“No way! That’s him?! He’s not impersonating him?”
“No, Coccodor, there’s no doubt about it. A valuable weapon shows a warrior’s rank. If he’s really who he says he is, a katana makes sense.”
Brain grinned bitterly. “The fact that most of the people I’ve met today know who I am…might have made my old self happy. But now I can’t really say I care.” Succuronte’s smile of goodwill confused him, but his questions were cleared up immediately.
“Hey, Unglaus! Why don’t we quit fighting? A man of your caliber should be one of us. How about it? Want to join? I’m sure you’d be able to be one of the Six Arms. I can tell you’re that strong by looking at you. You’re the same as us. You want power, right? I can see it in your eyes.”
“…Well, you’re not wrong.”
“In that case, the Eight Fingers isn’t a bad gig. For people with strength, it’s the best place to be! You can even get your hands on powerful magic items. Check out my orichalcum mail shirt! My mythril sword! My rings! My clothes! My boots! They’re all magic! So, Brain Unglaus, join us—be one of the Six Arms with me!”
“…Is that all? Sounds lame.”
Succuronte’s face froze at Brain’s unbelievably cold, insulting answer.
“What?”
“You didn’t hear me? I said that a bunch of guys with nothing but strength doesn’t sound like such a great group.”
“Y-you bastard! …H-hmph. If that’s what you think, then you must not be so tough, either!”
“You’re right. I don’t think I’m strong. Not someone like me who’s seen a real monster.” Brain took pity on the frog sitting comfortably in his well, thinking he was powerful, and gave him a genuinely compassionate warning. “And that goes for you, too. We may be about equal—which is why I’ll warn you. We’re not that great at all.” Brain turned to check over his shoulder on Climb, who had just finished drinking a potion. “And I’ve learned something. Strength for someone else’s sake surpasses the strength of one alone.” Brain smiled. It was a friendly, pleasant smile. “Maybe it’s only sunk in a little, but I know.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about… It’s too bad, Unglaus. I can’t believe I have to kill the genius swordsman who once gave Stronoff a run for his money.”
“I wonder if you can really kill me, swinging your sword only for yourself.”
“Yeah, I can. I can kill you without breaking a sweat. I’m gonna kill you, and then I’m gonna kill that brat lying on the floor. I’m not playing anymore, and I’m not holding back. I’m going all out.”
Without taking his eyes off Succuronte, who had begun casting a spell, he cautioned Climb when he sensed movement behind him. “Don’t move, Climb. You’re not fully healed, right?”
The movement stopped.
Brain smiled and, with the same surprise he’d felt at himself earlier, said, “Leave the rest to me.”
“Thanks.”
Brain smiled instead of responding and sheathed his sword. As he lowered his hips, he flipped his sword and sheath upside down.
“Please be careful. Succuronte uses illusions. Not everything you see will be real.”
“Hrm… That does make him a tricky opponent…but that’s fine.”
Brain silently, motionlessly watched Succuronte. At some point, five images of him had appeared. Not only that, they appeared to contain magic sparks, shrouded in something like mantles of shadow.
He had no idea what kind of spells those were.
“Thanks for the prep time! Give a caster a little time and they can become even stronger than a warrior. Your defeat is certain, Unglaus!”
“Yeah, don’t mention it. Now that I talked with my friend here, I know for sure that I’m not gonna lose!”
“Shut your mouth! You didn’t move because you’re protecting that brat? How nice of you.”
He heard Climb shift on the floor.
The boy must have felt bad for giving their enemy time to cast. And that was why Brain announced, loud enough for Climb to hear, “One hit.”
“What?!”
“I said I’m finishing this in one hit, Succuronte.”
“Just try it!”
Succuronte charged at Brain with his afterimages trailing behind him.
He came into range, and Brain turned around, calmly showing Succuronte his defenseless back. Then at a godly speed, he attacked over Climb, drawing his sword with a flash into space, where there was no one.
There was a crash, and the walls shook.
Climb, from the floor, and Coccodor turned toward the source of the noise.
It was Succuronte. His body was on the ground, not so much as twitching. His sword lay nearby.
Brain’s single blow had knocked Succuronte back, slamming him into the wall with unbelievable momentum. If he hadn’t struck him with the back of his blade, he surely would have been cut in half, even with his orichalcum mail. Or so one might think after witnessing such a blow.
“…It doesn’t matter if an opponent is invisible, my martial art Domain can still detect them. Using auditory illusions to draw my attention forward while attacking from the rear… That’s a great plan, but it wasn’t going to work on me. And it was stupid of him to go for you, too. He was probably going to kill you and then say, ‘See, you couldn’t protect him,’ but he diverted too much attention from me to target you. Did he forget who he was fighting?” Brain smiled at Climb. “See? One hit!”
“Magnificent.”
Another voice’s “Magnificent” overlapped with Climb’s. The two of them were taken by surprise—it was Sebas’s voice, but that wasn’t what shocked them. They were startled at the direction it came from for a reason.
They both looked to where Coccodor had been standing and found Sebas with Coccodor crumpled up on the ground.
“When did you get here?!” Brain asked.
Sebas answered calmly. “Just now. It seems like you didn’t notice because you were both so focused on Succuronte.”
“Oh, I see…,” Brain answered, but he didn’t really think it could be possible. I was using Domain! It covers a small area, but if he ran in a straight line in front of me, he should have been in it. But I didn’t detect him…? The only one who could move like that so far was Shalltear Bloodfallen! I thought so when I felt that killing intent before, but is he on that monster’s level? Who is this guy?!
“I went ahead and saved all the prisoners. Also, apologies to Climb, but several people put up quite a bit of resistance, so I was forced to kill them. Please forgive me…but I guess I should heal him before I say all that.”
Sebas went over and put his hand to Climb’s abdomen. It was only for a moment. He’d barely touched him when he was already pulling away. But the effects were dramatic. Even with the potion, Climb’s face had been pale, but color returned immediately.
“You healed me… So you’re a priest?”
“No, I didn’t heal you with the power of the gods. I poured chi into you.”
“A monk! I see, that makes sense.” Now Brain understood why Sebas didn’t have any armor or weapons, and he gave him an affirming smile.
“What are you two planning on doing now?”
“…I’ve come this far. I’ll stay with you till this is finished.”
“Well, first I’m going to run to a guardhouse, explain what’s happened here, and see if we can get some soldiers to help us. I’d like you to hold the fort down here while I do that. But it’s possible that reinforcements from the Eight Fingers will come.”
“That sounds fine to me. But could you leave me out of your explanation? I originally came to this country for business, so I’d rather not poke my head any further into its underworld.”
“It’s fine to mention me if you want. You can tell them Stronoff will vouch for me.”
“Ah. Understood.”
3
3 Late Fire Moon (September) 7:05 PM
Climb finally returned to the castle as night began falling on the ro
yal capital.
His wounds were completely healed, but his body was utterly exhausted. Partly from the battle, but all the things they’d had to coordinate had taken a lot of time, too. In the end, the reason things went well wasn’t because Climb was the princess’s servant but because the guards’ fear of the Eight Fingers made them indecisive. A particularly major issue was who would report the incident.
There was an extremely good chance, not just a vague worry, that the Eight Fingers would kill those responsible for this as examples. For that reason, they’d had a soldier deliver to Princess Renner a piece of paper with a summary of what had occurred and gotten her permission to list her and Climb as joint reporters.
Of course, there were downsides to this plan, but there were at least two benefits.
One, naturally, was that it would be good for Renner’s reputation.
Having her personal attendant spearhead the exposure of an organization that sullied their country, whose members were doing something as awful as slave trafficking, would earn some recognition for a princess who rarely left the palace.
The second was that it would shield Sebas and the woman he was protecting, who had been exploited by the brothel.
They didn’t seem to want attention, so by taking responsibility for the incident, Climb could conceal them from the retribution of the Eight Fingers.
I was practically useless during the raid, so I should at least do this much…
Brain had said he would explain everything to Gazef himself so Climb didn’t have to worry about it.
With all those things floating around in his head, he knocked on Renner’s door.
Really, he had permission to enter without knocking, but it was late, so he modestly refrained. One time she’d been dressed in light silk…
She understood his reasons.
Before he heard her response, he sniffed himself.
He had wiped himself down, but his nose was accustomed to the smell of blood, so he couldn’t be sure if he’d gotten rid of it or not. He had no business entering the princess’s room like this, but he urgently needed to tell her of the day’s events from his own mouth.
The most pressing issue was the women who had been held at the Eight Fingers facility. They’d been entrusted to a guardhouse for the time being, but they needed to be moved somewhere safe in the next few days. Also, some of them were injured, so they would need a priest or someone else who could cast healing magic.
Princess Renner is so kind, I’m sure she’ll lend a hand to these suffering people.
It pained him in many ways to cause trouble for his master. He found himself wishing impertinent things. If only I were stronger… The reason I have such a wonderful master, the reason I’m able to live the way I do—it’s all thanks to her… Huh? No response?
He didn’t hear anything like permission to enter.
There was no night guard in front of her door, and she was usually still awake at this time. Did she go to sleep without alerting her guard?
Climb knocked again.
This time he heard a faint voice granting him entry, so he went in, relieved. The first thing he needed to do was obvious. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
He bowed crisply.
“I was worried!” Her voice contained distinct anger. That was surprising. Climb’s master was almost never angry. Even if someone insulted her, he’d never seen her get upset. She must have been truly worried.
Enduring the heat creeping into the corners of his eyes, he kept his head down and repeated his apology.
“I was really worried! I thought maybe the Eight Fingers had made the first move and done something to you… So what in the world happened? I got your brief report, but can you give me the details?”
Climb started to talk as he stood, but Renner invited him to sit in his usual spot. Steam rose from the tea she poured out of her Warm Bottle into a cup set in front of him.
Thanking her, he raised the perfectly hot tea to his mouth and drank.
He told her everything that had happened. Of course he did—there were people he was depending on her to help.
“So what did you think when you saw them?” Renner’s first question after hearing his explanation was a strange one. But since she had asked, he had to answer.
“I felt sorry for them. I thought if I were only stronger, I could have saved them from having to suffer so much.”
“I see… So you pitied them.”
“Yes.”
“I see. You’re so kind, Climb.”
“Princess Renner, if you ever need someone to guard them, I’m prepared to go at any time.”
“…If it comes up, please do. More importantly, I should tell you: Tomorrow or the next day at the latest, we’re going to attack the Eight Fingers facilities listed on the parchment that Lakyus brought. With this raid on the brothel, the more time that goes by, the stricter their security will become.”
“My apologies! I’ve acted imprudently!”
“No, don’t worry about it. You made up my mind for me. Besides, I think very highly of your actions. We captured Succuronte, one of the Six Arms, and Coccodor, chief of the slave-trafficking division. That has to have shaken them to their foundations. That’s why I want to hit them again now.” Renner threw an adorable punch with zero speed and strength. “One more punch before the news leaves the capital!”
“Understood! I’ll go immediately to rest up for tomorrow.”
“Thanks. It’s going to be a big day. Take care.”
Climb left her room. She sensed the smell of blood abate somewhat.
“It must have been tough for you, Climb. Now, then…”
Draining the rest of her lukewarm tea, Renner stood up. Her goal was a handbell. It was a magic item that rang its linked mate in the next room when she jingled it. She brought to mind the face of the maid standing by in the next room and smiled coldly, thinking how lucky it was that she was the one on duty today.
“Oh, right, what expression should I make?” She stood before the mirror wobbling her cheeks up and down between her hands. She was human, so it wasn’t as if she could change her face by doing that. It was more like an autosuggestion.
She pulled her hands away and smiled.
“No. This is the smile I make when I see someone as the princess…” She imitated the expression and then smiled again. After trying out several different smiles, a pure, innocent one appeared on her face. “This’ll be best.”
Her preparations complete, she rang the bell.
A maid promptly knocked on the door and entered.
“I have a favor to ask. Could you boil some water for me?”
“Of course, Princess Renner.” She curtsied and smiled at Renner. “What is it? You seem in high spirits. Did something good happen?”
Now that the fish had bitten her hook, the princess smiled happily. “Oh, it’s amazing! Climb’s done the most amazing thing!” She talked like a little girl, an appropriately stupid tone for someone blabbing important information.
“That’s wonderful.” This maid wasn’t a fan of Climb, and although she tried to cleverly hide the fact, her true feelings came through.
I’ll kill her.
I’ll kill this woman, too.
I’ll kill everyone who looks down on my Climb.
Renner didn’t show that she’d noticed—because right now she was a naive princess. She wasn’t supposed to be perceptive enough to catch on to people’s malice, and she forgave the maid’s rudeness. That was the kind of simple-headed—ditzy—princess she played.
“Yes! It’s just amazing! Climb beat up some really bad guys! And he freed some people who were held captive and left them somewhere…at one of the guardhouses. Now we can punish the nobles who were working with the bad guys!”
“Is that so? Quite amazing. I’d expect nothing less from your Climb. Will you tell me more details about his amazing feats?”
Renner poured her poison into this idiot, who didn’t suspect anything because sh
e thought the princess was a fool.
Renner held everything in the palm of her hand. She would get what she wanted.
3 Late Fire Moon (September) 10:10 PM
A mysterious group had melted into the dark of night.
Each of them was outfitted differently. They didn’t seem at all like soldiers. They most closely resembled adventurers.
Standing at the head of the group was a brawny man. Next was a delicate man and a woman dressed in light silk. Then there was a figure in a robe and, at the end of the line, someone in full plate armor.
The group was peering through an open door into a space engulfed in darkness. There was no sign of any human presence. No matter where they looked, it didn’t seem like there was anyone around.
That was strange. Certainly, all the goods inside the brothel had been carried out and taken to a guardhouse. But just because there was nothing left inside didn’t mean there shouldn’t be someone on lookout. And near the entrance on the empty street, they could see the fire of the night watch burning brightly.
The reason there was no one around regardless was because they had used their authority to keep the soldiers away temporarily.
The boulder-like man in front—Zero—cast a stern look at the fallen brothel and snarled in a hateful, low voice, “How idiotic. I suppose we’ll have to apologize to Coccodor. We lent him Succuronte of the Six Arms, and the place went down this easily. And on the same day we dispatched him…what a laugh.”
Zero sent a sharp glance over his shoulder at the snickering.
Keenly familiar with Zero’s personality, the silk-clad woman quickly spoke. “Oh, uhh, so then, what should we do, boss? Should we kill Succuronte, since he’s been caught? We can’t send brute muscle as long as he’s at a guardhouse, so we’d have to borrow some assassins from a different division… What should we do?”
“Not that. He’s a handy fellow. I’ll ask the count to have him released today… That’ll cost a fortune. Draw up a list of things the count likes.”
“What should we do about Coccodor?” the slight, delicate man asked.
“He can use his own connections. If he asks, we can pull some strings as an apology. What happened to the customer list? Do we know if the guards got ahold of it?”
The Men of the Kingdom Part I Page 24