Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: 18. Assembly (2)
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"And next to Bursen?"
"It looks like Brioll."
"Brioll? Pfft, hahaha. What knight nation? Isn't it just a fancy title the king slapped on because he's good with a sword? Why the hell is a king swinging a sword in the first place? Does that even make sense? Shouldn't a king just manage the damn country instead of playing butcher? Is that a place where slaughterhouse scum live?"
Yuri jotted down every word.
Bursen: fishy-smelling country bumpkins. Fish stuffed in nets.
Brioll: a country where butcher bastards live.
Holy Kingdom: hypocrites peddling God for profit, a gang of con artists.
Joachim: a bandit chief lording over a few mountain forts like some fake kingdom.
Klein: perfume peddlers who went bankrupt and turned into beggars.
And so on...
He badmouthed from start to finish, picking apart every kingdom one by one.
Yuri, who had his own knack for slander and schemes, had to admire the guy's skill at it.
The soldiers, not wanting any more trouble, finished raising their flags, bowed their heads, and scurried off.
The adjutant nodded.
"I see."
But that wasn't the end of it.
His tongue charged on like a bull with a firecracker tied to its tail. When it came to sheer eloquence, the man was a fearless warrior.
"And the Empire? They're all the same."
"Y-Young master."
"What, gathering nations to hunt orcs? What a joke. You don't get why they're suddenly rounding everyone up? Calling itself an empire—it's just a neighborhood bully kid. From what I see, the emperor's gone senile, and the crown prince..."
Yuri diligently noted down the Empire bits too. He spared no criticism for the Empire, which fancied itself the overlord nation.
The adjutant standing beside him kept his eyes closed, letting it flow in one ear and out the other, as if this were par for the course.
When the man finally wrapped up his tirade and caught his breath, Yuri figured it was time and made some noise.
"Whoops, my hand slipped."
Crack. The pencil in Yuri's hand snapped in two.
The man and his adjutant jumped in alarm and whipped around.
"Oh dear, oh dear. My precious pencil..."
As he said it, Yuri neatly folded the paper and tucked it into his bosom.
It was more than enough to clue them in on what he'd been up to.
"W-What the hell are you?"
The man gaped wide-eyed and rushed over.
"Which unit are you from? Sneaking around like a rat? What outfit lets you eavesdrop and take notes like that...?"
Eyeing Yuri's shabby attire, the man interrogated him outright. But the adjutant behind him eyed Yuri thoughtfully and held the man back with a wary look.
"Young master, calm down first..."
"Calm down? Screw that. Rats like this need a good beating to shut their mouths."
His mouth wasn't the only thing without a filter—his entire mindset was the same.
The man shoved his adjutant aside.
"Make this bastard kneel."
"Young master, we don't know his identity for sure yet, so let's..."
"Can't you tell just by looking?"
Yuri reflected on himself.
Why did most people he met for the first time peg him as some lowly foot soldier?
Even accounting for his practical getup, it felt excessive.
Not all frontline knights dressed fancy, and he figured his looks exuded a noble air anyway.
"Look at that pigeon-toed stance. That shady expression. He's a dirt-rolling commoner through and through. No class, no class at all."
Yuri had an epiphany. It must be the habits from his mercenary days.
"Young master, for now..."
"You got a problem with that? Take your beating first."
The man swung a fist without warning.
Watching the clean punch fly toward his face, Yuri understood why the guy's attitude was so arrogant.
Considering his age, he was prodigious enough to call a genius.
Of course, no one headed to fight orcs would be a slouch.
But the world was full of more geniuses than you'd expect.
Yuri caught the fist mid-swing and hurled it right back.
The man, assuming Yuri was just some grunt and letting his guard down, tumbled flat on the ground.
"Huh?"
Yuri wagged a finger side to side.
"Weak."
"T-This..."
"What's your name?"
"How dare a soldier..."
"I am Yuri Brioll, Third Prince of Brioll and commander of the Brioll forces."
"Huh?"
The blood drained from the man's face.
Since the adjutant had called him "young master," his status was clearly beneath Yuri's.
Yuri walked over and looked down at him.
"What is the name of the one who swung a fist at me?"
"I, I'm..."
Poking the man's forehead with his finger, Yuri watched him cringe and shrink back. He pulled out the paper and waved it.
"Speak quickly."
"Ah..."
The man's face twisted. He'd realized his weakness was in Yuri's hands.
"You wouldn't be scheming to take this from me, would you?"
"N-No, that's not..."
"Think carefully. As you said, our Brioll is ruled by a butcher king."
"It's a misunderstanding."
"You've got a lot of those."
Yuri unfolded the paper and read aloud.
"Bursen is full of fishy-smelling hicks, the Holy Kingdom is a bunch of hypocrite merchants..."
"It's really a misunderstanding. I didn't mean it. It was all just..."
The adjutant jumped in. He'd already half-kneeled before Yuri.
"Your Highness, it's truly a misunderstanding. The young master was just venting war stress with empty talk. Please, take that paper back. I beg you."
He banged his head on the ground. A loyal adjutant.
The man nodded vigorously.
"Y-Yes, exactly."
"No."
Yuri furrowed his brow.
"Who asked? So, who are you?"
"I'm..."
The adjutant tapped the man's calf—just say it.
The man squeezed his eyes shut and spoke.
"Sven Gain, of the Liberta Allied Forces."
"Your title?"
"Eldest son of Count Abra."
"The count's son."
Yuri scribbled his name on the paper with the broken pencil stub.
Sven freaked out.
"What are you doing?!"
"Grabbing your weakness."
"You said you'd forgive me..."
"When?"
"Ugh..."
A flicker of conflict crossed his face.
Yuri promptly kicked him in the gut.
"Guh!"
"Can't control your killing intent?"
Yuri looked down at the fallen Sven.
"You were thinking of going for my throat just now, weren't you?"
"Absolutely not..."
"Try it."
Yuri circulated his Mana Circulation Method. The mana of Heart-Soul Severing permeated the air.
The adjutant's head drooped.
He must have realized even the two of them together couldn't win.
"Sven."
"Yes..."
"People talk shit behind backs sometimes. Right?"
"Y-Yes..."
"I get it."
Yuri glanced around. No presences. Just the three of them.
Suddenly, he extended his hand.
"Shake?"
Sven stared blankly in confusion before taking it. His palm was clammy with sweat.
Yuri immediately let go and wiped it on his clothes.
"Know what secret friends are?"
"Huh?"
"We're secret friends now."
Yuri patted his chest where the paper was stashed.
p>"We help each other. Share info, tip off dangers. Mutual aid."
"Y-Yeah..."
"Don't take it bad. This paper's a weakness if you look at it one way, but a token of secret friendship another, right?"
"If it's a token, we should exchange..."
"Still not getting it."
Yuri leaned in close.
"Want me to just treat it as leverage?"
"No..."
"What could I even want from you? You're a nobody..."
"..."
"All I want is for the Allied Forces to achieve their goal and disband safely. You too, right? So let's help each other out."
Yuri clapped his shoulder.
"Sven."
"Y-Yes."
"Go."
Sven slunk away with his adjutant.
Yuri clicked his tongue at the retreating backs.
He'd caught him badmouthing and snagged a weakness, but whether Sven would actually be useful was anyone's guess.
Still, with that loyal adjutant tagging along, the Gain family couldn't be small fry.
Yuri muttered.
"You never know with people."
One lesson from his past life: people were unpredictable. Unexpected allies had helped, and trusted ones had betrayed.
That's why he needed contingencies.
Yuri counted the flags.
All nations had arrived. The real war was about to begin.
In his past life, Okua had crushed the Allied Forces and claimed one of the Ten Strongest spots.
Not this time.
Yuri looked down at his shadow.
"Asana."
He called his loyal hireling.
"Yes."
A voice came from behind.
Asana stood there when he turned.
He'd known she was guarding the perimeter, but not that she was this close.
Yuri didn't mind.
Failing to detect the last survivor of the Assassin Order wasn't shameful.
"How long you been there?"
"A while."
"Your skills are improving."
"Seems so. They work better on the plains. Maybe because it's so quiet."
"Huh."
Yuri tilted his head.
"Anyway, he made it to Balsard after all."
"His trail was spotted here."
Yuri had tasked Asana with tracking the "Foreigner."
With only Gid and Balsard as cities on the plains, it wasn't odd he'd passed through both.
"In Balsard now?"
"Not sure. Plenty claim to have seen him, so we should find him soon. Or..."
Asana glanced around.
It was quiet.
"He might be waiting for me somewhere."
"He's not the savage type, from what I hear, but stay sharp."
"You're the one who needs to watch out, Your Highness."
"Yeah, I will."
The "Foreigner," one of the continent's Ten Strongest, was an oddity even among them.
He hailed from the eastern lands beyond the plains.
No one knew why he'd drifted to the western continent, but one day he appeared out of nowhere, slew the previous Ten Strongest wanderer Zeke, and took his place.
Yuri wanted him for one reason.
"Find him before Okua shows."
He was the one who'd handed his Ten Strongest spot to Okua.
He'd emerged on the plains at the tail end of the orc subjugation and clashed with Okua. Witnesses said it ended in a bloody draw.
Barely surviving, he ambushed Okua repeatedly afterward—until Okua brutally murdered him.
Whatever the grudge, the Foreigner was Okua's enemy.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
To keep that fate from repeating, Yuri planned to find and persuade him first.
"Hurry."
"Yes."
Asana nodded. Finding him fast was best for Yuri's safety too.
"Oh, and I saw the Ireine Merchant Association. Their caravans were hauling goods nonstop."
"Good. They're doing as told. I gave them all the info—they'd better not screw up. If they need anything, drop my name."
"Funds are plenty."
War was a money-making chance for some. Yuri had fed Ireine the intel to capitalize.
Everything on track so far.
Yuri said.
"Report anything unusual."
"Yes."
Asana nodded, her form gradually fading.
Yuri shook his head. His vision blurred. He squeezed his eyes shut, then open.
No one there.
Yuri chuckled. How terrifying would it be if an assassin like her targeted his neck?
Even Asana had to steer clear of true powerhouses.
"Still a long way to go."
In his past life, the Allied Forces were halted, and the prior Ten Strongest Foreigner died.
Okua the monster did that.
Yet even Okua hadn't dared face the emperor.
Countless nations and powerhouses knelt before the Empire's might.
The Allied Forces were just a skirmish.
A long, long road ahead.
"No time, no time..."
Yuri gripped his gauntlet.
No room to slack.
New life or not, he was still lacking.
He headed straight back to camp.
The troops were deep in training as he'd ordered—a stark contrast to the idling forces from other nations in the castle.
"What're they fussing about?"
"Bad commander."
"Such a waste..."
Soldiers from other countries snickered and watched.
Yuri pushed past them into the camp. The training knights spotted him.
Among the onlookers, Yuri noticed a massive figure staring enviously.
Yuri grinned and called him.
"Sir Hose."
"Yes?"
"Join in?"
The man's eyes widened, then he beamed.
"Yes."