Chapter 150: Wavel (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 150: Wavel (2)
“He’s assaulting a guaaaaard!!!”
At the scrawny man’s cry, armed guards swarmed out of the checkpoint like a hive of angry bees.
There must have been at least thirty of them.
But they were all ordinary people who couldn’t even handle magic, so I wasn’t particularly tense.
I was more concerned about the two balls I hadn’t crushed yet.
As if sensing my killing intent, the scrawny man flinched and covered his crotch with both hands.
As if that would do any good.
The guards surrounded Iris and me in a pincer formation.
I had two options here.
The first was to subdue all the guards, leave, and then climb the city walls after sunset. Then I could sneak into the lord’s castle and threaten him.
The other option was to let them capture me here.
There was no reason to choose the latter, so my deliberation was short.
The moment I confirmed that the people in line had backed away, I drew upon my magic and glared at the guards.
Five seconds was all I needed to take them all down.
“Stop!”
But a voice from behind the guards halted my actions. It was faint, but it was laced with magic.
A middle-aged man walked through the ranks of the guards. The nameplate hanging from his neck looked more ornate than those of the other soldiers.
After a brief glance around, he approached me.
“I am Balan Hersel, Captain of the Wavel Gate Guard.”
His voice, his gaze, his every minor gesture—his polite demeanor was a world apart from the others.
He glanced at the unconscious soldier on the ground, his balls burst, and let out a deep sigh.
But he didn’t blame me for it. In fact, he seemed to be watching my reaction.
“Kang Hyun-woo.”
“…It seems my men have been rude.”
I shook the guard captain’s hand lightly.
I had no hobby of shaking hands with men, but I could tolerate it if they were wearing gloves.
“Could you come with me for a moment? It would be good if your wife in the back came along as well.”
“And why should I trust you?”
I gestured with my chin toward the man sprawled on the ground.
The man, who had lost the most precious part of his body, was foaming at the mouth, unconscious.
“…I understand your distrust of the guard, but I swear on my name as captain that there will be no more unpleasant incidents like the one just now.”
“What about the inspection?”
“Just answer a few questions, and I will let you in immediately.”
The proposal itself wasn’t bad at all.
It was simply a matter of whether I could trust him, the guard captain.
After a moment of thought, I nodded.
Sneaking into the lord’s castle at midnight to threaten him might seem easy and fast on the surface, but I didn’t want to disappoint Iris, who had been secretly looking forward to seeing the city.
“Thank you.”
The captain waved his hand, and the guards surrounding us lowered their weapons with reluctant expressions.
They carried away the man on the ground and retreated.
“Wait.”
I gathered magic at my fingertips and threw it at the back of the scrawny man’s knee as he tried to slink away.
It was Magic Bolt, a 1st Circle common magic.
Thwack!
“Aargh!!”
With a rather loud noise, the man screamed and collapsed.
“Your colleague paid dearly for his crime, yet you try to run away alone. You have no sense of loyalty.”
“S-Sir, please, just spare me this once!”
“You’ve already crossed the line.”
Crunch. I pressed my foot down firmly on the man’s crotch.
“Guuuhhh…?!?”
The pain, far beyond his limit, made him pass out in short order. Blood dripped from between his legs.
The other guards watched the scene with terrified expressions.
“Let’s go now.”
“…Haaah.”
The guard captain let out a heavy sigh as he surveyed the chaotic scene.
*
Iris and I were led to the guard captain’s office, where we were served black tea as if we were guests.
Of course, it tasted cheap.
The guard captain who brought us here sat at his desk, shuffling through documents and asking various questions.
“I’m curious as to why a man of your skill has come to Wavel.”
“I came to meet the lord.”
“The lord…? Are you perhaps a noble?”
“Not a chance.”
“…In that case, it would be best to call him ‘Lord.’ He’s not exactly a merciful man.”
“Noted.”
Slurp. I took a sip of the tea. I only drank it out of courtesy, but I doubted I’d be touching it again.
“What do you plan to do when you meet the Lord? In the first place, he is not someone you can meet just because you want to.”
“That’s my business.”
“…I suppose it is.”
The captain’s questions weren’t much different from the ones I’d been asked at the checkpoint.
After a five-minute Q&A session, I was able to receive an ID card.
“With just this, will I have no problems within the Veilhaven Republic?”
“Well. I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a definite answer. There are quite a few places that use these IDs as a money-making scheme.”
Roughly translated, his words meant that in principle, it was valid throughout the republic, but in cities that used the ID system to extort money, I’d have to pay another fee to get a new one issued.
It was exactly as I’d expected, so I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
“I hope you won’t cause any trouble inside the city. If trying to arrest a man of your skill creates a gap in our security, we’re the ones who have to send our men to fill it.”
“Well… I’ll try.”
“Thanks for saying so, at least.”
Clink. Iris set down her teacup with a gentle smile.
“Thank you for the lovely tea.”
“…It was nothing, madam.”
Even the guard captain, who seemed to be the type to not show his emotions, found it difficult to look up in the face of Iris’s smile and lowered his head.
My business here was done, so I stood up from my seat.
“Ah, I’m just asking, but do you happen to know a way to meet the lord?”
“…Are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
“…For someone who is neither a noble nor a merchant guild master to meet the lord is extremely difficult. Of course, the lord sometimes posts requests at the adventurer’s guild, but you won’t be able to accept them unless you’re at least Gold rank. Are you perhaps an adventurer?”
“No.”
“Then that method won’t work either. Gold rank can’t be obtained in a short period, even with skill.”
The guard captain suggested a few other alternatives, but they were all either unrealistic or too time-consuming.
“It seems I’ll have to do the legwork myself and find a way. Still, thanks for all the information. I’ll repay the favor if I get the chance.”
Just as I was about to leave the office, thinking that listening any further would be a waste of time, the guard captain called out to me.
“Wait, how about this?”
“Hm?”
*
The border city of Wavel.
Also known as the City of Slaves, Wavel was home to the largest slave market in the entire southern continent.
The constant traffic of numerous slave traders and hunters naturally revitalized the economy and expanded its scale. Thanks to that, it was now one of the most prominent cities in the Veilhaven Republic—or so the guard captain had explained.
Of course, behind that dazzling growth, the city was surely stained with the bloody tears of those unjustly forced into slavery.
After leaving the captain’s office, we headed straight for the city’s main street.
“Wow…”
The crowd there was incomparably larger than what we had seen outside the city walls, creating a chaotic scene.
“Fresh bread! Hot bread baked this morning, get it here!”
“The finest silk right here! Half the price of the market over there! Come take a look!”
“It wasn’t me!!”
“Don’t make me laugh! I saw you steal it with my own two eyes!”
“Oh, a Bear-kin. They’ve caught something rare.”
“Times like these, I envy those slave hunters. Get lucky, and you’re set for life.”
The street was so packed with carriages and people that it was difficult to even walk properly.
Iris found the cityscape so fascinating that she couldn’t close her mouth for a while.
Watching her reaction, I suddenly thought it would be nice to walk through the streets of Seoul with her someday.
I held Iris’s hand tightly and navigated through the crowd. If I didn’t, she would surely get lost in no time.
As we walked, I recalled what the guard captain had told me earlier.
—Do you know that the Lord has one son and one daughter?
—No.
—…Anyway, how about trying to meet the Young Master or the Young Lady instead of the Lord? You might find a way to meet the Lord directly. I hear the Young Lady, in particular, takes a strong interest in those with outstanding abilities.
The captain’s idea seemed plausible to me.
But a question also came to mind.
—Why are you helping me this much? Well, didn’t you say you would repay the favor? I’ll be looking forward to it.
My first impression of the city guard had been the worst, but at least the captain was a decent man.
“Ah! Hyun-woo, look at that.”
“Hm?”
Iris pointed to a small street stall.
It didn’t have many customers, but for a while now, I had been hearing a crackling sound coming from it.
“What are they selling?”
My curiosity piqued as well, I headed toward the stall with an eager Iris.
“Welcome!”
“What do you sell here?”
“Hm? Ah, you’re travelers, aren’t you? Have you ever heard of ‘Dragon’s Breath Crisp’?”
“Dragon’s Breath Crisp…?”
“It’s a dish made by slicing a boiled potato and stuffing it with a sauce made from ground Dragon’s Heart Grass. It’s a local specialty you can only find in the southern region.”
On the display stand were piles of boiled potatoes with a blue sauce oozing out of them.
“Two, please.”
“Thank you!”
I smiled at the owner’s polite speech, which he switched to as soon as I ordered, and took out some copper coins from my pocket.
The price wasn’t as expensive as I thought.
“Wow, the potato is hot!”
“It is. They must have just boiled it.”
I took a light bite.
Instantly, the potato started to pop and crackle in my mouth like popping candy.
I never expected to experience such a texture in another world. It was probably because of the sauce made from Dragon’s Heart Grass, but the re-creation was quite realistic.
Besides, the taste itself wasn’t bad at all.
“Hic?!”
Startled by the new sensation, Iris stomped her feet.
“H-Hyun-woo! The potato just popped like a firework!”
A laugh escaped my lips at the sight of her marveling like a little child.
After our successful snack time, we walked toward the lord’s castle, potatoes in hand.
Of course, I didn’t expect the lord’s son and daughter to meet someone like me, whose identity was unclear, right away.
But if they shunned me for my uncertain status, I just had to show them a level of ability that would make it irrelevant.
The road widened, and as we entered the downtown area, the crowd grew even denser.
I needed to move a little more carefully to avoid being swept away by the throng.
Just as I was about to gently pull Iris closer, something rolled and hit my foot.
It was the potato that had been in Iris’s hand.
“Iris?”
Iris didn’t answer. She was just staring blankly somewhere, her eyes trembling faintly.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, my gaze followed hers.
“?!”
I couldn’t help but be horrified by the sight visible through the massive crowd.
“Wow, they actually caught them…?”
“Hah… The auction house is going to be in an uproar. No wonder I’ve been seeing more nobles from other territories than usual.”
“I’m so jealous. The ones who caught them, and the ones who’ll buy them.”
There, being transported in a carriage enclosed by an iron cage, were elves.