Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 150. Deep Night (6)
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Anyway, even after Hummels died, the chieftain wasn't satisfied.
If we couldn't find his son, we all died.
'Lea and I would be hunted down soon enough too.'
Better to track down the guy somehow like this.
Excluding me, there were three suspects.
A man with a mustache, a hulking brute, and a guy with a tattoo on his neck—all knights.
"Isn't that guy one of Leon's knights...?"
The three Bakal knights asked me.
I let out a deep sigh with the world's most forlorn expression.
"The truth is, my hometown is Bakal too. That's why I ended up on the suspect list whether I liked it or not."
I glanced up at Tina.
And winked one eye.
"I was just trying to hide, but our knight order mentioned me, so I had no choice but to get dragged out...."
The men stared at my teary eyes.
Before they knew it, they were wearing sympathetic looks.
"You must feel wronged too...."
The mustached man looked at me especially pityingly.
"Well..., no matter the circumstances, it means one of us is Hummels' son...."
The brute caught on quick to reality.
"I'm not it. This is the first time I've even seen the elder."
The snake-tattooed man on his neck denied it emphatically.
"Me neither."
The mustached man too.
Everyone claimed they weren't Hummels' son.
'But one of these traitorous bastards is....'
"Even if one of us is the guy, would he reveal himself?"
"We have to expose him. Otherwise, he'll get not just himself but all of us killed."
The brute said, furrowing his brow.
I replied quietly.
"If he comes forward, we can all live."
With my words, the four of us fell silent.
"..."
A suffocating silence tightened around us.
In it, we suspects stood silently in the middle of the courtyard, staring at each other.
"What if there's really no Hummels' son among us?"
To fish for clues, I tossed out a question.
"But Elder Wolf said for sure there is one."
"Right, and Hummels shouted it before he died."
The three knights countered in turn.
"That could just be the elder lying to get us all killed together."
I said it to them seriously.
"That makes sense."
One by one, they started nodding.
"For starters, would an elder who loves bragging hide having a son?"
"True, that's how the princess knew about the black crystal too."
And so, we tentatively concluded there was no Hummels' son among us.
"But if there really isn't, what now?"
I slowly opened the discussion.
The men bit the bait and chimed in.
"No choice. We go to Elder Wolf and tell him there's no son of the elder."
Taking strength from their words, I stood up.
And boldly proposed.
"Then let me at least try talking to him."
The men eyed me suspiciously as I stepped forward.
But lacking the courage to go themselves, they soon clamped their lips shut.
"I'm an orphan, so I'm pretty used to the wilds. If it's okay, let me test the waters."
"Right, you cleared the path for the squirrels earlier today."
The mustached man nodded.
"An orphan? You look too refined for that."
The brute eyed me dubiously.
So I showed them the scar on my forehead and the knife marks on my forearms.
"I may look like this, but I've suffered plenty."
"Ah...."
Only then did they accept it.
"Then, we leave it to you...."
The three knights watched solemnly as I approached Elder Wolf.
But....
"...!!"
Werewolves lunging with front claws extended to strike me down.
I startled and stumbled back.
「Hummels' son, hiding won't help. No use stalling.」
The chieftain warned in a firm voice.
「I know for sure you're here.... Abandon any thoughts of escape.」
The wolf extended his claws to form the number 2 with his fingers.
「You have only two fates.」
Powerful purple energy surged around his two claws.
「If Hummels' son comes out, only he dies. If not, all of you die.」
Clutching my pounding chest, I returned to the knights.
The men looked up at me worriedly.
"Are you alright...?"
I sighed deeply in response.
"As expected, no dice.... Things being what they are, your son really needs to come forward...."
The knights turned mute as clams again.
"No helping it."
The frustrated brute finally spoke up.
He raised a finger and said.
"There's only one way."
We all turned to him.
The T-shirt-clad man flashed dark eyes and declared.
"If there's no Hummels' son.... We make a fake one and hand him over."
I asked in a meaningful tone.
"You mean... sacrifice an innocent to play the victim...?"
"No choice. In return, we'll tell the princess and get you a hero's title."
The sturdy man said coolly.
"Then at least your family will live in peace."
"Ha, ridiculous. Are you the culprit? Trying to boost survival odds like this?"
I furrowed my brow at him.
"You really don't get it?"
The brute said firmly.
"It doesn't matter who Hummels' son is. What matters is he absolutely won't come out!"
His voice rose, and Tina looked at me worriedly.
I forced a smile to reassure her.
"In the end, son or not, one of us has to die."
I summed up the situation myself.
"So now we pick a sacrifice to satisfy those wolves."
The three Bakal knights glanced at the old man's corpse sprawled on the ground.
A cleanly severed cross-section.
Black blood oozed from it.
"I can't do it...!!"
"Should we put it to a vote with the whole guard?"
The men muttered coldly, staring at dead Hummels.
"Will that work? Force someone and it'll backfire immediately."
I said firmly to them.
"It has to be someone who volunteers to play along."
All while scheming to sacrifice one somehow.
"This is insane...."
"I can't possibly...."
Everyone was terrified.
They clutched their heads and sank into despair.
"..."
Gauging their state, I said nothing for a moment.
Then, quietly stood and spoke.
"Then I'll do it."
A ready offer.
Volunteering as the sacrifice.
The knights' attention focused on me.
"I'm just an orphan-born body anyway."
I gave them a sly, fox-like sidelong glance.
And declared boldly.
"So I'll save everyone and snag that hero title."
"..."
The knights clamped their mouths shut.
They seemed done trying to stop me.
"Vail...."
But Tina was different.
She watched worriedly from afar as I volunteered to die for her sake.
"..."
Lea too.
Leaning casually against a tree alone with arms crossed....
But her eyes trembled faintly for some reason.
"Thank you so much...."
"I'll make sure all Bakal knows of your deed...!"
The knights expressed gratitude with newfound hope in their eyes.
But first, I added a condition.
"But one condition."
As I gave them a serious look, the knights swallowed hard.
"What is it...?"
"Nothing much. Just answer one simple question 'honestly.'"
The men looked uneasy.
But soon nodded.
"Fine, ask away...."
"I'll answer straight."
"..."
No better ideas at hand.
"Good, then I'll ask."
I crossed my arms alone.
"There's really no elder's son among you, right? Even if someone confesses for real, I'll still take the sacrifice."
And asked the knights firmly.
"So if you're his son, say it with relief. Is there really none?"
"..."
The men glanced at each other.
Then slowly spoke.
"Not me."
"Me neither."
"As I said, first time seeing the elder's face."
I took in each knight's face in turn.
Then smiled faintly.
"Got it. Looks like there really isn't."
I stood up.
Then headed calmly toward Elder Wolf.
"Elder Wolf...!!"
My booming shout drew all the wolves' attention.
"Hummels' son is me!"
The damn black elder's son finally revealed.
Their red eyes flashed at his emergence.
「Finally showed yourself. Trash who didn't bat an eye even after your father died.」
The old wolf rose from his chair.
He ordered his subordinates to drag me before him.
"Urk...!"
I was thrown down before the werewolf.
Sweat beaded from his overwhelming presence.
'Impressive.... Incredible.'
A century-old werewolf.
Immense mana flowed from his body.
'Might have to go Grand Aura just to fight.'
「At least you have some conscience. Not willing to let all thirty die.」
"What do you plan to do with me?"
I asked him calmly despite facing him, and the chieftain replied coldly.
「Kill you, obviously.」
「Rip you open alive and pull out your heart. Then squeeze it and make you eat it again.」
Tina covered her mouth at the chieftain's gruesome words.
Her sapphire-blue eyes wavered.
"Because of me...."
But I, the one in question, showed no reaction.
I just replied leisurely to the weary werewolves.
"You've had it rough because of me."
「You, who sold out your father out of fear of death, now worry about us?」
Elder Wolf's sharp fangs snarled.
But they soon froze.
"Great chieftain, there's a much easier way."
My unexpected proposal on the brink of death.
"Killing me won't bring back your guest's son. Plus, my father—the root of all this—is dead too, so it's just venting."
I shrugged.
Instead, I looked at Elder Wolf with worried eyes and said.
"Kill me and let the witnesses go, and my family will send a subjugation force."
I spun in front of Elder Wolf.
Pointed at Bakal's knights and said.
"Then elites far stronger than these will come crashing in. You'll lose not just your son but valuable subordinates."
「You dare threaten our clan?」
The legendary beasts scowled.
They looked ready to tear me apart right then.
"Threaten? I'm saying this out of worry for you. As you saw with my father, my clan is vicious."
I made a venomous face like dead Hummels.
My sly eyes helped here.
"So send me back alive and take the black crystal holding your son's soul."
「You know where the crystal with my son's soul is...?」
The old wolf perked up at reclaiming his son's soul.
"Yes, in Bakal. Let me go, and I'll return not just the black crystal but the preserved body too."
Black crystal and body.
Couldn't revive the son, but enough for a funeral.
"I have to go back alive to resolve all this, right?"
I smiled brightly at the old wolf.
「....」
The knights stared blankly at my barrage of lies.
"Who the hell is that guy? So bold...!"
"Think they'll let him go over just a corpse...?"
The men swallowed hard watching me.
But they overlooked one thing.
The werewolves raged at Hummels over his son's corpse.
They believed proper funeral rites let them meet again in the next life.
So right now, the body was huge leverage.
「....」
As expected, Elder Wolf clutched his forehead.
And pondered briefly.
「Chieftain, absurd proposal...!」
「Yes, better kill him and we retrieve the body from Bakal ourselves...!」
At his subordinates' earnest pleas, Elder Wolf shook his head.
「No, if I lose you too....」
I added one line for the悩ing him.
"To atone for my foolish father's sins, I'll shatter the black crystal too. And collect every drop of the blood inside intact."
「....」
Elder Wolf exhaled deeply.
Glanced at me and asked.
「Fine, say we release you. Then....」
The wolf extended a massive hand, pointing at Princess Tina and the guards.
「What about those who witnessed your crime?」
The old wolf's eyes blazed like the sun.
As if piercing my true intent.
"Well, obviously...."
I narrowed my eyes fox-like in response.
Smiled with my eyes and answered.
"We kill them all."
――――――.
My cold words plunged the guards into shock.
Even calm Lea parted her lips.
"Say we all survive and go back like this. I wouldn't even retrieve your son's body—I'd get arrested immediately."
I turned icy toward Princess Tina.
"Even if you allowed retrieval, I'd be executed after. No point struggling to survive then."
I pressed my palms together.
Flashed a cunning smile at the wolf and said.
"So we seal all their mouths, then I live, and you get to hold your son's funeral...?"
「...」
Elder Wolf made no reply to my radical proposal.
The werewolves who'd vowed to kill me were the same.
They finally understood why I hadn't stepped up till my father died.
"If I break the promise, chieftain, just come to the castle and reveal the truth. No loss for you."
「I see....」
The wolves nodded.
Their real goal was killing Bakal's princess for revenge on the emperor anyway.
So slaughtering everyone here, including Tina, changed nothing from the plan.
「Now it feels sincere....」
「If you're really keeping the promise, that much evil is tolerable.」
Elder Wolf eyed the princess and elders.
Bared his sharp fangs and said.
「Had you said release the hostages, I'd have judged it a ploy to save everyone and killed you on the spot.」
"I didn't flinch an eye when my father died."
I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Elder Wolf.
Narrowed my black eyes wolf-like.
"That trash...!!"
"How can a human side with monsters!!"
「Sorry, princess.」
Elder Wolf raised one hand.
Ordered his men.
「Your life matters less than my son's corpse right now.」
Kill everyone here except me.
The werewolves surrounded the hostages.
Clad their claws in golden aura and closed in slowly.
With clear intent to kill.
"V-Vail...."
Tina's blue eyes wavered.
"Princess, hide behind us...!"
Disarmed knights rushed to cluster around Tina.
They faced the werewolves with fear-filled eyes.
Except one.
A man not guarding the princess but glaring solely at me.
The mustached one from before.
"W-Wait...!!"
He stood as if resolved.
"You're all being tricked...!!"
And shouted desperately at the wolves.
"That guy's not the elder's son at all—it's all lies!!"
「Not? What do you mean?」
Elder Wolf's red eyes flashed as he asked.
"He wasn't even from Bakal to begin with. I swear, first met him in Leon!"
The mustached man gasped as he rushed toward Elder Wolf.
"As I said, I'm from Bakal. Father Hummels just sent me to Leon for knight training."
I warned the chieftain not to be fooled.
"No, absolutely not!!"
「Why absolutely not? What's the reason?」
Elder Wolf asked coldly.
The knight facing the chieftain placed a hand on his chest.
"Because... I'm Hummels' real son!!"
The man's bombshell froze the werewolves.
All humans turned to him at once.
'Finally found you.'
I was among them.