Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Reunion
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'Hah... this is harder than I thought.'
The wretched hunchbacked old man was a stable hand working at the Railton Barracks.
An employee tasked with shoveling horse dung, laying fresh straw, and overseeing the general care of the horses.
He was also in charge of carrying the prisoners' watery, gruel-like meals and cleaning the underground prison.
It was, in truth, the perfect identity for infiltrating the barracks.
But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find any survivors from the Riverune family.
The soldiers weren't talking about it, either.
'This will get complicated if Felton or Everfilt shows up.'
It even crossed my mind that the information Abigail had given me might be wrong.
But that couldn't be.
Her credibility was higher than anyone else's in the family.
By the second day, I had found nothing and came up empty-handed.
As I was stoically carrying out my duties as a stable hand, a knight officer suddenly called out to me.
"Hey, you."
He didn't seem to frequent the stables, as he didn't use the derogatory nickname the soldiers used: the old dung-shoveler.
"Yes, milord."
I bowed politely and awaited the knight officer's command.
"About the prisoners' meals. Is there any left?"
"Of course. There's enough for two people."
"Bring it here."
"Yes."
I obeyed without a word, fetching a bucket and a ladle.
The knight officer, who had been scowling at the watery slop, silently crooked his finger.
It was a signal to follow.
I suppose a knight couldn't be seen carrying such a filthy thing.
Cheering inwardly, I hurried after him.
Our destination was the knight order's headquarters inside the barracks.
Even the hunchbacked old man was rarely allowed in here.
'They're strict about managing their employees, which must mean something important is inside.'
If my guess was correct, the Riverune survivor was in the knight order's headquarters.
There was no safer place within the Railton fortress.
Sure enough, the knight officer led me deep into the headquarters.
Then, he shoved me into the dark basement.
"He's been starved for days, so give him a generous portion. We need him alive until tomorrow."
"Sir? What do you mean by that?"
I asked, feigning confusion as if I knew nothing.
After all, a mere barracks employee would have no reason to know who was being held in the headquarters' basement.
The knight officer's eyebrow twitched, and he spoke in an irritated voice.
It seemed he disliked the very act of speaking with me for long.
"A hunchback... talking back?"
"I-I'm sorry."
As I staggered forward cautiously, he turned and briskly ascended the stairs.
Though our conversation was brief, I'd managed to gather some quality information.
At the very least, I now knew the buyer wasn't arriving today.
'Good. I still have time.'
Smiling faintly at the officer's retreating back, I slowly surveyed the basement.
It didn't seem to be a proper prison; there were no iron bars.
At the far end, a man was suspended from a stake that had been temporarily driven into the wall.
He must have been severely tortured, as his condition was quite ghastly.
'I can't even tell who he is like this.'
I approached him and trickled some water into his mouth.
After a few sips, he seemed to regain some energy, and the blood-soaked man's eyes fluttered open.
A gaunt face, lifeless eyes, a scraggly beard, and cuts all over his body.
Despite his wretched state, his face was familiar.
'Robic?'
Head Instructor Robic.
The training hall was a vital institution in the Riverune family.
It was responsible for educating members and assigning them to various units.
Robic Riverune was a 3rd-tier expert and a distant relative who only shared my surname.
When I attended the training hall, he was a new instructor for a different class, so we rarely crossed paths.
Even as we grew older, we didn't interact much, perhaps because of the rumors about me.
Regardless of his relationship with me, the man the Railton Knight Order had captured was a significant figure.
'No wonder they're planning to sell him. Here, eat this. It looks bad, but it's not unclean.'
I carefully spooned the watery slop into his mouth.
He must have been starving, as he ate it readily.
Knowing that eating too much too suddenly could make him sick, I stopped at the right moment.
Then, I discreetly drew upon my mana and cast a healing spell.
I stopped after healing only the most life-threatening wounds.
It wouldn't do for the knights to find him looking too healthy.
"This should be enough for you to escape. I'll be back tonight. Get some sleep until then."
"W-who are you...?"
Robic mumbled in a weak voice.
I couldn't quite make out the rest of what he said, but I didn't need to.
I just needed to give him the hope that he could survive.
That way, he would endure the torture, no matter what.
"Remember. Tonight."
After ditching the bucket and ladle in a bush near the headquarters, I waited for sunset.
* * *
Late at night.
Around the time the calls of turtledoves could be heard from the wild hills.
I stirred and rose, quietly surveying my surroundings.
Perhaps because it was the day before he was to be handed over to the buyer, they didn't torture Robic.
Once the sale was set, there was no need to rough him up further.
'This technique is incredible. It's so natural, even when I'm not consciously focusing on it.'
Soul Shadow Evasion, an advanced stealth art, completely deceived the knights' eyes.
After feeding Robic, I hadn't left the headquarters.
I had simply waited in a corner of the basement, holding my breath, for time to pass.
The knight officer who brought me down had returned, but he didn't seem to notice anything amiss.
Seeing the bucket and ladle gone, he likely assumed the hunchback had returned to the barracks.
'Still, there are a lot of people around.'
It had been a bit chaotic during the day, but security was much tighter now.
It was a good thing I stayed in the basement.
Trying to infiltrate at this hour would have made things much more complicated.
But just as I was about to approach Robic...
*Tap.*
Hearing a faint, unexpected footstep, I froze and quickly activated Soul Shadow Evasion.
Seeing a figure enter the basement, I bit my lip hard.
I'd almost been discovered the moment I moved.
'Why is he being so cautious?'
But the man's movements were strange.
A Railton knight would have just strode over to check on Robic.
This man, however, crept about like a cat burglar, making almost no sound.
'His movements are clumsy. He's not a professional agent.'
To my eyes, honed by years of tumbling through the Rantzverger ranks, his amateurishness was immediately apparent.
He seemed skilled, but he was definitely not an assassin.
The intruder, who was scanning the basement with a lantern, suddenly stopped when he saw Robic pinned to the wall like a display piece.
"Instructor... How did this happen to you?"
The intruder immediately cut the restraints and carefully lowered the emaciated Robic.
Then, he began casting one healing spell after another.
*Zzzzzzt!*
Streams of green light poured out and healed the cuts, but Robic's overall condition didn't improve.
That was because I had already healed his serious injuries, and the root cause of his weakness lay elsewhere.
"It's enough. I'm fine."
"Here, put this on. The wind will be cold outside."
"Why did you risk coming here? If you're caught, the identity of our brothers will be exposed. You know more than I do..."
*Thump. Thump.*
The conversation stopped abruptly.
They had suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Absorbed in their conversation, they hadn't sensed the Railton knights' approach.
The intruder tried to scramble to his feet, but there wasn't enough time.
The knight on patrol was already opening the basement door.
*Clank!*
"Hm?"
Seeing a lantern lit in the basement, the knight tilted his head in confusion.
He didn't seem overly suspicious, though.
He probably figured the previous guard had forgotten it.
But his assessment would change the moment he stepped inside.
The lantern light would illuminate the freed Robic and the intruder.
Sure enough, the knight's expression changed instantly as he entered.
"In-intrud—"
*Slish!*
But his cry was cut short.
A blade shot out from the darkness and sliced clean through his neck.
It was a strike so swift he had no time to react, so stealthy he likely didn't even realize his head was severed until it was too late.
"Not a bad start. This should keep anyone else from visiting the basement for a while."
The one who had sent the knight's head flying was me, hidden in the corner.
Saved so suddenly from their predicament, the two men looked stunned.
Robic, having been tipped off earlier in the day, seemed less shocked.
The masked intruder's eyes, however, were wide with alarm.
He hadn't sensed my presence when he came in, so it was understandable that my sudden appearance would startle him.
But surprise aside, he had already summoned a palpable killing intent.
He seemed ready to fight if necessary.
"Foolish. Trying to ruin everything before we even begin?"
"Who are you?"
"Wow! I just saved you. Shouldn't you at least say thank you first?"
"..."
My tone was mocking, but there was a warmth beneath it.
Perhaps because we were close in age, he and I had grown up bickering constantly.
Of course, whenever our tempers flared and we ended up sparring, the winner was always the same.
Who was the one who kept picking fights knowing he'd get beaten every time? Why would I hold a grudge?
Meeting the middle-aged man's defiant gaze, a faded fragment of memory suddenly surfaced.
'Scorching Sun Fine Sword? That's a bit grandiose for you, don't you think? Did you bribe people to give you that title?'
'Don't tease me. It's still a better nickname than the Young Lord's.'
'Oh! So you know what they call me?'
'The Handsome Trash, isn't it?'
'You little brat, how dare you say that to your dear cousin? How could you say it so bluntly?'
'Dear cousin, my ass.'
A faint smile touched my lips as I murmured softly to the middle-aged man before me.
"It's been a while, Fernand. Are you still using that grandiose title?"
The man's crudely worn mask shifted slightly.
He seemed utterly flustered that I had suddenly called him by name.
Fernand glared at me and growled.
"My name... How do you know it?"
There was no point in hiding his shock now, so he asked the question outright.
Hey, my dear little cousin.
You're not planning to silence your big brother for good, are you?