Belkan’s office.
Having just finished his work and instructing his servant to summon the courtesans, Belkan suddenly frowned.
It was due to the ominous presence he had been feeling behind him for a while.
“If you have something to say, come forward and say it.”
No sooner had he spoken than a dark shadow emerged from the opposite side.
It was a man cloaked entirely in black. A voice, altered by a magical device, flowed from his lips.
“The second young master and his party were beaten. By mercenaries. Like dogs. And in front of the villagers, no less.”
“What?”
Belkan, eyes wide, asked the man to confirm, and the man replied in a flat tone.
“His nose was smashed in. Blood spurted out like a fountain.”
“Pffft, haha! So, he got his nose broken by some lowly mercenaries? And in front of everyone?”
Belkan, who had been listening quietly, burst into laughter, clutching his belly.
After some time, when his boisterous laughter finally subsided, Belkan wiped away his tears.
“So, who was the mercenary that beat that pathetic fool? Was he strong?”
“They’re nobodies. From what I could find, the only notable thing is that the Empire put a bounty of 15 gold coins on them.”
“Not even in the hundreds, just fifteen coins… And our second young master got humiliated by such people. He’s tarnished the name of the Order of the Royal Knights.”
Belkan shook his head as if embarrassed just by hearing it. The man added more details.
“The leader of the mercenaries is a man called Butcher Duty. He sliced through six trained soldiers from the Stormblade House in an instant. At least as skilled as a lower-ranked knight.”
“Lower-ranked knight or not, he shouldn’t be getting beaten up while wearing the uniform of the Royal Knights. Tsk.”
Belkan clicked his tongue in disgust.
“So, where are they now?”
“Fearing their identities might be discovered, they left the estate immediately. My task didn’t include tracking them beyond that, but they’re probably hiding in another estate by now.”
“Hmm… Well, the Stormblade House will take care of that part. That braggart getting beaten by a mere mercenary, his fate is clear.”
“Are you really going to execute the young master if he fails to capture the demon?”
The smile on Belkan’s lips widened at the man’s question.
“He staked his life on this mission. I have no reason to acknowledge someone who lightly bets his life on promises he can’t keep.”
“I understand. I have no objections. I’ll take my leave now.”
The man’s body vanished into the shadows. As Belkan rose from his seat, he waved at the man.
“Bigakju, let’s have a drink next time. There’s a new place in Whisen Castle with great drinks. And the women are beautiful too.”
“Not interested.”
Bigakju’s cold reply echoed as he disappeared completely. Belkan, watching the spot where he had vanished, muttered under his breath.
“Tch, what a cold guy. Still, Jin shouldn’t have been beaten that easily. What’s his plan?”
Due to last night’s events, the Jerfelt estate was in an uproar.
A knight from the Order of the Royal Knights had been ruthlessly beaten by a group of mercenaries of unknown origin.
“Good heavens… Even if he was drunk, how could a knight be beaten so badly by mere mercenaries?”
“Are those really knights? The Order of the Royal Knights is famous across the kingdom.”
“Look at that mess. Especially that young knight’s nose, it’s a wreck.”
People whispered as they watched Jin and his party walk down the main street. The Rat, limping along behind, whispered with a red face.
“Boss, can’t we just go back to the inn? Even if we let them beat us on purpose, this is too humiliating.”
“We’re already outside, we might as well see the sights. The weather is perfect.”
Ignoring the Rat’s complaint, Jin hummed a tune and kept walking.
“Hehehe-“
Even the sparrows sunning themselves on the rooftops snickered at his carefree, shameless demeanor.
Idrian, watching this scene, spoke as if exasperated.
- With your skills, you could have won in three moves. It’s a disgrace as a knight!
‘I’m not a knight.’
- …
Idrian, left speechless by the confident response, mumbled for a while before asking again.
- What were you thinking?
‘I have a plan. If I had beaten them up there, the cautious one wouldn’t show himself.’
- A plan?
Idrian, intrigued, listened as Jin slowly explained his strategy.
- Hmm… It sounds plausible. But before that, how did you know the enemy’s identity?
‘Just a hunch… I remembered a similar case from a history book in the family’s library.’
To explain this, Jin would have to reveal his possession of this body and his knowledge of Disa, so he decided to dodge the question for now.
Fortunately, Idrian seemed convinced and spoke without suspicion.
- So, assuming things go as planned, what are your chances of victory?
‘About 80… No, considering my current state, around 70 percent.’
- With your current mastery of Hyuncheon Gong, you should be able to win if you give it your all. Why only 70 percent?
Idrian’s voice was full of interest. Jin, organizing his thoughts, replied.
‘Because of fear.’
In his fight with Lemut, Belkan and the five comrades had his back.
In his battle with Agu, he had thoroughly assessed their level and prepared accordingly.
‘In hindsight, it was reckless. If not for hyper-focus, I would have been seriously injured. The outcome was good, but it was too rash.’
But this time was different.
To face the enemy alone, Jin needed to overcome the deep-seated fear within him.
Even an armed human would flee in terror if they encountered an elephant in the wild unless they were a seasoned hunter.
In other words, if his heart wavered, he wouldn’t be able to perform at his best.
Meeting Idrian, the master of the mental realm contained in Stormbringer, was a stroke of luck.
He could experience real combat without risking his life.
- Ho?
Idrian’s voice, now fully aware of Jin’s intentions, grew even more intrigued.
‘So, Master, I need your help.’
Jin, having explained to Idrian, headed towards the inn.
He had about ten days left.
In that time, he had to overcome his inner fear.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as Jin was about to enter Idrian’s mental realm, someone lightly knocked on the door.
When Jin, who had risen from his seat, opened the door, he found Baron Etvan standing there, his face flushed.
“Huff… huff… I heard the news. I heard that you, Sir Jin, had a mishap yesterday…”
Breathing heavily, he spoke in an urgent voice. It seemed the report had been delayed since the incident had occurred near dawn.
“Oh my, has the rumor spread that far already?”
Jin scratched his head with an awkward expression, and Baron Etvan, with a complex look on his face, shouted in a seemingly indignant tone.
“How dare mere mercenaries lay a hand on a knight of the Order of the Royal knight’s! I will send soldiers to capture those ruffians immediately!”
Sending soldiers for a knight beaten like a dog by mercenaries!
An unprecedented event.
Though his tone suggested concern.
In reality, he was both asserting his duty to the Order of the Royal knight and openly mocking Jin and his party.
Hearing Baron Etvan’s words, the inn’s messengers walking the hall covered their mouths to stifle their laughter.
Jin, also playing along, deliberately reddened his face and waved his hands.
“Th-There’s no need for that. We’ll stay quiet for the next couple of weeks, so please keep this matter a secret from the leader.”
“…Very well.”
Baron Etvan nodded with a face full of disdain. Jin bowed deeply to him and then closed the door, his shoulders slumping.
On the surface, he looked every bit the defeated loser.
“I’m getting antsy. How long do we have to keep doing this?”
“Are… are we really going to go out? People laugh at us every time they see us. Even if it was by your orders, this is too embarrassing.”
Rat and Buta, who had been sitting in the inn room as if dead, grumbled to each other.
It had already been twelve days since they arrived at the Jerfelt estate. Since that day, they had been mostly confined to the room, passing the days in boredom.
Moreover.
“Weakling knight!”
“Weakling knight beaten by mercenaries!”
“Shameful!”
“Pig and Rat! Ugly!”
Whenever they opened the window to get some sunlight, village children passing by would hurl taunts at them. “Those… those tiny brats…”
Rat ground his teeth and rolled up his sleeves, but it was futile.
Jin had warned them that any trouble with the villagers would result in them being bent in half.
Rat, fuming as he watched the fleeing children, plopped down on the bed.
“What on earth is the boss thinking…? What does getting beaten and humiliated by mercenaries have to do with catching the demon?”
“Th-That’s what I say. Still, considering what happened last time, there must be a reason for the boss’s actions.”
Thinking back to the incident with Lemut, Rat folded his arms and turned his head away in thought.
“Tch, he should at least tell us. We’ve been stuck in this room all day. There’s only one day left before we leave, and he’s still messing around…”
Rat was just voicing his complaints about Jin when the inn room door suddenly burst open, and Jin, looking haggard, walked in.
“What the hell? Are you talking shit about me behind my back?”
“Eek… N-No, I wouldn’t dare…”
“Don’t give me that crap. I heard everything. I’ll deal with you later.”
At Jin’s threat, Rat shrank back like a turtle. Watching this, Buta cautiously spoke up.
“Um, what have you been doing all this time? We’ve heard you barely ate and stayed locked in your room. Did you give up on catching the demon?”
“I staked my neck on this mission before coming here. No way I’d give up. I’ve already found the demon.”
Jin confidently pounded his chest. Buta, puzzled, asked.
“If you found the demon, we should go capture it immediately. So why were you holed up in your room?”
“Well, it’s a long story, but I needed to raise my success rate from 30% to 90%. I don’t like losing fights.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Basically, it means I got stronger.”
Jin touched his chest where he was fused with Stormbringer.
Due to the intense training in the mental realm over the past few days, he could feel Idrian’s presence, exhausted and asleep.
Maintaining the mental realm required immense mental strength, and even Idrian couldn’t endure the training without getting tired.
‘But I learned a lot.’
Jin could feel the difference in how his body moved compared to before.
As he reflected on his progress, Rat approached him out of curiosity.
“So, who is the culprit? Is it the lord? The lord seems shady enough to be the culprit.”
When Rat brought it up, Buta added a comment.
“B-Buta also suspects the lord. Or maybe one of the lord’s subordinates.”
“You’re both wrong, you idiots.”
Thud!
Jin lightly knocked their heads and rubbed his stomach. After more than ten days of barely eating, he felt as if his stomach was stuck to his back.
Grabbing his constantly growling stomach, Jin pulled the two along and said,
“Let’s go get some food. I’m starving. We need to fill up before we leave.”
