Chapter 52
Chapter 52
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Thirst for Freedom (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even among the northern reaches of the Alteria Empire, Pratel City was renowned for its immense scale.
It had grown prosperous from the iron ore and various other minerals extracted from its numerous mines, which fueled the production of all sorts of goods and spurred massive commercial development.
It didn't quite match the constant crowds at Brehain City, home to a dungeon entrance, but there were always plenty of people here.
Among them were more than a few shady types, so the outer wall guards were perpetually swamped with identity checks.
"Ma-may I see your identification, please?"
The outer wall guard spoke cautiously.
He was usually bold with ordinary folk, but not this time.
Anyone could tell the blond young man and black-haired woman before him were nobility.
"Here."
With a smooth motion, both the young man and the woman presented their IDs.
The guard took them, suppressing a tremble in his hands as best he could.
He pulled a crystal orb from his pocket and placed the IDs on top.
Flash!
A faint light emanated from the orb, and soon the two names appeared.
"You're Berndt Müller and Heidi O'Claire, correct?"
"That's right."
The young man answered the guard's question.
The woman nodded from the side.
And that was it.
The guard quickly handed back the IDs and stepped aside.
"Welcome to the mining city of Pratel! We hope you enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks."
The young man smiled and entered the outer city, with the woman following behind.
"The dye job really is impressive. Even you, the most famous figure in Adalbert territory right now, couldn't recognize me. And all it took was changing my hair and eye color."
"In this case, it's because you're so well-known that they didn't suspect anything. Honestly, why would the Adalbert heir be wandering around in disguise?"
"True enough. Worth bringing the artifact after all."
"Agreed."
The blond young man—Martin Adalbert—chuckled and nodded along with Sien, whose hair was dyed black.
Before disembarking from the carriage, the two had used an artifact to alter their hair and eye colors.
They finished with some makeup for an extra touch of difference.
And they had one more preparation: forged IDs.
Nobles across the Krasian Continent all carried magically enchanted identification.
It was to prevent commoners from impersonating them.
Martin had created new IDs to pass himself off as someone else entirely.
"The empire's bureaucrats have really gotten lazy. It's been twenty years since the Müller and O'Claire families fell, and their names are still on the registry."
"We should be grateful. Makes it easy to impersonate them."
A polymorph artifact and noble IDs.
With those two essentials secured, impersonating others was a breeze.
So the pair strolled along, chatting leisurely, until they entered the outer city's lower-class residential district.
The air outside the walls had already been dusty and foul, but this was worse.
Every breath carried the taste of dirt.
Sien and Martin surveyed the streets with grave expressions.
"The Brightners have lost their minds completely. Take care of your territory's people—that was one of the key tenets every Adalbert lord emphasized, and they're blatantly ignoring it."
"Unbelievable. We came looking for dirt on them, and they hand us a smoking gun."
Like all dungeon cities, Brehain had thrived on industries built around dungeon byproducts, with massive industrial zones on the outskirts.
The Adalbert lords knew full well the health hazards those posed.
That's why they focused on magitech solutions to protect workers and nearby residents.
Lords who cared that much for their people wouldn't ignore other developing industrial areas.
In fact, the Adalberts had always sent representatives to monitor Pratel City, but this level of neglect was outright contemptuous.
As if they knew they wouldn't face consequences.
'Even after I seized real power, they defy me? They're begging to be destroyed.'
Martin scanned the surroundings in disbelief.
Shabby shacks clustered along the roadsides, and the filth strewn across the streets assaulted the nose with stench.
If the streets were this bad, the residents fared no better.
They wore rags that evoked cleaning cloths, their faces pale and sickly.
But the most concerning thing was something else.
"...You noticed it too, Martin?"
"You're talking about how there are no able-bodied men, right?"
Sien nodded carefully at Martin's question.
There were plenty of men from out of town.
But they all bypassed the residential district and headed straight into the city proper.
The district held only the elderly, women, or children.
In a mining city, there had to be miners aplenty.
Even accounting for that, the complete absence of able-bodied men was suspicious.
"Let's head into the city proper first. We can pick up rumors at a tavern."
"Sounds good."
Sien agreed with Martin's suggestion.
They started walking again, but soon had to stop.
Bang! Bang bang!
The crack of mana guns echoed.
"The lord has commanded it! Do not let her escape!"
A rough man's shout followed.
At that moment, Martin activated Distortion of All Things.
Golden lines of light rose from the ground and spread rapidly around them.
"The guy who yelled just now sounds like a Pratel knight. Guards are following him."
"And someone's being chased?"
"Yeah. Based on weight and height, it's a woman. She's reached the third circle in martial arts, at least."
"If someone's that skilled is on the run, there must be something to it."
"Yeah. The problem is, they're all way too close to us. Especially the woman—she's heading our way."
"This is for the young lord to decide. Intervene? Or ignore?"
"Quit with the formal speech just for this."
"I'm just your escort knight. It's natural for the superior to decide."
Sien grinned playfully.
Martin shook his head in exasperation.
But only for a moment—he turned his body.
Sien's smile deepened at the sight.
"I knew you'd step in."
"I have a feeling about it. The woman being chased. She probably knows a lot."
"...The reason's a bit iffy, but whatever."
"Does it matter? If we save her, that's that."
With his reply done, Martin calmly watched ahead.
About ten seconds later, a woman burst from a nearby alley.
She had brown hair reaching her shoulders, sharp features, and a long neck—a beauty.
But she was filthy from head to toe, skin and clothes alike.
She clutched her left shoulder with her right hand—likely hit by a mana gun.
Her hand was stained red with blood, her face twisted in pain.
'Met her sooner than expected.'
Martin inwardly cheered.
She was someone he wanted to meet, someone he'd vowed to find.
To run into her like this.
It made things much easier.
"Get lost!"
Spotting Martin and Sien, the woman swung her right hand.
Swoosh!
In an instant, she drew her sword. The purple aura-wreathed blade aimed straight for Martin's throat.
Clasp.
But Martin, as if expecting it, summoned aura to his right hand and caught the blade.
Her full-force strike stopped cold, and her eyes went wide.
Her face drained of color, turning ashen blue.
"We'll talk later."
With that, Martin pressed his left hand to her forehead.
Hum.
Space warped, and the woman vanished.
Martin shook off his hand and stared ahead.
One knight and twenty guards entered his view.
Now it was time to deal with them.
* * *
"Hold position, everyone!"
The young man in Brightner uniform raised his right hand and shouted.
He approached Martin and Sien alone, studying them calmly.
"I'm Jeff Litrich, squad leader of Pratel Guard Unit Two. A brown-haired woman came this way just now—did you happen to see her?"
"She went that way."
Without hesitation, Martin pointed to the four o'clock direction.
He continued.
"She attacked us out of nowhere, then fled toward the rooftops. I barely blocked it, but in the chaos, I didn't think to pursue. Sorry about that."
"We should be the ones apologizing. We put you in danger by letting a criminal slip through."
"I'm Berndt Müller. This is Heidi O'Claire."
"Mr. Berndt Müller, Ms. Heidi O'Claire. We're truly sorry for exposing you to a criminal due to our failure. We'll make sure to compensate you for this."
"Thank you for your consideration. But what exactly is going on?"
"I'm afraid we can't disclose that. That aside, if it's not too much trouble, may I see your identifications?"
"No trouble at all. Cooperating with a city knight is only right. Here you go."
Martin handed over the ID marked Berndt Müller. Sien followed suit.
Jeff examined both thoroughly, then nodded.
He handed them back.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Berndt Müller and Ms. Heidi O'Claire. If I may ask one more favor..."
"Go ahead."
"Please keep what you saw—the woman and the situation—strictly to yourselves. Loose lips could draw the wrath of Lord Brightner himself."
"...Understood."
"Thank you for understanding. Enjoy your time here."
Jeff saluted with his sword to his chest and bowed.
Then he led his men running in the direction Martin had indicated.
Watching their backs, Sien spoke up.
"Something's definitely up. Checking our IDs and warning us to stay quiet like that, instead of just chasing her."
"They really don't want us knowing about the incident. Threatening us with the lord's name and all."
"No kidding. Makes you even more curious what happened in this city."
"We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's find somewhere out of sight."
"Why not just teleport?"
"I'd love to, but I don't know the layout around here."
He remembered Pratel's key locations.
It was an economically vital city, after all, and he'd visited a few times.
But he didn't know every hidden nook away from prying eyes.
Teleporting without coordinates was suicide, so for now, they had to go on foot.
"Let's look around, then."
With that, Martin headed elsewhere.
Thanks to his regression, he knew a lot about the future, but explaining it convincingly to others was tricky.
It often didn't hold up logically.
Plus, he didn't know this era perfectly.
For about two years, his mind shattered, he'd only focused on swordsmanship in the Egret household.
So he grasped the big picture clearly, but details were fuzzy.
Even that much he'd pieced together later, after seizing power, by investigating events.
'In contrast, this woman knows a ton.'
Sara Minehart.
Leader of the resistance "Cry of Freedom" defying Brightner rule.
She was also the perfect pretext for Martin to intervene in Brightner affairs.
'Things are going smoothly right from the start.'
Martin felt satisfied inwardly.