Chapter 132. Is this a threat?
On a night when the moon was up,
after we finished eating, we went to bed early, then slipped out of the lodging.
Why did we sleep?
It was to get ourselves into peak condition.
It wasn’t like any of us were such weaklings that missing one day of sleep would ruin our condition, but we’d been running day and night until we reached Lortel, so…
“Nngh, am I getting old? My body isn’t like it used to be.”
“If you have any shame, you should shut your mouth.”
“……”
At Shine’s cold jab, I clamped my mouth shut.
Shine was one of the few people who knew my real age(?) after all.
Anyway, leaving the inn like that, the place we arrived at was…
“Mount Fleek.”
“Mount Fleek?”
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Shine nodded.
“It’s a mountain that’s been famous since old times for being rugged. Monsters appear often enough that even herb gatherers avoid it.”
“Hmmm.”
At Shine’s explanation, I swept my gaze around.
“For something like that, it’s way too quiet. There aren’t even any soldiers guarding it.”
“They must’ve swept through it once in winter. Of course it’s quiet. It’ll stay quiet until autumn.”
“Hmmm, I see.”
I’d thought it was odd there’d be a monster habitat inside the territory, but it seemed they did manage it in their own way.
‘But even if the terrain is rugged, it’s not to the point Lortel can’t pacify it.’
Do they deliberately not wipe the monsters out to train their knights and soldiers?
That was possible.
If it were a small or mid-sized fief, it’d be insane, but Lortel would have more than enough capacity to control it even in a worst-case scenario.
But that aside.
“So why are we here?”
“Why else? I told you earlier. We’re going to find the doghole.”
“So, that doghole…”
I trailed off and tossed my gaze downward.
Below, Lortel’s enormous inner fortress was visible at a glance, and even in the dark of night, the lights hadn’t gone out.
Anyway.
“That doghole connects all the way up here?”
To me, it sounded beyond common sense.
And for good reason.
Why is a doghole called a doghole?
It can mean a hole dogs use when they go around, but when people use it, it’s because it’s a makeshift passage.
If it were a proper route, it wouldn’t be called a “doghole,” it would be called a “secret passage.”
“Tsk, you dull brat. Do you think digging a hole while avoiding Lortel’s surveillance is easy?”
“Well, sure, but…”
No—why are you the one digging it?
“Stop yapping and follow me. It should still be there.”
That was a lot of confidence.
At the same time, another thought crossed my mind.
‘Just what kind of grudge does he have against Lortel?’
At this point, this wasn’t in the realm of a doghole anymore.
It sounded more plausible to say he’d dug a tunnel with an invasion in mind!
“Whatever. Just stop the nonsense. Isn’t this a situation where every moment counts?”
“…Uh, yeah.”
Is it the underbrush that bothers him?
I glanced at Parun, who looked especially irritated, then followed after Shine.
No, it wasn’t the underbrush that bothered him.
“Tsk.”
Pajik!
Without hiding his displeasure, Parun was burning down each tiny flying insect one by one.
Anyway, how long had it been like that?
“Are we still far?”
“Wait a bit. I think I’ve almost found it.”
With Aether pulled up to the limit, Shine took in the terrain in the darkness.
And as if old memories were coming back, she went on and on about this and that—and in her words, I found the answer to my question.
“So, originally, it was a secret passage. You know how it is. An arrangement meant to evacuate the bloodline in an emergency.”
“And?”
“I didn’t know back then. That the secret passage would be right beyond the wall of the basement where I was.”
“Ah, so… you weren’t talking about a doghole, you were talking about Lortel’s secret passage?”
“No, it’s a doghole. Because I was the one who drilled a hole from the basement to the secret passage.”
Oh, so property damage too?
While we climbed the mountain path, chatting and letting the conversation bloom—
“Ah!”
Shine suddenly stopped and cried out.
“I found it. That rock, there—under it is the secret passage!”
Shine, looking unusually excited, pushed through the brush and hurried forward.
She spoke like it was right in front of us, but maybe because the terrain was harsh, our steps were slow.
And when we reached the rock we’d been heading for—
“…?”
“…?”
We ran into an unexpected intruder.
In the middle of the night.
On a deep mountain where even the bright moonlight blurred faintly.
Shine, Parun, and I stopped and took in the young man who had appeared out of nowhere.
He looked to be in his early-to-mid twenties.
‘The way he looks… he’s pretty damn unpleasant.’
Not as much as me, but he was decently presentable. Still, more noticeable than his face were the solid, well-knit muscles asserting their presence through his clothes.
The youth, who clearly looked refined from head to toe, was stiff and awkward under the rock.
But only for a moment.
“Who are you?”
At the youth’s question, all three of us answered at the same time.
“I’m an herb gatherer.”
“I’m a hunter.”
“Bug catcher.”
Damn it, you rotten bastards.
Would a hunter be strolling around a mountain at this hour, like it’s normal? And what the hell is a bug catcher?
‘That guy’s the worst.’
He didn’t show even the slightest sincerity.
But wait.
‘Why are we acting scared like we have something to be ashamed of?’
Of course, we should be scared.
We were trying to infiltrate Lortel, the greatest swordsmanship house on the Eastern Continent.
And with very impure intentions, at that.
But—
‘Not yet, though.’
So we had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Hmmm, an herb gatherer and a hunter… quite a rare combination. But a bug catcher?”
As the youth nodded as if appraising us, I threw a question back at him.
“So who are you supposed to be?”
“Ah, this body is…”
Oh? Look at this?
The youth puffed his chest out confidently, about to introduce himself—then suddenly shut his mouth tight.
In that moment, I felt it.
…Ah, this guy’s got something to feel guilty about too.
“You’re what? You’re not going to say you’re an herb gatherer, right? For an herb gatherer, your clothes look pretty refined.”
“Hunter is no good either. I already used that.”
You, just shut up.
“Tsk, there are too many bugs.”
You too.
Anyway, ignoring the two of them easily, I glared at the youth.
“What are you? You start talking and then stop? Wait—hey, you’ve got something shady going on, don’t you?”
I seized the initiative.
[That’s right, good. You crafty bastard—wag that trash tongue and hurry up and chase him off!]
Shine’s message rang in my ear. Ah, Raileigh’s wallet must’ve gotten emptied. Otherwise there’s no way she’d have an Artifact.
Anyway, Parun cheered too.
[There are too many bugs. Finish this quickly.]
…Not helpful at all, but anyway, with the two of them “supporting” me, I pressed harder.
“Huh? You’re not gonna talk? Hey, shit. If you don’t talk, I’ll hand you straight over to Lortel, got it? Huh?”
Black and White Zone back-alley vagrant experience: n years. I don’t even know how many.
Anyway, it was the moment the business-grade extortion I’d honed in the Black and White Zone backstreets shone.
The youth opened his mouth right after that.
“I-I am… an herb gatherer.”
Well, would you look at this bald-headed creativity.
“With that look?”
“…I make pretty good money. I’m the best around here.”
He was shameless on top of it!
Then there was only one way.
“Ah, got it. Then go on your way. We need to camp here for a bit.”
So I pushed the awkwardly standing youth aside and took the spot—
and the youth said,
“That will be difficult.”
“Why?”
“…Because this body claimed this place first.”
Maybe even he knew how thick-faced it was, because his voice kept shrinking smaller and smaller.
Oh? Look at this guy?
‘He’s this shameless?’
Somehow… it felt like this was going to be a tougher contest than I thought.
Young Lord Sion settled down a little ways away from the rock.
Tatak, tatak.
With the distant sound of the campfire crackling, Sion calmly replayed what had happened so far.
‘What in the world… is this mess?’
So, I met my master… Sir Zeke, and was going to return to the family, but then what is this?
“…Uninvited guests.”
“Huh? Uninvited guests? Hey, pal—if anything, you’re the uninvited guest. Get the hell out already.”
“……”
At the delinquent voice, Sion slightly furrowed his brow.
He has good ears.
‘…And he’s rude, too.’
Anyway, it went wrong from here.
Of all places, right in front of the secret passage even Father doesn’t know about, I had to meet an herb gatherer, a hunter, and a bug catcher? Whatever—strangers.
And what?
- Huh? You’re not gonna talk? Hey, shit. If you don’t talk, I’ll hand you straight over to Lortel, got it? Huh?
Hand this body over to Lortel?
Normally it would’ve been nonsense so ridiculous it wouldn’t even be worth considering.
How dare they—hand this body, the Young Lord of Lortel, over to Lortel? A threat that made my blood boil!
But after the initial disbelief, Sion quickly remembered his own situation and swallowed his anger.
‘…I must endure.’
I ignored Father’s confinement order and came outside.
All I did was beat up an old man who deserved it, but the Head of House’s command was absolute.
If it became known that I disobeyed it, even I wouldn’t be able to have it simply brushed aside.
‘Then the elders will come running like mad dogs again, tsk.’
That was exactly why I couldn’t just declare right here, “I am Lortel’s Young Lord.”
But.
‘Nngh… I can’t just wait indefinitely, either.’
Unable to take it anymore, Sion rose awkwardly and walked over to Aster’s group.
“A-are you really going to camp until morning?”
“…Would we camp fake?”
“Umm.”
Aster’s expression looked like he had a guilty spot somewhere, but Sion couldn’t judge that far.
Only…
‘First, I should talk with them a little.’
Talk first, and if they seem trustworthy, reveal my identity.
I couldn’t tell them the detailed circumstances—meaning, I couldn’t mention the secret passage’s existence—but after stating my status, I planned to smooth-talk them with some excuse and send them down the mountain.
However, there was one thing the Young Lord missed: the opponent was Aster.
“Then, since this is fate as well, could you share some fire?”
“Here.”
“Wh-what is this…?”
Sion tilted his head as he looked at the burning log held out in front of him.
“You said you wanted to share some fire. So I shared it.”
“……”
A blatant snub, given right to his face. Sion was dumbfounded.
How could anyone dare throw such a snub at him, Lortel’s Young Lord?
It was the first time.
‘The first one to treat me like this is you.’
He didn’t fall for him.
It was just—
rage boiling up at this filthy, petty behavior he’d never once experienced.
‘Even so, I need to go back by morning…’
From the looks of it, these bandits genuinely intended to camp here.
Ah, to hell with it.
“Oh—oh? Just look at this fellow?”
“Show kindness. If Lortel, the owner of this land, were here, they would naturally show kindness.”
Throwing aside his pride, Sion shoved himself into the gap among Aster’s group.
Parun frowned as if a bug had touched him and shifted away, and Sion quickly dug into that spot.
Then, with a friendly grin, he spoke.
“An herb gatherer, a hunter, a bug catcher… the monsters of Mount Fleek are quite ferocious. But, you know, I can use a sword a little.”
“So you’ll protect us? Without a sword?”
“The sword, well…”
Click.
When he operated his bracelet, a high-class sword popped out into the air with a thunk!
It didn’t bear Lortel’s seal. It was simply a sword he carried for emergencies.
“Well? I’ve got a sword.”
A scene that would make ordinary bumpkins’ eyes go wide.
In a way, that’s what he was aiming for, too.
But there was something else Sion didn’t know: Aster and the others weren’t ordinary.
“Is this a threat?”
“N-no, what…?”
Sion, flustered, couldn’t continue.
A threat? The Young Lord of the great House Lortel—a threat?
‘How twisted do you have to be inside…!’
Even though he approached with pure goodwill(?), they looked at a person like everything was a scheme!
As Sion marveled at the unimaginable level of crookedness—
Aster sneered.
But then.
“Well, damn. I’m so scared I might just die. But what do we do about that? I can’t use a sword, but I can use a little magic.”
Inside those words was a term Sion found deeply irritating.
“…Magic?”
Sion’s eyes flashed as he glared at Aster.
“Did you just say magic?”
A faint anger was embedded in his voice.
