Let's Go for a Walk
Let's go for a walk.
It was quiet.
No sound of the wind, no sound of anyone breathing.
Only the beat of my own heart reached me, and complete peace settled over my mind.
But when I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, a wholly different scene unfolded.
Bastards clamping both hands over their ears and contorting their faces in agony. Bastards foaming at the mouth and collapsed unconscious on the floor…
Why are they wailing in pain?
It was truly beyond understanding.
I stood in a heaven of peace, yet they looked like humans cast into hell.
"Hahaha."
Their ridiculous states were so amusing that I couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Joy is always close at hand.
Cover your ears and listen to the voice of your own heart, and it becomes this quiet, this joyful.
"……."
Then, within that peace, a thick killing intent brushed against me. I lifted my head.
Mordak's face was twisted as he prepared to swing the chain-sickle.
Whish!
The blade cut through empty air, reaching to harvest a life.
Its target was, of course, Bella, who was still singing.
She must have sensed something wrong; her eyes snapped open wide.
But Bella was still only a mage, not yet capable of blocking or dodging an attack of that caliber.
Clang!
So I lunged forward and knocked the sickle aside with my sword.
Sound returned to the world at once. Fortunately, Bella's song had already ended.
Groans from the bodies sprawled across the floor. Half-conscious muttering from those who had nearly blacked out.
A single sacred hymn had left most of the rabble incapable of fighting.
I asked in all seriousness.
"Well? How was our deacon's singing?"
Mordak's bloodshot eyes blazed as he roared.
"Even dogs barking sound better than—!"
"Shut your mouth!!"
I shouted over him and cut him off.
"Who do you think you are to judge our deacon? The only things you're allowed to offer are donations—or your life."
"This crazy bastard…"
I ignored the rest of his babble and turned to Bella.
"Deacon Bella, well done. Your song awakened the goddess's sanctity in these wretches."
"Thank you, Inquisitor."
"Then go outside and wait. I'll have a little talk with them before I leave."
"Yes!"
Bella hurried out of the building.
Lately she had learned to handle a fair amount of mana. Even that was more than enough; the rabble were no match for her.
I wrapped myself in the sword of Joy and looked up at Mordak.
"Come down already. Let's have a chat."
He spun the sickle in lazy circles and answered.
"Ha. Planning to make me repent, are you?"
"I don't waste time on pointless things. If words could reach you, you'd be a man instead of a beast."
Mordak's teeth ground together.
"So you're calling me a beast?"
"What, after bossing around a few livestock you started thinking you were human? You're nothing but the leader of a pack of dogs."
"……."
"Coming down, or am I coming up?"
"How long do you think you can stay that relaxed!"
Mordak vaulted from the railing and hurled the sickle at me in the same motion.
I bent at the waist; the blade whistled past behind me.
Swoosh!
The instant I started to charge, he yanked the chain.
It snagged a pillar; the sickle that had flown past swung back in a wide arc straight for my neck.
An attack that would have spelled disaster for anyone short on experience.
Clang!
I met the spinning blade with the flat of my sword and locked it in place. I had already seen the technique in my previous life; reacting was no great trouble.
"Tsk."
Mordak reeled the sickle back in.
In the process the blade swept wide and cut one of his own men, yet he paid it no mind.
The subordinates, as if long used to such treatment, shook off their daze and rushed me.
"Hmm. Must have fed them plenty of treats."
Nothing else could explain loyalty like that.
Or perhaps they had simply been trained so thoroughly they no longer understood what was wrong.
Slash!
Either way, it was none of my concern. I cut them down as I advanced.
Then, just as one man's neck parted, the sickle came screaming in again.
I twisted clear, but the strike had been unexpected; it nicked my shoulder.
I put distance between us, exhaled a long sigh, and looked at the five men standing in front of Mordak.
"Aren't any of you angry?"
"……."
They gave no answer. Mordak spoke for them instead.
"They owe me their lives. Right now they're simply repaying the debt."
Logic worthy of a loan shark.
"I see. I simply failed to notice the collars around their necks."
I nodded and dropped into a lower stance.
"Poor bastards."
I slammed my foot into the floor. In a single blur I punched straight through the five slaves and arrived in front of Mordak.
Piiit!
Behind me rose the wet sounds of cut flesh and spraying blood. Mordak's eyes flew wide.
I brought the sword down on him without pause.
Clang!
He got the sickle up in time to catch the edge.
But the crushing weight was too much; his knees slowly folded.
Just as they were about to touch the floor—
Whoosh!
A presence and something slicing the air came from behind me.
I grinned.
"Finally showed up."
I kicked Mordak away, spun, and knocked the flying dagger aside with my blade.
The newcomer put distance between us and asked,
"You knew?"
At first, when they said Mordak was meeting a guest, I had wondered if someone else was around.
Then, once I entered the building, I counted every body with Tailwind.
"A rat stinks no matter where it hides."
"…Still overflowing with leisure, I see."
He ground his teeth.
The man's name was Kravil.
I knew it because, in my previous life, he had done exactly the same things as Mordak—and I had killed him for it.
Today he had probably come to learn the business model from his fellow former mercenary, intending to start his own loan-shark operation elsewhere afterward.
I was going after him next anyway. This saves me the trip.
I spoke with genuine good cheer.
"Did you hear the hymn? If not, I can have her sing it one more—"
"I heard it."
His serious answer made me nod.
"Wasn't it magnificent?"
"In more ways than one."
"Glad to hear it. For the record, I plan to finish you off in more ways than one as well."
"……."
Silence hung for a moment. Then a fierce whistle of air cut across my ear.
I turned and knocked the sickle aside with my sword, then barked at Mordak.
"Don't interrupt a conversation! Did you sell your manners somewhere?"
I charged and painted sword strokes across him.
He blocked with the chain, deflected with the sickle, tried every desperate trick he knew—yet fresh wounds kept opening faster than he could stop them.
Boom!
When I finally put real force into a swing, Mordak could not hold and went flying through the air.
The instant he smashed into the wall—
Whoosh!
Kravil came scurrying in like a rat, dagger aimed at my throat.
"Both of you going wild at once…"
I dropped low under the thrust, spun, and cut.
Kravil's speed let him lean back, but he had already committed too deep for the kill.
Slash!
"Guaaah!"
Wrist and dagger spun upward together.
Before the blade could fall I drove my sword straight into Kravil's heart.
I would have liked a longer look at his contorted face, but there was no time.
Whooooosh!
The sickle came howling in from behind at full speed.
Too late to yank my sword free and block.
So I simply let the sword go and snatched Kravil's falling dagger out of the air.
Swoosh!
I twisted; the sickle skimmed across my chest like a caress.
I watched the chain's links straighten, and the moment they went taut I drove the dagger into a link.
Crack!
The blade seated perfectly. I shoved it the rest of the way into the nearest pillar.
"W-what…!"
Mordak yanked frantically. The chain did not return; only the dagger came halfway free.
One more hard pull and the dagger popped loose, freeing the chain.
Crack!
I was already there. I seized the chain and hauled with everything I had, like a tug-of-war.
"……!"
Mordak, still half-embedded in the wall, left the ground with almost no resistance and came flying toward me.
I welcomed the approach by looping the chain around his neck.
"Keok!"
He hit the floor face-first and clawed at the metal with both hands.
I gave the leash one sharp jerk so he could not undo it.
"Bear with the discomfort. You mustn't inconvenience others."
"Keok… keok…"
Still holding the leash, I started walking.
"Let's go for a walk, you son of a bitch."
He was dragged along, still clutching the chain.
I stopped where Kravil lay sprawled.
"Say hello. He's your friend."
"……."
Apparently the reunion was less than joyful.
I soon understood why.
"Ah. He's dead."
I pulled my sword free of Kravil's chest. Mordak forced words out.
"Crazy bastard…"
"Sss. Mind your manners."
I tugged the leash to teach him proper etiquette. It proved insufficient; he kept talking.
"Just… kill me…"
"Why would I kill you? I'm going to spare you."
A faint spark of hope appeared in Mordak's eyes.
"Really…?"
"Really. Even if I look like this, I am still a priest. In return, you now owe me your life. How will you repay it?"
I loosened the leash a fraction. He thought hard, then answered.
"There's a box in my office on the second floor. Everything I've collected is in there. It won't be a small sum."
I already knew the location. In my previous life I had taken a little from that same box before leaving.
"And?"
"And…?"
The blank look on his face made me scowl hard.
"You were planning to end it there? Not going to pay the interest?"
"How much interest…"
I answered with complete seriousness.
"Eighteen times, you eighteen bastard."
"What the hell does that—"
"What do you mean 'what'? You never intended to repay the debt, did you? Right? That's it, isn't it?"
"N-no!"
"Don't give me that. You've got the face of a man who takes the money and skips town overnight."
"W-wait—!"
The sword came down and took his ankle clean off.
I listened to the scream for a moment, then removed the leash.
"There. Now you can't run."
"Keuheuk…"
"So how do you plan to pay the interest?"
He stared up at me with bloodshot eyes.
"There's no way I can ever pay that…"
"Exactly. You think so too, don't you?"
I raised the sword high.
"Then why did you do it?"
The edge sank into his neck. I no longer needed the chain, so I tossed it aside.
I looked over the corpses scattered across the floor, then drove my sword into the boards and clasped my hands.
Goddess, grant me infinite patience and peace of mind…
Holy power slowly welled up at the prayer. Infinite patience and peace of mind, however, did not appear. After a short wait I opened my eyes again.
Thud, thud—
I sheathed the sword and headed for Mordak's office, following memory.
The desk was covered in documents; most were debt contracts.
The seals had been stamped in someone's blood.
Peace of mind…
I set the papers down and searched for the box he had mentioned.
This is it.
A chest roughly the size of my torso.
Inside were several pouches holding copper, silver, and gold coins respectively.
Peace of mind is arriving…
Yes. Peace of mind turned out to be a more materialistic creature than expected.
I left the office carrying the box.
Hmm?
On a side display shelf I noticed a neat row of shoes.
Not a speck of filth on them—completely out of place in a slum.
I picked the smallest leather pair and set them on top of the box. Then I walked out of the building.
Looking at what I held, I found myself humming without thinking.
"Let's put on new shoes and hop, hop…"
Now it was time to go collect the holy relic.