Chapter 46: The Case of Narsha Bryan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46: The Case of Narsha Bryan
“Welcome, young lady of House Bryan! A heartfelt welcome to Noctar!”
In the reception room of the lord's castle.
Baron Bardelli, the lord of Noctar, welcomed Narsha with open arms. Narsha simply offered an elegant, understated smile in return.
“Whatever brings a delicate young lady like yourself all the way to the remote city of Noctar, and all alone?”
Baron Bardelli feigned ignorance, but he had already seen through the purpose of Narsha's visit.
The story went back a month, to the day the Desert Rose Merchant Group was completely annihilated by a meteor.
Roperman, the group's leader, had been turned to dust along with his treasured collections, and the high-end goods he had hidden deep underground had been swiped clean by someone.
Baron Bardelli was the one who had been taking bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to Roperman's crimes and providing him with favors.
With the merchant group that had controlled Noctar's market gone overnight, the city plunged into unprecedented chaos.
Merchant groups vying to fill the vacuum arrived and fought amongst themselves daily. The already poor public safety deteriorated further, and prices skyrocketed.
It was into this situation that Narsha had arrived.
House Bryan.
Based in the capital, Kalia, they were the owners of Dawn Travel, considered one of the kingdom's top merchant groups.
Narsha Bryan, standing before him, was the count's only daughter and the one rumored to be the merchant group's next successor.
For such a person to come to Noctar, of all places, at this specific time, the reason was obvious. She intended to exert her influence over Noctar.
‘A count's family is nearly impossible to control. I won't be able to take bribes like before…’
But it wasn't all disadvantages.
If he helped the Dawn Travel Company expand its influence, he would naturally form a connection with House Bryan.
And not just with the count's family; he could forge ties with various nobles in the capital. This was a chance to build a pillar from which he could extend his branches.
‘Still, I can't let myself be pushed around too much…’
He couldn't let his guard down just because she was young. The first move was the most important. As Baron Bardelli was racking his brain, Narsha asked an unexpected question.
“My lord, is there a man in this city known as the Slave Reaper?”
Is she trying to lighten the mood before getting to the main topic? Well, that's not so bad.
“The Slave Reaper... I believe I've heard of him. A man who kept an elf as a slave had such a moniker, I recall.”
“An elf?”
For a moment, a chill expression flickered across Narsha's face. But as someone trained in the comportment of a merchant group leader, she maintained her poker face.
It was a basic skill for any merchant.
“Why are you looking for him? Ah...!”
An article he had once read in a newspaper flashed through the baron's mind.
The young lady of a noble house who had been enslaved after an attack by bandits. Pitifully, she had been sold to the Slave Reaper and was on the verge of death before a price was paid, and she returned to her family after many twists and turns.
The protagonist of that story was Narsha, standing right before him.
“But I heard the Slave Reaper spirited you away not long after?”
“If only that were true...”
“Hm? What was that you just said?”
“A misunderstanding. If that were the case, I wouldn't be able to appear before you now, my lord.”
“Hmm, now that you mention it, that's true. So you've been chasing after this Reaper?”
“Yes.”
So she hadn't come on merchant business, but for personal revenge. The baron smacked his lips in disappointment.
“Is it possible... that he is here?”
‘He...?’
Something about that title seemed strange.
Baron Bardelli didn't bother asking for a correction. It was probably a verbal tic she'd picked up while being treated harshly under the Slave Reaper.
Poor girl. The baron clicked his tongue inwardly.
“On the day the meteor fell on Noctar, that man vanished as well. At first, I thought he was dead, but seeing as the elf who was always by his side is still alive, he must have secretly escaped.”
“So, in any case, you mean he isn't here.”
“For now, it seems so.”
“...I see.”
Narsha bit her lower lip.
After a moment of thought, she rose from her seat.
“Leaving already?”
“I thought I would take a stroll through the city.”
“It's strange for me, the lord, to say this, but the city's security is not very good. I'll assign you an escort.”
Narsha shook her head and gave him a glimpse of the rapier at her waist.
“I appreciate the thought, but I can take care of myself.”
“If that's the case, I have nothing more to say, but be careful of a tavern called The Peacock’s Night Gathering.”
“Why is that?”
“Elves frequent the place. Including the one the Reaper used to have with him. They're the type to look at humans like insects, so getting tangled up with them will be a headache.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
*
After leaving the lord's castle, Narsha walked aimlessly. There was no strength in her steps.
‘Again…’
She was too late again.
She was chasing Karami's great footsteps, but she was always one step behind. Whenever she thought she'd finally found him, it was just some piece of trash calling himself the Slave Reaper.
Trash who killed slaves not for the noble cause of liberation, but for their own base pleasure. Narsha had put a hole through the neck of every single one of them.
Where could he have gone this time?
Even when she got information, she was always too late by the time she arrived. It was good that he was saving the pitiful, but if only he would wait just a little...
Narsha sighed.
‘First, I should check out that place, The Peacock’s Night Gathering.’
Baron Bardelli had warned her to be careful, but Narsha had to go. The elf slave that Karami had supposedly taken in was said to frequent it.
Partly to see what kind of person the elf was, and partly to establish her seniority.
Narsha wandered around the city, looking for The Peacock’s Night Gathering.
“Agh!”
A harsh groan echoed out. The sound came from a dark back alley in the slums, where no light reached. The continuous sound of a scuffle could be heard.
It was a neighborhood with security too poor for a woman to wander alone. Narsha, a beautiful noble lady, was at high risk of danger even during the day.
The wisest choice would be to turn back.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Narsha turned. She slowly made her way toward the alley.
*
In a communal space within the dark slums, a place like an anthill, long shadows tangled together like nightmares blooming in the darkness.
Echoes of ragged breaths and the thuds of a beating. A boy struggled under the boot of a man, while the slum dwellers sneered, revealing their rotten teeth.
“I told you to stop your bullshit!”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The boy, kicked in the stomach, flew into the air before crashing face-down on the ground.
“Matthew!”
Lala, held back by a slum dweller, screamed the boy's name, but he couldn't get up. He curled up like a shrimp, clutching his stomach and trembling.
His face was already bruised and bleeding. His clothes were dirty and torn. There wasn't a single part of him left unscathed.
“Kid, didn't I warn you? I told you not to come here and take the kids. You little shit, you have no business ethics.”
Though his mind was hazy, Matthew squeezed out his voice.
“You... you're the bad guys.... You're stopping the kids who could live well if they became slaves, all because of your greed...”
“How many times do I have to tell you? They all die miserably if they become slaves, you bastard. Think with your own head. Is a guy who only takes girls to make them slaves normal?”
“He's... not like that...!”
The man shook his head and sighed. It was like the kid was brainwashed; there was no getting through to him.
“This is like talking to a fanatic. This isn't working. I guess I'll have to show you firsthand what happens when you become a slave.”
Just as the man stepped forward to kick Matthew again.
“Huh?”
Narsha appeared silently from around the corner and stood in front of Matthew.
Her red eyes, calm yet emitting an alluring light in the gloomy slums.
Her fine skin was a stark contrast to the darkness of the alley.
A noble?
The slum dwellers flinched for a moment, but upon realizing she was alone, they broke into crude sneers.
“Judging by your looks, you seem to be the daughter of a noble house. Didn't your mommy and daddy teach you not to go into dark places?”
For a woman like that to walk right into their hands. He hadn't expected such a windfall in broad daylight—or was it daylight? It was hard to tell with no light getting in.
“...”
Narsha glanced back and forth between the children and the slum dwellers.
A child writhing in pain and fear. That was all. She made no further assessment of the situation.
It was an inefficient waste of emotion. Helping others required time and money. When emotions got involved, it resulted in loss.
Which choice would yield the highest profit? How much was a person's life worth?
What was important to her was not the value of a single teardrop, but the value of the gold coins she could get from selling that tear.
‘But…’
He was different.
He never turned away from anyone.
His gaze was always on those below.
He stayed by the side of the wounded.
His hands embraced the souls struggling in despair.
A one-dimensional, yet grand objective: not for his own glory, but solely to lead the suffering to salvation.
It was the duty of one who had received his grace and now walked in his footsteps.
Shing—
Drawing her rapier, Narsha drew a line between herself and the dwellers.
“The moment you cross this line, you die.”
“Khuhuhu. Die? Who? You? Can you even swing a sword with those dainty arms? I don't know who taught you, but a woman should be holding something other than a sword...”
The man's words trailed off.
Because Narsha had taken a step forward, crossing the line herself.
“Wha—”
Narsha's movement was twice as fast as the man's attempt to finish his sentence.
A speed that far transcended perception.
Narsha's form flickered.
Thrust.
The rapier drew a streak of light in the darkness, piercing the man's neck in a single motion.
“Gack.”
The man let out a single, choked groan.
As Narsha pulled the rapier out, he collapsed to the ground, a spray of blood erupting from his neck.
“I told you clearly. Cross the line, and you die.”
The one second of mercy Narsha had offered them.
They should have run immediately.
“You.”