The Viscount's Pursuit
The basics of taxi service! “I-Is everyone all right?”
“We’re fine.”
“But Hunt……”
“Ah……”
Hunt was the name of the man Porneus had killed. He’d been a bit timid, but a good person nonetheless.
“I’m sorry…… I was a little……”
“No, there’s no need for apologies like that anymore.”
“That’s right. You came to save us.”
“Thank you for keeping us alive.”
“You don’t have to blame yourself. You’re our savior.”
“Everyone……”
Hansen felt a lump in his throat. Even so, the regret was unavoidable. If only he had arrived here a little sooner, he might have been able to save Hunt as well.
“By the way…… what exactly happened to you?”
One of the men glanced toward the back of the cave before turning to Hansen and asking. Looking around, he saw that despite their exhaustion, the people’s curiosity refused to die down. They were all staring at him.
“Well…… it’s a long story, but…… when I barely managed to escape from that bastard……”
When the man who had lost consciousness opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Hot’s face. And it was an extreme close-up! Close enough to see every pore. Hansen had screamed without thinking.
“Aaaagh!”
“You damn bastard! Why the hell are you screaming the moment you open your eyes! I dragged you here and even treated you!”
That earned him a solid smack from Hot. It was only natural after screaming at someone’s face the instant he woke up, but it still felt unfair.
The pain didn’t last long. He quickly recalled the situation and immediately asked for help.
“So…… that person is Albert Legrian……”
“The older brother of the lord of the territory we’re heading to?”
“Then he’s a noble?”
“A noble like that came all the way out here alone?”
“But why would a noble come to save us……?”
Having already suffered at the hands of nobles once, their doubts were only natural. When Hansen had first asked for help, he had been half-resigned to failure.
‘There’s no way a noble would help commoners…… especially runaway refugees.’
He already knew how nobles viewed commoners. Expendable. People who existed only to pay taxes, whether they were there or not. A noble like that wouldn’t willingly take on the risk to save them.
‘This place is supposed to be better, but nobles are all the same.’
A deep-seated distrust etched into his very soul. Yet contrary to his expectations, Albert had moved without a moment’s hesitation. He had gone straight to the site of the attack, pinpointed their location in an instant, and found them.
“A noble…… came to save us?”
“That can’t be……”
“But why did he come alone!? Th-That guy’s a monster! He’s a Main! Alone……”
“That…… I don’t know either.”
Hansen had already experienced firsthand just how powerful Porneus was. That was why he had told Albert to bring knights, but Albert hadn’t listened. He had simply said:
‘There’s only one knight. Bringing him would just get in the way. So let’s hurry up. If my money…… no, my…… ahem…… precious workers die, what am I supposed to do! We’re already short on labor as it is, so this works out.’
The people trembled with fear. Porneus had been strong, a Main wielding the wicked power they had only heard rumors about. They had already witnessed his cruelty. A monster who felt ecstasy at the sight of death! Unlike monsters that killed out of necessity, he was a murderer who killed simply because he wanted to. He was on an entirely different level from monsters. The malice, bloodlust, and madness swirling in his eyes had been chilling.
“H-He came alone?”
“What can one person even do……”
“That noble’s already dead…… He’ll be coming after us soon……”
“Haa……”
The people hung their heads. After some time had passed, the sound of footsteps echoed from inside the cave.
“Someone’s coming out.”
“Eek!”
“It’s him!”
“That noble’s dead! We’re all going to die!”
“Aaaah! I want to live!”
The surging terror crashed over them like a natural disaster. Their entire bodies shook. Their hearts sank, and nausea rose from deep within. They were so afraid they couldn’t even think of running.
‘Did he…… really lose……?’
But there was one exception. Unlike the others, Hansen did not tremble with fear. Instead, he felt strangely calm. Why? He couldn’t say.
‘If it’s him, he’ll be fine.’
He was certain. That man would be safe. No matter what happened, he would resolve it. An inexplicable conviction. They had only just met. Yet when that man had extended his hand, Hansen’s chest had swelled, and he had thought that perhaps he could trust him. He had never felt this way before.
‘You’re not supposed to trust nobles……’
He had been betrayed countless times. Because of nobles, he had lost friends and been driven from his home. A deep-rooted distrust woven together like sweet potato vines, tangled with misfortune. And yet, anger at his own situation, forced to rely on nobles.
‘I will never trust a noble again…… From now on, I’ll be the one using them instead of being used.’
That was what he had thought. But the moment he saw Albert leisurely walking out of the cave……
“What? You’re still here?”
He thought to himself:
‘This is the master I must serve for the rest of my life.’
“You’re…… safe.”
“Of course.”
“Then…… the Main……?”
“This guy?”
Albert casually tossed something in front of them like trash. It was Porneus. The people were horrified.
“H-Hurk!?”
“Th-This guy!?”
“Eek!”
They screamed and tried to back away, but soon realized something was wrong. He wasn’t moving. The man who had been rampaging with bloodlust and madness just moments ago now lay limp like a puppet with its strings cut. He didn’t even twitch.
Hansen asked, “What happened……?”
“I killed him.”
“K-Killed him? Isn’t he still alive?”
“Mains can’t be killed normally. So I killed something else instead.”
“What did you……”
Albert pointed to his chest.
“His mind.”
“……”
“What’s the point of being immortal if your mind breaks? An undying body means nothing without a functioning mind.”
Watching Albert speak with a smirk, Hansen felt a strange thrill. Awe that transcended fear and terror. To reduce Porneus, who had been unbeatable, to this state without a single scratch…… It was truly incredible.
“You’re…… truly amazing.”
His eyes, fixed on Albert, held a mixture of emotions. Albert smiled in response.
‘Tsk, another one’s getting pulled in. Being too good-looking is a problem. Even men are falling for this charm.’
[Wow, self-praise.]
[Your narcissism is terminal at this point!]
‘What’s wrong with that? It’s true.’
[Look at how shameless you are!]
Albert shrugged at the System’s retort. Then he looked at the people. They seemed relieved, yet still trembled with unease. He couldn’t leave them here any longer.
“Let’s move for now.”
“Ah, understood. Please wait a moment. We’ll get ready right away……”
“Aaah, no need.”
“Pardon?”
“Dragging all these people there will take forever. It’ll take too long.”
“Then how……”
“How? Like this, obviously.”
Albert raised his hand as if to show off. At that moment, with a bright light, Hydra appeared. He was looking at Albert with a rather curt expression.
“You don’t need to call me. I’m already here. Tsk, I just need to move these guys, right?”
Hydra got straight to work the moment he arrived. Albert smacked the back of his head.
“Gack! D-Did you just hit my head!? The head of this body, a Black Dragon!?”
“Watch your tone.”
“D-Did you just strike my head? Why?”
“Haa…… Your basics are all wrong. Taxi!”
Albert called for a taxi. With a flash of light, Gaster, dressed in a yellow suit, appeared in midair. As he spun around, light scattered around him. The moment he landed, the light vanished.
[Perfect presentation.]
‘Right?’
In the past, Albert had told Gaster to add some flair when summoned and had given him a few examples. Back then, Gaster would have flatly refused, saying, “You expect me to do something so ridiculous!? Absolutely not!” But perhaps because Hydra had recently joined under him, he accepted it readily. There had been some trial and error at first, but now it was perfect. The result of practice.
“You called?”
“Yeah.”
“What for? Hydra already went, didn’t he?”
Albert had taken to calling Hydra all the time lately. Even though the age gap was over seven hundred years, it couldn’t be helped. Here, seniority was determined by order of arrival, not age. If you didn’t like it, you should have joined sooner.
“That guy came before I even called him. What do you think about that?”
The moment Albert finished speaking, Gaster’s fist slammed into Hydra’s abs.
“Kuhak!”
Gaster’s punch carried no hesitation, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. Albert spoke up.
“The charm of a taxi is being called and arriving. What are you doing coming in on your own? Let’s give him a proper lesson.”
“Sorry……”
“It’s fine. Just educate him well. Thoroughly. And the presentation too.”
This was essentially dumping extra work on Gaster. Basic training plus presentation training. Normally, anyone given extra tasks on top of their workload would throw a fit, but a deep smile spread across Gaster’s lips. He looked genuinely pleased. Raising the corners of his mouth, he said,
“Don’t worry. I’ll educate him properly.”
* * *
“The trail ends here, Viscount Vess Rabin.”
The knights on horseback, following the plains where the refugees had passed, discovered the broken trail and immediately reported to the viscount inside the carriage. Viscount Vess Rabin. He was from the family that governed the territory from which Hansen and the other refugees had fled.
“What? The trail ends!? What kind of nonsense is that! Are you sure you looked properly!?”
The viscount’s irritated voice echoed from inside the carriage.
“Yes, we checked multiple times. They definitely came this way, but strangely, the trail just stops.”
The knight suppressed his rising temper and reported the situation.
“Tsk, how annoying. What a pain, all because of those bastards!”
Vess kicked open the carriage door and stepped outside. Having never received the blessing of good genes, he was short in stature. His belly protruded generously, likely from devouring the taxes squeezed from the blood, sweat, and tears of his territory’s people like a pig. His narrow eyes and protruding mouth revealed just how greedy he was.
“You couldn’t even keep an eye on those worthless scum, so now I have to come all the way out here myself!? Huh?”
“We’re sorry.”
“You should’ve avoided doing something you’d need to apologize for. Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue in displeasure. The reason he had come this far was to capture the runaway refugees. He was furious.
‘I feed them, house them, and even protect them, yet they run away because paying a little tax is too hard?’
“Ungrateful bastards, repaying kindness with enmity? I can never forgive them.”
Vess ground his teeth. To a greedy man like him, the territory’s people were nothing more than possessions. Objects. When those objects disappeared, he had no choice but to come looking for them himself.
“What’s over there?”
“It’s…… the territory belonging to the Legrian family.”
“Legrian…… that fallen house, right?”
“Yes.”
“Legrian……. Hmm, so those damn bastards ran off to that place.”
His information was severely outdated. Instead of investing in intelligence, he had been too busy filling his own pockets. As a result, his information network was weak, and his knowledge of the Legrian family stopped several months ago. Normally, nobles exchanged information through personal connections, but Vess had already been cut off by the others. He was too selfish and greedy. That was why he knew nothing about how the Legrian territory had changed.
“They dare abandon my territory and run to a fallen house? I’ll have to teach them a proper lesson! We’re going right now!”
“Understood.”
Once Vess climbed back into the carriage, the knights mounted their horses. After confirming everyone was ready, they took up the reins.
“Move out!!”
The horses carrying the knights and the carriage carrying Vess gradually picked up speed, heading toward Legrian Territory. Until now, none of them had any idea that a noble even greedier than Vess resided in the Legrian family. Nor did they know that hell was waiting for them.