Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Because That's How the World Is
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It was a perfectly reasonable statement, but it still made my blood boil for some reason. I hurled a stone at the boss's corpse dangling limply from the pole.
The rock struck his body with a dull thunk and fell away.
Suppressing my surging rage, I said,
"Huuu.... Go catch some beasts we can eat. Beasts we can roast and eat, that is. To feed meat to all these people, you four will have to hunt nonstop, right?"
"Beasts we can roast and eat. We'll be off, then."
These guys had submission beaten into their bones, huh.
The bandits who received the hunting assignment dashed off without making a sound.
Requiya approached and asked,
"What if they run away?"
"Run? Those guys have nowhere to go. Even if they do run, it doesn't matter. They're not bold enough to come charging back, so no need to worry. If they flee, it's even better. Saves me from getting blood on my hands."
I could feel the villagers' gazes on me.
I didn't bother asking where they'd been captured from, why they'd lived like slaves, or why they were in training to become bandits.
They'd already overheard my conversation with Requiya, so they knew....
Maybe I still hadn't come to my senses and was turning a blind eye to reality.
A world where the strong annex the weak, kill them, and rape them.
I'd entered the body of a guy who'd lived solely for Hellite and the Saintess in that godforsaken world, and subconsciously, I'd indulged in the delusion of living grandly like that too.
But now that I was living it, everywhere I turned were people gunning for my life, so I'd just been running away while pitying people even more pathetic and foolish than me—that's what was laughable, and that's why I was ignoring reality.
Fuck this.
Don't swear!
It's a swear, but not really a swear. It's just an exclamation to back up my emotions. And so what if it is a swear? I have to swear. Otherwise, I'll go insane.
Then swear away!
While the bandits boiled water and opened the warehouse to distribute goods to the villagers, I went looking for the well.
Bugs of some kind were floating around in the well water.
They must've been living off water like this.
Plenty must have died from diseases caused by the contaminated water.
It really hit home just how livable the western border city was.
There were hot springs, and a river running through the city.
They didn't drink the river water straight—they boiled it to brew tea.
The living conditions themselves promoted good health.
If not for the Queen, I could've kept living in the city.
Not caring who saw, I stripped off my blood-soaked clothes. I scooped up water with a ladle and poured it over my head.
I scrubbed hard with the soap Requiya brought.
This wouldn't wash away the karma of killing, but I figured it would cleanse my mind too as I put some muscle into it.
Requiya fetched new pants from the warehouse and washed up following my lead.
I filled a wooden tub with water to entertain Hama, then laundered my bloodied cloak.
After shedding my beggar rags in silence for a good while, I donned the dried clothes Requiya had prepared and headed to the boss's quarters.
"Kruuk, come with me."
"Yes, Boss!"
I perched on the edge of the bed the boss had used and asked,
"It's best if I don't deal with the villagers directly. Do you know why, Kruuk?"
"Please enlighten me, and I'll listen intently."
"When they face me, their emotions surge too wildly. Sudden emotional shifts can breed mental illness. They already have issues, but heart wounds need time to heal properly to avoid side effects."
"Ah, I see. Then tell me what you need, and I'll fetch it."
Kruuk clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.
Requiya, who'd been listening quietly, stepped forward.
"Boss, let me handle it."
"You need rest too. Watching all the mess I've caused must've worn on your mind just as much."
"Ah...."
I gave Kruuk a few instructions.
"Look into anyone who knows where the calamity slumbers. Don't intimidate them—ask nicely, like you're begging. If I see fear in their eyes again, I'll cut your head off."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Once the corpse-cleanup crew returns, pick ten and have them clean the mountain stronghold. You filthy trash. You lived clean and warm while locking those people in drafty holes? Agh, should I just kill you all?"
"We were grunts too, so we lived in the cold and filth—. Ah, no, sorry. Treating them like beasts makes them easier to tame—."
"You wanna die for real? What the hell makes you brag about that?"
"S-Sorry."
I glared at him for a moment before sighing.
Our ways of thinking weren't just different.
Our worlds, values, and ways of life were all different.
I'd thought basic humanity would be the same.
Wasn't the western border city proof? We sweated together at work, ate together laughing, and worried over big and small matters as one.
But these guys were seriously twisted.
"I've killed too much today. Don't make me kill more. Anyone whose thoughts differ from mine is a heretic. And heretics all die by my hand."
I'd said it simply, so he'd get it.
"Understood."
"The rest of you bandits—how many? One, two..., ten. Send them hunting. Wild boars or whatever."
"Birds are big and tasty too."
Birds?
Hmm....
"Hold off on killing birds for now."
"Got it."
"Get out."
I shooed Kruuk away with a wave and lay down on the boss's bed.
It was well-maintained—no musty smell, nice and fluffy.
"Requiya, lie down on a comfy bed too."
"But with you here, how could I—."
"Ugh, shut up. The bed's big enough—just sleep."
"Yes, sir!"
I'd planned to wake early to think things over, but I slept until sunset.
The bandits were still cleaning, tearing down dilapidated buildings and piling them in the clearing.
Requiya, who'd woken before me, was directing the bandits.
On one side, bandits were prepping the beasts they'd hunted.
Been a while since proper meat.
Kruuk approached with a deferential posture.
"Found anything?"
"Yes. Want to hear it straight from them?"
"Yeah."
Kruuk gestured to someone.
The sight made me sigh.
"Kruuk...."
"Yes, Boss."
"I'm in a good mood 'cause I slept well?"
"And?"
"Go fetch them properly, damn it! The hell? Whistling like calling a dog?"
"Eek—! Spare me!"
Kruuk hunched his neck, clutched his head, and bolted off.
Soon he returned, escorting two men like a butler.
One was an elderly man with white hair and a speckled beard; the other a sturdy middle-aged fellow.
"Holy Knight, sir, I'm Antalada, formerly a caravan manager for a small merchant group."
"I'm Erakins, a carpenter by trade."
I greeted them as politely as possible.
"Nice to meet you. Old timer and middle-ager."
Oh my god. This guy's default politeness is overkill.
They didn't bat an eye.
Fred and Suhes were the same, but what was the status of knights and holy knights in this world that even a brat like me could talk down to them rudely and they wouldn't care?
Back in my firefighter days, it was all power-tripping assholes.
Yeah. I like this world.
The old man and middle-ager couldn't meet my eyes directly, glancing sideways.
I smirked to myself after summoning them, so they must've found it scary.
I asked the old man first.
"You know where the calamity slumbers?"
The merchant Antalada bowed deeply like he was prostrating.
"Near Tropsini Arron."
"That's right. I worked on building the fortress where the calamity rests."
The carpenter Erakins affirmed Antalada's words.
Tropsini Arron.
"Northern Fortress Arron"—but north of what?
Obviously north of Brad Kingdom.
Brad Kingdom bordered Fiore Kingdom to the north.
Bordering was a stretch—the frontier between them consisted of towering mountains, sheer cliffs, and bottomless chasms.
It was a chasm, but the narrowest point was about thirty meters wide.
A suspension bridge connected it, allowing nominal passage, but hardly anyone used it.
The two nations weren't on good terms.
I pointed at the crow food dangling from the gate tower and asked,
"Why didn't those hanged guys spill it? Is 'Tropsini Arron' some secret worth more than their lives?"
"These bandits never left the Brad outskirts."
Antalada said, and Kruuk the ex-bandit deputy nodded.
"Bandits aren't adventurers. They don't stray from their turf."
Ah, so that's why they were so dumb and ignorant?
Still, they'd have heard rumors.
As I tilted my head, Erakins added,
"Few know where the calamity sleeps. They warned us to keep it secret while building the fortress."
"Who?"
"Someone clad head to toe in silver armor, radiating light so bright we couldn't look directly. Word was, Hellite's top Holy Knight."
Luke Seid?
Ah, that guy again....
As I blinked, at a loss for words, Erakins elaborated.
"He said anyone disturbing the calamity's rest would be punished, rules be damned. Laborers were quietly gathered from across the continent. I came from the southern tip looking for work...."
I let Erakins's backstory go in one ear and out the other.
No useful info in tales of wanting to go home because the south was warm but winters here brutal.
Luke built a fortress for the calamity? That rich bastard could've spared some for me.... No, that's not it.
Luke had pitied the dragon he'd personally subdued.
So he'd arranged for it to rest in peace.
Building a fortress to block access and prevent intrusions.
"It's a secret, so how'd you know, Antalada?"
"I'm a merchant. I travel everywhere and hear lots of rumors."
"Rumors spread fast, don't they?"
Regaining some composure, Antalada smiled faintly and shook his head.
"Few care about the calamity's resting place. Just pilgrims seeking holy sites and some nosy adventurers poking around. They say no one gets in."
"Fortress means guards, right?"
This time Erakins shook his head.
"No guards that I know of. Instead, it's sealed by the Saintess's power—no one can enter."
"No one?"
Not quite.
Holy power wasn't material, but it reacted like magnet poles.
Divine Power, exactly.
"Anyway, thanks."
As Antalada and Erakins bowed to me,
A murmur rose from the central clearing.
"Smells amazing."
"Wow—looks so tasty."
A whole wild boar skewered on a massive spit rotated over a bonfire, dripping fat.
Each drop sizzled, flaring the flames.
Whooo! Fire! Firefighter on the scene!
There were seven such roasts going.
Gentle smiles played on the villagers' faces as they warmed themselves by the fires in their clean clothes and bodies.
I asked the two men,
"Happy to be freed?"
"Of course."
"Thank you. If you hadn't come, we'd be dead or forced into bandit life."
"Stuff yourselves good. You'll be leaving soon."
Antalada asked in surprise,
"You've decided where we should go? Where to?"
"The nearest western border city would be good."
"Those with homes to return to...."
"Not saying stay there forever. For safety, head there first. Rest up, then leave when the time's right."
Antalada nodded in understanding and withdrew.
Erakins cautiously raised his hand.
"Speak."
"We leave at dawn tomorrow?"
I shook my head.
"Fiore troops will raid. Hard to handle if we run into them en route, so repel them first."
"Why would they attack us?"
"Because of me. One cavalryman escaped. They're after me, but they might see you as bandits too. Even if not, they've taken losses, so they'll vent on someone."
Not because they're Fiore troops—because that's how the world is.
Once I stopped ignoring it and faced reality, I could take in more info without bias.
"Isn't that the world? Everything has causes, but victims often don't know why."
"Wise words."
"Go fill your bellies and recover your strength. I'll stand watch tonight."
I sent the two men off and watched the villagers.
"Looks like they've found some peace, fortunately."
Quite a few wore joyful expressions.