Published at 20th of March 2023 9:16 am

Volume 13, Chapter 319: Steps Too High

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

It was quite chilly inside Prison Beulah’s food storage room, probably because of the dead snow. Even though I was wearing a warm jacket, the cold chill still reached my skin.

This storage room was the only room with the means to cover the stomachs of the large number of people in this prison, and its size was considerable. It wouldn’t be much different from a large merchant’s warehouse. Congestion was not that apparent but inspecting each corner was very time consuming and impossible to do. They just grabbed the goods and put them in here.

The cargo was just brought in. One of the guards put his hand on one of the big bags of food.

「What about you? What have you found? I’m tired of touching this smeared bread. 」

「Well, I found insects. There’s nothing special in here. It must be the prison Lord’s cowardice, because why would he send us here in search of nothing?」

Everyone’s voices showed an unsatisfied tone. It was the orders of the prison Lord, Palome, so they reluctantly checked this cargo, but it seemed that their energy itself was not that strong.

Rather, they were even enjoying laziness to the fullest because they were working in a place where no one could see them.

It couldn’t be helped. From the beginning, it was quite unreasonable to check all this cargo.

After all, the merchants stuffed their luggage into the carriages and carried them. Everything could collapse if carried wrongly. It would take extra time and effort to put everything back into place. In order to check on everything, that would take from morning to night.

It was already dinner time. They wouldn’t show that much effort now.

One of the guards finally sat down and grabbed the loaves of bread that had been thrown on one of the bags with his fingertips. It was strangely hard, probably because of the weather, but it was still good enough to fill his stomach.

His teeth were digging into the bread dough, and before I knew it, the bread itself had disappeared from his hands due to his hunger. Next, if possible, something like dried meat would be good to fill his stomach.

The guard thought so and pointed his finger to the back of the cargo. The shadow covered the back of the cargo, and he couldn’t see it that well, but he felt that some meat was stored in it.

The guard push his arm deeper and deeper into the bread and potatoes sack, working harder than ever. Nobody would judge something they didn’t see. Therefore, the guard felt at ease because it was only him and the other guard in this section of the storage room. Everyone was desperate to eat their own food. If he was not careful, someone would jump to the storage room in a blink of an eye.

Therefore, this was no problem. Only one guard saw him taking the meat.

…My arms outstretched. My long fingers pointed to the direction towards the guard who was searching for the meat in the sack.

There was no time for the guard to scream. It was too quick. My fingers were squeezing the guard’s throat before he could say anything.

—

Well, it became a troublesome, no, unpleasant thing.

I involuntarily complained in my chest. Perhaps, because the bread was smeared in the bag, even after I got out, a strange odor was emanating from my whole body.

Actually, I was going to sneak in until late at night.

I let go of the horrible feeling haunting my flesh and quietly tried to check the surroundings with my ears. There was no loud noise around us. Judging from the sound of footsteps and voices, two or three people were probably left in the storage room.

It would be nice if it could be like this, defeating my enemies in the shadows. Without realizing it, my lips lifted, and I let out a sigh. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my skull.

I moved my dry lips and muttered.

「If possible, I want you to stay still. It’s just my nature. It’s easier to move alone.」

My cheeks twitched involuntarily. I wasn’t complaining about her presence, let alone implying that I would easily defeat the guards on my own.

I simply said to my companion who slipped out of another cargo sack. She put a firm expression on her face that was worthy of her nickname. She said to me.

「Did you just say something, Lord Lugis? 」

I lightly moved my shoulders and involuntarily gave up my elbows while directing my eyes towards the Steel Princess, Vestaline Geluah, who slowly approached me.

She didn’t say anything about my suggestion. She just stared at me with her lips tightened.

What should I do? Since yesterday, or maybe even before that, she was being pretty harsh with me. She was defiant, or rather, she decided to take that kind of attitude.

Maybe the reason she offered to accompany me this time was because there was a fragment of rivalry in her heart.

It was a far cry from the cold expression she usually showed, and it made me feel like I was looking at something very strange.

Anyway, I understood why. It was just her affection for Bruder that made her behave this way.

No, I was absolutely right. I couldn’t really say that I was a perfect person or good at guessing. But I didn’t think her behavior was a joke. It was normal to want to separate such a person as me from her relative.

Therefore, it would be logical to accept at least that sharp gaze and the emotion that was erupting from her heart.

After that, we hid each other’s sounds without much conversation and explored the surroundings. In my skull, thoughts were running through my fingertips trying to figure out how to untangle these tangled threads.

After all, I was supposed to be the only one to enter Prison Beulah. No, even so, it was an option I didn’t want to choose as much as possible.

If possible, I wanted to lure out and crush the soldiers, and stick my fangs into the prison where there were no defenders.

At the very least, I wanted to feel dignified by dealing with the front on my own.

This was because this ostentatious building called Beulah, the Burial Prison, was originally a relay fort connecting the front line and the royal capital. Moreover, its construction was strangely robust.

A watchtower watched over the surroundings, and due to the structure surrounded by a deep-water moat, there was only one movable bridge to enter the interior.

It was a well-understood structure that was no longer useful as a fort. They decided to reuse it for something else, such as a prison. The former King who created it should be rewarded.

Although this place was extremely difficult to invade, I made an effort to come here and expose any secret loopholes it might have.

However, if I couldn’t enter the gate openly from the front, then I had no choice but to slip into the darkness. I was used to such methods. After all, I had an excellent teacher.

I lightly bit the tip of my finger, which was numb from the cold, and then I spoke.

「Vestaline. I don’t want the mercenaries outside to worry about us. 」

In response to my words, Vestaline replied with even a slightly boastful sound.

「Isn’t that obvious? I don’t lead men who can’t think for themselves. 」

I put my hand on the sword at my waist while she said those words. Footsteps were slowly approaching this direction.

Judging from the strangely irregular sounds, someone must be trying to carry something big. For example, more food and alcohol than he could handle.

A shadow came into my view. While swaying, the guard walked as if he were showing his cheerfulness. I took a few breaths in order not to make a sound.

However, I had thought that they were a very cautious group, considering that they were the kind of people who came to investigate the cargo they brought in. Looking at this situation, it didn’t seem so. Was it just on a whim?

Quite well, I should welcome it.

The walking shadow overlapped with mine.

At that moment, the figure of the treasure sword stretched out and continued to pierce the shadow. I could feel blood dripping in my hands.

Almost at the same time, Vestaline’s battle-axe rip through the air, smashing the skull and jaw of another guard, who was wide-eyed, with a single swing. As usual, there was a heavy swing that smashed through all the meat and bones.

There were no more footsteps. Only a distorted silence remained in the food storage.

「So, have you already thought about the route from here…? 」

Vestaline spoke to me in a whisper. Certainly, this was going to be the last time she was going to accompany me. I was not able to explain much, but this was pretty intense.

I nodded exaggeratedly and said while creating an expression that looked relaxed.

「…Hey, don’t worry. I’m good at scheming devilishly in the stomach of the opponent. 」

She caressed the tip of her lip as her thoughts swirled freely inside her skull. Whatever it was, I was certain that it had already entered the opponent’s mind and body.

Then, we just had to do what we should do. After that, it would be a matter of whether we could do it or not.

…If it was him, the sun, he would have done it without difficulty.

Ah, if it was possible, I wanted to do it too. While wiping away the blood from my treasure sword and putting it away in its scabbard, I stroked the sun’s white sword hanging on my waist as if it were a pair with my purple sword.

Well, let us go one step at a time. I was tired of stopping midways.

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