Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 035
Chapter Title: A Magical Word
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“Shadows!”
“Fuck, he’s mastered shadow manipulation!”
“Does that shit even exist?!”
Five thieves panicked.
“Blades aren’t working!”
“You idiot! They’re shadows, of course!”
Hehehe.
Feels good.
But this shadow control took more focus than I’d expected.
My mind wandered almost immediately, threatening to break my concentration.
‘One minute. Guess that’s the limit for control time.’
Still, catching two of them off guard in the thief pack proved it was a skill with endless potential.
Germain sis was right—no downside to listening to her!
“M-Me! I saw it in the Imperial Chronicles play! To get rid of shadows, you put out the fire!”
“Ooh! Right! Extinguish the fires and banish the shadows!”
That’s when the thieves doused the torches and campfire in their hands.
Whoosh... ssss...
With the light sources gone, the environment no longer allowed shadows to exist.
My concentration plummeted, severing my link to the shadows.
“Fuck, I can’t see shit!”
“Find the carriage first!”
“Drag ‘em out and take hostages!”
A moonless night in Sakwol.
Several tense thieves.
Meanwhile, my Black Eye blessing from Ashibar let me see them as clearly as if gamma-corrected.
Swish-.
I spun the throwing knife in my hand, gripped it properly, and tossed it lightly.
“Urk!”
“Fuck! What hit me?”
“Shadow magic plus night vision?!”
Thud-.
The thief struck by the throwing knife collapsed.
Smearing my blood on the tip with my fingertip had worked wonders.
“P-Poison!”
“Fuck! Reynold! Do something!”
“This carriage won’t open!”
Rattle rattle-.
Knight Reynold gripped the carriage door handle, yelling.
“Fuck, no choice!”
He grabbed the hilt of the greatsword on his back.
“No telling what’ll happen to the ones inside!”
“Hey! Don’t hurt Erdari!”
“You’ll lower her value!”
Click-.
At that moment, the lock disengaged, and Erdari emerged from the carriage, lantern in hand.
“Hot damn, look at that fine piece. Makes me wanna slam her down right now.”
“Always the pervert. You don’t care about species if it’s female, huh?”
“Then why isn’t the escorted Erdari tied up?”
I wondered the same about why she wasn’t bound.
Erdari Nineveh spoke.
Roar-!
A massive blaze erupted from the lantern, pouncing on the remaining thieves like a beast.
“Argh!”
“Fuck, Erdari’s using magic...?!”
“Gaaah!”
In an instant, the thieves were charred husks.
The only survivor was Knight Reynold, who’d rolled to extinguish the flames. He raised his greatsword from his back, aiming at Erdari.
“...Erdari witch? You fucking bitch! For Major General Raiden alone, I can’t let a filthy heteromorph like you walk the Empire’s streets!”
Flash-!
The greatsword knight leaped high.
“Long live His Imperial Majesty! For the glory of the Empire!”
He swung the massive blade down with all his might. With that weight and power, even the wicked Erdari might end up minced garlic.
‘May the best one win!’
One side was the thieves’ vanguard who’d tried to kill me.
The other was the wicked demon bloodline, Erdari.
Whoever won, it was pure profit for me!
Talk about luck!
Then Knight Reynold’s body froze midair.
“Gurk, guh-.”
He thrashed like a puppet on strings.
Clawing at his throat, a stench of piss wafted from between his legs, and his eyes bulged bloodshot.
As if hanged.
An invisible noose seemed to strangle him.
“Eza...kiel!”
Crack-.
I managed to loot several coin pouches from the least mangled corpses.
Chump change, but better than nothing as hush money.
“Thieves who fled the Great Wall, it seems. Lived on the roads, killing travelers and stealing their goods.”
Captain Ezekiel’s eyes turned to Knight Reynold’s corpse.
“Who’d have thought Reynold was in league with thieves.”
Tsk—Captain Ezekiel clicked her tongue.
I removed Knight Reynold’s necklace.
Solid gold?
Or plated?
I shoved his wife’s portrait into his pocket and pocketed just the necklace.
“Thanks to you, Yor, I survived?”
Captain Ezekiel smiled brightly.
That’s when I recalled how Knight Reynold had died.
Truth be told, the real shocker was Erdari.
—Burn!
Setting people ablaze with a single word.
If she’d used that magic when Felix and I freed her, what would’ve happened? The thought sent chills down my spine.
‘She could’ve done it.’
But she didn’t.
‘Maybe she never intended to kill us?’
‘Is that why Captain Ezekiel had us free her?’
Chilling, but a valuable lesson.
Next time I catch Erdari, I’ll gag her tight.
“Yor, can you ride a horse?”
“No, but I’ll manage.”
I ended up handling Knight Reynold’s horse too.
The high vantage was disorienting, and the saddle more uncomfortable than expected.
But the horse was gentle and obedient, which helped.
“From now on, I’ll call you Maltma.”
Shaman Maltma was the most polite person I knew.
The horse seemed to like the name, snorting a few times.
With the coachman dead, Captain Ezekiel drove the carriage herself.
We ended up escorting Nineveh like bodyguards, which irked me a bit.
‘Me, guarding some Erdari?’
‘I get why Reynold was pissed.’
How did the great Empire come to this?
Compromising with demon bloodlines!
Truly lamentable!
By morning—
The towering command headquarters loomed in the distance.
“Then, Yor, you go that way. I’ll head this way.”
The Officer’s Academy was a secluded annex of the headquarters.
First time here, but signs reading “500 paces to Officer’s Academy” everywhere meant no getting lost.
“Here’s your Officer’s Academy admission letter.”
“The academy has Ether tables, right?”
I asked again, a bit anxious.
No good school memories.
Always teased as the orphan, suspected first when lunch or tuition fees went missing.
Smart kids notice too much.
“Yor, score in the top 10 at the Officer’s Academy, and all your criminal records vanish. Better work hard.”
“Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
Fireworks went off in my head at Captain Ezekiel’s words.
Criminal records kill job prospects, and even thieves look down on you.
Folks brag “14 arrests” or “22 priors,” right?
Wrong—those guys get the most shit.
—Caught by guards that many times?
—Useless fuck!
Even street rats full of priors hate priors.
Decent women too.
‘For a happy family, expunged records are best.’
Mood lifted instantly.
Captain Ezekiel added,
“If you rank top 5 and commission, I’ll grant you one wish.”
“...A wish?”
“Anything you want.”
“Anything...?!”
“That’s how much I expect from you.”
Captain Ezekiel smiled and drove the carriage away.
Grant a wish—
Anything—
My heart raced, vision spun, legs wobbled.
Is there any word more magical?
Suddenly, I couldn’t wait for school.
I headed to the Officer’s Academy.
Vast drill field, full of wooden dummies.
“That guy rode in on a horse.”
“Noble house?”
“Who’s he?”
Riding in made them think I was highborn.
“I’ll stable the horse.”
“This way.”
I entered the building with my letter.
Crowds in uniforms.
Lines at counters like a bank.
But I skipped straight to the front.
“Horse riders, this way.”
Envy from the queue.
No wonder people crave nice rides.
“Show your recommendation.”
A bespectacled woman smiled kindly.
Her uniform screamed professional.
‘Glasses make women look smart. Nice.’
Heart fluttered.
I mustered courage.
“The black horse outside is mine.”
“Ah, I see.”
She smiled without looking up from papers.
My charm score definitely rose.
“Verifying identity. Name and occupation?”
“Yor. Occupation... in finance. Radically redistributing people’s wealth.”
“Hm? What’s that?”
“Thief.”
“...A thief?”
Wrinkle creased her friendly brow.
She slammed the stamp.
“Barracks 5! Next!”
My brief spring ended.
I headed to Barracks 5.
Slide-.
Inside, rough-looking guys packed the bunks.
I sat on a sunny spot with a good window view.
Then a small voice whispered,
“That’s Damacus’s spot. Move if you don’t want trouble.”
Squinting eyes, younger than me.
Wary, I switched seats.
Soon a rhino-sized armored brute appeared, slamming his ass on my old spot. He bellowed around,
“What’re you staring at? Wanna lose an eye?”
Good call moving.
“Thanks, dodged a hassle.”
The squinter grinned hehe.
“I’m Sneak. Weasel Sneak—heard of me?”
“Nope.”
“You will soon. Hey, wanna buy some rice from me?”
“Rice?”
Random.
I frowned; Sneak glanced around, grinning.
“Ether, man. 50 gold for 10 million Ether. Best price anywhere.”
Dong dong dong-.
Bells clanged.
—Assemble at the drill field! Last one there gets expelled!
—First one gets a prize!
No clue what, but I bolted.
Crash-!
Smashed through the window to the field. A huge woman with a massive hammer on her shoulder stood there.
“You crazy fuck! Fast assembly means breaking windows? What’s your name!”
“Yes! Yor reporting!”
Huff-.
Her breath hit me; freckles up close as she leaned in.
Not stunning, but healthy red ponytail. Big build, big chest.
“Yoooor? No, you’re not Yor!”
“Then what am I?”
Not Yor? Plot twist.
“From today, you’re Instructor Rose’s pretty boy! Bark when I say bark, wag your tail like a dog! Got it!”
“Yes!”
“Then you’re first prize!”
She hugged me, smooch—kissed my cheek.
Slight iron scent, but heart pounded.
“Ooh!”
‘School life’s fun!’
‘Kissed by a girl!’
“Then, pretty boy! You’re barracks squad leader now! Bash the last worm here 10 times with this!”
Snap-.
Instructor Rose handed me a wooden club.
Squad leader like class rep?
First leadership role ever—thrilled.
“Leave it to me!”
Minutes later, rhino Damacus arrived last, hand in pants.
“What’re you looking at, retard.”