Chapter 205 : Chapter 205
Chapter 205 : Partizan
Kendrick’s triumphant face slowly stiffened. It was as the distance between us narrowed.
Soon, we were close enough to see each other’s facial features clearly.
Kendrick raised a finger and pointed at me.
His open mouth and pupils began to tremble piteously.
“……Bi, Bihen Benkou?”
I saw the eyes of the Mercenary King next to him widen.
That wasn’t all.
I heard the sound of people swallowing dry breaths everywhere.
“Y, you’re him, right? Bihen Benkou, it’s you, right……?”
“You were alive, Kendrick.”
I pulled Zahara out of the bandit’s shoulder and retrieved it.
The bandit soon rolled his eyes back and fainted.
“Ooooooh! Bihen!”
Kendrick ran up quickly and embraced me.
‘……Hmm.’
I didn’t think we were in a relationship that special.
Well, but, since he was a comrade-in-arms.
I decided to let it pass.
***
“I kept hearing news of you and Conwell even here. Truly, it was incredible.”
Well, I didn't know exactly from where to where he was talking about, so I just shrugged my shoulders for now.
Kendrick said he thought he was going to die by Yeats that day, but when he opened his eyes, he was at the village hall in Sylphiroa.
Fortunately, he said he barely managed to save his life thanks to his comrades who came to rescue him just in time.
“According to the Sylphinus doctors there, it was really by a hair’s breadth. If the kids had been even a little late, I would have been dead for sure.”
Following Kendrick’s gaze, I turned my head and saw familiar fellows waving their hands at me.
They were the ones who had fought together against the pack of Mist Fang Wolves to protect the Spirit Tree that day.
As soon as I became conscious of a smile slowly spreading across my lips, I straightened my face and spoke.
“Did you participate in the War of the Roses, Kendrick?”
“Ah, that’s a bit of a long story to explain……”
“Comrade Kendrick! Is it not my turn yet?”
I heard a thunderous voice from behind.
It was to the point where even I was startled.
When I turned my head, it was the Mercenary King.
He was approaching this way after finishing his instructions to his subordinates.
“Comrade Hugin!”
“Perhaps because my heart is pounding, it is difficult to wait quietly.”
Did he have muscles attached even to his vocal cords?
When words that might sound weak coming from someone else came out of his mouth, they sounded like some kind of declaration of war.
It felt as if he were hammering each syllable, one by one, into the bones of the listener.
“Bihen, this is Comrade Hugin. Since you’ve been in the Kingdom for quite a while now, you must have heard of him, right? The alias Mercenary King. That Mercenary King is precisely this Comrade Hugin.”
Now that I looked at him, he had deep black hair, which was rare for a person of the Kingdom.
It was impressive that he had painted his eye area black as if that were his identity.
His body under the cloak, which seemed to be made by weaving crow feathers together, was solidly built without any gaps.
“Glad to meet you, Bihen Benkou. I am Hugin from Partizan.”
He spoke casually right from the first meeting.
Well, as an outsider, I actually preferred this.
Before I grabbed the hand Hugin held out, I briefly looked behind him, and the clean-up was orderly.
By his subordinates, the merchants were each reclaiming their lost luggage, and the bandits were being bound without being able to make a peep.
Thanks to that, my heart softened a little.
“Bihen Benkou. Eldest son of the Benkou family.”
“I heard. That you came from the Empire.”
I felt that Hugin was looking for something to say to me.
He turned his head following my gaze as I looked at the scene being cleaned up, and then he snorted.
“They have no luck whatsoever. To think they ran into Bihen Benkou of all people. Don’t you think so?”
“They don't look like simple bandits.”
“That’s right. They are half-baked mercenaries. Lately, as Springeus has been blindly accepting mercenaries from various places, even dung flies like that are swarming. But since there are no particular rules or control, the number of guys causing trouble by taking advantage of the lack of management is increasing.”
Hugin clicked his tongue while looking at the mercenaries subdued by his subordinates.
He was clearly drawing a line, saying they were different from themselves.
“You’re saying that they run wild as they please even though the famous Mercenary King is nearby. One cannot compare a mercenary system to a regular army, but even so, at this level—”
Hugin faltered and then looked at me.
I also felt Kendrick’s gaze.
That wouldn't be enough to close my mouth.
“I’m thinking the title of Mercenary King might be a bit excessive.”
In an instant, the air in the area froze.
There was nothing to explain.
It was an explicit provocation, and it meant to throw away the harmonious atmosphere.
“……Comrade Kendrick.”
“Ye-yes! Comrade!”
“He’s even more than what you told me, isn't he? He’s a friend with a quite foul mouth.”
Hugin rubbed the area around his mouth, where a leisurely smile was formed, with his hand.
Kendrick, who stood between me and Hugin, trembled piteously.
“Kendrick.”
“Uh, uh?!”
“You know the fact that Conwell has joined the Windermere camp, right?”
“Ah, th-that is—”
“If I hadn't seen it, that would be one thing, but since it has caught my eye, I can’t help it.”
Kiing!
I drew the Heavenly Demon.
The sound of weapons being drawn echoed in succession from all sides.
Hugin, for his part, just stared at me while smiling slyly.
“Hey, comrade. Don’t overdo it.”
“Who is your comrade? Shut your mouth and draw your sword. Don't let your subordinates get caught up in it.”
Step, step.
The sound of Hugin’s subordinates’ footsteps closing in as if to surround me.
I didn’t bother to look back.
Hwiiiiing—
The wind blowing through the skeletal tree branches swirled the fallen leaves as it passed.
The sunlight that fell bounced off the blade of the Heavenly Demon and spread dazzlingly.
The engraved inscription caught my eye.
‘Kuhn.’
Will it work?
It was a moment I was berating myself for doing something pathetic.
[Please speak, Young Master.]
……This actually works.
I heard it in my head, not in my ears.
Around this time, I felt a drop of sweat flowing down my temple.
‘If these guys all attack at the same time, don't hesitate to pop out.’
Was it because of the achievement gained after the battle with the Phantom Demon?
This time, I felt certain.
‘Hugin is at a level similar to mine.’
To put it another way, when considering pure stage alone, Hugin was insufficient to be placed on the same line as Luke or Deiron.
Of course, it is natural in a way that he, who is only in his late thirties at most, would be pushed back in maturity by such great swordsmen.
‘But in a fight where life is on the line, one never knows what variables might arise.’
If the flame dwelling on Deiron’s sword had not died out, if it had remained as hot as mine, I would not have been able to defeat him.
If I had not been born with the Benkou lineage that could control the subconscious, I would have been subjugated by the Phantom Demon.
‘What would be the variables in this fight?’
I didn't even know what kind of person Hugin was.
A moment later, I might be lying on the cold floor dying, regretting that I was too hasty.
One thing was certain: I was alone and that side had many numbers.
‘Kuhn and the Legion are enough.’
Good, this is it.
In the meantime, Hugin’s subordinates who were closing in around me were slightly caught at both ends of my vision.
I tried not to be conscious of it, but the instinct to calculate the numbers squirmed.
As a result, it might have been obvious that my pupils were shaking. Dammit.
“Hahahaha!”
……He’s laughing?
“Comrade Kendrick. What do you think?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“This situation. I’m asking if Comrade Bihen really came here alone with the purpose of crushing Springeus. Just as he did during the Conwell Civil War.”
Neither I nor Kendrick could even mutter a word.
Hugin added as if answering his own question immediately.
“I think not. Why! Because Bihen Benkou wouldn't drag such innocent people into a fight. Furthermore, there’s no way a person facing an important decisive battle would waste strength by climbing a mountain path while carrying such a large burden.”
Hugin pointed at my back.
‘…….’
I had forgotten.
That I was carrying the fence’s luggage.
“Comrade Bihen. I have already heard much from Comrade Kendrick that you have deep ties with the Conwell family. If your plan is to fight me here for them, I would like to dissuade you.”
“I’m damn honored. I didn't know the Mercenary King was so interested in this lowly ronin to the point of doing a background check.”
“I’m not joking. We, the warriors of Partizan, are of the mind that even if we die, we will definitely cut off at least one of the opponent’s fingers before dying. If you fight this many numbers alone, no matter how much you are the Sword Fiend Bihen Benkou, you won't be able to escape with your body intact.”
“Half-baked threats don't work. Did you not hear from Kendrick that I don't even blink an eye at numbers?”
It was the moment when some words were about to come out of Hugin’s mouth.
“St-stop it, both of you!”
Crunch!
Kendrick knelt on one knee, pulled a hand axe from his waist, and slammed it down in front of him.
Then, he put his other hand between the ground and the axe blade that was stuck at an angle, and looked back and forth between me and Hugin.
“Comrade Hugin! If you draw your sword, my wrist will fly off immediately! You think I won't do it!?”
“Hrm, the Comrade Kendrick I know is a man who does what he says.”
“Bihen! Let me ask just one thing. Did you really come as an assassin for Windermere? I understand the Sword Fiend did not participate in the War of the Roses!”
My gaze met with Hugin’s. He also had an expression of curiosity.
There would be no need to tell a lie.
“……No.”
“I knew it!”
Kendrick took a ragged breath. He had a face as if he had died and come back to life.
“Let’s talk while having a drink first!”
***
“Partizan?”
Isaac asked back.
His pupils shone with curiosity.
“No, I’ve never heard of it.”
“That’s likely. It is a place that has completely disappeared from this Kingdom’s land. It’s not just at the level of being destroyed, the territory itself was erased from the map entirely. As if it never existed from the start.”
Raven spoke with a bright smile.
His voice was a beautiful tone that would be hard for anyone to forget once heard.
Clatter, clatter.
The two were going with their horses' heads aligned.
The sound of horse hooves echoed pleasantly in a steady rhythm.
The sun had just risen to the very center of the sky.
As Isaac was coaxing Raven, who had become displeased due to his slip of the tongue, before he knew it, he was going to Pretoria with him.
“That makes no sense. Even if they staged a rebellion, there is no precedent for the massacre of all territory residents. Furthermore, the entire territory disappeared……. That cannot be explained by common sense.”
Raven pulled the reins slightly.
The horse stopped. Isaac, who had gone a bit further and stopped, looked back.
“Raven?”
“Isaac, how much of the truth revealed to the world do you think there is?”
Isaac furrowed his brow.
He was asking a question that could come across as chilling depending on how it was heard, with a perfectly cheerful voice.
“Revealed the truth?”
“On this Kingdom’s land, even at this very moment, any number of unbelievable and shocking things are happening. However, the things that are recorded in history and known to future generations are not as many as one might think.”
“…….”
“Then what about the rest that are not known?”
Isaac shrugged his shoulders.
“They’ll be buried underneath. And as time piles up on top of them, they’ll be forgotten forever.”
“That is perfectly ordinary history, Isaac.”
“What do you mean?”
The corners of Raven’s mouth rose smoothly. Isaac suddenly felt a sense of enchantment, then secretly shook his head.
“In fact, numerous events, especially values that mankind must remember, perhaps events that could be turning points in history, are being intentionally erased by someone.”
“Our—”
Raven tapped his temple with the tip of his index finger.
“From within our memories.”
“You mean to say someone is controlling people’s consciousness?”
“I suppose you could see it that way.”
Isaac burst into laughter.
Only then did the tension relax a bit.
“You mean they catch people one by one and perform hypnosis or something? They sure are industrious.”
“…….”
“Stop teasing me, Raven. Is that some new conspiracy theory your Royal Magic Corps has been pushing lately? Or is it a topic you are researching separately?”
The leisurely smile on Raven’s face gradually changed to something like a sneer.
He wanted to say something like this right away.
You idiot, you don't believe me even when I tell you.
Raven lightly kicked the horse’s flank before his true feelings could pop out.
“Hyah.”
“Keep talking, Raven. So what happened to Partizan?”
“Originally, they too were supposed to disappear forever by ‘someone.’”
“Someone?”
“I’m talking about that person you mentioned earlier. The one who hypnotizes people and controls their consciousness.”
Raven circled his index finger in the air. It was with a mischievous smile.
Isaac nodded as if he had given up.
“Okay, fine. But? They seem to have managed to not be forgotten?”
“That’s right. For some reason, their descendants were not affected by that someone’s touch.”
“That someone, who bewitches everyone, must have had their pride quite wounded?”
Isaac taunted like a joke.
At this point, Raven had no choice but to withdraw his smile.
Because Isaac’s ignorance was cute, yet on the other hand, pitiable.
“Yes. They were very bothersome headaches.”
“What on earth did Partizan do?”
“They passed down a troublesome ideology and thought. The people there believed for generations that ‘all humans are equal.’ To them, nobles, knights, and even ordinary commoners alike. All statuses were nothing more than a facade to them.”
Only then did Isaac’s face turn serious. He blinked his eyes a few times.
“How could they ever have such a dangerous thought……”
“Hahahaha. As expected, you too are an unavoidable noble, Isaac.”
“To reject the fate one is born with is to reject one’s own existence, and that is the same as denying one’s own flesh and blood as well.”
Raven slightly turned his head and looked at Isaac.
The eyes hidden inside the robe narrowed.
“You’re the same, Isaac.”
“……What?”
“That the ‘shape’ you were born with is different from what your family wants.
You’re the one who knows that fact best. So you’re trying to change your fate somehow.”
Isaac moved his lips.
No words came out.
Only the gaze he had fixed on the air trembled slightly.
“Even if that is the path of bringing down the family with your own hands.”
“Raven, I……!”
“Let’s stop. Emotions are getting intense. As you know, I am unconditionally on your side. You know that, right?”
“…….”
“Anyway, the important thing is that those descendants of Partizan are precisely the Great Raven Mercenary Band, and their leader is precisely the Mercenary King Hugin. They are the ones we must be most wary of in this war.”
The horses the two were riding stopped at the same time.
Soon, Raven took off his robe. His blonde hair reflected in the sunlight swayed like calm waves.
“And one more person……”
His eyes, imbued with a bright golden light like his hair color, gazed at the end of the tree-lined road.
It was the Pretoria mansion buried among the maple leaves.
“Bihen Benkou.”