Chapter 4
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Toughest Man in the East
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The Toughest Man in the East
When I returned to where Kel had been, the goat-bearded man was trembling, glaring at Kel with a skewer in his hand.
“Aren’t you a little late, Jojang? *Hic*.”
Kel let out a long burp upon seeing me. A mountain of fruit peels was piled up beneath him. The goat-bearded man was staring daggers at Kel, muttering something as if casting a curse while gripping the skewer.
“What do you mean, late?”
“Jojang, look at this. Rosa especially likes oranges, so I made sure to grab some for her.”
As if he didn't have a conscience, the guy held up a paper bag and grinned broadly. Then again, what’s the point of talking about conscience in a place where shitting on the street is the culture?
“Speaking of which… can’t I just go give this to Rosa?”
“No.”
“But… but you got to go, Jojang?!”
“If you don’t like it, you can be the Jojang.”
Kel seemed shocked by my firm refusal. His mouth hung open for a moment before he shut it.
“Hey.”
“Son of a… yes?”
If you’re going to curse, at least do it where I can’t hear. The goat-bearded man, who had been glaring at Kel, jumped in surprise.
“Fill this up with the cheapest fruit you have.”
“You’re a devil who’d make even demons weep…”
Fearing he would start shouting curses if I let him continue, I took out a 50-copper coin from the pouch Ska had given me and handed it over. At that, the goat-bearded man, who had been muttering with the skewer in hand, brightened up and flashed a cheerful smile.
‘…These merchants.’
The excited man started stuffing various fruits into a large paper bag. I could see him picking out only the ones in poor condition, but since I wasn’t the one eating them, I didn’t bother to point it out. These guys would happily eat rocks if you threw them.
“By the way, Jojang. I heard from Rosa that a few of the Inner Wall guards lost their heads?”
“Inner Wall guards?”
“Yeah, one of Rosa’s clients is an Inner Wall guard, and she heard it from him. Isn’t this an opportunity?”
“You’re not bothered that your woman is tumbling around with other men?”
“Huh? It’s a good thing if a prostitute gets a lot of clients. What’s wrong with that? On days Rosa gets more than three clients, she even makes me a pie with meat in it.”
Kel’s expression was so full of genuine confusion that I was the one left speechless. Was that how it worked? If your girlfriend was a prostitute, was it a good thing for her to have many clients?
I pondered it for a moment, but I just couldn’t understand. In times like these, it was better for my mental health to just let it go.
“Right.”
“If this goes well, we might be able to move up to the Inner Wall Guard, right?”
Kel’s eyes sparkled, but I was skeptical. Unlike the Outer Wall Guard, which anyone with a bit of size and strength could join, the Inner Wall Guard had strict requirements since they protected the inner castle where the lord resided.
Of course, the treatment was proportionally better. I heard their salary was several times that of the Outer Wall Guard, and they were even provided with a house in the 3rd District. I also heard that once you joined the Inner Wall Guard, you received all sorts of letters from the high-nosed young ladies of the 1st to 3rd Districts.
‘Still, it’s just the difference between someone who bathes once a week and someone who bathes once every three days.’
But then again, people in the 1st to 3rd Districts rarely shat on the streets, so maybe it was a little better. Not that I had any desire to move up to the Inner Wall Guard.
“Here you are! We are always grateful for the hard work of our guards!!”
The goat-bearded man handed me the full paper bag with a wide grin. The bag was stretched so tight it looked like it would burst, clear proof that he had picked out all the bad ones.
“If this tastes bad…”
“Aw, Jojang, surely he wouldn’t, unless he’s lost his mind. You’re famous for being a brute whose fists fly at the slightest provocation, you know.”
“Wh-what…?!”
At my playful threat, Kel chimed in, and the goat-bearded man’s face instantly turned ashen. The sight was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
At that, the goat-bearded man quickly took the paper bag back, dumped its contents on the ground, and hastily began refilling it.
There was no need for him to do that, but I didn't stop him either.
***
Cleaning up the chaotic street had taken a fair bit of effort, but the rest of the patrol ended without any particular incident.
When I returned from filing my report, the paper bag full of fruit I’d left at the headquarters was empty. They were a truly voracious bunch.
After finishing my duties, I headed straight for my lodgings. I was staying at an inn tucked away in a corner of the 5th District.
“Ah! Aron! You’re here! Bath first, right?!”
As I entered the inn, Hana, a serving girl who was sweeping the floor, greeted me with a bright smile. It was that awkward time between lunch and dinner, so there were only a few people eating.
I nodded, and Hana headed toward the back. Since it took a while to heat the water, I went up to my room.
It was a simple room with just a single bed, but I felt at ease as soon as I entered. I took off my leather armor, which was reeking of mildew after being soaked in the rain for the past few days, grabbed some light casual clothes, and went back downstairs. With my sword, of course.
“Ah! Perfect timing. The water’s heated.”
Hana said, rolling up her sleeves, beads of sweat on her forehead.
“Thanks.”
“But don’t you need this? This?”
Hana suddenly clenched her right fist and pumped it up and down with a cheerful smile. It was a vulgar gesture that didn't match her innocent, bright smile at all. I had no idea where she’d learned that, and the sight of it gave me a headache.
“Don’t need it. I have my own hands.”
“Aww… Aron! I’m really good at it, you know? It’ll feel completely different from doing it yourself! Just one silver! It’s a special price, just for you.”
To think the girl who used to stutter every time she spoke to me, too intimidated to even look me in the eye, had become so brazen… I shook my head and walked past Hana toward the bathroom.
“Seventy copper! That’s my final offer! I won’t even break even!”
I closed the bathroom door. I could hear her giggling outside.
A large, crude wooden tub was filled with steaming hot water. I stripped off my sweat-soaked clothes, set them aside, and slowly submerged myself.
The warmth seemed to melt away my fatigue in an instant. I dunked my head completely under the water and then came back up.
‘To not get caught, he must be quite skilled.’
I had let the man go, but I’d expected him to be caught soon after. After all, even with the potion applied, the condition of a man who’d had an entire arm amputated was dire. He wasn't a lizard; how could a man like that outrun a mounted knight?
‘Did he have an accomplice?’
I shook my head at the natural conclusion. An accomplice for stealing women’s underwear…
Still, I was relieved he hadn’t been caught.
My thoughts drifted to the stranger Ska had mentioned. I couldn't figure out if the man wanted to become the master of the back alleys or if he wanted to play vigilante, constantly worrying about the castle’s security.
‘Not that it matters to me.’
I scrubbed my body with a nearby cloth. My scar-covered body was not a pretty sight even to me, but in this era, scars were medals, a mark of a man. At this rate, in this castle… no, in the eastern part of the Empire, I was surely the toughest man around.
After a quick bath, I dried myself off and changed into the casual clothes I’d brought. I tossed the clothes I’d been wearing to the side. Hana would wash them and bring them to me.
“Aron! Bread with lots of meat, right?”
As soon as I walked out and sat at an empty table in the hall, Hana placed a plate with bread on it before me.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Why don’t you ever eat the stew? It’s the most popular thing here.”
Hana asked, sitting down across from me.
The stew Hana mentioned was the endless stew in the large cauldron at the center of the hall. People visiting the inn would add whatever ingredients they brought, and these barbarians would just keep boiling it, never washing the pot or making a fresh batch.
The first time, knowing nothing, I had eaten the stew. But then I saw some bearded fellow grinning as he pulled moldy jerky from his pouch and tossed it into the pot. I threw up everything I’d eaten that day.
It was the cheapest food at the inn, so many people ordered it, but I would rather starve than eat that stew.
“Not interested.”
“You’re so strange, Aron.”
I took a large bite of the bread, which was so packed with meat that grease dripped from it. The bread was so tough it was hard to tear off a piece on its own, but soaked in grease, it became somewhat chewable. The gamy smell of the meat added to it, creating a fantastical taste. I wanted to vomit, but for a meal like this, it was practically a feast.
*Tap, tap.*
Hana tapped the table with her fingers, her expression uncharacteristically serious.
“But Hans… did he really do that?”
Her voice dropped low as her eyes met mine. It was a dangerous curiosity.
“Stay out of it.”
“But…”
“Hmph.”
I scowled, and Hana pouted, turning her head away. With no other entertainment, it seemed she needed something to chew on, but the recent incident involving the lord was not a good topic.
“Oh! Did you hear that Baron Penell is visiting?”
Hana, who had been sulking for a moment, suddenly spoke up.
‘Baron Penell? Is it because of this incident?’
The young lady at the center of the incident had been in marriage talks with the House of Baron Penell. He was of the same rank as Baron Pulpuchu, the lord of Cassedick Castle, but his castle was one and a half times larger, so it was hard to consider them equals.
Bolt Castle, ruled by Baron Penell, was the closest castle to Cassedick, but it was still a fair distance, about a two-day walk. Of course, a noble would travel by carriage, but for Baron Penell to visit in person, it seemed the case of the underwear thief was escalating more than I thought.
‘Well, it’s not like it’ll affect a low-ranking grunt like me.’
Still, it was strange that Hana, a serving girl, knew about it before me, a captain of the Outer Wall Guard.
“Old man Jean who manages the horses told me today that he’s heading to Bolt Castle.”
Sensing my gaze, Hana stuck out her tongue.
“You could be the captain of the Outer Wall Guard.”
“Oh, really? I mean, my arm strength is quite good… really good…”
At my joke, Hana’s mischievous grin returned, and she began pumping her arm up and down. I averted my gaze.
***
[No name? Then let’s call you Aron.]
[Don’t look back, just run.]
[That’s an order.]
The moment I woke, I checked for the sword by my head. Only after gripping it did I feel at ease.
I drank the foul-smelling water from a wooden cup and got up. Looking out the window, I saw it was still dark, the pre-dawn hours.
After a few light stretches to loosen up, I stood.
I headed to the vacant lot behind the inn. The original owner had rented a large plot of land to build a stable, but he’d lost a gamble midway through, and the construction funds had run out, leaving it an empty lot. This was one of the reasons I had chosen this shabby inn as my lodging.
I stood in the center of the lot and warmed up. The sun had yet to rise, but I could hear the bustling sounds of the morning around me. This was a simple place where people woke early and slept when the sun went down.
I stretched my body slowly and thoroughly.
After warming up, I began to run lightly around the lot.
Then I gradually increased my speed, repeating the cycle until I was out of breath.
‘At first, I felt like I was going to die after just a little running.’
Now, I didn’t even count how many laps I ran. I just stopped when I felt like I couldn’t move anymore.
I stopped running and caught my breath.
Once my breathing settled, I drew my sword and held it with both hands. The feel of the grip, fitting perfectly in my hands, was satisfying.
It had been six years since I’d suddenly found myself in this body. A very long time. Long enough for a clueless college student to become a murderer, then a cowardly fugitive, and finally a guard captain on the frontier.
Those six years, stained with all sorts of filth, had made my previous memories so faint that I had to actively try not to forget them.
I swung the sword horizontally.
There were no forms, no swordsmanship techniques.
Just a simple horizontal slash.
I had continuously cut away the unnecessary parts, refining it until it was a simple horizontal slash that contained only its original purpose.
When you crossed swords with someone, the one who swung faster won.
How often you swung your sword in practice, whether you had neglected to train your body, and whether you had enough blood on your hands to not hesitate when plunging your sword into someone—these factors combined to decide the victor in an instant.
Another horizontal slash.
The air screamed as it was torn apart.
[If you swing like that, you’ll break your wrist.]
At the sudden stray thought, I gripped the sword tighter and corrected my stance.
I continued to repeat the horizontal slashes, then moved on to vertical slashes.
After finishing with thrusts, my whole body was hot, steam rising from my skin, and my muscles screamed. The stray thoughts were devoured by the pain, no longer able to make a sound.
*Clap, clap, clap.*
At the sound of applause, I turned my head to see a man standing there, clad in dark black armor.
“That was some truly clean sword work.”
The man, encased head to toe in iron, clapped with a bright smile.
On his chest was the crest of House Penell.