Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Elf at the Bandits' Door
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“Why are you acting like this? If you want information, you have to pay a price.”
“A price?”
“Yeah. You’re pretty stunning-looking, so spend just one night with me, and I’ll give you all the info you want.”
Of course, he had no intention of handing over any information even if she slept with him. His plan was to rape her just enough, then dose her with drugs until she was unconscious, and sell her off at the slave market for a nice chunk of change.
“As expected.”
But the woman, seemingly oblivious to the danger she was in, calmly removed her hood with a detached expression. Beneath her glossy silver hair, pointed ears came into view.
“Short-lived races cross the line when you treat them kindly.”
“Wait a second. You’re an elf—”
Humber’s body floated into the air and slammed into the wall. Thud! His body bounced off the wall and rolled across the floor. Amid the debris crumbling from the ceiling due to the intense impact, Humber let out a groan with his mouth wide open.
“Guh... ughhh...”
In his near-fainting haze, he could see the elf rising from her seat. Step by step. She strode over arrogantly and looked down at him coldly before speaking.
“The culprit.”
“I... I don’t kn—”
Humber’s body lifted into the air again before being smashed into the floor at light speed. Boom! Along with the dull thud, it felt like every bone in his body was shattering. He couldn’t even groan anymore and was foaming at the mouth when the elf lifted her foot and stomped on his head.
“The culprit.”
Only then did Humber understand the elf. This elf didn’t regard humans as living beings. If he didn’t know, she’d kill him for not knowing. If he lied and said he didn’t know, she’d kill him for being insolent.
The only way to survive was to spill every bit of information he had. Overwhelmed by extreme terror toward the elf crushing his head, Humber screamed.
“I’ll... I’ll talk! Where the Ten Outlaws are hiding—!”
The chirping of birds outside the window gently roused me from sleep. I’d been staring blankly ahead with bleary eyes when I abruptly sat up, wiping the drool from my mouth.
“Tch.”
I’d apparently dozed off without realizing it while sitting at my desk all day, determined to catch the culprits. No one had seen me sleeping, but I still felt a pointless wave of embarrassment.
After clearing my throat and slapping my cheeks to wake myself up, I pulled a map from the mess of scattered documents.
A map of the three districts making up the city, with specific sections circled. Yesterday, as I pored over the testimonies from the territory’s residents and pinpointed inconsistencies, I’d arbitrarily predicted the bandits’ next crime scene.
There was no guarantee they’d show up in these areas, but the probability was highest here. The problem was that there were nine such circled sections.
‘If I deploy the count’s private soldiers along with all available knights from the order, catching them shouldn’t be too hard...’
But that could stoke the residents’ anxiety. A large-scale movement of soldiers and knights would be enough to burden the entire territory.
It was just about capturing ten robbers—I didn’t want to cause unnecessary uproar. Besides, if I threw in this many private troops and knights and still failed to catch them, my reputation would plummet.
I needed to proceed with caution.
‘I should go talk to the nobles who were victimized.’
Testimonies from residents alone weren’t enough to narrow it down further. That meant I had to leg it out and secure some solid eyewitness accounts.
‘Call Marhan and have him patrol.’
As I resolved myself and gathered the documents, an unexpected knock came at the door. The elf? Hoping against hope, I stayed silent, and a deep, low voice came from the other side.
“Regent Excellency. I am Hildes Proheim. I apologize for disturbing you when you’re busy, but might I have a moment of your time?”
Hildes Proheim.
He was the captain of the Blue Banner Knights, newly formed by the Pelgaroin Count’s house, and a great man recognized with Provost Meister rank in the imperial certified swordsmanship group, the Unceasing Falcons.
During the Orc Subjugation War eight years ago, he’d been appointed a banneret knight and commanded numerous troops, so pretty much everyone in the count’s domain knew Hildes.
It made me tense that such a battle-hardened veteran had come to see me. I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Of course. Come in.”
At my permission, the door opened, and in walked Hildes, his beard neatly trimmed. A friendly smile hung beneath the eye wrinkles that spoke of his experience.
Even in peacetime, he wore light armor, exuding disciplined rigor. With his helmet tucked under his arm, he strode toward me and bowed his head.
“Representing the Blue Banner Knights, I pay my respects to the Regent Excellency. I’m sorry for the late greeting.”
“N-No need for that. I know better than anyone how busy the knights are with this robbery incident. Raise your head.”
“I am deeply moved by your gracious words, Regent Excellency.”
Hildes lifted his head. A playful smile played on his lips.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other face-to-face. You’ve grown into such a fine young man. If the late elders could see Young Lord Theorad now, they’d surely be proud.”
His sudden praise left me feeling awkward.
“It’s not that big a deal.”
“Such modesty. I hear from my subordinates that since entering your office, Your Excellency hasn’t stepped foot outside even once. How could one not admire someone so devoted to their duties?”
“Well... Are you teasing me right now, Knight Captain?”
As regent visiting the count’s castle, being immersed in work was only natural. To praise something so obvious felt like mockery from my perspective.
Hildes chuckled at my prickly attitude and set his helmet down on the desk.
“In an age where nobles ignore duties and chase only privileges, Your Excellency deserves high praise. If you take my sincerity as jest, there’s nothing to be done.”
“Enough buttering me up. But...”
I tilted my head as I glanced at Hildes’s breastplate. Etched crudely along its edge was a deer leaping through a forest, scratched in as if with a sharp awl rather than professional engraving.
“What’s with the forest on your breastplate? I’ve never heard the knight captain had an interest in woods.”
“Oh, this? Yesterday, I was exercising without my armor near the training grounds. When I went back to grab it afterward, Your Excellency’s slave had doodled on my breastplate. Quite bold, isn’t it?”
Hildes burst into laughter. I, on the other hand, gasped in flustered shock. Was the elf’s “little mistake” from yesterday doodling on the Pelgaroin Count’s house knight captain’s breastplate?
‘It wasn’t even a mistake to begin with!’
Anyone could see it was deliberate, you crazy woman! Breaking into a cold sweat, I shot up from my seat and bowed deeply to Hildes.
“I-I’m sorry! It’s my fault for not managing my slave properly!”
“Regent Excellency? There’s no need for you to apologize.”
“But it’s my responsibility! I’ll make it right and compensate, so bill the Deharem Viscountcy for the damages!”
“Y-Your Excellency, I understand your intentions, but I actually rather like this.”
Eh? He liked it? Puzzled, I looked up, and Hildes tapped the drawing on his breastplate with a serious expression.
“Isn’t it well done? The forest looks like its branches are swaying in an imminent breeze, and the leaping deer is full of dynamic energy. It’s not on paper either—this is on a curved breastplate. Even a master painter couldn’t pull off something this beautiful.”
“Come to think of it...”
He was right; it was very well drawn. Where did she learn to draw like that? As I stared blankly, Hildes picked up the helmet from the desk and tucked it under his arm.
“Anyway, I should get back to my duties now. I just stopped by to say hello.”
“Duties meaning something to do with those Ten Outlaws robbers?”
“That too, but right now, settling the labor dispute among the witches residing in the count’s domain comes first. Better to handle it before the Order of Equilibrium steps in, or we’ll have needless noise.”
“Ah, I see. Tough work.”
“The real headache is on you, Regent Excellency, racking your brains to catch those robbers. I’m just moving my body around. Lately, why do so many vexing things pile up?”
Hildes let out a short sigh and gave an awkward smile.
“To reiterate, taking on the regent’s role at a time like this must be causing you no end of grief. If those robbers turned themselves in, it’d make things a lot easier for Your Excellency.”
“Turn themselves in... I wish, but guys plotting crimes this meticulously aren’t likely to surrender.”
“True enough.”
Hildes clicked his tongue in regret, then spoke up as if something had just occurred to him.
“Oh, just in case—when you catch the leader of those robbers, try interrogating him yourself. His methods seem very similar to the culprit Your Excellency was tracking about three years ago.”
Three years ago—that the guy who brutally murdered a woman’s husband and burned down her house? Recalling fragmented memories, I nodded with a troubled heart.
“Got it. If we nab him, I’ll look into it.”
*
The basement of the Black Wheat Tavern.
The ten robbers, dubbed the “Ten Outlaws,” inspected their weapons while exchanging idle laughs.
“Boss, did you see those knight bastards come up empty yesterday? They got right up close but went home with nothing.”
The one-eyed second-in-command snickered as he spoke, and the hooded boss grinned, flashing his buck teeth.
“It’s thanks to sprinkling some of that nobles’ money around—the dumb villagers are on our side now. Outlaws my ass. They don’t even know how much we’re bleeding them dry.”
“You bet. What would those idiots know?”
Laughter erupted in the basement at the second-in-command’s quip. The boss downed a shot of moonshine against the backdrop of his men’s chuckles. Sweet with a sharp tang—top-notch stuff.
‘Stupid knights.’
They’d been fleecing nobles for a whole month already, yet there wasn’t even a proper investigation, let alone any leads on them.
It wasn’t incomprehensible. To throw off the probes, they’d bribed a few villagers for false testimonies and spread some of the extorted cash around, naturally swaying public opinion their way.
They’d even coined that idiotic title “Ten Outlaws.” But tails get caught eventually. He’d fleece for another month, then bolt to the duchy.
As he mulled over his plans, the second-in-command leaned forward with a lecherous grin.
“Boss, that girl who gave us milk as thanks a week ago? Nice rack, pretty face—wanna track her down and have a go before we ditch the count’s domain?”
Horny bastard. The boss clicked his tongue but nodded.
“Yeah. Time to end the outlaw charade with a bang. Kill her whole family and fuck her all day.”
His men cheered at his words, thrilled at the prospect of raping a pretty girl.
But the cheers didn’t last.
Boom!
The boards blocking the basement door flew off and rolled across the floor. The startled boss whipped his head around to see a woman with beautiful silver hair and flashing red eyes standing in the doorway.
‘An elf?’
Pointed ears on both sides. Speechless at sighting a fairy-tale race, he watched as the elf brushed her fallen hair behind her ear and spoke.
“You guys broke my toy. I’m here to fix it, so don’t resist. You lot, head to the count’s castle right now and confess your crimes. Just say you’re surrendering because you’re scared of Theorad.”
What nonsense is this? The boss let out a hollow laugh, and the elf blinked her eyes impassively.
“What’re you waiting for? Not going to confess?”
Casual laughter spread among his men. Confess? If they were gonna confess, they wouldn’t have committed the crimes.
“Crazy bitch must be dying to get raped to death.”
The boss scowled and raised his weapon, prompting the second-in-command and others to grab their tools while snickering. Seeing this, the elf sighed and raised both hands, spreading her fingers wide.
“Ten.”
Ten? Giving them ten seconds to drop their weapons? It was so absurd he couldn’t even laugh. In ten seconds, they could chop off all her limbs—