How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 246

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 247

Chapter 59. Alione Rodkius

My mind started racing.

Alione Rodkius. The direct heir of the Rodkius family, the confirmed successor. That guy is on this island with the Unholy Knights.

Did he come to the island for a vacation? That’s a bad joke. There’s no way, right?

The answer is clear. He’s deeply involved with the magic stones. In some ways, he might even be the project manager.

Once I reached that conclusion, what came to mind was quite simple and clear.

“Jackpot.”

If I can just catch Alione and secure proof of his connection to the Neviros Order, I won’t need to waste any more time on this hot, salty southern archipelago.

Besides, I’m not capturing him in front of a lot of witnesses. All that’s here are pirates and Unholy Knights.

Would Rodkius really denounce me, using members of a subversive group as witnesses?

No way.

I grinned and reached for the dagger at my waist. Then, I kicked off the mast and soared toward the beach.

My mind screamed at my sudden action.

[What are you doing?!]

Ignoring Afien’s voice, I activated the Hashunar sigil [a magical symbol] just before hitting the deck.

In the gray world created by the sigil, I imagined Alione approaching the ship.

‘One, two, three….’

Then I recalled his gait to calculate his stride. Then I activated the sigil and compared the passage of time.

Like augmented reality, Alione’s figure approaching the ship appeared before my eyes. And when that Alione came right up to my face, I released the Hashunar sigil.

“……”

The world regained its color, and Alione was standing within arm’s reach.

Our eyes met at the same time. As if the world had slowed down, I could clearly see his pupils dilating.

I grinned at him, baring my teeth.

“Surprise.”

Whoosh!

I reached out and gave him a short chop to the solar plexus. Alione made a whooshing sound and fainted. Then, I kicked the back of his knees and knocked him over.

I caught him with my left hand as he fell and slung him over my hip. The end of the fluid motion was aiming Afien towards the ship anchored in the sea.

“Burn it.”

[You crazy bastard!]

At the same time as Afien’s scream, heat began to gather at the tip of my sword. What was then fired was a tiny fireball.

But that’s enough. It’s been oiled enough.

Whoosh!

The flying flame met the oil and created a fierce firestorm. The flames that devoured the sails in an instant quickly spread to the entire ship.

“What is this….”

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The Unholy Knights, who had momentarily lost their rational judgment in the face of the surreal process, regained their senses and reached for their swords.

But it was too late. I was already leaving the beach.

[You’re crazy! Really crazy! You crazy bastard!]

With Afien’s screams as background music, I started running at full speed. The goal is the forest. Since the island is large, there’s no problem hiding once I put some distance between us.

“Catch that guy!”

“You goddamn bastard! Let him go!”

Like I would.

Glancing back, I saw the Unholy Knights, their faces pale, chasing after me.

But there was nothing to worry about.

They and I both manipulate mana [magical energy]. Manipulating mana means transcending human limitations.

As such, the hesitation they showed at first created a huge difference, like a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain.

“Stop him! Stop him! If you let him get away, I’ll cut all your heads off!”

The pirates, who belatedly appeared, grasped the situation at the Unholy Knight’s roar and took aim with bows and daggers.

I responded by putting Alione in front of me. The reaction was immediate. The Unholy Knights’ screams echoed.

“No! Don’t shoot!”

“Use your bodies, block him with your bodies!”

……This is fun, isn’t it?

In the end, unable to do either, the pirates began to approach me awkwardly.

Of course, it was meaningless. How could someone who isn’t a knight stop a knight with their bare hands?

If they blocked me, they’d be cut in half by mana and die. But if they didn’t block me, they’d be killed by the Unholy Knight for their crime.

Should I make the choice easier?

I threw the dagger I was holding like a boomerang at the nearest pirate. Of course, with plenty of mana infused.

Pow!

A certain unlucky pirate slowly collapsed with a large hole in his upper body.

“Try to stop me.”

The pirates, discovering my figure running towards them through the hole in their comrade’s body, came up with a new method.

Covering their faces and simply leaving.

It was a wise decision, thinking that I couldn’t kill them all since they had to run the base anyway.

Of course, thanks to that, my path was wide open like a highway, and all that was left was to run comfortably.

“You son of a bitch!”

“You cowardly bastard! Don’t run away like a rat, come here and fight!”

Ignoring the empty roars, I flipped them off and disappeared into the forest.

* * *

It’s deep dawn.

But dawn doesn’t feel like dawn. Hundreds of bright torches were mocking the night forest.

Thinking that they’re all looking for me makes me a little chilly.

Of course, it’s unlikely that they’ll find me. Thick trees, as thick as the waists of six or seven grown men, are scattered throughout the mountains. It would take them days to search them all one by one.

Besides, all they’ve ever done is plunder at sea. Would those guys really be familiar with land searches?

No way. It’d be like finding a needle in a haystack.

As such, I settled on a suitable old tree, confirmed that the pirates were moving away, and looked at the bound Alione.

“……”

The guy who regained consciousness was frowning as if the pain was severe. He was trying to untie the ropes, but his efforts were so pitiful that I sighed.

“Even if I treated you with a potion, that doesn’t mean you’re completely healed. Your bones are probably damaged. You won’t be able to put any strength into it, so don’t waste your time.”

“……”

“Oh, you’re thanking me for worrying about you? No way.”

Alione, his mouth gagged, glared at me instead of cursing.

But he also gave up on escaping, perhaps having confirmed that the search party was moving away, and slumped down.

Confirming him, I leisurely thought about what to do next.

If I spend time like this and the follow-up team, including Lordain, comes… well, the situation isn’t bad. Those guys are now scattered everywhere trying to find me.

Like individual strikes? That’s pretty good.

I’ll have Lordain focus on hunting only the Unholy Knights. Jescal and Taylor are enough for the remaining rabble pirates.

In the meantime, I’ll take Fleta and Peter and move to the harbor to burn the ships, search the buildings to see if there’s any information to be gained…….

“Mmph, mmph…… mmph!”

Alione’s muffled voice reached my ears as I was lost in thought.

Wondering what he was doing, I looked at Alione, who gestured at me with his chin.

“Do you have something you want to say?”

Alione nodded at my question.

I snorted.

“What are you going to do if I untie your mouth? Scream or something?”

“……”

He shakes his head.

I have to be able to believe this. After hesitating for a moment, I spoke to Afien.

‘Silas, is it possible?’

[You don’t mean to gag that guy’s mouth. With the domain [a magical ability]?]

‘Yeah.’

[The Unholy Knights are also knights, so they might be able to sense the flow of foreign mana.]

‘It’ll only be for a moment. I’m just checking to see if he’s doing anything stupid.’

[That much is nothing.]

Having obtained a definite answer from Afien, I took out a dagger from the subspace bag [a magical storage item] and spun it around.

“Okay. But if you do anything even slightly stupid, you’ll be separated from your little buddy forever.”

Alione flinched for a moment, though briefly, as I pointed the tip of the dagger at his groin.

But soon he slowly nods.

This is a great guy. Okay. If he does something stupid even with that on the line, I’ll acknowledge his courage as a fellow man.

I slowly reached out and removed the cloth that was gagging his mouth. He grimaced, rolling his tongue around as if his mouth was stiff.

“You son of a bitch.”

“That’s quite the explosive first greeting, isn’t it? But you might want to hold back a bit. I don’t know about me, but this friend of mine has little patience.”

As I spun the dagger around, he gritted his teeth.

“……When did you come in?”

“To this island?”

“Yeah.”

“Would I tell you if I were you?”

“I see. That was the wrong question.”

Alione, who cleanly admitted it, asked again.

“Was it your friend who stirred up the nearby islands?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I said no.”

“Damn it. I shouldn’t have believed the words that they were just stray pirates who drifted in.”

“Did you ask me to open your mouth to make excuses?”

Alione chuckled at my sarcasm.

“Excuses? Is that what you’re going to say, after pulling off such a cowardly trick?”

“A cowardly trick……”

It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. I was dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh.

“Is that what you, the heir of Rodkius, are saying now? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Are you trying to talk about the Bashrun Territory War? Either way, there was a legitimate cause on the surface. It’s just that the interests beneath the surface were politically intertwined. If you call that cowardice, that’s just naive and stupid.”

“……”

“On the other hand, you have now forcibly kidnapped the heir of Rodkius, a powerful figure in the kingdom, without any justification. It’s safe to take it as a declaration of war. Do you want war? But your great backers, Lindayer and Bashrun, will be alienated by the royal family, won’t they? I’m really curious as to what value you placed on this kidnapping.”

What the hell is this guy saying?

Suppressing the urge to punch him in the philtrum [the area between the nose and upper lip], I bared my teeth.

“Don’t spout nonsense just because you have a mouth. If you keep talking shit with that mask on, I might just peel off that face of yours.”

“Ha! Silencing me with force…… Is that really Cain Lindayer from the Bashrun Territory War? That’s as low as it gets. Or am I the idiot for thinking you were a worthy rival to face?”

“Are you going with the ‘I don’t know anything’ strategy? Your effort is commendable, but you’re mistaken if you thought that would work on me.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know anything right now. You moronic bastard.”

Ah, the back of my neck. I feel like it would be really unfair if I died from a burst blood vessel like this.

“……Sorry, but I feel like I’m really going to kill you if I hear one more word from you there? So just shut up.”

After finishing speaking, I stuffed the cloth back into Alione’s mouth.

Whether he knew that resisting was useless, or whether his groin was precious to him, Alione just glared at me with a sneer.

This brazen bastard.

You teamed up with Neviros and went through all that bullshit, and now you’re talking about cowardice and justification? Should I really smash his head in? Is he even human? Or has he been brainwashed?

I glanced at his chest, but I didn’t see that pentagram thing.

Well, there’s no way, is there? He’s the first in line to inherit the Rodkius family, there’s no way they would have put that kind of crap on him.

……No, wait a minute.

Something flashed through my mind.

What is this sense of incongruity?

With this discomfort boiling up from deep inside, I looked at Alione again.

I guarantee, if that look is real acting, he’s a ten-million-viewer movie star.

I took the cloth out of his mouth again. Then I twisted the corners of my lips and slowly asked.

“You, you don’t know what magic stones are, do you?”