Anagin Chronicles

Chapter 056. Prisoner (2)

“Ah, damn. That startled me.”

When a horse carrying a rider suddenly burst out, Anagin naturally swung his fist.

The horse died on the spot, and the person who had been riding it rolled off onto the ground and lost consciousness just like that.

It was as if it were a perfectly coordinated play.

However, Sanchonius, Sphinx, Kori, and Pais—who knew it wasn’t a play—were horrified.

The horse suddenly bursting out was startling enough, but swinging a fist immediately afterward was even more shocking. Wasn’t that far too violent?

But Anagin was unapologetic.

He had swung his fist because the other party suddenly jumped out and startled him—essentially an act of self-defense.

On top of that, although he didn’t know what method they’d used, they had been running urgently while suppressing all sound. In other words, they had been fleeing.

And fleeing meant the guy had something to feel guilty about, and more often than not, that meant he was a bad guy.

“So, in conclusion, it’s justice being carried out.”

Anagin raised his fist and confidently expounded his logic. Even to himself, it seemed like flawless reasoning.

Sphinx, dumbfounded, asked back.

“…What if he wasn’t?”

“Then I apologize, and that’s that.”

Anagin replied shamelessly with a shrug, and Sphinx’s eyes gleamed with contempt.

“So that’s how it works!”

Whether or not he understood Sphinx’s feelings, Pais admired Anagin’s words.

Kori, the older sister, hesitated over what kind of reaction she should take to her younger brother’s attitude, and Sanchonius’s eyes trembled slightly as if in shock.

He knew Anagin could be a bit reckless, but to think he’d be reckless to this extent!

“F-first, I’ll check whether he’s unharmed.”

Sanchonius decided to check the rider’s condition first.

He could have been an innocent person.

As an attendant assisting heroes, if they had harmed an innocent person, it would have been unbearable.

“Wait.”

Anagin grabbed Sanchonius by the clothes.

Dragged along by Anagin’s grip, Sanchonius was pulled back.

A flustered Sanchonius asked,

“What is this—”

Swoosh!

A sharp blade brushed past right in front of Sanchonius’s face.

If he’d gone even a little closer, it would have been dangerous.

Startled, Sanchonius looked ahead and saw that the unconscious rider had gotten up.

But then—huh?

“…Sciron the Fallen Noble?”

“You know me? Don’t tell me, this is an ambu—”

“—What are you even saying?”

While Sciron the Fallen Noble was saying something, Anagin picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it straight at Sciron’s head.

Thrown at close range, the stone was far too fast to react to, and Sciron was struck and knocked unconscious on the spot.

Pakk!

It all happened in an instant.

Silence fell.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Anagin looked at the group and asked,

“What? Weren’t we supposed to capture him?”

* * *

Sciron the Fallen Noble.

This was the second time Anagin had heard about him.

The first time was during his initial meeting with Sanchonius.

While explaining the Forest Brotherhood’s plan to establish a country, Sanchonius had said that Sciron was one of the participants.

“So this is that Sciron?”

Anagin asked as he pulled out the “Infinite-Length Magic Rope” and tightly bound Sciron from head to toe.

“Yes, that’s correct. He is Sciron the Fallen Noble. I’m certain I’ve seen the wanted notice. More importantly….”

“Hm?”

“I think you can stop tying him up now.”

Sanchonius said this while looking at Sciron being bound by Anagin’s hands.

Sciron was wrapped in rope from his neck to his ankles without a single gap; it looked like he might die from lack of circulation at this rate.

Of course, it wouldn’t really matter if such a villain died, but still, keeping him alive had its value.

“It’s fine. It’s a magic rope, so it keeps extending.”

Having misunderstood the intent, Anagin replied calmly.

Sanchonius considered explaining that he was worried about Sciron, not the rope, but decided not to bother correcting him.

Watching Anagin’s reaction, it felt like any explanation would just be a waste of breath.

Praying that Sciron didn’t die seemed more productive.

“But is he really a noble?”

“Pardon?”

“Sciron. Is he really a noble? I’ve never actually seen one.”

“Ah… yes. He’s of noble birth, though fallen.”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Sanchonius answered.

Sciron had been a noble of the Hellas coastal region, and it was said that after his family’s fall, he joined the Forest Brotherhood.

“After that, his abilities were recognized, and he rose to a key position in no time.”

“Doesn’t really seem like it….”

“What was recognized wasn’t his individual martial strength, but his command ability. Organizing people, building information networks, and handling things like tactics and strategy—his ability to manage an organization.”

Coming right after Sciron had been pitifully knocked out by a stone, it wasn’t a very convincing explanation, but Anagin didn’t dismiss it lightly.

Compared to himself, Sanchonius surely knew more.

Besides, as Sanchonius said, even if someone lacked personal combat strength, they could still excel at command. Anagin himself could beat beasts just fine, but couldn’t farm. To begin with, everyone had different talents, didn’t they?

“Anyway, this is incredibly fortunate. Fortunate enough to make you think the gods themselves intervened.”

“Why?”

“The one who came up with the idea of building a country in Western Anapik was Periphetes the Clubber, but as far as I know, the one who drew up the concrete plans was Sciron.”

‘Yeah, that makes sense.’

Anagin nodded in agreement.

Brute strength might be enough to destroy something, but it was insufficient to create something.

A matter of temperament or nature, perhaps?

If it were possible to build things with sheer strength, Anagin would have become a village chief long ago.

But he couldn’t.

And no one knew that better than Anagin himself.

“Then…. does that mean we can learn the Forest Brotherhood’s entire plan through this guy?”

“Yes, exactly!”

Sanchonius answered loudly, delighted at the unexpected gain. He wasn’t the only one pleased.

“Wow, that’s great!”

“Yeah.”

Kori and Pais also followed Sanchonius in rejoicing. However, Anagin and Sphinx did not.

Rather than celebrating the unforeseen gain, they harbored suspicion.

“Then why was a guy like that running away?”

“I find that questionable as well. If he were that important, he wouldn’t have been captured so easily.”

A doubt anyone could have just by thinking a little.

If he was that important, why was he alone, fleeing through the forest, only to get caught like this?

Instead of questioning it, Sanchonius looked like he had some idea.

“He was probably fleeing after being hit by the New Argonaut Expedition Team.”

“Huh?”

“The New Argonaut Expedition Team. I told you, didn’t I? That they were planning to strike the bandits’ main base, advancing into Anapik?”

“Ah, I remember. You said it was to cut off their escape routes and uproot them completely.”

“Yes! But there’s another reason as well. Sciron himself. Through intelligence, we learned that Sciron was staying at the main base.”

“So, hitting the main base was to secure Sciron?”

“Yes. Of course, it wasn’t easy. He’s exceptionally skilled at hiding and fleeing, which is why we hadn’t been able to capture him until now.”

Anagin nodded.

Searching the unconscious Sciron, he found several magical tools. Among them were ones presumed to suppress the owner’s presence and erase surrounding sounds.

Until Sciron burst out from the bushes, Anagin hadn’t sensed his presence at all, nor had he heard any sound.

If Sciron had passed beside Anagin instead of right in front of him, he might have successfully escaped.

For someone with such abilities, he seemed to be astonishingly unlucky.

‘This feels uneasy. Our luck is a bit too good, isn’t it?’

Anagin felt a sense of discomfort.

Excessive luck was much like misfortune.

Still, it was too late to let him go now.

Anagin decided to just take the situation positively.

“Well, let’s say it worked out. It would’ve been awkward to go back empty-handed.”

Even if Sanchonius had invited Anagin, his status was merely that of an attendant.

Even if Anagin went to the New Argonaut Expedition Team, the chances of receiving a warm welcome weren’t very high.

Of course, he wasn’t going there to be welcomed, but if possible, he wanted to start things off with smiles.

That would make it easier to ask questions and dig around.

In that sense, Sciron would make a good gift.

“Let’s drag him along like this.”

Saying so, Anagin grabbed Sciron by the ankle.

Just as he said, he intended to drag him along the ground.

“Mister, if you drag him like that, won’t his head get scraped against the ground?”

“Does it matter? Or should I grab him by the hair?”

“No, grabbing his leg is better. My bad for asking.”

As they exchanged brief, dry remarks and were about to set off—

Something rapidly approached from their direction.

Mounted armed troops.

Hiiing-!

Anagin was ready to swing his fist again if the horses came too close, but the horses stopped at a certain distance.

Then they naturally surrounded Anagin’s group.

At the sudden situation, Sphinx pulled Kori and Pais toward herself to protect them, and Sanchonius took a stance, ready to fight if necessary.

After a brief standoff.

“The New Argonaut Expedition Team, perhaps?”

Anagin asked while looking at those who had arrived on horseback.

“You know of the New Argonaut Expedition Team?”

One of the armed troops spoke.

A voice without hostility.

Sanchonius interjected.

“Are you allies of the New Argonaut Expedition Team, by any chance?”

“! Who are you?”

“I am Sanchonius. An attendant of the New Argonaut Expedition Team! I went to Stas Polis on a mission and am now returning!”

Sanchonius immediately pulled out his identification token and showed it.

As the reddish-hued metal token came into view, the surrounding tension began to ease. The suddenly appearing armed troops had also been wary of Anagin’s group.

They really did seem to be allies of the New Argonaut Expedition Team.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Philos, captain of the vigilante group ‘Good Friends.’ We assisted the New Argonaut Expedition Team in raiding Sciron’s base and were in pursuit of the fleeing Sciron.”

As he spoke, Philos looked at Sciron, who was caught in Anagin’s hand.

Naturally so—after chasing him so hard, someone else had snatched him up. It was disappointing.

And Philos wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

“Hey, won't you hand him over to us?”

One rough-looking man tossed the question toward Anagin. His tone was polite, but his eyes carried a faint threat.

Those who knew Anagin’s personality were startled and looked at him with anxious expressions, but Anagin was calmer than expected.

“Why would I?”

“He was originally our target, and it’s already a settled matter with the New Argonaut Expedition Team.”

He likely assumed that Anagin was also just an attendant.

That was why he demanded custody of Sciron.

The matter had already been settled with your superiors.

“But I'm the one who caught him, right?”

Anagin countered bluntly.

“…We were originally supposed to catch him.”

“And I caught him. Do hunters around here demand that another hunter hand over prey they failed to catch? Because you ‘had your eye on it first’? That’s pretty absurd.”

It was an argument hard to refute.

However, the man demanding custody of Sciron couldn’t bring himself to give up.

That was how valuable Sciron was.

“We were originally supposed to catch him, and we could have caught him.”

“No, you couldn’t have. You showed up a long time after I’d already caught this guy. If we hadn’t been there, he would’ve bolted ages ago.”

It wasn’t wrong.

The Good Friends had arrived long after Anagin had captured Sciron.

Considering the magical tools that erased presence and sound, the chances of losing him were extremely high.

“Besides, whether you were going to catch him or not isn’t the important part. I’ve got nothing to do with the New Argonaut Expedition Team. Not yet, anyway.”

At that, Philos reacted.

“Then who are you?”

“Anagin.”

Philos paused for a moment, then frowned.

“…Anagin the Practitioner Killer?”

“I didn’t exactly kill them, but yeah, I’m probably that Anagin.”

Anagin revealed his name without the slightest hesitation and even acknowledged the title of Practitioner Killer—before Sphinx could stop him.

Of course, even if she had tried, it probably wouldn’t have worked.

The moment Anagin revealed who he was, a strange tension spread through the air. The horses, sensing something, whinnied uneasily.

Just as the noise reached its peak, Philos extended his hand.

“You’re right. Sciron is yours to keep. A pleasure to meet you.”

Anagin grasped the offered hand and nodded.

“That’s a relief. Nice to meet someone who understands reason. You hear that? You’re mine now.”

Anagin said this while looking at Sciron, who was pretending to be unconscious.

Sciron, whose eyes had been closed, frowned and opened them.

“Fuck.”