15-7 Part 2
Firefly Steals the Entire Fortune from
the Wife-Killing Villain Lord Codwall
- Boy -
Translator : PolterGlast
Next is the detached
storehouse. Sigrun, Yumil, and I headed to that storehouse a step
ahead, smashed through the underground, and came out above ground.
「Uu...
aah...」
An unexpected thing
was sleeping there. It seems that place is a primary storage for weapons and
armor supplied to the Knight Order. Iron turns into money. Let's plunder it all
from the root. But setting that aside, what should we do about this...
「Oi Shinza,
hurry, move out of the
way! Yumil is staring fixedly at your ass!」
「I-I
don't have a hobby of rejoicing at looking at a man's ass!」
「Then
will you look at my ass?」
「Why
does it come to that!」
I turned back to the
two following me and offered my hand to them in order, starting with Sigrun.
To have these two recognize the current situation and hear their judgment.
「Eh, a
boy...? Why in a place like this...」
That storehouse was
certainly overflowing with valuables, but it seems a person was also being
stored. A boy was chained near the wall, opening and closing his mouth towards
us with gasping breaths. Could it be he is saying 'help me'?
「Kukkuhaha...
Shinza, won't you go slit his throat with me right now? I can't let him
live for even another second, let's execute him.」
「Don't
be stupid, that will just scatter chaos across the Empire. ...By the way,
looking at him, he seems to be an apprentice knight.」
It's tattered, but
those clothes are the
formal dress of an apprentice knight. A dying boy is imprisoned in the
storehouse. The surprise didn't stop there; curious, I brought the Sun Stone
closer and was even able to confirm traces of abuse. His entire body is covered
in wounds and bruises. The fact that only his face is unharmed is strangely
vivid... Unless a pretty-faced apprentice knight was imprisoned in a storehouse
for a charity project, this is...
「B-Ban...
dits...」
「No, we
are not bandits, but proud chivalrous thieves. We came to snatch the wealth of
the villain Codwall.」
「Ah...
Plea... se... h-help... me...」
「He's
saying 'help me'. Now what do we do, he's seen our faces?」
「What
do you mean what do we do, we have no choice but to help him!?」
「Yeah,
we'll need masks starting next time.」
If he's a boy
belonging to the Knight Order, that means he's Prince Yord's
subordinate. Even if we help him, the possibility of him returning the favor
with enmity is not small.
「Make...
me... your com... rade... I don't... want it... anymore... Th-Those... disgusting...
things...」
「You,
why are you in a place like this?」
There is no proper
reply to the question. Then, wondering what she was thinking, Sigrun
pressed a small canteen against the boy's mouth. As the water moistened his
throat, he seemed to calm down a little. He was in a terrible state, but it
seems he became able to speak somewhat.
「I
was... sold...」
Sold, imprisoned,
and abused, huh.
「To
whom?」
「...The
Knight Order. Codwall-sama, took a liking, to me, and I... a-aah... such
things... I can't believe it... even though I... respected him...」
The few paths for a
commoner to become a noble, that is a knight. Longing for success in life,
there are many who want to become lower-ranking knights or followers
subordinate to those knights. But as for how they were treated—that was one of
the many darknesses lurking within the Empire. A profession with no shortage of
applicants was, by its very nature, a world where employers would ruthlessly
use people up until they broke.
「Was
this child... betrayed...?」
The boy gave a small
nod and weakly hung his head.
「Shinza,
I shall look after this guy. Coming to this point, I don't think he'd betray
us. Help him.」
「Even
so, there's a possibility he might betray us on some impulse.」
「Umu, I
am aware. But even so, I can't bear to just watch. Even if it means brainwashing
him in the worst-case scenario, I will make him our ally. So please, I beg of
you.」
「Shinza,
I ask this of you too. This child has been through a terrible ordeal up until
today. If we are chivalrous thieves, we have to help...」
I didn't return a reply
immediately, and stared at the boy. This is terrible. There's a burn on his
shoulder. No, there are marks of a heated iron being pressed against other
parts too... For an extreme pervert sadist to belong to this country's Knight
Order with an innocent face, a horror novel is still much milder.
「Cruel...
Understood, I leave this child to you, Sigrun.」
I pressed the Shovel
against both his hand and foot shackles, releasing the restraints binding the
boy. He's light. I guess his nutritional state isn't favorable either...
「Umu,
that's how it should be!」
「Thank
goodness... I'll apply first aid!」
Leaving the boy to
the two, I gathered six broadswords that were in the storehouse and exited.
Then I explained the circumstances to the beastman leader and made a simple
stretcher out of scrap wood.
◆ ◇ ◆
「Phew,
phew... This is the last one, wan... Now let's escape, Shinza-sama!」
「Yeah,
let's do that. I wonder what kind of reaction Codwall will show when he
sees that warehouse tomorrow. It's a shame I can't see it.」
Eventually, we
loaded all the treasure and the captive boy onto the cart, and began our escape
journey towards Erin. The cart body creaked under the unbelievable
weight, and even when the horses raised neighs of protest that it was too
heavy, we had no choice but to pray that they would somehow hold out. Once we
arrive at Erin, we can manage the rest somehow.
Pushing and pushing
the cart overloaded with gold and iron together with the horses, we passed
through the west gate of the Imperial Capital. Fortunately, thanks to Georg-aniue's
arrangements, we weren't stopped by the guards.
「Let's
part ways here. Leave this child to us, and we ask you to handle the cargo.」
「Ah,
wait... It might be strange of me to say this, but I really enjoyed working
together with you. I think... I might have misjudged you for the better. See
you then, Prince Ashley-sama...」
Upon entering Erin,
Sigrun and Yumil placed the boy on the stretcher and left,
heading for the Lord's mansion. If we bring this treasure into Erin
Port, it will probably be another farewell for a while with the Admiral, Carral Hez. I ended up
wanting to ride that galleon with her and journey to the Coastal Provinces too.
But I cannot do that. Because I must see through to the end what kind of fate awaits the lowest knight, Codwall. When Carral returns here again, I will surely tell her the conclusion of this incident.
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