Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 3

by Ennki Hakari

  Even though they’d gone down easy, the fact that they’d both changed their method of attack so quickly told me I was dealing with an experienced group.

  I let out a dramatic sigh as I looked down at the two men at my feet.

  “I was hoping to handle this amicably, but it looks like you’re not going to leave me any choice…”

  I looked back up to find the older mercenaries attacking the younger ones. The latter stood back to back, swords and shields in hand, as they fended off the onslaught.

  They may have been young, but they were certainly talented.

  The men surrounding them began panicking as their prey fought back harder than they’d anticipated, though it was clear that the men in the middle couldn’t hold out forever. It was like watching a game of chicken: Who would blink first?

  I called out again.

  “I hate to bother you, but is no one interested in fighting me?”

  Once again, all eyes turned toward me.

  The older men exchanged glances, uncertain of what to do about me. The young men, however, took advantage of the moment and redoubled their efforts.

  One man’s finger was severed, causing him to drop his sword. Another was knocked to the ground by a shield. A third was stabbed in the eye.

  The attackers were definitely talented, despite their age. In response, they moved as one, like a well-trained mercenary unit. Still, of the eleven men originally forming the circle, four were out of the fight entirely, and a fifth—the man who’d lost a finger—didn’t seem too keen on sticking around. Now that the numbers were no longer in their favor, the attackers began drawing away.

  The young mercenaries, however, weren’t about to let this opening go. They launched themselves at the remaining men, each picking a single opponent. The one man lucky enough to not be targeted immediately tried to turn tail and flee.

  His luck, however, was about to run out.

  “Alas, you cannot escape.”

  The man found me squarely in his path, arms outstretched, blocking his exit. He stopped in his tracks, a frightened look on his face as he took in the massive two-meter knight standing in front of him. He changed direction in an attempt to duck past me, but I easily pivoted back in front of him.

  “Alas, you still cannot escape.”

  The man’s expression changed from fear to dread. He probably felt like I did any time a random encounter in an RPG found me suddenly facing off against an impossibly powerful enemy. There was nothing worse than being unable to escape from a battle I knew I could never win, especially when I had only myself to blame for forgetting to save right before.

  “But there’s no saving in real life!”

  In situations like this, people were usually limited to one of two choices: fight or flight.

  This man made the wrong choice.

  “Get outta the waaaaay!”

  He swung his blade wildly as he lunged at me. I easily dodged this straightforward attack, which came more from a place of desperation than actual skill. I thrust my fist into his chin, sending him sprawling back onto the ground.

  I turned my attention back to the young mercenaries, where the last of their opponents was throwing down his sword and surrendering. The fallen mercenaries—or bandits, or whatever they were—glared at me as they were tied up.

  One of the young men walked over and took a knee in front of me, bowing his head and offering his thanks.

  “Sir Knight, I would like to offer you my sincerest appreciation for coming to our aid. Thanks to you, we were able to apprehend these bandits.”

  So, they were bandits after all.

  “There is no need. I am but a simple mercenary.”

  The man looked up at me in surprise, his eyes taking in my armor. He glanced up the hill at Ariane. After a moment, he nodded to himself and stood back up.

  “I see. Ah, excuse my manners. I am Axe, the leader of this troop. Thank you again for your assistance.”

  Judging his polite manner, it seemed like he thought I was some sort of noble trying to conceal my identity. He may have been young, but he clearly had a proper upbringing.

  “Apologies for my insolence, but would you allow us to keep these men here? Of course, I’d be more than happy to offer you a reward.”

  “We were simply passing through. We have no intention of taking what is yours.”

  Axe looked surprised at this. “A-are you sure? Someone would almost certainly buy them for a tidy sum at the Nohzan slave market in Lamburt.”

  That was no doubt true. In addition to beastmen and elves, any slave market would probably deal in criminals as well. Tax cheats probably also filled their stalls.

  “Hm, and this Nohzan you speak of, they’ll buy all of these bandits?”

  Axe looked out over the ocean. “Nohzan is actually the name of a kingdom on the far side of the Gulf of Bulgoh. The slave markets there have recently been sending ships to Lamburt and buying up criminals en masse.”

  I had to imagine that anyone buying enslaved criminals in bulk would have a hard time selling them. Most people wouldn’t want one in their home. My guess was that the country was carrying out some sort of public works project—like land development, or large-scale mining—and needed a lot of manual labor. I had no idea what a criminal went for on the slave market, but it couldn’t be all that much.

  “We’ll be fine, thank you.”

  I turned to take my leave.

  “Thank you again!”

  I waved over my shoulder as I made my way back to Ariane, who was busy playing with Ponta at the top of the hill. I found them nose to nose, staring into each other’s eyes.

  “Sorry for the hold up, Miss Ariane. Let’s get going.”

  Ariane stood up, cradling Ponta in her arms.

  “Bandits?”

  “Seems so.”

  I picked up my bag and resumed the trek toward Lamburt. The cloud cover had grown thicker, and the sky was starting to darken.

  “Hmm, looks like it might rain.”

  “We should probably look for an inn as soon as we get to Lamburt.”

  After multiple jumps using Dimensional Step, we finally caught sight of a sprawling, seaside town. It was surrounded by two massive waterways connected to the gulf. I spied several small paddleboats moving about. The walls around the town were only around five meters tall, rather short compared to what I’d seen elsewhere.

  The town also boasted a huge port, where countless ships were docked. Even from here, I could see many boats coming and going. I did note, though, that most of them were small- to mid-sized, with very few large ships in sight.

  The reddish-brown roofs of the town contrasted starkly with the green fields stretching across the surrounding hills and the expanse of blue ocean beyond. Sadly, the dark skies dulled the town’s bright colors, detracting from the dynamic scene.

  The closer we got to Lamburt, the more people we began seeing.

  We soon found ourselves in a long, snaking line leading to the town’s southern entrance. We followed it at a slow, even pace across a large stone bridge and up to the gate, where we paid a fee and entered the town.

  The wind carried with it the sounds of people and carts bustling through the streets. The stone buildings throughout looked clean, as if they’d been rather recently built, though the alleys seemed to cut through them at random, giving the town a somewhat disorderly feel.

  Down one alley, I caught sight of many people in tattered clothes sitting on the ground. It seemed like there was a pretty large disparity between the rich and the poor here, and that created the possibility of strife.

  After proceeding down the main thoroughfare for a ways, we came across several large buildings facing the town square, with various stalls out front. One of the buildings’ doors had been left open, and a constant stream of people flowed in and out. Inside, I could see row upon row of shops, with customers milling about, inspecting goods. It appeared to be some sort of fixed market, like a department store, making it diffe
rent from the other markets I’d seen so far, but it was instantly familiar to me.

  Ponta squirmed in Ariane’s arms and started sniffing the air as all manner of exciting smells wafted our way.

  “Shall we take a look around?”

  Ariane nodded.

  A large, middle-aged man’s voice cut through the crowd, clapping his hands together and trying to draw in customers. It looked like he was selling some sort of juice squeezed from an orange-colored fruit, though the liquid itself was a dark red.

  “Excuse me, sir. I’ll take two.”

  “Thank ya kindly! That’ll be two sek.”

  The shopkeeper offered us a warm smile and grabbed several fruits, tossing them onto a cutting board.

  “Two silver coins? That’s pretty expensive.”

  “Not at all, Sir Knight! If you return the cups, I refund half the price.”

  After cutting the fruit in half, he put a wooden cup under the juicer and began pressing down.

  So, the cup was included in the price?

  “If I may ask, do you know the way to the local noble’s estate?”

  “Hmm, well, you’ll want to take the road running in front of the market past the first waterway. That’ll get ya there.”

  The man put a piece of straw—which I assumed we were meant to drink through—into each juice-filled cup and handed them over. I paid him.

  “Are you here to meet the lord’s new bride?”

  I tilted my head to the side. “New bride?”

  This seemed to take the shopkeeper by surprise. “Oh? Haven’t you heard? The lord took some elf to be his wife…”

  Ariane and I exchanged a knowing look. Her eyes went wide, and her hood almost slipped off her head. She hurried to pull it back down.

  “We haven’t heard. Could you tell us more?”

  The man crossed his arms. “I, umm, of course. About a month ago, I think, the lord invited all the local nobles together for a wedding ceremony. I only caught a glimpse of the bridal carriage as it rolled by, but the elf inside was quite fetching.”

  Ariane interrupted the wistful man. “Was she wearing anything around her neck? A metal collar perhaps?”

  She was referring to the so-called mana-eater collars, items that prevented the wearer from using magical abilities, which was particularly disastrous for elves. Every enslaved elf we’d found had been wearing one.

  The shopkeeper shook his head. “Hmm, nope. I didn’t see anything like that. Her hair was done up real pretty though.”

  I caught Ariane’s eye. She seemed to be completely at a loss as to what was going on here.

  Personally, I wasn’t confused. If this lord had invited other members of the nobility to his wedding, an unadorned metal collar might have raised suspicion. The way I saw it, there were two possible explanations: either he had some other way to keep the elven woman under his control, or she’d decided to marry him of her own volition.

  “Was the groom named Lundes du Lamburt, by chance?” That was one of the names written on the elf purchase contracts.

  “No, Lundes was the previous lord of Lamburt. This was Petros, his son.”

  “Lamburt is under new leadership?”

  “That’s right. It happened about a month ago.”

  Ariane and I exchanged another look.

  ***

  After asking some of the other marketgoers about the marriage and receiving similar information, we made our way to a corner of the square where I handed one of the cups of juice to Ariane. She took it and put her mouth to the straw. I followed suit, sliding the straw through the gap in my helmet. My mouth filled with lukewarm liquid. It had the sweetness of orange juice, though it was slightly more acidic. The hay straw was pretty convenient. It was nice to be able to drink something without taking off my helmet.

  “Do you think what they said is true?”

  Ariane held her cup in one hand and Ponta in the other. The spirit creature was desperately trying to get at the cup, but Ariane kept a firm grip on both of them.

  “If it is, then the most likely explanation is that Lundes du Lamburt bought an elf and that elf became Petros du Lamburt’s wife.”

  The question was whether she’d been forced into the marriage.

  “I find it hard to imagine Petros going out of his way to invite the nobility to a wedding with a slave, since it’s illegal to enslave elves here.”

  But if she had been forced into it, then there was another possibility…

  “Are mana-eater collars still effective if they’re placed around an ankle or some other part of the body?”

  If so, that would have allowed Petros to hold a public wedding without revealing his secret.

  However, Ariane shook her head. “They really aren’t that useful unless they’re around the neck.”

  “Hmm. Then it seems less likely that she was forced.”

  Ariane shot me a look, but she said nothing, sipping at her juice in silence instead. Something about her eyes told me she felt uneasy. I understood of course. We’d come all this way to rescue a kidnapped elf, and now it sounded like she’d married the son of the man who’d bought her.

  But trying to guess the truth of the matter wasn’t a productive use of our time. It’d be better to talk to the people involved directly. The way I saw it, there were two ways to make that happen.

  We could do what we always did and sneak into the estate, find the elf, and talk with her. Or, we could go through official channels and ask for an audience with her.

  Even if she had married Petros of her own free will, it was unlikely she’d flat-out refuse to meet with an elven messenger. Rather, it’d be a pretty clear indication that something was wrong if she did.

  I offered both options to Ariane. “What would you like to do?”

  She closed her eyes, thinking it over. Up until recently, she would have chosen the first option without a second thought. However, I had the feeling that our recent meeting with Carcy was pushing her to at least consider the second option.

  Despite being an elf, Carcy not only lived in a human town, but he was even accepted by many of the humans around him. I could only imagine what a shock that must have been to Ariane’s worldview.

  She opened her golden eyes. “We’ll go to the estate, and I’ll request an audience as a messenger.”

  “In that case, I suppose I’ll pose as your bodyguard again?”

  Despite the gravity of the situation, a grin teased at the corners of Ariane’s mouth.

  Once we’d finished drinking, I took our cups and began making my way back to the shop to return them. Just then, a loud yell erupted from somewhere in the middle of the busy square. I turned toward the noise to see a burly, middle-aged man arguing with a mother and her two children. The people around them backed away, apparently not wanting to get involved in the argument.

  “It takes a lotta guts for trash like you to come here and start stealin’ from people!” The man sent spittle flying about as he screamed.

  “That’s not what happened! My daughter knocked it off the table and was trying to return it is all. She would never steal anything!”

  “Shut up! You lowly refugees are all the same. Nuthin’ but excuses!”

  The man appeared to be some sort of greengrocer. The mother and her children—a baby boy clutched to her chest and a young girl at her side with puffy, red cheeks—weren’t exactly dressed to impress. Their clothes were tattered and dirty. The woman bowed her head over and over to the shop owner as she desperately tried to defuse the situation and calm her crying children at the same time.

  I couldn’t just stand idly by, so I called out to the man.

  “There’s no need to hit a child.”

  The man’s face was beet red as he turned to yell at me. “Shut yer face! Who the hell do you think you are, butting in like…” He cut himself off as soon as he caught sight of me, turning white as a ghost and starting to shake.

  I approached the man slowly, hands on my hips, purposely pushing
back my cloak to expose my armor. Ariane let out a loud, dramatic sigh from behind me.

  “N-no, you misunderstand, S-Sir Knight! This brat here was stealing my…”

  The man’s eyes darted about as he rambled incoherently.

  I put a little force into my voice, drawing the man’s attention back to me. “How many did she steal?”

  “O-one…”

  I cut the man off. “Let’s try again. How many?” This time there was even more menace to my voice.

  The man groaned. “N-none. She didn’t steal anything.” He managed to choke out a response before darting back into his shop to hide.

  I may have been a bit forceful, but I had no regrets about what I’d done.

  I knelt before the young girl and waved my hand over her face.

  “Heal!”

  A soft light emanated from my hand, wrapping around her cheek before dissipating. The young girl’s face flooded with relief, and she forgot all about her crying.

  “Th-thank you, Sir Knight.”

  The girl’s mother bowed her head in appreciation while still trying to comfort her son. I nodded my head up at her before handing the two empty juice cups to the young girl.

  “I have a special present for you, little lady. See that man over there? If you return these to him, he’ll give you a little spending money.”

  I pointed out the man from the juice shop, who gave me a wry grin in return.

  The girl looked from the cups to her mother. Her mother bowed her head to me again and took the girl and the cups off to the juice shop.

  A polka-dot pattern began appearing on the stone tiles of the square as fat rain drops fell from the dark clouds above. The people around us began hurrying away.

  “We should probably go find an inn,” Ariane spoke up from behind me.

  It looked like we would need to put off visiting the estate until tomorrow. I let out a sigh and stood up.

  “You’re right. We’d best get out of here before it starts coming down harder.”

  Ariane and I made our way through the sprinkling rain, asking anyone we ran into to point us toward an inn. It had grown dark by the time we finally found a place to stay.

  The next morning, the cloud cover from the day before had completely blown away, leaving clear blue skies in its place. The breeze brought with it the salty smell of the ocean, a unique scent that seemed to fill every corner of the port town.