Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Don't Move, Human!
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"D-don't move! Human!"
"I've been standing still though?"
"D-don't talk back!"
Lavina Hwi Muel noticed that the Asthasidian holding her was trembling violently.
That was because its large claw gripping her neck had its antennae shaking wildly and messily. Of course, its speech was stammering too.
'How did things end up like this?'
Lavina, Lump, and the other engineering corps officials had arrived in Sasian and disembarked from the ship.
Lump, the officials, and the other workers were busy unloading the cargo, so Lavina planned to take that time to look around the village.
Despite her young age, Lavina had traveled to numerous cities and villages across the Third Continent, but she had never properly experienced the ordinary village in Heukrin where she was born.
It wasn't just simple curiosity.
Places where people gathered to live tended to be determined by terrain, and such villages had a high chance of ancient settlements or cities forming even in antiquity.
In fact, they were often related to ancient ruins, or sometimes the ruins themselves, like automated cities.
As a scholar, Lavina knew Heukrin had its own scholars, so she wasn't expecting anything grand. She just hoped for something small, like an ancient stele.
Of course, what Lavina encountered wasn't an ancient stele, but a pirate who had escaped from prison.
"Godan? Was that your name? Anyway, calm down!"
The one who shouted that seemed to be the guard who had let Godan slip away.
Four guards stood surrounding him, waiting for an opening, but the Asthasidian's bulging eyes could survey all directions.
"Calm down? I was tricked by Basen! He said he'd show mercy, but then he tried to chop off my head!"
Godan shook Lavina's neck in his grip.
"Kek."
The guards flinched in surprise and took a step back.
Godan grew even more triumphant and yelled,
"Bring Basen to me right now! I won't release this woman until I talk to him!"
Lavina could guess why this Asthasidian was so furious.
Someone had promised leniency to this pirate, but that promise had been broken.
However...
"You bastard! What right does a pirate who stole people's goods and tormented them have to talk about promises?!"
Lavina thought the local magistrate bore the greatest fault for locking up the Asthasidian without any further measures after confiscating its loot.
But when his logic failed to land, Godan spat out his resentment.
"But a promise... is a promise, isn't it? ...Human! Didn't I tell you to stay still?"
"I..."
Her voice came out hoarse, so Lavina cleared her throat.
"I didn't move. You grabbed my neck and shook it."
"...Did I? Sorry. Anyway, you lot, don't move a muscle. Unless you want to see this human woman's head come off!"
Lavina thought that if Godan tensed up too much and clenched his claw fully, that worst-case scenario could happen.
But she judged the probability low.
Godan was tense and excited, but he was only gripping her neck, not strangling it, and from the way he occasionally glared at her, he was clearly concerned for his hostage's well-being.
If he truly intended to kill, he wouldn't care about the hostage's feelings.
There was other evidence too.
-He looks amused.
'No way.'
-Then he'll wrap it up soon and slip away. That dwarf Lump has probably finished his work by now.
Like her mother and other ancestors, including Hwigyeong, Lavina had horns.
And within those horns dwelt a demonic spirit that adjusted probabilities.
'Even a demonic spirit can't save me easily in this situation, can it?'
Lavina's 'horns' could adjust probabilities.
But for that, the demonic spirit needed numerous variables to manipulate.
To Lavina, the current situation seemed limited to just two outcomes: Godan 'clenches his claw' or 'doesn't clench his claw.'
-Wrong.
'Then how will you save me?'
-Just walk out as is.
'This lobster's trying to lop off my head though?'
-But he's been gripping too hard so far. His muscles could cramp any moment. Then he'll scream, fling open his right claw, and won't even notice you.
Lavina had always thought it an incredible power.
In fact, thanks to it, she had survived countless dangerous situations.
'So you can save me anytime? Then I'll stick around a bit longer.'
-Why?
'Being a hostage isn't an everyday experience.'
-Not every experience in the world is one you need to have.
'Every experience is practice for the next one. Who knows when it might come in handy.'
-You remind me of Hwigyeong.
Lavina wanted to ask more out of curiosity, but it became hard to converse inwardly anymore.
The hostage situation was changing.
"I heard you calling me from afar, Godan."
It was a Lizardman with black scales.
Thanks to Godan's reaction, Lavina immediately realized this was Basen Rak Oran.
"Basen! Y-you broke your promise."
Basen squinted as he thought.
He knew what promise Godan meant but had never considered it that important.
Still, Basen hadn't completely forgotten it.
He had indeed told the magistrate to keep the pirate alive to extract more info on the recent pirate crews, but the magistrate had brushed it off.
There was some responsibility on Basen for the promise not being fulfilled, but Godan's wailing about injustice was essentially an accident.
'Will he understand if I explain it this way?'
But Basen found long explanations tiring.
So he said curtly,
"Godan, you broke the law."
"......"
"If you kill that human, I'll kill you right here. If you surrender quietly, I'll leave room for talk."
Basen meant it.
From what he could see, Godan had escaped prison but hadn't harmed anyone else beyond taking the hostage.
Godan hesitated, then said,
"What's to guarantee I live if I release this human?"
"Nothing. But I swear on Heukcheon, if you kill her, you're definitely dead."
Basen's tone was steadier and more solemn than anyone else's there, sober or not.
Lavina felt the claw around her neck loosen.
"C-can you help me not die?"
"As we discussed, Yacheon and the White Spider God are the same deity. Yacheon favors those useful to his plans. Prove you're useful if you want to live."
"...How?"
"By obeying me."
Lavina thought Godan wouldn't fall for such lofty words.
But Godan released her neck and shoved her back lightly.
"Go, human. I surrender."
The guards then rushed in with a shout, tying Godan up tightly and dragging him away. They seemed to have found their courage late.
As Lavina rubbed her neck and watched, Basen approached.
"You alright?"
"Unexpected."
"Unexpected how?"
"I thought Lizardmen trusted their strength and would just charge in."
Basen looked at Lavina with interest.
That wasn't the attitude of someone who'd just been a hostage.
"It's the wisdom of our ancestor Rakrak."
"'Try talking first'?"
"'Try'? No. 'Talk first, and if that fails, use your fists.'"
Lavina realized Basen hadn't been trying to resolve it verbally out of preference—he meant it literally.
Talk, and if Godan released the hostage, great. If not, and the hostage died, he'd simply retaliate.
"You didn't even factor in the hostage's safety?"
"That complicates things."
"Complicates?"
"What more could I do to you in that situation? Worrying about you would just make me anxious. So I excluded the unnecessary."
The horn spoke.
-Clear-headed.
At that moment, someone came running from the alley, clutching a black metal lump.
It was Lump.
"What a relief! And His Highness was here too—talk about good luck!"
"...Was it good luck?"
"What else could it be?"
When Lump arrived running, he and Basen recognized each other.
They weren't close, but more than just proxy and royal.
They had a passing acquaintance through Kyle.
Lavina and Basen followed Lump's invitation to a large house on the village outskirts.
It looked more like a noble's residence than an official building from the outside, but inside, they saw engineers with black smudges on their faces and hands bustling about.
Basen said,
"By the way, what's that black metal lump you were carrying?"
"Ah, this is the weapon I brought to rescue Lady Lavina."
"Weapon? Mind if I take a look?"
Lump handed it over readily.
It was heavier than it looked, so Basen had to control his expression.
Basen examined the iron lump from all angles.
"Incredibly heavy. And too big. Did you drill these holes to reduce weight? Hm. Of course, one good smash with this would crush even an Asthasidian's head..."
"It's not really used that way."
"Then?"
Lavina, standing nearby, said,
"Lord Lump, why not demonstrate it directly?"
"Ah, right. Let's go to the backyard."
The backyard had scattered broken wooden planks in disarray.
Lump said something to an engineer, who went behind the building and returned with a large wooden board.
"That'll be the target."
"Target? You mean a ranged weapon?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't look it."
Basen's idea of ranged weapons was mainly bows, slings for throwing stones, or javelins.
"It's a gunpowder weapon."
"Gunpowder?"
"Alchemists made it."
Basen then turned to Lavina as if realizing something.
"Come to think of it, you have horns. Humans don't usually have those, right?"
"You noticed quickly."
Lump placed the iron lump on a wooden stand and said,
"Gunpowder is a powder that explodes when lit. We tried wood or bamboo first, but they were too weak and couldn't hold up. Even jars shattered quickly."
"Reduce the gunpowder amount?"
"Hard to use as a weapon. So we used tough, sturdy steel. ...This is gunpowder."
Lump pulled out black powder from his pocket to show, then carefully poured it into the drilled hole in the iron lump.
He then picked up a round, polished stone from the ground.
"This is the projectile. It shoots forward."
"Hm. Too small to hurt people, isn't it?"
"If thrown by hand, yes. And this is the smallest 'cannon' we made."
"You call it a cannon. Go on."
Lump tamped down the muzzle firmly, did some work, then lit the fuse at the sealed end.
The muzzle faced the target.
"Step back now. It'll fire when the fuse burns out."
"Dangerous?"
"Made it as safe as possible... but the noise will be loud."
Basen seemed reluctant but noticed Lavina, who knew about it, had already retreated far, so he followed obediently.
And as the fuse burned down completely, the cannon fired the shot.
-Boom!
A sound that shook the air rang out, and not only the target but the backyard fence was shattered.
Thick smoke billowed from the muzzle.
Lump walked back through the smoke.
"What do you think?"
Basen, standing stunned, exclaimed in admiration.
"Incredible! It's like the thunder of Yacheon, isn't it?"
Lavina, who had been plugging her ears tightly, came out afterward.
"Splendid. Perfect as a war weapon."
"War weapon?"
When Basen asked back, Lavina said,
"You came on a pirate ship, right? Forced to dock here unplanned because of some cargo?"
"How did you know?"
"This is why."
Lavina fanned away the smoke blocking the view and said,
"That cargo is this cannon. A weapon to catch pirates."