Part 3 – Chapter 012 (Chapter 349)
Title: Intimidation
T/L: IonMan
Editor: Zioming, Niteskystargazer
Editor Notes:
We have a new editor, Niteskystargazer, who’s been helping us with this chapter. Once he catches up with the novel, we might see more regular updates.
Also, I’m switching from using the word “ability” to “skill”, since it just sounds so much more natural to me, I catch myself writing “skill” and having to correct myself all the time.
Raw Chapter: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9511bs/403
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Year 7448, Month 8, Day 20
Five months after the lectures started, my schedule finally became less chaotic, so I managed to take some time off.
Regarding the management of the territory and the knights, the officials have praised me by saying, “Your Excellency is very good at remembering tasks.”
Even if I say that I was praised, it basically boiled down to how much you remembered and did what you were told to do, so, unless you had miso for brains at this age, you wouldn’t have much trouble overall. I made a mental note of the things I’ve heard that day, before I forgot, and in the process, I went over my notes a couple more times to better commit them to memory. Even if you forgot about something, or it became vague, it was usually not a problem if you checked on it within a few days. Rather, it was seen as “studying very hard”, so it was OK.
Oh, and then, to decrease the future temptation for the other reincarnated people, I gave a long lecture to Toris and Bell, who were already flustered about the whole situation (Toris said he handed the pistol over to Bell, feeling guilty about it).
Oh well, I do admit that it served as a good future reminder for the reincarnated people. It’s also good that they didn’t kill any of their opponents, causing the case to go in circles. If the knights were to investigate, I can always say that “I found it in the Labyrinth. It’s a threatening magic tool that only bursts out a roar and a small fire” for an explanation, and then use the name of Prince William to prevent Toru and his underlings from ever being questioned about it, which would be for the better. Though I was a little surprised that they used one of my connections without permission.
Well, whatever. What’s done I done.
In the first place, I gave them the pistol to use in case of an emergency, for example, if they ran out of magic power. And they used it to threaten their opponents. Other than the reincarnated people, I wonder if anyone else could recognize this eggheaded idea… [1]
Still, it was probably not a good idea to shoot at the city’s criminals. The only saving grace was that no one got hit.
I sentenced Bell to train her [Ice Bolt] spell’s casting time and accuracy (in hopes it might help avoid any future stalemates) as punishment, and likewise, Toris would have to conquer the first three levels of the dungeon alone again and again, until he learned to better control multiple opponents. As for me, I only came out of the dungeon on lecture days. The rest of the time, I aimed to dominate the entire dungeon. Even if it was impossible for me to further improve my magic power reserves, I could expect further improvements from Toris and Bell, if they kept this up for a couple more months. And, unless they delved too deep, it shouldn’t be a problem, as long as they didn’t totally run out of magic power.
By the way, it was impossible not to notice them, due to the sheer number of adventurers sticking around in the teleportation rooms on the first three floors. Also, even though the monsters on the these floors weren’t very strong, you’d be stupid not to stay alert all the time while exploring the dungeon, as it wasn’t a place for the weak-willed. It could be said that is was the most brutal punishment possible for these two, right after their marriage. I commanded my combat slaves, Henry and Mekku, to bring them a change of clothes and food every day.
But, the tedious story aside, let’s move on to the main subject.
I was now with a knight at the garrison in Doran City. We were heading into the dungeon. Aah, of course, I’d done some preliminary research, and was still preparing while thinking about what might be necessary, even though it could end up being a wasted effort in the end. Nevertheless, I would still do it, as it always seemed to work out for me in the past. The knight guided me down the unlit cold stairs. The walls and the ceiling were made of stone, but it wasn’t as damp as one might expect. Hmm, wouldn’t these narrow passages look exactly like the third floor of the Baldukk’s dungeon, if it didn’t glow?
ED Reminder: The 3rd floor of the Baldukk’s dungeon was made of stone, which gave off dim light.
The brightness of the lamp carried by the guiding knight was rather low, forget running, it was difficult to even see the area just a little ahead.
Every time we descended down another flight of stairs, the unpleasant smell of faeces in the air got stronger.
I expected this to some extent, and I was correct to change into cheap leather boots.
And so, we arrived in front of a cramped small room similar to a prison cell.
According to the knight’s explanation, there were thirty large and small prison cells, with a total capacity of over 300 people. Also, the reincarnated person by the name of Toru, who got turned in by Toris and Bell, was treated as a big catch, because he was the leader of a large criminal organization, and was assigned to one of the only two cells designed for solitary confinement.
At the end of the corridor lined with a number of prison cells, there was a grate made of thick square timbers in a grid pattern, with doors to two separate cells. These seemed to be the solitary confinement cells.
“He’s in here.”
The knight, standing in front of one of the cell, ordered Toru, who was confined inside.
“Oi! Get up, you in there!”
The knight kicked the grate while sounding pissed off. Meantime, I was getting ready to cast one of my magic spells behind his back. It took me about 10 seconds to focus for this particular spell. The person lying on the floor raised his upper body while scratching his ass.
[ ]
[Male/14/2/7428・Lios・Damuru Family owned Slave]
[Condition: Weakened]
[Age: 20 years old]
[Level: 9]
[HP: 119 (139) MP: 7 (7)]
[Strength: 18 (22)]
[Agility: 22 (26)]
[Dexterity: 17 (21)]
[Stamina: 17 (21)]
[Unique Skill: Super Dexterity (MAX)]
[Special Skill: Small Magic]
[Special Skill: Instant Speed]
[Special Skill: Night Vision ]
[Experience: 106,014 (110,000)]
Hmm, his level’s a bit low, but his overall stats are pretty high, typical for a reincarnated person.
[Unique Skill: Super Dexterity – while activated, the ability to perform precise movements with hands increases in accordance to the skill level. The correction is 20% per level. The effect only applies up to the wrists, and does not affect the movement of the rest of the body. Also, the skill has no effect on the use of any tools. The effective time is the skill level plus one minutes. MAX level allows for use of tools without moving parts]
Eeh, isn’t that a pretty useful skill? Though, I wouldn’t say it’s something I absolutely need.
“Are you Toru?”
It was my first time meeting him, so I inquired, while paying attention not to sound too intimidating, with our social status being worlds apart.
“…you are?”
Well, answering a question with a question in this situation… I can’t tell if he’s stupid, or just being defiant. Well, never mind.
“I’m Greed. I’m an adventurer from Baldukk.”
“Aah, so you’re Greed… You defeated that dragon. It was big news.”
The reincarnated Lios looked up at me while scratching, as he crossed his chained legs on the ground. His complexion seemed rather pale, probably because he hasn’t seen the sun for the last two months. Also, he couldn’t eat his full, so he looked a bit thin.
“You don’t have much time left, so, if you want to keep on living, please answer my questions. I’m a busy person, so please be brief. Are you the person named Toru?”
To be honest, I wasn’t in any hurry. I just wanted to finish this before my [Lie Detection] spell ran out. Of course, I could always extend the duration, but it not only took extra magical power, but also requires another several seconds of concentration, to the point, where you might as well just recast the entire spell. Honestly, I was pretty satisfied with its basic duration of 5 minutes, so I left the extension training to Miduchi. If I needed to recast it, I could always gain the required time by taking a couple deep breaths or something…
Besides, the knight would most likely find it strange for us to speak Japanese for so long. He could also decide I wasn’t allowed to speak with the prisoner any more. Well, that shouldn’t really happen, since the visit was mandated by the acting lord’s direct order.
“Is there any reason for me to pretend not to be Toru in this situation?”
Well, yeah, pretty much. Well, I didn’t think he would lie. Also, he could always just refuse to answer.
“…Okay. What’s your unique skill?”
“Oh? Why do you want to know…”
“Just answer.”
” …Pickpocketing.”
Hmm, Toru’s response caused my [Lie Detection] to react. At least, now I knew for sure he was trying to deceive me. Which was fine in this case, since he didn’t seem like a person who plans ahead much. Or, maybe it was just a convenient lie, he came up with over the years, to hide his unique skill within the scope of this world’s common sense… No, there were still a lot of things I had yet to learn about this reincarnated person.
“Pickpocketing. I see.”
I asked the knight if I could touch Toru, because I wanted to see his status. The knight pulled out his sword before ordering Toru “We’re gonna check your status. Stick your arm out through the grate.”
“Chi.”
Toru clicked his tongue, before unwillingly approaching the grate and sticking out his arm. There really was no point in resisting at this time.
“Aah, I’ll tell you, since you don’t seem to know. The other reincarnated people can also see your unique skill”
Toru extended his arm through the grate. I grabbed his wrist as I mentioned it to him.
“Ah!?”
He could see that I was in a hurry.
“”[Status open]””
Toru and I could both see each other’s status at the same time. This was fine, since I already planned to show him mine, however, unlike what I told him, there were no unique abilities nor levels displayed.
ED Reminder: The person’s level, attributes, hidden and unique skills and skill levels, could only be inspected with either [Identify] or [Greater Identify] unique skills. Al, who possessed two unique skills, [Identify] and [Gift of Natural Talent] (that gave him extra XP, and which he got as a reward for saving a kid during the train crash), kept them a secret from everyone but his closest associates, believing they were extremely powerful, to the point, where some might consider him too dangerous to be left alive. Instead, he claimed that his unique skill was called [Magic Acquisition], and let him learn magic skills (air, water, fire and earth) and spells more easily. This was not only to hide his ridiculous magic skill levels and magic power reserves, which were actually the effect of him figuring out the best way to expand them with [Identify] as a toddler and training ever since, but also to explain all the magic spells he’d learned from Mila, the leader of the Fairy Village. Incidentally, [Magic Acquisition], the name of which Al made up, just so happens to be an actual unique skill held by the daughter of the Devas Kingdom’s Court Mage, and a key member of the Devas’ Prince’s inner circle.
“Damn you! So damn rude!”
The knight got enraged be Toru looking at my status without permission. Well, I calmed down the knight, then looked at Toru through the grate again.
“I see, you were… Oh, you’re actually a count…”
Toru said in a hateful tone.
“So, given your sudden reaction, you were lying, right? Well, it’s okay to be cautious in this situation. However, if you continue to lie to me, your life will end tomorrow. His Highness William, who’s the acting lord of this land, just so happened to also be one of my clients. I can do plenty for your sentencing.”
I plainly stated the facts.
“You seem pretty used to using the power of others… The fox that borrows the power of the tiger.”
Toru said that as he looked down. I felt sorry for him.
“You can’t use the connections you don’t have… such a pity… Damn it, those two… they really jumped the gun this time around…“
ED Note: He’s talking about Toris and Bell using his connection to Prince William without permission.
I managed to stop the second half of the sentence from leaving my mouth.
“The facts don’t change, no matter what you might think. Well, try to listen again. What is your unique skill? Lying is useless. I can detect lies.”
“…[Super Dexterity]. My hands become more dexterous. It didn’t work with tools in the past, but I can handle simple ones nowadays…”
He wasn’t lying.
“What’s the effective time?”
“It’s enough for now. It used to be shorter.”
At the same time, I comprehended that he had decently understood of his own skills.
“Really? Next then. Swear that you will change your act and serve me in the future, and I’ll help you, if you atone for the sins you’ve committed.”
If you really want to change, show it with your actions. Everyone can turn their life around if they try hard enough.
“…what are you trying to pull?”
“It’s a good chance to show your remorse. Your answer?”
“Ah, I got you, I got you. Eh~, Count Riguru? I will work as your minion. So, please take care of it.”
His response caused my magic to react. He was lying. Well, I didn’t need magic to know that.
” …Yeah. I told you not to lie. So then…”
I turned to the right and summoned the knight who was nearby as I said “We’re done here…”.
“Wait! Please wait! Help me! What should I do? I’ll do anything!”
He seemed pretty honest.
I apologized to the knight with “I’m sorry, please wait a moment” and turned to Toru.
“You say you’re willing to change, but you just lied to me a moment ago.”
I looked down at Toru as I returned in front of the grate.
“…I am. I hate people who can’t follow the rules. They are there to support the people who work hard every day to make a living. And if you don’t like the rules, make an effort to change them. Otherwise, stay low and keep your mouth shut.“
He spoke while trying to make it sound cold.
“Honestly, I don’t really care what happens to you after all the crimes you’ve committed, but, do you remember the two people you’ve met? I’m only doing this because Toris and Bell asked me to. Don’t forget that.”
Let’s speak in words that the knight can understand once in a while.
“I understand. No, I understood. So, please. Help me out. I will change my attitude and do my best from here on out…!”
Toru bowed his head down while sitting on the ground. I wasn’t sure if he was being honest, since my magic didn’t react. Well, he was a liar anyway.
“…Your original owner, what’s going on with Damuru company?”
When he heard that, he pondered for a moment if he’ll be able to get me to help him, before saying “I know it’s still barely afloat. It’s on Gibasa street… [2]“, he started explaining, but I interrupted him.
“If you know that much, then it’ll be quick. I’ve actually already met with the owner of the Damuru Spinning Company before I came here.”
I arrived at Doran two days ago. Incidentally, I’ve already discussed about Toru with the knights when I came to Doran last month. At that time, they’ve also shown me their records about the Damuru family, which was mentioned in Toru’s status.
Damuru Spinning Company’s owner was known as a frugal person, and it seemed that his company was doing pretty well until three years ago, when he failed at speculating the cotton prices, and had to downsize considerably as a result.
While I was at it, I also talked to the man in question. Since his name was still figuring in Toru’s status, the knights had already informed him about the arrest, but he refused to pay the fines on Toru’s behalf, and officially gave up his right of ownership (even if their slave committed crimes to keep themselves alive, the owner could escape any responsibility by officially relinquishing their ownership, in which case the ownership of the slave was transferred to the governing body, that is, the acting lord). (T/N: Such a long-winded sentence)
Based on Toru’s age, he was most likely a slave named Roslar Geen [3], who escaped more than a decade ago. He had a slightly older brother, who got sold as a mine slave, same as their parents. But there was more common points, than just his age and race.
After Ross ran away, his owner ordered his other slaves to look for him for a couple of days, as, being a Lios, he was considered pretty valuable. Even as a child, he could be sold for as much as 500,000Z. However, his business was booming at the time and he quickly lost interest in an escaped Lios kid.
Then, a couple years ago, criminals of unknown origin began to snoop around his company. He didn’t know for sure, but apparently they were asking around for the whereabouts of a slave family that he used to own. However, since they didn’t threaten him directly or interfere with his business, he didn’t report it to the local knights, fearing a potential conflict with the criminals. By the way, the people, that the criminals seemed to be searching for, were the parents and the older brother from the Geen family.
This reminded him about a Lios kid, Roslar Geen, who escaped a long time ago. He should be an adult by now, if he’s still alive. And the criminals were from a group called Akatsuki, that was pretty well known and rumoured to be led by a Lios man called Toru. It could have been the case, that he was actually Ross, who didn’t come in person, fearing he might get captured.
At first Damuru felt sorry for the kid and even tried to recall who did he sell the family to, back in the day, but then again, Toru was originally a slave he owned. Even now, he was still the official owner. Thinking calmly, why would he sympathize with a plight of a slave? He told the men “Geen was a Lios kid, who ran away, after his parents were sold off to work in some mine, and probably ended up a criminal… I don’t know where he is. He should be 17 or 18 by now. If you find him, please be sure to report it”, but he never heard from them again.
Well, it’s not like he could find any reliable witnesses among the criminals of Doran, so he couldn’t really investigate much on his own. There weren’t even sale records he could look through in this case (ED: Since Toru wasn’t sold, but ran away).
As such, when I visited him a couple years after those events, he was quite eager to talk to me, once I opened my purse and pulled out several silver coins. Or course, I also asked about who did he sell the Geen family to. But to track them down, I had to pull out not only gold, but even several vermilion coins in the end.
After going from one slave trader to another, I finally found out that they were actually working in one of the mines in my territory. This whole search was one big waste of money. Well, maybe not.
“So, as for the whereabouts of the slave Douglar Geen [4], his wife Sandra Geen [5] and their son Rinaldo Geen [6], who were previously owned by the Damuru family…”
Toru’s eyes were wide open and his mouth was fluttering.
“Ah… they’re alive… are they?”
They were alive. The older brother had a wife and two children. I found out that Toru was trying to find the whereabouts of his family from my initial investigation, so I spent a reasonable amount of time and money to investigate it thoroughly.
“…wouldn’t that be up to you?”
Wow, what an unpleasant line I just used! Still, I put so much time and resources into this investigation, I didn’t want it all to go to waste on a two-bit character like Toru.
“Gah… such a dirty…”
A quiet moan leaked from Toru’s mouth.
“Hmm?”
Didn’t he hear what I said?
“…I will do anything. I will do anything if I can meet them. So…”
It sounded like his real intentions. So then, there were only a few more things left.
“Next. About the gun, how much, and who did you talk to?”
“Ah? The gun? Right…”
Toru had a cunning look on his face.
“I can simply check about it later. If I find out that you lied…”
“I just lied to the knight at the time of the interrogation.”
Did he now? I was all ears. By the way, I had already confirmed that the knights believed in Toris and Bell’s made up story about it being a magic tool they have found in the dungeon. After all, it was a word of two well renowned adventurers from Baldukk, against the criminal’s, whom they’ve just captured
―― Toru probably didn’t know about magic tools, so he came up with something on the spot. Well, it’s not like he could tell them, that he got so surprised by the loud sound, that he couldn’t stand properly afterwards. Aah, of course, his minions were also interrogated and gave testimonies that also confirmed that it didn’t seem to be a dangerous magic tool ――
That’s all. At times like this, it was really convenient to be an adventurer who often found weird magical tools like this.
Toru didn’t lie about it either. So then, there was just one thing left.
“I’ll ask you again. Are you willing to serve me?”
“Yes…”
It sounded like that was his real intention.
“Okay, then I’ll bail you out. However, you will still be punished. I’ll treat your wounds if you don’t die.”
Unless you were seriously weakened, a reincarnated person at level 9 shouldn’t die just from being whipped. Let alone a leader of a criminal organization. He had to have at least that much resolve.
・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I want to make this case a precedent for the future.”
I bowed to His Royal Highness William.
“No no, please raise your head. We already make criminals do forced labour in our Kingdom, but we never had the courage to send them to the frontier villages. I’m looking forward to the results.”
After all, the frontline was a place, where you could escape to a foreign country with very little effort. Well, it was up to us to keep the number of such cases as low as possible. Besides, aside from the Akatsuki members, I had no intention of using Toru for such menial work.
I didn’t trust him just yet.
Then again, I would probably treat him well if he honestly listened to what I said and did his best.
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Footnotes:
[1] Nanno Kotcha (ナンノコッチャ – Nanno Kotcha) – literally “egg-head” or someone who’s pretty intelligent
[2] Gibasa street (ギバサ通り – Gibasa-dōri) – a street in Doran, where Damuru Trading Company was located
[3] Roslar Geen (ロズラル・ギーン – Rozuraru Gīn) – Toru’s given name on Orth
[4] Douglar Geen (ダグラル・ギーン – Daguraru Gīn) – Toru’s father
[5] Sandra Geen (サンドラ・ギーン – Sandora Gīn) – Toru’s mother
[6] Rinaldo Geen (リナルド・ギーン – Rinarudo Gīn) – Toru’s older brother