The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 12

Butterfly Effect

Glug- Glug-

Two figures were sitting in the training grounds inside the Special Guard.

“Haa… Hoo… Gent, does the alcohol taste bitter to you? Maybe my life is bitter, because this tastes sweeter than soda.”

Rayna took off her coat and held up a bottle of alcohol.

Her dazed expression clearly showed she was drunk.

“Rayna, Rahel has gone outside the guard, so you don’t have to pretend to be drunk anymore.”

Gent dismissed her theatrics and gulped down the wine.

Rayna smiled awkwardly and put down the wine bottle she had been chugging.

“…You knew?”

“There’s no way a long-lived elf would get this drunk.”

Long-lived species are strong against alcohol.

Rayna sometimes didn’t seem to know such common sense.

Gent looked at her and said,

“I thought you’d be awkward with Rahel, but it seems like he doesn’t care at all, Rayna.”

“…Am I the only weird elf again? Haaa…”

They were supposed to be awkward… but that human was so different from what Rayna expected.

Yesterday, he protected her life and crushed seven elves, yet he treats her the same. Isn’t that strange?

There should be at least a slightly awkward atmosphere.

Rayna licked her lips and asked Gent,

“…Gent, what do you think about me betraying the Elven race?”

“Everyone has their own circumstances. You’re my comrade and Yuri’s comrade. That’s enough.”

Gent admired the wine he made and drank it down.

The wine with the taste of nature was the best.

‘That idiot who only knows about nature…’

Rayna sighed and pushed the wine away.

The alcohol is good, but drinking with Gent isn’t fun.

That dumb giant is only interested in improving grapes to make delicious wine.

‘Gent is kind, but…’

Gent treats her as a comrade.

Yuri is the same. They don’t look at Rayna with bad eyes, even though she is a traitor to the Elven race.

But Rahel was different.

He didn’t believe Rayna’s betrayal itself.

‘There’s no way an elf like you would betray.’ He’s talking like he’s something special.”

Rayna lowered her head, recalling that memory.

The look that said he didn’t think she would do that was very awkward, yet… it made her happy.

It meant that someone saw her that way.

“This wine is well-aged. I should give a bottle to Rahel too. Would that be okay, Rayna?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Let’s give him a bottle!”

“…How strange.”

Gent stared at Rayna and said.

“What? You can give him a bottle of wine.”

“You never gave a single bottle to Zelin, who stayed here for six months. You said the elves’ ability is what makes the fruits grow well in this area.”

“Was that so…? Ahem. No, well. Rahel is good at handling the Archduke’s work. He’s diligent. Isn’t he?”

Rayna avoided Gent’s gaze and picked up the wine she had pushed away.

For some reason, she felt like she had to drink a glass.

Gent watched her and asked curiously.

“…Rayna. Don’t tell me you’re feeling romantic excitement towards Rahel?”

“I’ll kill you if you say something stupid, Gent.”

“It’s a relief if that’s not the case. I don’t want to see you and Rahel fighting and then awkwardly facing each other the next day.”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, go back to work. I need to go soon too.”

“Wasn’t today your day off?”

“I told you I have something to do at night.”

Rayna needed money.

She was doing a job where she could earn money as long as she had strength, without belonging to any organization.

That was… a bounty hunter.

*

A secluded place in the 5th district, quite far from the Special Guard.

I stepped into the slum, seeing the increasing number of beggars.

I didn’t want to come back if possible, but somehow I came back so soon.

“R, Rahel-nim!”

“Don’t get up, just stay lying down.”

It was annoying to see every beggar who met my eyes jump up.

I waved my hand roughly and went inside the building.

And I was naturally guided to Begger’s leader’s office.

“I clearly told you to send your members as soon as you get the information about Bennet… Why did you come directly?”

I sat down, looking at Zenis with a sullen expression.

“I came here today because I have something to say. By the way, do you have a way to get information? I couldn’t trust the beggars, so I was going to run on my own.”

“I seriously thought about it after hearing your words. Using beggars to get information… When you think about it, it’s quite a good idea.”

“Oh, are you going to start an information guild business?”

Beggars are treated well in this era.

The teachings of God to help the weak are spread throughout the continent, so on party days, they give leftover food to beggars, and when there are celebrations, they call beggars and share money.

It’s an incomprehensible act from the perspective of modern people, but it’s natural in this world where divine power actually exists.

Since you can actually see the power of God, the faith becomes stronger.

It also plays a part that beggars are the only opportunity for ordinary people to help the weak.

“Yes. I’ve already had those who are confident in their skills take positions around the information guild.”

“Finally, the beggar bastards are working properly. Since it’s come to this, let’s change the organization name to Gaebang [Dog Gang]?”

“Beggers.”

“Gaebang. You are the Gaebangju [Dog Gang Leader]. Or the Wangcho [Boss].”

“Beggers! Beggers is my organization that I dedicated my youth to! I can’t give up on this, even if dirt goes into my eyes!”

“Tsk.”

It seems I have to give up on the romance of Gaebang.

It’s not difficult to put dirt in Zenis’s eyes, but I didn’t want to see a middle-aged man crying because of the dirt in his eyes.

“So, what do you want to say? The investigation is progressing smoothly. Good results will come out soon.”

“I’m going to start working as a bounty hunter again.”

“Rahel! Is that true?!”

“Yes. Actually, I need some money.”

I was fired from the guard, so I need money to feed the orphanage.

“So, where’s my mask? You haven’t thrown it away yet, have you?”

“Of course not. It’ll be in the warehouse.”

I followed Zenis to the warehouse.

In the corner of the dusty warehouse, there was a Gaksital [Korean word for Bridal Mask] mask broken in half.

“W, why is this broken?”

“It doesn’t look like anyone broke it. It just seems to be cracked because it’s old.”

I looked at the mask and nodded.

If someone had broken it, I was going to discipline the beggar bastards for the first time in a while, but fortunately, the sky was the culprit.

“There’s no one in Beggers crazy enough to touch your things, Rahel.”

“Really? But, mister. There must be someone managing the warehouse. Bring that bastard here.”

Zenis’s expression hardened at my words.

“…Don’t kill him.”

“Hey. What do you mean kill? You’d think I’m a psychopath.”

“Weren’t you?”

“?”

“Here he is.”

Zenis turned around and grabbed the beggar’s nape, who was standing in front of the door.

The beggar, who was trembling while listening to our conversation in front of the warehouse, fell in front of my eyes.

The beggar immediately put his hands together and started begging as soon as he saw me.

“I, I’m sorry. I didn’t manage it well…”

No, anyone would think I’m really killing someone.

I approached the trembling beggar and patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. Even the king is criticized when he’s not around, so you might not take good care of things you don’t use anymore. Right?”

“I’m really sorry…”

“Haha. That’s possible. Relax your expression.”

“Haha…”

The beggar looked around and gave an awkward smile.

“Hahaha! Yeah, yeah. It’s good to see you smile.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Is it funny?”

Cough-!

I hit the back of the beggar’s head who was laughing unpleasantly.

“The beggar’s den is working really well. Huh? How did you beg if you’re so clueless? Huh? How much did I suffer to make this mask, and you broke it?!”

During my bounty hunter days, it was a mask I commissioned from a wizard by saving up my money.

Since I have a body that can’t receive blessings, I put magic on the mask.

Even though it looks strange, it’s a high-end magic tool that reduces presence and sound.

I grabbed the beggar’s collar and pulled him up.

“Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Do you know how much this costs? I’m just going to kill these beggar bastards today…”

“Stop! Stop it! Rahel! I’ll make you one as soon as possible, so stop it!”

Thud-

As soon as I heard Zenis’s words, I put the beggar down on the floor.

“You clearly said you’d make it. If you can’t make it by tomorrow, you’re not the leader of Beggers, you’re the Gaebangju [Dog Gang Leader].”

“I said I’d make it as soon as possible! Get out of my place right now! You crazy bastard!”

Only then did I relax my expression.

As expected, you have to threaten the beggar bastards to get their act together.

But Zenis’s eyes were so pitiful that I added a word.

“I’m just kidding, so make the mask slowly. You can do the bounty hunt next time.”

“…You’re saying it’s a joke, but you’re not going to break into the beggar’s den tomorrow and cause a ruckus demanding the mask, are you?”

I avoided Zenis’s pitiful gaze and averted my eyes.

*

After Rahel left.

The beggar’s den regained its vitality like a savanna without a lion.

“…Aren. Are you okay?”

Zenis approached Aren, the warehouse manager who was collapsed, and helped him up.

“Leader. Cough… Bones, bones… Huh? That’s strange. It definitely hurt…”

“His specialty has always been hitting you painfully only for a moment. There won’t be any injuries, so get up.”

Aren looked around his body and laughed in vain.

It’s ridiculous that the specialty of the Imperial Guard Captain is to hit you without leaving a scar, isn’t it?

Still, he was grateful that it didn’t hurt.

“Ugh. Zenis-nim. That crazy bastard is too scary.”

“…You have to bear it. He’s always been like that. Can you blame the sky for a typhoon?”

In the beggar’s den, Rahel was treated as a natural disaster.

It was similar to a natural disaster in that you only lose if you complain and attack him.

“Actually, I don’t understand. Can’t he just take off his face and walk around? After all, the strong who can touch that guy won’t do bounty hunting…”

“Don’t say stupid things. The name Gaksital [Bridal Mask] is very dangerous.”

“Is it that much? He’s just a bounty hunter anyway.”

“He’s different. He made a lot of enemies while bounty hunting.”

To be exact, you should say that he uprooted the criminals who were active around the orphanage in the 4th district.

His obsession was so scary that he removed all the places that could harm the orphanage.

Thanks to that, there are still more than one or two organizations chasing Gaksital [Bridal Mask].

“It’s been several years since Gaksital [Bridal Mask] retired… Can’t he just take off his face and walk around from now on?”

“Don’t you know about magic patterns? A person as strong as Rahel already has his own pattern firmly established. There’s a reason why that guy hides his face. …And that’s what’s scary about Rahel. To enter the Imperial Guard while hiding his magic, there’s no other crazy guy like that.”

It’s fortunate that Rahel is an orphan and usually hides his magic, but if he had a family or clan, his tail would have been caught quickly and torn apart.

That’s why he placed beggars around the orphanage.

Aren’s expression hardened as he listened to the story.

“T, then shouldn’t we get out of here now? We might be in danger if we get involved with Rahel.”

“…I wish I could if I could. That guy won’t let us go.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Aren nod.

Surprisingly, Rahel thinks of Beggers as something similar to his friend.

Ordinary people wouldn’t beat up their friends just because they broke a mask… You should give up on predicting the actions of that thug.

“All we can do is support him while hoping that he doesn’t cause any accidents. But he’s not a guy who takes money away.”

“When you think about it, we’ve been hit, but we’ve never paid tribute.”

“Yeah. Just listen to what he wants and we can get some crumbs. So never mess with him. Don’t do anything that gets you on his bad side. Okay? Please. Warehouse management isn’t a difficult job!”

“I, I’ll try my best.”

“Damn it. I know that mask cost a lot of money…”

Zenis sighed as he picked up the fragments of the mask.

‘Bennet, was it…’

I have seen with my own eyes what happened to those who touched Yong’s reverse scale [a metaphor for something or someone that should not be angered] until now.

Zenis could easily predict that the result would not be different this time.