Chapter 9
A few hours later.
"Oh."
Callias, who had barely managed to gain entry to Trista after pleading, walked through the streets letting out a small gasp of admiration.
Even the small street flowerbeds were beautiful, and the constructed buildings each possessed their own unique character.
The residents all had bright faces, and a beautiful fountain was perpetually spurting from the center of Trista's square.
"Seeing it in person is definitely different."
"My lord, have you been here before?"
"No."
He motioned with his chin toward the thug Brans.
"You said you'd know where that Lutens guy is, right?"
"Of course, my lord! I know how to read people, and that young master had eyes that were crazy to gamble as soon as possible!"
Gambling, huh.
Then there's only one place he could be.
Cedric's gambling den located in Trista's bustling district.
'I'll teach that guy a lesson, and if the opportunity arises, I can also meet Cedric.'
He walked following Brans's guidance.
After walking for a while, the surrounding buildings gradually began to look shabbier.
Callias's eyes narrowed.
"This way! This is a secret gambling den known only to those in the know!"
"Is that so."
At Brans's words to go in first, Callias strode inside.
As he opened the falling-apart door, sure enough, inside lay a shabby table and a few chairs strewn about.
It was then.
Rattle!
The sound of chains rapidly echoed from the ceiling, and something pounced on Callias.
Thud!
It was a massive iron cage.
An iron cage perfectly suited for imprisoning a person.
It had dropped from the ceiling. He had suspected it, but it was indeed a trap.
"Hahaha! You followed me without any suspicion like a mutt! Mister! You're a real idiot, aren't you!?"
Brans laughed gaily as if enjoying the sight and rebuked Callias. Then, thugs with similar speech and appearance to Brans stealthily revealed themselves.
"Hey Brans! You caught a big fish this time too!"
"Fisherman Brans! You caught a pilgrim, so you've made a big score again! As expected! Kyah, catching a pilgrim. How much is this worth, really."
"If we just sell him to a lord who wants him, we won't have to worry about swords. It's no different from sitting on a money cushion!"
It seemed they intended to sell Callias off.
Pilgrims weren't many, but due to their characteristic of wandering around on pilgrimages, there were those who targeted them. It was easy to find cases where lords preparing for territorial wars imprisoned pilgrims and exploited them to make swords in order to save on military expenses.
"How much should we get this time? We'll probably get over a thousand gold coins, right?"
"A thousand is nothing. In these times, we might get over three thousand."
"You idiot! Where are you going to find a lord who'd buy him for that much? The world is full of guys who'd sell their country to the Empire because they're broke, so we should be grateful for even a thousand. Ah whatever, let's just cut off a leg quickly."
Because it'd be annoying if he escapes.
"Hey, who has the paralyzing poison?"
"Here."
As the poison-coated dagger was handed over, one of the thugs threw it with all his might.
However.
Clang!
"What? He blocked it?"
Callias easily deflected the dagger with Arsaldo.
"What are you surprised for? Throw it again! Even if he's a pilgrim, he can't block them if we throw several at once."
It wasn't a bad thought, but Callias didn't wait for them to throw their poison-coated swords at the same time.
Swish! His sword flashed brightly.
A sword trajectory too fast for the eye to follow trailed a long tail, and in that instant, it rang with the sound of steel.
Screech, crunch!
"You crazy bastard!!"
The iron cage was severed.
With the iron cage that held him severed, what would happen next was obvious.
Aaaargh! Save me!
Brans wet his pants at the screams of his brothers coming from all directions. His sword was unstoppable, cleanly reaping the lives of his brothers.
It was a fast and disciplined swift sword technique, as if the sword had split into dozens.
Brans couldn't even properly grasp how his sword was drawn or how it was swung.
While doing dirty deeds until now, he had seen knights' swords a few times.
Their swords were magnificent and beautiful, but the sword swung by the pilgrim before his eyes was not.
A sword solely for killing.
Lacking in flashiness, devoid of formality, it was a simple yet certain sword solely for killing people. A sword imbued with killing intent.
There was no empty formality.
Brans felt it was an extremely practical swordsmanship.
A short while later.
Callias was seen walking out of the shabby thieves' den, shaking the blood off his sword, followed by Brans.
He was struggling to carry his brothers who had turned into corpses.
"Too slow."
He was struggling to wrap and carry out the dozen or so swords in a bundle.
A total of twelve swords. Since there were many, the weight was considerable. Brans felt like he was going to die from the weight, but he forced a smile on his pale, terrified face.
"I'll go quickly, my lord!"
Brans and Callias headed to a nearby weapon shop with the swords.
"Good swords. Are you selling these?"
"Yeah..."
"Hmm... Well, alright. One gold coin each."
"Hey! You're settling for just one gold coin for my brothers! Give me three!"
"Brothers? What are you talking about? Brans, did something happen to your head?"
"Ah, just give me that much! Sob!"
"Why are you crying, for crying out loud."
Leaving Brans to haggle until his face turned red, Callias surveyed the surroundings.
'Is the Trici Market over there.'
The sun was gradually setting and it started to get dark. The residential district's lights were going out, but the opposite side was different.
As if they had been waiting for the night, colorful lights sparkled, and it began to bustle with adorned nobles.
And beneath that glamorous district, there would be the Trici Black Market that sold anything and everything.
"My lord, here it is! I am amazing at haggling, you see. Hehe. Please check it! You wouldn't be able to get this amount anywhere else!"
"Hmm."
Jingle.
The coin purse was full.
'Twenty-four gold coins.'
It seemed they were sold for two gold coins each.
"Not bad."
"Hehe."
The swords taken from those mere thugs weren't of very good quality.
Exchanging them for twenty-four gold coins was naturally a profitable deal.
Thanks to that, the remaining money in his possession was thirty-nine gold coins and one silver coin.
'This guy...'
Callias pondered what to do as he looked at the thug Brans.
The world he was born into was a cold and harsh place.
Half-baked tolerance and mercy were just giving an opportunity for someone to bite at his neck.
It was better to leave no room for trouble.
'Brans.'
However, he was still useful for now.
He didn't know how many days he would stay in Trista, and the unextinguishable terror and fear had been imprinted in Brans's eyes.
It wouldn't be too late to dispose of him after finishing his business in Trista.
"Guide me. To the gambling den where that Lutens guy is."
"Understood!!"
* * *
The gambling den's name was the Cedric Casino.
It was a casino operated by Cedric.
"My lord, I've taken care of all the admission procedures. Please feel free..."
I walked straight in.
From then on, Brans's guidance wasn't necessary.
There were numerous tables, and dealers and gamblers were sitting in their seats.
There were those with bloodshot eyes who were maniacally obsessed only with winning money, and there were those who prayed desperately, calling out to the gods.
And quite a few nobles could be seen gambling, accompanied by knights around them.
Finding the young master of the Lutens family who had screwed me over amidst that pandemonium shouldn't have been difficult.
"Hmm?"
It definitely should have been.
Baldwin de Lutens.
But his figure was nowhere to be seen.
Anywhere in the casino.
"Why isn't he here."
The guy who should be here isn't.
When I stopped walking and looked back, Brans flinched and opened his eyes wide.
Then, as if panicked, he waved his hands around and made excuses.
"Not me! As you know, my lord, I've been with you the whole time!"
"You could have sent a secret message without me knowing."
Shring, hic!
Drawing the sword halfway, it made a metallic sound.
His face turned pale white and cold sweat formed in beads.
"I, Brans, will definitely find him! Absolutely!"
Saying that, Brans dashed out breathlessly to somewhere.
Ten minutes later.
Just as I was about to get up from my seat, wondering if he had run away.
"My lord."
"You're here. Did you find him?"
"Yes, I found him. But..."
Brans's expression was strange.
He had found him, but he had a face as if he had seen something he shouldn't have.
"What. Did he die or something?"
"Well, yes..."
"What?"
Listening to the story.
Baldwin de Lutens.
He was said to be quite a talented gambler.
However, he quickly squandered all his fortune at the Trista casino, couldn't contain his anger, started a sword fight, and died.
That was exactly an hour ago.
"What an absurd fellow."
Perhaps Brans was acquainted with a casino employee, as he was able to see his corpse. Honestly, it was hard to believe until I saw it with my own two eyes.
A short while later.
Seeing Baldwin stuffed in a sack, Callias acknowledged his death.
Baldwin's flesh had grown cold.
Near the corpse, a chilling silver light was densely gathered.
It was the light of Shieun.
"I'll take Baldwin with me."
"Pardon? Even so, since he's a noble, that would be a bit difficult..."
The casino employee said it couldn't be done while subtly rubbing his fingers together.
He was asking for money.
When I flicked a gold coin to him, he happily snatched it and disappeared.
I immediately turned him into a corpse.
Then, along with a faint light, his memories seeped into my mind.
In front of him were piled glasses of liquor and ashtrays scattered all around. The pouches of chips piled up around him were full.
Looking at the dealer's displeased expression and the similar faces of the casino's security personnel, I could tell.
'He won quite a bit at first.'
He was playing a dice game.
A gamble based purely on luck.
To think he raked in that much money from a dice game.
But it didn't seem like he was gambling for fun. The mindset that seeped in was different. He was serious, gambling with desperate resolve.
'For the family.'
The eldest son of the Lutens family.
But his only talent was gambling.
So he had come to earn money to help his family with it.
I thought he was just a good-for-nothing scoundrel, but it seemed that wasn't entirely the case.
But that was only for a moment.
At some point, he lost all the chips he had piled up in an instant.
As if experiencing something impossible, Baldwin was furious and got into a struggle wielding a sword, only to be stabbed and killed by his own sword.
'His hope was...'
To recover his family's money.
"Annoying Shieun."
"Pardon? My lord, what did you say?"
Ignoring Brans's question, I headed straight for the casino.
Baldwin de Lutens.
I didn't remember him at first.
But seeing his death, I was certain.
I remember Baldwin's name.
Because.
He had the setting I created.