Chapter 498: Episode 498
"Is Ebrun, perhaps, an accomplice?"
At Kajan’s blunt accusation, the lord went pale and waved his hands frantically.
"H-How could that be! You go too far, sir!"
"The mysterious organization controlling Tarados on one side, and Kizen on the other. It seems you’re trying to play both," Kajan observed, slowly rising to his feet. "Now that we are here, change has begun. You would be wise to choose the right side. Your first test will be how you treat these prisoners and the people who were kidnapped. Judge wisely."
With that final warning, Kajan turned and left. Simon followed close behind.
"You were incredible back there, cornering the lord like that," Simon said as they walked down the hall.
Kajan scratched his scar, his expression unreadable. "That level of pressure was necessary to ensure the prisoners are transported properly and the victims are kept safe. Given their history of suppressing information, they’ll likely do a good job of keeping our presence here quiet as well."
[Wait! Wait! Wait!]
A frantic voice suddenly emanated from the necklace around Simon’s neck.
[Have you two forgotten your priorities? You need to find my main body!]
"Don’t be so impatient, Kal," Simon said. "We’ll leave as soon as we’ve gathered intelligence."
Kajan nodded. "I’ll interrogate the thugs in the prison myself. I’ll get what we need."
"Please do."
---
A great mountain range separated Tarados from the Ebrun territory. The mountains swarmed with monsters, making travel and trade between the two lands exceedingly difficult and contributing to Tarados’s isolation.
Hidden in a valley within that range was a cave. During Tarados’s prosperous era, it had been a secret tunnel used to transport minerals out of the territory. Now, few knew of its existence, and it had become the main den of the Ganes Guild, the thugs who ruled Tarados.
In the dead of night, two of their members arrived at the cave entrance.
"Password!" a guard challenged.
"Pinecone!"
After giving the correct password, the two entered the vast cavern. Inside, their comrades were sprawled about, some drinking heavily, others sleeping against the rock walls. The pair walked for another ten minutes until they reached the leader in charge of the den, a man gnawing on a piece of dried jerky.
"What is it? Why are you two the only ones back?" the leader demanded. "Where are the others? And the test subjects and weapons we procured?"
"Ah, w-well...!" one of the men stammered, sweating as he glanced at his companion.
The other, a man with a bushy beard, spoke up. "Sorry. We lost everything."
’Bam!’
The leader slammed his fist on a wooden crate and shot to his feet.
"Lost everything?"
"Yeah."
"To who?"
"Another gang of thugs," the bearded man lied smoothly. "They ambushed us while we were disguised as a merchant caravan."
The leader leaned in, staring intently into the bearded man’s eyes. "We’re the Ganes Guild. You’re telling me there are bastards out there who would attack us, knowing we control Tarados and this entire region?"
"They must be new around here. Even when we told them who we were, they fought like they had nothing to lose."
The leader turned his back and walked away. He picked up his mug of beer and gulped it down.
"Kghh."
He wiped his mouth roughly. "Tie them up."
"The way they’re talking, they’re hiding something," the leader snarled. "Hang them upside down and give them a taste of waterboarding. That should loosen their tongues."
"Yes, sir!"
Other thugs began to close in, surrounding the two men.
"W-W-What are we going to do now?!" the first thug cried, his face pale with fright.
The bushy-bearded one simply smiled sweetly. He stretched out his legs, crossed them at the ankle, folded his arms, and placed a single finger to his lips.
"I much prefer to be the one doing the tying."
The leader’s face twisted in confusion. "What the—"
Silken threads shot down from the ceiling, ensnaring the approaching thugs and hoisting them into the air.
"Aaargh!"
"W-What is this?!"
In an instant, the men were dangling like cocoons. High above them, spiders dripped venom from their fangs.
"S-Since when were they there?!"
The body of the bearded man, who had been striking a seductive pose, began to ripple. His form dissolved like unraveling thread, revealing a gaunt, alluring woman within. She licked her lips.
[No need to drag this out, is there? This cave is ours now.]
A section of the cave wall crumbled inward, and a boy with faded hair, pale gray skin, and aristocratic clothes stepped out from the dust. He casually tossed a small crown in his hand.
[This is such a pain! Can’t I just turn them all into zombies?]
One of the remaining thugs charged him recklessly but was sent flying dozens of meters by the sheer force of the boy’s casual punch.
The expressions of everyone watching froze.
[Mwahaha! If you’re going to build something, wouldn’t a skeleton be a better choice?]
Their heads swiveled in unison. A towering skeleton, its tattered cloak billowing, was striding toward them.
[Sleep well!]
The white greatsword in its hand began to move.
---
A few hours later, the creak of carriage wheels echoed through the quiet, pre-dawn forest. In the driver’s seat, a terrified man frantically scanned his surroundings, while in the back, Simon and Kajan sat in perfect comfort.
"Y-You’re Kizen students, right?" the driver stammered, his voice trembling. "Are we really going this way?"
"Yes," Simon confirmed with a warm smile. "We’re counting on you."
A sob escaped the poor man’s lips as tears welled in his eyes. He never imagined it would come to this. Just yesterday, he’d thought the boys’ absurd insistence on being taken to Tarados was just a passing whim, but then Simon and Kajan had tracked him all the way to his house. When he’d insisted his life was more precious than any amount of gold, they had simply presented their second-year Kizen student IDs.
"If a request won’t work, we’ll have to make it an order."
And so, the driver now found himself transporting two utterly fearless Kizen students toward a cave tunnel teeming with bandits.
"It’s not that I don’t trust you two!" he pleaded. "But there could be hundreds, even thousands of them in there! They’re the kind of scum who can lay waste to a whole territory! If you’re so set on going to Tarados, we’d be better off going over the mountains..."
But Simon and Kajan weren’t listening. Even now, Simon was diligently working on his overdue Summoning homework, and Kajan was compiling data from the Thieves’ Guild.
’Homework?’ the driver thought, his stomach twisting into a knot. ’He’s doing homework while we’re driving into a bandit nest? Spoiled noble brats...’
They soon arrived before the cave tunnel. Fortunately, the entrance was unguarded.
"A-Are we really going in?"
"Yes," Simon replied, still scribbling with his quill. "I heard a rumor that the bandits left for a group outing today, so the place should be empty."
’That’s insane!’ the driver screamed in his mind.
"Don’t worry," Simon said reassuringly. "We’ll protect you no matter what. Oh, Kajan, for question eleven here, do Crypt Guards actually have a trait that makes them protect their own tombs?"
"According to the guild’s intel, they were only named that because tomb raiders were interrupted during a job," Kajan answered flatly. "They have no such trait. The answer must be four."
"We’re looking for the correct statement, not the incorrect one."
They were so unnervingly calm. Holding back tears, the driver steered the carriage toward the gaping maw of hell. ’So this is how my miserable life ends. Mother, I’ll be with you soon.’
They entered the cave.
’Huh?’
Without encountering a single enemy, they emerged on the other side.
"Wh-What in the world..." A sound of pure disbelief escaped his lips. Before them, the territory of Tarados was visible, bathed in the light of the rising sun. ’Am I dreaming?’
"You did a great job," Simon said as he and Kajan hopped out of the carriage. "Thank you for the ride. Here’s the payment we promised."
The driver accepted the coin pouch with a soft clink, a hollow laugh escaping him in his daze. Had the bandits really gone on a group picnic? No, impossible. Tarados, a territory that prided itself on blocking all external travel, would never leave such a strategic point unguarded. He could only guess the reason.
’These two... they must have taken care of it beforehand.’ He clutched the money tightly. ’Kizen...’
After a moment lost in thought, he looked up. "Wh-Where in Tarados are you headed?"
Kajan answered, "The slums, further east from here. We plan to start there."
"The roads in Tarados are rough and confusing; you’ll get lost easily on your first time," the driver explained, a genuine smile finally reaching his eyes. "Fortunately, this is my hometown. I’ve lived here since I was a child. You paid me quite a bit, and I’d hate to be called a swindler. My conscience demands I take you at least that far."
Simon’s face brightened. "Thank you! That would be a great help!"
The two of them climbed back into the carriage.
Meanwhile, in the cave tunnel, hundreds of bandits struggled against their spiderweb bonds, their muffled cries echoing in the darkness. Before them stood Pier, Erzebet, and Prince.
The corpse spiders raised their legs menacingly, a clear command for silence, and the bandits instantly quieted.
[Mwahaha! The boy intends to continue by carriage!] Erzebet’s eyes gleamed. [Let us follow at once!]
[Understood!] Pier declared, turning around. [Prince! You will remain here and guard this place!]
[No way! Why me?!] Prince protested, swinging his fists wildly.
[This is a task only you, with the greatest mobility in the legion, can perform!] Pier explained. [When the fighting starts, I will inform the boy so he can prepare for you to descend upon a zombie over there!]
At that, Prince puffed out his chest. [Hmph! If the legion’s greatest mobility is required, then I have no choice! Hurry up and go!]
---
It was once a thriving territory bustling with countless adventurers, a place called the ‘Jewel of Freedom.’ Ironically, Tarados had now become the most oppressed land in the kingdom, with all movement—both in and out—strictly controlled.
’What in the world is happening here?’ Simon wondered, stretching his legs in the carriage. He unfolded the request form from his pocket. It was a single, coded plea for help: "Please save us." The words felt heavier each time he read them.
[Wait! Wait! Why does that matter?] The necklace around his neck shook violently as Cal’s clone thrashed about. [Humans die anyway! Why are you so serious about them dying a little early? My main body! Hurry up and save my main body!]
With a pout, Simon flicked the necklace, and Cal finally quieted down.
"He is right! Is that truly what is important right now?" This time, a girl with pink hair clung to Simon’s arm, her sweet fragrance filling the air. "You are on a lovely carriage date with a beautiful woman, after all."
No matter how hard he tried to focus, these two made it impossible. Simon gently peeled Erzebet off his arm. "I am so dealing with you later, Erze."
He understood her desire to join them, but her methods were absurd. A girl in expensive clothes had suddenly leaped out in front of the carriage, struck a dramatic pose, and yelled, "Hitchhiking!" She was far too careless, especially with a civilian present.
"Was my performance not perfectly natural?" she purred.
"Hardly natural," Simon sighed, pressing his fingers to his forehead. "This is Tarados, currently the most dangerous place on the continent. It’s crawling with monsters. Do you really think it makes sense for a lone woman to be wandering the wilderness and hitchhiking?" He’d had to spin a whole tale for the driver.
But Erzebet just smiled and nodded. "Yes, it does. It seems like a perfectly plausible situation."
"Not at all!"
---
At that same moment, elsewhere in Tarados, a group of bandits from the Ganes Guild kicked up clouds of dust as they circled their prey menacingly.
"Well now, little lady! Where are you headed all alone in this dangerous place?"
"At this rate, the monsters will get you."
"A noble! You’re a noble, right? I wonder how much your ransom is worth."
A girl in a short skirt and stockings, utterly out of place in the desolate wilderness, let her ivory hair flutter in the wind.
"Haaah..." she yawned, covering her mouth with her palm. She wore no robe or turban to shield herself from the sand—a sight that clashed terribly with the harsh landscape.
"S-Still, isn’t this a bit strange?" one of the more observant bandits muttered. "For a noble lady who looks so elegant to just appear in Tarados as if she dropped from the sky! Look! There’s not even any dust on her clothes!"
"Ah, who cares!" the leader boomed with a boisterous laugh. "Just think of it as the heavens dropping a woman down just for me! From now on, she’s mine!"
A murmur went through the other bandits.
"A-Aren’t you going to offer her to the boss?"
"We should capture her as a slave and sell her! Think of the ransom!"
"B-Brother! I can have a little fun too, right?"
As they argued over her fate, the girl was weighing theirs.
"Hmmmm," she mused aloud. "Should I let Simon come rescue me after I’m captured? No, that’s too passive. Or should I present their heads as a gift and demand a reward? Too cruel, perhaps."
Despite being surrounded by dozens of horsemen, she tilted her head, completely absorbed in her dilemma.
"Hey," the man who appeared to be their chief growled, riding closer. "Stop muttering nonsense. From now on, you’re my bride. Get on the back. Behave yourself, or your value will drop if you get any scratches."
"Oh, my," the girl said, clasping her hands with a sweet smile. "I’m so sorry, but the position of my spouse is a ’tad’ expensive."
The chief drew his sword and pointed it at her. "Expensive? No matter how expensive, surely the price of your life is enough?"
"Hehe."
A breeze stirred, and shimmering white feathers began to flutter around her and the bandits. One by one, their eyes glazed over.
"My, my," she said, her voice dripping with mock pity. "The world is full of so many different ways to commit suicide."