Episode 32. To the Academy (6)
Even though I didn’t know his face, I clearly remembered those clumsy eyes.
A familiar feeling that both people feel toward each other.
He, too, seemed to realize that he had already been caught, and did not try to deny the situation.
“Now, may I change my seat?”
From what I could see, he seemed to be paying attention to the girl who appeared to be his daughter.
As she nodded silently, the man looked down at the girl and said.
“Sally. “I think my dad needs to talk to someone here, so could you wait inside?”
“Okay, I get it!”
The girl went inside with a bright smile.
The man who sent my daughter guided me with a stiff expression.
“Hey, come this way… … .”
The place he guided me to was an empty lot behind the house where discarded wood of unknown purpose was placed.
Even though he wasn’t looking at me, there was a glimmer of death in the back of his worried head that hadn’t gone away yet.
“Are you a man of the lord…?” … ?”
The man turned around and asked with an anxious gaze.
“If that were the case, I would have caught you right away last night.”
I answered casually.
“Is the child from a little while ago a girl? Or your granddaughter?”
“It’s my daughter… … .”
“You look a little unwell. Has that been the case from the beginning?”
“… … .”
Instead of answering, the man spoke with a threatening tone.
“Well, can’t you just pass by and pretend you didn’t see me like you did yesterday?”
Indeed, I was embarrassed and laughed at the unusual appearance.
“Don’t be mistaken. I am the one who is in charge now. “I can snatch you alive and hand you over, or if it’s too much of a hassle, I can just cut off your head.”
His eyes were still full of caution.
“Do I not think what I am saying is true? Give it a try if you can. “Did you keep the stick in your waistband to use for wiping poop?”
“… … !”
Just because he hid it wasn’t enough, and I already knew from the first time I saw him that he was hiding a weapon.
The man, whose face turned pale, immediately took out the club he had hidden and threw it to the floor.
He realized that he had no choice.
“What do you want?”
“First, guide me to where he is.”
The man’s gaze immediately turned in one direction.
At the end of the line of sight, inside the vacant lot, was a small cabin that appeared to have been recently built.
I walked without hesitation.
-Squeak
It was about the size of a back room, barely 1 pyeong in size, but the floor was covered with a neat carpet that looked out of place.
As the carpet was naturally removed, a staircase appeared that led down.
Anyone who sees it will think there’s a secret base there.
As I went down the narrow stairs, I was greeted by a pitch-black space. So he gathered mana on his hand and cast an ignition spell.
-Woe!
The surroundings brightened up in an instant.
It was a narrow underground space, not much different from when I entered it.
“… … !”
I was almost set on fire by the massive body that suddenly appeared before my eyes.
“W-Who are you!”
The owner of the body also screamed as if surprised by the popularity.
It was a gruff voice that made me frown.
I looked carefully from the head down, and when I saw the hairless head, I immediately recognized it.
It was Lord Pacquaron who had gone missing.
“This guy! Who do you think I am and how dare you put me through such a cruel situation? I am Farqualon, Lord of Saffern! My name is Farqualon Nefelis, a member of the Nephelis family, the great master of the Empire! As soon as I get out of here, I’ll take your raw flesh, grind it up, and give it to the livestock at the farm… … !”
Hands and feet bound in chains.
My vision is covered with an eye patch so I can’t see what’s ahead.
Even though he was being tortured and begging for help, he was spewing out such serious insults that I couldn’t even open my ears to listen.
I was afraid of spitting up, so I took a step back.
-tuk
Then I collided with a small table in the corner.
There was a fairly familiar black mask on the table.
“When I looked at it, it turned out to be a mask carved out of wood. “I made it look pretty believable.”
The man remained silent.
Next to the mask was a reddish-brown stone the size of a fist.
A subtle energy of mana was fluttering around.
“It’s a spark stone? “I don’t know anything else, but I was wondering how the black smoke was created, but did the knights fall for this clumsy trick?”
Small artifact ignition stone.
It was a type of mana flint that could create fire without using magic.
It is an easily obtainable artifact that is a favorite item of long-distance merchants, but I had no idea that they could imitate the mist with such a low-quality item.
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“Well, I guess I just got lucky… … .”
The man turned his head and answered.
“That’s right, I was lucky. I couldn’t even dream of it being Belias or any other city near the imperial castle. “It was possible because it was such a low-class city.”
I’d have to do more research to find out, but there was no way a city guarded by these idiotic knights would run properly.
“They are vermin that should not exist in this world! Do you think I’d be scared just because I’m a follower of the Black Mist? “If I put my mind to it, I could kill you all!”
How much more difficult would it be to have such a pathetic lord?
Not only did he have no hair, but he also seemed to have no ability to think.
“You just did things and couldn’t tame it, right? “What have you been doing?”
“yes?”
“You didn’t kidnap me just to tie me up and admire me, right? “You weren’t trying to torture me, were you?”
“Torture?!”
Pacquaron became even more excited at the word torture.
I tried my best to ignore it and continued the conversation.
“Yes, that’s right! But I wasn’t mentally prepared yet… … Moreover, there are knights wandering around outside… … .”
I couldn’t even laugh anymore due to my weak hesitation that didn’t work out.
I said out loud the assumptions I had made in my head.
“Your daughter’s leg… … “Are you related to this guy?”
The man did not deny it.
“Huh, how did you know?”
“It just seemed that way.”
I continued speaking without showing any signs of it.
“Is there any parent who wouldn’t go crazy when their precious child, who wouldn’t hurt if put in their eyes, was harmed by a headless pig like this? So, you made up your mind, planned thoroughly, and succeeded in kidnapping the lord, but when it came time to move on to the next step, you hesitated, right?”
The man shouted as if it was unfair.
“Wouldn’t that make my daughter’s legs come back? These actions actually have no meaning… … .”
With tears in his eyes, the man began to tell the story he had kept inside.
“I was an attendant who assisted the former lord of Sapern. “He worked closely with him and was in charge of office work related to city management.”
I had no idea that it was the person of the former lord who died of illness a year ago.
“The former lord was a very greedy person. He has no desire to satisfy personal interests, and only thinks about the prosperity of the city. However, unfortunately, he died young due to chronic illness.”
“so?”
“He had no children or brothers and did not designate any other successor to whom he could pass on the title. Accordingly, he sent a new successor from the imperial castle, and that was Lord Ipa Quaron.”
Just by looking at it, it was clear that the influence of the Nephelis family, the current empress’s power, was at work.
“However, this man was truly the opposite of the master I served. Instead of providing for the well-being of the city, he was busy enriching himself. Moreover, he imposed enormous taxes on the residents in the name of sending funds to the family, and even siphoned off some of the taxes.”
Without further ado, they just said he was a corrupt lord.
In fact, even if it was just that much, there was enough room for the real mist to move.
“I felt alienated by such greed, and immediately quit my job. “It wasn’t like I could change that kind of corruption anyway, so I just thought it was easier not to see it.”
“why? “Have you ever thought about changing it?”
“I am just a powerless citizen. Moreover, behind that corrupt lord, there existed an incredibly powerful family called the Nephelis family. “If I were to act clumsily, I would only be hastening my orders.”
For him, it was actually the best response that suited his circumstances.
“But misfortune struck from nowhere. God is so indifferent! What crime is that little thing! What’s wrong with an innocent child who hasn’t even grown up yet? Just because it blocked his path… … !”
A single tear flowed from the man’s face.
“The reason was that he blocked his carriage while he was on tour! My child was just playing on the street and had the misfortune of getting caught up in it, and this kid broke one of his legs just for this reason! It means not to roam the streets for the rest of his life!!”
It was said that the pain of a child is more painful than a stabbing in the heart.
I never had children, so I couldn’t sympathize much, but I was still able to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping of the lord.
“That’s why I kidnapped this guy! If nothing else, it is to restore the pain my daughter must have experienced! But if that were the case… … “Wouldn’t I also end up like a horse that doesn’t even look like a human being?”
Do you feel sorry for me?
From what I can see, it is extremely weak.
It is the law of the world to return an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but he is hesitating to take revenge just to protect human dignity.
In the first place, the human race is not a good being enough to talk about dignity.
After hearing the whole situation, I spoke softly to him.
“It’s no different.”
“yes?”
“It’s just difficult to cross the line of beginning. “That doesn’t make you any less human.”
Because I proudly exist in the world as a human being.
“Besides, this guy can’t even be treated as a human being in the first place, right?”
A corrupt lord who steals taxes and a broken character who breaks a child’s leg… … .
It wouldn’t be surprising if the real mist moved.
Leaving behind the man who seemed at a loss, I lifted up the heavy wooden stick that was lying in the corner.
And soon a terrible scream echoed throughout the basement.
-puck
“Kwaaaak!”
The startled man shouted urgently.
“Well, what are you doing?”
“I’m just doing for you what you couldn’t do.”
Once, twice, each time the club was swung, the entire secret room rang loudly.
In particular, the strike was focused on the guy’s left ankle.
Pacquaron, who had always been spitting out swear words, was now only repeating screams of pain.
“Say, please save me! Well, I will do whatever you ask! Please just save me… … !”
I haven’t even hit him that long, but he’s already begging for his life.
This is the ugly nature of humans.
Only after experiencing pain do you understand your subject.
But if I was going to end it like this, I wouldn’t have even started!
-puck!
“Aaaah!”
My beating lasted for about 10 more minutes before it stopped.
Lord Pacquaron, who had been punished, must have already fainted, so his eyes were not visible.
“Why on earth would you do this… … ?”
He said, throwing his club in front of the man who was sitting down.
“Do you think it’s cruel? “Compared to the pain your daughter has gone through, I don’t think I can even fit into this axis of tidying up, right?”
“B-but… … .”
“If I was going to finish it poorly, I shouldn’t have even started. “Being foolish won’t help you in the end.”
The man couldn’t answer anything.
I left him sitting there and went up the stairs.
people say
Crossing the line is like crossing a river from which there is no return.
However, on the other hand, I would like to ask.
Is there any need to come back?
The beginning is difficult, but if you cross the line at the beginning, there is an endless plain that you don’t know where it leads to.
I know that the path I have taken cannot be tolerated or understood.
What difference would it make if that was understood in the first place?
I just live for what I think is right.
After finishing my errand, the moment I was about to go up to the ground,
The man who hurriedly followed me grabbed me and asked again.
“Who the hell are you…?” … ?”
I thought about it for about 3 seconds before coming up with an answer.
“Just someone with a bit more experience… … .”
It was a word that did not suit my current appearance.
I left Safern that way and set off on my way back to Ruwen.
(Continued in the next part)
fantasy,
