Episode 1138
Episode 1138
At their master's furious shout, the subordinates hastily nodded and pulled a lever on the wall before rushing out through a passage connected to the underground sewers.
Right now, there were insane knight bastards lurking outside, so they had to move through the secret passage to contact their fellow comrades elsewhere in the city.
-Going to deliver the message? Make it quick. And don't forget—report everything without leaving anything out.
"......"
"......"
The thieves were utterly horrified upon seeing the Death Knights casually speaking to them in the underground sewers, a place where no one should have known their existence.
It was terrifying precisely because they were speaking so casually, as if they were just patrolling guards making small talk.
-Not going to answer?
"...Y-Yes, of course."
-Good. Hurry up! We're busy people, and the successor is even busier. If you fail to find them, we can't even predict what he might do!
'Mad mage bastards! Crazy Evil God Worshipper bastards!'
Cursing everything in the world, the thieves sprinted through the damp underground passage.
Why did they have to come to this city and cause trouble when they could've just fought among themselves outside?!
The nightmare in Bepaim City didn't end at the tavern.
If even one person was caught, they had no choice but to spill everything about the city's suspicious locations to be released—and as a result...
Many of Bepaim City's small-time criminals, who had been conducting illegal business with simple and honest hearts, were struck by misfortune.
"Is this the place?"
"Yes! Yes! Please let me go!"
"We'll check first before letting you go. If there aren't any suspicious people here, you're coming with me to Einrogard."
"......"
The smuggler seriously considered whether he should just take poison right then and there.
Long ago, there had been a few among his comrades who had been dragged to Einrogard—only for all news of them to vanish forever.
"Tell everyone inside to come out."
At Lee Han's words, the apothecary naturally protested loudly.
This shop, with its sign shaped like a brass mortar, didn't just deal in various reagents—it also traded in illegal goods. But unlike the earlier tavern, this place was a bit different.
Located in a bustling district, it enjoyed the patronage and protection of nobles and wealthy individuals.
So, the apothecary brought up the name of the baron he had paid the most bribes to.
"Are you insane?! Do you know where this is?! Baron Waltaha—"
"You heard him. Bring him here."
-Yes. Yes.
The knights left in a hurry, speaking in the relaxed tone of merchants picking goods from a display.
The apothecary froze as if he had been hit by an ice spell.
More than any threat, shout, or curse, the sight before him now terrified him the most.
"D-Don't bluff! You can't just drag Baron Waltaha around like that in Bepaim City! Do you even know who the baron is?!"
"I don't care, since I can just return to Einrogard anyway."
Lee Han replied indifferently.
Lately, he had been realizing that Einrogard's status was surprisingly useful at times.
Especially after causing trouble—once he returned to Einrogard, there wasn't much even the Empire's laws could do to him.
Of course, he'd still be punished under Einrogard's laws by the furious Skeleton Principal, but that was still better than being punished outside.
'Is this why the seniors used to cause trouble outside all the time?'
While Lee Han was having this dangerous realization, the apothecary was at a loss.
Even so, common sense told him that Baron Waltaha wouldn't be dragged here in the middle of the night—but at the same time, knowing his opponent was from Einrogard made him wonder if they were truly insane.
If they really did bring the baron here...
'Th-This is bad.'
From Baron Waltaha's perspective, regardless of whether he later protested to Einrogard, his first move would be to kill the apothecary who got him involved.
Just for taking a few bribes and offering some favors—now he was getting dragged into this mess?!
"Lord Wardanaz. Should we check inside for any illegal reagents while we wait?"
"An excellent idea. Please do."
"Wardanaz?!"
The apothecary's eyes widened upon hearing the family name.
"If you're a mage from the Wardanaz family... weren't you supposed to be a mage devoted to the Empire's good citizens?!"
"Seems you've heard the wrong rumors."
-It's not a rumor.
When Lee Han retorted sharply, the knights chimed in from the side.
Of course, they were in the process of ransacking the herbalist's shop, but even so, the knights couldn't help but want to uphold the Wardanaz heir's good reputation.
-Do you know how much this Wardanaz student has done? If you knew, would you be yapping like this? Anyway, we won't even mention that baron fellow.
-Who was it that saved Bepaim City from famine, you ungrateful wretch? Have you no shame?
"......"
Despite the knights' scolding, the herbalist was simply dumbfounded.
If this mage was so great and virtuous, why was he here in the dead of night doing this?
-We've brought him!
With the sound of clattering hooves in the distance, the knights appeared, leading a horse with the baron seated behind. The baron, still in his nightclothes, had turned deathly pale.
"Baron, your face looks strange—did you threaten him?"
"Shh. Quiet, Priestess Siana."
Nigisor quickly hushed his friend's whisper. The shopkeepers around were watching, murmuring among themselves.
"He must be cold from coming out at night. And, well, the knights are undead, so there's an unnatural chill in the air."
Dijiling swiftly chimed in, and the surrounding shopkeepers made understanding "Oh" expressions.
With her earnest demeanor, anything the priestess said sounded plausible.
Of course, Siana wasn't fooled. She was just shocked.
'Priestess Dijiling would lie like this...?!'
"Baron! Help m— Gah!"
"You madman! You absolute madman! What kind of wicked demon possesses you to drag me into this?!"
The baron, overcome with fury, struck the herbalist with his nightcap.
It wasn't the dignified image one would expect from a city noble in the middle of the night, but Baron Waltaha had no choice.
Being suddenly abducted in the dead of night, dragged here, and then threatened horrifically just for muttering a few words of resistance—all because this damned herbalist had pulled him in like a vengeful ghost.
"You're dying alone, you hear me?!"
"Ack! My mistake!"
Thoroughly cowed, the herbalist obediently spilled everything—not just his hidden ledgers but also the suspicious figures he'd seen recently.
Unfortunately, none of them were Evil God Worshippers. They were just smugglers and thieves who had slithered in during the recent chaos.
-Tsk. What a shame.
-Ah, pity. I really thought this one might be an Evil God Worshipper.
-Why? Because he looks vicious?
-No. For a criminal, he keeps such a regular schedule—seemed suspicious.
-Ah, makes sense!
As the knights chatted, Baron Waltaha cleared his throat.
His nightclothes didn't lend him much authority, but he still squeezed out what dignity he had left.
"Ahem. Ahem."
-Ah, Wal... Wal...? Uh, Baron. What is it?
The knight, struggling to recall his name, quickly changed the subject. Forcing it and getting it wrong would be even ruder.
"Now that this insolent herbalist's matter is settled, may I return?"
-Yes. Let's go together.
"You mean to escort me?"
-Escort, you say? Ah... Yes. We'll escort you on the way and, well, we also need to investigate your estate.
"......"
The baron, about to step away, froze.
What did he just say they were investigating?
"I—I must have misheard... Why would you investigate my estate?"
"Since you took money from the herbalist, we have to investigate. There might be Evil God Worshippers inside."
Lee Han answered for them. The baron bristled.
"What nonsense! Do you have any proof I did that?!"
"You said you took money from the herbalist."
"How many people in this city have taken money from that herbalist?!"
"Then name them all."
"......"
Baron Waltaha was aghast, faced with a wall of sheer absurdity.
What kind of lunatics were these?
"I absolutely refuse to allow this!"
-And what do you intend to do if we don't allow your refusal?
The knight who had personally escorted the baron asked quietly. At that question, Baron Waltaha froze.
The threats he'd heard on the way back flashed through his mind.
-By the way, Baron. Do you know where the supplies distributed in Bepaim City came from? Count Bouillon's estate.
"You misunderstand, Baron. To be precise, we didn't steal them—it was because relief supplies were embezzled..."
Lee Han tried to explain, but the baron was no longer listening.
"Baron. We usually don't give warnings twice. But we've already warned you twice now. Do you take us for some straw dummy knights of the Empire?"
Though such incidents had become relatively rare recently, these knights were originally brutal harbingers of destruction and ruin who followed the Skeleton Principal's orders.
As childhood memories of incidents reported in the Imperial Newspaper surfaced in his mind, the baron unconsciously swallowed hard.
"...No. Absolutely not."
"Be more careful with your actions from now on."
The death knights spoke with an eerie glint in their eyes. Lee Han stepped in to console him instead.
"If you cooperate, nothing bad will happen."
"......"
Frankly, Baron Waltaha found this mage more terrifying than the knights.
How could someone remain so composed while commanding such insane undead...!
As night passed and morning arrived, a storm of protest letters began flying in.
Naturally, those who'd been raided at night couldn't send any—it was the lucky ones who hadn't been targeted yet who panicked and took the lead.
They couldn't just sit still when blades might come flying at them any moment.
Their first point of contact was the bishops of the Church. Given Bepaim City's severe disaster situation, the bishops were already nearby.
"Your Grace! Please hear our plea! No matter how noble their purpose for coming here, does that justify ignoring imperial laws and morals to act as they please?! There are procedures for everything!"
Even the city's ruffians, who normally disregarded laws and rules, were now brandishing them.
Such was their fear.
Some insane mage leading death knights on raids...
Yet the bishops' reactions were completely unexpected.
"If it's the mage from the Wardanaz family, isn't he the very one who's been providing unstinting material and spiritual support for this disaster?"
"If you're trying to slander a young mage over Count Bouillon's affairs, the Church can never condone this."
"N-no...! This has nothing to do with Count Bouillon...! We're purely...!"
With the local bishops and priests currently holding the highest favor toward them, no slander would stick.
One bishop even roared, 'How dare you spout such ridiculous slander, you wicked lot!'
Swallowing their indignation, the ruffians retreated to find their next target—mages from other imperial magic academies.
Somewhat unreliable, but a magic academy was still a magic academy...
"Great archmages from Baldrogard! Please witness this fellow mage's atrocities—"
"Hmph! We know all about it! You vile creatures. Trying to sow discord between Baldrogard and Einrogard, aren't you? Even if Wardanaz used slightly extreme methods, do you really think that would work?!"
'Slightly?'
Zandanni's junior thought skeptically, but unfortunately, this senior was Baldrogard's student leader.
When neither persuasion nor reports worked, the ruffians retreated again, weeping tears of blood.
"Is there no law left in the Empire?!"
Finally, the ruffians made the choice they least wanted to make.
Reporting to the imperial bureaucracy.
Coincidentally, an inspector had been dispatched ahead of even the bishops due to the disaster.
The exhausted imperial inspector, worn down by overwork, was checking severely damaged farmlands when he frowned at the sudden crowd.
Some were faces even the inspector recognized—shady business operators.
"What's the matter?"
"Your Excellency! Please redress our grievances!"
No one disliked Einrogard mages more than imperial bureaucrats. Especially high-ranking ones.
Even if for justice's sake, hearing that the Skeleton Principal's underlings were running amok in the city without regard for law would make any official fly into a rage and draft a letter immediately.
"Wardanaz? You clearly said the Wardanaz family?"
"Yes! Definitely the Wardanaz family student attending Einrogard!"
"I see. Understood. I'll draft a letter to His Majesty the Emperor at once. Everyone may leave now."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
As the ruffians left rejoicing, the inspector burned the notes he'd just made in front of them.
Had it been an evil archmage causing trouble directly, he'd have reported it immediately. But for that boy from the Wardanaz family, the story was slightly different.
Not only His Majesty the Emperor, but even the bureaucrats beneath him cherished that young mage. There was no way they'd report him over a few slanderous words from such scum.
'Those good-for-nothings must have caused trouble themselves.'
It was a sight that would have made the Skeleton Principal collapse from envy.