Chapter 109

“Human, huh? Kobolds, Milia.”

Persuading her casually, I put on my armor and weapons again.

It wasn’t like I had no anxiety. Milia was a bit weak-minded, after all.

Chasing and exterminating enemies who looked like ordinary villagers might make her hesitate.

But in a way, it’s a good thing.

The first villains I’m exterminating are all weaklings.

You could call it a tutorial.

If I can just push through a little discomfort, I’ll get used to it in no time.

If they were proper enemies instead of these bugs, I’d be dead the moment I hesitated. How lucky is that?

“Toughen up. A knight should handle this easily. Exterminating a group of evil Kobolds, you know.”

If you can’t handle this much, there’s no way you’ll survive as a knight anyway.

“You’re going to move forward with Damien, right? As a knight.”

“……Yeah. Got it.”

Milia nodded with a determined expression.

—

After finishing preparations, I sent Milia down.

I also went back to Johan and checked on his condition.

Johan seemed to have regained some energy, as he screamed and burst into tears the moment he saw me.

“Our Johan. Seems like you missed me a lot. Crying so messily.”

I wiped his tear-streaked face with my gloved thumb.

Johan, moved by my kindness, trembled. Tears of blood streamed down his face in gratitude.

I held him and went downstairs.

Milia, startled by Johan’s appearance, couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“That, that man earlier…”

“This is Johan, our new friend. Say hello, Johan. ‘Nice to meet you,’ or something.”

I grabbed his flailing arm and shook it like a balloon at a festival.

“Uuuuuh…”

Johan, who had just regained consciousness, let out a weak greeting.

“Ah, look at me. Your mouth was still blocked? Sorry, Johan.”

I wondered what he’d try to say.

Would he curse? Beg for his life again? Or maybe…

I pulled out the cloth stuffed in his mouth.

“Kill…kill me…! Please, stop…it hurts…! Kill me……”

“Earlier you begged to live, now you’re being fickle.”

Not exactly a memorable last word.

I stuffed the cloth back into his mouth.

“Already saying goodbye, how sad! But since it’s a friend’s last wish, I should probably grant it, right?”

Chattering away, I lightly placed Johan on the central table on the first floor.

“Freide, senior, Ha-shal-leur’s acting a bit strange…? What’s going on?”

“No idea. She’s been excited since earlier. Maybe she got drunk smelling alcohol.”

Damien and Freide whispered.

Drunk? I’m not drunk.

I’m just blowing off some built-up stress.

Honestly, I’ve been accumulating a lot of frustration. Like a cat in heat.

My body keeps whispering to kill enemies, but lately, there’s no one I can safely touch.

I’ve been holding back and enduring.

“Uh…this baptism is to wash away your sins and be reborn as a true person…blessed are those who receive His anointing?”

I spouted some random lines and poured strong alcohol all over Johan’s head.

“Where’d you hear that? There aren’t any priests on the plains.”

“From a book. I’m probably way more educated than you.”

“No way.”

Freide chuckled.

It’s not a joke.

I tossed the empty bottle behind me and looked at the group.

I’ve had enough fun with the pranks, time to get to work.

“Freide, the carriage is ready, right? There are two horses…leave one behind.”

I wasn’t planning to ride it.

If I run properly, I’ll be faster than most horses anyway.

Though the horses in this world are better than Earth’s.

“I’ll stir up the village, Milia, you ride the horse and shoot anyone trying to escape.”

“I’ve never shot a bow while riding a horse…but got it.”

Milia hesitated for a moment before nodding.

This is a good chance to learn mounted archery.

“Freide and Damien, take the carriage to the chapel and rescue the captured women…just in case, don’t fall for any hostage situations, okay?”

“It’s not like we’ll die for them, we won’t. Let’s go, Damien.”

“Yes, Freide, senior.”

Freide answered calmly, and she and Damien headed outside.

With Freide there, it should be fine.

“Hey, Ha-shal-leur. What about the kids? Surely they’re not all accomplices…?”

“The furry ones are. Shoot them all. For the younger ones…just threaten them so they don’t run.”

Milia nodded, gripping her bow.

—

“Well then…goodbye, Johan. I’ll send your friends up soon, so don’t worry and wait in heaven.”

As soon as Milia left, I tossed a nearly burnt cigarette at Johan.

The alcohol caught fire and began to burn.

The flames spread to the table, growing fiercer.

Johan thrashed wildly.

Well, his legs were already useless, so it’s more like flailing than thrashing.

“Uuuuuuh!! Uuuuh!!”

Still energetic, huh? He’s still got the strength to scream like that.

Even after I shattered his limbs and eyes.

“Don’t be so resentful. You’re just getting what you deserve. I heard once that everything eventually moves toward the right path.”

The right path has finally come for you too.

Walk the fiery path with all your might.

Alright, let’s go.

Leaving Johan behind, who was currently getting a fiery baptism, I stepped outside the inn.

Damien and Freide were already on the carriage.

“Finally out, huh? We’ll head out first. When do you plan to storm the chapel?”

“The signal will be the beacon rising from the inn… Let’s consider that our starting point.”

It’s going to be a signal that’ll shock the whole village.

After all, their hunting ground is about to go up in flames.

“A beacon? Ah, got it.”

“Johan’s working hard to light it up. Quite the self-sacrifice.”

Shrugging, I sent the carriage on its way.

—-

From behind, a wind mixed with the smell of smoke started to blow.

It’ll probably take about five more minutes for it to really catch fire.

“Ha-shal-leur? I’m ready too.”

Milia, on horseback, looked down at me.

There was still a bit of hesitation on her face… but her unwavering eyes showed she had made up her mind.

This much should be enough to feel at ease.

“I’ll start from the west side of the village, Milia, you head east. It shouldn’t be much, but watch out for any archers.”

The horse isn’t armored, so if it gets hit by an arrow, it’ll go down, and so will Milia.

Milia’s clothes won’t stop arrows either.

I’m sure she can dodge or deflect arrows from these guys, but just in case.

“Got it. I’ll be careful. See you later.”

Milia lightly tugged the reins.

The startled horse started to gallop away.

…I should get going too.

After loosening up my ankles, I dashed towards the west side of the village.

—-

The village I arrived at was already buzzing with an odd tension.

Even though it was time for most people to be asleep, it felt like most of the men were awake.

The cause of the tension wasn’t worry or anxiety.

Rather, it was anticipation and excitement.

The village men were as giddy as children waiting in line for a ride.

The fact that the nine men who went ahead hadn’t returned yet wasn’t a concern for them; it only confirmed that today’s prey was so good they lost track of time.

If you listened closely, you could hear them talking inside the buildings.

Crude jokes. Vile and cruel anecdotes. All sorts of disgusting insults.

Their impressions of the woman they caught last time.

‘…At first, she was thrashing around and being a nuisance, but after starving her for a month, now she’s……’

The tale of how they subdued adventurers who were lovers, then woke them up to commit their atrocities.

‘…After threatening and toying with them, I killed the man, and the way she screamed and struggled was so amusing…’

…Yeah, real fun.

The repulsive tales went on endlessly.

Listening to them made my ears feel like they were rotting.

Stories of killing a merchant and then having their way with his wife and daughter.

Complaints that the ones in the breeding pens were no different from beasts and thus not fun.

You’re the real beasts here.

So they were into breeding pen stuff too. Good thing I didn’t send Milia.

There was also talk about us.

Laughing about how the silver-haired one looked like a noble and would be fun to tame.

Nonsense about how the green-haired one would be perfect for their kid’s coming-of-age ceremony.

The black-haired one… that’s me.

Rumors about how I stayed hidden in the carriage with my face covered, giving off a witchy vibe.

Jokes about how if I were a witch, they’d purify me with holy water at the chapel.

Disgusting bastards.

Whether they’re Ka`har or Empire folks, at the bottom, they’re all the same.

These scum have been at it for fifty years, and they’re still going strong. Guess the gods who were supposed to be watching over us are all asleep?

Or maybe, my coming here is some kind of divine guidance?

A mix of disgust, discomfort, and anger filled my chest.

My body heated up, and a fiery sensation gathered in my mouth.

As if I couldn’t stand the hunger, violent urges pushed me forward.

No, not yet. I need to hold on a bit longer.

Timing is crucial for this kind of thing; to handle it properly, we need to start simultaneously.

I sharpened my senses and scanned the village.

Letting the vile conversations go in one ear and out the other, I focused on detecting the presence of these non-human creatures.

About twenty gathered at the village hall. Around thirty scattered elsewhere.

That makes about fifty in total.

If Johan’s right, the other thirty are at the chapel.

Not even a knight-level enemy in sight, so it shouldn’t take long.

Laugh all you want now.

You won’t have much to laugh about soon.

The inn, which had been flickering red, finally burst into flames.

The fire was so intense it could be seen clearly from here.

Freide and Milia must have seen it too.

There was no need to hold back any longer.

I unleashed the killing intent I had been suppressing and charged at the building like a starving beast.

With a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth, the wall at my shoulder shattered.

—-