Chapter 126: Fateful Battle (1)

“Come out.”

A sudden gust of wind shook the bushes beyond the palisade, as if echoing the thoughts of whoever was hiding there.

Jessica, who had relaxed after things seemed settled, tensed up again. She raised her hammer towards the bushes I was watching.

If it had been a bandit who’d noticed something odd and escaped earlier, they wouldn’t still be lurking there.

Could it be one of the bandits who’d just returned from ambushing and looting, only to find something wrong at the village entrance?

It wouldn’t be strange if they were moving to investigate, sensing something was off.

“Should I kill first and ask questions later…?”

As I muttered this, placing my hand on Wolffang’s hilt, the bushes suddenly shook violently. A man in strange attire leapt out.

“W-wait!! I’m not suspicious!!”

The man claimed he wasn’t suspicious, but his outfit said otherwise.

He wore a full-body leather suit that extended from his neck to cover his head. With his face hidden and wearing oddly protruding goggles, he looked almost reptilian.

Not only did he look like a reptile, but his leather suit was constantly changing color to match the surroundings, like a chameleon.

‘Is it some kind of magic?’

It seemed to be either enchanted for infiltration like Jessica’s armor or made from the hide of a magic beast with camouflage abilities. Either way, it wasn’t equipment a mere bandit would possess.

“Suspicious, but probably not a bandit.”

“Th-that’s right!! And you, young lady, might you be Lady Jessica?!”

“…Do you know me?”

As Jessica lowered her hammer and removed her helmet to ask, the man took off his goggles and mask-like hat, revealing his face.

With a neat appearance more fitting for a knight or butler than a bandit, the man knelt before Jessica and bowed respectfully.

“Lady Jessica… I never imagined I’d meet you in a place like this…”

“Do you know him?”

“…No, but may I ask your name, sir?”

“Ah, of course. It’s no trouble. I’ve only seen you from afar once before, my lady.”

The knight, who introduced himself as Baron, was from the fortress the bandits had been planning to attack.

Known for his skill in tracking and ambushing bandits, he was on a mission to spy on the bandits’ hideout using those talents.

“I see. But were you spying alone? Or did you have someone infiltrate the group as well…?”

It was natural to wonder if they’d planted someone inside, given that they had a spy outside.

Jessica flinched at the question, looking at Baron uneasily. But Baron shook his head and said:

“Don’t worry. I was the only one spying. We didn’t have any knights infiltrate the group.”

Whether this was true or a white lie to ease our consciences, we couldn’t know.

Even if we did know, we couldn’t bring back the dead or undo what had been done.

It was wisest to quietly accept his words as truth and move on.

“One last thing – how did you know Jessica was Jessica? Her face was hidden by her helmet.”

“Well…”

Baron hesitated, glancing at Jessica. After a moment, he cleared his throat and pointed to her hair.

“Even without a helmet, there’s no one else in this territory who insists on such an old-fashioned hairstyle…”

It was a perfectly clear answer that dispelled all my doubts at once.

Even if he’d only seen her from afar once before, if that person had curly-bun hair, he’d never forget it till the day he died.

I smirked, thinking how that ridiculous hairstyle actually came in handy for once. Jessica glared at me, her face reddening.

“Ahem… Anyway, can we leave the kidnapped women in your care?”

“Yes, of course. But… if I may ask, what is your name, sir?”

Judging by my attire, he seemed to have guessed I was an academy student. His words were as polite as if addressing his own lord.

Well, who wouldn’t be polite to someone they’d just seen single-handedly cut down nearly a hundred people?

“Ian Barthow. I’m a count, but don’t worry about formalities.”

Hearing my name, Baron startled. He looked up at me with a shocked expression.

“Ian Barthow? The same Ian Barthow who single-handedly cut down ten thousand men in Count Pierre’s territory?”

It seemed my name had spread widely after that battle, if even a common knight like this knew it.

“I am that Ian Barthow, but I didn’t cut down ten thousand.”

“Ah, so the rumors were exaggerated along the way.”

Baron nodded as if understanding something, but that wasn’t what I meant.

It was true that I’d cut down over ten thousand that day, but to be precise, I’d cut down seven thousand people and the rest were magic beasts. So saying I’d cut down seven thousand would be more accurate.

I couldn’t be certain due to the sheer number of enemies, but it was roughly that many.

“Now the only problem left is finding out where Jessica’s papa is…”

“…Don’t call other people’s fathers weird names. Baron, has there been any news of my father at the fortress?”

Of course, a mere knight like Baron wouldn’t know such important information, and he shook his head.

However, it wasn’t certain that even the lord managing the fortress didn’t know. So we decided to head for the fortress for now.

Before leaving the village, seeing the corpses and blood that had stained it red, I tapped Wolffang’s scabbard to wake it up.

[Mmm… Master, is something wrong? Is it maintenance time already?]

“Not maintenance time, but mealtime. It’s meat after a long while, so eat your fill.”

[Meat?!]

As I drew Wolffang, which was as excited as a child, its blade tip trembled like a dog sniffing the air.

[It smells delicious!!]

“This meat was free-range, you know. We can’t leave any behind or it might cause a plague. So make sure you eat every last bit, got it?”

[Understood!!]

The blood pooled on the ground began to boil, and corpses and blood from all over the village started flowing towards Wolffang like a river.

The blood and bodies that had gathered like a river were instantly absorbed into the blade. All traces of the day’s tragedy disappeared from the village, leaving only a faint smell of blood.

[Burp…]

“Demon swords burp too? Anyway, you’re done eating now, so you can go back to sleep.”

There’s a saying that sleeping right after eating makes you fat, but I guess that doesn’t apply to demon swords.

As I resheathed Wolffang, which had fallen asleep instantly, I turned around to find Jessica and Baron staring at me with shocked expressions.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just… even if they were evil, the thought of a demon sword eating humans is a bit unsettling…”

“It’s not like people are eating people, so what’s the problem?”

There’s no end to it if you start worrying about morals and fussing over every little thing.

More importantly, it’s the law of nature that the defeated become the blood and flesh of the victor. As fellow animals, humans had the right to do the same.

“Well, now that everything’s sorted out here, shall we head to that fortress?”

“I’ll stay behind to handle the situation here. Take this pass of mine – show it to the gatekeeper and you should be let through immediately.”

After receiving the pass from Baron, we left the bandits’ village and returned to our carriage.

As I entered the carriage, kicking aside the corpses strewn on the ground, I saw Hori’s stupid face as she slept peacefully.

It irked me that she was sleeping so comfortably while we’d been struggling since dawn.

‘Should I hit her?’

Hmm… Yes, I should.

“Ow!”

—Raei  Translations—

Perhaps thanks to all the good Baldo I’d been doing, we surprisingly found information about Jessica’s papa at the fortress we’d visited without much hope.

The information wasn’t left for us, but for the royal reinforcements to join up with when they arrived. It had been entrusted to this fortress near the territory’s border.

It was a chilling thought of what might have happened if we’d arrived late and the fortress had fallen.

Jessica’s papa was hiding surprisingly close by – in a farming village not far from the castle.

While it was perfect for hiding, being a small village not even on maps, I had a strong feeling it was too close to the castle where that guy was currently staying.

‘But why is he staying at the castle?’

If he’d been beyond the barrier for 80 years, why did he cross back over now?

He hadn’t brought a large army to conquer this territory. All he’d done so far was destroy the barrier and try to occupy the castle, stirring up chaos.

Perhaps his goal was revenge against the opponent who had defeated him 80 years ago?

If so, his behavior, as if waiting for someone, made sense.

“It looks like we’re almost there.”

“Huh? Really?”

Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed how much time had passed.

Looking out the window at Jessica’s words, I saw shabby houses that hardly seemed fit for a high-ranking noble like a count.

We stopped the carriage in a suitable spot and slowly walked towards the poor farming village.

A moment later, as we approached the village, several knights in battle-worn armor sprang out from the bushes, drawing their hammers.