Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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Chapter 43: Actually, I Quite Enjoy Extortion, Threats, and Blackmail
"Kill him!"
An axe flew towards my head as if to split it open, and I used sword energy to block the axe.
Kaaaaang!
'Tch.'
My palm stung quite a bit.
'But not unbearably so.'
With a single fluid motion, I cleanly severed the loose handle of the cheap axe after just one collision.
"!"
The bald man's eyes bulged as he stared at the axe head falling to the ground.
"Attacking an innocent person in a group. I suppose losing a hand is a fair punishment."
I traced an elegant sword path and sliced off the bald man's hands, which were desperately trying to block different areas.
Deng!
His thick hands were cut off lightly.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The bald man screamed. From his perspective, he had just swung the axe once, and when he came to his senses, his wrists were gone.
"Subdue him."
Jeffrey ordered. He seemed to think there was nothing more to see.
"Got it."
"R-run away!"
Just a few Royal Guards quickly suppressed around ten or so thugs.
I watched silently before suddenly rushing into the middle of the fight.
Ah, seeing blood makes my eyes slightly spin.
"Young m-master!"
With the cry of a startled royal guard-
"Kill that bastard!"
Five knife blades flew in from all directions. Like the previous ones, the assailant showed no martial arts training, but the killing intent behind the knives indicated that he had committed quite a few murders.
'This is unexpected.'
I hadn't expected him to unleash such a large number of flying knives.
"Oh no!"
Two startled Royal Guards tried to block or deflect the blades, but two swords couldn't block everything.
"Young master!"
Before Peter's sharp cry could finish, I dodged all the knives and cleanly sliced one man’s neck.
Puwak!
The movement incorporated the intricate footwork and body techniques of the Scarlet Cloud Ghost Path.
Freely moving between flying blades to cut an enemy's neck? Such a movement was impossible for Karzan's martial arts.
'This is the martial art of Grunewald.'
And this was also Allenvert's first kill.
But I'm not afraid of seeing blood.
'Be careful.'
This merciless aggression was a warning to whoever played tricks on me. I hope it serves as a warning to whoever is responsible, just a little.
“Son of a bitch, you kill people!”
“You're crazy asshole.”
I pointed my dripping-with-blood sword at the ponytail guy without smiling.
"Did you think you could kill me without this level of resolve?"
"Damn it, then you die too!"
I easily dodged the thrown dagger by tilting my head-
"Keurk!"
The dagger instead pierced the neck of the man trying to ambush me from behind.
"Killing my colleague, you cruel bastard."
Meanwhile, Olivier chops off the arm of the last struggling thug.
"Young master! Are you hurt anywhere?"
In response to Jeffrey's urgent question, I shrugged my shoulders.
"As you can see, nowhere."
"Oh, thank goodness."
"Thanks to you all being somewhat lax. It was slightly dangerous at the end."
"...I apologize."
"I'm not denying it."
Jeffrey bit his lip.
"Yes. But if you were in danger, I was prepared to lose one of my arms to intervene."
"How absurd. Wouldn't that be too wasteful? Your arm is an asset of our Grunewald clan."
In any case, admitting this so obediently—I couldn't tell if he was stupid or manly. But I tried to understand Jeffrey's thoughts.
Maybe he wanted to see how I would handle an actual combat situation.
But life is a continuous series of unexpected situations. If it were Barclava instead of me, he might have been seriously injured.
"Young master, I apologize again."
Despite being well aware of the facts, Jeffrey bowed deeply in guilt.
“I won’t make any excuses about following orders. It was my own reckless decision that put you in danger, and it’s an unforgivable crime.”
What a clean apology.
To be honest, I wasn’t all that angry. Still, it’s always good to hold onto leverage.
“I’ll let this matter slide for now. But if you find yourself guarding someone again in the future, you must ensure no reckless actions put them at risk.”
"...I will remember. And I will compensate for today's incident in some way."
"I won't stop you from doing that."
Then Jeffrey slightly raised his head.
"Why?"
"Are you not more angry?"
"Why would I be?"
"..."
It’s probably because I’d been acting snarky with him all day. I let out a small chuckle.
"Perhaps you thought of me too much like Barclava. I'm not such a petty person."
"...Ah!"
Jeffrey clenched his lips tightly and quickly lowered his head again.
"You also need to cultivate more composure."
I turned my head towards the carriage. The coachman was hiding Peter behind his back.
"You have good instincts."
"Thank you."
The coachman seemed to have slightly scratched his palm while catching the flying dagger.
"In any case, these were quite barbaric people. Something feels off."
"Well, a few died, and the rest are half-disabled."
In fact, the one who was knocked down by a single punch at the very beginning was the most lightly injured.
"Anyway, let's clean up. Anything to wipe off the blood?"
"I'll wipe it for you."
Peter wiped my face and body thoroughly, like cleaning a dish.
"Do it gently. You'll peel off my skin."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Then Peter wiped the blood as gently as if giving a baby a bath.
"It tickles, so just do it as you were."
***
Afterward, the security guards finally arrived.
"Aren't you too late?"
"...You're right about that."
"Could this be Elder Brother Somerset's unit?"
My sarcastic joke chilled the atmosphere slightly.
"P-please wait a moment!"
The security team leader asked in a fluster.
"What exactly is this situation?"
Jeffrey stepped forward after receiving my glance.
"You've worked hard. We're the Royal Guards escorting the Fourth young master Allenvert Grunewald."
"Ah!"
The security team leader's waist automatically bowed.
"G-greetings, young master!"
The security team leader paid his respects to me.
"You've worked hard."
"T-thank you."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke to Jeffrey.
"Turns out you're Royal Guards."
"Indeed."
This moment clearly revealed the difference in status between the security and Royal Guards. In fact, there was also a significant difference in their capabilities.
"Do you know who these people are?"
In response to Jeffrey's question, the security team leader, after confirming the one-armed ponytail's face, answered.
"Yes. They're troublemakers who occasionally cause disturbances in this area. They're criminals who don't even have the nerve to do such things..."
"Well, we'll know the details once we investigate."
I spoke.
"These will be taken by the Royal Guards for interrogation. Since they dared to commit such an audacious act against the young master of Grunewald, we must thoroughly expose their mastermind."
"Understood."
The security team leader followed my instructions without argument.
"Jeffrey, you take them and interrogate them. Perhaps someone might have instigated this."
Although I said "perhaps," I actually harbored quite strong suspicions. The situation was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
"Yes."
Having already incurred a debt of gratitude, Jeffrey also meekly accepted my order.
"Handle the cleanup. Just bury the corpses roughly in a corner."
"Got it. Don't worry."
The security team leader said.
"Most importantly, young master, I'm glad you're safe."
"Thank you."
I responded casually.
"If possible, may we provide an escort on your way back?"
I stared directly at the security team leader. It was clear he wanted to curry favor.
However, I had no reason to be indebted to this man. Moreover, something about these people still seemed suspicious.
"I'll appreciate the sentiment."
"Oh, understood."
***
I boarded the carriage, receiving the military salutes from the security guards.
I gazed at the scenery outside the carriage, lost in thought.
"Could this have been instigated by someone?"
"...Well, it's hard to say for certain at this moment."
Just as Olivier said, if someone tried to kill me in broad daylight with everyone watching, they'd have to be completely mad.
'First off, Barclava doesn't have this capability.'
Karl and Ulbhild, the two children of the first wife, have no reason to orchestrate such a plot.
'That leaves Verdzig and Somerset.'
I didn't think Verdzig would attempt such a clumsy maneuver. But who knows. Perhaps the very suspicion made him bold.
Of course, there might be someone else I'm unaware of targeting me.
Or someone might be trying to prove their loyalty without the direct orders of those two. Such cases are surprisingly common.
'Though it seems too stupid to have been directly ordered.'
Anyway, the interrogation should reveal some clues.
'Though the trail will likely be cut off somewhere.'
I was familiar with the methods of high-ranking individuals.
'Whoever the mastermind is.'
In this situation, I've essentially seized control.
'Remember, some blades are strongest when not drawn.'
Now that it's come to this, shall I provoke Somerset a bit?
If I were to bet on the culprit, I'd bet on Somerset. If he’s really the culprit, he'll reveal something. If not, so be it.
"Hehe."
In truth, I quite enjoy extortion, threats, and blackmail.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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