Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Inertia
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Rattle, rattle.
An old wagon rolled in from the darkness.
There was no coachman.
The only one holding the reins was Kain, the one-armed man.
He pulled the cart loaded with baggage to a stop in front of us, then jerked his chin toward the back.
"Get in."
I looked up at the rear of the wagon.
Miscellaneous junk and wooden crates of all sizes.
Among them, deepest inside, buried under the other cargo, stood out a massive chest.
Roughly eyeballing it, about a meter and a bit in length and width.
Maybe 1.3 or 1.4 meters?
"......"
My expression soured the instant I saw it.
"No bigger ones available?"
"You going on a pleasure cruise or what? Don't be picky."
"Three of us cram in and close the lid? We'll suffocate."
"For something I scrounged up in a hurry, it's the biggest there was."
Kain waved his hand dismissively, urging us on like it was a hassle.
"Poked some holes in it, so you won't die.
Quit stalling and get in before someone sees."
Fair enough. We weren't in a position to be choosy about hot or cold rice right now.
I let out a deep sigh and stepped aside to clear the way.
"Ladies first."
"......?"
"You go first, employer."
Baekrin hopped onto the wagon without a word and slipped right into the chest.
Once she hunkered down in the corner, half the space was already gone.
"You next."
I shoved Noy, whom I'd been cradling, into the spot next to her.
The kid, clueless as ever, just blinked blankly while sucking on his wooden pacifier.
Now it was my turn.
I climbed onto the wagon and was just about to swing my foot into the chest.
"......Hmm."
Kain, standing below, rubbed his chin and alternated glances between Baekrin crouched inside and me standing awkwardly.
A sly, mischievous smile crept onto his lips.
"So, that's your 'one,' huh?"
"'One' what? Spit it out plain."
"The woman you kept yapping about—the one who sees your true worth."
Kain snickered and flicked his eyes toward my crotch.
'......This old fart's a dopamine junkie for random hookups.'
I let out an incredulous chuckle.
He and his buddies had been side-eyeing each other and leaving me out earlier, so I'd figured he was some perverted fifty-something rubbing one out to girls young enough to be his daughter.
Turns out he was just a nosy old coot who got a kick out of playing matchmaker.
I was about to tell him to shut his celibate-stinking trap when—
"......Offended."
A cold voice drifted from inside the chest.
Baekrin was glaring at me with a face like she'd bitten into a bug.
Why the hell was she shooting daggers at me?
The old man's the one flapping his gums!
"Don't get tangled up with that slave. Makes me wanna puke."
"Whoops, my bad. Heh heh......"
Kain shrugged, chuckling like it was hilarious.
This fucking bitch.
You think anyone's thrilled to be paired with you?
I crammed my body into the chest and snapped back at her.
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm no volunteer, and I've got zero plans to marry a moronic, prickly bitch like you."
"Lucky me."
"Not even if I died and came back. Hell no."
I snorted derisively and settled in.
The cramped space pressed my thigh right up against hers.
Then, with the utmost seriousness, I added,
"But."
"......?"
"If I had to do you once, I'd be game."
Silence.
Baekrin's eyebrow twitched.
Her hand slowly reached for the sword hilt in her bosom.
One was snapped in half; only the curved blade remained.
"Whoa, don't draw it. If you're gonna hit, use your fist."
"......Die."
Thwack! Crunch! Crash!
"Ow! Aaaah! My bone! You hit my bone, you fucking bitch!"
There was a brief commotion.
Kain shook his head and lifted the pre-prepared lid.
"Keep it down. We'll all die if we're caught."
Slam.
The lid shut.
A few hammer strikes later, we were cut off from the world.
Perfect darkness.
And suffocating tightness.
"......Haa."
I rubbed my throbbing shin and sighed.
Tight. Fucking ridiculously tight.
Two adults and a kid crammed into barely a meter of space.
Impossible not to touch.
My right shoulder nearly brushed Baekrin's chest,
and Noy was leaning on my knee...
"Zzz..."
"You're one tough kid. Falling asleep already."
In this stuffy hellhole that could trigger claustrophobia from scratch,
head on my lap and out cold.
Better than wailing in fear, at least.
Quiet sleep was a hundred times preferable.
The problem was,
"Hey, slave."
"......What."
"Stop breathing. You stink."
"You haven't bathed either."
Our body odors filled the cramped space,
maxing out the disgust factor for us grown-ups.
We were close enough to feel each other's breath.
In the dark, we growled at one another.
Then, the cart lurched.
It had started moving.
Rattle, rattle.
The vibration of wooden wheels rolled up through my butt.
Checkpoint next,
smooth sailing and we'd board the ship straightaway.
Pitch-black darkness.
Briny sea air seeping through wood cracks,
Baekrin's body heat beside me,
Noy's steady breathing.
......We're really leaving now.
I closed my eyes in the narrow confines.
The godforsaken slums.
Kaintrea fuckers, cursed Bellua Kingdom.
Twenty years of shitty memories.
And one thing left behind.
'......Wait for me.'
No good memories from that lump of dirt,
but I'd have to come back someday and grab it.
No one's scavenging it,
not worth a single copper anyway, so no thief would bother.
Most likely, it'd stay put right there.
Screech, rattle.
Whoa, cart stopped.
Body pitched forward slightly.
Inertia,
that's what they call a moving object wanting to keep moving.
First law of pedestrian U-turns at crosswalks.
Any Hell Joseon kid knows it by middle school,
but these barbarians wouldn't grasp it in a million years.
So,
"......Move your hand, unless you want it sliced off."
"What outta nowhere?"
"Get it off my tit."
"No idea what you're on about. Wasn't me."
Baekrin ground her teeth but whispered,
"Then who the fuck is it?"
"Probably Noy. Kids love boobs, common knowledge."
"Zzz... Mama......"
"Hear that? Calling for mommy. Dreaming of his dead mom's tits, maybe..."
Squish squish.
Grip.
"Urk.... Hup......"
"Weird. Kid's wrist this thick?"
"Ngh... Fine, you bitch, I'll move it..."
Stop twisting. It'll snap.
I don't wanna end up crippled like the old man.
"Hoo... Fucking bitch, it's inertia's fault."
"Inertia what?"
"Forget it. Pointless explaining to an illiterate."
Inertia is
a body's tendency to maintain its state of motion unless acted on by an external force.
If she hadn't twisted my wrist,
I could've kept groping till the end.
External force intervened. Can't be helped.
Regrettable.
South Harbor, Second Checkpoint.
"Haa... Man, I'm gonna die of exhaustion."
Thomas, a Kaintrea family soldier, grumbled as he readjusted his torch.
Cold sea wind snuck through his armor gaps, but it wasn't enough to chase away the waves of sleep.
"Whaddya gonna do? Orders are orders."
His superior, Hans, thumped his spear butt on the ground in reply.
"All this 'cause of one criminal they're turning the place upside down for."
"What kinda guy's worth a 300-gold bounty? Wish I could see him."
"Huh? Oh, right. You wouldn't have. You're too new."
Hans clicked his tongue and turned to the rookie Thomas.
"Better off not seeing that mug. Ruins your appetite just looking at it."
"That bad? Guess the wanted sketch looked pretty rough."
"Kid, the sketch flatters him. Real thing's...... Ugh."
Hans shuddered dramatically, then
"This side? Totally melted off."
"Melted? Beyond ugly?"
"Yeah. Like boiled meat, all shriveled and mashed up..."
He dragged a hand down his right cheek, chuckling.
"And true to slum rat form, his mouth's filthier than you can imagine.
Gropes the maids, spits on soldiers like us."
"Whoa... Total scum."
"That's why he's a 'freak.' Shame of Kaintrea."
As the two jawed on, that's when—
Rattle, rattle.
An old wagon rolled in from the darkness.
A grizzled, grim-faced old man sat alone on the driver's seat.
"Hey, halt! Inspection!"
Thomas reflexively leveled his spear and blocked the way.
But Hans's eyes went wide beside him.
"Wha......? K-Kain, sir?"
Hans hastily lowered his spear and bowed.
Kain, senior knight of the Kaintrea family.
A slum-born legend who'd clawed his way up to knighthood—
an idol to the family's soldiers.
"What brings you here..."
About to greet him warmly, Hans's gaze froze.
His left sleeve flapping limply in the sea breeze.
"......Ah."
He'd heard the rumors.
The duke's favored eldest daughter, Lady Sharl, had wrathfully severed his arm and exiled him.
He'd dismissed it as gossip, but seeing the man before him tugged at his heart.
Kain gave a wry smile, soothed the horses, and returned the greeting.
"Long time, Hans. Still spinning your wheels here?"
"Y-yeah... Gotta eat somehow."
Hans forced cheer, hiding his pitying eyes.
"But this late... Heading far?"
"Yeah. Leaving."
Kain said flatly.
"Rolled in this kingdom my whole life. Time to be a blade without a sheath."
"......"
"Gonna spend my days quietly somewhere far off, tinkering."
"Haha, I see..."
Somewhere quiet.
Hans smiled ambiguously.
Ships passing this checkpoint all headed west.
To that hellscape where monsters devoured men.
No tinkering—just dawn-to-dusk swordplay in blood-soaked fields.
'......Makes sense.'
Hans nodded soon after.
Hell for commoners like him,
but a stroll in the yard for this man.
And after that humiliation,
this kingdom was just a prison to the old hero now.
"So... That's your stuff in back? Opening a shop?"
"Something like. What else can a one-armed geezer do?"
Hans chuckled along at Kain's lonely laugh.
He wanted to buy the man a drink, but duty called.
"Got it. Safe travels, sir. You'll thrive anywhere."
Hans moved to clear the path. But—
"Hold up, gotta check the cargo..."
Thomas butted in cluelessly.
He marched to the rear stern-faced, lifted the cover cloth.
"Hey, Thomas! You nuts? Why search Kain's cart?!"
"Duty's duty. No exceptions for inspections."
Thomas poked crates with his spear tip unyieldingly.
Pointed at the largest chest,
"This one's big... What's inside?"
The air froze instantly.
Kain's face hardened coldly on the driver's seat.
"......Don't think I've seen you before."
His voice dropped low.
"Makes sense you wouldn't know me."
He twisted his lips into a chilling grin.
Slowly shifted gaze to
nervous Hans beside him.
"But you, Hans..."
"K-Kain, sir?"
"You know me, right?"
Crunch.
Kain gripped the reins tight with his right hand.
"Forgot my temper, maybe?"
"......!!"
The air around the checkpoint grew heavy.
Killing intent thick only from one who's rolled in battlefields for decades,
severed countless necks.
Unlike the drunks raging or cocky merchants passing through.
A razor edge grazing the nape—pure chill.
Thomas paled,
Hans sweated buckets down his back.
'Idiot, told you not to poke!'
Hans screamed inwardly.
Long-time soldier, he knew.
What kind of man Kain was.
Kain had no surname.
Slum-born, sure, but
senior knights usually got one from their lord or made their own.
He'd never married, lived celibate— no family name.
Rookie knights ignorant of him,
or noble-born snobs sneering at origins,
they poked him.
"Lowly cur without a name," mocking.
Their ends? Hans remembered clear.
[Gaaah! You filthy mutt!]
[What? Arms not enough—want your tongue yanked too?]
None walked out on their own.
Kain crippled at least two limbs per fool.
Broke them beyond sword-holding,
thorough revenge.
No exceptions, even fellow seniors.
Legends among the ranks...
'And this peon pokes that man?'
Thomas's neck snapping here wouldn't shock.
"N-no, sir... He's new, see..."
Hans swallowed dryly, stammering.
Rookie's blunder or not,
senior couldn't ignore.
But Kain's eyes stayed icy.
Passed Hans, pinned rigid Thomas.
"......Guh,"
Thomas bit his lip, barely breathing.
The suffocating silence stretched seconds. Then—
"......Just kidding."
Kain's face relaxed instantly.
He laughed heartily, withdrawing the pressure.
"Look at your faces. Like I'm gonna eat someone."
"Ah......"
"No point throwing a fit. You're just following orders."
His voice turned mild again,
"Ah... Haha, your jokes... top-notch, sir."
Hans sighed relief, forced a grin.
Legs nearly buckled; he held firm.
"Inspect away. Flip it if you want."
Kain permitted; Thomas tentatively reached for the lid.
Hand still shaking.
Then Kain added softly,
"But."
"......Yes?"
"Don't stab with that spear."
He shrugged helplessly.
"Lots of grain sacks inside. Bursting's a mess.
Too old to patch holes."
"Ah, y-yes! Got it!"
Thomas flinched, withdrew spear.
Terror lingered; no questioning it.
"All... good. Looks fine!"
He tapped the chest lightly for show, backed off fast.
"Cleared! Go ahead!"
Hans saluted briskly.
Kain waved lightly in return, urged the cart on.
Rattle, rattle.
Vanished into darkness.
Hans wiped sweat, watched the receding figure.
"......Stay well."
True well-wishes from respect.
Clueless to the chest's contents.
The cart passed inspection smoothly,
rumbled toward a small ship moored in the dark.
Screech,
Soon stopped.
Laborers' shouts followed as the chest lifted into air.
Sway.
Vibration of deck landing,
long voyage curtain rose.