, their horsemanship was so superb that catching them on the vast plains was no easy task.
That was why they had no choice but to pay the exorbitant passage fee to cross.
The problem arose recently when the Cray Branch clashed with the bandits.
As a result, they could no longer cross Midkrei.
This was a matter tied to the very survival of the branch.
After hearing everything, I nodded without much emotion.
Iriel asked with suspicious eyes.
"So, do you have a way?"
"Of course."
"Eh? Really?"
At my firm answer, her eyes widened.
"What's the method?"
"Wipe them all out."
"......"
The anticipation in Iriel's eyes dried up in an instant.
Anyone knew that was the solution.
It was a problem precisely because they couldn't do it.
Iriel said with a shit-eating expression.
"That's why I'm asking if you have a way to wipe them out."
Instead of answering her, I looked at Allen.
"Allen, what's my usual line?"
"Overwhelming power needs no plan! Sir."
As Allen puffed out his chest and said it, Iriel looked at us in bewilderment.
I put an end to her doubts.
"One of me is enough."
Iriel fell silent as if at a loss for words, then growled with flashing eyes.
"Are you messing with me right now?"
Allen stepped in to soothe Iriel, who looked like her blood pressure was rising.
"It might be hard to believe, but there's no need to worry. Despite appearances, Jeneth doesn't talk nonsense."
Of course, it didn't work.
"Didn't I say the bandits have been acting like owners of Midkrei for years?"
"T-Ten years?"
Allen rolled his eyes upward, trying to recall.
The answer was twenty years.
He hadn't been listening.
Her gaze sharpened further.
"Twenty years!"
"Ah."
"Of course, that's not the point. But! The fact that they've existed for so long means they're that hard to subjugate. And you think you can do it alone?"
Her patience seemed to be reaching its limit. Still, she wasn't all bark with no bite.
She had developed the emotion called patience.
"You don't need to trust me. Trust the one who wrote the letter, the ones who sent me here."
"So you can't see I'm barely holding back my anger right now?"
"I can see it."
She was certainly holding her temper better than I expected.
"Right? I'm really holding back right now."
To avoid wasting energy on pointless back-and-forth, I added an explanation.
"I'm a Sword Master."
Her face crumpled like a sheet of paper at the succinct statement.
"This guy's for real!"
This seemed even harder for her to believe.
I said,
"What you should doubt isn't me—it's your common sense."
In fact, the letter had already proven my existence.
She just couldn't believe it.
Because my words contradicted her known common sense.
In such cases.
"Just believe it."
There was no choice but to say.
"I'm the one who can make it possible."
She pondered my confidence for a moment, then nodded as if giving in.
"Fine, whatever. Let's say that's true a hundred times over. So you'll handle it alone? I don't need to help?"
"I just thought of something. I do need a little help. Nothing major."
I explained my idea.
After hearing it, her eyes bulged and she gasped.
"Are you insane and trying to die?"
* * *
"Will it be okay?"
It was the question from the chief steward, Pamed.
Iriel pressed her temple at his concern.
"I don't know."
She couldn't be sure herself.
Even so, she proceeded with what Jeneth wanted.
Not because she believed him.
Because she believed Lucian, who wrote the letter.
What Lucian had conveyed in the letter was simple.
Grant whatever he wants.
The meaning of this blind faith was clear.
Everything Jeneth said was true.
But still, she couldn't believe it.
All the circumstances screamed that he was telling the truth, but how could she understand it?
A guy who looked like a peer saying he'd subjugate the bandits alone.
Claiming to be one of the four Sword Masters on the continent.
Believing that straight up would be crazy.
"It'll probably be fine. If big brother sent him, there must be a reason."
Iriel reassured the steward while calming her own heart.
What she said to him was also for herself.
'...Yeah, it'll be fine. He wouldn't dig his own grave.'
Iriel recalled Jeneth, who had spoken without a shred of doubt.
Whatever else, he was no ordinary person.
She just had that feeling.
What was it?
He had an intimidating aura that made people bow their heads.
Not exuding any tyrannical presence, yet his short, commanding tone didn't grate.
His condescension felt so natural that casual speech seemed par for the course.
Earlier, her pride had been hurt and she'd picked a fight, but he had this overwhelming quality.
Anyway, he was no ordinary guy, that was certain.
But she didn't like him.
Especially that name.
Jeneth.
It kept reminding her of someone.
"Anyway, I need to head to headquarters."
"Headquarters?"
At Iriel's words, Pamed's pupils dilated.
Given the branch's current situation, it wasn't the time for the branch head to be away.
Going to headquarters anyway meant something more important had come up.
"You'll have to manage the branch for a while, steward."
"Yes, understood. It's been a while since you went to headquarters."
"Yeah. I'm already scared of what they'll assign me next."
"It probably won't be anything dangerous."
"Right?"
"Of course."
At the steward's reply, Iriel stood up with a bright smile.
"If it is, I'll just play hooky."
* * *
The vast horizon filled the view, opening up completely.
Scattered hills and large boulders obstructed the sight here and there, but it was an endlessly expansive plain.
"Whew, this is really something."
Allen's impression.
As he said, the scenery was spectacular.
Like standing before a vast ocean.
Crossing this place took a month, but things would likely resolve before then.
Right now, we were riding a large wagon flying the merchant group's flag.
This was all I had asked of her—the bait to lure the bandits.
It might look modest at a glance, but it had a tantalizing lure.
Namely, pride.
They wouldn't stand by while we, bearing the merchant group's name, crossed the plains without paying the toll.
We advanced slowly across the broad wilderness.
The shaded wagon was cozy.
No need to hold the reins; we drifted across the plains following the horse's pace.
It wasn't much different from fishing.
Just wait for them to bite.
"Is this really okay?"
Allen asked in an uneasy voice.
Though lying down following me, he looked extremely uncomfortable at a glance.
Body at ease, but mind not so much.
With eyes closed, feeling the wind, I said,
"Isn't it about time you just trusted me?"
"Haha, I never doubt Jeneth's strength, of course. But thinking about it, the bandits will come in droves..."
He gave an awkward smile.
Lying idle must have sparked all sorts of thoughts.
"Don't talk nonsense. Just make sure to have food ready when it's time."
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Three days passed like that.
Nothing happened in the meantime.
Lying down was starting to feel tedious.
It really felt like drifting on the open sea. Leisure turning to boredom.
The vast plains looked great from outside, but inside, it was just boring horizons everywhere.
Then, finally, the bite came.
Rumble.
A faint vibration reached the wagon.
The ground's tremor up to my waist.
They were coming.
Allen was sleeping soundly, napping through it all.
Soon after, I spotted the dust cloud approaching us.
I quietly stepped down from the wagon. The horses continued at their leisurely pace.
No need to wake Allen, deep in sleep.
I'd be right back.
With a light push off the ground, the scenery rushed backward like arrows, and the shimmering dust cloud approached rapidly.
It was a bandit horde.