Kays Translations

Chapter 86: The Sweet Temptation of Death

When they got to the site where the third Princess Listille and others were attacked, there were the remains of the carriage and the corpses of the knights left.

"... that's a strange uniform."

Lutz narrowed his eyes and said.

All the knights were naked. Apparently, the clothes and armor were taken away by nearby residents.

The wagon had no wheels and the inside was ransacked. The horse carcass was also missing, but it seemed to have been taken for meat. There were traces of blood, as if the horses had been dismembered here.

"You fools, you have shamed the knights!”

Jocel exclaimed as he swatted away the flies with his hand. It was unforgivable to strip a proud knight who had fought so hard to protect the princess of his equipment and leave him there. Shouldn't they be given a dignified burial?

"Let's go, Jocel."

Gerhard called out to him in a curt manner. He doesn't seem interested in mere corpses.

"If something happens to the princess, they will not be sorry for that."

After grunting and groaning, Jocel crossed his arms at his comrades-in-arms.

"Forgive me, I will definitely bury your bodies. I will call a priest and hold a funeral. Please wait a moment!"

It was Jocel who roared passionately. His spirits were high before the battle with the bandits..

On the other hand, Claudia erased the usual smirk from her face and was terribly anxious.

“Lutz-kun, when Ricardo-san came to your house the other day, didn’t we talk about  the returning soldiers?”

"Oh, yeah, something like that."

"The bandits are probably them. No one else would want to go directly to the king at this time of the year."

“…That’s why you objected to me going.”

Claudia quickly jumped into Lutz's chest and pulled him close, putting her arms behind his back. Lutz's hand gently stroked Claudia's soft hair.

I know that Lutz can handle a sword in his own way. He is also accompanied by Gerhard and Ricardo, who are also very skilled. Even so, he is far from secure.

Anything is possible with soldiers who are accustomed to fighting.

“My number one priority is to survive. So, rest assured, you'll be waiting for me."

Lutz spoke gently, and Claudia gave a small nod.

Gerhard took the lead. Jocel, Ricardo and Lutz followed.

"If we let you go, you're gonna start getting old right then and there, you know."

Ricardo said with a sly smile.

"As expected, that place lacks romance."

If you are surrounded by flowers and butterflies, yet all around you are dead bodies and flies. No doubt, Ricardo laughed again.

“By the way, Gerhard-san, do you know their hideout?”

Lutz wondered why they were moving forward so easily, and asked..

"What are you talking about? There are so many traces of them, it's like arrows pointing out. A large group of people is a good thing, too.”

"That's right, Lutz, tracking is the basics of an adventurer. Start training again from the lowest rank."

Gerhard laughed fearlessly, and Ricardo said.

"Nothing to start over, I'm not an adventurer."

I glanced at Jocel and he shook his head. He didn't seem to be able to make out any traces very well. Even if thirty people came and went, it was only a few days ago.

Lutz was a little relieved. It's just that the former adventurer and current adventurer are funny.

After walking for about 40 minutes, we passed through the forest and came into sight of a dubious cave. I could see a shadow of a person at the entrance. I wonder if it's a person in charge of watching whether the signal smoke is coming out.

"Ricardo, go."

Jocel tapped Ricardo on the shoulder.

“…Are you serious about this strategy?”

Alone, he becomes a decoy against returning soldiers who have survived a fierce battle. Just thinking about it made him insane.

“Don't complain now. Miss Claudia made the Count promise a reward of three hundred gold coins, so you can thank her later."

"I would if I were still alive."

Ricardo made sure that the sheath of his beloved sword, Tsubaki, was securely fastened with his belt, then walked to the entrance of the cave.

Two men jumped out of the cave at the appearance of a suspicious person.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you the royal family or the count family messenger?"

I'm sure we didn't tell them about this hideout. The men look at him suspiciously.

"Hell's messenger"

Ricardo casually drew his sword. Seeing that, the men jumped and prepared their swords. As expected, the reaction is fast. However, they didn't seem to understand what kind of nature this sword was.

"Is that your answer?"

One of the men shouted.

I don't think the king will obediently comply with the request, which is also an expected result. Unfortunately.

"I'll mince you and the princess and send them back to the royal capital!"

The man swung his sword to crack Ricardo's head open.

He then swung it down and thrust it into his own belly..

"Eh……?"

I don't even know why I did that. It doesn't hurt for some reason. On the contrary, it feels good.

Looking back and looking at his partner, he was holding the sword in his mouth deliciously.

"Re-ro, re-ro-ro-o ......"

The whites of his eyes were peeled back and his tongue was moving violently. The tip of a sword protruded from the back of his head

The man's thoughts were dulled by the sweet smell. He didn't care about anything before the pleasure that slowly spread from the wound in his stomach.

I don't care about my partner's strange death or even my own life.

The men collapsed on the spot with ecstatic expressions on their faces.

Tsubaki is a cursed sword that forces the opponent to commit suicide and converts pain into pleasure. Gerhard, who had been watching this tragedy from a distance, hidden in the trees, spat out.

"That's gruesome....."

I had heard that this was the type of sword, but this is the first time I have actually seen it in action. There is no such thing as clean or dirty on the battlefield, but I wonder if there is any reason why this level of destruction of dignity should be allowed.

"If the church knew, we would be burned at the stake."

Even Jocel, who is the type who seeks romance in battle even more than Gerhard, had a displeased look on his face.

"If he gets in the way, I'll just go to the church."

“Gerhard-san, we will also be taken at that time."

Lutz rebuked Gerhard's joking and insincere tone.

They say it's vulgar because it's as bad as someone else's problem, but it was Lutz who made the sword, and Gerhard who gave it magic. No matter how you look at it, they are related and accomplices. At least, that's how it should appear from a third party's point of view.

Sensing something strange, a third soldier came out.

He drew his sword and ran toward Ricardo, but when he entered the five-meter radius of the curse's range, he slashed his own carotid artery and fell straight down.

Ricardo thinks absentmindedly as the blood spurting out of the enemy's neck wets his feet.

...... I'm sure I could annihilate the enemy all by myself at this point, right?

There was the sound of a wind-slap. A sharp arrow passed five centimeters in front of Ricardo's eyes as he reflexively turned his head back. If he had woken up even a moment later from his delusion, his head would have been skewered.

Ricardo fled into the forest while flipping two or three arrows with his sword.

If you focus your mind while watching your opponent, you can extend the range of the curse and make him commit suicide, but the shooter seems to be shooting while hiding behind a shield. This is different from the skeevy bandit we had beaten before. Moreover, there seems to be more than one shooter.

"Let me dream at least, damn it!"

Reinforcements appeared one after another from the depths of the cave, perhaps because the enemy decided that it would be bad for Ricardo to escape. Half of them had shortbows. I don't know what happened, but I guess they thought it would be better to stay away from him as much as possible.

Ricardo ran away with the trees behind him. Countless murderous intent pierces him from behind. This is their field, how far can you escape while fighting?

I'm strong, Tsubaki and I are the strongest. Come help me as soon as possible!

When I looked at the place where Gerhard and the others had been hiding until a few minutes ago, I saw no one there. It seemed that they had already started to move.

Footsteps approach. When you try to show your face, arrows instantly fly at you.

Even in such a critical situation, Ricardo had a smile on his face.

...... Do you guys have enough weapons that you are willing to trust your lives to? I do

Ricardo regained his grip on the handle of the camellia. It was terrifying, but his courage was not yet exhausted. It came from within his chest as much as he could.

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