Ch.22Pretending to Patrol #10

“Huh, huuuh…”

The pirate captain Kan, who had been secretly operating in the Barkan County, couldn’t close his mouth. It was because of the cruel carnage before his eyes.

Every single one of them had gold coins embedded in their heads, and simultaneously, a woman who had sprung forth—Helena—had slashed their throats. Though their heads weren’t completely severed, the cuts were deep enough to end their lives with no chance of survival.

His subordinates were all terrified but still charged at her.

Actually, those who charged were the honorable ones; half of them were running toward the ship, desperately trying to survive.

And those runners, along with the rest of the group, all died with gold coins embedded in their heads. It created a hell where screams and blood sprayed in all directions.

This is a nightmare. It must be a nightmare.

Though Kan had engaged in human trafficking and even committed murder without hesitation, he couldn’t help but retch at the sight of the field of corpses with the pungent scent of blood rising from them.

“Judging by your state, it seems you have no intention to resist. Good.”

While Kan was vomiting with his head bowed, Helena approached him, having seized a dagger from one of the pirates.

Despite cutting down so many men, not a single drop of blood had stained her boots. That made Kan’s skin crawl even more.

And the moment he raised his head, trembling with fear… he truly understood what it meant to fall into the abyss.

◎◎◎

Late at night, when everyone should have been asleep long ago.

The Count couldn’t close his mouth as he looked at the documents before him and the two men kneeling in front of his desk.

The documents were proof that human traffickers had bribed customs officials, and these men were the main culprits.

Well, it was natural for him to be surprised, since this troublesome matter had been thrust upon him so unexpectedly in the middle of the night.

“Is this all…?”

He might have thought I was spending intimate time somewhere since I hadn’t returned until late, but unfortunately, I was delayed because I was catching pirates.

I appreciated that he had tried to minimize interference, but this time, I couldn’t help but call it a bad move.

If the Count had actively tried to find us, things might have been resolved more smoothly. That thought kept coming to mind.

However, I realized this thinking was unreasonable and decided to change my mindset.

After all, it was I who had chosen to fall into this pit for the sake of a quick resolution, so there was no one else to blame.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve experienced quite a troublesome situation. Moreover, I ended up doing what should have been your duty, Count.”

Helena shook her head and put on a dejected expression.

It was quite intentional—her own way of putting pressure on the Count.

“I have nothing to say about that, even if I had ten mouths. But how did this happen…?”

“I fell asleep while fishing with Jion, and as it happened, the boat was a pirate ship disguised as a fishing boat. It wasn’t a large vessel, about the same size as a regular fishing boat, so it didn’t stand out, but I suppose they took advantage of that fact.”

“How could this be…”

One might try to corner the other party for carelessly falling asleep, but fundamentally, the greatest fault lay with the Count for failing to properly manage the security of his territory.

If he had enforced proper regulations, this incident would never have happened in the first place.

The Count seemed to know this well, as he couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking.

From a victim’s perspective, it would only sound like an excuse to avoid responsibility.

“Anyway, as early as tomorrow, please appropriately punish those who committed corruption based on these documents and these men’s testimonies. And locate and rescue the people they sold. Do you understand?”

“Of course. I will do so.”

“Ah, and one more thing, there’s something else the Count must do.”

Helena looked at me and nodded.

In response, I silently approached the Count and placed a leather bundle on the empty desk.

It was the pirates’ operating funds discovered on the island.

“What is this?”

“Let’s open it and see.”

I stepped back a few paces and quietly watched as the Count touched the bundle.

To satisfy his curiosity, he untied the knot of the leather bundle and unwrapped it forcefully.

Naturally, the gold coins inside spilled out with a rushing force, like water bursting through a dam.

“W-what is this now!”

“This is the money the pirates obtained by selling people or through other illicit activities. Since it was earned by selling people, I ask that you give it to them as compensation after rescuing them.”

Helena calmly addressed the Count, who was shocked to the point of fainting.

She even made it clear that he should abandon any thought of using this money as operating funds.

The search for the sold people should be accomplished solely through the power of the Count’s territory, and this money was to be given strictly as compensation to them.

“If, by any chance, these funds don’t fully reach the victims in the future, you will have to bear heavy responsibility, including the unfortunate incident that occurred today. Do you understand?”

She would quietly bury what happened today.

The discovery of the pirates could even be credited entirely to the Count himself.

But if her request wasn’t properly fulfilled… Helena warned with a chillingly cold gaze that the consequences would be difficult to bear.

“…I understand. I will keep your words in mind, Lady Helena.”

To this, the Count could only respond with a disgruntled tone.

Even if he was at fault, I thought it was understandable that he found the situation, which was tantamount to being threatened, uncomfortable.

It might be a natural human reaction.

However, Helena hadn’t yet put a period to her words.

She said that today’s events should be formalized in a document, with the Count’s signature and his family seal to confirm it.

“Such things need to be recorded in tangible form. I believe the Count understands that this is a matter beyond mere trust.”

“Yes, I understand. It’s about preemptively preventing inevitable anxiety, I suppose.”

Even if they were of the same faction, they were still strangers. Moreover, they were nobles.

So I thought it was right to choose to secure this with a formalized document.

The Count seemed to agree, as he raised no objections and obediently prepared the document, signed it, and affixed his seal.

Helena held the document up to the crimson light of a magic item resembling a lamp stand, carefully examining the written words.

She seemed to be checking whether her requirements were properly recorded and whether the Count’s responsibilities in case of violation were clearly stated.

“Yes. Everything is meticulously recorded. With this, my business is concluded.”

“Yes… I have caused you great inconvenience today. Once again, I express my regret and thank you for your generosity in quietly letting this matter pass.”

The Count bowed his head once more as he looked at Helena, who held the neatly rolled document in her hand.

If she had been an ordinary noble lady instead of a Swordmaster, this could have developed into a major incident.

The kidnapping of a Duke’s daughter, that is.

The only reason this matter could be resolved amicably was because Helena was a Master, just that one fact.

Although I also considered myself somewhat powerful, I couldn’t confidently say I could have easily resolved this situation.

Therefore, I believed that achieving such a good outcome was entirely due to Helena’s power.

“Yes. If that’s how you feel, I hope you will find all the sold people and take care of them. Well then, we shall take our leave now. We plan to depart before breakfast tomorrow morning… so this is essentially our final farewell.”

“No… you intend to leave without a meal or a send-off?”

The Count’s eyes widened at Helena’s bombshell announcement.

He seemed more surprised by this than when he heard Helena had been kidnapped.

He appeared quite shocked by the statement that they would leave quietly without a send-off. Depending on the interpretation, it could sound like they wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

“Yes. But it’s not because of what happened. Since we received such lavish hospitality and great care when we arrived, we decided that at least when leaving, we would depart quietly without causing any burden.”

“I… see.”

Helena wanted to leave because she found it uncomfortable to stay in the same space as Lloyd, whom she had rejected.

I knew this fact well, but the Count didn’t, so he seemed deeply concerned that he might have committed some other offense.

However, no matter how much he pondered, he wouldn’t find an answer. Unless he could look into Helena’s mind, it would be impossible to know.

Of course, the normally composed Count might have been able to guess her intention, but right now, he had just received a bombshell.

It was natural that he had no room to think about anything else.

Therefore, all he could manage was a simple acknowledgment.

“Jion… I’m sorry. Right after experiencing such an incident, I’m making you work again.”

“No need to apologize. I also think Helena’s decision is right. The county itself was vibrant and pleasant to see, but given what happened, the conclusion wasn’t particularly good.”

As soon as I entered Helena’s room, I immediately began taking clothes out of the wardrobe and organizing them.

Since we might leave as early as the faint dawn, it made sense to finish packing now.

Helena hung her head like a guilty person, but I was truly grateful just for that.

She offered to help with the packing, but if she did, it was clear that my workload would only increase.

In other words, Helena was much more helpful by not helping with the organization and just watching quietly.

“By the way, even though it’s late, would you like to wash off the sweat? It must feel uncomfortable. I can fetch the water.”

“…No, it’s fine. I don’t want to make you do that on top of the packing.”

The Duke’s mansion has a magic item that creates water for the bathroom, but this Count’s mansion doesn’t. So water had to be drawn from the storage and poured into the bathtub.

Helena shook her head, knowing the effort involved, but in fact, it was more for my sake.

The smell of fresh sweat was somewhat tolerable, but once it settled, it would cross into what I personally classified as the “impossible” category.

“I’m saying this because I feel uncomfortable. Going to a new territory all sweaty doesn’t seem right, and it’s better to travel with a refreshed mind after washing up.”

“That… might be true.”

“Besides, I plan to wash up after you use the water. The smell of blood is strong too.”

I made it clear that I wasn’t suggesting a bath solely for Helena’s benefit.

In fact, I was quite uncomfortable feeling like the scent of blood was vibrating from my body.

It was obvious that I would feel refreshed only after at least taking a bath.

“Ah… come to think of it, this is the first time Jion has killed someone…”

Helena hung her head with a gloomy face. She seemed very sorry for making me kill someone.

They say that when ordinary people kill, they retch and suffer from nightmares for days, so her reaction seemed natural.

Although I had honed my skills for when they might be needed someday, it was best to avoid such situations.

However, I wasn’t as unstable as Helena was worried I might be.

Rather, I was quite calm about it.

Not because I was accustomed to killing or enjoyed it, but because my mental fortitude was exceptionally strong.

I was actually more afraid when Helena showed dark obsessions.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. You were in a lot of danger too.”

In truth, seeing her slice through everyone with just a dagger, I didn’t think she was in danger at all.

I was secretly amazed, thinking, “As expected of a Master.”

But Helena couldn’t accept it as it was and raised her head to stare at me intently.

I was just about to take out clothes and underwear for Helena to change into, and since I couldn’t avoid her gaze, it created an awkward situation.

A peculiarly awkward situation where I was holding the clothes and underwear of the woman with whom I was making eye contact.

“Then, Jion, bathe with me… and I’ll get in the tub.”

And the end of that awkward silence was a statement so surprising that my mouth fell open.