Becoming a Hunter in a Dark Fantasy - Chapter 100
Only Noblemtl
Episode 100: The Royal Family of Batevil (3)
“I never thought I would come to the center of power like this in my life… … .”
Gail muttered with a somewhat nervous tone.
The three of them were now headed to the audience hall where King Bateville welcomed his subjects and important envoys.
“It’s noisy.”
Calix glared at Gale, with a sly smile on his lips.
“Don’t be so nervous. I’ll lose my dignity too.”
“Oh, really? Listen. Unlike you, who has been going back and forth to the Arad Royal Castle since you were young, I am a mercenary.”
Gale said in protest. There’s no way I wouldn’t know about the close relationship between the Arad royal family and the Zahart family.
Calix Toutatio Zahard, born directly of Zahard, was the one most familiar with this royal nature among the group.
“I never would have guessed that I would enter this palace and go to the audience room where only high-ranking officials would go! I never would have guessed that even a few hours ago!”
Although there was no one alive inside.
“… … Well, anyway, that’s it.”
Then, Gail mumbled something and tried to brush it off.
Now, I realized that the blood-soaked royal palace of Batheville was far from the splendid palace that everyone dreams of, and that it was not a situation where I could make a fuss about it.
‘… … I’ve gotten too used to this.’
It was because I had been rolling around in a battlefield where both allies and enemies were dying for a long time. I had no sense of crisis at the sight of this level of tragedy.
Gale was confident that she wouldn’t be startled even if people died right before her eyes.
‘When hundreds of corpses came pouring in from the village of Virga, when I first met the kid, and when I fought the manticore for my life, it was much more terrifying and thrilling.’
Of course, if I had to pick the most memorable experience among them, it would definitely be when I met Elwin alone on the airship.
‘I’m a bit careful about how I behave when I’m around other people.’
No matter how harsh the world is, there are not many people who are accustomed to seeing people dying in droves like this.
In fact, I hadn’t realized it until just now. It was just a part of Gail’s daily life.
But the people he was with were so calm that Gale found himself chatting away like he did with the war mercenaries.
‘If you saw so many people dead, wouldn’t you vomit or faint…?’
Gail was unsure. He scratched his head with an awkward hand.
‘I should have known more than once in my life that I would have seen such a normal reaction.’
The pungent smell of blood emanating from all directions makes one feel as if one has entered a butcher’s shop.
But the bodies strewn about like trash here and there were not pieces of animal flesh, but those of human beings who had been dignified just a few hours ago.
‘It’s another thing to see people being slaughtered in an instant.’
Not long ago, I ‘heard’ as a fact that Azen Clover’s ascending group was annihilated.
It was a world of difference from seeing it with your own two eyes.
‘It’s life.’
Even though human life is something that can be easily destroyed in this world, does that mean that the preciousness of each and every one of them fades?
Gail was well aware that much of his own humanity had been worn away.
So I didn’t really intend to meddle or interfere.
‘Why do these guys, who have never been in a war, look so familiar? … … What on earth have they been through?’
Gail suddenly wondered about that.
It was mysterious at the same time. There really was no other way to explain it.
Sercia and Calix, who seemed to have lived a smooth and noble life, completely unrelated to such a violent realm.
Gale is a mere lowly mercenary with no clear origins, status, or past.
It seemed as if the boundary line that had been subtly drawn between them was collapsing.
It feels like discovering an intersection that was there from the beginning, as if a thick fog has cleared.
“… … Well, as Zahart, I did cause a lot of trouble to the Arad royal family.”
And then, for some reason, Calix obediently agreed. He was the one who always found fault with everything Gale said.
Gail, who was immersed in a strange sentiment, kept her mouth shut as if this was also unfamiliar.
But the quick-witted Calix either noticed this or pretended not to notice, continuing to speak.
“Of course, the members of the Arad royal family are all noble and honorable people, so no matter what trouble I caused as a child, they kindly overlooked it.”
“… … Hey, Master. You’re the prodigal son of Zaharth, but your loyalty to Arad remains unchanged?”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“This, this is suspicious~?”
As Gale spoke with sharp eyes, Calix coughed hastily as if he had been hit on the nail on the head.
On the other hand, Sercia ignored the two people talking and fighting and just walked towards one place.
Although the surrounding objects were destroyed or stained with blood, there was no hesitation in the steady pace.
“Hey, miss, let’s go together.”
“You two are just having a good time?”
“Ahem.”
“Oh, anyway, are you sure about the direction you’re going? Is it okay if I go without checking the other rooms?”
Gale and Calix hurriedly chased after her and spoke to her.
“Of course. We checked around the windows from outside earlier to make sure no one was there.”
Sersia continued with confidence.
The Bateville Castle was a relatively low-rise structure with one and two floors.
“In such castles, the king’s audience room is usually on the second floor. This is to prevent external intrusions or assassination threats.”
“Oh~! Well, you come from a family that is quite well-known, right?”
“… … .”
Sersia’s origins are the Odelweiss family.
They were a family famous for magic in Dagnes, the northernmost country in the Northern Continent.
“What was that? What did they call you, Miss… … Ah! That’s right! Lady of Odelweiss!”
Yeah. I just remembered the whispers people around me were making when I was in Cosmos.
When Gale shouted like that, Sercia smiled bitterly. As if she had bitten into a bitter herb.
“You’re wrong. It must be Odelweiss’s nemesis.”
“……ah?”
“I am an adopted daughter. I am not of the Odelweiss family bloodline. From now on, please stop calling me Lady Odelweiss or any other ridiculous titles. That is a derogatory term that mocks my situation.”
Gail felt something was off at that unusual reaction.
‘She was an adopted daughter? Are you not on good terms with your family? … … Did I say something wrong!?’
Gail was confused.
“That’s enough, let’s quickly go to the audience room. If Elwin isn’t there, leave a message through Nexion, and we’ll wait outside the castle.”
Following Sercia, who was heading up the stairs, Calix, who was shaking his head, also went up the stairs in silence.
Gail, who had been blankly staring for a moment, followed along in a hurry.
“Go, go together-!”
In front of the spacious audience room, there was blood and corpses strewn about, just like any other sight I had ever seen.
But this was where the most desperate traces of resistance remained.
“I guess you tried your best to protect the King of Batavil.”
“… … Yes, I guess so.”
The faces of the corpses of the royal guards surrounding the main gate of the audience room were filled with a look of desperation that went beyond pain.
They briefly paid their respects and carefully crossed the corpses into the audience chamber.
“Lord Elwin!”
There, standing tall, was Elwin, whom they had been searching for.
“You came.”
Elwin, who had been staring at the throne with a sullen expression, glanced at them without moving an inch, only moving his gaze.
“… … You’re here? You little brat, I told you to tell me where you’re going!”
“Hey, Gail. When did you say that to me?”
Then, Elwin suddenly opened his sharp eyes wide and expressed surprise.
As if he had heard something completely unexpected.
“Every time! Whenever I just, randomly disappear, it makes me so upset, upset! … … But why are you so surprised? You’re acting so embarrassed, mister.”
“No, it’s just… … I feel like I’m saying the same thing to someone else.”
Without even having time to question Elwin, who was looking away, he walked past Gale and toward the throne.
“You came at a good time. I was just in need of your help, Sercia. Come this way.”
The Spero members, including Sercia, approached the throne where Elwin was.
The throne was so shabby that it was hard to believe it had once been a symbol of a nation’s authority. It was blood-soaked and mangled with blades.
‘… … It feels like I’m watching a fierce power struggle between royal families in some country.’
Elwin was willingly kneeling beneath such a throne, and Gale thought that he looked like the prince of a ruined country.
“Ms. Sercia, could you please take a look at this?”
“What should I check?”
“The magic circle drawn on the bottom of the throne. Oh, just a moment. I’ll make it so you can see it with your own eyes.”
And with that, Elwin lifted the heavy throne without any hesitation.
It must have weighed at least several tons, but he lifted it as lightly as if he were lifting a stuffed animal.
However, Elwin seemed unaware of this and calmly explained about the magic circle.
“I learned a bit about magic, but not in a full-fledged way like wizards… … It seems like there’s something magical hidden there, but it’s a bit difficult to interpret.”
The Spero members were the ones who were getting tired of being surprised by such antics every time. They agreed to just ignore it with a half-closed eye.
Sersia bent down, tucking her flowing hair behind her ears.
“… … Hmm. It’s woven in a rather complex way. It’s a protective magic that creates a strong barrier. At the same time, it has a stealth function to prevent enemies from noticing it. It seems like there’s a secret passage down here.”
Sersia was amazed, saying that it was indeed the magic of the royal family.
And she was secretly surprised. Even though she was a magician, Elwin recognized the magic circle at a glance, which she had never felt its existence.
“So, Sercia, can you destroy this magic circle? I want to know where this magic circle is hidden.”
Then Sercia said confidently.
“Of course it is possible! I have always been the top student at the Ruslam Academy.”
Sersia took something out of her subspace. It was a quill pen, a favorite of wizards when calculating in reverse.
“Let me show you my reverse magic skills.”
Soon after, Sersia interpreted the magic circle that she had described as complicated and stopped its function.
It took less than five minutes.
“Okay! I succeeded!”
As soon as Sercia shouted out her cheer, the magic circle began to spin around and around, creating a circular hole.
Woohoo!
It was a hole barely big enough for one person to fit through.
An escape route for the royal family in case of an emergency.
“Let’s go in. We probably won’t get far.”
You should still be alive.
Elwin muttered and jumped into the hole.
* * *
Meanwhile, somewhere inside the secret passage.
“Gasp, huh!”
A line of people running down a damp, dirty passageway.
Their faces were pale with fear and horror, but they still moved their legs with the single-minded determination to save the noble person.
“… … Ugh!”
At that moment, the old man who was in the middle and in a protected position groaned loudly.
The cough that followed was spurting with blood.
“Just a little longer, just a little longer… … Hold on, Your Majesty! I will definitely bring Your Majesty to the outer chambers!”
“… … Heh heh. I wonder if that’s possible.”
Then one man with tears in his eyes cried out bitterly. The old man laughed bitterly.
The old man was none other than Albinius II, the king of the Kingdom of Bateville.