NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
14.
Lord Norman Brayden roughly carved the meat on his plate.
“Whatever is Arthur doing?”
“As scheduled, we’ve made contact with the candidate.”
Norman nodded approvingly at his eldest son’s confident reply.
“That incompetent fool… he’s proving useful here, at least.”
“I’ve brought along the knights, so we’ll definitely wrap things up. I’ve also secured cooperation in advance from the faction we planted within the Northern Gate Police Station.”
“Knight Penelope, the mana manifestation expert, is dead. Whether the candidate did it or not, it may be unexpected… Tell that fool Arthur not to let his guard down.”
As the conversation concluded, the clinking of cutlery filled the space.
When the lavish food on the long dining table was about to run out,
Eidan Brayden cautiously opened his mouth.
“Father, if the candidate survives—”
“If he survives this time, you will handle it during the final honorary duel, Eidan. You must end him with mana if necessary.”
“…Yes. Understood.”
A faint blue flame flickered in Eidan’s eyes as he bowed his head.
***
I had a hunch that something might happen.
Aria’s looks, no matter how cleverly disguised, remained unmistakable. Since entering the lower quarters, a few sticky stares had followed us, but…
‘Given the tranquil atmosphere until sunset, I thought we’d make it through.’
Entering the lower quarters usually led to predictable incidents.
Men resembling characters from a novel blocked our way.
The grey wolf painted on the shoulder strap they wore indicated these swaggering individuals all belonged to the same gang.
“…Grayhounds.”
Aria whispered this upon their appearance.
They seemed to be the targets we were supposed to deal with in two days. The sentence was straightforward enough.
“Hey, you there, girl. New around here? Never seen you before.”
“If you’re operating in the Great Grayhounds’ territory, shouldn’t you report it first? Hmm?”
“You should get checked out thoroughly. There’s no guarantee you don’t have flaws.”
The plump companion chimed in after the crude man pointed at Aria.
They both started leering as they sized her up and down, making it too absurd to even speak.
Then the crude man and the chubby one, along with the others who had arrived, raised their daggers, shouting threateningly.
“What are you looking at, bastards! Get lost!”
“Out of our sight, or we’ll kill you!”
A vagrant lying nearby was beaten when he failed to heed the warning, prompting people who had been quietly watching the unfolding scene to scramble away.
We had left all the equipment back due to the infiltration into the lower quarters.
Arthur and his group had parted ways earlier to avoid drawing attention, so there would be no support, implying I was on my own.
Aria’s blue eyes quickly scanned the men around her.
“This is troublesome. Especially with armed opponents…”
Her tense face indicated her anxiety.
Additional individuals closed in, blocking our escape route.
“Hey, you there. If you want to leave unscathed, do so quietly.”
“We’re quite gentlemanly. Just leave the girl behind, got it?”
We were surrounded from behind and in front.
Without her sword and being surrounded, Aria seemed to be carefully analyzing her surroundings, her expression strained.
‘Hmm.’
Honestly, how much martial training could the criminals from the lower quarters have undergone?
A single dagger might be a great threat to ordinary people, but not to a knight or a superhuman.
The opponents ahead would be easier to handle than lying supine while eating soup. Honestly, I could defeat a hundred of them if they all rushed me at once.
However, causing such a commotion would likely make the opponent suspicious of something.
‘…Let’s retreat for now.’
My decision was brief.
“Lia, excuse me for a moment.”
“Yes?”
I hurled myself toward the arrogant gangsters slowly closing in.
“What…?”
KWAANG!
The man in front was kicked in the stomach and flew back, crashing into a wall without even a chance to scream. Cracks rapidly spread as the shabby building collapsed.
Everyone froze at the sudden scene.
Before the goons could recover, I darted behind Aria.
Unlike knights, no one reacted to my speed. The hooked-nosed man with his dagger got closer, but the dagger held clumsily in front of him barely moved as I approached.
Hitting a scarecrow couldn’t be any easier.
I slammed my fist into the face of the man who was belatedly opening his mouth to shout.
BAK!
“Ow!”
“Keh! Let go, damn it, you’re heavy!”
The man hit in the face recoiled, taking down several others around him.
The back was covered in smoke from an old house collapsing.
In front, an absurd sight unfolded—a complicated mess of grumbling men.
“You might bite your tongue, so endure it!”
“What? Gyaah…!”
Lifting her while supporting her knees and back, Aria let out a cute scream. I smiled at her reflexively wrapping her arms around my neck, then pushed off the ground.
“S—hit!! My leg! My foot!”
“What are you doing?! Everyone, chase them! How dare you mess with the Grayhounds…!”
We swiftly maneuvered through the labyrinth-like lower quarters.
The path was already memorized. My movement through the lower quarters was unhurried, and with the clumsy physical capabilities of the gang, they couldn’t possibly catch me.
“There, bastard!”
“Huh… Huff… huff. Why are you so fast!”
I left the panting gang behind and we successfully escaped the lower quarters.
Anticipating trailing gazes, I twisted our course towards a sparsely populated area, and with Aria in my arms, we safely reached the Northern Gate Police Station.
“…Thank you. Officer MacBilian.”
“No issue. Holding you felt lighter than I thought.”
Despite her expression remaining stoic, she clearly felt quite embarrassed. Aria’s flushed ear tips were evident as she adjusted her disheveled clothing.
After changing back into her uniform, Aria saluted.
“Since it has gotten dark, today’s schedule is concluded. We will meet again at the Northern Gate Police Station tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Officer Aria. It was fun today.”
“…Yes. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
As I left the somewhat dejected Officer Aria behind, the first day at the Foreign Palace ended.
Afterward, two days passed quickly.
On the day of the operation, I was stationed at the Northern Gate Police Station wrapped in a raincoat, watching the sky.
T-t-t-t-t.
“Damn, this rain is relentless.”
True to the overcast skies from two days ago, today heavy rain poured down.
The city of Palamtiar seemed to have turned into a dull gray landscape due to the relentless rain, making my motivation dip drastically. Even more so with the somber atmosphere of the northern district.
There’s no point in grumbling about the sky; it’s merely a futile act. Ceasing to shoot daggers at the cloud layer, I turned my head to proceed with the operation.
The guards, cloaked in raincoats, stared at me with tension.
And before them, Officer Aria and Arthur’s group, also in raincoats.
Looking into Aria’s calm blue eyes, I spoke:
“Let’s begin.”
Leading the well-armored guards, we advanced into the pouring rain.
*
The sound of water splashing.
Following that, enraged shouts and the sounds of weapons colliding resonated.
“Aaah!”
“Why is the police…!”
“What do I know! Charge!”
The lower quarters, quiet only two days ago, were filled with cries of anguish.
The cries were deafening, even amid the torrential downpour. The cries of these men echoed in all directions.
“Uuh…”
“Pl-please… let me live…”
The gangsters sprawled on the muddy ground, writhing, their faces swollen from punches thrown by me.
As I tied their trembling arms and legs soaked in the rain tightly, I said:
“If you stay quiet, you won’t die. So shut your mouth.”
After tying up the subdued gangsters and throwing them aside, I moved on.
According to the plan, I had already secured the area around, and the second and third units of the Northern Gate Police Station had infiltrated the interior of the lower quarters.
Aria was with the third unit, and Arthur’s group was with the second unit, systematically clearing the lower quarters, while I proceeded alone through the center.
Aria, who had indirectly experienced my combat prowess, merely told me to be careful without objecting to my solo action.
‘This is easy after all.’
A battle between a crime organization and a government agency.
The outcome is already set; a one-sided victory by the government agency.
No matter how much the gangsters organize, acquire weapons, and gather information, they cannot beat a government agency operating on a national scale.
Even if someone with exceptional martial skills is part of the gang, it doesn’t make a difference.
Other organizations that have been established in the lower quarters over a long period clearly understand this gap.
That’s why, apart from the Grayhounds, no one else could be seen in the lower quarters now. Everyone is lying low, waiting for the storm to pass.
If they had maintained proper boundaries, the police force wouldn’t have had to intervene, but the burgeoning force, the Grayhounds, crossed those boundaries. Once crossed, that’s the end.
Just as I was suppressing the gangster groups that occasionally appeared,
‘Three…no, four…more? Did they deliberately prepare?’
The ambient noise ceased, leaving only the rain to fill the silence.
Individuals cloaked in black darker than the lower quarters emerged from all sides.
The chilling aura and pressure they emitted was unlike anything that could be generated by normal crime organization troops.
At least four knights at minimum.
The others also carried an imposing presence.
‘I thought things were quiet lately.’
A very perfect place where no one is watching.
It’s an optimal environment for someone to be eliminated.
The faces hidden except for the eyes silently pointed their swords and closed in the circle around me without a word. It seems they don’t even intend to talk.
Glaring at the eyes beneath the masks, they all simultaneously surged towards me.
“Hmm….”
No one’s watching.
The lack of witnesses is convenient for me as well.
Though the exterior is chilled by the rainwater, my insides are burning hot.
Crushing the water puddles beneath my feet, I raised my sword.
***
“That way! Officer Aria!”
Following Arthur’s loud shout, Aria and the third patrol rushed through the lower quarters.
“Officer MacBilian is in danger! Hurry up!”
“Yes! Understood!”
After the suppression operation began,
Arthur secretly infiltrated knights and swordsmen according to the plan.
The goal was to eliminate the candidate, Cain MacBilian.
As if assisted by the heavens, the candidate announced his solo entry into the lower quarters, and upon hearing that, Arthur secretly rejoiced.
“To finally be of help.”
Arthur, who lacked the ability to surpass his brother Eidan in physical strength, intellect, or appearance, had grown up treated like half a person within the family.
Even when sent to the Foreign Palace, heavily infiltrated by factions of the west, as a spy, Arthur did not despair.
If he could prove himself somehow here, they might see him again.
With that thought, Arthur diligently worked in the Foreign Palace, and eventually, an opportunity came up.
“The candidate will die in a battle with a gang during the suppression operation.”
Even though it would actually be the work of the secret knights and swordsmen introduced, who would know?
Especially, since the candidate had chosen to operate alone, there wouldn’t be any witnesses. Even the assessors who were supposed to be around couldn’t have entered the lower quarters.
‘This must be over by now.’
In anticipation of any accidents, Arthur moved the scene with Aria and the patrol, and once they confirm the candidate’s corpse with their eyes, this matter would be successfully concluded.
‘Serves that arrogant guy right.’
Arthur snickered inwardly, shaking out his rain-soaked hair and rushed forward.
“Found it… Huh?”
The guard who moved ahead stopped momentarily upon turning the corner.
After being puzzled for a while by the guard’s frozen, unmoving figure,
Arthur and the others quickly understood why the leading guard had stopped.
Upon turning the corner, Arthur opened his trembling mouth at the sight before him.
“Blood… puddle?”
A different, intense color covered the somber lower quarters.
The puddles formed by the torrential rain were entirely dyed red.
Despite the downpour, the scent of blood pierced through the distinct smell of rain and infiltrated the nose. The blood was so pervasive that the rain couldn’t wash it away.
And, amidst this blood-filled abyss and a sea of dead bodies,
A man stood.
“Officer MacBilian…?”
Upon hearing Aria’s mutter, the man turned around.
“Officer Aria. You’ve arrived quite quickly. Is your designated area finished? I’ve just concluded here as well.”
Cain shook the blood off his sword and approached Arthur.
Under Cain’s calm gaze, which looked down at him, Arthur involuntarily stepped back.
“There was severe resistance from the Grayhounds. Their actions threatened my life, so I executed them immediately with the authority of an officer. Is there a problem?”
In response to Cain’s question, Aria replied.
“…No. This is a justified action.”
“Good. Officer Aria. Would you mind handling the aftermath for me?”
After patting Arthur’s ghostly pale shoulder, Cain walked away gracefully.
Once Cain’s figure disappeared into the rain,
The people present let out the breaths they had been holding.