The Baron's Scheme
"Ah… I'm exhausted."
We had spent the entire night on edge.
Aside from Grandpa Lu, the strongest among us, the rest had agreed to take turns sleeping — but not a single person managed to close their eyes. After everything that had happened the day before, no one could rest easy.
"Still, nothing happened last night," Aiham said, coming over and slinging an arm across my shoulders.
"Yeah. Looks like Butler Lu's threat actually worked."
"What else could they do? Master's strength isn't something some parachute baron can handle."
"Parachute?"
"Yeah. From what I heard, he didn't earn that title on merit."
Just then, Aera approached and spoke up.
"Is everyone feeling all right?"
"Yeah. A little tired, but I'm fine."
"I'd originally planned for us to eat at a nearby restaurant before setting out, but this city isn't exactly rolling out the welcome mat. We should leave as soon as possible."
Truthfully, I was not fine.
Maybe it was because I hadn't sprinkled holy water in days. The pain had spread all the way to my shoulders, throbbing with every breath. Was it unbearable? Not quite. But ever since I'd killed that assassin the night before, something had felt off.
Whenever I gripped a dagger, strength flooded into my hands of its own accord. My heart hammered wildly. And more than anything else — I was starving.
Aera's decision to skip the meal and leave immediately only made my stomach growl louder. But I couldn't very well suggest we stop for food. Not when everyone was this on edge…
Right then, my stomach let out a long, low rumble.
Aiham heard it, leaned in close, and whispered in my ear.
"You're hungry, aren't you? Hang on — I'll go grab some bread outside. You can pay me back later!"
"Thanks, Aiham…"
I'd been broke for a while now. Knowing that, Aiham came back with both arms full — a mountain of bread, jerky, milk, and cheese. He really was a good friend.
"We should get going," Aera said.
We collected our carriage and headed for the castle.
After the castle guards verified our identities and let us through, a secretary was waiting inside.
Aera stepped down from the carriage and walked toward him at an unhurried pace.
"Good morning, Lady Aera."
Good morning, my ass. Thanks to you people, I didn't sleep a wink.
"Secretary, is the remaining balance ready as promised?"
"Yes, here it is. Please confirm."
Aera took the coin pouch he held out and checked its contents. Then she locked eyes with Grandpa Lu and gave a small nod.
"Confirmed. However, I still need to pay my respects to the lord. Where is he?"
"His Lordship is not currently in the city. He was invited to a goddess festival by another lord yesterday and departed."
Went off to cool his head after throwing that tantrum, huh?
"What a shame. Then we'll be on our way. We have other business to attend to."
I glanced around. Something about the scene felt different from before — a subtle wrongness I couldn't quite place.
"Safe travels."
We turned the carriage around as the secretary bowed his head in farewell.
"That was easier than I expected," I thought, about to climb aboard — when a chill ran down my spine. I looked back.
The secretary still had his head lowered. But I caught the faint upward curl at the corner of his mouth.
Creepy bastard.
With that thought, we left the city behind.
"Whew. Finally out of that lunatic lord's city…"
Aera let out a long breath of relief.
"That was genuinely dangerous this time, Lady Aera."
"I know, Aiham. I never imagined the lord would be that unhinged."
Once clear of the city, the two of them launched into an enthusiastic round of trash-talking the baron.
"Still, I'm glad it ended like this."
We'd nearly been framed into selling our goods for a pittance, and we'd nearly been assassinated by an enraged lord. No — several people actually had died.
"Giseok, thank you — and I'm sorry. To the other adventurers as well. I'll double the payment for this escort commission."
"Is that really okay? Paying that much?"
Aera nodded firmly.
"Of course. You maintained the escort through that level of danger."
The original fee had been three gold coins. Double that… six gold?! For a while, at least, I wouldn't have to worry about food or holy water costs.
Everyone was grateful for Aera's words — but with the bodies of the fallen loaded in the rear carriage, none of us could simply celebrate. Still, we couldn't stay gloomy forever. So I smiled first. Brightly.
"Thanks, Aera."
Seeing my expression, she offered a small smile of her own.
We had been riding for some time when the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt.
Screeeech—
What now?
Aera, seated inside, called up to Grandpa Lu in the driver's seat.
"Grandpa Lu, what's going on?"
"My lady, you need to see this."
We looked outside. Aiham took one glance and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"That crazy bastard. I can't believe he'd go this far."
I saw it too, and my head started to ache.
"This is what I think it is, right?"
Aera nodded.
"Grandpa Lu, I don't think we can outrun that with this carriage."
She was right.
What stood before us was not a carriage, not bandits, not slave traders.
It was an army.
Easily two hundred strong. The front ranks were cavalry.
Only then did I understand the wrongness I'd felt at the castle. The garrison had been thinned — that was the source of the unease.
"Baron David… so that's why he wasn't at the castle."
The reduced troop count. The missing lord. The secretary's smirk. All of it made sense now.
"Everyone, disembark."
We all climbed down and drew our weapons. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a death sentence. If not for him…
"Grandpa Lu, wait. Let me try talking first."
Aera strode forward. Then she raised her voice toward the blond-haired Baron David standing at the center of the front line in the distance.
"Baron! Why are you here?!"
Baron David snorted and called back.
"I am the lord of this land! What business is it of yours where I choose to stand?!"
"My apologies — poorly phrased. In that case, we'll simply take another route around!"
Aera gestured to us, and we started walking back toward the carriage.
Then the baron's voice rang out.
"Halt!"
We froze at his shout. A bad feeling settled in my gut.
Of course he wasn't going to just let us go…
Aera turned back around.
"Who said I was letting you leave?"
"Excuse me?"
The baron dismounted and bellowed,
"A lowborn commoner like you shouldn't dare look down on a noble~!"
Grandpa Lu stepped forward as well.
"My lord, do you truly believe a force of that size is enough to face me?"
At the sight of Grandpa Lu, Baron David swallowed hard and took an involuntary step back. His hand drifted to his throat — to the scabbed-over wound where the pen had stabbed him.
But this time, the baron did not retreat.
"I suppose we'll find out."
He drew the sword at his hip and raised it toward the sky.
"Brave soldiers of Krasen! Attack!!"
Two hundred soldiers surged forward as one, kicking up clouds of dust.
Grandpa Lu peeled off the white gloves he was wearing. He glanced back at us.
"I leave the young lady in your care."
With those words alone, he charged.
One against two hundred. Both sides closed the distance at a run.
Then Grandpa Lu stretched out a hand and murmured,
Piercing Thorns
The same skill he'd used to slaughter the bandits. Thin vines unfurled from his hand, and brown thorns erupted from his fingertips — lengthening, shooting toward the enemy ranks.
"Urgh…!"
The thorns punched straight through the armor the soldiers wore as if it were paper. They contracted, punching holes through flesh, and blood poured from the wounds. Soldiers toppled one after another. The skill fired again and again, and the corpses piled higher.
Cold sweat beaded on Baron David's left cheek as he watched.
"Just as the reports said… this old man is no ordinary geezer. Surround him and attack!!"
Piercing Thorns was a devastating skill — but it couldn't cover every direction against an endless tide of spears. In an instant, soldiers ringed Grandpa Lu on all sides and charged as one, spears and shields raised.
"Butler Lu!!"
Aiham shook his head.
"It's fine! Just watch. Watch how Master fights."
Aiham's calm steadied me. I looked back at Grandpa Lu — and a moment later, I saw something I could barely believe.
Grandpa Lu crouched low. The soldiers grinned and lunged in with their spears — and then he exploded upright.
In that instant, vines and thin, needle-sharp thorns burst from every inch of his body, shooting out in every direction.
Thorn Barrage
Hundreds of thorns lanced outward in a heartbeat, skewering soldiers through and through. Even the ones carrying thick steel shields — the only defense that might have stopped the thorns — found them useless. Hide behind a shield all you wanted; legs, feet, exposed shoulders, and heads were still fair game.
"Aaaargh!!!!"
The soldiers who had been charging Grandpa Lu were riddled with holes in an instant, hanging limp like grotesque ornaments on the thorns. The remaining troops staggered back in panic.
"Urgh… m-monster…"
"Eek! How are we supposed to fight something like that…"
Nearby soldiers began dropping their weapons in terror. But then the lord's voice cut through the air.
"Do not retreat! Anyone who flees — I'll slaughter your entire family!"
The soldiers who had been backing away stopped in their tracks. Still, facing Grandpa Lu in close combat while he was wrapped in thorns like a porcupine was clearly impossible.
"It's fine. With that skill alone, Butler Lu will just win this."
The thought had barely formed when a shout came from the adjutant standing beside the lord.
"Archers, mages — to the front!!"
Bowmen and spellcasters stepped forward.
"Loose!"
A storm of arrows, fireballs, and water orbs hurtled toward Grandpa Lu. He had no choice but to retract the thorns and move. He blocked and dodged the incoming magic and arrows as best he could, then charged in bare-handed, cutting down soldiers one by one.
Crunch! Faces caved in under his fists. The enemy kept throwing themselves at him, but none could match him. Even so, Grandpa Lu couldn't stop every arrow and spell that came between exchanges. Shafts had punched through his forearm and thigh.
Dust swirled across the ground. Corpses carpeted the earth around him. And still, seventy or eighty soldiers remained.
He yanked the arrow from his thigh with his bare hand. Aera cried out, tears streaming down her face.
"Grandpa Lu!!"
"I am fine, my lady."
"…"
"Though I must admit, this is harder than expected. Facing two hundred imperial soldiers in my current condition…"
Aera shouted,
"Use it! Grandpa!"
Grandpa Lu flinched at her words. The moment her voice carried across the field, something burst from the dust cloud — a blade flashing as it lunged from the haze.
Grandpa Lu reacted on instinct, catching the edge with both bare hands. The attacker was Baron David himself.
"I can't just stand by and let you use that!"
With his free hand, the baron pulled something from his pocket. Grandpa Lu's eyes went wide.
"Th-that is—?!"
The baron hurled it into the air. A square object spun and glittered as it rose — a cube of violet light. The moment it reached eye level, the baron roared,
Violet Cube — Binding Field
Light poured from the cube, flooding the surroundings in a searing blaze. We squeezed our eyes shut against the glare — then carefully opened them again.
"What… the hell…?"
What greeted our stunned eyes was Baron David and Grandpa Lu, both sealed inside a translucent violet cube.