Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 13

Logan had agreed to let them follow the Hamar people. The Hamar had vanished beyond the vast mountain range that bisected the southern part of the continent.

Dwarves, like half-elves who typically lived for 300 years, wouldn’t consider 20 years a long time to gain freedom.

“…Humans lie all the time. Why should I believe you?”

But the dwarf’s distrust of humans was profound, and his resigned expression did not change.

Then, Logan carefully took out a piece of paper from his pocket, a bluish aura shimmering around it.

“You know what this is, don’t you?”

The dwarf’s eyes trembled again upon seeing it.

“…A magical contract?”

It was a spare, prepared for this day when he bought the magical contract to bind Philip.

“Y-you don’t mean… you’d use that for me?!”

“You’re smarter than you look. If you really can’t trust me, I can write this contract for you.”

“L-let’s write the contract! Definitely! I’ll make you anything!”

A faint smile appeared on Logan’s face at Hamar’s completely changed attitude.

And for the dwarf, Hamar, who had changed to a proactive attitude, Logan wrote the contract without delay.

From Logan’s perspective, it was just bait to really encourage his motivation.

However, watching the light of the magic contract settle on himself and Logan, Hamar shed tears, unbefitting his stubborn face.

“Y-you really meant to do that for me. Thank you, human. No, thank you! Master!”

A sight of someone who was scheduled for 20 years of forced labor being thankful. Moreover, he even heard the dwarf’s honorifics, which were hard to come by.

Logan smiled wryly at the strange sense of incongruity.

‘If I can boost his motivation this much with just one contract, it’s a worthwhile deal.’

The weapon he wanted to create could be made even by a dwarf who had lost his motivation, that is, at a level slightly better than a human blacksmith.

Nevertheless, the reason Logan guaranteed freedom to Hamar was, after all, because of a lesson he learned in his past life about the true potential of freed dwarves.

During the ‘Great Migration’ a thousand years ago, most of the dwarves also disappeared beyond the southern mountain range.

Naturally, master-class dwarves, who were said to be only one or two in the dwarves’ metropolis, became even rarer, and even such master-class dwarves did not show skills worthy of their reputation after becoming slaves.

But Logan had once, in his previous life, seen the ‘real’ skill of a master-class dwarf.

It was a work created after being freed from slavery, fully capturing the joy.

‘The skill of a master-class dwarf who sincerely puts his will into it. That was really amazing.’

It was a sword, unlike any he had ever seen – the metal seemed to flow like water, and the blade hummed with a hidden energy.

If he could draw out that kind of skill, this much investment was nothing.

The long period of 20 years was more than enough to achieve his goal.

‘He might die before that, though.’

Logan shook his head to shake off the ominous thoughts and looked at Hamar, who had a flushed complexion, and Kai, who was standing behind him with a blank face, guarding him.

‘Anyway, I’ve achieved my purpose in Harun.’

A faint, satisfied smile appeared on Logan’s face.

Relieved that the plan was proceeding without any variables, Logan moved his steps with a slightly lighter heart. As he and his group left the slave market, however, they heard shouting.

“Catch him!”

“A slave has escaped!”

“Catch him! Catch him, you fools!”

A middle-aged man with a hooked nose, blood streaming from his forearm, pointed to a spot in the slave market and shouted at the top of his lungs.

At the place he pointed, a blue-haired boy was running through the crowded people, carrying a girl who resembled him on his back.

About six of them, who appeared to be mercenaries, were chasing after him.

The boy, who looked very young and emaciated, cleverly avoided the mercenaries’ hands several times with nimble movements that did not match his appearance.

But that time was not long.

Thud! Thud!

“You son of a…!”

Wham!

“You slave bastard! How dare you!”

Wham!

“You bit me?!”

The hooked-nose middle-aged man mercilessly stomped on the child without any consideration.

Seeing the blood flowing from his forearm, he was venting his anger, and it seemed he didn’t care if the child died.

Moreover, perhaps because of the appearance of the blue-haired boy, who did not change his posture even while being trampled like that, his anger seemed to increase as time went by.

‘Is that his younger sister…?’

Anyone could easily see the reason why the boy stubbornly endured without bending his outstretched arms and legs, even while biting his lip so hard that blood flowed.

It was to protect the girl with similar features, whom the boy was carrying on his back, from the middle-aged man’s kicks.

“B-brother. I, I’m okay.”

The girl was trembling, but she grabbed the boy’s arm and whispered.

Logan, who was a little further away, had barely heard the voice by focusing on his hearing, but there was no way the boy right above her couldn’t have heard it.

But the boy only bit his lip even harder and did not even flinch at the renewed barrage of kicks.

“They are slaves. Just go your way.”

“I know. I know, but just a moment….”

Slaves were not humans but objects. It was not someone else’s business how their owner treated them.

The same was true even if it was such a disgusting sight.

Moreover, behind the hooked-nose middle-aged man, the five mercenaries who had captured the boy earlier were glaring around, on guard.

There was no reason to bother getting into a dangerous argument when someone else was handling their own things as they pleased.

Nevertheless, Logan couldn’t take his eyes off the boy being beaten.

‘Why?’

It wasn’t just because of sympathy for the boy.

The red and blue eyes visible under the boy’s blue hair.

Odd eyes of contrasting colors, rare on the continent, or perhaps even unique, kept tickling one side of his head.

‘Blue hair, heterochromatic eyes of red and blue….’

There was definitely something important, but it was a frustrating feeling that he couldn’t clearly remember.

Then, the moment his eyes met the boy’s, an old memory flashed back in Logan’s mind.

“Ah! Viktor!”

“Yes?”

“Ah, no. Just a moment….”

The memory that returned felt like a blockage clearing, bringing a strange relief, but the memory brought Logan another concern.

Logan watched the boy being beaten. ‘A noble slayer? Here?’ he thought, his eyes growing darker.

Victor, the noble slayer.

Logan knew about Victor’s past. Victor was an Aura user, very famous in the kingdom, especially because of where he came from.

Victor was not born a common person, or a noble. He was born a slave. He was even a slave who ran away and killed his master.

He was a slave who had no training in martial arts or education. Yet, he killed his master and ran away.

Also, when he ran away, he killed the people chasing him. He became a wanted man who had killed many soldiers, knights, and nobles before he disappeared.

Then, almost ten years later, Victor came back when the Imperial War started. He murdered his former master’s whole family.

He used Aura to do this, which showed he was superhuman.

After that, he killed any noble of the Grandia Kingdom he could find, without choosing. This gave him the scary name ‘noble slayer,’ which was rare for someone who used Aura.

‘The slave escape happened about a year after I became a mercenary,’ Logan thought.

He knew it was around that time because he heard the news soon after the McLaine family’s war over land ended.

But he didn’t remember details like which family Victor belonged to. He had just found him here by accident.

What if he saved the boy now?

‘This future Aura user would be on my side,’ Logan thought.

That would be very good. But there was a problem…

“Aaaargh!”

While he was thinking, the boy, who Logan thought was Victor, bit the shin of the man who was kicking him.

He bit down hard. Even from where Logan stood, he could see blood covering the hawk-nosed man’s shin.

The surprised mercenaries rushed over. They beat the boy and tried to pull him away, but he held onto the shin tightly, not letting go.

The boy’s eyes were full of anger and looked wild. This made Logan remember the bad stories he had heard about Victor.

‘A killer who can’t be stopped,’ Logan thought.

Logan needed someone useful, like a sharp sword, not someone dangerous who might hurt his own people.

‘…If he is dangerous, I can just keep him away from others. So he doesn’t hurt the kingdom,’ Logan thought.

He decided quickly. Looking back, his quick thinking seemed a little funny.

As soon as he thought this, Logan moved.

“You dog….”

Thud.

“Ugh?”

The hawk-nosed man was still kicking the boy, even after he had fainted. He was surprised when Logan’s sword blocked his foot, and he stepped back.

“What the hell….”

Suddenly, the red-haired man was right next to him, and the guards hadn’t even seen him come.

The guards were surprised and started to draw their swords. The hawk-nosed man stopped himself from cursing.

And the person behind him was Kai, the famous mercenary from Harun.

When the hawk-nosed man saw the flame symbol on the red-haired man’s armor, he quickly bowed very low.

“I didn’t know you were such an important person. H-Have I done anything wrong?”

“I’m just walking by, but I don’t want you to hurt something I might want to buy.”

The hawk-nosed man was thinking quickly. He forced a fake smile.

“Ah, you want to buy something! Oh, how silly of me! Haha!”

“Stop that. Do you always treat slaves like this?”

“Hahaha, no, not usually. These slaves are very badly behaved… Haha, sorry you had to see that bad example. So, are you interested in these two?”

The hawk-nosed man had blood running down his shin and forearm. He smiled nervously and rubbed his hands.

Logan paid attention to his words, not his bloody injuries.

“Customer, and products… A slave trader? Good. Can we talk about buying them now?”

Usually, if you seem too eager to buy, you will pay more. But Logan knew he was in charge now.

Everyone was watching, and he had shown he was stronger. The slave trader was scared of him.

But the hawk-nosed man had sold slaves for a long time. He didn’t give up easily.

“Well… these children have rare eyes, different colors, red and blue. And both of them have it! They are very special, so they cost a bit more. Is that okay?”

“Enough. How much?”

“Well, you’d have to pay at least 10,000 for each child…”

Logan frowned when he heard that.

A healthy young man slave usually cost about 300 gold.

The hawk-nosed slave trader was asking for many times more than that for these thin and weak children.

If Logan thought only about the ‘noble slayer’ Victor would become, then 100,000 gold each would not be too much. But only Logan knew about Victor’s future.

Logan did not want to pay that much. Right now, they were just children with unusual eyes.

‘Most of all, I don’t want to give this bad man any money,’ Logan thought.

He remembered seeing the girl crying and looking after her brother who was passed out. Now, they were more than just slaves he had just met.

So, he spoke in a cold voice.

“These children look like they will fall over. And you want to charge thirty times more expensive than a healthy slave? Also, one of them looks like he is dying!”

“Ah, brother….”

The girl’s eyes filled with tears. Logan’s words had scared her.

But the slave trader laughed without shame. “Haha. You are a funny man. He is tough, even if he looks weak. He will be fine soon.”

“Hmm, treating him will cost a lot of money. Also, even if I ask them to work, I will have to spend money to feed and teach them for some time.”

“But still, as you can see, they are very special here…”

“500 gold each is more than enough, since it’s more than a healthy slave costs.”

“Oh, sir. I can’t even make money at that price.”

“Huh. Do you think I don’t know how much slaves cost?”

“But they are very special… Hee hee.”

“You are too greedy. 1,000 gold. That’s my final offer.”

The slave trader was about to argue, but he stopped when Logan gripped the hilt of his sword. It was a threat.

The slave trader thought quickly about what to do. ‘That Victor caused lots of trouble,’ he thought. ‘It looks like he will keep causing trouble.’

The slave trader looked at his arms and legs, which were still bleeding.

Having unusual looks is good for showing off. But if that special thing tries to hurt you, it’s not worth anything.

After hesitating for a moment, the slave trader nodded. “Thank you for buying them, sir.”