Chapter 4: The Road to the Academy (3)
by fnovelpia
“You stupid bandit bastards!! The merchant and woman you missed are here!! And there’s a noble you can ransom if you capture him!!”
“You crazy bastard!! Shut up!! Please, just shut up!!”
Boris, his face turning bright red, shouted even louder than I did.
Hori tried to rush at me from behind to cover my mouth, but she was blocked by my hand.
“Yeah! Shout like that!! That way, those guys will come here faster!”
Hearing this, Boris realized what he was doing and quickly covered his mouth, trying to recover the situation.
“What the hell are you thinking…?! Are you planning to get us all killed?!”
“Killed? Who?”
“Who do you think?! Us! Us!! Stop talking as if it’s someone else’s problem! We’re the ones who are going to die!!”
“Hah… It’s ridiculous. Why are you scared of a bunch of bandits?”
“A bunch of bandits?! They’re not just bandits, they’re former mercenaries….”
“If they were really skilled, they wouldn’t be doing banditry. They’re doing it because no one else would hire them.”
Real skilled mercenaries never run out of work. If they haven’t been caught despite their reputation, they must be competent, but that’s not enough to threaten me.
“It’s not my territory, so it’s not really my business, but there’s no reason to just let it go.”
I had been itching to use Baldo, starved of the technique, only able to practice during brief rests with Silence or before bed.
If my grandmother knew about this, she would probably rush over with a katana in hand, given the severe lack of Baldo!
Moreover, seeing that crescent moon reminded me of my first human opponent and made me even more desperate to use Baldo.
“It’ll be over with a few swings, so just hide somewhere. It’d be better if you shouted with me.”
“A few swings?! What are you talking about…!”
“There!!”
As Boris clutched his head in despair, Hori, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Excuse me, are you also an academy student like me?”
“Huh? Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself. Ian Barthow, Baronet. I’m also a new student this year.”
When I revealed my status, both Hori and Boris flinched and bowed deeply at 90 degrees.
“I-I’m honored to meet you! Baronet!!”
“B-Baronet…!! I apologize for not recognizing a noble!”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’m just a Baronet. Bandit bastards!! There’s a weak Baronet here that you can ransom for a hefty price!!”
“Baronet!! Please, be quiet…!! What will you do if they really come?!”
“What do you mean? I want them to come.”
“Do you have a plan?! They outnumber us by a lot!”
“A plan….”
As someone who has mastered the world’s strongest swordsmanship, do I need a plan to deal with a bunch of mercenaries?
It’s like telling a tiger to come up with a plan because chihuahuas are approaching.
‘Do they think I don’t know how to use Baldo?’
I see… Even though I’ve been shouting about it, they might not believe someone as young as me can use such a powerful technique.
If they thought I was bluffing, it makes sense why they were trying to stop me.
‘Or maybe they don’t even know Baldo exists…!!’
People who have lived without a connection to swords might not know what Baldo is.
Ah, these poor, unfortunate people… If they knew about Baldo, they wouldn’t have had to run from bandits in the first place.
I held back the tears that threatened to spill and said to them.
“Don’t worry. I’m one of the few who can wield the world’s strongest swordsmanship.”
“W-What?! What are you talking about?”
“What I mean is… huh?”
Just like before, I sensed something beyond the bushes and stopped mid-sentence, readying myself.
Seeing this, the two realized their worst fears were coming true and began to tremble in terror.
“This is the end!! We’re all going to die!!”
“Dad!! Mom!! I’m coming to you!!”
“Shut up…. If you were going to scream, you should have done it earlier.”
While they exchanged such futile words, the first opponent worthy of celebration emerged from the bushes.
“Grrrr!!”
“A dog?”
The dog, with dark black fur that blended into the night, wore a spiked collar, indicating it wasn’t a stray.
“Silence!! Tonight’s snack is dog meat!!”
Wait, do horses eat meat?
Thinking that, I casually drew my sword towards the dog charging at me.
-Shring.
The blade of my katana, shining eerily under the crescent moon, turned even more sinister as it was stained with red blood.
The dog, or what used to be a dog, was neatly split from head to tail, scattering blood and entrails on the ground.
The cut was so clean it looked like butter sliced with a knife. Even I was impressed.
“What, they had hunting dogs too? You two managed to escape pretty well.”
“Uh…”
The two stared at the dead dog’s body in disbelief, then looked up at me again.
“W-What did you do?”
“Ah… this is Baldo.”
The world’s strongest swordsmanship.
What in the world just happened?
I looked at the dead dog on the ground and questioned myself, but no answer came.
‘Was it some kind of magic trick?’
Even though I could only use beginner-level magic, I would have sensed the flow of mana if magic had been used right in front of me.
But I didn’t feel any mana. Whatever it was, it wasn’t magic.
‘Did he really cut that dog with his sword…?’
It seemed impossible, but did he draw his sword so fast that he cut the dog and sheathed it before I even saw it?
Looking at the sword, I noticed bloodstains on the scabbard.
Come to think of it, he had taken a similar stance towards me at first….
Realizing this, I looked at the dead dog again and shivered at the thought that it could have been me lying there.
“W-What did you do?”
Ian answered cheerfully to my mindless question.
“Ah… this is Baldo.”
“Baldo?”
Was that the name of the technique he just showed?
I looked at Boris to see if he knew what it was, and he met my gaze with an indescribable expression.
“Is that what Baldo is?”
“Oh, do you know Baldo, old man?”
“Yes…. Drawing the sword from its scabbard extremely fast to cut the enemy….”
“Exactly, using the friction from drawing the sword to cut the enemy in one strike is sword――!”
Ian suddenly stopped talking, turned his body, and caught something in mid-air.
“What… they have bows too? Dogs… bows… how did you two even escape?”
In his hand, he held not one but two arrows.
Seeing the arrows, Boris and I were horrified and exclaimed simultaneously.
“I didn’t see anything like that initially…”
Could it be that they’ve decided to kill us because they think we might report them to the lord?
Of course, I intended to report them if we survived, so maybe it’s a reasonable judgment.
“Is there a base camp or something…? It’s like a game. First, take out the small mobs, then the boss…”
Ian murmured incomprehensible words, smiling as he looked towards the bushes from where the arrows had come.
Boris and I, wary of more arrows, stayed low and did not rise.
But nothing flew at us from the darkness beyond the campfire’s light, nor did anyone come charging.
It was quiet.
Only the crackling of the campfire and the chirping of insects filled the forest.
But it was only for a moment.
-Piiiiiiiiii!!
A sharp whistle from the darkness prompted Ian to suddenly leap into the shadows.
“B-Baronet?!”
“That’s probably a signal to retreat!! I’ll catch them and bring them back for Baldo!! Baldoooo!!”
He yelled and disappeared into the darkness. Less than a minute later, a pitiful scream echoed.
“……”
Watching him, I realized this was my chance. I had to move now to retrieve my father’s research papers, which had been stolen along with Boris’s cart.
Determined, I sprinted into the blood-soaked darkness.
“H-Hori! It’s dangerous!!”
I heard Boris’s voice trying to stop me, but I kept running.
Finding Ian in the pitch-black forest wasn’t difficult.
The bodies of fallen bandits and the occasional agonized scream led me straight to him.
“Ha…! Ha…! B-Baronet!!”
I finally found Ian after running with all my might.
He was approaching what seemed to be the last surviving bandit.
“D-Don’t kill…!!”
Before I could finish, a sickening sound, like tearing wet paper, filled the air.
The bandit, split cleanly from head to groin, fell to the ground.
“Ah…”
Seeing the bandit’s lifeless body, I collapsed to the ground, drained of energy.
Thinking it was all over, I lowered my head. Ian tapped my shoulder and said,
“Hey, we need to interrogate them, so let’s go quickly.”
“W-What? I-Interrogate…?”
In Ian’s hand were three unconscious men.
“T-These people…”
“It’s a special Baldo technique for capturing! I hit them with the back of my sword instead of the blade to keep them alive.”
“Baldo…”
As I repeated the word to myself, I pondered.
What exactly is Baldo?
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