Chapter 35
Raid
* * *
However, I couldn’t handle the matters at the Kellogg residence and, at the same time, ask Areumdri Pawnshop to track down the House Featherwing’s heirloom.
I’d basically be commissioning them to find where the item had gone.
I only had one body. While I looked for one thing, the other would inevitably be left unattended.
And if, during that time, the ownership of the item changed hands or it was moved elsewhere, I would have to start inquiring all over again.
I decided to first just figure out the pawnshop’s location, then let out a big yawn.
“Damn, I’m so tired.”
Before doing anything else, I really needed to rest for a few days. I hadn’t been able to sleep properly after being dragged off to the Rose Garden and worn out there.
Three days later, I headed to Longwave Bistro.
“It hasn’t even been that long.”
I mumbled softly as I stood for a moment, staring up at Longwave Bistro’s sign.
It felt like I was visiting again after quite a while. Considering this was a workplace I had shown up to nearly every day, maybe it wasn’t so strange to feel that way.
After knocking a few times, I opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately, a voice bellowed from the kitchen.
“Damn it, the place isn’t open yet!”
“Have you been well!”
At Jonathan’s shout, I shouted back in return. Jonathan’s head popped out of the kitchen.
“What the hell? You quit, and it’s only been a few days, and here you are again?”
Instead of answering, I sat down on a chair and spoke.
“I thought I’d get a meal and also ask for a little favor.”
Jonathan replied to me.
“A meal, huh? If you don’t have money, get lost.”
“Come on, I didn’t mean it literally. It’s not like I’m actually broke. But should I really just eat without paying?”
At my words, Jonathan said.
“I’ll whip something up with what I’ve got. Just eat whatever.”
“In that case, I’ll pay you however much seems fair.”
“Do as you like.”
With that, Jonathan disappeared back into the kitchen. Having turned from an employee into a customer, I looked around the shop with a fresh expression.
Not long after, a big plate was set down in front of me.
Waffles served with omelet, ham, and salad.
“The menu is reasonable, but the portion isn’t.”
“If you get full, then leave some.”
It seemed the big helping wasn’t because of his big hands, but because he was glad to see me. I grinned and started to eat.
“So, what’s this about?”
At Jonathan’s question, I answered right away.
“The Areumdri Pawnshop branch.”
“Ah.”
Jonathan scratched his head at my words and then nodded.
“I’ll tell you the address. Can’t write it down for you since I don’t read.”
“That’s fine.”
It was just a shop address. My memory was good enough to keep track of that much without trouble. While continuing to eat, I listened to Jonathan’s explanation.
“Don’t go over there and cause any trouble. It’ll end up coming back to me.”
“I’ll try my best.”
He didn’t insist that such a thing would never happen. As long as it wasn’t a promise he truly couldn’t keep, he would uphold it. This was a rule Kairus had set for himself to master the teachings of Featherwing.
If he carelessly made promises left and right, eventually those very promises would start to weigh on him, and in the end, he might lose everything he had built.
“Finish your meal and head back when you’re ready. If you need anything, just say so.”
Jonathan stood up and waved his hand dismissively.
“Yes, I’m relieved to see you look healthy.”
“You little bastard, treating me like I’m some old geezer.”
Jonathan went back to preparing to open the shop, and I continued eating.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“There is. Paying for your meal.”
At Jonathan’s reply, I nodded and placed some bills on the counter.
“Thanks for the food.”
Even after all this time, the food here still tasted just as good. There was a reason the Rose Garden had standing orders delivered from here on a regular basis.
I was just about to say goodbye to Jonathan and step outside when he tossed something my way.
“Eat it when you get peckish.”
It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a sandwich wrapped in newspaper.
“What’s this for?”
The meal had been satisfying, and on top of that, I had cleanly accomplished the purpose of my visit.
It felt like the start of a genuinely pleasant and refreshing day. When I stepped outside, huge snowflakes were pouring down in thick clusters.
Returning to the inn where I was staying, I paid extra to extend my stay, then opened the door to my room.
There was a man sitting casually on the bed. He was wearing a brown flat cap pulled low and a dark navy cape coat.
“…What is this.”
“Me? I’m a fairy who punishes kids with sticky fingers.”
Before I could even think how bizarre that introduction sounded, the man swung a greatsword straight at me.
“You’re a bit… big for a fairy, aren’t you?!”
I drew the stained glass blade and blocked the strike. A shockwave burst out, splitting cracks along the walls of the inn and shattering the windows.
Both my knees wobbled slightly under the impact as I held the greatsword at bay.
‘Well, how about that. He’s absurdly strong.’
It had only been a single clash, but I could immediately gauge the man’s skill.
It wasn’t such a gap that I’d call it overwhelming. But he was definitely stronger.
“Are you reflecting on the wrongs you’ve committed?”
“Reflecting? You mean when I secretly slept with your mother?”
I braced my arms against the greatsword pressing down and fired back immediately.
“Young man, when you talk that rudely to your elders, you get taught some manners.”
His greatsword and my stained glass blade were still locked against each other, when all of a sudden a shockwave exploded from the point of contact.
I was swept backward by the blast. Instead of resisting it head-on, I let the force push me back and swung my blade in a wide arc.
The rampaging wind turned into countless blades that poured down on the enemy.
“So it really was the Swift Blade. I’ve missed that.”
The man swung his greatsword toward the gale of blades rushing at him. His swing was so fast that the afterimages of the blade streaked wildly through the air.
“You know, you seem a bit too skilled to be working as the Treasury Director’s underling.”
I spoke while quickly scanning my surroundings. This wasn’t the first time I had faced an opponent stronger than myself.
On the battlefield, you didn’t get to choose your enemies. Whoever it was, you had to fight, kill, and survive.
Whining about how strong they were was meaningless. You either managed to escape or did whatever it took to kill them.
‘If possible, running is best.’
I hurled myself to the side in a rush.
A massive sky-blue slash crashed down where I had been standing a moment before, then split into dozens of smaller strikes that shredded everything around it.
“The world really is big.”
I’d never heard of or experienced a technique like this. From the receiving end, it was downright terrifying.
“You robbed a train transporting national taxes? You must think the Empire is a damn pushover, isn’t that right?”
The man shouted at me while swinging his greatsword in a storm of attacks. Sky-blue flashes shot toward my body one after another.
I wrapped myself in wind and narrowly dodged those vicious strikes as I yelled back.
“Of course it’s a pushover! That idiot Emperor has let the taxes be embezzled for years without lifting a finger!”
The man’s body accelerated, and he rammed his shoulder into my chest.
“Kh… hah!”
The impact spread through my body, and for an instant, I couldn’t breathe. As I was knocked backward, a sky-blue slash came plummeting down, aiming straight for my skull.
….
As I was flung through the air, I kicked the ground hard with both legs and twisted my entire body in midair like an acrobat.
I barely evaded the blue slash, but it immediately split into dozens of streaks that rained down like a storm.
It was impossible for me to dodge every last one of those blue sword lights.
All I could do was focus on avoiding the fatal strikes—the ones that would kill me the moment they connected and brace myself against the rest.
“Impressive. What’s that technique called?”
“Wall of Scattered Radiance.”
I deflected a sky-blue blade aimed for my heart with the stained glass sword and moved my feet quickly to block the remaining flashes rushing in.
At the same time, my gaze swept quickly around the room.
‘It’s snowing outside.’
In the middle of this ferocious assault, my eyes flicked to the window. Thick snowflakes were falling with dark clouds overhead.
From the way the flurries were swirling, the wind was strong too. Cold air and snow were blowing in through the shattered window, mingling with the broken glass.
“What, do you think letting the outside wind in is going to change anything?”
The man followed my gaze toward the window, then spoke with a scornful laugh.
At his words, I flinched for a moment.
“I’ve faced the Swift Blade a few times in the past. The swordsmanship itself isn’t all that refined, but I always found it amusing how needlessly famous it was.”
He lifted his greatsword vertically and squared his stance, mocking me.
“Is that so? Well, good for you, I suppose. But what a shame.”
Contrary to what he expected, I had no intention of drawing the outside wind in.
It was the opposite. As I swung my sword wide, the air inside the room began rushing out through the shattered window.
“…?”
The man sensed something was wrong and shifted as if preparing to leave the room.
“What’s wrong? Keep running your mouth, you worthless son of a bitch.”
While the air drained away, I charged straight at the man with the greatsword.
I couldn’t let him leave this room.
“You ridiculous bastard. Do you think you’re going to be fine yourself?”
I was using the wind to force the air out of the room. Naturally, the pressure was dropping moment by moment.
‘If I push the stained glass blade’s output as high as it goes…’
I could lower the pressure to something like the summit of a glacier-covered mountain.
Air was necessary to swing a greatsword and move your body. As the pressure fell, breathing would become less and less efficient.
“I was at a disadvantage even before the pressure started dropping.”
I answered him while keeping the real trick to myself, swinging my sword.
The greatsword and the stained glass blade collided again and again, each impact blasting out shockwaves that helped expel the air even faster.
‘Energy Sac.’
Because of a procedure reserved for the House Featherwing’s direct line, my lungs weren’t structured like those of ordinary people. They and my blood and vessels had been altered to adapt to such changes.
Even if there wasn’t much air, I wouldn’t suffer serious issues.
As long as I had a way to endure temperatures below minus fifty degrees, I could function normally even above the tropopause.
“You… bastard!”
The man’s face twisted in visible rage, and he poured even more power into his greatsword.
He had no way of knowing exactly what I was aiming for, but he wasn’t about to just stand by and let me get what I wanted.
He was already difficult enough to handle, and now he was going berserk.
The problem was…
“Aaaaaaaah!”
…he wasn’t swinging the greatsword at me. He was targeting the inn’s wall.
‘If it collapses, it’s over.’
The reason I could so rapidly lower the air pressure was because of this enclosed indoor battlefield. That accounted for more than half of the conditions.
If he smashed the wall, it would get harder and harder to reduce the pressure, until it became meaningless.
“Urgh…!”
I threw myself in front of the greatsword, blocking it with the stained glass blade. The dull impact rippled through every inch of my body.
Taking the blow head-on burst the blood vessels under my skin. Dark bruises bloomed all over me, spreading thicker by the second.
“Die, you damned little sewer rat!”
“Hey… how about you just… breathe a little?”
The pressure kept falling. And the man was throwing himself around with reckless force, desperate to end this quickly.
As the air available for breathing shrank, his breathing grew rough and labored.
He knew time was running out. So did I.
“Khak.”
While he struggled to breathe, I was simply being battered to pieces, and that was its own agony.
Blood dripped from my lips.