Kays Translations

Chapter 149: Blood Makeup Under the Moon

"I did it... I drank even without money, damn it."

In the dimly lit town, relying only on the moonlight, a man staggered along. This man was a knight from Count Zander's territory, though his actual abilities and character were questionable, he held the title of a knight.

He had just downed a considerable amount of alcohol at a tavern and left with an unpaid tab. Nevertheless, the man was still dissatisfied.

...I'm the one protecting the peace of this town. It should be a matter of courtesy for them to cover the bill.

The townsfolk all viewed the Knight's Order with disdain. There was a time when he took pleasure in seeing people avoid him out of fear, but he later realized it was because they were avoiding the filth that accompanied him. Just like anyone would avoid stepping on dog excrement if they saw it; no one willingly goes to step on it. That's how people regarded and treated the Knight's Order.

...He wanted respect. Respect directed towards him.

While he continued to rack up unpaid tabs, he held contradictory thoughts.

The Knight's Order was in name only; in reality, it was a dumping ground for low-ranking nobles with nowhere else to go. They didn't even have their own horses; they shared what they had. It was hard to claim they had the Count's trust, as there hadn't been a single summons for anything other than reprimands in the past few years.

He wanted to break free from this situation somehow. However, he couldn't figure out how to do it, and his anxiety only grew. The only things he could think of doing were either drinking or intimidating merchants to extort money.

Suddenly, he sensed a presence in front of him and stopped in his tracks. There stood a man with his hood pulled low, blocking the path.

"Hey, you're in my way. Get lost."

The knight grumbled irritably, but the man showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he drew the sword at his waist and took a stance.

...A street thug?

The knight hesitated for a moment but, fueled by the alcohol, he quickly reconsidered. If he defeated this man, it would be a feather in his cap. People's perception of him would change, both from the citizens and his comrades. No, he wouldn't even need to call those scoundrels his comrades anymore. He would be a high-ranking knight all by himself.

The knight grinned and drew his longsword. In response, the hooded man spoke mockingly.

"You have the eyes of livestock."

A mere trophy opened his mouth and insulted him. The knight, furious, raised his sword. He no longer had any intention of taking the man alive.

The man with the hood saw that the knight's stance was full of openings. He thought it was ridiculous to even suspect a trap. Not because he was drunk; this man had never undergone proper training, had merely complained about the world, and yet had nothing but confidence in his stance. It was all quite laughable.

The man's sword reflected the moonlight as it sliced through the knight's abdomen.

"Eh...?"

The knight's bewildered voice became his final words. Blood and organs spilled from his belly, and he collapsed on the spot, trembling uncontrollably.

The man removed his hood. His face bore deep scars that ran from the corner of his eye to his cheek and all the way to the corner of his mouth. The knight tried to look up at the man and call out his name, but he couldn't form the words.

The knight was still alive, but the man ignored this fact. Instead, he bent down and took a dagger from the knight's waist. He held it up to the moonlight, and a hint of a smile crossed his face.

"It's not on par with that sword, but it's beautiful."

With those words, the man put the dagger in his pocket, pulled his hood back over his head, and disappeared into the darkness of a side street.

The next day, Ricardo rushed into Lutz's workshop in a panic.

"Hey, Lutz, have you heard? There's been a murder, an assassin!"

"I know. It was that idiot from the Knight's Order, right? The world's gotten a little cleaner. Well, that's a relief."

Lutz, who had welcomed Ricardo, responded uninterestedly and started sharpening an axe in his smithy. What mattered most to him now was the backlog of work due to the recent events. Although he knew the Knight's Order was utterly useless, he had no desire to bear the brunt of their incompetence.

"You're a cold one, too."

"I'm one of the better ones, actually. If Claudia hears about this, she might suggest celebrating tonight."

Claudia, Lutz's wife and a skilled merchant, held deep resentment and disgust toward the Knight's Order. If she heard about this incident, she'd probably wear a big smile.

"I'm more concerned about the possibility that next time, it might not be a knight who gets killed, but an ordinary citizen."

"That's true; it's unsettling. But, you see, no matter how much I worry, what can I do about it? Investigating crimes is supposed to be the Knight's Order's job."

"Eventually, they might not be able to do anything, and the request might come to you or me to catch the criminal."

Ricardo's words made Lutz uncomfortable, and he raised his face with a displeased expression. He knew the Knight's Order was useless, but he also didn't want their problems dumped on him.

Previously, this somehow worked out because the Count thought, "If anything happens, I can just rely on them." Perhaps he still didn't want to embark on fundamental reforms of the Knight's Order.

It was truly annoying. Ricardo was the Count's official adventurer and fighting was his job, so it was okay for him. However, Lutz and Gerhardt were just ordinary craftsmen. There was no reason for them to be called in for dirty work.

"Rather than worry about that, let me do my job as a blacksmith. You came here with a request, right?"

"Oh, right."

Ricardo had been requesting a new sword for a while, but due to various reasons like the expedition to the neighboring country, it had been delayed. With life settling down after returning to the Count's territory, they finally had the chance to forge the sword.

They had previously attempted to determine the cost of the sword based on the outcome of a mock battle, but at that time, both participants ended up bruised, and it was impossible to objectively determine the winner. Claudia, after settling the matter, probably gave both of them a scolding.

During the expedition to the neighboring country, Ricardo had served as their guard. As payment for his services as a guard, he could have the sword forged for free, but any additional decorations or magic enhancements would be charged separately.

"What kind of sword are you looking for? Do you have any specific requests?"

"Well, you see..."

Ricardo scratched his head as he spoke.

"I haven't given up on dual-wielding yet."

"What?"

Previously, Ricardo should have understood that dual-wielding is incredibly difficult. What does he intend to achieve by bringing up that topic again?

"You need tremendous strength and exceptional dexterity to even attempt it, right? But it's not impossible, is it?"

"Well, yeah, theoretically it's possible..."

Jumping to conclusions that something is impossible is a dangerous thing in combat. While it may seem unreasonable, beyond common sense lies the realm of exceptional swordsmen.

"I'm not saying we need to achieve it right away. I just want to train bit by bit."

"Hmm..."

"Hey, Lutz, something's been on my mind for a while..."

"What is it?"

"Why do you know so much about dual-wielding?"

With those words, Lutz's movement came to a sudden halt. As Ricardo suspected, he had gained a certain conviction.

"You've actually trained to master dual-wielding, haven't you?"

With a grin on his face, Ricardo said this, and Lutz nodded resignedly.

"I forgot to mention the advantages of mastering dual-wielding. One is the increased number of attacks, and the other..."

"What's the other?"

Ricardo leaned forward eagerly to listen.

"It looks really cool."

Understanding each other without words, the two physically imposing young men nodded in agreement.

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