Ch.359Heading East

After returning from Ophelia’s hideout, I finally began preparing to depart for the east.

I repaid my debts to Asha and Lacy, restocked necessary supplies—daggers, arrows, tobacco, food and the like—and hired a coachman.

Thanks to the reward Leopold had given me, I had more than enough money.

In fact, Lacy didn’t even accept payment.

Something about it being a dedication she was obligated to make? Nice words. Yet she had said she’d keep it as a debt back then.

Well, back then I was just a suspicious foreign Master with good luck, whereas now I’m at least an honorary Paladin of the Church of Elpinel. One called the “Radiance” no less.

Since we’re properly on the same side now, I suppose she’s willing to provide that service for free.

I entrusted half of the remaining reward to Leonore.

She would hire servants to manage the mansion, pay appropriate wages to the knights under my command, including Demian and Millia, and use the rest for living expenses.

In Demian and Millia’s case, since they’d already received baronies in the north, I might eventually need to change from paying wages to granting them fiefs from my territory, but for the time being, I planned to make do with gold coins instead of land.

That seemed more convenient for them anyway.

“Ah, and don’t set the amounts yourself. Leave that to the civil officials under you to execute. I don’t have much faith in your financial sense.”

Being a former princess, she tends to spend money rather lavishly.

Just staying hidden at Asha’s workshop for a few days cost several hundred gold.

“That’s harsh. I can’t deny it though.”

Leonore shrugged with a bitter smile.

—-

Only Lena and I would be heading east.

Well, three including the coachman.

If it were just me, riding horseback would have been enough, but with Lena accompanying me, a carriage was the only option.

At least, learning from past experience where the coachman died first, I hired an adventurer rather than an ordinary carriage driver.

Obviously a woman. Male adventurers? Who knows what they might slip into your food.

Most adventurers are men who know nothing but swordplay. Without the guild system, they’d all be thieves or ruffians.

“Oh, oh my, it’s been a while, Lord Median!”

The adventurer the guild introduced to me was a young woman trembling violently.

Despite appearances, she was supposedly C-rank, equivalent to a junior knight… but her rabbit-like trembling before a wolf didn’t inspire much confidence.

No, wait.

“Who are you?”

She looks familiar somehow… but I can’t quite place her.

“M-Minea… Um, from the dungeon where the troll appeared…”

“Ah, that guide? Wow, you’ve risen to C-rank? I’m pretty sure you were D-rank back then.”

Now I remember.

Minea, the D-rank adventurer who served as our guide in the dungeon I investigated with Nigel.

Come to think of it, she was trembling back then too.

“Yes, yes! I worked hard!”

Seemingly delighted that I remembered her, Minea nodded vigorously with a bright smile.

That’s good. At C-rank, she shouldn’t just drop dead from a bandit attack.

And so, the three of us set off on our journey toward Landenburg.

—-

The empire’s military vacuum had naturally led to a general deterioration in public safety.

The lords’ strongholds were protected by their private armies, but even they couldn’t spare troops to patrol the roads beyond city limits.

The main highways were somewhat safer, but as soon as the path became a little secluded, gangs of bandits would emerge.

Not that it was a problem for me. Just a bit annoying.

Like now.

“R-run! Monster, it’s a monsterrr!”

The head of the man screaming in terror burst like a thrown watermelon.

His body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings, wetting itself as it convulsed.

The darkening forest had transformed into hell.

The dense undergrowth was stained red, dripping with fresh blood, while the bandits’ intestines hung from tree branches like fruit.

The pungent smell of blood and foul stench permeated the air.

The bandits who had attacked our carriage with greedy expressions were now unwillingly putting on a grotesque performance, their smiles still frozen on their faces.

At first, I’d killed them with sword strikes or stopped their hearts with killing intent… but that gets old after a while.

Growing tired of dealing with them, this time I simply extended the blades of Karma of Murder in all directions, slicing them all in one strike.

“…Is it over, sister?”

“Yes. It’s not a pleasant sight, so don’t come out of the carriage.”

“Okay!”

Leaving Lena waiting in the carriage, I kicked away the corpses blocking our path.

Pieces of what used to be bandits flew through the air, splattering brains and intestines against tree trunks.

“Uuugh…”

While I cleared the path, Minea pulled arrows from the carriage with a deathly pale face, trembling uncontrollably.

Look at her expression. She looks like she might burst into tears if touched.

“Why are you trembling so much? A C-rank adventurer should be used to seeing bandit corpses.”

“Hieeeek! I’m sorry! I’ll stop trembling!”

Is this woman really C-rank…?

Well, she did block the arrows the bandits shot in their surprise attack, so I suppose she must be… but she’s so terribly frightened.

Minea, who had grown more and more timid with each bandit we dispatched, was gradually transforming from a person into something closer to a squirrel.

—-

Anyway, we continued eastward, slaughtering everyone we encountered along the way.

We stopped at villages and small towns we passed.

During those times, I wore a robe with the hood pulled low. Otherwise, there would be a huge commotion.

Even those who didn’t know my face were well aware that the Winter Assassin was a mixed-race woman with black hair and blue eyes.

In other words, they wouldn’t recognize me if I just covered my hair.

As long as I didn’t reveal my killing intent.

[Let’s talk for a moment.]

As I sat smoking on the inn bed, Hersella, who had been silent since the start of our journey, spoke to me.

‘Talk? About what? Go ahead.’

I exhaled cigarette smoke toward the wide-open window.

Lena and Minea were having dinner downstairs, so I was alone in the room.

It was the perfect situation for a leisurely conversation.

[About the Champion, Jahan, whom we’re going to meet. There are things you should know, and things I want to ask you.]

Hersella sighed lightly and began explaining about Jahan.

Champion Jahan.

All I really knew was that he appeared as the strongest champion under Hersella’s command.

He barely had any lines in the game.

[That man Jahan… has been loyal to me since I was a weak nine-year-old girl. My first subordinate and… most trustworthy man. One who would never betray me.]

Hersella’s voice as she spoke contained a strange hint of affection.

Affection, huh. Come to think of it, that’s quite surprising.

To think this woman treated someone other than her mother as a human being.

[Though you abandoned him.]

‘I had no choice, did I? There was no future for me if I stayed there, and while I might have managed alone, I couldn’t bring other subordinates to the empire.’

[Stop making excuses.]

Hersella snorted and struck the back of my head with a tentacle of Karma of Murder.

My head jerked forward.

Wait, she can do that?

I’d been letting her control the Karma lately, but I didn’t know she could use it this freely.

But…

‘…Don’t we share sensations?’

If she hits my head, wouldn’t she be the one feeling the pain too?

Isn’t she just hurting herself?

[…This level of pain is hardly worth mentioning.]

That’s true.

It’s not like my skull cracked.

[Anyway, what I want to say is that Jahan and I know each other very well. He might only have slight suspicions now, but the longer he spends with you, the more he’ll sense something is off. Before long, he’ll realize that the woman before him is not his lord. What will you do then?]

‘……’

It was certainly a likely scenario.

My ideology and tactics differ greatly from Hersella’s.

Someone who knows Hersella well would quickly notice how much I’ve changed.

Whether they could deduce that our souls had switched was another matter.

[No answer. I suppose that means you haven’t thought of a solution?]

There wasn’t really any solution to speak of.

I’d kept him away from me for this very reason, but now he was coming to me directly.

If it was true that Jahan wanted to defect to the empire, I couldn’t refuse him.

Well, I could refuse, but I shouldn’t. Hersella would have a fit.

Considering the affection she briefly showed, she’d probably have a fit a hundred times worse than I expected.

So what to do…

Perfectly impersonate Hersella in front of Jahan? That’s nonsense.

I don’t have that talent, and even if I tried, I’d be found out eventually.

Hersella wouldn’t be pleased with me deceiving her loyal servant either.

Then…

‘I have something I want to ask.’

[Speak.]

‘If we told Jahan about your current situation, how do you think he would react?’

What if we were just honest?

That somehow I ended up possessing Hersella’s body, and Hersella remains within my consciousness.

[Hmm… it’s not something easily believed. Unless we can prove that my consciousness is alive, he’ll consider it the work of a sorcerer trying to deceive him. He’ll look for ways to eliminate you and restore my body to me.]

Meaning he won’t draw his sword immediately.