Chapter 179

“Vice-squad leader. Even though it’s me, I don’t have everything.”

Dorian licked his lips, rubbing his belly pocket.

“Do you have the contract or not?”

Raon bobbed his hand, urging him to give it to him if he had it.

“Ah, I do have it.”

Dorian wriggled his hand in his belly pocket. A straight piece of paper with a contract on it came out.

“I also need a pen, and a hard surface to put it on.”

“I do have those as well, but…”

He put his hand back into the pocket, taking out a pen and a piece of cardboard.

“Thank you.”

Raon accepted the pen and the cardboard, smiling faintly.

“But you understand, right? Even though it’s me, I don’t have everything!”

“I know.”

“You don’t seem to trust me.”

Dorian licked his lips, wiping the blood off the club that was on the ground next to him before putting it back into his belly pocket.

The spectators exclaimed in admiration at the sight of the huge club going into the small belly pocket.

“Wow…”

“Zieghart is really great.”

“I know, right? Their young swordsman defeated Inield, and they even have a peculiar swordsman like him…”

“Did the giant of the north wake up from his slumber?”

“I guess no one can stop Zieghart if they decide to move.”

Because they showed so many amazing sides to them, the spectators completely forgot about Balkar. They just kept talking about Zieghart.

While listening to the spectators’ overreactions, Raon quickly wrote out the contract.

‘This should be enough.’

The content was simple. Salaman had to obey Light Wind’s orders until the end of the mission, and they were forbidden from using violence and insults against them. Additionally, they had to speak to them in a respectful manner. Of course, he also added that the Light Wind couldn’t make excessive demands, such as forcing them to risk their lives.

“Please look this over.”

“Did you really have to write a contract?”

Morell frowned upon receiving the contract.

“It’s better to be thorough.”

“Our vice-squad leader isn’t as sloppy as me. You’d better be careful.”

Rimmer took a glance at the contract, then smiled like a fool.

“Are you bragging right now?”

“Of course, I’m bragging. Unlike your student, who collapsed with his teeth taken out, my student is confidently standing there.”

He grinned, pointing at Inield and Raon one after the other.

“Keuh…”

Morell, who had been forcing himself to retain his composure, couldn’t stop himself anymore and ground his teeth. Having his student compared to another’s seemed to have shocked him a lot.

“The contract seems fine. Sign it already.”

“Shut up.”

Morell tapped Rimmer’s shoulder to push him away, then looked around. He sighed, as he saw the spectators numbering over a hundred now.

‘How did this happen…?’

He suggested a duel because he thought it was an opportunity to stomp on Zieghart’s pride, but he never imagined it would end up the way it had. He couldn’t get out of the situation, as the princess and Inield had acted up, and he himself had made troublesome remarks.

“Haa…”

Morell checked the contract one more time before signing it.

“See? You ended up signing it anyway.”

“Please, shut up!”

“Yeah!”

While Rimmer was making fun of Morell, Raon walked up to Princess Jayna and Inield. They were still unconscious—because of the physical shock for Inield, and because of the mental shock for the princess.

“Are you going to send them to a clinic?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there’s a famous clinic in the middle of the main street.”

Zatice carried Inield on his back, then pointed at the four-story building around the middle of the street. His neat face looked like he had acknowledged his defeat from the bottom of his heart, and he even smiled, as if he were glad that Raon was speaking to him.

“I see. See you later.”

Raon nodded, then took out two red pins from his pocket. He quickly moved his hand to put the pins on Inield and Princess Jayna’s clothes.

“Hmm…”

“Raon!”

While he was watching Inield and Princess Jayna being carried, a piece of paper fluttered towards him.

“The signing is done!”

“Tsk.”

When he looked around, Rimmer was grinning and Morell was kicking a rock, with an expression that made it look like he ate shit.

“I won’t forget today’s humiliation.”

“Sure, you should never forget about it. After all, you are the one that brought that humiliation upon yourself.”

“Keuh, you…”

“Squad leader.”

Raon left Morell alone with his trembling hand, giving the contract back to Rimmer.

“The leader should keep the contract.”

“Ah, it’s annoying. You should keep it.”

Instead of accepting the contract, Rimmer put his hands behind his head, his fingers clasped together.

“Squad leader! You are going too far! Are you really refusing to sit at the dining table that Raon has prepared?”

“He’s so useless. That’s even worse than when he used to be an instructor.”

“Ugh…”

Burren and Martha looked at him coldly, and Rimmer’s shoulders flinched before he tried to take the contract.

“No, I think it will be better if I keep it.”

Raon shook his head, putting the contract in his inner pocket.

“I can’t give this to you because it feels like you would sell it to them if I did.”

Considering what he had done in the past, he could totally see him selling the contract’s grandfather on top of the contract itself.

“Let’s go. Because of the fuss, the mayor should’ve finished his preparations as well.”

Raon opened the door of the city hall and entered. The Light Wind squad entered, and their new servants followed them with a sigh.

“Ah…”

Rimmer, who was left alone in front of the city hall, looked at his empty hand with trembling eyes.

“Damn it! I could’ve sold the contract!”

* * *

Sticky, red moisture was covering the underground. Weak groans could be heard from beyond the iron bars installed on both sides of the corridor.

She didn’t even look fourteen years old. A young-looking red-haired girl was walking through the corridor, which reeked of blood. She was humming as if she were enjoying the weeping groans coming from the iron bars, opening the door at the end of the corridor.

The fresh atmosphere inside the room made it difficult to believe it was located underground. An old man with a gentle appearance and long, soft gray hair was sitting on a chair and reading a book inside the room.

“As planned, Zieghart and Balkar have arrived.”

The girl spoke to the old man casually, as if he were her friend, and sat at the desk.

“It’s the correct date. How is the preparation going?”

The old man asked his question with his gaze focused on the book instead of looking at the girl.

“You don’t need to ask. I drank half, and I left the other half alone.”

“The apostle will arrive soon. Make sure to calculate correctly so that there won’t be any problems during the move.”

“Alright. By the way, something interesting happened.”

The red-haired girl opened her small hand, then continued.

“Zieghart and Balkar started a duel as soon as they arrived.”

“Duel?”

“I’m not sure why they fought, but a young swordsman from Zieghart fought against Inield.”

“I guess Inield won.”

“No.”

The old man turned to look at the girl for the first time upon hearing the denial.

“Zieghart’s young swordsman literally overwhelmed him. He wasn’t even using a sword—he beat him up with a club.”

“Hmm? A club? What are you talking about right now?”

“And then, that blonde kid…”

The girl told him everything, from the fight between Raon and Inield to what happened with the bet after that.

“Seline.”

The old man narrowed his eyes and called the girl by name.

“Investigate that young swordsman.”

“Why? We are soon going to leave anyway.”

“We are bound to clash with Zieghart in the future. Since he’s going to become our powerful enemy, we should make ourselves informed in advance. And if ever we get the opportunity…”

“Kill him, right?”

The girl, Seline, put two fingers together and mimicked slicing her neck.

“Don’t approach them if Rimmer or Morell are around, just gather information. Only make your move when he’s alone. Since it’s impossible to notice your sorcery unless the person is a Master, it won’t be a difficult task.”

“That’s easy.”

She smoothed down her face, which looked beautiful and cute at the same time, and smiled cheerfully.

“I wonder how a Zieghart’s blood tastes.”

“You’ve already tasted it many times before.”

“That kid is different. His talent is one thing, but his face is also extremely handsome.”

“Hmph, useless.”

The old man clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

“By the way, did you mention that the princess and Inield have collapsed?”

“Yes. They were taken to the clinic after fainting.”

“Hmm…”

The old man scratched his chin and smiled faintly.

“We might be able to catch two rabbits with one stone.” 

* * * 

Porvan’s mayor, Owist, looked trustworthy because of his ample proportions. However, he also looked anxious at the same time, as his face kept sweating.

“W-Welcome.”

Owist briefly bowed, wetting his handkerchief with the sweat on his forehead.

“I’m Porvan’s mayor, Owist.”

“I’m Zieghart’s Light Wind squad leader, Rimmer.”

Rimmer returned the greeting with a soft smile.

“Please, take a seat.”

Rimmer sat at the center, following the mayor’s gesture, and the rest stood behind him.

“I’m really honored to meet Zieghart's Sword of Light…”

“I’m pretty famous, but since the mission requires urgency, let’s get into the topic right away. Please, explain the situation.”

Rimmer tapped the table, telling him to talk about the mission already.

“A-Alright. Since our Porvan city’s main source of income is trading and tourism, there are usually more cases of disappearance than in other regions. However, that number has been gradually increasing from three months ago, and we’ve got over one hundred reports of disappearances in the past two weeks.”

Even though Porvan wasn’t a small city, having over one hundred reported disappearances in a mere two weeks was a rare occurrence. Since many people didn’t trust the city hall, the actual number of disappearances could’ve been even higher.

“We disguised the city’s guards, mercenaries, and even knights and deployed them for the investigation, but the disappearances continued as if they were laughing at us. Even the mercenaries and the knights have disappeared.”

Owist wiped off the sweat flowing down his cheeks, then pleaded for them to solve the matter in a murmur.

“The city’s atmosphere wasn’t that bad, considering there were so many disappearances.”

Rimmer spoke, examining the city through the window of the mayor’s room. Like he said, there weren’t many signs of depression in Porvan from what they had seen that day.

“That’s because we haven’t disclosed information about the disappearances.”

“What do you mean?”

Burren, who’d been remaining silent, narrowed his eyes and stepped up.

“J-Just as I said, our main source of income is trading and tourism. If rumors spread that there has been a steep increase in disappearances, the tourists and merchants won’t visit us anymore. Th-That’s why we didn’t reveal it.”

Owist started to sweat twice as much as before, as he was also aware that it was problematic. He almost looked like he was drenched in rain.

“How could you do that? Shouldn’t you announce it quickly to decrease the casualties?”

“I-If people learn about the disappearance, the damage will spread to the entire city from a few individuals. That’s why I had no choice.”

“Bullshit! Are you seriously saying that you had no choice?”

“Burren, Martha.”

As Martha was starting to argue as well, Raon raised his hand to block their vision.

“The squad leader is speaking.”

“How am I supposed to stay back after witnessing this?”

“Just as you think of tourism at the mention of Porvan, a city’s image is easily imprinted in people’s minds. If the rumor about the mass disappearance spreads, the tourists will start going to other spots, and trade will also decline because of that.”

Raon calmly continued so that everyone—including those two—could hear him.

“If that happens, the damage will spread to the entire city, just as the mayor said. Many people might end up dying from hunger, instead of disappearing, because they lost their job. Moreover, announcing the matter doesn’t guarantee that the disappearances will stop. If they are crazy enough to take one hundred people in two weeks, they probably will keep kidnapping—even if they have to break down doors.”

Since they went as far as kidnapping over one hundred people in two weeks, they were pretty much monsters that didn’t care about their human appearances anymore. If people stopped leaving their houses because the disappearances were announced, they might begin taking people that were hiding in their homes.

“For the sake of the citizens, the best thing we can do is to solve this case as fast as possible.”

“P-Precisely!”

As soon as Raon finished talking, Owist stood up while clapping his hands.

“If this incident becomes known to the whole city, problems incomparably worse than the disappearances will begin to occur one after the other! B-Because there are plenty of substitutes for our city!”

He looked at Raon with admiration.

“Who is that man? H-His insight is really amazing.”

“Ahem, he’s the vice-leader of the Light Wind, and my student at the same time. It’s nothing special.”

Rimmer cleared his throat and pointed at himself.

“So, he is the student of Sir Sword of Light. I knew there was a reason for his amazing intellect.”

Owist nodded intensely while looking at Raon.

‘Amazing.’

Anyone could reach that conclusion with enough time, but he managed to think that far in that short period of time. The man named Raon had an extraordinary insight, although he didn’t know about his might yet.

“Is there anything you’ve discovered about them?”

“Day or night doesn’t matter for them. They don’t care whether there are people around them or not, either. They kidnap people as secretly as thieves in the night, to the point that it almost feels like they just vanished in thin air. That’s why no one knows how it actually happened.”

“How strong were the mercenaries and the knights that disappeared during their investigations?”

“The mercenary was at the beginner Expert level, and the k-knights were intermediate and advanced Experts.”

Owist sighed deeply, still unable to understand how that happened.

“Disappearance of an advanced Expert…”

“I was also surprised.”

“Hmm, is there any other information? Like, anyone witnessing their martial art, or their appearance or outfit.”

“I’m sorry. There’s nothing else.”

“It doesn’t look like ordinary human trafficking after all.”

Rimmer scratched his chin, with a frown.

“The actual human traffickers are using this opportunity to become more active. I’m getting headaches from all the incidents.”

Owist pressed on his temple, sighing.

“This is a serious matter. It might be the Five Demons’ work.”

“F-Five Demons?”

As Rimmer mentioned the Five Demons, the mayor’s cheeks trembled in fear.

“P-Please solve this case! If this is solved, I’ll do anything as a reward, including the request fee! Please!”

Owist deeply lowered his head. He kept talking about the city instead of his own safety. Despite how he looked, he seemed to be the type of mayor that couldn’t stop thinking about the city.

“Make sure to remember that you said you will do anything I want.”

Rimmer grinned, standing up.

“Let’s go!”

He opened the door and left.

“B-But why did the Salaman members come back?”

The mayor tilted his head, looking at Morell and the magicians standing at the back.

“Don’t worry about them.”

Raon continued, pointing his finger at Salaman.

“They are our servants.”

“Gasp! Wh-What do you mean?”

Owist stood up in surprise. He expected Morell to start rampaging, but he just stayed still with a trembling chin.

“Y-You didn’t have to call us your servants.”

“Servants?”

Raon repeated the end of his sentence, then tilted his head.

“Serv…”

Morell sighed deeply while looking into the air, then continued.

“You didn’t have to call us your servants, Sir…”

“I said this before, but I prefer being thorough.”

Raon smiled gently, then pointed at the door.

“Let’s leave, since the squad leader should be waiting.”

He tapped Morell’s shoulder, then left the mayor’s room.

“Haa…”

Morell slowly caught his breath. He glared at Owist, while exhaling a raging heat.

“Gasp!”

Owist swallowed nervously after receiving that gaze.

‘H-He’s telling me he will kill me if I tell others about this.’

Morell looked at him with a gaze that said that he would burn his entire body if he told anyone about it, then left the room.

“Keuh!”

“Ugh!”

“Damn it…”

“What a state we are in!”

The other magicians also ground their teeth or bit their lips as they followed Morell.

“Huff! Huff!”

Strength left Owist’s legs, and he sank on the chair, now alone.

“What is even happening…?”

* * *

Upon leaving the mayor’s room, the Light Wind and Salaman gathered in front of Rimmer.

“As you heard, we don’t know anything about the ringleader of the disappearances yet. I have a few guesses, but it’s too early to judge.”

Rimmer continued, his hands held together behind his back.

“Since even a swordsman at the advanced Expert level has disappeared, you are strictly forbidden from acting individually. Considering the number of people, we are going to make groups of three people, with two from Light Wind and one from Salaman per group.”

“Yes!”

“Do you have any problem, Morell?”

“……”

Morell shook his head without responding. It looked like his pride was hurt.

“You should reply.”

Raon gestured at Morell with his chin.

“Argh, a-alright.”

“Alright?”

“A-Alright, Sir.”

“Nice.”

Raon raised his hand towards Rimmer, telling him to continue.

“Bwahahaha! Morell! My stomach hurts!”

Rimmer grasped his belly and laughed while looking at Morell, telling Raon to make the groups because he ran out of strength. He must’ve been too lazy to do it.

“Haa, seriously…”

Raon shook his head, then made balanced groups considering their abilities.

“We are going to start the investigation with these groups. Morell and I will be waiting around here, so return every three hours to report your progress. Don’t try to solve the problem—make sure to report in first.”

While saying that, Rimmer distributed an inaudible whistle per person, just like during their trainee days.

“I also have something to give you.”

Raon took out the red pins from his pocket, putting them on the Light Wind members’ clothes one by one.

“What is this?”

Burren narrowed his eyes, looking at the red pin on his clothes.

“It’s a pin made from Flaming Steel.”

Raon continued, attaching the pin to Runaan, who was blinking.

“I can find them because they are infused with my aura. Don’t take them off, no matter what.”

It was a piece of equipment he requested from Vulcan, and he was capable of locating them because they were imbued with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s aura. Although it wasn’t perfectly refined yet, he figured he should still use them in their incomplete states.

“Tsk, it’s so unnecessary…”

Martha clicked her tongue, but she didn’t stop him from attaching the pin. She apparently didn’t completely dislike it.

“Our vice-squad leader is perfectly prepar…”

“I’ll have the Light Wind’s official funds cover the expense, so please get it ready.”

“Ahem…”

Rimmer looked around without responding.

“Well, you can leave now. If you witness the scene of a disappearance or find anyone suspicious, report it right away.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

The temporary groups consisting of Light Wind and Salaman responded loudly, then started to move towards their assigned areas.

“Do you think they will be able to find them?”

Morell asked, stepping up next to Rimmer.

“Probably not.”

Rimmer shook his head, chuckling.

“Since we blatantly showed them that Zieghart and Balkar have arrived, they will be careful unless their brains are completely smooth. However…”

“However?”

“If they are indeed one of the Five Demons, then they might set a serious fire before running away.”

“Hmm…”

Morell frowned, figuring that was a possibility.

“Something similar happened in our domain before. Though, the disappearances stopped as soon as I went to help.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“Yes. I figured I could find traces of them here. However, it’s all ruined because of you all.”

Morell breathed heavily.

“But what the hell is your student, Raon? His might is one thing, but he can even use his head…”

He almost swore out loud when Raon read Owist’s thoughts earlier.

He was talented at amazing people.

“I can’t believe he’s just collateral…”

“Ah, I remembered something that I need to do.”

Rimmer interrupted Morell, waving his hand.

“You can hear the inaudible whistle, right? You stay here and check if there are any problems on the kids' side.”

“Rimmer!”

Morell shouted at him, but Rimmer had already turned into the wind and disappeared.

“Damn it!”

Morell ground his teeth, looking at the direction Rimmer had gone.

“The teacher and the student alike, they are freaking masters at making people angry!”

* * *

Raon went to the outskirts of the city with Dorian and Zatice.

“You can rest.”

He told Zatice to rest, since he was injured internally and externally, but he kept following him while saying that he needed to fill the numbers.

“It’s fine. I’m just honored to move with Sir Raon.”

Even though they had only dueled once, Zatice was looking at Raon as if he had met a teacher.

“I never thought I would admire the swordsmanship of someone younger than me. I had goosebumps from witnessing a technique containing a mixture of extreme effort and talent.”

“Sir Zatice should also be able to climb up, considering the way you changed your posture in that short instant.”

“Aww, you don’t need to praise me so much. I couldn’t even block one attack.”

“I’m serious.”

Raon shook his head. Considering his personality and the characteristics of his swordsmanship, he was the type that could grow faster the older he got.

“I’m just thankful for such praise.”

Zatice blushed and lowered his head. He had an innocent appearance, despite his skills.

“Hey, guys? I’m here, too!”

Dorian walked up to them while rubbing his belly, but Raon and Zatice kept talking about swordsmanship.

“By the way, this isn’t our assigned area, is it?”

Zatice swallowed nervously, examining the alleyway that kept getting darker.

“No, it’s not.”

“Then why did we…?”

“Because we don’t have much information.”

Raon swirled his finger, while saying that there wasn’t enough information to solve the case.

“When something like this happens, you have to look at the bottom instead of the top.”

As if he had already been there before, he walked through the dirty and dark alley without hesitation.

“Hmm, is it going to be okay…?”

Zatice frowned, looking at a bloody shard of glass on the ground.

“We just need to follow him.”

Dorian came up to him, a cracker in his mouth that he took out from… somewhere.

“Everything gets solved somehow if you just follow him. It’s a bit scary, though…”

He shuddered in fear, then followed Raon.

“Hmm…”

Zatice fidgeted his fingers, watching Raon’s back. He had clashed his sword against countless knights in the Kingdom, but it was his first time being deeply impressed.

Raon’s sword had something more than just strength and skill.

‘I want to witness that sword again.’

He stepped on the shard of glass that gave him such hesitation, following Raon.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]