Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Hostage Negotiation
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"There's someone over there dressed like you, Barshu?"
Ruby pointed toward the area near the hill.
A man on horseback was looking their way. It was still dark and quite far away, but Barshu recognized the figure.
"Looks like Hur."
Barshu waved his hand broadly and shouted in the Kuhn tongue.
"Hur. If that's you, give me a signal."
The other man raised a bow with an arrow nocked on the string and shouted back in Kuhn.
"Barshu, is that you?"
"Yes. You okay?"
"I'm fine. What about you? Chakan? The Tyrant?"
"Chakan and I are both fine. The Tyrant's captured here."
"The Tyrant captured? Does that even make sense?"
"It does. Come take a look."
Ruby translated the exchange for Jade, then asked Barshu,
"That hand gesture you just made was a bit odd. What was that signal? A trick?"
"You noticed that?"
Barshu watched intently as Hur rode toward them and asked.
Ruby mimicked Barshu's hand motion as she spoke.
"At the end of the conversation, you clapped your hands together and pulled them apart. What kind of signal was that?"
"If I were captured by the enemy right now and lying, I wouldn't give that signal, and no matter how much I told him to relax, Hur would have bolted."
"Good plan. But why trust us so easily? I'm scarier than the Tyrant here. If things go south, I could kill you!"
When Ruby spoke threateningly, Barshu replied nonchalantly,
"I've been so impressed by your power that I'm willing to take that risk. Please help us."
Ruby turned to Jade.
Jade, who didn't understand Kuhn, was curious about what the two had been discussing.
Irritated, Ruby told Jade,
"I just got outmaneuvered by this guy's words!"
"Huh? Why would Barshu—"
Jade asked.
"He's asking us to help them! I'm thinking of how to turn him down."
"Why turn him down? If there's a problem, we should obviously help! Especially since it's about demons!"
"Aren't we in a hurry?"
"No errand is so urgent that we ignore people in distress."
"There's that philosophy book that says sacrifice the small for the greater good!"
"Greater good? Which greater good?"
"The Holy Grail, obviously."
"You can't say the Holy Grail is greater than the plight of these Kuhn nomads."
"Fine. If you threaten me with the shackles around my neck, I'll have no choice but to go along, but what does Saf think?"
Ruby pointed sharply at Saf as she spoke.
"Saf, what's your take? On the way to find the holy Grail, do we really need to waste time on the troubles of these pagan barbarians?"
Saf was speechless for a moment.
Ruby turned to Jade as if that were answer enough.
"See? You can't make unilateral decisions anymore."
"I never intended to make unilateral decisions in the first place, and I've never threatened anyone."
Jade said.
"You were about to!"
"I wasn't."
"Hmph!"
Saf finally spoke up.
"Ruby, why say things you don't mean?"
"What flowery nonsense is that? I always speak the truth!"
"You're already planning to help them, aren't you?"
Saf pointed out.
Jade asked,
"Were you?"
Ruby fell silent.
Jade frowned and asked,
"Were you testing me just now?"
"No."
Ruby crossed her arms, looking dissatisfied, and continued.
"I was hoping you'd convince me hard. Like this. 'Ruby, let's go help those people together! How could we fight this brutal battle without you? We need you.'"
"What if I said that?"
"Then it'd look like I'm helping reluctantly."
Saf tilted her head, unable to follow what Ruby was saying.
Jade turned away briefly to watch Barshu reunite with Hur. The two embraced, sharing a brief moment of joy at the reunion. Then they approached Chakan, who was still leaning against the post. Chakan had just stood up and was getting a briefing from Barshu.
The three, who had started chatting happily, soon wore serious expressions as they exchanged opinions. Ruby and Saf seemed to understand everything, but Jade couldn't follow. Still, he didn't ask them to translate.
A moment later, Barshu approached and said,
"We thank your god, your sanctuary, and that holy relic."
Barshu pointed to the star cross of Danel slung over Jade's shoulder. Jade simply nodded.
Barshu glanced at Hur and Chakan, then spoke again.
"And we thank you as well. We'll repay this favor with everything except our lives. But we must ask for your help one more time."
"Please wait a moment. We need time to convince one of our own."
Jade turned to Ruby and said,
"Ruby, let's go help those people together! How could we fight this brutal battle without you? We need you."
Ruby shrugged and replied,
"No helping it. I'll help."
Jade whipped back around to Barshu and said,
"There, it's settled. Now let's go take out the Gothking."
Barshu looked flustered, and Ruby snorted a laugh.
"Hmm, your laugh is getting on my nerves. Did I say something wrong?"
Jade asked.
"No, you said it too perfectly—that's why I laughed."
Ruby giggled.
The bound Tyrant sneered.
"What's so funny? Pathetic fools."
As all eyes turned to the Tyrant, he bellowed loudly.
"Jade, was it? I can't stand by quietly in the face of your recklessness and arrogance. Against the king of the plains, the Dark Lord Gotran who rules all upon the earth—"
Ruby slapped her hand over the Tyrant's mouth to silence him. His teeth shattered, and his nose broke.
"Can't stand it? Then shut up and stay quiet!"
Ruby warned before telling Jade,
"These hunters want us—more precisely, me—to evacuate their village folk to safety. And probably rescue the 'kidnapped children' too."
Jade glanced sidelong at Barshu as he asked Ruby,
"Not take out the Gothking?"
"If the problem keeps repeating, you're better off addressing the root cause. These hunters are so terrified of the goats they haven't even considered wiping them out."
Ruby wiped the Tyrant's blood from her hand onto her pants and continued.
"So you're right, Jade. If goats are the problem, get rid of the goats."
Chakan and Hur seemed to understand Rom as well. They smiled incredulously at Ruby's words, looking at Barshu as if he'd done something wrong and chimed in.
"Is that young man in his right mind?"
"What is that little girl babbling about?"
Barshu held out his hand.
"Leave it to me."
Barshu calmed the two in Kuhn, then told Jade in Rom,
"Don't misunderstand. My two companions didn't see this boy capture the Tyrant, so they can't believe it. They're also stunned at the casual talk of dealing with Gotran, who's terrorized us for three years. Above all, these monsters can't be killed by ordinary means."
"Ah, you need proof. Then pick one, Barshu."
Ruby stepped forward and raised her fist.
"Either watch me turn that incarnation of fear, the Horse General, into a bloody pulp with my bare hands, or see Jade burn him white with magic."
The Tyrant panicked and spoke in Kuhn.
"If you kill me, I'll have all your tribe's children killed!"
"You bastard!"
Ruby immediately raised her fist at the Tyrant.
The Tyrant quickly clamped his bloodied mouth shut and averted his eyes.
Jade asked Barshu,
"What's this about kidnapped children? Is that monster telling the truth?"
"It's true. Hur reported it."
Though Hur had brought the report, Barshu, more fluent in Rom, explained the situation.
After Barshu and Chakan were captured by the Tyrant, Hur hadn't gone to Pharen but returned to the temporary tribal camp. Kuhn hunters never abandoned comrades, and Pharen was too far round-trip anyway.
By the time Hur reached the camp, it was already over.
The Gothking's army had noticed the camp's light guard and launched a sudden raid. The villagers barely resisted, and the beasts easily overran the tribe. Then they took only the children.
"Why just the children?"
Jade asked.
"This one would know."
Ruby looked down at the Tyrant and said.
"You won't get any information from me!"
The Tyrant declared. He squeezed his eyes shut, fearing another hit.
"How about using a capture verse like on Kraukus?"
Ruby suggested.
The Tyrant opened his eyes again.
"On me...? What?"
"What I'll do is this."
Ruby explained kindly.
"I'll turn you into a fist-sized lump of black mud rice cake. In that state, your soul's essence flies away, leaving only memories. Then you'll spill everything, even what you were picking your nose about three years ago. After that, I'll bury the mud-cake you in a pit, pat down the dirt like covering shit."
The Tyrant freaked out.
"W-whatever that is, don't! Just kill me!"
"You seem unaware, but that's a form of death. 'Just kill me' doesn't quite fit here."
The Tyrant snorted in rage, then yelled.
"If you kill me, the captive Kuhn children will all be devoured!"
Ruby tilted her head.
"And if we let you live, they won't?"
"That's right!"
"Do you have the authority for that?"
"I'll petition the emperor. Release me, and we'll return the Kuhn children."
"Hostage for hostage, straight trade."
As the mood seemed set for the deal, Jade hurriedly intervened.
"Ruby, look at me."
"Why?"
Jade whispered in Ruby's ear.
"You're really going through with that deal?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Never make deals with demons—that's basic basics."
"Is that from some Bible verse? Too basic, so no one wrote it down?"
"I can't argue with that, but...
"You don't trust me."
"It's not about trust here. But if you're handling it, I won't stop you."
"Then don't butt in from the start."
Ruby cleared her throat once, then told the Tyrant,
"Fine. Deal."
Ruby untied the ropes binding the Tyrant's four legs. The seemingly limp Tyrant sprang to his feet. It was obvious now that all the pained weakness had been an act.
Jade, Saf, and the hunters quickly backed away.
'I knew it!'
As soon as the Tyrant stood, he spewed white breath from his mouth. But Ruby had already looped the chain like a gag over his jaws.
"What was that breath just now?"
Ruby asked slowly as she approached the Tyrant.
The Tyrant mumbled something in a small voice, barely audible.
Ruby pressed her ear right next to the Tyrant's face.
"What? Speak up."
"Br-breathing."
"Really? Felt like an attempt at that nightmare something-or-other."
"It's true."
"I'll believe you. But no more of that from now on! If you try, I might just cut off your head and carry it."
"Didn't you promise to let me live?"
"Cutting off your head won't kill you, right?"
"St-still, that's...
Ruby lightly hopped onto the Tyrant's back and gave the order.
"Enough chit-chat. Take me to your boss!"