Chapter 6
I’m translating the chapter now and preserving the HTML-only output rules, including special styling for any in-universe text. Next I’m shaping the prose into natural English paragraphs while keeping names and tone consistent.CHAPTER_TITLE: How Much Is the Toll?
“...Kael of the Third District Guard, Capital Security Division of the Ascalon Empire. As of today, you have been transferred out of the capital guard and assigned to the Nox Special Security Force. Pack your things and prepare to leave at once.”
It felt like someone had cracked him across the back of the head with a hammer.
He was stunned.
A dull ache began to creep up the back of his neck.
“...I’m sorry, Kael.”
“...Why?”
“Haah. Officially, I can’t tell you, but...”
The captain let out a long sigh and pointed upward with a finger.
That was explanation enough.
It meant the order had come from above.
Kael understood that much.
Now he understood the captain’s reaction too. A guard captain was only the head of a small unit; if the order had come from above, it far exceeded anything he could do about it.
These bastard motherfuckers.
Rage began to boil up inside him.
After barely surviving a brush with death, they were kicking him out like this?
If it had only been a transfer, he wouldn’t have been this angry.
Nox.
Kael had heard the name a few times.
Of course, it was only rumor, but even if half of what people said was true, he was certain it wasn’t a city fit for human beings.
It lay near the empire’s southwestern border, about two weeks by carriage from Etherheim, the capital.
Nox was the so-called lawless district, a city teeming with every sort of crime imaginable.
From what he’d heard, it was a paradise for gangs and criminals.
They want me to go there?
He almost laughed from disbelief.
This was beyond a demotion; it was basically the same as telling him to go die.
“...Kael, I understand how you feel. But it isn’t all bad news. You’ve been appointed as the commander of the Nox Special Security Force, which means you’ve been given the same rank as a guard captain, just like me. It’s an unprecedented meteoric promotion in the history of the guard.”
“...What exactly does this Special Security Force even do?”
“...Honestly, I’m not sure myself.”
“Well, isn’t that fucking great.”
“...”
Kael cursed him out to his face, but the captain couldn’t say a word. He understood how Kael felt, and besides, from this point on, Kael was technically his equal in rank.
* * *
Kael wasn’t even given time to say goodbye to the people around him.
He packed his things immediately and boarded the carriage bound for Nox.
At that point, it didn’t feel like a transfer so much as an escort for a criminal.
“...Kael. Hang in there a little longer. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Max, an old hand in the guard, looked at Kael with a grave expression.
He was wrapped head to toe in bandages and leaning on crutches, but fortunately, he’d been told his life wasn’t in danger.
Kael knew Max wasn’t really saying he’d exert real influence, only trying to comfort him. Even so, he could tell the sentiment was sincere, and he gave a crooked smile.
“Forget it. Besides, I’m the superior officer now, right?”
“You think this is the time for jokes?”
“Why is it a joke? I’m being serious. Next time you see me, mind your manners.”
“You crazy bastard... Fine. Just don’t get yourself hurt, all right?”
“You’re on crutches saying that, so it doesn’t have much bite.”
They had gone through the same ordeal, and Kael didn’t resent Max just because only he had been transferred. Max was a good person. That hadn’t changed.
The only thing he resented was one thing.
The empire. Those bastards and no one else.
...Just wait. I’ll remember this.
Kael’s eyes turned ice-cold.
He had always been the type to keep score for a very long time.
* * *
Adelia learned of Kael’s transfer to Nox and immediately went to see Crown Prince Cassian.
“I was told you asked for me.”
Cassian was as busy as ever. It was rude, even for one of the Imperial 5 Swords, to show up unannounced before the man who effectively held the empire’s real power, but Adelia didn’t have time to care about etiquette.
Still, Cassian readily granted her an audience.
He had been sorting documents on his desk, and he looked up at Adelia with a faint smile.
“...I heard one of the guards involved in the incident was transferred to Nox.”
“That’s right. You’re quite quick on the uptake.”
Adelia’s gaze sharpened.
“At the last meeting, you said you would give him ‘appropriate compensation.’ Why did you suddenly transfer him to Nox?”
She kept her tone as calm as she could.
She knew that showing emotion here would only make the crown prince more suspicious.
“Yes, I certainly did say that. And that’s exactly why.”
“What do you mean by that...?”
Cassian picked up several sheets of paper.
“That guard, Kael, is remarkably capable. As you can see, his record is quite colorful. In particular, the past month of his activities stands out.”
“...”
“You know as well as I do, Lady Adelia, that Nox is in a serious state right now. Since Lord Sigmund Hessen’s betrayal, public order has essentially collapsed, and the city has become a nest of crime and chaos. People call Nox a paradise for criminals. As the crown prince of the empire, I can’t help but feel dismayed every time I hear that.”
After Sigmund, once one of the Imperial 5 Swords, betrayed them, Nox’s security had only continued to spiral downward.
The biggest problem was that even the royal palace had failed to come up with a workable solution.
Cassian closed his eyes for a moment, then looked Adelia straight in the face again.
“But Nox is still part of imperial territory. The people who live there are imperial subjects as well. Someone has to clean up that mess, don’t they? I judged that guard, Kael, to be that ‘someone.’ Based on what he’s already shown, he’s clearly no ordinary man. If he can do that much as a mere guard, then what sort of results might he produce once he has the authority of a commander? ...I’m curious.”
“...”
Adelia fell silent. Nothing she said here would make Cassian reverse his decision.
...I’ve been had.
She had been careless.
She had underestimated the crown prince far too much.
Kael’s transfer wasn’t merely a personnel decision; it was a kind of test.
And the fact that Adelia had personally gone to see the crown prince immediately after the transfer only poured oil on the fire of his suspicion.
The crown prince had never once let his guard down. Her actions today had only deepened that suspicion.
There was no point saying anything else now. It would only become poison in her mouth.
...I’m sorry, Kael.
Guilt pressed heavily on Adelia’s chest.
And beneath that guilt lurked one question that wouldn’t let go.
But why... Nox, of all places?
The crown prince was a man whose thoughts were hard to read. Clever with schemes, experienced in handling people.
That was Cassian.
...What on earth is in Nox?
She didn’t believe the surface explanation. There had to be some purpose behind sending Kael there in particular.
She wanted to know what that purpose was, but the crown prince’s suspicion left her unable to do anything, and that helplessness gnawed at her.
* * *
“Man, the weather’s fucking great.”
Kaak, ptui!
Kael spat a wad of phlegm onto the road.
The carriage driver glanced at him, but said nothing.
Kael’s mood was grim enough to explain everything. It wasn’t just bad; he looked like he might kill someone at any second.
The sky was clear, with not a cloud in sight.
The sun was bright and warm, the sort of day made for a picnic. And yet here he was, being dragged to exile while drowning in a foul mood.
[You’ve got a pretty terrifying look on your face. Could you not scowl like that?]
Shut it. I’m not in the mood to hear it.
[W-what...!]
Balmung fell silent, apparently stunned.
Kael was in one of those so-called “nothing else matters” moods now.
When you felt like shit, everything felt like shit, no matter how nice the weather was.
It was probably something like the feeling after losing a match.
He hadn’t really experienced it personally, since he’d been a fighter with an undefeated legend ever since his pro debut, but he imagined it must be something like that.
Fine. You started this first.
He had been trying to live peacefully, but the world refused to cooperate.
He was human, too. When grievance kept piling up, his patience was bound to hit rock bottom.
If I want to survive among devils, I’ll have to become a devil myself. Right?
He didn’t know what kind of place Nox really was.
Still, it was probably worth looking forward to.
* * *
The journey to Nox was fairly long.
There were a few little incidents along the way, but Kael still managed to arrive safely.
“T-then I’ll be going back now!!”
The carriage driver who had accompanied him looked at him with a frightened expression.
He seemed desperate to leave this instant.
“Already? You should rest a bit before you go. You must be tired.”
“I-I’m fine! I’ve got another trip right after this! W-well then, I’ll be off!”
The driver hurriedly turned the horses around and left. It hadn’t even been a short distance, and Kael thought the man was awfully diligent for someone who looked that terrified.
So this is Nox.
His first impression of the city was, first and foremost, this.
It’s more normal than I expected.
Maybe because his expectations had been so low, but it looked better than he’d imagined.
At least the outer appearance was orderly. The image of Nox in Kael’s head had been something close to Mad Max, some nightmare beyond even a modern slum.
And yet, would you look at that? On the surface, it seemed to be maintained reasonably well.
Thinking that was a surprise, he walked toward the city gate.
What, they even have guards?
They had ugly faces and one of them was slouching on a bent leg, so they looked pretty rough, but still—they were on duty, weren’t they?
“Neglecting your duty” and “not doing your duty” are two very different things.
Maybe this place is better than I thought?
His positive circuit had started turning over. Sure, it was a backwater compared to the capital, but this was still a passing grade.
Kael walked toward the two guards with a much lighter step.
But it didn’t take long for that good mood to shatter.
“Hey, stop right there.”
A rough voice stabbed into his ears.
Kael’s brow twitched.
Look at these assholes.
The two guards swept him from head to toe with crooked smiles on their faces.
“Where the hell’d you crawl out of?”
“Why bother asking that?”
“Fair point. Hey, how much do you have on you right now?”
“...Why are you asking?”
“Why else? Toll money, idiot. You think you were getting in for free?”
“Ah, I see. How much is the toll?”
“That depends on how much’s in your pocket, doesn’t it? Don’t hide it—empty everything out. Though you’re awfully rude, you know that?”
“Hmm, really? Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
Kael nodded.
Right, so there was a toll.
As for how he’d pay it, he’d just decided that a moment ago.
Thwack!
The next instant, Kael’s fist slammed into the guard’s face.