The Calm Before the Storm (3)
“So you’ll only believe me if I share some important information only I know?”
“You’ll probably just spout nonsense and claim it’s important when it isn’t.”
“Look at me.”
The woman who had been walking beside me suddenly stepped in front and stared straight at me with a smile.
“Here’s a secret only I know. Don’t trust the boss too much. She’s from a completely different world than us.”
I replied lightly, “Is that all?”
“She’s good at fighting, though.”
“That’s not what I mean. The boss isn’t a bandit.”
I answered indifferently again. “From what I heard, she became a bandit two years ago. She wasn’t one before that.”
“Oh come on, I’m saying she still isn’t one. She’s only pretending to be a bandit.”
Pretending? What did she mean by that? I stopped walking and studied her eyes carefully for a moment, wondering if this girl was just messing around.
“Is that true?” I asked seriously, my expression making it clear I wouldn’t deal with her again if she was lying.
Nancy pressed a finger to her cheek, stuck out her tongue, and giggled. “Just kidding~”
She spun around and skipped ahead. I cursed under my breath. Damn woman. I hadn’t believed her for a second anyway. With a sigh, I turned toward the boss’s tent.
“The Lion Heart bastards have started moving in earnest. Before we end up like Chen, getting wiped out without putting up a fight, I think it’s time we joined forces and launched a counterattack.”
A meeting of the bosses was underway inside the tavern. Various bandit leaders, heads of small-to-medium criminal organizations operating in towns and cities, and local influential figures colluding with them had each brought one subordinate and were seated around a long table.
When we arrived at the small village of Yeoul, where the bosses’ meeting was being held, the female boss singled me out from among Bernhardt, Ision, and myself, saying I should attend the meeting with her. Each boss was allowed to bring one subordinate, and when I was chosen, Ision grumbled in displeasure. Until now, he had always been the one accompanying her to these meetings.
The atmosphere at the bosses’ meeting was grim. There was much discussion about how Chen’s bandit group had collapsed overnight without any real resistance. Some sighed worriedly, others shouted that everyone needed to unite and resist fiercely, and still others laughed wickedly, suggesting they should plot in secret from behind.
I stood quietly behind the seated female boss, committing each boss’s face, appearance, and bandit group name to memory. This meeting place was a goldmine for me. I diligently gathered every scrap of information that slipped out during their conversations, as if sweeping up money with a broom.
“Now, now, don’t worry too much. I recently hired a very competent assassin. By dawn today, the Lion Heart unit commander’s head should be rolling, so just wait for good news in the morning.”
It was the words of an elderly man named Watnek, who looked quite refined. Judging by his luxurious clothing, he seemed more like a local merchant than a bandit leader.
“Ohoho, that’s excellent! A renowned assassin, is it? It would take considerable skill to take the head of the Lion Heart unit commander.”
“They’re the ones who’ve been making waves in the Ransil region lately. A pair of assassin sisters named Edda and Rita. Their fees were so high that I had to pay a hefty sum to hire them.”
The moment I heard their names, my heart sank. Edda and Rita were the women who had saved Pasvachio’s and my lives not long ago. And now those two were targeting Adelia’s life?
Anxiety began to gnaw at me. Edda and Rita were my benefactors, and Adelia absolutely could not die if my future plans were to succeed. I closed my eyes and pondered deeply.
As soon as the bosses’ meeting ended, I mounted my horse with hurried steps. Seeing my urgent demeanor, the female boss smiled and spoke.
“Hyunwoo, go on ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Bernhardt and Ision, who didn’t know the situation, tilted their heads in confusion, but the female boss understood. She knew that if Adelia died, all my plans would fall apart. I galloped toward the mountain stronghold like the wind.
In the dead of night, I tore through the pitch-black darkness and arrived at the stronghold as if flying. I quickly gathered my equipment and woke the sleeping Dana, Pasvachio, and Unia, telling them to arm themselves immediately. Then I released the pigeon I had bought earlier to inform Kelly in the city of the news first. The pigeon, with a note tied to one leg, circled once in the sky before flying toward the city.
If the pigeon reached the mercenary office safely, Kelly would immediately run to inform Adelia.
“I’ll be back.”
“Go on, go on. Don’t worry about things here and be careful, all of you.”
In the late hour when everyone was asleep, I informed only Marcus that I was heading to the city, then quietly left the stronghold with Dana, Pasvachio, and Unia.
Lady Adelia visited urgently this evening and informed me that the Guillotine Knights are planning to raid the Elk Bandits’ stronghold at dawn today. Please evacuate immediately.
—Kelly.
“This… this can’t be!”
Marcus’s eyes widened in shock at the impending crisis.
Meanwhile, the pigeon Hyunwoo had sent arrived safely at the mercenary office shortly after. Kelly, who had been anxiously waiting inside the building all night for news, rushed over when the pigeon tapped on the window with its beak and quickly opened it.
The bandits have sent two assassins with the intent to kill Commander Adelia. One is skilled with a bow, and the other wields dual scimitars. The assassination is expected to take place tonight, so please run to the Lion Heart unit immediately upon reading this note and inform Commander Adelia. I am also heading there now.
—Hyunwoo.
“What on earth is going on!”
Kelly was bewildered by the situation.
“The Guillotine Knights are heading for Hyunwoo, and two assassins are heading for Commander Adelia. C-calm down, Kelly. Let’s think this through. If I think about it carefully, there’s actually no problem at all. Hyunwoo said he’s coming this way, so it’ll be fine. I just need to quickly inform Commander Adelia of this fact. And once Hyunwoo arrives, I can just follow him around!”
After quickly sorting out her thoughts, Kelly threw on her coat and rushed outside. When she arrived at the guard post and urgently told the guards she had come to see Adelia, they smirked and treated her like a madwoman causing a ruckus in the middle of the night. Fortunately, she ran into a soldier who knew her younger brother Flavio and was able to enter the Lion Heart unit headquarters.
Adelia, who had been staying up all night in her office with Sinclair, was informed by a subordinate that Kelly had arrived. She had Sinclair quickly bring Kelly to the office.
“L-Lady Adelia!”
“Has there been any word from Hyunwoo?”
“That’s not the issue right now! Hyunwoo—I mean, our mercenary leader—sent a letter saying that tonight, Lady Adelia will be—!”
Kelly stopped mid-sentence, glanced around cautiously, then approached the desk where Adelia was sitting and whispered.
“Tonight, two assassins are coming to assassinate Lady Adelia.”
“What?!”
Adelia shot to her feet with a startled expression, quickly drew the curtains over the window, and pressed herself against the wall. Then she looked at Kelly and asked in a low, calm voice.
“Hyunwoo told you that?”
“Yes. He said one is skilled with a bow and the other with dual swords. He also informed me that our leader is rushing here as well.”
“Hyunwoo is coming?”
“Yes. That’s what the letter said.”
“I see. Of course he would.”
Adelia nodded, then furrowed her brows.
“Those insolent fools. How dare mere bandits think of assassinating me?”
Just then, the curtained window suddenly shattered, and an intruder burst in. Rita, with her short hair, rolled to her feet and glared at Adelia while licking her blade with her tongue.
“Ehehe.”
In the distance, a group of soldiers could be seen marching toward us. They were visible even from afar because they carried torches in the pitch-black darkness.
“Everyone, hold.”
I immediately stopped running and hid with my companions on a nearby hill. Before long, roughly a hundred fully armed soldiers marched past in orderly formation. They looked disciplined, as if they were about to enter battle.
“Captain, what if they’re heading for our stronghold?”
Pasvachio spoke with a tense expression. His family was still at the stronghold. Unia also spoke in a low voice.
“If they’re heading for the stronghold, there’s no way we can stop them. There are too many. If we charge in recklessly, we’ll just die for nothing.”
For a while, I silently watched the soldiers march. Were they really heading for our stronghold? How did they know? My mind grew complicated with doubt.
Dana gazed at me quietly without saying a word.
Suddenly, unfamiliar voices echoed in my ears. The golden ball had detected danger.
> At this distance, a group warp to the estimated location of the Elk Bandits’ base is possible.
> Execute?
“Start the warp.”
Elk Bandits? Warp? While I was bewildered by the sudden words, a flash of light burst forth, and the hundred-plus soldiers vanished in an instant.
“Wh-what just happened?”
Pasvachio jumped up in shock and looked around, shouting in disbelief.
“Where did all those people go?!”
“There must have been a space mage in that unit.”
Dana whispered the information to me alone.
I stared at the ground and clenched my fists tightly.
“Damn it!”
From what I had just heard, the unit’s target was clear. The Elk Bandits! So at this moment, I stood at a crossroads of choice. Should I go save Adelia, Edda, and Rita? Or should I go save Marcus, Haida, Evynee, Jane, and Peggy?
I had to abandon one side and save the other. But the dilemma didn’t last long. The latter came first, of course. Now that I knew Marcus, who was like a father to me, was in danger, I could never turn a blind eye. I immediately turned my horse and headed for the Elk Bandits’ stronghold.