Chapter 17

The longsword was not a very suitable weapon for fighting in a narrow underground room.

However, Valenciaunos was a skilled swordsman who was not bound by tools.

“Who are you!”

“Hey! Wait a minute!”

The three slum thugs flinched.

Valenciaunos moved before they could even get up.

With both hands on the hilt, he thrust the sword into the neck of a man with a cross tattoo on his face.

It wasn’t a strike that severed the vertebrae, but it was an efficient blow that precisely tore through a thick vein.

“One.”

“Gack!”

“You bastard!”

The one with the name tattoo on his neck drew a dagger and tried to get up.

Valenciaunos kicked his chin as he withdrew the sword.

With a cracking sound, the name tattooed man staggered.

Valenciaunos casually thrust the sword into his side.

As the sword slipped between the ribs, he felt the sensation of it softly slicing through the lung, and he pulled it out.

“Two.”

He pointed the sword at the throat of the third man and spoke.

“Do you want to make it three, or will you do as I say?”

The man with the knot bracelet was also someone who had lived a rough life, but seeing his acquaintances die before his eyes was shocking.

He spoke with a trembling voice.

“I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Good. Lady Trentia. Come up.”

The knight in plate armor climbed the rope ladder.

The sound of armor clanking echoed.

She, standing behind Valenciaunos, turned her head and lightly scanned the two bodies of the slum thugs.

“One was taken down in an instant, while the other was kicked to the ground and stabbed in the side. Quite a skilled technique. When did he learn that? He was all bluster when training with Sir Bonnel.”

“What should we do with the bodies, Your Highness?”

Upon hearing the term “Highness,” the man widened his eyes like saucers and gaped.

Valenciaunos grabbed the wrist of the name tattooed man, who was convulsing as air leaked from his side.

“We’ll handle it the way they do around here.”

“What does that mean?”

“Throw them in the sewer.”

“Didn’t you say that slimes don’t eat people?”

“Not living ones.”

“They both seem alive still.”

“They’ll be dead soon. Drowning them will hasten that.”

“‘Drowning’?”

Trentia momentarily pondered whether that was the right expression.

“Shouldn’t it be ‘throwing’? Never mind.”

“Please. I’ll do it myself. You aren’t wearing gloves, after all. Your hands will get dirty.”

“Oh my. Thank you, my lady.”

Upon hearing the term “my lady,” the man with the knot bracelet twitched as if stabbed by a blade.

Hick, hick, he began to hiccup.

It was widely rumored that wealthy lords and ladies with sadistic hobbies hunted humans in the slums, escorted by knights.

The man was someone who had confirmed the truth of that rumor with his own body.

While dodging arrows that flew at him like the wind.

“Damn it. I joined this gang to play the role of the hunter.”

It was common for the slum-dwellers to block the streets in exchange for a few silver coins from the lords and ladies.

Now turned from hunter to prey, the man felt once again like he had fallen into the role of the hunted.

Seeing the color drain from his face, Valenciaunos sheathed his sword and spoke.

People with such faces never tell lies.

“About three days ago, did a package arrive here? It should have been about the size of two palms, wrapped in light brown paper.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Don’t you know?”

The man understood the implication of “don’t you know?”

It meant “you’ll have to die.”

He recalled the list of all the medicines, women, and men who had come through this passage in the last three days.

It was desperate.

“It came! It arrived yesterday! The package sent to the stone shop at the intersection of the busy street, right?”

“Yes. I found it correctly.”

Valenciaunos smiled with satisfaction.

It seemed the package sent by Rudi took about two days to reach that building.

“Do you know where that package is now?”

“Our boss came and took it himself. There’s a safe in the boss’s room; it should be stored with the money and drugs.”

Having lived in the slums, the man was quick-witted.

He could tell that the “highness” in front of him wanted that package.

Seeing his eyes shine like those of a rat, Valenciaunos asked.

“How long will it take to open that safe?”

“It’s quite a complex structure; it will take some time.”

“Then let’s go right away. Stand up.”

“Y-Yes?”

“If you don’t want to wait down there and get eaten by slimes.”

Splash. Blub. Swish.

The sounds of the injured being thrown into the water and slimes gathering could be heard.

“If I give them time to think, they might plan a betrayal. Let’s finish this quickly.”

Valenciaunos tapped the scabbard with the tip of his left finger.

The man sprang to his feet but stumbled, unable to control his shaking legs, then fell to the ground again, trembling as he tried to stand.

“Lead the way, my lady.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Trentia drew her sword.

With a chilling metallic sound, the man shivered.

As if he had lost his mind, his eyes widened in fear.

“Guide me quickly along the fastest route. If I do not find the package, I will kill you painfully.”

The knight bellowed coldly.

The man hurried towards the stairs leading up.

* * *

Coming outside the building, I squinted against the dazzling sunlight.

The slums were filthy and wretched as expected.

The cobblestones that should have been on the street were stripped away, leaving only a dirt and gravel floor.

Haphazardly built wooden structures rose to three or four stories, and their shabby finish made them look like tentacles stretching towards the sky.

The result of overreaching renovations supported by what once were stone buildings.

Shabby people dressed in tattered clothes wandered the streets, their faces and clothes all filthy, with their shining eyes being the only notable feature.

From the alleys, screams or the sounds of men and women coupling could be heard.

I held my breath against the foul stench that hit me.

This was something I could never adapt to, no matter how much I smelled it.

The sewers would be several times cleaner.

Muddy, slimy mud mixed with moss clung to Lady Trentia’s steel boots.

She let out an incongruous sigh.

“If we turn back, I should suggest calling in an architect to redo the city plan. The demolition process could double as urban warfare training.”

“Good idea.”

“Otherwise, we could set it on fire. They say the court magicians are eager to test their new spells.”

What spells had been developed around this time?

I remembered.

The Flame Whirlwind Scroll.

“Very good idea. What should we build next?”

After a moment of contemplation, Lady Trentia answered.

“Whatever we build will certainly be better than this. We cannot let such rabble live protected by the walls of Silentalouon, which are guarded by your majesty’s knights.”

She spoke without lowering her voice.

Yet there was no resistance or anger in the gazes of the pedestrians.

Instead, they trembled and retreated into corners or turned away, fearful of making eye contact with Lady Trentia.

To them, knights were akin to apostles of gods in the clouds.

They were incapable of wielding mana.

Even if they had tried, they would need at least a thousand men to kill an armored knight.

Especially if it were Lady Trentia.

“Miss, could you not go a bit slower? My legs hurt.”

The man with the knot bracelet glanced back, saying.

I could understand.

Even though he belonged to a gang, his physical abilities were nowhere near mine or hers.

But I had neither the reason nor the leisure to consider that.

I shook my head at Lady Trentia, who asked me with her eyes what to do.

She coldly snapped.

“I’m starting to want to find another guide. Is there not one more of your kind in this street? Your gang won’t allow time for your boss. If you don’t want to have your head cut off, you’d better hurry.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The man turned into an alley.

The slum-dwellers who had been loitering jumped in shock at the sight of me, hiding between buildings or bowing their heads to the ground.

I ignored them and focused on what I could hear, rather than what I could see.

This was a place I had often visited when I had fallen from grace in my previous life.

There was neither righteousness nor divine justice here.

“It’s over there, my lady.”

At the end of the alley, a three-story stone building came into view.

Like the other slum houses, it had been awkwardly expanded with wooden boards on the sides and above.

Still, since it was the hideout of the boss, there was some cobblestone left in the front, and I noticed a boy my age sweeping the floor with a broom.

Da-da-da-da-da.

The sound of footsteps running between the alleys grew louder.

“Thanks.”

I said chillingly.

“What, my lady?”

The man frowned at my voice.

“Knight.”

I sent a glance at Lady Trentia.

“Yes, your highness.”

Polite in her response, she stabbed the man in the back with her sword.

“Gah!”

The man looked aghast at the blade that burst out of his belly.

As he ground his teeth and knelt on the floor.

I kicked his back as I once had and whispered.

“Did you think they wouldn’t call for backup when you stopped to go slowly? Did you signal them?”

The footsteps were close now.

Rat-like eyes glinted from between the darkened alleyways.

“It’s true that a rat will bite a cat when backed into a corner.”

Lady Trentia wielded her sword, shaking off the blood, and remarked disdainfully.

“I’ll go in. Only by biting the cat will the rat learn that it is a rat.”

“Will you be okay alone?”

“I may be a royal, but I’m at the pinnacle of my lineage. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve besides just kicking.”

I stealthily moved ahead, leaving the approaching gang and Lady Trentia behind, heading towards the boss’s hideout.

I saw the boy sweeping out the front of the building fleeing into the alley.

I momentarily stared at the firmly shut wooden door.

“Ha.”

Then I pulled out my sword and forcefully stabbed it between the wooden planks.

Along with the sound of splintering wood, I felt a clear sense of something different.

It wasn’t wood that I pierced but flesh; a startled scream followed a moment later.

Seeing the blood flowing under the door, I murmured.

“Entering always requires caution.”

Before the gang could organize their formation, I suddenly burst the door open.

Inside, there were about a dozen people gathered.

Caught off-guard, they wore startled expressions as they never expected an attack.

Those who saw me gritted their teeth and quickly took their positions.

They were armed with hand axes and daggers, suitable for swinging in the narrow alley.

Their eyes and demeanor were fierce as if they were predators guarding a territory where tomorrow was not promised.

Even though they had seen this platinum hair, no one dared to bow their heads in respect.

Even in a world where the authority of royals had fallen to the ground, it was never expected that the emperor’s blood would venture directly into the slums.

And in this world, unexpected things happened frequently.

“Flickering, blooming flames.”

I mocked them as I incanted.

It felt as if I was exhaling endlessly, and the mana that had pooled in my heart suddenly surged forth.

While the amount remained poor, the control inscribed in my soul was unwavering.

Ten fireballs the size of fists flared up bright.

“Magic…?”

The leading thug’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re too late.”

I threw all ten fireballs into the entrance.

Then I stepped back three paces.

A moment passed, about two seconds.

With a whoosh, the door exploded open.

The men, engulfed in flames, writhed in agony on the entrance floor.

The ones who still had their wits about them tried to extinguish the fire on one another.

But the flames infused with mana did not easily die down and spread deep into their hideout.

“Flames that rise and follow.”

I wrapped part of the fire around my back and stepped into the smoke-filled hideout.

As I stabbed the heart of a man charging through the smoke, I thought.

How many floors had the safe been placed on, should I need to escape at any moment?