Bastard vs. Bastard (2)
Bastard vs. Bastard (2)
"But if we sneak out like this at night, won't people come looking for us?"
"I'm fine. I love wandering around the castle, so they've stopped looking for me."
Have they given up on her completely?
The secret passage in the Lord's castle was ordinary.
There were no skeletons along the way, nor was there a hidden treasure vault.
Although we passed openings that connected to other rooms, we didn't touch them and headed straight for the exit.
The long, winding secret passage led out of the inner castle and connected to a building set slightly apart from the Lord's castle.
When we reached a dead end, Adria pressed hard against a section of the wall.
Rumble.
As the wall in front of us slid downward, an altar descended from the ceiling.
It was an altar dedicated to a god, just like the ones found in temples.
The altar descended all the way to the floor, and the space where it had been became a passage leading upward.
We were able to exit through the space where the altar had stood.
'Is this a temple...?'
Moonlight streaming through the window softly illuminated the dust-covered temple.
Ah, Bianca had mentioned it yesterday.
She'd said the temple had been empty for a year.
The reason for that was probably...
Hadn't she said the priest in charge got drunk and walked backward along the castle walls, resulting in a ban on entry?
Uh, wait.
"We're not supposed to enter this place! I heard it makes you impotent!"
Terrified, I shouted at Adria.
Adria looked back at me with a puzzled expression. She scanned me from head to toe, then tilted her head.
"You're still young, so you'll be fine."
No, how could she know whether I'd be fine or not?! A nine-year-old is a man, too!
The air inside the temple suddenly felt heavy. Cold sweat broke out on its own.
This wasn't something to take lightly. Impotence! This was serious enough that I might have to commit suicide on the spot.
"Pfft, a kid worrying about the strangest things."
Seeing how tense I was, Adria laughed.
"It's a curse caused by mana pollution, so it doesn't affect awakened people or nobles. It's a curse that only affects commoners."
"Are you sure?"
I was barely reassured by Adria's words, but I couldn't help asking again.
"I told you, it's fine."
It had better be fine. If not, I absolutely would never help her in my next life.
Though I was still uneasy, in the end, I had no choice but to believe her.
As we left the silent temple, the city's nightscape came into view.
The city at night was incredibly dark and quiet.
Though houses with lit lamps could be seen here and there, the streets were dark, with barely any passersby.
Thinking of the night streets from my past life, I couldn't help feeling a little surprised.
Then again, I couldn't judge things by the standards of my past life. Even with mana and inherited abilities, people couldn't light up the entire city at night, so there was no way the streets would be lively.
"It's too dark here. Let's hurry. I heard there are plenty of people on the mercenary street even at night."
She took the lead and walked down the dark street.
Retracing the route we'd taken during the day, we headed toward the mercenary street.
A moment later, the mercenary street we arrived at was incredibly rowdy, just as Adria had said.
"Stop right there!"
"Dammit! Do I look like I'm running away?! I'm just going to the restroom and coming right back!"
"Blegh! Dammit, what did they put in this booze?!"
"It splashed all over me! Do you want to die?!"
There was a mercenary fleeing and another chasing him, a man throwing up in the street, and another mercenary striking him because the vomit had splashed on him.
Even though it was still early evening, the street was completely filled with drunks and mercenaries.
"Wow! It's a total mess!"
Adria looked around the street with wide, surprised eyes.
There were mercenary lodgings, inns, shops, taverns, and even blacksmith shops clustered around the mercenary office.
Despite the sun having set, the shops and inns on this street were brightly lit.
While it wasn't quite a sleepless city like the one in my past life, it felt like looking at an entertainment district from back then.
"Ah, I'm drunk."
As Adria walked along, excitedly taking in her surroundings, a drunken mercenary stumbled past her.
The moment he passed Adria, I saw his hand brush against her clothes.
He seemed to be a pickpocket.
But I didn't tell Adria, because the next instant, after the mercenary's hand pulled away, I saw Adria's hand move, leaving an afterimage.
Unlike the mercenary's hand, I couldn't see exactly where Adria's hand went, but I could easily guess.
There was no way a common pickpocket with decent sleight of hand could escape the notice of a noble who had awakened acceleration abilities.
'Fortunately, she didn't scream or cut off his arm.'
If she had, it would certainly have drawn a massive crowd.
Seeing that Adria wasn't causing a scene, I was able to ease my worries.
But it seemed I'd relaxed too soon.
"Argh, my coin pouch is gone! My pouch!"
The startled voice of the mercenary stumbling away reached us.
He frantically searched his body before turning around.
His stumbling manner had already vanished, and his face was filled with nothing but shock.
That's not the face of someone whose stolen goods have gone missing.
Don't tell me she hadn't just taken back what was stolen, but had actually stolen the pickpocket's own belongings in return?
Adria was tilting her head with an innocent expression, but there was no way the pickpocket would fall for that.
"You! You bitch!"
Watching the pickpocket approach while shouting, I gripped the sword hidden in my coat.
As long as I didn't kill him, it should be fine, right?
Even if it caused a bit of a stir, I had to deal with it quickly.
While I waited for him to approach, someone blocked my path.
Swish!
"If you failed at thieving, just run away. Don't pick fights with innocent kids."
The person blocking my way was a mercenary of modest build, wearing a cloak pulled over their head.
They tripped the approaching mercenary with a sheathed sword and sent him crashing to the floor, then lectured the fallen pickpocket in a husky voice.
People began to gather at the sudden commotion.
"You bastard!"
The fallen pickpocket shouted furiously and got up, only for the sword in the mercenary's hand to swing once more.
Crack!
The sound of a skull cracking rang out, and the pickpocket collapsed onto the ground again. This time, perhaps knocked unconscious, he lay face down and didn't get back up.
"Are you guys okay... Huh?"
Before the mercenary could turn around, I grabbed Adria's arm and quickly slipped into the crowd.
I was grateful they'd taken care of it for us, but we couldn't draw any more attention.
Since they seemed highly skilled, they could easily handle any troublesome situation they might get dragged into.
Adria looked displeased, but perhaps realizing she was the one who'd caused the commotion, she followed obediently as I led her away.
After slipping away from where the crowd had gathered, I let go of Adria's arm.
"Sorry. I didn't expect him to notice so quickly."
When she said that, I held out my hand.
"Huh? Why?"
"I'll let it slide, so let's split it fifty-fifty."
"What?"
"I'll keep it a secret from the others."
It was already done. Since I wasn't the one who'd stolen it, there was no risk of me getting caught.
I was short on cash after spending a large sum to win over Juan. Judging by the pickpocket's shocked expression, the coin pouch Adria had stolen seemed quite heavy.
Adria stared at me with her mouth wide open.
Why was she so surprised?
"How can a kid be so obsessed with money already?!"
Do kids not have things to spend money on? What's with this age discrimination?
"I feel bad for the person who helped us while we slipped away without a word. Why don't we go back and give it to him?"
"Even after seeing that crowd gather, you're saying that?"
At my words, Adria pouted.
But in the end, she split the stolen coin pouch in half.
As expected, a person's expression never lies. I felt great after making a pretty decent profit.
'More importantly, who was that mercenary?'
Though I only caught a brief glimpse, the mercenary who helped us was far too skilled to be considered ordinary.
Despite their small build, their skill was easily discernible from the way they swung the sword.
'Considering they hid their face with a cloak and clearly forced a disguised voice, they're highly suspicious.'
And yet, for someone so suspicious, they sure were incredibly meddlesome.
The sheathed sword they swung was still lingering in my mind.
It was a plain scabbard, and the sword didn't look special at all... Why?
"Ah! That's it, right?"
While I was lost in thought, Adria spotted the inn where Martin was staying.
<Silver Hero Inn>
"Wow, what an unfitting name."
She shook her head at the sight of the shabby inn.
Well, the Hero who held that nickname was indeed as beautiful as the moniker suggested, but he was also famous for being a neat freak. There was no way he would fit in at a shabby, dirty mercenary inn.
Upon entering the inn, we found the first-floor dining hall packed with mercenaries eating and drinking.
"Ah! There he is!"
Fortunately, Martin was in the dining hall this time.
He was sitting alone in a corner of the dining hall, drinking by himself with a face that looked as if he were carrying all the worries of the world.
"Brother Martin!"
She ran toward Martin with a bright expression.
Hearing his name called, Martin looked up and saw Adria approaching.
Martin's expression shifted several times.
Anger, regret, sorrow, and pity.
After displaying a colorful array of emotions, he finally smiled at Adria.
'A forced smile, is it?'
Though it was a smile that hid his true feelings well, I'd constantly mimicked that very same expression myself, so I could instantly recognize the face hidden beneath it.
"How did you get out here?"
"I snuck out to see you, Brother Martin."
At Adria's words, Martin looked at me.
Since nothing she'd said was wrong, I had no choice but to nod.
"To do such a thing! Everyone will worry!"
"I told them not to look for me after dinner, remember? No one will know until morning."
Well, in my case, even without saying anything, no one would look for me before breakfast anyway.
"Don't send me back. Do you know how much I missed you, Brother?"
If a stranger had heard this, they might have misunderstood, but neither Adria nor Martin showed any such expression.
Well, Martin's face did look far more complicated, though.
In the end, Martin threw up his hands in defeat.
"Then I'll walk you back in a little while."
"Okay, okay."
Adria seemed utterly delighted by Martin's words.
It seemed they were getting along fine. I spoke up to the two of them.
"I'll go look around for a bit."
"Sure."
"Will you be okay on your own?"
Adria readily agreed, while Martin showed concern for me.
I lightly tapped the sword hidden in my coat.
"Then again, with your skills, you'll be fine."
Martin nodded, perhaps remembering my capabilities.
"Is Alex really that skilled?"
"Ah, we sparred several times on the way here..."
The half-siblings, meeting after a long time, began to chat warmly, with me as their topic.
Both of them had bright, smiling faces, but one of them was hiding a face completely different from the expression they showed outwardly.
'There won't be any immediate danger anyway.'
With me around, there was no way he would touch Adria and startle the Marquisate.
Leaving the two chatting behind, I stepped out of the inn.
After scanning the surroundings, I slipped into the alleyway behind the inn.
The mercenary street was noisy, but the noise and light vanished as soon as I stepped a little away from it.
Concealing myself in the darkness, I pulled out the sword and cloak I'd hidden in my coat.
Then I strapped the sword to my waist and wrapped the cloak around myself.
With my body and face hidden beneath the cloak, I, too, became someone who fit right into this mercenary street.
Unfortunately, I couldn't hide my physical build, but there were female mercenaries and dwarves among them as well.
At the very least, I could hide the fact that I was a young boy visiting as a guest of the Marquisate.
"Shall we go then?"
For the first time in my life, I was wandering alone in a place where nobody recognized me.
I could feel my heart pounding at this newfound sense of freedom.
Calming my racing heart, I moved forward under the cover of darkness.
My destination was the Red Bear Mercenary Corps lodgings.
It was time to pay a visit to the ones who had killed me.