BXBX NOVEL Volume 3, 4: Kidnapping Incident?
Volume 3, Chapter 4: Kidnapping Incident③
Lambert arrived in the central city of Viscount Le Gael’s territory by hitching a ride on Gansas’ carriage heading toward the slums. His goal was to confirm the information he heard from Gansas.
Originally, as a former one of the Four Demon Generals, something like a lord oppressing their territory using their private soldiers wasn’t something that Lambert would care about. It was for another division.
Even if he did, he would just visit the lord the day he heard about the news and cut them down depending on the answer they gave him.
Buildings which were reinforced with boards lined the narrow alley.
A thin old man sat on the ground, leaning on the dirty wall.
「Old man, I have some questions about the private soldiers and Viscount Le Gael.」
The old man’s eyes opened wide as he looked at Lambert upon hearing the latter ask such a question.
「I-I, I don’t know anything! Please-Please, spare me!」
The old man stood immediately as he spoke with a trembling voice.
He tried to escape from Lambert with an unsteady gait.
It seemed he was afraid of the retribution of Viscount Le Gael.
‘It seems the fear toward that incompetent lord is already deeply rooted in his citizens’ minds. I guess asking around is pretty much impossible.’
Lambert gave up the option of asking the locals and focusing on searching for the next clue.
But everyone he met reacted the same way as the first old man.
When Lambert touched his helmet, pondering about what to do next, a young girl appeared from a house with a slightly ajar door.
From her height, he assumed that the girl was around 10 years old.
She had unkempt red hair and was wearing patched cloth.
When Lambert turned his attention toward the girl, the face of the girl who looked at Lambert with a timid expression instantly bloomed into a smile.
「Knight-sama! It’s knight-sama! You came to punish those bad guys, right?」
Lambert walked toward the young girl.
The young girl opened the door and stood in front of Lambert.
After he arrived in the slums of the central city, Kraan, the red-haired girl was the only one who welcomed him with a smile.
Her appearance gave Lambert a new expectation.
「Yes, that’s right. I’m one of the Four Demon Generals of Regios Kingdom. Lambert De La Croix will punish the bad guys.」
「Four… demons? I don’t know about that Four Demon thing, but it sound cool!」
「Of course it is.」
Lambert nodded deeply.
「Lambert-sama, are you going to punish the clown-person?」
「Clown… person? What is that?」
「Papa said that the situation in this place became strange after the clown visited lord-sama’s mansion… That’s why, knight-sama…」
Lambert turned his arm toward his back before the girl managed to finish her sentence.
A wooden pole was swung down toward his shoulder from behind.
The wooden pole smashed when it crashed against Lambert’s raised arm. His hand moved and penetrated the wall, exposing the face of his assailant.
The assailant crumpled down after releasing a short scream.
Lambert didn’t stop. He opened his hand, stretching his gauntlet-covered fingers.
It was obvious from the neatly shaped hole on the wall that he could easily pulverize the assailant’s skull with it.
「P… PAPA?」
The girl called out to Lambert’s assailant.
Lambert took a closer look at the man who rushed toward him.
It was a man with an unshaved face and disheveled red hair.
Although he looked much older due to his dirty, pale skin and the black mark beneath his eyes, the man should be still in his thirties.
The assailant then sat right there as if resigning to his fate.
Then, he muttered with a small voice as he looked down, helplessly striking the ground beneath him.
「Altie… I’ve told you not to open the door, right…」
It seemed the name of the red-haired girl was Altie, and the assailant was her father.
「Explain the situation. Depending on your explanation, I’ll at least spare your life.」
Lambert unleashed a little bit of his miasma as he asked the red-haired man.
Great warrior aside, there was no way an ordinary man could withstand such pressure.
In addition, no human could ever lie under the tyrannical oppression of Lambert’s miasma.
The man quickly folded his body, prostrating to Lambert.
「I-I don’t know what you’re going to do to me! But please, please at least spare my daughter! She’s the only meaning in my life after I lost her mother!」
「…」
Lambert gazed at the man and then slowly lowered his raised hand.
「The fact that you’re begging for me to spare your daughter’s life when you’re about to die is proof that you’re a great man. You’re a good father.」
The man who had no idea what Lambert was talking about then raised his face slowly to look at Lambert.
‘But the fact that he got scared so easily is strange.’
Both the old man from before and Altie’s father were clearly overreacting in this regard.
It was as if the entire population of the slums was bearing a deep scar in their hearts.
And then, he heard the sound of clanking metal heading in their direction.
Lambert only needed a moment to realize that it was the sound of metal armor.
When he turned around toward the direction of the incoming sound, he saw three swordsmen wearing uniform armor, led by a pale-faced sorcerer with some sort of symbol drawn on their skin and a deep hood.
「What the hell. There’s still a child.」
「Some of them still remain even though we’ve been capturing them.」
「Just like Topo (wrinkled frog), they keep popping out.」
The armored swordsman spoke merrily.
There was an identical crest crafted on the surface of their armor.
‘They’re Viscount Le Gael’s soldiers, huh. But who in the world is the sorcerer who walks in front of them? Whether his appearance or face, I don’t think there’s such a person with a bad sense of fashion amongst the noble soldiers.’
「We can’t let this go. Young children living in this territory will be dispatched to various parts of this territory after receiving minimum education from us to revitalize this territory. Everyone, please swallow your tears and obediently cooperate.」
The sorcerer spoke, stretching his unnaturally long arms while shaking his head.
‘I see, so this is the reason behind the kidnapping incident in this territory, huh. It really is just like what I hear, but the viscount even imposed a slavery tax to the slum dwellers.’
Lambert turned his attention to the greatsword on his back.
Depending on the attitude of the other party, he was prepared to swing his weapon in the next moment.