kscans

Chapter 10 - Well, No Wonder He's Furious

Now that the humans were completely neutralized, it was time for a little interrogation.

"Alright, let's talk. What brought you all here?"

"We were investigating the pillar of fire and the blizzard from before..."

"That was after you entered the forest, wasn't it?"

He was still trying to bluff his way out of this, so I cut him off.

"Maybe you'd feel a little more urgency if I cut off a limb or two? I've got another one of your friends, you know. I can afford to lose one."

Not that I wanted to kill him. The leader was likely the one with the most information.

"...W-We were pursuing a traitor."

"A traitor?"

Well, things just got interesting.

"The fact is, a swordsman of rare talent in our kingdom betrayed the king, stole a treasured sword, and fled."

At the mention of a treasured sword, my gaze flickered to Ichigo-kun. The sword he carried was clearly no ordinary blade, and more importantly, he had been on the verge of death when I found him. Could it be these were the men who had been chasing him?

"Why did this swordsman betray the king?"

"He was blinded by the power of the treasured sword loaned to him by the crown. He plotted to make the sword his own by killing the king, but when he failed, he became a hunted man."

A hunted man, he says... I glanced at Ichigo-kun again. His body was trembling, and a low growl rumbled from deep within his gut. Yup, he was definitely agitated. At the same time, the leader's eyes kept darting toward Ichigo-kun as well. He was clearly aware of him.

"We had the traitor cornered, but he managed to escape into this forest. I swear to you, our only purpose is to dispose of the traitor and retrieve the sword. We have no intention of causing trouble in this forest."

Yeah, right. The teachers at the castle told me that humans have invaded countless times, seeking to plunder the forest's resources and expand their territory. Even if their purpose was different this time, they would surely make another attempt in the future.

I continued to question the leader, all the while watching Ichigo-kun's reactions.

"...and that is the situation," the man concluded.

Ichigo-kun's responses to the man's answers were inconsistent; sometimes he would growl, other times he'd fall silent. This had to be it... I decided to ask the man a question he would almost certainly have to lie about.

"If this traitor offered to return the treasured sword and atone for his crimes, would you forgive him?"

"That... of course. If the traitor were to repent his sins and return the stolen sword, we would petition the crown for the utmost leniency on his behalf."

"Guuuuuh!"

That settles it. Ichigo-kun reacts whenever this man tells a lie. It also seemed the leader had realized that Ichigo-kun was the traitor they were hunting. I suppose even as a Mummy, his clothes and hairstyle were still the same.

Besides, I highly doubt they'd forgive a traitor they'd beaten to a pulp just for returning a sword. And it's not like his pursuers would have the authority to make that call anyway. It might be a different story if this leader were a noble, but he didn't look the part.

"Speaking of which, if you're pursuers sent by the crown, does that mean you're nobles?"

"No, we belong to a knightly order, but we are not of noble birth. A noble would never be sent on a dirty mission like hunting down a traitor."

And there's the confirmation. If these men weren't nobles, then any talk of petitioning for a reduced sentence was meaningless. Very well then, time to use Ichigo-kun as my official lie detector.

"Alright, next question..."

I proceeded to grill the leader on all sorts of topics—information about his kingdom, its military might, its national power. Occasionally, I'd throw in questions about popular goods or tasty food to lower his guard. He lied about anything that seemed obviously compromising, but he answered truthfully about things like delicious food.

"Our country has a lot of dishes made with potatoes. Not many people eat bread, so we use filling potatoes instead and season them in all sorts of ways."

So, a nation with little bread probably means they don't produce much wheat. But the variety of seasonings suggests they have a lot of spices or trade with many other countries.

"If the food is so good, it must be a peaceful country with little conflict."

"I wouldn't say that. The surrounding nations, especially Garouza, are constantly causing trouble for us. Skirmishes along the border are endless. There are even rumors they're trying to rally our neighbors to launch a full-scale invasion."

Hmm, so their political situation is far from stable. And it seems the entire populace dislikes this Garouza place. That last bit was military-related, but he probably figured it was common knowledge that even I would know. In other words, he thought it was a trick question and read too far into it. Of course, I genuinely had no idea.

After running through every other question I could think of, I finally ran out of things to ask.

"Hmm, I think that's about everything I wanted to know."

"S-So, you'll let us go!?"

"I will. But he doesn't seem to feel the same way."

I nodded toward Ichigo-kun.

"What! You tricked me!?"

"I'll let you go. But I promised him a one-on-one duel. So, if you fight him and win, I'll let you go free."

"...!"

A spark of hope ignited in the leader's eyes at the mention of a duel.

"Just me? Or can my comrade fight alongside me?"

The leader glanced at his subordinate, still held captive by my "Wolf-chan"s.

"Sure. You can even treat your wounds before you fight."

"My thanks."

I ordered the "Wolf-chan"s to release the man. The two of them moved a short distance away, treating their injuries and pulling out items as they whispered and planned their strategy.

"...I'll take care of him. You run at the first chance you get. If that Vampire's word is true, she won't pursue you. Your duty is to report this new threat—the white Vampire—to the kingdom."

"B-But Captain..."

"That's an order. A prideful Vampire like her wouldn't go back on her word to lowly grunts like us."

"...Sir!"

Sorry to interrupt your touching moment, but I can hear every word. Turns out my hearing is way better than a human's.

"We are ready. We can fight at any time."

The leader stepped forward while his subordinate took a position behind him, readying a throwing knife.

"Then... begin!"

The moment I gave the signal, the subordinate bolted. The leader lunged at Ichigo-kun to prevent him from giving chase.

"You said you'd let us go, didn't you? Then successfully escaping this Ghoul's pursuit should also count as a victory!"

He didn't forget to throw in a little taunt to provoke my pride.

"Sure, that works. If he manages to escape, I'll let him go."

The distance between the two fighters closed until they were almost within sword's reach.

"Take this!"

Just before they clashed, the leader let go of his sword with one hand and threw something at Ichigo-kun. The next instant, a brilliant flash of light bleached the darkness of the night.

"Whoa, bright!"

What was that? It's so bright!

"It's a talisman of light we brought to ward off Vampires! A creature of undeath like you will be blinded!"

It seemed he'd used some kind of undead-specific flashbang. Unfortunately, I got caught in it too, and my vision was completely whited out. It was probably also meant to cover his subordinate's escape, but damn, it was bright.

"Die, Caron! Once I kill you, the title of Sword Saint will be mine!"

The leader's voice alone echoed through the white world.

Zash!

"Gah!"

Next came the sound of flesh being sliced, followed by a groan. As my vision finally returned, I opened my eyes to see the leader positioned directly behind Ichigo-kun. But he was frozen, his sword raised high, and a single, straight red line ran across his torso.

"H-How...? You shouldn't have been able to see..."

The leader collapsed in two pieces, never understanding how his position had been revealed.

"...Grrr."

Having dispatched his pursuer, Ichigo-kun's growling subsided. He then turned as if to chase the subordinate who had fled into the forest's darkness.

"Let him go."

Besides, there was no way he'd catch up now.

"And if I'm going to be claiming my own territory, we'll probably have another chance to fight him anyway."

Once I left this forest and started seeking territory, I would inevitably clash with humans. When that happened, I was bound to run into him again, working for his kingdom's knightly order.

To be honest, though, I doubted he could make it out of this forest alone. This was the deep woods, and it was teeming with dangerous monsters.

"..."

Ichigo-kun quietly lowered his sword. I guess he was satisfied, having been able to cut down his pursuer with his own hands.

"By the way, he called you Caron. Is that your real name? Should I start calling you that?"

When I asked, Ichigo-kun shook his head, refusing. It seemed he wanted to cast aside his past self.

"I see. Well then, it's a pleasure to be working with you, Ichigo-kun."

"...! ...Haaaah."

Hey, why did you just shrug your shoulders in resignation?!

"...Kahyu."

Just then, a strange sound came from my feet.

"Oh, this guy's still alive."

To my surprise, the leader, despite being sliced in half, was still breathing.

"Wow, are people in this world just ridiculously tough?"

Being alive after being cut in two... he's like a planarian worm.

"Hm?"

Then I noticed a small vial clutched in his hand. A liquid, presumably from that vial, was spilled near his wound.

"I see. So this is a potion."

Amazing. No wonder they can restore you from 1 HP in games. Still, at this rate, he'd bleed out and die for sure.

"Maybe I'll try a little something. Chomp."

I bit into the leader's neck and started sucking his blood. Mmm, this guy's blood is delicious too. Tastes like a slightly expensive hamburger. Makes me want a side of fries and a Coke.

"Guuuuhh."

After drinking for a bit, the leader started to groan.

"Ooh, success."

The leader had successfully turned into an undead. Now, as for his severed lower body... I tried tying it in place with some cloth.

"Guuuuuh."

"Whoa, it moved!"

After I reattached his completely severed body, he actually stood up and moved!

"How is he moving? His nerves should be completely severed."

Well, it's a fantasy world, so I guess that's just how it is. This means that even if an arm gets blown off, I can just sew it back on and reuse them as undead! Awesome!

"Gao!"

As I was feeling pleased with my successful experiment, the "Wolf-chan"s trotted over, carrying something in their mouths.

"What did you bring me?"

"Ugh... uuhh..."

It was none other than the subordinate who was supposed to have escaped during the duel.

"Wait, you brought him back?"

Ah, I never told the "Wolf-chan"s to ignore him, so they must have gone and rounded him up.

"Y-You liar..."

He must have been carried back rather roughly, because the tattered subordinate was glaring at me with tears in his eyes.

"Ah, sorry about that."

I felt a little bad for him, so I made him one of my companions, too. I mean, I let him go, but he got caught afterward, so I'm calling it a wash.