Chapter 69
Chapter 69
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Travel (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The man whose arm I'd grabbed grimaced.
He seemed to try shaking off my hand with brute force, but fat chance of that.
This was a body honed through relentless training, fueled by the world's second-ranked talent with zero insecurity.
No way it'd yield to some no-name extra like him.
Whoosh!
Before he could even react, I hoisted him up by the arm.
"Wha-"
The difference in our builds was glaring.
Common sense dictated that a boy not yet fully grown couldn't lift a hulking brute like him.
But as if such logic meant nothing, I flung his body aside.
Thud!
"Guh!"
He screamed as his back slammed into the floor.
I hadn't gone out of my way to avoid serious injury out of mercy.
This bastard had leered at Ariel with lust in his eyes. Why the hell should I go easy?
No, this was foreign soil.
If an imperial noble like me stirred up trouble, cleanup would be a nightmare.
"Boss!"
"This punk!"
His cronies instantly drew their blades.
Shing—the swords that slid free were unlike imperial blades.
Instead of straight lines, they curved gracefully.
Whoa.
Katana.
A sword I'd only seen in stories appeared before me.
Well, I'd only seen Western swords for the first time recently, too.
"......"
But they didn't charge recklessly.
They were scared.
Even their boss had been tossed aside like nothing.
They weren't dumb enough to underestimate me just because I looked like a kid.
Which made me wonder.
Why go this far?
They knew I was a noble, yet they approached anyway. No—knowing that was probably why they did.
And even realizing the skill gap, they weren't backing down.
As if kidnapping me came with rewards worth the risk.
......Hmm.
I had no idea what was going on, but it wasn't my problem anyway.
I couldn't care less about the shadowy intrigues in Aonia.
I was only here to meet the Sword Empress. No time to waste emotions on random thugs grabbing at my ankles.
"Ariel."
"Yeah."
Ariel, sitting behind me.
Her eyes were blankly vacant, unlike her usual sharpness.
Good.
If she'd decided she couldn't forgive them and unleashed her power here, blood would have rained.
And that would've dragged us into Aonia's investigations.
"Stay put. Big brother will handle everything."
"......Okay."
No arguments.
Ariel nodded obediently at my words.
She was probably furious too.
Young as she was, she knew exactly what that lecherous gaze from their boss meant.
If she'd caught it, killing him on the spot wouldn't have been surprising.
She was holding back purely because I'd asked.
So as her big brother, I had to step up even more.
"What're you waiting for, you idiots! Get him!"
The boss hauled himself up with a strained shout.
His cronies screamed as they charged in unison.
"Die!"
"He can lose a limb or two, no big deal!"
Whoosh—
Swords came flying.
I parried without drawing my own blade.
I can see it.
Focus my eyes, and the Flow of All Things reveals itself.
Spot the flow, match their speed, slip my hand through the gap—and the enemy is neutralized before they twitch.
And of course—these small fry moved like sluggish grubs.
Thwack!
"Argh!"
I dodged the sword and drove my fist home.
The punch landed squarely in his solar plexus and twisted.
I shoved, sending him crashing into the guy behind—two birds, one stone.
Crash!
"Kyaaak!"
The two men piled on, collapsing the table.
Sorry, waitress sis. We'll make them pay for damages.
"This punk!"
A sword whistled from behind.
He must've thought a blind-spot attack would catch me off guard.
A plain, unrefined swing with zero intent.
Truly.
To someone who'd learned aura, it was yawn-worthy.
Clang!
"......Huh?"
The blade halted.
Aura-blocked, it couldn't even nick my collar.
I backhanded the idiot's gaping cheek.
"Gack!"
Blood and teeth sprayed.
Tat-tat-tat—
The last straggler kicked off, charging at me. Time to test a new technique.
Flash!
"Guh!"
A burst of white light blinded him.
My learned spell, Flare, sealed his vision.
His charge halted. Hands clutched his eyes.
I kicked his exposed gut wide open.
Thud!
"Kuh!"
Whew.
A bit winded.
Not because they were strong.
They kept slyly targeting Ariel as a hostage, forcing me to defend extra.
Crazy bastards.
Scared of the tiger, so they poke the cub instead?
I was exhausted plotting paths to block them before Ariel snapped and slaughtered everyone.
With the cronies down...
I dusted my hands, and there stood the boss, facing me off.
"......Impressive."
The boss drew his sword.
Another katana like the rest, but the aura was distinctly sharper.
Enough to wound if I got careless?
"Honestly didn't expect this. Thought you were just some naive young master at first, but you've got real skill."
"Now that you know, why not back off? I don't like causing scenes either."
"Nah. Can't do that. I have to pin you down."
"That confident? Against an imperial noble?"
"Obviously. Our 'client' is on your level—no, even greater."
Client?
Another damn client? Was there a Bluddied equivalent lurking in Aonia?
I sighed, gripping my sheathed sword.
Not worth drawing for him. Bare hands risked injury, though.
"......"
The boss held his distance, no further advances.
His feral grin seemed backed by something solid.
What was it?
Some trump card I hadn't foreseen?
I scanned around.
Ariel behind me.
Kitchen: waitress and owner.
The rest... a woman in the corner, sedge hat on.
What? She didn't leave?
Figured she'd flee like the others.
She sat unmoving, watching us intently.
Like the fight amused her.
Or more precisely—me.
She'd pulled her ordered food under the hat and ate without a hint of discomfort.
How do you even eat wearing that?
Why just watch? She didn't flinch once—clearly no pushover.
Anyone could see I was handling it. Help out before it gets messy for you too.
"Haa."
Whatever.
Scan yielded nothing. Flow read the same.
So, something personal up his sleeve.
Doesn't matter.
Puppy's still no match for an elephant, big or small.
I lunged.
Swung the sheath at his head.
Sensed his strength earlier. Even blocking, he'd get shoved back.
Clang!
As expected—his blade met my sheath.
Grind...
I pressed gradually harder.
Absurd stance, given our size difference.
A 15-year-old boy overpowering a giant brute.
Sheath inched toward his skull.
"What now? Keep this up, and your head cracks open."
"Heh, heh heh. Yeah. That's what I think too."
No panic in the boss.
Trump card confirmed.
But irrelevant.
My swordsmanship dominated. Magic too, probably.
End this farce.
"You're amazing, no doubt. Unmatched among your peers. No wonder I got this commission."
"Thanks. Don't care about the rest."
"But...... you lack experience!"
With a roar, he grinned savagely and released his grip.
What?
This mad bastard. That'll shatter your skull!
Suicide bluff?
His sword dipped; my sheath arced toward his head.
One smack to knock him out.
"Huh?"
My vision lurched.
Dizzy. Flow of All Things sight failed.
Feet tangled. Swing faltered.
And my stomach churned.
Like I'd eaten something rotten.
"Urk. What... is this......?"
"Ha. Haha. Didn't see this coming, huh!"
His free hand brushed my clothes.
A desperate shift—no real attack.
Just a graze.
Yet a weird sensation bloomed where he touched.
A single paper talisman stuck there.
Inked with bizarre runes.
What the hell.
Never seen one before.
"Imperial priests wouldn't know. It's a weapon that strikes the soul directly. Heh, thought the clients were nuts giving us this... but it makes sense now."
I see.
Soul strike. Never crossed my mind.
Imperial mainstream ignores soul research.
That's why I didn't know. Damn it.
"Now, close your eyes. Fool. Wasn't gonna kill you anyway. Just stay put till your family comes to bail you......"
His words cut off.
"Hoo. Hoo."
I was steadying my breath, calming my body.
It hurt. No—more dizzying.
Like my brain dunked in hot water and yanked out. Judgment warped, info scrambled.
But I composed myself.
Not because I couldn't fall before an enemy.
"......"
To soothe Ariel glaring murderously from behind.
She hadn't intervened despite my peril—honoring my words.
Amazing. Still holding back her urge to shred him.
She'd been so good; I wanted her to stay that way till the end.
"Y-You psycho...... Endured that? Even underworld pros avoid soul weapons. How dare you......"
The panicked boss babbled.
I gripped my sheath tighter.
Ha. Fuck. Dizzy as hell.
He's doubling, tripling in my sight.
Still, no collapsing.
"......Damn it all. Fine, whatever! They said incapacitate—not spare!"
The boss drew and charged.
Oh. Bad.
Block it. If not, Ariel sees blood—
"Enough."
In that instant.
A chill enveloped me.
Crack!
Air froze solid; the boss halted.
"......? ......???"
His body was an ice sculpture.
Water ice crept from the floor.
Encasing legs, arms, mouth completely.
Ice trailed from behind.
I turned. Past wide-eyed Ariel.
To the woman who'd watched me so keenly.
"Quite the show. Who'd think a boy could hold consciousness with his soul shaken. Live long enough, you see everything."
No more sedge hat.
Her hidden beauty unveiled.
Aonia's signature black hair, black eyes.
Her figure curved dramatically at the chest.
"Y-You......"
The boss struggled to speak.
As if words forced themselves through the ice.
His trembling eyes fixed on the raven-haired woman.
"Th-The Sword Empress......!"
"Oh? Still someone who recognizes me."
This trip's goal.
The one I'd seek tutelage from.
"Guess...... that means it's her?"
The Sword Empress had arrived.