Chapter 48
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48
—Cut the crap, you idiot. That knight has no intention of going easy on us.
Toth wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't come out. The overwhelming pressure radiating from the knight felt like a physical weight pressing down on his throat.
He was helpless.
All he could do was reach out a trembling hand.
"Sir... Sir Knight, and your companion... I'm sorry. I'm the one who stole it. The others had nothing to do with this. I—I haven't been here long... so, please, just this once, forgive me..."
"Hah."
Patrick’s reaction was a cold exhalation. His emotions were so tightly controlled that the meaning behind the sound was impossible to discern.
As Patrick turned to look at Swallow, the latter—still lying face-down on the filthy floor—spoke without lifting his head.
"It'll be dawn soon."
"So he says."
There was no longer any point in begging for forgiveness. That brief exchange had settled everything.
As Patrick approached Rosalina, the only thing Toth could do was step forward and block his path. He spread his arms wide, trying to shield the girl from Patrick’s line of sight.
Even as he did it, he knew he was a fool.
He had heard of a bird that shoved its head into a hole when it sensed danger.
Trying to block a knight's vision like this... I'm doing the exact same thing. I'm no better than a birdbrain.
A whirlwind of thoughts raced through Toth’s mind. Like Rosalina, his lips were trembling violently.
"C-come any closer, and I'll k-kill you."
He even pulled out a dagger in a futile threat.
Rosalina kept her head bowed low. She pulled something from her pocket and clutched it tightly with both hands, shivering. She was praying, mumbling something, but her voice was too faint to understand.
In just a few steps, Patrick was right in front of Toth. His massive shadow seemed poised to swallow the boy whole. Toth’s hands, still gripping the dagger, spasmed.
Patrick stood before him for a few seconds, then gently placed both hands on the boy's shoulders.
With that, he gave a slight push—
"…!"
Toth collapsed to his knees.
He shuddered. A resolve to die was useless in the face of the true terror of death. Toth’s gaze remained fixed on the stone floor. He couldn't lift his head.
His intuition was screaming at him.
The moment you look up, you die.
Ignoring Toth, who was barely managing to breathe, Patrick took another step and crouched in front of Rosalina. After staring at the still-praying girl in silence for a moment, Patrick’s eyes glowed with a faint light.
He reached out.
His cold gauntlet, devoid of any human warmth, touched the girl’s skin.
"…This."
He pried the girl’s hands open and took the object she had been clutching. Then, Patrick spoke.
"Where did you get this?"
*
Whether it was damaged or designed that way was unclear, but the object featured a laurel leaf with parts cut away and an upside-down black phoenix.
The shape was grotesque enough to be considered an ill omen, but it was unmistakable. Based on its fundamental form, it was clearly—
"A Rosary."
The object the girl had been clutching while praying was a Rosary.
Despite Patrick’s grave tone, Swallow’s reaction was indifferent. He had already yawned more than ten times while listening.
"…So what?" Swallow asked, his voice thick with annoyance.
Patrick spoke as if he had seen something terrifying, but the mere existence of a Rosary wasn't particularly surprising.
At most, it was a religious item. Although religion in the Empire was heavily suppressed by the Imperial Family and lacked the divine authority it once held, it still existed. In fact, since most humans who challenged the Great Evil Caves were prepared to die, religious items were among the most common spoils recovered from the deceased. Swallow had seen Rosaries several times before when Rene was categorizing loot.
"It’s not just 'so what,' Boss. Look at the design. The withered laurel leaves, the inverted phoenix… isn't it incredibly hideous for a Rosary? It’s practically screaming, 'We are extremely suspicious, so please investigate us.' Flipping the phoenix is a blatant equivalent of an inverted cross. Besides, you must have felt the Mana leaking from it."
—And why do you know so much about that stuff, Patrick?
Ignoring Patrick’s lecture, Swallow looked up at the sky. The purple hues of dawn were already being painted over with brighter colors. It was morning. The thought of his to-do list growing only made him feel like he was going to collapse from exhaustion.
"…A little Mana can leak from an object. Suspecting every little thing is a sickness, Patrick."
"It was dark gray Mana. Not ordinary Mana. It’s used for surveillance."
"Aren't you a knight…? How do you even distinguish that?"
"Just because I can't use magic doesn't mean I should be ignorant of it. One must know one's enemy to counter them. Especially magic related to tracking or surveillance—one must know it thoroughly to prepare for assassinations. Only someone like you, Boss, can afford to just tank hits without knowing anything."
"Ah, yes. So impressive."
Patrick wasn't wrong. When the girl prayed, Mana had indeed flowed from the Rosary. The color was gray. However, the amount was so minuscule that it shouldn't have been worth noting.
Patrick’s voice grew firm as he glared at Swallow’s bored face.
"Isn't it strange? The Rosary is imbued not with protection magic, but with surveillance magic. And it was held by a slum-dweller who is neither a noble nor a commoner of any standing."
In that case, it was more logical to assume this was one of many such Rosaries that had ended up with the girl, rather than assuming the girl herself was special. In other words, there was a high probability that she was just one of many people being monitored.
"The residents of Hastin are being watched."
"…So that's how it is."
"Furthermore, this is an opportunity. It’s only natural for a religion to form in a place as desperate as this, but the fact that even the poor have Rosaries means they don't discriminate by rank when recruiting followers."
A town spiraling toward despair.
And a suspicious religion monitoring even the paupers of that town.
"Doesn't the picture become clear? If we dig into this, we can encounter all sorts of humans, Boss. We can easily learn what they're suffering from, how they're suffering, and what the cause is."
Besides, there are a few more things I’m curious about.
The Rosary had shown no reaction until the girl pulled it out. The Mana only began to flow after she started praying. This meant it only functioned under specific conditions. If they could figure out those conditions, they could also discover what the person who gave her the Rosary was plotting.
"It’s not like Hastin is some city of magic… First it was Mana Stones, and now magic-imbued items?"
It was a classic case of one thing leading to another, and the work kept piling up.
Swallow fought the urge to ask if they could just leave Hastin and waved his hand at Patrick—a clear gesture of, I don't care what it is, it's a pain, so you handle it.
"Then I will proceed with winning over the humans. Please cooperate, Boss."
The sound of Patrick’s jawbone rattling echoed loudly inside his plate mail. He was likely thrilled to be approaching the truth.
"How are you going to win them over?" Swallow asked casually, his face buried in the floor again.
Patrick stood up and tapped the temple of his helm with a finger.
"I’ve already thought of a brilliant method, Boss."
* * *
"I apologize for our earlier actions. We have our own circumstances and were forced to act aggressively. We have no intention of harming you now, so you can rest easy."
—It certainly is brilliant.
Swallow, sprawled out in a corner listening to Patrick’s speech, muttered to himself. How could the man lie so fluently without batting an eye? Was being a smooth liar also a requirement for a knight?
"We are Shadow Knights belonging to 'Loono's Mist,' a secret organization directly under the Imperial Family."
Ignoring Swallow’s peculiar gaze, Patrick continued speaking to the townsfolk who were in relatively good condition. He was skilled at handling humans, knowing just how to soothe those harboring a hostility that bordered on bloodlust.
First, he did everything possible to assure them he wasn't an enemy. He invoked the Imperial Family's name to instill the idea that making an enemy of him was pointless, then lowered their guard by emphasizing his status as a public official.
"Shadow Knights… you say?"
"Yes. You don't need to overthink it. We aren't known to the public. Even within the Imperial Family, not many are aware of our existence."
He provided a convenient explanation for his suspicious nature.
"It is only natural that you wouldn't know of us."
He dismissed their ignorance as expected.
"So, I would appreciate it if you could keep this a secret."
He increased their trust by adding specific instructions.
Directly under the Imperial Family, secret organization, shadows. He sprinkled his sentences with terms that, while vague, gave off a clandestine and official vibe. It didn't take long for the hostile, wary atmosphere in the back alley to subside. An overwhelmingly powerful figure showing a humble and gentle attitude while sharing his circumstances—even if they didn't fully believe him, they weren't in a position to object.
Their choice was already made. Hostility gradually gave way to curiosity.
"To explain the situation earlier," Patrick said, "there was an Imperial decree to leave no traces of those we clashed with. It wasn't because we were angry about the theft. It was an unavoidable duty."
Eventually, one of the men who had been listening asked, "…You mentioned an Imperial decree. Why did you come to Hastin?"
"We came to save Hastin."
"To save it…?"
"Yes. I cannot tell you the full details of our mission, but I can say that we were dispatched after superiors received a report that something has gone wrong in Hastin. We are currently assessing the situation."
The part about saving Hastin was, in a way, true. After all, the Primordial Core needed the city to exist.
"The reason we are asking for your help, even if it means bending that Imperial decree…"
Patrick continued his persuasive speech, a seamless mix of truths and lies. The humans were drawn in as if mesmerized by his words. Among them, the only ones whose eyes remained sharp with suspicion were the man named Toth and the Captain.
Thinking the persuasion was mostly complete, Patrick paused for a beat before declaring, "Simply put, we, 'Loono's Mist,' need your information. We need to understand the situation and identify the cause quickly so that we can facilitate the supply of goods and relief. What do you say? Shall we reclaim the peace of Hastin together?"
If "together" simply meant "using them," then he wasn't entirely lying.
"I want to become your ally."
But the words that followed were a complete fabrication.
His blue eyes glowed coldly. Fortunately, his head was bowed, so the light didn't leak from his helm.
Naturally.
—He intended to kill them all once the job was done.
*
"Persuading the humans is mostly finished. As expected, it was easy. There are few groups so quick to believe what they want to believe as the lower class."
"Ah. Right."
"The Captain and that one man... It’s bothersome that those two remain suspicious, but the rest have all been won over. They'll likely be the first to approach us. The most suspicious ones are usually the first to make a move."
"…Uh, yeah."
It took less than an hour for Patrick to win them over. Swallow couldn't bring himself to say 'good job' and just scratched the back of his neck. He was grateful for the effort, but at the same time, the scale of the work seemed to be growing, which was bad news from his perspective.
He rolled his eyes at Patrick, who was overflowing with motivation.
Ah, he has no intention of finishing this half-heartedly.
"So this is what they mean by 'the enemy is within.'"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing."
Patrick only took off his helm after confirming no one was approaching. Despite not needing to breathe, he let out a refreshing sigh. "That’s invigorating," he said, as if he occasionally forgot his own race.
As Swallow watched this and prepared to lie back down, Patrick added, his jaw rattling, "At any rate, the real story begins now."
If yesterday was about moving in secret and gathering superficial information, they now had dozens of informants among the Hastin vagrants. They could finally begin a more thorough investigation.