Chapter 89: Reunited with a former ally, part 6
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
『Is Rina… not wanted anymore…?』, muttered the young mage from under my blanket.
She had stayed up all night. We were out camping under the starry sky, and the sun was about to rise.
『I know I’m good at magic, and I wanted to help Father with it…』
People called her many things — genius, child prodigy, even a monster — but whatever she was, she had become a member of Almeria’s party in order to rescue her father.
『He was really kind to me… this time, Rina wants to be really kind to him too…』
She drifted off to sleep before long.
Rina wanted to help the same institution that had helped her, raised her and given her a place to stay. She had held this noble mission in her heart throughout all these years. Now, that same girl was beside me on the sofa, sound asleep, with one hand still tugging on my sleeve.
Lyla, Rodje and Dee had also gathered in the living room, and we discussed what to do.
「I don’t know how many of my men are six feet under because of that runt… but I won’t mix affairs of the past and present.」
Now that their leader had made a stand, neither Dee nor Rodje spoke another word about the war.
「Rina-chan’s been working hard all this time, hasn’t she?」
「I agree, but… what can we actually do? The noble family funding the underground arena not only contributes hugely to the kingdom, but is also distantly related to the royal family… won’t they get a lot of support? Even though they’re doing such inhumane things…」
「It’s no easy feat to destroy that arena. We’ll need people and magical firepower, both of which I’m terrible at」, I added.
「Well, that’s where I come in!」, exclaimed Lyla, standing up.
It was as if she had been waiting for this moment the whole time. Rodje clapped softly.
「You’re a genius! As expected of Lylael-sama!」
There’s a difference between being loyal and being a sycophant, you know.
「You’re not coming or going anywhere if you can’t use magic.」
「Mm, I know that. I’ve been developing a new technique that may just blow all of you away.」
While she could no longer use magic, her magic sense was still second to none, which meant that she could still devise new strategies if she wished.
「It looks good on paper, but… I’ve yet to try it out.」
Then it’s as good as useless.
「Teach me how to use it if you find that it actually works. Before that, though, I’m going to have a chat with that big nobleman.」
I gently pried Rina’s hand away, scooped her up and handed her over to Lyla.
「Didn’t Iris already say that the guild can’t do anything…?」
「This is no longer work-related. I’m doing this for my friends.」
I’ll personally kill anyone who dares to taint Rina’s innocence. After all, getting rid of pests is what I used to do best.
「Be careful, Roland-sama… you could get yourself fired…」, Dee said, to which Rodje added:
「I don’t care what happens to you, but if what you do ever ends up affecting Lylael-sama, then I’ll –」
「Who do you take me for?」
Lyla chuckled.
「A crafty fox who never takes the glory for himself?」
「Hm, perhaps.」
I never take the spotlight because I’m always in the shadows.
「I’ll be back before I have to go to work」, I said, cutting off the three ladies, and left.
I blinked back to the arena via my usual means of transportation. Entering through the emergency exit, I found my way to the actual entrance. Since only those with official business were allowed there, there were no lookouts stationed at the path where I had found Rina. There was no reason to have the doors closed either. While the entrance was actually guarded by a few sturdy-looking fellows, I made short work of them and found my way out.
No wonder the path was long, I thought as I found myself on a ridge overlooking the western region’s largest city, Imir. Behind the four castle walls that could give the royal capital’s ones a run for their money was a town that had been carefully divided into different districts. Amidst the port district, housing district, business district and the like stood an old castle on a small hill at the very centre.
The second most prosperous city in the kingdom really lived up to its name. The business district was still brightly lit even in the wee hours of the night.
That sissy who had brought Rina to the arena, Paska, wasn’t a weakling by any means.
I had briefly considered the possibility of him being a landlord’s bodyguard, but figured that he wouldn’t be able to leave his position for so long. Yet, since he had known exactly how to toot his horn at Rina, he was most likely in a position where he could talk to the landlord and could thus be found nearby.
I headed for the still-lively business district and went straight for one of the watering-holes, where I sat at the counter and ordered a bite to eat. Alcohol loosens tongues, and hanging around a pub can snag you snippets of information easily. Simply observing people interacting without saying a word yourself will allow you to discern their relationship. Equals interact in one manner, a superior and a subordinate in another, and so on.
「Have you seen a big man around these parts who talks funny? Paska or something」, I asked the owner.
「Ah, you mean Paska Hämäläinen?」
First time lucky?
「Do you know who he is?」
The owner recoiled visibly, his expression clouding over.
「He’s famous around these parts. Or infamous, rather. He’s the commander of the knights that oversee our city of Imir.」
「Oh, is he?」
The owner’s eyes darted left and right before he leaned in and whispered:
「He appears to be on very good terms with the landlord, who turns a blind eye to his ‘management’ of these parts. Nothing like this happened under the previous one’s watch, but with this one… that Hämäläinen has even begun charging protection fees…」
Refusal to acquiesce would simply result in his business being confiscated and him being thrown into jail, he said. Suddenly, we heard boisterous laughter and he furrowed his eyebrows. About six to seven men walked in.
「Business is booming, eh? Wouldn’t have expected otherwise. We’re in times of plenty after all!」, said one of them.
His tone of voice and the air he gave off was different from the last time we met, but it was no doubt Paska Hämäläinen.
「Yes… it’s all thanks to you…」, the owner said, forcing a smile.
Seeing the look on Paska and his cronies’ faces, all the guests bailed and the pub became so silent you could hear a pin drop. I remained, however, and eavesdropped while hiding behind the counter.
「Is it true, commander?」, said one of them.
「Hoho, even I’m gonna be a noble soon」, replied Paska in a deep voice.
「Once we get appraised for this, yes…?」
「Something like that.」
There isn’t a fixed number of nobles, so baronships can be bought with money. To put it more precisely, that money allows you to establish connections with other nobles and thus be recommended for the position.
Money and connections — that’s all you need to rise to the upper echelon of society.
[T/N note: In this context, ‘connections’ is コネ (ko-ne) and ‘money’ is カネ (ka-ne), which differ by only one syllable.]
「I see…」
And Rina…
「Not having to do work and being able to consort with girls all day… man, I’m jealous!」
「When the time comes, y’all will be important knights serving the Hämäläinen family too.」
[T/N Note: Paska’s underling uses the term 女抱き放題 (you can hug as many girls as you want) and he replies by calling them お抱え騎士 (indispensable knights). Both contain the term 抱く/抱える, which means ‘to hug’.]
「Aye, thanks!」
Paska was surrounded by nothing but bootlickers, it seemed.
「I’ll put the cash here」, said Paska, putting a handful of loose change on the table.
It was barely enough to even cover the expenses of one of them.
「…Thank you」, the owner said with a bitter expression on his face, lowering his head.
「We’ll be back!」
They left.
「Commander…? Wasn’t that too little…?」
「Really? That owner didn’t make a peep, which means that it’s enough.」
「If you put it that way, gyahahaha!」
Their hee-hawing echoed across the streets, and gradually grew softer.
「How long do I have to put up with this…」, sighed the owner as he literally counted his pennies.
「Everything will be okay.」
I footed the bill and told him to keep the change, then rushed off after them.
There’s something I need to ask Paska. His cronies were in the way, so I put them to sleep one by one and let them roll onto the ground.
「Hey, are y’all listening or not –?」
Not realising that his men were gone, he turned his head to look at them. All he saw was me, however, and our eyes met for a moment.
「Huh…? What do you want?」
「I’m here to ask you something. It’s about the principal of the orphanage under your landlord.」
「Hm? Out of all things… have you been talking to that brat?」
「Answer me. The principal of the orphanage went to appeal to the landlord because his funds had been cut off. Where is he? I’ve heard that he was unlawfully arrested and thrown into jail.」
He scratched his head as if to say, not this shit again, then burst into laughter.
「Ah, that guy. You know of him? Fuhahaha –」
He smacked his forehead as if he couldn’t think of anything funnier.
「That dirty old fart that came to pester us for money, right? ‘My children are hungry,’ he was saying! And he was crying, that penniless peasant! Hahaha!」
「What became of him?」
Barely able to control his laughter, Paska finally answered me through a twisted, hideous grin.
「He’s dead, yo!」
「Is he? What a shame.」
In an attempt to suppress the wave of anger that washed over me, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I had really wanted to see that the principal got home safely.
…It’s a shame, indeed.
「Well, it can’t be helped. That jailhouse is full of criminals. It’s the job of us knights to make the city a safe place, anyhow! You know, about that dumb kid who came and asked if her father was still alive…」
「…Are you talking about Rina?」
「…she’s a mage from the Heroes’ Party! Can you believe it? Just some grasshopper who knows jack shit about the real world. Anyway, when she knocked on our door, her ‘father’ had already expired!」
「Ok, I get the idea. Shut up already.」
So this guy’s becoming a noble… with the money that never reached Rina?
Paska continued prattling on like he was relating a funny anecdote to his friends.
「Oh yeah, I remember now. If she wants to save her father, she’ll need money, right? So I told her that there’s a place where she can make a killing, and she lapped it up! You know how much money that gullible runt made me thinking she can save her nonexistent ‘father’?」
「I will not allow you to humiliate my ally like that.」
「What are you gonna do to a cavalry commander in charge of Imir?」
「Don’t worry about your position. There are many, many more fish in the sea.」
There was no need to activate my skill against the pie-eyed commander. The moment he tried to draw his sword, I ran up to him drawing my own and stabbed him in the foot.
「Gyaaaa…!? My foot –」
I whispered into the flailing Paska’s ear.
「Don’t think you can just die like that.」
He clenched his teeth and began swinging his sword.
「Oooorraaaaaa!」
「Pest control has finally caught up to you, Paska. You know nothing more about the real world than Rina does.」
I parried his swing, then placed both hands on the ground and kicked him in the mouth.
「Goaaah!?」
「How do you like the taste of my shoe?」
He had fallen over. Borrowing his sword, I pinned one of his hands to the ground.
「Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?」
I did the same with the other hand using a fork that I had borrowed from the watering-hole earlier, essentially turning the ground into a makeshift crucifix. I made sure that the back of his hand was touching the ground so that he couldn’t pull it out easily.
「Ow, ow, ow…」, he whimpered.
I simply stared down at him.
「Someone, anyone… help… I can’t move… oww…」
A crowd had formed around us but nobody said a word, except for one person who incited the rest.
「Die, fucker!」
「That’s right… hurry up and meet your maker…!」
「Nobody’s going to help you!」
Preventing the civilians from attacking him personally, I borrowed their weapons instead. All of them are simply passers-by — eye-witnesses who should have nothing to do with the tragedy unfolding before their eyes.
I decided to finish the job with a small knife I had received, slowly but cleanly severing Paska’s arteries one by one.
「Look at you, big boy. A sight for sore eyes, dying in front of everyone who wishes you dead. A disgraceful end for a knight.」
With cold, unfeeling eyes, I stared at his contorted face until it relaxed and never twitched again.
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