Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Boyhood ~Time to Escape~
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The bandits threw me into the carriage.
Was it because I'd left a mark on the bald guy's head?
They hurled me inside and chained not just my hands and feet, but my neck too.
At this point, I couldn't even move on my own anymore.
Lying collapsed in the carriage, I rolled my eyes to gaze outside. The scenery whipped by at a rapid pace.
My anxiety swelled in proportion, and I clenched my teeth, desperately swallowing the tears welling up.
I rubbed one cheek with my chained hands.
'It hurts...'
The cheek he'd struck earlier throbbed especially fiercely.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, we're here."
How far had we gone, enduring the bandits' unpleasant glares as they rode with me?
The skinny man who'd been handling the reins approached with a sleazy grin.
"Come on, let's hurry it up!"
"Ugh...!"
Dragged out by the bald guy's hand, I was forced from the carriage.
Stepping down barefoot had already left my feet a bloody mess.
"Huh? Damn, it's snowing!"
"No wonder it felt so cold. Early this year."
Suddenly, snowflakes drifting from the sky caught their eyes.
The flurry was thickening—looked like a full blizzard was on the way.
Seizing the moment, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
'Deep in the mountains...?'
It was dark, and the snow obscured things, but this seemed like a hideout buried in remote peaks.
Beast howls echoed from afar, while an eerie wind heightened the dread.
The bandits led my trembling, terrified self deeper into the shadowy mountains.
Abandoning the carriage, they pushed even further in before halting at a naturally formed cave mouth.
"Here we are—the boss's lair."
"Let's head in."
"Heh heh heh, this'll be fun."
Terror rooted my feet, and I offered faint protest, but they yanked the chains mercilessly, dragging me along by force.
"Hey, we're back."
"Got the kid the boss wanted!"
"Oh! You guys made it!"
The cave interior was far larger than expected.
Had they expanded the natural cavern artificially?
Mana stone lamps dotted everywhere, alongside metal fixtures that made the place feel less like a cave and more like a fortress.
Hundreds of bandits filled the space—at least, it looked that way. All belted with swords, they greeted us warmly.
True to a brigand crew, they were a rough-looking bunch in ragged gear. After brief chats with the kidnappers, they turned appraising stares our way.
"This the one?"
"Whew~ Cuter's than I thought."
"Boss always sniffs out the good stuff."
Most eyed me with similar leers, though a few pitying glances only amplified my unease.
One glasses-wearing man among the sympathetic bunch sized me and the kidnappers up, then scribbled something on a paper from his pocket.
"Hmm. Confirmed. You're the last."
"Damn, we got held up."
"You lot were farthest out."
"Still, boss hates waiting. Gotta make it up to him."
The scarred man straightened his clothes with a tense look, then flashed a grin down at me.
"Tough break for you, kid. Drew the last slot, of all things."
"Eh, boss won't rage too much. First noble he's sampling—he's probably savoring the wait."
"Wait, nobles are new for him?"
"Duh. The rest get shipped to buyers. Boss barely snuck this one for himself."
"Haha! Boss has some guts!"
The bald guy burst out laughing our way, and I reflexively averted my gaze.
"Heh heh heh, once the boss tires of you, I'll take my turn plenty. Just sit tight."
"Hey, what's with the kid's face?"
The glasses man spoke up then.
Frowning at my swollen red cheek, he shot the scarred man a look demanding explanation.
"Uh, well, see..."
Listening to the scarred man's account, the glasses man sighed deeply, then adjusted his specs.
"...Got it for now. Boss is waiting—let's move."
He gave me an inscrutable glance before turning back to his papers.
───
"Boss! Got the one you wanted!"
The man was enormous, to begin with.
With a house-sized frame and filthy, unkempt hair, he looked more like a proper mountain bandit than some roadside thug.
Given the hideout's mountain locale, maybe he really was one.
"Oho! Finally here!"
Beaming at the scarred man's shout, he spun around and threw his arms wide in welcome.
"Come on in! Over here!"
Jewelry bedecked in gems clinked noisily with his steps.
"This one's feistier than expected, boss—gave us hell!"
The boss approached with a grin at the bald guy's words, then abruptly halted.
"...Feisty, you say?"
His gaze landed on my cheek.
His face blanked in an instant as he closed in.
"...Who did this?"
"B-Boss?"
The bald guy, who'd been smirking, faltered at the icy tone, sweat beading on his brow.
"That one."
"Yeah, him."
"W-Wait! It wasn't on purpose! The kid resisted hard, so I had no choice...!!"
The scarred man and skinny guy, already backing away, pointed him out. The bald guy panicked, sputtering excuses.
But excuses were brief.
"...Gahk!"
"Eek!"
A flash of light—and blood sprayed from the bald guy's neck.
The boss bellowed, a massive axe now in hand from nowhere.
"Daring to touch my property? Should've said you wanted to die."
"S-Spa...re..."
"Hey, clean up that trash."
"Got it, boss."
"And keep everyone out of this room awhile. Tell the vice boss this compensates for the mess."
Two men hauled the spurting, collapsing bald guy away in seconds. Soon, only the boss and I remained.
Moments later, a pot-lid-sized hand reached for me. I recoiled on instinct.
"Hm?"
"D-Don't come closer."
"Hahaha! Relax. Uncle here's not that scary."
But despite his words, an uncanny unease hid behind his kindly facade.
"L-Let me go, now. If you touch me, the Yeon Clan won't stand for it."
"Yeon Clan? Pfft-hahaha!"
What was so funny?
I trembled in fear as he dissolved into mad laughter.
"We don't kidnap just anyone, kid."
"Wh-What do you...?"
"You're too young to know, but the Yeon Clan isn't some low-tier noble house that'd mobilize for a mere side-branch runt."
He continued his explanation.
"A clan with sway over the whole Empire? They wouldn't stoop to deploying troops for trash like that. Sure, the palace might search since we nabbed an imperial one too—but we've got elders handling them."
"No way..."
"Plus, we scattered the captives across the wilderness to throw off search parties. Fake hideouts everywhere, naturally. They're probably raiding empty shacks right now."
I couldn't muster a word against his claims.
Odds of rescuers finding this place? Near zero.
Reading my expression, he pressed on with a vile smirk.
"Bottom line: no one's coming for you."
His hand stretched toward me—
KABOOM──!!
"Wh-What...!?"
A massive explosion rocked the entire cave.
The boss snatched up his axe, face hardening as a subordinate burst in.
"Boss! Intruders! We've got intruders!"
"What?! No traces led here! Intruders how?!"
"Dunno! You need to evac now!"
"Damn it! How many?!"
Flustered, he swept valuables into a sack while barking questions.
"Around ten!"
He froze mid-scoop, whirling on the man.
"What? Ten? Just that many?"
"Yes! Couldn't get an exact count, but roughly... guk!"
"Idiot! We can't stop ten with hundreds?!"
His face eased at the numbers.
A subordinate punched for his overconfidence cried out in protest.
"B-But they're insanely strong!"
"Tch! Strong or not, they're human! Swarm 'em, wear 'em down—they'll drop!"
He shoved the man out and resumed looting, then suddenly grabbed me.
"Follow!"
"Eek...!"
A brutish grip wrung a faint groan from me as I trailed him.
But instead of heading out as he'd told his man, he approached a shadowed wall, rapping it firmly several times.
"What are you...?"
"Keh heh heh. Lucky break, kid. I'll pamper you later. Gotta evac first."
I stared in horror at his words.
"...Didn't you tell your men we could win?"
"Stupid question! Anyone storming a hundreds-strong hideout without hesitation ain't weak!"
True enough.
He'd chosen flight—pure logic.
Sacrificing his men as cannon fodder in the process.
Realizing his game, disgust twisted my face toward him.
"...You're trash."
Betraying loyal followers without a second thought.
"Keh heh heh. Yap away. I'll be gone by then!"
He yanked me along with crushing force.
The chokehold on my neck forced my legs moving, and soon we slipped through a revealed emergency exit toward the cave's exterior.
"...This is dicier than I thought."
Striding fast, he broke into cold sweats at the successive booms echoing inside, picking up the pace.
'Please, someone...!'
If the boss escaped like this, I had no hope.
I prayed desperately from the heart.
'Someone, please save me...!'
Then—light far ahead.
"The exit!"
Spotting it with me, he brightened and stepped out—
KABOOM──!!
"Gahak──!"
A colossal force hurled him far away.
Crashing through trees into the dirt cloud, he vanished. Stunned by the sudden turn, I lost the support holding me up and crumpled to the ground.
"...?"
As my body tilted, eyes squeezing shut on reflex—warm hands caught my waist.
"...Sorry."
The familiar voice made my eyes fly open as I looked up.
"Ah... ahh..."
Familiar clothes.
Familiar face.
Tears brimmed unbidden.
Why show up now, of all times?
Resentment, rage, relief, gratitude.
A torrent of emotions surged as I gazed at him.
Snow blanketed his shoulders from time outdoors. He embraced my waist gently.
"...Young Master."
"I'm truly sorry for being late."
Speaking in a warm tone, the Young Master touched my reddened cheek, his voice turning cold.
"Who did this?"
"It was..."
"No—sorry. No need to relive it."
Releasing my waist, he unwrapped his outer robe draped over himself and cloaked me in it, whispering softly.
"Just wait a bit. I'll handle it quick."
His golden eyes simultaneously fixed on the staggering, rising boss.