Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Nothing to Steal (2)
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The carriage was gone.
They say in Corin that you can lose your nose even while wide awake, and it turned out to be true. To think they'd boldly steal the carriage while we were taking a short break. No, more importantly, how did they manage it with Storm's temper? The city thieves must be pretty skilled.
“W-what do we do? Should we report it to the guards?”
Elle stomped her feet anxiously as she asked. I shook my head.
In a big city like Corin, losing a single carriage wasn't that big a deal. It was faster to find it ourselves than waste time explaining everything to the guards.
“Well, they couldn't have gone far from here.”
“But...”
“Don't worry, Elle. A little searching should turn it up.”
What I was actually worried about was something else.
‘If the thieves who stole the carriage end up dead, that'll be a problem.’
If they just passed out, fine—but if they died, things would get complicated. Starting with having to explain it all to the guards... Would they even believe us? They might even think we kidnapped and killed some random people.
It had been months since we bought the carriage. I vaguely recalled the carriage merchant's face. And the words he kept emphasizing...
-This carriage was made for a noble from Paldme. They hired skilled craftsmen and even mages. It was a gift for his daughter's eighteenth birthday.
-But on her birthday, while heading to meet her fiancé, she ran into bandits...
-Those bandits were down on their luck, that's for sure. They probably planned to kill the lady, sell off the jewels, the horse, and the carriage. But they couldn't. For some reason, they all ended up crushed under this carriage and died.
-The only one left in the carriage that crushed the bandits was the dead lady!
-Anyone who rides in this carriage... falls ill and...
‘Dies.’
That's right. This carriage was literally cursed. Haunted by the ghost of a Paldme noble's daughter. Of course, for a cursed carriage, it'd been pretty useful so far. We'd modified it, maintained it, spent so much time together that it felt more like a second home now.
Of course, that was probably because I'd grown numb to the occasional woman's sobs or screams from the carriage, or the sudden smell of blood. Elle absolutely refused to ride alone, saying she'd always have nightmares of a crying woman if she fell asleep by herself in it...
It didn't bother me, though. As long as the carriage ran sturdy and smooth, what was the problem? The Paldme noble's ghost didn't take up space, didn't break anything, and didn't mess with Storm. Hell, back in the previous village, she'd even given us a sort of warning.
At this point, she was practically the eighth member. Something like that.
Anyway. What I was worried about wasn't the carriage itself, but this eighth member—the ghost of the Paldme noble's daughter.
‘She killed all the bandits.’
Ghosts are vulnerable to déjà vu. If they're caught in intense memories from life, they lose control and repeat the tragedy. If the Paldme noble's daughter, murdered by bandits, encountered ‘thieves’ again...
‘She'd lose it and relive that moment.’
If we didn't find the carriage soon, these idiots would die by the ghost's hand. Horribly and painfully.
“Isla.”
I snapped my fingers, and Isla began sniffing around where we'd left the carriage.
-Sniff, sniff sniff.
After crouching low and sniffing thoroughly for a while, Isla led us into a narrow alley just wide enough for our carriage. The kind of twisting, maze-like backstreet you wouldn't dare enter on a first visit to the city. I glanced at Lloyd, who nodded that it was fine.
We followed Isla, weaving through the alleys. Just as I was starting to tire and get irritated, wondering where they could've taken the carriage or if the alleys even ended...
-Woof!
Isla barked loudly. Looking where she barked, there was a small side path. It seemed to connect to a way out of the city. From here on, we had to move quietly. The thieves probably thought they'd shaken us off long ago and were getting careless.
Blackie took to the sky, and Isla slipped into the bushes. Blackie would fly over the woods and signal Isla if she spotted anything suspicious. Then Isla would ambush the fleeing thieves. Simple, clean, perfect plan.
-Kyaaaaack!!
...At least until that scream.
“Damn it.”
I muttered a curse and bolted toward the scream. At the edge between road and woods stood the carriage, ominously shuddering.
-Woof! Woof woof!
I heard barking. It was Argos. No wonder I hadn't seen him devouring skewers with gusto earlier. He'd vanished with the carriage. Hurrying over, I saw Argos barking fiercely at the driver's seat. He was growling menacingly at the man wielding a whip from the seat.
“You damn horse! Get going! Move!”
The man was whipping Storm like a maniac. But Storm didn't budge, even under the brutal lashes. Crazy bastard. I leaped onto the carriage roof and dropped down on him.
-Thwack!!
I smashed my elbow into the back of his head and immediately choked him out. He foamed at the mouth and passed out. I tossed the limp body to the ground and opened the carriage door.
“Gasp...!”
Elle, about to climb in, gasped and staggered back. I pushed her aside and dragged out the man collapsed inside. As expected, they were a two-man team. I checked the pale, wild-eyed man's pulse, sighed in relief that he was alive, then flipped him over and bound his hands and feet tight.
Even as I did, Elle couldn't tear her eyes from inside the carriage. At first I thought she'd been startled by the fallen men, but apparently not. No way she'd be shocked by downed foes anymore. She was on the ‘taking down’ side now.
‘...So what startled her?’
Did she see the Paldme noble's ghost? Come to think of it, Elle had been possessed back at the Dawson estate. Maybe that let her see ghosts now.
‘The lady met a gruesome end...’
That would explain her shock. But no time to ask now. Storm was more urgent. While Lloyd dragged the two thieves under a tree, I approached Storm. He met my eyes, snorting hot breath.
“Those bastards.”
-Snort.
“...Sorry for letting this happen to you, Storm.”
His back was oozing blood from who-knows-how-many lashes. As I'd guessed, he'd resisted without properly pulling the carriage. Poor thing. I placed my hand on his back and used [Forest Healing]. Mana spread, staunching the blood quickly. It wouldn't erase the pain he'd felt, though... I pulled his head into a hug and stroked him for a long while.
Once Storm had calmed a bit, I headed to the tree where the thieves were tied. They were still out cold, heads lolling.
“Weapons disarmed.”
“...Good.”
-Smack!!!
I whipped the cheek of the one who'd used the whip, no hesitation. He yelped, shaking his head awake. I then slapped the other cheek with all my strength. Blood streamed from his raised nose in two lines.
“If the carriage won't move, you pull it—why ruin a beast that can't speak like that?”
-Thud!!!!
Still not satisfied, I smashed his nose again and shook the blood from my fist. Broken nose or missing teeth—he was gasping incoherently. Not worth hearing anyway.
“Whew...”
“...”
“Let's head back. We need to hand them to the guards.”
“Got it.”
Lloyd grabbed their collars and dragged them to the carriage. The one who could still speak screamed desperately.
“P-please, sir! We're sorry! Please, don't make us ride that carriage! Please!”
He'd been thoroughly schooled by the Paldme noble's ghost. I glanced back at the carriage. Couldn't put her through another nasty déjà vu. I smacked the pleading one's head hard.
“Know your place. Don't you get it yet? A carriage lowlifes like you can't even set foot in?”
“Eek!”
“I'll tie you to the back. Better walk straight. Won't stop if you fall.”
“Y-yes! We'll walk properly!”
They bowed repeatedly, just grateful not to ride inside.
* * *
“How on earth did you catch these scumbags?”
At the guard's admiration, I shrugged with a smirk.
“Bad luck on their part.”
“Huh. Well, they did steal your carriage...”
“Those guys.”
“...!”
I glanced at the bloodied thieves locked in the cage, then smiled at the guard.
“How much was the bounty again?”
“Ah, here.”
The guard handed over a heavy pouch of silver coins. I pocketed it and yelled at the caged thieves.
“If you ever get out, spread the word. Tell 'em the ‘Ghost Carriage’ is roaming around—watch out.”
They'd clearly learned their lesson from the noble's ghost; still pale and trembling, huddled in fear.
‘That covers lodging costs.’
Thanks, ghost of the Paldme noble's daughter.