Chapter 25
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Pig Hunt (2)
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About five minutes earlier.
-Thwack!
Shahal's foot struck the inspector's jaw with perfect precision.
"Gahk!"
His limp body crumpled to the carriage floor.
And that was that.
The man known as Nathan Kell lay sprawled out like a starfish, unconscious.
"Haa... haa..."
It had been a clean, flawless strike, yet Shahal was breathing heavily.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this startled.
One question kept circling in her mind.
"How in the world...?"
Everything had been going smoothly up until then.
The potion from her employer was a mutation brew meticulously crafted by witches.
The saintess who drank it had transformed into a perfect little piglet.
And, by some twist of fate, even the divine power she was so proud of had vanished completely.
There was no way anyone could recognize her true identity.
Kidnapping the saintess's body outright would have been incredibly difficult. Everyone in the world knew her face, after all.
But a powerless, aura-less pig? That changed everything.
To others' eyes, it was just a small beast.
'Even the church goons walked right past without a second glance.'
With the disguise of an innocent country boy and a stolen livestock cart, it was perfect camouflage.
No, they hadn't even suspected a thing. How could they?
The paladins guarding the pilgrimage camp had seen her as nothing more than a 'plucky young lad trying his best to get by.'
It had all gone too smoothly.
And even at the final hurdle—the inspector from the Crossroad Kingdom—he'd shown up alone, without his usual entourage for some reason.
She'd thought they'd breeze through here too, no problem.
But this man had muttered the moment he touched the saintess's body.
-S-Saintess?
"How did he know?"
It made no sense.
She looked like nothing more than an ordinary pig.
No divine power to arouse suspicion.
'We blocked every possibility, and he still saw through it to the pig's true identity?'
But her panic didn't last long.
Instead, her instincts as an assassin screamed a warning.
'This man is dangerous.'
This was a kidnapping mission where not the slightest suspicion or attention could be afforded.
Yet this inspector had pierced right through to the saintess's current form.
The one silver lining was that his cry of 'emergency' had been muffled by the sealed carriage and the pig's squeals.
Of course, the situation wasn't optimistic.
'The real problem starts when he wakes up.'
Now that his suspicions were aroused, the witness had to be silenced.
Shahal didn't hesitate.
-Shing.
She drew her dagger.
This man was dangerous.
Dull enough not to react to killing intent, yet more perilous than anyone.
The saintess's kidnapping could never be exposed. Not now, at least.
-Squeeee! Squeal!!!
The saintess shrieked.
Shahal ignored her and slowly approached the inspector.
No matter how much she squealed, it wouldn't carry outside the carriage.
A secret chamber in the middle of the plaza.
Deal with him here and slip away quietly. Simple.
She dropped to one knee and raised her dagger toward the man's heart.
"Ugh..."
His eyebrows twitched.
His consciousness was returning.
No time.
The moment she swung the blade down with all her might,
-Thud.
Something collided, and the carriage shook slightly.
"...!"
She snapped her head up.
She rushed to the carriage entrance and pressed her ear against it, but outside, only faint chatter drifted in.
There hadn't been many people in the open area in front of the Immigration Control Office when they entered.
The staff were busy indoors with something, leaving only three or four lounging loosely around the perimeter.
'That dimwitted werewolf mentioned some inspection period keeping them busy.'
That must be why there were far fewer people outside than usual.
And since her cart was the last in line, no one was paying much attention to this side.
Hard to imagine the noise came from outside.
-Thud.
Another sound.
This was an impact.
A dull thud of something hitting.
Shahal's gaze slowly turned toward the depths of the carriage interior.
Her face twisted in shock as she looked at the saintess.
-Thud.
The chained pig was slamming its head against the carriage wall.
-Thud.
"...Stop it."
The carriage was sealed tight.
No screams would get out.
That was why the saintess's desperate cries for help on the way here had yielded nothing, even as she screamed herself hoarse.
And if they did hear something, it'd just sound like a pig squealing.
But the sound of something colliding would transmit as vibrations leaking outward.
And if it was regular, rhythmic, relentless... that would draw attention.
Shahal hurriedly checked outside.
The conversations were dying down.
Dangerous.
-Thud.
The pig bashed its head against the wall so hard blood welled up.
-Thud!
Even harder.
Wincing in pain, yet harder still.
The chatter outside stopped.
Shahal dashed over and roughly seized the pig's shackles.
"I said stop."
-Squeeeee!
But the saintess thrashed wildly, straining with every ounce of strength to smash her head into the wall anyway.
The pig before her eyes no longer squealed.
No longer froze in terror.
Instead, she clenched her teeth, as if resolved to something, wrenching free from Shahal's grip and hurling her body at the wall with full force.
-Thud!!
As if begging someone outside to hear.
As if she didn't want this inspector to die.
Realizing that, Shahal said,
"If you don't stop right now, I'll tear this man apart alive, right in front of you."
Threats were an excellent way to subdue.
A specialty of Shahal's, letting her get what she wanted with ease.
But they only worked on frightened, rattled opponents.
And the saintess, hearing Shahal's words, only grew more furious and slammed her head into the wall again.
-Thud!!
The wound on her head grew larger, the sound even louder.
One more like that, and it would definitely attract notice.
And if attention came, there'd be no turning back.
If she had to kill them too, the kingdom itself would hunt her down.
With a pig as baggage, that was practically suicide.
Shahal was at a disadvantage.
In the end, she backed down first.
"Fine, fine! Damn it, I just won't kill him!"
She spat curses and sheathed her dagger.
Only then did the pig's struggling cease.
Her purple eyes glared at Shahal with murderous intent.
And then, unexpectedly, she made a proposal.
"I'll let this man live. In return, you behave and come quietly. Deal?"
Her only card was negotiation.
The fact galled Shahal, her insides bubbling with irritation and rage.
'If it were up to me, I'd sever her tendons and rip out her tongue to make her helpless.'
If not for the employer's condition of bringing her back intact, she'd have done it without hesitation.
But regrettably, Shahal had few options or time left.
Now that she'd been exposed once, she had to abandon much and hurry.
She couldn't stay here long.
"I'll spare him, so in return, no more resistance. Come quietly. Deal?"
That was why she stooped to such a humiliating bargain.
The saintess glared at Shahal for a moment. Then she grunted shortly.
-...Oink.
And that settled it.
"Ughhh..."
A groan escaped the man's lips.
He'd wake soon.
Shahal didn't hesitate.
-Snip.
She swiftly cut a few strands of the inspector's hair with her dagger and pocketed them.
Then she rummaged in his pockets, pulling out a document and a stamp.
She stamped the paper labeled [Entry Permit] onto Sita's documents.
Leaning out the carriage, she shouted in a boy's voice.
"Thank you, Inspector!"
The chatter that had paused briefly resumed.
Lax vigilance melted away even hard-won suspicion with ease.
Seizing the moment, Shahal whipped the carriage swiftly to the edge of the Immigration Control Office lot.
In a shadowed spot out of sight, she dumped the inspector's limp body.
-Thump!
A lifeless thud as it vanished into the shadows.
'Should take a while to be found here.'
But moments later, the Immigration Control Office doors flew open, and the werewolf from yesterday came sprinting from afar.
-The Central Officer's blood scent is coming from over here!
No time to breathe.
"Damn it."
Shahal cracked the whip, and the carriage bolted around the corner, finally escaping the office.
"No choice now... Got to cross the Crossroad Kingdom as fast as possible."
She realized this mission was no longer a cakewalk.
From here on, it was a race against time.
Before he woke and gave chase, she had to flee this damned kingdom faster.
For the first time in ages, she felt tension.
The thrill of possible failure, long forgotten. She muttered,
"This country's crawling with carriages, so we've got time before they catch on. Ditch it en route. Just hurry..."
There was a solution.
They'd chase this cart, so switch to another.
Dump the boy's body too, and their only lead would be the 'pig.'
Mix it with other livestock merchants or crowds, and it'd be near impossible to track.
But she'd overlooked one thing.
When tossing the inspector out, she hadn't wiped the blood spatter from kicking his jaw.
Nathan's blood mingled with the saintess's forehead wound, slowly clotting on the pig's skin.
And the scent of blood lingers thick and long.
Especially for those with keen noses.