CH 32.2

Chapter 32.2 - Paid Items (Part 2)

The Allied Commune. Located to the west of the Castal Kingdom and to the east of the Weichsel Empire, it has less territory than the great nations to its east and west. However, it makes use of its location between these two great nations to its advantage for its active commerce, prospering as a trade nation.

Before the Allied Commune was established, it was originally divided into three countries. At the time, the Castal Kingdom and the Weichsel Empire were at war to expand into safe territory with few monsters. And so, the three countries, threatened by the two to their east and west, formed an alliance. However, to strengthen their alliance against the two countries which had expanded their territories and become considerably powerful, they united into a single sovereign nation. This is how the Allied Commune came to be.

The Allied Commune arranged for the new royal family to inherit the blood of each of the old royal families, with the old royal families supporting the new one as dukedoms. Broadly speaking, the Allied Commune is divided into the center region which is under the direct control of the royal family, the northeast governed by Duke Numour, the northwest governed by Duke Mayenne, and the south governed by Duke Chartelle.

And Clermont, the capital of the Allied Commune where the royal family lives, is currently in an unprecedented state of high alert as declared by the king. As if they are under a wartime military occupation, residents are strictly forbidden to go outside except to receive their rations in the early morning. And if a resident goes outside without authorization, they will be severely punished. Just about the only ones who can roam the city freely right now are the occasional soldiers on patrol. 

During a situation like this, a man and a woman are on the move, concealed in shadows. One is an old man, the other is a woman under 20 years of age. Both are wearing clothes that are filthy even for commoners, looking more like thieves than anything else. While taking notice of their surroundings, they enter a house near the city walls. Dust has accumulated in the house, as if nobody has lived there for many years, but the two show no concern as they push on the wall near the cabinet. Then, the floor rumbles as it slowly slides until it reveals a staircase leading underground. The two hurry down the stairs. After passing through a long, straight passageway, they finally make it to the door leading outside. The old man opens it and, just as he’s about to set foot outside, he stops.

“I will buy you some time, so please escape before me. This passageway can only be closed from the inside.”

“Don’t say such foolish things! Even if you stay behind, our pursuers will soon come after us! There’s no point if you…”

“I won’t have it. Commune is in crisis. Now that things have gotten to this point, we must inform those on the outside as soon as possible. I have to buy even a little bit more time. They pose a threat to the nation. The average person won’t stand a chance against them. Therefore, please turn to Duke Chartelle for assistance.”

The woman continues her attempt to persuade him, but the old man flatly refuses. There is no hesitation in his eyes. Understanding that he can’t be persuaded, the woman weakly hangs her head.

“…I swear that I will pay them back for your sacrifice. …Forgive me,” she says, and with tears in her eyes, she runs off with her hair pulled back in the breeze. Watching her from behind, the old man closes the door.

“Oh, have you finished your tearful goodbyes?” says an out-of-place voice from behind the old man the moment the door closes. Startled, the man turns around. As if amused by this, the voice’s owner starts giggling.

“You scoundrel, what’s so funny?!”

“What, that’s your retort? Whatever, I’ll tell you. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice this at all? You guys were obvious about it from the start. Hiding so sneakily, like stray rats. It was laughable, seeing you hiding so desperately without knowing that you were already found out. With what you’re wearing right now, you really do look like a filthy rat. Want to look in the mirror later? And the moment I call out to this filthy rat, this is how you react, like you just got caught by the cat. Oh, it’s so funny!” the girl, the owner of the voice, calmly answers while brushing off the fiery– no, murderous look in the old man’s eyes. Even though their ages look far enough apart that they could be grandfather and granddaughter, there’s a bloodthirsty aura in the air. However, the old man is intimidated.

After the girl came to Commune, the country began to go crazy. When the girl was brought there by a noble in charge of a certain territory in the north, the old man thought that she was the daughter of some noble at first. However, nobody in the royal court noticed that this was only camouflage. 

Then, without a single person noticing, the country was invaded. Anyone who noticed was changed by her. It wasn’t their appearance that changed. It was the atmosphere about them that changed. Military men and bureaucrats alike who were known to be men of integrity began to look at people as if they were garbage. By the time they began to take notice of the phenomenon, most humans had that look in their eyes. Those eyes made the old man’s blood run cold, and that’s when he knew. If nothing was done, this country would surely perish.

This girl in front of the old man isn’t the least bit adorable as her appearance would suggest. She is no doubt something inhuman, something repulsive. And there’s no way for the old man to know what that something is.

“Damn. You accursed witch, beguiling this country!” the old man says, taking the knife hidden in his pocket and pointing it at the girl. He lunges at her vulnerable, unguarded body, and for an instant, his vision goes dark. The old man doesn’t understand what just happened to him. However, from the aches in his body and the sharp pain surging in his arm, he figures out what happened. He was tossed onto the ground, and his arm was bent in the wrong direction. The moment he figures everything out, the old man screams as loud as he can.

“Oh dear, my sincerest apologies. I don’t enjoy abusing old men, but, well, that was legitimate self-defense, probably,” the girl says, grinning as she apologizes to the old man while he writhes in pain.

The girl’s movements from earlier weren’t caused by magic. They were caused purely by her physical abilities. By moving at speeds faster than the old man can perceive, she twisted his arm with her strength alone. ‘Monster,’ the old man curses as he faints from the pain.

“Oh, right. There was one thing you were mistaken about, so I’ll tell you a little something. You called cute little Carmilla a witch, but I’m not. I’m actually… Oh my, you already fainted? How boring,” the girl says as she nudges the collapsed old man with her foot, her expression turning dull as if she was a baby who lost interest in a toy that stopped moving. However, as if she’s collected herself, the smile returns to her face. “Now, I’ll have to send someone after that girl. I’ll be quite busy.”

She runs. Having made it outside the city walls of Clermont, she heads straight for the Duchy of Chartelle to the south, running straight through the woods. In order to escape her pursuers, she travels where there is no path. She wouldn’t be going through such hardship if she had a horse, but since they snuck out in a hurry so that they wouldn’t be found out, she isn’t that well prepared. Not to mention that since the gates are closed and packed with soldiers, it’s hard enough to make it out of the city walls as it is. There’s no telling how many people are involved in the Commune conspiracy, so even ordinary soldiers can’t be trusted. She couldn’t have even made it out without using the secret passageway.

That’s why she’s running as fast as her feet will carry her. There are also towns and villages on the way to the Duchy of Chartelle. ‘And there, I must buy a horse and make it to the duchy as quickly as possible,’ she thinks, with nothing else on her mind.

However, as if trampling these thoughts, she hears a loud noise from far away. She guesses that it is most likely her pursuer. The old man may have fallen into their hands as well. Tears of regret run down her cheeks. But she isn’t allowed time to mourn. From what she can hear, there are several horses. Without turning around, she contemplates her situation. ‘What should I do?’ she thinks in indecision. Should she stop and hide somewhere? But can she avoid detection from that many horses? With hesitation, she crawls into a bush and hides. Either way, they’d catch her for sure at that speed. In that case, she decides that any hiding place would be better than none.

The pursuing horses are apparently very fast, since she’s sure she heard them from far away, but they soon sound close by. She’s certain that she’s not mistaken.

However, her judgment was wrong. If they were normal horses, they probably would have already passed her by. But who could have possibly predicted that her pursuer was a carriage pulled by two giant horses? Moreover, they’re knocking down trees as they go, as calmly as if nothing happened. Yes, even the trees can’t stop their advance. And even if there was a woman hiding in the bushes in their path, it would pose no obstacle to them.

The horses, which are more than double the size of normal horses, run towards her at a speed unmatched by the average fast horse. She doesn’t even have any time to dodge. As the sight of the heavily-breathing horses’ forelegs fills her vision, she foresees her death.

But they were never a threat to her. As if in fear of the bushes, the carriage turns so abruptly that it almost looks like a right angle. The horses also stop suddenly. Knowing that she is free from danger, the exhaustion comes flooding in, and before she knows it, she topples backwards.

Then, she observes the carriage intently. What catches her eye are the two giant horses… Or rather, beasts that look like horses. She’s never heard of a horse with eight legs. They’re most likely a type of monster. Considering that, their wild running earlier makes sense. However, their ferocity from before has disappeared, and now they’re as well-behaved as trained war horses. How in the world could the owner of these horses have made these monsters so docile?

The next thing she notices is the carriage’s ornamentation. It’s simple, but more expensive than anything a commoner could manage, with decorations made of gold. However, it’s all in black and looks a bit too plain for nobles to ride. It’s so imposing that she can’t even imagine what sort of person would own this carriage. The blue flames also give it a sense of unreality; if anything, it would feel realistic if she was told that this was the carriage that Death uses to take the living.

As she is thinking such absurd thoughts, a man steps down from the carriage. The carriage is so extravagant that she can’t imagine that he’s her pursuer, but his identity is unknown. She automatically reaches for her dagger. In contrast with her dirty clothes, her dagger is beautifully decorated.

However, her hand stops when she sees the man who steps down from the carriage, who looks nothing like she imagined the owner of this carriage to look like. He doesn’t feel high class like a noble, the impression he gives is far from that of unyielding strength. He’s just a poor-looking black-haired boy who looks so pale that it seems as if he could collapse any moment now.