Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Demon Baron (3)
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We passed through the iron bars and entered the castle grounds via the massive gate. Frightened residents and soldiers filled the area. Kadim gently set down the two men he had been carrying.
A group of soldiers came rushing over in a panic.
"Baron! Are you all right? Are you injured anywhere...?"
"Ah, ah, no need to worry. I'm fine."
The soldiers sighed in relief but couldn't hide their anxiety. It stemmed from the ferocious visitor who had brought the baron back with him.
He was a barbarian of unusually massive build. His entire body was splattered with blood, as if he had just come from a massacre. The thought of having to fight him filled them with dread—they had no confidence they could hold him off.
But an even graver problem arose right then.
The soldiers' gazes shifted from the barbarian to the gate.
"Wh-what? Up there—what's going on? Hurry and lower the bars! Close the gate!"
Grind, grind, clunk, clunk, clunk—
The soldiers desperately turned the crank. But the bars, unmaintained for so long and rusted solid, caught on something and refused to descend.
Adlen's soldiers had spotted the anomaly. Their staggering, aimless steps suddenly sharpened. Their eyes gleamed with a sinister light as they charged like rabid beasts.
"Kehhehehek!"
"Kwaaaaaaah!"
The soldiers on the walls and in the watchtowers cried out in horror.
"The enemy is coming!"
"The crank's jammed! W-we can't turn it, Baron!"
"Oh no... God help us..."
Baron Molden's face turned ashen as he clutched his forehead. Through the gap in the unclosed gate, he could see the frenzied enemy soldiers. The faces of his own soldiers and residents paled in terror.
Kadim stepped forward slowly.
If those soldiers broke in, he wouldn't be able to handle his business in the castle smoothly. His blood-drinking buff was still active, so he decided to lend a hand.
He planted his feet firmly. His biceps and forearms tensed taut. Gripping the iron bars with all his might, he unleashed his monstrous strength and yanked downward.
Groan, groan, grrrrrrind—
The bars, stiff at first, finally slammed into the ground.
Thud!
"......"
"......"
The approaching soldiers froze like dogs that had chased a chicken. Kadim, seizing the moment, decided to manually close the gate as well.
Greeeeeeek—Bang!
The colossal steel gate, grand as a giant's frame, shut tight through the power of one man alone.
"......"
The castle's occupants were stunned into silence.
"I-it's impossible..."
"How... how does he have that kind of strength...?"
"Is that barbarian even human...?"
It was a task that would strain a dozen grown men even with a windlass, yet he had accomplished it barehanded with ease. It was superhuman strength beyond what any single person could possess.
He had already been terrifying, but now their emotions spiraled out of control. Overwhelmed by fear, the people instinctively backed away.
Baron Molden let out a hollow laugh as he turned to the merchant.
"Ha, hahaha... I can't believe it even after seeing it. Who the hell is your companion? No, is he even human?"
Duncan shook his head feebly.
"Honestly, I don't know either, Baron..."
Molden Castle's inner keep. A space called the banquet hall but more akin to a slightly oversized dining room.
The baron, seated at the head table, addressed his guests.
"Hahaha, it's not much, but please eat your fill!"
Baron Molden did not forget the "custom of hospitality."
Any guest who entered one's home must be entertained lavishly, regardless of the reason. Though this uninvited guest had cost him his chance at death, he could make no exceptions. The baron generously raided his stockpiles of food.
Duncan devoured the salted chicken stew and steaming bean soup without pause. It wasn't anything fancy, but compared to the poorly seasoned camp fare, it was a gourmet feast. No sooner had he emptied his bowl than he held it up for seconds.
But Kadim didn't touch the food.
"Hasn't it been quite some time since the siege began? You can't have much food left."
The baron gave a wry smile.
"Don't worry about it. The family servants can skip a few meals. Even if I had to carve off flesh from my own thighs to serve you, I couldn't bring dishonor by letting guests go hungry."
"......"
Duncan, realizing the situation too late, felt soup dribble from his mouth. A deep furrow creased Kadim's brow.
"Is that why you tried to go out and die? For honor?"
"......Yes. At least, that's how it is."
"I'd like to hear the full story. Why Adlen's soldiers are besieging Molden, and why you wanted to die, Baron."
"......"
For some reason, from the moment they met until now, the barbarian had been speaking to the baron casually. A few soldiers who hadn't witnessed the gate incident raised their spears.
"Hey, you! How dare you be so insolent...!"
"Enough, stand down."
But the baron had seen the barbarian's power firsthand. Threatening such a warrior with force was pointless. He waved them off, even sending them out entirely.
Now, only the two guests and the castle's lord remained in the banquet hall.
The baron opened up candidly.
"Whew, this might take a while. As you can see, Molden has been under siege by Viscount Adlen's forces for four months now. Like rats trapped in a jar."
This land had originally been barren and lawless, sparsely populated. Baron Molden, appointed lord by imperial decree, resolved to make it livable.
Decades passed, and his dedication bore fruit. Through tireless efforts to subdue bandits and reclaim the land, Molden had become prosperous and peaceful. So remote that it avoided conflicts, its prosperity and peace seemed eternal.
But one man's greed and envy changed everything.
"Adlen is a neighboring fief, originally better off than Molden. But as Molden gradually developed into a more livable place, the lord grew envious."
Viscount Adlen spread rumors. Baron Molden had developed his lands with a demon's aid—he was a "Demon Baron" who had contracted with a devil.
At first, it had no effect. Who would heed baseless gossip from the boonies without proof? Molden's people even led the charge to quash the rumors in defense of their lord.
But things changed recently.
"The Fourth Imperial Prince, on patrol near the border... took a liking to Viscount Adlen's second daughter."
Gaining even a tenuous foothold in the imperial family catapulted Viscount Adlen to the most influential lord in the area. His words were no longer dismissed as idle chatter. Molden's people ignored the rumors, but outsiders did not.
And then, imperial tacit approval came for punishing the impious lord who had allied with a demon...
"The reason he didn't call in Knights of Elga is simple. If they came, the rumors would be thoroughly debunked, and he'd have to pay the church handsomely for their trouble."
...Thus began the four-month siege on false pretenses.
The baron could no longer bear watching his people suffer. If he alone died, the false justification would lose its legitimacy. That's why he had planned to end the battle today by sacrificing himself.
But something struck Kadim as odd. He interrupted.
"How many enemy soldiers are there?"
"Around four hundred, give or take. Molden has barely a hundred..."
"Something's off. Molden has been sieged for four months, to the point its lord starves to host guests. So how is Adlen feeding four hundred soldiers for four months with no gains?"
"......"
Kadim didn't miss the flicker of panic in the baron's eyes.
It was suspicious. Supplies don't grow from the ground, no matter how good the logistics. Unless they were bent on bankruptcy, a fief like Adlen couldn't mobilize and sustain that many troops for so long.
'And those soldiers weren't in a normal state either...'
The baron brushed it off, suggesting covert imperial aid, then smoothly changed the subject.
"Well then, I've bared all about our side. Now tell me yours. Who are you, and why have you come to Molden?"
"......I came to Molden for something specific. Is there no fist-shaped rock at the castle's exact center?"
"How did you know? There is one, deep underground in the inner keep..."
"Perfect. Guide me there, and I'll finish my business and leave quietly. Nothing else."
"I can't do that."
"......"
"The underground is off-limits."
His tone was as sharp as a sword stroke.
Kadim's eyes narrowed.
"......Why?"
"I can't tell outsiders that either. Sorry."
His words said sorry, but his tone bristled as if offended. The baron's lips tightened. A strange glint flickered in eyes that had held only goodwill.
A tense silence, like walking on thin ice. Kadim stared at the baron. The baron met his gaze unflinchingly. Duncan fidgeted, startled by the sudden shift in mood.
Ah, right. No wonder things were going too smoothly.
The hardship had been getting in here. He didn't want more complications now. Kadim leaned back in his chair casually, then shot up like lightning and slammed the table.
Bang!
A dagger plunged deep through the thick table.
Beneath it squirmed a bisected insect.
Kadim lifted the still-twitching bug and intoned coldly.
"You said the castle has about a hundred soldiers?"
"......"
"By tomorrow, they'll all end up like this."
Thud. The baron felt his heart sink.
"You can't run. The castle's surrounded. Hiding might buy time, but not much. You'll die not even knowing why, crushed like this bug, your life snuffed out meaninglessly."
"......"
"No need to explain why you're barring access. Just choose."
"......"
"Decide, Baron. Guide me to the underground willingly, or let innocent blood stain Molden first."
Tremble. The baron's hand shook faintly.
Absurd blackmail, yet he couldn't laugh it off.
He didn't truly believe the barbarian could slaughter everyone. But resistance would mean rivers of blood. The power to breach the camp alone, shut the gate alone, and pierce the table with a dagger—it wasn't human.
My mistake. Shouldn't have let in an outsider with unknown motives...
The baron squeezed his eyes shut. The situation was dire enough to breed such dishonorable thoughts.
He had no other options.
"......All right. I'll guide you underground."
"......"
"But not right now. I have a condition."
The baron stated his terms quietly. Kadim raised one eyebrow.
"......You surrender and die, and if Viscount Adlen assaults the castle then, you want me to help defend it?"
"Yes. He might throw everything in a desperate all-out assault once he loses his pretext... I'll instruct the head steward to guide you after we repel it."
"Ridiculous. Do you really think that's an honorable death?"
"......"
"Entrusting the aftermath to a total stranger, abandoning everything and dying like a coward—is that truly honorable to you?"
His pupils, convinced it was noble, shook violently.
The baron's gaze slowly dropped. Kadim's eyes narrowed.
Sacrificing oneself for others seems noble and honorable at first glance. But merely throwing away one's life is relatively easy. Compared to truly battling a mighty foe to the end.
Dumping the rest on others and dying pointlessly is the coward's way. The Atalain path is different. Under the wilderness code, those who hone their weapons with blood their whole lives on parched earth seek a different honorable death.
"......"
Like this bug, chomped between thick fingers even after being halved.
Even with limbs twisted, ribs crushed, guts spilling, skull shattered.
No matter how invincible the foe, fighting to the last breath.
Kadim set down the now-stilled bug. Then he bared his teeth ferociously.
"I have a better idea. Listen, Baron."
The conversation ended.
The baron agonized deeply but ultimately accepted Kadim's proposal.
"Understood... We'll do it that way."
There was still plenty of time before executing the plan. Kadim and Duncan left the banquet hall. A servant guided them to guest quarters in the inner keep.
Since the barbarian insisted on sleeping on the stone floor, the musty straw bed fell to the merchant. Duncan sat on the edge and finally caught his breath.
"Phew, there was a moment I thought things might go wrong... but it all worked out in the end. Thank goodness, milord."
"......"
"By the way, milord, why did the baron block us from the underground? He doesn't seem the type to refuse a guest without reason..."
The reason was obvious.
Kadim stared at the floor and muttered dryly.
"A demon."
"......Pardon?"
"Baron Molden is hiding a demon underground in the castle."
Duncan's face hardened like stone.