Chapter 49
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Port District (2)
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“Gilmore Grime!”
“It’s Lord Grime!”
The arrival of one of Elberra’s most renowned figures made the port district even rowdier.
“But who’s that young lady standing behind him?”
“Beats me. Man, she’s a real knockout, though.”
“Ugh! She’s a killer!”
Even amid the onlookers’ fearful murmurs, the beauty drawing slack-jawed stares was none other than Annrose.
Her form-fitting black pants hugged her long, shapely legs perfectly, matched by sleek black leather boots.
With an ornate thin sword at her hip and a flowing cape cascading to her waist, she exuded a different allure from yesterday’s fresh, innocent look.
With Gilmore Grime’s permission—out of respect for his soon-to-be daughter-in-law—she had come to the port accompanied by swordsmen from the Bunnyard family.
“What’s this? Grime and Zaroph are blood relatives, yet you don’t even greet the family elder? A bastard like you just can’t help himself.”
Albert stepped forward with a haughty expression, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Darren behind their father.
His glance flicking toward Annrose made it clear he was eager to impress her.
Lindelmann flinched in shock, his face a mask of panic as he hastily bowed in knightly fashion.
“H-Have you been well, Lord Grime? I should have come to pay my respects first…”
“Enough. I have no interest in a bastard’s greetings, nor any business with the likes of you.”
“……!”
Lindelmann froze mid-bow, right hand pressed to his left chest.
‘Ugh!’
He ground his teeth until they nearly drew blood, then slowly straightened up.
His face flushed crimson with humiliation, but he couldn’t utter a word.
Whether Gilmore Grime saw him as family or not, as long as he bore the Zaroph name and lived in the Zaroph estate, he couldn’t defy the lady of the house’s own brother.
“Hmph.”
Gilmore Grime shot Lindelmann a cold glare before turning his gaze to Blake.
“A knight with any pride wouldn’t hide his status behind petty wordplay. Especially considering the one you serve—shouldn’t you uphold a knight’s etiquette all the more?”
Feeling the weight of countless eyes on him, Gilmore Grime made a show of propriety.
His opponent might be the prince’s right-hand man, and given the Grime family’s standing in Elberra, it was only natural.
But he had no idea what kind of man he was dealing with.
“A knight’s etiquette? I don’t owe any courtesy to strangers who show up swords drawn—or their ringleader, old man.”
“W-What?!”
The relaxed faces of father and son Grime hardened instantly.
“Gasp……”
And in that moment, everyone doubted their own ears.
Here in Elberra’s port district, this man had called the head of the Grime family—the city’s mightiest armed force—‘old man,’ right in front of all these people.
“……”
A bizarre silence blanketed the port.
“You……”
Snapping out of his shock, Albert stepped forward with a furious scowl.
“How dare this insolent cur……”
But Darren, eyeing his chance to shine for Annrose, beat him to it.
Yet he didn’t finish his sentence.
Crack! Pop!
Blake—hunched with his hood pulled low, a pointless disguise now—flipped back the hood and slowly straightened his slumped shoulders and back.
“Gasp!”
“H-He’s huge!”
“What kind of eyes are those……”
A sharp scar slashed across his nose bridge, paired with deep-set blue eyes in a stoic face.
Even the brawny northern knights, famed for their height and thick bones, would gawk—let alone the central folk.
Swish.
Blake drew his massive blade—sheathed—and leveled it forward from behind his shoulder.
“I was talking to the old man behind you. You volunteering?”
“Urk……”
Faced with a blade nearly his own size pointed right at him, Darren recoiled in terror.
If only it had ended there. But Darren slyly glanced at his brother and father.
‘That stupid bastard!’
Father and son both swallowed the same curse, their faces twisting openly.
A direct Grime heir cowering under all these watchful eyes?
What a disgrace.
Thwack!
“You fool! Get back there with the port rabble and either withdraw or stand watch.”
Gilmore Grime shoved Darren backward with a low growl and strode forward.
“I tried to be civil, but your mouth is filthy.”
His piercing glare fixed on Blake.
“……”
Blake ignored it entirely, scanning the surroundings with icy detachment.
Terrain, features, the armed foes’ morale and skill—all assessed in a flash.
Then his gaze paused, ever so briefly, on one spot.
‘So that woman’s the cause, after all.’
Blake brushed past Annrose’s startled flinch without a second thought and finally locked eyes with Gilmore Grime.
His gaze was so impassive it bordered on arrogance.
‘This bastard……!’
Familiar to Lindelmann or Rubens, but to Gilmore Grime—who met him today—this attitude, piled on those earlier words, was intolerable.
“Insolent……”
Clink!
His hand strayed to his sword hilt unbidden, but he reined in his patience once more and spoke.
“Last chance. Come quietly, and no one gets hurt. I, Gilmore Grime, am a knight of great Elberra, follower of the sword’s true path. Confirm a few facts, and I guarantee your safety and your group’s.”
The port stirred lightly at his noble knightly demeanor, the epitome of a prestigious house.
Murmurs praised the Grime name, Elberra’s finest family, and such.
Albert and the Grime swordsmen puffed up again.
But Blake’s retort crushed their smugness in an instant.
“No thanks, old man. Got questions? Ask here. I might answer, depending.”
Blake rested the massive blade on his shoulder and looked down at Gilmore Grime.
“……!”
Gilmore Grime’s eyebrow twitched violently.
“If you insist on this, so be it. Regrettable, but I’ll have to demonstrate my strength.”
Gilmore Grime drew his longsword high.
“Everyone, prepare.”
Shing!
In unison, the Grime swordsmen whipped out shortswords, leveling them over round shields as they advanced a step.
Shraaa!
Forty blades fanned out toward one target.
“……!”
The fearsome might of the Grime Swordsmen Corps, rulers of Elberra’s domain, filled the scene. The port district tensed like the calm before a storm.
“N-No, I said I’d answer your questions! Why are you doing this?”
Lindelmann, fidgeting anxiously, jumped in.
Seeing the easy mark step up, Albert seized the moment with a glare.
“A bastard like you, butting in?! Shut your……”
Bang!
A mysterious boom sent gravel and sand flying up from the port floor.
“Urk!”
Albert threw up a hand to shield his face and staggered back.
“What wind…… Huh?!”
He brushed his eyes clear—and froze, speechless.
The massive blade he’d slung over his shoulder moments ago was now pointed straight at him, still sheathed.
“Gasp……”
He hadn’t sensed it when aimed at Darren. But now, trained on him, Albert felt crushing pressure.
And it wasn’t just pointed.
“N-No way?”
Spotting the line gouged in the ground, Albert’s eyes bulged.
No natural gust could kick up that much sand and gravel.
It was wind pressure from slamming the blade down.
And that with……
“O-One hand……”
Someone’s horrified whisper dragged Albert and the crowd back to reality.
Plenty of knights and swordsmen around, but none could do that.
No—they’d never even seen or heard of such a feat.
“Ugh……”
Shock rooted Albert to the spot.
Then the perpetrator’s heavy voice drilled into his ear—the man who’d pulled off this unheard-of stunt.
“You shut it, brat.”
“Kuh!”
Albert’s face twisted viciously.
Swish!
But as the massive sword swung away, he clamped his mouth shut.
It pointed toward Gilmore Grime now.
“And old man, like Lord Zaroph said.”
“W-What?”
Gilmore Grime’s eyes widened.
“I said I might answer right here, depending on what you do. But you ignored me. Why?”
“Mm.”
Gilmore Grime swallowed a groan, eyes still wide, offering no reply.
He couldn’t.
Word of that letter Blake carried getting out would be disastrous.
‘So that’s it.’
Blake confirmed Gilmore Grime’s motives from his reaction.
“No need to answer, anyway. I know why you’re pulling this nonsense. You need to confirm something with me—but can’t let others know, right?”
“W-What?!”
Called out directly, Gilmore Grime stammered despite himself.
Too late.
“Something’s off, huh?”
“What’s really going on here?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
“Mm!”
Gilmore Grime’s beard quivered.
‘Cunning fox! Smart enough to be Prince Henrik’s close aide—maybe even a secret confidant. Which means that letter he has……’
Gilmore Grime’s gaze met Samuel Luther’s, who’d been glaring at Blake from the opposite side.
‘This is real. Must kill him and seize the letter.’
The two men, thinking alike, nodded at each other.
Exchanging glances with Samuel Luther, Gilmore Grime forced a stern expression and bellowed.
“You’re the one making trouble! I showed restraint for your master’s sake, yet you strut about insulting me, Gilmore Grime, knight of Elberra! I’ll judge your arrogance here by force and seek pardon from your lord after!”
A noble knight’s dignified cry.
But the response was……
“Quit flapping your gums and just come at me.”
“……!”
Gilmore Grime’s eyes finally rolled back in fury.
“G-Grime Swordsmen Corps! Subdue that insolent fool—all of you!”
“Crimson Wind Knights take the front!”
Thud thud! Shing!
The Grime Swordsmen Corps and Crimson Wind Knights began closing in.
(To be continued next time)