Elqueeness – Chapter 34

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At that moment, I saw the eyes of the nobleman’s son twinkle as he looked at Tromwell.  I understood Tromwell was his ultimate target, so my complexion turned white. He had intentionally provoked the party members, in order to bait Tromwell into being flustered. However, he acted like he didn’t know what he had done.  A murderous intent that I’ve never felt in my entire life started to boil up.  Tromwell also knew what his gaze meant, but he didn’t let anything show. He opened his mouth with a calm expression.

“Please excuse him. He has many scars on his face, so he refrains from showing his face to  strangers. Couldn’t you take his circumstance into consideration? I won’t deny he was being impertinent, but I believe our current treatment is too excessive.”

“Ho-oh. Are you saying I’m being unfair?”

“…at the very least, he didn’t do anything that merits us being sent to the underground prison. That is what I think.”

Tromwell’s answered back without giving him an inch, but the nobleman’s son started to grin as if he fancied him more. He looked around the guarded party members with a haughty expression.. Then he replied in an arrogant matter.

“A nobleman’s word is law. Even if you say you are innocent, you are guilty if I say so. That is the bottom line.   This is the way of the world.  You do know about this?  Well, if you become one of my guards at my mansion, then I’ll generously overlook your transgressions, but….”

‘You dirty bastard!’ I tried hard to force down those words from coming out of my throat. I glared at the bastard until my eyes started to hurt. If it wasn’t for Tromwell’s gaze that said, ‘Don’t do anything’, I would have stepped forward to throw a punch. Even as the nobleman’s son revealed his covetous expression towards Tromwell, it wasn’t enough for him. He revealed his evil clutches, which he had initially aimed towards Irial and Sherry.

“Hue-hue-hoot. Don’t worry. Even if all of you are sent immediately to the underground prison, I’ll treat the women with care. Of course, I’ll be expecting some service in the bedroom.”

“…you son of a bitch!”

“Harold!”

Harold couldn’t hold back any more, so he yelled out in anger. Matey grabbed his shoulder from behind in fright. If they antagonized the noble any further, then he worried the situation would turn much worse. However, Harold had already lost his mind in rage. Inside his head, he didn’t care that the man was the son of a noble.  He didn’t consider this fact worthy for his consideration.

“How am I suppose to just restrain myself! Shit. We put our lives on the line to kill the monster for him, yet he is using it as an excuse to steal the women.  He is a rotten human being!”

“Stop it, Harold!”

“The nobles are nothing special. They are the reason why our country is failing. They are the reason why our late emperor died! All the nobles are like this bastard. The nobles incited the ignorant people, and this why everything turned out like this! Let me go! I’ll slice him up real good today!”

At his agitated words, Hosane quietly put a hand on his forehead. Even the other party members let out a sigh as if they had given up. At least, they held a legitimate position before, but Harold’s words perfectly implicated them for the crime of insulting a noble. The angered nobleman’s son started ordering his knights. He ordered the knights to arrest us.

“How dare you, you peasants! You dare not see the mountain in front of you!(TLN: it translates to you don’t see what is in front of you, but I added in the mountain since people are familiar with that phrase i.e. Mt. Tai) What are you all doing! Hurry up and tie them up. Throw them immediately into the underground prison.”

As if they had been waiting for the order to fall, the knights mobbed and suppressed the party members. While on our knees, the readied ropes started to bind us. If one made trouble during the arrest, the charges against one becomes heavier by several magnitudes. This was why everyone wasn’t resisting the arrest.

As with everyone, they started tying my wrists with a rope made out of straws. They did so after they forced my hands behind my back. I wasn’t sure whether they were making sure we wouldn’t be able to run away, or prevent our party from acting out considering the party’s skill level.  They tied the ropes tight without giving a single consideration. It naturally made me scream.

“Ah-yaht- Huk…!” (TLN: ouch- gasp!)

At the sensation of my shoulders being wrenched significantly, my body moved a little bit, and it became the source of my trouble. The hood that was around my face started to slip backwards by itself. This caused the eye-catching blue colored hair to be exposed to the sunlight. The eyes of the nobleman’s son became round, and he looked at me.

Chet- I heard the sound of Tromwell clicking his tongue, and at that moment, I heard the man’s voice.

“Ho-oh, you have a unique hair color. This is the first time I’ve never seen such a clear blue color. Raise your head.”

Do you think I’m crazy? Why would I raise my head? Normally, people confused me for a woman, because of my face. It seemed like he would do the same, so I felt a feeling of dismay. I didn’t move, and I continued to stare at the floor. The nobleman’s son unhesitatingly walked towards me, then he grabbed my chin with his rough hands.  He forced me to raise my head.

My hands were tied behind my back, so I couldn’t resist.  I had no choice but to meet the wide eyes of the nobleman’s son. He stopped breathing for a moment, then he looked at me with a covetous gaze akin to how he looked at Tromwell. He started to carefully look at my face.

“This…it’s really amazing. Are you also a member of the mercenary troop?”

Can’t you tell just by looking?…that was what I wanted to yell. Strangely, I couldn’t move my mouth. This was the first time I had faced a gaze that was filled with possessiveness and lust. When I looked at his eyes, I felt goosebumps forming, and I froze in place. Truthfully, his possessive gaze was on par with that Lapis bastard. However, his gaze wasn’t as unpleasant as this.

His gaze was like a slippery snake crawling all over my body. It was a struggle trying to keep down the cuss words that was about to come out of my throat. He misunderstood my struggle as being afraid. It had the effect of making him like me more. He licked his lips, while grinning.

“I like cold attitudes, but it should also be fun to dirty a chaste maiden. Once you get to know the touch of a man, you’ll probably beg me to embrace you?””

“ …!… ”

This bastard really was a pervert! I felt anger and humiliation. He started to run his hand along my face, and I was moments away from losing all reasons. Then a low and calm voice that made one shudder was directed at the nobleman’s son. The voice was filled with a quiet anger.

“Stop right there. If you bother him any longer, I won’t forgive you.”

“Ooh-oong?”

The confused bastard was about to turn his head towards the voicce. However, it wasn’t necessary. Tromwell had freed himself from his binding, and he had already approached the nobleman’s son before the knights could realize what was happening. He put his dagger against the throat of the nobleman’s son. He yelled out in fright, as he was late in realizing what was happening.

“…Huk! What, what are you doing!”

The knights and the people crowding the neighborhood all had shocked expression at the unexpected turn of events. The dagger shone menacingly, so no one dared to approach them. Tromwell glared daggers at the restless knights, and his gaze said, ‘I’ll kill this bastard if you come any closer.’ Tromwell made an expression I’ve never seen him make. He sneered towards the nobleman’s son, then he snapped at him in a low voice.

“I’m sorry for warning you too late. You made a mistake. If you touch him, you’ll make me lose all my reasons.”

“How, how dare you! I looked at you favorably yet you dare do this to a noble when you are only a mere peasant! You won’t get away with this! You and your party of mercenaries will all be killed!”

Tromwell didn’t even react to the threat. He just shrugged his shoulder. The other party member, who were watching with a tense expression, let out a cheer as if his action was gratifying.

“As expected, Matthew! That’s the way to do it! You are doing well, there’s a good lad!”

“Just rip his throat open. Even if we’ll be hunted down all our lives for killing a noble, I’m fine with it. I want to see that bastard beg!”

“Leave me his last breath! I want to take out some of my anger on him. Now~ How should we take care of him?”

When those words finished, the ropes that was binding the party members fell to the ground. They got up from their knees, and they started looking around at the surrounding knights. Harold tapped the axe he had recovered in the morning once on the floor then he started mumbling in glee.

“One, two, three… What is this? There are only ten of them? I could probably take care of them on my own. What do you guys want to do? Do you want to watch?”

“Hmm. Do what you want. It’ll be good to run amok to our heart’s content. Our slaughtering method is too brutal, so it has been awhile since we’ve faced off against humans. Right?””

“What, what are you doing!”

The knights finally realized how serious the situation was. They shouted at them in fright, but no one listened to them. Instead, Harold started twirling his axe then he started approaching them. This caused the leader of the knight, who had spoken to them first, to open his mouth in fright.

“If, if this this incident becomes known, even the people who hired your services won’t be safe! As a mercenary, isn’t your reputation the most important thing?”

“ …!… ”

He went straight to the point with his words. Harold stopped advancing, and he frowned a little bit. He had been too angry to think about the consequences of his current action. When the nobleman’s son saw Harold click his tongue, hope started to sprout on his face.

“That, that’s right! My father won’t easily overlook this! Your life as a mercenary, and even your patron won’t be safe! Do you know who my father is? He is very close to the regent, Archduke Ucarte. He is one of the Archduke’s 10 most trusted men!”

Even Tromwell’s face turning slightly rigid at those words. They didn’t regret their action, but they were worried that the after-effect might be too large. I had no thoughts of ending my vacation right now, so the words spouted by the nobleman’s son was a realistic problem. When the party started to hesitate, the knights didn’t waste this opportunity. They started to counter-attack. The young master was still within our grasp, but the Champagne mercenaries was now conscious of the consequences. They were confident the mercenaries wouldn’t dare to do anything, and they were right to a certain extent.

The party members’ faces were horribly crumpled. They wouldn’t be able to easily escape the surrounding knights. The knight leader regained his arrogance, and he yelled at Tromwell with an angry voice.

“Let go of the young master. If you don’t, this sword will descend on you! If you give yourself up, the young master won’t blame you too much for your insolent actions.”

As if the chance for victory was right in front of them, the knights had a victorious expression. However, it didn’t last long. After Tromwell smiled coldly, he started to press the knife deeper into the throat of the nobleman’s son. It broke through his skin, and red blood started to flow down. The knights, who were approaching them in a confident manner, flinched. They froze in place.

“What, what are you doing! How dare you harm the young master’s body! Aren’t you afraid of punishment!”

“ ……. ”

The situation was getting steadily worse for them, but Tromwell and the party members’ expression didn’t hide anything. It was saying…’If we die, then we die. Whatever.’

However, an unexpected person broke apart this tumultuous atmosphere.

“Ho-oh. What kind of show is this? Doesn’t this neighborhood have a lot of things to see? The so-called knights are trying to pick a fight with the mercenaries. You can’t see such a sight even if one paid for it! Prepare my viewing chair, Philip!”

“Huk, Sareium-nim!”

There was a very old man with a white beard that reached his feet. There was also a black haired man in his mid-30s with curly hair. They wore simple traveling clothes, and at a glance, one could tell they weren’t from this region. Their pleasant tone of voice was incongruous with the current situation. I turned around in shock, and I was taken aback when I saw them.

Isana and I had seen them on the first day we arrived in this city. They were having an excited conversation in the restaurant. They ignored the confused knights, then they started to have a serious conversation with each other.

“Please pick and choose where you interject yourself! We are getting involved in the affairs of a foreign noble. What if they deserved it!”

“They all act the same way! My title of Sareium the Righteous stuck for a reason!”

“You threatened people to call you that. If you talk like this, you’ll be punished by the heavens!”

“Are you trying to challenge me right now?”

“When, when did I say that? I’m just telling you events like this is dangerous. We would do well to travel quietly.  Are you going to cause trouble?”

The two of them continued to fight without giving each other any grounds.  Both sides stared dumbly at them. The leader of the knight finally came to his sense, and he started to roar.  His face frowned menacingly.

“This has nothing to do with you, so get lost! Unless you want to be arrested also! Jeez, what bad luck. Where did these damn old men come from…”

This resulted in the man named Philip, who had been trying hard to hold back the old man named Sareium, to erupt in anger. The knights looked at him, and Philip yelled louder than the old man next to him.

“What did you say? Did you call me old?? This damn rotten country can’t tell the difference between up and down! Saerium-nim, should we just dust them? It seems they don’t recognize who is in front of them!”

“Ho-oh. Now I can do it? I’ll probably be ok, but you will probably be reprimanded.”

“Even so, I just have to write a thousand letter of apology! Even if my blood soaks into the ground, I want to end these bastards.” (TLN:common form of punishment is copying same sentence over and over again i.e. Bart Simpson writing on the chalk board)

Even the person who had held his composure became excited. The old man name Saerium smiled, and he started to match his rhythm with Philip. He pointed his wooden staff towards the knights, then he warned them in a severe voice.

“If you ask for forgiveness right now, I might forgive you! Leave the mercenaries then quietly return to whence you came.”

No matter how one saw him, he looked like a normal old man. No one would be afraid of him if one went by his appearance. The knights shook their head as if they couldn’t believe what was happening, then they whispered among themselves.

“Damn. These crazy old bats are making me angry. ”

“Should we arrest them first?”

“Do we even need arrest them? A beating is the best medicines for the crazies. Let’s beat them up a couple times, then we can chase them out the gate.”

After replying, the leader of the knights turned toward Tromwell, who still had his knife on the throat of the nobleman’s son. Since the young master was taken hostage, they had to rescue him first. At those words, the angry old man raised his staff, then he started reciting a magical spell in a loud voice.

“Eeeek. I’ve never seen such rude manners! ” <Exterminate the enemies in front of my eyes! *Fire Storm!*>”

“Huk, m…magic?!”

When an ability that they hadn’t even thought of threatened them, the knights were taken aback. From the old man’s hand, a storm made out of fire formed in a flash. Before the knights could realize what was happening, it flew towards the 10 knights, and it pierced through them in order.

Shewwwwwwwk- Boom! Accompanying a large explosion, large amount of smoke started to form. The head of the knights, and the nobleman’s son, who was being held by Tromwell, started to turn blue from fright.

“What, what the hell are you doing!”

In a flash, most of the knights had fallen to the floor, and they were beyond recovery. The nobleman’s son yelled loudly, while he was in awkward position. Those who knew how to use magic in this world were basically equivalent to nobles. It was the same with Summoners. If one had a special ability, the country would try hard to treat them with respect.

Moreover, the magic he had used was an impressive one. The group’s attitude toward the old man became guarded.