Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 110

“Ian? Are you done?”

Despite being told to stand guard outside, Beric couldn’t resist coming in. In the process, as if determined to follow orders, he dragged the unconscious boss by the ankle.

He blinked at Hasha’s mangled corpse.

“Why is he in this state?”

“For the future, Hasha wanted to get rid of the body.”

“Really? That kid’s got more guts than he looks.”

Thump!

Beric carelessly tossed the bandit’s body aside and approached Hasha. Human sorrow flowing from a dog’s eyes. An emotion no one could dare to fathom. Beric sniffled, wiping away the dripping blood.

“Look on the bright side. If you do this a few more times, you’ll live a long, long life.”

-Is that supposed to be comforting….

Hasha made a disgruntled face at the absurd consolation. But it seemed to have been a stimulus to pull him out of his pity. Hasha regained his senses, patting his eyes and snout with his short front paws.

-You didn’t kill the boss, did you?

“Since the master told me to keep him alive, I just cut his ankles so he couldn’t run away. But this place is bigger than I thought?”

Beric looked around and flung the door open. Ian did the same. Not only to check the items the bandits had stolen, but also to see if there were any kidnapped people.

Creak!

“Look at this!”

“It seems to be where they store their loot.”

“Wow, these guys were doing well!”

“Yeah. They must have been more resourceful than I thought.”

Gold coins, various jewels, and valuables were piled up, proving their atrocities. Ian clicked his tongue lightly and stepped inside. He had heard that the surrounding area was all small towns, but it seemed there were more gold coins scattered around than he had expected.

Beric, who was rummaging through things, pulled something out and called to Ian.

“Ian, there’s a strange sword here.”

It was a sword with a pitch-black blade. The sword’s body was so dull that it looked as if it had been scorched by fire. It looked like ash would come off it. Beric ran his fingertip along the edge of the sword, then muttered in surprise.

“It’s not dirty.”

“The sword is unique.”

“Ian, you don’t know what it is either?”

“…How would I know everything? It could be a craftsman’s unique mark, or it could be something made for decoration. Swords aren’t just made for cutting. Ah, sometimes swords mixed with magic stones also have color.”

Ian had never seen a swordsman’s sword up close. During his audience with the Emperor, everyone had to put down their swords for the sake of decorum and safety. He had only seen the power of magic swordsmen during sparring matches in the training grounds.

“You know quite a bit.”

Beric chuckled and swung the sword casually. It was a habitual action, but it was surprisingly light and nimble, and above all, it was surprisingly comfortable, fitting his arm length perfectly.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

Swish!

The black traces left behind each time he cut through the air were also pleasing. The blade was rather dull, but he could just ask a blacksmith to sharpen it.

“Ian! I want this!”

“That one?”

“Yeah, yeah. Can’t I have it?”

He was poking, swinging, and making a fuss. Ian pondered for a moment, looking at the sword Beric was holding. It was so badly used that the blade was chipped. The leather handle, reinforced with cloth, was a mess, covered in blood that belonged to who knows who.

“You’re supposed to be a bodyguard, you should have a sword you like. I’ll pay for it when we get back to town.”

“Awesome! How much is it?”

“I don’t know. I’ll deduct it little by little from your meals, so keep that in mind.”

“Wait! You’re deducting it from my meals?”

The items the bandits had plundered were to be returned to the small towns, including Karenna, to find their owners, or they would be included in the city’s budget. Beric was so shocked by the mention of reducing his meals that he kept looking back and forth between Ian and the sword.

“Damn it….”

But he couldn’t bring himself to say he would give up the sword. That’s how much he liked it.

How could his thoughts be so easily revealed? Ian chuckled and moved to examine the rest of the loot, while Beric, with a rare serious expression, kept following him, sighing.

‘Those who wield weapons sometimes have encounters that feel like destiny. Judging by that, he’s really fallen for it.’

“Do you like it that much?”

“I like that the blood won’t show on it.”

“If you want something, you have to pay the price. Consider it training for the time being.”

In fact, he had no intention of actually restricting his food, but it seemed that Beric needed some tension to control his behavior.

Ian looked around the inside and confirmed that there was no one imprisoned.

“This side is done. Beric, go and call Romandro and the residents. Also, let them know that we found the carriage.”

Creak.

When he came outside, he saw Hasha, who was growling while pressed against the wall. It was because the boss, who had woken up in the meantime, was crawling with his arms. Since both of his Achilles tendons were properly cut, he had no strength below his knees.

“You woke up early?”

“Heeok!”

As Beric strode closer, the bandit boss turned pale and gasped. He had been a leader among rough men, but he had never met anyone as overwhelmingly strong as Beric.

And was he just strong?

“Get lost! You crazy bastard, get away from me!”

He was so out of his mind that he had a deep aftereffect. The bandit waved his hands and shouted at Beric, but he didn’t care and grabbed the bandit’s hair.

Squeeze.

“Now, now. Don’t waste your energy, let’s have a little chat?”

“Th, that’s my sword….”

Beric placed the black sword he had just found against the man’s neck. A faint wound appeared along the blade, and soon, drops of blood began to form. He had thought it was dull because the edge was chipped, but it was sharp. A famous sword must be a famous sword.

“You, from now on, answer my questions without a single lie. Otherwise, your head will be cut off and you’ll go to the underworld, and your subordinates won’t recognize you.”

Ian did the same. He stood in front of the bandit and looked down at him calmly. The bandit tried to raise his head slightly at the unusual tone, but Beric stopped him by stepping on his head.

“How did you use necromancy with the necromancer’s corpse?”

“Huh? What are you talking about….”

“So you’re going to deny it.”

Swish.

At Ian’s words, Beric sharpened the blade. The pain of the blade slowly digging into his neck made the bandit scream in surprise.

“Uwaaaah! Damn it, save me, save me!”

“There will be no second chance. I’ll ask again. How did you use necromancy with the necromancer’s corpse?”

The bandit closed his eyes tightly, then stammered and confessed.

“I didn’t steal it, it followed me!”

“So, why?”

“Th, that’s….”

The bandit boss frowned as he looked at Beric’s black sword. It was a difficult thing to say, so he tried to gloss over it and move on.

“I don’t know either. At first, I thought it was a good thing because it wouldn’t die even if I killed it. I took the corpse to sell it to a slave trader….”

A slave trader. Ian frowned as soon as he heard those words. He had a faint idea of the clue to the case. Since they were a group that engaged in looting and kidnapping, it was natural that a slave trader was behind them.

“Could it be that those guys helped you?”

“That’s right! The slave trader said that if we used the kid’s corpse well, we could make many of the same kind as them. But we needed a lot of corpses, and since we kill people, it’s our job….”

“You made a deal. The slave trading group would teach you how to use the spell, and you would create and sell the undead.”

“I don’t know what they did with the corpses. I swear! We were just going to sell one corpse, but they said they would give us gold coins every time we came back to Karenna, so there was no reason to refuse.”

The slave trader doesn’t only operate in Bariel. Due to the nature of the business, it was necessary to collect ‘goods’ that included various races and species. Moreover, unlike Bariel, where slave markets did not always occur, the underground economy was active in the surrounding countries.

“What’s the name of the group?”

“The Pakens Slave Trading Group.”

Pakens. It was definitely a group that Ian was familiar with. If he, a person from 100 years in the future, knew about it, it meant that it was a place with a certain scale and foundation.

At that moment, Beric slapped the bandit boss’s face several times with the back of his sword.

Slap! Slap!

“You’re not using honorifics?”

“Ugh! It’s the Pakens Slave Trading Group!”

“Good, good.”

Beric seemed to think this was his payment. He looked at Ian proudly, showing off his sword. Ian chuckled and asked again.

“So, some of the gold coins were received from the group?”

“That’s right, sir! That’s right!”

“How did you use the spell?”

“You need ten intact corpses to barely get one decent one. And you need hair, so we couldn’t use bald guys.”

Hasha, who was listening to the words, perked up his ears.

-That’s the method of the spell I use. Each necromancer has their own unique characteristics in their spells, and I have to use hair.

The bandit’s eyes widened as if they would pop out. A talking dog. And judging by the voice, it seemed like a child’s soul was inside.

“Bald guys are lucky, huh? They won’t be affected by the spell.”

To use Hasha’s spell as it is. Ignoring Beric’s silly words, Ian turned to Hasha with a thought.

“Do you want to hear more?”

-Of course. I am the owner of that body.

“Okay. Tell me. How did you proceed with the spell?”

The bandit bit his lower lip as if he was going crazy. It was an atrocity that he had done without hesitation in the past. But now that he was trying to confess it with his own mouth, he realized it. It was an unforgivable act.

“…They took care of it when we brought the corpses. But they couldn’t be controlled normally, so we tied them up when they weren’t working.”

Hasha listened intently to the bandit’s words. As the testimony lengthened, Ian gestured to Beric to hurry back to the village.

“After cleaning the corpses, they would pick flowers and put the scent on them….”

Tap tap!

Even as Beric headed to the village, the bandit’s words continued. Hasha soon realized that the spell the corpse had used was perfectly identical to his own.

* * *

“Romandro~ sir~!”

“Huk! It’s Beric! Beric! What about Ian?”

“I’m covered in blood, aren’t you going to ask about that?”

“No! You’re always like that! So, where’s Ian?”

“Everyone, follow me. We found the carriage. And bring the guards too. We need to clean up.”

At Beric’s words, Romandro and his party’s faces lit up. They immediately called the guard captain for support and followed Beric, riding their horses. It was dawn, the moon was almost set, and the sky was turning purple.

Tap tap!

Numerous horses galloped towards the bandits’ hideout. And soon, they could see the state of the devastated village at a glance.

“Ian!”

“Have you arrived?”

Ian greeted Romandro with Hasha. He immediately ran to the carriage, and after confirming that the data and magic stones were safe, he knelt down.

“Huk. Thank you. God.”

“No, Romandro, sir. You should thank me?”

“Yes, Beric. Come here, oh my, you’re so pretty!”

“Uwaaaah! Gross!”

Beric recoiled in disgust as Romandro tried to encourage him. The guard captain, who had stepped inside, was shocked and gave orders to his subordinates.

“My god, is this all….”

“They’re all dead. They’re corpses.”

“Ah. One guy is alive. The head.”

“Collect the corpses first! Check if there are any hidden guys inside! Take down all the tents!”

“Yes! Understood.”

As the moon set, the fate of the bandits also faded. Ian watched the guards clean up the situation, holding Hasha in his arms.

‘By the way, judging by what the bandit boss said, he knew quite a bit about the spell, but he doesn’t know why the undead initially followed him?’

That doesn’t make sense. Ian crossed his arms and looked at the bandit boss being escorted away, and their eyes met. He smiled at the trembling man, giving him a look that said he would see him again in the village.