Taming the Reverse Spy (5)

Outskirts of the fief, a clearing deep in the forest.

A place so dark that not even moonlight could penetrate.

"Graaaagh!"

In that darkness, my sword sliced through the shadows. A heavy head shot skyward. Blood erupted like a fountain from the severed neck.

I was drenched in it, yet I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't feel particularly bad. After all, this was the blood of worthless scum—no different from the hack writer who had driven his NTR plot straight into a ditch.

The slave traders who bought and sold innocent citizens like livestock, just like the slave girl I had rescued before. Until I appeared, they had kicked their captives with arrogant, merciless cruelty. But in front of someone stronger, they were nothing more than docile lambs.

I glanced at the merchant guild's authentication emblem. Sure enough, these were the same bastards who betrayed humanity and sided with the demon race in the original story.

For the sake of the future, mercy was out of the question.

"I've gotten pretty used to this by now. Kraus Practical Swordsmanship."

Of course, it couldn't compare to the swordsmanship Isabella had displayed in the original work. Still, with a body that possessed zero talent for the blade, learning the Kraus family's secret techniques was impossible anyway. This would have to be enough.

Better skills... I can just extract them by corrupting and taming Anna or Leona.

"Dieeee!"

Right then, one of the slave traders—who had been playing dead among the corpses—drew his sword and charged me.

I reacted naturally, without much surprise or tension.

Thanks to the swordsmanship I had copied through corruption training, my blade was equal to Leona's. It tore through the trader's flesh and shattered his bones. At the same time, I gained a small stat bonus. I was growing stronger, little by little.

I pursued the trader whose arm I had already sliced open in his failed ambush.

My agility stat had risen enough that I no longer needed the feints I had used against Gareth last time. A single light step closed the distance. With minimal movement, I pierced his vital point.

"Oh, thanks."

I muttered toward the fallen slave trader.

"W-what the hell are you thanking me for, you demon bastard!"

Slice—!

"You don't get to say that after trying to sell children along with the rest."

With a simple swing, I silenced the noisy slave trader by taking his head, then rushed toward the remaining survivors.

The trash that had been devouring the fief had been reduced to excellent live combat training dummies for me.

"Hiiik! D-don't come any closer...!"

The last remaining trader shrieked and stumbled backward.

I started after him, then stopped. It was time to yield to the woman who craved blood even more than I did.

"Die."

A silver shadow descended like lightning.

Thud.

Silver's sword pierced the trader's heart without hesitation, pinning him to the ground.

A clean, merciless strike. The man died instantly, without even a chance to scream.

"Let's go."

I spoke to my loyal hound, who was still furiously hacking at a corpse. She seemed quite angry at the state of the citizens who had nearly been sold into slavery.

"Yes."

The loyal hound set her sword down with perfect obedience, as if her rage had never existed. But that response didn't quite satisfy me.

"Yes?"

"No... I mean... woof."

"Good girl. Well done."

I grinned, stepped forward, and gave Silver's bare ass a sharp ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smack.

By now, Silver no longer grew angry at my sudden actions. She simply waited quietly for what would come next.

I reached between the ass cheeks she had pushed toward me and stroked her pussy, which was already slightly wet—perhaps from the excitement of battle.

"Mmm... woof."

I knew exactly what she wanted from me, but I pretended not to notice. I walked ahead, then turned back and spoke.

"What are you doing? There's still one left."

"Kh!"

Silver had thrown away her pride and begged for it herself. When I refused, she lowered her head, tasting a deeper layer of shame. Her corruption level rose slightly, reaching 80.

When I tapped the status window, several choices appeared.

There was no need to think too long.

Option three was out. Above all, the effect was too weak. What was the point of developing Secret Apostasy? Why force outdoor play?

Leona was already a non-virgin who got soaking wet and aroused from the slightest touch to her pussy. There was no reason to pick that.

Option two was also out.

It might not fit the unicorn theme... but I no longer saw this non-virgin Leona—no, Silver—as someone to simply use and discard.

Rather than raising her submission to steal her stats and skills, it was better to inject stats into her, create new skills, and use them in the upcoming war.

The fact that I wanted to treat a non-virgin this well slightly bothered me as a unicorn, but...

"Master?"

Silver suddenly stopped and looked at me with worry in her eyes as I stood motionless, staring into empty space.

I shrugged and walked toward the slave traders' carriage.

No risk of betrayal, she listens well, and she's useful... There are plenty of advantages. Even if she isn't a virgin.

I selected the first option.

She must have felt it immediately. Silver's face flushed red. She walked ahead of me, deliberately swaying her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hips as if to show off.

Her blatant desire made me burst out laughing.

"Master...?"

I ignored Silver's subtle request and continued walking forward.

Next to a small locked safe, a massive man in silk clothes knelt with both hands raised. He had assumed the position before I even ordered it.

The giant was the slave traders' boss. I had given Silver separate instructions to kill all the underlings but spare this one.

"P-please spare me... I'll tell you anything, Sir Knight...!"

I pressed the tip of my sword under his plump chin.

"Do you even know what I'm going to ask?"

"Anything! Anything at all!"

"Good. I like how obedient you are. Answer honestly and I'll spare you. I promise."

"R-really, sir?"

I pricked his chin with the sword tip. A single drop of blood welled up, then trickled down his neck in a thin red line.

A pungent smell rose from between his legs as urine began to flow.

When I frowned at the sight, the boss pressed his forehead to the ground and spoke desperately.

"This was all Sir Eric's orders! I received the command directly from him! I didn't want to do it either, but he said if I didn't obey, he'd revoke my merchant license—"

Slice!

I moved my sword and severed one of the boss's fingers.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

"Shut up with the excuses. Before I throw away my promise and start with your neck."

"Huuu... huuu..."

I furrowed my brow.

Watching a vicious, pig-like brute like this slave boss snivel like a child wasn't a pleasant sight. Especially after seeing what he had done to people who were now crying even more pitifully than he was.

When I pulled my sword back, the boss clutched his severed finger and spilled everything he knew.

The answers were far too smooth.

They were clearly pre-prepared excuses—model answers kindly provided by his superiors in case anyone was captured.

But it didn't matter what he said. I had the power to see through it.

Mind Reading.

The boss's inner thoughts began flowing into me.

Eric's orders, my ass... The real reports all went to the Madam. If I can just get out of this crisis and run to her, the Madam will save me. If I keep my mouth shut here and prove I didn't betray them, I can borrow money from her and make a comeback. Fuck, where did this masked freak come from...? Who the hell is he?

I paused the mind reading for a moment and fell into thought.

The Madam.

Ophelia.

Eric's biological mother. The woman who had been the third wife of my mother's husband—the head of the family who had left for the battlefield.

The family tree was such a mess that it was unclear exactly how she had become entangled with the Kraus family.

But her name kept appearing everywhere.

So she's the true darkness behind the fief?

It made sense. It was hard to believe that a merely greedy fool like Eric could have orchestrated all of this alone.

No matter how hollow the Kraus family had become after the head left for war, and even with Isabella absent from her position as deputy, there had to be some powerful backer behind these crimes.

Without changing my expression, I slipped the tip of my sword into the boss's collar and fished around.

A small seal engraved with a snake pattern rolled out from the inner silk pocket. It matched the emblem stamped on the recovered ledger exactly.

The pieces fit together.

The true final destination where the profits from selling citizens flowed was not Eric.

"I-I've told you everything, so now the promise—"

Schunk.

"You didn't keep it, did you?"

The boss's head fell with a short thud. His corpse slowly toppled sideways, still in its kneeling position.

So Eric was just a small fry.

The real prey was somewhere else. Unfortunately, I still didn't have a proper plan for how to deal with that particular game.

"Stop kicking him and let's go, Silver."

I slapped Silver's breast once as she continued pointlessly kicking the already dead boss's head.

Like an obedient dog, Silver immediately pushed her face toward my hand and pressed the leash she wore into my palm.

"Woof!"

"Good girl. Such a good girl."

I gently scratched under Silver's chin with my fingers. She began to growl with pleasure, as if she had truly become a bitch.

Whether it was thanks to the new abnormal libido trait or because I had fucked her so often, her rebellious attitude from our first training session was completely gone. She had become perfectly obedient.

Behind the slave traders' carriage was a prison.

Inside the iron bars, roughly twenty citizens were huddled together.

Bound wrists, bruised cheeks, torn clothing.

They looked terrible, but since they had only been captured a few days ago, they could still walk on their own.

When I gave Silver a look, she swung her sword and neatly sliced through the lock on the bars.

Crack.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠iron split in two.

The sobbing coming from inside stopped all at once. None of them dared to stand. They stared at me with suspicion—the man wearing a mask.

They were trembling in fear that I might be here to sell them somewhere else. I took one step toward them.

Then, in a perfectly ordinary voice as if it were no big deal, I granted them freedom.

"You're free. Go home now."

"...Ah... ah..."

The woman closest to me looked up with trembling eyes. The others slowly began to move as they gradually realized they had survived.

When a few of them staggered to their feet, I opened the pouch of silver coins I had taken from the boss. I divided the exact amount and began handing it out little by little to those who approached the door first.

It wasn't a large sum for a noble like me, but it was quite a lot for them. Some refused it, and many hesitated.

To them, I declared firmly:

"This is the money earned from selling you. It's simply returning to its rightful owners, so take it with pride."

"S-Sir Knight, why would you give so much money to worthless people like us...?"

Because a horde of monsters will soon descend, and even you will have to fight for the fief.

"Those with families, return to them. Those with nowhere to go, head to the village priest's quarters."

An old man knelt and pressed his forehead to the dirt floor.

"T-thank you. Thank you, sir. Who... who are you? If you could at least tell us your name, we will pray for you for the rest of our lives..."

From behind my mask, I lightly waved my hand.

"I have no name."

But the gathered people did not seem satisfied with my answer. Even those who had been hesitantly preparing to leave stopped and stared at me.

It was no difficult thing, and they were ordinary citizens, not slave traders. So I answered their earnest wish.

"...Well, if you really want to call me something, call me the Unicorn Knight."

The moment I said it, one girl clutched her face with both hands freed from the chains and began sobbing praises for the Unicorn Knight.

Another person lightly touched the hem of my coat, then pressed my hand to their forehead. Yet another bowed their head at my feet. Seeing this, the rest simultaneously pressed their foreheads to the dirt floor.

One by one, all twenty citizens knelt before me.

Like prayers offered to a god, they bowed their heads to me with reverent devotion.

"We shall... offer our prayers."

The oldest among the captives spoke.

I looked down at the scene from behind my mask for a moment, then nodded.

"Do as you wish."

I turned away, listening to the sounds of people praising me in prayer.

There was no reason to linger here any longer. The next prey was waiting.