Chapter 40: Seolrang (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: Seolrang (2)
The Blood Sand Bandits were a massive organization that had operated in the southern deserts of the continent for a very long time.
They boasted over a hundred members, and most of those who served as combatants possessed enough power to manifest mana in their blades—a level of strength far too great for a mere group of bandits.
With such overwhelming power, it was only natural that they caught the eye of the Colony, the kingdom situated in the desert. After all, the area where the Blood Sand Bandits operated was the territory surrounding the Colony’s capital.
Normally, as the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." When a bandit group grows this large, the appropriate course of action for a state is to eliminate them. Bandits loitering nearby inevitably cause harm to a nation in one way or another.
However, the reason the Blood Sand Bandits could operate so freely in the desert near the capital was that they had a powerful backer.
And it wasn't just any backer. It was the fighter who had held the title of Babayaga in the Colony for the longest time.
Kalman Arens.
Because he was protecting them, a group that should have been wiped out years ago when they numbered only dozens had grown over a decade into an organization of hundreds.
And Draco, the boss of the Blood Sand Bandits and a henchman of Kalman Arens, was in a very foul mood today.
"Jack is dead?"
"Yes, sir."
The reason was that one of his subordinates had been killed while out raiding a merchant caravan.
"Haa—"
Draco grimaced in annoyance.
His irritation didn't stem from anger over a fallen comrade, but rather from the fact that one of the assets he had painstakingly cultivated had met a meaningless end.
His talent was decent. I was planning to use him as an assassin after a bit more training.
Tsk. Draco clicked his tongue and spoke.
"Who killed him?"
"From what I’ve heard, he went after a mage and was killed by a certain noble."
"By a noble? Jack was?"
"Yes. Word is that when the noble used magic, the middle of the desert froze solid..."
"His name?"
"...I’ve sent word to our subordinates in the Colony to investigate, but we likely won't have information until tomorrow."
Draco pondered his subordinate's words for a moment before speaking.
"Tell me as soon as you get the information."
Naturally, Draco had no intention of letting the mage who killed Jack go free.
I have to take revenge for the waste of my manpower.
Of course, considering the target was a noble from another country, killing him could be a poor choice in many ways, but Draco didn't care much. No matter who was killed, a death in this desert was nothing unusual. As long as there were no witnesses, most deaths in the desert were simply treated as disappearances.
And since Draco was someone who had committed such acts more than anyone else here, he planned to wait until the noble left the desert and then bury him—as soon as his identity was confirmed.
...That is, if that thing hadn't appeared.
"Gah—!"
Draco spat out dark red blood and stared blankly at his hideout.
Only ten minutes ago, the secret base of the Blood Sand Bandits had stood with imposing dignity. Now, it was utterly demolished.
That wasn't all.
The soldiers he had spent over ten years training were also meeting their ends, either face-down in the sand or smashed against the walls of the hideout.
And then.
"Hmm—any more?"
Vivid golden eyes scanned the surroundings—
—and vanished in an instant.
Crackle! A flash of golden light erupted.
A moment later, Seolrang reappeared, her hands gripping something.
"This is the last of them—"
They were the heads of bandits.
Even in death, the two heads maintained the tense expressions they’d had while hiding near the destroyed hideout for an ambush, as if they still didn't realize what had happened.
Thud.
Seolrang tossed them aside as if they were of no interest. Watching her, Draco wore an expression of utter incomprehension.
From beginning to end.
Everything.
What on earth... is this...?
Draco watched the reaper who was now walking toward him.
Step.
The moment she appeared with that golden flash, she had brought down Draco’s kingdom—his hideout—with a single blow.
Step.
She had slaughtered hundreds of bandits Draco had spent over a decade cultivating.
Stop.
The girl with golden eyes.
The reaper.
As those golden eyes, shining vividly against the backlight of the blue moon, looked down at Draco, he felt his entire body tremble with terror.
It was an instinctive fear.
Yet, even amidst that terror, Draco struggled to open his mouth.
To survive.
"S-Seolrang! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Draco screamed in desperation.
His ten-year kingdom and everything he had built had collapsed like a sandcastle, but he didn't give up. He was confident he could rebuild his little kingdom anytime, as long as he survived.
However—
Unfortunately, Seolrang showed no emotional response to Draco's words.
She simply raised her blood-stained right hand and grabbed the head of the man whose stomach had already been blown open.
"If you kill me now, you'll be making an enemy of Kalman Arens! I am under his protection!"
Sensing his impending death, Draco tried to use Kalman's name to escape, but the strength in Seolrang's hand only increased.
"Is it money you want?! Then take it! Just take it! Or do you want a tribute?! I'll pay it!!"
He screamed like a madman until finally, realizing death was inevitable, he shrieked in a fit of rage.
"Why! Why are you doing this to me?! Why?!!!"
His voice was thick with resentment and indignation.
To that.
"Because you touched my Mentor. And—"
A murmur reached Draco's ear.
Neither quiet nor loud.
A small mutter.
And.
"—because I don't want to get in trouble."
With Seolrang's small whisper, as she recalled a pair of crimson eyes—
Crack!
Draco's head exploded.
With Seolrang vanishing after completing her mission, nothing remained.
The Blood Sand Bandits, who had run wild in the desert for over a decade under Kalman's name, vanished into history.
...It had all happened in just ten minutes.
* * *
The next day.
Alon, feeling the fatigue of the long carriage journey melt away, received two pieces of news.
The first was that entry into the forgotten city would only be possible in three days.
And the second was...
"Count, I heard the Blood Sand Bandits who attacked us were completely wiped out."
"...The Blood Sand Bandits?"
It was the fact that those who had attacked him recently had been annihilated.
"Yes. I heard they were completely exterminated."
"...When?"
"I heard it was yesterday."
"The rumors spread that fast, only a day after they were wiped out?"
When Alon looked bewildered, Evan nodded.
"The rumor is already all over the city. Apparently, a merchant caravan that arrived this afternoon brought the news."
"..."
At those words, Alon felt like a dozen question marks were floating over his head.
In the original story, the Blood Sand Bandits were a group that didn't disappear until three years later, when the protagonist—Elivan—dealt with them.
...Why did they suddenly disappear?
Alon wore a puzzled expression.
But a moment later.
"I took care of them!"
Alon's question was answered quite simply.
"You did?"
"Yep! Did I do good?"
At Seolrang's words, as she gave a bright, innocent smile, Alon and Evan slowly spoke.
"...You took care of the Blood Sand Bandits...?"
"Uh-huh!"
"...Why?"
Alon asked before he could stop himself.
However.
"Well, you said so, Mentor."
I did? When? Alon looked at Evan with that sentiment.
Evan also stared blankly at Alon, but only for a moment.
"You said you didn't want to see them again."
"I did say I didn't want to see them. I did, but—"
"If they're gone, we won't have to see them, right?"
Problem solved! I'm a genius! Seeing Seolrang nod with an innocent smile that seemed to say exactly that, Alon felt the same sensation he’d had when he first met Deus.
The feeling of: Isn't this a bit much?
But after staring blankly at Seolrang for a moment, Alon suddenly remembered something and asked.
"...So, you wiped out the entire Blood Sand Bandit group by yourself?"
"Pretty much."
"..."
Seeing Seolrang nod nonchalantly, Alon found himself speechless.
The Blood Sand Bandits he knew numbered in the hundreds, and most of their combatants were skilled enough to infuse mana into their weapons.
In other words, they weren't just some pushovers.
Furthermore, Draco, the boss of the bandits, was someone who, in three years' time, would have the talent to manifest an Aura Blade.
And she had killed everyone, including a boss like that and a force of hundreds of knight-level combatants, all by herself...?
...I knew the title of Babayaga wasn't something you could get for nothing... but isn't she even stronger than I thought?
Alon stared blankly at the beaming Seolrang, suddenly remembering that she was the one destined to become the Sin of Pride in the future.
"..."
Because of that, he felt his own posture becoming quite respectful.
This was three days before they were to depart for the forgotten city...
* * *
Around the time Alon left for the desert city of Colony.
In a small tavern in the eastern part of Teria, the capital of the Asteria Kingdom, a very secret meeting was taking place.
"So, why did you call me, Duke?"
"I didn't think your intuition had dulled enough to need to ask, Marquis."
At the words of Duke Rimgrave, leader of the Royal Faction, Marquis Philboyd, leader of the Noble Faction, naturally took a seat and spoke.
"I assume it's because of Count Palatio."
"You know well. I called you because of Count Palatio... or more accurately, because of Kalpa, the organization those delinquents formed."
At Duke Rimgrave's words, Marquis Philboyd nodded as if no further explanation was needed.
Having spent decades rolling around in the political world, they could easily realize from this short exchange that the Duke had called him to request an alliance to bring down Kalpa.
Kalpa was an unpleasant organization that posed a threat to both the Royal and Noble factions, so it was a group whose power had to be reduced as soon as possible.
Having experienced many times that yesterday's enemy could become today's ally depending on their interests, they found it easy to get on the same boat.
"So, what do you plan to do?"
Marquis Philboyd got straight to the point.
At the Marquis's quick judgment, having finished his profit-and-loss calculations in just a few words, the Duke spoke.
"I plan to bring in Rosario."
"...Rosario?"
"Yes. To be precise, a 'Cardinal' of Rosario."
The Duke began to explain the plan he had devised to the Marquis, one step at a time.
After some time had passed.
"...The requirements?"
Marquis Philboyd asked, as if there was nothing more he needed to hear.
"Half of the bribe to stuff into the Cardinal's mouth."
"Not bad."
The two nobles, having exchanged their opinions, smiled with satisfaction.
If the plan went as intended, the newly formed Kalpa, created by the delinquents of the underworld, would surely crumble like a sandcastle.
"It won't take long. In fact, I've already made contact."
"I look forward to it."
And so, the two left the tavern separately, smiles on their faces.
Only two glasses containing whiskey remained in the old tavern.