Chapter 342
Chapter 342
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 342
>Chapter Title: It's Not About Sacrificing Myself
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Drumusi Viscount Family?
'What the hell is this now?'
I tilted my head briefly at the sudden appearance of these unheard-of bastards, then shot a glance at Evelyn.
It was a gesture telling her to explain, but the one who spoke up wasn't Evelyn—it was Rayleigh.
"Uh... Sir Aster? What do we do? Looks like you might need to step out, sir."
"Tell them to wait."
"Yes? What..."
"Tch."
There's an old saying.
Know your enemy and know yourself, and you won't be defeated in a hundred battles.
In other words, size up the opponent's level and your own, then only fight battles you can win. Right now, what I needed was info on these 'Drumusi' guys.
Because I had no clue what kind of bastards they were.
'Yeah, exactly.'
Sure, I could just step out and beat the crap out of them, but that's the kind of thing barbarians do, right?
Anyway.
"What are these guys?"
At my question, Evelyn glanced up at me. It was the first time she'd looked me in the eye since we left Hazen.
"Could you ask if their armor emblem is a wyvern?"
...She could just ask herself.
I quietly did as instructed.
It'd be awkward to ask loud enough for everyone to hear, so I used a message spell on Rayleigh, telling him to confirm if their emblem was a wyvern and, if so, knock on the carriage instead of replying.
The carriage walls were thick, so shouting was the only way to communicate normally, but soon enough, a 'thump thump' echoed through the carriage wall.
"They say it is."
"As expected..."
Evelyn trailed off as if she'd anticipated it, then continued.
I listened quietly to her story, and by the end, I had a rough idea of what kind of bastards the Drumusi were.
And why they'd blocked our path.
Basically, it went like this.
'The Drumusi Viscount Family has been sourcing magic materials from around here and piling up wealth long before the Arapurkin Mountains became a hot spot?'
In other words, they were the local gang bosses.
But why were these guys suddenly grabbing passing carriages and causing trouble?
The reason was simple.
'...They're pissed.'
Yeah, pissed off.
Think about it.
The area around the Arapurkin Mountains gets developed.
What happens to the guys who've been sucking the honey up till now?
'What happens? They get screwed.'
As the supply of magic materials increases, prices naturally drop.
And that's not all?
Merchants and mercenaries who used to booze it up and blow money in the territory will flock to the new base near the Arapurkin Mountains.
What does that mean?
'...No more suckers to fleece.'
So.
"They seem to be blocking the road to the development site. So..."
"To stop the development altogether?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"What..."
Have I ever seen such petty bastards.
"Actually, this is why I said we'd talk on-site. The report mentioned the local factions were acting suspicious... but I didn't expect it to be this bad."
Evelyn's face was clouded with worry as she spoke.
Why wouldn't it be?
I casually called it them being pissed, but what these guys were doing wasn't some lightweight tantrum.
The whole project could go down in flames.
So, what to do?
"Uh, um... Sir Aster?"
Rayleigh's voice came again.
I ignored it and sank into thought for a moment.
'Local factions, pissed off... and the project.'
Stopping the local factions' bullshit is a given.
The question is 'how.'
'How do I uphold justice here.'
In other words, stand alone against the tyranny of these vile nobles...
"I've decided."
"Decided what?"
"Ah, Sir Aster? You need to come out now! H-Hey...! Y-You, if you open that...!"
Evelyn's and Rayleigh's voices rang out in succession.
That was when the door flew open violently.
...Bang!
"You bastards! Didn't you hear us say to surrender... Gahk!"
I smiled faintly and smashed my fist into the knight's face.
With a 'thwack,' the knight toppled backward. I held my breath and swung again. Once, twice... thwack thwack. Until his body finally went limp.
And then.
Thud!
As the knight's body finally hit the ground.
I prayed to the moon.
"Moon, do not forgive that bastard."
Tyranny... I will not yield.
If burning this one body can uphold justice, then burn it shall.
That was my vow.
* * *
W-What the... that lunatic!
Rayleigh shot to his feet and took in the scene of the disaster.
Bang!
No sooner had the door opened than the sounds of blows echoed out.
Thwack!
Crisp and clean.
If that's all it had been, Rayleigh wouldn't have been so shocked.
Aster, that crazy-ass mage throwing punches? It wasn't his first or second time. He'd gotten used to it.
But.
Thwack, thwack!
The blows kept coming.
By the time Rayleigh climbed down from the driver's seat and surveyed the scene, the knight who'd gone in through the door was already sprawled on the ground.
And then a voice rang in his ears.
"Moon, do not forgive that bastard."
What the hell kind of crazy talk is that?
The sun's high in the sky—what moon? And who here is truly unforgivable?
And...
'...He's smiling?'
Not just any smile.
Poignant.
Like accepting an inescapable fate. No, more like a knight steeling himself for death.
But that sentiment didn't last.
'...We're fucked.'
Rayleigh couldn't even guess how this would play out.
It was a viscount's knight.
Sure, some backwater nobody family, but a noble was a noble.
And he'd just decked the noble's retainer?
This was gonna blow up.
No way it wouldn't.
Because it was tantamount to slapping a formal challenge in a noble house's face.
"You lunatic! What the hell do you think you're...!"
"Crazy, huh?"
"...!"
When his eyes met Aster's, Rayleigh flinched.
Those eyes looked sad.
How could someone with such a vicious heart have eyes so pure and sorrowful...?
But that thought didn't last.
While Rayleigh was lost in sentiment, the situation was spiraling out of control.
"Draw your weapons, all of you!"
"We're taking him into custody! Lethal force authorized if necessary!"
The soldiers encircling them drew their spears and swords.
Clang, sching!
As killing intent filled the air, Rayleigh shouted.
"S-Stop...! You'll all get killed...!"
But the soldiers moved faster.
Neigh—!
The horses whinnied, and soon one soldier charged at Aster. The dozen or so were all skilled cavalrymen, and Aster standing before them looked like he'd be trampled under hoof any second.
...Or so it appeared.
Thwack!
A hand chop severing the horse's windpipe.
"Wha—!"
The soldier let out a short scream.
Some inexplicable force yanked his body forward, and right then, a voice whispered in his ear.
"Why... a wyvern?"
Why a wyvern?
Was he asking about the viscount's emblem?
...That was the last of the soldier's consciousness.
Thwack.
Aster's fist smashed into his face.
"Hoo."
Using mana to reel in the soldier, Aster grabbed his collar and let out a short sigh.
But only for a moment.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
The blows rang out in succession.
"You damn...! Can't you stop?!"
An enraged soldier charged at the sight of his beaten comrade, but it ended as pathetically as the rest.
Just—
Thwack!
A hand chop halting the horse.
Whoosh! Thwack!
Reel him in with mana, then plant a fist in his face.
That one punch knocked the soldier out like the last, but Aster didn't stop.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
The crisp blows echoed again.
Honestly... it wasn't all that terrifying.
One-sided beatdown or not, these were tough soldiers who'd scrapped with monsters coming down from the Arapurkin Mountains.
But.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Those mechanical blows...
"This one body, I shall burn—"
That dry voice...
And those poignant eyes were utterly eerie.
The soldiers fell silent amid the cognitive dissonance of the bizarre scene. And they thought.
'What the hell... did we just poke?'
Fear strikes in two ways.
When what you thought was human turns out not to be.
Or when what isn't human feels all too human.
So, was the thing before them the former or the latter?
Impossible to say.
But one thing was crystal clear right now.
'Dangerous.'
An ominous premonition flashed through the soldiers' minds simultaneously.
That was when the knight's lieutenant bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone...! Everyone, fall back!"
The knight was down, two soldiers captured—but reporting back to the territory took priority over rescue.
At his shout, the soldiers wheeled their horses and bolted across the field.
Impressive speed, like arrows loosed!
But they'd overlooked one thing.
...Horses are fast, but sometimes people can run faster.
And Aster, standing before them, was one such person.
"What... is justice?"
Muttering as he watched the soldiers scatter, Aster kicked off the ground and leaped.
He snagged the nearest soldier's nape—and voiced the answer.
"Justice... is sacrifice."
The soldier gripped by the nape felt a question form.
...Sacrifice what?
But the only two there who truly got it.
'...It's not about sacrificing yourself.'
Then what?
'It's about... making them sacrifice.'
Thwack!
A blow rang out.
"First one down."
The count kept rising.
...Until every horse vanished across the field.
* * *
The vast winter plain.
The wake of violence's gale was a wretched sight.
A dozen horses stood tethered in a row by the carriage, with unconscious soldiers laid out before them.
Evelyn took in the scene silently.
Her eyes were detached.
She knew.
Once she started thinking now, she wouldn't be able to stop.
So, what to do?
'Go with the flow.'
Yeah, just ride the current.
Full-on war with a noble house? Screw the fallout. Just... float like duckweed on the waves.
'I'm just a piece of duckweed.'
The waves were Aster.
Accepting that, Evelyn quietly observed.
How far this mad wave would crash, and how.
Meanwhile, Aster still gazed sadly at the dozen soldiers, then spoke soon after.
"Things being what they are... we're heading to the Drumusi Viscount Family."
Rayleigh thought.
'Reign of terror upon the viscount's house...'
A calamity named Aster.