Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: A Sharp Blade (3)
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Kadim's group dashed around the streets of Galentana, buying up all the supplies they needed for their journey. There were so many items it was hard to keep count.
Lunchboxes and dried rations, waterskins filled with drinking water and sun-ripened grape wine, unbreakable iron canteens and steel bottles, leather greaves with steel buckles and belts fitted with weapon sheaths, lightweight blankets, tough and sturdy clothing, camellia oil, beeswax, pots, salt, spare maps...
They picked only the most expensive, top-quality goods without fail. The merchants, who had eyed their fierce appearances suspiciously at first, thinking they were bandits, changed their attitudes in an instant the moment Kadim pulled out thick wads of gold coins from his pouch.
"Th-those are a bit pricey... five hundred luden each..."
"I'll take ten."
"Pardon?!"
The clothier, who had just cleared out his entire stockpile in one go, gaped in shock.
"With this, it'll come to nearly ten thousand luden... Are you sure?"
"Doesn't matter. Pack it up here."
The sundries shop owner, who had just made a month's worth of sales in a single day, dazedly wrapped the goods.
"That'll be twelve hundred luden total!"
"Here. No change needed—keep it."
"Th-thank you, sir mercenary! May fortune smile upon you!"
The rations vendor, who had just received several days' profits as a tip, bowed so low his back nearly snapped.
Kadim didn't haggle or negotiate. He simply selected piles of the priciest items each time and paid with gold coins without a fuss. Once word spread through the streets, merchants lit up with ear-to-ear grins and showered him with utmost courtesy at the mere sight of him.
Duncan, watching from the sidelines, felt like he was being flayed alive.
"Argh... That could've been had for two hundred luden with a little haggling..."
"No way is this a thousand luden?! It's not even five hundred in other cities..."
"S-sir... Do you still have more to buy?"
"..."
Kadim ignored all the grumbling.
Money was no object anyway. He had no desire to waste time pinching pennies. Once he bought Duncan a fine steel sword and dagger each, the merchant finally stopped his muttering and cracked a satisfied smile.
By the time they'd finished shopping, their luggage had multiplied into mountains. It wasn't an issue. Now they had an 'inventory.' The towering piles of goods vanished into a deceptively small bag. Yulitan, seeing this, tilted his head as if something was off.
After this lavish restocking spree, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon.
They had no more business in the city. It was time to head to their next destination. Kadim and Duncan prepared to depart. Yulitan, who had been utterly exhausted from guiding them all day, belatedly snapped back to reality.
"W-wait a minute... About earlier at the council hall—did you really threaten the councilors?"
"I did."
"Y-you can't just say 'I did' like that! The tribunal councilors wield immense authority as the city's leaders! Threatening them is a grave crime that could land you in a tribunal trial on the spot! They'll surely grab you at the gates—how do you plan to leave the city?"
"..."
"..."
Kadim shot him a subtle glance, while Duncan swallowed hard. Last night, they hadn't just threatened the councilors—they'd ransacked their mansion and kidnapped one.
No big deal either way. They already had a solution. Kadim rolled his shoulders and replied calmly.
"We climb over."
"...What?"
"Climb over the walls. Duncan, grab my shoulder."
"...Pardon?"
The bewildered guard captain and merchant stared blankly.
Kadim slung the inventory bag onto Duncan's back, hoisted him effortlessly onto his shoulder like a sack, and called out his farewell.
"Thanks for your hard work all day, Guard Captain. If the Agon faction councilors grill you about why they helped me, just say I threatened them with my axe and they had no choice."
"Uh? Oh... uh-huh..."
"Well then, we're off."
With that, Kadim bolted down the street and vanished into the distance.
His massive frame moved with surprising agility. The giant's figure shrank from colossus to dwarf in moments. Yulitan's shrill voice—"Sir? Sir? Sir..."—echoed faintly, fading into the horizon.
And shortly after, atop the golden sunset-gilded walls appeared a familiar silhouette.
The hulking man gripped protruding stones for handholds, wedging his feet into crevices, scaling the towering battlements with acrobatic ease using just one hand. Less a man than a beast born to conquer cliffs.
Passersby who caught sight by chance stopped in their tracks, rubbing their eyes in disbelief. As others followed their gazes, a crowd began to gather.
"W-what is that? A person?"
"No way... How could anyone climb the walls like that...?"
"Then what the hell is it...?"
Tribunal soldiers patrolling the streets on the councilors' orders spotted him too. They shoved through the throng, racing toward the walls.
"Ch-chase him! It's the 'Demon Slayer'!"
"Grab him! We can't let him over the wall!"
Yulitan Jermani, captain of the Golden Highway's Ninth Gate Guards, let out a hollow laugh as he thought to himself.
"Ha... haha... hahaha..."
He figured he'd never meet another warrior as awe-inspiring in his lifetime.
The Agon faction councilors were in an uproar.
They had thought the Demon Slayer was a keen, sharp blade aimed solely at enemies. That soon enough, they'd grasp the hilt and wield him as they pleased.
They were wrong. He was indeed a sharp blade—but a reckless one that could just as easily slice them apart. The crushing pressure of standing so close to him in the flesh was enough to shatter the composure of these novice councilors, whose only "battle experience" was spectating arena fights.
But the real problem wasn't the immediate threat to their lives.
It was his declaration that he would kill Agon's Furious Horn.
Before, they might have dismissed it as bluster from an arrogant fool. But after meeting him face-to-face, they couldn't brush it off. They had planned to recruit him as another pillar to bolster their faction's influence—now they risked losing their faction's star champion.
The councilors belatedly ordered tribunal soldiers to seal the gates, but the report they received was this:
"He... scaled the walls barehanded?"
"Preposterous! Do you know how tall these walls are? Even demons couldn't breach Galentana by climbing them!"
"B-but... it's true, councilors... There are tons of witnesses besides me..."
"..."
The Demon Slayer had escaped Galentana in the most absurd way possible. Even if they had caught him, subduing him would have been near impossible... Grim worry clouded the councilors' faces.
The Agon faction, made up of upstarts, prioritized efficiency and results over face. They wouldn't disdain a mere mercenary if useful, and could elevate a young councilor treated like dirt elsewhere to leadership if capable.
Yet at their core, they weren't so different from other politicians.
When trouble brewed, someone had to take the fall. And the young leader who had steered the mood made a perfect scapegoat. Councilors who had been lukewarm on recruiting the Demon Slayer now viciously condemned Adonis.
"Councilor Adonis, didn't you insist the Demon Slayer was discerning despite his ferocity? Now look what happened—what do you plan to do?"
"...It wasn't an insistence—it was a high probability. Until we met him, hadn't he only targeted our enemies? If anything, our own attitude, spouting uncomfortable truths to his face, was far more the issue..."
"So you would've just handed him that fortune and let him go? We might never get another chance to leash him..."
Adonis bit his lip hard. The other councilors stayed silent, wary of backlash. Only the one who had shifted public opinion with his principled stand tried desperately to change the subject.
"But why does the Demon Slayer harbor enmity toward Agon's Furious Horn? Atalans fawn over him as a national hero, don't they? Maybe something happened on the Golden Highway..."
"Does that even matter now? He's already off to kill him—what difference does it make?"
"No, it does! If we know the reason, we might persuade the Demon Slayer yet!"
"Are you still delusional...?"
The principled councilor and the lukewarm ones clashed fiercely. But the Demon Slayer's deeds were too grave; no matter how they defended him, the principled side was losing ground.
As the condemnations intensified, Adonis raised his hand.
"Enough. Everyone, calm down."
The room fell silent as all eyes turned to him.
"This is no time for us to fracture. With all obstacles cleared, we're on the cusp of seizing Galentana and its territories. Infighting is exactly what our enemies want."
"..."
"That said, this was a major blunder, so someone must take responsibility. I'll bear it. And I'll ensure nothing comes of your worries."
Questions poured in—how? How do you stop a monster like that? Adonis waved them off to quiet the room.
"I get you're all shaken after that close encounter. We're not frontline warriors, so it's natural. But think: what army do we command? And who leads it?"
The councilors coughed awkwardly. Adonis pressed on with momentum.
"Plus, Agon is right in our backyard. What can't we do there? Poison every well and meal, strip them bare, surround them with our warriors—easy if we want. In that scenario, who's truly in danger: the Demon Slayer, or Agon's Furious Horn?"
It wasn't wrong. But the fear the Demon Slayer had instilled lingered, not easily dispelled. Hadn't Vittorio already suffered for it?
Adonis took a deep breath and declared resolutely.
"I'll head to Agon first and spread the word. With the tribunal overseer's and patrons' help, we'll eliminate the Demon Slayer. Set a fatal trap even a superhuman like him can't dodge..."
The councilors exchanged glances, then began urging Adonis's resolve.
No reason not to encourage the fool blinded by self-preservation to do what they were too scared to.
The woman called Ilenia—but truly a priestess of the Forgotten God with no name—staggered through Galentana's night streets. At a dim warehouse alley untouched even by the underworld's gaze, she feigned composure.
A one-eyed man with an eyepatch sat on a wooden crate, blocking the entrance. Seeing Ilenia hide her divine punishment's agony, he sneered.
"Quite the majestic air. Well... wiping out the Night Raven sect and executing that relic-hoarding councilor certainly deserves praise."
"..."
"But you went even more reckless. To think you'd reveal our identity to that warrior and spill the truth. That could've ended with just you suffering heavenly retribution."
The one-eyed man's remaining eye gleamed sharply.
"Imagine if that 'Halo Risen in the Heavens' kept tracking you. The sun would hang midday even at night, and the Elga Church would unleash hordes of hounds hunting the anomaly. It was a dangerous gamble that might've led them to exterminate us again..."
Ilenia ignored him. No point explaining the immense value of that warrior's trust—he'd never get it. Instead, she flashed a heap of ancient kingdom silver coins and flicked one.
Ting!
It didn't happen, but we scored this much—now shut up and let me in.
The holy power radiating from the relics sent shivers through her body even from afar. The man shook his head in concession.
"...Fine, come in. Excuses to me are pointless anyway. The High Archbishop awaits inside."
"..."
She pocketed the coin and brushed past. Opening the warehouse door revealed not musty darkness, but a black void warping space.
Before entering, she glanced at the night sky. Hoping the day would come when she saw that warrior's face again.
Her mission complete, the Forgotten God's priestess melted into the shadows, vanishing through the black portal.