Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Mayor's Betrayal
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Sir Roca's younger brother ran the inn where Eugene had shed his disguise. Taking Lancelot and the Partek team with him, he headed to city hall.
Luke looked like he wanted to come along too, but since only Lancelot and Luke spoke Brantia, the two of them couldn't move together.
"By the way, Sir Eugene, where did you get that armor? Do all the knights of the Kailer Kingdom own such things? How much would it cost to buy one?"
Roca, who couldn't exactly be called a proper knight but had been knighted by the city, eyed Eugene's plate mail with deep envy.
"My armor. A gift from the Maren lord. To buy one. One thousand silver coins?"
"Gasp..."
At the staggering sum that made his eyes spin, Roca's mouth fell open. Lancelot added with a sly smile.
"The lord there ordered it himself, so he got it at a discount. Plate mail like this commands a premium price across the continent."
"I-is that so. Your armor is excellent too, but how much for something like that...?"
"Three hundred Kailer silver coins, which is about thirty thousand sellings in Brantian currency."
"......!"
Roca couldn't close his mouth. Thirty thousand sellings was more than he could save in over a year without spending a single coin of his salary.
And to buy Eugene's plate mail would take five years of saving—assuming he could even afford it.
'Is he perhaps from some renowned noble house on the continent? No, I heard the Kailer Kingdom is hostile to vampires...'
Roca was confused.
Come to think of it, even at a relatively cheap price, the loot and monster byproducts Eugene's group had sold today added up to hundreds of thousands of sellings.
Yet Eugene's group had insisted on taking only part in sellings, so more than half had been paid in silver and gold ingots.
'This is no ordinary fortune. Hmm... There might be people eyeing it.'
And Roca's prediction proved correct.
The problem was that the one coveting Eugene's wealth was someone Roca could never have anticipated.
* * *
Partek's team set down the gifts for the Mungard lord in front of the spacious office.
The lord, with his sleazy demeanor, said to Eugene,
"First, I'd like to thank you for visiting our city. But may I ask why you haven't revealed your clan's or family's name?"
Beats me.
Unable to give that answer, Eugene replied in slow but clear Brantian.
"First time in Mungard. Heard there are nobles of our kind here. If there are hostile clans. It gets tiring for everyone."
"Haha! So that's the reason. To tell you, there are two family branches in Mungard. Marcus and Graham, respectively. Have you heard of them?"
"No. First time."
Eugene, who only knew the four places Delmondo had told him about, shook his head since he had no way of knowing about branches in a foreign city.
"That's a shame. Both families make large annual donations to our city. I was going to put in a good word if there was any connection."
"Put in a good word?"
"Take your wealth and let you live, that's what I meant."
Shing!
Before the lord could finish, Lancelot, hand already on his grip, drew his longsword.
At the same time, Mungard's soldiers, who had been standing against the walls, aimed crossbows and glaives.
"W-what's going on?"
"Draw first!"
Partek's team swiftly drew their weapons and formed up.
"......"
Eugene was dumbfounded.
He had thought something was off since entering the office.
No matter that they were outsiders fully armed, there were far too many soldiers waiting in the office.
But still, for a city lord to be blinded by greed and pull something like this?
"I told you, didn't I? Brantia is dirt poor, and their knights and nobles are all ignorant. Even I didn't expect it to be this bad, though."
Eugene silently agreed with Lancelot's low voice in the kingdom tongue.
"Lord! What is the meaning of this!?"
As Roca shouted, unable to hide his panic, the Mungard lord grinned wickedly.
"What else? A wandering dark kin with no place to go—not to mention filthy rich—shows up, so we're taking it all. I've already spoken with the Marcus and Graham families."
"You madman! If word of this gets out, what happens to our city's honor? They're from Maren and Mopern..."
"Who cares? You think they'll send an army all the way here? Over a few dead knights? Even if they do, it won't matter. Our catapults and ballistae will smash them before they even land. Hey!"
At the lord's command, the soldiers swept aside all the curtains covering the walls and windows. Late afternoon sunlight flooded the room, and the large silver platters on the walls sparkled in the light.
"You should've kept your dark kin identity hidden. Who'd have thought a dimwit like you existed among the cunning vampires rumored across the land. Haha. Lucky for me, though."
Sunlight and silver were a vampire's greatest weaknesses. Eugene had suffered plenty from them in his previous life.
But that was ancient history now.
"Sir Roca."
"I'm sorry, sir."
Roca apologized to Eugene with a devastated expression.
"No need to apologize. Just one question."
"......?"
"In this situation. If I kill the lord, what happens? Our law says. If a knight defends himself. No matter who the opponent. It's not a crime."
"Hahaha! True to the sly dark kin, still scheming even now. Kill them!"
At the lord's order, crossbows fired.
Ting! Tingting!
The range was too close to dodge completely, but Partek's team's shields, already in defensive formation, blocked or deflected the bolts.
Of course, a few bolts hit uncovered spots, but their sturdy armor prevented fatal wounds.
Lancelot was the same.
He had been watching the crossbows' aim, and at the firing sound, he covered his helmet's visor with one arm and crouched slightly.
No crude Brantian crossbow bolt could pierce the plate mail Lancelot wore.
"Damn it! Leave the vampire and take the others first! He can't move anyway!"
Uwaaaah!
Over thirty soldiers charged at Lancelot and Partek's team.
No matter how heavily armored they were, it was common knowledge in Brantia that vampires couldn't exert their power in a sunlit room flashing with silver.
That was why revealed vampire nobles avoided unfamiliar places as much as possible.
Even if they had to go, it was standard to send servants or slaves ahead to check the interior.
But this foolish outsider vampire hadn't even thought to check a place in a city he was visiting for the first time. In broad daylight, no less.
So the lord thought dealing with one knight and three mercenaries would be easier than sipping cold soup.
Shuuuuaak!
Then a sharp whoosh cut the air as something black sliced through, piercing the lord's abdomen clean through.
"Kuak!?"
Thud! Craaaack!
The Madarajika that had punched through the Mungard lord's gut embedded itself in the wall behind, creating dozens of spiderweb cracks.
Thud!
The lord glanced down in disbelief at his spilling guts, then collapsed forward.
Ziiing!
Almost simultaneously, a spear embedded in the wall pulled itself out and flew back to its owner's hand.
"......!"
Everyone was stunned by the events that unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Eugene walked forward slowly, Madarajika in his left hand and Wolfslaughter in his right.
"Eek!"
The startled soldiers edged back toward the sunlit windows, and Eugene casually lifted his visor.
Direct sunlight hit his bare face, but he remained utterly relaxed.
"Guess all the vampires around here are weaklings. Or maybe..."
Surrounded by dazzling sunlight, Eugene flashed an even more brilliant, ecstatic smile, baring his fangs.
"I'm just too strong?"
"Kieeee! Master looks so cool!"
As the spear that subdued ogres and the sword that tore wolves danced in the sunlight, red flowers of blood bloomed gorgeously.
* * *
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Sir Roca, his knight's soul embodied in his sword now hanging limp, chattered his teeth.
The shock and terror from an overwhelming force he had never imagined left him utterly powerless.
"Eat this and staunch the bleeding quick."
"Yes, sir."
Partek and Glad, who had avoided fatal wounds but suffered deep gashes exposing bone, popped the mana crystals Eugene gave them into their mouths.
Top-grade mana crystals they could barely have glimpsed before. Their lord handed them out freely to his subordinates.
"What now? It's the city hall, so there might be more troops somewhere. Shall we wipe them all out?"
"Not sure that's necessary."
"......!"
Roca snapped to attention under Eugene's chilling gaze and shuddered.
"Sir Roca. Answer my earlier question."
"......!?"
"If a knight kills someone trying to kill him. What about in Mungard?"
"N-no, not guilty."
"Even if it's the lord?"
"......Yes."
Roca nodded after a brief hesitation.
In this situation, he had no choice but to obey Eugene.
With the power he had just witnessed, the remaining city hall guards weren't the issue—even if every knight and soldier in Mungard charged, victory wasn't assured.
'No wonder he caught the sea dragon himself! What an idiot I was!'
He berated himself belatedly, but it wasn't Roca's fault.
No one in Brantia would imagine a vampire knight personally hunting a massive sea monster.
"Lancelot. Relay this."
"Yes, sir."
After hearing a few words from Eugene, Lancelot turned to the still-shaking Roca.
"Handle the cleanup, Sir Roca. Sir Eugene wants to keep trusting the honorable conduct you showed before this mess. But if you pull any trash like that..."
As if entranced, Roca's eyes followed to where Lancelot's sword tip pointed.
"By tomorrow morning before sunrise, there won't be a living soul in Mungard city hall."
"......!"
Devastated, Roca collapsed to the floor.
Indeed. The room, filled with dozens of mangled corpses and pools of blood, was still bathed in strong orange sunlight.
If dark kin who could commit such atrocities in broad daylight faced the true night when their power peaked?
Clack! Clackclack! Clack!
Thick drool finally dripped from Roca's chattering mouth.
"Ah, right."
"Hiiik!"
Roca flinched at Eugene's voice as he moved to leave.
"The lord tried to kill me. I want compensation."
"I-I'll pay!"
"Good. And the Marcus and Graham families. Where are they. Sir Roca?"
"Th-they're..."
The residences of Mungard's ruling vampire nobles and their usual haunts spilled from Roca's lips.
* * *
"The lord's contact is late."
"That pig of a human isn't thinking of swallowing it all, is he?"
"No way. He'll take his cut, but the gold ingots and Kailer money will all come to us."
"Along with the armor and swords. Those go to Lord Marcus as tribute—no one touch them."
"Of course."
All five men and women had gaunt builds, wore glossy silk robes, and were adorned lavishly, their sharp fangs peeking from smirking lips.
"Continental kin are such fools. It took us ages to reveal ourselves in Brantia, and they blab their identity the moment they arrive."
"Must've gotten complacent hearing our kin live freely here. Naive or just stupid."
"But it works out great for us, right?"
"What if his lord or parents come looking?"
"No issue. Our guardian Lord Marcus bears the cold, noble blood of the Revoles Clan through transfusion. Touching him means making an enemy of the entire clan, not just our family."
"Hoho! They won't start a war over some clueless butler or knight barging into another clan's territory without knowing their place."
"Enough idle worries—let's drink. A little appetizer before continental blood... Hm!?"
The youngest-looking vampire paused mid-toast, frowning, and the others tilted their heads.
"What's wrong, Sir Craven?"
"Don't you all... feel it?"
"Pardon? Feel what?"
"This is weird? Why's my skin prickling?"
"......?"
As the vampires looked puzzled,
Kwaaaang!
An explosion shattered the wooden door to splinters.
Kroooar!?
Their red eyes, instantly battle-ready as befitting dark kin, caught a black silhouette entering.
"Only one reacting to this much blood scent? Around Delmondo's level, maybe?"
(To be continued)