episode_0011

I don’t know if I could say it was fortunate, but the interrogation wasn’t that difficult.

When he saw the gold-level adventurer’s medal, his attitude completely changed. He crouched down in front of the window and immediately began to tell everything.

” This was about a week ago.

Someone came to me and gave me a lot of money to tell me to interfere with the adventurers with red-eyed human slaves and centaur slaves when they arrived in this city…

All… If I had known that you were a gold-level adventurer, I would never have accepted such a request!”

“If I were a low-level adventurer, I would have continued to act shamelessly.”

I ignored him, who flinched at my cold words and then scoffed again, and asked a question.

“So what were you planning to do to Emma?”

“Huh? That.. that…”

As he hesitated to answer, I took a step closer and only then did he startled and give an answer.

“I was just trying to make you unable to move with paralyzing poison! The person who gave the money didn’t specifically ask for harm!

However, the centaur noticed and transformed, kicking the guy who was approaching from behind, knocking down a few kids and running away… Ugh!”

I held the spear blade to his neck and gave him one last chance.

“Then why are there no other horses in this stable now? I already know that that blood is nothing to worry about. If you’re going to keep making excuses-”

“My kids and the adventurers we hired rode out to chase that centaur! yes! you’re right!

When I found out that it was a rare species, I became greedy, so I changed my mind midway… But the price of centaurs these days has gone up due to the decrease in the supply of slaves, and I thought that if they were a rare species, they would be sold at a very high price…”

“… After kidnapping Emma and selling her, he tried to extort money from me in the name of compensation?”

Now, I was starting to get more than angry, I was becoming embarrassed.

“…It’s against the law to touch a slave who owns an owner…but since you have an expensive slave, you think there’s a lot of money to be made out of it, and you’ve never even thought that I might be a high-level adventurer?”

“I have committed a mortal sin! Please forgive me just once! Wow!”

When I lightly struck him in the face with the spear, he lost consciousness with a groan and fell down with his broken nose on the floor.

‘…I tried to talk about it because I wanted to find out something more important…

A typical third-rate criminal who is blinded by the large amount of money in front of him and commits it without thinking about anything else… I guess there’s nothing more to hear about him.’

“…Could it have been planned by other brothers and sisters in the master’s family?”

“Probably so. Since ancient times, there have been many half-blood relatives who wanted to keep in check the day they were recognized as members of the family after being promoted to gold level.

The biggest problem is that it seems like our movements have been exposed to any of them… We need to leave the city as quickly as possible.”

I sighed and responded to Rubia’s words.

We tried to move the system as unnoticed as possible, but it seems like it would all be in vain.

‘…But it looks like the head of the family didn’t move directly this time either. If that were the case, it wouldn’t have ended like this.’

The head of the Catenis family, who had already achieved half of his immortality through dragon blood, did not care much about secret struggles between his children as long as it did not cause harm to himself and his family.

On the contrary, at times, he encouraged such secret struggle to some extent and pushed his children to develop their talents to the fullest in order to survive.

However, if you stand out too much and cause damage to the family or even point the knife at the head of the family…

You will definitely set a terrible example.

Not only the person responsible, but also all the people around him.

And I was always trying not to cross that fine line.

However, it was not a situation where one could be completely reassured just because the head of the family did not move.

“We need to find Emma quickly…”

“He probably went out of the city. Since there is a forest nearby, he probably took refuge there.”

“That’s right. The problem is that the traces are Luvia. No matter how you chase them, you need a horse to move quickly…”

I was embarrassed because it seemed like they were chasing Emma with all the horses that were already in the stable.

‘It’ll take a while if I walk… damn… if it’s too late, Emma could be in danger-‘

“Umm… Master? What about that woman?”

Luvia, who was looking at my nervous appearance, called to me as if she had suddenly remembered me, and pointed to the red-haired centaur who remained silent and did not move even through all the commotion.

To be exact, she was harnessed so that even if she tried to speak or move, she couldn’t.

It is certainly not comparable to a centaur like Emma, who is said to have been blessed by the goddess Epona, but if you get the help of her, who is basically a centaur, there will be no need to search the city to find a horse separately.

Looking at her eyes, which are still glaring at me fiercely, I feel like I should be worried that even if I let her go, she might attack me, let alone get her cooperation.

It wasn’t even an insignificant request; it was a request for a ride, an act of great significance to her species.

Even if the relationship was normal without much resentment or bad impressions, the likelihood of being rejected was higher.

Because centaurs never give their backs and backs to anyone who isn’t a close friend, lover, or colleague they recognize.

This was the reason why the Empire and the humans who restrained them and forced them to ride and pull their luggage were especially hated by the Centaurs.

“…I guess I can try.”

But at the same time, she was almost the only option we had right now.

If all the horses at the city’s post stations are already in use, it will be difficult to find them even if you urgently look for them elsewhere.

I carefully approached the red-haired centaur and first removed the gag from his mouth.

First off, she didn’t try to bite me.

It may have been because my mouth and chin were too painful to do that because they were tied all the time.

I quietly watched her catch her breath for a moment and then spoke to her.

“Nice to meet you. One of the goddess Epona’s most beloved people, the injustice that has been done to you is truly regrettable.

Please help me make it right-”

“The tongue is long. Blasphemer. I guess you can just reuse the gag you just removed from me.”

…It didn’t seem like it would be easy either.

“I understand that it may seem hypocritical.

After all, I owned as a slave a member of your sacred race.

But what I’m trying to say now is that she desperately needs your help.”

“I really wonder how helping slaves to chase their masters can be good for the slaves.

From what I can see, the current situation only seems to be that the daughter of the goddess has found freedom thanks to your race, which couldn’t control their greed and foolishly fought among themselves.”

“If you were in this stable earlier, wouldn’t you have seen that there were people targeting her? We need to help her.”

At those words, she snorted with contempt and then continued.

“I am helping her now. I saw her fight firsthand.

Those pathetic bastards couldn’t resist the girl Epona had blessed, even in the middle of their own city. What do you think it’s like out there?

…Rather, it is you who is truly dangerous. The one who wears gold around his neck.

If people like you knew even half the honor of our tribe’s warriors, I would truly respect their martial arts skills.

Even now, when I see you trying to show her fake kindness, I just can’t do that.”

Wildly waving her red tail, the same color as her head, she stretched forward as far as her bound body would allow, raised her head, exposed her neck, and spoke.

“You know what to do with her and me when you get to her by riding me… Do you think I’ll give you a ride?

Just let me go as you please. I’ll step on your head and crush it right away…

If you know, kill me quickly. But remember: Epona will one day punish you for your blasphemy against Him.”

“……”

“…Should we just try hypnosis?”

I stayed silent at Luvia’s recommendation and shook my head in disapproval.

In any case, her hypnosis was mainly specialized in stiffening the body to suit the vampire’s hunt, making the person dazed and possessed, and causing loss of consciousness, so it was difficult to use it to accurately direct movements in a fierce sprint.

Even if he could do it, if she woke up from hypnosis during the ride, a fight would immediately break out.

“Or that girl… How about we just leave her alone and set off on our own?

Just as the centaur said, Emma will never be troubled by gangs that a third-rate criminal might hire.

It may be a bit late to join, but the situation is still dangerous enough for the owner to worry-”

“Actually, that part bothers me. Rubia.”

“What are you talking about?”

I continued speaking with a stern expression.

“People from our family, who obviously know our identity and capabilities, are trying to attack us…

I don’t think there’s any way that it was just a bunch of shabby guys like that.

Something much more dangerous may appear for us and Emma.”

Perhaps it is a delusion of persecution that arises from being exposed to such threats too much.

But in the end, it was also true that I had to join Emma as quickly as possible in order to definitively rule out the possibility that came to mind.

‘In the end, there is no other way than to persuade that centaur somehow…’

The problem was that what made persuasion even more difficult in the current situation was that most of what she said was generally correct.

If a slave owner says he is worried about what has become of a missing slave and wants to find it, and asks to know where it was headed, who would think he is sincere?

Having fought alongside her, I also knew well that most adventurers could not even fight against Emma even if they attacked her on horseback.

The problem was that there were some facts that she did not know and could not help but know.

One thing is that among the threats she has not seen yet, there is one that is targeting Emma.

There were two reasons why Emma came back to me on her own.

‘But right now, neither of us have any way to prove it to her. If she doesn’t believe me even if I tell her the whole long story… Ah! if?’

I found an unexpected way, took a moment to catch my breath, and approached her, who was still standing there as if ready to stab me at any time.

And then he started talking again.

Her eyes, which had shown only coldness, grew bigger and surprise began to fill them.

When all is said and done.

Her answer was-

——

-Kwazijic!

“Kwaaagh! This pair-”

Immediately after the shield and the hand holding it were shattered together, an adventurer’s curse was not completed by a subsequent kick to the forehead, and was drowned out by the impact that shattered his bone.

“Ugh!”

Screams erupt from the remaining people as they see one more person fall.

Of course, it wasn’t because of the strong camaraderie.

Most of these are back-alley thugs who were exploited by post office managers by giving them kickbacks, or adventurers who received an illegal request to steal and sell slaves without going through a union.

There was no such thing as loyalty.

He was just inadvertently expressing his fear at the suspicion that this might be his future, and at the fact that he had one less meat shield to take that vicious kick instead of him.

“Who’s next!”

In contrast, right after landing on both legs, the black-haired centaur stands up again, roaring fiercely, and glares fiercely at them with its black masturbator and white pupils.

Faced with that shout and gaze, most adventurers flinched and lowered their necks, unable to face Emma directly.

Except for one archer, who calmly shot his arrow again.

However, despite her calmness and accuracy, Emma quickly blocks the arrow with the round shield on her left arm.

‘Is that bowman the most threatening guy out there…’

Even in the eyes of Emma, who had defeated the enemies one by one with relative ease so far, that bow was just as threatening.

If she had been completely naked without the shield her master had provided her with, several more shots might have already hit her body.

“Wow!”

Even if that wasn’t the case, the threatening checks that flew in from time to time served as a stepping stone for other idiots to try to counterattack her.

A man lunges at her, holding a large ax high in the air.

Is what is in those bloodshot eyes a desperately squeezed bravery, or is it madness that comes from the end of fear?

To check him, Emma catches the ax’s blade at an angle with her shield, slips it, and stretches forward, kicking the ground with her legs that have so far shattered iron and wood, bone and flesh.

Before the man could retrieve the thrown ax, the sword swung by Emma quickly drew a red line on his neck.

-Dream…

The sound of the head hitting the ground was quieter than expected.

Raising her foot on the severed head, Emma briefly considered kicking it towards her enemies to further demoralize them.

“…I…I can’t do this anymore!”

“Me too! This is crazy!”

“If I had known it was a request like this, I wouldn’t have accepted it in the first place!”

However, it didn’t seem necessary.

Most of those who thought they were runaway slaves and rushed in to fight seemed to have lost their will to fight just because of the level of violence they had shown so far.

They hurriedly got on their horses and fled back to the city, and those who could not did so ran after them, shouting that they should be taken with them too.

Emma laughed, half out of futility and half out of relief, but then she noticed that there was still one person holding a bow who had not run away.

‘…Are you saying that you have as much pride as your skills?’

Anyway, considering the skill of the opponent I had seen so far, it was impossible to let down my guard. Emma put aside her rest and calmly prepared for battle again.

However, the opponent did not string an arrow to his bow this time.

-Hwiik!

Just whistle loudly.

Even Emma could immediately understand that it was a signal. The opponent is trying to use a different move that has not been used before.

Immediately tensing her body and pricking her ears above her head, Emma realized that the opponent had called for reinforcements by the sound of another foot hitting the ground.

And I was barely able to turn around and catch the surprise attack with my shield.

Even though it was a surprise attack, she could barely react quickly.

But what was even more shocking was that even though she was holding her shield firmly and her feet were on the ground, she was pushed backwards by the attack, scraping the ground.

She, a centaur, was defeated in a head-on power battle.

It was natural that Emma’s face was filled with shock as she lowered her shield.

However, that shock was nothing compared to the shock she received when she confirmed the identity of the person who had ambushed her.

The opponent was also a centaur like her.

The eyes were dull and there was a brand on the forehead, but the ears and tail of a horse like hers were still there.

However, Emma was not only shocked by her people’s attack, she was also shocked by what had happened to her people.

The other person’s arm wasn’t the one she was born with.

A metal imitation that looks like the original piece was forcibly cut out and dashed together.

This was the reason why Emma was pushed away in the collision just now.

Before Emma could recover from her shock, the dead-eyed centaur lunged again, swinging his arms.

The shield broke into pieces and scattered across the forest floor.