Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Tivela's Champion
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The village was abuzz with a strange sort of commotion. Seeing the once-empty stables now full of glossy-coated horses, Luon tilted his head in confusion. *Who's here?*
He spotted a man anxiously biting his nails and approached him.
“Where is the village chief?”
“Ah! M-Mr. Luon!”
The man’s eyes widened.
“We’re in big trouble. Big trouble!”
“What trouble?”
“The baron has come barging in.”
Luon pressed.
“The baron? Why?”
“I-I don't know. They suddenly stormed in, claiming they had proof we were colluding with a demon... The chief denied it, but they dragged him away by force...”
“Are they at the inn?”
Luon cut off the man’s rambling, and he nodded.
“Y-yes. That's right. P-please, save our chief.”
Luon went straight to the inn and grabbed the doorknob. It wouldn't open, locked from the inside. *Breaking a lot of doors today.*
He ripped off the doorknob, reached his hand inside, and lifted the bar on the other side. Someone shouted from within.
“Shit? What the hell?”
Luon kicked the door open and stepped inside. The inn was a mess. A large space had been cleared in the middle, presumably to make room, with tables and chairs pushed to the edges in a disorderly jumble.
In the center of the inn, two men sat in chairs facing each other, a study in stark contrast. One was the village chief, Ransel, looking haggard with a cloth stuffed in his mouth, sweat dripping down his face. The other was a fat man with a rear so large it completely obscured his chair.
The man asked.
“Who are you?”
“Someone who has business with the chief.”
At Luon's reply, the fat man smirked and responded.
“Do you know who I am?”
“Should I?”
At the blunt reply, a soldier standing closest to Luon drew his sword.
“Who the hell do you think you are, running your mouth like that?”
“Enough.”
The fat man raised a hand, stopping the soldier.
“I am Conrad. I hold a small fiefdom, granted to me by the king, and within it, I am called Baron Conrad. And I am here to investigate a terrible incident that has occurred in my domain. So, what is your name, interloper?”
Luon let out a short laugh. *Quite the grand introduction for a baron.*
“Luon.”
Despite Conrad introducing himself as a baron, Luon's curt, one-word answer made his face twitch. As if sensing their lord's displeasure, the soldiers in the inn all drew their weapons on Luon.
“Baron, just give the order, and I'll take that bastard's head.”
“You fucking bastard, lower your eyes!”
Their speech and demeanor were less like a nobleman's soldiers and more like back-alley thugs. Emboldened by his men, the baron's arrogance swelled as he spoke.
“If you don't show some courtesy, I'm afraid there will be no way for me to hold these men back.”
Just then, the chief let out a muffled sound, “Mmph, mmph,” and twisted in his chair. Luon met the chief's anxious gaze before speaking.
“Why is the chief tied up like that?”
“That man is under investigation on suspicion of colluding with a demon.”
Luon had heard as much from Ebil, so he pressed.
“What suspicion? As far as I know, that man doesn't even have the guts to hire a single mercenary.”
The baron gave a nasty smile.
“Despite the rumors of a demon appearing at the monastery, this so-called chief failed to report it to me, his lord. What do you think that means? It means he made a deal with the demon to keep his mouth shut.”
It was such a blatant fabrication that Luon couldn't help but sigh.
“That's not what happened. The chief hired me, hoping to resolve the matter at the monastery, and I have just returned from doing so. So, if you release him, I believe this will all be settled amicably.”
The baron tilted his head.
“Resolved it? You mean you killed the demon?”
“Not a full-fledged demon, but there was a follower of one.”
At Luon's words, the baron, who had been silent for a moment, let out a deflating sound. As if on cue, all the soldiers around them began to snicker.
The baron's greasy eyes shot open.
“Hey. Luon. No, you lying bastard. You expect me to believe you killed a demon all by yourself? What are you, some hero from a legend?”
“Whether you believe it or not is your choice.”
“This bastard... I've been going easy on you, and now you've lost all fear, haven't you? Do I look like a pushover? Does Conrad look like a pushover?”
The baron extended a finger and pointed at Luon.
“Kill that bastard.”
In an instant, the soldiers charged. Luon drew the new longsword from his hip and blocked the descending axe of one of the men. He had intended to parry and counterattack, but when the transparent blade split the axe head in one clean stroke, he was so surprised that he took a step back.
As the severed axe head fell to the floor with a thud, the other charging men flinched and retreated.
Unlike the bisected axe, the transparent blade was completely unscathed. Luon gazed at the pommel, a silver stag that seemed to glow, and muttered.
“I've received something incredible.”
The baron, staring mesmerized at the gleaming sword, screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Take that from him! Kill that bastard and bring it to me!”
At the baron's screeching, the soldiers approached again. Wary of the sword's power, they didn't charge recklessly but closed in from all sides, planning to attack simultaneously. It wasn't a bad plan, but they had chosen the wrong opponent.
A beat faster, Luon kicked a table.
The man who hesitated as the table blocked his view was cut down along with it.
Luon dove through the gap left by the falling soldier, swinging his sword freely. A diagonal slash as he dodged a thrust. An upward swing using the momentum. Another downward strike. Men screamed and collapsed, their limbs severed by the fluid, flowing attacks.
“You little shit!”
“You son of a bitch!”
The men who had lost their comrades charged with curses on their lips, but they too fell futilely before Luon's blade, joining their fellows.
After smashing the pommel into the crown of the last charging soldier, a large man, Luon looked up to see the terrified baron's cheeks trembling.
“W-what is this... You, you, you bastard.”
Luon strode over and slapped the baron across the face.
“Hngh!”
Before the baron, whose head had snapped to the side, could even recover, Luon swung his hand again. With a sharp crack, the baron's head whipped to the other side.
“W-wait. Let's, let's talk.”
The baron, his cheeks swelling instantly, spat out a few yellowed teeth.
Luon said coolly.
“Tell me the truth.”
“Th-the truth about what?”
“If you really thought a demon was involved, you wouldn't have dared to come here. Why did you do that to the chief?”
“I-I thought he was colluding with a demon...”
Sparks flew from the baron's cheek once more. Luon hauled the baron, whose legs had given out, back to his feet and asked again.
“Answer me properly.”
“...To find a p-pretext... to r-raise the t-taxes.”
There was no need to hear any more. Luon forced the baron to his knees, then went to untie the chief.
“*Gasp, gasp.*”
When the cloth was removed from his mouth, the chief let out a ragged breath.
Luon asked.
“Are you alright?”
“I-I'm alright.”
The chief was now speaking formally to him. Luon, thinking it was out of fear for the man who had created the carnage before him, hesitated, unsure what to say, when...
“Have you become Tivela's Champion?”
the chief asked. He pointed a trembling hand at the gleaming silver longsword and added,
“A sword adorned with the silver stag, the symbol of Tivela.”
Only then did Luon understand why the chief was speaking so formally. It seemed the chief thought he was a great warrior chosen by Tivela—a champion.
Luon had no interest in such a cumbersome title, but he smiled inwardly. He turned and walked toward the baron, who was looking up at him.
“Conrad, was it?”
“Y-yes.”
Luon leaned down, looking the baron in the eye as he spoke.
“The reason I killed your men is because you coveted this sword.”
As he spoke, Luon raised the sword, and the baron flinched noticeably.
“What great warrior would willingly surrender his sacred relic? Wouldn't you agree?”
At those words, the baron swallowed hard.
“I-it's a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? Where did the man who was just screaming to kill me and take my sword go?”
Luon said to the baron, who was gaping with a stupid expression.
"Let's set aside the fact that you oppressed the villagers to collect taxes beyond the royal decree. But to drag a demon into it? That's a problem. Especially when a demon actually did appear at the monastery. That's no different than spitting in Tivela's face, is it?”
The baron's face crumpled.
“Th-there was really a demon at the monastery?”
“Yes. And I killed it.”
When the baron saw Luon grip the handle of the gleaming longsword, he cried out urgently.
“I-I didn't know any of that. I was just trying to use the rumors to raise the taxes a little, that's all. I never intended to take advantage of the misfortune at the monastery.”
The baron seemed genuinely flustered. If it was true that a demon had appeared at the monastery, then he had just admitted to exploiting the church's misfortune right in front of Tivela's great warrior. And hadn't he even ordered the man killed?
“I, too, do not wish to mix personal feelings into matters carried out in the name of a god. Leave quietly. And live as if you've forgotten this ever happened. Can you do that?”
*Matters carried out in the name of a god?* He felt a prickle of guilt even as he said it, but Luon finished his sentence without batting an eye.
The baron glanced back and forth between the corpses strewn across the floor and Luon. And at the gleaming holy sword in his hand.
The baron nodded.
"I will.”
“It would be best if you never forget that.”
Luon jutted his chin toward the door, a clear dismissal. The baron scrambled to his feet and ran outside without a backward glance. A moment later, the sound of a horse's whinny was followed by the fading clatter of hooves.
“Chief! W-what is all this!”
Ebil and the other villagers, who had seen the baron fleeing, entered the inn only to be horrified by the sight of the bodies on the floor.
Fortunately, the chief, who had witnessed everything, explained the situation, and the matter was settled without further incident. The only problem was that, in the process, the villagers had come to firmly believe that Luon was Tivela's Champion.
The people began to look at Luon with something akin to reverence—not only had he stopped the baron's tyranny, but he had also killed the demon at the monastery and received Tivela's blessing. Faced with their gazes, Luon couldn't bring himself to ask for his fee and simply scratched his head.
*Well, I suppose this is karma for shamelessly using a god's name.*
Luon, who had originally considered killing the baron, decided to be satisfied that the situation had been resolved one way or another.
As if it had seen through the heart of the man who spoke of great warriors despite having no faith, the holy sword let out a low hum.