Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Touching Their Pride (8)
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Blackstar understood my words and charged forward even harder.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Neigh!"
Blackstar let out a mighty roar as it barreled ahead.
"H-Huh?"
"W-What's that?!"
By the time the sentries spotted us, it was already too late.
*Crash!*
The gate to the bandits' camp shattered under Blackstar's hooves.
"Neigh!"
I leaped down from Blackstar, who was excitedly hopping about in delight. I gave its rump a light pat.
"Go on and run wild to your heart's content."
With my other hand, I smoothly drew Requiem.
"But don't touch any humans."
"Neigh?"
"Only smash the non-human stuff. Got it?"
I emphasized it one last time.
"If you touch a human, you'll answer to me."
Then I turned around.
"W-What the hell?!"
"An intruder!"
"Call the boss!"
Toward the bandits in total chaos.
The slaughter had begun.
❖ ❖ ❖
Today was a truly unlucky day for Blackstar.
'I ran so hard!'
Its master thought it had picked up food along the way and gotten angry, but that wasn't true.
'I just forgot to chew it!'
If Abel had heard, he would have smacked it and said it was the same thing, but in Blackstar's mind, the two were completely different.
*Tweet-!*
That sound had come about an hour ago. Blackstar had just put a freshly caught field mouse in its mouth.
'It's the master!'
It was the exact sound its master had made it listen to until its ears blistered.
Blackstar immediately twisted its body and galloped toward the source of the sound. In its haste, it forgot about the mouse in its mouth.
No, more precisely, it didn't even think to chew it.
*Tweet-! Tweet-!*
The whistle blew so frequently and irritably that it couldn't focus on anything.
'I'm coming already!'
Blackstar swallowed its tears and ran as hard as it could. It had never run this desperately since it was born.
At some point, Blackstar caught its master's distinctive scent.
'It's the master!'
It had been worth running to death.
Even by its own standards, it was incredibly fast. While the master was away, it had roamed the fields wildly, but it had never seen anything faster than itself.
'I'm the fastest in the world! I'm the best!'
That master was something else. A monster, to be precise.
Soon, it began to glimpse its master's figure through the dark trees.
'Master!'
Blackstar happily whinnied and charged toward him.
'Aren't I pretty? Didn't I do well?!'
It was certain the master would scratch behind its ears again. It had arrived so quickly and accurately; of course he would.
But.
"What's that in your mouth?!"
The master yelled the moment he saw Blackstar. Only then did Blackstar remember what it had in its mouth.
'Oh no!'
In its panic, Blackstar gulped down the field mouse whole, giving up the pleasure of crunching its bones to powder.
The master's eyes blazed with fury.
"You little shit!"
In the end, instead of getting its ears scratched, Blackstar got beaten soundly. All it heard was the master yelling loudly.
Blackstar felt indignant for a moment.
'Should I kick him?'
But seeing the master's eyes flash menacingly, it gave up.
'...Never mind.'
Its master's temper was just too foul.
On the first day they met, Blackstar had swallowed its tears alone in the wrecked wooden cave.
'Humans suck!'
Whenever it bared its teeth even a little, humans made ridiculous squeaks like "Eek!"
They feared it so much, yet they fed it regularly, cleaned it when it got dirty, and even cleaned up its messes.
Watching that, Blackstar thought.
'Am I a king?'
These pathetic humans were slaves serving it, which was far bigger, faster, and more beautiful than them!
It was infuriating that such creatures had it chained up. But no matter how it thrashed, the thick iron chains wouldn't break.
"Hey, run."
The master had freed it and let it run free.
Every time its hooves pounded the earth, the scenery flew by in an instant. The sensation of the wind whipping through its mane, the scents of wind, forest, and everything else.
It was all so new to Blackstar. Vivid and ecstatic.
'Who knew the world had such fun!'
At first, it hadn't liked carrying a human on its back.
But at some point, Blackstar came to love the time spent galloping with its master aboard. That time was immensely joyful, delightful, and fun.
Plus, the master could work magic.
When he swung that long black stick, the monsters it touched writhed in agony and died.
'Amazing!'
To kill those things, Blackstar had to fight hard. But the master dispatched them with a single swing.
'The strongest human!'
At this level, it was worthy of being its master. Blackstar resolved never to act up against him again.
Still, what was unfair remained unfair.
"Neigh!"
Blackstar decided to vent its frustration on the humans in front of it. Instead of biting them, as per its master's order,
*Boom!*
It kicked the nearest tree viciously.
"Aaagh!"
"It's collapsing!"
"Everyone, dodge!"
Seeing the humans scream and flee filled it with satisfaction.
'Hmph, pathetic creatures.'
Blackstar's golden eyes gleamed as it searched for the next thing to smash. It had to obey its master's words, after all.
'Or I'll get in trouble again.'
Blackstar shook its head and rampaged about.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
It kicked down every tree in sight,
'Whoa, dangerous!'
*Boom!*
And stomped out the red-hot flames.
"Argh! It's so dark!"
"I can't see!"
The humans' clamor grew louder. Blackstar inwardly cheered.
'Ah, this is fun!'
Being with the master always brought fun things.
'What is the master doing?'
Looking back, the master was working his magic again.
"Aaagh!"
Humans pierced by his stick cried out in agony.
'That's right, good job!'
Blackstar rampaged even more excitedly, smashing trees. The bandit camp turned into a field of ruins in no time.
'Now the last one!'
Only one structure remained. Blackstar took a running start and charged.
*Boom!*
"Ughhh!"
A scream came from an old human inside.
"Neigh?"
Blackstar poked its face through the gap in the broken wood. Its eyes met the old human's.
"Gasp!"
The old human's mouth gaped open. Habitually, Blackstar bared its teeth at the sight of a human.
"Grrr."
The next moment,
"Ughhh!"
The old human rolled his eyes back and fainted.
'Eh?'
Blackstar panicked. It remembered its master freaking out if it touched a human.
'I just scared him!'
Blackstar's face twisted in distress.
❖ ❖ ❖
Philip thought he was truly unlucky.
"This can't be happening..."
A narrow, dark space. Bars enclosed it on all sides, with only a bit of straw on the floor.
"Let me out! Please, let me out!"
Philip repeated the plea he'd shouted countless times. But no matter how many times, nothing changed.
No one responded to him.
He was still alone in the prison, his letter to Diego had been taken, and even the money he'd secretly brought for his daughter was confiscated.
"What am I to do?"
From the looks of it, that plump bandit leader planned to write to Diego himself.
Philip doubted Diego would comply with the bandits' demands just to rescue him.
"What if he ignores it?"
The territory's finances were already tight, and Diego had been frowning about the budget shortage.
Of course, if these bandits had been near Ovest Territory, they would have long been slain by Diego's sword.
But this place was over a week away by horse from Ovest Territory.
In short, Philip's future looked bleak, like the fading daylight outside.
'Damn it all.'
Philip buried his face in his knees. The quiet lasted only a moment.
"S-Sob."
A sniffling sound escaped.
It was so miserable. Dragging his aged body here had been exhausting enough, and now his luck was rotten too.
"How could I run into bandits?!"
The carriage smashing, the coachman tumbling to the ground, being grabbed by the collar and dragged out—it had been utterly terrifying.
For Philip's frail body, it was an ordeal too much to bear.
Bruises bloomed blue all over him. He could barely move and just sat on the floor.
Philip, eyes closed listlessly, muttered.
"If only the Young Master hadn't fled with the seal..."
He wouldn't have had to come all this way.
Not only that, he wouldn't have suffered so much at the Ovest Territory castle.
Everything that had befallen him was Abel's fault. That wastrel trash young master.
"Damn it, if only it weren't for Young Master Abel..."
Philip ground his teeth, chewing on curses.
He didn't reflect on how he'd ended up under Abel's thumb. He just needed someone to blame.
"S-Sob."
He'd been the lord's direct butler for years.
His body, accustomed to luxury, ached from just one night in prison. Staying in this smelly, damp, dingy place a few more days might kill him.
"If they'd at least given me a blanket!"
The bandits shoved in pig slop three times a day but otherwise left the prison alone.
At least until yesterday, he'd been with other hostages. But they'd been handed over to a slave trader this morning.
The sight made Philip's heart sink.
It had been weeks since they'd dealt with slavers, and now he might end up as one himself.
"Someone, save me..."
Philip murmured an impossible wish. Then he began sobbing again.
The sun had set, and it grew dark outside the window.
"Hm?"
Philip suddenly looked up.
The outside had grown noisy.
Fierce shouts, clashing weapons, things breaking and shattering—it was chaotic.
"W-What's happening?"
Something serious was going on.
Philip gripped the bars and staggered to his feet, trying to see what was outside.
"Kill them! Kill!"
"I can't see to do anything...!"
"Dodge!"
The bandits' frantic cries mixed in chaos. From what he could gather, things were going badly for them.
"What? Who's attacking them?"
After a moment's thought, Philip slapped his knee.
"Right, it's the guards!"
The guardians of justice had finally stepped in. They'd tracked the bandits to their camp, no doubt.
"Oh, God! Thank you!"
Philip clasped his hands and shot to his feet toward the sky.
"D-Dio Benedica."
He made the sign of the cross with words he hadn't used in ages.
"You haven't abandoned me! I knew it!"
He vowed to donate a fortune once he got out. Pressing against the bars, he shouted.
"Help! There's someone here!"
His body screamed in pain, but he endured and yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Over here! There's someone here!!"
It seemed the outside commotion drowned him out.
"Huff, huff."
Just that much shouting left him breathless. Philip leaned on his knees to catch his breath.
Then, suddenly,
"Gaaah!"
A chilling scream pierced his ears.
"W-What was that?"
Philip was confused.
The guards wouldn't kill like that, would they? They'd try to capture alive and imprison them, right?