Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Three Swords
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Freddy waved his hand in the air with an aggrieved expression.
"What the hell are you talking about? We definitely killed Roys."
Duchess Katarina, seated across from him, let out a hollow laugh as she sipped her tea.
She then tossed him a dagger coated in poison.
"Remember what we agreed would happen if you failed?"
"To say it again, we succeeded in killing him. As proof, the guard captain who was always by Roys's side will be coming down from the tower soon."
"......"
"I don't know what exactly you saw, but when Marquis Roys came down from the tower, was the guard captain there by his side?"
Katarina pondered deeply. Recalling the moment Roys emerged from the tower after hearing Freddy's words, the guard captain who always stuck close to him was nowhere to be seen.
'What in the world is going on?'
The man she had seen was undoubtedly Roys. Yet the explanation this man was giving her held water.
Besides, if they had failed the mission, they would all be dead by now, wouldn't they? But here they were, perfectly fine.
Bonnie furrowed her brow deeply and held out two broken dolls.
"Hurry up and pay to fix these dolls. We don't have time to mess around with you."
Freddy pushed her behind him and shot her a warning glance.
They were meeting while hiding their true identities, so they could converse face-to-face now. But normally, the gap in their statuses would prevent even a single word of exchange.
"I don't know who you are, but this isn't how you handle business. We took the job through the request board, and once it's done, you're supposed to pay up as a matter of course."
Freddy spoke as if he didn't know her true identity.
"...You're right. Of course, we pay once the request is complete. But shouldn't you show me proof that you actually carried it out?"
"Pardon?"
"You claim Roys is dead. I say he's alive. So, don't you need something to prove it one way or the other?"
Duchess Katarina glanced at the tavern master. He, too, seemed uncomfortable with the situation and merely cleared his throat awkwardly between the three of them.
A stalemate with no clear answer.
After a moment's thought, Duchess Katarina made a proposal to Freddy.
"How about we do it this way? Your words do have some merit, so I'll hand over half the request fee now."
She pointed into the air, and one of the alchemists who had accompanied her placed a pouch full of gold coins on the table.
Ching-
"The rest will be paid after you go to Strange Castle and confirm Roys's status."
"...So you're telling us to go to Strange Castle and verify if that guy is the real Roys?"
"Exactly."
"No, wouldn't it make more sense for the client to go to the tower herself and confirm the Roys we killed?"
"Do I really need to risk my life for that?"
"What about us, then?"
"You have to wrap up the request, so of course you do."
Freddy agonized over it.
The only ones who could move right now were himself and Bonnie. Matteo Richie needed time to recover from his injured arm, and Joanna Arc couldn't travel as far south.
In this constrained situation, what decision would he make? As his deliberation dragged on, Bonnie answered in his stead.
"Let's do it."
"...What?"
"Come on, it's not even hard. We just go check if Roys is real or fake and come back."
Freddy flicked Bonnie's forehead with his finger.
"You think breaching Strange Castle's defenses is that easy? If we get caught, we won't get out alive."
He turned his gaze to Duchess Katarina and continued.
"You know better than anyone, right? That it's a matter of life and death."
"......"
"I heard that a few years ago, one of the continent's top assassin groups, Red Worm, vanished because they botched a request tied to the Strange family."
She offered no reply.
She assumed these contractors didn't know her identity, so she was being extra cautious in her responses to avoid giving herself away.
"Take half and call it quits here? Or go to the castle and check?"
Katarina slid the pouch toward Freddy. Bonnie peeked at the glinting gold coins and swallowed hard before answering for him.
"Of course we're doing it."
Freddy, now facing the gold, couldn't refuse the offer either. Their unit was already in dire financial straits.
"Wait, let's make this clear. Even if we go to the castle, confirm Roys's status, and come back, how exactly do we prove it to you?"
"Simple. Bring back the head of the fake Roys."
"Wh-what?"
"Strange Castle is currently short on its main forces. Even the Guardian Knight Captain is out in Legion right now."
"......"
"If Roys is a fake, taking his head from an empty castle should be child's play for your skills."
"And that completes our request?"
"Yes, request complete. Since the job got bigger, I'll double the pay with extra compensation."
With that, Katarina rose from her seat. Freddy and Bonnie watched her go, whispering just loud enough for each other to hear.
"Bonnie, keep this from the old man. We'll handle it ourselves and come back."
"Huh? Why? It'd be better with him."
"You want him nagging that we couldn't even collect the full pay or handle such an easy job?"
"...No."
"Then quit yapping and follow me. I'll handle the fake Roys's head, so you just keep watch outside the castle."
Freddy and Bonnie, having accepted the additional request, headed straight for Strange Castle.
They had set off south without reporting to the others, so they needed to finish quickly and return before Matteo Richie recovered.
Freddy hurried the plan with that in mind.
"Ah, so this is Strange Castle? I've actually been here before!!"
Bonnie said, gazing at the castle towering atop the mountain peak.
"You? When? What, you claiming you were Strange in a past life?"
Freddy scoffed in disbelief.
"No! Super long ago, when I was a centurion in a western mercenary band, I handled supply transport. Got as far as the warehouse out front."
"So you know the internal layout?"
"Roughly. Never went inside the castle itself, but I know where the entrance is."
Shhk.
Freddy unfurled a map. It was a layout of Strange Castle's interior, purchased through underworld channels.
Bonnie rested her chin on her hand and examined it slowly before nodding in agreement.
"Looks right."
"Good thing. Bought it expensive just in case."
"But really, you sure you'll be okay going in alone? They say inside is insanely dangerous. Roys might even be alive—"
Freddy scowled deeply.
"Alive? You saw him croak with your own two eyes. His posthumous ability kicked in, so we couldn't finish him off, but...."
Thud, thud, thud.
Three guards walked toward their position.
Freddy and Bonnie hid behind a tree, suppressing their presence until the guards passed.
"Anyway, I'll be quick. Wait here."
"Okay."
"If I get nabbed, I'll signal, so summon me right back here."
"Got it."
"Then I'm off."
Freddy took a long breath, received a red doll from Bonnie and tucked it away, then hurled the bandage from his fingertip high toward the castle wall.
Thwack.
He scaled the wall like a spider and infiltrated the castle undetected by the Strange knights, successfully reaching the interior.
Thud.
"...Not a big deal."
Freddy began systematically searching the places on the map where Roys might be.
Starting with his bedroom, then the banquet hall, study, and even his children's rooms—he checked everywhere.
'There he is.'
He finally spotted the fake Roys in the last place: the training grounds. But he couldn't approach recklessly.
'What the...?'
The aura emanating from the fake Roys was no joke. His dignified posture was no different from the one atop the tower.
'...No way.'
I confirmed his death with my own eyes. And even if he came down from the tower, we had set sail first, so no matter how I thought about it, this guy couldn't be real timeline-wise.
Freddy scanned the surroundings with his senses, then strode into the training grounds without hesitation.
And the moment he stood before Roys.
Shing-!
A sword strike fast enough to call lightspeed flashed past Freddy's eyes.
"Wha-wha-what?!"
He stumbled back and fell on his rear.
'N-no, impossible.'
The real Roys?
He sprang up without delay, preparing to flee Strange Castle.
'It's a trap.'
Otherwise, everything lining up like this made no sense. As he resolved to escape deeming it all a setup—
A blond little boy, Berddin in his fully descended form, blocked his path.
"So you're the bastard who targeted my father."
"?!"
In that split second, Freddy's instincts screamed. His gut sense of danger wailed.
'I'm gonna die here.'
It was different from the terror he felt meeting Roys at the tower. Just locking eyes painted a vision in his mind of his own head rolling.
Strong.
Cannot win.
This kid was as strong as Roys—maybe stronger.
'Gotta run.'
Vrrr-
A swirling purple orb formed above Berddin's hand, emitting a menacing hum.
"Shall we try it?"
Freddy spread his bandages in all directions as he replied to Berddin.
"Sorry, but I'll call it quits for today."
"You think you can escape from Strange Castle?"
"Yeah, I've already got my escape route set."
He pulled out Bonnie's red doll from his bosom. Then he tapped its head with his palm.
Shoo!
The red doll turned blue, and Freddy vanished from the spot.
But Berddin's expression didn't change.
"Rox, catch him."
Rox's doll-form had already spread throughout the area.
Bonnie tossed a blue doll onto the ground and chanted the spell.
Shoo!
With the sound of slicing wind, the doll turned red, and Freddy appeared.
"Hoo! Almost bought it."
Bonnie picked up the doll from the ground and asked.
"Bought what? Did they catch you?"
"...Nah, that's not the issue. Bigger problem than I thought."
"Bigger problem? What?"
"It's dangerous—let's get out of here first. I'll explain slowly on the way."
Bonnie found his behavior odd but had no choice but to follow. What could she do when he suddenly insisted on fleeing from danger?
She didn't know what happened inside, but the mission had clearly failed.
"Roys is really alive."
"?! No way. Isn't he still in the tower?"
"I thought so too, but—"
Freddy replied, glancing around warily with a terrified look.
"Nope."
"I have no idea what you're saying.... So you're saying Roys is in that castle?"
"Yeah."
"Then they have someone with spatial teleport ability?"
"Dunno about that far. But one thing's sure: that kid saw right through me."
Bonnie tilted her head.
"Kid?"
"Yeah, the youngest Strange who caught Monestier."
With that, the two fell silent. They poured everything into escaping, but they couldn't even leave Strange territory before crisis struck.
Splat!
A silver-haired knight who had been lying in wait in the darkness appeared, stabbing Bonnie's chest with his dual swords.
Rumble!
A giant's arm burst from underground, seizing Freddy.
Thud!
"Mission complete. Berddin, heading back to the castle."